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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Heart-Piercing Sword
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Hong Geolgae had been fidgeting nonstop.
His firm belief was that one should beg properly, with all the rattling and clanging, but traveling as a trio like this, asking the other two to beg for him just didn't make sense no matter how he sliced it.
In the end, Hong Geolgae compromised with reality.
Figuring he might as well earn his keep with food, he kept slipping off somewhere for short stretches to gather ingredients. Small berries, a few bird eggs, even a little pheasant.
Every time Hong Geolgae brought back ingredients, Gwi-ui looked over at Dang Mujin without a word.
Calmly. And with a hint of unease.
"Why are you staring like that?"
"No reason."
"It's not me who's weird—it's him. Forget the rest, how does he catch a pheasant barehanded?"
"You wishing you were a bit weird too—is that my excessive greed?"
"I heard from a renowned monk once that too much greed lands you in the Black Rope Hell. Better watch out early."
"Oh dear. That's advice that'll sink into my bones and flesh. Thanks to you, my afterlife's looking peaceful. Did you never hear that disrespecting elders sends you to the Pinching Ice Hell?"
"I might not respect you, but I can still attack..."
The two bantered as they prepared dinner, while Hong Geolgae watched.
He knew how to forage ingredients but wasn't used to cooking.
The three of them combined food from Zhuul Village with Hong Geolgae's finds, managing a pretty decent meal even in these deserted mountains.
Once they'd finished eating, Hong Geolgae spoke up.
"So, where exactly are we headed?"
At that moment, Gwi-ui shot to his feet and clapped.
"Good heavens! Amazing, Hong Geolgae. Are you a genius?"
"Huh?"
Hong Geolgae blinked in confusion, and Gwi-ui turned to Dang Mujin with a mocking smirk.
"That Dang kid's been tagging along without asking once, and here you are, asking right after joining up. Impressive. Real sharp one."
That's when Dang Mujin realized he'd been following Gwi-ui without even knowing the destination.
The qi circulation technique he'd just learned was so fascinating that he'd focused on practicing whenever he could, with no attention left for anything else.
Beyond that, he had an excuse. His goal wasn't arriving at some destination with Gwi-ui—it was trailing after him to learn whatever he could.
He'd figured just sticking close was enough, and it wasn't wrong.
"I simply trusted you completely, elder. No questions needed."
"Of course you did."
"Anyway, enough. Where are we going?"
"To Henan. Luoyang, specifically."
"Luoyang?"
Henan was far away. They'd have to cross Sichuan, pass through Chongqing, skirt Hubei to get there.
He'd suspected they were heading east out of Sichuan, given the direction, and he wasn't wrong.
"What's in Luoyang?"
"Plenty of reasons. People to meet, personal business. It'll be good for you too. No better place than Luoyang to show your talents and learn things."
Gwi-ui rambled on about Luoyang and Henan. How Luoyang was the heart of the Central Plains, how venturing just a bit around it let you hit every major sect and clan, and so on.
But the real point wasn't how great Henan or Luoyang were.
"How are we even getting to Henan?"
Sichuan was infamous for its towering, treacherous peaks.
Mountains stabbed at the sky, encircling the province, to the point where people said entering or leaving Sichuan was harder than climbing to heaven.
"We'll walk to Chongqing from here, then take a boat."
Boats from Chongqing meant the Yangtze River.
Riding the Yangtze was one of the few ways in and out of Sichuan Province, and the most common. Eight out of ten merchants coming or going between Sichuan and Chongqing used it.
The Yangtze was the lifeline of the Central Plains. Over ten thousand li long, with fertile lands along its banks sprouting countless cities.
Follow the Yangtze, and you could reach pretty much every famous spot in the Central Plains.
Dang Mujin got excited imagining the famed Three Gorges, and Hong Geolgae looked expectant too.
"Elder, mind if I tag along until we board the boat?"
"Somewhere you want to go?"
"I heard your master's hometown is Chongqing."
"Really? I thought you Ma elders were Zhuul Village born and bred."
"He came to Zhuul Village when he was young, from what I heard."
Gwi-ui eyed Hong Geolgae and frowned, something clearly bothering him.
After a brief pause, he nodded.
"Well, no harm in it. We need Chongqing for the boat anyway. Let's travel together for now."
As the discussion wrapped up, Dang Mujin shot his hand up.
"What now? You got a spot you wanna hit too?"
"Nah, I wanna learn swordplay."
"Figured it'd come up soon. Make three wooden swords."
With that, Gwi-ui tossed Dang Mujin a short dagger.
Not a woodworking tool, but Dang Mujin didn't mind.
He headed into the woods and fetched a thick log from a dead tree. Fine for one wooden sword, but slender for three.
Dang Mujin set the log down and plopped onto the ground. Hong Geolgae asked,
"Need more logs?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"Want a hand? Three'll take a while."
Gwi-ui chimed in from the side.
"Just watch. Won't take long."
Hong Geolgae sat beside Gwi-ui to observe Dang Mujin making the swords.
Planning to jump in if it dragged on.
