Chapter 33: Operation Matchmaking (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 33: Operation Matchmaking (2)
Vivid Fist Qi shimmered in the air.
Even though Mr. Seong had been born and raised in a tiny village, he knew the sight before him was far from ordinary. Or rather, it was precisely because of his humble background that he realized just how extraordinary it was.
After all, there was no way a surge of blue energy radiating from a human hand could ever be considered normal.
“Wh-why are you doing this to me…?”
“Why are you doing this to me? You seem to have a real talent for ruining my mood just by existing.”
“This… this is a family matter.”
“Family matter my ass, you little shit. Didn’t you hear me? I said I feel like total crap! Huh!?”
To anyone listening, he sounded like a textbook martial artist of the Evil Sect.
Yet, no one present tried to stop Seo-jun.
Not only Chun-bong, but even Wang Dae-san, a man of the Righteous Faction, simply clicked his tongue and looked away.
“To think a man who calls himself a father could act this way,” Wang Dae-san muttered.
The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gently patted the little girl held in his arms.
The expression on the face of the young girl traveling with his benefactor wasn't great either.
She was a child his benefactor clearly cherished. Seeing as they didn't look alike, they didn't seem to be blood-related, but the way he cared for her like a real younger sister was truly remarkable.
Judging by her dark expression, Wang Dae-san guessed she had her own complicated circumstances and sympathetically placed a hand on her head.
“Cheer u—”
Slap!
“Don’t touch me.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
Embarrassed by her icy reaction, Wang Dae-san quietly refocused his attention on his benefactor’s actions.
* * *
Seo-jun looked down at the trembling Mr. Seong and pondered.
What should I do with this guy?
Kill him right now?
That felt like a bit much. It wasn't like he was a serial killer.
If he killed everyone who pissed him off, he’d become a Public Enemy of the Murim in the blink of an eye. No joke.
Of course, he could always just kill the man in secret.
“Hmm…”
Glancing at the expressions of Grandmother Chun and Seong Yi-hyang, Seo-jun reached out with a hand surging with Yin energy and grabbed Mr. Seong’s head.
“Aaaaagh…!!”
What a drama queen. It should only feel like his head was getting a bit chilly.
Seo-jun pulled his hand away from the convulsing Mr. Seong and leaned into his face.
“I’ll deal with you later. Until then, don’t try anything stupid. If I so much as snap my fingers, your head will go pop. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Y-yes! Yes!”
“Then why don’t you get lost?”
“Yes!”
Mr. Seong answered vigorously. But letting him go just like that didn't feel quite satisfying enough.
“Take that!”
Thump.
A fist wrapped in Fist Qi lightly tapped Mr. Seong’s head.
“Aaaaagh…!!”
Mr. Seong collapsed to the ground, clutching his head and wailing.
This guy’s acting is fucking ridiculous. It makes me not even want to hit him anymore.
“Beat it.”
“Ugh… Y-yes…”
Mr. Seong, who had been glaring venomously at Seo-jun, immediately lowered his gaze the moment their eyes met and scrambled away.
Tsk. Seo-jun clicked his tongue, straightened his back, and looked at Seong Yi-hyang.
“Hey.”
“Y-yes…”
“I’m just asking just in case, but do you still, like, love him because he’s family or whatever?”
“Please do as you wish, benefactor…”
“No, I’m just asking.”
Seong Yi-hyang stared blankly up at the night sky for a moment, then let out a small, hollow laugh.
“I don’t know… I’m not sure how I feel anymore.”
“You’ve got a surprisingly good personality.”
“Hardly.”
Seong Yi-hyang, letting out faint, dry chuckles, gave a quiet bow and withdrew. Her staggering footsteps looked incredibly precarious.
“This leaves a bad taste in my mouth…”
As Seo-jun scratched his chin, Chun-bong approached him.
“Why do you care so much?”
“Hey, look who’s talking. Do you have any idea what your face looks like right now?”
Seo-jun grabbed Chun-bong’s cheeks—which felt slightly less squishy than usual—and shook them vigorously. Chun-bong let out a low growl.
