Chapter 100

Daebeop (大法).

As Baek-hwa regained her strength, the credibility of the Medicine King's medicine increased, and the gratitude towards me, who provided the decisive clue for treating the dogs, also grew accordingly.

While the people of the Beast Palace didn't doubt my words, they could now see with their own eyes that Baek-hwa, who had been on the verge of death, was now frolicking around the village with Dae-gu, providing perfect evidence.

However, there was a bit of disappointment when I learned that the Beast Palace was not part of the Guanxi cultural sphere.

I thought that providing the decisive clue for treating the dogs, which had been a long-standing problem for the Beast Palace, would make me a confirmed Guanxi, but unfortunately, there was no such thing as Guanxi here.

'Why!'

It was a great opportunity to expand Guanxi, but it was a very disappointing situation.

Moreover, I had saved the sister's dog, so I expected to be confirmed as a Guanxi with the sister.

I had hoped that the three of us—Yong-yong, the sister, and I—would form a brother-sister bond under the peach tree, but that hope was dashed.

Sister on the right, Yong-yong on the left.

The image of Guan Yu as a tall, tanned beauty and Zhang Fei as a simple and ignorant Yong-yong seemed perfect.

Out of curiosity, I asked the sister in the morning if there was anything like Guanxi or sworn siblings here, and she said no.

"Guanxi? Sworn siblings? What's that?"

'Sister! I wanted to be your younger brother!'

However, as if to console my disappointed heart, Baek-hwa regained her strength, and around lunchtime the next day, the Palace Lord of the Beast Palace came to me with a proposal.

"Hehehe. Our Beast Palace has received a great favor from you."

"I merely shared what I knew. The Medicine King treated Baek-hwa and made the medicine, so I didn't do much."

"Without you, how could the Medicine King have treated the dogs! That's absurd."

The Medicine King, who had risen from a fraud to a respected elder, looked very pleased as the Palace Lord called him 'elder,' as if nothing else mattered.

"The Palace Lord seems to want to offer you a gift. Wouldn't it be awkward for him if you said that? Isn't that right, Palace Lord?"

"Hehehe. The elder is correct."

"Gift, you say?"

The best gift for me would have been Guanxi, but if not Guanxi, a gift wouldn't be bad either.

However, I was a bit worried about the gift.

It was because the gifts from the Beast Palace seemed a bit special.

I had asked the sister why the relationship with the Zhan Changfa clan was so strained despite sending them gifts and even apologizing, and she said they had sent five dogs as gifts...

Losing a precious disciple and trying to make up for it with five dogs was certainly a ridiculous situation.

A tragedy caused by cultural differences.

In that context, when the Palace Lord mentioned a gift, I wondered if he was going to give me a few more dogs.

One pet dog, Dae-gu, was enough for me.

However, the Palace Lord's proposal was quite unexpected.

"Indeed. A gift. I thought about teaching you the martial arts of the Beast Palace as a gift."

"Teach me martial arts!?"

I was surprised and exclaimed at the Palace Lord's proposal.

Even if someone is a benefactor, martial arts are treated as secrets in a clan society like a martial arts sect or the Beast Palace.

It was impossible not to be surprised at the offer to teach martial arts.

Even if I had done them a great favor, martial arts are not something that martial artists readily teach, so the Medicine King also looked surprised as he looked at the Beast Palace Lord and said,

"What a great decision, Palace Lord. Cheong-un, you have truly received a great opportunity (奇缘)."

"Hehehe, of course. How can we just give any gift to a benefactor who has done so much for the Beast Clan? We cannot just send you away. Hehe. In the jungle, we repay life with life and favors with favors."

"But, but I heard that you are quite old and it would be difficult?"

My uncle, the Poison King, had already assessed my condition once, saying that due to my age, it would take much longer to lay the foundation, and it would be impossible to reach the level of strength needed to endure my wife in just a year or two. My father-in-law had also expressed a similar opinion.

When I asked if it was possible, the Palace Lord denied it, saying, "What are you talking about? At your age and with your bone structure, you are a natural martial bone. And our martial arts are different from those of the Central Plains, so it will be fine."

'Could it be that when he patted my shoulder the first time we met?'

This gentleman had subtly scanned my body by patting my shoulder.

It seemed that I was not suited for Central Plains martial arts but for new external martial arts.

After all, my wife also had the bloodline of the new external martial forest, so if I learned the Beast Palace's martial arts, we would be a perfect match, like a southern man and a northern woman.

