“Isn’t this the book you were looking for throughout the past twenty years? If only the master hadn’t been missing in action he would still be going around looking for it.” Asked Do Pyeong-su
“How long do you think has it been for this book?”
Seo Seok-san answered after looking at the state of the book.
“I don’t think it’s been three years? Manbak Seon-in probably died last year? It seems like it’s the last book he left before he died.”
“Do you think the monarch of Hyeol Yeong-moon will be possessing it as mentioned here?”
“We have no choice but to go and check it ourselves.”
“Perhaps is there ‘Surado’ (A universe where war never stops) as well?”
Yeon Geum-hong stopped as she was turning the pages of the book.
“It’s here.”
Do Pyeong-su’s Adam’s apple moved up and down fast.
“Where and who is having it?”
“Oseong Do-mun? Have you ever heard about them?”
Although all of them were well aware of all the Munpa (Guardians of the Moorim) of Moorim, it was the first time they’ve heard the Munpa called ‘Oseong Do-mun.”
“They’re the Munpa of Pingyao city in Shanxi province.”
Do Pyeong-su was struggling as if he wanted to leave right away.
Seo seok-san got Do Pyeong-su to calm down.
“First of all, calm down. You were looking for about fifteen years, weren’t you? It’s not going to go anywhere if you wait for few more years.”
“I hope…so?”
“First of all, let’s see if the location of the treasure mentioned in the ‘Various Treasures’ is right.”
Seo Seok-san pointed to one side of the book.
“Here is the resurrection oil. It is said that a guy named Ko Tai-bang, who runs the Ko herbal medicine store in Fogang County, Zhejiang has about fifty milliliters.”
Everyone was surprised.
“Fifty milliliters? That’s quite a lot!”
“Yes. If it’s about that much, we can get it for nothing if we use it well. It’s a distance of four hours from here to Fogang County. Let’s check here first.”
Yeon Geum-hong agreed to Seo Seok-san’s words.
“It’s not a bad idea, since Ko Tai-bang has the resurrection oil, we can trust the contents of this book.”
“Jang Man-dok said since the abolition is learning Blood & Iron martial arts, he will be needing the resurrection oil as well.”
“If it is the resurrection oil, it’s the world’s magical elixir that can improve the Neigong in one gulp, without even needing to learn Blood & Iron martial arts.”
“Who’s going?”
“As I’m the fastest, I have to go.”
No one opposed Yeon Geum-hong.
“Now that we’ve spoken about it, I’ll get going right away.”
“You don’t even know where the Ko herbal medicine store is located in Fogang County, do you?”
“As it’s not a big place, if I ask around I’ll find it right away. Until I’m back, don’t even think of messing around with my liquor.”
“How will you see us?”
“Even if I don’t know about other people, I know that we won’t do anything cowardly among ourselves. However, it’s very important to be caught up with the liquor we’re brewing this time, don’t you think so?”
None of them were able to deny Yeon Geum-hong’s words.
“I’ll be going after leaving a special mark in my brewery. So that I’ll be able to know as soon as someone gets in there. If someone gets in there, I won’t tolerate it.”
“We’ll watch out so that not even a single fly gets in there.”
“‘Moorim’s Art of War?”
Geom Woo-bin tilted his head looking at the book Seo Seok-san gave him.
“This is a book that has all the necessary knowledge for you to live in Moorim in the future. It’ll be helpful if you read it.”
Geom Woo-bin looked at the book with his hands crossed as if he was thinking of something.
“Abolition, what’s wrong?”
“If I go to Moorim, will there be a lot of enemies?”
Seo Seok-san who was about to reply, “that’s up to you.” Stopped himself from saying so.
If one is Hwa Jeok-san’s student and the blood lion’s abolition, it was similar to carrying a target all over their body.
“What does it have to do with a lot of enemies or enmity? If you’re strong there won’t be any problems. Don’t worry about it in advance, just take this book off first.”
The dense letters, one knot thicker than the middle finger, made it a pain in the neck just by turning the first page.
So, without even thinking about looking at it, the blood-lion gave the book to Geom Woo-bin.
“There are also letters that I pretty much don’t know…”
Geom Woo-bin smiled brightly while going through the book roughly.
“I’ll be studying them, and it will also be great at the same time.”
The abolition was quite a positive kid.
Yeon Geum-hong who went to get the resurrection oil returned home the next day as the night fell.
“Why did you take so long?”
“There were some incidents.”
“What incidents?”
Yeon Geum-hong swished her hand.
“Don’t worry, it’s not a big deal. And….”
Yeon Geum-hong took out a black leather pouch from her bosom.
“Indeed, there was resurrection oil.”
