A Fortuitous Encounter
"There was a time... when I too made a name for myself as a prodigy. But the Murim Alliance... it turned out to be a den where all the monsters of the jianghu gather."
Thoroughly drunk, Ak Hwan continued to lament his lot in life.
"Especially... especially the Alliance Leader's children and disciples—they were like gods to me. Their martial arts were so devastatingly superior that I felt utterly small beside them. A mere... a mere year. In just one year, my pride was shattered to pieces."
He paused for a moment and drained his cup.
Kkeuu...
"I was so pathetic that I once wept in secret."
Heheheh...
Ak Hwan let out a self-mocking laugh.
Jiang Zhou, who had been listening quietly to his story, filled a small cup with liquor from the wine jar.
The liquor was a divine elixir his master had left unfinished.
He's my first customer. Time to show a little generosity.
"The tournament is tomorrow, so... I suppose I should head back early."
The drunk Ak Hwan rose from his seat.
"Have one more cup before you go."
Jiang Zhou held out the small cup of liquor.
Haha...
"Thank you."
Laughing heartily, Ak Hwan accepted the cup and downed it in one gulp.
Kkeuu...
"That was... good."
Perhaps because he was already so far gone, Ak Hwan couldn't even taste the liquor at all.
"I won't charge you for the drink. Just two silver taels for the meal, please."
Ak Hwan pulled out his coin pouch and readily produced the two silver taels.
"Truly... that was a delicious meal."
"Come back with your comrades next time."
"I... will do that."
The rain had stopped, but dusk had fallen before anyone noticed. The drunken Ak Hwan staggered across the Stone Bridge.
Watching him go, Jiang Zhou wore a contented smile.
Kekekeke...
Word would spread through that young man's mouth soon enough, and customers would come flooding in without end.
Starting tomorrow, I'd better stock up on more meat.
Huheok...
Ak Hwan, who had been sound asleep, shot upright with a single cry.
No—not upright. He practically launched himself into the air.
His entire body had suddenly grown fever-hot, and the power boiling within him was beyond his ability to contain.
Why? Why is this happening?
He threw on his clothes in a rush and bolted outside.
The moonlight was bright, yet the darkness was thick— judging by that, it was not yet even dawn.
As his body grew hotter and hotter, he moved with increasing speed.
He didn't know the reason, but a warrior's instinct was telling him this had something to do with his internal energy.
Hwiiik...
Unleashing his Lightness Skill, he ran until he reached a small mountain within the Murim Alliance grounds.
Settling at the mountain's edge, he sat down in the full-lotus meditation posture. He wanted to go deeper, but he doubted his body could withstand the fire raging inside long enough to make the climb.
He had to suppress this scorching heat and this power that seemed ready to burn his whole body to ash.
The moment he began circulating his energy with the Ak Clan's Je-Yeon-Gong (Emperor's Refinement Art), the fire came pouring into his dantian.
And the force of it was truly monstrous.
The flame, cramming his Lower Dantian to bursting, thrashed wildly to break back out.
Ak Hwan suppressed the fire with every ounce of strength he had.
Then the fire began hammering at his dantian.
Kung! Kuwoong...!
It was the pain of an iron hammer striking his Lower Dantian again and again.
Under the hammer's blows, the dantian widened, yet the fire's fury subsided by only half.
In the end, the flame wrenched its way out of the dantian and began spreading through his entire body.
Ak Hwan drew that power up toward the place where his Middle Dantian lay.
And the force of his Lower Dantian came charging up after it.
Kuwoong..! Kung....!
He had not yet opened his Middle Dantian, but the fire showed no mercy for such details.
A pain greater than anything his Lower Dantian had suffered wracked the center of his chest.
Kwaang..........!
At last, just as he could bear it no longer and was about to force the gate open himself, the fire came flooding into his Middle Dantian.
Having burst the Middle Dantian open, the flame descended once more to his Lower Dantian and stacked itself there, neat and orderly.
