Meridian cleansing is, fundamentally, something only done between people who are close.
First, there's the difficulty. Because one must steadily inject precise internal energy into precise meridians, there are cases where one side or the other feels uneasy.
It goes beyond letting someone into your personal space—it's allowing them to inject internal energy into your very meridians, bit by bit.
That's why meridian cleansing can only be received from someone you trust both in skill and in character.
Likewise, the one performing it also expends considerable Simnyeok, so they're reluctant to do it.
Unlike Marrow Cleansing, which purifies the meridians, or the technique of transferring one's internal energy, it has no particular effect other than quickly restoring the body and making it healthy, so its necessity is relatively low.
As for me, I often did it for Seol Ri-hyang… but that was possible because of various circumstances before the regression, and because the current Seol Ri-hyang doesn't know much about the unwritten rules of the martial world and doesn't guard against me at all.
In that sense, it was quite surprising that Seomun Hwa-rin, who knew everything there was to know, was offering to perform meridian cleansing on me.
Even before the regression, when we had spent far more time together, I had never heard such a proposal. I wondered what had prompted it.
"Meridian cleansing, you say? I'm a little taken aback."
"Why? Surely you don't doubt me…"
"Of course I trust you, Senior Seomun. But is there really a need for it? It's only a month, anyway. And beyond leaving traces, we're practically announcing our presence to the whole neighborhood, so the Murim Alliance's people will be coming soon."
"…So you're saying you won't accept it?"
I chuckled at Seomun Hwa-rin's slightly sulky expression and shook my head.
"Surely not. I would accept meridian cleansing from no one other than you, Senior Seomun. I was merely curious about the reason you brought it up so suddenly."
"Hmph. As I said a moment ago, I bear some responsibility for your injuries. And above all, is it not a parent's duty to nurse a child when they are ill?"
"You still haven't given up on that? It's true that I learned the Seomun Clan's martial arts, so I'm willing to regard you as my master, but suddenly gaining an adoptive mother at this age is a bit…"
I still carry all my memories from before the regression. I know that even adding up my age from back then, I'm still younger than Seomun Hwa-rin, but that doesn't exactly make me feel any younger.
Perhaps displeased with my stubborn attitude, Seomun Hwa-rin tapped the bed again with a somewhat sulky expression.
"Let's discuss that later. For now, lie down."
"Yes, sure."
I nodded and slowly turned my body over. If I moved violently, something would surely burst, but as long as I moved gently, this much was no problem.
As I lay there quietly, before long I felt a slight weight at my waist. It was the sensation of Seomun Hwa-rin climbing on top of me.
"Hoo. Th-then, let us begin now."
"Why are you so nervous… oh."
I was a little worried because Seomun Hwa-rin's voice was trembling.
But the moment her small hand rested on my shoulder, and a slight pressure accompanied the flow of internal energy, even that trace of doubt faded away.
Come to think of it, I had performed meridian cleansing on others before, but had I ever received it myself?
The energy entering through my shoulder warmed my body, and each time Seomun Hwa-rin's hand moved down toward my waist, that warmth grew stronger, circulating through my entire body.
It was a sensation different from circulating qi on my own… a vitality bordering on languor, filling my whole being.
Yes. It was like a fine day—lying on a veranda with a cool breeze, dozing off under the warm sunlight. That was the closest feeling to it.
Even as I thought it to myself, I wondered what kind of nonsense that was—but that really was how it felt.
So that was why Seol Ri-hyang had been melting into a puddle for a while after receiving my meridian cleansing.
…Or not? It felt a little different, actually.
At any rate, Seomun Hwa-rin's meridian cleansing began to show results almost immediately after it started.
The flow of my internal energy became smoother, and the injured areas were gently enveloped in a tingling sensation that aided recovery.
I couldn't tell exactly how effective it was, but it would surely draw out my natural healing power far more than when I cultivated qi circulation on my own.
Squish, squish.
Seomun Hwa-rin's hand, which had made its way down past my waist, climbed back up to my shoulder.
A brief pause in the flow. Taking advantage of the gap, a languid sigh naturally escaped my lips.
"Phew…"
"Ah, was it alright?"
"Yes. This is my first time receiving meridian cleansing, but it feels better than I expected."
"Hehe. To be honest, I was a bit anxious since it was my first time as well, but seeing your satisfied expression, it seems I'm doing well. …However, there is one problem."
"What is it?"
Seomun Hwa-rin hesitated for a moment. After taking a single deep breath, she continued.
"It's difficult for me to extend my arm."
"Pardon?"
"…This one's height is lacking, so it is difficult to sit upon your waist and reach all the way to your shoulders."
"You don't seem that small to me."
"W-Well, of course I could do it if I truly wished. It's just that… I tried to imitate what I saw the other day, but it seems a bit too much for this one."
Perhaps it was because her body wasn't in its normal state. The latter half of Seomun Hwa-rin's muttering was too quiet to catch.
Instead of answering my follow-up question, Seomun Hwa-rin quietly lowered her posture and reached out her hand.
A soft palm touched the back of my shoulder. Then a lukewarm breath tickled my ear.
"Ah."
Only then did I understand what she meant. It wasn't that her hand couldn't reach me—it was that she'd have to press too close.
We weren't touching, but despite her youthful appearance, Seomun Hwa-rin was quite old. Naturally, she'd be a bit conservative about such things.
To think it would end after just one pass back and forth. She probably didn't mean it that way, but it felt like giving and taking away, and I was about to feel a little downcast.
"Hey! Don't look at this lady with such eyes! There's a way!"
"Is there?"