Jang Man-dok took out a finger-sized magnetic bottle from the pouch and opened the lid. The slightly viscous resurrection oil was a milky white liquid with no odor.
Jang Man-dok who slightly tilted the bottle to check the contents nodded and as he did so, everyone smiled.
Not only did they find the resurrection oil, but they also confirmed that the contents of the ‘Various Treasures’ were true.
“Hahaha! In the future, even the pleasure of treasure hunting would be pleasant.”
Seo Seok-san accepted Do Pyeong-su’s words.
“What we need to focus on is the magical elixir that can make the abolition stronger. That’s the most urgent thing.”
Everyone agreed with that idea.
Then that night, everyone gathered in the warehouse where Geom Woo-bin was soaking his body in the herbal water.
Geom Woo-bin who had already been scowling for the pain that would come after a while looked bewildered.
“Why have you all gathered up?”
Seo Seok-san said while Jang Man-dok was pouring the herbal water into the barrel that Geom Woo-bin was in.
“Today we found a precious medicine. Have you perhaps heard of the resurrection oil?”
“Nope.”
“It’s a precious medicine that can make an ordinary person live long and healthy by just having one drop of it, and for Moorim people to obtain Neigong worth of decades.”
“Is that so? How did you find such a thing?”
Although they knew where it was from, only Yeon Geum-hong knew the answer for ‘how’. She replied clearing her throat as she received the attention of the other three.
“I got it as a gift for saving my acquaintance’s daughter.”
“That’s great. Then let’s all…urgh!”
As the herbal water filled up to his neck, the pain slowly came in. Geom Woo-bin who was groaning continued talking as he furrowed his brows.
“As we’re the abolitions, it’d be great if we take it fairly. No, I’ll be fine even if I don’t have it. Yet, there is nothing I’ve done as such as Neigong…”
Bloop!
As Jang Man-dok tilted the magnetic bottle, the white liquid spilled inside the herbal water.
Seo Seok-san asked in astonishment.
“That’s something which you’re supposed to drink, isn’t it?”
While Jang Man-dok was squeezing out the last drop by washing the inside of the magnetic bottle using the herbal water, Do Pyeong-su opened his mouth to talk.
“You said everything will be absorbed into the skin? Rather, this is better. If he takes a lot of this resurrection oil at once not only the abolition’s body won’t be able to stand it, but the effect of the medicine will also not be absorbed. It’s going to slowly absorb over the next six months.”
“Seriously?”
“How would I know if you ask me? It’s because that’s how Jang Man-dok is.”
“How do you know by just looking at Jang Man-dok’s expression?”
“Why wouldn’t I be knowing? You guys are strange for not knowing. It’s not like we’ve seen each for one or two days.”
“No one else knows. If only you know it, then you’re the strange one.”
“You should not know what you don’t know. I mean, Jang Man-dok said if we want to fight, to go out and fight as it’s distracting the abolition.”
As Geom Woo-bin was fighting the flood of pain, he didn’t have the time to be concerned about his surroundings. Geom Woo-bin’s limit was to maintain his posture straight.
However, Jang Man-dok’s voice penetrated Geom Woo-bin’s head.
Jang Man-dok’s voice which he first heard, calmed his mind with an undertone that spread low.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounds to practice the ‘unity of man & heaven’ in a pain that seems like crushing one’s entire body.
Jang Man-dok’s voice calmed his mind once again and reduced the pain a little bit. Geom Woo-bin tried hard to gather the energy in the lower abdomen by reciting the phrases of the ‘unity of man & heaven’.
He only felt some warm energy, but he couldn’t reach the stage where something worth as Neigong could be made.
He kept hearing Jang Man-dok’s voice in his head, but it was not something understandable. It seemed like words that monks recite while doing the chants.
However, that voice put his mind at ease.
Although the pain was still severe, his mind was in a strange, relaxed condition.
And then at some point, the area around the lower abdomen wiggled.
It was just a feeling of the energy that he had felt, lumping up in a circle.
Geom Woo-bin spun that energy to increase it in size as if he was rolling a snowball. It grew surprisingly quick and made Geom Woo-bin’s lower abdomen heavy.
When Geom Woo-bin felt that he couldn’t grow it any further, he let the energy of the lower abdomen flow to all the bones of the limbs. Although he was practicing Qigong (An ancient Chinese exercise and healing technique that involves meditation, controlled breathing, and movement exercises) in the meantime, he just felt it. He had never felt so full of energy as this and he felt like his body was being purified.
The pain was still there, but that pain didn’t preclude the Qigong from happening.
Jang Man-dok who was helping out Geom Woo-bin with Qigong felt truly astonished. He anticipated the resurrection oil would be of great help in Geom Woo-bin’s Neigong.
