Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 506

“That’s strange. Did someone throw it into the river earlier, and it floated up as the ice melted?”

Wang Cheolchang muttered, surprised.

“Brother Wang, what’s going on?”

“Brother Go, you’re here too.”

Go Daebong was a bodyguard who had worked with Wang Cheolchang for a long time.

“There’s someone inside the ice. It’s quite bizarre.”

“What’s so strange about a corpse?”

“That’s true. At least the dead can’t plunder the ship.”

The giant scratched his rough beard and chuckled.

“What’s all this commotion? Don’t you know the Madam is resting?”

A middle-aged man dressed as a scholar emerged from the cabin, scolding the servants.

This was Master Zhu, a confidant of a high-ranking official and the one who had hired the two bodyguards, including Wang Cheolchang.

“It’s not that, but there’s something in the river…”

A maid named Hwang Young carefully pointed to the river. Master Zhu, surprised to see the bodyguards, including Wang Cheolchang, gathered there, followed her gaze.

He frowned when he saw the person encased in the block of ice.

“What’s the point of staring at a dead body? Everyone, get back to your duties. Do I need to call Wang the steward?”

The scholar’s stern words and the mention of Wang the steward caused the servants’ faces to pale, and they quickly dispersed. The remaining two or three sailors also quietly left.

Wang Cheolchang and the giant exchanged glances and were about to move when Go Daebong suddenly shouted in surprise.

“Huh! He’s alive?”

At those words, Wang Cheolchang and Master Zhu were also startled and looked at the river, but the block of ice remained unchanged. The scholar looked at the giant with a puzzled expression.

“The person in the ice definitely blinked. I saw it.”

“Brother Go has no reason to lie. It seems he’s really alive.”

Wang Cheolchang trusted his companion without hesitation. Master Zhu was skeptical but, after a moment of thought, shook his head.

“Regardless, don’t cause unnecessary trouble. Nothing has happened yet, so there’s no need to act rashly.”

Wang Cheolchang didn’t object. The person in the ice was indeed strange, and his long experience in the martial world had taught him to avoid strange occurrences whenever possible.

However, Go Daebong looked hesitant.

“Master Zhu, just a moment! Still, it’s about saving a life, wouldn’t it be good to show some mercy? We should save a living being.”

A beautiful woman’s voice came from inside the cabin, and soon after, a beautiful young woman wearing a silk robe walked out. Hwang Young, who had just left, followed behind her.

It seemed the maid had informed the young woman about the situation.

“Second Miss, it might not be wise. Why would you bring a stranger onto the ship…”

“He barely survived being frozen in ice. Isn’t it fate that we met like this? There are plenty of empty cabins, so give him one. Surely, all these people can handle one dying person?”

“If that’s your command, Miss… I’ll call someone to rescue him right away.”

The scholar hesitated and then agreed. The young woman in the silk robe smiled and, without another word, returned to the cabin with the maid.

However, Master Zhu’s expression was not pleasant.

“Did you hear that? We have to save that person. Since the block of ice is so large, the two of you will have to handle it.”

Master Zhu said to the bodyguards with a wry smile.

“Yes! I may not be good at anything else, but I’m confident in my strength.”

Go Daebong answered energetically, not caring about the task. Wang Cheolchang also looked at the large block of ice again and nodded.

* * *

He didn’t know how long he had been in the darkness, but after a splitting headache subsided, Han Li finally regained consciousness.

Before he could even open his eyes, he heard a young girl’s voice nearby.

“Grandpa, when is this person going to wake up? It’s been two days already. Is he going to be okay? The Miss keeps asking!”

“Ha! I’ve only learned a little bit of medicine, how would I know when this person will wake up? But it’s really strange. His complexion is pale, and his qi [vital energy] and blood seem severely depleted, but when I check his pulse, he’s as healthy as a strong man.”

“That’s because you checked his pulse wrong!”

The girl laughed, as if she was very close to the old man.

“Nonsense. Who took care of you when you had a fever and a stomachache before? But I’m not a doctor, so it’s not strange that I can’t cure this person’s strange illness.”

The old man was a little embarrassed. Having heard this much, Han Li realized he was lying on a bed covered with a thick blanket. The soft touch of the cotton blanket was incredibly warm.

The old man and the child were speaking the language of the Great Jin, which greatly reassured Han Li. It seemed he had been rescued by ordinary people and had already entered the borders of the Great Jin.

However, his situation was strange. The moment he woke up, he examined his body with his consciousness and couldn’t help but smile wryly.

To escape the pursuit of the Heavenly Orchid Saintess, he had jumped into the river as the time for the seal to be released approached, using the technique of feigning death that the Great Yan Divine Lord had taught him.

By trapping himself in ice, he had avoided the pursuit of the Dolol people. However, when he woke up, his physical condition was worse than expected.

Due to the excessive use of the Blood Shadow Escape technique, too much blood had been consumed throughout his body, leaving him extremely weak, and his true essence [cultivation energy] had been greatly damaged, causing his cultivation to drop significantly. Now, he was only at the Qi Refining stage [the first stage of cultivation].

In this state, it would be impossible to return to his original cultivation without about five or six years of recuperation.

He sighed and quickly checked the flying swords within his body. In one of the flying swords, he found Yin Yue, whose primordial spirit [soul] had weakened and fallen asleep. That was a relief.

However, the problem was that his second nascent soul [a higher form of soul] had not returned.

