Chapter 9: A Race to Survive
Once I awakened, the whole world brimmed with Qi.
Only by shedding my mind from my flesh could I sense the laws of great nature.
Is this what it feels like to see after living blind?
I rushed straight to Hwang Geolgae to share this revelation.
“Kurheoooh...”
Despite it being broad daylight, I heard the sound of snoring.
Liquor bottles rolled on the ground. Half-eaten chicken legs and assorted snacks lay around.
“Hwang Noya.”
It felt like he’d thrown a one-man booze party and fallen asleep in the street.
This man just ate, shat, and slept however he pleased.
While someone else had slaved away to the point where the sky turned black.
“Hey, old man.”
I subtly demoted the honorific as I nudged him with my toes. But even then, Hwang Geolgae drooled without waking.
Then I spotted a white dumpling in my view. It was cold and hardened from the air, but still—food is food.
I swallowed my spit and sneakily reached out for it.
Tak!
Hwang Geolgae suddenly sprang awake and slapped my hand away.
“Where do you think you're reaching, you punk?!”
As expected of a true beggar—he never compromised when it came to food.
I clicked my tongue and pulled my hand back.
Wiping the drool from his lips with the back of his hand, Hwang Geolgae got up. Having slept on a stone floor, he looked a mess.
“Stop drinking so much.”
The moment I said that, he picked up a sloshing bottle of Shaoxing wine.
“Heh, does this look like alcohol to you? It’s water. Just a peculiar-tasting, delightful water.”
He’d looked just like this drunken bum when I first met him in the alleyway.
They say top experts at a certain level can expel drunkenness with inner Qi. But he clearly enjoyed staying tipsy.
“Aren’t you a Taoist? Don’t you cultivate your Dao?”
“Hehehe, the Primordial Heavenly Lord resides in this gourd bottle.”
What a joke. I snorted in disbelief.
“I’m not kidding. Drink twenty of these and you’ll actually meet him.”
Yeah, because you’ll be on death’s door.
I shook my head. A supposed seeker of the Dao living more aimlessly than the Heaven-Slaying Star.
“Anyway, I’ve succeeded in awakening my inner Qi. Take a look at this.”
Though it was just a speck, when I circulated my Qi according to the chant, vitality surged through my body.
With this stamina, if I learned footwork or movement techniques, my job as a warehouse assistant would become much easier.
“Hooh.”
With a slightly sobered face, Hwang Geolgae placed his hand near my Dantian.
Unlike last time, he didn’t pour energy into my body, but his twitching white eyebrows showed he was measuring something by other means.
“No way, this is...!”
“This is?”
His eyes widened—had he noticed something strange?
“Your Qi is way too small!”
“......”
Well, I did just awaken it.
Was he trying to mock me?
Out of spite, I discreetly tucked one of the dumplings into my sleeve.
“Then teach me how to build it up quickly.”
To my request, Hwang Geolgae popped open another liquor bottle and muttered, “Quick method, huh...”
“That’s simple. Do what the noble clans do—expel impurities with Vein Cleansing and Marrow Washing, open your meridians with True Qi Guidance, and lavishly inject expensive spiritual medicine.”
In short, just have powerful family backing and throw obscene amounts of money at it.
For the record, I was also from a noble clan. If not for that damned divine possession, everything could’ve been mine.
The anger simmered again. But the door of opportunity hadn’t completely closed.
I had something like a ‘master’ to guide and lead me.
“Noya, don’t you have any stashed spiritual medicine or beast cores?”
“Nope. What, you think spiritual medicine or beast cores just fall from the sky? You’re a funny guy.”
To be honest, I hadn’t expected much from him on that front. He looked too broke to own anything valuable.
“Then could you just do that Vein Cleansing or True Qi Guidance thing once for me?”
I’d already confirmed in the back alley that it was possible.
In Murim, inner Qi was the measure of strength.
If he could show me a shortcut, I’d bow and scrape however many times it took.
“Not doing it, punk. I don’t even want to touch you.”
But Hwang Geolgae waved his hands as if it were out of the question.
This guy—after accepting even the Nine Bows Ritual?
“Why not?”
“Because it’s scary!”
Pointing to my Baihui Point, Hwang Geolgae said he’d seen something terrifying inside me that time.
