A Moon in the Body
A gale raged. Or perhaps I was being swept away by a torrent.
Every word used to describe violence and brutality fit my current state perfectly.
That was exactly how I felt right now.
'Damn it...'
Trapped inside a tempest, my body shivered. And it was a tempest made entirely of raw energy.
My consciousness flickered, and my body refused to move.
I was barely holding onto a thread of awareness.
It felt as though if I let my guard down for even a fraction of a second, I would lose my grip entirely. This had to be what it felt like to be trapped in the eye of a real hurricane.
'Fuck...'
How the hell did this happen?
Without knowing the reason, I could only grit my teeth and endure.
'That goddamn old man.'
What? The energy will explode? I'll die if I can't endure it?
Why the hell did he tell me that after I swallowed it?
'This is why I—!'
This is why I should never associate with ghosts.
I couldn't even finish the thought before I had to refocus my mind.
Rumble—!
The gale grew even fiercer.
The energy tore through my entire body. An explosion? That was the perfect word for it.
The raging energy inside me showed no signs of stopping, spinning faster and faster with every passing second.
And to make matters worse...
'It hurts like hell.'
It felt like my body was going to be ripped apart.
I never wanted to know what happened when this much energy moved this quickly inside a human body.
It was a fact I truly wished to remain ignorant of.
'How am I supposed to endure this?'
The intensity was steadily increasing, and not knowing how long I had to hold out made it pure torture.
But what if I let go?
'He said I'd die if I let go.'
He wasn't just trying to scare me. I knew that because I was the one experiencing it firsthand.
'If I lose my grip on this, I'm dead.'
The moment I lost control, the swirling energy would stop rotating.
And once it stopped, it would have nowhere to go.
Which meant...
'It will detonate.'
My body wasn't strong enough to contain this much concentrated energy. It would burst right through me.
It wasn't an exaggeration; my body would literally explode.
I had never experienced this before, nor had I ever studied it, but I just knew.
Once you harbored this kind of energy in your body, you understood it instinctively.
It was impossible not to.
'Of all the ways to go, exploding to death?'
I wanted to live a long, peaceful life until I was old and senile, but I couldn't die like this just because I got tangled up with a ghost.
But...
'What do I have to do to survive?'
Rumble—!
What could I possibly do in the midst of this ever-growing storm of energy?
I was barely holding on now, but if it got any stronger, it would be over.
Honestly, I was already at my limit.
'Damn it.'
What should I do? If the energy leaked or scattered even a little, it would be the end.
The moment a crack formed, the energy would rush out all at once. How could I prevent that?
Right then.
"You seem to be in quite a bind."
Yoo Chun-gil's voice echoed in my mind.
"Shall I help you?"
'Of course you should, you son of a bitch! Did you plan on just watching?'
"Seeing you flinch like that, you must be cursing at me."
He was as quick-witted as ever. Then he should know exactly what I needed right now.
"Hmm."
Yoo Chun-gil let out a short groan.
"What should I do?" he muttered, as if contemplating.
Was he insane?
'You're contemplating this?'
I was on the verge of death, and he was taking his sweet time to think?
If I died, he would fade away too!
I had so many things I wanted to scream at him, but I couldn't speak, which only added to my frustration.
Thud—!
'Ugh!'
The violent rotation almost made me scream. It meant I had nearly crossed the threshold of death.
No, if I kept this up, I was going to die anyway. I had to find a way, no matter what.
'So if you're going to tell me, tell me quickly!'
As I gritted my teeth and waited for Yoo Chun-gil's response...
"Very well," Yoo Chun-gil said cheerfully, as if he had made up his mind.
"Since there is something I wish to verify, overcome this on your own."
'This crazy bastard.'
What absolute bullshit.
Overcome this on my own? Why don't you just tell me to drop dead instead?
'Does that old man actually not care about his regrets?'
He kept talking about finding the person who killed him.
But in reality, maybe he just didn't give a damn about any of it.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting like this.
'Should I just give up?'
Just as exhaustion was about to make me let go of everything...
"Instead, I shall offer you a small piece of advice," the old man said.
"I have already shown you the way to overcome this. Child, you should be able to figure it out."
'...'
He already showed me the way, and I should be able to figure it out?
Here we go again.
'Another riddle.'
Why did he constantly try to make me realize things on my own? I couldn't understand it.
