I Didn’t Realize, Elder (2)

Thud!

The sound of Yu Jinsan’s front foot kicking the chest of the leader echoed.

“Kuak!”

The leader managed to defend himself by crossing his arms, but only for a brief moment.

‘Why does this old man have such strength…?’

The internal qi contained in the kick was so remarkable that it was difficult to guess its level.

The leader was pushed back, his stance stumbling.

Without missing a beat, Yu Jinsan kicked the ground and started to run.

As he passed the leader, an axe blade rushed towards his chest. It was a strike wielded by the vice leader of the bandits.

Yu Jinsan extended both his chained hands towards the axe blade.

Clang!

He had hoped the chains would be cut, but unfortunately, the attack wasn’t powerful enough, and the blade was deflected.

Without counterattacking, he stepped forward. His body flexed like a wave, sweeping away the vice leader in one swift motion.

“Catch that old man!”

The vice leader rose up and shouted.

There were already over a hundred bandits waiting outside the mountain base.

To make matters worse, the bandits atop the tower began firing arrows.

Swoosh!

Yu Jinsan’s complexion darkened.

Being vulnerable to long-term battles, he knew it was unreasonable to deal with them all with his hands bound.

Suddenly, the leader reappeared from somewhere and shouted.

“Do not shoot! Let him come to me!”

Yu Jinsan approached the front gate of the bandit’s base.

The gate was too high for him to jump over in a single leap.

Just then, the leader’s shout rang out again.

“Open it now!”

As soon as the gate to the bandit’s base opened, Yu Jinsan darted through the gap.

At this moment, the only thing on his mind was the safety of his granddaughter.

His heart sank at the thought of the child left alone in the kitchen.

He quickly moved away from the scene.

The bandits watched, confused by the unfolding events.

“Hyung, why did you let him go? Now that we’ve revealed ourselves and our base, he might retaliate.”

“I’m not sure about anything else, but I’m good at reading people. He’s not the type to do that.”

“I have my doubts. Many of my men have recently vanished into the mountains. I’m certain it’s the old man’s doing.”

The leader raised his left hand, signaling he didn’t want to hear anymore.

“That’s enough. We don’t know for sure yet. And if we can’t win him over when the Wudang sect’s troops come, we’re done. Either way, we’re risking our lives.”

“Yu Seol! Where’s my Seol?”

Yu Jinsan rushed into the kitchen and glanced around.

The child was nowhere in sight.

The floor was a mess, as if several pieces of chicken had been devoured.

He ran outside and searched, but he couldn’t find anyone.

Another tear trickled down his cheek.

The thought of her encountering a wild animal in the mountains terrified him.

“Where are you…? Grandpa’s here! Please answer!”

While searching the vicinity, he noticed a small figure not far off.

It was a grassy forest where there were about twenty items had fallen. She was small and almost unnoticeable.

And then, he found his granddaughter, for whom he had been frantically searching. She was playing around with her arms stretched out. Her face seemed stained with tears.

“Uhhh.”

“Grandpa’s here.”

Yu Jinsan ran to his granddaughter and swept her into his arms, sobbing. The fear of losing her had overcome him.

Yu Jinsan continued to weep.

“… I’m sorry, I won’t do this again. I will never leave you alone.”

The grandfather and granddaughter clung to each other, crying for a long time.

Things eventually started to calm down.

Croak!

The croaking sound of a frog resonated from his chest.

When he looked down, he saw a mountain frog clutched in her hand.

The way she made eye contact with him seemed like she was asking if she had done a good job catching it.

“Were you going to give it to Grandpa? Hehehe. Nice, let’s go home then.”

When did she catch this? This child was undoubtedly talented.

Yu Jinsan, wiping his tears away, was handed the unconscious frog. He planned to boil it and put it in some porridge for the child.

They rested for a while after they arrived home. Even Seol fell asleep quickly.

‘First, I have to remove this chain.’

