Chapter 119: Savor It, Lee Ahn!

TL: FoodieMonster007

"Do you feel those gazes?"

Lee Ahn and I sat in an inn where people gathered around her. The opposite side was completely empty, yet everyone crowded onto our side. They had all subtly shifted their seats to get a slightly better look at her face.

I whispered to Lee Ahn.

"The man on the left has glanced at you six times. That guy on the right has looked seven times while pretending not to. The one next to him is just openly staring. Uh oh, stop looking! Pay attention to the Young Lady next to you! Ouch. That must hurt."

A new customer entered and looked around for a seat. His eyes widened when he saw Lee Ahn. He walked toward her as if mesmerized, then tripped over a table and fell flat on his face.

No one paid him any mind. The man shot back up and sat where he could get a good view of Lee Ahn. The man beside him poured a drink, completely unaware his cup was overflowing.

"How does it feel?"

"It feels good."

"Good? You're not embarrassed?"

"You must've forbidden me from wearing my mask and sat me here hoping to tease me, but your plan has failed. I feel really, really good."

"That's unexpected."

"Didn't I tell you I have many hidden sides? I can pretend to be embarrassed all I want, but I can also enjoy this kind of attention as much as I please."

Lee Ahn smiled slightly at the onlookers, and gasps of admiration erupted around the room.

She whispered, "And the man on the left didn't look six times. He looked eight."

This was what I liked about Lee Ahn. She was adaptable. She knew when to reveal her intelligence and when to hide it.

She was someone who had always lived with her head held high, even while bearing the lifelong side effects of the Self-Petrification Art. She had her scars, but she also had her pride.

"Alright, we've had enough fun. Let's go buy a face veil."

"A face veil?"

"You can't wear a mask all the time, can you? Use that mask only when it's absolutely necessary. Wear a face veil for everyday use."

"I was thinking the same thing. Saved me some money."

"Buy it with your own money!"

"Aww, please buy it for me!"

Her cute plea made several men collapse. Her request made several others clutch their wallets.

When she and I stood up, a wave of disappointment swept through the inn. Glares of envy and jealousy flew menacingly at me. Among them were also reproachful gazes, as if telling me to buy her the veil.

We left the inn and walked together, the white mask dangling from her waist.

"From now on, men will openly covet your beauty. There will be all sorts of them. Some will try to take you by force, others will try to drug you. There will be every kind of scoundrel imaginable."

I admitted it to myself. Whether I intended it or not, this was why I had postponed the Poison Self-Purification Art for her. I hated worrying about her.

That didn't mean I wasn't worried now that I had performed the art. I would just have to cast aside my worries differently.

"You need the strength to protect yourself from them. I intend to raise you to a level where you can face the Demon Supremes."

I had already been thinking that when I decided to perform the Poison Self-Purification Art on her.

Lee Ahn didn't feign modesty. Since she had been taught the Soaring Sky Sword Art, the goal of surpassing a Demon Supreme was a natural expectation.

"I'll work harder so you won't have to worry."

"Don't work any harder. You're already putting in more than enough effort."

She smiled, and the heart of a young, unmarried clerk at a fruit stand fluttered as he stared blankly at her.

We stopped at a fabric store, where I bought her a bamboo hat with an attached veil. It completely covered her face, but she refused it after trying it on.

"This is too uncomfortable. My field of vision is so narrow that I'd be vulnerable to a surprise attack. I'll need to be more of an expert to use this."

"Then let's just buy a veil for now."

I bought her a veil that covered the lower half of her face like a mask. The veil alone couldn't hide her beauty, but it was a little better.

"When I create the Ghost Shadow Squad later, I'm going to make the masks look really cool."

I imagined her wearing a mask with its unique ghost emblem. She would look mysterious and cool. If Green Mask saw her like that, I didn't think he could handle it.

She stopped walking whenever she found a place to see her reflection.

She wasn't expressing it fully, but she must have been feeling so good right now.

Savor it, Lee Ahn!

"Where are we going now?"

"Can you climb mountains?"

"Mountains?"

"Your body is lighter now, so let's climb a mountain. Now, run."

We ran for a long time using movement arts and arrived at the base of a cliff of fantastic rocks.

"Follow my footsteps exactly!"

She followed me up the cliff using her movement arts, unable to utter a single word. This was her first time climbing such a sheer cliff.

