5 Chapter - I'M Not The Person You Used To Know
5 Chapter - I'M Not The Person You Used To Know
A nameless bastard approached me with a sneer, his breath reeking as he spoke.
"Don't even think about putting your filthy hands on Chae-hyang. Just the idea of it disgusts me. If you ever roll around with her, she'll have to retire from this place. Do you understand me, you damn bastard, Zaha?"
I tilted my head.
"What was your name again? I can't seem to remember. It’s slipping my mind."
He was less memorable than a passing stranger, so I honestly had no idea what his name was.
"What?"
Before he could react, my hand struck his face. Smack!
He tumbled backward with a loud thud.
Did I hit him too hard?
Surprised by the unexpected impact, I stared at my hand.
I wasn't supposed to have any internal energy, yet my punch had more force than it should have.
Now that I thought about it, my dantian felt strange too. I hadn’t even begun my first breathing exercise, yet it was already stirring.
I’d deal with that later.
For now…
The bastard scrambled to his feet, spitting curses as he lunged at me.
"You son of a—!"
Shouting like that when attacking just created openings.
I sidestepped his sloppy punch and smacked him on the back of the head.
Smack!
This time, he fell forward, eating dirt.
"What was your name again? You work at the fabric shop, right?"
As he struggled to get up, I kicked him in the face. He went rolling sideways.
"Oh dear, he might actually die. Maybe I should stop."
But I could still provoke him a little more.
His pride was clearly hurt from getting beaten by an errand boy. But he refused to speak.
"Feeling wronged? Well, that's what happens when you get your ass kicked by a measly errand boy."
And what was he going to do about it?
Honestly, he should be grateful if he walked away from this alive.
I grabbed his hair, yanking his head up so we were eye to eye.
"Hey."
Did the sharp glare I had honed over years in Jianghu carry over? Or did I still have the naïve, docile look of an errand boy?
Eyes reflect emotions.
I gazed at him with the intent to crush his face right then and there.
Only then did his expression falter.
I asked again.
"What's your name?"
"Why the hell do you care all of a sudden?"
"Just answer the damn question."
When I raised my hand again, he finally spat it out.
"It's Myung-gon."
"Oh, I remember now. Fucking Myung-gon."
"Why the hell are you adding fucking before my name?"
"Good question. Try calling me again."
"Zaha."
"Again."
"Zaha."
Satisfied, I let go of his hair.
"Just call my name. Don’t add any bullshit in front of it. Unless you want to die."
If a beating like this softened his gaze, then he wasn’t from Ilyang County.
Sure enough, Myung-gon still looked at me with resentment as he staggered to his feet, exhaling sharply.
"Huuuh…."
I gave him one more chance.
"If you're mad, come at me again."
He nodded and charged at me once more.
"That’s the spirit. A true Ilyang County man."
This time, I threw a punch too.
No hard feelings.
I was a man from this town as well.
It was better for Myung-gon to pass out than to half-ass a fight and end up humiliated.
If he woke up and realized he was lucky to be alive, his attitude might change.
I dodged his clumsy rush and delivered a clean hit.
Thud!
He collapsed instantly, unconscious.
I shook him slightly and called out.
"Myung-gon?"
"…"
No response. But he was still breathing.
I stared at his rising and falling ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) chest for a moment before walking away.
"Sleep tight."
As I returned to the inn, a thought crossed my mind.
Even though I had traveled back to the past, my personality wasn’t going to revert to that of a weak errand boy.
I muttered to myself as I walked.
"I'm not the person you used to know."
That aside, something was definitely wrong with my dantian.
Sensing that something was off, I rearranged the chairs and tables in the inn and put up a temporary Closed sign.
In times like this, it was better not to do business.
***
Back when I was just an errand boy, I wasn’t supposed to have any internal energy.
Yet now, my dantian felt like it was brimming with it.
Strangely, it wasn’t the controlled energy of a seasoned warrior but the raw, dormant power of an untrained recruit waiting to be deployed.
It felt exactly like the sensation of consuming a powerful elixir. Normally, after ingesting such a substance, one had to go through energy circulation training to properly absorb its effects.
But the sheer amount of energy waiting inside me was overwhelming.
"What the hell is going on?"
Back in the cramped room of the inn, I sat cross-legged and contemplated the situation.
Checking one’s internal energy was fairly simple.
I could try using Golden Tortoise Wandering Art.
It was an unusual technique, even by Jianghu standards.
The name itself was insane—it essentially meant a steel-plated tortoise, impervious to swords, wandering aimlessly wherever it pleased.
At first, it resembled demonic arts, allowing for rapid growth.
