I Will Start Doing Business In Jungwon From Today [EN]: Chapter 108

From Today, I Will Do Business in the Central Plains – Episode 108

Carrying Jo Gwangyun on his back, Gwon Jungwon followed Im Yeoryang to a stone cave near the summit of Yeonhwa Peak, where he heard an unfamiliar voice.

“Even my martial uncle has aged quite a bit. I can hear the creaking of his joints all the way up here. Haha.”

Noh Hyegwang smiled brightly and bowed his head.

“You rascal! Why are you calling me martial uncle? If your master heard you, he’d be furious.”

Gwon Jungwon smiled, happy to see a familiar face after so long.

“Oh, what’s with all the formalities? You and my master are like brothers, so you’re my martial uncle.”

Im Yeoryang frowned at Noh Hyegwang’s flippant remark.

“That’s why so many people distrust you. Watch your mouth.”

Calling Gwon Jungwon, who wasn’t a direct disciple of Mount Hua, ‘martial uncle’ could be seen as disrespectful to the sect in severe cases.

“Oops, sorry. Really, Martial Uncle.”

“You impudent…!”

As Im Yeoryang was about to scold him, Noh Hyegwang quickly took Jo Gwangyun.

“We don’t have time for this, do we? This is urgent, so let’s go in quickly.”

Noh Hyegwang entered the stone cave first, and the other two followed silently.

After laying Jo Gwangyun on the floor, Noh Hyegwang scanned Jo Gwangyun’s body with curious eyes.

“So, this body is supposed to be extraordinary?”

“You’ll see soon enough. But why are you here?”

“I came to lend a hand. I’ll help if any unforeseen events occur.”

“Or is it just curiosity?”

Gwon Jungwon chuckled, and Noh Hyegwang scratched his head.

“A little of both.”

Im Yeoryang interrupted their light conversation and took out a wooden case from his pocket.
The subtle fragrance of an eighty-year-old divine pill wafted out.

“I hope the essence of Mount Hua won’t be in vain.”

His slightly trembling hands showed how nervous he was.

“If the divine pill’s effect is negligible, I’ll spread rumors throughout the Jianghu [the martial arts world]. I’ll say Mount Hua is all empty reputation. Hehe.”

Gwon Jungwon was also nervous, so he kept making jokes.

“Should I just eat it and pour my energy into this kid instead?”

Im Yeoryang no longer heard Noh Hyegwang’s nonsense.

He only thought about ensuring the pill’s power was fully absorbed into Jo Gwangyun’s body.

Im Yeoryang opened Jo Gwangyun’s limp mouth and carefully placed the divine pill inside.
The thought that the large pill might block his airway never crossed his mind. He only believed the words of past masters that it would melt like spring snow in his mouth.

Gwon Jungwon, distrusting Im Yeoryang’s trembling hands, carefully closed Jo Gwangyun’s open mouth.

The three of them watched Jo Gwangyun with anticipation, worry, and curiosity, but nothing significant happened.

“Um…”

“Quiet. You’ll jinx it.”

Noh Hyegwang closed his mouth at Gwon Jungwon’s words.

As another long silence fell, Noh Hyegwang quietly got up, dusting off his rear. Just looking at the kid’s face, still deep in sleep, was frustrating him to no end.

As Noh Hyegwang left the stone cave, Im Yeoryang opened his mouth, suppressing his voice.

“Could it be that the depth of this kid’s body is beyond our expectations?”

If even the enormous energy of the Zixia Divine Pill was like adding a bucket of water to the ocean, there might be no reaction.

Gwon Jungwon wanted to say that the pill’s efficacy might be insignificant, but it didn’t seem right after such a great favor, so he got up without replying.

“Let’s go out too. It seems all we can do now is wait.”

“But what if our strength is needed?”

Im Yeoryang couldn’t take his eyes off Jo Gwangyun’s body.

“Are you saying your internal energy is greater than the Zixia Divine Pill’s effect? If so, then the Zixia Divine Pill’s effect isn’t that great, is it?”

