Chapter 170:

Chapter 170:

Exchange

Despite her earnest plea, Mu-jin, who had been lying down, shook his head without hesitation.

“It seems impossible, Seol-hwa Shiju-nim.”

It wasn’t simply because he had to see the end of the novel in order to escape from this cursed martial arts world. While that was the initial reason, six years had already passed since he started living here. The relationships he had formed here were precious to him, and he had adapted to life in this world to some extent.

The uncertainty of what would happen if he were to die here was enough to give him pause. However, the reason he so firmly rejected her request was:

“...I cannot ignore the existence of children like me.”

This was due to his experiences in Guangxi Province.

The slave markets, So-cheongmun, and cannibalistic inns. Above all, his deep-seated anger and disgust towards Shinchun, who led a human trafficking operation under the guise of rescuing children with special constitutions.

He understood better than anyone how terrible and sorrowful it was to be left alone at a young age.

However, what was important to Ryu Seol-hwa was Mu-jin’s safety.

“...What if you die? This time you survived purely out of luck. What will you do if something like this happens again?”

She yelled, something quite unlike her. Though she seemed desperate rather than harsh, Mu-jin couldn’t grant her request.

“To prevent such things from happening, I must dedicate myself even more to training.”

Considering the level of enemies he would face in the future, he was still far from ready. This was made clear in his recent fight with the Wolf King.

Had the Wolf King not been careless, had he not had the Dragon Scale Thread, or if the Wolf King hadn’t come alone, Mu-jin would have surely died.

Seeing Mu-jin’s firm stance, she steeled her heart.

“I cannot let you go.”

She, too, had changed. She was no longer the timid and fearful girl of the past.

“Mu-jin Saja-nim, you know, don’t you? You already owe a lot.”

She was establishing herself as a merchant, even earning the moniker “Golden Lily.”

‘So, as a merchant. So that Mu-jin Saja-nim can trust and rely on me.’

“If something like today happens and you die, I won’t be able to collect the debt. So stay by my side until all the debts are repaid. I will protect you, no matter what.”

She considered her confident stance to be a result of her experience. However, tears welled up in her eyes, and her body subtly trembled.

The tears that were on the verge of spilling from her eyes fell as soon as Mu-jin responded.

“...I’m sorry.”

She stood in a daze, realizing too late that tears were streaming down her face. Hastily, she got up.

“You need to rest, and I made you uncomfortable. I’ll go wash up for a moment, so please rest.”

After she left the room, Mu-jin let out a deep sigh.

Even Mu-jin couldn’t help but notice in such an obvious situation. He realized that Ryu Seol-hwa’s kindness was not just the goodwill towards a benefactor or teacher, but a romantic affection.

He wondered if it made sense for her to like a monk like him, but her words made it clear.

Leaving Shaolin and entrusting himself to Cheonryu Sangdan, her offer to protect him if he stayed by her side.

“Sigh...”

However, Mu-jin could not accept her feelings.

It wasn’t that he disliked her. It wasn’t even about her once plump figure that came to mind.

The fact that she had achieved her beauty through her own efforts made her story even more appealing to Mu-jin, who was a fitness enthusiast.

He simply couldn’t ask her to wait indefinitely when he didn’t know when he might die. Even if he survived and succeeded in eliminating Shinchun.

‘If I see the ending and return as Choi Kang-hyuk, what then?’

He didn’t want to start a love he couldn’t take responsibility for.

When he considered this world as just a fictional setting, he might have entertained such thoughts, but not anymore.

* * *

Perhaps because she had established herself as a merchant, Ryu Seol-hwa treated Mu-jin as if nothing had happened, even after the incident.

Thanks to her, Mu-jin, who had felt awkward for a few days, could now act as if nothing had happened.

About five days later, with more waking hours than sleeping, Mu-jin had a sudden thought and spoke up.

“Oh! Seol-hwa Shiju-nim, do you know what happened to the children sent from Gan-yang-hyeon?”

“The children and women are all comfortably settled here, so you needn’t worry.”

“That’s a relief. Ah, have you also checked on a girl named Baek Ga-ryeong? She’s quite frail...”

Baek Ga-hwan, who might play a crucial role in the future, was on his mind. As the only blood relative of Baek Ga-hwan, who was possibly smarter than him, Mu-jin was quite concerned.

It was Yang Dong-myung who responded instead of Ryu Seol-hwa.

