Chapter 56

Sososo, with all her might, instantly killed the assassin who had let his guard down. At that moment, Mantian rubbed his eyes and crawled out of bed.

“Ugh… I need to pee… Bathroom…”

If this were a fantasy world, he could just summon an undine to take care of it and then dry off with a sylph. No need to bother going to the bathroom. What a pity.

Moreover, though he had gotten used to it now, using a bidet in the past made the old-style bathrooms quite a hassle.

…Well, thanks to the establishment of a completely new country that absorbed Song Dynasty culture, the technological advancements had carried over, and surprisingly, the convenience facilities were quite impressive.

Though it wasn’t as overwhelmingly efficient as the magic toilets in fantasy novels that used demonic stones, it was still good that it could cleanly handle waste.

Lost in such thoughts, Mantian, with a dazed expression, went to the bathroom in the backyard of the inn to relieve himself.

Suddenly, he sensed a presence behind him.

Logically, it couldn’t have just popped out of the ground. Probably, they had been hiding their presence and tailing him since he left the inn.

“You’re the martial artist who played Jeoseokcheon in that chase scene using qinggong, right?”

A low yet oddly youthful and beautiful female voice came from behind.

At this point, whether it was a woman or a man didn’t matter, but it was still much better than a burly man breathing heavily and pressing against his back.

And since they didn’t immediately kill him and instead tried to engage in a bizarre conversation, it seemed they weren’t comrades of the assassins he had fought before.

…Then, should I respond to the conversation and create an opening?

“I don’t know what this is about, but I think you’ve got the wrong person, miss.”

“Your act of feigning ignorance confirms it’s you.”

It seemed the first question was just a formality, and she had already made up her mind.

I don’t know why she even asked then.

…But thanks to that, I realized. She doesn’t intend to kill me right now.

I don’t know her exact purpose, but in a situation where she’s confirmed I’m her target, she didn’t ambush me and instead tried to talk first.

She has my back but doesn’t intend to harm me. That contradictory gap creates an opening.

Gathering internal energy in my staff and left foot, I let out a hearty laugh to distract her.

“Haha! You caught me. But even though I played Jeoseokcheon, I never dreamed a real fairy would come to greet me.”

“…What?”

At my sly and absurd fairy remark, the person holding my back uttered a bewildered question, and Mantian didn’t miss the opportunity.

Pushing off the ground, I instantly created distance and, using the staff as a pivot, spun 180 degrees to face the cowardly figure who had been hiding behind me.

“…Huh?”

This time, it was Mantian who let out a bewildered question.

A cute short haircut reaching the neck, beautiful golden hair and golden eyes like melted gold, a face that was oddly mature yet childlike.

The person who had suddenly appeared in the dead of night and grabbed my back was a small child.

The fact that the opponent was a child left Mantian speechless, and without realizing it, he let his guard down and lightly joked.

“Um… little fairy, you’re too young to be seduced and taken to heaven. Do you have any older sister fairies or aunt fairies who aren’t married?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a cool breeze brushed past Mantian’s cheek. It was the wind pressure from someone moving.

Without a chance to react, the little fairy closed the distance and a small, delicate fist struck Mantian’s solar plexus.

“Keu- keuk?!”

Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, Mantian fell flat on his back, gasping for breath and groaning in pain. Slowly, the little fairy… no.

A master in the form of a child approached, placing a small foot on Mantian’s chest and grinding it down. With a furrowed brow and an arrogant gaze, she looked down at him under the moonlight.

“Kid, didn’t your master teach you to be wary of the elderly and children in the martial world?”

Hiiing… I didn’t learn that… Rehu… My masters are currently vomiting tuition fees, deshaaat!!

The bizarre sight of a grown man being pinned down by a child. A silent scream echoed from deep within.

***

Jeonjin Sect (全眞敎).

If you ask current martial artists of the Central Plains who the orthodox school of martial arts, the North Star of Mount Tai (泰山北斗), is, nine out of ten would answer Shaolin (少林) and Wudang (武當).

However, in the past, it was the Jeonjin Sect, not Wudang, that held the position of the North Star.

Originally, the Huashan Sect (華山派), now renowned as one of the Nine Great Clans (九派一幇), was founded by one of the seven disciples directly taught by Wang Chongyang.