“You! How can you say that!”

“That’s why I’m saying let’s just go out. We’ve done all we can (修人事) [human effort]. Now it’s up to fate (天命) [divine will].”

Gwon Jungwon pulled Im Yeoryang’s hand and went outside.

Noh Hyegwang, who had been sitting outside the stone cave, jumped up.

“Why are you coming out? Don’t tell me…?”

Noh Hyegwang raised his hand and made a cutting motion across his neck.

“Don’t say unlucky things. We just came out for some fresh air.”

Gwon Jungwon slapped Noh Hyegwang on the back of the head and plopped down.

The three of them sat side by side, looking down at the scenery of Mount Hua, trying to calm their anxious hearts.

Half a day passed without any signs of change. Now, the setting sun was turning Mount Hua red.

* * *

Down the mountain, they were also unable to hide their anxiety.

“What’s happening?”

At the head disciple’s question, an old priest bowed his head and replied.

“We are still just watching. There are no signs of anything.”

“Oh dear.”

Not only the head disciple but all the elders of Mount Hua were equally anxious, pacing around restlessly.

“It’s been six hours since he took the divine pill, and there’s no change. What on earth is going on…?”

Already, deep darkness had enveloped Mount Hua.

“The best time for concentrating energy (精功) [cultivating inner power] is at midnight (子時) [11 PM to 1 AM], but he took it at midday (午時) [11 AM to 1 PM], so could it be a bad omen…?”

When someone muttered to himself, everyone glared at him with wide eyes.

“Your mouth is too loose. Don’t say anything that might bring bad luck.”

With the head disciple’s rebuke, everyone closed their mouths.

After another hour or so, the head disciple’s expression hardened.

“Th-this…”

People who saw the head disciple’s bewildered expression wondered what was wrong, but they didn’t have a chance to find out.

The head disciple burst out of the door and disappeared towards Yeonhwa Peak like the wind.

“What is this…!”

“Could something have happened?”

Their questions were soon answered.

“Gasp!”

“Oh no…”

They also showed the same surprise and ran towards the summit of Yeonhwa Peak, where the head disciple had rushed off.

In front of the stone cave they arrived at, three people, already frozen like stones, were standing there staring at the stone cave, and the head disciple was also panting heavily with a pale face.

“I-is this really happening inside there?”

“Shh! Don’t say anything and just wait. If we mess things up, it will be a regret for eternity.”

The head disciple’s words were correct.

A tremendous flow of energy was enveloping Yeonhwa Peak like a whirlwind.

Their faces, with their mouths shut, gradually turned more and more ashen.

In particular, Noh Hyegwang’s expression changed a lot. At first, his eyes widened in surprise, then his mouth gradually widened, and then his lips tightened into a distorted face.

From the head disciple’s mouth came exclamations, sighs, and the words “Amitabha,” and some were feeling fear at the enormous change in energy.

Gwon Jungwon’s face was full of joy.

He proved to himself that he was right.

The first to come to his senses was the head disciple.

The head disciple approached Im Yeoryang and whispered in his ear.

“Martial brother. You go down right now and prevent the disciples of Mount Hua from approaching this way. With this level of energy flow, most of them will have woken up. They must not know this fact. Do you understand?”

Only then did Im Yeoryang come to his senses, nod slightly, and run down.

While they remained motionless and guarded their positions, dawn passed and the sun rose. When the risen sun reached the zenith, the flow of energy that had swept through Mount Hua stopped, and the same peace and tranquility as before returned.

As the chirping of birds began again, one by one they regained their senses.

“Is it over?”

Someone asked, but no one could answer and didn’t even dare to think about entering the stone cave.

The head disciple approached Gwon Jungwon.

“Brother.”

Gwon Jungwon, noticing the head disciple who he didn’t know when he had arrived, bowed.

“I’m late with my greetings, Brother.”

“It’s alright. Let’s go down and talk about important matters. Isn’t it a priority to check on your disciple’s condition now?”

“You mean for me to go in and see?”

“Who else would go first…?”

