Chapter 1
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Earthshaking Steps
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Thud!
Boom!
"Ah, what is this noise?!"
Namsan Housewife, who had been carrying laundry, crouched down in shock as the ground suddenly began to tremble violently.
"Ah, it's nothing to worry about. Don't be scared—just go about your business."
"Nothing to worry about? The whole place is shaking like there's an earthquake...."
Even as Guard Huang tried to reassure her, Namsan Housewife lingered by the door, still uneasy. He let out a long sigh.
How many people was this now?
He had repeated the exact same words without changing a single one to calm them down.
"The Young Master is walking."
"Pardon?"
"......"
It might be fun if their reactions varied at least a little.
That same unchanging expression, that same gaze....
"Come on, that's ridiculous."
"......"
He didn't need to wave his hands and express utter disbelief with his whole body.... He already thought it sounded absurd himself as he said it.
"Uh.... You're not talking about someone else, right? Like Chunsim's daughter who just passed her first birthday...."
"No."
"Then it really is that.... glutton...."
"I'd like to warn you that one more syllable and it's blasphemy."
Guard Huang smiled at Namsan Housewife—who perfectly mirrored his own feelings—and kindly cautioned her.
Thud! Boom!
In the meantime, the monstrous vibrations and noise continued unabated.
"It's not like you're driving piles into the training ground.... How can just walking make that kind of racket?"
"He's walking with vigor."
"......"
Namsan Housewife and Guard Huang fell into solemn silence for a long moment.
Walking.
If it were a newborn baby taking its first steps, it would be cause for astonishment and joy enough to make one faint. But once that phase passed, what was so remarkable about it?
Yet their "Young Master"—the center of this conversation—was....
"Not even out of breath.... Oh my."
A man of seventeen years.
So why were they all making such a fuss?
Did their Young Master have some disability? Had he been unable to use his legs since birth?
Not quite, but it was something close.
"But why did he suddenly start walking?"
"Who knows? He just started yesterday."
"That's.... quite the bold decision."
"......"
"And it wasn't because of some major change in his state of mind, was it?"
"Well.... He did look a bit pale when he heard about rejecting the marriage proposal from the Nangong Clan recently."
"Well, anyone would reject—no, he absolutely should reject it. He's our Young Master, after all. But he was just surprised?"
As Namsan Housewife hurriedly suppressed her true feelings that nearly slipped out and asked, Guard Huang shook his head.
"The shock must have been immense. He started spouting complete nonsense I'd never heard before. Asked what year it is.... And he was especially startled by his own condition."
"Well, of course. He gets startled every time he looks in the mirror."
"......"
Guard Huang nodded at the offhand remark.
It happened often.
Sometimes he was so shocked by his own body that he fainted.
"Anyway, this is serious. The Young Master walking...."
"You're telling me. I'm watching him right now, but I have no idea what to do."
"Did you report it to the Grand Steward?"
"Not yet. We don't know how long it'll last."
"What about the Patriarch?"
"That would cause a huge uproar. Do you not know his temperament? I heard there was already a big fuss over the Nangong Clan's marriage alliance. The Grand Steward had a tough time mediating."
"True.... It was a betrothal from before he was even born, over forty years ago. But given the Young Master's condition...."
"That's blasphemous too, but I'll let it slide."
As Guard Huang let out a deep sigh, Namsan Housewife patted his shoulder sympathetically.
"Shouldn't we keep a closer eye? If something happens while he's like that, the Patriarch will throw a fit...."
"I'd love to, but the Young Master yelled at me so much.... I just peek in occasionally to check. I've ordered the attendants to stay on standby in his room at all times."
"Man, guarding him sure isn't easy."
"You're telling me...."
Under her sympathetic gaze, Guard Huang's shoulders slumped weakly.
"Sigh.... What's the point of slouching like that if you're supposed to handle big things? Cheer up! At least you've had it easy as his guard all this time thanks to the Young Master."
"Easy? My body was comfortable, sure. My heart's been rotting away for ages. Just a few days ago, he was choking in his sleep and gasping for air."
"Tsk tsk, is that anything new? Anyway, come down to the outer quarters once the Young Master finishes walking. Some fine meat came in for the Patriarch and Young Master's table. I'll snag a bottle of liquor and grill it up."
"Haa.... What's meat good for right now."
"Come anyway."
Even after Namsan Housewife patted his shoulder again and left, Guard Huang stood there dazed for a long while before cautiously cracking open the door to the training ground as if something had just occurred to him.
Through the narrow gap, he saw the spacious training ground paved with bluestone slabs and....
Thud! Thud!
Something walking diligently.
"......"
Something enormously huge, worryingly massive at first glance....
Thud! Crack!
"Th-that!"
Consecutive ominous sounds rang out, and soon the massive figure clutched its poorly controlled head and collapsed to a crouch. Guard Huang cried out in alarm.
"Y-Young Master!"
"You fucking idiot! I told you not to come in!"
"......"
Despite the sharp curse that didn't match his build, Guard Huang closed the door with a dejected gesture, his face full of concern once more.
* * *
"Goddamn it...."
The man who had snarled profanities at Guard Huang rose while stroking his head.
"Ugh...."
His tightly clenched lips and flushed red face didn't bode well.
He endured the pain as if his knee cartilage were shattering and barely managed to stand.
"Hoo.... Fuck, I almost thought I'd never get up again."
What kind of body was this?
Fed up with the absurd events of the past three days, he shook his head vigorously.
Or tried to.
"Wha—whoa! No!"
The moment he slightly turned his head, centrifugal force from his nape made the flesh around his body spiral like a helix.
Whirl! Spluuurt! Smack!
"Gaaah!"
He had let his guard down.
