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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Teottry
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An endless dark space. Now, a familiar inner world.
For some reason, he was standing there blankly,
staring at a mysterious door that had appeared in the middle of his mental world.
“Hmm…”
A perfectly ordinary wooden door, with a metal handle that you pulled towards you.
That should be it. But his throat tightened, and he swallowed.
His heart pounded, and time slowed down, like a scene in a cheap B-grade horror movie, right before the creature or the ghost appeared…
Yes, it felt like he was facing a being he shouldn’t meet.
His body moved, contrary to his dazed mind.
Was it simple curiosity? Or… he didn’t know.
Feeling an unknown emotion, he slowly reached for the handle.
“Partner, you shouldn’t open that door.”
At the familiar voice from behind, he came to his senses. He quickly stepped away from the door and looked at the one who had called him.
“Taegu-zzang…!!”
“If you open that door, you can’t go back to the way things were before.”
An old man, wearing a black overcoat and sunglasses, who looked strangely familiar.
The reason he had become interested in martial arts, his undisputed partner.
The spirit of the Dog Beating Staff Technique.
Taegu-zzang approached, his face serious.
“What is it…? Is this Taegu-zzang’s door patrol? What’s inside?”
He asked jokingly, trying to lighten the unusual atmosphere, but Taegu-zzang’s expression remained serious.
“Something you don’t need to know… something that, once you know it, you can’t go back to not knowing.”
An unknown situation, a cryptic, unsettling answer. He glanced at the door.
“But you are the master of this world, so you have the right and the duty to know.”
Taegu-zzang muttered, his voice filled with resignation.
-Creeak.
At the same time, the door slowly opened with the characteristic creaking sound of a door that had been closed for a long time.
All his senses focused on the opening door. He held his breath, ready to discover the secret.
And inside…
“Big boobs are the best! Big boobs are the best! Big boobs are the best!!”
Was a soft, squishy Mancheon champi, hopping around on his left leg and waving his arms excitedly.
“Hey, you guys! You should shout ‘big boobs are the best’ too!!”
He ignored the excitedly shaking Mancheon champi and, with half-closed eyes, looked at Taegu-zzang, demanding an explanation.
“What’s that?”
“On the Taegu-zzang gallery, there was a post titled ‘[Is the mod asleep? Running a pic of the great Emei Sect master, Wang Meiyang, in a micro bikini]’ that was just a bait and switch with a picture of Mayang in a micro bikini. He’s the one who got a 30-day ban for that.”
Ah… now that he mentioned it, he did remember banning someone with his moderator privileges.
He saw a sign in the open space inside the door that read [Troublemaker’s Reflection Room], and other Mancheon-champis who were supposed to be reflecting but were instead writing nonsense and having fun.
“Taegu-zzang vs a cookie. Who do you think would break first?”
“Hmm~ I think the cookie would win by a narrow margin!”
“Can you cut steel if you coat a cookie with sword qi?”
Indeed… it was a truth he didn’t need to know. He wanted to go back to before he opened the door.
It was absurd. A sigh of relief, mixed with disappointment, escaped his lips.
Well, that was it.
It was just another ridiculous dream.
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Was it a midsummer night’s dream?
In the space between night and dawn, when the moon was half-hidden, he had woken up from a strange dream.
He had put on his outer clothes, grabbed a staff, and sitting on a suitable rock in the garden, looking up at the dark blue sky.
Perhaps he was having such messy dreams because he had been changing his sleeping place too often lately.
His house, the Jegal family’s estate, the Nangong family’s estate.
He had been rotating between them, and now he was back at his own house.
It was understandable.
“Hoo…”
He had come back because his father had something to tell him, and he was also worried about Master Wang Meiyang, who was probably feeling awkward being a guest alone.
Next time he left home, he would have to take Master Wang Meiyang with him.
‘But what did he want to talk about?’
Was it his opposition to his marriage with Gwahae or Yeonhwa? Or a family secret? Something else?
He had to laugh.
He had come out for a walk to clear his head, but he just ended up with more to think about.
This was why he didn’t like the early morning sentimentality.
In his previous life, when he woke up early, he would just read a web novel to pass the time.
He had precious people now, and he liked this place better, but… it was a shame that there was less subculture to enjoy.
“Ugh…”
He stared blankly at the half-faded moon in the sky.
He was bored, so he decided to sing a song. Sima Mancheon sings because he has nothing to do.
