Chapter 26: A Narrow Escape (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: A Narrow Escape (1)
I finally understood what it meant to be shitting bricks.
If that dark blade were to plunge into me, my glorious life as a small fry would come to an end.
Just as I thought it was all over, the sound of a stone door opening echoed through the room.
Rumble!
Startled by the sound of the secret chamber opening, the masked man reflexively jabbed his finger right under my chin.
Dammit, I can't make a sound.
For the first time in my life, I had my mute point struck.
With both my paralysis and mute points struck, I couldn't move a muscle or utter a word. I felt like a helpless jiangshi.
The masked man retreated deep into the shadows of the secret chamber.
I widened my eyes and rolled them frantically toward Mok Gal-jin, who was looking at me, trying to signal that there was a hidden enemy.
Seeing me silent and only rolling my eyes, Mok Gal-jin examined my condition and spoke.
"Ho-ho, what a remarkable mindset. You realized that groaning during Acupoint Pressure Treatment would prevent the yin energy from being properly treated, so you struck your own mute and paralysis points to induce total body immobility. Even this old man cannot help but be impressed. You truly are an outstanding junior. And seeing how you're urging me to hurry, your will is indeed steadfast."
Mok Gal-jin flashed a gratified smile at me.
‘That’s not it, you old geezer! There’s an assassin in here! Catch him!’
I screamed internally, but my lips wouldn't budge.
Mok Gal-jin seemed convinced that my inability to speak and my paralysis were the results of me striking my own acupoints.
Then again, since no one was supposed to be able to enter this secret chamber, it was a reasonable assumption for him to make.
"There are two ways to perform Acupoint Pressure Treatment: rubbing and the Acupoint Striking Method. In your case, we must use the striking method to melt the Solar Golden Pill and then maximize its efficacy with the Golden Needle Method. It will be extremely painful, so endure it."
What? The Acupoint Striking Method?
Isn't that what I used on the Seven Cats?
Ah! This is why they say life is about cause and effect.
The image of the Seven Cats foaming at the mouth and rolling their eyes while I beat them like dogs flashed through my mind. I felt like I was going to wet myself.
Mok Gal-jin placed a case of golden needles beside him and took out the Solar Golden Pill.
The pill, neatly wrapped in gold leaf, gave off a pungent, sharp aroma.
He pried my mouth open and popped it in.
‘Ugh, it’s incredibly bitter.’
The secret elixirs of great sects were always bitter because they were made from rare, potent ingredients. In reality, these boasted elixirs weren't special because of some secret recipe, but simply because they were made from miraculous medicinal herbs.
"I shall check your pulse for a moment. I need to examine the state of your dantian to determine the order of the strikes."
Mok Gal-jin grabbed my wrist and sent a sliver of True Qi into me.
‘Oh boy, this is bad. He’s going to find out I’m a total weakling. Once he realizes I only have a tiny, pea-sized dantian in my lower abdomen...’
Cold sweat poured down my face.
Resigned to the fact that everything was ruined, I closed my eyes.
"How strange," Mok Gal-jin muttered, tilting his head.
‘Of course it’s strange. There’s no way I’d have proper internal energy in any of my three dantians.’
However, Mok Gal-jin’s next words were entirely different from what I expected.
"This is truly baffling. Among the three dantians, the lower and middle ones are completely sealed by the yin energy of the White Horse Ten Canes, yet why is the upper dantian open? It makes no sense. I can't exactly undo the mute point to ask you now that I've fed you the pill. If you speak, the efficacy will drop, and it'll be worse than doing nothing."
He pondered for a moment before speaking to me.
It was a stroke of absolute luck. It was a good thing the White Horse Ten Canes had sealed all my blood paths; otherwise, my true identity would have been exposed to Mok Gal-jin right then and there.
Wait, I felt like I had forgotten something.
Come to think of it, I hadn't considered that Mok Gal-jin would be able to see my true state once the yin energy was gone.
