Book 15 Chapter 4

The Five Elements, Lesson 1, Jingyokan (木曜關)

-The hatching of the boy (孵化)

When the Five Elements refer to the neck, the "neck" is not just a tree. It would be a shame to think of the neck as just a substance that has the "form" of a tree, but only sees the smallest aspect of it.

The neck of the Five Elements symbolizes spring, and it also symbolizes humanity's essential nature, but its most holistic nature is production.

So what is production? Isn't it a kind of uninterrupted, living, continuous activity?

Consider the fruit of a plant. They were not kindly created by nature to serve as an after-meal dessert or snack to delight the human tongue (if anyone thinks so, he must have an arrogant sense of self-worth that fools him into thinking he is the Supreme Being of the natural world). The fruit is the womb of the plant for the spreading of its offspring, the seed for the multiplication of the species and the continuation of life.

Just as a tree gathers sunlight with its leaves and absorbs water and nutrients with its roots, gathering the elements of its life into the fruit of its labor, so we can call the collective act of "gathering something to create something else, and thus perpetuating some value" production.

Therefore, in order to produce, the act of gathering and 'connecting' scattered things into one must be preceded by the act of production. In other words, it can be said that the essence of production is to continue uninterruptedly.

As a result, the pinnacle of the rulers, the Ten Rulers, decided that this unbroken continuity was the attribute that best represented the "neck" of the Five Elements. And to embody that attribute, they chose a very avant-garde method.

It's called a trot, a light sprint.

The first question that came to mind when this unique competition format was presented was this.

"Then you don't fight?"

The answer was this.

"You're fighting, aren't you?"

"What? You're not fighting, are you?" I asked, and he replied…….

"A relay is a form of struggle (鬪爭) to win or lose. So it's fighting, but you don't think 'fighting' is just about swinging a sword and hurting others, do you?"

Naturally, the young man was embarrassed and immediately shut up.

"I can't believe……. something as simple as running to determine the winner."

Jang Hong groaned and said.

This convention was shaping up to be nothing like the Volcanoes Convention he had known in the past. Where this fickle wind would take him, to what end, for what purpose, and in what way, was not within his grasp.

"Is it going to be easy? It might be surprisingly difficult, this gateway!"

Bi Ryuyeon seemed to think that Jang Hong's conclusion was premature.

"Difficult?"

"So, this volcano is known for being the toughest in all of Oaxaca, right? In fact, just looking at the peak, it's all jagged rocks and cliffs, and we're going to use the entire volcano for this run!"

That's right. This time, we'll be running the entire summit of Volcano Five Peaks in nine sections. The route is free, and you don't have to follow a set path. It doesn't matter if you're running like a monkey in the trees or flying between cliffs, as long as you're capable. However, the ruler would decide where the next runners would gather.

This was something that continued to bother her.

"If you just want to run long distances, you can conserve your stamina and qi according to your ability. On the other hand, if you want to cover a short distance in a short amount of time, you'll need to release all your reserves in a single burst of energy and qi. But now that the Jing Gong Race is running long distances, you can't run as fast as you can in short distances. And she has to run across five volcanic peaks with no roads. If I had to guess, I'd say it's a race that will take at least two days and two nights, which means……."

"You mean you have to run… at night."

In response to Jang Hong's silent reply, Bi Ryuyeon nodded and said.

"Yeah, but I don't think they're kind enough to put a torch in your hand to tell you to be careful at night."

Jang Hong agrees with me on that point.

I had been thinking too complacently just because the blood wasn't flowing. When I first heard it, I was a little confused and embarrassed because it sounded so uncharacteristically right-perhaps this is what Yoon Junho and Lee Jin-sul, who are also in Group 7, agree on-but then I thought about it again and realized that Bi Ryuyeon was right. There was no place to argue against his view.

Jang Hong should have felt ashamed of himself for belittling this gateway.

"Well, I must apologize for thinking this was easy, so what do we do now?"

Jang Hong asks, does he realize that he's been listening to Bi Ryuyeon's opinion with a lot of importance?

However, I have no doubt that such an action would be met with fierce opposition and strong resistance from many.

"Hmm… shouldn't we prioritize them?"

Ryuyeon Bi said.

The volcanic landscape is so spectacular that it is considered the westernmost of the five volcanoes. Especially in the fall, when the mountains are dressed in brilliant reds and yellows. The sheer height of the peaks, which pierce the plains of clouds and look like inverted swords, makes the viewer feel the magnificence of nature with every fiber of their being. This is why many people travel long distances in all four seasons to see this spectacular landscape (of course, this luxury is only for the wealthy with deep pockets, and not for the common people).

