Free Web Novel“Deokju, step back about thirty feet.”
“Yes, Grand Elder.”
After sending Deokju away, Tang Jung sat in front of me in the Lotus Position with a solemn expression.
“Alright. First, take the Lotus Position.”
I tried to copy Tang Jung and crossed my legs. Put one foot over the other and onto the knee—
“...Huh? Grandfather, how do you do this? My ankle won’t go up.”
“......To think I have to teach you how to sit before anything else. Truly, we’ve got a road ten thousand miles long ahead of us.”
Swallowing a sigh, Tang Jung came closer and fixed the shape of my feet.
Contrary to how it looked, it took a lot of flexibility.
I wiggled my toes awkwardly, and Tang Jung let out a small snort of laughter before speaking.
“Baby. What do you think poison is?”
“Uh... poison is poison.”
It was a brainless answer, but Tang Jung didn’t scold me.
“Correct. Poison is poison. Mix it with water, mix it with liquor—poison is still poison. Do you know what that means?”
“I guess... poison doesn’t dilute easily?”
“That’s right. One drop of poison is enough to pollute a well. But to purify one drop of poison, you’d need ten wells. In other words, poison has tremendous permeation. It can seep into any kind of energy.”
“Seep into it?”
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar idea, and Tang Jung nodded.
“If you toss a freshwater fish into seawater, what happens?”
“It dies.”
“If you toss a saltwater fish into freshwater?”
“It dies too.”
“Martial artists are the same. If someone who has built up pure internal energy takes in a sinister internal energy, they’ll become ruined. And if you breathe internal energy filled with demon-banishing energy into someone who practices demonic arts, their dantian will shatter.”
“So... the ‘nature’ of internal energy has to match.”
Tang Jung’s eyes sharpened with approval.
“You understand quickly. That’s why martial artists must never exchange internal energy carelessly with those of other sects. Every sect’s nature is different.”
Then Tang Jung’s expression shifted—his mouth corners lifting as he asked,
“But tell me this. What if you let poison seep into the energy you’ve taken in?”
I fell into thought.
Let poison seep into it...
Was that giving it a shared property?
“So you’re saying... even internal energies with different natures can be melted into poison, turned into the same nature, and then accepted into the dantian?”
Tang Jung smiled, satisfied.
“Clever girl. No need for me to explain. Then how do you think you can change the nature of internal energy?”
“Uh... do you make the dantian like a poison jar? So no matter what you put in, it becomes part of the poison?”
Tang Jung’s smile deepened, clearly pleased with my answer.
“That’s right. That is my Poison Heart Method. A secret art no one can imitate. Without poison resistance, you can’t even attempt it.”
At his proud tone, I gave a limp little laugh.
Yeah. Of course.
If a normal person tried to hold poison inside their body, they’d just die...
“Then how do I make a dantian?”
“First, you need to recite the mnemonic verse, but...”
Tang Jung trailed off and scratched at his jaw, staring into empty space with a serious face.
What’s wrong with him?
I rolled my eyes around, watching his mood.
“I tried to patch something in, but it’s been so long I can’t remember. It’s not important, so don’t worry about it—just close your eyes.”
...It’s fine to forget the mnemonic verse for a Heart Method?
That’s not important?
“Grandfather. I can trust you, right?”
“You brat. What do you take this grandfather for? Just close your eyes.”
I could trust him, right?
I gave Tang Jung a sideways glance and closed my eyes.
*****
The thrill of finally learning real martial arts lasted about five minutes.
Then boredom twisted me into a pretzel.
Pulling in external energy through my breath and gathering it into something the size of a grain of rice—fine.
Chewing down the impure external energy and dissolving it into poison energy—also fine.
The problem was what came next.
No matter how many times I circulated the energy along the route Tang Jung had opened for me, all I felt was a tickle in my lower belly.
There was no sign of a dantian forming.
Why isn’t it forming?