One of the Seven True Disciples (全眞七子), Hao Datong, established the sect, and the Zhongnan Sect (終南派), also located in Shaanxi, rapidly grew by taking in Jeonjin Sect martial artists who had nowhere else to go.

Excluding the Qingcheng Sect (靑城派), which has a history as impressive as the Three Kingdoms period, and the Kunlun Sect, which is too far from the Central Plains, all the Taoist sects of the Nine Great Clans, though with differences, were influenced by the Jeonjin Sect.

Thus, the internal energy technique of the Jeonjin Sect is called [Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique (玄門正宗) – the orthodox school of Taoism].

In other words, the martial world of the past wasn’t like the current Nine Great Clans but a tripartite system of Shaolin, Jeonjin, and the Beggar’s Sect.

…Though there was one strange thing, the status of the Jeonjin Sect in the martial world was extremely significant.

Well, in the end, that great status became its poison, and the remaining disciples ended up fighting over assets, something a Taoist sect should never do.

Though it became a laughingstock and fell into ruin, it was indeed once a great sect.

And now, Wang Miaoyang (王美陽), who introduced herself as the successor of the ruined Jeonjin (全眞), crossed her arms and looked down at Mantian, who was kneeling with a cold gaze.

“The qinggong you showed in the play was undoubtedly the Jeonjin Sect’s Light Body Skill, Golden Goose Technique (金雁功). Stop pretending and tell me. Who taught you the Jeonjin Sect’s martial arts?”

‘…I’m screwed.’

Thinking the sect was long gone and there were no copyright issues, I used it freely. But suddenly, a descendant appeared.

But in times like these, one must not panic. Calmly count prime numbers.

Prime numbers are lonely numbers divisible only by one and themselves. They give me courage.

Even if poisonous frogs rain from the sky, as long as I count prime numbers correctly, I can survive.

But if I really counted prime numbers here, I might get a knuckle sandwich for stalling, so Mantian quickly mixed truth and lies to summarize how he learned the martial arts.

“…So, a passing master was moved by your chivalry and taught you martial arts but left without revealing his name because he was ashamed of being from the Jeonjin Sect?”

“Yes, he saw me blocking dozens of dogs like I was possessed by Zhang Fei from the Zhangpan Sect to protect my friend and was moved to take me as his disciple.”

After hearing my story from start to finish, Wang Miaoyang narrowed her eyes and extended her doll-like white hand.

“I’ll take your pulse. Give me your hand.”

Refusing here would be like admitting I lied, so I obediently extended my hand.

A moment later, Wang Miaoyang, with a slightly awkward expression, removed her fingers from my pulse.

“Hmm… though mixed with other things, you learned it properly. It’s not at the level of stealing. It’s genuine Jeonjin Sect martial arts.”

Well, since I learned it from someone who could perfectly execute almost all martial arts.

Though there’s no quality guarantee, in terms of performance, it’s no different from the real thing.

Anyway, convinced that I truly learned from a Jeonjin Sect martial artist, Wang Miaoyang spoke with a slightly relaxed tone.

“Um… sorry for the misunderstanding.”

I’m just glad my identity as a martial arts outlaw disciple wasn’t exposed, but to clear suspicion so easily…

Despite her sharp eyes and outstanding martial skills, she seems naive and innocent when it comes to worldly matters. Thinking that, even the clothes she wore seemed oddly like those of a country girl.

…But the Jeonjin Sect (全眞敎)?

A hybrid internal energy technique that blends Taoist and Buddhist teachings, capable of learning and executing all martial arts in the world unless they are extremely biased towards yin or yang in gathering pure energy.

Mystical Taoist Inner Energy Technique (玄門正宗內功心法).

The essence of ’emptiness leading to clarity’ that can make the opponent’s strong force disappear in an instant, creating an opening to defeat them.

Empty Clarity Fist (空明拳).

Moreover, a qinggong that always delivers more than expected in crucial moments, providing trust and stability.

Golden Goose Technique (金雁功).

I hadn’t thought much about it before, but putting it all together, the Jeonjin Sect’s martial arts are truly outstanding.

Mantian, now slightly hunched, looked down at Wang Miaoyang and tapped the calculator in his head.

Since I’ll be staying in this village for a few days and there’s a former Jeonjin Sect official right in front of me.

It might not be a bad choice to take this opportunity to reincarnate as the genius Taoist who even deceives heaven, Sima Mantian (司馬瞞天).