Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Vacuum Grasping
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Many people believe that to sink into deep thought, you need to sit quietly in a silent place.
But that's not true at all. Sit in a quiet spot, and before long, you'll zone out and start nodding off to sleep.
If you truly want to think deeply, the best way is to walk silently without talking to anyone—like Dang Mujin, trudging along with the caravan.
For the past few days, Dang Mujin's thoughts had been focused on martial arts.
Among the techniques he had learned, the one that particularly caught his interest was the Ape Escape Technique.
In truth, until recently, Dang Mujin had dismissed the Ape Escape Technique. There were several reasons.
First off, it lacked flair. Imagine showing it off to the neighborhood kids someday, and you'll understand right away.
"This is the Heart-Piercing Sword. It strips away flashy moves for ultimate simplicity, targeting the opponent's heart. With this sword art, I've pierced the hearts of dozens of martial artists."
"This is the White Lotus Divine Fist. From afar, it looks pure and lofty like a white lotus flower, but get close, and the fluid hand movements will leave you disoriented. Where'd I learn it? Don't be shocked—it's from the renowned Shaolin Temple."
"This is the Ape Escape Technique. It means a technique mimicking a fleeing monkey. You circle the opponent, picking up daggers or pebbles to hurl at them. No one ever got hit by it without getting pissed off."
...Terrifying.
There were other issues too. What bothered him most was that, unlike his other techniques, the Ape Escape Technique lacked depth.
While his other arts were hard to learn but grew profound with practice, revealing layers of meaning between the lines, the Ape Escape Technique was intuitive to pick up but had no advanced moves.
It was easy to see why the Nangong family classified it as mere trickery.
But the Ape Escape Technique had an advantage that easily outweighed these minor flaws.
In the end, martial arts come down to practicality.
Despite the least training time invested, it delivered results as reliably as any other technique.
Martial artists were used to crossing swords, but they struggled against thrown projectiles. Even assassins from the Shadow Veil Assassins' Sect, who favored hidden weapons, were the same—they threw them, not blocked them.
Moreover, the Ape Escape Technique was great for handling unexpected situations.
Just recently, chasing those men in black, hadn't he thought how useful an extra dagger in his pouch would be? He'd luckily gotten his hands on the Heavenly King Needle Case to resolve it.
Once his view of the Ape Escape Technique changed, his approach to it shifted too.
Its sparse content was, in reverse, boundless potential. The manual laid the foundation for throwing techniques—what came next, he could develop himself.
His thoughts on the Ape Escape Technique naturally intertwined with the Heavenly King Needle Case.
'Could I mimic the power of the Heavenly King Needle Case with my bare hands?'
If he could shoot poison needles like from the case, few martial artists could stand against him.
Dang Mujin fiddled with the needle case in his bosom before tucking it away again. Training while moving, he couldn't waste the painstakingly made needles.
Walking at the back of the caravan, he snapped off nearby twigs and hurled them in place of needles.
Unlike throwing a hefty dagger with satisfying weight, small, light twigs were hard to infuse with power. Needles, even smaller and lighter, would be tougher.
'From here on, it's my territory. Time to create my own technique.'
As Dang Mujin hurled twig after twig, Namgung Myeong, walking beside him, took interest.
"Brother Jin. Is that the Ape Escape Technique?"
"That's right. How did you know?"
"I heard from the head of the Ipcheong Hall that you selected and practiced it at the Cheonmu Pavilion. I figured there must be something special to it, so I learned it too."
Namgung Myeong snapped off a twig, broke it short, and tossed it.
Even in that casual motion, the subtleties of the Ape Escape Technique shone through, and his proficiency matched or exceeded Dang Mujin's.
"You must have practiced a lot. I thought you were only into swordsmanship."
Namgung Myeong's face darkened.
"I don't have a sword right now. These past few months, this is the only trick I could practice."
Namgung Myeong hurled a twig shard with extra force.
The two-finger-length piece embedded deeply into the back of a cart. Dang Mujin's eyes widened.
"How did you do that? The power behind it is impressive."
"Oh, this? It's applying the principles of Vacuum Grasping."
"Vacuum Grasping?"
Dang Mujin knew what it was from the few times the freakish mentor had demonstrated it—using inner energy to move distant objects.
But the mentor hadn't taught it to him. Simple reason: it wasn't practical.
The mentor's firm belief was that Vacuum Grasping was tough for mediocre experts and nearly impossible in real combat.
He'd added that channeling that inner energy into a plain sword strike would be far more powerful.
"I heard even peak experts can only manage something like lifting a teapot with Vacuum Grasping."
"Teapots are heavier than they look, and the sloshing water makes balance tricky. But moving something like this twig is much easier."
Namgung Myeong placed a thin twig on his palm and slowly lowered his hand. The twig remained floating in the air.
He furrowed his brow and flicked his hand. The twig floated like an insect, then settled back on his palm.
