Chapter 52

Chapter 51. The Doctor Who Treated Seol Hwi (1)

Yunmugi was sitting at a desk, writing with a brush by the light.

However, this was not ordinary writing.

The man, seemingly suffering from a physical ailment, wrote each character carefully, taking deep breaths.

Whenever the characters became skewed, his eyes would twitch violently, and he would glance at the strong man standing beside him.

"Continue."

At his command, the man picked up the brush again.

He carefully moved the brush on the paper.

After quite some time had passed,

"Yeshimi, I will do my best..."

Yunmugi's body was paralyzed except for his right arm and mouth.

Under Seol Hwi's gaze, he answered with a slurred voice.

"Yes, I will do my best. Seokdoo, please adjust his jaw."

"Yes!"

Seokdoo responded loudly and grabbed Yunmugi's jaw.

In an instant, Yunmugi's eyes turned fierce, and Seokdoo bared his teeth.

"Are you going to make the other side burst too?"

"No, no..."

"Still, you should take a hit."

Slap!

Seokdoo swiftly slapped him, and his neck bent sharply.

Satisfied, Seokdoo grabbed Yunmugi's jaw with both hands and pushed it back in.

Yunmugi let out a short groan and lowered his head.

Seeing his dejected appearance, Seol Hwi said,

"Don't act pitiful. You're the one who feeds on people's vital energy."

"That's not what I wanted. It's just that what I learned was only that..."

"Shh."

Seol Hwi lifted his leg, and Yunmugi hurriedly ducked his head.

Without anyone saying anything, he diligently moved the brush.

After a while, Seol Hwi, looking down at the calligraphy, asked again,

"How long will it take?"

The task he had given was to recompile the Reverse Body Technique.

Since Yunmugi did not have the secret manual, he intended to learn from the book.

That's why he had made such efforts to obtain it.

"It should be finished soon."

"Is that so?"

Seol Hwi nodded.

Then, as if something else came to mind, he asked again,

"Why did you transform into Jeong Gongzi?"

"That's..."

"Don't play games. If you don't speak honestly, you'll get another hit."

"New... I wanted a new life!"

"...What?"

Seol Hwi looked at him in disbelief.

"I couldn't continue this life anymore. I just wanted to live someone else's life, unknown to anyone."

"You're crazy. Do you think someone who has learned the Blood Suction Technique can live properly among the crowd?"

"That's why... That's why I wanted to try more."

This time, he seemed genuinely serious, with tears welling up in his eyes.

Seol Hwi felt uncomfortable with this expression and changed the subject.

"Why did you run away with the Reverse Body Technique?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Reverse Body Technique. The one you received from Elder Baekhong."

"That's the Shadow Projection Technique (潛影投體術)?"

"Stop with the shadow nonsense... What did you just say? Shadow Projection Technique?"

Seol Hwi's eyes widened.

He was surprised to hear an unexpected martial art from Yunmugi's mouth.

'Ah! Is that why?'

Seol Hwi finally remembered.

When attacked by Yunmugi, he had transformed into a small child.

He thought it might be the Reverse Body Technique, but it was actually the Shadow Projection Technique.

[As a reward, you receive the 'Torn Secret Manual Map (1/4)' and the 'Secret Manual Key'.]

And this was related to that.

He had thought the secret chamber of the sect leader was impossible to enter due to the many enemies, but with this martial art, it might not be impossible.

* * *

When they brought Yunmugi outside, the people of Manjin Mountain Villa were waiting.

Especially, seeing Joo Wan-gil and Joo So-hye at the front, it seemed they had expected Seol Hwi to leave immediately after interrogating the villain.

"What can I say to express my gratitude..."

Joo Wan-gil was showing more formal courtesy than before.

Not only had the villain been captured, but the situation where his daughter was almost married to Jeong Gongzi had been resolved, giving him a great sense of relief.

"There's no need to thank me. I just did my job."

Seol Hwi turned his head with a neutral expression.

