Chapter 118
Chapter 118
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 118
Chapter Title: Someday All Imagined Things Will Come True
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Someday everything you imagine will come true. You can bet on it.
The two opened their eyes almost simultaneously.
They were still naked. In fact, they had passed out just before dawn, so there hadn't been time to put their clothes back on.
Their gazes met.
"I never realized your eyes were pitch black."
"Aren't everyone's black?"
"No. People say black eyes, but up close, they're closer to brown."
"So mine are black?"
"Completely black."
"Hmm! I didn't know."
"It's fine."
"Not 'it's fine'—you should say 'they're pretty.'"
"It's fine."
"...Feels awkward, huh?"
"A little."
"If you don't read into it, there's no need to feel awkward. A young man and woman spent a passionate night together—that's all. Truth be told, last night I just wanted to hold someone. Even if it had been someone other than you, it would've been the same."
"That stings a bit."
"But still, I'm glad."
"About what?"
"That it was you."
"Giving me medicine after the poison?"
"Yeah. But that Transparent Silk Thread thing must really be good for men."
"I wouldn't know."
"Did you know you nearly killed me?"
"Why?"
"Because it was tough."
"That tough?"
"Yeah."
"Don't hold back."
"It was... I wanted to kill you because it was so tough, but I didn't want to stop."
"What are you saying?"
"You'll understand when you're older."
"I'm older than you."
"How old?"
"Thirty-three."
"Two years younger than me, punk."
Actually, he was thirty-two, but he lied.
"You're really thirty-five?"
"That's what I said."
"Should I call you big sis?"
"No. I like it when you call me Yopung, like now."
"Then Yopung it is."
"Black Wind, have you ever once in your life set everything aside and truly rested?"
"Well..."
Ak Muyoo directed his gaze to the ceiling.
"You haven't, have you?"
"I've always felt like I've been chased by time."
That was true. He split his time, then split it again to get things done. And yet, time was always short. He wished a day had twelve double-hours instead of twenty-four... no, forty-eight.
Lying on his side or resting was out of the question. He always thought that was reserved for those with dantians, the ones whose internal energy grew just by breathing—guys born with insane luck.
To catch up to them, he had no choice but to keep pushing without rest.
In the end, it hadn't worked.
"I figured. That's why this big sis suggested staying over to let you rest."
"So we keep resting?"
"Those guys need time to cultivate their arts anyway. Might as well rest while we're down—why not? And thanks to you, I've gotten to soak in some memories too."
"Sure, why not."
Ak Muyoo nodded. Truth be told, his decision to rest wasn't for himself—it was for Yopung.
"But what do we do?"
Ak Muyoo asked.
"What do you think a young man and woman lying in the same bed should do?"
"..."
"Just trust this big sis."
Yopung smiled faintly and climbed on top of Ak Muyoo, lying down on him. They stayed like that, unmoving.
"How about holding me a bit?"
"Wrap my arms around you?"
"Stroking my back would be even better."
Ak Muyoo stroked Yopung's back. It was soft like starch, smooth like oiled skin.
"Your palms are like tree bark."
Ak Muyoo's hand, heading downward, paused.
"It feels cool and nice, so keep going."
Ak Muyoo's hand resumed its play. Past the dip of her waist to her hips. Yopung's eyes trembled faintly. She tensed her toes and pressed her lips to his.
When hungry, they filled their bellies with rations from the camel. When thirsty, they drank water from the underground spring and strolled the desert.
It was perfect rest, a first for both Ak Muyoo and Yopung. They didn't think about martial arts or their current situation. They just rolled around, savoring the endless leisure of the vast desert.
Then they lay down in the sand.
"Where did you live before coming here?"
Lying in the desert, gazing at the sky, he asked.
"Hungkyung Prefecture."
"Where's that?"
"It's the old name for Eunchun, east of the Haran Mountains."
"Haran Mountains..."
"Keep going east from here, and you'll hit a mountain range running north-south. That's the Haran Mountains, and the Yellow River flows north along its eastern side."
"There's a Yellow River there too?"
"Yeah."
"Then where does it go after flowing north?"
"Two thousand li north, you hit the Yinshan Mountains running east-west along the southern edge of the Gobi Desert."
"Blocked there, huh?"
"Yeah. So it flows east a thousand li, then meets the Yeoryang Mountains and heads south."
"Toward the Central Plains, right?"
"Exactly."
"Surrounded by the Yellow River on three sides?"
"They call that place the Ordos Plateau. Unlike the desert, it's fertile. Well, compared to the desert, that is. Next to the rich Central Plains soil, it's nothing. Anyway, that's why foreign tribes have coveted it since ancient times. Western Xia was one of them."
"Is that the base of the Great Desert Wolf Heaven?"
"No. Great Desert Wolf Heaven is at Nangsan, on the western end of the Yinshan Mountains."