It was an unexpected volcano. It had been two years since he had left the Sect. Moreover, he was now at Jade Lady Peak, home of the Sect's Volcanic Sect, rather than at Tianmu Peak. However, Yun Junhao had no time to relax and enjoy the natural scenery, which seemed to have been created by a divine brush. He couldn't afford to feel the mystery and vastness of nature, the tranquility of the setting sun, the twilight coloring the plains of clouds, the breeze brushing against his cheeks as it rustled the leaves and flirted with the flowers.

The volcano was passing by him at a speed that was as fast as a lantern. One minute it's in front of him, the next it's next to him, the next it's behind him. It never stops and waits for him.

But he couldn't slow down a bit. His left foot slammed into the ground in front of him. But he can't slow down; his left and right feet are racing ahead of him, pounding the volcano's soil. Both feet never touched the ground at the same time, as if they were in a jealous contest for land.

The limits of how hard the act of "running" can be were constantly being rediscovered by his ongoing experiences. The quest for knowledge always comes with a price. For this discovery, the price was a mixture of excruciating pain from a violently pulsating heart that felt like it was about to burst, breathlessness from lungs that couldn't hold enough air and were afraid it was going to come out of his mouth, and muscle aches that are not easily experienced.

He was now being chased like a fox by a hunter, and not only that, but there were four people he had to overtake.

"Okay, I don't expect you to outrun people, and you don't have to push yourself that hard. I just want you to do everything in your power to maintain your position, and that's enough, so don't push yourself."

On the sidelines, that stupid Wei Zichen said, "Can we really trust such a fool? Give it up." and other words to humiliate him, but the other people ignored the rice-flavored swordsman and sided with him.

"You don't have to listen to that little man. We believe in you. The slopes you've traversed so far have never been plain sailing. Believe in yourself more, or it will be a betrayal of those of us who believe in you. We believe you are a man of integrity."

He was grateful to the point of tears. He could still feel the warmth of Jang Hong's thick, warm hand gripping his shoulder firmly. It was a trust in the name of friendship.

They were the ones who believed in him and supported him, and he didn't want to let them down.

"If you don't become more proactive!

Maintaining rankings was not enough. You've always been too passive. She didn't believe in herself. She was always made fun of. But there were people who believed in her and supported her, and she had to believe in herself more by looking at them.

A bird about to hatch was struggling to break its shell. The shell is the world. It is a world that surrounds you, a world that is both infinitely strong and infinitely weak, and if you don't break it, you can't get out into the wider world. The desperate bird's beak relentlessly pursued a single point, which eventually became the starting point for the gold. Around this first point of action, the shell began to crack with radiation.

"What? How do I run faster?"

Yoon Junho nodded at Bi Ryuyeon's curling reply.

"I thought I'd take your advice first… and to be honest, I'm not sure I can do it……."

Yun Junho said, his voice slurring. If Jang Hong or Hyorong had known, they would have scolded him for such recklessness. What kind of courage is it to follow the advice of a man who is the epitome of unorthodoxy!

But…….

"Well, if you want advice, you've come to the right place, and now that I see it, you're pretty discerning, aren't you?"

With a very satisfied smile on her face, Bi Ryuyeon nodded in agreement. Even though it would be more beneficial to Yun Jun's life to refuse, he had to move his spine in the direction of affirmation.

"So… how can I run faster?"

At the sight of him still addressing her with respect (a habit not easily broken), she clicked her tongue and wagged a finger.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?"

"Forget?"

"Not only do we have to run fast this time, but we have to run long!"

Suddenly, Yoon realized something.

"Wow, that's definitely true."

It's not a short distance. For some reason, the nine segments were jagged and arbitrary in length. Na Yerin said it was to see how well they could put the right people in the right place at the right time. Many people agreed with her, and he was one of them. He was assigned to the middle peak of the Five Volcanoes, Jade Lady Peak.

"I heard you used to live in a volcano."

"I was more a disciple of the Volcanic School than I was alive, but……?

"Was it a 'was,' and now it's not?

"Oh, no, I'm still a Volcanoes disciple."

"Okay, decision!"

