Chapter 444

Oh, first off, I had to be sneaky and keep an eye out for any old mountain folks, ’cause you know, Shintu’s thing is always about looting.

If your plan is to kill and rob everyone, what kind of Shintu would that be?

The real problem is the next-gen Shintu who looks like they’d actually do it.

So, as a master, I gotta teach the right way to be a Shintu; at least that’s what Cheon Yu-hak thought.

For now, like a tourist who got nothing out of a trip, I’m just sulking about the lousy weather and eating and drinking all morning.

Then I thought, “Darn it, this ain’t working, let’s get moving.”

So in some remote place, I changed into this shabby outfit I swiped from somewhere.

Technically, I bought this shabby outfit without permission, leaving the silver behind.

A Shintu shouldn’t be targeting the goods of innocent commoners, after all.

“Uh, Master? Isn’t this men’s clothing? It’s so baggy that if I jump, my chest is gonna pop out!”

“Come on, play the part. What do you think the point of wearing men’s clothes is? And what’s with the popping out? Girls can’t seem to shut up. Just tie it up tight and hide it.”

“It feels stuffy and gross, y’know? If I stick to the fabric in this weather, I’m gonna sweat. And that sweat is different from the heat; it’s all sticky and, yuck, I don’t even know how to describe it.”

“Am I supposed to listen to all that?”

“Ugh, it just feels so wrong, okay? You really have no idea how I feel… Jang Myung, you don’t even know!”

At that, Jin Jangmyung’s temple popped out with a vein.

“If I weren’t in pain, I would’ve figured it out.”

He blamed it on his body not cooperating.

“Uh, um, no. Yeah, if you say so.”

Isn’t this just a genetic problem?

Suddenly, I thought of Jangmyung’s mother, Yang Sowol—yeah, we don’t need to talk about her, so I shrugged it off and just went with, “Uh-huh, sure.”

Then, putting on a raincoat to shield against the downpour, oh boy, this raincoat is also second-hand.

“Ugh, what’s that smell? Can’t we just buy a new raincoat instead?”

“Yeah, totally.”

Jin Jangmyung fervently nodded his head.

But Cheon Yu-hak just snorted.

“Dressing all shabby with a shiny new raincoat? Is that gonna fly?”

“Uh, do we really have to?”

“It’s the law that wealth can disappear, but lives shouldn’t be in danger. Huh? You get what I’m saying?”

“Um.”

Qing’s expression turned ambiguous.

Not that he fully understood, but getting rid of dangerous stuff from dangerous people seemed simple.

But he couldn’t just say, “Let’s kill all the bad guys,” so he just kept that look on his face.

Shintu sighed deeply at that.

Anyway, dressed in old rags and that lousy raincoat, I looked like either an old beggar, a young beggar, or a little beggar lined up together.

“We’re not beggars, we’re herbalists. Think I’m just wearing the sack for no reason?”

In truth, dressed ragged with a sack and a stick, if someone saw me, they’d think I’m a decent herbalist.

It’s quite common to see old folks, young folks, and kids mingling together in herbalist tales, after all.

With the disguise done in that deserted wilderness, I crept into the rugged mountain terrain of No Mountain.

That’s how common folks in the countryside look.

Dressed like a beggar but holding a plow means you’re a farmer.

Dressed like a beggar but with a sack means you’re an herbalist.

Dressed like a beggar but holding a net makes you a fisherman, you get the drift.

In the end, when the labor garb of common folks wears out to the point of being useless, they just toss it and make a new one.

Did I need to go this far?

“Who’s there!”

As soon as I climbed a bit up the narrow mountain trail, a little path appeared, and, of course, some warrior lurking nearby suddenly shouted and pointed his sword at me.

“Oh dear, what’s going on, sir?”

Cheon Yu-hak’s act was convincing.

Qing wasn’t too confident in acting, so out of instinct, he pulled Jin Jangmyung into his arms, pretending to shield him.

Trying his best to imitate a caring father.

At that, the warrior lowered his blade.

“What’s this? Mountain folks?”

“Yes, yes, that’s us.”

“Hmph. Oh good, neat coincidence. Do you often go to No Mountain? Is there a big graveyard or something there?”