But, that immensity exceeded Jang Man-dok’s anticipation for a long time.
‘It was because it’s rough, if it about this much, it will make it quite easier.’
Although now it’s day one, there is no saying to what extent it will develop if he continues to train.
That only depends on Geom Woo-bin’s nature.
Looking at the first reaction to it, Geom Woo-bin could have even walked the path of genius martial artists that these guys have never seen.
‘We can even move on faster with the progress of blood & iron martial arts.’
If Geom Woo-bin had heard that, he would’ve opposed it with so much anger.
“Thank you for all that you’ve done for me!”
“Phew! I wish you worked a little more.”
Although Seo Poong-sik felt regretful, he couldn’t try any further as it was a promise made from the beginning.
“Even if I’m not working at the boarding house I’ll come to visit you often.”
“Are you seriously coming tomorrow to sell the liquor?”
“Yes.”
Seo Poong-sik’s lips drooped down and his smile lines deepened.
There were ways mentioned in the ‘Moorim’s Art of War’ to know a person’s mood even with a slight difference in their facial expression.
“Don’t feel burdened. If it doesn’t taste good, I wouldn’t even consider selling it.”
“Hahaha! This guy, what do you know about the taste of liquor?”
“Although I don’t know, the people who are brewing liquor now are the world’s best habitual drinkers.”
“Alright, I get it. First of all, bring it to me.”
Geom Woo-bin bid his farewell walking out of the boarding house and wore the iron balls on his wrist and ankle. In the beginning, it was only when he was leaving for work, which was weighted 1.8 and 3 kilograms, but now it has increased to 3.6 and 6 kilograms, and they didn’t leave Geom Woo-bin even while he was going home from work.
But still, his footsteps were light.
The blood & iron martial arts got in place and thanks to the effect of the resurrection oil, the depth of Neigong has changed.
Yet, fist work and footwork in martial arts was all that Geom Woo-bin was still learning.
“Foundation of all the martial arts is fist work, if the foundation is not strong, it’s never going to reach the level of ascension.”
It was a consistent opinion of four priests.
Geom Woo-bin returned home and he was able to meet the priests who were gathered in the yard. Although the sales were starting tomorrow, the opening day of the liquor was today.
A light of nervousness was written all over the faces of the priests who were gathered in the yard.
They’ve brewed hundreds and thousands of liquor bottles so far but such nervousness was hard to understand.
“What’s wrong with all of your faces? As if you’re going to a war that’ll put your life at stake.”
“It’s because there’s something as important as life at stake.”
Everyone nodded at Yeon Geum-hong’s words.
“What’s there in liquor to put your life at stake?”
“No. You don’t have to know that.”
Geom Woo-bin didn’t try to make them answer forcibly.
“Are you going to open it now?”
“Nope. There’s still an hour left.”
Yeon Geum-hong dragged Geom Woo-bin by his arms to the backyard.
“Using the break time, do you want to try practicing ‘Art of Memorization’?
“Art of Memorization?”
“Yes. It won’t affect the hand and footwork that much.”
“Why Art of Memorization out of…. nowhere??”
“There is nothing like the Art of Memorization to use in an emergency.”
“What’s emergency for me?”
“Starting from tomorrow you will be wandering here and there selling liquor, won’t you?”
Manufacturing will be taken care of by the priests and selling it was up to Geom Woo-bin.
It was a decision Geom Woo-bin insisted on because he also had to do something.
“I’m just going to sell the liquor…”
“Anyways, there’s nothing wrong with learning it, so learn it.”
Yeon Geum-hong put on over-sleeves about four inches wide onto Geom Woo-bin’s wrists. The outside was made of black cloth, but it was heavier than it seemed.
“There are forty needles inside this.”
As Yeon Geum-hong pushed the back part of the sleeves, a needle popped out from inside.
Once you get used to it, you can draw out five needles with just a movement of the wrist. There is this stance of the Chihwa Naksu that you’re learning now, right? It’s about twisting your wrists like this.”
Yeon Geum-hong continued talking after showing a brief example.
“The wrist movement is similar to that. You flick your wrist like this while practicing the Neigong as if shooting through your fingertips!”
The needle that left Yeon Geum-hong’s hand was stuck halfway not even in a tree but a stone.
Yeon Geum-hong said to Geom Woo-bin who was surprised.
“Don’t think about the force. You just need to practice to get the aim right. Think about aiming the target and that there is a thread connected to your fingertips. Then, it will get easier.”
Of course, it wasn’t easy.
At first, it was difficult to even understand the words, practice as if the Neigong is being shot through the fingertips. However, as he kept tossing the needle without a break for a while, he looked like he will get it at some point.
At that time Seo Seok-san’s voice was heard.
“It’s time for the opening!”