Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Taowu

Quite some time has passed since hearing the words to come up to the summit.

Even with the pure steps of a child not using internal energy it was only a height that could be climbed in 30 minutes, but now I have barely passed the middle.

“Huff, huff.”

Finishing my resolve I take another step.

The moment my foot touches the ground, a burning sensation like having boiling water poured over me seeps into the skin and internal organs.

My head turns white, and when I came to my senses I was collapsed on the ground drooling.

‘They say if it hurts too much you can’t even scream.’

The vanished pain echoed for a long while in a place unknown whether flesh, mind, or soul like an echo.

The memory of the pain was clear, and with a feeling as if having experienced death once I checked my body, but there were no wounds anywhere.

‘What kind of ability is this?’

Daoist Mu Gyeong experienced one week as over ten thousand days of time.

In an inescapable clearing he suffered no physical pain or damage and passed away crushed by boredom.

In contrast I am experiencing intense pain to the point of thinking I might die with every step I take, yet there is no abnormality in the body.

‘It manipulates not only time, space, and senses but also physical phenomena?’

Is it an ability that can do anything as it pleases?

『Child, have you already given up?』

『At your age one always longs for chivalrous heroes, sages, and brave generals.』

『If you cannot even pass a test of this degree you cannot follow their footsteps.』

The thing’s mocking questions are heard from all directions.

The body is still tired, but the moment I try to move my steps again, the summit disappears and a path descending the mountain appears.

『I know it is a childish age, so now stop and go down.』

『This matter will have become a good lesson.』

『I will praise that you climbed half. Now it is enough.』

At the sweet whisper the head shouts to go down immediately, and the flesh tired from pain also reflexively stirs wanting to move the steps.

“You are quite merciful.”

『Children are cute because they do not know the ways of the world. So how can one blame them?』

“But I don’t like it.”

But the heart refuses.

The moment I refuse the downhill disappears and a path heading to the summit appears again.

Clenching my teeth I take a step and tremble from the pain seeping into the bones.

『I already know that you are not an ordinary child.』

『With such grand energy overflowing from that small body, how can it be ordinary?』

『However to the old man it is merely a flower that is a little special in color and can be broken at any time.』

With one step a pain as if the neck is cut assaults.

With two steps a suffering as if submerged in water, breath blocked and lungs squeezed covers.

With three steps along with a fear as if falling from a thousand-gil cliff the pain of the entire body being crushed makes the mind distant.

『Do you want to kill the old man and become a hero?』

『If so the Heavenly Net will worship you. You will be able to obtain immortal honor.』

『Even at a young age your sense of justice is already thorough, but excessive righteousness only shortens your life.』

Even though I can climb in one go using internal energy I do not do so.

I had an instinctive feeling that something bad would happen if I did that.

『Human sincerity is truly meager.』

『The sincerity of following and practicing the backbone someone established—morality and justice, honor and spirit—peels off and disappears like a shell before a little pain and suffering.』

『Thus what remains is the human’s wretched true heart, and that person’s true backbone.』

One side of the vision is dyed red.

From putting too much strength enduring the pain, it seems the fine blood vessels in the eyes have burst greatly.

『One praised as a sage sold his disciples to avoid his own pain.』

『One famous for deep filial piety shifted suffering onto his parents.』

『A fellow called a great hero cut down innocent ones to flee from me.』

『A hero of high fame as a brave general cried like a child and begged like a beggar that he would never hold a sword again.』

Nevertheless I cannot give up climbing.

I must see the face of the thing waiting at that summit no matter what.

『But the old man likes humans.』

『A fraud who has deceived others his whole life finally kept a single promise and discarded his own life.』

『A villain who committed murder cut out his own thigh and fed it to a child starving in famine.』

『A man pointed at as the greatest coward under heaven finally stayed alone for everyone.』

『No matter what shell was worn, the backbone of a sincere human cannot be known, so is it not truly interesting?』

By the way, it is noisy with its chattering.

I don’t know things like justice or morality or honor.

If I had cared about such things I would have gone to a psychiatrist long ago, somehow treated this dog-like personality, studied hard, and become a police officer or challenged a professional job.

