"Why are you so late? You didn't go to a dangerous place, did you?"
That was what Hua Yunhui, who had later found out that Cho Myung had gone to dig for herbs alone, said as soon as he saw Cho Myung coming down from the mountain late in the evening.
"I was late because I was training hard. I didn't go to a dangerous place."
Cho Myung answered brightly.
Although he didn't know the details, he thought it was right to answer as brightly as possible in front of big brother Yunhui, who was going through a sad time.
His grandfather had said that if you smile, bad things can't come near you, and big brother Yunhui had said that you always have to smile in the clinic so that the patients can also receive good energy.
'Big brother, cheer up!'
Cho Myung, who had cheered inwardly, handed the basket full of herbs to Seokcheong and then ran to the well.
'He'll tell me not to go, so I shouldn't talk about the red-eyed demon.'
Cho Myung made up his mind as he washed his hands and face.
"Myung, today's dinner seems to be your favorite chicken. I passed by the kitchen earlier, and the smell of stir-fried chicken was amazing."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm not as good as your nose, but I have a knack for the smell of meat."
Cho Myung, who had heard Seokcheong's words, twitched his nose. A delicious smell of chicken was really wafting from the kitchen.
Cho Myung drooled and giggled.
"It's real."
"See, I was right, wasn't I?"
"Yeah."
"I'll bring the herbs quickly and bring the meal."
"Okay, big brother."
Cho Myung liked chicken the most.
A moment later, the dinner that Seokcheong brought was stir-fried chicken.
Cho Myung ate the chicken in front of him as if he were in a battle, without paying attention to anyone. He had eaten the entire four servings by himself.
Hua Yunhui, who was staring at the scene, said as if he had suddenly thought of it.
"Don't you think this kid has gained some weight?"
"......!"
"......!"
Old Man Ban and Jeok Yorap stopped eating and looked at Cho Myung.
Indeed, as Hua Yunhui had said.
He had gained a good amount of weight in a few days.
"Will it happen again?"
He was asking if the bone cleansing phenomenon would happen again.
But it was not a matter that even Old Man Ban could answer with a definite yes or no.
"Well..."
"What will happen?"
Seokcheong interjected and asked.
"Something that will allow everyone to sleep comfortably because no one is snoring."
"Hey... I don't snore on purpose."
"I know. That's why I've left you alone until now."
"But what is going to happen?"
Seokcheong, who had pouted, asked again.
When Hua Yunhui looked at him, Seokcheong's lips protruded even more.
"I'm not a fool."
"Yes, you're not a fool."
"What is going to happen?"
"Myung's height will grow more."
"......?"
"Maybe because he's eating so well, Myung is growing up so fast. Very... nicely."
He couldn't say words of concern because Cho Myung was listening.
"Myung is growing up so fast?"
Seokcheong made a bewildered face.
At that sight, Hua Yunhui was dumbfounded.
"You, you didn't know?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"That Myung has grown a foot taller than when he first came to the clinic."
"What?"
Seokcheong, who was blinking his eyes and looking at Cho Myung.
It was clear that he had not known.
"I can't believe it. No matter how dull you are."
"Well... he has grown a lot."
Seokcheong scratched the back of his head.
Hua Yunhui's reaction was still one of bewilderment, but Jeok Yorap and Old Man Ban were smiling.
After finishing the meal and taking a short rest, Old Man Ban took Cho Myung to the backyard of Jangsaengwon.
There, a large log was stuck in the ground.
Old Man Ban stood in front of it.
"Myung, watch carefully."
"Okay."
Old Man Ban stood in front of the log, shook his upper body here and there, and threw punches alternately.
It was similar to the basic movements he had taught before, but it was clearly different.
In the basic movements, he had shaken his upper body and thrown punches at only one point, but this time, he threw punches at various places.
He had struck the parts of the log corresponding to human vital spots like lightning.
The two fists did not directly strike the log.
Nevertheless, the sound of hitting the log burst out ceaselessly.
The formless energy created by the muscle strength of his whole body, which had started from the tips of Old Man Ban's feet, was spewing out from the tips of his fists.
"Hah! Hah!"
Soon, Old Man Ban, who had stopped his movements, gasped for breath.
"Master."
"I'm fine."
Although he said he was fine, he eventually sat down and caught his breath for an hour.
