Chapter 96: Xi'an (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 96: Xi'an (8)
“...It really is a dantian.”
Cheon Yeo-hwa, who had been holding my wrist and concentrating for a while, spoke in a tone that suggested she couldn't believe it, even after confirming it herself.
I guess that meant what had happened to me was truly unprecedented.
“Is it that strange?”
“A dantian is essentially a second heart, formed only after one successfully accepts the energy of nature into their body through an internal art and gathers that energy into a single point. I have never heard of anyone like you, a blank slate who hasn't even learned an internal art, forming a dantian.”
Suddenly, as she continued her explanation, Cheon Yeo-hwa's expression turned quite serious.
“However... I can feel a faint demonic energy from you.”
“...Demonic energy?”
“It's so faint that it's hard to say you've learned a demonic art, but there is definitely demonic energy settled in your dantian.”
At her words, I once again focused inward, observing my body. It wasn't easy to examine a newly formed dantian, but after a few tries, I seemed to get the hang of it.
The total amount of energy within it was less than a sliver of the magic in my Circles. Besides, I couldn't even be sure if it was demonic energy, since I'd never held any other kind of energy in my dantian before.
But it was clearly a foreign energy.
Sometimes it was gentler than magic, and other times it was as rough and ferocious as lightning energy. It seemed to change slightly depending on my state of mind.
“Does that mean I have to learn a demonic art?”
“Not necessarily. With such faint demonic energy, you could learn a Daoist martial art to accumulate immortal energy. Immortal energy naturally suppresses demonic energy, so if you consistently build it up, the demonic energy will eventually disappear.”
Cheon Yeo-hwa continued to speak in a way that subtly discouraged demonic arts. It was an odd stance for her, the Second Princess of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
“...Yeo-hwa, do you not want me to learn demonic arts?”
It was just a guess, but it seemed Cheon Yeo-hwa had always disliked my interest in demonic arts.
Whenever I actually asked her about them, she would usually just brush off the question.
“...That's right. I would prefer you not learn them. Most demonic arts have side effects that make a person abandon their humanity. By learning the Moon Spirit Demonic Art, I gained a resistance to the cold, but it turned my body into a contradiction that can only feel the cold.”
Her unexpected confession made the atmosphere heavy. Sensing this, Cheon Yeo-hwa immediately rushed into my arms.
“Hehe, you don't have to look at me so pitifully. It's true I can't feel warmth, but I can feel your body heat perfectly. No, it's more like my body has become one that can only feel your warmth. So you must take responsibility. If you try to run away from me, I will chase you to another world.”
“Of course.”
We held each other for a long time, sharing our body heat. Of course, we weren't just hugging. We kissed and caressed each other's bodies.
Slap, slap!
“Hk, heuk?! A-a little slower... please...?!!♡”
A man and a woman in their prime, tumbling in bed in the middle of the night? The situation could only lead to sex.
Under the moonlight streaming through the window, Cheon Yeo-hwa's pale skin glowed even more lusciously than usual.
“I-I'm going to cum...!!♡ Haaahng!!♡”
*
After a night spent engrossed in sex, morning had dawned.
Of course, we didn't just have sex the entire time. We slept in between and washed up in the room's attached bathtub. I wondered if such things were possible in a wuxia world, but since this world was unlikely to be exactly the same as the ones in the novels I knew, I just accepted it.
[Remaining Match Time: 187:12:49]
While we spent the night together, more time had passed.
'Can't they just make it so sleeping time is always excluded from the match time, not just during a new match?'
Honestly, it felt like too much of a waste to spend match time sleeping. I searched the app, but there didn't seem to be a way.
A sigh escaped me, but since the app only implemented such improvements whenever it felt like it, there was nothing I could do for now.
Since things were as they were, I decided to browse the shop until Cheon Yeo-hwa woke up.
'I have about 4,000 coins left... I hope there's something good.'
The shop icon was lit up. It was the notification that appeared when the items in the shop had changed.
[Shop]
[Strange Potion: 350 Coins]
[Flashy Dance Moves: 500 Coins]
[Solard's Tactical Walkie-Talkie: 620 Coins]
[Inventory Expansion Ticket: 800 Coins]
·
·
·
[Third Step Towards an Alpha Male: 1,750 Coins]
[Unknown Grimoire #1: 2,000 Coins]
A list of ten new items appeared, as always. Except for one, it was impossible to tell what any of them did by name alone, so I clicked on them one by one.
