As I swung the twig, my old criminal buddy instinctively blocked it, disbelief etched across his face.

“What the… is this guy nuts?”

Who in their right mind charges at an armed man with just a twig? Well, he’s right. It’s not like I’m a martial arts master or anything.

“Wait a minute…! Time out! Just hold on!” (Seojun)

I waved my hand, and the criminals stopped momentarily, ready for whatever nonsense I was about to say.

 

“What are you guys doing? How did you block that? That was supposed to be a surprise attack!” (Seojun)

“F*ck.”

Seems like the guy’s really lost it. They abandoned any thoughts of negotiation and drew their weapons.

“Damn it…! Are you crazy!?” (Chun-bong)

Chun-bong shouted. I had a defense of sorts.

“They’re the ones who cut my belly open!” (Seojun)

“What!? You filthy scoundrels!” (Chun-bong)

Chun-bong fumed, then had a second thought and cautiously backed away. While he was mad, committing suicide wasn’t exactly a great plan.

“Hey, hey. We should really get out of here.” (Chun-bong)

“How?” (Seojun)

Just then, one of the criminals charged forward, swinging his enormous sword. It was bigger than an adult’s forearm and intimidatingly wide. There was no way a flimsy twig could stop that.

Swish—!

I ducked just in time as the sword whizzed over my head.

“Seriously…!” (Seojun)

The past few days had brought some changes: both my martial arts ability and my understanding of my own body had improved.

From there, I frantically plotted how to win. The enemy had a sword, I had a twig. His sword was longer, he was taller, definitely stronger, and naturally, faster too.

“I’m screwed.” (Seojun)

Szwack—!

A blade grazed my cheek, freezing my expression. There was nothing else to do.

With determination, I dove into the criminal’s arms.

“What the hell?”

The criminal went for a knee strike, just as I expected. I pushed off with my hands, rolling to the side and getting back up.

Horizontal Cut. Simply put, it was just a sideways swing.

But with a low posture, the twig swung much lower than I anticipated.

Thwack—!

“Ugh…!”

The twig struck right beside the criminal’s knee, making him stumble. I pushed forward, my right foot advancing. Chun-bong’s words echoed in my mind.

‘Taishan Crush means the mountain presses down from above. What does that mean? It’s a downward cut.’

Not that it helped much. But as I recalled the Three Calamities Mental Technique, an image popped into my head.

“Taishan Crush!” (Seojun)

The tip of the twig felt like it was pulling the sky down.

With an almost trance-like focus, I brought the twig down onto the criminal’s head.

Crack—!

It shattered. The twig, and along with it, the criminal’s confidence.

A splatter of bright red blood and cloudy brain matter vividly imprinted itself in my mind.

It felt like time slowed down as the light faded from the criminal’s eyes.

“Deok-gu…! You little… bastard!”

The remaining criminal charged in. In a daze, my body moved instinctively, the twig now feeling like a sword…

“Ah.”

Wait, the twig got shattered too, right? I’m barehanded now?

Coming back to reality, I dodged as the sword whisked past, just clipping my hair. I quickly rolled on the ground. When I got back up, I was greeted by the grotesque face of the criminal whose head I just smacked.

“Oh….”

There was a cold corpse lying over there too. I wanted to grab the sword left behind, but first, I needed to get closer.

But before I could gather my wits, the remaining criminal lunged again.

“Shit.”

What to do? It was getting complicated when suddenly…

Tap—

Chun-bong zipped past me.

“Wow, master, you’re the best!” (Seojun)

The man brought his sword down, but Chun-bong, unafraid, reached out with his hand. The sharp blade met the broad surface of the sword.

Szwack—!

Chun-bong deftly redirected the sword’s trajectory. Jaw dropped in shock, the thug barely registered what had just happened as Chun-bong twisted his waist, extending his palm.

“What the…!”

The thug scoffed, taking Chun-bong lightly, thinking, “Just a kid. I’ll take care of him and split his skull.”

Big mistake, dude.

Boom—!

Chun-bong’s palm slammed into the thug’s abdomen. A gentle breeze expanded outward. The thug stood frozen for a moment before collapsing to the ground.

Blood poured from his mouth as he crumpled. I guessed that here too, this technique was being called martial arts.

