Chapter 8. Escape

How much time had passed?

Yeonjeokha looked for the monster outside the ancient bronze mirror.

The monster sitting on a pile of junk seemed to have grown even larger.

Their eyes met.

He could sense the monster's eyes filled with curiosity.

During that long period, he had done nothing but practice qigong, so it was understandable.

Yeonjeokha waved his hand to the monster, inviting it to come closer.

The monster approached slowly, still on guard.

Their eyes met directly, separated by the bronze mirror.

The moment he saw the monster's eyes, as deep as an abyss, a deep sorrow and terrible pain suddenly overwhelmed him.

"..."

He never expected such emotions to be in the heart of the monster, who had been playing around outside the mirror.

'Ah!'

Yeonjeokha's eyes widened.

The monster up close was neither a ghost nor an ancestral spirit.

'Could this be...?'

The monster outside the mirror also looked surprised and flustered.

Yeonjeokha touched the monster's face reflected in the bronze mirror with his trembling hand.

The monster looked as if it had seen a ghost.

After a while, Yeonjeokha, who had been lost in thought, muttered.

"You... were me."

In the eyes of Yeonjeokha, who had formed the Guchunqi, the truth finally revealed itself.

The monster, or rather the boy, was his true self that he had lost.

The self he had lost in the abuse by his grandmother and the Yan family.

The innocent self he had wanted to live freely had appeared in the form of the boy.

But when his mother died giving birth to him, that dream became unattainable. His father had left him in the hands of his grandmother, and things had been like this ever since.

The time that had passed could never be reclaimed.

Tears streamed down Yeonjeokha's face.

The boy also shed tears.

"Mom..."

Overwhelmed by sorrow, Yeonjeokha lowered his head and wept for a long time.

When he lifted his head again, he was outside the mirror.

Yeonjeokha wiped away his tears with the back of his hand. In the mirror, a thin boy with red, swollen eyes stood motionless.

"Hello."

Yeonjeokha waved at the boy in the mirror.

At that moment,

The boy disappeared, and a fairy appeared in his place.

Looking closely, it was the Guchunxian fairy engraved on the back of the mirror. The background in the mirror had also changed from the warehouse to a beautiful landscape.

The fairy, who had been smiling faintly, soon rode a cloud and flew away into the distant sky.

Surprised by the unexpected event, Yeonjeokha blinked.

Suddenly, the bronze mirror began to be covered by the patina of time. Before he could do anything, the bronze mirror turned completely black.

"Huh? Huh?"

Yeonjeokha carefully examined the broken mirror.

He tried to wipe it with a cloth, but the patina of time did not come off at all.

"Ah!"

A sigh escaped him involuntarily.

It dawned on him that all this was the work of the Guchunxian fairy.

It seemed that the fairy, who was in the celestial realm, had pitied him and helped him.

He could think of no other explanation.

Yeonjeokha placed the heavily rusted Guchunxian mirror against a wall and bowed deeply.

Thud.

The side door opened, and a food basket was pushed in.

This time, it contained hard cakes, vegetables, and a water bottle.

As he picked up the basket, he heard a warrior muttering from a distance.

"Phew! Ten years. Still, as the child of a martial family, you are quite resilient..."

Only then did Yeonjeokha realize he had been locked in the warehouse for ten years.

So, he was sixteen now?

"Hah. Hah. Hah..."

It was unbelievable.

The person who had locked him up was probably his uncle, the chief steward, at the behest of his grandmother.

From the way he mentioned his life, it seemed there was no intention of releasing him.

What should he do now?

As he pondered, a small window for ventilation caught his eye.

He lightly flew up, grabbed the iron bars, and looked out. It was dusk.

Back on the ground, Yeonjeokha thoroughly searched the warehouse.

He found a few martial arts books, which were collected and discarded by the Yan family for reference.

"Feiyanbu (Flying Swallow Step)?"

The title suggested it was a book about a stepping technique or a lightness skill he had not yet learned.

Yeonjeokha set the Feiyanbu aside.

After searching for a while, the only useful thing he found was the Feiyanbu.

"Che!"

Muttering, he flipped through the pages of the Feiyanbu.

The book explained that the technique was modeled after the flying posture of a swallow, followed by various miscellaneous notes.

"Extend your hands like a swallow's wings?"

Yeonjeokha extended his arms behind him, gathered his qi, and took a few steps.

"Wow!"

Even as a lightness skill, it seemed better than walking aimlessly.

After circling the warehouse five times, the Feiyanbu felt natural to him.

It was a rather low-level, crude technique, but Yeonjeokha did not know that.

His cultivation method was unparalleled, and he felt he could run all day using the Feiyanbu.

"Wow! It's really a good technique?"

Yeonjeokha praised it and threw the Feiyanbu behind his back. He had already grasped the principle, so there was no need to carry the book.

He flew back to the small window.

Thanks to mastering the Feiyanbu, his movements were smoother than before.

It was already dark outside.

The sun must have set while he was reading and mastering the Feiyanbu.

Back on the ground, Yeonjeokha kicked the side door where food and waste were brought in.

Thud.

The door did not open, probably locked.

Yeonjeokha pushed his internal energy into his feet, following the Feiyanbu's teachings.

He gently pushed the side door with his toes.

Crack, crack.

With a twisting sound, the side door fell off.

It was still a bit narrow for his body to pass through.

Yeonjeokha crouched down and tore off the wooden planks around the side door with his hands.

The planks, worn by time, easily broke under his powerful grip.

Yeonjeokha crawled out of the warehouse like he used to crawl through dogholes in his childhood.

Once outside, he was suddenly afraid.