“Song of the Half Moon.”
“Who cut the jade of Kunlun Mountain,”
“to make a comb for the Weaver Girl?”
“After parting with the Cowherd,”
“she threw it into the empty sky in sorrow.”
As the poem, carried on the dawn air, ended, a short but cute exclamation was heard.
“Ah…”
A quiet exclamation, exhaled with a breath.
It wasn’t a grand applause or a sweet compliment, but it meant that she had been listening intently.
He liked that.
He turned to the unexpected audience, smiled, and spoke playfully.
“Who are you? Are you a celestial maiden who has come to pick up the Weaver Girl’s comb?”
“Yes? Ah…?! Yes! It’s…”
It was a joke, but it was half-true.
Her beautiful hair was a pale blue, like the dawn sky, and on it was a beautiful ornament that resembled a cherry blossom branch.
Her skin was white, her nose and lips delicate.
Her beautiful green eyes and long eyelashes were so pretty that you couldn’t help but be fond of her.
Because she was a cute girl, like a celestial maiden.
“It’s… Feng Lan, Young Master.”
At the Young Master’s joke, as his smile directed at her, Feng Lan’s face flushed timidly.
She was happy to have met the Young Master on her early morning walk, but since she had come out casually, without much thought, she was worried that she might not look her best.
She carefully straightened her hair and clothes.
She didn’t know that her every movement was cute.
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The sun had fully risen.
In place of Xiaoshao, who had said she had some family business to attend to and couldn’t look at his sword techniques, I had Master Wang Meiyang review my new fighting style, which is incorporated sword techniques.
Even though he had a lot to think about… the memory of being sent flying by Gwahae’s Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms flashed through his mind.
He couldn’t skip his training.
His left sword was in a high stance, his right staff in a low stance, and his feet trod the Five Elements.
The movements of Tai Chi Chuan were applied, and the tip of his staff drew a perfect circle.
He completely dominated the space within. A solid defensive stance, prepared for attacks from all sides.
“Block and counter.”
He looked down at Wang Meiyang with a confident face and shouted a famous line.
“Fist techniques, sword techniques, the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms… bring it on.”
“Hmm…”
Wang Meiyang circled around me, observing me for a moment, then held up two fingers with an indifferent expression.
‘She looks cute, making a peace sign with a blank face.’
But unfortunately, it wasn’t the time to leisurely admire her cuteness.
-Thump-thump-!!
With swift steps, Wang Meiyang’s figure moved in an instant.
She broke through the circle and pushed me with her palm.
“Kieek-?!”
Defense, whatever. Due to the difference in skill, I let out a short scream and was sent flying like a bowling pin hit by a bowling ball, landing on my stomach.
“There are two things I want to tell you.”
Wang Meiyang looked down at me and gently, but firmly, stepped on my chest so I couldn’t get up.
“First, if your skill is similar to your opponent’s, or if it’s a one-on-one situation, it’s effective… but if your opponent is more skilled, and there are many of them, just standing still and waiting for an attack is like becoming an easy target.”
Was she assuming a fight against multiple opponents? It was a typical Emei Sect way of thinking, always considering the possibility of being ganged up on, since they themselves ganged up on others with the Heavenly Dipper Formation.
“And second, you’ve learned a new martial art again. That’s really amazing.”
The beautiful, age regressed blond beauty, Wang Meiyang’s face was clouded with a dark shadow.
Her mouth was smiling, but her eyes were not.
“You’re the most unfaithful disciple in the history of the Emei Sect.”
She stomped on her greedy disciple’s chest lightly, sulking.
“Sigh…”
And then, as if she couldn’t help it, she sighed.
“It was a good idea to apply Tai Chi Chuan. But a sword is not a suitable weapon for defense.”
She relaxed her expression and advised him as a master.
“It would be better to change your style to be more aggressive, using your footwork… but”
Wang Meiyang’s gaze fell on Mancheon’s right leg.
“Your leg is the problem. Let’s think about this together for now.”
She stepped down her foot from his chest and extended her small, white, doll-like hand to help him up.
But at that inopportune moment…
-Growl~
A cute alarm clock went off in Wang Meiyang’s stomach.
“It’s… it’s because my body is younger… I can’t help it…”
I grabbed the hand of my master, whose face was flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s almost lunchtime. Let’s eat first.”
“Okay.”
Wang Meiyang avoided his gaze with a sullen face but didn’t refuse.
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