Stranded (3)
In the remote mountains of the murim world, there are things called spirit beasts.
Small critters like foxes or snakes, if they get lucky and live long enough, accumulate a strange energy. It's a state very similar to that of a martial artist who's learned inner arts.
In other words, spirit beasts are basically animals that have learned martial arts.
One of the comments Namgoong Juhee saw back home in her clan's territory went something like this: no matter what, a spirit beast is still just a dumb animal. Easy to hunt, and they carry treasures like inner cores inside, so aren't they just shiny golden goblins?
But that's wrong thinking.
Bears are stronger than humans to begin with. The saying that a bear can rip a person apart isn't just talk.
Martial artists are stronger than bears. Because they've cultivated martial arts to reach realms beyond ordinary humans.
So what about a bear that's cultivated martial arts?
If a bear is already stronger than a human, then a bear that's cultivated martial arts should naturally be stronger than one too.
KUOOORRRR!
The bear roared.
This bear, having lived for centuries within the formation, was the strongest spirit beast inside it.
"Dang Sojeo."
"Yeah."
"Get in the trench."
"You?"
"Gotta get the hide. Leave the pest control to me."
Dang Hwaeun couldn't move her feet easily.
She knew better than anyone that Namgoong Juhee's condition wasn't normal.
She'd secretly seen her coughing up blood yesterday.
While building the shelter, her eyebrows had twitched nonstop.
When she'd checked her pulse while she slept, it was a sight to behold.
She was practically a walking corpse.
"You okay?"
"Why the sudden fuss? Not like you. Got a crush or something?"
"Worrying about me and you bitch about it. Fine! Die to the bear for all I care."
"If I die, you die too, Dang Sojeo."
"Then don't die. Or I'll kill you."
Damn, she's vicious.
Tears welling in her eyes ruined the effect anyway.
Such a bratty kid, all tears despite being rotten to the core. Gotta have a parent-teacher conference when we get to the Dang Clan.
Namgoong Juhee thought that as she gripped her Noksu sword.
"Hoo…"
KROOOARRR!
The bear raised its front paw to tear into Namgoong Juhee.
And then—BOOM!
"What the fu—!"
WOOOORRR!
What bear packs inner energy into its paws?
At this level, it wasn't a bear—it was a guy in a bear costume.
It wasn't unreasonable for Namgoong Juhee to think that.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The bear unleashed a barrage of fists loaded with pure white inner energy—fist qi.
This bear hadn't just learned martial arts; it was a Peak realm bear at that!
"Shit—!"
Namgoong Juhee dodged the fists with Nallyeo Tagong footwork, barely.
Which meant she rolled across the ground.
In the process, her skin scraped against rocks and sharp branches, and soon her body was drenched red again.
Whether it was her blood or someone else's, she needed to dye her clothes red to snap out of it, apparently.
And just like that, a thought hit Namgoong Juhee.
"Y'know, this pisses me off now? If my body was in good shape, I'd have turned you into bear bile by now."
Falling Flowers, Flowing Water
Fading blossoms and cascading streams.
Normally an idiom for decline and decay, but in the Luk Hap Sword's third form, it was different.
Have you ever seen petals fall? They drift down so freely and gracefully—impossible to catch.
The Luk Hap Sword sought to mimic that exactly.
Namgoong Juhee's sword danced in a dizzying blur.
No matter how good the bear's eyes were, it couldn't track every flowing petal precisely.
Swish, swish, swish, swish. Petals grazed the bear, shredding its tough hide to rags in an instant.
And then—splatter!
Blood sprayed from all directions, drenching Namgoong Juhee in the bear's gore too.
"What the fu—!"
And Namgoong Juhee realized:
Fuck, I'm screwed.
Her Luk Hap Sword wasn't built for raw destructive power to begin with.
When she'd cut down strong foes before, she'd always targeted the weakest spot—the neck—not for show, but because it was the only way to kill them.
KUOOOO!
The enraged bear swung its arm to rip her apart for real this time.
Namgoong Juhee couldn't dodge properly anymore.
Even unleashing Falling Flowers, Flowing Water earlier had made her joints scream.