Cho Myung was staring at Old Man Ban with a worried face until he opened his mouth.
"Can you do it?"
"Yes."
Cho Myung, who had answered, just looked at Old Man Ban.
He couldn't shake off his worry at the sight of him gasping for breath.
When Old Man Ban, who had caught his breath, pointed to the log, he finally reluctantly went and stood in front of the log. And he followed what Old Man Ban had shown him.
Old Man Ban's eyes, who was watching, widened.
It was because he was doing exactly what he had shown him.
Unlike the basic movements, it was quite complicated, but he was following it properly. The only difference was that no energy was spewing out from the tips of his fists.
"Myung, if you throw tens of thousands of punches, you will be able to feel a power you didn't know you had being exerted from the tips of your fists. That power, which has been driven from the tips of your feet through your legs, waist, and shoulders to the tips of your fists, is created by all the muscle strength of your body acting as one. If you don't know how to exert that power, you will never be able to face those who have accumulated internal energy."
"Can I defeat the red-eyed demon with that power?"
"The red-eyed demon?"
Oops, he couldn't just say what had happened in the valley. Cho Myung roughly glossed over it.
"There are many bad demons in the world."
"Do you want to defeat the demons?"
"Yes."
When Cho Myung answered excitedly, Old Man Ban burst out in a pleased laugh. It was because even if it was absurd, since he had a goal, he would train even harder.
"If the energy that spews out from your punches can knock down the log, you will also be able to defeat the demons."
"I will definitely knock down the log."
"Go ahead."
"I will also defeat the red-eyed demon."
"Myung will be able to do it."
"Okay."
Cho Myung, who had answered excitedly, began to shake his upper body and throw punches at the log again.
"Once in the morning, and once at this time in the evening. Do a thousand punches twice a day."
"I'll do two thousand."
"Okay, do as much as you can. The sweat you shed now will gather and become your strength in the future."
"Okay."
Cho Myung, who answered energetically and began to throw punches again.
In Cho Myung's mind, the red-eyed demon came to mind.
'I will definitely defeat you.'
The sweet scent that Cho Myung had smelled at that time was still lingering at the tip of his nose.
***
Cho Myung's daily routine was always the same.
As soon as he woke up in the morning, he opened the window wide and brought a wet towel to Old Man Ban, Jeok Yorap, Hua Yunhui, and Seokcheong.
Next, while he was massaging the arms and legs of Jeok Yorap and Old Man Ban, Seokcheong brought breakfast, and after finishing the meal, he ran to the backyard alone and trained the Hundred Strikes Art in front of the log.
Cho Myung worked really hard with the single-minded determination to defeat the red-eyed demon and eat the sweet fruit.
He never did it half-heartedly and completed two thousand punches before heading to the mountains to dig for herbs.
Of course, he was alone.
After going alone once, he was always alone.
Since they knew that there was nothing in the mountains that could threaten Cho Myung, after two or three days, everyone was in a relieved mood.
Cho Myung, who had gone up the mountain, ran all over the mountain looking for herbs.
Even with the hundred-catty iron armor, he was as nimble as a squirrel.
At this time, he also showed amazing behavior.
He would jump over rocks that were taller than an adult and then jump down without hesitation.
In half a day like that, his basket was full of herbs.
Cho Myung, who had filled his stomach with three large fist-sized dumplings, ran to the entrance of the cave where the red-eyed demon was.
He couldn't go inside, but he stood at the entrance and smelled the sweet scent to his heart's content before returning.
And he spent the remaining time training the Hundred Strikes Art.
After doing it for about two hours, it was not two thousand punches but several times that, but Cho Myung, who was desperate to achieve his goal, did not do it half-heartedly.
Standing in front of a large tree, he recalled the movements that Old Man Ban had shown him and then shook his upper body and threw punches quickly.
After doing tens of thousands of punches for a few days with the single-minded determination to defeat the red-eyed demon, at some point, the sound of the wind began to burst out from his punches, and a heat like a haze flowed out from his whole body.
The Immortal Demonic Aura had begun to react to Cho Myung's punches, but Cho Myung, who was extremely focused, did not recognize this change.
"Tomorrow, I will definitely defeat you."
Cho Myung left the front of the large tree as the time was getting dark.
