“Don’t you think if I jump over just one wall, my mastery of the Shadowless Body Technique will deepen? Where do you think I’m stuck the most?”
Im Ha-yeon asked me as we walked along a deserted night path, leaving the night market behind.
“Starting from walking is tough.”
Especially walking with my left foot and right foot was hard, so I took a sip from the water bottle I had brought and said, “Stop joking around.”
“Literally, I’m at the stage of learning to walk. I’m just barely stepping into the end of the Ascending’s Skill that is the Shadowless Body Technique, so it’s bewildering to even mention what’s harder.”
Is this how a beginner driver in someone else’s luxury sports car feels? They might appear enviable to bystanders, but for the beginner, just holding the steering wheel is enough to make their hands tremble.
“I taught you all the basics. If we just squeeze out a little more from your limits, I bet we can jump over the wall…”
Squeeze out? The only thing I’d like to squeeze to my limits is one thing.
“I think I’m doing pretty well. But where are we actually going?”
I’ve asked for a while now, yet I haven’t received an answer. Where are we headed?
“Well…”
Im Ha-yeon glanced at the water bottle in my hand, hesitating with her words.
Maybe she’s thirsty. When I offered her the water bottle, she flinched her shoulder and then shook her head.
“If you don’t plan to go anywhere in particular, going back is fine too.”
I had my fun as a beginner driver. I breathed in enough of the night air, and now I miss home more than the road.
“Since we’re out at night, let’s run through multiple situations.”
Im Ha-yeon slightly bent her shoulders, pursed her lips, and gazed into the distance.
She looks kind of disappointed, huh? Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve had the leisure to stroll around since coming to Wuhan.
Should I try to blend in a bit more?
“Then let’s do just that.”
“Great! Come on up!”
Im Ha-yeon straightened her shoulders with a smile and jumped up on the wall.
“Is it really necessary to stroll over someone else’s wall?”
“Well, the best light body movement that can be used in any situation is the Shadowless Body Technique. We need to get used to obstacles, right?”
“That’s true, but…”
Running around on someone’s wall at night feels less like practicing light body movement and more like training to become someone who roams the night.
I followed the nagging Im Ha-yeon and stood on the wall. I barely managed average on the balance beam during gym class, but now I stood on the wall with surprisingly great balance.
Is it because I’m friends with the wall or what?
“Follow me.”
Is this some sort of date request? I was unsure, but it may have been my misunderstanding.
Shoving that thought aside, like the childhood determination to avoid falling into a lava pit or being bitten by a shark, I began to jump over the wall, following the nimble Im Ha-yeon.
———————
“How far are we going?”
I never thought I’d have my body doing parkour, like in those videos.
The funny thing is, I was probably doing it right, albeit awkwardly. Guess the training for the Shadowless Body Technique wasn’t a waste.
“If we cut across here, we’ll get there soon.”
Im Ha-yeon pointed to a large mansion.
I’ve been here before.
“This? This is Jeon Gil-san’s mansion, right?”
The gigantic mansion before us belonged to Jeon Gil-san.
“The security is lax, so we can easily cut across.”
From her tone, it didn’t sound like it was her first time.
“If we get caught, it’ll be a big deal, right?”
“If caught, we could say that the Nine Black Qi Hands was just running away while searching for us. Whatever.”
Im Ha-yeon said with a playful smile rarely seen.
“No, still…”
“If necessary, we could just lend them a few Nine Black Qi Hands as an apology. Come on!”
With that, Im Ha-yeon stepped on the bags next to the wall and seamlessly jumped over the mansion’s wall.
Is this really okay?
Well, Im Ha-yeon is a master of stealth and light body movement. She’s never been caught, even while breaking into any mansion.
Should I trust her?
“Intruder!”
Not long after, I was immediately caught.
—————–
“Catch that guy!”
What am I going to do with this situation? Turning around to throw a retort, I found that Im Ha-yeon was already gone.
She was definitely there right before I heard the shout.
“Catch that guy!”
The surroundings began to stir.
What to do now? Will I just get caught?
In that moment, I pictured Jeon Gil-san’s smug face asking for a discount on the membership fee. I can’t let him get that smug look.
