Emperor Namgung Mu of the Thousand Years - Chapter 68

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#068

 

I replied in a calm voice.

 

“Is there a reason you think that?”

 

“Rather than a reason I think so, how should I put it. You look bad enough to cause such a misunderstanding.”

 

With that, Seo Ganghyeok extended his hand toward me.

 

“May I check your pulse? I’m not quite a physician, but I do have some skill.”

 

I hesitated.

 

The contemplation was brief.

 

But I silently extended my arm.

 

From fragments of information I knew in my past life, and what I had directly observed with my own eyes until now, Sword Master Hwirong Seo Ganghyeok was the type who would rather charge straight in and blow off someone’s head than kill or harm them through schemes.

 

Conspiracy?

 

He’d rather charge in himself than waste time on such things.

 

Lastly, this person cooperating with other forces?

 

…It would be faster for me to start liking fish.

 

Besides, having my pulse checked was something I had already experienced at the Sichuan Tang Family.

 

Just checking my pulse couldn’t reveal everything about my Buk Hai danjeon.

 

Seo Ganghyeok finished his quick examination and clicked his tongue.

 

“It’s worse than I thought. How are you even alive?”

 

“It must be quite bad then.”

 

“Yes. In this condition, I’d be reluctant to take you on a journey… Hmm.”

 

He began counting on his fingers.

 

Then he fell into brief contemplation.

 

“Let’s see. About five days until we join the White Dao Alliance… It’s cutting it close, but it seems doable. Hmm. Good. I should build up some debt of gratitude so you won’t go to other Five Great Battles later. Hmm hmm.”

 

“…?”

 

“Alright. Boatman, if you can trust me even a little bit. For the five days it takes to reach our destination…”

 

Seo Ganghyeok said in a bright voice.

 

“How about dropping all titles like Sword Master and Boatman and trying being a temporary disciple?”

 

***

 

‘He calls it being a disciple, but I thought it would just be training in the end.’

 

I could guess what Sword Master Hwirong was scheming.

 

It wasn’t like I’d be at a loss either.

 

The same went for me.

 

So I accepted.

 

But something was different from what I had expected.

 

We set off again as soon as the morning sun rose.

 

When twilight began to fall, we prepared to camp.

 

That’s when the training would begin.

 

“Kugh!”

 

Murky blood flowed from the corner of my mouth.

 

My body, sitting cross-legged with my upper garment removed, was drenched in cold sweat.

 

-Wooong…

 

Following the resonance, murky blood poured endlessly from my mouth.

 

Seo Ganghyeok exclaimed in admiration.

 

“Wow, I really feel like I’ve become a janitor. It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone with blood vessels this murky.”

 

Chugunggwahyeol .

 

An advanced mental technique for treating those who had fainted from internal injuries or had blocked qi and blood. It was a treatment method that pushed and tapped the entire body to circulate qi and blood and clear blocked blood vessels.

 

However, it was rarely used in practice for two reasons.

 

The first was the extremely high difficulty of this treatment method.

 

It sounded easy, but depending on the person performing it, even the practitioner could fall into qi deviation.

 

In other words, this was a treatment method that only martial artists could handle, something no skilled physician could perform.

 

And the second reason it was rarely used was.

 

“Kugh.”

 

As soon as one moment passed, I, who had been sitting cross-legged, collapsed forward with a groan.

 

That’s right.

 

It was extremely painful.

 

I gasped with my face turned pale white.

 

My entire body was drenched in cold sweat.

 

Even I, who could endure considerable pain, could only manage not to faint from the pain that felt like someone was gripping and twisting my internal organs with all their might.

 

Chugunggwahyeol would immediately stop if the subject fainted, making all the effort pointless.

 

Since it proceeded by pushing with strong qi introduced by another person, if the subject fainted, it would all be for nothing.

 

Of course, I believed that Sword Master Hwirong had suggested this to me because he had a way to deal with it-.

 

“Wow… You actually endured that.”

 

“You damn-!”

 

“Ah, I had faith in you! Hey, there’s a disciple here trying to hit his master!”

 

After that ended, there was the next stage.

 

“I naturally thought we’d be doing sparring or exchanging techniques with each other.”

 

“Haha, really? Unfortunately, that’s not my style. It doesn’t suit your type at all either.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok was moving here and there through the dense forest, drawing lines on the ground.

 

“It doesn’t suit my type?”

 

“Die.”

 

After finishing the lines and dusting off his hands, Seo Ganghyeok said.

 

“I can’t fight like ordinary martial artists do. I’m not disparaging you or others.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok extended and bent his fingers one by one in front of me as if playing with them.

 

“If others are delicate and sharp dining knives, I’m a giant cleaver… no, should I say a giant hammer in the form of a blade that breaks castle gates? Do you think such a crude siege hammer could perform delicate work like sparring?”

 

“Then are we only doing Chugunggwahyeol for five days?”

