EP.38 The Way Back. (1)
The Way Back (1)
An unfamiliar ceiling.
Ah, what a cliché and uninteresting sentiment.
I never thought the day would come when I'd think of such words.
My head throbs.
My mind is dizzy and my stomach churns.
Especially my dantian area ached sharply.
I barely managed to raise my creaking body.
...Where is this again?
'...I'm sure I collapsed in the secret storehouse.'
The Mado Cheonheupgong that activated on its own had absorbed the energy from the bead the snake spat out.
The energy was so massive that I ultimately couldn't endure it and must have fainted..
Struck by sudden anxiety, I circulated my inner qi.
It was energy that had surged in enough to overflow. If my dantian was damaged, it would truly be a serious problem.
Hoo-!
"What..."
I was startled by the heat radiating from my body.
Much hotter and faster.
I thought I had circulated the same amount of inner qi as usual.
The amount of inner qi that flowed out involuntarily was far more than expected.
3rd star.
The Gu Yeomhwarungong that had barely remained at the early stages of the 2nd star had risen to the 3rd star.
And not just the 3rd star, but nearly at its tail end.
The amount of internal energy harbored in my body was a full half-gapja.
The amount one would gain from consistently cultivating the heart method for 30 years had melted into my body.
'I thought it was small compared to the energy I swallowed...'
Thinking about the energy that had flowed in then, half a gapja seemed small.
But my internal energy was incredibly pure.
Could there be such smooth yet powerfully packed energy anywhere else.
That not a single trace of demonic qi was felt despite absorbing so much energy.
Did that mean it wasn't a demonic stone after all? I wondered if the Gu Yeomhwarungong had swallowed the demonic qi again, but it didn't feel like that.
The energy felt from the dantian was truly astonishingly powerful.
The reason I couldn't reach the 4th star was also because my body couldn't support it yet.
If I just consistently trained my body, it seemed I could rise to the 4th star quickly.
At this point, what level of opponents could I face?
'That Namgung brat is out of the question... Gu Jeol-yeop would be easy.'
Objectively speaking, on the standard of not using ultimate techniques, it seemed I could secure an equal or higher position up to Gu Jeol-yeop.
Noeryong is impossible.
Even if the Namgung's sword dance being familiar carried meaning, in a real spar using inner qi, I still wouldn't be able to win.
'But where is this again?'
Confirming there was nothing wrong with my body, I looked around.
Among the somewhat shabby-looking furniture, the bitter scent characteristic of medicinal herbs subtly lingered.
"Young Master!"
"Ugh!"
While I was staggering, not fully conscious, something lunged at me.
It was Wi Seol-a.
"Young Master, are you okay now?"
"...Move aside for now."
What reason is there to ask a patient if they're okay while crushing them.
I hastily pushed Wi Seol-a off.
Fortunately, seeing how energetic she was, she didn't seem hurt anywhere.
So I asked what needed to be asked first.
"The snake? What happened to the secret storehouse?"
"Snake?"
Wi Seol-a tilted her head as if asking what I meant.
What? It was such a huge snake, why this kind of reaction?
Sensing something off, I asked Wi Seol-a again.
"I mean the huge snake we saw in the secret storehouse."
"Umm...?"
"...You don't remember?"
"Nope!"
"Since when don't you remember... no, from where do you remember?"
Thinking it strange, I asked differently.
Wi Seol-a rolled her eyes around.
Her eyes were already big, so them moving this way and that was clearly visible.
"From when I followed you out, Young Master!"
"...What?"
Then that's just everything...
Were the secret storehouse and that giant snake all hallucinations?
'That's not it.'
If that were the case, the increased internal energy and grown martial arts couldn't be explained.
Then was Wi Seol-a's inability to remember also the snake's doing?
'Why would it bother...?'
It was an incomprehensible matter.
"You really don't remember anything?"
"No... When I woke up, we were sleeping in the mountains together, Young Master!"
"What kind of..."
Rattle.
Someone entered, opening the door on the left.
It was an elderly man with visible age, white hair, and a bent back.
"Why's it so hot in here"
The old man snapped irritably as soon as he entered. The reason it was hot was probably because I had briefly circulated my inner qi.
The old man who entered looked at us and said.
"So you've woken up."
"...Who might you be?"
"You slept for two whole days and finally came to."
Two days...?
"Are you saying I slept for two days?"
Considering I found the secret storehouse in a day, this meant I had exactly used up all the allotted time.
