107. A Look at the Two
Magunja and Nosin appeared before me at the same time, having heard my rash words.
The wind the two brought with them made my hair flutter. These guys probably intended to show off their skills to intimidate me, but from the start, I knew better than anyone just how fast they were.
I swept back my disheveled hair and glared at the two of them.
“You have business with me?”
Magunja grinned.
“Well, this is an interesting friend. I suppose you never learned honorifics?”
I nodded.
“Never learned.”
Magunja fell silent for a moment.
“…….”
As Magunja was taken aback, Nosin spoke in an excited tone.
“He said he never learned. You think everyone has read as many books and learned as much as you? No way. He said he never learned. You said so yourself before—not having learned is no crime.”
Magunja snorted.
“Fine. Perhaps so. By the way, you showed considerable skill scaling that cliff. Let’s do this. Let’s compete to see who can scale the cliff faster. The loser uses honorifics.”
This time, Nosin also chimed in with quick speech.
“Good. That’s a good method. You two, hurry up and compete.”
These fellows seemed desperate to show off their qinggong now. Probably because I had shown them earlier how quickly I could scale the cliff.
I sized up the two with my arms crossed.
“You’re saying we should compete.”
To be honest, I am not a man who enjoys losing fights.
Moreover, these guys are older than me, have trained longer, and have especially devoted themselves solely to qinggong.
If we compete in qinggong, there is naturally a high possibility that I will lose.
Regardless of how the match turned out, what I wanted was to recruit experts of the Kuai Dang, so there was a need to look a bit further ahead.
Magunja asked.
“Why? Scared? I expected as much.”
I spoke as if I had perfectly grasped the two’s capabilities in a short time.
“Judging by the two of you… you’ve trained qinggong to death. You must be quite fast. This Beggar Brother here has an uninhibited nature, pays no heed to formality, and has trained thoroughly in both external and internal arts to raise his speed. You probably have few rivals. On the other hand….”
I pointed at Magunja with my finger.
“This Scholar Brother here is neatly dressed, clean from head to toe. This is surprising. How should I put it? He isn’t the type to run wildly. Like a gentleman taking a stroll, he maintains a noble bearing, yet his profound internal energy makes him so fast that he likely has few rivals as well.”
As I spoke, Magunja and Nosin’s expressions changed by the moment.
“……!”
When I finished speaking, the two looked at each other with expressions steeped in shock.
They couldn’t help but be surprised….
Because everything I said was correct. Of course, I was merely spouting things I had known from my previous life.
Nosin replied with a surprised expression.
“Your powers of observation are astounding? It’s so incredible it’s strange. What the? You can tell all that just by looking?”
Magunja shut his mouth entirely.
“…….”
Nosin asked me.
“Then what type is our little brother? I’m curious.”
“Truthfully, I would like to compete with you two as well, but….”
Nosin showed his impatient temper and replied immediately.
“Then let’s compete. It’s simple. Why are you being so frustrating about a simple matter?”
I stretched out my finger and deliberately shook it slowly from side to side.
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?”
I shook my head and continued.
“I’ve only trained martial arts seriously for less than three years.”
“What?”
“……!”
Perhaps because they were too shocked this time, Magunja and Nosin’s eyes grew enormously wide. In truth, if I had said it was even shorter, they probably wouldn’t have believed me, so I had said an appropriate three years.
Nosin muttered.
“That’s absurd. Do you have an incredible master?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t. That’s not what’s important. I learned martial arts to face someone, not to race you lot. And to tell the truth, having trained for a mere three years, there’s probably no chance I could beat you two. It’s impossible. Anyone can see your qinggong skills are on a far higher level than mine. What’s the point in competing when I’ve already noticed that? However….”
As I kept trailing off, Nosin—who hated such things most of all—replied with a frustrated expression.
“However what? Hurry up and say it. Why do you keep stopping like you’re taking a dump and cutting it off? It’s frustrating. I’m so frustrated I could die.”
I stared at Nosin blankly.
‘Why in the world is this guy’s nickname Slow Body?’
Nosin had truly been the most short-tempered man in the martial world, both then and now. He was a man who couldn’t even wait patiently for others to finish speaking.
“However….”
Nosin looked at me and nodded slowly.
“Yes. However… say what comes next. I beg you.”
I steered the conversation to an odd point.
“Qinggong, you see.”
“…….”
“It’s a charming art.”
“Stop stating the obvious. I asked what comes after ‘however’?”
Magunja clicked his tongue and scolded Nosin.
“Isn’t he speaking right now? Shut up for a bit. Let him talk. If you stay still, he’ll surely get around to it. Tsk….”
Nosin closed his mouth, and I opened mine.
