NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14
Chapter 14: Living as a Man
– Shh, sshh!
As soon as I drew my sword, the poisonous snake slithered towards me with its mouth wide open.
I quickly stepped on the Minor Yang Step to dodge its attack.
– Swooosh!
The snake’s bite narrowly missed me.
Infuriated, it let out a sound and charged at me again.
But I was a master who had reached the pinnacle of purity in my previous life.
A creature like that is merely a trivial matter.
As I gathered my inner energy, I dodged its attack once more with the Minor Yang Step, then unleashed the Minor Yang Sword Method to slice down on its neck.
Clang!
But its scales were only scratched; its body remained unharmed.
Blood flowed from the wound on its body.
– Hissssss!!!
It seemed my attack had wounded its pride, causing the snake to go wild.
Though it wasn’t a spiritual creature, due to gathering some energy, it appeared to have developed stout scales.
Unexpected, but that’s fine.
In fact, it’s a good thing.
Sturdy scales mean it has gathered plenty of energy.
And that means when I boil it down for soup, the effects will be even better.
A better soup, huh!
“Hehehe.”
I transformed my bubbling joy into laughter and activated the Minor Yang Heart Method to boost my inner energy.
The Gongdong Sect’s inner energy method is based on Reverse Blood.
Of course, the basic method doesn’t include a momentary explosion of potential like Reverse Blood Great Method, but as a mastery of purity, I can certainly apply the essence of Reverse Blood with Minor Yang Heart Method to temporarily amplify my inner energy.
I operated the Minor Yang Heart Method using the essence of Reverse Blood.
Whoooom.
Feeling my dantian vibrate, the amplified inner energy surged violently through my meridians.
A twinge of pain from a slight hit to my meridians, but that’s okay; I can endure this much.
I injected the amplified inner energy into my sword.
The sword vibrated lightly, imbued with my energy.
Holding the vibrating sword, I charged toward the snake.
“Don’t! Master!”
I heard my disciple’s urgent scream from behind.
She’s probably worried that I might get bitten.
And she was right to be worried.
I was indeed planning to get bitten by the snake.
Of course, I wasn’t crazy; I was perfectly sane.
‘The poison of this snake contains the yang energy of vitality. If I neutralize the poison in my body, it could serve as a stamina booster like no other.’
One of the fundamental principles of medieval martial arts medicine is that poison and medicine come from the same source (药毒同源).
Depending on how you use it, poison can be medicine, and medicine can become poison, so there’s no need to distinguish between the two.
Thus, the snake’s poison could also be used as medicine based on this principle.
Of course, if an ordinary person gets bitten by the snake, they would naturally become poisoned and die, but I’m not an ordinary person.
With my skill in inner energy control, a former top master of the imperial palace, I could sufficiently expel the poison with just energy circulation and absorb the vitality.
So, I braced myself, letting the snake’s bite find my shoulder while simultaneously striking downward with the sword loaded with my amplified inner energy toward the creature’s body.
– Screeeeam!
The snake let out a scream, its venomous blood spraying into the air like a fountain.
The enhanced force from my sword cleanly severed its body in two.
At the same time, I felt the intense poison swiftly spreading from the area around my shoulder, where the snake had bitten me, coursing through my veins.
“Master!”
I could hear my disciple’s sobbing voice from afar, but I ignored it.
As I forcefully removed the snake’s head from my shoulder, I closed my eyes tightly.
Now, the crucial part began.
I needed to expel the poison and absorb only the vitality.
Normally, with just a tiny amount of inner energy I’d built up over a month, expelling the poison would be nearly impossible.
But with my amplified inner energy through Reverse Blood, combined with my delicate inner energy control, it was possible.
Just then, as I felt my body paralyzing, I was about to ignite my inner energy.
“Master! No! Master! Master!!”
My disciple jumped on me, tears streaming down her face.
Thud! Thud! Thud.
I rolled on the dusty grass, completely pinned down by my disciple.
What the heck?
Why did she suddenly jump on me?
I should have been able to sense her dive and dodge it with my refined energy perception now that I’d gathered some inner energy. But unfortunately, I was currently focused entirely on energy circulation, with poison roaming through my body.
Even if I had perceived it, my body was stiffening due to the poison, so I couldn’t dodge her charge.
Thus, I could only suffer the humiliation of being pinned beneath my slender, androgynous disciple.
‘Damn it…!’
A tear of regret rolled down my cheek.
First a hug, then she fed me like a fish bone, and now I’m being pinned down by my not-so-innocent disciple who’s definitely not a heavenly beauty!
Originally, I wanted to be in a romantic setting on a beautifully lit night with the full moon, being hugged by a pure but demure beauty with her face flushed from desire, gallantly revealing her voluptuous curves while she pounced on me.
But instead of a full moon, I got a sunset, and instead of fragrant candles, I got the subtle scent of wildflowers, lying on cold earth being pinned down by a boy, not a girl.
My tears flowed freely, like a broken faucet.
The poison from the snake paralyzed my body, and even though I desperately wanted to shout at her to leave me alone, I couldn’t move my face to speak.