 

“That would be disappointing. Here, I’ve completed it.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok picked up a tree branch and drew a circle on the ground.

 

It was a small circle about four steps wide in total.

 

“There. This is the training ground.”

 

“…”

 

I blinked my eyes.

 

“Is it okay for it to be this small? We’re going to spar.”

 

“It’s not for sparring though?”

 

Seo Ganghyeok threw away the branch and said.

 

“This is just theory. Go in for now. And no matter what happens, don’t come out until I tell you to.”

 

“Don’t come out?”

 

I tilted my head and stepped into the circle.

 

It was cramped.

 

Even a single step would touch the line.

 

“Now, Boatman.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Don’t be offended by what I’m about to say, alright?”

 

“…?”

 

Seo Ganghyeok poked my chest with his finger.

 

“Remember what I said before? That wasn’t empty words.”

 

“You mean about me being an assassin?”

 

“Yeah. I don’t know how you came to act in a way that makes me feel that way. It’s just my intuition. But the more I watch you, the way your body moves, the way you breathe, your operational methods, and above all your thinking patterns and responses—you’re not even at the level of a clumsy assassin, but like a top-tier Salsoo.”

 

My heart quietly slows down.

 

“….”

 

“Ah. I’m not being a blockhead and bringing up those suspicions from before again. It’s probably your nature and instinct. There are all kinds of constitutions and instincts in this world. I know that better than anyone.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok waved his hand.

 

“You’re probably like that because your movements are naturally inclined that way. How could I suspect someone whose birth is as transparent as yours?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

“Whether someone taught you, you learned it yourself, or you had circumstances while enduring the Entrance Competition—I don’t know. I’ve decided not to think about it anymore. The Namgung Family gathers all sorts of diverse people, and even among us Five Great Patriarchs, there are countless things we don’t know about each other’s abilities.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“In that sense.”

 

Seo Ganghyeok shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Just to make explanations easier from now on, I’ll premise that you’re from an assassin background. That’ll be more convenient for me too.”

 

“….”

 

“How about it?”

 

I was silent for a moment.

 

I had complicated feelings.

 

But.

 

“That’s fine.”

 

Denying it here would actually be stranger.

 

And what’s really strange about myself is.

 

Though the process was a bit odd, the moment I said “That’s fine,” I felt relieved.

 

The relief of finally telling something like the truth, even briefly, after constantly living lies since starting this current life.

 

‘Of course, he didn’t intend that.’

 

Seo Ganghyeok grinned and nodded at my answer.

 

“Good. Then shall we get to the point? This is the first and last pointing out during our five-day journey. Before delivering three teachings, what did I say earlier?”

 

“You said no matter what happens, don’t leave the circle.”

 

“Good. Then let’s begin the explanation.”

 

He raised one finger.

 

“You have good eyes for reading openings. Not just decent, but very good. Much better than most warriors.”

 

Suddenly Seo Ganghyeok’s finger swept toward both my eyes.

 

-A chill.

 

Why did I feel that way?

 

It wasn’t simply a finger being swung.

 

A sharp trajectory.

 

‘Heart… sword?’

 

No.

 

It wasn’t something general like that, but how should I put it.

 

“Kuk…!”

 

Reflexively, I moved while bending my waist.

 

One step back.

 

The moment my toes brushed the circle’s line, Seo Ganghyeok’s voice fell.

 

“Stop.”

 

“….”

 

I stopped.

 

I was barely inside the circle.

 

Seo Ganghyeok grinned.

 

“See?”

 

“….”

 

“Even in this small circle, with the premise that I told you not to leave, even though I simply swung my finger, when you see a threat you take two evasive actions. You don’t strike back. You secure escape routes first.”

 

“…Isn’t that basic? When there’s no room to spare, it can’t be helped, but if there’s room you should secure two escape routes so even if one is blocked—.”

 

“In other words, you had enough composure right now to see two escape routes?”

 

“…Anyway. That’s not what’s important.”

 

“And that ‘basic’ you mention is only basic for assassins—no warrior acts that way. Most people wouldn’t have the composure to judge and move through situations that calmly anyway.”

 

“….”

 

“As you reach higher realms, such habits will lead to increasingly fatal results. And by then you won’t be able to fix them. Too many things will have been built on top of them.”

 

I think I understand what he means.

 

Seo Ganghyeok nodded.

 

“Such habits are fine once or twice. But if you do that three or more times during intense combat?”

 

He bent his finger.

 

“You’ll barely win against opponents you could overwhelmingly defeat. Because you’ll waste opportunities securing dual escape routes every time. This is a habit only lower-tier assassins would have—those who premise that their skills are definitely inferior. Or perhaps battle-hardened veterans who’ve survived from the very bottom.”

 

“….”

 

“Don’t pour two strategies into evasion—if you use one for evasion, use one for advance. Of course, I have no idea about your circumstances.”

 

Sword Master Hwirong smiled broadly as he looked at me.

 

“What exactly are you so afraid of?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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