Chapter 41: Golden Blood Rat (3)
Chapter 40 – Golden Blood Rat (3)
“Jong-seung.”
“Yes! Ah, uh?”
Yun Jong-seung answered with a start at Namgung Cheon’s call.
Namgung Cheon gestured with his chin toward Jin So-hong.
“She hurt her leg, so help stop the bleeding.”
“Ah, okay. What about you…?”
“I should go into the cave over there and find a way to transport this guy safely. Watch out so that no one else approaches.”
“Y-yes. But is that really a Golden Blood Rat?”
Namgung Cheon walked away with long strides, as if it was not even worth answering.
Seeing Jin So-hong sitting on a shallow rock, he quickly ran over.
“My goodness… The wound is quite serious.”
“I was stabbed by the Golden Blood Rat’s claws.”
Jin So-hong said, frowning slightly.
Yun Jong-seung asked the same question.
“Is that really a Golden Blood Rat?”
“Yes. A Golden Blood Rat.”
“How on earth did you catch it?”
“How, you ask…?”
Jin So-hong muttered, then chuckled.
How should she answer this?
Should she say he ran ahead of time?
Would he even believe it?
Even if she answered, it was obvious that questions would only trigger more questions.
So she gave a vague answer.
“Just… I don’t really know either because it was so chaotic. Since Namgung Cheon caught it.”
“What on earth… is there that guy can’t do? Will I become like that if I survive a near-death experience too?”
Yun Jong-seung muttered to himself as he took out a canteen from his waist and poured water over her calf.
As the foreign substances were washed away along with the blood, her fair calf skin was clearly revealed under the moonlight.
‘Ah…’
Yun Jong-seung, who was rummaging through his shirt for the golden sore ointment, flinched inwardly.
Seeing her sleek calf, he did not know where to look for no reason.
Come to think of it, Jin So-hong seemed to have a very feminine body compared to her ordinary face.
“Why are you staring like that?”
“Huh? Ah! S-sorry.”
“…?”
Yun Jong-seung hurriedly pulled out the golden sore ointment and began to apply it to the wound.
“Ouch!”
“S-sorry! Did it hurt?”
“It’s fine.”
“It’s all done now.”
Yun Jong-seung tore his robe and wrapped it around her calf.
Watching him quietly, Jin So-hong asked softly.
“Did you find out anything?”
“Huh? What?”
“A way to get stronger?”
“Ah… I don’t really know yet.”
Having finished stopping the bleeding, Yun Jong-seung scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
For some reason, sharing this kind of conversation with Jin So-hong hurt his pride anew.
‘Everyone has stepped forward to hunt spiritual beasts and is fighting like this, but I’m the only one…!’
Biting his lip hard, Yun Jong-seung said in a low, murmuring voice.
“…will.”
“Huh?”
“I will definitely get stronger.”
“…”
“I’ll show everyone that I can change too. So I will escape from being a easy target by my own strength.”
“Ah!”
As Jin So-hong screamed, Yun Jong-seung hurriedly loosened the cloth.
“S-sorry! I accidentally applied too much strength without realizing it… A-are you okay?”
“Ah…! I’ll do the rest now.”
“Yeah… Sorry.”
As Yun Jong-seung stood awkwardly scratching the back of his head, Jin So-hong chuckled and said.
“It’s not my place to say, but I think you can trust your friend from the same hometown.”
“Uh…?”
Jin So-hong looked back toward the cave.
She could still remember it.
The sight of him standing in front of her, rapidly giving instructions.
Could just showing one’s back instill the belief that one was being perfectly protected?
A faint smile bloomed on Jin So-hong’s lips.
“Since you’ve already placed your bet on Namgung Cheon… try trusting him. At least you won’t lose anything.”
“S-should I?”
Yun Jong-seung turned his gaze toward the cave.
Yes, maybe that really was the case.
Even now, wasn’t Namgung Cheon working hard alone to figure out a way to transport the Golden Blood Rat safely?
‘If you look closely, you secretly take the lead in dangerous matters. A guy like you, Namgung Cheon…’
Yun Jong-seung chuckled and slowly rubbed his lower abdomen.
* * *
Caught it. The Golden Blood Rat.
Looking at the limp Golden Blood Rat, Namgung Cheon smirked, curling up the corners of his mouth.
