Cheolwon Pavilion (4)
I woke in a daze, half-asleep and half-awake. My eyes had opened naturally, but after pulling two straight all-nighters, exhaustion was inevitable.
"You get that tired from doing that? Tsk."
I snapped my head up at the voice. There stood Cheongsu, clicking his tongue.
As I tried to sit up straight, I realized something heavy was draped over me. On closer inspection, it was a thick fur blanket. No way—the damn Cheolwon Pavilion master had covered me with it?
"If you're awake, get up already! What are you doing?"
"Ah. Yes, sir."
I folded the fur blanket carefully as I rose.
"Did you put this over me, Pavilion Master?"
"Hmph. If someone froze to death in Cheolwon Pavilion, I'd be the only one taking the blame."
"...Thank you."
Who knew he had this side to him? He wasn't quite the bastard I'd pegged him for.
When I tried to hand the blanket back, Cheongsu's face twisted in disgust.
"You think I'm taking that thing you wrapped your dusty body in?"
"Then what should I do with it?"
"Sell it, toss it—do whatever you want."
This old man had layers. Puzzled, I folded the blanket and tucked it into my travel pack.
I instinctively glanced toward the spot with the Samcheong Hall dispatches. As expected, it was already piled high again, matching yesterday's load. But I wasn't scared. I'd climbed the cliff three times at night; daytime would be a breeze.
"I'll go deliver the dispatches."
"You'd better. If I hear we're late again because of you, I'll tan your hide."
"Ah, yes, sir."
His tone was the same as yesterday, but knowing he'd covered me with the blanket made it less grating. As I stuffed the dispatches into my pack, Cheongsu grabbed a few himself from the side.
Curious what he was up to, I stared—only for him to bark at me.
"I have business at Samcheong Hall too, so I'm taking some!"
I flinched. Why yell? He could've just said we were going together.
In the end, I left Cheolwon Pavilion with Cheongsu. We didn't exchange words on the way.
I had no desire to poke the bear and get yelled at.
Cheongsu finally spoke as we reached the cliff face.
"How many times did you climb this at dawn?"
The question came out of nowhere. I rolled my eyes dramatically before answering.
"Three times."
"Three times, huh. Just as I thought."
I braced for a tirade about only managing three, but he stayed surprisingly calm.
"Have you ever learned a Wall Tiger Skill?"
"No."
"Figured. No traces of martial arts training."
Cheongsu pondered for a moment, then abruptly shrugged off his blue hero's headband and handed it to me.
I took it reflexively, baffled. Was he giving it to me? I started tying it around my forehead, but he exploded again.
"Who said to tie it on your forehead?"
Then where? Headbands went on the forehead. I shot him an aggrieved look. Cheongsu pointed to his own eyes.
No way.
"Over my eyes?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Put it on as an eyepatch and climb."
I stared at him like he'd lost his mind. Even pitch-black night let you make out contours; blinding yourself was different.
"Why?"
"Just do it."
His words lit a fire in me. I flashed back to when I'd fled and he'd strong-armed me in front of Cheonghwa. "Just do it" pissed me off that much?
"No."
"Want me to cripple your dantian?"
I was speechless. Daoists resorting to blatant threats? No wonder they got called crazy old goats.
With a deep sigh, I tied the headband over my eyes. Cheongsu "helpfully" left the back knot loose at first, then yanked it tight. Total darkness now.
"Climb."
Curiosity gnawed at me. Would my sharp instincts hold up in this extreme?
I gripped the rock face. My body remembered the path, just like at dawn.
Blind, the cliff loomed vivid before me. The route shone like constellations in the night sky.
Instinct screamed: I can climb this.
I stuck to the wall and ascended. Eager to show off to Cheongsu, I climbed faster.
Mid-climb, heat bloomed in my dantian, spreading through my body.
I knew this feeling. I'd learned martial arts in my past life. It was internal energy flow.
The energy I'd struggled to move before now swirled naturally, circulating my meridians and pooling in my soles.
My heated feet knew the way. I climbed in a trance. This wasn't just a cliff—it was a path crafted for a purpose.
