Little Demon Reversion to Youth

Chapter 15

Senior Oh's gaze unknowingly turned to Jang Sam.

"So it was you!"

Baekji, chewing on a bellflower root, was about to push Jang Sam off the cliff with his foot.

The cliff was twenty zhang high.

Moreover, the pond below was much narrower than the one here.

If he fell wrong, he wouldn't even leave a bone behind.

"Ugh, ugh. I'm getting up. I'm getting up."

Jang Sam screamed and waved his hands, pushing away Baekji's foot, and then staggered to his feet.

"Let's go eat. I'm hungry."

Baekji said.

Jang Sam's hands lost their strength as he was climbing up, and he fell into the water. Senior Oh followed, falling after him.

"This won't do. You all come slowly."

Baekji left.

Senior Oh and Jang Sam climbed the cliff under the moonlight.

When they arrived at the thatched hut on the mountain, Baekji and the others had already finished eating and were sleeping.

Chewing on the cold, leftover rice, Senior Oh and Jang Sam shed tears.

They deeply regretted becoming Baekji's disciples.

Baekji worked them from morning till night.

Their only break was learning to read from Yang Soryeong for a short while after lunch.

Although Yang Soryeong and Ajok lacked stamina, they had perseverance and grit, and they endured Baekji's fierce training by gritting their teeth.

The four of them gradually developed the physique of martial artists.

Yang Soryeong and Ajok gained necessary muscle, and Jang Sam, who was originally large, lost fat and became solid.

Senior Oh also lost his flabby flesh and became muscular.

But that didn't mean the training got any easier. Whenever they surpassed one limit, Baekji would give them an even harsher task.

So, even as their bodies were trained, they always had to push the limits of their stamina.

Then one day.

Baekji disappeared somewhere without a word of coming or going.

"Ugh. Freedom!"

Senior Oh was so happy when he didn't see Baekji in the morning that he felt like he could fly.

"Junior Brother Oh. Just because the master is not here, if you are lazy in your training, it is the crime of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors."

"Eldest Senior Brother, why are you like this too?"

Jang Sam glared at Ajok and threatened him.

Yang Soryeong silently went to the training ground.

Ajok said, "Even the grandmaster is training, so if you all play around, that really is the crime of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors."

Senior Oh and Jang Sam looked at Yang Soryeong's retreating back with mournful faces.

"Grandmaster... just for today."

"If Baekji comes and sees you playing around, he'll work you twice as hard."

At Yang Soryeong's words, Senior Oh quickly came to his senses. Baekji was more than capable of doing that.

Senior Oh and Jang Sam stood up with mournful faces.

Still, since Baekji wasn't glaring at them from behind, they could slack off, so it was bearable.

Baekji returned after three days.

He was carrying a large bundle on his back.

"What's that?"

"You'll see."

Then he disappeared again.

Half a day later, Baekji came carrying a large cauldron, built a furnace behind the thatched hut, and hung it.

"If we cook rice in this, a hundred people could eat."

Jang Sam looked at the cauldron with a pleased face.

Jang Sam was as gluttonous as Baekji. Half of the food they had brought had been eaten by Baekji and Jang Sam, so it had run out long ago.

After that, they caught wild animals, boiled them, roasted them, and then boiled them again.

Eating meat every day was filling, but they were tired of it. Since there were no seasonings, it was also tasteless.

As Jang Sam was feeling pleased, Baekji said, "You all go and fetch water."

Ajok, Senior Oh, and Jang Sam excitedly grabbed water buckets and ran down to the waterfall.

"What are you doing?"

"Now we have to save our bodies."

Baekji said.

"First, we have to save the master, right?"

Baekji rummaged through the bundle, took out something that looked like medicinal herbs, put them in, and then poured in the water that Ajok and the others had brought.

"You're not cooking food?"

Jang Sam was disappointed.

Baekji said as he lit the firewood, "Now we have to go and train. Shall we see how much you've improved? Jang Sam, you watch the fire so it doesn't go out."

Jang Sam was happy, but Senior Oh raised his hand.

"Can't I tend the fire too? Jang Sam is a bit clumsy, so he might let it go out."

"Brother, what are you talking about? I was always better at tending the fire. Senior brother, you go and train."

Jang Sam pushed Senior Oh's back.

"Let's go."

Baekji took Yang Soryeong, Ajok, and Senior Oh and worked them.

It was training to move by grabbing tree branches with their arms.

Senior Oh felt like his arms would fall off. But there was even more terrifying training left, so he was so anxious that he didn't even realize how hard it was.

"Alright. Next training."

The training that Senior Oh hated the most began.

It was climbing a slanted cliff with his hands behind his back.

