Small Short Sword’s devious scheme made him take the bait.
I thought he wouldn’t teach me the technique because he would be scared of Hae Ack-chun. Still, when he heard my proposition for us to become equals, he immediately fell for it.
I guess he didn’t like me being sahyung. In a way, I couldn’t understand how Short Sword managed to know this guy’s heart so well.
-Right, a child is a child.
Well, he hasn’t even stepped into manhood.
I am just 16 or 17 now, but it is hard to call either of us the same. Besides, he must have hated it even more since we were the same age.
But what of it? Hae Ack-chun wasn’t the kind to care about that.
Right now, he doesn’t like calling me sahyung and all, but in the future, he will be shouting my name and begging.
-How is it? Wonhwi.
South Heavenly Iron Sword asked me as I was cultivating the new technique. It was a feeling which couldn’t be put into words. It felt like blood was gushing inside my body.
It was like being hung upside down on a cliff.
-You look very red. Like your face is going to explode.
Short Sword said while clicking her tongue. I think I understood why she was saying that.
Because the blood in my body was circulating around very quickly.
‘It is hot.’
I could feel the temperature of my body rising. I could understand why this was a technique only those with a particular constitution could perform.
Hae Ack-chun used this technique, but a normal person could never even attempt it.
-Do you think it will work?
‘It should. I am sure.’
When I used the technique of my family, the ice qi and yang energy didn’t even budge, but now I could make them flow little by little.
Getting the balance right was the key. It’s been less than half an hour.
“Huk! Huk! No more.”
Usually, when one practices qi cultivation, they would enter a state of peace when they end it. On the other hand, the True Blood Gold Body Cultivation technique made it difficult to attain peace as it manipulated the flow of blood, making the heart beat violently.
So doing this for a long time was impossible.
-For the time being, I think you need to divide your cultivation using half of this technique and half using your family technique.
-Right, look at how much you are sweating now.
Do people sweat while cultivating? Well, this was a first for me too. Still, there were results.
Even after three days of cultivating using my family technique, I could gather very little qi in the dantian, and the ice qi and yang energy stayed still. But using the new technique for just half an hour, I got better results than in the past.
‘Six months.’
Can my internal qi reach the state of a first-rate warrior?
I felt a presence outside the cave. The only other people who knew about this place were the twins and Hae Ack-chun, so who is it?
Tak!
Someone came into the cave. A woman who covered her face with a white cotton cloth.
And her eyes were exposed.
She seemed to be one of the women under the Sixth Blood Star. She looked at me and said,
“Young master. Could we ask for your time? The Sixth Blood Star seeks you.”
Me?
I followed her to the Six Blood Valley and the main hall.
When I asked how she found me, she said that Song Jwa-baek had told her.
There was a small vacant lot on the outside, and there were two other women, but not the Sixth Blood Star.
-Isn’t that the one girl?
Short Sword recognized one of the women. No, she was still a girl.
The girl with a pure white face and concave features, Dam Yehwa, had joined as a trainee at the same time as me. She was receiving something from a woman wearing a white cloth face covering.
‘Ah!’
It had to be this time.
I remembered when Dam Yehwa was selected as the disciple of the Bloody Hand Witch. She must have stood out while being a trainee.
When I arrived, they stopped what they were doing. The woman I was with guided me and asked me to wait near the main hall.
I can just be asked to enter. Why make me wait outside?
“Excuse me, you were that one boy, right?”
I was planning on waiting quietly, but Dam Yehwa came and spoke to me. I think she remembered me from back then.
It would have been strange if she didn’t remember me considering what I did when I received the blood parasite.
“It has been a while.”
I answered with a slight bow. Dam Yehwa looked young but already felt like a woman. I couldn’t treat her the way I treated Song Jwa-baek.
When I first saw her, she looked so scared, but now she was quiet and confident.
Perhaps because she was chosen as a disciple.
“Are you training as a middle-rank trainee?”
Uh? It felt like she came to tell me about her being a disciple. Seeing the expression on her face, she seemed excited about bragging about becoming a disciple of Sixth Blood Star too.
It was good, but well, this showed that she is young.
“I…”
“Stop. Samae.”
The woman in the white cotton mask stopped her from speaking, causing her to bow.
“I apologize. Miss.”
It looked like the disciple was well-disciplined.
She wanted to brag, but she was stopped, so she probably felt embarrassed due to being scolded in front of me.
Not long after, the Bloody Hand Witch, Han Baekha appeared.
I don’t know how many sets of black clothes she had, but she looked like a grim reaper each time I saw her. I also couldn’t see Miss Ha Yeon.
There were the other two of the women who had been there before, but Miss Ha Yeon was missing.
Chuk!
When I tried to greet her, she raised her hand and said,
“Enough.”
And then came close to me and pulled something out of her hand. It was a plaque.
Showing her plaque, she spoke with an expressionless face.
“The disciple of our elder did something amazing.”