My heart was filled with anticipation.

'Beast Palace's martial arts? Like eagle-riding techniques, fist techniques, or monkey agility techniques?'

However, there was one more unresolved issue.

It would take a considerable amount of time to learn even a decent martial art.

"However, wouldn't it take a long time to learn martial arts?"

Moreover, I needed to build my internal energy first, which would take a lot of time, and I couldn't stay here indefinitely.

Of course, if I learned martial arts, I could take my time thinking about treating my wife, but I already had an appointment with the Medicine King for her treatment.

When I expressed my concerns, a word that made me tremble came from the Palace Lord.

"Don't worry, how can we keep a benefactor here for a long time? Of course, we will use the 'Daebeop'."

"Daebeop!"

Daebeop was a powerful resonance that made me tremble.

What is Daebeop?

Daebeop is a kind of body modification used by a martial arts sect to quickly produce a martial arts expert, similar to the elixirs or the body transformation techniques my wife had received.

Even an ordinary person like me, who had not learned anything, could receive the effect of becoming a martial bone if I underwent Daebeop.

It's like giving a taste of the transformation process (換骨奪胎) that martial arts protagonists naturally go through as they grow, but artificially.

Moreover, depending on the Daebeop, one could gain various side effects such as increased internal energy, immunity to all poisons, or resistance to cold and heat, making it a very significant gift for a martial artist.

It's like a special gift set for martial artists.

'No, it's not even Christmas?'

"Such a big gift?!"

When I answered with a face of surprise, he smiled and replied,

"Compared to the favor you did for us, it's nothing."

"Thank you, Palace Lord!"

Although my contemplation was long, my decision was immediate.

Two days later, the date for my Daebeop was set.

I asked the Palace Lord to keep it a secret from my wife and our party.

Daebeop is not always a good thing, as failure could lead to mental or physical breakdowns, so I didn't want to cause unnecessary worry.

Even though the Palace Lord said it was stable, I didn't want my wife to worry.

So, on the early morning of the second day.

I quietly left the quarters, leaving my wife still asleep.

-Creak

I carefully closed the door and found myself in a white world.

Perhaps because it was a basin, the morning mist was thick, and I could barely see in front of me. I managed to find water to wash my eyes and somehow found my shoes to put on, heading towards the Palace Lord's house, which was also the sister's house.

However, as I walked a few steps through the mist, I felt something wrap around my legs.

"Ah! You scared me! Dae-gu, this kid is making my heart race."

Dae-gu had already approached me as I walked out. Dae-gu, who is not my girlfriend but my wife, led me straight to the Palace Lord's house despite the thick mist, and when I arrived, several people were waiting for me.

"Ah! You're here."

The Palace Lord and a few uncles from the village were waiting in the yard, having laid out a large mat.

Dae-gu, who had been playing around Baek-hwa's house, was led by the Palace Lord to the center of the mat where the Beast Palace people were seated.

"Why Dae-gu?"

The people seated in the eight directions began to stroke Dae-gu's body and exclaimed in admiration.

"Oh! The bone structure is better than expected."

"Isn't it a truly excellent martial bone? It's been a long time since we've seen such a great bone structure."

"Indeed! When I first examined him, I thought he was just ordinary, but his muscles and bones are truly outstanding! We can properly repay Liu Xiaoge for his favor!"

Then, the hands of the nine martial artists moved skillfully, and they began to perform the Daebeop on Dae-gu.

As the sky brightened and the white mist in the basin began to clear, the mist seemed to settle in my mind.

My mind turned white.

'Damn... My opportunity! I've completed all the quests, so why is Dae-gu getting the Daebeop and the woman!'

As the saying goes, the bear performs the tricks, but Wang Xifang gets the money.

Cheong-un performed the tricks, but Dae-gu got the opportunity and the woman, or rather, the female.

'Gyaah!'

***

Feeling defeated after having my opportunity stolen by Dae-gu, I set out on the road.

The old Medicine King said it was time to visit his home in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, as he had been away for too long.

We also needed to treat my wife, so we followed the Medicine King.

We were heading towards Fuzhou, the Medicine King's hometown in Fujian Province.

On the way out of the jungle.

Dae-gu, who had received the Daebeop, was dashing between the trees and leaping around, which made me incredibly envious.

'I should have received it!'

A tear rolled down the face of the man whose opportunity had been stolen by a dog, left behind in the Yunnan jungle.