Then, in the mid-stages, it aligned with orthodox techniques, significantly slowing progress.
At the final stage, it pursued the Buddhist ideal of the indestructible Vajra body, making mastery nearly impossible.
Conquering the final step was as difficult as achieving enlightenment.
Soon, the dormant energy in my dantian began to stir. It transformed into true energy and started flowing through my meridians.
There were two main channels for energy circulation.
The Governing Vessel (Du Meridian) started at the perineum, traveled up the spine, climbed to the crown of the head, and descended to the lips.
The Conception Vessel (Ren Meridian) began at the lips, passed through the chest, belly, and navel, descended to the perineum, and returned to its starting point.
Different sects had their own ways of mastering these pathways, which is why internal cultivation techniques varied so much across Jianghu.
One universal truth, however, was that once circulating energy began, it was nearly impossible to stop midway. It was like trying to halt food mid-swallow—a surefire way to trigger energy deviation.
Luckily, my inn rarely had customers, and I had already put up a Closed sign, so no one would disturb me.
If food got stuck in your throat, you’d just get indigestion.
But if energy circulation went wrong, it could cripple your body.
Before I could even fully unravel the mystery of my dantian, I had already completed the first stage of the Golden Tortoise Wandering Art—the Wooden Rooster stage.
I had no idea how much time had passed, but I had skipped both food and bathroom breaks, meditating like a damn monkey.
It felt bizarre.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
But as soon as I realized there were no side effects, a thrill ran down my spine.
I organized my thoughts.
First, before I fell off the cliff, the Heavenly Pearl had dramatically increased my internal energy.
Second, during this rapid surge, I had distinctly felt my dantian being forcefully split into Yin and Yang.
Third, at some point, I was sent back to the past by that mysterious man.
Fourth, since I had returned to the past, the lingering spirits from the Heavenly Pearl had either vanished or returned to their original bodies.
Fifth, however, the mysterious energy from the Heavenly Pearl had traveled back in time with me.
Which meant…
I had consumed a Heavenly Pearl that had been purified of its spiritual side effects.
Even though I had gone back in time, the energy it granted me remained intact.
Otherwise, there was no way I could have broken through the first stage of the Golden Tortoise Wandering Art so effortlessly.
Not all questions had been answered.
Something about this energy felt different.
Then I recalled the man’s words.
"This is the best choice for you. The greatest gift I can offer."
So…
The best choice was regression.
The greatest gift was the Heavenly Pearl.
It all made sense.
But one question remained.
For some reason, half of the dormant energy inside me wasn’t reacting at all.
Resting my chin on my hand, I pondered.
"Why the hell isn’t the other half responding?"
After much thought, I came to a simple conclusion.
Since this was undoubtedly power left behind by the Heavenly Pearl, the so-called latent energy must also be divided into Yin and Yang.
Golden Tortoise Wandering Art was a technique that utilized pure, extreme Yang energy. It was only natural that I couldn’t fully harness the portion of my energy that leaned toward extreme Yin.
That meant I needed to find a martial art that could harness extreme Yin energy in the future.
What an interesting task to look forward to.
I was already in a position where I could wield both extreme Yang and extreme Yin martial arts simultaneously. There was no need to dwell on it any longer—I wasn’t the type to overthink things.
At any rate, I felt incredible. So much so that I almost forgot I had once been utterly insane.
It seemed people only truly felt satisfied when everything fell into place.
"Heh heh heh…."
Of course, internal energy wasn’t everything in martial arts.
Techniques, psychological warfare, natural talent, combat instincts, and sheer luck all played a role in determining the strongest warriors.
But from beginning to end, internal energy was the most critical factor.
And I had returned to the past already possessing it in abundance.
A power so valuable it couldn’t be measured in mere gold was now lying dormant within me.
Having broken through the first stage of the Golden Tortoise Wandering Art, I was already untouchable in my hometown.
Honestly, I felt so full of energy that I could go without eating.
Grrrgle…
But starvation wasn’t an option.
Besides, if I was going to beat the hell out of the bastards at Plum Blossom Pavilion, I needed a proper meal.
***
I dumped leftovers from the kitchen into a large pot, added some cold rice and seasoning, and stirred it all together.
A rustic bibimbap was born.
It looked like dog food, but the taste was fine.
I hated wasting food, so this was how I usually ate.
It had been a while since I last made bibimbap using scraps from the inn, and surprisingly, it tasted nostalgic.
Chewing on my meal, I found myself smirking.
Living alone, I realized that I probably wouldn’t live this life with a sane mind either.
But that was fine.
I was used to loneliness—I had gone mad once before.
What mattered more was that my future enemies were the ones who would truly lose their minds.
