Chapter 56: Confession Attack (2)
Chapter 56: Confession Attack (2)
Eon Do-cheon watched the massive ships slowly approaching.
Despite the pouring rain, his martial robes billowed leisurely, not allowing even a single drop of water to touch them.
A great ship flying the flag of the Murong Family—he recalled hearing that they managed the maritime ban in the Bohai coastal region on behalf of the military.
It was a staggering vested interest. One could only imagine the wealth they had amassed through it.
It was truly enviable.
And it was also truly regrettable.
If the events of today had concluded smoothly, it wouldn't have been impossible to challenge the Peng Family for hegemony over North China.
A bitter taste filled his mouth.
It was because it had now become difficult to join hands with the Jongri Family.
After all, he had just pulverized one of the five Black Ships that were the pride of the Jongri Family.
"Heavenly Roar Fist. What is the meaning of this?"
A thunderous voice erupted, making the very air vibrate.
It was a voice Eon Do-cheon recognized.
He tilted his head at an angle and looked at the man standing on the bow, an arrow notched in his bow.
He was a dignified middle-aged man.
He was glaring straight at Eon Do-cheon with eyes smoldering with rage.
"The meaning of what?"
"Do you intend to feign ignorance? I am asking why you destroyed the Jongri Family's Black Ship."
"Haha, this is unexpected. Have you joined hands with those Jongri bastards? I struck down a scoundrel of the Black Path who was ruthlessly slaughtering and kidnapping innocent civilians. This was an act of justice."
"…Was it not to destroy the evidence of the atrocities your family committed?"
"You speak dangerous words, Murong Seo-jeong. You would do well to reconsider exactly who you are slandering right now."
The Head of the Murong Family, Murong Seo-jeong, known as the Twin Blades of Central China.
He was the only person in the lands of Liaoning who had succeeded in opening his Upper Dantian.
As the two Harmony Realm masters glared at each other, Eon Do-cheon stood with his hands behind his back, quietly clenching his fists.
"Do you wish to test me?"
"I intend to report today's events thoroughly to the Martial Alliance. The downfall of the Jinju Eon Family is a lamentable thing, but I did not realize you had become so depraved."
"You should make your accusations only when you have evidence."
"I will find it, even if I have to scour this entire harbor, so do not trouble yourself."
As he spoke, Murong Seo-jeong gave a slight nod of his chin.
Soon, the Murong Family's great ships fanned out and began to surround the harbor.
The martial artists, each holding a bow, aimed at Eon Do-cheon with sharp eyes.
The Murong Family of Liaoning was said to be masters of three martial arts.
Horsemanship, archery, and twin swordsmanship—likely due to their lineage from the northern nomadic tribes.
These were masters of archery, handpicked from among such people.
Murong Seo-jeong himself was a warrior called 'Twin Blades' because he had achieved great mastery in both twin swordsmanship and archery.
Even while facing their arrowheads head-on, Eon Do-cheon looked at Murong Seo-jeong with a relaxed expression, showing no sign of tension.
"How long do you intend to stay? Are you perhaps worried that we might find something?"
"Your provocation is clumsy, Murong Seo-jeong. Your silver tongue isn't quite enough to shake this old man."
"I admit it. Our family does not practice righteousness through words. The Jinju Eon Family was once such a family as well."
"Do you truly wish to die?"
"If you think so, then why do you not strike?"
The internal energy of the two masters clashed, pushing the falling rain out of the air.
Eon Do-cheon quickly scanned his surroundings.
Among the martial artists on those great ships were those emitting quite formidable auras.
One in the Harmony Realm and several at or above the Peak Realm.
On the other hand, Eon Do-cheon himself had just exhausted his Intent Domain, making an immediate consecutive battle somewhat burdensome.
After taking a short breath, Eon Do-cheon laughed.
"Let us see each other at the Martial Alliance gathering this winter. If you haven't found evidence for your idle delusions by then, I will surely collect the debt for today's insult at the gathering."
"As you wish. You might become a public enemy of the Murong World, so if possible, evacuate your kin before you come."
"Ha…."
It is not easy to judge the superiority between masters of the Harmony Realm.
At that level, a single mistake or a stroke of luck becomes the turning point that decides victory or defeat.
However, those grouped together as the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains could truly be called the best of the best.
In the sense that the achievements and prestige they had built over their long lives were enough to compete for the title of the world's strongest.
Among countless martial artists, only a tiny fraction of geniuses open their Middle Dantian.
Among those who achieve that, only another tiny fraction takes a step toward the next realm.
The realm beyond the Peak Realm. The realm of knocking on the Gate of Life and Death that leads to the Upper Dantian.