But not long after Cho Myung left, a thudding sound was heard from the large tree, and the bark began to burst off from here and there.
They were the places where Cho Myung had thrown tens of thousands of punches.
***
"Is it over now?"
Hua Yunhui asked.
Since the day he had met Tang Xiulian, his questions had increased.
He would ask Jeok Yorap, Old Man Ban, and Seokcheong all sorts of strange things.
It was his own way of trying not to think about Tang Xiulian.
"What?"
"Myung's height. He's gained quite a bit of weight, but it's quiet at night. Is it because he's big enough for his age now?"
"Growing up is not just about growing tall, so that could be it."
Old Man Ban nodded.
He had been worried about the frequent occurrence of the bone cleansing phenomenon, but now that it was not happening, he was worried that there might be another problem.
But now that he heard Hua Yunhui's words, it seemed there might be a reason why the bone cleansing phenomenon was not happening these days.
As he had said, growing up is not just about the bones growing.
"By the way, what about the thing I asked for in the morning?"
"The vambraces?"
"Yes."
"I've sent a person to the ironworks and asked for them. They said it will take about five days."
Old Man Ban had requested the production of vambraces made of cast iron that could be worn from the wrist to below the elbow.
It was because it seemed that Cho Myung did not feel the weight even with the hundred-catty iron armor.
"Won't ten catties (6kg) be too heavy?"
"I was going to make it twice that, but I reduced it because I was worried."
"Twenty catties?"
Hua Yunhui's eyes widened.
That weight was something that even a well-built adult would easily strain their joints if they swung it with one hand.
"Just as the ground becomes harder after it rains, so does our body. You have to go through repeated training until you bleed to overcome your limits and become stronger."
"But Myung is too young."
"Yes, he's young. That's why I'm doing this much. If I had my way, I'd want to check Myung's limits first."
He had to know the limits of Myung, who had the Immortal Demonic Aura, to be able to train him accordingly, but since he was too young, he couldn't even easily check.
The only thing he had done was to have Hua Yunhui cut his forearm with a sharp blade to check.
"It seems a master's position is different."
Hua Yunhui, who had been thinking deeply after hearing Old Man Ban's words, nodded as if he understood belatedly.
At this time, Cho Myung, who had finished his evening training, returned after washing up briefly.
"Are you going to sleep like that?"
"What?"
At Hua Yunhui's words, Cho Myung made a face as if to say "What are you talking about?"
"You, don't you know how heavy that iron armor is?"
"Ah, this?"
"Yes. Take it off if you don't want to break the bed."
"Okay."
Cho Myung took off the hundred-catty iron armor next to the entrance. Then he quickly went to Jeok Yorap's bed.
"Grandfather, I'll massage your legs."
"You must be tired, so just rest."
"I'm not tired at all."
"Are you?"
"Yes."
Cho Myung answered energetically and began to massage Jeok Yorap's legs.
Old Man Ban and Hua Yunhui stared at the scene and then looked at each other.
'He says he's not tired at all.'
'I know, right.'
That night.
"Awoong! It's hot! Open the door! Myung! The door!"
Seokcheong, who had been snoring for a long time, shouted.
Of course, it was sleep-talking.
Old Man Ban, who had woken up at the sound, approached Seokcheong's bed and pressed his acupoint.
And he looked around.
As Seokcheong had said in his sleep, the room was very hot.
Even though it was not yet midsummer, it was as if a brazier had been lit.
"Why is it so...!"
Old Man Ban, who was muttering, had a sudden thought and went to Cho Myung's bed.
Cho Myung's body looked red, as if it were heated iron.
'Is this a marrow cleansing phenomenon this time?'
The bones were not moving.
Something inside the red-hot skin was wriggling.
Old Man Ban recognized that it was muscle.
The skin would swell up as if it were about to burst and then return to its taut state.
The muscles were contracting and then relaxing repeatedly.
After about an hour of that, it became quiet.
The heat also disappeared.
Old Man Ban reached out and carefully lifted Cho Myung's clothes.
Muscles that had not been visible before were now firmly in place.
'It must be that the Immortal Demonic Aura was activated thanks to the training.'
He believed it to be so, but he could not be sure.
"Anyway, sleep well."
Old Man Ban stroked Cho Myung's head and then returned to his bed.
(End of Chapter)