If it scared him, how much scarier was it for me—the one living with it?
It felt like harboring an alien ready to burst out at any moment.
“Stop trying to scare me.”
“Fool, I’m the one who’s scared!”
“Seriously.”
I barely choked down the stream of curses that had reached my throat.
Noticing my frustration, Hwang Geolgae chuckled, then shared the story from the alley.
“Had this old man not learned the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method, facing ‘that’ would’ve wrecked my upper Dantian.”
Only someone of his caliber could escape with mere psychological trauma. Anyone else would've fallen into Qi Deviation.
Whatever he’d seen, he didn’t even want to mention it, fearing it might draw its attention again.
It had to be something related to the Heaven-Slaying Star.
“Then is there no other way? If the Qi accumulation of the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method is slower than the Evil Star’s revival, I’ll get overtaken and die, right?”
This doesn’t work, that’s not allowed—meanwhile, my life is on the line.
“Hmph, well, there is one shortcut... But it’s only theoretical and has never been tried, so I’m hesitant to say.”
He trailed off, clearly lacking confidence.
“Just tell me.”
At my urging, he gazed quietly at me.
He stroked his beard for a while, deep in thought.
“The Starfall Heart Cultivation Method ultimately nourishes star energy... It’s not a technique that generates Qi by its own power, right?”
That’s what I’d heard.
While it cultivated nature’s energy too, it worked best when training under faint starlight.
“And inside you... there’s a star, isn’t there...? Though it’s an ominous thing filled with murderous intent.”
“……!”
Hwang Geolgae tapped my crown lightly. I understood what he meant and slapped my knee.
Right, I didn't need to search far and wide for the power of the stars.
All I had to do was purify the energy of the Heaven-Slaying Star embedded in my mind using the Starfall Heart Cultivation Method and make it my own strength.
“But Hwang Noya, is this really possible?”
If it succeeded, it would be like carrying spiritual medicine inside my body.
That would be a classic case of misfortune turning into a blessing.
“Well, you’re the one with a star inside you—you try it and let me know.”
So I was the lab rat, huh.
Well, it’s not like guys with Evil Stars were common anyway.
“...But this Evil Star won’t budge, let alone get absorbed.”
Curious if it could work, I was tapping lightly at something in my Baihui Point with my speck of Qi.
But there wasn’t even the slightest movement, like knocking on a rock.
“That’s why you need to first build up massive Good Karma to weaken the Evil Star, you punk.”
Massive Good Karma? Easy for him to say.
I barely had time, what with working until sunset and practicing martial arts at night.
“Even if I wanted to build Good Karma, it’s not like opportunities to do so just show up on their own, right?”
You’d need someone in distress nearby to even think of building karma.
Hwang Geolgae clicked his tongue at my grumbling.
“Tch, then try becoming a chivalrous hero and spread your fame. Wouldn’t people come begging for help in droves?”
A chivalrous hero... those romantic types you only saw in martial arts novels.
Back when I was getting my face kicked in behind the alleys, not a single one of them showed up.
“Noya, but that doesn’t pay.”
Having once lived on grass roots, to me, survival was just as important as the Heaven-Slaying Star.
And really, when you do work for someone, you deserve to get paid.
“Heheh, then try acting like a wandering warrior instead.”
A wanderer—one of those problem-solvers of the Murim world?
Come to think of it, helping troubled people could build karma and earn money, so it didn’t sound too bad.
But the local wanderers mostly took jobs that involved stabbing people like mercenaries.
If I went down that road, the Heaven-Slaying Star might get stimulated, so I’d have to choose jobs carefully.
Things like locating missing persons or collecting unpaid debts—those kinds of requests only. Honestly, it wasn’t so different from my past errand work.
“I’ll give it some thought for now.”
Earning money and building karma—this might be the perfect opportunity. Maybe people really did have callings in life.
“Kid doesn’t seem too fond of helping others for free, huh?”
To Hwang Geolgae’s words, I shook my head. There’s no such thing as free in this world. Every labor and service must be compensated.
My mind was still more trained in capitalism than martial or chivalric codes.
“Well, whatever works. Try helping people and building virtue. This old man’s curious to see what’ll become of you.”
With an amused expression, Hwang Geolgae gulped down some Shaoxing wine.
While I struggled to stay alive, this old man always looked so carefree.
