That's Only Natural!
Nang Hyeon sat slumped in a corner of the inn, swaying as he stared ahead. His face was deathly pale, his clothes soaked through with blood. He had lost far too much of it in the fierce clash with the Blood Wolf Pavilion martial artists moments earlier, and his mind was beginning to blur. From a lifetime of experience in the Murim, Nang Hyeon knew the truth: with bleeding this severe, he should already have collapsed. Yet somehow he was still holding on. His breath came short and ragged, his limbs heavy as lead, but he was not yet at death's door. Gritting his teeth, he forced his head up and looked forward.
"Hah... hah..."
What filled his vision was a broad, solid back. The man who owned that back was none other than the inn's cook, Kang Yeon. He stood between Nang Hyeon and Gwak Sa, the leader of the Blood Wolf Pavilion, calmly surveying the situation. The moment Nang Hyeon saw that wide back, a strange sense of calm settled over him.
Strange... He's clearly nothing more than a cook. Why does looking at him steady my heart like this?
Nang Hyeon could not understand his own feelings. Kang Yeon appeared to be an ordinary man who simply prepared meals. And yet his presence was more powerful than any martial artist Nang Hyeon had ever met. Just then, Kang Yeon turned his head slightly and looked back at him. His gaze was deep and gentle.
"You've lost a great deal of blood. If you hadn't eaten our house specialty earlier, you might already be dead. So please, promote our inn's cooking even more."
Kang Yeon's voice was utterly serene, completely at odds with the desperate situation. Nang Hyeon stared at him blankly. Asking for food promotion while Nang Hyeon was bleeding out and on the verge of collapse—it made no sense at all.
"Pardon?"
The moment Nang Hyeon echoed the words in confusion, Gwak Sa's furious roar filled the inn.
"You bastard!!!"
Gwak Sa exploded with rage, his wolf-tooth blade still locked in Kang Yeon's grip. His face flushed crimson from the excessive internal energy he was forcing out. The Blood Wolf Pavilion martial artists who had regained their footing surged in from every direction, blades screaming with murderous intent as they sliced through the air toward Kang Yeon. Alarm flooded Nang Hyeon's face. He was grateful Kang Yeon had helped him, but against the savage assault of the Blood Wolf Pavilion fighters, a mere cook seemed certain to be reduced to a bloody pulp in seconds.
Nang Hyeon was completely wrong.
"Honestly. No manners at all, right here in an inn."
Kang Yeon murmured the words under his breath and flicked his hand once. The charging Blood Wolf Pavilion martial artists froze mid-stride as if time itself had stopped. They hung suspended in midair, tendons standing out across their bodies. They thrashed desperately to break free, but it was useless. The sight of men frozen in the middle of swinging their weapons, floating helplessly, was utterly unreal. People who had been fighting moments ago now suspended and struggling in empty air—nothing about it was normal.
"...What in the world..."
Nang Hyeon's mouth fell open as he stared.
He simply could not believe what was happening right in front of his eyes.
Meanwhile Gwak Sa was equally stunned, unable to wrench his wolf-tooth blade free from Kang Yeon's grasp. The blade, held lightly between two of Kang Yeon's fingers, did not budge. Gwak Sa poured every scrap of internal energy he possessed into the effort, but no matter how hard he strained, it was futile. His face turned purple from the overload; veins bulged as if they might burst.
"If you force it like that, you'll fall into qi deviation."
Kang Yeon spoke calmly and sent a light stream of energy along the blade. The energy raced through the weapon, followed Gwak Sa's meridians, and sank straight into his dantian. In an instant Gwak Sa's internal energy shattered and scattered; his body locked solid. Kang Yeon's power washed through him like a tidal wave that swept everything away, completely neutralizing his dantian.
Thud.
Gwak Sa crumpled bonelessly to the floor. Kang Yeon flicked his hand once more, and the martial artists hanging in the air dropped like discarded scrap, piling up around their leader. Finally Kang Yeon gently returned the wolf-tooth blade to Gwak Sa's limp hand. His movements were as light and natural as someone tidying away toys.
"I held back, so there shouldn't be any lasting aftereffects. I'll leave you your lives—just stop making a racket and leave. Settle your business with Nang Hyeon somewhere else, outside."
The moment the words left Kang Yeon's mouth, Gwak Sa scrambled upright and shouted desperately at his men.
"E-everyone, we're leaving!"
Gwak Sa and the Blood Wolf Pavilion martial artists fled the inn in a panicked scramble. Their retreating backs looked as pitiful as hunted beasts. Kang Yeon watched them vanish, then turned around. There lay Nang Hyeon, unconscious. He had held on through sheer will against the massive blood loss until his limit finally gave way. Kang Yeon approached and checked his condition.
"He's in rough shape. Lost far too much blood."
Kang Yeon laid a hand on the unconscious man's body and examined him from within. The severe internal injuries smoothed away the instant Kang Yeon's touch settled on him. His energy healed Nang Hyeon like the very breath of life. The blood he had lost would recover quickly enough with proper food and rest. Kang Yeon dusted his hands off, rose, and murmured as he looked down at Nang Hyeon.
"Hmm... I suppose the books need to balance after saving him."
Jo Seol, who had been watching the fight with her heart in her throat, hurried over, worry plain on her face.
"Oppa, is Martial Artist Nang still alive?"
"Yeah, don't worry. Still, we should let him rest."
"The guest rooms on the second floor of the inn are finished."
The newly built West Lake Number One Inn had been designed with two stories instead of one. The upper floor contained lodging for guests. Kang Yeon heaved Nang Hyeon onto his back and carried him upstairs.