Deflecting the fists with her sword was her limit.
"Hey! Bear! You—!"
"Goddammit… I said stay back."
The loud voice made both the bear and Namgoong Juhee turn.
There stood Dang Hwaeun, trembling with a jar of honey in hand.
If you're shaking that much, why'd you come out?
A phone alarm doesn't vibrate like that.
Namgoong Juhee stared at her in disbelief.
But the bear saw it differently.
Not in 3D, but like some human waving a sweet snack.
Like seeing Honeycomb or honey-drizzled kaymak.
The bear charged straight at Dang Hwaeun.
"Eek… eeeek!"
"Ugh… Dang Sojeo! Duck!"
Thanks to Dang Hwaeun's brave intervention, Namgoong Juhee got one good piece of news and one bad.
Bad first, conventionally: her moneybags sponsor was in mortal danger.
"D-duck?"
"Yes! Hurry!"
The bear's realm was Peak at lowest estimate.
And Dang Hwaeun was Pseudo-Peak, not guaranteed to beat even a regular bear.
Left alone, she'd die for sure. There went two carriages' worth of silver and the Dang Clan's poison pills.
"Hoo…!"
The good news: the bear had exposed a gap.
Without her intervention, Namgoong Juhee would've deflected attacks forever until her stamina gave out and she died—bear chow in the end.
But now?
The bear had turned its back wide open, defenseless.
All she had to do was pierce it.
A once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Namgoong Juhee squeezed out her last reserves, channeling sword qi into Noksu.
"UAAAAH!"
Pain stabbed through her whole body!
But she endured!
And she pictured the imagery of Falling Flowers, Flowing Water in her mind again.
"Let's do this—no, I have to."
The earlier failure was because she'd held back.
If she'd infused even the Emperor Sword Form's intent into Falling Flowers, Flowing Water, she'd have sliced the bear's hide open instantly.
Of course, her dantian might shatter too—but at this point, who cared.
Die fighting or die anyway? Better to try.
"Haat!"
Namgoong Juhee charged the bear.
Her sword fell once more in a chaotic flurry.
Free as drifting petals.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
But these petals had weight.
Like the Emperor's footsteps crashing down—boom! boom! boom! boom!
KUOOOOONG!
Contrasting intents, contrasting techniques.
The harmony they birthed flowed from Namgoong Juhee's sword, and no mere bear hide could withstand it.
After countless slashes, the bear's right knee buckled—thud!—left knee—crash!—and its massive body slowly tipped forward.
A shadow darkened over Namgoong Juhee's head.
"Wha… huh?"
"Hey! Move! What are you doing?!"
And then—BOOM! The bear's corpse collapsed right on her head.
By the standards of the world Namgoong Juhee lived in, that was 1,700 geun. By her old Korea's standards, a whopping 1,700 kg crushing her.
All that came from beneath was a pathetic "kwek."
The great Namgoong Clan's young lady, Namgoong Juhee.
Passed away at the age of twenty, slumbering in the Great Pa Mountains.
"Ughhh…"
When Namgoong Juhee woke from her nap, there was only dirt above her.
Did that halfwit Dang Hwaeun think I was dead and bury me?
She thought that and tried to sit up.
"Krrgh…"
Her whole body felt like shattered bones, forcing her back down.
If she hadn't instinctively tensed her core before the bear crushed her, her bones and dantian would've shattered.
She'd have ended up as n-a-m-g-u-j-u-h-—i, buried in the dirt.
"Gonna die."
Truth be told, her current state wasn't much better.
No patch of skin beneath was intact; it was a miracle she was alive.
Come to think of it, how was she alive?
Shed a ton of blood, bones broken, and all.
Splatter!
As Namgoong Juhee pondered, the dirt lid suddenly flew open.
And atop it stood… Dang…
"Who are you?"
Someone with swollen, puffy eyes.
Did the Dark Sword Unit get here already?
Namgoong Juhee reached for Noksu at her waist.
"You crazy bitch! Why the hell do you push yourself that far?!"
She got cussed out.
It was Dang Hwaeun's venomous voice, the one she'd heard plenty since yesterday.