『What leads you to the summit?』

But I did not do that.

Beating down the criminal in front of me was all for self-satisfaction, and I have no regret in moving by my own backbone while giving justice or honor to the dogs.

“I, want, to, hit, your, face, once.”

I who try to satisfy my mood with violence am also nothing but one criminal.

Such a guy cannot talk about honor and justice.

『The young one has quite the temper.』

Enduring the pain and continuing to walk, before I knew it I reached the summit.

Looking at the human-faced tiger visible beyond the red vision I gripped the wooden sword.

『If the personality is fierce there are times one gains benefit and times one suffers loss. They say a fierce personality is fixed by dying—what to do?』

“You don’t know.”

Blue sword qi shone brightly.

“It doesn’t get fixed even if you die.”

A blue trajectory bloomed in the air.

I swung the wooden sword at the face of the thing that was smiling grotesquely, but the thing did not dodge.

『A promise is a promise.』

However, I could not cut it.

The only result was a single faint straight scar crossing the bloodless white bridge of the nose.

“Ha.”

Strength drains from the entire body.

The body soaked in sweat no longer moved, and before I knew it the ground surged up and charged at me.

‘I’ll die again.’

This personality of mine.

Will it get fixed if I die twice?

But when I opened my eyes again, there was no third reincarnation.

『Have you woken? The consumption of heart force was great, so continue lying down.』

The thing’s tail fluttered behind my neck.

I do not understand the situation of using a monster’s tail as a pillow.

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

『Did I not say from the beginning?』

Looking down at me the thing smiled brightly.

The thing’s teeth that are only fangs look as if they will chew and eat me at any moment.

『The old man said he likes humans. What he dislikes is only the chaff. I saw your backbone and liked it, so what reason is there to kill?』

At the thing’s attitude toward humans anger surged again and I immediately raised my body and faced the thing.

“Are people toys?”

『Just as humans test and judge others, the old man’s actions are not greatly different.』

“Bullshit.”

I want to charge at the thing again but strength does not enter.

Still, trying somehow to land one hit I jumped in even with bare hands, but no matter how much I ran I did not get closer to the thing.

『Truly lively. Youth is indeed good!』

“What kind of spell is this!”

『More than that your martial strength is truly amazing. A person’s vessel is not large, able to hold at most a speck of energy, yet energy like a great sea has entered, and there is still overflowing room.』

It’s not like running on a treadmill, yet I can’t get closer to the opponent a few steps ahead.

『The old man likes giving gifts to humans he likes. So is there something you want?』

“No, I won’t take it.”

『Don’t be like that and take it. Wasn’t it that you wanted to defeat the old man?』

“Then at least tell me what your ability is.”

『Is that really enough?』

“That’s enough.”

The thing smiled and answered.

『The old man has shallow talent and can only handle one thing. It is twisting, pulling, and swinging anything. Yes, if expressed in human words it can distort anything.』

Now the situations so far were understood.

『Space, time, place, senses—anything desired.』

It was an ability no different from being able to do anything if one sets one’s mind to it.

“What is the weakness?”

『Oh, I want to tell you but I cannot. The old man also does not know the old man’s weakness.』

The face of the thing that was talking came closer.

Aiming for that moment I swung my fist, and even though I extended my arm fully at a distance of less than a span it did not reach as if making a ghost weep.

『By the way, it was you who woke the old man.』

“Me?”

『The old man liked this land and requested a 100-year nap. But suddenly waking without knowing the reason was puzzling. Seeing you this closely now, I finally know the reason.』

The thing rubbed its face against my body like a cat and smelled.

It is called a cat, but I thought I would be crushed to death.

『A strange fragrance comes from you. It is a fragrance that quite draws the heart, so other fellows will also be drawn to you.』

“Other fellows meaning strange forces and turbulent spirits?”

『That is so. Of course it is because it is the old man that the fragrance was found; other fellows will not even know why they are drawn.』

Strange forces and turbulent spirits being drawn was not a good thing.