For now, just run!
“Thief!”
“No, it could be an assassin!”
I was discovered while attempting to take a shortcut!
I couldn’t bear the shame of making excuses, following Im Ha-yeon as she jumped over the wall and pointed to the route with the weakest security.
The lights in the buildings started turning on one by one. Run. If discovered, it’s over.
I utilized all my energy in my legs to run as fast as I could.
“This is it!”
“Ugh!”
Just one more wall to go!
Two guys with scary looks blocked my way.
Could they be martial artists? If they had swords, it wouldn’t be wise to cause a ruckus. Just letting myself get caught could be a method.
“It could be an assassin! Don’t let him close! Just encircle him until the martial artists arrive!”
“Here’s the intruder!”
Fortunately, the two men were holding clubs, not swords. They must be some hired hands who came out during the commotion.
What should I do? Should I knock them out or turn around?
At that moment, I saw a hand glowing from over the wall.
“This way!”
The hand belonged to Im Ha-yeon. When did she jump over the wall? She looked at me with an anxious expression.
“The intruder is over there!”
The situation was getting increasingly dire. I could see martial artists with swords coming from behind.
Knocking them out or turning around wasn’t possible. I have to get up to Im Ha-yeon.
But how?
The wall towers above me, so much so that I have to look up even from a distance.
When I jumped over earlier, I had used something as leverage to climb, but I had nothing now.
Plus, the hired hands were determined to block my way, and the martial artists were approaching from behind.
“Don’t let him escape! Hold him down!”
The shouts of martial artists echoed closer from behind.
“Phew.”
I’ve got no choice.
If I fail, I’ll only embarrass myself in front of Jeon Gil-san.
I activated my energy to the maximum. Five years’ worth of energy flowed through my body, following my prayer.
A crisis from both ends. Maybe it was because I was tense, but today my whole body was responding perfectly to my intent.
The Shadowless Body Technique is the Ascending’s Skill.
It doesn’t just involve my legs; my whole body must be in sync to create the best movements.
I didn’t train for nothing. As soon as I showed any signs of wanting to do something, the hired hands approached with their clubs.
The swinging clubs won’t reach me. My energy flows from my veins to my muscles. With my will, my body moves incredibly lightly.
Here’s my chance.
I grab one of the hired hands’ shoulders and propel myself into the air. Maybe that was seen as an opening because as another hired hand swung a club at me, I placed my foot on the club.
Energy, which had been waiting, concentrated right in my foot.
A catapult created by human power.
“Ha!”
I soared into the air.
As I focused all my energy into leaping, the stunned faces of the hired hands seemed to flash by in slow motion.
That moment could be described as one breath. My body launched high over the wall in front of me.
I think I can clear the wall in one go!
The catapult effect is better than expected. In moments like this, there’s something one must say!
“Unexpected propulsion yeeeeeeeeeeah!”
Man Geum Bookstore folks, live without any trouble!
———————–
“Now that we’ve come this far, they won’t catch up.”
Im Ha-yeon stopped in front of a giant hall with no one around and spoke to me.
I can’t believe we went from practicing light body movement to an escape drama in the middle of the night.
“Huff huff. That’s why I said we shouldn’t!”
I sighed in relief as I caught my breath.
Im Ha-yeon may have trained in stealth and light body movement, but me jumping over someone else’s wall was a stretch.
“It went as expected, didn’t it?”
Im Ha-yeon said with a smirk, looking at me.
“What do you mean?”
Clap clap clap. My confusion was short-lived. Im Ha-yeon gave me surprising news while clapping softly.
“Shadowless Body Technique Level 1. Congratulations on the achievement.”
Im Ha-yeon smiled proudly at me.
“I achieved Level 1 of the Shadowless Body Technique?”
Level 1 means I’ve passed the first gate of the martial art I learned.
In martial arts, when expressing the achievement of a technique, they use the term ‘level’ as a unit.
Usually, it’s up to Level 10, and if one surpasses their limits, it’s referred to as Level 12. Many divine skills are so complex that even a genius might only reach Level 5 or Level 7 in their lifetime.
“I utilized my internal energy fully to control my body and demonstrated my ability. It’s certainly worthy of being called Level 1 of the Shadowless Body Technique.”
