The Outer Chief’s Offer
Yeo U-hui’s expression darkened in an instant.
Yoo Eunhyeon caught the flicker of unease in her face. Yet before he could dwell on it, she smoothed it away and continued.
“Both the current Demonic Cult Lord, Sa Unsik, and the Heavenly Martial Alliance Master, So Biwon, have already reached the realm of the former leaders they clashed with back in the Battle of Bloodshed and Slaughter. But we learned from past experience that ‘as is’ is never enough. That’s why they’re waiting. They’re waiting to leap beyond the old wall and step into a brand-new realm… which means they’re bound to fight again, and Wulin will be dragged right back into bloodshed.”
“New realm…”
Yoo Eunhyeon muttered without realizing it. The names Sa Unsik and So Biwon, the lessons they had forced on him, the way they had pressed a friend’s hand into his own—it all came rushing back like a half-remembered dream.
“The one who teaches the realm to Murim people, the one who says he’ll pass on martial arts after all, and then dares to suggest marriage as well… what more can I say?”
“Don’t worry about it. Breaking a wall isn’t an easy thing for Murim people. It happens maybe once or twice in a lifetime. We divide realms into Samryu, Iryu, and Ilryu, but as the realm grows higher, the gap inside it only widens. Breaking through that final wall is no small feat—even they might need their whole lives to do it…”
“But what if someone else helped them break it?”
“Hmm? Heh. That would be the most ridiculous story of all. Is there anyone in the current Murim who can teach those two? If there were… the two sects—Demonic Cult and Heavenly Martial Alliance—would point at you as a public enemy in both camps. Nothing less than the prime mover of bloodshed, don’t you think?”
Yoo Eunhyeon felt a cold chill at her straightforward words, yet deep down he shook his head.
‘No. It wasn’t intentional… I don’t even know the full truth. I shouldn’t have to take responsibility. Besides, me, a farmer who doesn’t know even one martial art, being taught by those two? It’s just my imagination running wild. That’s what they always say about unnecessary worry becoming poison to the heart.’
“Then why did you ask?”
Yeo U-hui picked up the hoe and handed it to Yoo Eunhyeon. He shook his head as if nothing had happened.
“Just wondering. What if it really happened?”
“Mm. My nephew hasn’t been in Murim long enough to worry about things like that. But one step at a time. Still, you’ve seen real fighting now, so that part should help a lot. Looks like we’re lucky.”
As she spoke, she urged him to keep moving. Yoo Eunhyeon stared at the hoe Yeo U-hui had just handed him. A strange sense of unease rose when he noticed the bloodstains—whose blood he couldn’t tell—on the blade.
He wondered if this hoe would bring more trouble. Yet he couldn’t throw it away.
He wiped the blood away as best he could, tucked the hoe under his arm, and followed Yeo U-hui while asking, “Won’t they chase us for revenge?”
“If they still want to plot after hearing the name of Uiseon Suga, they can fight us. And if they do come for revenge, it won’t scare me. Come on, let’s go.”
Yeo U-hui still looked completely at ease, and Yoo Eunhyeon was uneasy, but given the martial arts he had just witnessed, her words rang true. He said nothing and trailed after her.
Once they left the remote forest and stepped onto the main road, Yeo U-hui turned to him.
“Nephew, have you ever thought about learning qinggong?”
“Qinggong? You mean running really fast?”
“Yes. I know you’ve got considerable internal energy, so there’s no need to walk slowly.”
With that, she offered to teach him. Yoo Eunhyeon had always been curious about qinggong, so he was instantly hooked.
“Can I learn it easily?”
“Qinggong isn’t just ‘run faster.’ When you move on to footwork, shenfa, or controlling your body, the differences between pupils are enormous.”
“You don’t mean simply running, right?”
“Things like Xingshi Bi, Dapil Mueun, Deungpyeong Do-su, and Heugong Dapbo aren’t things you can just ‘run’ to learn. Qinggong, strictly speaking, is about controlling your own body and moving. But if we’re talking about simply running fast, having full internal energy is enough. Don’t worry.”
Yeo U-hui extended her hand. Yoo Eunhyeon looked puzzled at first, but then understood what she meant. He held out his wrist, and she gripped it firmly.
“…I expected something, but I’m still shocked. How long have you been practicing internal energy?”
“Ten years or so?”
Of course it was a lie. He wasn’t trying to deceive her, but the warning from Sa Unsik still lingered in his mind, so he couldn’t tell the full truth yet.
He only gave a vague answer, as if he had only just learned how to farm.
“Only ten years and you’re already this far? Hwa-seon must have helped a lot, but that’s amazing. You’re almost at Ilryu.”
“Y-yes?”
In truth, he had only trained for a little over a month. He was stunned inside.
‘So the Demonic Cult Lord’s technique… It was even stronger than I thought?’
