If someone asked me whether a person could survive being dunked in a river hundreds of times over a full day and night, plus another half day, I’d answer without hesitation.
Of course they could.
They might even come out of it far more honest than they’d been before.
Naturally, there might be a few minor complications along the way.
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Captain, this guy’s eyes are completely glazed over.”
“If they’ve gone slack, we’ll just have to tighten them up.”
“How?”
“Slap him across the face. Nice and hard.”
“Ah.”
Hyuk Mujin nodded as though he’d gained a great insight and promptly raised his palm.
Smack!
“He’s not waking up.”
“Are you stupid?”
“Why?”
“You have to hit him harder. Until he wakes up.”
“Oh. Are you a genius?”
“Not a genius. Just exceptionally gifted.”
“Of course.”
Mujin gasped in admiration and raised both hands this time.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
“Uh, his eyes rolled back.”
“He’s exaggerating.”
“No, I’m serious. His body’s completely ice-cold, too.”
“Huh. So it is.”
“I told you.”
“This bastard’s cold because his heart is cold.”
“Now isn’t the time for nonsense. What if he dies?”
“He won’t. I’m here, and my heart’s warm.”
“What?”
The moment Mujin looked at me as if to say, What kind of bullshit is this idiot talking about now? I reached out without hesitation.
Boom!
My palm struck the black-robed man’s chest, delivering a burst of Scorching Yang Qi. His body, pale and growing rigid, shuddered. Then warmth flooded back into him—far more than he’d had before.
“…Wow. He actually survived.”
“Told you. I have a warm heart.”
“Isn’t it your internal energy that’s warm, not your heart?”
“Want to warm up like him? You look a little cold.”
“I must politely decline…”
Crack!
“Gah!”
“What?”
“He bit his tongue! There’s so much blood!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“I told you not to release his Mute Acupoint! Even with his internal energy sealed, he could die like this!”
“If I’d sealed his Mute Acupoint, he might’ve drowned without getting a word out. Anyway, quit making a fuss and go fetch him.”
“Fetch who?”
“Who do you think?”
“Oh.”
A moment later, a man who’d mastered two utterly different trades—assassination and medicine—revived our emergency patient in the blink of an eye.
“I’ve stitched him up perfectly. He’ll have no trouble speaking once he recovers.”
“Thank you.”
“But is this the man I’m thinking of?”
“Yes. The one you brought in last time.”
“He’s so swollen I nearly didn’t recognize him. His wrist wound hasn’t healed yet, either, so don’t overdo it. If it gets infected and the flesh dies, that’ll be serious.”
“Oh, it’s not my body, so that’s fine.”
“True enough. But keep treating him so roughly and he’s liable to die. At a time like this, you’d be better off stabbing deep, three vertebrae below the cervical spine, then slowly…”
“Oh, that’s a handy tip. But wouldn’t that kill him?”
“He wouldn’t die. He’d wish he had.”
The expert, second to none in the world when it came to taking apart and treating the human body, passed on his useful tip and left. The black-robed man, who had watched the whole thing unfold right before his eyes, began to thrash.
“Mmph! Mmmph…”
“Hey, why are you acting up again? Hold still.”
“Mmmph!”
“This isn’t working. Mujin.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hold him down for a bit. I’m trying to practice, but it’s hard when he keeps shaking. I used a Pressure-Point Strike, and he’s still struggling this much. How badly is he thrashing around?”
“This insolent bastard. The Captain’s trying to practice. Heave-ho. Is that good?”
“Yeah. Perfect. All right, I’m going to stab him.”
“Wait. Are you sure that’s the right spot?”
“Isn’t it? I thought he said to start two vertebrae below the cervical spine.”
“Huh? Wasn’t it two above?”
“No way. That’s a lethal acupoint.”
“Now I’m confused. Why don’t you go ask him again, Captain?”
“Why should I go? You go.”
“I could die if I go. He hates having to repeat himself.”
“You think it’d be any different if I went?”
“Fair point. How about stabbing both spots?”
“That’s not a bad idea. Shall we?”
“Yes, sir. Go ahead.”
“Mmmph! Mmmmmmph!”
Rrrrrumble!
The deck shook as if an earthquake had hit—though that might be a slight exaggeration.
The black-robed man thrashed with all his might despite the Pressure-Point Strike. I let out a quiet laugh to myself, then released his Mute Acupoint.
“Gah! Cough, cough!”
“What is it? Got any last words?”
“Th-three vertebrae.”
“Hm?”
