Chapter 5

If Shaolin Temple’s Great Restoration Pill resembled the Heavenly Pine Pill, then this White Pine Sect pill was known to be similar to Shaolin Temple’s Summoning Pill.

Yes. With this alone, blood could be spilled throughout Gangho.

‘Considering her position within the Gongseon Family, it might actually be insufficient… but it’s not something you would give to a child with no background whatsoever. What is the Gongseon Family after?’

Jegalling, known as Baekrin Uiseon, let out a bitter laugh.

It was clear that he didn’t entirely believe a mere child had saved her. Rather, he seemed to think that Baekrin Uiseon was simply being modest, passing the credit to a child instead.

And he was right.

Jegalling himself couldn’t believe it either.

‘Which is precisely why the Gongseon Family must be after something.’

Jegalling thought this to himself while observing the extraordinary boy before his eyes.

Without showing it on the surface, he laughed inwardly.

While everyone held their breath, the boy standing before Jegalling was simply rolling his eyes around.

Was he reading the room? No. That expression was something else entirely.

‘A touch of irritation and frustration? Really…’

Wasn’t this an amusing fellow?

Because of this, he became even more eager to take Jin Cheon-hee as his disciple.

Unaware of what Jegalling was thinking, Jin Cheon-hee was growing increasingly frustrated.

‘What is what? What is that silver medicine? Ugh, this is killing me. If only he’d mentioned the medicine’s name, I could at least make an educated guess…’

“Um… forgive me for asking, but what kind of medicine is this? Everyone seems so surprised, so it must be quite precious…”

‘I have some experience with novels, so just tell me the name. Then I’ll figure everything out myself.’

Thinking strange thoughts, Jin Cheon-hee asked.

Baekrin Uiseon replied,

“It’s a medicine excellent for internal injuries. It should also significantly alleviate headaches. Your body has suffered greatly from overexertion while injured. It would be best to take it immediately.”

‘No, you! That’s exactly why I’m asking what this is! If it’s good for internal injuries… is it some kind of miraculous elixir? From everyone’s reactions, it seems like it must be… Ah, forget it. Since you’re giving it to me, I’ll take it. A patient should listen to the doctor.’

Not long ago, I had saved someone’s life, but now I was the patient.

Jin Cheon-hee took the pill and put it in his mouth all at once.

A cool fragrance lingered in his throat. Simultaneously, his head spun slightly, and he swayed.

“Please also take this. It should help you sleep.”

The Slanted-Eyed Handsome Man handed over a medicinal decoction. Jin Cheon-hee gulped it down.

‘The medicine is really… huh… my eyes are clos—’

The moment Jin Cheon-hee finished the decoction, he drifted off to sleep.

“Since the patient needs rest, I’d appreciate it if everyone would leave.”

At his words, the couriers nodded.

“He seems even more extraordinary than what we’ve heard.”

“It made me a bit ashamed, reminding me of my own thoughtless son.”

One courier’s face flushed red as he scratched the back of his head.

Baekrin Uiseon smiled warmly and ushered everyone out.

The room fell silent.

To avoid any disturbances, Yoo Ho drew the curtains shut.

“Will you truly accept him as your disciple?”

“Yes.”

“He said he didn’t like it… Well, no. Where in this world would you find someone who refuses to become a disciple of the renowned Baek Rin-ui-seon? But I’m worried.”

“Yes, I’m worried too. What if the boy refuses?”

“What do you mean…?”

Yoo Ho clicked his tongue. His master always had peculiar notions. He figured this was another one of those moments.

Baek Rin-ui-seon withdrew a golden needle from his robes.

“Even so, if I show sincerity, won’t his heart be moved? Let us begin.”

“Surely you’re not going to use that precious thing on this boy?”

“I am.”

As he spoke, Baek Rin-ui-seon’s golden needle pierced Jin Cheon-hee’s brow.

Thunk—

With an unusual sound, Jin Cheon-hee’s body convulsed unconsciously.

Yoo Ho watched the boy’s writhing form and thought to himself,

‘Whether to pity or envy him. Since the master has taken a liking to you, you won’t have an easy life ahead.’

I dreamed of becoming a butterfly.

It wasn’t like Zhuangzi’s butterfly dream. It was a nightmare in which I was caught by a madman who pierced my entire body with needles. On top of that, I was being dipped back and forth between fire and ice, and I was nearly dying.

‘Ugh… save the butterfly.’

I remember cursing with every swear word I knew.

I just prayed for the situation to end.

When I woke from the dream, the ceiling was exactly as I’d seen it before falling asleep.

The only difference was that I was completely naked.

‘What is this stench?’

A terrible, indescribable odor wafted over me—like rotting food waste.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

It was Baek Rin-ui-seon.

‘Did he nurse me through the night? Wait, Baek Rin-ui-seon doesn’t usually do simple nursing himself—he has attendants for that…’

Surely the renowned Baek Rin-ui-seon hadn’t nursed me personally. He must have simply come to check on my condition and happened to arrive as I woke up.

That was what I assumed.

As I tried to sit up, something sticky clung to my back.

It was a dark liquid, extremely viscous. It felt more like dried, twisted rubber than liquid.

“Huh?”

This seemed to be the source of the foul smell.

Baek Rin-ui-seon spoke.

“Remarkably, turbid qi hasn’t accumulated much in your body. Your constitution is quite good. Are you experiencing any discomfort?”

