Chapter 20

It’s a mace.
I thought I was out of it, but I guess not.
The thought of having to feel his body shrink again made him feel uneasy.
“I thought you said you’d only let me take it off while I practiced the twin swords?”
“Yes, I did.”
Resigned, I placed the iron cuffs around my ankles and wrists again.
Click!
The strength in my body disappeared, and I felt myself shrinking.
The seal of the inner circle.
“Do you know the word ‘bluffing’?”
Master suddenly said something that had no bottom or end.
I stared at him, unsure of his meaning, and he frowned.
“Oh.
I said quickly.
“I know, it’s all bluster with no substance, isn’t it?”
“Yes, you’re right. Well, then. Now apply that to cauliflower. What is the real value of a cigar player?”
“Umm…… talent.”
“Okay. Then what do you think is the pretense of a master?”
“It’s acting like you have talent when you don’t.”
“Okay, suppose you were in that situation.”
I pictured it in my mind.
I don’t have a handful of skills, but I’m standing tall and commanding the crowd.
But immediately, people rushed me and groped me.
I shuddered, and Sensei smirked.
“What do you need to make people not realize you’re bluffing?”
“……I don’t know.”
“It’s skill. It’s like herbivory. You need two things: a deep enough understanding of chi kung that you can defeat your opponent with chi kung alone, and the ability to display all your skills without the aid of chi kung.”
“I see.”
“Do you understand? That’s why I’ve chilled the iron ring.”
“Didn’t you say half a day ago that it was for rest and physical training?”
“That’s changed.”
“It’s a boy’s iron circle.”
“I’m too old to be called a boy.”
“I don’t think that’s what you meant.”
“It’s loud. Move a little more in your pun time.”
“Chet.”
Grumbling, I repeated the same simple movements I’d made the first time I’d put on the iron ring.
Suddenly, I remembered something and told my master.
“But it’s late at night, and I’m tired…….”
To be honest, I was tired.
Not my body, but my head.
“I told you, we’re training late for another five days or so.”
“That’s when you’re practicing with a heavy sword.”
“It’s the most precious thing in the world. I must protect it.”
“I thought you said I was too old to be a boy.”
“You, not me.”
“I never said that.”
“If you listened to your master and followed him, then you said it. Stop nagging and get moving.”
“Yeah.”
I’m tired of his lame jokes.
I kept moving as Sensei said.
I felt a little uncomfortable and heavy after being cold for so long.
“Haa…… haa…….”
When the sun was just beginning to rise, Sensei nodded when he was satisfied that I had moved enough.
It was permission to go home and rest.
“I’m tired…….”
Since I can’t exercise, the only way to relieve my body’s fatigue is to sleep.
My head hurts, so sleeping is the best thing I can do at this point.
I open the door, enter, and immediately lay down on the stone bed.
I closed my eyes and buried myself deep in the blankets.
About two weeks.
Time passes and it’s time to descend.
I woke up early in the morning, ate breakfast, and returned the sword my master had given me during my dual-wielding training.
I had gotten to know him well enough that I decided to take the heavy sword with me, as well as a hilt of blue steel.
I packed my bag and clothes, which were light except for the three swords, and headed to the Plum Pavilion.
In front of the Plum Pavilion, there were eleven disciples of the Volcano Sect, including myself.
They were the elite, handpicked from among the Land Swordsmen, Land Rightsmen, and Good Swordsmen.
Among them was Yan Hua.
I greeted them warmly and stood with them.
Master and the other Elders all lined up by the door of the Plum Pavilion, waiting for someone to come out.
After a few moments, the door of the plum pavilion opened and out came the person they had been waiting for.
Bai Xiaochun.
It was Zhang Chuixuan, a plum blade sect master with an aura of an adept, the eldest of the Volcano Sect.
“Everyone’s out.”
Zhang Wentian locked eyes with the elders and the twelve disciples one by one.
When his eyes locked with mine, they were shining, as if he was hoping for something.
When he looked away from me, he took a deep breath to steady himself.
“I won’t say much. You’ll hear it all when you get there.”
The long man paused, then continued.
“Go and show the Zhongnan Sect what the Volcano Sect is like, and what the disciples of the Volcano Sect are like. We may be allies, but we are above them.”
Qi boiled up.
Jiang Wenyin smiled with satisfaction at the aura emanating from the twelve disciples.
“Let’s go, Elder Wenhu, lead the way.”
Zhang Wenyin spoke a few short words and turned back to the Plum Pavilion.
I locked eyes with Master, and he nodded.
I nodded as well and followed the group of people leaving the volcanic sect.
Three years of life, a short period of time, and I leave the Volcano Sect, which has changed enough to be my everything for now.