“…What should we call this phenomenon where, during an important period of martial arts training, you occasionally have to run like this to clear your mind? I was wondering if this might also be a form of qi deviation….”
Nosin quickly shook his head.
“Uh, no. It’s not qi deviation.”
I slowly nodded in contrast.
“A frustrated heart—after running, my chest feels refreshed and the frenzy seems to subside somewhat. But I have subordinates, and enemies I must kill, so it would be right to focus a bit more on martial arts training.”
Magunja nodded.
“That isn’t wrong either. Even so, it’s truly amazing that you freely scaled that cliff at such speed after learning martial arts in a short three years.”
Nosin nodded as well.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. In three years, our side….”
When Magunja glared at Nosin, Nosin closed his mouth. How could he reveal the existence of the Kuai Dang to a stranger he had just met?
I pretended not to be interested at all.
That was because, at this point, building up internal energy was more important than actually training in qinggong. So what I said was true to some extent. It was just that, knowing the two men’s personalities, I was feeding them only the truths I had chosen.
The Demonic Gentleman asked me,
“What is your school or affiliation?”
I answered honestly.
“I am a man who trains in martial arts alone. I do have an affiliation, but since I’m the leader, calling it an affiliation is a bit ambiguous.”
“Is that so? Leader of what force?”
I shook my head.
“Gentlemen, I can’t tell you that.”
Nosin clutched his forehead.
“Good grief, why do you have so many secrets?”
“I have many enemies.”
The Demonic Gentleman asked with interest,
“Who are your enemies?”
I continued the psychological warfare against the two of them.
“I can’t tell you that either.”
“Why not?”
At this point, I acted like a man with tremendous analytical ability, based on the information I already knew.
“Judging by the two of you…”
Nosin replied,
“What did you see this time? What do you keep seeing?”
“This beggar brother here is naturally an expert of the Beggar Gang. Anyone can tell, since he’s a beggar.”
“How did you know? Ah, well, that can’t be helped. That’s true. I’m from the Beggar Gang.”
I looked at the Demonic Gentleman.
“……”
The Demonic Gentleman asked me with expectant eyes,
“Well? What affiliation do I seem to belong to? Try guessing.”
I glared at the Demonic Gentleman, then let out a sigh and said,
“I truly have no idea. Truly no idea at all.”
In truth, I knew.
“It’s strange. Your attire, gaze, posture, and breathing clearly make you seem like an expert from a prestigious orthodox sect of the White Path…”
“But?”
“And yet, somehow, I feel that if you used your martial arts, you would emit a domineering aura. Which means you are not an expert of the White Path. But if I ask whether you are the disciple of the Alliance Leader… that doesn’t seem right either. Nor would you be from a martial clan.”
Nosin asked, sounding curious,
“Why did you exclude the martial clans? They’re filled with experts too.”
I asked Nosin,
“Have you ever seen the young masters or heirs of thriving martial clans wandering around dressed like scholars, like this Mr. Turtle here?”
“I have not.”
“Then don’t bother saying it. The young men of martial clans all dress alike, style their hair alike, and even smear powder on their faces, all to seduce women. But I can’t view this side as belonging to the Black Path either. I truly don’t know. It’s rare for me to be this stumped.”
As I spoke, the Demonic Gentleman was wearing a satisfied expression. Nosin and I watched the satisfied look on the Demonic Gentleman’s face together.
“……”
Nosin cursed at the Demonic Gentleman.
“Look at him, pleased as can be. Good grief…”
The Demonic Gentleman wiped away his smile and snorted.
“In any case, young man, your qinggong skills are quite impressive. I would like to see more, but I suppose I cannot force you against your will.”
Nosin nodded.
“A shame.”
The Demonic Gentleman continued,
“Do you intend to continue training your qinggong from now on?”
I shook my head.
“Unfortunately, I’m receiving treatment.”
“Treatment?”
Nosin asked me with a worried expression,
“Why? You look perfectly fine. What treatment? Where is a young man like you ill?”
I let out a deep breath.
Nosin spoke so quickly that his words struck my eardrums in succession before their meaning was conveyed.
I clutched my chest with my hand.
“I often suffer from qi deviation caused by madness. And…”
Nosin suddenly shouted,
“And! What!”
I tapped my dantian.
“Because I learned martial arts that are not in harmony, my mind and way of speaking go back and forth as well. They said the energies of extreme yang and extreme yin are imbalanced. In particular, the extreme yang energy is affecting my entire body, and they said that is the cause of my madness.”
The Demonic Gentleman asked me with a stunned expression,
“No, wait… What did you say? You possess the energies of extreme yang and extreme yin?”
