The cold morning air seeped through the gaps in the tent, and Cheon Yeohwa snuggled closer to me, burying her face in my chest.
"It's cold…"
"Should I close it?"
"No, it's fine as it is."
She closed her half-open eyes again and greedily stole my body heat. I hugged her tightly.
"Ugh, it's stuffy…!"
"I like it."
I rested my chin on the top of her head.
Even though she had just woken up, her hair was as soft as silk, and it even seemed to have a faint floral scent. Iris and Choi Hyena were like this too; could they be from a different species?
I gently stroked Cheon Yeohwa's skin, which wasn't covered by even a thread.
Smooth and moist. She must have sweated so much last night, but she still smelled wonderful.
"After devouring this lady so roughly all night, you're acting all cuddly now?"
"…Me?"
I admit I devoured you roughly, but am I acting cuddly?
"Your heart is beating wildly, and your pulse is irregular. You couldn't have caught a disease overnight, and you're not scared of this lady disappearing, are you?"
"…"
"Hmm? Hehe… I suspected it, but a man as big as a bear is worrying about such things?"
"…It's not like that."
"Yes, yes. I'll specially lend you my embrace."
Cheon Yeohwa reached out and hugged me back, wrapping her arms around my back.
I couldn't refute her playful voice. Perhaps what she said was right.
It had only been close to three weeks, but I seemed to have missed her more than I thought.
Like a child who had lost their parents overnight.
I quietly hugged Cheon Yeohwa and closed my eyes. I didn't think I was sleepy, but my eyelids felt strangely heavy.
"By the way, Hyunwoo."
"What?"
I opened my heavy mouth and answered her soft voice, which tickled my ear.
"I smell another woman on you."
"…"
Correction.
A cold voice filled with murderous intent pierced my eardrums.
The surrounding air became heavy as if it had absorbed water, and Cheon Yeohwa's hair slowly began to turn white.
"I think we need to have a conversation… What do you think?"
"…"
I swallowed dryly without realizing it. My throat felt like it was burning.
From some point on, a terrible chill emanated from Cheon Yeohwa's body as she hugged me.
"Answer."
"…Yes, you're right."
Until the sun was high in the sky that day, I explained the "Otherworld Dating App" to Cheon Yeohwa.
At first, Cheon Yeohwa was skeptical, but when I showed her the things I had brought from Earth and put a piece of chocolate in her mouth, she seemed to believe me with a happy smile.
However, when I told her that I had used this ability to have relationships with other women…
Bang!
A palm strike of terrifying power landed on my solar plexus.
When I woke up again, it was almost two hours later.
***
For half a day after that, Cheon Yeohwa and I ran through the forest, half giving up on resting.
"Haa, haaa…!"
In the process, my feet became covered in blisters, and my lower body suffered from muscle pain that felt like it was tearing apart.
Even during the short rests, my heart pounded as if it would explode, as if paying the price for overworking my body.
My vision blurred, and I couldn't breathe properly.
Of course, this didn't apply to Cheon Yeohwa.
"To be struggling this much from just this… Your stamina is too weak."
"Haa, haaa… I, I think I'm average…!"
"It seems the meaning of the word 'average' has changed a lot while this lady wasn't looking. With your current level of stamina, it's obvious that you wouldn't even be able to withstand the basic training of the Moon Spirit Guard. Of course, the Moon Spirit Guard is my personal guard consisting of women, so you wouldn't be able to join anyway."
Cheon Yeohwa flicked my cheek with her fingertips as I lay half-collapsed on the ground, and she gave a captivating smile.
How could she be so happy when someone was about to run out of breath? It seemed like I needed to teach her a lesson tonight.
By the way, a personal guard consisting of women?
'…I'm jealous.'
I only imagined it in my head, as expressing it outwardly could lead to another palm strike.
"Okay, it's time to start again."
"…Just a little more."
"No. In the first place, it wasn't even supposed to be a rest time."
Cheon Yeohwa forcibly pulled me up, who had already become one with the ground. I couldn't resist her overbearing touch.