The order was decided in a flurry of activity. It was his job to deliver the gyuzhu baton from the entrance to the top of Jade Lady Peak-the shortest of the nine sections-to the last runner, Bi Ryuyeon, who would have to run the longest and toughest part of the race, the distance from the top of Jade Lady Peak to the top of Tianmu Peak, and he would have to do it at night.

In fact, it wasn't easy for his group of seven to pick this order. He was stuck in his own group. A group of men who were crazy about Bing Bai Peak Na Yerin, a group who hated Bi Ryuyeon and wanted to tear her apart, and a man named Wei Zichen, the leader of the Bing Peak Movie Guard.

"Hey, Ryuyeon, why is he here?"

A trembling Jang Hong whispered in her ear.

"Well……."

"Well, what an irresponsible thing to say! I wonder if they're here to eat you. You've been fidgeting like an opium addict. Look, look! There's blood in your eyes."

"Maybe, Ryuyeon, it's because you're in the workshop, and you've never been like that before. You can't control this unexpected life of yours."

Hyo-ryong chimed in from the side, also in the 7th group.

"Long, you're right… it makes sense! I'm convinced! So you're saying it wasn't the drugs."

Jang Hong nodded and said.

"Ryuyeon, what happened? I was actually very surprised that you were right. Not only you, but I was also surprised to find myself in the same boat as this Sojae. Oh, and don't get me wrong, I'm not going to take it personally……."

It was Hyo-ryong who added one more word that shouldn't have been added.

At the time of the draw, I was nervous when Bi Ryuyeon predicted the future groupings as if it was a foregone conclusion. But to her surprise, she was right. She was placed in the same group as Na Yerin, and she was placed in the same group as Jinseul Lee. Of course, all four of them ended up in the same group. When I asked them what excuse they would have made if they didn't end up in the same group, they said that they hadn't thought about it because it was an idea that was already predicated on failure. The more I looked at him, the weirder he was.

"Is this a side effect or something……."

Hyo-Ryong asked in a low voice. He didn't know if he'd paid a price for manipulating the odds-whatever it was-to be paired with the person he wanted.

"That's not true!"

Bi Ryuyeon shook her head.

"So?"

"In fact……."

"True?"

"Well… actually, I only focused my consciousness on the person I wanted to be in a group with. The less you focus on something like this, the better, because if it's too big, it spreads the power around and is less effective. It's also less likely to succeed……."

"So?"

"So I didn't pay attention to the rest of it, not even a little bit."

"Hmmm…, so?"

"Maybe the rest of the people were picked by some random law, or he prayed for something similar."

"The story is……."

Bi Ryuyeon pointed her finger at the sky.

"Well, it's a joke from God. Or a joke of some damned 'being'!"

"What, that's……!"

Jang Hong and Hyorong answered at the same time. They didn't look convinced at all.

"Can we make it work?"

Jang Hong said, unable to hide his anxiety.

"Well……."

There were no guarantees.

"This is disturbing……."

Jang Hong scrunched up his face. It wasn't impossible.

"Well, don't worry!"

Hyo-ryong replied to Bi Ryuyeon's words with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"Well, that's a nice bit of condescension. You're the one with the problem. Besides, I don't even know if I'm going to be able to get the order of the day right for this race……."

"Don't worry, it'll work out, somehow."

"How!"

Jang Hong and Hyorong raised their voices in question, and Bi Ryuyeon raised a finger.

"Just one word!"

"A word?"

"Yes, her word!"

Bi Ryuyeon's fingertips were pointing straight at Na Yerin's face.

When she saw it, she pointed her index finger at the side of her chin, a slightly puzzled expression on her face. When Bi Ryuyeon saw that, she smiled and waved her hand playfully. She looked even more confused, which made Wei Zichen, who was watching, feel an indescribable sense of discomfort.

"Indeed!"

Jang Hong and Hyorong slammed their fists into their palms and let out an exclamation. That was sure to work.

When I say that Yoon's leg was short, I mean relatively speaking, not that it was actually short. Moreover, the road was neither flat nor ordinary. It was going to take a lot of physical strength and energy. This was something he knew better than anyone, having lived on a volcano.

Yoon readily admits that he had overlooked that part.

"But there's no need to worry now, if you follow the advice of this body, you'll be sure of it, and in that respect you're in a very favorable position!"

Bi Ryuyeon said with a smug look on her face.

"How do you…?"

Swallowing hard, Yun Junho's body naturally leaned forward. A strange attraction caused by overconfidence-whose basis is a bit uncertain-seemed to pull him forward.

"That's right……."

