Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Moon Maiden - [2]
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"Transferring internal energy?"
Heo Pung-gae wondered if he'd misheard, but no.
Ha Ah-rin spoke up.
"You don't know? It's passing on all the inner power I've built up over the years to someone else..."
"I wasn't asking what it means. You're saying you're going to do it to me?"
"Why else would I have called you here to ask?"
Heo Pung-gae shot back.
"Are you insane?"
Ha Ah-rin narrowed her eyes.
"I'm not."
"Then why the hell would you do it for me?"
"My master taught me martial arts, didn't he? Some random girl shows up empty-handed, demands precious teachings out of nowhere, and he just gives them for free. Looking back, it was ridiculous. I'm just trying to pay the price now, since I was grateful back then."
"Bullshit. If I become her master and take internal energy transfer from my disciple, I'll be cursed for a thousand years. Besides, you don't look like you're in bad shape. Isn't internal transfer something only decrepit old masters who can barely move do?"
"I've gotten old too. Two years older than you, right, Master?"
Heo Pung-gae said cautiously.
"You should be fine up to 130. Your body hasn't aged so far..."
"I'm not fine."
"Yeah, you said you weren't feeling well. What's wrong? I can't needle anywhere that requires undressing, but if it's your leg joints, I could give you acupuncture."
Ha Ah-rin teased.
"Can you needle my head too?"
"Your head?"
"I've got dementia."
Heo Pung-gae's inner calm shattered.
"Did a doctor say that?"
"I haven't been to a hospital. Don't want to go out."
"Don't self-diagnose, you idiot."
"I don't know if it's dementia or not, but there's definitely dust in my brain."
"I told you not to judge yourself without a medical license."
Ha Ah-rin said.
"I can't remember a thing from yesterday. Even walking in the palace, I forget why I'm there. Unlike you, Master, I'm just lounging around here, not using my brain, so maybe that's why."
Heo Pung-gae shut his mouth.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"If you're really worried, call a house call."
Ha Ah-rin laughed.
"To give the reporters a scoop? 'Dementia Master Finger-Paints Walls with Shit...' Hell, if it gets worse and I end up doing that, it'd be a relief. My memories might fade, but my body remembers the martial arts. Who knows what a peerless master with dementia might do? Better to pass my power to someone else before someone gets hurt or killed. And if I'm passing it on, might as well be to you, Master."
"Hey, don't be so pessimistic..."
"What's pessimistic about it? It's just time to become an immortal."
Heo Pung-gae asked carefully.
"Are you confident in ascending?"
"I don't have the confidence to stroll up to heaven like Emperor Wanli climbing stairs... So, corpse liberation it is."
Corpse liberation meant death.
Heo Pung-gae said gloomily.
"I taught you that stuff doesn't exist."
"Did you? Dementia, so... I can't remember well..."
"Wang Chong in the early Eastern Han criticized it properly. What's the difference between the body dying and the soul floating to heaven versus a normal death?"
Given the situation, he was even mentioning words he never uttered lightly.
Ha Ah-rin picked up.
"That guy's a critic of Taoism from the start, isn't he? He argued humans are mere matter, so ascension itself is nonsense. Emperor Wanli proved that was bullshit, so his corpse liberation critique is bullshit too."
"Your memory's fine."
"Maybe seeing you after so long cleared my head."
"Anyway, you should aim for ascension like Emperor Wanli. You can do it. You've accumulated merit, your inner energy is purer than anyone's. So don't give up..."
Ha Ah-rin shook her head.
"After living 130 years, I don't want to push for something so grand."
"Why not?"
"I'm getting old, you know? Old memories keep coming back. Thinking the old days were better. Even fighting those Japanese bastards feels like a dramatized scene now."
"A drama scene? What do you mean?"
"A beautified version, way nicer than the gritty reality. You know those historical dramas where I'm the protagonist?"
"Yeah."
"The Japanese I fought back then feel like villains in those dramas. Hated them during the fight, but afterward, they're almost endearing..."
Ha Ah-rin pointed out the window and continued.
"Those things prowling out there feel less friendly than those brutal Japanese, Master. Get it?"
"No. But I get why you spouted that nonsense back then."
"And you got thrown in jail for my nonsense. Sorry I didn't visit or write."
"I told you not to."
"Still."
"That was just an excuse anyway. I went in for the reward money, so no need to apologize."
"Talking nonsense at your age."
"It's not nonsense."
Ha Ah-rin giggled in a way unbecoming her age.
"Fine, whatever. Seeing you young again is great. When you washed your identity as Lee Sun-hee and twisted your face, I was pissed inside. But Return to Youth brought back that old face? Damn, handsome as ever, Master. Should I eat your face..."
Mid-sentence, she stared at the ceiling and slumped.
They sat in silence for a while. Heo Pung-gae said.
"I told you to go to the hospital if you're worried, you rascal."
"Forget it. Really not taking the transfer, Master? If I forget how before long, all that built-up power goes to waste."
"You've got plenty till 130. Do it then or not."
"Too late by then. Don't even want to live that long..."
Heo Pung-gae didn't want to hear more.
He turned and said.
"I'm going."
As he started walking, footsteps followed.
When Heo Pung-gae exited the building, Ha Ah-rin followed.
"Fairy?"
Coming out of the palace like this was rare for her. The Imperial Army soldiers were shocked to see her.
