Chapter 61

청 diligently rubbed her head.

Honestly, rubbing a wound doesn’t really help it heal.

But what can you do when it hurts so much?

“Lady, it still hurts…”

“Is my scalp torn or something?”

While vigorously rubbing, she checked her hands from time to time.

Maybe some blood was leaking out?

To her surprise, her hands were clean.

This pain feels like it’s torn, though? Odd, right?

Normally, 청 was quite the drama queen.

But this time, she really seemed to be in pain.

Seeing her like this, Seomun Sulin felt a pang of sympathy.

Just like how there are no parents who lose to their children, a proper master can’t outshine their disciple.

“Ha. Well, you’ve learned Demonic Arts, but since I can’t see any maliciousness in your eyes, I know you’re being cautious.”

It was a ridiculous misunderstanding, but still, it was a way to vent her frustration.

청 replied with a brightened expression.

“That’s right. If you don’t get caught, it’s all good,”

*SMACK!*

“Ouch! I got hit again… Ugh…”

In a pointless quip, 청 earned herself another shot to the head, and a tear rolled down again.

Seomun Sulin shook her head.

“Well, as long as you’re careful… cautious…”

Seomun Sulin trailed off.

No matter how careful you are, can you really handle that wicked Demonic Arts?

Something about this girl’s hands looked unusually lovely.

“Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat teaches one to cultivate malice through flesh and bone. A person gradually becomes more wicked, eventually turning into a monster that takes pleasure in murder. You must remember this, disciple, and only use it when absolutely necessary.”

To be fair, comparing this to 청, it was already too late.

A monster specializing in killing villains while disguised as a human responded eagerly.

“Yes! Master.”

“Right. You’ve already learned it, so what can we do?”

But it wouldn’t do to just cut off her Dantian or sever her limbs to erase the roots of Demonic Arts.

If the orthodox sects like Baekdo knew of this, they’d surely try to do just that.

As Seomun Sulin mused on this, anger bubbled up in her chest.

It’s not like an inadequate girl couldn’t learn some Demonic Arts.

After all, despite the Heaven’s Kill’s curse, she had grown up decently.

That was how Seomun Sulin viewed the countless demons she had slaughtered in the past.

“Okay. If my disciple accidentally exposes those Demonic Arts, there’s something you must remember.”

“What is it?”

“Just deny it.”

“Huh?”

Seomun Sulin said seriously again.

“You just have to insist it’s not Demonic Arts. Hmm. Something like ‘Divine Maiden’s Technique’ should suffice.”

In other words, she was telling her to argue that it isn’t what it truly is.

청 thought to herself.

Is it true that in the Martial World, it’s the loudest voice that wins?

“Uh… is that really okay?”

“Not really. If they keep pushing, just say it’s an original technique of mine. Then what can they do? How dare they?”

Unbeknownst to 청, this was akin to a renowned warrior declaring he would carry all of his honor alongside her.

“Will I not get caught?”

Seomun Sulin grinned.

“Well, from now on, you must practice.”

“Practice?”

“Yes, my disciple. The quality of your Inner Strength is 正阳, so it doesn’t really align with the extremely wicked Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.”

Seomun Sulin began to teach her.

Yin and Yang are fundamentally divided into four categories.

The energy of the sun is called Yang.

Because it’s hot, it’s pure Yang, and because it’s bright and righteous, it’s 正阳.

The energy of the moon is called Yin.

It’s dark and between, thus it’s Yin Sha; for being cold, it’s pure Yin.

These four qualities, when balanced, yield eight.

Balance isn’t considered a quality, which is why there are eight.

Simply put, it’s hot, hot and bright, clear and righteous.

It’s hot but in between. Balanced. Bright yet cold.

Dark and in between. Cold and dark. Just cold.

Pure Yang, Extreme Yang, 正阳.

Extreme Yin, Balanced, Pure Yin.

These placements, depicting Yang’s energy in red and Yin’s energy in blue, are the principles of Yin-Yang Taiji.

And that’s why the Eight Trigrams originated from Yin and Yang.

By adding the properties of wood, fire, earth, metal, and water, the principle of the universe and everything in it emerges through Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

Seomun Sulin had previously grasped that 청’s learned Moon Lady’s Heart Technique contained the Path of Balance.

And the Zhu Yang’s Mindfulness Sutra, created with the essence of Shennong Yanzhi, embodied the righteous qualities of Yang, which was a method of breathing in the right energy.

The lower celestial technique, the Fairy’s Heart Technique from the West, was similar in nature.

This meant 청’s flowing Inner Strength was heavily skewed towards 正阳.

That was evidenced by her peculiar twilight-colored shadow.

“Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat is based on wickedness. So if my disciple can handle Demonic Arts with your 正阳 energy, the traces wouldn’t be discernibly different, would they?”

If you separate the flowing Inner Strength’s quality and handle only the 正阳 energy, even if using Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, the traces would differ markedly.

