Chapter 37
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Ancient Five Animals Technique (1)
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When Flying Tiger opened his eyes at Zhao Family Manor, Ma Yeop explained the progress of his treatment and asked about the doubts he'd uncovered.
"...But upon examination, your internal organs and meridians were already badly damaged, likely due to the influence of that thunder energy. In other words, even without this incident, disaster was looming sooner or later. Did you know?"
"Thunder energy? You mean lightning?"
"Yes."
"Hm, that's from practicing a half-baked technique. Apparently, there's an 'Upper' and 'Lower' volume, but they only taught me a few application methods from the 'Lower' one. So I never learned how to generate and store lightning, or how to protect my body from that violent energy."
"But handling it so recklessly will destroy your body in the end."
"What can I do? It's a powerful force I can draw on right now. You think a swordsman like me could resist that temptation?"
"......"
Ma Yeop gazed at him silently. It was a wordless plea for more details on the situation.
Flying Tiger hadn't shared his full story before, but this time was different. He'd come back from the brink of death, the man before him had saved his life, and somehow, they got along well enough.
So as Flying Tiger opened his mouth to speak, his expression soured. Recalling the past wasn't exactly pleasant. Finally, he grimaced and said,
"My cohorts and I were told it was 'power granted by the gods.' What did kids barely ten years old know, especially slaves sold into it? We just blindly followed orders. It took years to realize we were walking bombs, ready to explode at any moment. By then, my peers were starting to die one by one, their limbs twisting as the power rampaged out of control."
"......"
"Looking back, they saw us as disposable tools from the start."
"From an assassin group? By 'us,' you mean the kids you met there?"
"Yeah."
"Any chance I'd know the group?"
"Assassins."
"Never heard of them. What does it mean?"
"Brothers hooked on drugs."
"Unique naming sense."
"Straightforward. Whenever a contract came in, they'd pump us kids full of drugs and send us out. High as kites, our eyes rolling back, we rampaged without distinguishing friend from foe. Death? It was a blessing. They promised us paradise if we died."
Flying Tiger's eyes grew dark and desolate, trapped in visions of the past. Then, as if recalling a fragment, he chuckled.
"Heh heh heh, some friends even prayed every night for a swift, glorious death. I wonder where those guys ended up."
"...How did you survive?"
"Quit the drugs. They never suited my taste from the start."
"They allowed that?"
"No way. I faked it—pretended to take them and acted the part. Meanwhile, I honed my blade. One day, I caused a diversion and bolted. They were furious, chased me relentlessly. What choice did I have? I fled east along the Silk Road for years, eventually winding up here."
"Ho, so now?"
"Who knows? Still a fugitive, probably?"
Flying Tiger was genuinely curious himself.
About a year ago, he and Gong Won-yeong had reached the eastern end of the Silk Road, the so-called Central Plains. The pursuit had stopped after that.
But was it truly over?
They had a habit of popping up just when he'd forget about them. How could he be sure he'd escaped? It might be a shadow he'd carry for life.
Like a shadow, in fact.
The kind you couldn't claim had departed just because it vanished for a moment.
"You lived such a harsh life at such a young age."
Ma Yeop savored Flying Tiger's tale for a moment, sighed, and spoke.
The young, powerless Flying Tiger had been raised by beasts in human skin. Yet he retained his humanity. Ma Yeop took special note of that.
Raising a single flower to bloom is far harder than trampling one grown last year.
It must have been grueling.
Exhausted, he could have given up; twisted by resentment; or gone mad with despair... He must have fought tooth and nail against every temptation.
Ma Yeop admired Flying Tiger's resilience. Perhaps even the Primeval Heavenly Lord had taken pity and sent him here.
In other words, it felt like fate.
That was the backdrop to the decision Ma Yeop had wrestled with while treating the unconscious Flying Tiger over the past two days.
'If this is truly the Primeval Heavenly Lord's will, then perhaps!'
Ma Yeop flung open the door, sunlight flooding in. He seated the still-recovering Flying Tiger in a wheelchair and strode into the sunlit front courtyard.
"Little brother, watch closely."
With that, Ma Yeop regulated his breathing and began moving in empty-handed forms.
The motions were varied and lively. Each was a unique posture unused in daily life. Not mere dance, nor quite martial forms suited for attack or defense.
Then what were they?
As Flying Tiger immersed himself, every joint in his body tingled. Following the flowing sequence, his breath naturally synced—inhaling and exhaling with the movements!