Yu Jinsan picked up the blade he had taken from the assassin previously.

He attempted to cut the chains around his hand with sword qi, but the angle was wrong. It looked quite ridiculous.

‘These chains appear to be made of cold iron.’

If one was a bandit, one was bound to find unique things. This seemed to be one of those.

Just as he was about to give up and take a break from trying to open it, he heard something.

“Is the elder here?”

The voice came from not far away. Clearly, these people were the bandits.

Yu Jinsan went outside with a sigh.

“I told you not to come looking for me. Do you really want to see how this fight ends?”

The leader himself had shown up with dozens of bandits in tow.

Yu Jinsan wasn’t in the best mood. He hadn’t intended to get involved with these bandits.

Since they killed a disciple of the Wudang sect, their fate was sealed.

The brazen confidence of the Black Mountain Blade to attack a sect disciple, something even the Green Forest Bandits wouldn’t dare to do, showed there was no benefit in getting involved with them.

“Don’t misunderstand. I simply brought you the key to remove your chain.”

In that case, the old man didn’t have any reason to refuse.

When Yu Jinsan extended his wrist, the leader carefully approached and freed him.

Clack!

At that moment, the bandits who came with him started to kneel and bow their heads.

“I have committed a grave sin!”

“Please, forgive us just this once!”

They were the bandits who had attacked him when he was suffering.

Part of him wanted to put them in their place, but he didn’t want to complicate things further.

He casually loosened his grip as if he didn’t care.

“I understand. Now go.”

He muttered.

But the bandits didn’t move.

The leader slowly gathered his weapons and then asked cautiously,

“Are you having trouble living alone? Let us know if you need anything. What good are neighbors if they can’t help each other in times of need?”

Yu Jinsan certainly knew their ulterior motives. They needed his help to fight against the Wudang people.

He was just about to say something when…

“Grapa!”

A child, no bigger than a small acorn, came toddling out of the house. It looked like she had just woken up.

The leader’s eyes lit up at the sight of her.

“Haha! She looks like your granddaughter. With such beautiful skin and innocent looks, she’ll definitely grow into a great beauty.”

“Enough. Just leave now!”

Yu Jinsan gruffly insisted.

Even the bandits could no longer handle his obstinate demeanor.

“We’ll take our leave then. Feel free to pay us a visit anytime, Elder.”

After offering a bow, the leader and his men disappeared.

Left behind was a sack on the empty ground.

‘What have these people left behind now?’

Yu Jinsan wondered.

He thought about taking the sack back to them, but his granddaughter was already rummaging through its contents.

With growing curiosity, she continuously blinked her eyes. And when she saw what was inside, he couldn’t help but open it too.

“Let’s see what’s inside.”

The sack was slightly larger than Yu Seol when she stood up.

She was already cramming her head into the sack.

Yu Jinsan gave in without even taking a peek himself, finding joy in watching his granddaughter have fun. He then heard a rustling sound coming from the sack.

“Grrrk.”

Wondering about the source of the noise, Yu Jinsan became curious, too.

“Even Grandpa wants to see.“

Yanking the child away from the bag, and Yu Jinsan thought for a moment that she had fainted.

It was a long, white animal.

Yu Seol clung onto the creature that flicked its tongue out.

It was a White Viper Snake, a valuable snake known to enhance internal qi when consumed.

Although it was not poisonous, it could prove dangerous if it bit a child with a weak body.

Yu Jinsan’s hand shot up like lightning.

Smack!

After being hit squarely in the back of the head, the writhing snake instantly went limp.

“Where did these lunatics even get the idea to place a snake here?”

Yu Jinsan wrestled the snake from the child’s hand and peered deeper into the sack.

It was full of alcohol brewed from valuable medicinal herbs and other items that older people would appreciate.

He sighed and reached into the bag, pulling out a small red fruit that children loved.

“Here, child, have a taste.”

