Chapter 21

“Ugh…!”

With a strange sound, Paeng Ha-ryeong suddenly sat up.

“Huh? What? Huh?”

She frantically felt her body with both hands, touching here and there.

Head, chest, stomach, legs, arms… Without even the presence of mind to observe her internal state, Paeng Ha-ryeong spread her palms wide open. Her palms were calloused, bearing the marks of rigorous training.

Like a baby clenching and unclenching its fists, Paeng Ha-ryeong repeatedly opened and closed her palms.

She stared at her hands as if it were a miracle that they were moving just fine.

No, she really was amazed that her body was functioning perfectly.

‘Why is it fine?’

She clearly remembered trying to block the evil energy of the Soul-Stealing Ghost Phantom with the Soul Origin Opening Technique, only to fail.

“You’re awake.”

“Eek!”

Paeng Ha-ryeong let out a startled scream and quickly hid her hands behind her back.

“U-uncle? Since when…?”

“I’ve been here since you went ‘Ugh.'”

So, from the very beginning!

But how could Paeng Mu-ho be so calm when she had just been on the brink of death and miraculously woke up?

Normally, as a direct descendant of the Hapbuk Paeng Family, he would have maintained his composure and managed his expression, but now he was far from it. If he could remain calm after narrowly escaping death, he might as well be an immortal or a celestial being.

Reading Paeng Ha-ryeong’s thoughts clearly written on her face, Paeng Mu-ho readily provided an answer.

“I knew you’d regain consciousness around this time.”

“Huh? How?”

“How? The benefactor who treated you told me so.”

“Ah… right. Someone treated me, so I’m perfectly fine now… huh?”

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem? When I checked your pulse, everything seemed fine, but are there any mental aftereffects…?”

“No, no. It’s not that…”

Paeng Ha-ryeong wanted to tell him that it wasn’t what he was worried about, but her astonishment at her current physical state was greater than her need to finish her sentence. She abruptly threw off the blanket.

“Ha-ryeong?”

Paeng Mu-ho called her name, urging her to respond, but Paeng Ha-ryeong ignored him and immediately sat cross-legged.

She closed her eyes and entered a meditative state.

How many days had she been lying down? Her muscles were slightly stiff. Naturally, she hadn’t been able to practice her internal energy techniques, so her internal energy was also depleted.

But for some reason, her body felt incredibly light.

‘It’s like I’ve been reborn.’

When the evil energy of the Soul-Stealing Ghost Phantom had invaded the three meridians of her right arm and finally blocked her breathing, Paeng Ha-ryeong had resigned herself to the fact that she could no longer live as a martial artist.

But now, after opening and closing her eyes once.

Her expectations had completely, 180 degrees, turned out wrong.

‘All the meridians in my body are open…?’

Opening all the meridians in the body is a rather arduous process. Unlike the Twelve Regular Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, the minor meridians are often left unused depending on the martial arts one practices, and they are so delicate that forcing them open with crude internal energy manipulation often leads to internal injuries.

Thus, it was generally considered a normal growth process to develop these meridians only in the late stages of one’s peak, maximizing the efficiency and control of internal energy.

But Paeng Ha-ryeong had skipped that long and arduous process in one go.

‘If this is the case, recovering my original martial prowess would take a month… no, two weeks? Ah, ten days, ten days. If I focus solely on recovery for ten days… huh? What’s this now?’

Not only had all her meridians been opened, but a new energy was also sprouting in her abdomen.

Coiled around her Middle Dantian was a small dragon with platinum scales. It wasn’t actually in that form, but that was the image Paeng Ha-ryeong perceived when she sensed it.

‘Why is Thunder Qi here? Protecting me? From what?’

Belatedly, Paeng Ha-ryeong remembered that she had been menstruating. The Middle Dantian is a vital point located in the uterus. Could it be protecting her injured uterus from the invading evil energy?

Embarrassed at having exposed such a private matter, Paeng Ha-ryeong’s face flushed red.

But more than that, she felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

The fact that the Thunder Qi hadn’t been reclaimed meant that its original owner had expended at least twice the internal energy she had.

It was the greatest gift a martial artist could give.

‘Thank you.’

Although her gratitude wouldn’t reach the owner of the Thunder Qi, the Thunder Qi responded to her heartfelt sentiment.

Normally, it would have naturally dissipated or left behind only pure energy, integrating into her internal energy since it didn’t match the divine technique she practiced. But because Paeng Ha-ryeong accepted it, the Thunder Qi was given a place to reside.

The Thunder Qi, now settled in her Middle Dantian, obeyed her will as if it were her own internal energy. Although she didn’t know the mental technique to cultivate the Thunder Qi, making recovery impossible.

But considering the nature of Thunder Qi, it would undoubtedly become a powerful trump card.

