Chapter 7 (5)
Chapter 7 (5)
"Huuu."
Again.
Another sigh escaped me before I even realized it.
"Ah, shit. This is fucked up, seriously."
My head is spinning from the constant worrying.
I stopped walking and sat down in the shade for a moment.
After quenching my thirst with water from my canteen that I'd boiled with river water, I poured the rest over my heated head since I had plenty to spare.
It's already been a few days since I sparred with that bastard, Yeon I-gang.
The path to Hunan to obtain my second destined encounter, internal energy, is going smoothly.
However, my head has been swamped with worries ever since I sparred with that guy, Yeon I-gang.
There is only one reason why I'm worrying like this.
The problem was, "Is it really okay to obtain the destined encounter like this?"
Honestly speaking, the experience of fighting that guy gave me a huge boost in development.
The method of rapidly circulating internal energy during combat, the timing of footwork, how to measure distance—everything, including all the martial arts I possess, matured to the next level after that spar.
That's why I'm reluctant to just take the destined encounter.
Because I lack experience.
He provided me with the direction that I need to accumulate experience rather than just practicing martial arts to get stronger, and he made me realize the importance of experience.
If I digest the destined encounters in this situation and fight Yeon I-gang again, I would obviously win easily.
But that would just be mindlessly pushing through with stat-based power; I can't level up with the experience gained from fighting like that.
Because of this, my head is currently split into two opinions.
The first is, "Experience can be gained anytime later, so let's just gobble up the destined encounter and get strong first."
Once my martial arts are strong, it doesn't matter what I do, so it's fine to accumulate experience slowly from then on.
This world isn't an RPG, you know? It's not a game where specific levels appear in each region.
If I run into a master who pops out of nowhere, I could die without even being able to fight properly.
The second is, "If I eat the destined encounter like this, my control will be clumsy, so let's accumulate enough experience first and then get strong."
You only improve your control by fighting enemies of the same level; if I only know how to push through with level-based power, what will happen when I fight a real master?
Especially since the bastards of the Heaven-Breaking Association are all masters.
Besides, those bastards are crazy lunatics who want to kill all martial artists and rule the world themselves, so persuasion won't work on them.
With valid reasons existing for each argument, it's no wonder my head is a mess.
Haa~ This is driving me crazy~
Was I always such an indecisive guy?
But this is a matter related to my entire life, so it's not something I can choose easily.
I need to decide on a definite answer.
With this kind of mood, even if I eat the destined encounter, I'll just get indigestion and throw it up.
Destined encounter, or experience.
Oh, wait.
But why am I thinking like a Murim person?
This side might suit my constitution, but there's no reason to think and judge like a Murim person, right?
The intellect of the 21st century, this body that was a modern civilized person, is thinking on the same level as the stupid muscle-brains of this era, which is why my thoughts are getting complicated.
As I reset my mindset and racked my brain, a smile naturally formed on my face.
The answer is decided.
I'm going to eat the destined encounter first!
The reason why I came to this answer is for a very simple reason.
'First, I'll just eat the destined encounter and get stronger. And then, I'll just catch a female Murim master like the Sword Empress, break her in, and make her teach me!'
Woo!
This is the genius and incredibly creative answer of this body, the intellect and civilized person of the 21st century!
Fuck Edison! Fuck Einstein!
It was such a simple matter: just break in a female who has better skills than me and turn her into a slave, and everything would be solved!
As expected, a person should judge a situation based on what they are best at.
"Huu~ Now my head feels at ease."
Finally, my dizzy head cleared up, and my heavy heart became light.
I can just think about how to find a female master like the Sword Empress and how to kidnap and break her in when the time comes.
Since I wasn't that tired to begin with, I moved quickly using lightness skill toward my goal, Hunan, with a much lighter heart.
Hahahaha~ So that was it~
There was such a simple method~
That said, the Chinese continent is fucking huge.
The scale of the continent is insane.
If my memory serves me right, except for a few, one province (similar to a US state) in China is similar to or larger than the combined landmass of North and South Korea, right?
I am currently feeling the scale of that continent.
If my memory is correct, I've been moving using lightness skill for two weeks, but I still haven't left Hubei.
I didn't use all my internal energy just in case, but still, this is too big.
In martial arts novels, they just 'poof' and travel between provinces in a few days, so why am I stuck walking?
"That aside, where am I right now."
Since I've been traveling alone for two weeks and my mouth was getting bored, I started talking to myself occasionally and unfolded the map.
If I don't periodically check my location and the map's location, it's easy to get lost.
I'm not joking, even though I moved along the road, in two weeks, 3 villages, 1 city, and 2 merchant groups were all I saw.
The map is crude, so if I deviate even a little, things get serious.
Let's see, my location is slightly below the center based on Hubei.
And... although I have to go a bit out of the way, there is a large city called Wuchang about a day's distance away.
Hmm~ A large city, huh~
I've been traveling too boringly, so should I rest properly in Wuchang and go?