How long am I supposed to do this?
I kept moving the energy aimlessly—until I couldn’t take it anymore and cracked one eye open.
At some point, the sun had set.
Everything around me was pitch-black.
Startled by the darkness with not a single flame in sight, I turned my head—
—and Tang Jung’s voice came from the shadows.
“Your focus is impressive.”
Tang Jung stood there with his arms folded, watching me.
I rubbed my stiff neck and asked,
“Grandfather, what time is it?”
“Past midnight.”
“...What?”
Past midnight?
So I’d been circulating energy for eight hours?
It felt like maybe an hour.
The fact that it was already night made my sense of time feel broken.
As I scratched my head with a dazed face, Tang Jung asked, pleased,
“So? How was it?”
“I still don’t really know. My lower belly just feels tickly. Is it supposed to be like this?”
“You can’t get full on the first spoonful. Do it for a few more days and the feeling will come.”
Tang Jung answered like it was obvious.
It didn’t look like he expected me to form a dantian today, either.
“Let me see.”
Tang Jung naturally took my wrist and sent true energy through me.
I could feel the dark-blue true energy inspecting every corner of my body.
Tang Jung’s brow lifted, and he let out a short laugh.
“...You gathered it thoroughly. I didn’t think you’d scrape up every last bit like that.”
“...Huh?”
“That means your lower dantian has properly settled. The size isn’t bad, either.”
Withdrawing his true energy, Tang Jung patted my head.
“The tickle in your lower belly is from spirit energy left in your fine meridians mixing with your true energy. Once it dissolves into your true energy, it’ll stop—so don’t worry about it.”
“Really? I made it properly?”
“Yes. You did well.”
As I rubbed my lower belly in fascination, a faint energy swished along under my palm.
Whoa.
What is this?
Now that I knew a dantian existed, I could feel it.
The Ink-Blood Fire Carp’s hot spirit energy, the thousand-year mother-of-pearl’s cool yin energy, the clean energies of spirit herbs, and the impure external energy—all of it had blended together, dyed into a single color.
The same dark-blue as Tang Jung’s true energy.
“Grandfather! The color is exactly the same as yours!”
“Same Heart Method, so of course it is. Once your internal energy builds up, even the color of your eyes will change.”
Tang Jung answered with a faint snort of laughter at my excitement.
“To take in the energy of the entire universe and melt it into your dantian... isn’t it profound? There’s a small universe inside your body as well.”
I don’t know.
That just sounded like a cult leader sermon.
“That’s enough for today. Hold onto me and stand up slowly. Are you dizzy?” ƒrēewebnovel.com
“No? I’m fine— ...I’m not fine. I’m dizzy.”
The moment I stood up holding Tang Jung, the world spun.
Judging by how my muscles were screaming, I’d been sitting in the same posture for too long.
Ah... my legs.
As blood started flowing again, my soles went zzzt with pins-and-needles.
I tiptoed and hopped in place like a lunatic, and Tang Jung pressed his fingers to his forehead.
“Good grief. What undignified behavior is that. Come here.”
Clicking his tongue, Tang Jung laid me down across his knees.
He covered my face with a thin piece of silk and started pressing down firmly on the top of my head.
“When a martial artist is doing energy-and-breath regulation, you become vulnerable even to small shocks. Only do it when I or Deokju is guarding you as your protective guard.”
“Yes.”
“Of course, it’s good to do it often. Your body becomes sturdier, and your internal energy accumulates faster. But don’t touch the Crown Point lightly. It’s dangerous.”
“Yeees.”
“And don’t meddle with innate true energy either. That’s borrowing from your own life.”
“Got it.”
“And...”
Like he still couldn’t rest easy, he kept pouring out warnings.
And all the while, he didn’t stop working my limbs with Chasing-Palace Meridian Points.
His pressure control was so perfect that every time he pushed out a knot of muscle along its grain, it felt like fatigue melted away.
Wow.