“Shtop it!”
“Aww, is that so?”
“Gyaaa!”
Cute.
Seo-jun let out a sigh and turned to Grandmother Chun.
“It’s later than I thought. Is it okay if we stay the night?”
“Go ahead. I’ve got plenty of spare rooms. Just pick an empty one and get some sleep.”
“Thanks.”
Seo-jun walked off with a casual stride.
“Hey, old man, see you tomorrow.”
“Have a good night, benefactor.”
“Yeah, whatever.”
* * *
Chun-bong, who had naturally followed him into the same room and claimed a spot, sprawled out on the floor in the shape of a star.
Her hair had grown quite a bit since they first met. Spread out on the floor like that, it resembled a wide carpet.
The black-and-white two-tone color made it look even more like one.
As Seo-jun stared at her, she closed her eyes.
“I’m sleeping.”
“Yeah. Go ahead.”
“I said, I’m sleeping.”
“And I said, go ahead?”
When he just looked at her blankly, Chun-bong clicked her tongue, opened her eyes to glare at him, and then closed them again.
What does this kid want?
Just in case, he leaned in, gently patted her stomach, and started singing a lullaby.
“Sleepy—sleepy—our—Chun-bongie—”
“…You’re a fucking terrible singer.”
“Hey! I’m doing this for you!”
“Keep going. Use this chance to practice.”
What use is singing practice in the Murim? Am I supposed to learn some Sound-Based Art or something?
Anyway, she told him to keep going, so he did.
And before long, Chun-bong fell fast asleep.
It hadn't even been three minutes. Am I actually a natural at lullabies?
Chuckling to himself, he brushed a stray hair away from Chun-bong’s mouth and stepped out of the room.
“Mmm-ph…”
Peeking back inside, he saw Chun-bong’s mouth twitching as if she were eating something in her dream. After watching her for a moment, Seo-jun quietly closed the door.
“The moon is dim.”
Was it hidden by clouds?
He wandered around the yard for a bit before leaping lightly onto the roof.
As if on cue, the clouds drifted away, and faint moonlight spilled down.
Seo-jun sat down in a lotus position right there on the tiles.
As he closed his eyes and began to circulate his internal energy, the murky energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art began to race through his body.
I definitely still have a long way to go.
A heart method wasn't something that could be perfected just by roughly moving internal energy around.
Countless acupoints and meridians existed within the human body, and the results changed drastically depending on the path the energy took.
In the case of the Primordial Unity Divine Art, most of its pathways had been adapted from the Yellow Cloud Divine Art.
However, because the core of the heart method itself had changed, its efficiency had dropped significantly, and he occasionally felt as if the energy was snagging on something.
“Hmm.”
After a moment of thought, Seo-jun began to circulate the Primordial Unity Divine Art as he did every day.
Sss… Hooo…
He drew in the energy of nature with his inhalation and exhaled impurities with his breath.
The natural energy mixed with his racing internal energy, traveling through the acupoints across his entire body. It stained his mental imagery before naturally converting into the internal energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art.
Staring into that murky internal energy with his eyes closed, Seo-jun boldly redirected one of the pathways.
Cough…!
Blood sprayed from his mouth as internal injuries instantly flared up.
Well, now I know that wasn't the right path.
Acting as if nothing had happened, he naturally reverted the pathway to its original state, feeling his insides slowly start to settle.
I had a feeling.
Now he was certain. His body recovered at an abnormally fast rate.
He’d felt it before, but now it was even faster than he remembered.
The reason? He didn't know. How could he?
The only thing he could guess was that it was likely due to the influence of Qi.
After all, that was the only difference between his current body and his body from his previous world.
In the first place, when you didn't know what was going on in the Murim, blaming Qi usually hit the mark.
It was especially true for him. Possessing the greatest talent in history sometimes produced unexpected effects that even he couldn't fully grasp.
Anyway, it’s a good thing.
