Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 41
“Deok Ju, retreat ten paces back.”
“Yes, sir.”
After sending Deok Ju away, Dang Jung settled into a cross-legged position before me, his expression grave.
“Now, try crossing your legs like this.”
I mimicked Dang Jung’s posture, crossing my legs and placing my feet on my knees……
“Wait? Grandfather, how exactly do I do this? My ankles won’t fold up.”
“……I suppose I must teach you how to sit cross-legged first. The path ahead is long indeed.”
Dang Jung sighed and came over to adjust the position of my feet. It required far more flexibility than it appeared at first glance.
As I awkwardly wiggled my legs into place, Dang Jung chuckled softly and began to speak.
“Child, what do you think poison is?”
“Well……poison is poison, isn’t it?”
It was a simple answer, but Dang Jung did not reproach me for it.
“Correct. Poison is poison. Whether it mingles with water or wine, it remains poison. Do you understand what that means?”
“I suppose……poison isn’t easily diluted?”
“Precisely. A single drop of poison is enough to contaminate a well. But to purify one drop of poison, you would need ten wells. In other words, poison’s penetrating power is that formidable. It can seep into any form of energy.”
“Seep into it?”
Tilting my head at the unfamiliar concept, Dang Jung nodded.
“What would happen if you released a freshwater fish into salt water?”
“It would die.”
“And a saltwater fish released into fresh water?”
“It would die too.”
“The same applies to Internal Energy. If someone who has cultivated pure Internal Energy accepts tainted Internal Energy, they will become crippled. If you force Internal Energy infused with the Heavenly Demon’s Essence into a practitioner of Demonic Arts, their Dantian will shatter.”
“You mean the texture of Internal Energy must match, sir?”
“Quick to understand. That is why practitioners from different sects must not carelessly exchange their Inner Power. Each faction has its own nature.”
Dang Jung’s eyes gleamed as the corner of his mouth lifted.
“But consider this: what if you caused Poison Essence to seep into the energy one accepts?”
I fell into thought.
Cause Poison Essence to seep into it? Would that give the Internal Energy a common property?
“Do you mean that if you dissolve Internal Energy of different textures in poison, making it share the same nature, the Dantian could then accept it?”
“Clever. No need for further explanation. Now then, how would you alter the nature of Internal Energy?”
“Could you……make your Dantian like a poison jar? So that whatever you put in becomes part of the poison?”
Dang Jung seemed pleased with my answer, wearing a satisfied smile.
“Exactly. That is the Poison Sect Heart Method your grandfather practices. A secret technique none can easily imitate. Without poison resistance, one cannot even attempt it.”
At his pride-tinged words, I laughed weakly.
Of course. An ordinary person would die if they harbored poison in their body……
“Then how do you construct the Dantian?”
“First, you must memorize the incantation……”
Dang Jung trailed off, scratching his chin. He stared intently at empty air with a serious expression.
What’s wrong? I watched Dang Jung carefully, my eyes beginning to wander.
“I cobbled it together long ago and my memory has grown hazy. It doesn’t matter much—don’t worry about it and close your eyes.”
……Can you just forget the incantation to a cultivation method? Isn’t that important?
“Grandfather, I can trust you on this, right?”
“What kind of look is that? Trust your old grandfather. Now close your eyes.”
Of course I should trust him. I glanced at Dang Jung once more before closing my eyes.
* * *
The thrill of finally learning genuine martial arts faded quickly, replaced by a creeping restlessness born of monotony.
Gathering External Qi that flowed in with each breath and compressing it to the size of a grain of rice was manageable. Even grinding the impure External Qi and dissolving it within the Poison Essence proved tolerable.
But what came after was the problem.
No matter how many times I circulated the energy along the path Dang Jung had cleared for me, my lower abdomen only tickled faintly—there was no sign of a Dantian forming.
Why isn’t it working? How much longer must I do this?
Unable to bear the tedium any longer, I surreptitiously cracked open my eyes.
