Chapter 8
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: One Geun Lighter
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The effects of the swimming pool were truly enough to bring tears to one's eyes.
On the second day of training that looked like mere flailing to others.
“Y-Young Master! One notch down. It's down one notch!”
“……!”
Tears welled up in Yu Hyun's eyes at Guard Huang's shout.
Finally, there was a change on that damned scale. His efforts hadn't been in vain.
A whole geun!
It might not seem like much, a tiny amount, but it was the first time. The first real weight loss.
When he walked, his knees felt just a tiny bit less achy... that kind of subtle sensation.
“Young Master!”
“Guard Huang!”
Unable to contain his joy, Yu Hyun rolled off the scale and hugged Guard Huang tightly.
“Sniff, sniff. It's all thanks to you. Thanks to you watching over me.”
“…….”
Expressing his heartfelt gratitude, Yu Hyun squeezed Guard Huang even harder.
“If it weren't for you... But why so quiet? Say something.”
“……Mmph, mmph.”
“…….”
His joy had been a bit excessive.
Looking down, he saw Guard Huang struggling for breath, buried in his chest.
He eased his grip slightly, and Guard Huang leaped back with a flushed face, gasping for air.
“Huff, huff... I nearly died.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Yu Hyun scratched his head sheepishly.
“No, Young Master. How could we not be happy seeing you lose weight like this?”
“Exactly. I'm thrilled.”
“I'd love to throw a feast.”
“Of course. I can't keep this joy to myself. I should tell Father right away...”
Yu Hyun, who had been spilling words with the expression of owning the world, suddenly trailed off and shook his head.
“Forget the feast.”
“Yes? Why? It's the Yu Clan Manor's tradition to hold a feast for joyous occasions and share the happiness with everyone.”
“…….”
Tradition be damned. Even if they held one, he absolutely wouldn't attend.
The sight of lavish food would make this body lose all reason and gorge itself.
He was already shedding bloody tears from gaining weight just from drinking water, and had halved his meals.
Just one tray.
Namsan Housewife, who handled all the kitchen duties at Hwiam Hall, fussed every time about whether something was wrong with his health or the food whenever he left a tray untouched, which was tiring, but he still had a long way to go.
He was just starting to adapt to the headaches and lethargy from hunger.
To lose weight, he needed to cut it to half a tray, or even just one bowl of rice.
The emptiness from one tray and the hellish pangs of hunger would multiply several times over—it was terrifying to think about, but necessary.
A feast? A feast?
Ha, he could already picture it from start to finish: flipping his eyes at every dish, stuffing himself, then wailing in despair the next day at two notches gained.
Better to drop dead right now than let that happen.
“Anyway, this is just the beginning.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Once the weight comes off, I won't tire so easily no matter how much I walk.”
“That's right. No more custom tailoring clothes, no more sewing burst seams every day, so Namsan Housewife will have less work too.”
“Yeah, she's worked hard.”
“Indeed. The palanquin bearers won't have to worry about their backs anymore.”
“They've had it tough. How heavy must it have been?”
“Exactly, Young Master. Chair costs will drop too. They kept breaking, making Ha the steward sigh.”
“Oh, right.”
“And that's not all. With less weight, fewer illnesses mean the clinic staff won't need those night shifts or whatever and can go home on time...”
“…….”
“They were griping to their wives about you, blood nearly pouring from my ears from all the complaints.”
“H-Haha. R-Really?”
As Guard Huang relentlessly listed the hardships of Hwiam Hall's staff, Yu Hyun's smile grew increasingly awkward.
It was clearly happy faces and praise...
So why did it feel...
“And your looks? The Patriarch or the missus are exceptional, aren't they? This is a secret, but there were rumors you'd gotten so fat they picked you up from somewhere—those will vanish now, right?”
“…….”
“Hm, but it's bad for those who got work from you.”
“…….”
“Custom clothes, chairs, desks, beds—everything you used was abnormal, wasn't it?”
“…….”
You're crossing the line, you bastard.
“Ah! And no more marriage proposals rejected for being fat...”
“......Haha, enough.”
“Enough? I'm in such a good mood! And all that time being fat...”
“…….”
“So fat...”
“…….”
“And fat...”
“Shut up.”
“Fa— Yes?”
“I said shut up.”
“…….”
Only then did Guard Huang snap his mouth shut at the chilling killing intent in Yu Hyun's eyes.
“Anyway, mark the scale so we can track how much it drops. I'm going to rest.”
“Yes, Young Master. Then I'll go check on other matters.”
Guard Huang nicked the scale's frame lightly and retreated like he was fleeing.
“Young Master losing weight. No more fat...”
“…….”
Still muttering tone-deaf nonsense.
Should I kill that bastard?
Yu Hyun ground his teeth, glaring at Guard Huang's retreating back, then suddenly relaxed his expression and nodded.
Well, what could he do?
From his memories, the original Yu Hyun had been a total menace rivaling Jin Wi-gang before his masters beat the personality out of him.
Arrogant, with nothing above him but the blanket, utterly lacking manners.
Surely plenty had built up while guarding him. Must've been exhausting pandering...
Fine, if trash-talking like that helped vent, let him. Getting insulted wouldn't make him gain weight, and once slim, a few punches would settle it.
Showing generous understanding, Yu Hyun shook his head and sat on the porch, gazing at the sky.
