Chapter 72: Just Scratched. (1)

Just Scratched. (1)

A little later, Yeongpung came back into the room with an awkward expression.

Although the situation hadn’t exactly calmed down, he chased the two brats out, telling them to eat breakfast.

Although Wi Seol-ah still seemed to have plenty of complaints, hearing ‘breakfast’ seemed to make her leave without any further grumbling for now.

I should have eaten breakfast too… but considering Yeongpung came looking for me since early morning, I figured it must be somewhat urgent, so I waited.

Yeongpung, who came in a little later, looked like he was watching for cues here and there.

Who would have known that the genius who would later represent Mount Hua was someone so adept at reading the room like that…?

‘Is it because he gets beaten up here and there by the martial uncles?’

From my perspective, it was bullying born of affection, but I don’t know how Yeongpung felt about it.

I asked Yeongpung, whose eyes were darting around here and there.

“Yeongpung Dojang, what brings you here so early in the morning?”

“Ah.”

Perhaps snapping back to attention at my call, Yeongpung gives a slight smile.

Or perhaps it was because he felt relieved that the atmosphere had eased?

“Actually, the Sect Leader has been looking for you, Gu So-hyup.”

“The Sect Leader, at this hour?”

Mae Hwa-seon is looking for me?

I wondered if she had a reason to look for me, but I suspected it might be because of the energy residing within this body.

“Should I go see him/her now?”

“He/She told me to tell you that you can come at your convenience.”

In that case, it means I don’t have to go right now.

If so, it seemed I could fortunately eat first before going.

“Have you eaten?”

It was a question directed at Yeongpung, who had been running around since morning.

Actually, I kind of already knew from the point he’d properly put on his martial attire and adopted a neat appearance, but still.

“Ah, I ate something simple and was just on my way to do morning training.”

“…You’re quite diligent, starting training so early.”

“Huh…? Don’t most people go to train around this time?”

What kind of nonsense was that?

At Yeongpung’s words, I couldn’t bring myself to answer.

A Taoist’s morning starts early.

In Taoism, there’s a saying that one must receive the morning’s vital energy, so they would wake up at the Mao hour (5-7 AM) at the very least.

…Whereas I wake up only after the sun has fully risen.

Today was an exception, as I woke up early because I couldn’t sleep properly.

[Why can’t you just say you couldn’t sleep properly because of the breathing sounds next to you.]

‘…’

…Cough.

Namgung Bi-ah hardly moves when she sleeps.

She just lies there comfortably, only making breathing sounds, but that bothered me so much.

Perhaps because of that, I barely slept.

‘…Thanks to that, I sure breathed in a lot of morning air.’

Indeed, the morning air feels good.

Still, I didn’t feel like breathing it often. Waking up in the morning was still a difficult task.

Sensing something from my words, Yeongpung’s eyes inexplicably turned sparkling.

Why was he looking at me with those eyes?

Before my confusion could even register, Yeongpung spoke to me.

“So-hyup, perhaps meeting like this is also fate.”

“…You came here in person to deliver a message, so what connection are you talking about?”

“Wouldn’t you like to train together with me?”

He’s not listening at all, again.

Whether it was when we traveled together to come to Mount Hua, or just generally, Yeongpung inexplicably seemed particularly eager to train with me.

I don’t know if he’s just a training fanatic or if there’s some reason, but he suggested it almost every day whenever he saw me.

“…No, I won’t…”

I had to eat, and I preferred training alone, so I was about to refuse this time too, but.

It suddenly occurred to me; I was curious about how Mount Hua trained.

He kept pestering me to train together every day like that, so I wondered if there was something different about it.

I figured they wouldn’t train so intensely from the crack of dawn like that.

“Hmm… What if it’s okay with you after I eat?”

“Ooooh!”

So I just blurted it out.

I figured I could just tell myself they do a lot of morning training, even if it’s a bit excessive.

And a little later, I would find out.

That curiosity is a sin.

Even though I knew it well.

Why did I have to experience it again…?

Fuck….

******************

Not even an hour had passed since we started training.

“…Ugh… ack…”

I was lying on the ground, only letting out groans mixed with pain.

My whole body felt sticky and uncomfortable from being soaked in sweat.

The pain echoing in every joint resonated up to my head.

Insane…

I’m at the point where I can’t even breathe properly.

Yeongpung, who had started training with me, was nonchalantly doing the horse stance beside me.

Apparently, Yeongpung was planning to hang sandbags on his arms and legs and climb the mountain behind us again after that….