“The cervical spine! Three vertebrae below it! Stop it, you madmen!”
There were only two reasons to call someone a madman when he could kill you with a flick of his hand.
First, you’d made peace with dying.
Second, you were too terrified to think straight, let alone worry about offending him.
He was clearly the latter.
That’s done.
One look at the terror in his eyes, one listen to his voice, and I knew he’d been reborn a far more honest man. I stood up.
“Huh? You’re not going to stab him?”
“Why would I? Get him something to cover himself with, then stay right beside him and have a chat.”
“What about you, Captain?”
“I’m about to get busy with something else. Isn’t that right?”
At my sudden question, Hak Su swallowed hard. He’d watched the whole scene with the expression of a man who’d seen a ghost.
“I-I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Oh, right. You can’t see it yet. Over there.”
Just as I raised my hand and pointed beyond the bow—
Whoosh.
The thick mist parted, revealing the green land it had hidden.
A group had gathered at the pier to wait for us. Beyond them, faint gray city walls rose in the distance.
Xining, the capital of Qinghai and the last stronghold against Dark Heaven.
So that’s Xining.
At that moment—
Ding.
A clear chime rang out above the waters parting before our boat.
The crowd waiting to welcome us was enormous.
No. Massive wouldn’t have been an exaggeration.
“Waaaaaah!”
“Reinforcements! The Murim Alliance reinforcements are here!”
Was this what those Roman triumphs I’d seen in textbooks had been like?
The cheers swelled as we drew closer to the walls, then shook the whole city the moment we entered. Everywhere I looked, the streets were packed with dark masses of people.
They filled the broad avenues and narrow alleys, as well as the rooftops of countless buildings—including rows of pavilions—and stretched both arms toward us as they cheered.
Even Cheongpung, who usually loved attention, swallowed nervously and whispered, “If this goes on much longer, my ears might burst, Benefactor.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. I’m not joking. I’ve never heard anything this loud.”
“Mirror therapy1 works, all right.”
“Hm? What’s mirror therapy1?”
“It’s… never mind. Even if I told you, Cheongpung wouldn’t change.”
Normally, Cheongpung would have been armed with pure, unbridled curiosity and pressed me to explain what mirror therapy1 meant. This time, though, he simply continued in a quiet voice.
“There are so many people. Seriously, so many. I stayed in Xining for a while, but it wasn’t anything like this.”
Cheongpung had spent about a month in Qinghai before I arrived, so the change must have struck him all the harder.
Of course, I already had a good idea where this enormous crowd had come from.
Everyone scattered across Qinghai must have gathered in Xining.
It was only natural. The same thing had happened earlier in Shanxi, then in Gansu.
The Great Nation’s imperial court had already declared Dark Heaven rebels and foreign invaders. A warning like that was essential if the common people, many of whom still thought there was nothing to fear, were going to take the threat seriously.
Unlike the Great Faction War, which had barely affected the common folk, Dark Heaven’s actions had long since gone far beyond the bounds of the Murim.
If the Heavenly Demon of the past had set his sights on the Murim, the Lord of Heaven now wanted the whole world.
No—
Maybe even more than that.
I forced down the unease that grew sharper with every passing moment and curled my lips into a smile.
So that the countless people surrounding us, covering every direction, might feel a little more at ease when they saw me smile.
“It’s Blazing Flame Divine Dragon Jin Taekyung!”
“The Marquis of Shangshan is here!”
“Waaaaah! Long live the Great Nation! Long live His Majesty the Emperor!”
For all their numbers, most of these people knew little about the Murim.
In their eyes, I wasn’t just a young martial artist. I was a divine general, carrying out the Son of Heaven’s solemn imperial command to punish foreign invaders and save them.
As the cheers swelled, Cheongpung’s eyes widened.
“Wow. Everyone seems to like you, Benefactor.”
I swallowed a bitter smile and answered quietly.
“Looks that way. For now, at least.”
“They’ll like you from now on, too. You’re such a good person!”
“A good person…”
My voice trailed off as I looked at the crowd filling the city.
Hundreds of thousands, at a glance. Maybe more.
At this very moment, all those people were smiling brightly and cheering for me. But I had no way of knowing how long those smiles would stay on their faces.
Or, if the worst really did happen, how many of them would survive.
“Cheongpung.”
“Yes?”
“Yes?”
“Let’s try. As far as we can go.”
Still watching the crowd, I added quietly, “Even if it costs us our lives.”
Yeah.
Just as we always had.
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