The sky was so refreshingly clear. Not a cloud in sight.
If only this damn flesh melted away like clouds in that clear, confident sky...
Anyway, good was good, but the next part was the issue.
Martial arts training was solved by the swimming pool. Weight was coming off...
The key was internal energy.
The Spirit Heart Core Method was made specifically for his unique situation.
But it differed from other techniques.
Normally, internal energy methods refined qi through circulation and increased quantity via breathing, step by step.
Reach a limit, gain insight, train more, repeat to the pinnacle.
Filling qi (充氣), manifesting it externally (現氣), projecting it (彈氣), imbuing intent to control (意氣), and the dream realm of absolute strength qi (罡氣).
Not absolute measures of skill, but most progressed through these stages: filling, manifesting, projecting, intent, strength.
But the Spirit Heart Core Method accumulated energy by forming a spirit core in the body instead of circulation—a pseudo inner core from spirit materials.
If others' path was an endless uphill trail through those stages, his was leaping up stairs at once.
So, one couldn't train spirit qi blindly. Must use spirit herbs or materials.
Stacking naturally would take a hundred—no, a thousand years to reach absolute-level spirit qi, even if fast.
Spirit beasts didn't hole up in deep mountains for centuries collecting spirit qi for nothing.
After forming the core in the heart, it gradually helped move the body more easily.
The initial amount was minuscule, so next came seeking spirit herbs or beasts.
But they weren't easy to find. Hence the saying "heaven's blessing."
No method? Wrong.
The needed spirit material was set: the ones the chaos demon devoured.
How perfect? Snag them first, block the demon's growth, perfect the Spirit Heart Core Method.
Time to leave soon.
In six months, the first announced spirit herb: Child Ginseng.
Resembling a child, it was a lesser version of the Humanoid Snow Ginseng on Heavenly Mountain.
If memories were accurate, found on Huangshan in Anhui Province.
Taking it advanced the Spirit Heart Core Method to the next stage.
Activating the heart's spirit qi: spirit completion (靈成).
Similar to the manifestation stage, but in his body trained in Righteous Six Saints' arts, it would surpass intent qi users.
Though enemy martial artists wouldn't even sense the spirit qi.
“Five months ahead... Sigh, anyway, it'd be nice to have some snack-level spirit qi before then. Then I could train on water soon...”
Efficiency difference.
One notch change felt like conquering the world, but still just one geun.
Compared to total fat, negligible, and even that only aided loss, not ideal for martial training.
Lifting heavy in water used far less force, less strain.
Needed to train out of water ASAP...
“Ask Father for spirit herbs? Stronger spirit qi could handle this weight.”
He built a pool on a whim for swimming—surely herbs were trivial?
“Alright. While I'm thinking...”
“Coming.”
“…….”
Just as he resolved, something thrust before him.
“Uncle?”
“Yeah. Drink.”
“……?”
Lost in thought, he hadn't noticed Jang Se-yong approach. He held a bowl of black liquid.
“This is?”
“Brewed some tonic.”
“T-Tonic?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
Yu Hyun blinked slowly at Jang Se-yong's words.
What? From the bowl—no, the liquid—something emanated.
Something like... spirit qi...
“You've been swimming nonstop lately, must be fatigued. Threw in some ten-year ha-su-o roots; it'll help recover.”
“U-Uncle!”
“Why are you acting up?”
As Yu Hyun lunged to hug, Jang Se-yong recoiled in disgust.
Ignoring that, Yu Hyun grinned and snatched the bowl.
Such timely tonic! What a brilliant quack—no, genius physician!
“There's Jeok-ok-chun here, so it might be bitter, but...”
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
Before Jang Se-yong could mention Jeok-ok-chun, the tonic vanished down Yu Hyun's thick throat.
“Kaaah!”
“...but bitter.”
“Kaaaaah!”
Bitter enough to kill.
Exactly as good for the body!
“Thank you, Uncle!”
“Huh? Uh...”
“Tonic down, so I'll nap now.”
“Huh? Not this?”
“You made such fine tonic—why mix in impurities?”
“...No, one Jeok-ok-chun won't cause impurities.”
Slam.
Door shut before words finished.
Jang Se-yong stood blankly on the empty porch, holding the Jeok-ok-chun, baffled.
“What're you doing alone, Imperial Physician?”
“Hm?”
Namsan Housewife passing by asked curiously.
“No, I...”
“Instead of idly opening Jeok-ok-chun, brew tonic for Young Master. His cheeks are sunken from cutting meals these days.”
“N-No, that's why I just made tonic...”
“Always trouble. How can no one care about Young Master... Tsk tsk.”
“H-Hey!”
She clicked her tongue rudely, ignoring his frantic call, and strode off.
Suddenly the heartless villain, Jang Se-yong seethed in injustice.
Whose cheeks sank?
And I wasn't slacking! Made tonic! This bowl full! Huh?
But what to do?
Whether Jeok-ok-chun or empty bowl, the drinker was already in his room, leaving him alone.
As Jang Se-yong huffed off to explain to Namsan Housewife, Yu Hyun entered his room, sat cross-legged, and circulated the Spirit Heart Core Method.
This damn household.
Ha-su-o, even ten-year ones.
Pool for swimming, now spirit-qi-rich ha-su-o tonic for spirit qi.
No time. Absorb before digestion.
Come, tonic.
I'll make every drop mine.
Sluuuuurp!