Right now, he couldn't accurately gauge my True Qi because the blood paths were blocked, but once the yin energy cleared, he’d know instantly.
To think I’d dug my own grave without realizing such a simple logic until now.
"Let us proceed. First, I shall perform the Acupoint Pressure Treatment so the pill's effects can be absorbed. Do not think of anything else and simply endure the pain."
Mok Gal-jin clenched his fists.
‘Wait, you’re doing the Acupoint Pressure Treatment with your fists? You didn't mention that! That’s not treatment, that’s just assault!’
Thwack! Bam! Pow! Thud!
Mok Gal-jin’s fists, infused with internal power, began to slam into my body.
The pain was indescribable.
Since he was specifically targeting blood paths, it wasn't just normal pain—it was agonizing.
‘Dammit, I was crazy. I was out of my mind. Arghhh!’
I suddenly felt a wave of sympathy for the Seven Cats, who must have suffered just as much.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Mok Gal-jin’s hands moved so fast they were a blur.
‘I need to think of something else just to forget this pain. Argh! Right, let’s think about playing with Chun Mi. No, no. Let’s think about the big-chested Wol Hwa. Gaaah!’
I tried desperately to focus on pleasant thoughts. But the pain tore those memories to shreds.
‘I have to think about something deeply complicated to at least dull the pain. Think. Wait, did that old geezer say my upper dantian was open? How is that possible?’
As I began to think about internal energy, Mok Gal-jin’s violence seemed to feel slightly more distant.
‘Keep thinking. Until now, I’ve only ever accumulated power in my lower dantian, so how can the upper one be open? An open dantian means it’s been unlocked by accumulating sufficient internal energy. I’ve never stored a lick of energy in my middle or upper dantians in my entire life.’
A peak master like Mok Gal-jin couldn't possibly be mistaken about such a thing.
Since he had no reason to lie, his words had to be true.
‘What on earth happened? Could this be related to that sudden surge of internal power I had when I fought Poison Wolf Ibu?’
As I was lost in thought, Mok Gal-jin spoke.
"Most people would be shedding tears or foaming at the mouth by now, but you look like you're falling asleep. It feels good to finally meet such a fine junior after all this time. I shall go a bit harder then. That way, the medicine will spread faster."
What is this old geezer doing?!
Just keep doing what you were doing! Are you trying to kill me?!
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
Guh-heck! The pain doubled, and I felt like I was going to black out.
‘Think. Just think. It’ll hurt less.’
I focused even harder on my dantian.
Then, as a fist slammed into my Qihai point, a spark went off in my head.
‘Ah! I think I get it now. The reason my stomp broke through the floor during the duel with Poison Wolf Ibu was probably because my upper dantian was open! That’s it! I heard that if only the upper dantian is open while the lower and middle ones are empty, the internal power can be unleashed but not stored. That’s why my power was a one-time deal back then.’
It felt refreshing to peel back a layer of the mystery behind my inexplicable power.
But more questions remained.
‘Then why did my upper dantian react to Mok Seon-hwa’s sleeping pill? Or does it mean I have to take a sleeping pill to draw out that power? I really don't get this part. If it’s clear that other people don't suddenly gain internal power from sleeping pills, then there must be something wrong with me.’
By the time I had finished my deep contemplation, the Acupoint Pressure Treatment was over.
"Ho-ho-ho, truly impressive."
Mok Gal-jin praised me, looking proud that I had endured the assault-like treatment.
"Next, I shall perform the Golden Needle Method. This will be even more painful than the pressure treatment. Since you've endured this far, bear with it a little longer."
What? It was already deathly painful, and you're saying this is worse?
I’m not doing it! I said I’m not doing it, you crazy old man!
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
But it only echoed inside my head.
Mok Gal-jin took out the golden needles and began to pepper my body with them.
I had never experienced such pain in my life.
I thought they were just needles, but they were as thick as skewers. Having them shoved into my blood paths felt exactly like the time I was stabbed by thugs three years ago.
‘What kind of great reward am I even expecting that I’m putting myself through this hell?’