She only sighed in relief after we reached the summit.

"Honestly, I was terrified on the way up."

Although she had reached a high level in swordsmanship, her movement arts fell short of that skill.

"I'd die if I fell, right?"

"A true master is one who doesn't die. With your sword skills, you certainly shouldn't die."

"What should I do if I fall?"

"You'd have to stay sharp and do whatever you can to slow your descent."

Of course, I could just release my qi right before impact to land lightly, but that was impossible for Lee Ahn. She would have to consume a lot of her inner arts to slow her speed as much as possible from the very beginning of the fall.

"As you know, you can't survive with just good swordsmanship. You need good movement arts, a lot of nerve, good judgment, and you have to be a good judge of character."

"Ah! It was so warm in the greenhouse."

It was her joke about living comfortably under my and our Cult's protection, but I didn't see it that way.

She had never once been in a greenhouse. With the emotional scars from her martial art's side effects, she couldn't even sleep properly while acting as my bodyguard. What kind of difficult greenhouse was that? After my regression, she couldn't even sleep properly because of her training.

"Is it spring or winter outside the greenhouse?"

"The jianghu has never once seen spring."

"Just like this scary cliff."

She looked down at the bottom of the cliff. I whispered into her ear.

"Remember what I told you earlier? About what to do when you fall."

"Of course. Stay sharp and slow your descent."

"Then that's good enough."

The next moment, I shoved her off the cliff.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

She fell with a desperate scream.

I jumped down after her.

I expected her to tumble chaotically, but Lee Ahn flailed desperately, trying to find her balance and slow her speed. Her lack of experience made her body too tense, and she needlessly wasted her inner arts.

I instantly increased my speed and caught her in mid-air.

Held in my arms, Lee Ahn finally relaxed.

"Hold on to me."

"……"

Then, as if to show her, I demonstrated how to use my feet and arms to reduce speed. Even while holding her, my speed decreased in an instant.

Clinging to me, Lee Ahn watched without missing a single movement.

As we fell, I threw my body toward the cliff. A small cave was hidden in the middle of the cliff face.

Only after we landed there did Lee Ahn shout.

"I really thought I was going to die!"

"Lies. You believed I would save you, didn't you?"

"Well, yes, but I was still really surprised. The falling speed was so much faster than I thought. I couldn't keep my balance."

"If you keep falling, you'll get used to it and gradually be able to find your balance."

"Yes. I've memorized how you did it."

"Then that's good."

"But I didn't know there was a cave in a place like this."

"Memorize its location. If you're ever chased in this area, take refuge here."

"How did you know about this place?"

"Do you think this cave is the only thing I know?"

"Of course not. That's why I'm going to stop asking now, but why did we come here?"

"From now on, I will open your Conception and Governing Vessels."

I said it casually, so she just blinked at first. Then her eyes widened in shock. The magnitude of her surprise was even greater than when I had told her about the Poison Self-Purification Art. At least that was foreshadowed. This was completely unexpected.

Opening the Conception and Governing Vessels.

It was a necessary step to become a true master, but it was the ultimate miraculous encounter that only a tiny fraction of martial artists could experience.

The process was extremely dangerous and difficult. More than a few had died attempting to open the Conception and Governing Vessels recklessly. Moreover, the person performing the opening could also die from their qi and blood flowing in reverse.

I didn't need to look for a distant example. As descendants of the Heavenly Demon, our Conception and Governing Vessels were opened when we were young. I still vividly remembered how much my older brother scared me when it was my turn. He must have hoped I would fall into qi deviation from fear, but I succeeded safely.

In any case, opening the Conception and Governing Vessels was not something to be done or received lightly. That was why the old masters of the orthodox sects would risk the danger to perform it only for the legitimate successors of their sects.

"Are you really going to open my Conception and Governing Vessels for me?"

"……"

"Why on earth are you being so good to me… ah, that's why you told me not to ask. You said it was a question I'd have to ask again soon."

I had told her not to ask questions when I finished the Poison Self-Purification Art.

"It's a gift. A gift to celebrate your new life."

Lee Ahn was at a loss for words.

Tears welled up in her eyes again.

"I'm someone who hates crying, but you keep making me cry, Young Master."

"This isn't something to cry about."

"You're right. I'm happy. I'm so happy I could fly."

