Chapter 53: Growing Chun-bong
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53: Growing Chun-bong
It was the evening the martial arts tournament ended.
Seo-jun waited until evening for Chun-bong, who always fell into a deep sleep whenever her severed meridians were treated.
Seo-jun had never truly understood the saying "every minute feels like a year" as much as he did today.
It wasn't a joke; his hands and feet were literally trembling.
He was about to destroy the very meaning of his life with his own two hands. To him, it was an act akin to taking his own life, a sacrilege comparable to an unforgivable crime against his own kin.
"Kuaaaah...!" Seo-jun groaned.
"Sigh... Should I just not give it to her?"
"No! She has to take it! Our Chun-bong needs to live a long, healthy life!"
"Then just do it, you brat! Stop throwing a damn fit!" Chun-bong yelled, having woken up.
"B-but..."
"What, are my cheeks my entire identity to you?!" she snapped.
"Not the whole thing... maybe thirty percent?"
"Why, you little—!"
Incensed, Chun-bong began gnawing on Seo-jun’s hand.
Thirty percent? Did that mean if she lost her cheek fat, only seventy percent of her would remain? As the thought sank in, Chun-bong’s eyes flared with genuine anger.
"Ayy, Miss Geum. It’s a joke, a joke. Even if the cheek fat goes away, Chun-bong is still Chun-bong."
"Hmph."
"I mean it. Though, I might get a little depressed."
If those cheeks disappear, what on earth am I supposed to squish? Should I make her gain some belly fat instead?
As Seo-jun pondered this with dead seriousness, Chun-bong watched him with a look of utter disdain before flopping down onto the floor.
"Whatever, let's just start. If we keep this up, I'm going to suffer a Qi deviation from pure rage."
"Ah...! We can't have that."
Seo-jun quickly pulled out the Plum Blossom Pill. The fragrant scent of plum blossoms instantly filled the inn room.
"Now, say ah—."
"Ah—."
"Good girl."
Seo-jun stroked Chun-bong’s head as she accepted the Plum Blossom Pill like a baby bird.
Gulp.
She swallowed it.
It was time. Seo-jun’s eyes turned sharp and serious.
* * *
Today’s goal was to almost completely heal Chun-bong’s severed meridians.
He still couldn't touch the frigid energy gathered in her deepest recesses, but he felt he could clear out everything else.
Placing his hand on Chun-bong’s back, Seo-jun focused, guiding the energy of the Plum Blossom Pill, which possessed a distinct Yang property.
The Yin energy inside Chun-bong. The Yang energy of the Plum Blossom Pill.
As the two polar opposite energies clashed, they both began to lose their extreme potency.
What happens when you mix hot water and cold water? If the ratio is right, you get lukewarm water. It becomes an energy that isn't heavily biased toward either Yin or Yang. That neutral energy is in the most comfortable state for almost any martial artist to absorb.
With the energy of the Plum Blossom Pill and the frigid energy from her severed meridians both neutralizing, it was essentially a "buy-one-get-one-free" deal for her internal energy.
Thus, Chun-bong’s internal energy began to grow exponentially.
During the process, Seo-jun intervened to catch any escaping energy and pack it back inside her, making the treatment of her severed meridians even more efficient.
About two hours passed before the treatment was finished.
Checking Chun-bong’s now-plump Dantian, Seo-jun nodded in satisfaction.
"Yes. It has to be this way."
Since her cheeks are going to thin out, her Dantian should at least be plump.
Seo-jun’s eyes were mournful as he watched the peacefully sleeping Chun-bong.
* * *
"Mmm..."
Waking from her slumber, Chun-bong’s eyes snapped open at the sensation of overflowing energy.
"O-oh...?"
She felt like she was bursting with strength. A quick check confirmed that her internal energy was indeed filled to the brim.
"Oh!"
Even her severed meridians were almost entirely healed. At this level, she wouldn't fall that far behind Lee Seo-jun. If he ever did something dangerous again, she would actually be able to fight alongside him.
"Hey! Lee Seo... jun?"
The smile on her face faltered when she turned to look at him.
"What are you doing...?"
Seo-jun was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the room. His expression was so serene he looked as if he were about to undergo Ascension at any moment. Knowing him, it wouldn't even be surprising if he suddenly ascended to the heavens right then and there.
Worried, Chun-bong cautiously approached him.
"A-are you okay...?"
"I am fine. More than fine," Seo-jun chuckled softly.
This bastard has finally lost his mind!
A chill ran down Chun-bong’s spine as she grabbed his shoulders and shook him.
"Hey! Snap out of it! D-do you want to touch my cheeks?!"
"Touch... your cheeks? How?"
Seo-jun opened his eyes. In his profound pupils, Chun-bong saw her own reflection. She saw a version of herself where her feminine features were far more defined, her baby fat having melted away to reveal a more mature appearance.
"W-whoa...!?"
Startled, Chun-bong scrambled to find her sword and drew it. The reflection on the blade showed a girl whose beauty was pure and elegant, perfectly suited for her seventeen years of age. Though she still looked a bit younger than other women her age, it was now at a level that could be explained away as simply having a youthful face.
Pat, pat.
Chun-bong felt her own cheeks. The baby fat wasn't completely gone, but the volume had definitely decreased compared to before. Inwardly, Chun-bong was thrilled, but she was also a little worried. She couldn't predict the reaction of this crazy cheek-fat fetishist.
"Ah..."