“Yes, I’ll try somehow. If I slack off and madness flares up, Noya, won’t you lob off my head without hesitation?”
Not just diligently—but desperately.
That’s the motto I, Dan Mujin, live by.
“Hmph, speaking of your head...”
But then Hwang Geolgae leaned on his chin, falling into thought after hearing my grumble.
Had he grown attached to me after a few weeks together? He seemed to be pondering quite seriously.
“Would you prefer a fist or a cudgel?”
“......”
Goddamn it.
Guess that was never an option.
The place where Eunseong Trading Company’s new business was underway: the Sericulture Chamber.
Normally, this place should be filled with the sound of silkworms munching on mulberry leaves, but now a strange silence loomed.
“I’m sorry. We tried everything, but once again...”
The silkworms had died en masse again. More than half were stiffened inside the wooden frames.
Their outer skins were marked with pus and black spots.
The manager of the Sericulture Chamber revealed his bald crown and slammed his head to the floor.
“...Get up. I won’t hold you accountable.”
This wasn’t the Sichuan Tang Clan that specialized in studying poisons. What could a human know about insects? Especially silkworms, which the royal court practically worshipped.
They had tried raising them without a sericulture officer, but it was like groping through darkness.
“Chief Jin, what did the Hao Sect say?”
Silk was money. And a whole lot of it.
But it required government approval, and the taxes were brutally high.
That’s where secret sericulture came in—usually the kind of thing done by groups like the Hao Sect.
With decentralized cells and plenty of craftsmen like blacksmiths, tailors, and designers, they were the perfect fit.
That was why Eun Hwaran had sought help from that shadowy group that hoarded money through untaxed sericulture.
This would probably offend the upper circles, but she no longer had the luxury of caring.
Besides, she was only trying to learn how to raise silkworms—how could they complain when they hadn’t even sent a sericulture officer?
“We knocked on the door, but...”
“But?”
“The Beijing branch has been destroyed. Something... must’ve happened.”
“...Of all times!”
It seemed the Primordial Heavenly Lord had decided to abandon the Eun family.
Otherwise, how could everything go so catastrophically wrong?
Clutching her folding fan until it nearly snapped, Eun Hwaran stomped her feet.
“And there’s one more piece of bad news.”
They say misfortunes never come alone. Tragedy tends to strike all at once.
Chief Jin pulled out another letter sealed with a golden toad emblem.
“The Man Geum Trading Post has sent notice that if repayment isn’t made on time, they’ll seize the collateral.”
“......”
They were officially initiating debt collection.
To treat the Eunseong Trading Company—an establishment with a hundred-year foundation—as if it were about to default...
Eun Hwaran clenched her fists in humiliation.
“But they also included a strange offer that would wipe the debt clean.”
“...What kind of offer?”
Her ears perked up as she asked again with a skeptical look.
The Man Geum Trading Post had a notorious reputation. There was no way they’d forgive a debt that easily.
“A marriage proposal from their fourth young master. If you marry him and become part of their family, they’ll cancel the entire debt.”
Crack.
The barely intact folding fan finally snapped.
Eun Hwaran opened her mouth with an expression of pure disgust.
“Looks like they’re underestimating us. Sending over a rotten-smelling proposal like this. Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, it seems that way.”
To make a sudden marriage proposal to a merchant group run by a lone woman—using massive debt as leverage, no less.
Geum Hwangdo, the money master of the Man Geum Trading Post. A man infamous for his cunning and greed.
My late father always warned that men like him smile to your face while plotting malicious schemes behind your back.
There was certainly something shady behind this marriage proposal too.
And if it's the fourth young master of the Man Geum Trading Post, then surely...
“Isn't he the debauchee who frequents brothels day in, day out?”
A man who embraces any pretty face, regardless of circumstances—known among gossipers as the Lewd Young Master.
Even though he wasn’t a Murim warrior, he still had a nickname. Her eyes lifted sharply in anger.
“Unbelievable.”
It felt like the handle of a millstone had grown legs and run off.
It reminded her of her brother Eun Yanggon, who nearly ruined the family with gambling and women before being disowned.
The only unmarried son under Geum Hwangdo was that fourth son, so they were probably trying to use him now of all times.
“Lord Sangju, it's fine to reject the proposal, but we do lack the funds to cover the next payment due.”
