The Yangwei Meridian Opens
When Dokgo Ryeong's consciousness returned, the first thing she felt was the rocking.
A gentle, comfortable sway as someone held her in their arms.
… My head hurts….
As she twitched from the pain that felt ready to split her skull, the giant holding her reacted first.
"Oh, it seems Young Lady Dokgo has woken up."
"… Ryeong-mae, are you with us?"
"… Yeah. Gimme some water."
"Here."
The giant set Dokgo Ryeong down on the ground, and Baekri Sohyeon held out a waterskin.
The moment she took it, Dokgo Ryeong fixed Baekri Sohyeon with a hard stare.
"You drink first."
"… I didn't put anything in this time. Really…."
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong glared a moment longer, then tipped the waterskin and drank deep. Cool water slid down her throat, and her mind cleared at last.
"Puhah… I feel alive again."
"Hehe, are you all right, Young Lady Dokgo?"
"… You're Hao Sect, aren't you?"
"Yes, I'm Gwanyeong~."
The heavily bearded giant winked one eye and stuck out his tongue. The sight made Dokgo Ryeong's head spin all over again.
"Pull that dogshit stunt one more time and next time I gouge your eyes out."
"Hiiing…. That's so mean…."
"Doesn't sound like a joke, does it? Try it again and I'll just—"
Her heart suddenly dropped. She whipped her head around, scanning every direction, but Wi Ilcheong was nowhere to be seen.
"Ah, Big Brother Wi went to hold off the pursuers. Thanks to you, Young Lady, he recovered a huge amount of internal energy…"
"Kyaaak!! Shut up! Don't say another fucking word!!"
"… Hiiing."
"I said if you do that shit one more time I'll dig your eyes out, didn't I?"
"… My apologies, Young Lady."
Eun Gwanyeong dropped her voice into a rough, gravelly register that matched the burly exterior.
"So. Where are we headed? Cheonniwa… right?"
"Yes, we're on our way there."
"… I was scared when Ryeong-mae fainted. Even if she did it herself…."
"Dunce, you shut up too."
"… Hehe, Ryeong-mae."
"Ah, for fuck's sake! Stop hugging me!!"
Dokgo Ryeong recoiled in pure disgust and shoved Baekri Sohyeon away. The other woman went tumbling across the ground.
"… Huh?"
Until only a short while ago there had been a clear gulf between a trained martial artist and someone who was not. No matter how hard Dokgo Ryeong struggled, Baekri Sohyeon had never budged an inch.
Now it was different.
Baekri Sohyeon looked every bit as startled as she felt.
"Rye… Ryeong-mae. Are you mad…?"
"No… uh…. Just wait a second."
Dokgo Ryeong abruptly dropped into a cross-legged seat on the ground. Baekri Sohyeon and Eun Gwanyeong watched her in silence.
She turned her awareness inward.
As always, the Yin energy pooled in her Huiyin acupoint was pure and vast as a great river. But her twelve primary meridians and eight extraordinary vessels were no longer the same. The channels that had once frozen solid now held the faintest of gaps.
The Yangwei Meridian among the eight vessels has opened…!
With the Yangwei Meridian unblocked, a pathway for Yang energy to circulate had reappeared, and vitality began to flow through Dokgo Ryeong's body once more. In short, she could now circulate the internal energy that had been locked away.
When she opened her eyes again, she found Eun Gwanyeong already back in her true female form, staring at her alongside Baekri Sohyeon.
"Young Lady Dokgo… is something wrong?"
"… Ryeong-mae, are you okay?"
"The Yangwei Meridian has opened."
"!!"
Both women's eyes went wide.
"Huh…? Wait, that… was Meridian Block something that heals this easily?"
"… I don't really know either. But one thing's certain."
Clang.
Dokgo Ryeong drew the soft sword bound to her arm and swung. A nearby tree sheared clean through and toppled with a soft rush of leaves.
Even though she had done it herself, she stared at the clean cut and murmured in quiet astonishment.
"I can use internal energy…."
"… Congratulations, Ryeong-mae. Then now the Shoot the Sun Sword Art…."
"I'm not calling you Unnie. I'll fucking die first."
"…"
Baekri Sohyeon's face fell. Dokgo Ryeong reached out, ruffled the dejected woman's hair, and offered a crooked smile.
"But if you teach me, I'll learn it gratefully."
"… Okay. As your junior sister, I'll do my best."
"…"
Junior sister is still basically Unnie, isn't it? Dokgo Ryeong found herself seriously wondering whether she was going to have to call this dunce Unnie after all.
