Chapter 17
A sound mind in a sound body.
Even if it is a job that does not require physical exertion, basic physical health is a prerequisite, and furthermore, it means that all jobs require basic physical strength.
And this small truth also includes martial artists.
Internal energy that operates Qi and external energy that controls the body.
If you ask which one is more important, it is of course the former.
The level and depth that can be reached are different, and no matter how large and strong a water bottle is, if there is no water to fill it, it is just an empty bottle.
Therefore, when martial artists gauge each other, they use internal power as the standard, and the standard for roughly dividing the level is also divided into ‘how can you handle internal energy’.
However, does that mean that external energy is useless?
Absolutely not.
It’s just too ‘basic’ and ‘essential’.
The body trained by external energy not only increases the power and technique of martial arts, but also purifies the True Qi and blood vessels in the body, which leads to an increase in the efficiency of internal energy.
In other words, in order to reach a certain level or higher with internal energy, training in external energy that matches it must follow.
Therefore.
“Huff, whew…”
Kang Taehan was concentrating on physical training at a nearby fitness center after work today as well.
‘Is my body starting to get elastic?’
Kang Taehan, who came out of the equipment, looked around his body in front of the mirror for a moment.
Fat has dried up and thickened muscles have clearly emerged on the surface.
It’s not the level he’s aiming for yet, but it’s a much better body than when he first came back.
At this rate, you will be able to reach your goal soon.
‘This body has no injuries or scars.’
To be honest, it is a healthy body that cannot be compared to the past.
The physical body of the martial arts days was rather a hindrance to him.
Countless injuries and dozens of scars, plus blood vessels tangled due to the side effects of the Star-Absorbing Great Method.
His body, whether viewed from the outside or from the inside, was like a patchwork sewn and patched here and there.
On the other hand, what about the body now?
It’s fine without a single scar, and it’s even overflowing with youthful energy.
Naturally, the efficiency of training is bound to be different.
Moreover, even if you don’t know the mental method, when it comes to training the body, the methods of this age are much more technical and efficient.
Kang Taehan looked around lightly.
Various types of equipment placed everywhere.
It is possible to focus on training not only the arms and legs, endurance, but also detailed muscles according to the individual, and it is possible to choose the intensity of exercise according to oneself through precisely manufactured weights.
‘It’s incomparable to the days of martial arts.’
Pounding hot sand, climbing mountains carrying rocks, mopping incredibly wide wooden floors alone…
There is the romance of martial arts novels, but frankly, they make you do such training because there is no exercise equipment.
If any martial artist saw a modern fitness club, he would dare to compare it to the shrine of the God of War.
Modern technology is sometimes more mysterious than magic or religion.
‘My body may be better than it was in its prime.’
It’s been exactly a month since I signed up as a member here.
At this rate of growth, it will be a fairly smooth process.
Kang Taehan smiled with satisfaction as he looked in the mirror.
Meanwhile.
“Look over there. I think that person is the person.”
“That person?”
“Why, the person who raised three hundred to five hundred in a month. The director said it a while ago.”
“Hey, does that make sense? Is that real? How can that body be made in a month?”
Kang Taehan was not the only one paying attention to his training.
Due to his extraordinary growth rate, Kang Taehan was becoming a celebrity in this gym without even knowing it.
‘By the way, I wonder if the reply has arrived.’
A relationship I happened to meet while climbing Gyeryongsan a while ago.
It is a relationship that was formed when Kang Taehan rescued a person who fell down a steep hill due to a slip.
Before starting his workout, Kang Taehan left a text message to Park Hoyeon, one of the people who gave him his business card at the time.
I asked if it would be okay to visit the mountain we talked about at the time.
He didn’t intend to brag about saving a life, but considering the possibility of the bellflower liquor he drank at the time as an elixir, it was worth pushing even if he bragged.
Let’s check it out instead of doing this.
Since he had finished all his workouts for the day, Kang Taehan headed to the locker room and checked his smartphone.
