novelraw Chapter 102 : Chapter 102
Chapter 102 : Chapter 102
Chapter 102 - Originally, dragons are
Late at night.
A time when chilly wind settles even in the warm zone located inside the snowy mountain.
An old man looking stubbornly upright was standing still, looking at the moon rising high.
How much time had passed?
A woman approached his side.
“You were already here?”
“Old people originally have a lot of time.”
When the old man cracked a joke, a smile bloomed on the woman’s lips.
Even in the dim moonlight, the woman’s face was shining dazzlingly.
Far from the darkness blurring her features, the shadowed shading seemed to make the three-dimensionality of her face stand out even more.
The word 'self-luminous' must have been created for a woman like this.
Looking at the peerless beauty in front of him, Jeong-i, Hyeokri Chong smiled bitterly.
“I wish Hong-ah would grow up like you later.”
“What are you saying? She will definitely be much better than me. Even though she is still young, she couldn't hide her beauty, could she?”
“Kuk-kuk. Did it look that way to your eyes too?”
“Of course. When Hyeokri Hong becomes an adult, she will steal the hearts of countless Murim people. You’ll have to guard her well, won’t you?”
“Like you right now?”
“Oh, Elder, really.”
Jeong-i was always kind, but her demeanor toward Hyeokri Chong seemed even more amiable.
Sometimes, a little cuteness seeped out.
It was understandable, as Hyeokri Chong was a figure Jeong-i had followed very much when she was young.
“I’m glad you’re alive.”
“I am as well.”
A night where everyone is asleep.
A reunion just for the two.
Hyeokri Chong had recognized Jeong-i from the moment he first saw her.
Is there a finger that doesn't hurt when bitten among ten fingers? But Hyeokri Chong’s heart ached greatly when thinking of Jeong-i.
Because she was a child who had so many talents since she was young.
Looking at Jeong-i who appeared beside Biyoung, Hyeokri Chong had to barely hold onto his trembling heart.
So you were alive.
I’m glad you’re alive.
Only after calming the turbulence in his heart countless times could he speak to Solbo, who was making a fuss looking at his fake grave.
“Kuk-kuk. That stupid Biyoung rascal didn't even know we knew each other and introduced us diligently.”
“I should have told him in advance.”
“If you did, you would have had to bring up the terrible stories of the past.”
“………….”
Was Hyeokri Chong’s word weighing on her mind?
A shadow fell over Jeong-i’s face.
A shadow darker than the mountain path under the crescent moon.
Thinking he said something unnecessary, Hyeokri Chong changed the subject.
“I saw you go out with Biyoung after dinner; are the two of you in a deep relationship?”
“Huuh?”
Jeong-i opened her eyes round like a rabbit once, then smiled shyly.
“Oh, Elder, really. It’s not like that yet.”
“Girl. If there is no incident between a young and beautiful man and woman, that is even stranger.”
“You haven't changed a bit. Even in the past, you used to jump to conclusions easily.”
“Kuk-kuk. You must have been very young at that time; do you remember such things?”
“Of course. Because they are precious memories, of which I don't have many.”
Jeong-i raised her head and looked at the stars in the night sky.
Perhaps because it was cloudy, not many stars were visible.
No different from the number of good memories she had.
“Then do you remember that too? Saying you would find an aptitude fitting for you, I put dance clothes and a wooden sword in your hands at the same time.”
“Of course I remember.”
Jeong-i grinned and reminisced about that day.
“I remember it as a seat to decide whether to raise me as an artist or as a swordswoman of the Diancang Sect. Although Father didn't think pleasantly of either.”
“Even if I were your father, I would have been the same. Because both are not paths that ordinary women walk.”
A daughter who wouldn't hurt even if put in the eye.
Wouldn't he have wished for her to live a normal life if possible?
Unfortunately, there was no one to ask even if he wanted to now.
Jeong-i’s father died on the day they were attacked by the Black Daoists.
“Then…… is there any special news?”
“Not yet.”
When hurriedly fleeing down from Mount Diancang, Jeong-i had to separate from her mother.
