“Can you feel all those eyes on you?”
Ian and I were at an inn. People had gathered and seated themselves around her. The seats on the opposite side were practically empty, yet everyone had clustered on our side.
They had all been inching closer, trying to get even the slightest better look at her face.
I whispered to Ian.
“That man on the left has looked at you six times, and that bastard on the right has looked seven times while pretending not to. The fellow beside him is openly staring, completely entranced. Hey, hey, stop looking! Pay attention to the young lady next to you! Ouch. That had to hurt.”
Just then, another customer came in. The man, looking around for a place to sit, widened his eyes when he saw Ian. As if bewitched, he walked toward her while staring, then tripped over a table and fell flat.
No one paid him any mind, and the fallen man sprang right back up. Then he took a seat where he could see Ian as well as possible. The man beside him was pouring wine, not even realizing the cup was overflowing.
“How does it feel?”
“It’s nice.”
“Nice? You’re not embarrassed?”
“I’m sure you made me sit here without my mask because you wanted to tease me when I got embarrassed, but your plan failed. I like this very, very much.”
“That’s unexpected.”
“I told you, didn’t I? I have more than one hidden tail. I can pretend to be embarrassed as much as I like, but I can also enjoy a few gazes like this as much as I like.”
Ian gave a faint smile toward the people watching her. Gasps erupted here and there.
She whispered.
“And that man on the left didn’t look six times. He looked eight.”
This is why I like Ian. She is flexible. She knows how to reveal her intelligence, and she knows how to hide it.
Even while carrying the side effects of the Whole-Body Petrification Art for her entire life, she had always lived with her head held high. She had wounds, and she had pride.
“Now then, we’ve enjoyed this inn enough. Let’s go buy you a veil.”
“A veil?”
“You can’t wear a mask all the time, can you? Use that mask whenever it’s really needed, and wear a veil normally.”
“I was planning to do that too. Saved myself some money.”
“Buy it with your own money!”
“Aww, buy it for me!”
At her “Aww,” several people collapsed, and at her “buy it for me,” several others clutched their money pouches.
When she and I stood up, disappointment and sighs swept through the surroundings. Looks of envy and jealousy flew fiercely toward me. Among them were also reproachful gazes telling me to buy her the veil.
She and I left the inn and walked together. The white mask dangled at her waist.
“From now on, there will be those who openly covet your beauty. All kinds of bastards will appear. Some will try to take you by force, some will try to drug you. There’ll be every sort of scum.”
I admit it. Whether it was intentional or unconscious, this was why I had postponed performing the Divine Poison Purification Art on her. Because I did not want to worry.
That did not mean I was no longer worried about her now that I had performed it. I would shake off my worry in a different way.
“You need the strength to protect yourself from such things. I intend to raise you to a level where you can face the Demon Venerables head-on.”
I had already been thinking that when I performed the Divine Poison Purification Art on her.
Ian did not offer needless humility. After all, she was not being taught just any martial art, but the Flying Heaven Sword Art, and with it came the natural goal of surpassing the Demon Venerables.
“I’ll work harder so I don’t cause you concern.”
“Don’t work any harder. You’re already overflowing with effort.”
She smiled, and only the old bachelor clerk at the fruit shop, who had been staring blankly, had his heart set aflutter.
We stopped by a cloth shop, and I bought her a bamboo hat with a veil attached. It had the advantage of completely hiding her face, but after trying it on, she refused.
“This is too uncomfortable. First of all, my field of vision is too narrow, so I think I’d be too vulnerable to a surprise attack. I’ll only be able to wear this after I become more skilled.”
“Then let’s just buy a veil for now.”
I bought her a veil that covered below the eyes like a face covering.
The veil alone could not hide her beauty, but it was still a little better.
“When I make the Ghost Shadow Unit later, I’m going to make their masks truly stylish.”
Imagining her wearing a mask with a distinctive ghost pattern, I thought she would look truly mysterious and splendid. Though if Blue Mask saw that sight, I had a feeling he might not be able to endure it.
Whenever she found a place where she could see her reflection, she stopped walking.
She was simply not expressing it all, but how happy must she be right now?
Enjoy it to the fullest, Ian!
“Where are we going now?”
“Can you climb mountains?”
“Mountains?”
“Your body’s lighter now, so let’s climb a mountain. Come on, run.”
After running for quite a while using qinggong, we arrived below a cliff of strange, jagged rock.
“Step only where I step!”
