“Didn’t you just say with your own mouth that you cut down the cold iron? Now you’re saying that you cannot?”
‘This is refreshing.’
‘There are glares comparable to sharp knives falling in my direction. But I don’t have to worry… tongues are faster than eyes.’
“R-right.”
“What do you mean? Then, can you cut it or can you not?”
“It can be cut.”
“Um.”
Hyun Sang tilted his head and frowned.
“Tell me more clearly. Why…”
At that moment, Hyun Young screamed.
“Why are you all trying to kill my child!”
“…w-when did we?”
“Just shut your mouths when you need something from him!”
“…”
Hyun Young clicked his tongue a couple times and then turned to Chung Myung. Seeing the process of how his irritated face brightened in an instant, Chung Myung felt a chilling feeling inside him.
“Right. Chung Myung. There is a reason, right?”
“R-right?”
“Then let me hear it.”
‘Ahh.’
‘There is a halo behind Hyun Young’s head. He is a true Taoist…’
‘Uh?’
‘Is the halo a part of Buddhism?’
‘…well, whatever.’
“Ahem.”
Chung Myung cleared his throat.
“Ah, of course I can cut it down. Of course, I can do it. I did make the pot, after all.”
“Right. That is true.”
“However, I suffered a lot while I was making it, and my internal strength was greatly damaged after it.”
“Um?”
Hyun Young’s eyes widened.
“You mean you suffered an internal wound?”
“Uh. Well… I put too much of my qi to make the Heavenly Violet Pill as well…”
“Right, right. You have been overdoing it!”
“Yes. It was that!”
Chung Myung sighed.
But Hyun Young titled his head.
“But… even if you lost your internal qi, didn’t you eat the Heavenly Violet Pill?”
‘…ah, you are smart.’
“Ah. I haven’t eaten it yet.”
“Then eat it and recover. What is the problem?”
“Uh… that.”
Chung Myung began to think. He had to say something to get out of this situation!
“I think I might be able to take a higher step by taking the pill, so I am trying to wait for the right moment.”
“Ohhh!”
“Rising again! Oh my!”
‘Do not admire it!’
‘Such things don’t exist!’
Chung Myung was sweating.
‘No, why did things have to turn like this!’
‘Oh my…’
‘I dug my own grave.’
Hyun Jong, who was listening to this conversation, cleaned up the situation.
“Then you need to nurture your body, take the pill to recover from your wound. After that, you can cut it down.”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Then how many days do you think it will stake for that to happen?”
“Uh… around a week or so.”
“I see.”
Chung Myung grabbed his dantian.
“I didn’t say anything… but because this is a serious matter…”
When Chung Myung made the expression that he was in pain, Hyun Young bit his lip.
“You brat! You should have told us right away if you were suffering from an internal wound! We didn’t even know about this! And we kept depending on you! Where is it? Are you hurt a lot?”
‘Uh?’
‘You shouldn’t be taking this so seriously, though?’
But it wasn’t just Hyun Young.
Hyun Jong and Hyun Sang were also looking at him with serious faces.
“Chung Myung”
“Yes, Sect Leader.”
“Nothing is meaningful unless your own body is taken care of properly.”
“…”
“Forget what I said and head back now. This can wait. If you have an internal wound and it prolongs for long, it will be painful for you. Go and clear it!”
“Yes, sect leader!”
‘Uh…’
Seeing the serious atmosphere, Chung Myung smiled awkwardly.
‘Am I fucked?’
‘What do I do?’
“Is he coming?”
Jo Gul smiled as he watched Chung Myung rush to the boarding house.
“What is he up to now?”
“Ask him.”
Ju Gul blocked the entrance and raised his hand at Chung Myung, who was running in.
“Chung Myung. What did the Sect Lea…’
“Move!”
Wheik!
“Aaaackkkkk!”
Chung Myung threw Jo Gul far away and ran into the boarding house.
“…”
Yoon Jong slightly trembled as he saw it happening.
‘What is happening?’
He couldn’t remember seeing Chung Myung in such a hurry for a long time.
Yoon Jong didn’t care that Jo Gul was blown away. He just felt anxious about Chung Myung’s mood.
And then…
Thud! Thud! Thud!
With thundering steps, Chung Myung came back out. Yoon Jong, who saw it, started trembling.
“…Chung Myung.”
“Uh?”
“What sins have you committed? Stop and think about them again. I will pray with you.”
‘It had to be that! If not, why would he come out this late at night carrying a large load of luggage as if he wanted to escape…’
“Sahyung.”
“Yes. Tell me.”
“I will come back in a few days.”
“… where?”
“I am going to take care of my body in Hua-Um village, so don’t come looking for me! Don’t come!”
‘Unless they are crazy, why would anyone come looking for you!’
“Did you tell the Sect Leader?”
“Yes!”
“Okay. Have a safe trip.”
‘It is best if you don’t come up.’
‘Think about it. Chung Myung, you can be happier outside Mount Hua.’
“Then, I’ll be leaving!”
“… uh. Yes.”
Chung Myung ran to the gate without another word, and Yoon Jong just looked at him.
‘This is such a good thing.’
The fact that Chung Myung would be gone for a few days indicated that spring was coming to Mount Hua.
But.