Chapter 8 The Half-Dragon of Zhongnan (1)
It’s been a dozen days since I left the volcano and followed Elder Wenhu’s guidance.
You arrived at the Chongnan Gate, one of the small and medium-sized gates of the Zheng Sect, halfway between the Zongnan Sect and the Volcano Sect.
As I approached the main gate, I saw two gatekeepers.
They stood nervously, sweating profusely, in the typical posture of a gatekeeper.
“Please tell us who you are and what sect you belong to.”
“Elder Wen Hu of the Volcano Sect.”
“Ah, you’re from the Volcano Sect.”
The gatekeeper looked surprised, then cleared the spear blocking the way and opened the door.
“Please wait a moment.”
I stood at the door for a moment, waiting.
Then I saw someone running toward me.
A horse’s beard, slightly slanted eyes.
A middle-aged man who didn’t look like much.
“Greetings,” he said, ”I’m Doc Xiang, the inner governor of the General Inspection Gate.”
“I’m Elder Wen Hu of the Volcano Sect.”
Secretary Moon bowed, and Elder Wen Hu bowed back, smiling.
“You must be tired, please come this way.”
At this polite request, Elder Wen Hu laughed as if in a better mood.
“Hehe. I will gratefully accept your favor.”
At those words, Chancellor Moon’s eyes lit up slightly.
It seemed to indicate that he was happy that he had scored a point against the Volcano Sect.
I followed him for about half a mile.
I saw two large buildings.
One with blue lanterns hanging from it, and one with red lanterns hanging from it.
“The one with the red lanterns is where the Huashan Sect will stay, and the one with the blue lanterns on the left is where the Zhongnan Sect will stay.”
As I stood at the door, the servants bowed and opened it for me.
“The Elder must be tired, but I’m sure you’d like to spend a few minutes…….”
“Hehe. Understood.”
After the General Secretary and Elder Wenhu left, I and the rest of the Volcano Sect were shown to our rooms by the servants.
The rooms were clean and old-fashioned.
There were expensive items here and there, as if they had taken great care in preparing for the arrival of the Gu Sect’s disciples.
After a quick glance, I opened the window.
It opened smoothly, and the breeze came in.
I took a moment to tidy up my fluttering bangs and looked at the scenery outside.
The Zongnan Sect hadn’t arrived yet, so I could only see the two servants waiting at the door of the Blue Pavilion, but no one else.
Turning his head to the side, he saw someone waving at him.
It was Yan Hua.
They were about four rooms away, so she shouted at the top of her lungs.
“Down!”
Then she stuck her face in.
I smiled, rearranged my things, and went downstairs.
When I got downstairs, Yeonhwa was waiting for me.
“Let’s eat first. You haven’t eaten yet.”
It’s noon.
It’s time to eat, and I’m hungry after running at full speed since the morning, so I comply.
There was a table and a variety of food set up in one large room on the first floor.
Other people were also hungry, and they occupied all but one table, sitting in groups of two or three, talking and eating.
“Let’s go sit over there.”
I sat down at the one remaining table and picked up my chopsticks.
The food was unheard of when I was in the volcanic cliffs.
There were a variety of comfort foods and greasy dishes.
“Wow, this is delicious. It’s been a while since I’ve had anything like this.”
Yeonhwa is a preliminary inspection.
She had occasionally had the chance to eat this kind of food as part of her duties, and was excited to see what it was.
“This is called maratang. It’s spicy, it’ll make your tongue tingle. This is called pila, it’s like spores. Oh, there are spores here. And this is…….”
Some of the names I recognized, but most of them I didn’t.
It was fun at first to hear the descriptions.
It’s interesting and fun to know what you don’t know.
But it was only for a while, and then I lost interest because Yeonhwa told me the whole story about the food.
“…… is boring, right? Let’s try it.”
I said excitedly, absorbed in my own thoughts, but apparently sensing my “I’m bored” mood, Yeonhwa interrupted me and picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
I frowned, picked up the food, and put it in my mouth.
Some of the food was spicy, some was salty, and some was really delicious.
Foods I hadn’t even tried when I was in the volcano’s fumaroles.
But with each bite, something strange seemed to dig into my body.
I let go of my chopsticks for a moment and felt the energy.
Hot impurities.
It was fire energy.
It was a feeling I hadn’t felt in Quyunam, where I had only eaten prehistoric foods like porridge and vegetables.
The energy that had accumulated before I joined the Volcano Sect.
It was the energy that I had burned away at the advice of my master.
The thought of rebuilding what I had barely managed to get rid of made me not feel like eating, even though the food was delicious.
He opened his eyes and ate no meat or fatty foods, only zen foods like vegetables.
When Yan Hua saw this, she paused for a moment, but then focused on eating again.