Chapter 171: A Gift for Oppa (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 171: A Gift for Oppa (2)
It was a deeply guarded secret, but Chun-bong actually loved reading romance novels.
She had managed to keep it hidden from everyone until now.
The structure of a romance novel was, in fact, quite predictable. It was always a love story between a male and female lead. No matter what dramatic side plots were thrown into the mix, the core essence remained the same.
Chun-bong liked that.
Because, no matter what happened, the two of them would always find their happy ending.
(Occasionally, there were authors who wrote strange, tragic endings, but after sending them a lengthy letter of about 57,000 characters, she could usually wash away that lingering unpleasantness.)
Thanks to her extensive reading, Chun-bong had theoretically reached the Super Peak Realm of romance.
Naturally, she was well-versed in the standard progression of a relationship.
Skipping past the early stages like the initial meeting, she focused on the tropes applicable to her current situation—specifically, the moment the male and female leads finally confirmed their love for each other.
In those pivotal moments, about six out of ten novels employed the exact same method.
A shy kiss under the soft moonlight of a quiet night...
‘Yes, I’m an expert.’
Even if it was the middle of the day instead of the dead of night, the broad strokes were the same.
Chun-bong steeled her heart.
Of course, she was afraid. Life wasn't a novel. Unlike a book that you could just close and replace with another, you couldn't just shut the cover on reality.
However, a burning longing fanned the flames in her heart. Her victory at the Yongbong Gathering, her rapidly improving circumstances, and her growing sense of fulfillment only poured oil onto that fire.
As the empty voids in her life were gradually filled, her desire for worldly, carnal affairs finally reared its head.
Moreover, Chun-bong’s self-esteem had reached an all-time high lately.
The sheer barrage of praise Seo-jun showered her with just for breathing had made her deeply realize her own cuteness.
“Now that the conditions for rebuilding the Geum Family are mostly met… and my realm is high enough that I won’t get beaten up no matter where I go….”
“Right?”
“But there’s a mandatory element for a clan, isn’t there…?”
Of course, being the coward she was, Chun-bong couldn't bring herself to explicitly state her ultimate goal.
The mandatory element of a clan. In other words, a family.
The words, ‘Should we have a child?’
“So, that….”
“That?”
“That, you know. That thing.”
“What thing?”
“Ugh… oh, for fuck’s sake…!”
She knew it would be like this.
‘That’s just how I am.’
Mentally rebuking herself for her cowardice, Chun-bong took a step forward.
“Close your eyes!”
When she shrieked the command, Seo-jun obediently closed his eyes.
‘He’s so obedient.’
He was always like this. He did everything she asked him to.
Looking at him, Chun-bong made a vow.
—That she would never let him get a single drop of dirty water on his hands for the rest of his life. That the only thing he’d ever have to get on his hands was the melted sugar from a tanghulu.
Mwah—
Lips pressed against lips. The faint sound of drawn breath. A strangely soft sensation and the exchange of warm body heat through thin membranes.
It was a stimulus that seemed trivial when listed out, yet it made Chun-bong’s face flush bright red.
She felt as if her body were floating. Chun-bong giggled sillily, only for her eyes to suddenly meet Seo-jun’s, which had snapped wide open.
“Ah.”
“Huh?”
“E-Eek-kyahhhhh!”
Chun-bong screamed and bolted, driven by a mix of toe-curling embarrassment and a sudden, lingering fear.
‘We-we kissed, so are we a couple now?’
Even if they weren't, surely the way he looked at her would change a little... She fled while imagining a hopeful future.
Left alone, Seo-jun simply scratched his head as he watched her retreating figure.
* * *
In the spot where Chun-bong had just fled, Seo-jun stood alone, lightly touching his lips.
“Chun-bu-i kissed me….”
Chun-bong had told him to close his eyes, but once a martial artist reached the Super Peak Realm, the scene in front of them was naturally drawn in their mind's eye, even with their eyelids shut tight.
Chun-bong, her eyes squeezed shut. Approaching while trembling all over, hesitating right in front of him. Then, her warm breath hitting his lips, and the moment her tightly puckered, protruding lips met his with a mwah.
“Geum Chun-bong, you crazy filial piety machine….”
His dopamine levels instantly broke through their limits and soared into the sky. Seo-jun hummed a cheerful tune as he holed himself up in his room.
He felt it. It had to be now.
Following his intuition, he opened the wooden box, took out the Great Restoration Pill, and tossed it into his mouth.
Despite the grand name "Great Restoration Pill," its actual size was similar to any other standard elixir.
The moment it touched his tongue, it melted. He swallowed it immediately. A refreshing sensation washed over him, followed by a massive surge of Qi that began to spread throughout his body.
‘Hmm.’
Of course, in the end, it was just Qi. As soon as Seo-jun set his intent, the Qi of the Great Restoration Pill became an obedient dog, calmly circulating through his meridians and settling into his Dantian.
However, the Great Restoration Pill was not just a simple lump of Qi. While the energy itself was neutral, the subtle principles embedded within it followed profound Buddhist teachings.
Capturing this fluttering enlightenment was the key to perfectly digesting the Great Restoration Pill. If one stopped at merely increasing their internal energy, the pill would be reduced to nothing more than a common—albeit very effective—spirit herb.
Seo-jun closed his eyes and quietly observed the Great Restoration Pill's effects within his body.
Ripples spread out softly, like a drop of water falling into a still pond.
As Seo-jun focused his attention, all the internal energy in his body replicated the principles of the Great Restoration Pill according to his will.
The freely flowing internal energy grew still, and that profound stillness extended to his heart, bringing absolute peace.