Bi Ryuyeon began to whisper in a tone that sounded like a secret from heaven and earth.

"Soggy, soggy, soggy! Ssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Oooh! Indeed! Mmmmm! Hehe……."

As he listened to Bi Ryuyeon, Yun Jun-ho's expression began to change like a volcano in the four seasons.

"Become one with the volcano!"

Looking at the goal he had to pursue, Yoon Junho said in a determined voice.

"The basics of kung fu are to lighten your body so that you get the most speed with the least amount of effort. The key is to lighten your body as close to the limit as possible, like this!"

Bi Ryuyeon said, spreading her hands wide in the air. But as far as Yun Junho could see, nothing had changed.

"How?"

To him, it was just a change in the position of the arm. Obviously, that's not even on the axis of change.

"That's why!"

Once again, Bi Ryuyeon threw her hands up in the air as if to say hooray, but in Yoon Jun-ho's system of perception, it was the same as before.

"……???"

The distant look made her sigh.

"Ehh… okay, I'll let you try it yourself, it'll be faster that way."

Apparently, it hasn't happened yet, so we decided to use a more direct means of communication.

"Here, I'm going to stand still, so give it a little push!"

Yoon Jun-ho did as he was told and pushed lightly on Bi Ryuyeon's chest. Even though he pushed, he only bent his elbow and slowly pinched it. But…….

"Huh?!"

A marvelous thing had happened. It was a magical thing, that light, small movement, and Bi Ryuyeon's body was pushed forward and backward without any resistance, her heels together. It was as if there was a transparent ice sheet in the air.

The timid boy stared at his fingertips in disbelief and muttered to himself, "It's not like he's suddenly gotten some kind of power.

"No resistance!"

There was a little bit, but it was negligible. It was like pushing a small paper boat on water. It would be more accurate to say that she was sliding rather than being pushed.

Bi Ryuyeon smiled brightly.

"What do you think, are we clear now?"

But Yoon Jun-ho didn't hesitate and shook his head. So she decided to go the extra mile.

"Why do you think a person's body floats?"

I had no idea, so I shook my head again.

"It's because more than half of the human body is made up of water, and it's almost the same as water, so it's easy to float. When you add the air in your lungs, which is lighter than water, you can float, and when you stir your arms and legs, you can swim in the water. It's the same thing with light air."

Her words had become an invisible rope, binding his mind. He took a moment to catch his breath and spoke again.

"You see, this world is all made up of the aggregation and dispersion of qi. Everyone is qi, you, me, and the whole world! Qi moving according to the laws of nature, that's this system of existence. Hard and soft are just the effects of density differences."

She continued.

"To run, to exercise kung fu, is the same as to swim in an ocean of chi, but the human body is first of all denser than the atmosphere, so it is drawn to the ground, which is closer in density and 'properties,' and between the two there is a force of attraction, an attraction, but this is not the case with the samurai. We need to draw the chi scattered in the atmosphere into our bodies through breathing, and conserve and manage it more effectively, bringing its density, nature, and properties closer to the atmosphere, closer to chi's fundamental state of being. We need to "vaporize" our bodies in order to swim in the ocean of chi. This is the first and most basic point of studying chi kung. Everyone is learning this properly, but they seem to have forgotten the "why" of it, which may not be a problem because it works without knowing why……. But it's not enough to free you from the bondage of the earth, the bondage of man."

In a determined voice, Bi Ryuyeon said.

Yun Jun-ho was drawn into the dizzying story. It was an unusually exhilarating teaching for something said by a woman, and he felt it in his bones.

"That's why you need to assimilate!"

"Fairy tales?"

Assimilation, the merging of separate things into one.

"The closer the properties of two things are to each other, the better, because the less resistance there is."

"So Junho, do you see now what you have to do, there's only one thing you have to do!"

"One?"

"Yes, I'm going to be one with this volcano!"

For a moment, Yun Junho couldn't quite understand what Bi Ryuyeon was saying. He had to think about it for a while before he could grasp its full meaning. But the words didn't really hit home for him.

"Well, is that possible?"

"Ew…, isn't that self-imposed limitation again? I'm getting tired of it, and I better get out of that boring world soon, or I'll never progress!"

"Meh, sorry……."

Junho Yoon apologized.

"Maybe you don't owe me that apology, you owe it to yourself."

"Meh, sorry……."

A groan escaped from somewhere.

No one can crack your shell for you. Your world is your own to crack; others can only help you get there. Any further interference was fruitless. In severe cases, it can even be harmful…….

