Half-Soul Powder Plus Confession Elixir -1
“So I figured that in that moment I had to pull from the front and push from behind. And right when the qi in my meridians surged to twelve-tenths full…!”
“Young man.”
The Poison Doctor cut off my vivid, full-throttle story of qi charging and said,
“Now that you’ve reached first-rate, shouldn’t you learn a lightfoot technique?”
“Well, yeah, I suppose so.”
“There’s a lightfoot art called the Linked Soaring Technique. Would you like me to teach it to you?”
“I’ve already prepared a movement method of my own. The moment I get back to Sichuan I plan to learn it right away. So when the qi in my meridians was filling to the brim…”
“Ah, enough! How many times have I told you your problem still isn’t completely solved? There’s a high chance ordinary lightfoot techniques simply won’t work for you.”
“Hmm.”
I still wanted to keep spinning my qi-charging yarn, but I couldn’t just ignore advice the Poison Doctor was giving for my own good, so I forced myself to hold it in.
“What do you mean I won’t be able to use lightfoot techniques?”
“Unlike footwork, lightfoot arts require long-term continuous operation. That means they chase flow rather than a single explosive burst. Since qi flow inevitably runs through the entire body, ordinary lightness techniques tend to lighten the body as a whole. That’s why things like soaring over rooftops or walking on water are considered the measure of a refined lightfoot art.”
“But the impurities still sloshing around inside you will keep interfering with your qi circulation. Your body is simply too disadvantaged for that kind of endless flowing pursuit. Short, thick explosive operation is what suits you. This Linked Soaring Technique is the perfect movement method for someone like you.”
Before I could get a word in, the Poison Doctor launched into the formulas, and I wasn’t about to throw free martial arts on the floor, so I started diligently memorizing every formula and method of operation.
“Right, we’ve already drawn the blood we need for Maki’s antidote and for research, so go practice the Linked Soaring Technique before the formulas fly out of your head!”
I was unceremoniously kicked out of the shed that had been turned into the Poison Doctor’s pharmacy.
“Maki! You little brat! Where did you go? Sprinkle salt outside the door! Preferably the coarse kind!”
“Aigoo, Poison Doctor. One thing at a time, please.”
I had no choice but to smack my lips and head out into the yard. Heukmyo had already followed Yeo Il-ye out, so the only people left who might have listened to my qi-charging story were Maki and the Poison Doctor—and now even they had kicked me out. There was no one left to talk to.
Well, I’d gotten free martial arts out of it, so I might as well practice.
I found a spot in the yard and began circulating the internal energy of the Three Origins Heart Method according to the formulas the Poison Doctor had given me.
When I first dropped into this Murim Cheonha I’d thought that as long as the game UI was still alive I could just read a martial arts manual and instantly understand and use it. What a joke that turned out to be.
The system was only for confirmation. If you didn’t understand a technique and how to use it, it wouldn’t even register as a martial art in the system, and there was no convenient system shortcut for unleashing it either.
Which meant I had to grind this lightfoot technique the hard way too.
After about thirty minutes of circulating internal energy I started to get the feel for it. For all the fancy name, the Linked Soaring Technique basically just meant bouncing around to a rhythm. When I timed the qi-charging phenomenon to the exact moment my legs bent and kicked off the ground, the height of my jumps changed instantly.
I checked whether the principle could be applied to other martial arts, but it didn’t look promising.
For one thing, the form wasn’t exactly elegant. When people think of Murim movement techniques they expect dazzling footwork or the graceful elegance of a crane. This Linked Soaring Technique felt more like a rabbit with its tail on fire.
Still, I had to admit the operating method was low-difficulty and highly efficient with internal energy. After only a single shichen of practice I was already producing decent speed.
Lightfoot Technique: Linked Soaring Art
I was only ever going to use this thing for running away. It simply didn’t match the dignity of the reborn neo-hyper first-rate warrior Ho Cheon-an.
