Martial Arts Training.
I haven’t been neglecting my martial arts training since coming to this world. Just like studying for a qualification exam as an office worker, when priorities get pushed back, I put it off for a moment.
Ever since I almost died for the second time during the Sichuan trip, I’ve been trying to find time for it.
I wake up at dawn, practice the Small Wheel Mental Image Technique, and steadily do my Qi Breakfast, and I’ve been training in various martial arts I’ve learned, so I don’t lose my edge.
“Today, my fingertip sensations are good.”
Pak! With a sound, the hidden knife embeds itself in the wooden board. I’ve been training the Tang Family’s Stealth Techniques so hard that I’m tasting blood in my mouth.
It seems like I could hit a target even while half asleep at close range now, but I still need to maintain my sensitivity.
This time, I threw three hidden knives in a row. One straight, one curved, and one at a right angle.
The stealth techniques of the Tang Family could surely send even third-rate and second-rate martial artists straight to the underworld with just those throws.
Strangely enough, it seems the Tang Family’s stealth techniques fit me well.
Could it be that I have hidden talent for dual careers in the major leagues?
I stopped those silly thoughts and began practicing the Light Body Movement technique.
“Today, it seems the Shadowless Body Technique is going well too.”
I reached the finishing point, looking back at the footprints left by Im Ha-yeon during her Shadowless Body training.
She may be far ahead of me, but still, I could now follow her footsteps more skillfully than before.
“……”
Are you lost in thought? Im Ha-yeon gazed glumly at the ground with her lips tightly sealed.
“Yeo, Ha-yeon?”
“……”
“Yeo, Ha-yeon!”
“Why, why?”
As I approached her, she finally looked at me with a startled expression.
“Do you have any worries lately? You seem to be thinking about something else.”
Recently, she’s been making unusual mistakes at work.
One administrator called to ask if it was correct that she ordered double the usual amount.
“No way. That can’t be!”
Sometimes she showed a silly side, but she usually worked meticulously and could be trusted, yet she was making constant mistakes.
What’s with the anxious look as if something is chasing her?
“I don’t have any worries……”
Im Ha-yeon glanced at me for a moment, then weakly turned her head away.
No worries? Then what’s up with those dark circles and her hair looking so frizzy?
“Are you hiding something from me?”
“Who do you think……”
Pouting her lips, Im Ha-yeon looked up at me.
“Hmm?”
“Ugh. Never mind. It’s not that I have worries, it’s just that I’m a bit tired.”
Im Ha-yeon slumped her shoulders as she spoke.
Im Ha-yeon is essential personnel for the delivery business. She has a lot on her plate already, and now she’s got to open two new branches at once, so she’s been focusing on training her Nine Black Qi Hands.
It’s tough, but she’s helping me with my light body movement without a word, which makes me feel guilty.
Hearing she’s tired reminds me; she looks like an overworked office worker who pulled an all-nighter on Monday, and Thursday isn’t even a day off.
How can I fill her with energy?
“Yeo, Ha-yeon. Is there anything I can do for you?”
I came up with a good idea. I stepped closer to her.
“What?”
“Close your eyes for a moment.”
“Eh??? Why, why, why?”
Why is her voice shaking?
“It’s not anything weird. Just close your eyes.”
Im Ha-yeon looked at me suspiciously, then reluctantly complied and closed her eyes.
“Ugh!”
As I cupped her face with both my hands, a shrill shriek escaped her lips.
Her face is really small. I tilted her chin up so it would be easier for me, and I could feel her trembling.
The angle is perfect. Now……
“Ah!”
“Just hold on. It’s a facial massage that’s good for fatigue.”
I pressed down on Im Ha-yeon’s eyelids and between her eyebrows.
Here comes the special facial massage from Kang Yoon-ho! Back in college, I had dreamed that if I learned this, it would allow for subtle skinship with girls I was interested in, and I’d have a pink campus life.
“Hey, senior, what are you talking about?”
That was just a stupid dream.
I still hear the cold voice of my junior who said those words echoing in my head.
When I offered to help because they said they were tired in the library, did I really come across that embarrassingly? I said it with a smile, but it’s mortifying when they shut me down like that.
I didn’t realize I was saying it so my friend next to me could hear it. Then the day of exams when I came out of my friend’s house holding hands—oh man!
“Ugh!”
Oh no. I accidentally applied too much pressure. Im Ha-yeon suddenly gripped my wrist tightly.
“I’m sorry. If it’s painful, I’ll stop.”
As I tried to pull my hands away from her face, Im Ha-yeon held my wrist tight.
“No, no! Keep going……”
Then let go of my wrist!
Fortunately, it seems the effect kicked in right away. Somehow, Im Ha-yeon’s previously listless voice had turned warm and soft.
I had never done this to anyone before, but it seems facial massage works better than I thought.
“Later, I have to meet someone, so today just rest in the inn.”
As I continued to touch her face without speaking, the atmosphere felt strangely ticklish, so I awkwardly lowered my hands and said,
“Why, why? Who are you meeting?”
Im Ha-yeon asked me with a face like a shocked executive who just got told their job was terminated, as if suddenly notified that she was excluded from work.
“It’s about the funds pooling. One member hasn’t paid yet.”
“Oh! Then let’s go together.”
“It would be better to rest, right?”
“You did such a good job with my massage that I feel energized! Let’s go together.”
Im Ha-yeon smiled, pulling my sleeve towards her as if she forgot she was tired just moments ago.
———
“You say an elixir was stolen?”
