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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Where the Heart Leads, the Body Will Follow
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Han Ibi said,
"S-Sorry, Elder."
Song Myeong-cheon said,
"Your body and mind are separated, bouncing around like a wild monkey."
Han Ibi's eyes widened as he asked back,
"Pardon?"
Song Myeong-cheon said,
"Where the heart goes is where the body moves."
'Where the heart goes is where the body moves...'
It was like a lightbulb flicking on in the corner of his mind, brightening everything up.
A sharp resonance spread through his entire body, like a novice monk solving his first koan.
Song Myeong-cheon's words continued.
"Lightness skill and internal energy circulation are not two separate things. They are intimately connected, so trying to operate them independently is like your right hand treating your left as an enemy and pushing it away—utter madness."
'Ah! So that's the true nature of martial arts.'
Han Ibi said,
"Elder. Let me try again."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Song Myeong-cheon turned his back once more.
Yes. Now he would try again.
Han Ibi pushed the pain of the fall beyond the light and prepared to circulate the Zhongli Swift Leopard Step once more.
'Lightness skill and internal energy circulation are one. The energy runs through my body, and I run across the earth, which is the body of nature. These two perspectives seem completely separate... but their principles match exactly like twins, so if I align the focal point...'
Whoosh!
His body shot forward like an arrow from a bow.
The speed was so intense it made his mind reel.
Han Ibi focused his mind on the next landing spot. Song Myeong-cheon's advice was pure truth.
When the heart moves first, the body follows.
So instead of pouring all his focus into his body, he concentrated every nerve on the path of his mind.
His body felt light.
His mind lightened in tandem.
Riding this virtuous cycle, Han Ibi was soon following Song Myeong-cheon, executing lightness skill as naturally as breathing.
The whooshing air rushing past felt refreshingly exhilarating.
Song Myeong-cheon increased his speed even more. Han Ibi, who had been keeping up well, now felt strain building in his body.
At his current level, this was the maximum he could manage with lightness skill.
'Ugh! My heart's about to burst.'
That's right. Nothing had really improved.
His speed had just skyrocketed, that's all.
That hellish pattern hadn't changed one bit.
What a truly wonderful old man.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
About a month passed like that.
The grueling herb-gathering mountain treks that felt like death never got any easier.
Song Myeong-cheon moved at a pace that was relentlessly just barely fast enough for Han Ibi to keep up.
So simply following behind him was lightness skill training, equivalent to personal cultivation.
The one change was that their herb collection had doubled.
With the speed, their range of activity had expanded dramatically.
Plus, with Han Ibi's growing experience and the use of the 'Herbal Encyclopedia,' he could now handle at least one person's share on his own.
They gathered not only the herbs needed at the Demon Valley Clinic but also a variety of extras.
And finally... the two descended back to the village.
The two jars full of baijiu they had brought were completely empty.
Food could be managed by hunting and eating mountain beasts, but alcohol? No way.
And Song Myeong-cheon was not the type to endure without it.
The two raced like the wind.
But then...
Song Myeong-cheon suddenly slowed down.
Han Ibi, descending at full lightness skill throttle, nearly crashed into Song Myeong-cheon's back.
"Ugh!"
Han Ibi barely dodged but lost his balance, tumbling past Song Myeong-cheon and sprawling on the ground.
"Oof! Elder, what if you stop so suddenly like that?"
Song Myeong-cheon pressed a finger to his lips.
Han Ibi tilted his head and looked around. Villagers and outsiders were milling about here and there.
Song Myeong-cheon said,
"Never use martial arts in the village."
Well, of course... They couldn't afford to arouse suspicion.
'If you were gonna do this, you could've warned me first... Geez.'
Grumbling inwardly, Han Ibi shouldered the water jars and followed him on foot.
This was his second time in the village.
It already felt somewhat familiar.
'Ah... That mutton soup or whatever... Dipping the bread in it was so damn good... Heh heh, I'll get to taste that delicacy again soon.'
His mouth was watering.
Alright, let's quickly finish up at the clinic and head straight for mutton and a refreshing glass of baijiu! So... today's a drinking party?
Lost in such idle thoughts, he soon arrived in front of the Demon Valley Clinic.
Han Ibi took the lead and opened the clinic's door.
But...
It was packed with people.
Patients must have shown up early this morning.
A familiar doctor from before was handing out a bowl of herbal decoction.
"Once at noon and once at dusk—that should do it."
The man receiving it had an extremely pale complexion, almost bluish.
He looked every bit the patient at a glance. He seemed on the verge of collapse right then and there.
Come to think of it, they were all carrying large bundles. Traveling merchants from the market, probably.
Han Ibi thought,
'That doctor who loves to yap is awfully quiet today. Haha. Probably keeping up appearances in front of patients.'
Then the pale man let out a violent coughing fit.
'They say lung disease patients look awful... Tsk tsk.'
But the doctor's expression as he looked at the patient was strangely off.
No, beyond strange—he wasn't even making eye contact with the patient.
'That guy's not the type to act like that... He's usually bursting with energy, causing a ruckus...'
Han Ibi whispered to Song Myeong-cheon,
"Elder. The doctor's acting a bit weird today."
That was when it happened. The pale patient's coughing stopped.
A moment of dead silence.
In that instant, the hand of the pale man holding the decoction bowl shot straight toward Song Myeong-cheon and Han Ibi.
Scalding hot decoction splashing toward them at the same time!
Han Ibi nearly toppled over in shock.
At that moment, a hand grabbed the back of Han Ibi's neck—it was Song Myeong-cheon.
Crack!
With a loud noise, the wooden door of the Demon Valley Clinic shattered.