"Imagine being one with a volcano after you've taken in a lot of chi. You breathe it into you, forgetting yourself, becoming one with nature and this volcano in a state of trance. Then your body will be able to move effortlessly in the slightest breeze, just as the ripples on the lake move with the slightest breeze. How easy is that?"

Where's the simplicity in that? That was an incredibly tall order that made my eyes glaze over.

At first, he thought it would be impossible. But then his friend said.

"If you keep limiting yourself, you can never go above it! The moment you decide to do so, it becomes your limit. Don't put limits on yourself. Because no one's been there yet."

My body is light in the wind and my mind is as clear as the blue sky. This is my home, the place I grew up. Every tree, every stone… everything around him was familiar. The volcano hadn't erupted in two years, but his hometown hadn't changed. It seemed somehow possible now. The words he had never understood seemed to make sense now.

"Yeah, I'll give it a shot!"

Junho Yoon finally decided to put his understanding into practice. A person can only achieve what he believes in. Belief is a self-declaration that something 'exists' in reality. You can't explore and pursue something that doesn't exist. To do this, you must first believe in yourself. That is the beginning of everything. There was someone who taught him that.

"I'll do whatever it takes to overtake him!"

Finally, the shell cracked and the bird hatched.

For the first time since crawling out of his mother's womb into the light of life, Junho Yun began to move with an enterprising mindset. With the full force of his will applied to the brazier of his soul, the flame of his essence began to burn fiercely.

"What, what, that?"

Maharaj was stunned.

Suddenly, something came up behind her and pushed past her side and forward.

At first, she thought it was the wind. But when you're running this fast-she was going as fast as she could-it's the wind behind you……. But then she realized it was a person. Someone had cheekily overtaken the Iron Jade Dragon Mach.

It was unacceptable that not one, but two people dared to run in front of her. The one who had run in front of her before was a man named Demon Sword Ik Chu Ming. However, it wasn't her own incompetence, but rather the incompetence of the group she belonged to. It was her own ability that had shortened the distance between them to this point, but it was one thing to be running behind in the first place, and quite another to only be able to run behind because you had been overtaken.

"How dare you……."

She tried to rage first, but it was no use. Caught off guard and unexpectedly surprised, she was dumbfounded before she was angry. The reason for this was that she recognized who had just overtaken her.

"What kind of joke is this?

It was a face she recognized, but not because she was particularly interested in it. It was a human who naturally came into her eyes while she was grinding her teeth over the horse breed called Bi Ryuyeon. It was Yoon Jun-ho, the volcano child, who had a strong sense of 'extra'.

"No, no, no……."

If I'm overtaken by one like that, I'll be a disgrace to my family for generations, and I won't be able to show my face to my ancestors. With that thought in mind, the Maharishi became even more determined and increased his speed.

"Lightweight! My body is lighter than a feather!"

My body felt so light, as if the heavy shackles that bound me had been lifted. He felt as if he were going to fly. Like an arrow on the wind, he ran fast. He felt as if he had been reborn. The sensation of the opening of the self, which had been imprisoned, bound, and crushed by fifty thousand ideas, was beyond any pleasure he had ever experienced.

It was only when I woke up from the sleep of delusion that I realized how much I had deceived, neglected, and belittled myself while walking through life with my eyes closed. From now on, I will cherish and love the parts of myself that I have neglected and ignored. This intention traveled through the veins of my body and reached the roots of my nerves. An overflowing feeling of fullness took over.

However, that determination may have gone too far.

The bird had just hatched from the shell that surrounded it, and its wings were still too weak to soar through the new world.

"Well, it looks like things are going well, Mr. Yeom!"

Eunsulan said, looking around the volcano from her vantage point. Even though Yeomdo was an asterisk, she was using it as a name. It was a much smarter move than actually saying his real name, and many were doing it.

A signal was supposed to go up when there was an anomaly or special event, so no news meant good news. Unable to attend the volcanoes herself, she could only watch from the sidelines.

"Um……."

Yeomdo groaned and nodded, muttering something I was embarrassed to call an answer.

"A tug-of-war……. It's unique and personal, but I'm relieved it's a low-risk competition."

It was certainly a lot safer than swinging a saber. But that didn't seem to be the case with Yidou.

"Well, that remains to be seen."

"What do you mean?"

Yidou turned his gaze to look at the beautiful young lady.