Having tamed the fire, Ak Hwan slowly opened his eyes.
Ah...
And a breath of awe escaped his lips.
The night sky had, without his noticing, taken on the pale blue light of dawn.
Once breakfast was over, the later-generation disciples of the Murim Alliance began streaming toward the training grounds.
Their faces were flushed with anticipation. The tournament was held only once a month, yet not a single disciple took it lightly.
For it was through this tournament that they could enter a new organization.
Anyone who placed within the top fifty would become a later-generation disciple renowned throughout the jianghu.
And so Ak Hwan, too, had hoped to break into those fifty.
Once the disciples had all assembled, a young warrior bearing a sword stepped forward.
Strikingly handsome, he was Baek Won-young—the son of the Alliance Leader and his first disciple.
"Those on the left: disciples ranked 201st to 300th last month, take your places."
At his words, the disciples lined up in order.
"Those on the right: ranked 301st to 400th, face them."
There were exactly four hundred disciples in all. Of those, ranks 201 through 400 spanned from the middle of the pack down to the weakest in martial arts.
Winning two matches in the tournament earned a place among the top fifty, and those fifty would then face the disciples ranked 151st to 200th.
Which meant one had to fight and win six matches in order to break into the top fifty.
"Begin."
The moment Baek Won-young's command fell, the disciples scattered in all directions.
"I look forward to our match, Young Hero Ak."
"As do I, Young Hero Lee."
Ak Hwan and his opponent exchanged courteous bows.
Seureung... seureung...
The two drew their weapons in the same instant and lunged at each other.
Ttadang...! Ttang......!
His movements were far freer than before, and his strength overflowed without end. Every time spear met sword, his opponent's arm shook from the impact.
Ak Hwan knew well enough that martial arts were not decided by raw power alone.
But when two fighters were evenly matched, the one with the greater force would invariably prevail.
Ttang......!
Slamming aside a sword driving for his chest, Ak Hwan twisted his spear and smashed its shaft into his opponent's waist.
Peoeok..!
Keuk..!
A suppressed groan escaped his opponent's lips. The blow hadn't been struck with full force, but it would have stung considerably.
"I... have lost, Young Hero Ak."
His opponent stared down at his own waist in astonishment before conceding defeat.
Since when had Ak Hwan's martial arts grown this strong?
At last... at last, he had won five matches.
Ak Hwan couldn't calm his pounding heart.
The four hundred disciples had been whittled down to one hundred, and the three hundred who had lost stood far off, watching the tournament from a distance.
How high a rank could I possibly reach?
He looked around at the hundred who remained.
Only last month, every one of them had been a master stronger than himself.
Yet now they no longer looked so formidable as to be beyond his gaze.
Yesterday... what happened yesterday?
There was no way his internal energy could have grown overnight and even opened his Middle Dantian without cause. Which meant something extraordinary had happened just one day ago.
Don't tell me... the inn...?
The only unusual thing he could recall was eating those incredibly delicious Pork Noodles at the inn.
Come to think of it, it truly had been a strange establishment.
The Pork Noodles were so good they were worth far more than a single silver tael. He had never in his life tasted noodles so delicious.
Could there have been a divine elixir in those noodles?
Just as the thought reached that far, Baek Won-young approached with a smile.
Hahaha...
"Your martial arts seem to have grown remarkably strong, Young Hero Ak."
Ak Hwan quickly demurred.
"Not at all, Great Hero Baek."
"Have you had some good fortune lately? I couldn't help noticing how nimbly you were moving about just now."
At the question, Ak Hwan remembered the innkeeper's parting words.
Come back with your comrades next time.
Right up until he'd staggered home drunk, he had wanted to introduce that inn to all his fellow disciples. No—he had wanted to drag them there by force and feed them Pork Noodles.
But not anymore.
If it was those noodles that had made him strong, then this secret was his alone to keep.
"I simply... trained a little harder than usual, that is all."
"Is that so. Then I wish you good fortune."
"Thank you."