Because I had brought all this suffering upon myself.
Half a day ago, I had asked Cheon Yeohwa to teach me martial arts, and that was the beginning of everything.
-I'm sorry, but my martial arts cannot be learned by men. It's based on a strong Yin energy, so if a man learns it… In the worst case, he could become a eunuch. Would you be okay with that?
Of course, I wouldn't be okay with that.
Even if I never learned martial arts in my life, I would never become a eunuch.
Cheon Yeohwa seemed to agree with me, as she nodded and continued.
-I don't know much about other martial arts, so I wouldn't be of much help to you. But I can't teach you demonic arts that are full of side effects either.
-…I guess there's no choice.
-Instead.
Cheon Yeohwa looked at me with a bright smile.
I couldn't understand the meaning behind that smile, but I felt a chill down my spine.
-I can teach you anything other than martial arts.
-Anything other than martial arts…?
It felt like my instincts were ringing alarm bells.
I regret not running away back then, even now, half a day later.
It goes without saying that running through the forest isn't easy. This isn't Earth, and there's no way there would be well-maintained hiking trails.
Stones jutted out everywhere, and the branches of haphazardly grown trees obscured my vision.
I ran at full speed through those paths for half a day, with only minimal rest.
Without even enhancing my body with magical power.
"I don't know exactly what you mean by magical power, but seeing as it strengthens the body and allows you to use magic, it doesn't seem much different from inner energy. It goes without saying, but there's no martial artist in the world who uses inner energy when training external skills."
I had no time to argue that magic wasn't an evil art to me as I ran.
"Your overall muscles seem to be well-trained, but that's far from enough. Your stamina is worse than a newborn baby who has just started walking."
Amidst the harsh criticisms, Cheon Yeohwa was always running ahead of me.
I couldn't find even a single drop of sweat on her.
"I don't think you need to learn martial arts since you have learned magic, but… Well, putting that aside, a trained body is essential if you're not going to learn demonic arts. I don't like it, but righteous martial arts have many advantages besides being slower to achieve than demonic arts."
My head was foggy as if it was covered in mist due to the lack of oxygen, but I still tried my best not to miss Cheon Yeohwa's words.
Unlike demonic arts, which are quick to achieve but have severe side effects, righteous martial arts focus on building up from the basics.
Naturally, it is slower to achieve compared to demonic arts, and it doesn't allow those with a lack of talent to reach high levels.
Nevertheless, righteous martial arts widen the narrow meridians, strengthen the weak subtle channels, and pursue higher realms based on one's own enlightenment, so those who have mastered righteous martial arts are stronger than those who have mastered demonic arts at the same level.
"Of course, there are always exceptions. After all, if you can't learn an advanced martial art, even if you diligently master righteous martial arts, you will fall before a strong demonic art. There are so many people who want to learn martial arts that you can trip over them, but not all of them can learn an advanced martial art. Your magic must be the same, right?"
I couldn't answer, as I was still running.
However, Cheon Yeohwa smiled softly, as if my rough breathing was enough of an answer.
"I don't know when it will be, but you need to train your body for the day you learn an advanced martial art. Of course, considering your age, learning martial arts won't be easy."
According to Cheon Yeohwa, as people get older, impurities accumulate in their bodies due to the dirty air and cooked food of the secular world, making it difficult to learn martial arts. By my age, most sects wouldn't even accept me.
Most sects apparently start teaching martial arts before the age of seven.
"You don't have to worry too much as long as you trust this lady."
Cheon Yeohwa said that she had reached the peak of transcendence. I didn't know how much that was, but judging from the aura I felt, she was definitely above me.
However, that was only in terms of close combat.
In the first place, it's absurd for a mage to fight a martial artist of a similar level in close combat.
"Hyunwoo, you can stop."
As soon as permission was granted, I immediately became one with the ground.
I frantically gulped down cold water as I breathed like a madman. I'm sure someone said it's bad to drink water quickly after a marathon. Unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury to worry about such trivial things right now.