Meanwhile, Yi Pung had been waiting for Heo Pung-gae.
Yi Pung started toward him, then froze upon recognizing Ha Ah-rin. He stammered.
"I-It's an honor to meet you..."
When Ha Ah-rin addressed him, Yi Pung panicked.
"You're Yi Pung?"
"Y-Yes. That's me."
"Lee Sun-hee's disciple?"
"Yes, unofficially, but..."
Ha Ah-rin smiled.
"Call me Grandmaster."
Yi Pung's eyes widened.
After the Moon Maiden returned to the palace, Yi Pung shouted at the Gyeonghee Palace training ground.
"No way! Doctor Heo Pung-gae is really the Moon Maiden's master? I heard the rumors, thought they were fake..."
Heo Pung-gae replied indifferently.
"Guess so."
"You're not shocked?"
"What's to be shocked about?"
Yi Pung blinked and asked.
"Did you know already?"
"Maybe."
"Why didn't you tell me! Our grandmaster's master is her— that's insanely proud!"
It was proud. Thinking he taught such a great person made him feel great too, and he sometimes got cocky.
But then he'd look in the mirror and see the old thug staring back, cooling his excitement.
That's why, after thriving as Doctor Heo Pung-gae, he laundered his identity to Invincible BB Bullet. All for a reason.
He was still a thug as Heo Pung-gae, but now he'd do more thug stuff, so he decided to pretend to be someone else.
Even then, he wasn't proud of his Heo Pung-gae activities. Introducing himself as the Moon Maiden's master would tarnish her honor. So he hid it.
"Don't tell others."
"Why not?"
"Master's dying wish."
"No, wait..."
Yi Pung looked wronged, but Heo Pung-gae looked away.
The Imperial Army's Gyeonghee Palace had not just martial arts training grounds but also a shooting range.
A man emerged from the range. A familiar face.
He recognized them too.
"Uh... Invincible Unaffiliated, sir?"
Heo Pung-gae bowed politely to the Korea Pride Hero.
"Thanks for the Martial Alliance tournament last time."
"Pardon? For what?"
"You backed me up when Go Jin-cheol was badmouthing me."
"Oh, that. Couldn't stand him shaming the Go family! Glad it helped!"
Thrilled by a peerless master's courtesy? The Korea Pride Hero laughed heartily.
Heo Pung-gae asked.
"You were Imperial Army?"
"Imperial Army? Oh, coming from the range? Just rented the place for cash. Had to shoot after ages..."
He didn't ask why a martial artist practiced shooting.
There was a joke among martial artists.
Question: Who's stronger, a gunman or a martial artist?
Answer: A martial artist with a gun.
Silly pun, but true. Guns let a child topple Xiang Yu, scary for anyone, but trained users maximize them.
And martial artists wield guns better than any soldier.
Their superhuman reflexes that block arrows shine in shootouts.
A martial artist aims and fires faster and more accurately than normals, bullets outpacing sound to kill before the enemy pulls the trigger.
Yi Pung spoke up.
"Speaking of, you got that nickname abroad with guns?"
The Korea Pride Hero grinned.
"Yep! Foreign martial world doesn't let martial artists use guns, right? So I went abroad, shot up a storm, and they dubbed me Korea Pride!"
The backstory: Foreign martial artists use guns in real fights, slaughtering slow normal thugs despite sword training.
In gun-heavy places, high-realm martial artists fetch top prices for superior reflexes.
But Korean martial artists avoid guns due to regulations, undervaluing them.
The Korea Pride Hero proved Koreans match foreigners by gunning abroad, boosting national pride for his title.
His overseas kills numbered hundreds. A 100-billion-won master's reflexes could wipe gunmen effortlessly.
Even Martial Alliance's top hitman Kim Ji-yong paled.
It sent chills.
Unaware, the Korea Pride Hero beamed at chatting with a peerless master.
He continued happily.
"Korea's martial world needs gun prep now. Demonic Cultists smuggling guns here, right? Bodyguards are useless. Best counter is guns. Time for Korean martial artists to go pew-pew like abroad. Remember Japanese occupation? Brutal because of that."
True. Thinking of it still made his teeth chatter.
The Korea Pride Hero went on.
"Back then, Doctor Heo Pung-gae took them all out with pebbles. Respect! But others couldn't, so everyone should train shooting now... Nah, they say martial artists use martial arts, not guns. Idiots..."
Heo Pung-gae couldn't take it.
"I agree, no guns."
"Why?"
"Abroad's flooded with guns, fine. But Korean martial thugs shooting? Police won't stand for it. They'll crush us all. What if Korean martial world collapses?"
"So what? If it falls."
Heo Pung-gae stared; Korea Pride Hero just grinned.
"If Korean martial world falls, chumps like Go Jin-cheol losing domestic gigs care. Pricey ones like us? Go abroad."
Heo Pung-gae was speechless, gave up rebutting.
Yeah, so what if it falls? Might improve public safety. Normal Koreans wouldn't mind martial thugs broke.
Phones rang. Both Heo Pung-gae and Korea Pride Hero.
After, Korea Pride Hero said.
"Work? Martial Alliance calls urgently."
Heo Pung-gae replied.
"Same."
"Oh, same job? Let's go! I'll drive."
Heo Pung-gae nodded. Time for thugs to bond.