Im Ha-yeon nodded and confirmed my astonishment.
“So that was some sort of enlightenment I experienced just now.”
I carefully curled my palm into a fist and muttered softly.
The feeling of my entire body moving as if it was wholly mine amid a crisis. It didn’t feel like the usual me.
It seemed the Shadowless Body Technique, which had only existed as teaching within me, had become one with my body as a realization.
“See? You squeezed your limits, and you jumped over the wall, right?”
“Still, dropping me alone in Jeon Gil-san’s house isn’t right!”
“I was thinking about rescuing you if it came to that.”
“You looked kind of startled when I jumped over the wall in one go…”
Evidently, Im Ha-yeon didn’t expect me to leap over the wall so completely, as she had a moment of blankness.
“No, that’s not true!”
Okay, she was indeed startled.
“If I really achieved Level 1, I feel lighter somehow.”
From today on, call me Kang Yoon-ho + 1 level. I confidently declared with puffed-up shoulders.
“Then I can jump onto this hall as well. Come on up!”
Wouldn’t that be more like Level 2?
I regretted saying it as I followed Im Ha-yeon up onto the hall.
—————
“Wow. I didn’t know this place existed.”
Upon reaching the high roof of the hall, displayed before us was the view of the Wuhan cityscape.
“I found it on my way back after work.”
“It’s truly a scenic view.”
Is this why Im Ha-yeon suggested a night stroll?
To the right, the night market is ablaze with lights, and to the left, the vast Yangtze River reflects the starlight of the night sky.
Wuhan was this beautiful?
Living just trying to scrape by, I hadn’t realized I had missed such a magnificent view.
“……”
With a face full of admiration, I turned to approach Im Ha-yeon, who was sitting on the roof.
“Lady.”
Why is she acting so surprised? As I approached, Im Ha-yeon, who was fiddling with her hair, flinched.
I naturally sat down next to Im Ha-yeon and gazed at Wuhan’s night view.
Im Ha-yeon looked at me, then hunched her shoulders and quietly said, “Um… Sorry.”
“What are you talking about?”
“At first, I had some reluctance just jumping over the wall, but not stealing anything has made it unexpectedly enjoyable for me…”
Im Ha-yeon mumbled as if feeling bashful. Oh, that’s why she led me to Jeon Gil-san’s mansion.
“If you’ve trained your entire life, it wouldn’t be boring to use it. To be honest, reflecting back on the situation, it was quite enjoyable for me too.”
It seems she really wanted to create a fun experience for me. Her martial arts did tend to be a bit extreme, but still.
Nights at the market, sneaking into Jeon Gil-san’s mansion, and now this hall’s night view.
Did she notice I had been struggling lately? Or was this an effort to formally mend things over the past few days of cold war?
Today, I think she led me out into the night with the intent of giving me some memorable experience.
“So… yeah?”
“If I may say, you took me to the safest place to elevate my martial arts achievement, thinking of me, didn’t you? You taught me the Shadowless Body Technique, and now helped me achieve a level; don’t feel strangely down about that.”
I gently smiled and reassured her.
“Ah, as long as I know that, it’s fine.”
Eventually, Im Ha-yeon’s mood seemed to lighten, and she pouted before turning her head away.
Perfect opportunity for me.
If she reached out in reconciliation, it’s only right for me to grab that hand. I decided to unveil my secret weapon to officially put an end to these chilly days.
“Lady.”
I turned my head and moved closer to Im Ha-yeon.
“What, what is it?”
“I have something to show you.”
“What is it?”
“It’s something I barely got today…”
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a box. The box I had received today.
“That’s a gift from that woman, right? Why’d you bring that?”
Why does she suddenly speak with a voice colder than the night air?
“Hahaha, that’s not it! I thought it would be great if Ha-yeon were to open this.”
I offered her the box, shaking my head with a gentle smile.
“Me? This is… a flower shoe?”
Inside the box were beautifully embroidered shoes.
I glanced at Im Ha-yeon’s worn-out shoes from running around all day and then looked at her astonished face.
“Tang shoes. This is my gift to you, Ha-yeon.”