"Of course! A swordsman must reach a high level and achieve Sword-Mind Unity to wield the sword with true freedom, but a fist fighter uses their own body from the start, so they can do something similar much earlier."
"I suppose so."
"But this lady can do something even more impressive than that."
"You speak of something remarkable…"
"To go beyond using the body to its utmost limit, and to slightly transcend the constraints of the body itself!"
"Specifically, what kind of thing do you mean?"
"It means not being bound by common sense—that fist techniques must be executed with the fist, palm techniques with the palm, and leg techniques with the legs."
"Ah."
Whether it's an arm or a leg, in the end it's still the body. If so, does the distinction between fist and leg even hold meaning?
Seomun Hwa-rin's answer was no.
At first glance, it might seem like nothing special, but upon deeper thought, it's an extraordinary feat. Isn't it the unification of martial arts?
A single unwavering enlightenment piercing through one's own martial arts. The higher the learning one has built up, the more brilliantly it shines.
I inwardly admired her and nodded, but only for a moment. The next words from Seomun Hwa-rin made me flinch.
"In other words, this one can use her feet just like her hands!"
"…Surely not."
"Correct! If I step on you and perform meridian cleansing, wouldn't that work!"
"…"
Is this… right?
Questions swirled chaotically in my mind, but before I could even answer, Seomun Hwa-rin sprang to her feet and placed her foot on my back.
Before I knew it, she had even put on her beoseon, and the sensation of her small, soft foot—free of any calluses—was transmitted to me in full.
"Then let us begin again."
"Ah, wait just a moment, please—"
Press.
Seomun Hwa-rin's foot pressed down on my shoulder with just the right amount of force. It seemed her confident words hadn't been mere bravado—the effect was certainly good.
Only the area of contact had changed; the pressure was similar, and the internal energy of Seomun Hwa-rin that seeped into my meridians was about the same as well.
"Hm? What did you just say?"
"…Nothing. I was just expressing my gratitude."
"It's a bit embarrassing to hear that all of a sudden."
Seomun Hwa-rin let out a short cough, then chuckled and began stepping evenly across my back.
Surrendering to the drowsiness that washed over me, I closed my eyes and let my body follow the other flow created by Seomun Hwa-rin's internal energy.
The posture was a bit odd, but the effect was undeniable.
***
The Dragon Phoenix Gathering was temporarily suspended.
Baekbal Nachal, a master of the previous generation, had appeared after achieving Rejuvenation, and had abducted the Tang Clan's live-in son-in-law before vanishing. They were even said to have been brief traveling companions.
What an intriguing piece of gossip this was.
The gossipmongers were even more curious about Cheon Hwi and Seomun Hwa-rin's news than about the Dragon Phoenix Gathering itself.
Of course, the Murim Alliance had suspended the Dragon Phoenix Gathering to reclaim its fallen prestige.
After all, wasn't a member of the Tang Clan—one of the Five Great Families—kidnapped? They had also been mindful of the Tang Clan's gaze, for the clan was extremely sensitive about Karmic Debt.
Still, outright canceling the Dragon Phoenix Gathering would have been a loss of face, so the conclusion they reached was a temporary suspension.
Thus, while outwardly claiming everything was fine, internally—as they had told Tang So-wol before—the Murim Alliance focused all its strength on the pursuit.
At last, good news reached their ears.
"So that is why I have come to find you."
"I am grateful that the Alliance Leader would go to such lengths."
"Hah! No need for thanks. I've found another trace, but I can only tell you that we're still tracking it down. There's no need to thank me, So-wol."
Uicheon-singae Gwak Hu. There are few who can speak so boldly to him, the Murim Alliance Leader himself.
Perhaps only Tang Jincheon, a Harmony Realm martial artist, the head of the Five Great Families, and the Poison King who lost his son-in-law in this kidnapping incident.
Tang Jincheon, who appears to be suppressing his anger with his arms crossed.
At first, upon arriving in Muhan City and hearing that Cheon Hwi had been kidnapped, he had jumped up and tried to summon the Dark Soul Squad and the Poison Blood Corps immediately.
But a startled Tang So-wol had stopped him, secretly telling him that Cheon Hwi had allowed himself to be taken on purpose, so he knows the situation is not so urgent.
His current sharp demeanor is also a pretense, put on after hearing Tang So-wol's story.
But the Murim Alliance Leader, unaware of this, continued speaking with an apologetic yet confident voice.
"This time it's the real deal, and we haven't just found traces of his passing, so rest assured. We've received information that he's been staying in a small village in Anhui Province recently."
"Pardon?"
Tang So-wol's eyes flew open. Cheon Hwi had clearly told her he would return of his own accord.
Only if he escaped safely and came back on his own two feet would her claim that Seomun Hwa-rin was not actually a vicious Demonic Head gain any weight.
But to think he'd been staying in one place all this time. Something must have gone wrong, surely.
Tang So-wol grew serious. Reading his daughter's expression, Tang Jincheon spoke up.
"Look here, Alliance Leader. With Baekbal Nachal around, a tracking party alone won't be able to do anything to him for now. You were planning to step in personally in the end, weren't you? I'll go with you."
"That was exactly what I intended to ask of you from the start."
The Murim Alliance Leader nodded readily.
And so, not only Tang Jincheon but also Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang joined the party, heading toward the corner of Anhui Province where Cheon Hwi was said to be staying.
And then they saw it.
"Harder! Harder! Are you still not satisfied?"
"Yes. Please press down harder."
The sight of Cheon Hwi lying prostrate while Seomun Hwa-rin pressed down firmly on his back, step by step.