Because it transcends the martial power of the Peak Realm, it is called the Super Peak Realm.
And once more. A tiny fraction of them succeeds in blossoming the Upper Dantian.
The realm where Essence, Qi, and Spirit become one. Since the Upper, Middle, and Lower Dantians move according to one's will, it is called Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.
From that realm onward, one can overlay their will upon heaven and earth.
One can paint over the laws of the world with their own 'Creation.'
If one weaves the trajectory of their life, the totality of the martial arts they've learned, and their lifelong desires into a single verse of imagery—
This is called an Intent Domain.
The moment when heaven and earth submit to a single individual.
A master who has reached this realm is commonly called a Peerless Master.
Meaning those who have no equal in the world.
And the Peerless Masters belonging to the Fifteen Lords of the Central Plains are those who reign as absolute sovereigns even among such people.
Only fifteen in the entire world. Excluding the Three Evils Beyond the Great Wall and the Three Venerables of the World, and then excluding the Five Tyrants of the Unorthodox Path, there are the Four Great Orthodox Clans.
Only four absolute sovereigns among the countless martial artists of the Orthodox Faction.
Their names alone carry a different weight.
The lives they've lived and the achievements they've made are on a completely different dimension.
The Fist King, Eon Do-cheon, was such a warrior.
That supreme pride was now being shattered into pieces.
He wanted to strike out this very instant.
It was right after he had personally plunged his cherished grandson into the sea to drown him.
He needed a place to vent this uncontrollable rage.
But he endured.
'Everything on the Black Ship must have been scattered into dust.'
Since his grandson was a clever fellow, he wouldn't have left any evidence that could come out of negotiations with the Jongri Family in the water.
Believing that, he had vaporized the Black Ship itself.
With the wind and rain raging like a storm and the sea turned treacherous by the waves his strike had caused, it was impossible to search for the debris of the pulverized Black Ship.
The sea had become so rough that even masters of water-based martial arts would be swept away toward the Yellow Sea and drown if they took a wrong step.
"Your insolence today will surely carry a price."
Eon Do-cheon turned and left.
He vanished like smoke with an ethereal movement technique.
As Murong Seo-jeong watched his retreating figure, a subordinate approached and spoke to him.
"Family Head. Is it alright not to deal with the Heavenly Roar Fist here?"
"The odds of winning weren't zero, but the damage would have been too great. I didn't have the confidence to protect you all while facing that old monster. Even seeing it from afar, it was hard to believe. He is truly a man with the most ferocious Intent among the Four Great Orthodox Clans."
Eon Do-cheon's Intent Domain was created solely for destruction.
He wasn't confident he could win while protecting his vassals in front of it.
"And our family does not resort to things like assassination."
"Yes, Family Head."
Killing an opponent based on suspicion alone without evidence was the way of the Black Path sects.
Their family motto was 'Do not do at night what you cannot do during the day,' so whatever they planned, they had always pursued only what they could proudly achieve in broad daylight.
"It is certain that Cheong-er arrived in Tianjin, right?"
"Yes, Family Head. Her trail was lost after she boarded a ship from Yanjing to Tianjin."
"What does the Beggars' Sect say?"
"There are no Beggars' Sect members in Tianjin. However, since the pursuit team tracking Uncle Cheon Ju-eun reported heading here, with the Young Lady's resourcefulness, it is highly likely she arrived in this village."
At those words, Murong Seo-jeong's brow furrowed deeply.
He scanned the village beyond the harbor with a pained gaze.
It was a silent, dead village where no sign of a living person could be felt.
He hoped his daughter was in there. He prayed she hadn't been on that Black Ship.
Even as he thought that, he couldn't ignore the sudden, surging intuition.
"Please work a little harder. We must find her."
"Of course, Family Head."
At his words, the martial artists bowed in unison and dove into the deep night sea.
"Please. Just stay alive."
Murong Seo-jeong muttered in a low, heavy voice and closed his eyes.
*
What happens when an impact force strong enough to blow away a massive ship floating on the sea in an instant hits the surface of the water?
The answer is a tsunami.
'Son of a…!'
I was quite confident in my swimming.
I hadn't learned professional water-based martial arts, but my nickname used to be the Korean Phelps—though since there's no Korea and no Phelps now, it's a bit of an ambiguous title.
Anyway, with the techniques from those days intact and occupying the body of a direct descendant of the Hebei Peng Family, there was no way I couldn't swim.
The strength I possessed was on a different level to begin with.
But one cannot defy Mother Nature.
'Ugh…!'