So you could argue it was something else altogether.

Strictly speaking, it wouldn’t even be a lie.

“So how do I practice this?”

“Isn’t the season winter? My disciple has splendidly timed this with the heavens. When Yin and Yang clash, the energies grow immensely, so in the time of Yin-energy, Yang-energy rises.”

“So you mean it’s easier to practice in winter?”

“Exactly. It’s not a difficult practice at all. Quite simple, really.”

Simple practice?

청’s face lit up.

“So what should I do?”

Seomun Sulin responded.

“Strip.”

“Huh?”

Wait, did I hear that right?

She thought she must have misunderstood something.

After all, Seomun Sulin said again.

“In the cold, warmth can finally be felt.”

“Uh, what do you mean by that…”

Seomun Sulin smiled kindly.

“That’s right. You just need to experience the world’s Yin energy in your bare skin. Is there an easier practice than that?”

—-

For a person, a house isn’t just a place to stay.

It holds much more value than that.

If you had to sum up that value in one sentence, it would be:

A comfortable and warm sanctuary.

So, a house that is neither warm nor comfortable is not a house.

It’s merely a space that binds a person with discomfort.

In that sense, 청 had lost her home.

“It’s cold…”

청 shivered as she thought.

This is finally my home!

I can’t even light a fire in my home!

I had to remove all the blankets!

They even took away the windows and doors!

And what they gave me as clothes were just a flimsy piece of fabric with some straps!

Given that the origin of clothing is to protect the body, this bit of fabric couldn’t truly be called clothes.

They even took away my underwear!

And the winter wind at the peak of Divine Maiden Peak is fierce.

It’s not just chilly; it feels like it could almost dig into my skin.

With the biting winter wind probing around, the thin fabric was so breathable that it felt as if the icy wind was coming and going like an open door.

I’ll reveal the location of my base and the way to decrypt the codes.

Please just give me a blanket…

Wait, actually, I’m pretty mad about this.

Is this what they call training?

Is it better to just run away now?

Despite 청’s fury, the results were remarkable.

After all, she was still alive and breathing.

No matter how strong a master is against the cold, there’s a limit.

You can’t survive just wrapped in a flimsy piece of fabric in the dead of winter.

At first, she thought, “Oh no, I’m about to die!”

But as the hot heat surged, it wrapped her whole body, keeping her warm just enough to avoid death while staying irritatingly warm.

One and a half months later,

She had reached a level where she could control the 正阳 true energy quite skillfully.

That doesn’t mean it was warm, though.

She’d just managed to maintain minimum body heat.

For this reason, 청 was now more akin to a shivering earthquake itself.

If someone asked what an earthquake was, they could just point a finger at 서문청.

Jin Jangmyung, coming to deliver food, caught sight of her shivering figure.

“Cold?”

“I feel like I’m shaking…”

“Then, big sister, should I hug you?”

“Uh…”

청 hesitated.

But the National Law is severe, and heaven and earth are wide awake, staring right at her.

This isn’t an emergency escape situation like before.

How could she dare embrace a minor?

Of course, in the Central Plain, children’s rights weren’t established yet.

Laws regarding the protection of children and youth only existed in 청’s heart.

“Ah, no…”

“Cheh.”

“By the way, does Seomun Sulin have lunch today?”

Jin Jangmyung opened the lunchbox she brought.

“Cold noodles. Cold dishes.”

“Ah, please…”

청 ended up shedding another tear.

In primitive ancient China, cold noodles just referred to noodles served in cold broth.

Accompanied by cold vegetables and various boiled and chilled meats, the cold dishes filled the large box with three layers.

Please, something warm. I want to eat something warm.

But even with her cold body, her stomach growled.

As 청 scooped up the cold dishes, she thought,

Ah. But it’s delicious…

While complaining, she thoroughly cleaned the lunchbox and curled up into a ball in the corner.

With no windows or doors, the storm raged inside her home.

At least it was the one spot less affected by the wind.

Even so, leaning against the wall made her feel cold.

It was a spot with a delicate distance from the wall.

“Play the flute for me.”

“I can’t play the flute, oh no!”

청 trembled uncontrollably, her whole body quaking with each shiver.

But if she could just get through this big chill, she’d feel a little better for a while.

“Play the flute for me.”

“Lady, that’s cold. It’s not even a flute; it’s a block of ice. My fingers are freezing.”

“Hurry, older sister.”

“You, little one, can be pretty persistent…”

*Sigh.*

청 sighed, picked up the Magic Flute (worth about ten thousand gold), and tossed it aside.

It was a complete brass flute.

To make sound, she couldn’t just blow; she had to channel her Inner Strength into it.

Seomun Sulin had explained this.

Once a sound is produced correctly, the owner’s Inner Strength will remain in it for decades, making it impossible for others to play.

But it was so cold she missed half the instructions and couldn’t comprehend the other half.

She thought it was just a lock that needs to be blown to unlock.

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