That feels so good.
My eyes drifted closed on their own.
“...You must do it. Baby. Are you sleeping?”
“No...”
Tang Jung’s voice blurred farther and farther away.
I should answer that I’m not sleeping...
...but I’m so sleepy...
My head drooped forward helplessly.
*****
“...Good grief. Trying to raise a child this late in life is going to kill me.”
With a small laugh, Tang Jung brushed aside the sleeping disciple’s hair as it slipped down.
For a martial artist to sleep this defenseless, exposing vital points like this—
He should have scolded her sharply.
But he didn’t feel like it.
If anything, he was glad.
It meant she trusted him that much.
Just today, hadn’t she cried and thrown a fit?
She was different now from when she’d been terrified of displeasing him, constantly watching his mood.
Tang Jung found it deeply satisfying that his granddaughter was starting to act her age—leaning on him.
“Grand Elder. I’ll do it.”
“Leave it. This old man will carry her.”
Tang Jung waved Deokju back and carefully lifted Tang Sohae into his arms.
“She’s sleeping like a stone. How did I end up picking up a little rice-puppy like this?”
Muttering, he moved with soft, cautious steps so the one in his arms wouldn’t wake.
Deokju hurried after him.
“How is the new master? She’s good, isn’t she?” fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
“Yes. She’s a good person.”
“She’s soft-hearted and can’t be cruel. Deokju, you must support her well.”
“Yes, Grand Elder.”
As he finished, Tang Jung patted Tang Sohae’s back while she mumbled like she was fussing in her sleep.
“Mmm...”
“It’s alright. Sleep more.”
Watching the close grandfather and granddaughter from the side, Deokju swallowed.
Tang Jung—carrying his sleeping granddaughter with his own hands.
Tang Jung—whispering kindly for her to sleep more.
Everything about it felt unfamiliar.
Did the Poison King have a side like that?
Among the Tang family, famous for their foul temper, the Poison King was infamous for being the most eccentric—if he was second, no one could claim first.
And that Poison King was soothing his granddaughter, teaching her martial arts, constantly carrying her around, brewing spirit medicines for her every seven days and nights, massaging her with Chasing-Palace Meridian Points so she slept gently?
Anyone who knew the Poison King would never believe it.
What was even more astonishing was his master.
The Clan Head’s bastard daughter who had appeared one day, holding the Poison King’s hand.
Deokju’s new master—the youngest young lady—was an extraordinary talent.
For an ordinary person to sense the flow of energy, they needed at least a month of training.
A dullard might not feel it even after more than half a year.
But Tang Sohae—after only one day of learning a Heart Method—had gathered energy and formed a dantian as if it was nothing.
Tang Jung had fed her spirit medicines and guided her circulation to widen her pathways, yes—
But even so, the speed was beyond common sense.
Deokju thought—
Perhaps her master might inherit the Poison King’s name and seize the martial arts world in her hands.
When Tang Sohae returned in Tang Jung’s arms, Gyeonga—waiting on the wooden porch—let out a shrill sound.
“Eek! Th-the young lady... W-where... is she... hurt?”
“She’s just asleep. Lay her on the bed, change her clothes, wipe her hands and feet with a damp cloth, and put her to sleep.”
“Yes, Grand Elder.”
Songji answered instead, quickly opening the bedroom door and checking the bedding.
After a glance into the room, Tang Jung frowned.
“The baby will be cold. What if she catches a chill? Why is the room this chilly? Warm a warming stone and put it under the blanket.”
“Yes.”
There was no way it could be cold—spring flowers had fallen, and the season was already at the edge of early summer—
—but Songji prepared the warming stone exactly as told.
Only after Tang Jung tested the warmed bedding with # Nоvеlight # his own hand did he finally lay Tang Sohae down on the bed.
“Baby. Have sweet dreams.”
Tang Jung whispered softly with a smile.
Then he wiped the expression from his face and left.