Forcing my body, which didn't have a shred of internal energy left, to twist, I continued to dive while tightly clutching Murong Cheong to one side.
Even when I flailed my arms toward the surface, the water level was too high.
It was because we were right under the spot where Eon Do-cheon's strike landed.
We were essentially… struggling at the epicenter of a tsunami.
I grit my teeth as I looked at the unconscious Murong Cheong.
How long has it been since she stopped breathing? It felt like a long time—
'The golden time is 4 minutes from the moment breathing stops and oxygen is no longer supplied to the brain.'
I thought, recalling what I learned during CPR class in the military.
I had to perform emergency treatment on land within 4 minutes.
I couldn't let this girl die or become a vegetable.
I was also unable to breathe.
Even as I was swept away somewhere by the current, I thrashed my whole body to rise toward the surface.
"This is an emergency medical act. It's a part where the Good Samaritan Law applies."
I wasn't sure where this was.
Cheongheon County was a dead village with all its lights out even at night, and the nearest village from Cheongheon would be at least a day or two's walk away.
I couldn't determine my location as there was nothing but darkness all around.
Rain was pouring down like a storm.
I laid Murong Cheong on the beach and first checked her injuries.
She must have been hit in the back, but fortunately, it seemed her spine wasn't broken and her ribs weren't shattered.
Let's assume the performance of the Protection Bead was just that excellent.
Or maybe the impact wasn't fully transmitted because we were underwater. Regardless, it was a huge relief.
And I immediately placed my hand near Murong Cheong's chest.
Closing my eyes and ignoring other sensations as much as possible, I checked her heartbeat.
"Dammit."
Let's just do it. I don't know how much time has passed.
Roughly two minutes? Three minutes? Maybe five minutes have passed. I have to hope that's not the case.
I tilted her chin to secure the airway and tore open her martial robes to expose her chest.
Avoiding my gaze as much as possible, I placed my hands on her ribcage.
5 to 6 cm deep. 30 times at a rate of 100 times per minute.
It felt like 20 years had already passed, but I remembered it with strange clarity.
If you're an adult male, it's a skill you absolutely learn at least once in the military.
Honestly, I think it's the most useful skill you can learn in the army.
Huff, huff. I began chest compressions, putting my weight into it in time with my breathing.
30 times like that.
I held the pale chin of Murong Cheong, whose airway was secured, blew air in, and watched her chest rise.
The lungs are fine.
Twice like that. Then 30 chest compressions again.
How many times did I repeat that?
"Please, please live. I've gone through all this trouble, please!!"
It would have been great if there was a defibrillator. There's no such thing as electricity in this damn medieval China…!!
Wait, electricity?
I thought as I continued chest compressions.
The tiny bit of internal energy left in my Dantian—it was a small amount that couldn't even be used to execute a martial technique.
Since my whole body was exhausted, I couldn't gather any more internal energy without cultivating.
But if it's just this much….
—Zap!—
The Hunyuan Thunderbolt Art is a martial art that transforms internal energy into lightning. In other words, electricity.
I quickly placed my hands on Murong Cheong's chest and stomach and squeezed out all the remaining internal energy to draw out a thunderbolt.
Please.
—Crackle!!—
An energy too weak to be called a thunderbolt erupted from my fingertips.
The current surged through Murong Cheong's wet body. And soon.
"Cough!! Ack!"
Seawater was vomited out of Murong Cheong's mouth!
"Damn, dammit! Hahaha!!"
Only after continuing chest compressions to make her vomit out all the remaining seawater could I stumble back and sit down.
Blocking the pouring rain from hitting her face with my hand.
Looking down at Murong Cheong, who was taking ragged breaths.
"Long live modern man."
For the first time since falling into this world, I succeeded in reproducing a useful modern technique.
My heart swelled with pride, thinking that even Bian Que or Hua Tuo themselves couldn't have saved her like this.
I mean, those guys are ancients. How would they know what CPR or a defibrillator is?
After calming my excited heart for a while, I took off my long robe, wrapped it around Murong Cheong's body, and carefully picked her up.
I couldn't let her stay in the rain.
"Ugh…… mmm……."
Murong Cheong opened her eyes, feeling a terrible headache.
It was a sensation very similar to the hangover she felt the day after she shared a drink with her father for the first time after her coming-of-age ceremony.
Her stomach was churning, her head throbbed, and it felt like her ribs were broken.
Her lower back was so stiff that a scream threatened to erupt just from moving.
Murong Cheong sank into thought with dazed eyes. What happened?
I boarded the Black Ship to find Uncle Cheon Ju-eun.
I killed the Fist Dragon to avenge my uncle.