I looked at the two of them and replied with a solemn expression,
“Am I not supposed to?”
“No, that is an extremely rare phenomenon.”
“This is something I learned from a physician who is also my sworn brother, but apparently my body is a Yin-Yang Body (陰陽之體).”
The Demonic Gentleman was, quite literally, startled out of his wits.
“A Yin-Yang Body?”
Nosin’s mouth also rounded in surprise.
“Oh, how astonishing. It is a body bestowed by the heavens… Is that why you were able to display such qinggong in just three years? What do you think? Is it possible?”
The Demonic Gentleman stared at me, blinking.
Of course he would find me fascinating.
The Demonic Gentleman’s knowledge of martial arts was truly extensive. He must have read many martial arts texts, so he would know what a Yin-Yang Body was and just how rare such a physique was.
The Demonic Gentleman asked cautiously,
“By any chance…”
I answered immediately.
“That would be difficult. How could I let someone I’ve just met examine my body? It would be difficult.”
The Demonic Gentleman reached out his hand, then hurriedly withdrew it in midair.
“You are right.”
I let out a long sigh and looked at the gorge.
“Truly… seeing it anew, this is a beautiful gorge. Once I resolve my madness and train my qinggong further, I would like to run to my heart’s content here. And would it stop at gorges? I want to visit the cliff called Manjang-ae as well. I want to go to all sorts of famous mountains said to be so treacherous. If only I could raise my level even further and perform Grass-Skimming Flight (草上飛)… They say martial arts have no end, but in truth, qinggong too is an endless realm whose limits cannot be fathomed. What do you two think?”
Nosin nodded with an admiring expression.
“You’re right. There is no end to qinggong. That is why my sobriquet is Nosin. There are still quite a few people faster than me.”
I gave a slight nod to Nosin, who had revealed his own sobriquet on his own.
“Brother Nosin, it is a pleasure.”
I strategically changed my manner of speech. Nosin also looked at me with a smile.
“Ah, the pleasure is truly mine.”
Because of his affiliation, the Demonic Gentleman did not reveal his sobriquet, let alone his name. Naturally, at this point in time, the Demonic Gentleman belonged to the Demon Path. Of course he could not reveal it.
The Demon Gentleman asked me.
“How did he say that imbalance could be resolved… according to the physician, I mean.”
With my arms folded, I began acting with a troubled, desolate expression.
“He said it would be truly difficult.”
“Then at least tell us.”
I deliberately revealed Murong Bai’s name to lend my words more credibility.
“According to my sworn brother, Master Murong Bai, this madness is ultimately a disharmony of extreme yang and extreme yin. In other words, he said it can only be resolved through a chain reaction that begins with restoring balance to the body, then the balance of the dantian, and then the balance of qi and flesh in succession. So I first obtained an old martial art and am in the process of training in it; it is a martial art based on extreme yang internal energy. I’ve had fairly good results. But after that, he said I would have no choice but to obtain an extreme yin martial art and train again and again, grinding my bones and coughing blood, until I heal my own body myself. Correct the disharmony on my own and bring it into harmony—that, he said, is my path to survival.”
Wrapped in a solemn atmosphere, I gazed at the distant sky with wistful eyes.
The Demon Gentleman stroked his chin.
“I see. You are indeed in a most peculiar and wondrous state.”
Right now, the Demon Gentleman was about to die of curiosity over my yin-yang constitution. Nosin, meanwhile, was itching to compete with me in lightness skill.
I had fought a grand strategic psychological war against these two.
It had truly been a rare fierce battle.
But more important than that was the finish.
As if I had become mystery itself, I abruptly informed them of my departure.
“Then let us meet again. I have many matters to handle.”
The Demon Gentleman frowned.
“Young brother, even so, would it not be proper to tell us your name? It is not as if we harbor any malice toward you.”
Nosin also spoke in an anxious tone.
“That’s right. I am Nosin of the Beggars’ Sect. I cannot stand being treated like one of those bastards who are two-faced. Surely the name of our Beggars’ Sect is not so light?”
As if conceding to the two men’s words, I nodded, then said,
“Of course I intended to tell you. Then, let us meet again.”
I turned around just like that and unleashed my lightness skill with all my might. With power encompassing both my external arts and internal energy, I shot forward like a gale. If I wanted to leave a definite impression on the experts of the Swift Hall, there was no other answer but this.
Instead, as I grew distant at tremendous speed, I infused my voice with internal energy and revealed my identity.
“Haomun Sect Leader… I am… that is….”
My words got tangled because I was running in such a hurry.
In any case, the Swift Hall’s intelligence network was not to be underestimated, so they would find me by any means necessary.