Chapter 237: His Time with the Women-2
Chapter 237: His Time with the Women-2
Southern Gokjeong, Yunnan Province. The Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads.
The martial artists of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads, no longer under constant threat to their lives now that the demons had noticeably diminished, had recently been faced with a different kind of danger.
"Can't you do it properly?! Are you planning to swing your weapons around like that and go to your graves filled with regret?!"
"No, sir!"
"Swing your respective weapons with full force! One thousand repetitions — begin!"
"Executing!"
The members of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads, who had already swung their respective weapons thousands of times, moved their bodies — which felt on the verge of tearing apart — and began swinging their weapons once more.
The words rose all the way to their throats — that training so brutishly like this might send them to the afterlife before they ever even met the enemy — but no one could actually voice them aloud.
Because today's training instructor was Dok Su-gwang, the squad leader of the Fifth Squad, famous for his filthy temper and even more notorious for his vicious grudges.
The martial artists had already learned well through repeated training that silently enduring without a word was the only way to reduce their training load.
At that moment, one martial artist who had been grinding his teeth while keeping up with the training suddenly whispered to the martial artist right beside him.
"Haah, haah, tomorrow, who's, the instructor? Haah, haah."
Then the martial artist beside him, who was likewise on the verge of collapsing, answered.
"Heuk! Heuk! Tomorrow, it's, Dang Yeoeun, Squad Leader Dang, haah, haah!"
That fact was tremendous welcome news for the male members.
Because Dang Yeoeun, who nowadays was even being called the Greatest Beauty of Yunnan, was like a goddess to the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads — and there was practically not a single male martial artist among the members who did not like her.
...At least, that was how it had been until recently.
But at this very moment, the martial artist who had heard Dang Yeoeun's name forgot even his panting and muttered with a despairing face.
"No.... After the Viper comes the Ice Witch — I'm going to desert."
"Endure it. Haah, haah, if you desert, haah, haah, and get caught, haah, haah, you might end up, training together with, that Ice Witch, right beside her. Haah, haah."
"Urgh! Absolutely not!"
That was how it was.
After recently beginning joint training, the members of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads had come to perceive Dang Yeoeun not as an object of affection, but as an object of terror.
And the reason was entirely because her training was far too ruthlessly harsh.
She was an instructor who was harsh toward others and far, far harsher toward herself.
So to those who raised complaints about her brutal training, she would grant the opportunity to train alongside herself — and those who experienced that even once would convulse at the mere sight of Dang Yeoeun's face thereafter.
These days, a saying had even begun circulating among the martial artists of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads.
'Rather than train like Squad Leader Dang Yeoeun, it might be an easier life to simply let the enemy kill you.'
That was what they said.
Come to think of it, the very person who had first proposed joint training for the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' martial artists was none other than Dang Yeoeun.
Though the demons' numbers had dwindled, an attack had already come from Jegal Ji-gang's subordinates just as Seonwoo Jin had foretold — and remembering his words that in the worst case, Jegal Ji-gang might even ask the Blood Cult to strike, she had strongly proposed joint training for the members at the squad leaders' meeting.
'The decrease in the demons' numbers does not necessarily signify the Blood Cult's decline. It may rather be a harbinger of an even greater threat to come. Therefore, we must utilize this respite we have now to prepare for the threats that may approach in the future!'
This was nothing short of an astonishing transformation.
Because it meant that she — who had always passively accepted life and, even as a squad leader, had done only what was assigned to her — had now begun actively throwing herself into the operations of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads.
She had always been a person of no small influence.
She was a direct descendant of the Sichuan Tang Family, and she was a peak-level master acknowledged as the third-greatest among the young talents of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads.
But now that such a woman had even become the adopted granddaughter of White Crane Old Sword Yang Moon-heon and had begun taking a genuine interest in the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' operations, her influence had become by no means small even when compared to Grand Master Pung Yang of the Thirteen Great Lords.
Yet Dang Yeoeun attached no meaning to any of those things.
She simply, as always, split her time and devoted herself to training to the very limit.
And that was the same at this moment as well.
Whiririririk!
From Dang Yeoeun's sword, which billowed like a celestial maiden dancing, crimson energetic force was spreading outward like a vision.
It was a sight as if a red lunar halo were billowing outward and consuming the entire world.
"Ooooh!"
