Chapter 20: Chapter: Anhui (1)

༺ Fourth Chapter – Anhui (1) ༻

Mok Riwon awoke a day later in a village that was half a day’s horse ride away from the exit of Blood Valley, unable to delay the schedule, Tang Hwa-seo had carried him there.

“Ugh...”

“Have you awakened?”

At the sharp voice piercing his ears, Mok Riwon looked around.

An unfamiliar ceiling and the touch of a soft blanket.

Staring at him in a room filled with warm was–

“Young Lady?”

–Tang Hwa-seo with an angry expression.

Mok Riwon blinked.

Tang Hwa-seo who had been glaring at him coldly, opened her mouth.

“Do you think you’re destined for good fortune?”

She uttered those words abruptly, but Mok Riwon sensed that something was seriously wrong through the sharpness of her voice.

His mind quickly woke up.

Mok Riwon shivered as he remembered everything that had happened before he awoke. The sensations he felt in his dazed stated flooded into his head all at once.

‘I’m in big trouble!’

Thinking that he would definitely be scolded, he broke out into a cold sweat.

Though, contrary to his expectations, Tang Hwa-seo simply sighed and reached out to touch his forehead.

“How do you feel?”

Tang Hwa-seo’s hands were cold.

Upon closer inspection, she had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept.

He could easily tell what had happened from that.

The one who had carried him here was Tang Hwa-seo and the reason she had looked so tired was because she had been taking care of him, losing sleep in the process.

His shoulders shrunk as he replied.

“I-I’m fine... I’m sorry for causing trouble...”

“Do you even know what you’re sorry about?”

Throb.

As Tang Hwa-seo glared, Mok Riwon tightly pressed his lips together.

“Why did you do that?”

“W-Well, that’s...”

“You should have told me earlier if there was no more blood poison pills left. Then I would have searched for another solution.”

“M-My apolo...”

“Don’t even think I’ll let you off with just words.”

Were the burning flames in her eyes an illusion?

What followed was a lesson Mok Riwon would remember forever.

“Listen carefully. It’s courtesy to tell those you are with when you are sick, and not doing so is a violation of the chivalry that you, Young Hero, must live and die by. I really do not understand what the hell you were thinking, but I won’t ask, because that’s in the past now. But! If something like this ever happens again...”

Mok Riwon came to a realization on this day.

If he rushed head-first without thinking things through, Tang Hwa-seo would lecture him for hours on end.

* * *

After awakening, he recovered swiftly.

It wasn’t his physical body in the first place that had suffered, but rather his internal injuries that had been severe enough for him to collapse. Thanks to Tang Hwa-seo’s relentless efforts to suck out the poison, those injuries were not as damaging as they would have been.

Even still, that wasn’t the end of it.

It seemed that luck truly was on his side.

Mok Riwon currently possessed the inner core of the Man-faced Spider. That very thing was the natural earth qi gathered by the spirit beast during its lifetime, condensed into the form of a pill.

There couldn’t have been a better situation to expel the poison qi and restore his damaged inner qi.

Sssss–

Mok Riwon consumed the inner core that Tang Hwa-seo had prepared in advance for him, and assumed lotus position to circulate his inner qi.

The inner qi of the inner core was being added to the internal force from the Star God Technique, which had reached three stars and caused his cultivation to increase significantly.

Three stars faintly glowed within the landscape in his mind.

The translucent path connecting those stars now exhibited a different aspect than before.

The path, which could only be observed with intense concentration, was now so clear that he could understand the flow with a glance.

The completion of the path was within his reach.

It represented one of the crucial stages in the principle of the Star God, the linking from one star to another.

‘I’m on the verge of a full cycle.’

A cycle which was equivalent to sixty years of inner qi was right around the corner.

It would only take about five more years of cultivation to achieve it.

–The Star God is not a martial arts that can be mastered through reckless growth. It requires the unity of mind, qi, and body. Its magnificence can only be fully achieved through the balanced development of each element. Thus, Won, you should not hastily increase your inner qi.

Mok Seon-oh continued his warning.

‘The third star takes one cycle.’

The fifth star required two additional cycles. Thus, each star required one cycle from the fifth to the eighth star.

As for what came after the eight star, that was still a distant concern.

In his current state, Mok Riwon was now on the verge of completing the third star of the Star God.

‘The achievement of the third star signifies the attainment of the Peak Realm.’

It was the moment that would elevate him from the foundational stage to the full realization of the Peak Realm, signifying the end of the introductory phase of the Star God Technique.

Mok Riwon gathered his inner qi and opened his eyes.

Greeting him was Tang Hwa-seo, sitting on the bed with her legs crossed.