A series of fortunate encounters.

An unsparing act of kindness.

Paeng Ha-ryeong half-opened her eyes and began breathing according to the口诀 (mnemonic口诀) of the Hapbuk Paeng Family’s secret divine technique, the Heaven and Earth Void Divine Technique.

Her internal energy, circulating through the One Heavenly Cycle, excitedly roamed through her newly opened meridians as if touring a newly opened garden.

And when she completed the Small Heavenly Cycle, which was twice as long as usual, Paeng Ha-ryeong realized that even her initial estimate of ten days had been too generous.

‘Three days will do. Having all the meridians open is this incredible.’

Only the Life and Death Gate of the Governing and Conception Vessels remained unopened, blocking the flow of true energy.

There was no longer any place in her body where energy couldn’t flow.

A new world had unfolded within Paeng Ha-ryeong’s body.

“Congratulations on your achievement, Ha-ryeong.”

“Uncle… thank you.”

“Perhaps you might reach the Transcendent Peak before I do.”

“That’s…”

She wanted to say it was impossible, but upon hearing his words, it seemed plausible, so Paeng Ha-ryeong closed her mouth.

“But really, what happened? What exactly happened during the Ghost Gate Sealing Battle?”

“Haha, you’re quick to ask.”

“You know me. I’m a martial artist too.”

“Of course. Given the opportunity he provided, he’s a benefactor among benefactors. Even I didn’t notice until you completed the One Heavenly Cycle… I can’t even begin to fathom the level of his martial prowess.”

Paeng Mu-ho shook his head as he spoke.

At first, he thought the man was a Supreme Peak Master, but now he wondered if he might be even beyond that.

“Right. You asked what happened. Before I explain, let’s first confirm how much you remember.”

“Ah… I caught one Soul-Stealing Ghost Phantom, and while you went to stop the other, I tried to block the evil energy with the Soul Origin Opening Technique.”

“And then?”

“I failed and collapsed. After that, it’s blurry, but I think I saw the back of a young man. That’s all.”

“You did see the young hero.”

“Young hero?”

“Yes. The young hero we wanted to see. Just as you guessed. He was a hidden gem, one we didn’t need to watch over.”

Paeng Mu-ho recounted the events of that day.

Namgung Woo, who easily dealt with the Soul-Stealing Ghost Phantom. When the Yang Brothers intervened and advised that his sword energy wasn’t enough, he immediately drew his sword aura and bisected the Soul-Stealing Ghost Phantom.

And then, without showing any signs of fatigue, he offered to treat Paeng Ha-ryeong. Paeng Mu-ho and the other martial artists of the Paeng Family gambled her life on it.

The gamble was a resounding success.

“I thought he had merely removed the evil energy from your body and adjusted your energy flow… but seeing you today, it seems he bestowed an even greater favor. And when I asked the Iga Clan’s warriors, they said he was only twenty…”

“Let’s go meet him right away!”

Paeng Mu-ho’s subsequent words didn’t matter.

Paeng Ha-ryeong’s mind was filled with the thought of expressing her gratitude and the hope that perhaps, just as he had saved her, he could heal the Paeng Family’s ailing members.

“Is he outside? You didn’t leave him in a place worse than ours, did you?”

Paeng Ha-ryeong firmly believed he would still be in Muan County, just like them.

No matter how great a master he was, he would need rest. His performance during the Ghost Gate Sealing Battle was one thing, but beyond treating Paeng Ha-ryeong, he had performed a miracle akin to reviving the dead. His fatigue couldn’t have been light.

And though it was a bit embarrassing to say it herself, Paeng Ha-ryeong was a great beauty. While she hadn’t been chosen as a representative of late-blooming prodigies like the Seven Dragons or others, her beauty was secretly rumored to be the best in Hapbuk.

If such a beauty had been indebted to him, and given that he was a man, he would naturally be looking forward to meeting Paeng Ha-ryeong-

“That won’t be necessary. He’s already left.”

-Or not.

“Huh? Left? Who?”

“Our benefactor has already left Muan County.”

“You should have stopped him! Not just for me, but maybe for Ye-ryeong too…!”

“Forcing our benefactor to stay when he wishes to leave would be ungrateful.”

“There’s a saying about visiting someone three times! No, is that different? Anyway, he might just be being modest…”

“I tried three times. But he was adamant.”

“That’s…”

Paeng Ha-ryeong slumped to the floor in despair.

‘I couldn’t even thank him…’

Her eyes welled up with tears, a mix of regret for not expressing her gratitude and disappointment that the hope she had barely found was slipping away.

“Ah, by the way, I heard his destination. He’s heading to Beijing.”

“You should have said that earlier! Let’s go right away!”

§

“But why are you two following me?”