“It reminds me of when I first came here. Hearing about a critically ill person, I rushed over only to find one person half-dead, with another critically ill beside him.”

“You mean Miss Baek Ga-ryeong?”

“Who else would be the critically ill one?”

He thought about dealing with a few more branches of the Shinchun forces, but muscle rehabilitation took priority now.

Mu-jin’s martial arts relied heavily on his overwhelming strength, so in his current state, it would be suicidal to confront Shinchun branches.

* * *

After confirming his condition in the bathhouse, Mu-jin began his rehabilitation in earnest.

However, as his internal organs had just healed and he had only started eating again, consuming meat or protein immediately was impossible.

Therefore, Mu-jin had no choice but to start with thin gruel, then move on to rice porridge, vegetable porridge, and egg porridge to gradually strengthen his stomach while consuming food.

During the five days he spent strengthening his stomach, Mu-jin also began gentle training to loosen up his stiff body, focusing mainly on bodyweight exercises.

He wanted to start weight training right away, but he knew that lifting weights without protein intake was just muscle abuse.

After five days, when he could finally consume some meat and protein supplements,

“Whew.”

Mu-jin took his place in front of his beloved weights.

‘Let’s not overdo it. I need to check my condition first.’

Fighting off the impatience gnawing at him, Mu-jin began with squats using an empty bar.

Warming up with a few repetitions, Mu-jin realized the empty bar was more manageable than he expected and started gradually adding weight plates to the bar.

“Whew.”

When he felt his body could take no more, Mu-jin set the barbell back on the rack and sighed deeply.

“For now, 190 geun (114kg) is my limit for squats.”

It seemed like a lot for someone who had been bedridden for a month and a half, but to Mu-jin, it was an insufficient number.

After testing his limits with the other two major lifts, he found that his combined total was barely 500 geun. In modern terms, about 300kg was his limit.

And that was only a single repetition maximum. Just before leaving Shaolin for the Yongbongji Conference, his last measured total was over 1,200 geun for a single repetition.

Even with a focus on endurance over muscle size for fighting purposes, his 12-repetition max was about 1,000 geun.

Realizing his strength had fallen below half, Mu-jin felt he might succumb to inner demons but forced himself to think positively.

“...Considering how emaciated I am, I still lift quite a bit.”

Mu-jin soon understood why.

“Ah! It’s because of the Golden Turtle Technique.”

The Golden Turtle Technique fortified his skin and bones while compressing his muscles.

The problem was that the technique’s proficiency remained unchanged while his muscles had shrunk, resulting in his skin compressing his muscles even more.

In other words, he still had more muscle left than appeared.

‘At least I’m not starting from scratch.’

With a clear assessment of his current state, Mu-jin swiftly planned his future regimen.

‘Since I need to rebuild muscle first, let’s go with a bulking diet.’

Mu-jin ate six meals a day, every half-hour or so, meticulously following a diet designed to absorb protein and build muscle continuously.

“...Are you really a Shaolin disciple?”

The attending physician, Yang Dong-myeong, couldn’t help but laugh as he observed Mu-jin’s protein-rich diet.

“Eating well will help me recover faster.”

Mu-jin replied, stuffing meat into his mouth, and asked Yang Dong-myeong with a disgruntled expression,

“By the way, aren’t you going back despite having so many patients to attend to?”

It might have been rude to speak bluntly to the man who healed him, but Mu-jin felt uncomfortable.

The doctor’s eyes had been watching him like a test subject, whether Mu-jin was eating or training.

Yang Dong-myeong’s incessant gaze made Mu-jin wonder if the doctor was in love with him instead of Ryu Seol-hwa.

In response to Mu-jin’s barely concealed expulsion request, Yang Dong-myeong chuckled and began to speak.

“Hehehe. The real reason I came here isn’t just because of the money Cheonryu Sangdan gave me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard from Miss Ryu Seol-hwa. The patient I had to treat was none other than ‘Mu-jin,’ a disciple of Shaolin.”

“So you came here because the patient was me?”

“Exactly.”

“Did you know me beforehand?”

“Hahaha. How could I not know your name? I’ve heard it before. The nickname ‘Immortal Child.’”

Yang Dong-myeong’s response struck Mu-jin as strange. His current nickname in the martial world was Shaolin Dragon.

The nickname Immortal Child was from three to four years ago when he was active in a clinic specializing in muscle and bone treatment.