“Phew… Are you alright?” (Chun-bong)

Chun-bong asked, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Of course. Didn’t you see? It didn’t even touch me!” (Seojun)

“Not your body. You killed someone for the first time, didn’t you?” (Chun-bong)

“Huh? I’m fine, right?” (Seojun)

I wiggled my arms and legs as if to prove it. Chun-bong snickered, but I noticed something off with him.

“Are you okay too? You look white as a ghost.” (Seojun)

“Are you asking me if I’m okay or are you the one who’s not?” (Chun-bong)

That brat was a cocky little punk, but he obviously had a soft side. Killing someone might’ve taken a toll on him.

“I’m fine… cough…!” (Chun-bong)

Suddenly, a stream of blood gushed from Chun-bong’s mouth.

“What the…” (Seojun)

I rushed over to support him, blood still gushing out. Gasping, Chun-bong managed to speak.

“I… I’ll just regulate my Qi… Help me….” (Chun-bong)

“Uh, uh.” (Seojun)

Not sure what to do, I stationed myself next to Chun-bong, who assumed a meditative posture and closed his eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief after his breathing steadied.

“Phew… I thought it was the end.” (Seojun)

As I inhaled deeply, the strong stench of blood hit me.

Looking around, I realized the mess we made. It was a gruesome sight, with fragments of skull scattered everywhere.

And then, there was Chun-bong’s kill, which was almost neat. Just a bit of blood trickled from the mouth. It looked almost like a corpse that could get up and start moving any second.

“Wait a minute.” (Seojun)

Is it moving? The criminal’s finger twitched. I glanced at Chun-bong. He was still deep in concentration.

I knew intuitively that interrupting him at this moment would lead to catastrophe; it could mess up his Qi circulation or worse.

“Ugh.”

Without making a sound, I stepped on the guy’s head. Not in a violent way. That would be too brutal.

Instead, I recalled Chun-bong’s technique. Not sure about the details, but it was likely a method to strike the insides rather than the outside.

“Like this?” (Seojun)

Thud—

With a soft thump, the thug’s hands fell limp. Blood surged from his nose.

“Phew, that was close.”

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I mused. Now that I wasn’t busy, I could think about other matters.

‘What do I do now?’

About half a day passed without me realizing. I had no clock, so it was hard to tell, but the clear sky was getting painted red.

‘What should I really do?’

As I pondered, I heard a rustling sound.

“Oh, you’re awake?” (Chun-bong)

“How long was I out?”

“Not sure. Half a day?” (Chun-bong)

A rumble came from Chun-bong’s stomach as he let out a sigh and stood up.

“Ugh…”

“Careful now.” (Chun-bong)

As Chun-bong swayed, I offered support, and he leaned heavily against me.

“Hey, just carry me. I’m exhausted.” (Chun-bong)

“Wow, someone’s confident.”

Once I hoisted Chun-bong up, he felt quite light. As we moved, he started grumbling.

“I’m really dying here… Why do I have to suffer like this?” (Chun-bong)

“Oh, thank you for saving me. I appreciate it.”

“See? You owe me. Next time, snag me an iced dessert or something. I’m dying for it.” (Chun-bong)

“Hey, you cheeky little rascal.”

So much for gratitude.

“Got it, buddy.”

*

Even back home, Chun-bong didn’t regain his strength. He was groaning like he was on the brink of death, which made me anxious.

“Are you really okay?” (Seojun)

“Yeah… I’m fine….” (Chun-bong)

Usually, someone who’s fine doesn’t sweat like that. His clothes were drenched, and it looked concerning.

Chun-bong might smell good naturally, but his clothes didn’t. If his sweat wasn’t a sweet perfume, that surely meant something vile was lingering there.

“Man, you really need to clean up.” (Chun-bong)

Water? There’s some.
Cloth? If you can call that a cloth, then yes, there’s one.

“Chun-bong, get over here. Let me wash you.”

“If you touch me, I’ll really kill you.” (Chun-bong)

“Hey, it’s not like it’s going to hurt.” (Seojun)

“Don’t do it. I told you not to!” (Chun-bong)

Dragging his ailing body, he inched away.

“Did I say don’t touch me!? Hey! Don’t you dare…! You pervert…! Aahhh…!” (Chun-bong)

“Hey now, why are you screaming like a girl?” (Seojun)

“You sick, twisted freak…! I-I…! Aah! Nooooo…!” (Chun-bong)

See? This kid isn’t really a guy!