It seemed like she was giving me praise for being his disciple. Thanks to that, Dam Yehwa, who discovered I was that crazy man’s disciple stared at me wide-eyed.
Right, I had a better background.
But why was Han Baekha showing off the plaque?
“Sixth Blood Star, what do you mean by this?”
“You made a bet, right?”
‘Um…’
I guess she heard it from Miss Ha Yeon.
I don’t know how much she said, but the fact that Han Baekha knew meant that Miss Ha Yeon at least told her.
It was difficult to ever be given a plaque by the Bloody Hand Witch.
“Miss Ha Yeon…”
“You cannot meet the child now.”
I wanted to ask why, but this woman was as scary as the red-eyed woman.
She cut off her own finger without blinking… Uh? The bandage was wrapped around her hand.
-Didn’t she cut off her finger?
Looking at the bandages, the cut finger area looked intact. This was miraculous.
Could it be that the finger was attached?
-Isn’t that the Great Doctor’s work?
As Short Sword said, it did seem to be like that.
They said he could cure anyone except the dead, but I didn’t know that even a severed finger could be attached.
-That is interesting. Can a severed neck be attached then?
My dear Short Sword, you’d die if the neck was cut. In any case, that man had stellar skills. Receiving his plaque was becoming better every passing day.
Han Baekha clicked her tongue.
“To bet and ask for the Miss’ plaque. I don’t know where your guts came from.”
Her eyes and voice clearly said she didn’t like me. It’s definitely because of the plaque I was getting, especially since I asked for the plaque of the person she was serving.
And to give it to me at all. Why bother saying all this when all she got to do was follow the orders?
“Bring it.”
One of the female disciples behind her brought a small bag to me.
I asked them what it was.
“These are the herbs that will help you recover.”
Ah…
I think this was Miss Ha Yeon’s doing. Didn’t she also take care of me during the search and ask me to not overuse my innate qi?
Han Baekha showed the plaque in her hand.
[Baek Ryeon-ha.]
Baek Ryeon-ha?
I think this was Miss Ha Yeon’s real name. I did expect her to use a fake name, but she used her real name on the plaque.
I hesitated because of Han Baekha’s attitude, and she nodded to the plaque I reached out to take.
It was then.
Sh!
She dropped the plaque down, and I hurriedly tried to grab it as she grabbed onto my wrist.
Pak!
Her clench was so strong that I couldn’t help but feel stuck in it. What should I do?
She was way too strong for me to even push her hand away.
‘Ah!’
At that time, a cold feeling ran through my wrist.
It seemed to be Han Baekha’s internal qi. As it kept moving, it went into my dantian.
However, with the vast gap of power between us, I began to feel cornered before it stopped.
“Sixth Blood…”
“You better keep your mouth shut.”
Her internal qi moved around as if scanning every inch of my body before it vanished.
And then she said.
“It doesn’t look like you have as much qi as we feared.”
‘Ah…’
She was just checking my body? Does she have to startle me like this to just look at my condition?
Or did she have another purpose?
But thanks to this, I learned one thing. She looked into my body but couldn’t notice my innate qi.
‘This is good.’
Neither Miss nor this woman noticed it. Clearly, the innate qi is my trump card.
And she smiled.
“Our Miss rushed this, considering how she got you a pill.”
“Uh?”
“She said you are in the process of recovering your dantian, but it would be better to not overdo it. If you try to keep building qi in a hurry, it will break your body.”
The pills and elixirs were things I would never be able to get.
However, she seemed to have misunderstood that the yang energy and ice qi in my body were due to cultivation.
Even the Great Doctor said it had a similar result to consuming pills.
‘Ah.’
Then wouldn’t I be misunderstood by Hae Ack-chun later?
If he looked inside my body, he would definitely notice it. I had to find a suitable excuse for it.
If not, do I have to get punished again?
Sh!
She let go of my wrist. How much do I have to cultivate to ensure that the two energies are fully absorbed?
I bowed my head to her and stored the Baek Ryeon-ha’s plaque in my sleeve. And then Han Baek-ha said,
“I hope you don’t use that plaque for useless things.”
Useless things.
A warning.
Well, considering who the plaque was from, a warning was a must. Now can I go?
Tuk!
“Then, I will go.”
As I was about to leave, she suddenly told me.
“Would you like to make a bet with me?”
“Uh?”
What was this now?
Was she trying to steal the plaque she just gave me? Well, as if she read my mind, she said.
“If you are worried about me taking away the plaque you were given, then don’t worry. Since the young master is a good person to bet with, I think I want to repay him a little bit.”
What was it if she wasn’t aiming to take back the plaque?
If I didn’t know, I didn’t have to do it, so I grasped my hand and said.
“How can I bet with the Sixth Blood Star? Please stop saying…”
“If the young master wins, it might not be as good as the elder’s, but I will teach you one of my techniques.”
‘… Techniques?’