“It’s here.”
Fortunately, the text message has arrived.
However, the content was different from what Kang Taehan had expected.
『I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you first, student Taehan. Actually, there is a story I couldn’t tell you because I didn’t want to bother you, but other than that, the friend who had the accident at that time hasn’t regained consciousness yet. So maybe hiking…』
“…Huh?”
It seems that he will not be able to go right away.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
The next day, Wednesday.
Kang Taehan, who arrived at Daejeon Station by morning train, immediately took a taxi to the hospital.
Of course, it was the hospital where Mr. Shin Junho, the patient Kang Taehan had rescued, was hospitalized.
『If you’re in a hurry, I’ll tell you the location of the mountain. I think Junho would have said it was okay even if he was conscious.』
“Hmm.”
Kang Taehan reread the text messages he had exchanged the day before.
It means that it is okay to go alone to the mountain as long as you know the location.
Then it would be possible to go directly to the mountain without going to the hospital.
As long as he knew the location, he was confident that he could wander around alone without a guide.
But.
‘It’s a bit uncomfortable to skip it like this.’
It’s not a matter of doing good deeds for others.
The picture itself of taking something from the mountain while the owner is unconscious and lying down is not right.
Frankly, it’s a bully!
He couldn’t say for sure yet, but it was even more so because he might be able to help.
And it was because he was worried because he heard that the person he had rescued was still unconscious.
‘But, there seemed to be nothing wrong at the time.’
Kang Taehan recalled the rescue.
Of course, he had checked the other person’s condition at the time, even if it was informal.
Naturally, there were some injuries because he had rolled down a hill and lost consciousness, but there was nothing that could be called a serious injury.
‘Well, I’ll find out when I go.’
There may have been a problem deeper inside, or something may have gone wrong in the middle.
Anyway, everything is fine once you get there and check it out.
The taxi arrived at its destination before I knew it.
Kang Taehan got out of the taxi and raised his head.
Baek Hospital.
It is a large hospital with a large site and buildings reminiscent of a small campus, and it is at least one of the largest hospitals in Daejeon.
Mr. Park Hoyeon, whom I met at the time, said he was the director of this hospital.
Then it would be natural for his friend, Mr. Shin Junho, to be transferred here later.
“…It’s a bit awkward to go empty-handed.”
Suddenly, seeing the gift sets displayed at the store at the main gate, Kang Taehan looked down at his empty hands.
First of all, the reason for visiting this place was to visit the sick, and wasn’t it to visit in order to continue a good relationship?
Kang Taehan stopped by the store and bought a box of nutritional drinks.
“I think this will do?”
“Oh, isn’t that student Taehan?”
While he was checking the price tag of the gift for some reason, someone recognized Kang Taehan from the front.
It was Park Hoyeon, one of the people he met on the mountain that day.
“Hello… Director-nim.”
Kang Taehan hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to call him, and then quickly added.
“You really came. It must have been a long way from Seoul.”
“After hearing the story, I was worried for no reason.”
“This is… I should thank you on behalf of Junho.”
Park Hoyeon said with a faint smile.
It was a bitter smile for some reason.
“Director-nim, we are…”
“Ah, yes. You guys go in first.”
At Park Hoyeon’s words, the people behind him bowed their heads and moved their steps.
Apparently, they seemed to be other doctors in the hospital.
“You seem to be on your way back from a meal.”
“Well, I came out a little later than usual… It’s a good thing that I ran into student Taehan like this. If you’re on your way to visit the sick, I’ll guide you and go with you.”
“Is that okay?”
“What’s not okay?”
“Then I like it.”
Kang Taehan said with a smile.
It was something he felt when he had a conversation last time, but he was a pretty good person with clear energy.
⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢⟢
“There is no one here.”
Click, Park Hoyeon turned on the lights as he entered the ward.
A 4-person room with a fairly large space with four beds.
There was only one Shin Junho lying on the bed inside.