“Are you finished?”

“Thank you for your protection!”

“What protection? I was just sitting in the room.”

Tang Hwa-seo let out a small chuckle seeing Mok Riwon fully revitalized again.

Even though he could be frustrating at times, something about his smile just effortlessly brightened her mood. He was truly sly even when not trying to be.

“We will stay here tonight and leave after. The sun is setting, so let’s finish our meal and return to bed again.”

Their bodies stiffened simultaneously upon hearing that.

They momentarily looked at each other and then toward their heads in the direction of the voice.

There, a martial artist who looked like a vagabond was tilting his cup of liquor and telling a story to the person across from him.

“Huh? Really, a young martial arts master?”

“Yes! A master at the Peak Realm, no less! From what I’ve heard, he’s probably only in his early twenties. Can you believe he single-handedly stormed into the Unorthodox Path and eradicated them?”

As the vagabond’s tale continued, Tang Hwa-seo’s face grew increasingly blank.

‘That...’

The story was unmistakably about Mok Riwon.

Leaving aside how the rumors had spread so quickly, she focused her attention on one thing the moment she heard the tale.

“Young Hero?”

Mok Riwon’s eyes shined with such intensity that it was as if he could see straight through the vagabond.

The expression on his face was too obvious.

Anticipation.

He couldn’t help but feel excited when he heard his own story come out of another person’s mouth.

“What in the world? To have reached the Peak Realm at such a young age? Sounds like bullshit...”

“Hey! Ah, this guy! Look, there’s several who saw it happen, why would I tell you some fake rumors!”

“T-Then that means...!”

“His origins are unknown. Those who saw him there say he might be the successor of some secluded and mysterious sect!”

Flinch–

Mok Riwon’s body trembled.

Tang Hwa-seo’s eyes narrowed as she watched Mok Riwon’s reaction.

‘Is it true?’

From his panicking appearance, they might not be entirely wrong.

As she thought about this.

“Well, it seems that this martial artist has already been given a nickname.”

“Ohh!”

A word that couldn’t be ignored had been made.

Even Tang Hwa-seo turned towards the vagabond this time.

Mok Riwon’s wide-open eyes stared intensely at him.

The vagabond, with his face red from the alcohol, continued to speak, oblivious to their intense gazes.

“Ink Sword.”

“Ink Sword?”

“They say his sword qi looked as if it was painted with black ink, hence the name.”

* * *

Back in their inn room, Tang Hwa-seo looked at Mok Riwon questioningly.

It was because his face had become too sullen.

“Young Hero Mok?”

“...Why are you calling me?”

Mok Riwon was sitting with his arms crossed and his eyebrows deeply furrowed. He was frowning so much that it seemed like his brows might pop out at any moment.

It was absurd that he still looked beautiful even while pouting.

‘Why is he acting like that?’

He had received a title like he longed for, hadn’t he?

Moreover, ‘Ink Sword’ was a pretty stylish and intuitive nickname, nothing to be ashamed of.

So why did he seem to be in such a bad mood now?

With that thought in mind, Tang Hwa-seo asked.

“It’s nothing in particular, but you’ve received a nickname and don’t seem too happy about it. Aren’t you pleased?”

Snap!

Mok Riwon’s head turned around.

Finally, the change in expression suggested he had a lot to say.

“Exactly! I got one, right?! But that’s the problem! Isn’t it Ink Sword?!”

“What’s the problem with Ink Sword? It’s quite decent...”

Mok Riwon suddenly stood up from his seat.

“It sounds too much like it belongs to the Unorthodox Faction!”

The expression disappeared from Tang Hwa-seo’s face.

“They call me Ink Sword! Because my sword qi is black, they call me Ink Sword! Isn’t it just like the title of a master from the Unorthodox Faction in Tales of the Martial Heroes?! I am a hero!”

With both fists clenched passionately making his point, Tang Hwa-seo’s face began to resemble a doll.

“There are much better names! Like, Ink Sword Hero, Chivalrous Heroic Sword, or Virtuous Heroic Sword!”

Ah. That was why.

The name had to include ‘Hero’.

That was the issue.

When Mok Riwon’s voice grew louder, Tang Hwa-seo made an emotionless smile.

“Young Hero Mok.”

A chilling tone.

Mok Riwon’s body flinched, realizing that something was off about her mood.

“Uh, umm...?”

Tang Hwa-seo quietly raised her hand and pointed towards the bed.

“Just go and get some sleep.”

Tang Hwa-seo thought to herself.

‘While I’m not certain about other things, Mok Riwon seems to definitely have no talent for naming.’

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