As I ate, thoughts of the era’s greatest warriors flooded my mind.
Compared to the martial artists of the Central Plains, I had an utterly insignificant background.
Even after learning martial arts, I had spent much of my time running away rather than winning fights. Jianghu was filled with masters far stronger than me.
That was why, back then, my light footwork skills had improved faster than my actual martial arts.
Thinking about those warriors made me grind my teeth as I chewed.
After finishing my meal, I helped myself to the inn’s liquor—meant for customers.
“Buuurp… Damn, that’s good.”
Spending freely was always exhilarating.
It had been an excellent evening.
Grabbing a gourd of liquor in one hand and tucking a sickle into my belt, I stepped out of the inn.
With my stomach full, I felt like I could take on every man in Ilyang County and kill them all if they ganged up on me.
I was headed to the place where a joke had turned into truth, to throw out a truth that would surely sound like a joke.
I continued drinking as I walked toward Plum Blossom Pavilion.
***
The guard at the entrance of Plum Blossom Pavilion widened his eyes the moment he saw me.
"Hey, you crazy bastard. What the hell are you doing here? Get lost before you cause trouble."
"Is that how you talk to a customer?"
"This crazy son of a—"
His fist flew toward me.
I caught his hand with my left and smashed the gourd against his face.
Thud!
Grabbing his collar, I slammed him into the ground.
As he groaned and tried to get up, I kicked him in the face, knocking him unconscious.
Then, I turned to look at Plum Blossom Pavilion.
"What kind of establishment treats its customers like this? Have you all lost your damn minds?"
The inside was still buzzing with drunken chatter. No one even cared about the commotion at the entrance.
Laughter erupted here and there.
"What’s so funny? Why is it that everyone is always having fun except me?"
Since the doorman was unconscious, I had to open the door myself.
Stepping inside, I finally got to say something I had always wanted to say in a place like this.
"Bring me wine!"
You bastards!
***
The moment the drunken errand boy from Zaha Inn appeared, the employees of Plum Blossom Pavilion stiffened.
"Isn’t that the brat from Zaha Inn?"
"What the hell is he doing here?"
Hearing them whisper, I responded.
"What do you mean, ‘what am I doing here’? Isn’t this a place to drink? Did I come to the wrong place?"
"Hahaha!"
A loud laugh came from the second floor.
It was Cha Seong-tae, the most cunning bastard in Ilyang County.
One of his subordinates turned to him.
"Should we throw him out?"
Cha Seong-tae grinned and waved his hand.
"Nah, let him in. By the way, who the hell punched him? Look at his eye."
"It wasn’t me."
With a sly smile, Cha Seong-tae looked down at me.
"We can’t just kick out a guest, can we? Come on up."
He was a sneaky bastard.
But when it came to actual fights, few could match him in the southern part of Ilyang County, aside from the Jo brothers.
There were a couple of other managers in different brothels who were on his level, but none of them were here now.
To be precise, it was Cha Seong-tae’s subordinates who had beaten me up last time.
Since he hadn't personally done it, I figured I'd torment him for a while rather than kill him outright.
After all, even when I left Ilyang County in my past life, he had never really crossed the line.
As I climbed the stairs, Cha Seong-tae spoke.
"Set up a grand feast for our errand boy from Zaha Inn! He doesn’t get to visit places like this often, so let’s treat him well! A customer is a customer, after all."
"Understood."
An attendant approached me as soon as I reached the second floor.
"This way."
They led me down a corridor to a private room.
It was oddly structured—a sunken seating area in the center, large enough for six people to sit comfortably.
The room was designed for private drinking sessions, with space for courtesans to sit and perform music.
The young employee escorting me spoke almost casually.
"What kind of liquor would you like?"
"How the hell would I know? I've never been here before. Just bring me the most expensive one."
The employee gave me a long, scrutinizing look before asking,
"Why are you speaking informally?"
I took a seat at the head of the table and replied.
"Apologies. My bad, you bastard. Now go get the damn wine."
The employee glared at me as if he wanted to kill me.
"Is this bastard insane?"
But he knew I had been accepted as a guest, so he held his tongue and left the room.
I liked that kind of glare.
Anger, hatred, murderous intent—it was all tangled in his gaze.
In the end, it didn’t mean much.
After a few punches, those eyes would soften, and they'd start begging for mercy.
Arms crossed, I waited for the wine, absentmindedly touching the bruise on my face.
"Now that I think about it, I’m really getting pissed off again."
TL note: Bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of rice mixed with various vegetables, sauces (usually spicy gochujang paste), meat, and egg.
TL note: Bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of rice mixed with various vegetables, sauces (usually spicy gochujang paste), meat, and egg.