The vigorously spinning flesh wrapped around his body like dough stuck to a rolling pin and battered him, nearly throwing off his balance.
He barely held steady despite the stinging in his knees—otherwise, he would have toppled over. A true crisis.
"This fucking...."
Just stand up, right?
Only if he could.
He had no confidence in lifting this body with his own strength. No, no one could manage a body like this.
Fuming with rage once more, the man carefully examined his body by moving his head as cautiously as possible.
Flesh here....
Flesh there....
At this point, he was the King of Flesh. Not the King of Assassins, but the King of Blubber.
Even that seemed normal to others, but the reason for his explosive fury lay elsewhere.
Three days ago.
The man named Jin Wi-gang awoke in a fairly luxurious bedchamber.
The unfamiliar sight didn't surprise him.
It meant the grand ritual had succeeded.
Countless people had sacrificed for this one goal.
The inner energy of six people hailed as the strongest of their era had been expended just to activate a single formation, and for its core, six sects had scraped together every last scrap of their spirit stones.
Not a single grain of rice left—utterly scraped clean....
The purpose was singular.
To return to the past and avert the calamity to come.
Upon opening his eyes, he immediately asked the current era and was overcome with emotion upon confirming he had reached his target time.
Finally, finally free from those vile masters of his.
He was so elated....
Now he just needed to absorb the spirit beasts and herbs from his memories and relearn the martial arts he remembered.
The calamity?
Of course he planned to stop it.
His masters had turned him from a worthless wretch into a man; it was only right to repay that much.
But not in the way they wanted.
He would do it his way—Jin Wi-gang's way, once called the "Harmonious County's Utter Scoundrel."
Now, with this new body, he just needed to make a run for it....
But he couldn't move.
At first, he couldn't even turn his head, so he thought he'd possessed some invalid's body.
Whatever—it didn't matter.
Returning to the past was like drawing a lottery; he knew he might end up in anyone's body, but as long as it wasn't one about to cough up blood and die, he was confident he could overcome it.
But his complacency shattered the instant he glimpsed his new body in the bedside mirror.
"....A p-pig?"
It barely retained a human shape—otherwise, it was a total beast!
Why?!
How was he supposed to escape like this? He couldn't even walk!
And the breakfast tray the maid brought in was even more outrageous.
A banquet fit for ten grown men—two of them!
He couldn't fathom how it all fit in a human stomach.
Yet....
He devoured it all.
Without lifting a finger, through the maid's hands, not leaving a single grain of rice behind.
The problem was that he was still starving afterward.
Groooan....
On the second day, a procession of physicians entered to check his bedsores.
What luxury.
Five of them mobilized just to examine one patient.
How wealthy was this guy? The man rolled his eyes, gauging their movements, until he realized the truth and fell into despair.
One was the actual physician—an old man—and the other four were mere assistants....
Fuck, no wonder they all looked so burly.
The man's entire body trembled.
This wouldn't do. He'd end up buried in his own fat and die.
Why had he endured that hellish training to come back to the past...?
Why had he held back from killing those damn masters who tormented him relentlessly...?
Resolved, the man somehow dragged himself to the training ground.
Everyone, physicians included, made a huge fuss as if the sky were falling and tried to stop him, but with his crisis sense at a fever pitch, he didn't hear a word.
The looks of shock when he finally took his first step....
And it was only one step.
The sensation of his knee shattering prevented a second.
Heartbreaking, yet those around him showered him with praise and celebration.
Goddamn it. Why, why was he treated like this...!
But would he give up?
Swallowing his humiliation, on the third day he lifted his foot again.
Perhaps from always eating well, his bones were sturdy; each step sent excruciating shocks through him, but he endured.
Thus, the man began learning to walk in this unfamiliar body.
At first, it was like shifting a mountain, but soon he grasped how to direct the flapping flesh with minimal movement.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—and he'd managed ten. Halfway there already, practically.
Compared to when he couldn't even take one at the start, it was tremendous progress.
So gratifying that....
"......"
Fuck that—quit feeling proud, you idiot!
Harshly rebuking himself for adapting so quickly, the man took five more careful steps.
Walking was somewhat familiar now; next, he needed to train running.
One step at a time—how long would that take?
If his body was like this, he'd adapt his training methods accordingly.
He wasn't unfit because he skipped exercise; if he trained hard, the fat would melt away.
"Huup!"
Eyes gleaming with iron will, he inhaled deeply, chest swelling.
Observing the flesh reacting to the slightest motion, he entrusted his body to its flow.
If he had to move with this flesh anyway, he'd use the flesh itself for training!
Ruuuumble!
He lifted his foot high, then slammed it down with a powerful stomp. The bluestone slabs of the training ground bucked and popped up individually.
And the flesh enveloping his entire body cascaded toward the ground.
Here.
The moment the flesh reached the peak of its elastic rebound....
"Hah!"
His bent knee exploded upward from the ground.
Shuuuush!
It....
"Hngh!"
The sagging flesh hit its apex and then bounced upward like rubber balls from the surging force. Several times faster than its downward speed....
And then, unanticipated agony struck.
Splat!
The fat on his back and nape surged a short distance and smashed into the back of his head.
Th-this little shit—he truly hadn't seen it coming.
Even if internal enemies were the scariest, who expected an ambush from his own flesh?
He blacked out from the impact, floated briefly amid the rising and falling flesh, then crashed powerfully to the ground.
Rooooomble!
A vibration on an entirely different level shook the training ground.
"Y-Young Maaaster!"
Tweet!
In a panic, Guard Huang blew his whistle to signal the physicians of the emergency and rushed in.
To save the man who had returned to save the martial world, only to face death buried in his own flesh....