Chapter 119 - Enjoy It to the Fullest, Yi An!

“Can you feel those eyes on you?”

Yi An and I were at an inn. People had clustered in the seats around her. The opposite side was empty, while everyone sat on our side.

They had all gradually shifted seats to get even a little closer to her face.

I whispered to Yi An.

“That man on the left has looked at you six times, and that fellow on the right has looked seven times while pretending not to. The one beside him isn’t even trying to hide it. He’s completely spellbound. Hey, hey, stop staring! Pay some attention to the young lady beside you! Ouch. That must hurt.”

Just then, another customer entered. As he looked around for somewhere to sit, his eyes widened at the sight of Yi An. He walked toward her as though entranced, caught himself on a table, and fell flat.

No one paid him any attention, and he sprang straight back up. Then he took a seat with a reasonably good view of Yi An. The man beside him was pouring wine without even realizing that his cup was overflowing.

“How does it feel?”

“I like it.”

“You like it? You aren’t embarrassed?”

“You probably made me sit here without my mask so you could tease me for getting embarrassed, but your plan failed. I absolutely love it.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“Didn’t I tell you I have several hidden tails? I can act shy all I like, but I can just as easily enjoy a few stares like these.”

Yi An gave her audience a small smile. Exclamations rose all around us.

She whispered, “And that man on the left looked eight times, not six.”

This was why I liked Yi An. She was adaptable. She knew how to show her intelligence and how to hide it.

Despite living all her life with the side effects of the Whole-Body Petrification Art, she had always carried herself proudly. She had her wounds, but she had her confidence too.

“Well, we’ve had our fun at this inn. Let’s go buy you a veil.”

“A veil?”

“You can’t wear a mask all the time, can you? Use that mask when you really need it, and wear a veil the rest of the time.”

“I was planning to do that anyway. Now I can save my money.”

“Buy it with your own money!”

“Aww, buy it for me!”

Several men swooned at her “Aww,” and several others clutched their purses at “Buy it for me.”

When we rose, disappointment and sighs swept through the room. Fierce looks of envy and jealousy flew my way. Some of those looks reproached me for not buying her a veil.

We left the inn and walked together. The white mask dangled at her waist.

“From now on, there’ll be men who openly covet your beauty. All sorts of bastards. Some will try to take you by force, others will try to drug you. You’ll encounter every kind imaginable.”

I admitted it: whether consciously or not, this was one reason I had put off performing the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure on her. I didn’t want to worry.

That didn’t mean I no longer worried about her now that I had performed it. I would put those worries to rest another way.

“You need the strength to protect yourself from those people. I intend to make you strong enough to face the Demon Supremes on equal terms.”

I had already been thinking that when I performed the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure on her.

Yi An didn’t put on a show of needless modesty. She was learning the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, not just any martial art. Naturally, surpassing the Demon Supremes came with it as a goal.

“I’ll work even harder so you won’t have to worry about me.”

“Don’t work harder. You already put in more than enough effort.”

She smiled, and all it did was set the heart of a staring, aging bachelor clerk at the fruit shop aflutter.

We stopped at a fabric shop, where I bought her a bamboo hat with a veil attached. It had the advantage of hiding her face entirely, but after trying it on, she rejected it.

“This is too uncomfortable. For one thing, my field of vision is so narrow that I’d be far too vulnerable to a surprise attack. I’ll need to become more skilled before I can wear this.”

“Then let’s just buy a veil for now.”

I bought her a veil that covered her face below the eyes, like a face covering.

A veil alone couldn’t hide her beauty, but it helped somewhat.

“When I establish the Ghost Shadow Squad, I’m going to make our face coverings look really impressive.”

Imagining her wearing one with a distinctive ghost design, I thought she would look truly mysterious and striking. If Blue Face saw her like that, could he really resist?

She stopped wherever she could catch her reflection.

She wasn’t expressing all of it, but how happy must she be right now?

Enjoy it to the fullest, Yi An!

“Where are we going now?”

“Are you any good at climbing mountains?”

“Mountains?”

“Now that you’re lighter, let’s climb a mountain. Come on, run.”

After running for quite some time using our lightness arts, we arrived at the foot of a strangely shaped cliff.

“Put your feet exactly where I put mine!”

She couldn’t utter a single word as she followed me up the cliff using her lightness arts. This was her first time climbing such a sheer precipice.