What did this woman think of others? Anyway, I think I might just be tempted by that offer.
Even if it stank, I liked it. It was common sense to try it, at least.
“I am sorry, how can I covet the technique of…”
She cut me off again.
“If I win, the young master can tell his teacher to reconsider my proposal. Simple right? This wouldn’t be much of a loss to the young master.”
That was her purpose. It seems like she wanted me to persuade Hae Ack-chun. But I didn’t know which side the old man was leaning towards.
-Still, there is no harm for you.
It was definitely not a bad condition, but these are just words. I can only judge based on what the bet is.
“Yehwa.”
And then she called Dam Yehwa.
The girl walked up to the front.
“This low-level trainee is a kid I took in three days ago.”
Having never mastered martial arts, she had to be a low-level trainee. That was why she was taken under the Sixth Blood Star.
“I will teach this child the lady’s treatment for as long as I stay in the Six Blood Valley.”
“…”
“There is a position test 6 months from now. Until then, the purpose is to raise this child into a higher rank warrior.”
She said it so casually, but it was an arrogant statement.
To make a first-rate warrior in just half a year. Well, she at least is better than Hae Ack-chun.
The man just told me to take the place of a leader and not just a first-rate warrior.
Looking at this, I could clearly understand why this was the reason those who mastered martial arts put in the effort to have excellent disciples.
“Betting is easy. It is a contest to see who will become a higher ranked warrior among the two.”
Han Baekha’s eyes showed confidence. It was because she found a kid with inherent talent and coveted her.
She thought of this bet because she was sure of making this child into a first-rate warrior.
“… what if both of us become first-rate?”
“Then you two will compete, and we see who wins.”
A very warrior-like idea. There was no draw.
-I said to listen, and you ended up accepting it.
‘I have to aim higher than that. So be quiet and take it.’
My goal wasn’t to become a first-rate warrior. It was to be a leader.
It can be an adventure or a motivator for me.
If I win, I get a chance to know one of her techniques which are known to be one of the best in the cult.
-There is nothing wrong with losing. You can say that you will consider it.
‘Not that.’
-Uh? Why?
‘If I deliver those words, regardless of whether I bet or not, I will be giving the old man an impression that I stepped to the side of Baek Ryeon-ha.’
Perhaps, this was her goal.
That was not good for me. There is something I learned as a spy.
-What is that?
‘If you are not sure, never bet.’
-You learned that as a spy? It is like some kind of gambling rule.
‘It is similar.’
-What?
‘When a power struggle happens, one shouldn’t be biased.’
-Why? Isn’t that fat kid better than that red-eyed one? At least she is helping you.
Of course, in terms of friendships, this was correct. However, perhaps her favor was given after already calculating me to be the old man’s disciple.
Maybe this was her move to coax me.
-Well, it could be. Still, I hate the other one more.
You never know. Maybe the red-eyed woman holds the majority interest in the current Blood Cult.
-Why? How can you know that without seeing anything?
‘If that was not the case, she would have come to persuade Hae Ack-chun like Miss Ha Yeon or Baek Ryeon-ha did.’
-Ah, right.
The red-eyed woman just asked me to send her regards to the old man. The way she spoke was relaxed too.
Looking at that alone, she must already have had the upper hand in the fight. And she decided to not even hide that.
‘Therefore, it is dangerous to get close to one side.’
If Baek Ryeon-ha doesn’t become the cult leader, then the people on her side might be killed. Either they get taken advantage of or killed miserably.
This applies to the Forces of Justice as well as all other sects.
-I see.
‘What?’
-The reason why you survived so long despite the power struggle.
Right.
If you don’t get noticed, you don’t die. And in this life, I was going after power.
In the vacant lot that So Wonhwi had just left, a woman with a white cotton mask on her face appeared. Everyone, including the Bloody Hand Witch, bowed their heads to her.
The woman was the formerly plump Baek Ryeon-ha.
Normally, she should be around the same size as the other two fat women, but she had lost a little weight.
“Did he accept it?”
Baek Ryeon-ha asked as Han Baekha nodded.
“He accepted. I don’t think he is as smart as you said.”
Han Baekha was confident that she would win the bet. This child, Dam Yehwa, whom she had discovered has the best body, which works well with her technique.
More than any of the disciples she had.
If she taught her intensively for half a year, she was sure of making her a first-rate warrior.
“If we win the bet, it will be easier to convince that man through the child.”
Han Baekha was sure.
“Well.”
“Do you not believe in it?”
“I do. But…”
“But?”
“He isn’t the kind to get into losing bets.”
Baek Ryeon-ha was convinced that Wonhwi would never bet on a losing hand. Han Baekha smiled and said.
“Huhuhu, don’t worry, miss. With this child’s talent. We will never lose.”
“Trust me!”
Dan Yehwa spoke in a voice of determination. She too, was determined to win it for the teacher who selected her.
And six months passed.