The place I arrived at was the house of a Joseon physician who ran an acupuncture center in one corner.
“Yes. I think I have to give up on the funds pooling because I’m going to lose my investment.”
The middle-aged Joseon man spoke as if he couldn’t lift his head due to embarrassment.
“What’s going on?”
“I run an acupuncture center, but acupuncture doesn’t make much money.”
“I thought most healers made a profit by selling medicine unless they were exceptionally skilled.”
Even in modern times, it’s said that a herbal medicine clinic’s main income comes from selling tonic.
In this world, selling medicine is also more profitable than providing acupuncture or herbal remedies.
“Yes. You seem to know well. Hearing word of mouth, I had been trying to sell some medicine to regular customers, particularly the middle-aged and third-rate martial artists, and I had an elixir that would sell for a high price.”
“It seems it’s not the type of elixir they summon.”
“How could my elixir compare to the essence of the Shaolin Temple? I mobilized my connections, and one fellow in the neighborhood was carefully keeping some red ginseng roots, which I turned into an elixir.”
“And then a thief stole it?”
The physician shook his head from side to side.
“I had entrusted the ingredients to a pharmacy, asking them to make the pills without any preparatory tools, and it got stolen.”
“Then the pharmacy should take responsibility, shouldn’t they?”
“The deliveryman ran off with it, so they say it’s not their fault.”
“What nonsensical talk is that?”
The seller should take responsibility for shipping accidents.
“That’s unreasonable. They’re probably reluctant to compensate because it’s an elixir made with priceless Joseon ginseng extract.”
Is it too costly to compensate for a lost shipment of the elixir made from Joseon ginseng, even if it’s standard grade?
“Are you really planning to give up?”
“What can people like us do in this place? If we make the pharmacy dislike us, we may lose customers here.”
The physician sighed deeply, lamenting in resignation.
The pharmacy he was talking about was one I had seen a few times as I passed by the inn. I remembered it because it had a much larger building than our inn, serving as a pharmacy.
‘It would be troublesome if someone else drops out at the beginning of the funds pooling.’
I could cover the costs, but if someone easily slipped away from the start, it would mean trouble for the entire funds pooling.
Is there no way?
The deliveryman, the pharmacy, and the elixir. An idea flashed through my mind.
“What do commoners, courtesans, gamblers, and deliverymen have in common?”
“Lower-class lives……. Ah!”
Lower-class people often know a lot about lower-class lives.
“If you figured it out, let’s go right now.”
This place is Wuhan. It’s where all lower-class lives in Hubei Province gather, including the Wuhang Hao Club.
I was the acting representative of Yichang’s branch and one of the pillars of the Wuhang Hao Club, where I could demand any information.
————
Im Ha-yeon began reading the information that had arrived from the Hao Club to me.
“I just received the information requested from the Hao Club. The deliveryman went missing on the day the elixir went missing from the pharmacy……”
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s not say ‘elixir,’ but rather ‘the medicinal product.’”
Every time I hear that name, my self as a fantasy novel fan, which had barely been sleeping, began to stir.
“Right. Well, anyway, there was no deliveryman heading towards the acupuncture center that day.”
“That means we’ve pinpointed our suspect.”
“What pharmacy steals their own medicine?”
Upon realizing the situation, Im Ha-yeon laughed incredulously.
“Joseon ginseng isn’t rare. They may have been hit with a supply shortage, but only a family like the Sichuan Tang Family can get them, so they might have been tempted.”
Joseon ginseng, which was treated like an elixir even in actual history. In the martial arts world, it’s a genuine medicinal product that even boosts internal energy.
The Kang family became one of Joseon’s wealthiest by engaging in smuggling, trading away the treasures of the earth.
“The information from the Hao Club states that on that day, the deliveryman was seen carrying the box to the mansion that serves as a medicine storage.”
“Shouldn’t we gather some people and ask them to hand it over?”
“If they deny it, we’re left with no options. Even with something as cheap as ginseng, it could result in a bloody scene. We don’t really need to go to those lengths ourselves.”
“Then I could sneak in and check?”
“That’s a good idea, but that mansion that serves as a medicine storage is too vast. It may take several days to explore, and I wouldn’t want Ha-yeon to suffer for days.”
Even though she grumbles in front of me, it’s clear she’s working hard, finishing what I couldn’t do while saving on her sleep time, and there’s no need for that.
“……You know, coming in like that with muddy shoes is a bit cowardly, don’t you?”
“Hmm?”
Im Ha-yeon pouted, seemingly unhappy, but quickly asked with a smile as if she hadn’t said anything.
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’ve got a plan, you know! You blockhead!”
I called over a delivery girl working on the first floor.
“Yes, innkeeper!”
“Gather all the deliverymen here in front of me.”
“Yes!”
In a flash, all the delivery staff working in the inn gathered in the office.
“Club Leader! What is it?”
“Is there a company dinner today?”
“Really?”
“Shush! The club leader is about to speak!”
I waited in silence while looking around at the deliverymen until they quieted down and then opened my mouth.
“Has anyone here been to the mansion that serves as the medicine storage at the pharmacy on the corner?”
“I have! I’ve been there!”
“I went there just yesterday!”
“Surely you didn’t?”
I nodded toward Im Ha-yeon, who looked surprised.
There’s no need for her to run around and make herself tired.
If you’re in a position to lead, simply lead the right way.
With a triumphant expression, I raised my ink-stained brush and spoke.
“Let’s gather everything you know about that mansion. For starters, let’s map it out.”