Without a hint of hesitation, Yu Seol popped it into her mouth. As a result, her face lit up with delight.

Perhaps it was because the first piece of fruit she tasted was sweet, but she began to sway her arms in delighted motions.

“Hehe~”

After stuffing a few more fruits into her mouth, he made his way to the kitchen. His own hunger was gnawing at him, as he hadn’t eaten all day.

The two of them squatted down in the kitchen and quickly finished the leftover boiled rice.

“Finally full. Maybe I’ll survive a little longer now.”

After bathing the child and returning to the room, he succumbed to sleep. But when would he find time to sleep?

Yu Jinsan seated himself. Whenever he had a moment, he had to cultivate.

They were living on borrowed time, unsure when sudden death might come. Thus, his Body Reformation needed to be implemented immediately.

Then this incredible force of qi, originating from his dantian, started to circulate throughout the body via the blood vessels.

The recurring cycle lessened his physical fatigue, and he felt an enlightening clarity in his mind.

His blood vessels were damaged throughout his entire body. As soon as two specific points on his right were pierced, a complete transformation would occur. This required about three times his current qi.

Had he attempted this when he was younger, even half of his current qi would have been sufficient. However, as he aged, his power diminished, and he needed more energy to accomplish tasks.

‘I have to endure. I must do it.’

He constantly reassured himself. He was doing this to protect his granddaughter, and to avenge his family.

Even if his body were to break down, he planned to survive through sheer mental strength alone.

After his cultivation session, Yu Jinsan opened his eyes and first looked at his granddaughter.

At that moment, he couldn’t resist smiling as he saw her dozing off cross-legged next to him, mirroring his posture.

‘Grandpa will help you.’

He gently placed his right hand on the child’s back, being careful not to wake her.

Yu Jinsan’s palm was channeling internal qi into her dantian.

Manipulating one’s internal qi within another person’s body demanded a great deal of mental energy.

Moreover, it was not only helpful for internal qi training. It would also shape the dantian, a vessel known to hold and regulate the flow of internal qi, strengthening it.

‘To survive in this harsh world, you have to become stronger than anyone else.’

Thanks to her uniquely strong body and assistance from her grandpa, Yu Seol was having her dantian filled daily.

The process was done only after he had completed it all.

Before he knew it, the sweat that had formed on Yu Jinsan’s forehead was gone.

After laying down his sleeping granddaughter, he went out for a walk to get some fresh air.

“Oh my, it’s challenging to get things done with so little strength. If only I were a bit younger.”

Despite his sighs and grievances, there was nothing else he could do.

It was while he was sitting on the ground, trying to catch his breath, that a limp snake carrying wild ginseng alcohol came into view before him.

How could he resist this? His mouth watered at the sight of it.

He couldn’t even recall the last time he had drunk alcohol and enjoyed such delightful snacks.

With a throbbing heart, he started to prep the snake.

He skinned it, skewered it, and placed it over the bonfire.

Before he knew it, he was holding alcohol in his left hand.

Gulp! Gulp!

There was no paradise greater than this.

The rare medicinal drink, which he was indulging in after a long while, neutralized any poison the snake might have had in its body and made him feel incredible.

“Ah, how delightful! One must savor such experiences while alive! Hehehehe!”

Exquisite alcohol accompanied by delicious snacks.

Yu Jinsan gripped the skewer and took a bite.

Although it was cooked over open flames, the snake meat was incredibly tender, as if it were melting in his mouth.

It was a bit lonely eating alone, but he could share the delectable meat with his young child.

“Hehehe. Hehe.”

His laughter was unstoppable. It felt like his happiness sprung from a simple life, and his appreciation of his surroundings was at its peak.

The day turned to evening, and a cool breeze rustled through his hair.

His eyes, which were usually calm and deep, suddenly shone. This was due to a bluish will-o-wisp appearing briefly before his eyes and then disappearing.

What a peculiar sight to come across.

‘What did I just see?’