“So you want me to form a political marriage with that Lewd Young Master?”
Eun Hwaran’s voice had turned slightly sharp, and Chief Jin responded in a soothing tone.
“No, I mean we should try to find a path to survival so that doesn’t have to happen.”
That would indeed be the best course of action.
But the question of how immediately followed.
“A path to survival...”
Too many thoughts crowded her mind. Like a tangled skein of thread.
Her father would take a walk in times like this.
“Haah, I’ll go cool my head.”
Eun Hwaran said that as she stepped out of the sericulture chamber.
A training ground full of traces of escort warriors' training.
“Now, this old man will teach you how to use your legs.”
As the starlight-forged Qi settled in my Dantian, Hwang Geolgae said those words.
As promised, he would teach me that ghost-like, slipping-and-popping movement technique.
“Watch closely. This is how movement techniques are performed.”
Saying that, Hwang Geolgae slid his left foot out. The moment his toes twitched, his figure vanished like a ghost.
With a swish of the wind, his form popped up behind me.
“Whoa!”
It was like a gust of wind. The very move that had overwhelmed me last time.
Fwoosh—
With a burst of air, the old man suddenly appeared on my left. I turned to follow him, but now he popped out on my right.
A mystical movement technique that folded space. Even with my eyes wide open, I couldn’t keep track of Hwang Geolgae.
Fwap-fwap-fwap—
Now he was streaking across the vast training ground like a gale. His toes barely grazed the ground before blasting off like lightning.
In the blink of an eye, he crossed a distance longer than one li and stood firmly before me as if he’d been there all along.
The whirlwind he carried blew my clothes and hair back.
And even after using such a technique, he wasn’t even winded.
“What do you think?”
He asked as he brushed off the frayed hem of his worn robe.
I’d forgotten how amazing he was because of his constant drunkenness—but this man really was a top-tier master.
“That was sick.”
“...‘Sick’? What the hell does that mean?”
“It means it was awesome.”
I gave him double thumbs up.
At my bizarre gesture, he clicked his tongue, muttering I really was an oddball.
“What I just used is called ‘Whirlwind Steps’.”
“Oooh, Whirlwind Steps.”
A martial art that combined footwork and movement techniques.
He said it was a reinvented version of the Seonpung Movement Method, normally only learnable by fifth-tier disciples and above.
He even had the talent of a grandmaster.
“First, I’ll teach you how to place your feet.”
“Yes, I’ll carve it into my brain!”
Now I could finally learn that ever-changing, mysterious Whirlwind Steps.
With this, I could cut through enemies and turn any battlefield into chaos.
Become a gust of wind.
“First, hammer into your head the thirty-five advance-and-retreat routes and the twenty acupoints the Qi flows through.”
Looks like even in Murim, you can’t escape rote memorization.
But then, Hwang Geolgae picked up a liquor bottle like a club as he prepared to train me.
“Noya, why the liquor bottle?”
“This will help.”
“......”
Thankfully, with the soft brain of Murong Cheongjin and my memorization skills honed by public education, I avoided having my skull dented.
Even if I hadn’t grasped the technique’s hidden truth, my form was starting to take shape.
The theoretical training ended without much trouble.
“Your insight is open.”
Hwang Geolgae smacked his lips, as if disappointed.
So that’s how he expressed I was pretty sharp.
“Well then, let’s move on to actual combat.”
He tucked the bottle away and raised a solid fist.
“Noya, why the fist?”
“Because the Heaven-Slaying Star learns fastest when it senses a threat to its life.”
He said it was an instinctive reaction to survive.
That reminded me of how I had subconsciously copied the Eight Slashing Fists when getting beat up by escort warriors.
Humans really do learn fastest when driven by necessity.
“Still, this is a bit much.”
Even a flick on the head could crack my skull—how much would a hit from that massive fist hurt?
And my body was so tough that even faking injury didn’t work.
“This ‘Blusterous Wind Daoist’ will personally instruct you—if you want to live, use everything you’ve learned and try to escape.”
He must’ve remembered what I said last time and taken it to heart.
Ugh, I’m doomed. No matter what I do, I’m getting hit.
“Alright then—run!”
The depth of learning is decided by desperation.
And thus began the martial arts training of one who desperately wanted to survive.