At first, I liked this quietness, but since it's been a while, I started to miss the noise of people living.
Alright, decided.
Is it that I don't have money, or what?
I'll rest well in Wuchang, go a bit further down, and take the Yangtze River to Hunan.
The only money I've spent so far is on the meal with that bastard, Yeon I-gang, and buying travel rations, so it's fine to splurge a little.
If I feel short, I can just eat the internal energy destined encounter, get stronger, and easily earn money with some ronin work.
Alright. Then let's run.
The one-day distance I mentioned earlier is at a normal person's speed, but at my speed as a Murim person, it's only a matter of a few hours.
I turned toward Wuchang and ran quickly, using lightness skill.
Whenever I see it, I think it was really a good idea to learn this lightness skill.
It means I can travel anywhere I want without a car.
How much did I run? A road that branched off in a crossroad style to join another path, and a small forest blocking my view came into sight.
And judging by the small city wall visible behind the small forest, the direction was correct.
Let's just go diagonally through the forest.
If I follow the road, it seems like it would take more time.
I went straight into the small forest and moved forward unconditionally.
Since it's close to a large city, I can see traces of logging here and there.
There aren't many trees to get in the way, so it's easy to move.......
"Kyaaaaak!!"
Huh? What is it? Why is a woman screaming?
It sounds like it's coming from deep inside, very far from the road?
A woman's scream echoing in the mountains obviously means something was attacked.
Geez, as if I'd get involved in such a dangerous situation, even if I am starved for women?
That's right.
That is correct.
You've found the right person.
A woman's scream!
Obviously, if I save her, a flag will be planted with a new female character!
Danger? If I can have sex with a beauty, I can endure it enough!
I'll just save her first, and if it's not really my thing, I can just get a reward and remove the flag!
I erased my presence and moved quietly and quickly in the direction where the woman's scream was heard.
"Ugh... ughhh......."
"Gaga!"
Eun So-hye shed tears at the long, diagonal wound on the body of Kang Cheon-ung, who had been protecting her.
It was a serious injury at a glance, so Kang Cheon-ung had lost consciousness, and Eun So-hye was busy checking his condition while hugging his body.
"Tsk. A little brat is being annoying."
"Don't play around and do it quickly. We don't have time."
"Hehehe. To be able to hold a future divine physician, sometimes I really love this kind of work."
The four men approached Eun So-hye, harboring strong lust toward her.
"Wh...what is your identity!? Why are you......!"
"Go ask heaven about that. Ah, before that, we'll send you to paradise. Keuhahaha!"
"Ah...ahhh......."
Eun So-hye despaired at the sight of them clearly trying to trample and rape her.
To be precise, she was despairing over something else rather than them lusting after her body.
It doesn't matter if she is brutally ravished by them like this.
However, if that happens, the person she loves will also die.
"Sob... I'm sorry... Gaga....... Because I insisted on something useless......."
If she hadn't insisted on coming here, this wouldn't have happened.
Eun So-hye sobbed in despair, but the four men who attacked her felt even stronger lust at her appearance.
Through her hair, which was neatly tied up to keep it from hanging down, her white nape was seductively revealed, and her appearance was outstanding, enough to be in the top tier among beauties.
On top of that, hugging Kang Cheon-ung, who had been injured while protecting her, one could feel an atmosphere of pure, white innocence, along with benevolence and something similar to maternal love for caring for another person.
The curves of her body, faintly felt through her clothes, also exuded the scent of a woman.
The moment one man, unable to hold back his lust any longer, tried to tear Eun So-hye's clothes,
Swish--!
An arrow aimed at the attacker's head was shot threateningly.
"Kuk! Who is it!"
The attacker, who had dodged a beat late because he was blinded by lust, vented his anger at the sense of crisis that he almost had his head pierced.
The most important thing in this job is that there should be no witnesses.
Therefore, the attackers ignored Eun So-hye, whom they could deal with at any time, and unleashed killing intent in the direction the arrow came from.
"What do you mean who. It's a passing Guardian."
Click!
What appeared from beyond the forest was Jincheon, who had put internal energy into his handcuffs.
"Guardian?"
"Yeah. A guardian of beauties. The most unnecessary beings in this world are men other than me, and the most important beings are beauties. The most useless beings are trying to ravish the most necessary beings, so shouldn't this body, the Guardian, step up?"
"......."
"......."
The attackers looked at each other's eyes and thought the same thing at the same time.
'Is he a crazy bastard?'
"It worked out well anyway. I needed an opponent to digest the experience I gained thanks to that guy."
Jincheon flicked his hand toward the attackers as if calling a puppy.
"Masters are supposed to yield to beginners, right? I'll yield, so come here. Coochie coochie coo."
"What?"
They didn't know much else, but they were sure of this one thing.
That the strange nonsense Jincheon had been spouting toward them since earlier was not sincere, but a prank born from composure.