Je Un Swordmaster Byeok Ri-jung, who had been watching that sight, involuntarily let out a gasp of admiration.
Because White Crane Old Sword Yang Moon-heon's White Crane Sword Technique was being perfectly unfurled from her hand.
No — in some respects, it appeared even more mysterious and beautiful than when Yang Moon-heon himself performed it.
Byeok Ri-jung suddenly felt his chest grow tight with emotion.
How much worry had he alone endured because of his sworn elder brother, who had always been so leisurely and never shown any interest in raising a successor?
And yet, through some connection of fate, he had come to raise such a splendid successor — as Yang Moon-heon's sworn younger brother, it was nothing short of a deeply moving event.
But unlike the deeply moved Byeok Ri-jung, Dang Yeoeun remained utterly unsatisfied with her own sword.
Because her adoptive grandfather Yang Moon-heon was blocking her White Crane Sword Technique — unfurled from the state of the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance's third form, Hyeonmangwol — far too simply.
Chaeng! Jjaeng! Chaeng! Chaeng!
Against Yang Moon-heon's lightly swung sword, the crimson energetic force Dang Yeoeun had unfurled was shattering into pieces like breaking glass.
What was more, he was parrying her sword while appearing leisurely enough to even speak.
"Hehehe! Your energetic force is so red that the White Crane Sword Technique you perform ought properly to be called the Red Crane Sword Technique, not White Crane."
Dang Yeoeun gritted her teeth.
She knew better than anyone that her adoptive grandfather was one of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World and had recently advanced even further beyond that.
But even so, she simply could not accept this powerless image of herself.
She had to become strong as quickly as possible.
To become strength for the man she loved.
So that she would never again have to send him off alone and remain behind to wait.
But contrary to her desperate heart, every trace of the crimson energetic force she unfurled faded away futilely.
And before she knew it, Yang Moon-heon's sword was resting before Dang Yeoeun's throat.
"Haaa."
To the woman letting out a sigh with despondent eyes, Yang Moon-heon spoke with a hearty laugh.
"Yeoeun, a wall is meant to be leaped over. If you push against it by force, will it break? When intensity grows excessive, impatience inevitably follows — so your body must do its utmost while your heart must always hold room for ease."
It was the moment she heard those words.
Dang Yeoeun suddenly felt as if the back of her head had been struck by a blunt weapon — her eyes flew wide open.
Because that single sentence had allowed her to look back upon the state she had been in all this time.
That was it.
She had been not intense, but impatient.
Even while knowing full well how grave a mistake that was for a martial artist.
It was nothing short of a massive blunder.
Moreover, the sword technique she was performing was none other than the White Crane Sword Technique.
The White Crane Sword Technique, which required one to unfurl the sword's opening movements with a heart as light and soft as if dancing.
She had performed such a sword technique while carrying impatience in her heart — there was no way the opening movements could have carried any power.
Dang Yeoeun thought.
'To perform the White Crane Sword Technique, my heart must be a bit more....'
She suddenly called up memories of the past.
Memories that made her feel at ease and free....
Most of them were memories that included the figure of Seonwoo Jin.
Memories of being freed from the strange people called the Blue-Red Dual Swords together with Seonwoo Jin, casting off all the molds the world had forced upon her and striding about freely; memories of learning the Moonlight Illusion Sword Dance at Gwanggeom's tomb while laughing and talking together; and even the memory of being held in his arms and sharing a kiss.
Though Dang Yeoeun herself did not realize it, as she recalled those memories, her eyes were naturally closing.
And a soft smile rose to her lips.
At that, a satisfied smile also graced the lips of White Crane Old Sword Yang Moon-heon, who had been watching her.
He had been waiting until Dang Yeoeun's impatience reached its extreme to deliver those words, and it seemed that waiting had indeed been effective.
For was the shocked Dang Yeoeun not now entering a state of selflessness like that?
And a moment later, Dang Yeoeun's sword slowly rose with her eyes still closed, then began to billow and dance once more.
It had been beautiful before, but now her sword dance was indescribably beautiful, as if a celestial maiden descended from heaven were dancing.
Noticing that her White Crane Sword Technique had changed yet again from just moments before, Byeok Ri-jung called out to Yang Moon-heon with startled eyes.
"Brother!"
Then Yang Moon-heon nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Yes, Yeoeun has leaped over yet another wall."
Even without being beside Seonwoo Jin.