Since he was alone in a wide space, it would look quite eerie, but the atmosphere around the patient’s bed was quite warm.
It was because of the bouquets and various gifts piled up on the table, and a clumsily drawn picture.
『Dad, don’t be sick』
A family drawing that looked like it was drawn by a young child and clumsy handwriting written underneath.
Apart from that, there were traces of many people coming and going, and family members staying for a long time.
Kang Taehan put the box of drinks he had brought between the gifts and let out a small laugh.
“It looks like a lot of people have been here.”
“He’s been a sociable guy since a long time ago.”
Park Hoyeon simply said, but it was probably not just sociable, but a type of person called a good person.
Sometimes you can tell at a glance how someone has lived.
“He seems like a good person.”
It worked out well for Kang Taehan too.
Since he was doing a favor, it was better to do it to a good person than to a bad person.
“If you don’t mind, can I check the patient’s pulse?”
“Pulse… you mean?”
“I learned a little over my shoulder.”
Hmm. Park Hoyeon thought for a moment, but then nodded. As a doctor, it might be an inappropriate decision, but thinking about what he showed on the mountain at that time, he had a feeling that there might be something.
“Then, I’ll concentrate for a moment.”
It was not someone else, but the hospital director’s permission, so there was nothing to hold back.
Kang Taehan carefully checked the pulse on Shin Junho’s wrist and the back of his neck.
‘…There’s no problem on the outside, is there?’
What he had confirmed at the time was not wrong.
In fact, he looked normal except for the fact that he was wearing a bandage on his respirator and head.
His complexion is fine and his pulse is fine.
“There is no big problem with the body.”
“The examination also showed no abnormalities.”
“However… I think I know roughly.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Kang Taehan put his finger on the back of Shin Junho’s neck, postponing his answer for a moment.
He gently closed his eyes, pulled up his internal energy from his dantian, and let it flow into the opponent’s blood vessels.
He doesn’t need much internal energy here.
On the contrary, more internal energy than necessary only creates the risk of injuring the opponent.
A very small amount.
He sends only the necessary amount of internal energy, stretches it out like a thread, and expands his senses as if spreading his Qi sensing.
‘…I knew it.’
Somewhere between the neck and the upper dantian.
There is a place that is blocked like a wall.
Apparently, the flow of blood vessels itself is weaker than usual.
“I think I can do it.”
“What… what do you mean you can do it?”
Kang Taehan’s gaze turned to Park Hoyeon.
Park Hoyeon’s body flinched for a moment.
It’s hard to explain, but… the atmosphere was different from that of Kang Taehan just now.
“I mean I think I can help this person.”
“So, what does that mean?”
Kang Taehan turned his head back to the patient instead of answering.
The upper dantian is the part that is responsible for thinking and mental abilities, and in anatomical terms, it corresponds to the brain.
It is an indispensable part of maintaining life and a key organ that constitutes a person’s mind and personality.
It is often said that if the lower dantian is broken, life as a martial artist is over, but if the upper dantian is broken, life itself is cut off.
Even if you survive, it is difficult to survive sane.
In other words, it is a place that is most sensitive to safety.
Therefore, sometimes when you feel a tremendous shock or threat to your life, the connection to the upper dantian is cut off, leaving only the minimum life support functions.
Like a hermit crab that hides inside its shell when touched, it is a reflexive, last resort to protect the upper dantian.
Then the solution is not difficult.
The section that was blocked like a wall in the blood vessels.
It is enough to slowly stimulate that area and carefully loosen it so that it can come out from the inside out.
Besides, he’s already prepared for what he needs.
A trace amount of internal energy sent to right before the section.
Through that, he lightly stimulates the blocked entrance.
Once, twice, three times.
‘If he had fallen into Qi Deviation or Heart Demon, this would not be enough.’
This is enough for now.
After repeating it about ten times.
“Groan…”
The eyelids of the patient on the bed, Shin Junho, twitched.