As she followed me up the cliff using qinggong, she could not utter a single word. It was her first time climbing such a sheer cliff.
Only after we reached the top did she let out a sigh of relief.
“To be honest, I was terrified on the way up.”
Her swordsmanship had reached a high level, but her qinggong did not match that skill.
“If you fall, you die, right?”
“You have to not die to be called an expert. With your swordsmanship, you ought not to die.”
“If I do fall, how should I respond?”
“Keep your wits about you and slow your fall by any means you can.”
Of course, in my case, when I was almost at the ground, I would release my internal energy and land lightly, but that was beyond Ian’s current ability. It would consume a great deal of internal energy, but she would have to slow herself as much as possible from the top as she fell.
“You know this too, but it’s hard to survive with swordsmanship alone. You need to be good at qinggong, have courage, possess sound judgment, and be able to read people.”
“Ah! It was warm inside the greenhouse.”
It was her joke about having lived comfortably under the protection of me and our cult, but I do not think so.
Not once had she ever been inside a greenhouse. With the emotional scars caused by the side effects of her martial art, and with her barely sleeping because she was guarding me—what kind of greenhouse is that harsh? After I regressed, she had barely slept because of training.
“Outside the greenhouse, is it spring? Or winter?”
“The jianghu has never once been spring.”
“Like this frightening cliff.”
She looked down below the cliff. I spoke as if whispering into her ear.
“Do you remember what I told you earlier? What to do when you fall.”
“Of course. Keep my wits about me and slow my fall.”
“Then that’s enough.”
The next instant, I shoved her off the cliff.
“Aaaaaaah!”
With a desperate scream, she fell.
I leapt down after her.
I thought she would fall in a complete mess, but Ian was flailing as she struggled to regain her balance and somehow slow her descent.
However, she still lacked experience, so her body was far too tense, and she was needlessly consuming internal energy.
I instantly increased my speed and caught her in midair.
Only then did Ian, held in my arms, relax.
“Cling to me.”
“Yes.”
Then, as if to let her see, I showed her how to slow down using my feet and arms. Even while holding her, our speed decreased in an instant.
Clinging to me, Ian watched without missing a single movement.
As we fell like that, I threw myself toward the cliff. There was a small cave halfway down.
Only after we landed there did Ian finally shout.
“I really thought I was going to die!”
“Liar. You trusted me to save you, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, but still. I was really shocked. The speed of the fall was much faster than I expected, so I couldn’t get my balance.”
“If you keep falling, you’ll get used to it, and gradually you’ll be able to find your balance.”
“Yes. I remember well how you did it.”
“Then that’s enough.”
“But I had no idea there was a cave in a place like this.”
“Remember its location. If you’re ever chased in this area, take refuge here.”
“How did you know about this place?”
“Do you think this cave is the only thing I know?”
“Of course not. That’s why I’m not going to ask anymore. But why did you come here?”
“From now on, I’m going to open your Ren and Du meridians.”
Because I had said it without setting any mood for an important conversation, at first she only blinked. Then her eyes gradually widened in surprise, and the final size of that surprise was even greater than when I said I would perform the Divine Poison Purification Art. At least I had given her some warning then. This time, it was something she had never even imagined.
Opening the Ren and Du meridians.
It was something one had to undergo in order to become a true expert, but it was also the greatest fortuitous encounter that only an extremely small number of martial artists could experience.
This process was incredibly dangerous and difficult, so there were more than a few who had died trying to recklessly open the Ren and Du meridians. Moreover, there were also cases where the person performing the opening died from qi and blood flowing in reverse.
There was no need to look far for examples. As blood kin of the Heavenly Demon, we had our Ren and Du meridians opened when we were young, and I still vividly remember how much my elder brother frightened me when it was my turn. He must have hoped I would fail to overcome my fear and suffer qi deviation, but I succeeded in opening my Ren and Du meridians safely.
In any case, the opening of the Ren and Du meridians was not something one should either perform or receive carelessly. That was why the old masters of prestigious orthodox sects risked danger only for the legitimate successors of their sects.
“You’re really going to open my Ren and Du meridians?”
“Yes.”
“Why on earth are you so good to me… Ah, so that’s why you told me not to ask. Because it was a question I would have to ask again soon.”
After I finished the Divine Poison Purification Art, I had told her not to ask.
“It’s a gift. A gift celebrating your new life.”
Ian could not say anything.
Once again, tears welled in her eyes.
“I hate crying, but Young Master keeps making me cry.”