Even without going to Gwanggeom's tomb, Dang Yeoeun's growth was continuing even now.
***
Son Eun-sang — the Lust Demon, one of the Four Demons of the World, the absolute beings of this era, and the idol whom Hawondalgi Yeon Tae-jin looked up to — was at this moment following the instructions of Saengsagoe-ui Ma Jong-hwan, dressed in pure white robes with a refined and graceful appearance.
Ma Jong-hwan spoke, sweat beading on his brow.
"Spread it a little more."
Then Son Eun-sang carefully spread the opening with both her hands.
Ma Jong-hwan glared intently at that spot and spoke to Son Eun-sang.
"I will now extract it. You must absolutely continue to maintain this state."
Then Son Eun-sang, who was already concentrating to the utmost on his instructions, could not bring herself to open her mouth and merely nodded slightly to indicate that she understood his words.
Then Ma Jong-hwan swallowed hard and slowly began to pull out the sword embedded in the patient's chest.
Even for him, whom people called Saengsagoe-ui, this was his first time performing such a procedure, so he could not help but be tense.
A person still alive despite a sword piercing their heart — had he not seen it with his own eyes, even he would not have believed it.
"A little more, just a little more... done!"
Ma Jong-hwan finally held up the extracted sword and let out a sigh of relief.
But unlike him, Son Eun-sang still could not open her mouth.
Because she was using her immense internal energy to completely stanch the patient's bleeding.
It was not merely blocking the flow of blood — she also had to continuously preserve the vital energy the patient was maintaining, so this was a task of such delicate yet brute-force difficulty that had she not been a supreme master of her caliber, it could never have even been attempted.
Watching Son Eun-sang, who was silently focusing solely on maintaining the patient's condition, Ma Jong-hwan suddenly smiled warmly.
And he spoke to her.
"Endure just a little longer. I will be as quick as possible."
Then Son Eun-sang flashed a bright smile toward him.
It was nothing short of an exceedingly beautiful smile.
Ma Jong-hwan poured his heart and soul into beginning to suture, starting from the heart on the inside.
The fact that there was no bleeding despite the heart being pierced through — a sense of wonder welled up anew at Son Eun-sang's ability to maintain the patient's condition.
And a slightly different kind of feeling as well....
Ma Jong-hwan struggled to control his gaze, which kept trying to drift toward Son Eun-sang's face, and began focusing on the patient once more.
That the patient could still be alive at this point was truly nothing short of tremendous heavenly fortune.
If this patient had not been a supreme master, and had not used the Ghost Breath Great Art before being stabbed by the sword, and if the one who stabbed him had not lacked the intent to kill — then it would have been absolutely impossible.
Thus, the situation Ma Jong-hwan surmised was as follows.
'The one who stabbed him must have told him in advance. That he would pierce his heart, but through the mystery of the Living Sword Technique, he would coat the heart with an energy membrane. So if he wished to live, he was to use the Ghost Breath Great Art beforehand to bring his body to a deathlike state. It must have been a statement with almost no credibility, but for this man, he would have been in a situation where he had no choice but to listen to that absurd claim.'
And the patient's luck did not end there.
Had Ma Jong-hwan not rushed over immediately after receiving the letter from his son Ma Maeng-un, and had he not been able to increase his speed with the help of Son Eun-sang, who had returned at just the right time — he could never have arrived in time.
Had that been the case, the single strand of vital energy that this patient was maintaining would have already dissipated completely.
The conclusion was that all those circumstances had aligned at the proper time, making it possible to save this man.
Of course, one could not overlook Ma Jong-hwan's own efforts in steadily supplementing the patient's energy with acupuncture and restorative medicine to amplify his vitality enough for the sword to be extracted, nor the efforts of Son Eun-sang, who had poured in her immense internal energy to continuously keep the patient circulating his qi when that alone proved insufficient.
A short while later, having at last completed suturing the heart, the chest, and even the back, Ma Jong-hwan took a deep breath and spoke.
"Huuu! It is done now, Eun-sang. Slowly — very slowly — begin restoring this man's blood circulation."
By now, Ma Jong-hwan and Son Eun-sang had done everything they possibly could.
All that remained was to hope that heavenly fortune remained on this man's side.
Ma Jong-hwan and Son Eun-sang, who had grown noticeably closer while treating the patient, clasped each other's hands tightly and began watching the patient's condition with tense eyes.