'He could just tell me the answer. Why the hell...'
What did that old man want from me?
If he wanted to resolve his regrets, it would be much faster to just guide me directly. I couldn't fathom why he insisted on this method.
It was almost as if...
'He's trying to raise a disciple.'
Was he really trying to make me his disciple?
'How ridiculous.'
The disciple of the Sword Saint? And a ghost at that?
It was absurd. There would be countless people begging for such an opportunity.
'But not me.'
It was obvious that such a path would put me right in the eye of a storm.
I wanted to live quietly, like a peaceful spring meadow. I didn't want a chaotic life like that.
So...
'I'm going to finish this quickly and run away.'
My only plan was to wrap this up as fast as possible and escape.
I grit my teeth hard and recalled Yoo Chun-gil's words.
'I already know the way.'
The claim that I already knew how to calm this energy.
I turned that thought over and over in my mind, brainstorming a few possibilities.
'Should I force it into my dantian?'
Gathering all the energy and cramming it into my dantian—I discarded that idea the moment it crossed my mind.
'It's impossible to control.'
If I could do that, I would have done it already. With this much energy, it was out of the question.
Trying to meddle with the energy blindly was too dangerous when it was completely beyond my control.
'Then what other way is there?'
What about gradually slowing down the rotation?
'...'
Discarded as well. The rotational force was too strong for me to interfere.
'Damn it, then what the hell am I supposed to do?'
If there was one thing I didn't know, it was how to manipulate energy.
My realm was barely at the Second-rate level. On top of that, this wasn't even my original cultivation method; it was a mind method suddenly forced into my body.
It was fair to say I hadn't had any time to get used to it.
And he wanted me to slow down this storm with that?
'Bullshit. It would be easier to make it spin faster...'
Wait.
'Huh?'
Not slowing it down, but making it faster?
Accelerating it instead?
It felt as if a blunt weapon had struck the back of my head.
'The core principle of the Cheongwol Mind Method...'
To simply let it rise.
The moon rises on its own when night falls, without any interference.
'This is it.'
I focused my mind.
I felt like I finally understood.
"Oh?" Yoo Chun-gil murmured.
I pushed my own energy into the storm.
I didn't try to force it in; instead, I let it be swept along with the current.
And by doing so...
Whoosh—!
I accelerated the speed instead.
I worried that losing control would make me explode, but honestly, I had nothing left to lose.
As I did, the energy began to spin at a frantic pace, as if it had been waiting for this very moment.
'Ugh.'
The sudden surge in speed almost made me lose my grip, but I held on with everything I had.
And then, I saw it.
The insanely fast-spinning energy actually began to take on a clean, defined shape.
It was spinning so fast that it couldn't leak or burst outward anymore.
As the speed reached its peak, a strange sense of stability washed over me, and a perfect sphere began to form.
A sphere harboring a blue light.
It felt just like...
'The moon.'
It felt like the moon rising in the sky.
At that exact moment...
Flash—!
The storm cleared, and darkness descended.
A night where only the moon hung in the sky.
'What is this?'
Why was it so calm? It felt like I was drifting through the night sky.
It was an incredibly unfamiliar sensation. Floating through the heavens... And on top of that...
'That is...'
The vast night sky stretched out before me, and in front of it stood a massive moon.
It was a brilliantly shining blue moon.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and bright. It even felt close enough to touch.
Without realizing it, I reached out my hand.
Hoping I might be able to reach it.
But before my fingertips could touch the moon...
Hummmmm—!
The massive moon began to vibrate violently, and a moment later, it lunged straight at me.
"Whoa!"
I opened my eyes in a panic.
My crossed legs unraveled, and my posture collapsed completely.
"Haah... Haa..."
Breathing heavily, I looked around. I was back in the storehouse from earlier.
My body was damp, completely drenched in cold sweat.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
A chuckle echoed.
"See?"
Yoo Chun-gil was looking down at me.
"Did I not say you could do it?"
"..."
I did it? My eyes widened at his words.
Did I really survive?
As I rolled my eyes in confusion, wondering if it was true...
"Look at your hands."
At Yoo Chun-gil's prompting, I raised my hands and looked.
"...Huh?"
My eyes stretched as wide as saucers. I couldn't help it.
A faint blue light was swirling and flickering around my hands.