『Someone will want to eat you. Someone will express favor, and someone might be hostile. There will be fellows who want to possess you and ones who find it strange and try to kill you.』

Especially even more so in our village.

“Tell them to come. No one will be able to touch our village.”

『Even if a fellow as strong as the old man comes, can you do so?』

“I can.”

『You will be able to protect your own body, but whether you can protect the village is another matter.』

Knowing that I cherish the village from a single word is a big mistake.

『There is no need to make such a scary expression. Did the old man not say he likes fellows like you? It is merely that I mentioned it because I thought of making a bet that satisfies both your circumstances and the old man’s curiosity.』

“A bet?”

『Yes, the old man will take measures so that strange forces and turbulent spirits cannot approach your village. Instead, you leave the village and walk your own path.』

I do not want to deal with things like strange forces and turbulent spirits.

『A frog in a well thinks the sky it knows is the entire world, and a childish one-day puppy does not know the tiger is scary. That your backbone is upright even though still young is something to praise, but one does not know how it will change if you experience the world. The old man wants to see your backbone after gaining experience.』

However, the temptation that a monster I cannot defeat with my current self will protect the village was too intense.

『Whether the changed backbone will still be to my liking, or disappointing.』

“In the end it means leave the village and wander the world.”

『That is so.』

“Since it is a constitution that attracts strange forces and turbulent spirits I will meet all sorts of bizarre ones.”

『Are you scared?』

“No.”

If I am in the village strange forces and turbulent spirits will be attracted.

Even if not, as long as countless strange forces and turbulent spirits exist in the world, I will not be able to sleep at night from worry whether the village is truly safe.

Also, I hope the thing’s words are a lie, but the risk of not believing is greater than believing.

“I was merely waiting for you to tell me until when I must leave.”

Especially in this current situation where an opponent I cannot defeat knows what I cherish.

『There is not much left of this year. Travel is said to have good fortune if departing in the new year, so how about after the new year brightens?』

“Let’s do so.”

『Then the old man will go to keep the promise. I will watch your traveling appearance from afar, so there is no need to look for me.』

The monster thing disappeared.

Lying down the tired body, the blue sky fills my eyes.

‘...Would I need to reach a level where I can cut the sky to be able to cut that thing too?’

In martial arts novels when reaching the final realm there are many cases of cutting space with space slash or whatever?

But since it is an opponent that can also distort time, do I need to be able to cut time too?

I don’t think I’ve seen a realm that cuts time.

『You are alive.』

“Three-legged Crow?”

On the tree at the head, the Three-legged Crow looked down at me.

『I will say in advance that this seat did not abandon Daoist Mu Gyeong.』

“Then where were you?”

『In the powerful spell of the Heaven-grade the spell binding this seat was destroyed. Because the Heaven-grade’s spell did not target this seat I stayed in the nearby forest.』

It was written in the Daoist’s journal that it suddenly disappeared, so it must be true.

『I did not know I would see a battle between two Heaven-grades. This is a very rare case.』

“You were watching?”

『It is hard to meet even one Heaven-grade in a lifetime. I could not dare pass up the miraculous situation of two Heaven-grades gathering.』

“...Wait, what? Two? One is that tiger cub, and the other?”

『Why are you pretending not to know? Naturally it is you.』

Hm.

As expected, the trembling last time was from feeling my internal energy?

『A mere human has confined natural earth qi in the flesh and is toying with it at will. Treating it like one’s own limbs, controlling it at will with one’s will—this is an unprecedented matter. It is something that cannot be done unless it is a Heaven-grade strange force and turbulent spirit, so it is truly the ability of reverse heaven bizarre delusion.』

Quickly moving my feet I captured the thing on the tree branch.

“Who are you calling a monster, you bastard?”

『I did not say monster! I said strange force and turbulent spirit!』

“That’s the same thing!”

『B-this seat’s words are not wrong! Don’t you feel it yourself! That you are peculiar to the point of being on a different track from others! If that’s not a monster what is it!』

...It’s not a wrong statement but it feels unpleasant from the listening side.

No, because it’s not a wrong statement it feels more unpleasant.

“You need some mental education.”

The charge is the crime of touching my mood.