Our family's fleet arrived.
The Heavenly Void Fist suddenly struck the Black Ship with a secret technique.
To avoid it, I went down to the hold and punched through the floor,
But I was a bit late, and the Heavenly Roar Fist's strike was falling directly upon us….
'I blocked it with my body.'
Why?
No matter how much she thought about it, there was no particular reason. She just felt like she had to.
No, rather than that… she would rather.
She didn't want to see this man die before her eyes.
Thinking back now, it seemed the Protection Bead she had been carrying because the man refused it had deflected most of the force.
She supposed she should be glad she survived because of it.
And then she lost consciousness, and now she was here.
She opened her eyes in a cave where a single campfire was crackling.
The robe covering her body was the martial robe of the Peng Family. It was warm.
Murong Cheong unconsciously gripped the sleeve of the robe and brought it to her face…
"Oh? You're awake?"
Startled by the voice, she quickly lowered her hand and looked toward the cave entrance.
A man soaked to the bone appeared with a large beast slung over his shoulder. It was Peng Hyeon-hwi.
Seeing that he was safe made her heart feel a little warmer.
And that emotion soon turned into shock.
"Why on earth are you naked?!"
"Naked? This is called being shirtless. I didn't take off my pants."
"It's the same thing!"
"You're wearing my clothes. My other clothes were turned into rags, so I threw them away."
"Ugh…!"
Murong Cheong squeezed her eyes shut and pushed away the martial robe covering her.
With her head turned away, she held up the robe and reached out toward Peng Hyeon-hwi.
"Quickly, put it on quickly! It's unsightly!"
"Uh… it would be better if you kept it on."
"Pardon…?"
"Because your clothes are drying right now."
Murong Cheong narrowed her eyes and looked at Peng Hyeon-hwi.
The muscles tightening his entire body, the frame with lines so thick it made her dizzy…. Forcing those things out of her mind, she looked in the direction Peng Hyeon-hwi gestured with his chin.
"My… clothes…?"
She saw her martial robes and bamboo scrolls hanging from a thin line in front of the campfire.
"Then right now…."
Ha.
It couldn't be.
As she tried to deny it and looked down, what she saw was.
Bare skin with goosebumps.
"You crazy lecher—!!!"
Murong Cheong shouted fiercely and hurriedly covered her body with Peng Hyeon-hwi's martial robe.
*
Where did the Good Samaritan Law go?
I looked at Murong Cheong, who was nibbling on a piece of well-roasted wild boar meat, and then looked away.
No, seriously, this is unfair.
It was a near-perfect emergency rescue.
"What, what are you looking at!"
"I was just seeing… if the meat was well-cooked…."
"Liar! A lie typical of a Han! And the lewdness typical of a Han!"
"No, I really just tried to treat you…."
"In what neighborhood do they take off clothes when treating someone!? Is it a lewd, decadent, and vulgar custom of North China?!"
Korea.
500 years in the future….
"I, I was clearly hit in the back, but my solar plexus… my chest hurts…! And, and there are handprints on my stomach and chest…! You, you must have done it!"
"Well, that's true."
Since I pressed a defibrillator—my hands—against that white skin, marks were bound to remain.
"I… I am finished now…. What should I do about this… how should I tell my father… I trusted you. And that trust has been shattered into pieces. We can no longer be friends."
"No, what are you even talking about."
"We must now…."
Murong Cheong's eyes were shining dangerously.
"We must hold a wedding."
Oh. So this is it.
The Confession Attack.
I remember suddenly throwing one at a senior in my department during my freshman year, getting rejected, and then going to the military.
Actually, a confession is something where the build-up is very important; you're supposed to go into it when you're already halfway in a relationship and just start counting the days from then on.
I didn't know that back then.
Even while I was reminiscing to get as far away from reality as possible, Murong Cheong's words continued without stopping.
"Did you think you could do such a thing and not take responsibility? Your lewdness and brazenness are truly astounding. But it's no use now. I am by no means an easy person. Your infidelity can never be forgiven, so first of all, you are banned from entering gisaeng houses."
"I'm a member of the Hao Clan, though."
Why am I getting banned from our own place of business?
No, more importantly.
"I'm sorry, but…."
"What, what is it now…? D-don't tell me… don't tell me while I was unconscious, you already…?!"
"No, it's absolutely not that, so don't worry."
"Pardon? But… why?"
"Huh?"
What do you mean 'why,' lady?
The translator in her head is way too broken. Communication is becoming difficult.
I let out a sigh and said,
"I already have someone I'm engaged to."
Upon hearing those words, Murong Cheong just stared at me blankly with her mouth agape.