Grandpa Has Tried Everything. (1)

Even the next day, the survivors of the Extreme Five still hadn’t returned. They were probably tied up with funeral arrangements and other matters for their brothers.

The head of Heavenly Sword Mountain Hall was likewise absent, attending to related affairs.

So the grandfather and granddaughter had no reason to leave their lodgings.

“How on earth can I get that back?”

Yu Jinsan sat with his chin propped on the table, lost in thought. He was thinking about the Buddhist relic imbued with the innate qi of Gwak Yang, the founder of the Emei Sect. He coveted it, but it was sealed around his granddaughter’s neck. He’d fretted over it since yesterday but found no way.

He turned his gaze toward his granddaughter. With nothing pressing to do, she lay sprawled out, taking a nap. Her breath came deep and even, as if in a profound sleep.

If it’s now, there might be a chance. It’s for the greater good—understand your grandpa.

He couldn’t remove the necklace; he only needed to sever one prayer bead in secret.

After a moment’s deliberation, he crept toward Yu Seol like a thief-cat. He held his breath and reached out slowly. The moment felt tenser than any before.

Just as he was about to grasp the prayer beads—

Thud—! His granddaughter’s hand clamped down on his wrist; Yu Jinsan flinched, his shoulders trembling.

“Gasp!”

Yu Seol murmured softly with her eyes closed. “Grandpa, what are you doing?”

Startled, Yu Jinsan stammered, “Wh-why are you like this? I was just going to pull the blanket over you.”

Yu Seol gently released his wrist. He cleared his throat, tucked the blanket back over her, then returned to the table, folded his arms, and sat down.

This is troubling. I can’t take it by force.

She’d been unusually perceptive lately; ordinary tricks wouldn’t work. He thought for a while, but no clever idea came. There’s probably nothing pressing. Opportunities would come—he planned to wait for the right moment to coax the bead again.

For now, there were other matters to pursue. When would he find time to rest? Whenever he had a spare moment he had to practice the Emei Sect’s seasonal art, Buddha’s One Light Line.

He spread the martial arts manual again, leaving his napping granddaughter behind.

An hour passed like that before his expression brightened.

“Hmm. I think I’m starting to understand.”

Had he found an insight? Yu Jinsan abruptly extended his index finger into the air. He focused, and a small orb of qi began to manifest at his fingertip. But his joy was short-lived; the qi orb popped like a droplet.

Pop—! Yu Jinsan’s face fell; he had failed again.

Then a laugh came from behind him—“Puhit.” It seemed his napping granddaughter had woken up.

When he turned, she was clutching her belly, laughing.

“It’s not something to laugh at. I’ve been stuck here for days.”

“Huh? Is it that hard?”

Yu Seol looked puzzled; she hadn’t practiced it herself. He was supposed to learn Buddha’s One Light Line first and then pass it down.

“Of course. You must continuously push a precise amount of innate qi through the tip of the index without the slightest deviation. After condensing more than a decade’s worth of internal qi like that, you must send it explosively according to the hand seals.”

Manipulating qi with that precision demanded extreme concentration and repeated training. Yu Seol’s expression, however, remained nonchalant.

“What’s so difficult about that?”

Having finished, his granddaughter lifted her index finger casually. The fingertip seemed to vibrate, then began to emit a bright light. Qi gathered and formed an orb.

Yu Jinsan’s eyes widened in astonishment. She achieved in an instant what he’d barely managed after days of effort. It was an astonishing talent.

But the real problem was the next step. He needed to compress an enormous amount of qi into an orb the size of a fingernail—something he hadn’t yet managed. Yet Yu Seol appeared almost mocking in her indifference.

“This is how you do it, right?”

Suddenly the qi orb at her fingertip began to spin at tremendous speed, emitting a majestic sound.

Wooooom—!

Yu Jinsan clapped his hands and sprang up. The trick he’d been missing revealed itself.

“So that’s it!”

Until now he’d thought of it as simply condensing qi into a small space. Once qi exceeded a certain amount it tended to scatter. But rotating the qi increased the compression ratio. Having grasped the trick, Yu Jinsan could barely contain his delight.

“What do we do now?” Yu Seol asked, eyes full of curiosity.

Now they had to fire the immensely condensed orb using a finger technique, but that required understanding Buddha’s One Light Line hand seals. It couldn’t be explained in a few words. Still, on a whim he shouted, “Quick, shoot it from your fingertip!”

Yu Seol tilted her head. She hadn’t read the manual and didn’t know the principle, and no matter how gifted, she couldn’t be expected to perform it perfectly. But one had to try.

After hesitating briefly, Yu Seol snapped her finger—more an imitation than a proper finger art.

Twang—! A pea-sized orb detached from her fingertip, but the compressed qi burst and expanded enormously. With a tremendous boom, it collapsed an entire wall of the pavilion.

Kraaaang—!!!

It had been a failed imitation, but its force was tremendous. Of course—she had expended thirty years’ worth of internal qi to fire it.