It might lack practicality, but it looked fun. Perfect for secretly practicing while tagging along with the caravan.
"Amazing. Could you teach me?"
"No need for formal lessons. The principle isn't complicated. It's like channeling inner energy into your sword—just pierce the space and infuse the twig. If you can keep pumping energy into it after letting go, you can manipulate it like you're holding it."
"What about larger objects?"
Namgung Myeong shook his head.
"This is my limit. The heavier the object, the harder it gets."
He placed a fist-sized stone on his palm. It rose an inch before wobbling and rolling off to the side.
"My insight is still lacking, but Vacuum Grasping has endless potential. Empty Air Palm Strike and Sword Control Technique are surely extensions of it."
"But what's the connection to the Ape Escape Technique? You threw that twig by hand earlier."
"While throwing with the Ape Escape Technique, I use Vacuum Grasping subtleties to steady it mid-flight and boost speed. Whether dagger or twig, balance lets you pack more power—same principle."
"Hmm."
Dang Mujin gripped a small twig and infused it with energy.
Namgung Myeong made it sound simple, but the twig wouldn't float.
It rolled fitfully on his palm, trembled, and dropped. Namgung Myeong chuckled softly.
"No rush. We've got time—practice steadily while walking to get the feel. I was the same when I first started with the caravan."
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong's hushed talk must have grated, as Escort Maeng, walking a bit ahead, turned and spat curses.
"Fuck, what're you two whispering about nonstop? Shut it!"
Losing his travel purse had made Escort Maeng extremely touchy.
Other escorts could borrow money from each other and carry on normally after losing theirs, but Escort Maeng lacked the rapport—no one lent him cash easily.
While others massaged sore legs over a drink of cheap liquor, he holed up in a stinky room, barely filling his gut with watery gruel and plain noodles. No wonder his mood soured.
Of course, taking it out on others wasn't smart. Especially not on someone like Namgung Myeong, who never forgot a grudge.
Namgung Myeong whispered even lower.
"Look, Brother Jin. Let me show you the true application of Vacuum Grasping that I discovered."
Namgung Myeong extended his right hand. A fly buzzing nearby veered awkwardly and circled in front of Escort Maeng's face.
"Argh, now even flies are buzzing around..."
Escort Maeng swatted at it, but the fly dodged easily.
While he focused on the fly, Namgung Myeong's left hand subtly caressed the air. A small jade bead from Escort Maeng's hat chinstrap dropped and rolled on the ground.
Namgung Myeong used Vacuum Grasping again to sneak the fallen bead into his sleeve. Not top quality, but enough for two men's drinks.
"Dinner will be hearty tonight."
Namgung Myeong grinned slyly.
*
A few days passed like that, until Dang Mujin could levitate twigs in the air.
Over dinner together, Namgung Myeong spoke to him with a wistful expression.
"These past few days were fun thanks to you, Brother Jin. But now we must part ways."
"Pardon?"
"I'm leaving the caravan after today. I've already told the others."
Custom dictated the caravan leader slip extra coin to escorts and porters at a safe end. With only about three days to the destination, no reason for Namgung Myeong to bail now.
"Brother Myeong, is something wrong?"
"You know where this caravan's headed."
"Huaining... Ah, I see."
Near Huaining in Anhui Province lay Tianzhu Mountain, and at its base, the Nangong family seat.
Namgung Myeong could wander anywhere—except Huaining. He didn't want his clansmen seeing him as a lowly porter.
"So, where to next?"
"I'll look for decent work. I can handle horses, so coachman maybe. Or join a northbound caravan if needed. I'm sturdy and don't mind hard labor—earning a living won't be tough."
Namgung Myeong spoke with surprising maturity. Namgung Jincheon might have approved.
But Dang Mujin hated to see him go.
Similar age, great conversations, and Namgung Myeong never skimped on martial arts advice.
Dang Mujin's techniques were excellent individually but lacked a cohesive system. His mentor was brilliant but not meticulous.
Namgung Myeong, trained systematically from youth, could spot flaws in Dang Mujin's solo practice and offer fixes effortlessly.
Plus, befriending the heir of a great clan was invaluable—lifelong benefits.
'No need to overthink it.'
Affection had grown in their few days together. That was what mattered.
Dang Mujin said to him,
"Brother Myeong, how about we travel together from here?"
"As I said, I have no intention of going to Huaining."
"I don't need to go to Huaining either. I'm no real merchant with goods to sell there."
"But didn't you have a reason to head there?"
"I was aiming for Huaining to catch a boat up the Yangtze to my hometown, but there are plenty of other ports. And you don't seem tied to Anhui Province either, Brother Myeong. Why not venture a bit farther?"
Namgung Myeong's face brightened. He'd endured the same lonely toil.
He didn't nod right away, pondering deeply—a sign of his maturity.
But Dang Mujin knew he'd agree.
Sure enough, his guess proved right soon after.