Although it was the same for figures of other sects, the revival of the Diancang Sect had a special meaning for her.
“If your mother hears the news of the Diancang Sect, she will undoubtedly return to the main mountain. Do not lose hope.”
“Yes.”
Speaking coldly, it was a story with slim possibilities.
Because the survivors who survived on Mount Diancang that day had all fled to Simao.
Even young Jeong-i who was hiding was discovered by Jeokseo's eyes, yet her mother could not be found in the end.
But neither of them let go of the string of hope.
Instead of having no circumstances of being alive, there was also no evidence of being dead.
“Then you met Biyoung and came back doing what?”
“We circulated energy.”
“Circulated energy?”
Jeong-i explained the past events in a soft voice.
From the story of receiving the spirit medicine while working at the Blue Pavilion, to resolving the condensed energy with the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art with Biyoung’s help just a while ago.
“You mean that is possible?”
Hyeokri Chong asked back with eyes wide open.
Hyeokri Chong was a person who could answer about spirit medicines and internal energy even while sleep-talking in his sleep.
But resolving energy accumulated from spirit medicine in someone else's body using the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art was a story he had never heard in his life.
At Hyeokri Chong’s reaction, Jeong-i carefully nodded.
“Yes…… I expected it to be a difficult task but…… is it that difficult?”
“Hah…….”
Hyeokri Chong sighed lowly.
It was so unbelievable that he even felt like the world of knowledge he knew was being denied.
“It is a task for which the word ‘difficult’ is insufficient. Although the Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art is a circulation technique famous in Jianghu, no matter how profound the internal energy, it doesn't have the talent to resolve the energy of spirit medicine accumulated from before inside another's body.”
“Then…….”
“The Profound Heaven's True Energy Unification Art is just a means; what is important is the caster's capability. To resolve another person’s internal energy, the caster’s internal energy must be unspeakably pure. They must be born pure, but it is only possible if they have circulated energy without a single error continuously from the time they first created their dantian until now. Furthermore, the caster’s internal energy must also be vast. If there is a person who possesses all those conditions…….”
Dragon.
It is correct to see that person as a Dragon born in Murim.
It was when Hyeokri Chong was just adding such words.
“According to your words, Elder, that means Junior Brother Biyoung is a Divine Dragon that appeared in Jianghu?”
“………….”
Hyeokri Chong couldn't possibly deny it.
The Sun-Shooting Sword Art shown during the day.
And synthesizing the anecdotes Jeong-i told him, it was correct to see that guy not merely as the Dragon of Diancang but as the Dragon of the entire Jianghu.
“I have no way of knowing where on earth a guy like this popped out from.”
“I don’t know well either but…… aren't dragons originally beings like that?”
Looking at Jeong-i grinning, Hyeokri Chong smiled hollowly.
“Indeed. That is also true.”
***
“Gentlemen! Good morning!”
A resonant voice echoes in Hyeokri Chong’s hermitage.
Solbo and Jeong-i were standing side by side in front of Biyoung.
If it were their usual selves, they would have distorted their faces saying ‘Playing instructor all the way here?’.
However, the voice that came back was even more energetic than Biyoung’s.
“Good morning, Junior Brother!”
“Ho-oh?”
Perhaps pleased with that reaction, Biyoung’s eyes sparkled.
“You are overflowing with energy today? Senior Brother Solbo?”
“Of course!”
It wasn't just the voice.
His large eyes became clearer, and his complexion looked better than before.
Energy overflowed throughout his body, making it seem as if a formless haze was surging.
“As expected of Grandpa Hyeokri Chong. The medicinal effect is certain.”
All of this was thanks to the Cradle-to-Grave Pill taken yesterday.
The source of the nonsensical internal energy Hyeokri Hong possessed.
Though only one pill, Biyoung’s group could confirm the true value of that source.
It wasn't just Solbo whose condition improved.
A sticky sharpness flowed from Jeong-i’s clear eyes, and Guardian Gwangyo actually ran out of the hermitage saying he had to check his palm energy.
It would probably be a disastrous time for the bandits and wild beasts wandering nearby.