Only when we reached the top did she sigh with relief.

“Honestly, that climb was terrifying.”

Her swordsmanship had reached an advanced realm, but her lightness arts fell short of that level.

“I’d die if I fell, wouldn’t I?”

“A true master wouldn’t die. With your swordsmanship, you shouldn’t either.”

“What should I do if I fall?”

“Keep your wits about you and slow your fall however you can.”

Of course, in my case, I could release internal energy just before reaching the ground and land lightly, but that was beyond Yi An’s abilities. It would consume a great deal of internal energy, but she would have to slow herself as much as possible from the start of the fall.

“As you know, swordsmanship alone isn’t enough to survive. You need good lightness arts, courage, sound judgment, and the ability to read people.”

“Ah! It was so warm inside the greenhouse.”

She was joking that she had lived comfortably under my protection and the Cult’s, but I didn’t see it that way.

She had never lived in a greenhouse. There were the emotional wounds caused by her martial art’s side effects, and she couldn’t even sleep properly because she was guarding me. What greenhouse could be so harsh? After my regression, she had lost sleep to her training instead.

“Is it spring outside the greenhouse? Or winter?”

“It has never once been spring in the martial world.”

“Just like this frightening cliff.”

She peered down the cliff. I spoke softly by her ear.

“Remember what I told you earlier? What to do when you fall?”

“Of course. Keep my wits about me and slow my fall.”

“Then you’re ready.”

The next instant, I shoved her off the cliff.

“Aaaaaaah!”

She fell with an agonized scream.

I jumped after her.

I had expected her to tumble out of control, but Yi An was flailing as she struggled to find her balance and slow herself somehow.

Still inexperienced, however, she was far too tense and merely wasting internal energy.

I accelerated in an instant and caught her in midair.

Only then, held in my arms, did she relax.

“Hold on to me.”

“Yes.”

Then, making sure she could see, I demonstrated how to slow a fall using both feet and my arms. Even with her in my arms, our speed dropped in an instant.

Clinging to me, Yi An watched without missing a single movement.

As we fell, I propelled us toward the cliff. There was a small cave partway down.

Only after we landed there did Yi An shout.

“I really thought I was going to die!”

“Liar. You knew I’d save you, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes. But it really startled me. I was falling so much faster than I expected that I couldn’t find my balance.”

“Keep falling and you’ll get used to it. Little by little, you’ll learn to balance yourself.”

“Yes. I made sure to remember how you did it.”

“That’s all you need.”

“But I had no idea there was a cave in a place like this.”

“Remember its location. If you ever find yourself being pursued in this area, take refuge here.”

“How did you know about it?”

“Do you think this cave is the only thing I know about?”

“Of course not. That’s why I’m going to stop asking. But why did you bring us here?”

“I’m going to open your conception and governing meridians now.”

I had said it without so much as setting the mood for an important announcement, so at first she merely blinked. Then her eyes gradually widened in astonishment. By the end, her surprise was greater than when I had offered to perform the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure. At least I had given her advance warning then. This was entirely unexpected.

Opening the conception and governing meridians.

It was a necessary step toward becoming a true master, but also an extraordinary opportunity that only a tiny fraction of martial artists ever experienced.

The process was incredibly dangerous and difficult. Many had died attempting it recklessly. Sometimes even the person opening the meridians died when their qi and blood reversed their flow.

I didn’t need to look far for an example. As the Heavenly Demon’s children, we had our conception and governing meridians opened at an early age. I still vividly remembered how much my elder brother had frightened me when my turn came. He must have hoped that fear would overwhelm me and send me into qi deviation, but my meridians had been opened safely.

In any case, opening the conception and governing meridians was not something to undertake lightly, whether performing or receiving it. That was why the old masters of prestigious orthodox sects braved the risk only for their sects’ legitimate successors.

“You’re really going to open my conception and governing meridians?”

“Yes.”

“Why on earth are you so good to—oh, that’s why you told me not to ask. Because I’d have to ask the same question again soon.”

After the Bodily Toxin Purification Procedure, I had told her not to ask.

“It’s a gift. A gift to celebrate your new life.”

Yi An couldn’t find any words.

Tears welled in her eyes again.

“I hate crying, but you keep making me cry, Young Master.”

“This is nothing to cry about.”