“Tch.”
I wanted to learn something else, but after the Poison Doctor’s diagnosis he’d told me that immediately taking up any new heart method or inducing physical changes could produce unknown results, so I was to hold off until at least some preliminary conclusions came in.
Which left me spinning my wheels with all this motivation and nowhere to put it. If I’d been able to raise my stats I would have thrown myself into that long ago.
If I could just grab the Poison Doctor for two shichen, pour out the thrill of reaching first-rate, and then throw myself into training with a clear heart…
I was lost in that kind of useless thinking when Yeo Il-ye returned, carrying a person on her back.
“Hmm.”
The Poison Doctor looked at Yeo Il-ye’s waist sash. Whatever belt she’d been wearing yesterday was gone; in its place sat a truly magnificent jade belt. Even the Poison Doctor, who had never once in his life cared about valuables, found his gaze caught by the Seven Treasures Jade Belt. It was a treasure that truly deserved the name.
Next his eyes moved to the armless Mak Yeobu. Without meaning to, the Poison Doctor glanced sideways at Maki. Maki was staring at the unconscious Mak Yeobu with an indescribably complicated expression.
Sensing Heukmyo quietly slipping in under cover of the commotion, the Poison Doctor opened his mouth.
“So… this is Mak Yeobu?”
“Yes.”
Yeo Il-ye’s presence was already cold on a normal day; her voice now was pure north-wind midwinter.
“He confessed with his own mouth that he burned the Yeo Family Mountain Villa.”
Yeo Il-ye relayed to the group everything she and Mak Yeobu had said to each other.
“I want to give this piece of trash the most agonizing death the world has to offer.”
Hatred burning beneath perfect composure. Even the Poison Doctor, who had spent long years in the Murim, felt a chill at Yeo Il-ye’s aura and simply nodded without a word.
“We should extract information first, shouldn’t we?”
“Yes. My family’s main house was never something a mere bandit rabble like this could topple on their own. There must have been backers or partners.”
“Is that so… Well, I’ve prepared a few things.”
The Poison Doctor gestured to Maki. Maki stared at Mak Yeobu with a pale face, then turned and walked toward the shed. His steps were as slow as a crawling caterpillar, but neither the Poison Doctor nor Yeo Il-ye hurried him.
Heukmyo, who had casually inserted herself into the group, fixed her eyes on Yeo Il-ye.
Should I invest?
The reason Heukmyo had tried to push Yeo Il-ye away had been simple: she’d judged there was no profit in it. The enemies who had supposedly burned the Yeo Family Mountain Villa were each and every one of them heavyweights.
The last remaining trace of the Yeo Family Mountain Villa. Yeo Il-ye. Heukmyo had assumed they would never tolerate anything connected to their final piece of evidence.
But after seeing Yeo Il-ye’s martial power, her judgment had changed.
Even if they’re heavyweights, with that level of strength it’s worth a shot…
No matter how big the opponents were, the Yeo Il-ye Heukmyo had witnessed was a typhoon. Where had a monster of a woman like that even come from? Boulders, giant trees—she would just sweep them all away and smash them to pieces.
Yeo Il-ye alone with a single sword might struggle, but if she had people supporting her, it might actually be possible to wipe out every last one of her enemies.
Rather than fretting over retaliation after Yeo Il-ye fell while taking her revenge, wouldn’t it be far safer to help her succeed?
While Heukmyo was lost in those thoughts staring at Yeo Il-ye—
“Well then… shall we start by shattering the dantian?”
Something that looked less like a needle and more like a nail drove into Mak Yeobu’s abdomen. Mak Yeobu’s eyes flew open as he woke. With the dantian—the very center of qi—broken, every scrap of internal energy inside him was sucked out, and the pressure points Yeo Il-ye had sealed naturally released as well.
“N-no! Nooooo!!”
Mak Yeobu wailed in despair and groped at his abdomen, but there was no way to stop the qi leaking from an already shattered dantian.