I cursed myself for getting involved with Ten Thousand Dragons Fortress, which had led my life down this bizarre path of self-inflicted agony.
Wait.
My finger moved?
My body was supposed to be paralyzed because the masked man struck my paralysis point, so what happened?
Huh? My toes are moving too.
What? Does that mean the paralysis was undone during the Acupoint Pressure Treatment?
Then that means I didn't have to let him drive these skewers into my body!
I was so overwhelmed by the unfairness and rage that my body began to tremble.
"I know, I know how much it hurts. In all my years, you are the first person to receive the Golden Needle Method with such composure. In that regard, even though you are a junior, I cannot help but admire you. It pains my heart to see your body trembling like this, but it cannot be helped. This must be completed for the elixir to permeate your blood paths."
Mok Gal-jin was so focused on the final stages of the Golden Needle Method that he didn't notice my hands and feet twitching.
He didn't even notice when I turned my head.
‘Wait! That guy!’
The moment I turned my head, I saw the masked man creeping up behind Mok Gal-jin.
Hey! Old man Mok! He’s coming!
I could only blink my eyes, staring at the masked man.
The masked man raised a dagger behind Mok Gal-jin’s back.
In that split second, moving or shouting to warn Mok Gal-jin wasn't as easy as it sounded.
I didn't know what to do, so I just stared with my eyes wide open.
Still, thinking I had to throw something, I fumbled around with my hand.
My hand caught something. It was the case for the golden needles.
Mok Gal-jin was so preoccupied with placing the needles that he was wide open for an attack.
"Finally, if I drive this needle exactly one inch into the Yongquan point, the technique will be complete. This is a spot so sensitive it’s said to make a corpse jump up in pain, so steel yourself."
The Yongquan point was located near the center of the sole of the foot.
With that, Mok Gal-jin grabbed my right ankle and lifted it.
At the exact moment Mok Gal-jin drove the needle into my Yongquan point, the masked man lunged his dagger toward the back of Mok Gal-jin’s neck.
Simultaneously, I grabbed the needle case beside me and hurled it at Mok Gal-jin.
"Dodge!"
As the needle case flew toward his face, Mok Gal-jin tilted his head to the right to avoid it.
Because Mok Gal-jin suddenly turned his head to dodge the case, the needle case flew past him and slammed into the masked man’s face.
"Urgh!"
"Mm!"
"AAAAAAARGH!"
Three different screams erupted in the secret chamber at the same time.
The first was the groan from the assassin who got hit in the bridge of the nose by the needle case. The second was the grunt from Mok Gal-jin as the assassin’s dagger grazed his shoulder.
And the last was my scream as Mok Gal-jin, even in that chaos, successfully drove the needle into my Yongquan point.
Assassin or not, the pain was so intense that I bolted upright.
But the danger was far from over.
When his initial sneak attack failed, the masked man immediately thrust his dagger toward Mok Gal-jin’s face again.
He transitioned his strike so fast that it seemed Mok Gal-jin wouldn't have time to twist his neck and dodge.
That single move alone was enough to show how lethal the masked man was.
‘Ah, there’s no way to dodge it. No way.’
But Mok Gal-jin had a way. A goddamn way.
Even in such a desperate moment, these high-level masters always found a way to save their own skins.
This damn old geezer, in this life-or-death situation, grabbed my ankle and used it to cover his own face.
In short, he used my foot as a shield against the dagger.
Stab!
The dagger plunged into the sole of my foot.
"GUAAAAAAARGH!"
The indescribable agony shot through my Yongquan point, pierced all the way to my Baihui point, and exploded out of my mouth.
In that moment, Mok Gal-jin thrust his palm into the masked man’s chest.
Boom!
However, the masked man used the force of Mok Gal-jin’s palm strike to quickly retreat toward the entrance of the chamber.
Mok Gal-jin didn't pull the dagger out of my foot; instead, he struck several pressure points on my leg to stop the bleeding.
Then, he gave chase to the masked man.