Cheon Yeohwa, who was smiling as she watched me, swept my sweat-soaked bangs to the side.
"Your stamina is weak, but your will is commendable. As expected of the man chosen by this lady."
A reddish blush bloomed on Cheon Yeohwa's face, which had been as white as frost that had fallen in May when we first met.
"I think we can end today's training here."
Cheon Yeohwa's slender finger was pointing somewhere.
I struggled to lift my head and look in that direction.
"It's the capital of Shaanxi, Xi'an."
Beyond the open view, a huge fortress revealed its form.
***
Shaanxi is home to the Mount Hua Sect and the Zhongnan Sect, which belong to the Nine Great Sects, and is one of the central regions of the Central Plains, connecting Sichuan and Hubei.
With the geographical advantage of being connected to wealthy neighborhoods, merchants gathered, and money and people followed them.
It was only natural that Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi, was crowded with people and there was nowhere to step.
"Oh, concise explanation?"
"Hehe. Thank you, young hero. If a waiter like me wants to make a living, I have to do this much, right?"
I handed a few coins to the waiter, who was rubbing his hands together so much that the skin on his palms was becoming shiny.
"Thank you, great hero!"
The waiter bowed at a 90-degree angle and returned with a smiling face.
It's so easy to climb the social ladder, from young hero to great hero in an instant.
"Hehe, Great Hero Kang? May I offer you a drink?"
Cheon Yeohwa, who had been watching the scene from the side, sipped her wine with a constant smile, as if she was enjoying herself. She was currently drinking Jade Spring Dew, a famous wine from the Sichuan region.
It was originally difficult to drink in Shaanxi, but in Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi, it was a wine that could be obtained if you had money.
That's right, if you had money.
We had made it to Xi'an after many twists and turns, but we had no money.
It's only natural. In the first place, Cheon Yeohwa was a fugitive, and I had just come from Earth, so it would be stranger if we had money.
From the beginning, the food I was eating and the expensive wine that Cheon Yeohwa was drinking were bought with the money I earned by selling survival tools to a large iron shop nearby.
In particular, the survival axe sold for a high price.
'I remember the hairy middle-aged man who was happy, saying that the martial artists would go crazy for it.'
Of course, I couldn't earn money like this every time, so I had to find a proper job.
The best thing to do was hunt bandits. I hadn't known it for long, but bandits apparently had bounties on their heads.
Of course, the punks I killed last time didn't have bounties on their heads, but conversely, there were also some with silver and even gold bounties on their heads if they were skilled in martial arts or had a notorious reputation.
'How many gold taels was the bounty on the Green Forest Alliance leader's head…'
Of course, the government wasn't stupid, and the fact that they had offered even gold for a bounty meant that they were all unbelievably terrifying monsters.
What I was aiming for was a guy with a silver bounty on his head, or a moderate bandit camp.
To be precise, it was the plunder that the bandits had collected.
In reality, the bounty was nothing more than a side income.
I was seriously considering my future plans when the inn, which had been noisy until just now, suddenly became quiet.
People's gazes were focused on one place.
'What's that?'
Some guys with flaws on their faces, wearing matching uniforms, were approaching us.
Judging by the fact that they had swords on their waists, they didn't seem like ordinary people.
'Martial artists?'
I had seen them a few times since coming to Xi'an, but they exuded a different atmosphere compared to the martial artists I had seen so far.
They probably belonged to an organization like a sect.
Just as I was thinking, 'But why are those guys coming here?',
"Young lady?"
The guy who seemed to be the leader of the group didn't even get my permission before suddenly joining our table, and he started talking to Cheon Yeohwa.
"I am Lee Geon from the Hundred Flowers Sect. If it's not too much trouble, may I have the opportunity to know your name…"
Bang! Before he could finish his sentence, my fist was embedded in his face.
Thud, thud-crash! I didn't bother controlling my strength. As a result, the guy flew away as if rolling on the floor, and crashed into the wall of the inn.
"Don't you dare talk to another man's woman so carelessly."
Are you trying to die?