If his recovery hadn't been fast to begin with, wouldn't he have died on his very first day here? It was a miracle he was even alive after his intestines had spilled out back then.
Of course, Chun-bong’s medical knowledge of the human body had played a major part, but still.
That wasn't what was important right now.
Once you realize your body has incredible regenerative powers, what should you do?
Most gamers would reach the exact same conclusion.
Infinite retries.
Repeat until it works, as long as it doesn't kill you. Keep trying, and eventually, you’ll achieve something. It was simple logic.
Blood? You won't die from coughing up a little.
Pain? It sucks, but it’s bearable.
Qi Deviation? Just be careful not to let it happen.
As long as you didn't cross the line of absolute death and used your head, your realm would rise. How could anyone resist this kind of exploit?
“I’m going all out tonight.”
And so, he recklessly circulated the Primordial Unity Divine Art until dawn.
* * *
“Whoa… I almost died.”
He’d gained a new realization: conducting biological experiments on your own body was just plain insanity.
He felt he really needed to restrain himself from such madness in the future.
But usually, the things you shouldn't do tended to yield the highest returns.
This was one of those cases.
This is insane.
He could clearly feel the majestic flow of his internal energy.
The Primordial Unity Divine Art, which had undergone a cataclysmic transformation overnight, felt completely different as it surged through his body.
Setting everything else aside, the optimization alone was on a completely different level, so the change was only natural.
Consequently, it had also become slightly easier to circulate his energy while moving.
So, what was the conclusion? Under normal circumstances, he would never run out of internal energy.
Infinite internal energy for me. Sweet.
Actually, it wasn't quite infinite, but who cared? If it felt good, that was all that mattered.
This meant he needed to rethink the entire direction of his martial arts.
If he had an abundance of internal energy, he needed to think of ways to use it.
Should he create techniques that consumed massive amounts of energy all at once?
“Yawn… What are you doing on the roof… Yawn… Holy shit. Hey! What the hell did you do now, you crazy bastard?!”
As he was deep in thought, Seo-jun waved happily at Chun-bong’s intense morning greeting.
“Yo, you’re up, Geum Chun-bong. Your big brother here has been reborn today.”
“Stop bullshitting! What’s with all that blood on your clothes?!”
“Huh?”
He glanced down.
“Oh…”
His martial robes were black, but even on the dark fabric, the heavy, soaked bloodstains were clearly visible.
Still, a person doesn't die even after losing this much blood? That was another new realization.
“Just did a bit of training.”
“No…! Nooo…! What kind of training makes you bleed like that…! Ah, for fuck’s sake!”
Why is she being so scary?
Just as he hopped down from the roof and was about to head into the room, Chun-bong grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
“Ack…!”
“Get over here. Are you sure your body is okay?”
“I’m fine…?”
“You’re always talking out of your ass, so I can’t trust a single word you say.”
Chun-bong gnashed her teeth and began poking and prodding his body with her small hands to check his condition.
“Hahaha…! Hey! That tickles!”
“Stay still!”
“Ah, not there!”
“…Shut up! It’s not a weird spot!”
Regardless of her worries, even after Dr. Chun’s meticulous examination, no abnormalities were found.
“…You gave me a heart attack first thing in the morning.”
And Chun-bong is cute.
* * *
While he was fooling around with Chun-bong, he saw Seong Yi-hyang approaching, dressed neatly.
When Seo-jun spotted her and waved, she bowed modestly.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Ah, yes. But where are you going?”
“Ah…”
Seong Yi-hyang gave a faint smile. Unlike her mechanically upturned lips, her eyes remained entirely expressionless, making her expression look eerily bizarre.
“I must return home. I have nowhere else to go.”
“Aha.”
Returning home. As expected, it weighed heavily on his mind.
Since he’d already meddled this much, he felt he needed to resolve things properly before stepping away to feel satisfied.
“Hmm.”
A good idea suddenly struck him. If she had nowhere to go but home, couldn't he just make a place for her to go?
The corners of Seo-jun’s mouth curled up.
“Hold on a second.”