Chapter 15
Worry, my foot.
This was definitely a new form of bullying.
A maid should only do maid’s work, so why did I have to practice martial arts?
“Bend your knees more and lower your posture. Focus your strength on the tips of your toes so your lower body doesn’t wobble. Think of it as planting roots into the ground—it’ll make it easier.”
Am I a plant now?
What roots am I supposed to plant?
After practicing Horse Stance for an entire hour, I felt like I was dying.
As if to prove he wasn’t joking yesterday, Jeok I-geon ordered me to train right after I brought him lunch.
The saying that unlucky people even fall backward and break their nose fit me perfectly.
Barely two days had passed since I was held hostage by a Martial Alliance spy, and now that incident had become a chain tying me to this mess.
He said it was for my own good, but ha! Who was he trying to fool?
This was all for Jeok I-geon’s benefit.
He’d recently gotten a somewhat capable maid and nearly lost her in a single day.
At that moment, he must have thought of the noodles and rice balls I made.
To continue receiving my high-quality service, he decided it was necessary to “upgrade” my skills.
Jeok I-geon was not the type to genuinely worry about others.
He only cared about utility.
Although I felt like my throat was burning, I endured and focused on maintaining the Horse Stance.
Sweat poured down like rain, and my legs were beginning to lose all sensation.
If I’d known this would happen, I should have broken my leg last night.
“…!”
Wait, why didn’t I think of that earlier?
If I’d carried out that idea when Lady Gwak gave her orders, I wouldn’t be in this situation now.
I was disappointed in myself for not being bold enough.
“How can you train properly with so many stray thoughts? Clearing your mind is also part of the training.”
Damn it, I can’t even think freely now?
As a martial arts novel enthusiast, I knew Horse Stance was the most basic training.
But this was overkill.
How could he expect a beginner like me to hold the stance for over an hour on the first day?
If not for the little martial arts training I had from my grandmother, I’d have collapsed on the floor long ago.
“Uh, Young Master, don’t you think this is enough for today?”
Perhaps pitying me, Cheon Gang cautiously suggested to Jeok I-geon.
“She’s already been so exhausted lately, and I worry she might fall ill.”
“Fall ill?”
“Yes. Seol-ha is a civilian with no martial arts training. Look at her legs—they’ve been trembling for a while now. She’s far past her limit.”
Ah, this is why Cheon Gang is my favorite.
To think he would plead on my behalf to the terrifying Jeok I-geon.
I felt so grateful I could almost cry.
“You seem quite close to my maid.”
“…Pardon?”
“Why are you addressing her by name after only seeing her a few times?”
“Well, there wasn’t any appropriate title to use…”
Isn’t a name there to be used?
Why was he nitpicking over something so trivial?
“Since we’re on the subject, I have a question for you, Cheon Gang.”
“Please ask.”
“How long do you think a civilian with no martial arts training can hold the Horse Stance?”
“Well, that would depend on their physical condition, but at most, perhaps fifteen minutes?”
“And how long has she been holding it now?”
“Seol-ha… has been at it for over an hour.”
The puzzled look on Cheon Gang’s face turned to surprise as he glanced at me.
It was only then that I realized Jeok I-geon’s real intent.
Why had he started with such an extreme task?
What was the answer he wanted to hear from me?
Clever bastard.
Forget it!
If I was going to confess, I might as well do it now.
I abandoned the Horse Stance and collapsed onto the floor.
The sweat pouring down my body was one thing, but the pain in my lower half, from my waist to my feet, was unbearable.
“Will you still deny having learned martial arts?”
His sharp eyes narrowed as he asked, his demeanor exuding the menace of a devil.
“Well… I did learn a little.”
“Is that so?”
“But it’s so basic that it doesn’t even qualify as martial arts. It’s more like self-defense. I never intended to deceive you, Young Master.”
“Yet the energy in your body is anything but basic.”
What was with his strange remarks?
Was he mocking me because my dantian was as small as a pea, leaving me with hardly any usable inner power?
“You seem unaware, so let me explain. The energy coursing through your entire body is equivalent to sixty years of cultivation. I don’t know why it’s spread throughout your body instead of being concentrated in your dantian, but if this continues, it will certainly become a danger to you. You must learn to gather that energy into your dantian immediately.”
“What? Wait, what does that even mean…?”
Both Cheon Gang and I were stunned by Jeok I-geon’s serious explanation.
Sixty years of cultivation—an amount referred to as ‘Il Gapja.’