[Item]
[Strange Potion]
[Grade: Normal]
[It looks like it would have a strange taste.]
[Drinking it will produce a random, strange effect.]
Okay, one piece of trash filtered out.
[Skill]
[Flashy Dance Moves]
[Grade: Rare]
[Allows you to dance better.]
[Has a certain chance to inflict a charm effect on an opponent.]
This was the first time a skill had appeared in the shop, but my desire to buy it vanished the moment I read the description.
[Item]
[Solard's Tactical Walkie-Talkie]
[Grade: Rare]
[Allows you to converse with a desired person for one week, regardless of distance.]
[Ignores the effects of barriers and magic tools below a certain level.]
This item was a bit ambiguous. Being able to communicate regardless of distance in a world that wasn't Earth was great, but the one-week time limit bothered me a little.
'...Still, I should buy it for now.'
It wasn't a completely useless item, and if I linked it to Cheon Yeo-hwa, we could probably handle any unexpected situations that arose. Besides, 620 coins wasn't that expensive.
[Would you like to purchase 'Solard's Tactical Walkie-Talkie'?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
['Solard's Tactical Walkie-Talkie' has been bound to you. It will be used automatically when you think of the desired target.]
[Target: Unassigned]
[Would you like to connect 'Solard's Tactical Walkie-Talkie' to 'Cheon Yeo-hwa'?]
[※This decision cannot be changed once made.]
[Y/N]
[Y]
I used it immediately without hesitation. Since Cheon Yeo-hwa was asleep, I couldn't test it right away, but it wasn't urgent anyway.
[Item]
[Inventory Expansion Ticket]
[Grade: Undetermined]
[Increases your inventory by 5 slots.]
I bought it instantly. I was already thinking that 10 inventory slots weren't enough, so this was an unexpected gain.
Satisfied, I looked through the remaining items, but only two of them managed to pique my interest even slightly.
[Item]
[Third Step Towards an Alpha Male]
[Grade: Epic]
[A manual written by the God of Virility. Reading it thoroughly will bestow the God of Virility's blessing upon your body.]
[Price: 1,750 Coins]
[Item]
[Unknown Grimoire #1]
[Grade: Epic]
[A part of an unidentifiable grimoire. The grimoire will be completed when all remaining parts are collected.]
[Price: 2,000 Coins]
They weren't as overwhelmingly appealing as the inventory ticket, but they were more tempting than the walkie-talkie.
First, 'Third Step Towards an Alpha Male' was enticing because it offered a god's blessing. Although the God of Virility was likely a minor god, the chance for someone like me, who wasn't even a cleric, to receive a divine blessing was a hard merit to refuse.
'Unknown Grimoire #1', to be honest, didn't appeal to me much. But the fact that it was Epic grade and the most expensive item I'd seen in the shop played a part. The description made it sound like a junk item, but in games, these kinds of combination items often turn into overpowered gear in the late game.
The problem was that I only had about 3,000 coins left. I didn't have enough to buy both.
“Hoo...”
[Would you like to purchase 'Third Step Towards an Alpha Male'?]
[Y/N]
[Y]
After long deliberation, I chose 'Third Step Towards an Alpha Male'.
The idea that a combination item would become overpowered was just speculation. Besides, a god's blessing wasn't something you could get easily.
Lying in bed, I read the manual thoroughly. It was only 30 pages, so it didn't even take 10 minutes to finish.
The content was mostly sexual knowledge, like the proper attitude for an alpha male or advice on women's erogenous zones. When I finished the book, a new screen popped up.
[The blessing of the God of Virility now resides in you.]
[The divine blessing interacts with the 'Another World Dating App'.]
[The blessing is converted into a skill.]
[Third Step Towards an Alpha Male]
[Grade: Epic]
[Your bodily fluids become sweet.]
[Your bodily fluids take on a faint aphrodisiac quality.]
[Your bodily fluids emit pheromones that entice the opposite sex.]
“...Wow.”
I was stunned by the effect, which far surpassed my imagination. No matter how I looked at it, this was more than worth 1,750 coins. It could have easily been priced at 5,000.
After seeing this, my gaze naturally shifted to 'Unknown Grimoire #1'.