If the Walong Hall people found him, they would likely lock him up in a more secure place.

Yeonjeokha quietly walked and climbed over the wall.

He then used the only technique he knew, the Feiyanbu, and ran southward without a destination.

He did not stop, fearing that the White Tiger Guard warriors might follow.

Following the Feiyanbu's instructions, he extended his arms straight behind him. Anyone who saw him would probably laugh at his appearance.

However, as time passed, the lightness skill became faster, and he covered a considerable distance.

Finally, as dawn was breaking, Yeonjeokha's run came to an end.

"Huff! Huff!"

He was so hungry from skipping dinner that his mouth tasted sour, and he felt like he was about to collapse.

Yeonjeokha slowly walked and regulated his breathing.

Wondering where he was, he saw a milestone by the road.

[Dengfeng County, ten li away.]

Yeonjeokha, who had intended to go to Dengfeng County, hesitated.

He realized that he had only covered a day's journey in one night.

This place was too close to his grandmother's house.

If his grandmother sent people, he might be caught soon.

The journey from Yunsai to Dengfeng County took four days, which was quite far, but Yeonjeokha had not considered that.

"Ah! I can't go any further."

His knees were trembling from exhaustion.

Yeonjeokha decided to find something to eat.

He walked into a nearby village, but trouble arose. Children followed him, throwing stones and cursing.

"Wow! He's a beggar!"

"Disgusting!"

"Go away!"

The stones did not hurt much, but it made him feel bad.

Moreover, being called a beggar?

'No, my parents died young, but I was from a wealthy family...'

Thinking about it, he had been locked up.

Moreover, his current appearance was indeed that of a beggar, and a particularly poor one at that.

The clothes he had been wearing for years had worn out and become too short.

They were also torn from running all night.

His unwashed body was covered in dirt, making him look so filthy that even he felt nauseated.

Thud.

A stone hit his forehead.

Feeling a numb sensation, he touched it and found his fingers sticky. Checking, he saw blood.

Suddenly, anger surged within him.

"These brats!"

Yeonjeokha shouted and made a show of chasing them, and the children screamed and ran away.

A passing adult scolded the children for tormenting a poor person, and they quickly found another plaything.

The blood dried quickly in the summer heat.

Someone called out to Yeonjeokha as he trudged along.

"Hey, over there."

Turning around, he saw an old beggar gesturing to him.

"Are you a disciple of the Beggar Sect?"

"No."

"Not a disciple? Then why do you look like a beggar?"

"..."

Yeonjeokha could not say anything.

It was truly heartbreaking to be seen as a beggar when he was not one.

The old beggar approached and asked.

"Do you have a home?"

"No."

"Do you have a bowl?"

"No."

"Are you starving?"

"Yes."

The old beggar clicked his tongue.

"You foolish boy. You're starving because you don't have a bowl. You lack the basics. Take this."

The old beggar handed him a cracked alms bowl from his waist.

Yeonjeokha took the bowl with both hands, surprised.

"Listen carefully. Men don't give alms, so you should only approach women. When you see an auntie, run up to her and say this."

The old beggar, Wang Wugai, a senior of the Beggar Sect, cleared his throat and spoke quickly.

"'Oh! Merciful lady, please save this poor soul! Lady, I became an orphan at a young age and have no one to rely on. Please have pity on me. The Buddha will not forget your kindness.' Raise your voice at the end and look like you're about to cry. Got it?"

"..."

"Yes."

"Try it."

"What?"

"You said you understood. Now, repeat what I said. Let's see how well you can do."

Wang Wugai looked at Yeonjeokha with hopeful eyes.

He intended to take the boy as a disciple if he was smart.

However, Yeonjeokha, who had just emerged into the world, did not fully understand the old beggar's words. Still, he tried to remember and repeat them.

"Merciful lady... please save me. I'm an orphan..."

Saying he was an orphan made him feel like crying.

Yeonjeokha bit his lip.

Wang Wugai's face fell, having been so hopeful.

After reciting so much, the boy only remembered "merciful lady" and "orphan." With such a poor memory, there was no reason to take him as a disciple.

Still, he decided to teach him the basics of begging.

Even if he wasn't a disciple of the Beggar Sect, he needed to eat to survive!

"Hmm, hmm. Listen carefully. What you say to young ladies is different. To young ladies, you should say, 'Oh! Beautiful young lady, with such a kind heart, your parents must be proud. May you find a good husband and have a chubby son, and may you live a long and happy life!' Just stick close to them and repeat this. Young ladies are easily embarrassed, so they'll give you something quickly. Understand?"

"..."

"Yes."

Wang Wugai did not ask him to repeat it again, knowing the boy's memory was poor. He just hoped the boy could survive as a beggar.

"This is my gift to you, so use it well."

"Uh? Yes."

"See you later if we meet again."

Wang Wugai patted Yeonjeokha's shoulder encouragingly and walked away.

Yeonjeokha stared at the old beggar's back, dazed.

It was the first time in his life he had talked to someone for so long. The warriors who managed the warehouse only said what they needed to and left.

Rumble.

The sound from his stomach brought him back to his senses.

He finally picked up the bowl and started looking around.

Despite his hunger, he found it hard to ask for food.

However, the neighborhood seemed generous, and by noon, his bowl was piled high with food. It looked dirty but tasted better than the dried cakes he used to eat in the warehouse.

Yeonjeokha ate from the bowl and continued moving south without stopping.

He walked along the road, climbed over mountains, and crossed fields.

Every now and then, the road would reappear.

After being locked in a small warehouse for ten years, everything seemed new and exciting.