Then, Seo-jun spoke. There was something eerily bizarre about the way only his lips moved while his face remained as peaceful as a monk who had attained enlightenment.
"Life and death are one and the same. Cheek fat is something that exists, yet does not; it is there, then it is gone. I am glad above all else that you are healthy, yet I am saddened above all else that your cheeks have thinned."
"Um...?"
"Yin and Yang are no different. They, too, ultimately originate from the Primordial Unity. They are not opposites, but merely streams branching out from a single source."
"..."
Did this idiot actually gain some kind of enlightenment?
Chun-bong quietly shut her mouth.
Meanwhile, Seo-jun, with his eyes half-closed, gathered the swirling threads of thought and accepted them.
Yin and Yang. Emptiness and Fullness. Plump and Lean. Soft and Firm.
Where did Chun-bong’s lost cheek fat go? If this was a world where the law of conservation of energy applied, that massive amount of energy couldn't have just evaporated in an instant.
Seo-jun examined his own mental imagery space.
An endless sky. A wildly flowing river. Blooming plum blossoms. The rising and setting sun and moon. Countless fragments of imagery, more than he could count on his fingers, lay scattered about.
Seo-jun looked closer at that world. It had to be here somewhere.
After searching for a long time, he finally found it.
One Chun-bong. Two Chun-bongs. Three Chun-bongs.
As he counted the chubby-cheeked Geum Chun-bongs as if counting sheep in a dream, his mind began to reel.
Found it...
The cheek fat hadn't disappeared. Though he could no longer touch it with his hands, Chun-bong’s cheek fat still existed within his heart.
Yes. The cheek fat is already within me.
Look. Was his inner world not filled with these Geum Chun-bongs?!
His heart swelled with joy. His elevated spirit soared infinitely upward, while his mind, having found peace, sank down as still as the surface of a motionless lake.
Only when one empties oneself can one truly be filled. That is the nature of the heart, and the nature of cheek fat. Even if the fat is gone, nothing has changed.
The same applied to Yin and Yang. Just because Yang turned into Yin did not mean its essence changed. Ultimately, Yin and Yang meet to form the Taiji, which is the Wuji, and the Primordial Unity.
"Ah...!"
Seo-jun’s eyes snapped open. A golden radiance flowing from his eyes momentarily filled the room. He suddenly raised both hands and infused them with energy.
A murky Primordial Unity settled into his palms. The source. The one great river that served as the starting point. Yin and Yang merely branched out from it.
Whooooosh—!!
A golden Yang energy dwelled in Seo-jun’s right hand. Simultaneously, a blue Yin energy dwelled in his left.
"Yes, Chun-bong. Your cheek fat is within me."
Watching this, Chun-bong’s jaw dropped.
"What the hell is wrong with this guy...?"
In all her life, she had never seen someone gain enlightenment through cheek fat.
* * *
Having organized his enlightenment, Seo-jun sprang up from his seat.
He could feel it.
One more step. With just that one small step, he could cross over.
The Super Peak Realm.
He could see the half-crumbled wall before him.
Letting the profound feeling flow without clinging to it, Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong. Her face had become quite mature overnight. She hadn't grown much taller, but the lines of her face had become significantly more defined.
As for her chest...
"Oh dear."
"Where the fuck are you looking right now?"
"It's okay. They say a woman isn't all about her chest—"
"Die!"
He got smacked.
"Hey, hey! Wait! Ow, that hurts! It hurts!"
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"No, seriously! That really freaking hurts!"
Chun-bong’s eyes went wide as she stepped back and patted her own body.
"Ah."
Had she finally realized how much stronger she’d become? She approached him sheepishly and began massaging his shoulders with quick, light thumps.
"Ahhh... yeah. This is it."
This was the right pressure. As Seo-jun’s expression relaxed and his body went limp, Chun-bong giggled.
"It doesn't hurt, right?"
"Yeah. It’s perfect."
Seo-jun habitually reached out his hand. His target: Chun-bong’s cheeks.
Squish—
As he kneaded the little remaining cheek fat, Seo-jun’s eyes flew open.
"Gasp...!"
Seo-jun bolted upright. He grabbed Chun-bong’s face with both hands and began frantically kneading her cheeks.
"O-oh...!"
Was this even possible? He hadn't even imagined it. They said there was a heaven above the heavens, and it was truly so. The quantity had decreased, but the quality had skyrocketed. How could the texture of her cheeks have improved even further...?!
"I acknowledge you, Geum Chun-bong...! Your cheeks have reached the Profound Realm...!"
"...What are you even talking about?"
Chun-bong’s lips curled into a tiny, involuntary smirk.
* * *
He was entirely lost in the sensation of those Profound Realm cheeks when a knock came at the door.
"Are you in?"
Seo-jun snapped back to reality at the sound of the familiar voice.
"Gasp...!"
It had definitely been morning just a moment ago, but looking out the window, it was already nearly lunchtime.
"...Who is it?"
"It’s me. Namgung Su-ah."
"Aha."
Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong.
Chun-bong, now brimming with confidence in her own cheeks, gave a haughty nod. "Hmph. Let's see her."
"Okay."
Hiding behind Chun-bong as he opened the door, the first thing that caught his eye was her chest.
What the...
Come to think of it, he remembered Namgung Su-ah’s chest looking smaller than usual during the tournament. Had she been wearing a compression bandage or something?
As he looked up in fresh surprise, his eyes met Namgung Su-ah’s peculiar gaze.
"Want to touch them?"
"No? Are you insane?"
This woman was truly out of her mind.