His beastly eyes, which were constantly swirling with anger and resentment, had softened to the point where they now had depth. Perhaps it was because he had been through so much in recent years, since he had become entangled in a series of bad relationships. He had thought he had lost his temper, but now he was able to think much more rationally than he had in the past.

"Silver Sojae, accidents aren't caused by nature, they're caused by people."

It's people who create the environment and people who react to the environment, so most accidents happen because of the "distortions" in the relationships between people. In good relationships, things don't go wrong. Even if they did, they would be able to work together to solve it. In that sense, the distortion rate of the relationships we have here is the worst.

"Then you might have a problem with……."

It made sense to me. The relationships here on the volcano were unusual, to say the least. It wouldn't be surprising if something went wrong at any moment.

"I can't say for sure, but there are some people in the world who think that cheating means that it's only because they're not careful that they get caught doing something illegal!"

Unfortunately, there is a group of people in this world who believe that playing by the rules is the farthest, most tedious, and foolish path to fulfill their desires. They think it's smarter to break the rules and not get caught than to play by them. It is very unfortunate for humanity that throughout history they have always been the majority over the minority.

Sure, there are a lot of rules that are sometimes ridiculous……. At least in these competitions, you have to play by the rules to level the playing field. It's an obvious statement, but there are so many people in the world who simply don't take the obvious for granted. It's the worst tragedy of a gullible public.

"Don't let your guard down, you won't know until you get there!"

It had become not only rational, but also cautious. It wasn't a complete reversal of nature, of course, but it was a remarkable enough change.

"I hope this ends without incident……."

I was skeptical about that part.

"Well…, he's a great man with a lot of enemies……. He prides himself on never getting anything done quietly!"

"Maybe they think it's a sin to be quiet?"

"He's probably hated by the God of Tranquility, I'm sure!"

Said Yeomdo, in an oddly confident tone.

"You're the exact opposite of Mo Yong Confucius. He acts like the sky is falling if he breaks the rules, right? I mean, that's kind of cute, but……. You two are such a contrast, kuk-kuk!"

It was a mystery to see two people with such opposite personalities working together, and I didn't know if that was the charm of Bi Ryuyeon.

"Cute, you mean like that stiff, puffy, skinny little thing, huh?"

He looked at her suspiciously with a raised eyebrow, and Eunseulan threw up her hands in alarm.

"Oh, no… I'm… I'm just……. That's… me……."

Panic was visible.

"Hmm…hmm?"

Yeomdo picked at the silver snowflakes, his gaze still unflinching.

"Oh no, not that… that……."

But once again, I couldn't come up with a good excuse.

"So you don't like him? Well, you can't hate him because he's a boring guy who knows nothing but norms and manners."

In a wistful voice-one that must have been tampered with, I'm sure-Yu said. His sunken eyes were filled with infinite sympathy-obviously manipulated-for Mo Yonghui.

"Oh, no, I don't want to, no way!"

Eunsulan answered in a voice that surprised even her.

"You don't mind?"

Eunsulan nodded.

"That's great!"

Suddenly, I'm groomed. I didn't even get a chance to ask, "Uh, why?

"No, it's my life saver… it's saved me… it's carried me on its back… but it's not……."

She was thus forever deprived of the opportunity to defend herself. This was now cemented as a predetermined fact in her mind, and would be filed away in the memory bank. Eunseulan's shoulders sagged. She felt like she was about to give up.

And what did I think of him? It was crazy to realize that I had never thought about it before. Suddenly, his presence began to feel special.

"But her upstanding behavior has changed a lot since she tangled with him."

"Him?"

"Hated by the God of Tranquility!"

"Alas, him!"

Eunseulan nodded.

"It's only since I met him that I've been able to relax now. It used to be so much worse."

"Oh, really?"

Yeomdo nodded emphatically.

"At least he has some breathing room now. He used to look like he had a leash around his neck."

For some reason, I laughed because I could easily picture it.

"That's what happens when he gets tangled up. Nothing ever ends quietly. Something always comes out of it. It's nice not to be bored, but……."

Not knowing "in moderation" has always been a problem.

It was the same at Mudangsan, and it was the same at Hwanmadong.

Given his experience so far, it was rather strange not to have an accident. There was always a storm brewing around him. No, it would be more accurate to say that he invites them. His presence distorts the relationships around him, willingly or unwillingly. Those around him had to be careful, because if they made a mistake, they could be swept away with him.

"I wonder if it will end quietly this time……."

Yeomdo's ominous foreboding was spot on.