Eun Gwanyeong cut in from the side.
"Yo… Young Lady Dokgo. Weren't you born with Meridian Block?"
"… Huh?"
"No… just being able to use internal energy completely changed the whole atmosphere."
"What are you talking about?"
"Before you were like a cute little rabbit, but now you're like a tiger just starting to grow…."
Smack.
Dokgo Ryeong's hand flashed out and cracked across Eun Gwanyeong's head.
"Hiiing…, why are you hitting me…."
"Fuck off and die. I was a tiger from the day I was born. Got it?"
"… Yes."
Eun Gwanyeong rubbed the spot and asked carefully,
"… Then what do we do now?"
"About what?"
"… Originally we were heading for Cheonniwa because Young Lady Dokgo couldn't use lightfoot techniques. With this, wouldn't it be fine to just cross the Pajeo River?"
"Why bother?"
"Huh?"
Dokgo Ryeong looked down at her own hands.
… The internal energy I can actually use is still just a handful. Even if I paper over it with experience….
She spoke the truth without varnish.
"I'm still a burden."
"… You knew?"
"Wanna fucking die for real!"
"Aak! Ah, why…. Young Lady Dokgo admitted it herself!"
"Just because you say something true doesn't mean you don't get hit, you little shit!"
"Hiiing…."
"… Ryeong-mae. Stop bullying Gwanyeong…."
"Th… that's right! You're so mean!"
"…"
Eun Gwanyeong ducked behind Baekri Sohyeon's back. Baekri Sohyeon stroked the silver-haired girl's head and said gently,
"… Ryeong-mae is too harsh on Gwanyeong."
"What a load of crap…. I hate strong brats pretending to be weak, and I also hate girls from shady outfits like the Hao Sect hiding their real faces while acting all cute."
"… Gwanyeong is nice though."
"A nice bitch is the junior sect leader of the Hao Sect? Ha! How about we start saying the Demonic Cult is actually a bunch of warm-hearted humanitarians?"
"I… I'm not the junior sect leader, just a candidate for junior sect leader…."
"…"
Crunch.
Dokgo Ryeong clenched her fist with a sound that made the air itself flinch.
"… Looks like I've got a perfect little test subject right here to see just how far my internal energy will go."
"Hi… hiiik! Sohyeon Unnie!!"
"You're fucking dead today…!!"
"Kyaaak!!"
Dokgo Ryeong launched herself at Eun Gwanyeong.
Having shaken off the pursuing Moyong Clan martial artists and returned to the group, Wi Ilcheong found himself thoroughly flustered.
First, they had not traveled nearly as far from the last parting point as he had expected. Second, Dokgo Ryeong looked an absolute mess.
"… Young Lady Dokgo?"
"What, fuck."
"… Why does your face look like that?"
"Shut up."
When it became clear she would offer nothing further, Wi Ilcheong turned to Baekri Sohyeon.
"Young Lady Baekri?"
"… Ryeong-mae's Yangwei Meridian opened."
"…! Is that true?"
"… Yeah. She can circulate internal energy. But Gwanyeong fought with Ryeong-mae."
"How did that come about?"
"… Ryeong-mae didn't like Gwanyeong so she charged her, and she lost. That's why she looks like that."
"Shut up! Who lost! Today I'm just stopping here!!"
Dokgo Ryeong shouted as if having a fit, but the sight only made Eun Gwanyeong pull a teary face.
"Hiiing…, it hurts. Big Brother Wi…."
"… You said Young Lady Eun won. Then why does Young Lady Eun look like this?"
Dokgo Ryeong only sported one large bruise under her eye. Eun Gwanyeong's clothes were torn, her hair was a wild tangle, and she had been cradling her arm the entire time.
"We agreed to match our internal energy and only use hand-to-hand combat techniques, but Young Lady Dokgo charged in like she wanted to die, hiiing…."
"… Hand-to-hand combat?"
"Yes…."
Wi Ilcheong tilted his head.
Eun Gwanyeong was a candidate for junior sect leader of the Hao Sect and one of the disciples most cherished by Sect Leader Eun Yakbyeok. Moreover, as far as Wi Ilcheong knew, her greatest specialty was precisely hand-to-hand combat. She excelled at close-quarters brawling that used hands and feet in rapid succession. Even with internal energy equalized, how could the result look like this?
"How did the spar between the two actually go?"
"… Gwanyeong was being pushed the whole time and then reversed it with that one hit. So Gwanyeong won, but…."