Ak Hwan bowed deeply to Baek Won-young.
The man was not only the strongest of the young disciples but gentle of character as well—which was why every later-generation disciple looked up to him with admiration and respect.
"Begin."
The instant Baek Won-young's voice rang out, the clash of weapons rose from every direction.
Ttattang........! Ttang........!
Jiang Zhou waited for his customers, his heart full of expectation.
Any moment now, yesterday's young disciple would come leading a crowd behind him.
He had savored the Pork Noodles he praised to the skies, and on top of that had drunk a liquor that existed nowhere else in the world—there was no reason on earth for him not to bring customers along.
Kekekeke...
I even prepared chicken today, so hurry up and come.
He waited with eyes peeled for the disciples, and before he knew it, the lunch hour had slipped past.
But he wasn't anxious. The tournament was being held today, so they would surely come around dinnertime.
Jiang Zhou, idle and merely waiting for time to pass, picked up his net bag and headed into the forest. Yesterday's wild vegetable side dishes had gone down a treat, so he meant to gather more.
Perhaps because this forest had never known human hands, the variety and abundance were plentiful.
There's deodeok and bellflower root too.
Jiang Zhou dug up the deodeok and doraji and filled his bag.
Both were herbs his master had loved—not used as medicine, but enjoyed in cooking. Which meant Jiang Zhou, in turn, had to make dishes out of them.
With his bag brimming full of wild greens, he returned to the inn.
Trimming the greens and peeling the deodeok and doraji took him right up until the sun began to sink.
Shall I start the dough?
Jiang Zhou made a rough estimate of how many customers might show up.
Three or four. No—maybe five or six. Or perhaps twenty of them could come swarming in.
Jiang Zhou slapped the dough about, indulging in pleasant fantasies.
Ttak........! Tak.........!
But even as the hour of the monkey came and went, not so much as a customer's nose appeared.
That's odd.
Jiang Zhou kept glancing toward the road, and little by little, unease began to creep in.
By this hour, most people would have finished their evening meal. Yet still no one had shown—which meant things were not going the way he'd imagined.
In the end, the hour passed and not a single customer arrived.
"Damn it all...!"
Jiang Zhou barked the words out and lit the furnace fire.
"I'm going to burst and die at this rate."
The chicken was no problem—he'd bought it live, so he could just turn it loose in the coop. But the pork risked spoiling, and it had to be eaten today.
As he fed the fire, Jiang Zhou sank into deep thought.
Why didn't that young customer from yesterday come?
He'd drunk the liquor, so there was no way he hadn't noticed the change in his body. If only out of curiosity about the reason, he should have come running straight back. But no—things had turned out differently than expected.
"That little..."
After a long while of brooding, Jiang Zhou clenched his fist.
So he's planning to keep it all to himself. I shouldn't have bothered giving him that drink. If I hadn't given him the liquor, he'd have dragged his whole crowd of friends along... Ah... what a thoughtless little bastard.
Only when evening was nearly over the next day did Ak Hwan finally appear.
Jiang Zhou greeted him without any particular expression.
"Welcome."
His feelings were hurt, but he couldn't very well turn away his one and only customer.
Haha...
"Everyone said they were busy, so... I came alone."
Ak Hwan gave an awkward smile as he took his seat.
Busy, my ass.
Jiang Zhou forced out a smile that belied his true feelings.
"Glad to have you. What can I get for you?"
"I think... I'd like the Pork Noodles. The ones I had two days ago."
Ak Hwan placed his order, sneaking a cautious glance at Jiang Zhou's face.
"One moment, please. Will you be needing liquor?"
"Just one bottle of liquor as well."
Having taken the order, Jiang Zhou lit the fire first and set out the liquor and a seasoned wild green salad.
"Did the tournament go well?"
At the question, a bright smile spread across Ak Hwan's face.
"As luck would have it, I placed within the top fifty. But because I ended up facing Great Hero Baek in a match, I couldn't climb any higher than that."