If spring was coming here, it could only mean that it would be winter elsewhere.
Yoon Jong closed his eyes and expressed his condolences to those who would face that cold winter.
The Eunha branch in Hua-Um village.
Bang!
“Who…”
‘Who is it?’ was what he wanted to say proudly, but Hwang Jongi couldn’t.
‘Why is young disciple here?’
The reason he understood the identity of the visitor was simple. Because there was only one person who would come breaking down a door to enter his place.
And that person was someone he used to call ‘young disciple’.
But he knew Chung Myung couldn’t be called that.
“Isn’t this Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?”
“Don’t call me by strange names. Just Chung Myung is fine.”
“…and what is the reason for your visit?”
Hwang Jongi looked at Chung Myung.
It had been just two years since he had met Chung Myung. But during these two years, Chung Myung had earned so many names.
The Best in the World.
Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon.
The Sword Genius in Mount Hua.
Chung Myung was called all sorts of names. Perhaps the only ones who hadn’t realized the changed status of Chung Myung were the people of Mount Hua.
In Hua-Um, the influence of Mount Hua was too great, and Chung Myung’s name was more famous than Hyun Jong, the Sect Leader.
Even if it was a problem, the person hasn’t changed despite the fame he had received.
Normally, such titles were made to be close to the disposition of the individual in question, but when it came to Chung Myung, there was usually a very bad synergy.
“But why are you…?”
“Give me one room.”
“A room?”
“Yes.”
Chun Myung nodded his head.
“I have work to do, and I cannot do it in Mount Hua. Give me a room, and don’t let anyone approach me.”
“…it isn’t difficult.”
Well, there was an order from his father to provide Chung Myung with anything he requested. But Hwang Jongi wasn’t going to refuse the man even if such an order didn’t exist.
How many places in the world would refuse a room to Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon?
Even the Shaolin Sect would first give him the room and then prepare countermeasures.
But if there was a problem…
“I want something oily and nutritious at the same time. 3 meals a day. Alcohol of the best quality! Ah, if possible, add another bottle at night. No, make it two!”
“…”
‘Calling this brat a Taoist disciple is too much.’
“Is that all you need?”
“I will handle the rest. Give me some food now.”
“Um… We will get it.”
“Ah… and!
“Um?”
Chung Myung smiled.
“I didn’t bring money since I rushed down too quick, so lend me some money, please.”
“…”
‘This bastard is a thief!’
‘A thief!’
Chung Myung, who took the room, repeatedly said that no one was to approach his room before promptly locking the door.
He then unpacked his luggage, took out a blank paper, and began to write.
“Ahhhhh! I’d rather die!”
It was a terrible situation, but thinking back, it was a good chance too. If he could create a situation where the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword technique was found in the way the elders wanted, no one would ever doubt it.
Who would imagine that the crazy old men wanted to cut through the warehouse!
‘This is a problem.’
Chung Myung groaned and looked at the book.
‘I cannot just roughly describe it.’
Even if Chung Myung could recognize the technique, he was the youngest disciple in Mount Hua. If he taught this technique himself, then everyone would doubt him.
So, it would be better to make Un Geom or Hyun Sang understand it. Then, naturally, through them, everyone would be able to learn it.
‘The problem is…’
‘Huh. Will they be able to understand it by just looking?’
Could the essence of Mount Hua, the martial arts that represented Mount Hua, be understood just by reading about it in a book?
Considering a similar technique, the advanced techniques of the Wudang sect were similar too. The Wudang Sect was known to have three major techniques that were taught to its disciples.
However, Mount Hua had survived with one alone.
In a good way, Mount Hua was tenacious. But in a bad way, it lacked flexibility.
Why?
Because the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Technique was difficult.
The 24-Movement Plum Blossom Technique was so tough to master that even if a disciple learned it from the moment they stepped into the sect, they would only reach the end by persevering through the training.
It wasn’t that there was no room for higher growth.
Most of the people who started learning the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique were unable to reach a higher level.
And Chung Myung wanted to pass this technique down.
“I cannot half-ass this.”
Giving the current elders of Mount Hua a rough draft of the technique was the same as giving a blind man money and asking him to differentiate between sugar and salt.
So, what he had to make now wasn’t a rough draft, but rather, crystal clear instructions for the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Technique.
There was only one clear way.
24 movements!
And he had to make it as fast as possible…
“Kuak!”
Chung Myung scratched his head.
In his previous life, he wouldn’t have held the ink brush at all, but now he couldn’t even remember just how many booklets he had already written after reincarnating!
“But I still need to do this!”
‘Everything has to be perfect!’
‘Ah! This is what it means.’
‘It has to be detailed enough for them to understand!’
Shh! Shhh! Shh!
Chung Myung began to grind the ink.
“Whatever I have to do! I will do it!”
His eyes blazed with flames.
It wasn’t just the 24-Movement Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
It was important to learn all the basics, so everything that he couldn’t deliver before, needed to be added in this one.
If he missed this chance, he would never find another opportunity to hand over the martial arts information in his head naturally!
“Uh!”
Taking a short breath, he opened the booklet and began to write in it.
His eyes shone brightly as he was writing.
Shhh!
Soon, only the sound of him breathing and the rustling of papers could be heard from the room.