Chapter 3
A month had flown by.
It wasn’t a long time, but it was enough to bring about some change.
First of all, I had succeeded in completely erasing the traces of Goruma’s power from my body.
The bark-like skin peeled away, and new flesh began to grow.
With divine energy added to the healing process, it took no time at all to regain my original appearance.
“Looking at you like this… you’re actually quite handsome.”
In the polished reflection, scars still lingered, but anyone could see the noble aura of a young master from a wealthy household.
Though clearly, I needed to put on a little more weight.
I wasn’t in any rush.
With three proper meals a day, I would naturally fill out soon enough.
“Speaking of which, it must be about mealtime now.”
Lifting my head from the bench I had been sitting on, I checked the sundial.
It was about time Dongchil would bring out the food.
Just thinking about it made my mouth water despite myself.
And no wonder — for the past five days, I had been eating proper meals.
I heard that some supplies were being brought from the main house.
Our Dongchil really was excellent at handling things.
I was still avoiding fried or greasy foods, but even so, the meals felt like banquets to me.
Suddenly, I found myself resentful toward the past leaders of Mount Hua.
“To think they enjoyed all this good food by themselves.”
And on top of that, they never gave me a proper blacksmith to maintain me, so I ended up broken?
I grumbled, but my thoughts were wandering elsewhere.
What had become of the Mount Hua Sect after I broke?
Was that bastard Old Man Choi caught, or had he managed to escape?
But I quickly shook my head.
I had promised when I bargained with Yama: until the time came, I would not meddle with the past.
“Right. Worrying about it won’t change anything.”
Hup.
I stood up to shake off the idle thoughts.
After all, the past sect leaders always said: when your head is full of useless thoughts, the best cure is to move your body.
“Let’s see if that’s really true.”
Not that I was training in any particular way.
I hadn’t even begun proper cultivation yet.
I just moved my arms and legs however they wanted, swinging and stepping like a newborn child — wildly, freely.
Then, as I was letting my body move on its own, a flower petal drifted down from somewhere.
Naturally, my gaze followed it.
It was beautiful in itself… but I knew of petals even more beautiful.
My eyes slid shut.
As if chasing something from memory, my body began to reenact it.
When I opened my eyes again, petals covered the air all around me.
Enchanted, I closed my eyes once more, but when I opened them, the petals had vanished as if they had never been.
“So this is what it feels like to lose yourself in motion.”
But before I could savor the feeling—
“Ah…”
A voice behind me.
I turned.
There stood Dongchil, staring blankly, the food basket he carried dropped on the ground.
Smiling, I teased him:
“Did you decide today’s lunch should be eaten off the ground?”
“Ah!”
Snapping back to his senses, Dongchil hurriedly picked up the basket in a panic.
Luckily, although some of the dishes had mixed together, none of it had gotten dirty with soil.
“S-sorry. I’ll go back and bring another meal.”
“It’s fine.”
“No, I’ll bring a fresh one.”
Even though the food was perfectly edible, Dongchil insisted on remaking it.
But I shook my head.
“After moving around, I’m hungry. I don’t have the patience to wait.”
“B-but… because of my mistake, the food is ruined. I deserve punishment.”
He looked so downcast, like someone who had committed a grave crime, that I thought for a moment before replying:
“Then let’s do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“As punishment for treating food carelessly, you’ll eat this meal together with me.”
“Wh-what?”
“Why? You don’t want to eat with me? Or do you think the food is beneath you now?”
“N-no! That’s not it at all!”
“Then it’s settled. Let’s eat together.”
I took the basket from the stiff-as-a-board Dongchil and spread the food out on the bench.
Flustered, he tried to stop me, insisting he should do it, but eventually he sat down as well.
“Let’s eat.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
A moment ago, he had looked like a condemned man, but now he looked almost honored.
I worried that sharing a table might make him uncomfortable, but in truth he seemed… happy.
I chuckled, took a bite, and realized—
Perhaps it was because we were eating together, but today’s food tasted especially good.
Two more months passed.
It had been three months since I awoke.
Just like the cycle of blossoms blooming and fading, my body underwent another transformation.
I had advanced to the second stage of Jahashin-gong, and two more of the twelve meridians had opened.
That left eight still closed.
My body grew stronger — not only flesh but muscle now filled out.
I looked enough like a proper young man that no one would doubt it.
Even Dongchil’s gaze changed.
Sometimes, I even caught a flicker of envy in his eyes.
It seemed I had indeed become rather dashing.
And it wasn’t only my body that changed.
My heart, too, was shifting.
“I think it’s about time I went outside.”
For nearly a hundred years, I hadn’t set foot beyond these walls.