He glanced at Yunmugi, who was slumped over Seokdoo's shoulder.

[You have learned the Reverse Body Technique.]

[You have learned the Shadow Projection Technique.]

Seol Hwi was momentarily surprised when he learned the martial arts from the book Yunmugi had given him.

Upon examining the martial arts, he found that the Reverse Body Technique Yunmugi had learned was not just a simple face-changing technique.

It could change the shape of the larynx to distinguish between genders and alter the voice, and even grow hair as desired.

The only things impossible to change were the body's skeleton and the eyes.

Except for these, everything was possible.

And Yunmugi had overcome one of the two impossibilities using a technique called Yi Jin Gong (易筋功) within the Shadow Projection Technique.

This technique not only changed the body's structure but also allowed maintaining that form for a long time.

The only thing that couldn't be changed was the eyes.

At that moment, it became clear how Yunmugi had deceived others as Jeong Gongzi, Jeong Mu-yeon.

"Sir, can you visit us again?"

While his attention was on Yunmugi, Joo So-hye spoke to him.

Seol Hwi nodded.

"Yes, I will. After all, I have a reason to come back."

"Huh? Reason..."

"Something like that."

Seol Hwi confirmed the mission floating above her head again.

※ Special Note: 2 missions (Wu Sa Mission)

When he chose the Wu Sa Mission, there were two things to pick up.

Naturally, he should take care of these when he could.

"Alright."

"Would you like to have a meal..."

Joo Wan-gil asked urgently, but Seol Hwi shook his head.

There was no time to relax.

There were still four major missions left.

He could enjoy his time later during the Wu Sa Mission.

"Let's go."

Seol Hwi lightly bowed and called Seokdoo.

He looked down at the inn.

The words [Return] were floating as if waiting for him, and a light was blinking.

When he selected it,

[Return to your residence? Accept/Decline]

Seol Hwi pressed accept, satisfied with the convenient ability.

* * *

When he came to his senses, he was back at his residence, and the information window appeared as soon as he arrived.

However, it was not just text and numbers as before.

- Who caught Yunmugi?

- Seol Hwi. I didn't know he had such an outstanding martial artist under his command.

- When that child faces a great crisis, I will not stand idly by.

[Seol Hwi's favor with Sima Baikong has reached the highest level.]

He could clearly see the face of Elder Sima Baikong, whom he had never seen before, filled with emotion.

At the same time, the numbers appeared.

[Stamina increased by 10,000.]

[Internal Energy increased by 10,000.]

[Combat Power increased by 10,000.]

Stamina 710,000 (↑10,000)/710,000

Internal Energy 1,210,000 (↑10,000)/1,210,000

Combat Power 5,910,000 (↑10,000)

He enjoyed the pleasure of increased stamina, internal energy, and combat power without doing much.

[11 days have passed in the mission. You have 17 days left to act freely.]

He had also gained free time to act as he pleased.

'If I calculate, it took about 5 days to travel?'

Seol Hwi thought about the 11 days.

5 days to travel.

1 day to catch Yunmugi.

5 days to return.

The number 11 matched perfectly with this calculation.

'If the travel time is longer for places like Sichuan, what happens if I can't complete the mission within a few days?'

If it took 5 days to Qinghai, it would take about 10 days to Sichuan.

Then, the time left to complete the mission would be only about 10 days.

Would it be possible to fail to complete the mission within that time?

'I'll find out when I face it directly.'

Well, there was no way to know now, no matter how much he thought about it.

The only thing he could do was to make good use of the remaining 17 days.

"Alright, now it's time to practice!"

Seol Hwi felt restless.

He had learned the Reverse Body Technique and the Shadow Projection Technique and wanted to see how to use them.

Moreover, there was the important Fengxin Technique, and another one.

Xiaoxin Shuma Gong and Chao Requan Ma Gong.

He wanted to use these and see how powerful they were.

Just thinking about it made his hands clench.

* * *

The 17 days passed in the blink of an eye.

Seol Hwi spent every