But Dang Mujin's method was nothing like normal.
A regular person making wooden swords follows steps.
Trim branches first, straighten it out, then whittle edges to shape. Takes time even if you nail it.
Dang Mujin's way was different. He stood the log up and hacked it lengthwise like chopping firewood. Like a kid overeager and ruining the material.
'...Busted. That log's toast.'
Hong Geolgae slipped quietly into the woods.
He grabbed another dry log. Dead trees littered the mountains, so it barely took the time for a cup of tea.
But when he returned, he saw something unbelievable.
Two decent-looking wooden swords lay beside Dang Mujin.
"...What?"
Gwi-ui chuckled.
"Told you it wouldn't take long. Sit quiet and watch. The kid's better at hammering iron and whittling wood than acupuncture."
Hong Geolgae gawked at Dang Mujin's hands, wondering what was happening.
Dang Mujin gripped the long log in his left hand and roughly sliced with his right.
Utterly careless motions, but each dagger stroke revealed the sword's form.
Hong Geolgae rubbed his eyes.
It wasn't so much carving a sword as peeling fruit. Effortless serk-serk.
No, not even that. More like shelling peas to pluck out the beans inside.
Unless someone had hidden finished swords in the log, no way to make them like this.
Believe it or not, the third sword was done in a blink.
Dang Mujin tossed one to Hong Geolgae, who inspected it skeptically.
Nothing odd. Just a clean, sturdy wooden sword. Even the hilt was smooth, no splinters.
'How's wood just carved fresh look this perfect?'
Hong Geolgae glanced around, feeling possessed. He was the only one weirded out.
Gwi-ui swung a sword a couple times and grinned.
"Good. Usable. Ready to start? The sword art I'm teaching you is called Heart-Piercing Sword."
Dang Mujin shot his hand up.
"Isn't that name kinda plain?"
"Long names lack flair. Short and concise is cooler. Besides, Heart-Piercing Sword gets right to the essence of sword arts."
Gwi-ui thrust the wooden sword at chest height. Utterly simple motion.
"Sword (劍) that pierces (刺) the heart (心). Every sword art's goal is piercing vital points to kill. Dragons flying from the tip, blade splitting into five—pure fluff."
This time Hong Geolgae raised his hand.
"Can I learn too?"
"Didn't give you that sword for nothing. Skip if you want."
"Not skipping. Just curious."
Who'd turn down lessons here? Gwi-ui's skill against the Ja-yang Twin Killers was that impressive. Made what Ma Jeon-gae taught feel trivial.
Whether it was Gwi-ui's personal prowess or the Heart-Piercing Sword's, who knew.
But one thing was sure: chances like this didn't come often. Martial artists hoarded their teachings.
"First, watch the Heart-Piercing Sword forms. Memorize the trajectories."
Gwi-ui demonstrated the forms. Teaching pace, so not fast.
But the seamless flow made it hard to count the moves. Dang Mujin couldn't tell how many forms.
After the short demo, Gwi-ui planted his sword tip in the ground.
"There. See it all?"
"Just swing in a fixed order?"
Gwi-ui made a face like 'What a revelation!' Knowing mockery was coming, Dang Mujin cut in quick.
"I know zilch about martial arts. Can't help being curious, right?"
"Even ignorant, there's common sense...! Fine, you might not know."
Gwi-ui snarked a bit, then continued.
"But think about it. You think anyone dies to a guy mindlessly repeating rote moves?"
"So how?"
"Master each form fully, use the right one when needed. Order doesn't matter."
Gwi-ui swung again.
Totally different from before. Still concise and fluid, with glimpses of prior moves.
Dang Mujin realized he was showing forms out of sequence.
"Of course, mastering forms ain't easy. Each pairs with specific internal energy flow, tiny muscle shifts make huge gaps. Sword swung with understanding versus mimicry—worlds apart. Watch this."
Gwi-ui thrust twice in quick succession. Looked similar, but Dang Mujin felt the difference.
Gwi-ui kept demonstrating as he spoke.
"Remember what I asked when I took you on?"
Dang Mujin nodded. The memory was too vivid.
*-Limbs intact, body's fine. How far in medicine? Read any texts?*
*-If you've got the brains to master and recite Injury Treatise like that, no issue learning martial arts.*
"Stuff from the Injury Treatise. Said smarts matter."
"Right. It's all about insight. Sharp minds grasp from thin clues; dull ones miss it even if it sits on their shoulder. So how to gain insight?"
Dang Mujin shrugged. No real sword experience—what could he say?
"Two common ways. Hole up in deep mountains swinging endlessly, or clash swords with a partner. Experience says the latter's better. Desperation sharpens the mind."
Gwi-ui kept swinging. Motions repeated a few, but connections varied each time with the sword.
Finally, he lowered his sword smoothly. No sweat despite the fury, breath steady.
"So by now, you get what I'll have you do."
"...No clue."
Gwi-ui pointed his sword at Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae.
"Every night from now on. Fight till one passes out. Loser sprawls unconscious and sleeps it off.