"Ha!"
A hollow laugh escaped Wi Ilcheong.
A woman who suffered from Meridian Block her entire life pushed back a martial artist who specializes in hand-to-hand combat just because one Yangwei Meridian opened?
His gaze settled on Dokgo Ryeong. The moment their eyes met, her heart began to race. The events from just before she lost consciousness flooded back.
That… that crazy bastard….
Simply looking at his face summoned the memory of his massive yang root and the mess that had been on her own face….
"Young Lady Dokgo?"
"D… don't come near me!"
"May I perhaps examine your arm?"
"Y… you crazy bastard! Don't touch me!"
"…?"
Dokgo Ryeong recoiled in pure disgust. Wi Ilcheong looked genuinely bewildered.
"No, until just a short while ago you didn't mind the proximity. Why the sudden change?"
"Get lost, you crazy bastard!"
"… I only wish to check the traces left by the hand-to-hand combat."
"E… even so…."
Her face flushed scarlet. The suspicion that he might be tricking her again warred with a strange, unnameable feeling rising in her chest—no, a little lower than her chest. The place where her lower dantian sat throbbed once more.
"… Really?"
"Yes, truly. Ah… if this is because of earlier…."
"Sh… shut up!!"
Dokgo Ryeong's finger shot toward Wi Ilcheong's eye like a striking snake. He caught the finger cleanly and, with his free hand, ran his palm along her extended arm.
Recalling the attack that had flown at his eye in a flawless, beautiful arc without the slightest disorder, he spoke with honest admiration.
"… Remarkable, Young Lady Dokgo. You are truly beautiful."
"What… what nonsense are you spouting now!"
"You've been stuttering since earlier. Are you uncomfortable somewhere?"
"No, you fucking bastard!!"
This time she swung a leg in a wide, vicious arc. Watching the technique that stabbed sharply at his vital points, Wi Ilcheong let out another exclamation of pure wonder.
"As expected…! You take after the Mad Demon Elder."
"What bullshit is that?!"
"Every single attack is fierce. It seems you instinctively know exactly where to strike to hurt an opponent. Young Lady Dokgo!"
Unaware that Dokgo Ryeong and the Mad Demon Dokgo Jin were one and the same, Wi Ilcheong snorted with excitement and seized her shoulders.
"What… what lewd thing are you trying to—"
"You are a genius bestowed by heaven! I cannot even imagine how high you will soar once the Nine Yin Meridian Block is fully treated! Such martial talent… truly remarkable!"
"… What?"
"Young Lady, begin martial training with Young Lady Baekri at once. Learn more hand-to-hand combat from Young Lady Eun as well. It feels as though I am witnessing a once-in-a-generation genius with my own eyes!"
"…"
Only then did Dokgo Ryeong understand the nonsense he was spouting. He currently believed she was a once-in-a-generation genius of the Murim. Because he had no idea she was the man once called the Mad Demon, and because he thought of her only as a frail girl born with the Nine Yin Meridian Block, this particular misunderstanding had taken root.
… Well. Even I would have found it mysterious.
The almost-misunderstanding cleared, and she forced her heart to settle.
Hoo… maybe circulate energy and calm down…?
Her thoughts slammed to a halt.
… What mental cultivation method am I supposed to learn?
Until now the Yin energy of the Ten Thousand Years Ice Jade had been sealed inside her Huiyin acupoint—her lower dantian—and could not move at all, so operating any mental method had been impossible from the start. With the Yangwei Meridian open, accumulating energy had become possible, which meant she could finally run a mental method. And since she could now build a new foundation, she wanted to fill herself with the best method available.
… The Nine Yang Divine Art is the supreme mental method, but the risks are far too great….
She had finally rid herself of the madness. If that madness had still been present, she would have charged No Sunpyeong at the inn long ago and been cut clean in half—or died to bandits even earlier.
Nine Yang Divine Art is out. Then….
She thought hard, but no answer presented itself. In the end she simply asked the others.
"… What mental methods did you lot learn?"
"I practice the Classic of the Plain Girl."
"… Me too, Classic of the Plain Girl."
"Me too, Classic of the Plain Girl…."
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong clung to a faint hope and pressed further.
"That… Classic of the Plain Girl, is it perhaps…."
"It's sharing the joy of clouds and rain."
"… Yin-Yang dual cultivation."
"It's fucking, hehe."
"Fuck."
Dokgo Ryeong decided, then and there, to put off learning a mental method for a little while longer.