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EP.50 To the Volcano (4)

It had been ten days since we set off from the Gu Clan to the volcano.

If there was one change from when we were heading to Sichuan before, it was that I could no longer relax at rest stops.

“Young Master, is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”

“No, not at all. You don’t need to worry about it.”

The biggest issue was that the coachman driving right in front was none other than the Sword Sovereign, one of the Three Eminent Beings.

Seriously, why did it have to be my carriage out of all the others?

The last ten days had been emotionally taxing, making me feel burdened and anxious.

If I had to guess the reason, it was probably due to the presence of Wi Seol-Ah riding alongside me, but regardless, it had been a suffocating experience.

I would have been better off not knowing he was the Sword Sovereign.

Dammit…

“Muyeon, how much longer do we have to go?”

I called out to Muyeon outside the window.

It was essentially a meaningless question.

Muyeon forced a stiff smile and replied,

“Young Master… I think you’ve asked that at least thirty times today.”

“…Right? I felt I had asked too often myself.”

“If I may say, you’ll still have to go several times the distance we’ve covered so far.”

“…That sounds bleak, doesn’t it?”

This cursed expanse of land…

As I sighed deeply, Wi Seol-Ah leaned in and chirped,

“Young Master, Young Master.”

“What is it?”

“Which dumpling do you like best?”

“Which dumpling? Isn’t that a strange question to ask?”

“But Young Master, you only eat dumplings, right?”

“….”

She wasn’t wrong, so I had no real comeback.

“Dumplings are just dumplings; they’re the best when they’re simply plain.”

“Why is that?”

“Because they’re cheap and filling.”

Ah, such a straightforward reason. Cheap and filling it was.

There are countless kinds of dumplings, but I never bothered to differentiate among them.

As long as they were reasonably priced and not too skimpy, anything that tasted good was fair game.

Wi Seol-Ah tilted her head in confusion at my response.

“That’s strange; my sisters said you’re picky with food…”

“Not anymore.”

That might have been true at some point.

As a child, I used to believe that the ingredients had to be lavishly expensive, worrying about quality and appearance.

I found meaning in things that were totally meaningless.

But once you reach the end of life, you realize just how utterly meaningless it all becomes.

[Just eat already.]

[What the hell is this? Do you eat your own tail and call it food?]

[Does this look like something you eat? You eat to survive, you madman.]

[I’m not eating.]

[If you’re not going to eat, at least give it to me. I’d rather eat it than let my pride get in the way right now.]

Looking back, I’ll admit that the taste of the centipede tail wasn’t bad.

To clarify, I mean it was among the more palatable options available there.

We had to drink beast’s blood instead of water, and it was a place where you had to eat even while knowing the food was poisonous just to fill your belly.

Such a cursed memory.

“…I feel nauseous.”

Just thinking back to that made my stomach turn.

I felt bloated and even slightly queasy.

Wi Seol-Ah, noticing my complexion, hastily pulled something from her pouch.

It was rice cake.

…What’s the deal with hastily pulling out rice cake?

Then, in a shaky voice, she hesitantly offered,

“Would you like a bite, Young Master…?”

“…Not just one bite! That’s way too stingy!”

“But… there’s only one left.”

I leaned a bit forward at her words and pretended to take a bite of the rice cake, swallowing it whole.

“Oh, noooo!”

Wi Seol-Ah’s wailing echoed softly inside the carriage.

All in all, the last ten days had flowed just like today.

Utterly pointless.

At night, we would set up camp without fail.

The horses pulling the carriage needed rest, and reducing physical fatigue was important for such a long journey.

A fire was quickly started, and the guards stood watch in case of any trouble.

It was an early night watch.

Aside from Wi Seol-Ah and the Sword Sovereign who had left the carriage, I was the only one inside with the guards surrounding us.

Sitting cross-legged with a straight posture, I slowly began to circulate the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

The energy that started at my lower dantian slowly spread throughout my body.

I could feel my physique strengthening with a satisfying <Kuwuk>!

The warmth and red energy mixed with my exhalation.

It meant I was close to reaching the fourth level.

This part was relatively easy.

But once I circulated the energy beyond a certain point, it stopped flowing in the desired direction.

It became awkward and rough.

This was the limit of the third level.

If I forced the energy further, it would harm my blood channels.

Once they opened smoothly, it wouldn’t be a problem, but my body wasn’t able to handle the strain required to open them right now.

As expected, it was once again a matter of my physical state.

In my impatience, I kept trying this, but was consistently blocked at this point.

‘Too hasty; both my mind and situation.’

Feeling that I couldn’t continue like this, I calmly withdrew the energy back to my dantian. It’s important to know there’s a limit to unnecessary desires.

The growth of one’s martial arts requires the precise understanding of these limits.

Crossing that line makes the difference between stagnation and growth.

In situations like this, the reason for overly pushing my martial arts practice wasn’t just to reach the fourth level; it was also to steadily train my skills.

Step by step, laying a solid foundation while excluding impure energy.

The refined inner strength I cultivated in this way would aid me even more as I continued to grow.

‘…Hah.’

Suddenly, I found it amusing how I was thinking like this.

‘I thought I had left my greed for mastery behind in the past.’

I had decided to just become strong enough to endure, and it had been months since that mindset was set.

Yet, after a slight overlap in opportunities, I immediately began to show greed.

A martial artist acting like a martial artist, am I right?

As the heat dissipated, I felt the serene silence of the night.

Chirp chirp, the sound of night insects resonated in my ears.

Listening to the buzzing, I slumped in my seat and relaxed my body.

I was exhausted after my practice.

In this empty state, thoughts of what I had yet to do or my past misdeeds emerged, making things quite bothersome and complicated.