“Not at all. Actually, my body feels incredibly light. Oh, and please speak informally with me. I’m just a child, and when you keep using formal speech, I don’t know what to do with myself.”

At those words, Baek Rin-ui-seon smiled faintly. The entire room seemed to brighten from that smile alone.

‘So this is what they mean by “a beauty that outshines the nation.”’

It was remarkable that a person could be so beautiful.

“Then I shall speak casually with you.”

“Yes, please do. But what do you mean by turbid qi? Wasn’t this internal injury treatment?”

“While treating your injuries, I took the opportunity to perform root-cleansing refinement as well. Since you’ll be learning martial arts in the future, it’s best to do this much beforehand.”

‘Root-cleansing refinement?!’

Vein Cleansing Technique.

It was one of the staples of martial arts novels.

A supreme technique that purified the entire body of waste through qi and medical treatment.

‘Wait… what? Did I just get my veins cleaned?’

In modern times, there were many vascular diseases. One of the most common problems occurred when cholesterol levels rose and waste accumulated in the blood vessels.

This could lead to cardiovascular diseases such as myocardial infarction. Even strokes were among these vascular-related illnesses.

When such vessels became clean, it was naturally beneficial for one’s health.

And in martial arts novels, when one received this Vein Cleansing Technique…

‘It’s very good for learning martial arts… Wait? Didn’t he just say I had a body suited for learning martial arts in the future? Who decided that?’

Jin Cheon-hee was confused by the many thoughts swirling through his mind.

‘But if it’s the Vein Cleansing Technique performed by none other than Baek Rin-ui-seon himself, it must be far more special than what ordinary martial families do.’

Why would he do something so precious for me?

Moreover, Baek Rin-ui-seon spoke of the Vein Cleansing Technique as if he were simply hanging a nutritional IV after treating a wound.

“First, I should wash up. Yoo Ho!”

Wunryong Pyoguk’s Grand Bathhouse.

True to its status as an organization that controlled the Yangtze River, even this branch was quite luxurious.

Normally, they would have offered the bathhouse used by the couriers. However, following Baek Rin-ui-seon’s request as the Courier Bureau’s benefactor, they provided the finest one available.

The large bath was filled with various medicinal herbs floating on its surface.

Yoo Ho assisted with my bath and asked several questions. Where did I live? Who were my parents? Had I ever studied under any sect?

Things like that.

‘If I say I died and was reborn, they’ll just think I’m insane.’

So every time he asked, I could only respond with, “Ah… my head hurts…”

When I awoke in this body, there were already traces of a head injury, so I thought it best to pass it off as partial amnesia.

Of course, in reality, the probability of dying from such a blow was far higher than developing amnesia.

But…

‘If I say I don’t remember, what can he do about it?’

Though this body belonged to an innocent young boy, the person inside was a middle-aged man who had lived through the years.

When I evasively brushed past the questions with a child’s expression, Yoo Ho eventually gave up pressing for answers.

Finally, as I entered the bath, Yoo Ho told me to call him when I was done and stepped outside.

‘That servant is quite persistent. Though I suppose even I would be curious if some scrawny kid of unknown origin received the Vein Cleansing Technique from Baek Rin-ui-seon himself…’

Splash—

The water rippled gently with my movements.

‘Ah, this is a child’s body.’

In my past life, I died because I saved people. Now, it would be no exaggeration to say I lived because I saved people.

‘How strange. How very strange.’

The amusing part was that even now, I wondered whether the young child I had shielded with my body before the rebel’s gun muzzle had survived.

Since I had already sacrificed my life for it, I hoped it would not be in vain.

Why must one save people?

Why did I have to go so far to save them?

Why didn’t I abandon them in the mountains?

If what had arrived had been bandits or a wolf pack instead of the Yunlong Courier Bureau, it would have been my death.

‘I don’t know either. Truly, I don’t know, Director.’

The only person I could call something like a father was that man from the orphanage.

Even as I spat out curses, my body always moved first.

I methodically organized the memories of my past life, which felt as though they had happened only yesterday.

A life without family, without relatives, without anyone to love.

Only I myself could truly mourn for Jin Cheon-hee.

A damned life. Yet it was a life I’d lived with all my might.

‘Come to think of it, that novel had no author.’

It was in my purchase list, so I simply read it, but neither the author nor the publisher was listed.

At the time, I gave it no thought. I was never the type to pay attention to such details anyway.

Setting that thought aside, I returned my focus to the present reality.

‘What am I supposed to do with my life now?’

I had come to this world with nothing but this body.

From Yoo Ho’s account, anyone who might have known about this body had already died in the bandit attack.

The people still alive only knew that I was an orphan and that I had been heading to Seonju.

‘Seonju… Seonju…’

A familiar place name. It had been mentioned several times in the book.

‘Ah, it’s where the Demon Sect’s branch is hidden.’

Yeo Ha-ryun, the protagonist and future Heavenly Demon, enters the Demon Sect through Seonju.

He grows stronger through harsh trials and humiliation there.

The Demon Sect is a place where might makes right.

Upon becoming a Sub-Sect Leader, one consumes the Demon Blood Pill.

Consuming the Demon Blood Pill causes one’s five senses and inner energy to skyrocket, while one’s body forcibly develops to become suitable for learning the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.

However, those who consume the Demon Blood Pill cannot survive past their twenties.

There is only one way to survive.

One must absorb the inner energy and innate true energy of someone who consumed the Demon Blood Pill and mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art just as one did.

In other words, they must kill and devour each other.