Yu Jinsan couldn’t close his mouth in astonishment. He hadn’t expected things to escalate this far.

A gust of wind whistled through the collapsed wall, ruffling Yu Seol’s hair.

“Oh, what do we do?”

“We’ve ruined someone else’s house. Tell them the truth and apologize.”

Perhaps because the blast was loud, as if on cue, warriors from Heavenly Sword Mountain Hall rushed over.

Yu Seol, momentarily flustered, wiggled her index and pointed at her grandfather as if identifying the culprit.

Naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to Yu Jinsan.

“What, him?”

He bristled but knew someone had to deal with it. He calmed himself and spoke composedly. “I’m sorry about this. An accident occurred while testing a new martial art.”

Fortunately, the warriors didn’t fuss over the wrecked wall. Instead, they seemed uneasy, unsettled by the Yin Yang Twin Monster. The eldest among them clasped his hands and spoke cautiously.

“If… you have any grievances with us, please tell us.”

“Grievances? What do you mean? Nothing is lacking.”

“Then that’s truly fortunate. The wall can be repaired, so please don’t worry. What do you think of the Yin Yang Twin Monster? We’re not the sort to leave debts unpaid; we’ll definitely compensate later.”

They could probably repair it for a few silver coins. But considering the favors owed to them, they couldn’t just let it pass. They planned to share part of the money they’d receive later from selling the statue through the Black Night Clan.

“Oh no, you don’t have to do that… For now, we’ll move you to new lodgings first.”

Yu Jinsan shook his head. “No, there’s no need. It’s time for us to leave anyway.”

“You’re leaving already?”

“The schedule requires it. I’m uneasy about leaving without seeing your leader.”

The head, Yeop-seong, had gone out with the chief. They couldn’t just wait around for someone who might return at any time.

“I’ll convey it properly to the Leader and warrior Cheon.”

“Thank you. We’re leaving now, but we won’t forget our ties with you.”

The warriors of Heavenly Sword Mountain Hall bowed as the Yin Yang Twin Monster pair departed, and no one left until they had vanished from sight.

The grandfather and granddaughter left Heavenly Sword Mountain Hall and headed to the meeting place: the Hwa-yong Inn in a nearby village. They planned to gather information there and then move on.

After walking a while, the granddaughter rubbed her stomach. “I’m hungry… We have no money; we should have eaten before leaving.”

“Hold on a bit. The rich aunt from the Black Night Clan will probably buy us something delicious.”

Yu Seol nodded, then changed the topic. “Grandpa, by the way, where is Western Tibet? How long will it take for the Black Night Clan to sell our statue and come back?”

Yu Jinsan glanced sideways, puzzled—Yu Seol hadn’t been present when he spoke with Eun Hwa-rin.

“How did you know?”

“I heard it all. I just did.”

Perhaps the peculiar constitution of her keen hearing met the capacities of the Profound Realm; it was a hearing beyond imagination. They hadn’t cloaked their conversation with subtle qi at the time, so it made sense.

“Our Seol really does have keen ears. Remember Dun-huang?”

“Yeah, we went there together. The desert city~”

“Yes, that’s right. We have to go much farther from there. It would take at least a year.”

A look of disappointment crossed Yu Seol’s face. “Sigh. That long?”

“Be patient and wait. By then we’ll have finished our tasks. We’ll use that as our retirement fund.”

“Then how do we manage until then?”

They could borrow funds from the Black Night Clan using the statue as collateral, but Yu Jinsan disliked owing money.

“Hmm. From now on, make sure to secure the spoils well.”

…

His proposed alternative was merely to steal the enemies’ purse money. Sullen, Yu Seol fell silent.

After walking quietly for a while, they finally arrived at their destination: a large three-story inn, with a server waiting at the door. As they approached, the server clasped his hands.

“Could you be… the Yin Yang Twin Monster heroes?”

“Yes, that’s us.”

“We’ve been waiting. We’ll show you inside, so please come this way.”

It seemed the Black Night Clan had arranged things in advance. Yu Jinsan and his granddaughter followed the server into the inn. Everywhere was bustling with lively scenes, but the place he led them to felt different.

When they moved to the innermost part of the first floor, another door appeared.

“This is the room. Enjoy your meal.”

“Hmm. But there’s no one inside? We’re supposed to meet someone.”

Weren’t they to meet Eun Hwa-rin here today? There was no sign of anyone beyond the door.

“She said she’d come in to coincide with the end of the meal.”

They’d arranged it so the guest could eat comfortably. Judging by the server’s manner, this inn also belonged to the Black Night Clan.

Yu Jinsan nodded and signaled his granddaughter with his eyes. “Let’s take a look. See what they’ve prepared for us.”

Starving, Yu Seol couldn’t wait and opened the door. Her sullen expression brightened instantly.

“Wow!”

Large inns often have a separate VIP area. This was one such place. On a table draped with golden silk, a spread of all kinds of delicacies had been laid out.