Although he couldn’t pinpoint its exact location due to the distance, it was clear that it was still alive, as there was a faint connection. However, if he couldn’t summon the nascent soul within a few years and it was released, it would surely try to take over his body.

However, once he recovered his cultivation to some extent, it wouldn’t be difficult to retrieve the second nascent soul. He paused to organize his thoughts and then sent a telepathic message to the Great Yan Divine Lord.

“Senior, how long have I been unconscious? Has any Great Jin cultivator appeared nearby?”

“You’ve finally woken up! You’ve been drifting in the river for over a year, and now the magical power that kept you in the ice has run out, and you’ve floated to the surface. But your situation doesn’t look good.”

“Still, isn’t it fortunate that I escaped alive? After all, not many people can escape the pursuit of Nascent Soul stage [a high stage of cultivation] cultivators in that situation.”

Han Li smiled slightly, comforting himself.

“Hmph, you’re very broad-minded! But why didn’t you tell me about the Heaven Piercing Treasure beforehand? Hmm, no wonder you always threw me out of the secret room whenever you went into closed-door cultivation… Enough with the useless excuses. I want to study the Heaven Piercing Treasure myself, so take out the cauldron when you have time.”

The Great Yan Divine Lord’s tone changed instantly, and he complained.

“It’s not difficult for me to let you study it, Senior, but I think I need to recover my cultivation to release the cauldron from my body.”

“That’s a promise. Then that’s settled. There’s a cultivator on the ship, but she’s just a girl at the second or third level of Qi Refining, so there’s no need to worry about her.”

The Great Yan Divine Lord replied in a much gentler tone.

“Second or third level of Qi Refining?”

Han Li listened carefully to the Great Yan Divine Lord’s words and opened his eyes.

“Oh? Grandpa! I think this person has woken up!”

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a girl who looked about fourteen years old, her eyes wide with joy. Her fair skin and round face looked quite cute.

“Yes, I see it too.”

The old man in the gray robe sitting next to the girl also looked kind.

“Grandpa is taking good care of him. I’ll go see the Miss!”

Before Han Li could say anything, the round-faced girl chattered to the old man and then ran out.

“Haha! That child is always like that, so don’t blame her too much.”

The old man shook his head and gave Han Li a kind smile.

“You are the ones who saved me, so why would I blame you? But where is this place? And you, sir…”

Han Li replied with a smile and slowly got up.

“This is the Sunkang River. Our Second Miss had people rescue you, a gentleman who fell into the river and whose life was uncertain. I am Ha Moon, and I am a guest invited by the Madam.”

“I see. I am Han Ga. I would like to express my gratitude to the Miss who saved my life.”

“Our Miss is as kind as a bodhisattva. But I don’t know if she will meet with you, Master Han. Before that, I would like to ask you something… How were you able to survive inside the ice without dying?”

“Ah, that is… I’m afraid it’s difficult to explain due to circumstances.”

Han Li hesitated and then confessed honestly.

“It’s alright. Everyone has circumstances that are difficult to talk about.”

The old man was easygoing, so he waved his hand, not caring much. At that moment, the round-faced girl ran in.

“Grandpa! The Miss said to let the gentleman rest comfortably and that we can talk about the future later.”

She told the old man the Miss’s words and looked at Han Li with curious eyes. Han Li smiled at the girl, and the girl’s cheeks turned red, and she lowered her head.

‘He doesn’t seem any different? He seems much inferior compared to the friends the Miss used to associate with. But why is the Miss so concerned about him?’

“We must do as the Miss commands. Master, you’ve just woken up, so please rest. I’ll get up first.”

The old man got up from his seat, and Han Li thanked him, watching them leave the room.

Finally alone, Han Li looked at the wooden ceiling of the cabin and fell into thought. Except for the maids who came in to bring him meals for two days, nothing bothered him. So, he was able to spend his time eating pills and recuperating.

The girl at the second or third level of Qi Refining that the Great Yan Divine Lord had mentioned was someone he could find as soon as he released his consciousness. She was a young woman with a beautiful appearance.

Judging by the title people used to call her, she seemed to be the Second Miss who had saved him. Perhaps she had recognized that he was a cultivator.

Han Li secretly eavesdropped on the conversations of the people on the ship and roughly grasped the situation. The ship was carrying the family members of a magistrate with the surname Jo from a certain place in Ryo Province.

Magistrate Jo was being transferred urgently, so he had moved first, and the rest of his family was following slowly.

However, there were not many real family members. There was the legal wife, two concubines, and three sons and daughters.

The Second Miss was the child born to the legal wife. It was said that she had been weak and often sick since childhood, so she had been recuperating in a temple for women for several years and had only recently returned to the family.

The other two were the children of the concubines. The eldest Miss was already of marriageable age and had a fiancé, and the third son was only twelve years old.

In addition to them, there were Ha the old man and Master Zhu, and a man named Wang the steward managed the servants and took care of miscellaneous tasks. The bodyguards on the ship were Wang Cheolchang and Go Daebong.

Besides the Second Miss being a low-level cultivator, Wang the steward also possessed considerable true qi [cultivation energy]. He was a much greater expert than the crude skills of the so-called bodyguards.

And some of the servants were also unusually agile in their movements and subtly concealed their energy, not appearing to be ordinary servants.

Although it was a bit strange, Han Li, having grasped the situation on the ship to some extent, withdrew his consciousness and focused only on cultivating.