Click.
Kang Yeon opened an empty room, laid Nang Hyeon on the bed, and carefully examined his dantian. Not a single thread of internal energy remained. Kang Yeon stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment.
If I'm going to save him, I might as well do it properly.
He placed his hand near Nang Hyeon's dantian. A soft radiance flowed from his palm and seeped into the empty core. It was only a tiny amount of internal energy, yet for Nang Hyeon it would be an enormous gift. Of course, Nang Hyeon himself would never know.
"Jo Seol, let's head down and give him some quiet."
"Kang Yeon Oppa, is it really all right to leave him like this?"
"I took light measures. He'll be fine."
Kang Yeon led Jo Seol back down to the first floor. Jo Hwan was already tidying the furniture. The interior was a mess from the fight between Nang Hyeon and the Blood Wolf Pavilion, yet astonishingly every piece of furniture was completely unharmed—not a single scratch. Jo Hwan marveled and shook his head in wonder.
"Let me help."
Kang Yeon and Jo Seol joined him, and the three of them set about putting the place to rights. Jo Hwan kept marveling that furniture this sturdy even existed. Privately he thought that no matter what brawls broke out in the future, the inn's furnishings would probably survive unscathed.
"Heh heh..."
For a moment Jo Hwan wondered if this was really all right and let out a dry chuckle. It was not Kang Yeon's intention or fault, yet ever since Kang Yeon had returned to the inn, entanglements with Murim folk had begun. Somehow Jo Hwan felt certain such incidents would keep happening.
"Uncle Jo Hwan, don't worry too much. Ordinary troublemakers won't be able to cause any real damage to the inn."
Kang Yeon spoke as if he had read Jo Hwan's thoughts. Jo Hwan looked a little embarrassed.
"Worry? Who's worrying..."
Deep in unconsciousness, Nang Hyeon was lost and confused. The fight remained clear in his memory. The Blood Wolf Pavilion martial artists had charged him, and he had fought to the very end. But the moment Gwak Sa's wolf-tooth blade drove toward his chest, everything had gone dark.
Yet his body felt strange. It was as if his dantian had been completely emptied. For the first time since he began training martial arts, Nang Hyeon experienced the sensation of having lost his martial power entirely.
Am I... dead...?
In that instant a warm energy wrapped around his entire body. It felt like light pouring into deep darkness. Slowly, his consciousness began to surface.
"...Ugh."
Nang Hyeon opened his eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling met his gaze. Just as unfamiliar was the strange sensation running through his body.
"...Why does my body feel like this?"
His dantian was utterly clean. His internal energy was gone, yet somehow his whole body felt light. It was as if he had shed an old layer of callus and been reborn one stage higher. And deep in his dantian, a powerful new energy he had never known before quietly swirled.
What is this...?
Startled, he tried to sit up. That was when Kang Yeon's voice reached him.
"Ah, you're awake."
Kang Yeon sat in the room holding a teacup. His expression was as calm as ever, but his eyes were carefully observing Nang Hyeon's condition.
"...Chef Kang?"
The man before him was unmistakably the same Kang Yeon who had cooked for him at the inn. Kang Yeon was speaking casually now, yet for some reason it did not feel awkward to Nang Hyeon.
"Nang Hyeon, how does your body feel?"
"Where am I?"
"A guest room on the second floor of the inn."
A wave of relief washed over Nang Hyeon.
"I survived, then..."
"Yes. You survived."
Nang Hyeon glanced over and saw that Kang Yeon was drinking tea.
"I hope I haven't interrupted your tea."
As a gourmet, Nang Hyeon understood better than anyone how important the moment of drinking tea could be.
"You haven't. I was just sitting here. More accurately, I was waiting for you to wake up."
Kang Yeon took a slow sip of tea and continued.
"How's your condition?"
Nang Hyeon carefully took stock of his body. There was no pain, no fatigue. If anything he felt fresher and lighter than before. But there was a problem.
"...My internal energy is gone."
Despair twisted his features.
"No."
Kang Yeon shook his head.
"It hasn't disappeared. It's more accurate to say it has been reborn."
"...Pardon?"
Kang Yeon smiled.
"I forcibly scattered your internal energy."
Nang Hyeon's eyes went wide.
"What do you mean by that?!"
"Exactly what I said. The internal energy you had built up over so many years had already hit its limit. That was why you couldn't break through the wall, couldn't grow, and had stagnated."
Kang Yeon took another leisurely sip of tea.
"So I simply scattered it completely."
"...!"
"In exchange, I adjusted your body so that new internal energy will be absorbed far more easily. From now on, if you resume training, you'll be able to raise your realm much faster than before."
Nang Hyeon turned his awareness inward and examined his dantian. It was true. In the core he had thought completely empty, the energy of newly beginning internal power was quietly stirring. The blocked wall of First-Class no longer stood in his way; endless possibility now stretched before him.
"...This is a fortuitous encounter."
Nang Hyeon's hand trembled as he clutched his chest.
"Yes. I know."
Kang Yeon rose from his seat.
"So... remember this favor."
"Young Master Kang Yeon, you saved this Nang Hyeon's life."
Nang Hyeon stood and dropped to his knees.
"From this day forward, my life belongs to you."
But Kang Yeon waved a hand dismissively.
"No need for that. I just want to run an inn."
"But..."
"But if you help bring lots of customers to the inn, that would be nice."
"That's only natural!"
Nang Hyeon made a firm resolution. Spreading the name of the West Lake Number One Inn far and wide across West Lake would be his new mission.