“Master! I’m sorry, I said I’d help… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you… P-please wait! I’ll heal you! Master… You can’t die… please…”
Staring down at me, my disciple, with her unfamiliar yet handsome face radiating a suspicious glow in the moonlight, cried tears like pearls while desperately trying to undo my clothes.
Wait a minute, why is she taking off my shirt?
I tried to resist, but my paralyzed body from the snake’s poison wouldn’t listen.
Right now, just stopping the poison from infiltrating my marrow was hard enough.
As my disciple began to undo my shirt, revealing my well-toned chest and abs developed from training, I cried once more.
Showing my bare chest to a boy instead of a girl!
How much does this cruel fate want to take from my purity?
Feeling powerless as my disciple ravages me, I was filled with self-loathing.
Regardless, my disciple leaned down, her lips brushing against the area where the snake had bitten me.
In that moment, a chill ran down my spine.
‘No way, not that…!’
Please don’t tell me she’s trying to perform that kind of emergency treatment!
But my dwindling hope was crushed as she proved me right.
Her soft lips made contact between my neck and shoulder.
The warmth and softness of her lips transmitted through my body.
Yes.
My disciple was kissing my shoulder where the snake had bitten me.
“Ugh… uuuugh…!”
With all my might, I tried to move and shout no, to stop her, but with my body paralyzed by the snake’s poison, I couldn’t even utter proper words.
Meaningless wails echoed in the fading dusk field.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
She diligently sucked and licked my wound.
Anyone could mistake the sound for something inappropriate as it echoed from her lips against my shoulder.
She held me tight, her body pressed against mine, sucking the poison from my shoulder.
I understood logically.
My disciple was executing the common emergency treatment of sucking out the poison after I was bitten by a snake.
But knowing it intellectually doesn’t mean I could accept it emotionally.
“Uhhhhh…!”
Before I realized it, the sunset had completely disappeared, and the full moon began to rise in the night sky.
My vision blurred with tears.
This couldn’t be happening.
Honestly, I could forgive the hug, the act of feeding me a fish bone, and the humiliation of being rolled over.
But for her to not only strip me of my shirt but then kiss my shoulder too! This is my first kiss on my neck! A kiss mark! Given to a boy!
It’s infuriating.
It’s maddening.
I felt utterly wronged.
Tears streamed down my face as if I were hit by a tear gas grenade.
With a slurp, my disciple finally released her lips from my shoulder.
A silver thread connected momentarily before breaking between the wound on my shoulder and her luscious red lips.
With her cheeks flushed, she spat out the poisonous blood she had sucked.
“Ugh….”
The poison… the poison is diminishing.
My vitality… is diminishing.
As the poison dwindled slightly, I felt a small relief from the paralysis.
Finally waking from my stupor, I struggled to escape from my disciple’s embrace.
Is this what cosmic horror feels like?
I needed to escape from this horrific situation, where my sanity was tainted just by imagination.
“Master, what’s wrong? Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorry. Just hang in there… I’ll make it stop hurting….”
However, my disciple seemed to misunderstand something, clutching me tightly and resuming her sucking of the poison from my shoulder.
Slurp, slurp, slurp!
Her lips touched my shoulder again, sending a tingling sensation through my body.
Slurp… slurp… flurp…
The emergency treatment continued.
I had to endure this horrifying time until all the poison left my body, held captive by her.
*
The moment my disciple was bitten by the snake.
Yujinhwi froze in place.
Her only precious disciple.
She had resolved to protect him. She had promised to support him. That day, soothing his tears.
But today, that promise had failed.
Just because she thought snakes were creepy, she left him alone in front of a poisonous snake.
So, it was her responsibility that he was now at death’s door after being bitten.
Yujinhwi thought.
“Master!”
She called his name, tears flowing endlessly from her eyes.
Her precious disciple might die now.
Fear and guilt engulfed Yujinhwi’s heart.
She lunged forward.
“Master! No! Master! Master!”
Thud! Thud!
Under the moonlit field of Gongdong Mountain, Yujinhwi crashed into Lee Cheol-soo, tugging at his shoulders.
“Master! I’m sorry, I said I’d help you… I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you… P-please wait! I’ll heal you! Master… You can’t die… please…”
Tears streamed down her cheeks without end.
The method of emergency care for snake bites taught to her by her master Jeonyeong years ago popped into her mind.
Sucking the wound with her mouth to expel the poison.
A shameful act for a woman to perform on a man, but right now, Yujinhwi didn’t care about that.
Her precious disciple. Her only disciple. Looking grown-up on the outside but fragile inside. And yet, persevering through rigorous training without complaint, striving night and day to stand by her side.
If she could save him, Yujinhwi was ready to do anything.
Slurp, slurp, whoosh.
Yujinhwi sucked out the venom from Lee Cheol-soo’s shoulder with her lips.
“Ugh… uuuugh…!”
Lee Cheol-soo writhed, moaning in pain.
Yujinhwi’s heart pounded as she watched tears streaming from his eyes.