How long had it been since he last saw a spiritual beast?
Furthermore, it was a special-grade spiritual beast. A special-grade spiritual beast.
It was a creature like chicken ribs—difficult to catch and hard to tame—but considering the inner elixir the Golden Blood Rat possessed, one could not speak of it so lightly.
Namgung Cheon lifted the Emerald Silk Sword and looked at the limp Golden Blood Rat.
“Hehehe. Its color is beautiful too.”
He was almost drooling.
He had already been thinking that his internal energy was lacking, so if he took this fellow’s inner elixir…
Hehehe. How nice.
It would easily exceed sixty years’ worth.
Why did I struggle so hard to catch this guy?
It was all for this very moment.
Let’s see, what did the Thousand Poison Elder say?
“The inner elixir of a Golden Blood Rat has a unique property, so you shouldn’t process it. Too much internal energy would be lost. You have to consume it right on the spot where you caught it, just like eating raw meat. But as you know, the nature of its internal energy is extremely volatile. In short, it is perfect for going berserk and dying if you just eat it recklessly. Well, unless you are someone who thoroughly understands the flow of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Meridians.”
Hmph. A person who thoroughly understands the flow of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Meridians, that is none other than me, you old geezer. Hahaha.
Living through his past life, had he only seen the flow of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Twelve Primary Meridians once or twice?
I am the one who has peered into every nook and cranny of the internal energy flow of those going mad from Qi deviation.
I might suffer a bit, but when it comes to the flow of qi and blood, I am at a level that could slap the face of most physicians.
Now, shall we give it a taste? First, let’s pull out this snout… I need to pull it out…
“Agh! Why won’t it come out! How hard did you bite it in the first place?”
Namgung Cheon grabbed the neck of the Golden Blood Rat and strained with all his might.
How long did he groan and struggle like that?
Pop.
Finally, the Golden Blood Rat bounced off like an arrow and crashed against the cave wall.
Thud.
Squeeeak!
It seemed the Golden Blood Rat let out a scream even while unconscious.
Since it would be troublesome if it woke up, he quickly ran over and grabbed the neck of the Golden Blood Rat first.
“Now, hand over your inner elixir! Inner elixir!”
When Namgung Cheon coated the Emerald Silk Sword with sword qi and slit open the belly of the Golden Blood Rat, a golden bead-like object revealed itself in the lower abdomen.
The inner elixir of the Golden Blood Rat.
‘Finally! What a brilliant sight.’
Hesitation only delays the advancement of internal energy.
Extracting the inner elixir without delay, Namgung Cheon swallowed it in one gulp.
At the same time, he plopped down on the spot and began to circulate his internal energy.
The inner elixir, which began to be digested in his stomach, spewed out energy like a surging dragon.
“Urgh!”
His lower abdomen felt as hot as if it had been burned by fire.
The only reason it was bearable was that the energy of the Golden Blood Rat was of the ‘Earth’ attribute, not ‘Fire’.
The hot energy soon sank heavily.
‘Damn it. I’m going to crap my pants at this rate!’
In fact, because the energy emitted from his stomach sank so heavily, his sphincter was on the verge of giving way.
Namgung Cheon clenched his molars tightly.
He would absolutely not lose.
Tensing his anus tightly.
He drove it into his dantian.
The energy, which sank heavily as if it would burst through his anus, soon began to slowly permeate his dantian.
The problem started now.
Papapapapat!
Havoc broke loose in his dantian.
The newly entered golden energy began to run wild as if to smash his dantian to pieces.
It was no different from a wild horse.
They only thought of running.
If he lost the reins even once, it would be the end.
The internal energy running wild in any direction would cause the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Twelve Primary Meridians to go berserk uncontrollably.
Then, like the madman he had seen at some point in the past, he might end up running thirty li on his hands.
Grab it! Definitely! And make it mine! Tame it!
Namgung Cheon began to operate the Heavenly Lightning Sovereign Divine Art with his original internal energy while grabbing the reins of the golden energy firmly.
Pabababat.
The wild internal energy, trapped by his original qi, slowly began to flow along the Governing Vessel toward the perineum.
Reaching the perineum near his anus, the urge to soil himself grew stronger due to the heavy sensation.
In short, the urge to soil himself.