I'd thought I was choosing right before. Wrong. The path forced the steps. It was a footwork technique.
Realizing this, I crested the top. Removing the blindfold, I saw Cheongsu already there.
At my feet lay a booklet labeled Qingyun Step.
"That's the martial art you just reached the first stage of."
Dazed, I picked it up. I'd learned a Wudang technique.
"Your body learned it first, but it's only first stage. Study the manual, grasp the principles, and it'll change."
Unlike past-life arts, this felt different. Those forms were forced, stifling energy flow. Here, just climbing heated my dantian naturally.
This is elite martial arts.
Back then, no matter how much I spent, I only got second-rate trash. Now, I'd grasped a Nine Great Sects technique for the first time.
A swell of grandeur filled my chest. Money, merchants—forgotten. Pure achievement high.
"Wudang kids learn this footwork at five, and you're thrilled? What a blockhead."
"Heh heh."
Cheongsu's usual abuse sounded good right now.
"Thank you. Such profound guidance."
"This is just a taste. Become a formal core disciple, and you'll learn deeper arts. Still wanna run from Wudang?"
I hesitated. For a moment, I glimpsed why warriors obsess over self-cultivation.
Wudang core disciple. Not bad. Train with Hwi-yeong Merchant Group, hit first-rate easy.
That'd fulfill my dreams. Merchant life pissed me off most with third-rate thugs strutting like experts—barely peak, all bluster.
"Can core disciples work secular jobs?"
"Work in Cheolwon Pavilion? You'd have to be secular. No core disciple wants that, though."
"Could I run a caravan or escort bureau?"
"No. But with sect leader's permission, you could serve as a secular protector."
A shame. But options were nil. I'd learned Wudang arts; leaving meant dantian waste.
Wait, am I hooked now?
I hadn't asked for this. Felt a bit off.
"Is it okay to teach an temp disciple like me?"
"I didn't teach you. You learned it yourself. You climbed the cliff, not me."
True—the cliff was a divine relic; climb it, learn the art. Explained Samcheong Hall's perch: core disciples only. Wudang arts required for proper ascent.
"Got it—for now."
"'For now'? Arrogant drivel from a mere temp."
"Sorry."
Cheongsu tsked and turned toward Samcheong Hall. I snatched the Qingyun Step manual and followed.
We handed the dispatches to the admin.
"That's it."
I said. Cheongsu helped, but all Samcheong dispatches done. Time for Gongdo Pavilion and Cheonghwa.
Big mistake.
"What's done?"
"Work's over, right? We sent all today's dispatches."
"Didn't you hear? You're handling all Cheolwon Pavilion dispatches from today."
Speechless. A joke? His eyes said no.
"What bullshit is this?"
I dropped the act. Instantly, his hand chop cracked my skull. Pain rattled my brain; I clutched my head, rolling.
"Argh! You crazy old goat!"
"Crazy goat? Don't wanna live to your natural end?"
Cheongsu rolled up sleeves. Dust flew before Samcheong Hall. I yelled at passersby.
"Help! He's killing me!"
No one cared.
This wasn't prissy merchant society. People beaten or killed? Just livestock to murim folk.
"Die, die!"
"I'm really gonna die!"
"That's the point—beat you dead!"
Cheongsu ignored my wails, targeting weak spots.
Agony blurred my mind.
Thus ended my second day at Cheolwon Pavilion.
For some reason, no pain when I woke. No soreness—body felt invigorated.
I'd blacked out from the beating, yet no aftereffects? Murim folk's mysteries beyond measure.
Opening my eyes, I was back in the messenger room. Piles of dispatches again. Outside, morning sun rose. I'd slept it off.
"Really wanna bolt."
Cliff no issue now. Bypass roads, descend Wudang Mountain easy.
Even Wudang wouldn't guard the whole mountain.
But I'd learned Qingyun Step. Sneak out unauthorized? Real dantian crippling.
His reaction to "crazy goat" proved the threat real.
Sighing at my trapped future, translucent text appeared before me.
Shop rank increased—conditions met.
More talents now available for purchase!