Thus, Ma Yeop meticulously demonstrated sixty-five forms. He repeated them three more times. Sweat beaded on his skin, but his eyes and voice brimmed with vigor.
"What did you feel?"
"Vital energy."
"In what way?"
"Hm, each motion infused power into the breath. Is this some kind of dynamic technique I've only heard of?"
"Sharp intuition, as expected. Correct. It's the Qingcheng Sect's 'Ancient Five Animals Technique.' Derived from Hua Tuo's 'Five Animals Frolic.' And these are the very motions I intend to teach you."
"Is it okay to learn that?"
Flying Tiger had reason to worry.
In the jianghu, a sect's signature techniques tied directly to its identity, rarely leaking out. Learning without permission often led to trouble.
"Of course I'll report it upon returning to my sect. But don't misunderstand. While the Ancient Five Animals Technique can expel stagnation, it's inferior to our sect's other methods for building qi. It's classified more as a Daoist health art than a martial technique."
"Ah, I see."
"But it's no idle pursuit, even as flattery. For you right now, it's more valuable than anything in the world. Ultimately, it'll be the lifeline that saves your life."
"......!"
"However, to learn this dynamic technique, you must first make one promise to me. Hear it out and decide."
Ma Yeop had come to Zhao Family Manor to properly treat Flying Tiger's internal injuries.
Using the pure, gentle qi of the Qingcheng Sect's essence, Valley Purity Pellet Skill, he cleared and soothed the blockages in Flying Tiger's meridians, invigorating his vitality. It was True Qi Guidance, directly infusing one's qi into another's body for healing.
Such efforts consumed vast inner power and risked injuring the practitioner. That's how diligently Ma Yeop had worked.
But full recovery eluded him—about eighty percent? He'd stabilized the major acupoints, but his power and cultivation couldn't tend every minor vessel. Without reaching the Azure Flame of the Furnace—peak mastery—anyone would face limits.
The rest was up to self-healing.
From a few months to years of steady meditation and breathwork for full recovery. A form of rehabilitation training. It demanded time and effort, hinging on diligent practice of suitable methods.
For reference, what if he abandoned further treatment?
No major hindrance to earning a living by the sword. Like most wanderers nursing chronic ailments. Just a slight dulling of the blade or rougher breath.
But in this state, ascending to higher realms as a martial artist would prove impossible.
Flying Tiger's technique, befitting a sinister assassin sect, was profoundly unstable—like a ticking bomb on the verge of detonation.
Ma Yeop had surmised as much and thus probed his past upon awakening. To judge his character first, then propose a deal if worthy.
Flying Tiger learned one animal's motions per day over five days.
The order: bear, bird, monkey, tiger, deer—corresponding to wood, fire, earth, metal, water of the five elements.
By this schema, the bear aligns with wood, strengthening the liver. The liver houses the hun soul; mimicking the bear's steady, heavy gait enhances overall organ function.
A bird corresponds to fire, fortifying the heart. The heart holds the shen spirit; imitating its high flight smooths meridians and purifies blood qi.
Thus, each form trained heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys—solidifying hun and po souls, straightening will, cleansing the mind.
Integrating inner and outer, embedding intent, motion, breath regulation, swallowing, massage into the forms—that was the Qingcheng Sect's Ancient Five Animals Technique!
It had been six days since Flying Tiger began learning the Ancient Five Animals Technique. Three days after a "sick visit" feast with Jeong's squad mates.
That day, Ma Yeop taught combinations of the five animals' lively motions into new forms. Familiar ones, too—widely known in the jianghu from Rights of the Emperor's Awareness.
Like Crimson Phoenix Facing the Sun, Golden Rooster Hatching Eggs, Great Peng Spreading Wings.
Similar motions, but intent and direction differed. Not for harming foes, but training body and mind. Depth varied too—like skimming a watermelon rind before, now biting into the flesh.
A special experience for Flying Tiger all around.
Sip... Hoo—
Flying Tiger bent and arched his waist, lifting his head and twisting his neck. His inverted arms mimicked a bear climbing a tree upside down; his stance, a tiger leaning into a corner.
Thus, head and tailbone aligned, heart and kidneys merged, harmonizing water and fire qi.
Like stringing beads, linking the energies—thick pain from the perineum shattered and spread through his body.
As the peacock unfurled its tail like a screen, this motion was called Peacock Opening Screen.