"What on earth is this..."
"Congratulations," the old man offered, even though I still hadn't grasped the situation.
"You have harbored the moon in your body."
"..."
It was a completely incomprehensible statement.
Dragging my trembling legs, I barely managed to climb back up.
Fortunately, my quarters were quiet.
Had no one come by? I certainly hoped so.
"...Phew... Haa..."
The moment I entered, I collapsed spread-eagled onto the floor.
Every muscle in my body was screaming in agony; I couldn't take it anymore.
As I lay there panting, staring blankly at the ceiling...
"Tsk, tsk. What did you even do to be this exhausted already?"
Yoo Chun-gil spoke to me, his tone dripping with disapproval.
I didn't even have the strength to reply.
"Haa... Whew."
I let out a deep sigh and quickly covered my mouth with my hand.
As I exhaled, a wisp of blue smoke drifted out along with my breath.
It had been happening for a while now. The smoke kept escaping on its own accord.
"Do not worry. It will settle down by tomorrow," Yoo Chun-gil said with a grin as he watched me.
If I could, I would have loved to throw a punch right at that cheerful face of his.
But before that, no matter how exhausted I was, there was something I had to ask.
"What did you make me eat...?"
What on earth did he feed me? What was it that turned my body into this mess?
"I told you. The Blue Moon Pill."
"That's... not what I'm asking."
Damn it, puffing out smoke every time I spoke made me look ridiculous.
"I'm asking what kind of pill makes someone blow smoke out of their mouth..."
"Hoho, it looks bizarre, which suits you perfectly, does it not?"
"...Are you joking with me?"
I was dead serious.
"You said it was an elixir, but I almost died, and my internal energy barely increased at all."
That was what pissed me off the most.
I had suffered to the brink of death, yet there was barely any difference in my body's internal energy.
If so, where did all that wildly spinning energy go?
If all I got out of this was blowing smoke from my mouth, I couldn't let this slide out of sheer spite.
"What are you trying to do to me—"
"The Blue Moon Pill does not increase your internal energy like other elixirs do," Yoo Chun-gil interrupted, cutting me off.
For some reason, his eyes had turned serious.
"Then what does it do?"
"If I must explain its effects, it is best to view it as a seed."
"A seed?"
"Yes. A seed. A seed has been planted within the mind method in your body."
"...What kind of nonsense is that?"
"Hmm."
Seeing that I was struggling to understand, Yoo Chun-gil slightly adjusted his explanation.
"To put it simply, you can think of it as making your mind method deeper and stronger."
That was much easier to understand, but...
"...So all that massive amount of energy went into strengthening the mind method?"
"Indeed."
"All of it? That massive, overwhelming amount?"
"Y-Yes."
"God damn it."
"Do you have any idea how incredible this is...?"
"Incredible my ass. It's not like I can use it right now anyway."
It was still a shitty situation. Right now, I needed usable internal energy more than a strengthened mind method.
I had gone to eat the elixir for that very reason in the first place.
"This makes the whole thing pointless..."
Even if the mind method improved, how much of a difference could it make?
I was still going to collapse after swinging a sword once.
"I rolled around like a dog, I'm blowing smoke out of my mouth, and all I got was a slightly stronger mind method? What a joke of a life."
A deep sigh escaped me. Was I really supposed to live like this? Self-pity kept bubbling up inside me.
At that moment...
"Child, you seem to be misunderstanding something. This is not a matter so trivial that you can call it 'just' anything. Did I not tell you? A new world will open up to you."
"Is blowing smoke out of my mouth the new world you were talking about?"
"No, not that..."
Yoo Chun-gil groaned in frustration before continuing.
"Just wait and see. You will soon realize how great of a treasure you have obtained."
He spoke with absolute confidence.
"...Sure. I hope so."
It had better be.
"Otherwise, I'm going to flip everything upside down."
If there wasn't some kind of payoff, I wouldn't be able to let this go out of sheer resentment.
I ground my teeth in frustration, thinking those thoughts over and over...
But it took less than a single day to verify whether the old man's words were true.
"Holy shit..."
I thought to myself as I looked at the martial artist lying before me and the gazes pouring in from all directions.
"...This is insane."
The old man was right.
Just as Yoo Chun-gil had said, a new world had unfolded before me.
And it was a world of brilliant, deep blue.