"I see."
"Shall we walk again?"
"Sure."
The two strolled around.
"Funny."
After walking awhile, Ak Muyoo chuckled.
"What?"
"Martial arts."
"Which one?"
"Mad Thousand Blood Steps."
"Was that footwork you used while running the other day the Mad Thousand Blood Steps?"
"Yeah."
"What's it like?"
"It's Geopcheon's art."
"That Geopcheon from the Absolute Six Heavens?"
"Yeah."
"You got their arts too?"
"Geopcheon's lord, Ma Cheon, came to the desert to eliminate Tai Gwangmu, the lord of Taiyangcheon."
"They fought?"
"Three of them fought."
"Who was the third?"
"Ma Cheon's wife."
"What happened?"
"How would I know? I wasn't there."
"Probably left records."
"Not detailed, but they all died separately."
"Geopcheon's lord didn't return to the Central Plains either, huh?"
"Nope."
"You got the arts he left behind?"
"Yeah. This on my wrist is Geomma."
"I see. But why?"
"I suddenly thought the Mad Thousand Blood Steps might be my dantian."
"You're saying your martial art is your dantian now?"
Yopung recalled the scene she'd seen recently. Ak Muyoo had definitely used the Snowstep No-Trace Divine Method. Perhaps that Snowstep No-Trace Divine Method was connected to this so-called dantian he mentioned.
"Not certain. But when I use Mad Thousand Blood Steps, new power surges, and it feels like I'm drawing on some of it."
"From the start?"
"No. Not before. Lately, I've been feeling it bit by bit."
"So you've built up this much, but you're not using much of it?"
"Not sure about that either."
"Not certain, but changes are happening in your body? Good ones."
"Can't tell if good or bad."
"It's good. But why'd you think that all of a sudden?"
"When I emptied my mind completely, Mad Thousand Blood Steps rushed in. I kept deploying it in my head..."
"And used Snowstep No-Trace Divine Method, poured out qi streams, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"Big sis knows everything."
"Funny."
"Someday everything you imagine will come true. You can bet on it."
Yopung decided not to mention that she'd seen him use Snowstep No-Trace Divine Method. To her, Ak Muyoo seemed to be at a crucial moment. If he learned of the changes in his body now, he might obsess, and the realization could slip away. It was a rare case where the body understood before the mind, but until he fully made that realization his own, it was better he didn't know.
"Big sis material?"
"Feel well-rested?"
"Yeah."
"Walk again?"
"Sure."
They got up and walked the desert. The zabjong quietly followed behind them. Darkness gradually rolled in from the east, filling the sky layer by layer.
The temperature dropped little by little.
Even without thinking, the brain didn't rest. It created on its own. It organized the formulas of arts he'd only learned without review, merged what could be merged, discarded what couldn't. Stars began adorning the sky one by one. The jewel-like stars soon filled the heavens as if about to pour down.
"Look."
Yopung pointed at the sky.
A shooting star trailed a long, glowing tail westward.
"Rest in peace. And please grant my wish."
Yopung clasped her hands.
"Why suddenly?"
"They say a falling star means someone's heading to the afterlife."
"And that one grants wishes too?"
"Yeah."
"What'd you wish for?"
"If I tell, it won't come true."
"Makes me more curious."
"Let's go eat."
"...Yeah."
The two headed back to their shelter.
The meal was the same as breakfast: jerky and grain porridge. While Yopung prepared the food, Ak Muyoo fetched water—for morning use.
After eating, they went down to the spring to wash off the sand clinging to their bodies. They scrubbed each other's backs and returned to the cave home. They shook out the windbreaker cloth and swept the sand from the floor.
They spread the windbreaker over the leveled sand.
"Take off your clothes and get in."
"Everything?"
"Can't have sand falling from clothes."
"Better that way."
They stripped, set their clothes aside, and slipped between the windbreakers. Ak Muyoo pushed the night pearl from beside his head under the windbreaker.
Perfect darkness descended.
In the dark, they lay straight, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
"Emptying fills you up—guess that's true."
Yopung said.
"About the mind?"
"Yeah."
"Made progress, huh?"
"Think I got sword gang."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"Can't explain. Suddenly felt like I could."
"Good."
"I can use White Wolf Heaven-Earth Shattering too."
"Nice."
"Funny, right?"
"What?"
"All I did was sleep with you..."
"Not from sleeping with me—from emptying, so it filled."
"Either way, it's thanks to you. Alone, I wouldn't have thought to empty my mind—I'd have cried all day. You gave me mental leeway, let me clear my head."
"Can I puff out my chest a bit?"
"Just say the word. I'll do anything."
"Even empty words feel good."
Ak Muyoo smiled brightly.
Clang! Clang clang! Clang clang clang!
Suddenly, the sound of weapons clashing rang out.