How had the world changed in that time?
What kind of world awaited me now?
Strike while the iron is hot, as they say.
That very night, I told Dongchil:
“Tomorrow, I plan to take a walk to the marketplace. Make preparations.”
His face showed a swirl of emotions — half joy, half worry, with some strange hesitation mixed in.
But before I could question it, he bowed.
“Then I’ll prepare everything, young master.”
“Prepare? It’s just a short outing.”
I didn’t think much of his words then.
It wasn’t until the next day that I understood what he meant by “preparations.”
“What on earth is all this?”
I was dressed in luxurious crimson silk, shaded by a lavish parasol painted with the Ten Symbols of Longevity, carried even though the sky was clear, and accompanied by attendants holding golden fans.
To anyone’s eyes, I screamed, I am a rich young master!
And Dongchil himself carried a large, ornate bundle in his arms.
Even the bundle itself was embroidered and fancy.
“I packed some food and a few spare clothes, in case it gets chilly.”
“The marketplace is full of taverns and food stalls. And in early summer, what chill?”
Instead, Dongchil gave me a puzzled look.
I asked cautiously:
“When was the last time I went out?”
“A little under two years ago. Why?”
“And back then… did we prepare like this too?”
He nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
So the odd one wasn’t him — it was me.
“Fine. At least leave that ridiculous bundle behind.”
“Then let me at least keep the food inside—”
“Since we’re going out, why not enjoy some outside food for once?”
Dongchil looked momentarily flustered, but he nodded.
The Golden Gate Young Master was known to be fickle, so he didn’t take it too strangely.
Still, I caught the faintest sigh slip from him — as if it pained him to leave the bundle behind.
But once we stepped outside the manor, Dongchil brightened again, his voice full of energy.
“Since it’s been so long, I’ll lead the way, young master! If you get tired, just tell me!”
The market was at least an hour’s walk away.
He kept glancing back at me in case I grew tired, but when he saw I showed no signs of fatigue, he relaxed, even humming a tune as we went.
His humming wasn’t bad, either — I found myself enjoying it.
Before long, the village came into view.
“We’re almost there, young master!”
“Yes. I see it too.”
It felt refreshing to see a village after so long.
At first, I thought it was just because it had been so long.
But once we entered the marketplace, I realized it wasn’t that.
It wasn’t simply the time apart.
Before, I had seen the world only through the eyes and ears of a sword.
Now, as a human, I could experience it fully — see it, hear it, feel it.
“That skewer looks delicious. Let’s try one.”
“This candied fruit looks good too.”
“To think there are so many delicious things in the world.”
The culinary world, which I had only just begun to taste thanks to Dongchil’s cooking, expanded before me.
“This tea has such a deep, fragrant aroma.”
“It makes even my heart feel calm.”
In a teahouse, the world of tea revealed itself.
And beyond eating and drinking, I touched and felt things as we wandered through stalls, marveling all the while.
In truth, the marketplace hadn’t changed much from a hundred years ago.
The only thing that had changed… was me.
But because I had changed, the world itself seemed different.
Flutter!
Suddenly, my dantian stirred.
Though sudden, I wasn’t surprised.
I knew the signs — my Jahashin-gong was about to ascend to the third stage.
Just one outing to the market had inscribed new enlightenment into my body.
“Good. Very good.”
So this was the joy of living.
I might not come often, but I should definitely visit the market from time to time.
“Hmm?”
Just then, a savory aroma drifted by.
I turned toward it and saw the signboard of a tavern: Chwiseon Inn.
My stomach rumbled faintly.
I realized I hadn’t had a proper meal all day, too busy with sightseeing.
“Dongchil.”
“Yes, young master?”
He came forward, panting under the weight of items piled high in his arms — none of which we had left the manor with.
I hadn’t meant to buy them, but after fiddling with things here and there, I couldn’t help myself.
I had offered to carry them, but Dongchil had insisted on doing it himself.
Come to think of it, he must be even hungrier than me.
Not only was he carrying the load, but he hadn’t eaten any of the snacks, saying they didn’t suit his taste.
“Let’s take a break and have dinner at that place.”
I thought he’d be delighted — but his reaction was strange.
“…”
He froze, staring at the Chwiseon Inn signboard, unable to reply.
I couldn’t help asking:
“Did something happen there before?”
Snapping out of it, he shook his head rapidly.
“No, sir. Let’s go in.”
And he led the way as if nothing was wrong.
But I didn’t move.
At this point, it was impossible not to know.
“Dongchil.”
I quietly called him back.
He slowly turned.
I looked him straight in the eye and asked bluntly:
“Do we… not have money?”