“Now then, let’s reseal the pressure points.”
The Poison Doctor calmly sealed Mak Yeobu’s vital points again. Ho Cheon-an swallowed dryly as he watched the procedure. It was only natural that Yeo Il-ye, facing the enemy she would gladly tear apart, didn’t so much as blink—but the Poison Doctor’s hands were beyond Ho Cheon-an’s expectations.
Right… if he’d been a good person he would have gotten a nickname like Kind Doctor or Tang Doctor instead of Poison Doctor.
While Ho Cheon-an nodded to himself and resolved to show the Poison Doctor even greater respect and reverence, Maki reappeared. He seemed to have sorted out his feelings; his expression was calm.
The Poison Doctor asked,
“Were you close to the bandit chief? If so, go tidy the warehouse or something.”
Maki spat and said,
“What kind of affection or ties do bandits have with each other? The bastard ran off for over a month just to save his own skin. It’s just… he looked like a mountain, and seeing him fall this far made my chest churn a bit, that’s all.”
Maki handed over a pouch and added,
“Still, if I hear what’s coming I figure my life might hang by a thread, so I’ll stay far away.”
“Do that.”
“What do the three of you intend to do? From what I can guess, my enemies are no ordinary people. Otherwise they never could have wiped out the Yeo Family Mountain Villa without a trace when our family wasn’t small.”
The Poison Doctor’s eyes met Ho Cheon-an’s.
“I already know about Miss Yeo’s revenge… but I don’t think we need to know any more than that.”
“Agreed. Once we confirm Mak Yeobu opens his mouth, it’s better we step out.”
This was Yeo Il-ye’s personal revenge and nothing more. Ho Cheon-an and the Poison Doctor had ended up helping by chance, but both felt it was right to pull their hands back at this point.
“I am truly grateful for both of your cooperation. Without the two of you I never could have subdued Mak Yeobu so easily or learned the identities of my enemies.”
“Haha, save the thanks until after we’ve heard every last piece of information from this one’s mouth.”
The Poison Doctor shook the pouch and said,
“Do you know what this is?”
“What is it?”
“Confession Elixir. And what’s in this other one is Half-Soul Poison. This Confession Elixir doesn’t work on people of high realm. At best it only works up to second-rate, but below that it’s truly incredible!”
Heukmyo’s body went rigid. Without realizing it she rolled her eyes toward Ho Cheon-an and found him looking thoroughly intrigued.
“Oh, what a fascinating item.”
“Indeed. Since the medicinal properties don’t work on anyone beyond second-rate martial artists, you have the drawback of needing to cripple the dantian and drop them to second-rate or below first—but it’s still a fine product.”
Heukmyo’s legs started trembling.
Why does he keep sticking ‘second-rate’ on the end of every sentence!
“A person’s mind is a truly strange thing. Even if you give them Confession Elixir they don’t necessarily speak only the truth. Even if something isn’t fact, if that person regards it as ‘truth,’ they’ll spill it exactly as is. That’s why you have to use it together with this Half-Soul Powder.”
“Oh? Then what effect does that Half-Soul Powder have?”
“It leaves the consciousness only half awake. Puts them in a dreamlike state where the self blurs, you could say. They end up speaking only the most objective facts. And because they themselves believe it’s a dream, they don’t even realize they’ve leaked information.”
“Aha.”
“The minor side effect is that memories from before and after use disappear, but well. What does that matter?”
“Oh… the world of poison doctors truly is profound.”
“Hahaha… you know a thing or two, young man.”
“Then, Elder, my friend and I will take our leave. It doesn’t seem like a story that would be good for me to hear either.”
“Go on, then.”
“Right, let’s go. Geumseo-ul.”
“Y-yes… y-yes… Of course. M-mas… I mean, older brother…!”
When Ho Cheon-an turned his gaze toward Heukmyo, cold sweat was pouring down her face in streams.