Pleased that Yoo Eunhyeon possessed deeper internal energy than expected, Yeo U-hui began teaching him qinggong.
“It’s not hard at all. With internal energy you already know how to circulate it. At first, practice walking while channeling qi toward your legs. Once that feels natural, try running. Each step should carry qi. That’s the foundation of qinggong. Of course, deeper forms mix in footwork and can make you move instantly or confuse an opponent’s senses… but there’s no time for all that now. Just focus on moving quickly.”
Nodding, Yoo Eunhyeon followed her instructions, circulating qi as he took his first steps.
At first it felt awkward, but with each step and every passing moment his stride grew lighter. The longer he walked, the more he could cover ground without tiring. It was miraculous.
Of course his internal energy drained rapidly, so he had to rest now and then, but he was already traveling far more than before.
“You learn fast.”
“Huh?”
He felt the same. It really was too easy. Unlike the time he had blindly learned martial arts from Sa Unsik and So Biwon, now that he had started training by combining his own farming with martial arts, everything was progressing much faster.
“That’s enough for now. Let’s start moving.”
*
For the next five days, Yoo Eunhyeon and Yeo U-hui kept traveling. Yet nothing unusual happened afterward—their worries faded completely.
“Here we are. Taiyuan. We’ve almost arrived. Let’s rest here for the day.”
Thanks to qinggong, their speed had increased dramatically. They had covered a vast distance and entered Taiyuan, the heart of Shanxi Province.
It was the first time in a while he had slept in a proper bed, and Yeo U-hui’s suggestion to rest felt like the greatest kindness of all.
But doubt still nagged at him.
“Even here we can rest?”
“Yes. No sign of pursuit from either the Demonic Cult or the Heavenly Martial Alliance in all this time. We’re safe. Besides, we’re far enough from Mount Taesan.”
“I see… we really have come a long way.”
“And staying out too long drains both mind and body. It makes it harder to prepare for anything unexpected.”
“True… rest is important, after all.”
Hearing that, Yoo Eunhyeon nodded. She had proven her skill time and again when bandits had attacked, and she was clearly an experienced Murim person.
Her own martial arts were proof enough, but her time living outside the sect walls had given her encyclopedic knowledge of Wulin.
The more he realized this, the more Yoo Eunhyeon understood how foolish his earlier plan had been.
He had thought he could simply search for Su Hwa-seon alone, but he didn’t even know that the family estate was Uiseon Suga. Finding her would have been impossible.
“Also, I have to buy the things my daughter-in-law asked for. She’s been nagging me nonstop. First, let’s book a room. There’s a place I always stay at when I come to Taiyuan. We’ll go there.”
Since she was near Uiseon Suga, Yeo U-hui obviously came here often.
Only now did Yoo Eunhyeon start looking around. His eyes widened at the grand buildings, looking every bit the wide-eyed country boy.
A chuckle escaped Yeo U-hui as she began walking toward the inn.
She was thinking that maybe today they could celebrate a little extravagantly.
*
“Eh…? Are we staying here?”
Yoo Eunhyeon gazed up at the towering pavilion and murmured. At the entrance hung a signboard elegantly reading “Uiryungak.”
Yoo Eunhyeon had hoped for a simple inn, but Yeo U-hui had brought him to a building far larger than anything he had ever seen.
The street was wide and lined with tall structures; this area clearly housed wealthy families.
“Mm? Too expensive? It’s old, but well-maintained. Very neat and clean.”
“No, I just… it feels a bit…”
Yoo Eunhyeon stammered. Yeo U-hui tilted her long eyes slightly and asked, “You wanted a place like a inn?”
“No, I don’t care about those either.”
Shocked by the joke, Yoo Eunhyeon waved his hands. He simply didn’t have enough worldly sense to understand the jest.
Yeo U-hui laughed and said, “Heh. You’re uncomfortable staying somewhere like this? Poor thing… growing up alone in the mountains all your life, you’re terrified of relying on others.”
It was true. Yoo Eunhyeon had spent his entire life in the mountains with only his family, never really interacting with outsiders. Farming, cooking, everything he did on his own or with family, so instinctively he avoided depending on others.
“That doesn’t mean I dislike Auntie…”
“I know. Humility is hard; it doesn’t become a flaw. But I want you to remember that turning down someone’s kindness can also be a problem.”
“Still, this is such a magnificent place…”
“Hmm? Ah, yes. That’s why. It’s grand, but it’s not that expensive. Don’t worry.”
To someone who had only lived in the mountains, Uiryungak looked like a palace where kings and nobles lived. Yeo U-hui nodded, knowing his excessive reaction came from lack of worldly knowledge.
They could learn those things slowly.
As if to say “I’ll teach you,” Yeo U-hui opened the door and stepped inside Uiryungak.