The head disciple couldn’t finish his sentence.

“Th-that rascal…!”

Someone clicked his tongue as he watched Noh Hyegwang running into the stone cave.

“Wooje is a step late.”

“Oh dear… I’m sorry. That rascal is so rude.”

The head disciple’s face turned red, but Gwon Jungwon smiled brightly.

“It’s alright. Anyone in Mount Hua has the right to check first. If my disciple survives by a stroke of luck, it’s also thanks to Mount Hua’s great grace.”

As Gwon Jungwon looked back at the stone cave, worried about Jo Gwangyun’s condition, Noh Hyegwang, who had just run in, came out trudging with heavy sighs.

“What happened? Is he alive?”

Noh Hyegwang nodded greatly at Gwon Jungwon’s worried words.

“Don’t worry. He’s alive and well. He’s even snoring in his sleep.”

Snoring meant he had regained consciousness. Everyone was relieved and burst into laughter.

* * *

When Jo Gwangyun woke up and opened his eyes, he felt a strange sensation.

The place was unfamiliar, and his body was also unfamiliar.

He felt uneasy. Could it be…!

The past when the plane crashed and he fell into an unfamiliar place came to mind.

Now that he had been stabbed to death, had he fallen into a new world again?

Even if he died several times, was he like the protagonist in a movie living in a bizarre world, going around in circles?

All sorts of thoughts came to mind, but he knew nothing had changed when he saw the familiar face looking down at him.

“M-Master.”

“Did you sleep well?”

He almost burst into tears at those casual words.

With just those words, he knew he had overcome a life-or-death crisis and felt relieved to be back in his daily life.

From the master’s appearance he last saw before losing consciousness and the master’s appearance he first saw after regaining consciousness, Gwon Jungwon was a different being from the past.

Jo Gwangyun slowly got up and gave a deep bow.

“This humble disciple, Jo Gwangyun, has caused Master great concern.”

Gwon Jungwon’s eyes widened and then turned into smiling eyes.

“As expected, a naughty rascal needs a beating. After overcoming a near-death experience, he’s acting like a human being. Haha.”

“I will never forget the grace of saving this disciple’s life until the day I die.”

Gwon Jungwon looked at his disciple, who was full of courtesy, with a pleased expression, and then quickly recalled what he had to do first.

“Before that, I need to examine your body. Turn around.”

As Gwon Jungwon sent his energy into Jo Gwangyun’s body to check his condition, Jo Gwangyun knew that his body had changed again.

When the plane crashed, his body had changed, but this time his insides had changed. He vaguely guessed that this change was due to the internal energy that martial artists talked about.

The master, who had taken his hand off his disciple’s back, had an expression mixed with all sorts of emotions.

Relief, joy, astonishment, elation, and even a bit of jealousy.

“It’s done. You will walk a path that no one has ever walked before.”

“What do you mean?”

“The upper dantian [energy center] has been established in its most perfect form. Ordinary martial artists have to endlessly train by alternating between accumulating energy (畜氣) [storing qi] and circulating energy (運氣) [moving qi] to connect their energy channels and become people full of energy (氣通) [qi flow], but you can do it without these processes because of your upper dantian.”

“Is it like being able to breathe, eat, and drink?”

“That’s right. For you, internal energy training will be no different from breathing.”

“Then, if I master peerless divine skills, will I become the strongest in the Central Plains?”

It was a simple and childish question, but Gwon Jungwon didn’t laugh. Because it wasn’t a dream, it was entirely possible.

“The strongest needs more than that, right? The mind to understand and apply peerless divine skills, the experience gained through hardship, the instinct to grasp the opponent at a glance, etc. You need to have it all.”

Jo Gwangyun couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

If he held the strongest power in one hand and the strongest body in the other, the journey to place the Central Plains continent under his feet would be smooth sailing.

Jo Gwangyun bowed deeply once again and said.

“Master will soon become the master of the strongest in the Central Plains.”

Of course, the strongest in the Central Plains that the two of them envisioned might be slightly different.

End