“Oh dear, who would bury something on a rocky mountain?”

“Really? Then is there some suspicious cave or something?”

“If it’s a cave to escape the rain, there are a few old ones, but if it looks suspicious then…?”

“Hmph. You’re no use at all. Just had bad luck, so don’t hold a grudge.”

Then he suddenly swung his sword—

Cheon Yu-hak’s arm moved naturally, and just like that, we shook hands like good pals, taking the sword from him as if it was rehearsed.

A master pickpocket, that Shintu skill at its best.

“Uh?”

With nothing in his hands all of a sudden, the warrior looked confused.

“Tsk tsk. Waving around something ugly like that is dangerous. You poor fool.”

With the sword Cheon Yu-hak took, he poked the warrior right in the throat.

I thought for sure we were about to see some bloodshed!

But he just choked out a cough, grabbing at his throat like he was about to pass out instead.

Cheon Yu-hak pivoted, wrapping his arm around the man’s neck to hold him securely.

The guy flailed around but Cheon Yu-hak just swayed left and right lightly, while his solid bicep stayed in position, choking him out.

Before long, the man went limp.

Of course, Qing knew Cheon Yu-hak was a master in the Realm of Transformation.

He’d witnessed Cheon Yu-hak’s fluid and graceful fighting style, and, uh, impressive, but just not his cup of tea.

But Jin Jangmyung was clueless.

Finding out that the revered scholar was actually a master too? What a shock!

Jin Jangmyung’s eyes bulged like perfect marbles as he poked Qing’s side.

“Huh? Why?”

“He’s a master. Did you know?”

“Heh. Jangmyung, in the Martial World, you’ve got to watch out for the elderly, women, and children. Just look at us—an elderly, a woman, and, oh…”

Qing glanced at Jin Jangmyung, who pondered for a moment.

“Come to think of it, maybe kids don’t need watching out for. Drop your guard around ‘em. Little rascals.”

“…?”

While Jin Jangmyung scratched his head, Qing took the man from Cheon Yu-hak.

He naturally wrapped his hands around the man’s hair and tightly pulled it back, then dove toward the thicket across the road, following Cheon Yu-hak.

—-

Cheon Yu-hak’s rope-binding lesson.

“If you tie them up like this, even if it’s with vines, it’s so sturdy that not even a brute like Xiang Yu could break free.”

Qing thought that was nonsense and didn’t feel the need to hold back his thoughts.

“Hey, strong force destroys everything, right? Can’t get loose? Just apply more force!”

“Eh. No matter how strong a person is, there’s always a point of force applied. If you overwhelm that spot, you’re finished.”

“So maybe not enough strength, huh?”

“Then, do you want to be tied up once?”

“Fine, I’ll give it a shot.”

And then boom, whoosh, crack!

Qing burst free with pure strength, making Cheon Yu-hak’s eyes widen in shock.

“Wait, what kind of brute strength is this? What is this, seriously? Have you ever heard of a little something called Anti-Xiang Yu?”

“Nope, Master. You said Xiang Yu couldn’t escape, right? I just don’t want to be compared to someone weaker than me.”

So Qing claims he can; Xiang Yu’s the one being accused of being Nam Cheon-hwa!

Either way, Cheon Yu-hak was genuinely impressed.

No wonder the Martial Art of Body Refinement has been losing its edge lately.

Is this really human strength?

He didn’t quite grasp the complex mechanics of levers and body leverage, but it seemed that even in one’s weakest form, you could still break through vines.

That just goes to show how even the weakest state can break a thick vine!

“Let me go. This is no good.”

Jin Jangmyung, who had been squirming on the ground, finally cried uncle.

When he noticed Qing’s divine position, he also wanted to give it a whirl, but ended up looking ridiculous.

Qing’s eyes narrowed.

Oh, this is strange.

Why do I always want to mess with and tease small beings? It’s not like it’s wrong, right? No need to hold back.

“Jangmyung. Attempting what you can’t handle is called reckless bravery, and having an irresponsible attitude like someone else will cover you? That’s called positive distortion. How are you gonna survive in the perilous Martial World?”