“This isn’t something to cry over.”
“You’re right. I’m happy. I’m truly happy enough to feel like I could fly.”
“Now then, shall we begin? Since something might go wrong, leave your final words.”
“Please tell my young master. Tell him I’m sorry I couldn’t serve him to the end.”
“I’ll scold that young master of yours. He’s monopolizing you far too much.”
“He won’t be easy to scold. He’s growing stronger with each passing day.”
At her words, I ended up laughing.
“Now, let’s start with qi circulation.”
She sat cross-legged and began operating her mental cultivation method. When her true qi completed one heavenly cycle, I infused a mighty stream of internal energy into her back.
Slowly, I moved my internal energy along with hers through her meridians.
“From now on, you don’t need to answer me. No matter what happens, you must not scream or stop circulating your qi. You must not lose consciousness either.”
As she circulated her qi and steadied her mind, the speed of my internal force moving along her meridians gradually increased.
The Ren meridian begins at the lips, descends along the chest and abdomen, and reaches the Huiyin point. The Du meridian begins at the Huiyin point, rises along the tailbone and spine, passes through the Baihui point, and then continues back to the lips. The most important moment here was the instant of piercing through the Baihui point. If anything went wrong with the Baihui point at the crown of the head, one could be crippled or lose one’s life.
I knew well that finishing it in a single instant was better than dragging it out. My pure and profound internal energy boldly pushed through her meridians.
There was nothing to worry about. This was an opening performed by none other than me.
Chengjiang, Lianquan, Xuanji, Yutang, Zhongwan… I pierced through the meridians with unstoppable momentum. Like all kinds of filth being swept away by torrential rain, the impurities blocking her blood vessels began to break apart.
Ian suffered from the unfamiliar pain, but she was no stranger to enduring agony.
I was so unhesitating that one might wonder if it was all right to pierce through so forcefully. In truth, accidents happened when one hesitated. If it did not open in one go, you had to circle back and come again, and then again, striking fiercely.
Yangguan, Lingdao, Shenzhu, Yamen, Naohu, Houding. After opening all the other meridians like that, we reached the critical juncture.
‘Trust me, Ian.’
‘I trust you.’
‘Now!’
Rumble-rumble-rumble! Boom!
Even the most difficult Baihui point was cleanly pierced through, and as the remaining meridians were all opened, her Ren and Du meridians were completely unblocked.
As Ian slowly collapsed to the side, a smile rested on her lips.
‘Well done, Ian.’
Ian woke only after sleeping for half a day.
“Young Master? What happened?”
“Now, circulate your qi.”
With a tense expression, Ian sat down and began circulating her qi. After completing one heavenly cycle, her face brightened radiantly.
“It’s different. It’s completely different from before. My internal energy is much purer, and the movement of qi is unobstructed.”
“Congratulations, Ian.”
Ian sprang up and tried to bow to me, but I released internal force and stopped her.
“I told you before, didn’t I? I did it so I could work you hard. There’s no need to be grateful.”
“Just how hard do you plan to work me? This is enough gratitude that even if you told me to unify the entire murim, I’d have to do it.”
“Let’s eat first before unifying the murim. You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Hungry enough to go raid the Murim Alliance kitchen.”
Standing in front of the cave, she shouted.
“I opened my Ren and Du meridians—aaaaaah!”
From behind, I pushed Ian again. Watching her fall with less flailing than before, I also leapt down from the cliff.
One double hour later, Ian and I were eating again at an inn in the marketplace.
We ordered all sorts of delicious dishes and ate together. We paid no attention to the gazes of the other customers.
“It’s really delicious.”
“Let’s travel around and eat every famous dish in the Central Plains.”
“What if I get fat again?”
“Even if you want to, you won’t be able to. Once we return to our cult, you’ll fall into a hell of training until you achieve mastery of the Flying Heaven Sword Art.”
“Ah, let’s never go back!”
She was saying things she did not mean, but she was enjoying this moment so very much.
Just then, a young man came walking toward us, pushing his way through the crowd.
He was rather handsome and wore expensive, splendid clothes, and behind him were as many as four martial artists who appeared to be his guards.
Ian whispered as if chanting a spell.
“Don’t come, don’t come. Let us just eat in peace.”
Watching her, I smiled.
These are things you will experience countless times from now on. Now, how will you deal with it?
The man came before Ian and spoke politely with a confident expression.
“Young lady, may I treat you to a cup of wine?”
Now then, Ian. This is where it begins.