Chapter 11: The Resumption of the Heart Technique
No matter what he picked up, it was a treasure or an expensive artifact lying around. The problem hadn't been the lack of food until now - if the Grand Young Master wished to eat something for his health, rare herbs like mountain ginseng and fleeceflower root would be presented as if they'd been waiting.
"Enter."
"Yes, Young Master."
One of the four guards outside answered.
"I shall enter meditation now. I will not take morning meals, and this may take considerable time. No one is permitted to enter my chambers until I emerge. This applies even to my grandfather."
"...Yes."
The response lacked conviction.
Hugong didn't press further.
This level of precaution sufficed.
Had the guard answered readily, that would have been problematic in its own way. Their anxiety was only natural.
He sat cross-legged on the floor and immediately activated his heart technique.
The first application of the Heart Method since achieving unity of essence, energy, and spirit.
At some unmarked moment, Hugong's skin began glowing with translucent light. His face, even individual strands of hair, shimmered faintly as if caressed by moonlight.
The radiance gradually dimmed and vanished.
Yet his complexion now glowed brighter than yesterday.
The dark shadows beneath his eyes had dissolved completely, his formerly sallow skin suffused with vitality. Each hair shone with glossy luster, cascading like liquid silk.
Time became irrelevant.
While Hugong remained immersed in his cultivation, his guards had long since betrayed him.
The fruit of their betrayal.
The family head arrived with a small army of relatives, all watching in tense silence as the heir of Cheonhwaseogo and its Grand Young Master meditated peacefully.
Beom Yun and Beom Bumong swallowed nervously, utterly baffled. The ailing uncle's pupils darted like frightened birds. Only the family head stood immobile as stone, having received reports of Hugong entering the Winter Illusion Array last night before abruptly skipping meals for morning meditation.
The unspoken fear hung thick - what if he truly regained those memories?
"But tell me," the family head whispered, "why does the boy's face shine so?"
"Father, I wondered the same. Hang's skin was always rough and dull, yet now it rivals the purest jade."
"A hopeful sign, yet this sudden change breeds unease."
"Grandfather, you're being too loud."
Bumong's interjection made the old man blink.
"Eh? Was I?"
"Yes."
"Achoo!"
Yun's explosive sneeze shattered the tension. Deadly glares flew his way as he desperately muffled face in sleeves.
Hugong concluded his cultivation near noon.
When his eyes opened, amethyst light rippled across his irises. The violet radiance spiraled inward, coalescing into a pinprick at each pupil's center before vanishing.
The phenomenon lasted less than a heartbeat - even the vigilant family head missed it.
Hugong rose and bowed, having sensed their presence during meditation.
"Grandfather honors me with his visit. Greetings, Uncle."
"Child... are you well?"
"Perfectly so."
"Ah, good... good. Your meditation lasted unusually long. Our worries were needless, it seems."
The family head's forced chuckle couldn't mask his burning question.
How could Hugong not know their fears? Having absorbed Beom Hang's memories, their anxieties lay bare before him.
'No time for delays.'
This required action, not explanation.
"Hup!"
Hugong dropped into horse stance with explosive force. A single demonstration outweighed a hundred explanations.
"Grandfather, behold. I have truly changed. My memories are restored. All of them."
"Ah... memories restored... Eh?"
The family head's jaw slackened. Yun and Bumong mirrored his shock, though comprehension dawned quickly.
The meaning was undeniable - why would Cheonhwaseogo's heir maintain this ridiculous stance while claiming full memory recovery?
Slowly...
Every face flushed with realization.
No difference from yesterday.
The same playful demeanor and relaxed expressions that would never exist if Beom Hang's original personality had resurfaced.
Who could misunderstand this?
Tears welled in the family head's eyes.
"Child... You..."
"Yes, Grandfather?"
"...Have you transcended it?"
The desperate hope hung palpable - had he overcome the darkness without regaining those cursed memories? Perhaps this newfound radiance stemmed from spiritual enlightenment healing both mind and body. The family head remembered his eldest son burning through life force until death came overnight. If Hugong had kindled new vitality through transcendence...
Hugong nodded.
"I have transcended."
The family head wept openly, decades of shadows lifting since his daughter-in-law's tragic death.
"Ah! Done... It's done! This old bones could die content today!"
As the patriarch wept into his sleeves, Beom Gang, Yun, and Bumong joined the tearful embrace. Hugong stood awkwardly apart.
Gulp.
He dry-swallowed.
'The mood demands shared tears... What do I do?'
Cheonhwaseogo buzzed with excitement all day.
The Grand Young Master's "rebirth" had doctors, scholars, and relatives alternating between laughter and tears until night finally granted Hugong peace.
'My mind's utterly blank. What even is this?'
He shook his head repeatedly. Though possessing Beom Hang's memories, Hugong remained himself - the former Martial Alliance Leader couldn't resonate with this emotional storm. Nor would he play the heir forever; this was a body swap, not reincarnation. Yet immediate departure wasn't feasible - the alliance held dangers, while Cheonhwaseogo's defenses were legendary.
The mountain fortress stood impregnable, every hall, garden path, and even walls thrumming with defensive arrays. Trespassers faced illusions or mechanized death. Ancient texts and artifacts filled vaults, though corruption from Beom Hang's influence festered everywhere. Restoration must precede martial training.
Absorbing Beom Hang's memories proved invaluable. The genius who'd created formations at seven while others played with mud dolls, solved "unsolvable" ciphers at nine, mastered arts and sciences alike - his brilliance now fueled Hugong's plans.
As for the soul exchange - no traces existed in Beom Hang's memories. No motive for swapping a sect leader with a library heir across regions. No follow-up attacks suggested external forces. The phenomenon defied logic, leaving heaven and earth as sole culprits.
Three dawns later, Hugong strolled courtyards under meditation pretext. Songhwa shadowed him silently as he marveled at Cheonhwaseogo's true visage - hundreds of formations glowing in his mind's eye, from the mountain-encircling grand array to garden path traps.
'No wonder they're counted among the Three Great Archives.'
This knowledge would prove invaluable. But first...
'Now comes the hunt for rare medicines. Through Cheonhwaseogo's power.'