Song Myeong-cheon yanked Han Ibi by the scruff with his right hand while ripping the clinic door off its hinges with his left.
He swiftly thrust the door panel forward, hiding both himself and Han Ibi behind it.
Splash!
The decoction the pale man had thrown hit the door panel. Smoke rose with a sizzling 'chiik' sound.
It was undoubtedly some potent acid. If it had hit, they would've suffered horrific burns and agony.
At that moment, the men dressed as merchants moved in perfect unison, hurling flying daggers.
Song Myeong-cheon spun the door panel like a whirlwind, blocking them all.
Then, still holding the door, he charged straight at the men.
The startled men scattered to evade, but one got caught between the herb storage box and the door.
Song Myeong-cheon briefly pulled the door away, then slammed it forward with his shoulder even harder.
The force was so immense that the man inside was crushed into a bloody pulp.
As Song Myeong-cheon removed the door, the man inside flopped out.
But Song Myeong-cheon smashed the door down again, pulverizing the man's skull.
One of the men muttered,
"Th-That... crazy bastard."
Song Myeong-cheon snatched the sword from the man whose head had just exploded.
By now, the whites of his eyes were vanishing.
One man in merchant garb said,
"Th-Those eyes..."
The pale man grinned and said,
"To live up to the moniker of the Black-Eyed Demonic Taoist, he has to do at least that much, right?"
At that moment, with a domineering roar, Song Myeong-cheon hurled the massive door panel.
It spun like a giant shuriken, flying toward the men.
'Ugh!'
In the end, one man took it to the shin, his leg bone shattering as he collapsed.
It was a bone-chilling sight.
Han Ibi was utterly dumbfounded but quickly snapped to and pulled a staff from the water jar yoke on his shoulder.
In the face of a survival threat, his body moved before his mind.
Then a gray-haired man said to the pale one,
"He's got an extra one clinging to him."
The pale man said,
"Doesn't matter. Kill them all."
At the same time, the men split up and charged.
One toward Han Ibi, five toward Song Myeong-cheon.
Watching Song Myeong-cheon swing his sword at the men and the one rushing at him, a mix of emotions surged through Han Ibi.
'Damn it. Once you've jumped into the murim world, fights are unavoidable. Might as well go all out.'
Terror gripped him so tightly his guts twisted, but there was no escaping it.
The man coming at him happened to be the ugliest one.
Looking like Zhang Fei from the Three Kingdoms game, with a filthy thick beard, he swung down at Han Ibi's head.
Han Ibi calmly thought to himself,
'Where the heart goes, the body follows...'
He anticipated the sword path and shifted his stance three steps to the left diagonal.
Clang!
At the same time, the man's sword struck the ground. Cold sweat trickled down Han Ibi's back.
'Shit! This brute. Is he swinging a sword or a club? Wrong guy to mess with.'
But there was no time to think. The man's sword came crashing down on his head again.
Han Ibi barely dodged by half a step, but his footwork tangled, and he fell to the ground.
The Zhang Fei-lookalike smirked.
Realizing Han Ibi's martial prowess wasn't high, the man's movements grew even larger.
He raised his sword high to the sky, then smashed it down toward Han Ibi's head.
Thud!
His sword embedded into a wooden herb container. The fallen Han Ibi had instinctively grabbed the nearby container and blocked.
The blade stuck deep and wouldn't come out, so the man shook and twisted the sword to separate it from the container.
That was when it happened.
The man's body toppled backward with a thud. The prone Han Ibi had charged with all his might, tackling his lower body.
Han Ibi mounted the man's body and pinned him down.
However... as his appearance suggested, the man practiced external martial arts centered on raw strength.
In an instant, he bounced off the ground on his back and reversed their positions.
Now Han Ibi was pinned under the bearded man's feet.
'Damn it. Looked so easy on TV.'
The man crushing Han Ibi cackled and thrust his sword down toward his head.
Han Ibi twisted his head as far as possible and held up the yoke staff horizontally to block... but how could wood stand against iron?
With a 'snap,' the sword sliced through the staff and grazed Han Ibi's ear before embedding in the ground.
As the man cackled again and pulled his sword free—
Han Ibi whipped out the Mysterious Frost Blade from within his robes.
'Who knew small size would come in handy like this.'
Han Ibi thrust the Mysterious Frost Blade upward with all his strength.
The startled man leaped back.
But blood spurted in that instant—the tip had grazed his thigh.
Was that even enough to call a wound...?
Han Ibi's heart pounded wildly.
It felt like he'd touched a lion's whiskers.
But... Huh? Something's off.
The laughter vanished from the man's eyes.
Then a ringing sound echoed.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Mysterious Frost Blade Attribute: Slow
Duration: 3 seconds
3 seconds.
Those words loomed huge in Han Ibi's vision.
Various possibilities raced through his mind.
But the conclusion was...
An opportunity. An opportunity.
Han Ibi gripped the Mysterious Frost Blade.
Then he unleashed the first form of the Zhongli Pure Swordsmanship, Opening Radiance Gate, aiming for the man's throat.
At that instant, the slow effect wore off.
The man twisted his body sideways.
But the outcome...
'Ugh!'
Shocked the stabber and the stabbed alike.
The Mysterious Frost Blade had plunged deep into the man's left eyeball.
'Ouch, that's gotta hurt.'
But this wasn't the time to worry about others.
Han Ibi yanked the Mysterious Frost Blade from the howling man's eye.
Blood and all sorts of foul matter gushed out as the man collapsed onto Han Ibi.
Han Ibi shoved him off in panic.
'Whew...'
He seemed thoroughly dead.
Han Ibi immediately looked toward Song Myeong-cheon. He grimaced without realizing it.
The scene over there was even more gruesome.
(To be continued in the next chapter)