Darkness had fallen; the world around me was pitch black.
Startled by the gloom with not a single light in sight, I looked about nervously when I heard Dang Jung’s voice.
“Your focus is impressive.”
Dang Jung stood with his arms crossed, watching over me. I rubbed my stiff neck and asked.
“Grandfather, what time is it now?”
“Past midnight.”
“Past midnight?”
Eight hours had passed since I began cultivating?
It felt like only an hour had passed, yet somehow it was already night. My sense of time had completely gone haywire.
Dang Jung chuckled as I scratched my head with a vacant expression.
“Well? How does it feel?”
“I’m not really sure yet. There’s just this tingling sensation in my lower abdomen. Is that normal?”
“You can’t be full after the first spoonful. Give it a few more days and you’ll start to feel it properly.”
Dang Jung spoke as though it were obvious. It seemed he hadn’t expected me to establish my Dantian on the very first day.
“Let me have a look.”
Dang Jung naturally took my wrist and sent his True Qi flowing through me. I could feel his deep blue True Qi probing every corner of my body.
His eyebrows twitched slightly, and he let out a surprised laugh.
“Well, you’ve gathered it quite neatly. I didn’t expect you to accumulate it so cleanly.”
“Pardon?”
“Your Lower Dantian has taken proper shape. The size isn’t bad either.”
Dang Jung withdrew his True Qi and patted my head.
“That tingling in your lower abdomen is from the Spiritual Qi that was left in your Meridian Network mixing with your True Qi. Once it dissolves into the True Qi, it’ll stop bothering you.”
“Really? Did I actually form it correctly?”
“Yes. Well done.”
I marveled at this and rubbed my lower abdomen. A faint current of energy rippled through my palm.
Wow. What is this?
Once I became aware that I had formed a Dantian, I could feel it.
The scorching Spiritual Qi of the Mo Xue Hua Li, the cool Yin Qi of the Thousand Year Purple Talisman, the Celestial Qi from the medicinal herbs, and the External Qi mixed with impurities—all of it was blending together in the same light.
It was the same deep blue as Dang Jung’s True Qi.
“Grandfather! My color is exactly the same as yours!”
“It’s the same Heart Method, so of course it is. As your Internal Energy accumulates, your eye color will change too.”
Dang Jung chuckled at my excitement as he answered.
“To gather the energy of the entire universe and refine it into your Dantian—isn’t that profound? There’s a microcosm within your body.”
I don’t know. What you just said sounded like a cult leader’s sermon.
“That’s enough for today. Hold onto me and get up slowly. Are you dizzy?”
“No? I’m fi—actually, I’m quite dizzy.”
The moment I grabbed Dang Jung and stood up, the room spun around me.
The way every muscle in my body screamed suggested I’d been sitting in the same position for far too long.
Oh, my legs. My poor legs.
As blood returned to my legs, my feet began to tingle sharply. I hopped on my toes, and Dang Jung pressed his forehead with a sigh.
“There, there. What sort of reckless behavior is this? Come here.”
Dang Jung clicked his tongue and laid me down across his knees. He covered my face with a thin piece of silk and began pressing firmly on the crown of my head.
“When a martial practitioner performs Qi Circulation Breathing, they become vulnerable even to minor impact. Only do this when I or Deok Ju are here to stand guard.”
“Understood.”
“Of course, doing it often is good. Your body grows stronger that way, and your Internal Energy accumulates faster. But never touch your Baihui Acupoint carelessly. It’s dangerous.”
“Yes.”
“And don’t touch your Innate True Qi either. That would be drawing on your very life force.”
“I understand.”
“And……”
He continued pouring out cautions, unable to set his mind at ease, yet never stopped performing the Pursuit Palace Acupoint Massage.
His pressure control was so perfect that each time he worked the knotted muscles along the meridians, the fatigue seemed to melt away.
Wow. This feels amazing.