“You performed breathing exercises without gaps, right?”
“Of course. I did it sharply so that not a single drop would be excreted as sweat.”
“Good. Then shall we see your skills?”
Biyoung made Solbo and Jeong-i perform a few moves of the Flying Eagle Steps.
Pababak!
“Mm!”
Soon a satisfied sound leaked from him.
Jeong-i was originally on the side of having excellent accuracy in all moves, and Solbo was a person who had the next stage of the Flying Eagle Steps in mind from the time he came here.
Since people with already excellent talent even ate Hyeokri Chong’s spirit medicine, even that fastidious Biyoung had nothing particular to point out.
‘Somehow making them do only the Flying Eagle Steps feels a bit wasteful.’
Having watched the movements of the two, Biyoung finally reached such a conclusion.
“Both did well. Especially Senior Brother Solbo, I guess there will be no one to match you in footwork now?”
“Hehe. No problem on the way back too!”
Perhaps feeling good at Biyoung’s praise, Solbo tapped his calves.
“Energy overflows in my whole body! Before, I had to rest in the middle, but there will be no need for that on the way back.”
“Hoooo. Really?”
“I know everything. You intend to tell me to move using only my forefeet (tiptoes) this time too, right? Just like when we came here. This time I will be able to go without resting even once!”
“Hooooo. Then wait.”
“?”
Since ancient times, there is such a saying.
If a person does something they didn't use to do, a mishap strikes.
Solbo, who prepared for the Vast Sky Eagle Body Method and ate Hyeokri Chong’s spirit medicine, laid out a big boast unlike his usual self.
Even if Biyoung gave the same training task, he was confident he could easily handle it.
But.
The problem was.
Biyoung was not of a character easy enough to give the ‘same’ task repeatedly.
“Heave-ho.”
Thud!
Biyoung put down a load much larger than his own body on the ground.
It was so heavy that the ground shook as if a boulder had been thrown.
“Wh, what is this?”
When Solbo asked in fluster, Biyoung smiled an evil smile.
“If you ate rice, you have to work, right? Since you took the spirit pill, Grandpa’s luggage is Senior Brother’s share.”
“What? All of this?”
Solbo’s eyes expanded as if they would pop out.
He knew from the beginning that he intended to use him as a porter.
But, why does an old man have so much luggage?
And why is the weight so heavy?
Hyeokri Chong, who appeared at some point, shouted at Solbo.
“Rascal! Did you think spirit pills fall from the sky then? To continuously apply heat and process, tools harder than steel are needed!”
To be exact, tools harder and ‘heavier’ than steel.
Hyeokri Chong, perhaps having a conscience, omitted the latter part.
“E-even so, this is too much. This is impossible. Besides, I wasn't the only one who ate the spirit pill, was I? Right, Senior Sister……?”
Whiiing.
A cold wind blows.
In the spot where Jeong-i was until a moment ago, only empty wind hovered.
“Senior Sister……? Where did she go in that moment…….”
“Ahem. Senior Brother Solbo. Surely you won't break the words spat out by your own mouth? As a ‘Rising Star of the Great Diancang Sect’?”
“…………!”
Since when did you call me that.
You damned bastard!
But since there were words spat out heroically just a moment ago, it was a situation where he couldn't say he couldn't do it.
‘Wait.’
At that moment, a ray of hope flashed through Solbo’s mind.
Total of four people who ate the spirit medicine.
One is in the position of training him, and one disappeared like the wind.
But there was still one person left.
Wouldn't the remaining one perhaps help him?
“Kuhahahaha! As expected of the Cradle-to-Grave Pill! I struck dozens of Brown Kerchief Gang members who came for revenge dead with a single palm strike and came back!”
“Rascal! You couldn't endure that moment and caused an incident and came back?”
A semi-lunatic bursting into mad laughter with the whites of his eyes glaring despite Hyeokri Chong’s shout.
He was exactly the remaining one of the spirit pill group.
“………….”
Solbo, who confirmed the last figure of the spirit pill, smiled a most benevolent smile.
‘Shit. Let’s just do it alone.’