In an instant, a sharp headache lanced through him, quickly followed by a cool, refreshing sensation that circled his mind.
“Ah….”
Seo-jun snapped his eyes open.
The world was crystal clear. The impulses that had disturbed his mind all day were nowhere to be found. Every lingering desire for stimulation within his mental imagery sank into a quiet calm, perfectly maintaining a state of Clear Mirror Still Water.
Seo-jun stared into the empty air, his eyes glowing with a faint golden light.
The Buddhist teachings contained within the Great Restoration Pill were Clear Mirror Still Water and Non-possession. At the end of that path, he saw the way to cast off the Five Desires and Seven Emotions of humanity, allowing one to be reborn as a true god.
“Why would I do that?”
Clang—!
With a sharp, resounding crack, the state of Clear Mirror Still Water shattered in an instant.
Seo-jun shuddered, overwhelmed by a lingering sense of unpleasantness, and blew out the remaining scent of the Great Restoration Pill from his mouth.
‘Ugh… disgusting.’
So this was it. He finally realized why Buddhist internal energy had always felt so repulsive to him.
To begin with, the path they sought to walk was the complete opposite of his own.
Cast off the Five Desires and Seven Emotions? He had absolutely no intention of doing something so crazy.
Why would he throw away something so good?
There might be various forms of enlightenment within Buddhism, but it seemed he could never get along with those walking this particular path.
They were like mental eunuchs who wouldn't feel a damn thing even if they pinched Chun-bu-i’s cheeks or received a kiss from Chun-bong...
Besides that, there was one more thing.
‘Should I call this… an Inner Demon?’
Maintaining a perfectly clear mind for that brief moment had allowed him to realize it. His current state wasn't exactly normal.
No, it was normal, but… it was quite ambiguous.
Looking back at his past actions through the lens of Clear Mirror Still Water, he had wondered why on earth he lived like that. But then again, since that was his original personality, he couldn't help but wonder if this detached state was actually the abnormal one.
To put it simply, wasn't he just half-insane on a regular basis?
‘I’m certainly not ordinary.’
He pondered it for a moment, but Seo-jun soon brushed the thought aside.
As long as there were no problems in his daily life, it was fine. Even if a person lived like a bit of a lunatic, as long as it didn't cause any real issues, everything was perfectly okay.
“Hehe, I should go see my Chun-bu-i.”
His mood suddenly skyrocketed.
‘I wonder if she’ll kiss me again?’
* * *
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven took a few of his subordinates and settled in a secluded mountain near Henan.
Their goal was the Divine Blood.
If possible, erasing all witnesses was the best course of action. But even if that failed, the Divine Blood absolutely had to be erased from the world.
As an experienced old master, Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven knew the utmost importance of information.
Instead of relying entirely on his ally’s intelligence network, he gathered the rumors circulating through the Murim himself.
The possessor of the Divine Blood was Geum Hee of Returning Dragon Peak. She was the successor of the Divine Sword Geum Family, and her cultivation was at the Peak Realm.
In terms of raw martial power, she could be completely ignored. A mere Peak Realm martial artist could not affect him in any meaningful way.
Next, the person to be most wary of was Fist King Pae Jin-gwang.
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven had never met him personally. However, since he had heard the man's name several times even back when he was actively roaming the Murim, Pae Jin-gwang was clearly an opponent who warranted caution.
The time a martial artist lived directly correlated to the depth of the power they had accumulated. Though he didn't know the exact details, the Fist King’s hidden strength was bound to be formidable.
Next was Namgung Hyeok, the Advancing Dawn.
He was a former master of the Namgung Clan, but there was no detailed information regarding his current martial prowess.
However, he speculated that Namgung Hyeok had not yet reached the Transcendent Realm. He was certainly someone to keep an eye on, but he was still a level below the Fist King.
Next was Jang-geuk, the former Chief of the Green Forest.
A small fry. He was in the Super Peak Realm, but there was nothing particularly special about him. Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven completely put him out of his mind.
Finally, Lee Seo-jun, the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord.
He was a rising master in the Super Peak Realm who specialized in Qi techniques, and he had supposedly overwhelmed a General of the Imperial Court.
He deserved a certain level of caution, but not this time.
The criteria for dividing realms in the Murim was based on one's level of Qi control. Because of this, unlike other martial artists, the combat prowess and realm of those who relied on Qi techniques were strictly proportional.
Furthermore, if a Qi specialist reached the Transcendent Realm, they could completely neutralize an opponent's Qi techniques and make that energy their own.
In essence, he was practically the boy's natural enemy.
‘I won’t feel any pressure even if I face the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord and the Chief of the Green Forest at the same time… but it gets a bit tricky if the Advancing Dawn and the Fist King get involved.’
The Fist King was the most burdensome variable.
In that case, the best course of action would be to use his underlings as fodder to tie up the Fist King, quickly finish off the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord and the Chief, and then wipe the rest of them out.
“So, you say they’re leaving Henan soon?”
“That’s what I said, didn’t I? Enough talk, just give me the money. If I get caught for no reason, I’ll also—gack!?”
The man from the Hao Sect who had brought the information from within Henan died instantly, spraying blood from his mouth. Outwardly, there were no wounds, but his internal blood had violently surged backward, killing him on the spot.
“Arrogant fellow.”
Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven clicked his tongue and casually tossed a pouch of money onto the man’s corpse. He soon returned to his temporary shelter and commanded his subordinates.
“Let’s go. Those bastards will be sticking their heads out of the pigpen soon.”
The Divine Blood must never be allowed to reveal itself to the world.