“You’re right. I’m happy. So happy I could fly.”

“Well, shall we begin? Leave your final words first, just in case something goes wrong.”

“Please tell my young master that I’m sorry I couldn’t serve him to the end.”

“I’m going to give that young master of yours a scolding. He keeps you far too much to himself.”

“That won’t be easy. He’s growing stronger by the day.”

I couldn’t help laughing at her answer.

“Now, let’s start with qi-circulation meditation.”

She sat cross-legged and began practicing her mental cultivation method. Once her true qi had completed a full circuit, I infused a mighty current of internal energy into her back.

Slowly, I moved my internal energy along her meridians together with hers.

“You don’t need to answer me from now on. Whatever happens, you mustn’t scream or stop circulating your qi. You mustn’t lose consciousness either.”

While she circulated her qi and steadied her mind, my internal energy moved through her meridians faster and faster.

The conception meridian began at the lips, descended along the chest and abdomen, and reached the Perineum Point. The governing meridian began at the Perineum Point, rose along the tailbone and spine, passed through the Hundred Convergences Point, and continued back to the lips. The most crucial moment was breaking through the Hundred Convergences Point. If anything went wrong at that point, located at the crown of the head, the person could be left crippled or die.

I knew very well that doing it in one swift stroke was best, rather than drawing it out. My pure, profound internal energy drove boldly through her meridians.

There was nothing to worry about. I was the one opening them, after all.

Chengjiang, Lianquan, Xuanji, Yutang, Zhongwan... I broke through the channels with unstoppable momentum. Like debris swept away by a torrential downpour, the waste blocking her blood vessels began to clear.

Yi An struggled with the unfamiliar pain, but she was well accustomed to enduring pain.

I proceeded so relentlessly that one might wonder whether it was safe to force them open like this. Hesitation was what would cause an accident. If a blockage didn’t yield on the first attempt, I circled back and came at it again, and again, then struck it hard.

Yangguan, Lingdao, Shenzhu, Yamen, Naohu, and Hou ding. Having opened all the other channels, I reached the critical hurdle.

‘Trust me, Yi An.’

‘I do.’

‘Now!’

RUMBLE! BOOM!

Even the most difficult point, Hundred Convergences, opened cleanly. As the remaining channels opened as well, her conception and governing meridians were fully cleared.

A smile rested on Yi An’s lips as she slowly slumped to one side.

‘Well done, Yi An.’

Yi An woke only after sleeping for half a day.

“Young Master? How did it go?”

“Go on. Try qi-circulation meditation.”

With a tense expression, Yi An sat down and began. After completing one full circuit, her face lit up.

“It’s different. Completely different from before. My internal energy is much purer, and my qi flows without obstruction.”

“Congratulations, Yi An.”

Yi An sprang to her feet and tried to bow to me, but I released internal energy to stop her.

“I told you before, didn’t I? I did it so I could put you to work. You don’t need to thank me.”

“Just how much work are you planning to give me? I’m so grateful you could tell me to go unify Murim for you.”

“Let’s eat before we unify Murim. Hungry?”

“Enough to go raid the Orthodox Martial Alliance’s kitchen.”

Standing at the cave entrance, she shouted, “My conception and governing meridians are opeeen... Aaaaaaah!”

I pushed Yi An from behind again. Watching her fall with less flailing than before, I jumped off the cliff after her.

One watch later, Yi An and I were eating at an inn in the marketplace again.

We ordered all sorts of delicious food and shared it, paying no attention to the other customers’ stares.

“This is so good.”

“Let’s travel around and try every famous dish in the Central Plains.”

“What if I get fat again?”

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to. Once we return to the Cult, you’ll be in training hell until you achieve complete mastery of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.”

“Oh, let’s never go back!”

She didn’t mean it, but she was enjoying this moment immensely.

Just then, a young man threaded his way through the crowd toward us.

He was quite handsome, dressed in expensive, extravagant clothes, and had no fewer than four martial artists behind him who appeared to be his bodyguards.

Yi An whispered as though chanting a spell.

“Don’t come over, don’t come over. Just let us eat in peace.”

I smiled at her.

You’ll face this countless times from now on. Well, how will you handle it?

The man approached Yi An and spoke politely, his expression brimming with confidence.

“Miss, may I treat you to a cup of wine?”

Well, Yi An. This is where it begins.