"That's right, your body seems fine, but you just kept sleeping so I thought you were dead."
"...May I ask where this is?"
"Can't you tell by looking at me? I'm a doctor, so this must be a medical hall, obviously"
Where exactly should I look to feel he's a doctor..?
Shabby clothes that looked far from a doctor's robe, and a deeply bent back.
If I had to find evidence, it would be the subtly lingering scent of medicinal herbs.
"Is your body okay?"
The old man asked.
"Yes... I'm fine."
According to the old man, this was a medical hall at the foot of the mountain, but how did we get here?
According to Wi Seol-a, when she opened her eyes, she was lying not in the secret storehouse but at the mountainside where there were trees.
Then did the old man find us and bring us here?
The old man quietly decocted medicinal herbs and asked.
"Why were you dangerously sleeping on a cliff."
A cliff...
It clearly seemed like the terrain had changed to flat ground with a maple tree standing tall.
It changed back to a cliff? Situations I couldn't understand one by one just kept piling up.
First, I expressed my gratitude to the old man.
"...Old man, thank you. Did you save us?"
"Save nothing, give your thanks to the girl beside you. Pretty face but monstrous strength, she carried you down from there to here."
Looking at Wi Seol-a at the old man's words, Wi Seol-a put her hands on her waist and struck a proud expression.
From that mountain height to here, she carried me down?
"Th-thank you."
"Yes!"
Her stamina from chasing me from the Tang family was one thing. Is this what they mean by innate martial bone.
I tease her for being round every day as a joke, but come to think of it, Wi Seol-a was on the skinny side.
She just looks relatively round because she always has something in her mouth.
How on earth does such strength come from those thin arms...
The old man felt my arm, which I was staring at blankly, and said.
"Your body seems fine now, so you should slowly be on your way. The room is small, so I can't keep you here for long."
"...Ah, thank you, old man. Thanks to you, I was able to wake up safely from a dangerous situation."
"Hoho, what a loud way of speaking for a young one..."
Even if I look young, letting someone of unknown identity sleep for two whole days was not an easy thing to do.
Wi Seol-a was chewing on something unknown next to me, probably also given by the old man.
"...What exactly are you eating?"
"Hmm? Grandpa Cheon gave it to me as a snack!"
Grandpa Cheon?
It seemed Wi Seol-a had already even exchanged names with the old man.
The old man answered my question instead.
"It's nothing special, just gave her a few ginseng roots that I don't use because they have no efficacy. It's a country medical hall, so that was the only thing I could give."
...Ginseng roots? How can ginseng roots have no efficacy?
Giving that was surprising enough, but ginseng roots should be incredibly bitter, yet Wi Seol-a was munching away as if it was nothing, which was even more unusual.
I thought she only liked sweet things. She seemed to be more of an omnivore than I thought.
"I'm sorry..."
"It's fine, so stop apologizing and hurry home. Your parents must be worried."
My parents worried?
Thinking of my father, I quickly dismissed that thought.
He was absolutely not that kind of person.
If anyone, it would be Muyeon who would be shivering while waiting.
I rummaged through my clothes and said to the old man.
"I came out in a hurry, so I didn't bring much..."
"Huh? What money would a kid have, a lonely old man just did it out of boredom, so don't worry about it..."
What I barely managed to pull out after rummaging was silver coins.
Fortunately, it seemed I had at least brought this much.
Clatter jingle!
Seeing the silver coins dropped to the floor as I hastily pulled them out, the old man fell silent.
It looked like roughly two nyang of silver coins.
"This is all I have for now... to give you..."
As soon as I started speaking, the old man grabbed my hand.
The old man's gaze also looked considerably more serious.
What was he about to say?
The momentary silence ended and the old man opened his mouth.
"....Young Hero, if you wish, you may stay longer. Ah, to think I couldn't even bring out a single cup of medicinal tea while hosting such a precious guest...! Wait a moment, this old man makes a mean cup of medicinal tea!"
"...."
It was a relief that he seemed satisfied.
******************
I refused the medicinal tea the old man tried to almost forcibly brew for me and came outside.
He kept trying to hand me things, which was quite flustering.
Fortunately, it appeared to be midday, so it seemed I could depart right away.
Perhaps because my internal energy increased, my body felt much lighter than before.
If I ran with my inner qi circulating, couldn't I reach the village I wrote down in my letter right away?