But recently, I hadn’t been feeling that way.

It was probably because the fragrance of plum blossoms filled the carriage.

As soon as I withdrew my energy, I felt slightly dizzy from the scent surrounding me inside.

If someone were to ask why there was a fragrance of plum blossoms, it’d be because of the stone I had in my chest.

“…This is just too random.”

The aromatic smell tickled my nose, causing me to smile wryly.

The treasure given to me by Elder Lee was exuding its fragrance from my chest.

In the beginning, being wrapped in cloth meant there was no effect, but starting a few days ago, it began to emit fragrance even without the cloth.

I brushed it off since it was a treasure, but today’s aroma was particularly strong.

“How did this come about?”

I carefully pulled out the pouch from my pocket.

The treasures were always fascinating, now and into the future.

Including this stone that contained plum blossoms.

Things like the sword imbued with Nangong’s Thunder Qi or the Buddha statue that supposedly contained the light of Shaolin were similar.

These were mysterious items that transcended the laws of nature.

Though they called them treasures, comprehending the mysteries of their existence remained a daunting task.

It merely exists, and that’s just how it is.

As I inspected the small stone, about the size of two finger joints, I returned it to my pocket.

If I mishandled it and broke it, I wouldn’t just risk going to the volcano; I might disappear completely!

I tucked the stone back in, but still, the scent of plum blossoms lingered in the carriage.

If we weren’t on our way to the volcano, this would be a time when plum blossoms wouldn’t even bloom…

It’s absurd to smell plum blossoms in the carriage right now.

With the scent surrounding me, I even felt like petals were drifting around.

‘Is it because I’m sleepy…?’

I rubbed my eyes briefly, but the petals were still there.

I must be pretty tired, I thought, shifting slightly to the side.

The attendants must’ve set up their bedding outside, so it would be much more comfortable to sleep there.

Oddly, sleepiness washed over me like a wave today.

Alright, I’ll just close my eyes for a bit.

After a short rest, I’ll go out and resume my physical training.

With such a lightened mindset, I relaxed my body.

As I started to drift off, I seemed to faintly hear a voice in my haze.

[What is this kid…?]

Where was that coming from? It was an old man’s voice I had never heard before.

[Doesn’t seem like a volcano kid.]

Is this a dream?

Am I having a nightmare again?

[How come you’re eating energy when you’re not even from the volcano?]

As I mulled over such questions in a daze, the old man sounded surprisingly angry, as if something displeased him.

[…What the hell, living such a life, who the hell are you to be so ravenous? You’ll get yourself in trouble, kid!]

It felt as though something was continuously slapping my cheeks.

But in my sleep-drenched body, I couldn’t muster the strength to move.

[…Darn it!]

After a long while of cursing, the voice eventually vanished.

And when I awoke, I found myself exclaiming.

“What the…?”

Incredibly, the Technique of the Flame Wheel had reached the fourth level.

Flame Burst!

The energy surrounding my fingertips surged violently.

It had only been yesterday when I could barely produce any mist, and now it had changed like this.

This was undeniable evidence that my martial arts had indeed ascended to the fourth level.

With a bewildered expression, I stared at the flames, yet there was no change; this was the reality.

“What the heck? What is this…?”

Until yesterday, I hadn’t even entertained the idea of reaching the fourth level, only to find myself inexplicably there come morning.

Such a baffling surprise left me speechless.

While I was thrilled that I had risen, the confusion over how it happened nagged at me.

It wasn’t that my body had improved overnight.

My body felt the same, but my energy had strangely quieted down.

The energy flowing through me was calm and smooth, allowing it to pass in the right direction without harming my blood vessels.

Heavens, how serene… No matter how much I thought about it, that was an incongruous term for the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

If I had to compare my current energy to anything, it was akin to Taoist energy.

The fierce and wild energy I was famous for resembling something calm… What an absurd thought.

Even worse, the alarming issue was that my energy, which should have been burning with a fierce red, appeared almost subtly weak.

…What to say, it seemed oddly familiar.

Now that I had come this far, intuition told me something was off.

With trembling hands, I cautiously took the stone from my pocket and began to unwrap it.

Please no…. Oh dear God, please.

‘Please…’

Maybe my desperate wish worked, for thankfully the Plum Blossom Love Stone showed no signs of trouble.

Given how I had a record of consuming anything odd that I’d touched lately, I’d been on edge every time something unusual popped up.

If this demonic energy had consumed even the essence of the treasure, I would have no choice but to hide away in some corner, never to see the volcano at all.

In that sense, it was truly a stroke of luck that the stone remained intact.

Though I sighed in relief, I couldn’t shake a sense of unease as I stared at the stone.

‘…Is it just me, or does it seem less vibrant?’

Upon unwrapping it, the radiant light it used to emit now appeared significantly dimmer.

No, that’s just my imagination… it has to be an illusion.

“Just in case, I should probably not carry it around and keep it somewhere safer.”

Carrying it around might get it destroyed, and it’d be better to stash it away somewhere out of sight…

But objectively, both options seem equally dire…

Dammit, how did I end up in charge of this…!

I couldn’t help but resent Elder Lee for throwing this onto my plate.

“It’s fine, as long as I play ignorant and achieve my goal, no one will know.”

In the first place, my goal wasn’t even to return the treasure, but to bring back my younger sister.

As long as this strange mess doesn’t entangle me, I should be fine.

But if things don’t go smoothly, I’ll have to make them work out somehow.

That’s how I felt at this moment.

“Forgive me for this rudeness; I wish to ask a question.”

And there was one thing I ridiculously forgot.

“I am Yeongpung of the Hwasan Sect.”

That I was utterly unluckily cursed.

….Dammit.

 

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