'I'll have to buy that as soon as I get more coins.'
Fortunately, the shop's reset period wasn't that short. It should be fine until this match ends.
“Mmm... Hyun-woo?”
“Ah, you're awake?”
My joy over the unexpected gain was short-lived as Cheon Yeo-hwa sat up, rubbing her eyes.
“It's so cold...”
“Didn't you say you can't feel the cold?”
“I know no such thing...”
Cheon Yeo-hwa closed her eyes again and snuggled into my arms. Her attempt to brush it off was cute. Contrary to her appearance, Cheon Yeo-hwa was not a morning person.
“By the way, Hyun-woo... you have a strange scent on you.”
“A scent? Is it sweat?”
Cheon Yeo-hwa, who had been clinging to me, buried her face in my chest and started sniffing. I wondered if I smelled of the sweat from last night, but when I checked, I didn't seem to have any particular odor.
“Mmm, it's not that. It's a little sweeter, a scent that makes my head feel hazy... sniff, haah...”
As if possessed, Cheon Yeo-hwa's face flushed as she sniffed me. Her eyes were slightly glazed over.
“Uh... can we do this later? I'm a little busy right now...”
“No.”
Thud—
I was hungry, having starved since lunch yesterday. As I tried to get up, Cheon Yeo-hwa immediately pushed me back down.
Cheon Yeo-hwa sat up, her hair a disheveled mess. Her breasts, bound by her bra, couldn't hide their magnificent presence. The sight made me feel a stirring in my loins.
“Just a little longer like this... sniff... phuaa...”
I quietly embraced Cheon Yeo-hwa as she buried her face in the crook of my neck. I had to skip breakfast that day.
*
Around noon, Cheon Yeo-hwa and I met with Jo Jawon, the leader of the Hundred Flowers Sect. Unlike yesterday, the elders were not present.
The moment Jo Jawon saw me, he bowed his head.
“My apologies. I did not know that simply holding the Black Killing Mad Demon Sword would cause such a thing.”
He explained earnestly that he had no intention of deceiving us about the sword's side effects, and that the wooden box it was in and the silk cord that sealed it should have prevented me from being exposed to its demonic nature in the first place.
I didn't say much about that part. After all, the sword's demonic nature wasn't the reason I had fainted.
Of course, I didn't say anything to put his mind at ease, like "I understand" or "I forgive you." If I played my cards right, I could probably squeeze some silver out of him.
As I expected, he took a small pouch from his sleeve and handed it to me. Inside was silver. At a glance, it looked to be about as much as I had received from Elder Su Yanggeon.
My joy at the unexpected income was brief, as I wondered why Jo Jawon, the leader of one of Xi'an's greatest sects, was being so deferential.
“Ahem, I have a favor to ask of you.”
“A favor?”
Of course. There was a reason he'd given me a sword worth dozens of gold pieces and now silver on top of that.
“Not long ago, an old temple was discovered in a place called Jinheung Village.”
At his words, my eyes met Cheon Yeo-hwa's. It was the same story we'd heard from Elder Su Yanggeon.
“The Mount Hua Sect decided to investigate the temple and recently sent an investigation team to Jinheung Village. However... the Mount Hua Sect has requested that the Hundred Flowers Sect also send an investigation team.”
This was news to me. Elder Su Yanggeon had clearly said the Hundred Flowers Sect wasn't going to Jinheung Village. Either he had lied to me, or he hadn't known.
“I don't like beating around the bush. Why don't you get to the point?”
“...I would like you to join the investigation team.”
“Why? Is the Hundred Flowers Sect short on people?”
“That is correct. To be precise, we have too few masters within the sect at present. Most of the hall leaders have left on missions. If we were to send a large number of elders, it would be the same as announcing our manpower shortage to the Mount Hua Sect.”
“Wouldn't sending outsiders like us be the same?”
“Not at all. You are guests of the Hundred Flowers Sect. The fact that we are hosting two martial artists who have reached the Transcendent Realm will make the Mount Hua Sect think highly of our capabilities. Furthermore, if you were to assist their investigation team, our reputation would soar.”
Jo Jawon took another pouch from his other sleeve. Just from the clinking sound, I could tell it was heavier than the pouch of silver I had just received.
“I will ensure you are well compensated. So, would you be willing to go to Jinheung Village with the investigation team?”