"...That would be a bit much, wouldn't it?"
It seemed possible if I ran in intervals, but for Wi Seol-a who would follow behind, I should restrain myself.
'Or wait, couldn't Wi Seol-a actually keep up?'
Seeing how she followed me from the Tang family before, it seemed possible, but even so, I wondered if it was feasible for someone without internal energy.
While my martial prowess had increased, I checked inside Wi Seol-a's body.
It was still the same.
There wasn't even a handful of inner qi in Wi Seol-a's dantian.
Then how on earth?
Since Wi Seol-a had no memory, I couldn't know what happened after I collapsed.
What was that snake.
How could it return to being a cliff.
What was that bizarre formation.
And... and...
I stopped my slow footsteps.
Because the most important thing came to mind.
"...Hey..."
"Yees?"
"Hey, hey, hey, Yamyungju!"
"Yees...?"
I'm trembling.
All those Yamyungju... I didn't bring a single one of that many.
Remembering that, I felt like sitting down right there and beating the ground.
'...No, since the secret storehouse disappeared anyway, weren't they originally things I couldn't have brought back?'
I tried to think positively about what was already too late, but.
Then what about the bead I received...?
"..."
"Young Master?"
"...I'm fine. Just a momentary dizziness."
They weren't originally mine... If I thought of it that way, that would be the end of it, but humans are fickle and that wasn't easy.
Wi Seol-a looked at me and smiled.
"Young Master! Your expression got ugly."
"What kind of harsh words are those..."
"But it really did get ugly..."
To say such harsh things when someone is distressed...
Wi Seol-a had a surprisingly malicious side.
Then Wi Seol-a lightly grabbed my sleeve.
Wondering what it was, she pointed at the restaurant we had just passed.
Seeing that, I asked Wi Seol-a.
"Are you hungry?"
"...I am hungry, but when your expression gets ugly, eating dumplings makes it better!"
"Ah, so you want me to eat..."
And yet you're hungry in the midst of all this...
Honestly, if we were to eat, we could, but we didn't have much iron coin left.
Given the situation, it seemed right to arrive quickly first.
What should I do, should I really run?
With my current body condition, it seemed possible.
I agonized while looking at Wi Seol-a who kept holding my sleeve.
"...I have to run, but what should I do with you."
"Yees...? I-I'm really good at running...!"
"Should I carry you?"
"....Huh?"
"What?"
Did she just say something?
I asked again thinking I didn't hear, and Wi Seol-a suddenly sat down.
She was holding my sleeve then suddenly plopped down, making me sway too.
"Ah, ah, aaouch!"
And a somewhat awkward scream burst out.
"What, why suddenly?"
"M-my leg hurts! I think I hurt it!"
"What...? That's serious, should we go back to the medical hall right away?"
"You're in a hurry! It, it's probably not a serious injury."
"Then that means you can walk?"
"....Huh."
"....Hmm?"
What on earth does she want.
It was the first time I'd seen Wi Seol-a think so deeply.
After hesitating for a long time like that, Wi Seol-a whispered in a very small voice.
"Carry... please carry me."
Saying that, her ears had turned red.
Seeing that, I was surprised without realizing.
'...She does feel embarrassment?'
I thought she couldn't...
"Haha!"
That was so funny I burst out laughing.
Wi Seol-a made an "Hmph" sound and sulked.
I slowly bent down and offered my back to Wi Seol-a.
Wi Seol-a's hands carefully wrapped around my neck as she pressed her body close.
Feeling the warmth on my back, I grabbed Wi Seol-a's legs and stood up.
Whether my mischievous spirit kicked in, I teased Wi Seol-a in that state.
"You're heavy."
At my words filled with laughter, Wi Seol-a immediately panicked and shouted.
"I'm not heavy!"
"You're really heavy... It's almost like carrying a rock."
"That's too much...! L-let me down!"
"I've already picked you up, so that's not happening."
When was it.
I think there was a similar situation once before.
It wasn't a soft atmosphere like now, and Wi Seol-a wouldn't remember, but.
I remember that time alone.
I will remember it alone in the future too.
Because there was nothing good about it happening again.
Carrying Wi Seol-a on my back, I circulated my inner qi and kicked off the ground.
I jumped much faster and higher than expected, momentarily panicking.
I thought Wi Seol-a would be excited by the rushing wind, but she just quietly buried her face in my back.
It seemed like I could just run to my destination like this.