‘Is he insane?’

After experiencing regression, I hadn’t exactly been neglectful of training.

I thought I had been doing relatively high-intensity training whenever I had time.

Even if it was ‘relatively’, this was excessively much…?

I could see the other third-generation disciples training here and there, but Yeongpung’s training volume was overwhelmingly large.

“So-hyup, are you alright?”

Perhaps worried about me lying collapsed, Yeongpung approached after finishing his horse stance.

I could see sweat beading on his forehead, but Yeongpung’s expression looked refreshed, which I found absurd.

“Dojang…”

“Yes?”

“…Seriously, why are you okay?”

“Yes…?”

From Yeongpung’s perspective, this question would likely be even more absurd.

‘Was my body really this weak?’

More accurately, it was likely lacking a bit in effort.

The necessity to increase my training volume was naturally felt.

I felt ashamed to the point of self-loathing, realizing I had lived a bit lazily even after experiencing death.

It was tough due to my exhausted body and slightly hazy mind, but it was fortunate that it wasn’t without gains.

It seemed like an opportunity to regain some sense.

‘…Still, I won’t go this far.’

I got up with effort, my body throbbing.

It wouldn’t move easily, so I eventually had to use my inner energy a bit, but I managed somehow.

[Will it be alright.]

As I wiped my sweat-soaked face, Shin No-ya asked.

‘What do you mean?’

[I’m saying, even though your body has a problem, is it alright to use it so recklessly like that.]

Shin No-ya likely meant that the problems arising from the clash of energies wouldn’t affect the body too.

The Nine Yang Divine Flame Art, Mount Hua’s Taoist energy, and something hidden inside my body.

Just thinking about it makes me feel like, what am I carrying around so much inside my body?

To have two of them – things the body’s owner doesn’t even care about and doesn’t pay rent for…

What’s more, since I received a terminal diagnosis saying they could explode at any time, it makes me let out a hollow laugh.

However.

‘It’s okay for now.’

I understood what Shin No-ya was saying, but it was okay for now.

It wasn’t a trivial thought like, ‘If it was going to explode, it would have already.’

It was because there were predictable aspects to some extent.

I had even anticipated ways to improve, to some extent.

Not a cure.

The problem was that it was a solution.

‘…Even if I died, I didn’t want to do it.’

Even if that were true, it was something that needed a moment of consideration.

For now.

Pusing back my sweat-soaked hair with my hand, I asked Yeongpung.

“Dojang, are you going to train more before leaving?”

“Yes? Ah, of course, I have to train more before going. I’ve only done half.”

“Yes…?”

“That’s a shame… It seems Gu So-hyup isn’t feeling too well today.”

“…I didn’t sleep much last night, it’s true.”

“Ah! Then you must be tired!”

Although I wasn’t tired at all, it was fortunate to have at least one plausible excuse.

I shook my head at Yeongpung’s bizarre words.

It was an admirable trait for a martial artist, but why did I feel reluctant?

[It’s because you haven’t gotten into training yet. Tsk tsk… You’d get used to that level of intense pain if you ran one more lap…. To not run it and give up….]

…Are the people of Mount Hua abnormal, or am I?

Now, it’s become something I don’t really know anymore.

I got water, washed off the sweat, and changed into clean clothes.

Glancing around the room, I saw Namgung Bi-ah taking a nap, perhaps lacking sleep.

Wi Seol-ah was sleeping next to her; perhaps because both were kids whose appearances shone, they felt like sisters.

Seeing them sleeping comfortably when I could barely walk properly made me dislike it.

I immediately approached the two and pinched their nostrils with my fingers.

“Nnngh!”

“…?”

Perhaps because she couldn’t breathe, Wi Seol-ah suddenly woke up.

Namgung Bi-ah opened her eyes blearily but didn’t get up.

She’s not getting up…?

Seeing Wi Seol-ah, who had woken up, her pretty hair, which Hong Wa had painstakingly styled, had become a mess from tossing and turning in her sleep.

Seeing that, I said.

“If you sleep right after eating, you’ll become a pig?”

“…Huh… Nnngh?”

Seeing the groggy Wi Seol-ah, still half-asleep, I roughly patted her head and got up.

Namgung Bi-ah seemed to have already fallen back asleep, as if she hadn’t even woken up at all.

“Young Master…”

“Yeah?”

“Where are you going?”

“The Sect Leader here is calling for me.”

“Will it take long?”

“Well…? It doesn’t seem like it will take long.”

“Come back before you sleep…?”