Don’t make me laugh. As if I’d soil myself over this.
As he tensed his anus tightly, the golden energy, making a huge fuss, was reluctantly dragged upward.
Along the Governing Vessel on his spine, it climbed slowly… but surely.
Upon reaching the Baihui acupoint, his head felt as if it would split open.
Tutatatatatatang!
It felt as though hundreds of wild horses were running wild in his head.
“Mmph…!”
Blood trickled down from his nose.
Namgung Cheon’s face flushed red, looking as though it would burst at any moment.
‘Just a little more!’
Finally, the golden energy drawn down from the Baihui acupoint entered the Conception Vessel.
It was certainly easier than when climbing along the Governing Vessel.
Of course, if he let his guard down despite that, he would end up becoming a madman.
Finally, as it approached the navel, the wild horses’ resistance grew even stronger.
Pabababababat.
The riot of qi occurring near the dantian was visible even from the outside.
Not only did his firm belly bulge here and there, but even faint smoke rose from it.
Namgung Cheon’s entire body was drenched in sweat.
‘Get in there!’
With all his might, he pushed the golden qi into his dantian.
Finally, the wild horses that had been running wild were locked in the stable.
In a manner of speaking, the natives had finally subdued the immigrants.
The energy that had been running wild also calmed down quite a bit.
It was because the small elixir had been formed through the Minor Heavenly Circulation.
If the small elixir was circulated through the Grand Heavenly Circulation, harmony would be achieved, making it completely his own.
Entering the Grand Heavenly Circulation certainly made it easier.
Signs of rioting appeared occasionally, but each time, he utilized the characteristics of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians well to coax them back to their proper path.
The remaining energy spread widely across the Twelve Primary Meridians to prepare for emergencies in case of need.
This could be called Namgung Cheon’s own secret method, which he had observed countless times through the First Sight Skill-Breaking Eyes.
“Phew.”
Now, the inside of the cave was filled with warmth.
* * *
“Damn it!”
With a harsh curse, Paeng Su-hyeok appeared, pushing through the bushes.
Seeing that his entire body was covered in wounds, it was clear he had suffered quite a lot.
Yun Jong-seung looked back at Paeng Su-hyeok and asked.
“How did it go?”
“Nothing! Damn it! I can’t see any spiritual beasts at all!”
“True, since there are only thirty of them in this vast mountain.”
“Argh! So annoying!”
Paeng Su-hyeok vented his frustration as much as he could and lifted his canteen to gulp down water.
Yun Jong-seung clicked his tongue inwardly.
Why on earth did he throw away the Blue-Scaled Silver-Thread Snake… Tsk.
But it was fine now.
Since Namgung Cheon had caught a spiritual beast even more amazing than that.
Paeng Su-hyeok looked around and shouted angrily.
“Where did that loafer Namgung Cheon go?”
“Ah, in the cave over there.”
“What is he doing holed up in a cave?”
“Don’t worry. Namgung Cheon caught a Golden Blood Rat.”
“Golden Blood Rat? What’s that?”
“They say it’s a special-grade spiritual beast.”
“A special-grade… spiritual beast?”
Paeng Su-hyeok widened his eyes and whipped around to look at Jin So-hong.
When Jin So-hong nodded in agreement, Paeng Su-hyeok glared with fierce eyes and shouted.
“No way! By what skill could that guy catch a special-grade spiritual beast! Even I only caught a Blue-Scaled Silver-Thread Snake!”
In fact, thinking about it now, he wondered if even that had just been extremely good luck.
“He really caught it. Right now, he’s planning to move it safely…”
“I won’t believe it until I see it with my own eyes!”
“Uh, uh?”
Before anyone could stop him, Paeng Su-hyeok strode away.
Yun Jong-seung, who was about to chase and stop him, gave up because he did not dare.
“Well, surely nothing bad will happen.”
However, not long after Paeng Su-hyeok entered the cave.
“Ughhhhh! Hey, you crazy bastard! What did you just do?!”
As Yun Jong-seung and Jin So-hong turned toward the cave at the same time, Paeng Su-hyeok rushed out panting and pointed inside as he shouted.
“Th-th-that crazy bastard ate the special-grade spiritual beast!”
“What…?”
Yun Jong-seung dropped the golden sore ointment he was holding with a thud.