Since he had to climb the cliff by stepping with only his feet without using his hands, he had to balance with his core strength. As he kept repeating it, it felt like his back would break.

At first, he thought it was ridiculous, but as his feet gained strength, he was able to do it somehow.

However, since Senior Oh had a large upper body and weak lower body, he kept falling off the cliff.

"Why can't you do this?"

Baekji walked up the cliff with his hands behind his back next to him and tilted his head.

It was as if he were walking on flat ground.

"Master, I have a large upper body and short legs. Please consider my body type."

"Should I lengthen your legs?"

As Baekji approached with a serious face, Senior Oh quickly moved his feet.

"No, I was just saying."

Senior Oh could also climb the cliff with just his foot strength.

Although it was twice as hard as for others.

The next day, Baekji worked Yang Soryeong especially hard.

Although Yang Soryeong had strong endurance, by evening, she had collapsed from exhaustion.

"Bring the master."

Baekji said to Ajok and Senior Oh.

'Cruel bastard. To make his own master half-dead.'

Senior Oh felt sorry for the limp Yang Soryeong.

The two of them supported Yang Soryeong and returned to the thatched hut.

Baekji poured the water from the cauldron, which had been boiling for two days, into a wooden bathtub.

"Master, get in here."

Baekji put Yang Soryeong in the bathtub.

"Ugh!"

As she entered the hot water, Yang Soryeong's mind snapped back.

"It's okay, you'll get better."

Baekji closed the door and went out.

"What is that?"

"Yes. It's a medicinal bath that helps to strengthen the body and cultivate internal energy."

"Oh!"

Ajok was amazed.

"There's nothing the master doesn't know."

"Yes."

In fact, it was something he had seen in a secret manual from Bai Renguang's secret vault.

It said that soaking in a bath boiled with a hundred medicinal herbs would have the effect of cleansing the marrow and washing the bones.

Since it was a short moment, he couldn't remember all one hundred. So he put in everything he had.

'I put in more than a hundred, so it should be even better.'

Ajok looked at Yang Soryeong's quarters with envious eyes.

"You all will get in too. Don't worry."

"Really?"

"You all have to be strong to protect the grandmaster."

"Ah! Such a deep meaning."

Ajok looked at the cauldron with expectant eyes.

Baekji continued to put medicinal herbs into the cauldron and boil them, and when the water cooled, he poured it into Yang Soryeong's bathtub.

On the third day, Yang Soryeong came out.

Her face was fair, and her skin was firm.

Her chapped lips from the harsh training had a reddish tint.

"Gasp! She's a completely different person."

As Yang Soryeong's beauty revived, Senior Oh couldn't take his eyes off her.

He couldn't believe she was the disheveled woman who had rolled around with them.

Yang Soryeong was full of energy.

As her muscles and bones, which had been damaged by the rough training, revived, she felt like she could fly.

"Baekji. Thank you."

"Yes. You should be thankful. I went through so much trouble digging up medicinal herbs."

This time, Yang Soryeong tended the cauldron fire, and Ajok and the others trained.

"To get into the cauldron, you have to train until your muscles tear and your bones are damaged."

Baekji worked Ajok especially hard, more than usual.

By evening, Ajok had completely fainted.

Jang Sam carried Ajok on his back and laid him in the bathtub.

"Pour the medicinal water."

Senior Oh brought the medicinal water and poured it.

Even though the hot medicinal water was poured in, Ajok only twitched.

"He's completely dead. Dead."

A look of contemplation was evident on Senior Oh's face.

He was looking forward to getting into the medicinal bath, but he was afraid of having to go through the harsh training before that.

"Jang Sam. You go in next."

But then he heard Baekji muttering.

"Huh? I think we're running out of medicinal herbs."

Senior Oh hesitated, then said again, "Wouldn't it be right for the senior brother to go first?"

"Senior Oh, why have you become so sly? You weren't like that before."

"You've gotten a bit cheeky, haven't you? Calling your senior brother's name so freely?"

"When did I? Brother! Senior Oh, maintain your dignity as a senior brother."

Baekji came over and said, "You two will have to go in together. Make a big bathtub."

Senior Oh and Jang Sam had to make a big bathtub for the two of them to get in.

Ajok only came out after four days.

Ajok had a somewhat sly appearance, so he had the impression of becoming wretched when he suffered.

When he came out of the medicinal bath, the wretchedness disappeared, and his face brightened.

In a way, he even looked handsome.

"Wow. Eldest Senior Brother, you've changed. This is a really amazing medicinal bath."

Senior Oh and Jang Sam looked at Ajok and couldn't contain their anticipation.