Simply put, he was saying I had sixty years’ worth of internal energy inside me.
“Have you consumed any elixirs recently?”
“No. Elixirs are expensive, so how could I possibly…”
I’ve never even been near an elixir in my life.
Aren’t those usually found in lucky encounters by the protagonists of novels?
“Then you must have consumed it unknowingly.”
“As you’ve seen, my staple diet is rice balls.”
Not that I’ve eaten any today, since I’ve been too busy training.
“Think carefully. If it wasn’t you, then someone must have fed it to you.”
The meals for the Inner City maids are made from leftovers at Jamigwan.
There’s no way elixirs would be mixed in there.
That left only the food my grandmother prepared for me, which was usually just noodles or dumplings.
Could Grandmother have put elixirs in the noodles?
Without telling me?
That seemed highly unlikely, too.
“Interesting. Consuming an elixir without even knowing… amusing indeed. We’ll investigate this matter further later. For now, sit in a meditative posture.”
“…Here?”
“I’ll leave the protection to Cheon Gang.”
At Jeok I-geon’s command, Cheon Gang stepped back and surveyed the surroundings.
“I will open the way for you—just follow my lead.”
I had no idea what he meant, but the intensity of Jeok I-geon’s gaze left me no choice but to sit cross-legged as instructed.
“Now I’ll open your Baihui Acupoint. Though I’ll assist, this is ultimately something you must accomplish yourself. You need to gather the energy spread across your body into your dantian and make it entirely your own. Can you do it?”
“Wait, are you talking about opening my Ren and Du Meridians?”
“What we’re attempting now goes beyond the Ren and Du Meridians—we’re opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.”
Skipping the Small Heavenly Circuit and jumping straight to the Great Heavenly Circuit?
“Wait! That’s supposed to be a shortcut to becoming a master!”
“Why? Do you not want to?”
Not want to? Of course, I do!
“Since you’re not opening it on your own, consider this merely the beginning. Your subsequent progress will depend on your own diligence. If you study well, you could eventually open your Baihui Acupoint entirely, connect with the energy of heaven and earth, and even achieve Rebirth.”
No way… is this real?
Rebirth? Me?
Rebirth refers to attaining the Hyeongyeong (Profound Realm) or Demonic Transcendence, a state achieved only by true martial masters.
Whenever I read novels, I’d always dreamed of becoming one of those grandmasters.
The thing I wanted most was to experience Lightfoot techniques—being able to traverse vast distances in a single bound.
And now, was that really going to be possible?
And Jeok I-geon was going to help me with it?
Me, of all people?
Were my meals really that memorable to him?
“Focus. We’re starting now.”
The warmth of Jeok I-geon’s hand on my back felt unusually comforting.
Was I losing my mind?
Just as I began doubting my sanity, a foreign energy entered my body.
It was cold, sharp, and unsettling, like something crawling inside me.
The strange ticklish sensation felt like insects scuttling beneath my skin.
When I flinched, his sharp voice cut through.
“Do you want to spend the rest of your life as a crippled invalid? Focus!”
No way I could let that happen!
I knew without being told how crucial this moment was.
I corrected my posture and concentrated, reciting the breathing techniques my grandmother had taught me.
This was the path.
Surprisingly, as I focused on circulating energy, the direction I needed to take became clear, like a compass pointing the way.
I followed it smoothly until I hit an invisible wall.
It was the Changqiang Acupoint, the first gate of the Du Meridian.
‘I have to break through this.’
Following an instinctive whisper, I concentrated my energy on the spot.
Despite my initial tension, the process wasn’t too difficult.
Thud!
Like tearing through rice paper, I broke through effortlessly.
I continued, piercing through Yaoshu, Yangguan, and finally reaching the Mingmen Acupoint, where Jeok I-geon’s energy was waiting.
As if he had been anticipating this moment, he grabbed my energy and charged through the Du Meridian like a storm.
“Urgh.”
I bit my lip to stifle a groan.
The intense pain wracked my body, but losing focus now would result in Qi Deviation.
This opportunity was too precious to let go of foolishly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The energy surged up my spine, as though it would snap my backbone, and slammed into my head.
What followed was a pounding headache, as if a hammer was striking my skull.
Just as I thought I couldn’t endure it any longer, the moment of despair arrived.
Boom!
It felt like my brain exploded, and my head roared with deafening intensity.
‘Ah…!’
The headache vanished completely, replaced by an indescribable clarity that swept through my body.
That’s the last thing I remembered before I blacked out, as if falling into a deep sleep.
—
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