How much must it hurt for him to scream and cry like that…?
“Master, what’s wrong? Does it hurt a lot? I’m sorry. Just hang in there… I’ll make it stop hurting….”
Yujinhwi hugged her disciple even tighter, hastening her action as she quickly placed her lips back on the wound, sucking out the venom.
Tears continued to fall from her eyes.
‘It’s all my fault.’
She had resolved to protect her disciple and lead him. She had made a vow to become a supportive older sister. She had vowed to take responsibility for him.
But what was she doing now? Instead of protecting him, she was the one who had put him in danger!
She was powerless to help him when he had been bitten by the snake and was teetering on the brink of death.
A sting of sharp responsibility and guilt pierced Yujinhwi’s heart.
Suddenly, she recalled a conversation she had had with Master Jeonyeong not long ago.
‘Cheol-soo is a formal disciple of our sect now. Although I should tell him you’re actually a girl who is disguised as a man… I am more concerned about you. Whi, you must live as a man in this martial world. To do that, you must act completely like a man from within our sect first. Only with your everyday demeanor perfectly embodying a man can you function as one in the martial world.’
‘So, I’m treating you like a man now. But I worry if the young and innocent Cheol-soo can continue to see you as a man even knowing that you’re really a girl. After all, Cheol-soo is pure and naive. I was going to tell him the truth when he grows older. But if you wish for it, it would be fine to reveal it now. The choice is yours.’
Disclosing that she was cross-dressing was meant to be her decision.
‘That doesn’t seem like something I should decide right now. Let me think about it slowly. Thank you, Master.’
Yujinhwi had asked for more time, believing it was not something she should decide immediately.
But with her resolve solidified at this very moment.
‘For my innocent disciple, I have to be the strong and reliable older sister he needs. A sister who is true to her strengths, firm while trustworthy, always protecting and guiding him. But I can’t achieve that in a weak woman’s body.’
So, she resolved to live life as a strong older brother.
Only for her disciple.
Determined, Yujinhwi went on, sucking out Lee Cheol-soo’s poison.
“Ugh….”
As the sound of his lament drifted to her ears, she felt helpless.
*
“Master. You’re fine now. That’s good…”
After finishing, Yujinhwi released her grip on his wrist, showing a relieved expression.
In the end, the infuriating and horrific emergency treatment was only completed once she drained the poison from him.
As soon as I could properly move my body, I told her to stop since I’d expel the poison using energy circulation, and Yujinhwi finally released me.
Afterward, I expelled the poison through energy cultivation and absorbed only the vitality.
Since she drained quite a bit of the poison, I ended up absorbing less vitality than expected, but still, my strength had increased.
I touched my hot shoulder.
It was red and swollen from being sucked on so much by her lips.
Right. A kiss mark.
And it was a boy who left the kiss mark on my neck!
I gingerly touched my reddened shoulder and collarbone.
With that, the horrendous memory resurfaced.
I violently pushed down the horrifying recollection, which could strike my mind just by imagining it.
“Thank you for saving my life, Yujinhwi.”
I gritted my teeth inwardly, but outwardly, I composed myself, tidying my clothing before politely expressing my gratitude.
The grudges in the martial world are deep.
This horrible grudge etched onto my body will surely be repaid to Yujinhwi later.
“No need to feel indebted, Master. You’re not just anyone; you’re my disciple. We’re siblings in arms. No need for thanks. Truthfully, I am the one who’s sorry. I said I would help you whenever you were in danger…”
Her face reddened as she waved her hand in response to my words.
“Still, thank you, Yujinhwi. Now that the poison is gone… let’s boil that snake to make Life-Death Soup together.”
I nodded in agreement to Yujinhwi’s words, then began to gather the pot I had prepared even before we set off to find the elixir.
I had planned to eat it alone, but now things had changed.
After all, it looked like Yujinhwi saved me from what could’ve been a deadly situation, so I would have to share this delicious snake soup instead of claiming it all for myself.
A pity, but what can I do?
Just then, I swallowed my unease.
“L-Life-Death Soup? Master, you’re not serious about eating that snake, are you? Right now?”
Yujinhwi was startled and exclaimed.
Why was she reacting like this to my offer for a valuable nourishing dish?
With a blank expression, I replied, “Yes, Yujinhwi. We must eat it now while it’s fresh. Plus, you might not realize it, but Life-Death Soup made from boiled snake is excellent for strength.”
“I’m a man?! Stamina food?!”
Yujinhwi responded overly flustered to my words.
She clearly didn’t want to eat the snake soup.
Well, that’s good for me.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll eat it all myself.”
I brushed past Yujinhwi, preparing the pot and placing the knife against the chopped-up snake.
It was getting late; I needed to eat the soup quickly before searching for Gwangseong Elixir Point and the secrets of the Gongdong Sect.
Then…
“Wait! I want to eat too! If it’s good for men…!”
From behind, I could hear Yujinhwi’s voice.
I clicked my tongue internally at her remarks.
Ha.
Now she’s suddenly interested in things that are good for men?