"Alright, shall we begin? Just in case something goes wrong, leave your last words."

"Please tell my Young Master. That I'm sorry I couldn't serve him until the end."

"I'll scold your Young Master. For keeping you all to himself."

"It won't be easy to scold him. He's getting stronger by the day."

Her words made me laugh.

"Now, let's start by circulating your qi."

She sat cross-legged and began to operate her cultivation method. When she had completed one full circulation of her true qi, I injected my profound inner arts into her back.

Slowly, my inner arts moved along with hers through her meridians.

"From now on, you don't need to answer me. No matter what happens, you must not scream or stop circulating your qi. You must not lose consciousness either."

While she calmed her mind through qi circulation, the speed of my qi moving through her meridians gradually increased.

The Conception Vessel starts from the lips, descends through the chest and abdomen to the perineum. The Governing Vessel starts from the perineum, ascends along the tailbone and spine, passes the crown of the head, and returns to the lips. The most crucial moment is breaking through the Baihui acupoint at the crown of the head. If anything goes wrong, one could become a cripple or lose their life.

I knew it was best to get it over with in one go rather than dragging it out. My pure and profound inner arts pushed forcefully through her meridians.

There was nothing to worry about. It was I, of all people, who was performing the opening.

Seungjang, Yeomcheon, Seongi, Okdang, Jungwan… I broke through the meridians with unstoppable momentum. Just as a downpour washes away all sorts of trash, the impurities blocking her vessels began to clear.

Lee Ahn struggled with the unfamiliar pain, but she was inured to enduring pain.

I was relentless, pushing through so forcefully one might wonder if it was okay. Hesitation in this process would lead to an accident. If it didn't break through in one go, you'd have to turn back, try again, and collide with it fiercely.

Yangguan, Yeongdo, Sinju, Amun, Noeho, Hujeong. After clearing all the other meridians, we reached the critical juncture.

Trust me, Lee Ahn.

I trust you.

"……"

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA! KWANG!

Even the most difficult Baihui acupoint was cleared cleanly. As the remaining meridians were all opened, her Conception and Governing Vessels were unblocked.

A smile touched Lee Ahn's lips as she slowly slumped to the side.

Well done, Lee Ahn.

Lee Ahn woke up after sleeping for half a day.

"Young Master? What happened?"

"Here, try circulating your qi."

With a tense expression, Lee Ahn sat down and began to circulate her qi. After completing one full circulation, her face brightened.

"It's different, completely different from before. My inner arts are much purer, and the flow of qi is unobstructed."

"Congratulations, Lee Ahn."

Lee Ahn shot up and was about to bow to me, but I stopped her by releasing my qi.

"I told you before, right? I did this so I can work you harder, so you don't need to thank me."

"Just how hard are you planning to work me? This is a debt of gratitude great enough to make me unify the murim for you."

"Let's unify the murim after we eat. Aren't you hungry?"

"Hungry enough to go raid the Murim Alliance's kitchen."

Standing at the entrance of the cave, she shouted.

"I've opened my Conception and Governing Vessels… AHHHHHHHHHH!"

I pushed Lee Ahn from behind again. She fell with slightly less flailing than before. I watched her for a moment, then leaped from the cliff myself.

Two hours later, Lee Ahn and I were eating at an inn in the marketplace again.

We ordered all sorts of delicious food and ate together. We paid no mind to the gazes of the other customers.

"This is really delicious."

"Let's travel all over the Central Plains and eat all the famous dishes."

"What if I get fat again?"

"You won't be able to, even if you wanted to. When we return to our Cult, you'll have to fall into a hell of training until you achieve complete mastery of the Soaring Sky Sword Art."

"Ah, let's never go back!"

She didn't mean it, but she was thoroughly enjoying this very moment.

Just then, a young man pushed through the crowd and walked toward us.

He was quite tall and handsome, dressed in expensive and flashy clothes. Four martial artists who appeared to be bodyguards followed him.

Lee Ahn whispered like she was chanting a spell.

"Don't come over, don't come over. Just let me eat in peace."

I smiled as I watched her.

This is something you'll experience countless times from now on. How will you handle it?

The man came to stand before Lee Ahn and spoke politely with a confident face.

"Young Lady, may I treat you to a drink?"

Alright, Lee Ahn. It begins now.