“Because people need to sleep, I should come back before then.”

I refuse to sleep on the street anymore.

Such uncomfortable sleeping arrangements were enough in my past life.

“Then it’s okay! Go and come back!”

Smiling sweetly, after saying that, Wi Seol-ah lay down next to Namgung Bi-ah again.

Anyway, Hong Wa would appear soon to drag them away to work, so I decided to leave them be for a bit longer.

Dragging my creaking body, I walked towards the Sect Leader’s quarters.

While going, I could feel the disciples of Mount Hua glancing sideways at me, but their expressions were like they were looking at a strange animal, so I ignored it.

As long as there’s no hostility, it doesn’t matter.

Before I knew it, as I approached the door, I heard Mae Hwa-seon’s voice from inside the quarters: ‘Come in.’

I hadn’t even said I was entering yet… Her hearing is sharp.

As I carefully entered the quarters, sure enough, the scent of plum tea wafted, just like last time.

This time, proper refreshments were prepared.

“I think you said you didn’t have any last time, did you buy some?”

“Yes, thinking I didn’t have enough, I went down to the county yesterday and bought some. Doesn’t it look delicious?”

It looked sweet and delicious…

My palate had changed, so I no longer craved sweet things, so I just passed it off with a smile.

“For what reason did you look for me?”

As soon as I sat down and asked the reason, Mae Hwa-seon let out a hollow laugh.

“It’s nothing major, do you remember the cabin I went to yesterday?”

“Yes… That’s the place where the Sword Empress is, isn’t it?”

It was the place where the Sword Empress was receiving treatment from the Divine Doctor; I had gone there just yesterday, so I couldn’t possibly forget.

Mae Hwa-seon said, handing me an unknown letter.

“Can you take this and deliver it to that Physician guy?”

“Me?”

It was a rather baffling request.

It was a difficult thing to ask an outsider.

Why me?

There are so many third-generation disciples of Mount Hua just looking outside?

Like Yeongpung, or Yeongpung, or Yeongpung.

Unconsciously, perhaps unable to control my expression, an expression of not understanding well appeared.

Mae Hwa-seon saw that and chuckled.

“You have an expression that says you don’t know why I’m asking you such a favor.”

“Honestly, that’s right. It’s a bit ambiguous to ask an outsider.”

“…In reality, most of Mount Hua doesn’t know that the Sword Empress is in that place.”

At the words Mae Hwa-seon brought up, I was stunned for a moment.

Nobody knows?

“The majority also doesn’t know that the child is sick.”

“Why did I come to know such seemingly very important information…?”

“….”

If most don’t know, it would be information that not only Yeongpung, but also the third-generation disciples, second-generation disciples, and perhaps even the first-generation disciples wouldn’t properly know.

Why do I, who suddenly appeared without any thought under the guise of bringing a treasure, know this important information?

Did Mae Hwa-seon have something in mind?

However, Mae Hwa-seon couldn’t easily answer my question.

She seemed to be avoiding my gaze slightly, but was it my imagination…?

Feeling something strange, I narrowed my eyes like a flounder and asked.

“Perhaps, did you forget?”

“…Cough! That’s… impossible!”

Seeing her reaction, it was more certain.

…Did she really forget this?

My certainty grew stronger at Mae Hwa-seon’s cough and reaction.

Since she took me to the Divine Doctor so haphazardly, I thought she had some plan, but did she just do it first and think later?

Mount Hua… Will it really be okay like this?

[…Oh, Heaven and Earth spirits…

Shin No-ya had finally reached the point of seeking gods.

“Even so, me, who isn’t even a disciple, helping with this kind of thing…”

“Yakgwa.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you eat the yakgwa?”

“What does that mean…?”

Wondering what Mae Hwa-seon was saying so out of the blue, I looked around briefly.

There was one empty spot in the yakgwa bowl that had been prepared for the refreshments.

It was because I had picked up and eaten one earlier.

‘…Surely she’s not asking for help just because I ate this, right?’

I wanted to believe it wasn’t the case, so seeing Mae Hwa-seon looking strangely embarrassed and continuously avoiding my gaze, I had nothing more to say.

The very small remaining illusion I harbored about Mae Hwa-seon felt like it was shattering.

Realizing that, I said to Mae Hwa-seon.

“Sect Leader…”

“…Yes.”

“I think I understand why you are close with our Elder Yi-nim…”

“…Cough.”

Mentioning Elder Yi, Mae Hwa-seon turned her head away.

She seemed embarrassed too.