“…?”

“It pains my heart to teach you this lesson, but I shall make it a grand one.”

And with that, Qing grabbed Jin Jangmyung and began to tickle him.

The little girl’s high-pitched giggles burst forth, but soon it turned to rasping breaths as he struggled under the pressure.

“Hey! Wait! Ugh, I can’t breathe!”

Breath going from light giggles to a panicked gasp.

The fellow came to his senses.

“Gah! Ugh! Mmm!”

He couldn’t say much due to the gag, but his determination clearly showed.

Thanks to that, Jin Jangmyung escaped Qing’s tickle torture and collapsed on the ground, gasping for air.

“See? Now do you know? Don’t trust people so easily.”

“That’s too much! Phew, I almost died!”

“No matter how much you tickle, no one really dies from it, alright? It’s all about adapting, you know? I wouldn’t do anything dangerous to our little Jangmyung!”

Feeling like he was blocking his senses to avoid danger or simply because external stimuli numb him quickly, you could tickle all you want before they adapt and it ceases to bother them.

He had previously tested this on villains, and it was so funny that no one died from it.

“Come on, get over here.”

“Ugh.”

“Aren’t coming, huh? I’ll start counting to five. One, two, you should’ve done this sooner.”

At that, Jin Jangmyung hurriedly rushed into Qing’s arms.

Qing sat down on the ground, holding the little guy close while radiating warmth.

A classic ‘give a little, take a little’ act.

But Jin Jangmyung, always craving his older sister’s affection, completely forgot about the earlier fiasco and relaxed into the cozy warmth.

The captured man was still muffled in his struggles.

But no one cared.

Cheon Yu-hak found it ridiculous and couldn’t help but ask.

“What are you doing?”

“Uh, just watching? You’re not gonna interrogate him or something?”

“Mmm!”

“No, seriously, what good is having a disciple if I have to deal with all this mess? Does the old man need to handle the dirty work?”

“Grrr!”

“Hmm. If I do it, there’ll be a lot of blood. But the kid’s too young to watch, so uh, Jangmyung, can you go pick some flowers over there?”

“Mmm! Mmm!”

“Hey, I’m twenty!”

“Eh. Lying won’t do you any good. Where does the little one seem twenty? Jangmyung, how old are you? Twelve? What do you think you’re going to do?”

“Let go.”

Jin Jangmyung thrashing about was just burning off useless energy, honestly.

“Is there a way to ask questions without bloodshed?”

“Hmm. There’s a method called Breaking Tendon and Crushing Bone.”

“Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!”

“Breaking Tendon and Crushing Bone, huh? Oh, I like that name.”

Ripping muscles and cracking bones?

Just hearing that sounds like a lot of fun. But…

Why does that feel so familiar?

Isn’t that the principle of the Martial Art of Body Refinement?

“Ah, how about you take this opportunity to learn? That technique forcibly reverses the flow of Qi and makes all the muscles spasm.”

Qing’s eyes sparkled.

Make all muscles spasm?

It can make every muscle cramp up?

Such a horrifying technique?

I wanna learn that right now!

“Ah! Yes, I want to learn! I want to learn! Please teach me!”

“But you need to completely suppress your opponent’s inner strength first. Unless you know a high-level technique like the Energy Disruption Mastery, it doesn’t work. If I want to show it now, I’ll need to break this guy’s dantian.”

“Mmm!”

Oh, I should’ve asked Hwi-Young for some knowledge on those forbidden techniques.

When I kicked him and made his lower half paralyzed, uh, thinking back, that felt quite satisfying.

Anyway, thanks to that, I ended up getting the good ol’ “will be free from the Evil Demon School” treatment, so no suspicion at all was raised.

Doesn’t that guarantee performance?

Well, if I ask again when I see him later, that’ll work.

“Oh right, if there’s a clean way to break a dantian, please let me know! Every time I break the dantian, my insides pop and I just end up dead.”

“Mmm! Mmm! Mmm!”

The man was frantically shaking his head.

He realized he was caught up in something horrible, being taken by some savage little monsters.

So he shot hopeless glances to the old man, the youth, and the kid.

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