The two of them also went through harsh training, became half-dead, and then got into the medicinal bath.

The two only came out of the medicinal bath after six days.

Senior Oh was originally handsome, but after going through the medicinal bath, a heroic air could be seen about him.

The huge Jang Sam had the least change, but his dull look had disappeared.

Yang Soryeong and the others experienced the change in their bodies through training after coming out of the medicinal bath.

Unlike before, they didn't get tired easily, and their internal energy steadily accumulated.

Although they didn't know what a great opportunity they had obtained, their respect for Baekji grew.

Once Yang Soryeong and the others had established a framework for their bodies and internal energy, Baekji taught them martial arts.

Yang Soryeong learned the Heavenly Fragrance Butterfly Sword, and the fast-bodied Ajok learned a saber technique called the Lightning Flash One Hundred and Eight Sabers.

Baekji taught Senior Oh the Eight Trigrams Free and Easy Sword Technique and Jang Sam the Great Light Thunderclap Saber Technique.

They were all created by Baekji, referencing the martial arts manuals he had seen in Bai Renguang's secret vault.

For example, the Lightning Flash One Hundred and Eight Sabers was derived from the White Temple Sword Technique, and the Great Light Thunderclap Saber Technique was derived from the Great Light Sword Technique.

It was a matter of changing a sword technique to a saber technique and slightly altering the operation of the internal energy and forms.

Unaware of this fact, Ajok and the others considered them peerless martial arts and learned them diligently.

As summer was passing.

Two White Mountain Brigade members came to visit.

"We've searched the whole mountain. So you were here."

The White Mountain Brigade member said, cupping his fists towards Yang Soryeong.

"People from the Qingcheng Sect are coming. General Manager Ximen has sent a message that the Acting Sect Master must come down."

"From the Qingcheng Sect?"

Yang Soryeong asked back.

"It seems True Man Changshan was a fake. The real True Man Changshan is coming."

"What?"

"I don't know the details. General Manager Ximen is also dumbfounded."

The summer spent in the mountains was arduous, but her heart was at ease.

She had no desire to return to the White Mountain Sect.

'Should I just hide like this?'

After contemplating for a moment, Yang Soryeong changed her mind.

If she disappeared, her father, Yang Jongu, might be harmed.

'I'm not a child anymore. I have to take responsibility for my own affairs.'

Yang Soryeong hardened her resolve to go down and said, "I will go down by tomorrow, so please have the Songhua Hall emptied."

"We have already cleaned it and are waiting."

The White Mountain Brigade member said and went down.

"They said True Man Changshan was a fake."

"Yes."

Baekji nodded.

"You knew?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"You told me not to, Master. You said if I did, it would be the crime of deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors..."

Yang Soryeong sighed.

"You should have told me."

Baekji rolled his eyes and said, "That day, the White Mountain Sect Master shouted. 'You are a fake!' he said."

"Then we went to the Qingcheng Sect with the body for no reason and brought trouble upon ourselves."

Baekji pretended not to hear and changed the subject.

"I have to go and get the cauldron. I paid quite a bit for it."

Baekji went to get the cauldron.

The only valuable things in the mountains were the cauldron and the medicinal herbs Baekji had dug up.

Whenever Baekji was bored, he would go around the mountain and dig up medicinal herbs.

Even when asked what kind of medicinal herbs they were, he wouldn't answer.

In fact, Baekji didn't know either. He just knew what they were good for by smelling them.

This time, Yang Soryeong thought that Baekji might have been a medicinal herb collector before he lost his memory.

Sometimes, when she ate the medicinal herbs Baekji gave her, her body definitely changed.

The same was true for Ajok, Senior Oh, and Jang Sam. They, who had been ordinary servants, had now become martial artists who could leap a zhang.

'It's all thanks to the medicinal herbs.'

Because it was impossible for a person to change so much in just three months.

Yang Soryeong did not know how arduous their training had been.

If Baekji had not secretly protected them from behind, they would have already fallen off a cliff and died or broken their bones by getting caught in a tree.

The next day.

Baekji burned the thatched hut.

"Do we have to burn it?"

Ajok asked as he lit the fire.

"When a man goes out into the world, he should not leave a place to return to."

Baekji said with a solemn face. It was a passage he had seen in a storybook.

"You all come here and swear an oath too!"

"What?"

"As a man goes out into the world, I will not return until I have achieved my goal!"

"Even if we achieve our goal, we're never coming back here."

To Ajok and the others, this place held nothing but painful memories.

"Just do as I say! Deceiving the master and destroying the ancestors!"

Ajok and the others shouted in unison.

"As a man goes out into the world, I will not return until I have achieved my goal!"

(End of Chapter)