My eyes naturally closed in the drowsy haze.
“……need to……. Little one. Are you asleep?”
“No……”
Dang Jung’s voice grew fainter and fainter.
I should answer that I’m not asleep……. But I’m so drowsy…….
My head lolled forward weakly.
* * *
“……Alas, raising a child in my twilight years—it’s going to kill me.”
Dang Jung let out a quiet laugh and brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen across his sleeping disciple’s face.
A martial practitioner sleeping so defenseless, exposing vital points like this.
She ought to be scolded sharply for it, but he found himself without the will to do so. If anything, he was pleased.
It meant she trusted him that much.
Even today, she had whimpered and pouted without reservation. That was different from before, when she watched his moods carefully out of fear of displeasing him.
Dang Jung was quite satisfied that his granddaughter had begun to act her age and place her trust in him.
“Sir. I’ll take care of it.”
“Leave it be. I’ll move her myself.”
Dang Jung gestured for the approaching Deok Ju to wait, then carefully lifted Dang So Hye into his arms.
“Sleeping soundly, aren’t you? How did I end up picking up something as feeble as this?”
Murmuring to himself, he moved with cautious steps so as not to wake the girl in his embrace. Deok Ju quickly followed at his heels.
“How do you find your new master? Is she kind?”
“Yes. She is a good person.”
“This one’s heart is too tender, too soft to be ruthless. You must serve her well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dang Jung, who had offered this counsel, patted Dang So Hye’s back as she murmured in her sleep.
“Mmm…….”
“It’s all right. Sleep more.”
Watching the grandfather and granddaughter in such harmony, Deok Ju swallowed hard.
The sight of Dang Jung personally carrying his sleeping granddaughter, the tenderness with which he whispered to her to rest — both seemed utterly foreign.
Did the Poison King have such a side?
Even among the Dang Clan, notorious for their foul temperaments, the Poison King was known as the most stubborn and ill-natured of all.
Yet here was this Poison King instructing his granddaughter in martial arts, coaxing and soothing her, constantly carrying her in his arms, brewing Spirit Medicine for her every seven days, performing Pursuit Palace Acupoint Massage, and tucking her in so carefully?
No one who knew the Poison King would believe such a thing.
What was equally astonishing was that his master was equally extraordinary.
The illegitimate daughter of the clan head, who had appeared one day holding the Poison King’s hand—Deok Ju’s young mistress possessed extraordinary Martial Talent.
An ordinary person needed a month of cultivation to sense the flow of Qi. Some dull-witted disciples took half a year or more without ever perceiving it.
Yet Dang So Hye, after just one day of learning the Poison Sect Heart Method, had gathered her Qi and formed a Dantian in one stroke.
Though Dang Jung had given her Spirit Medicine and guided her to expand her meridian network, it was still a nonsensical pace of progress.
Deok Ju pondered this.
Perhaps his young mistress would one day inherit the Poison King’s name and command the Gangho.
When Dang So Hye returned in Dang Jung’s arms, Gyeong A, who had been waiting on the veranda, let out a sharp cry.
“Oh! Oh, oh, is the young miss……. Is something wrong with her?”
“She’s simply asleep. Lay her on the bed and change her clothes, then wipe her hands and feet with a damp cloth before tucking her in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Song Ji answered in her stead, quickly opening the bedroom door to check the bedding.
Dang Jung cast a frown at the bedroom.
“The child will be cold. What kind of fool keeps a room this cool? She’ll catch a chill. Heat a Hot Water Warmer and place it inside the blankets.”
“Yes.”
Though spring blossoms had fallen and early summer had arrived, there was no reason for cold, yet Song Ji prepared the Hot Water Warmer as ordered.
After holding Dang So Hye for some time, Dang Jung only laid her on the bed once he had felt the bedding warm beneath his hand.
“Little one. Dream sweetly.”
With a gentle smile, Dang Jung whispered softly, then his expression hardened and he left the room.

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