Chapter 8

“There’s nothing wrong with him.”

That was the physician’s conclusion. Hearing the certainty in his voice, I nodded to myself. He was right.

There’s nothing wrong with my brain.

I was simply inhabiting this body.

But someone didn’t seem satisfied with the diagnosis.

“Then why can’t he remember anything?”

A dignified air and a commanding voice. I knew his name now.

Jin Wikyung.

Jin Taekyung’s eldest brother and the Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan. Right. He really wasn’t my father.

That guy was practically tearing up earlier.

Now he was pretending nothing had happened, his stern, solemn, serious mask firmly back in place.

The poor physician fumbled for an answer.

“Well, that is certainly my diagnosis, but there can occasionally be exceptions…”

“That will do. You may leave.”

The physician left looking wounded. As if he had been waiting for the chance, Jin Wikyung immediately moved closer. His voice overflowed with affection and concern.

“You truly don’t remember?”

“No.”

“Not a thing?”

I quietly nodded. I had already worked out how I was going to play this.

Let’s keep going like this.

Amnesia—the kind I had only ever seen in dramas. Nothing could have been more convenient in my current situation. I didn’t have to struggle to fit into the game’s setting or even gather information.

All I had to do was lie still, blink at everyone with an expression that said I don’t know anything, and let the situation take care of itself. Just like now.

“Do you remember what you just said?”

“What did I say?”

Believing that I had lost my memory, Jin Wikyung had told me a few basic facts. That was how I had learned who he was.

“Tell me my name.”

“Jin Wikyung. The Lesser Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.”

“How old am I?”

“Thirty-five.”

Good grief. He was in his thirties with that face? Apparently, he was still a bachelor too.

“What about our parents?”

“Our father is touring the Central Plains. Our mother died ten years ago.”

“Correct. And your second brother?”

“Jin Mukyung, the Heaven Shaking Sword. Twenty-five. Currently a cadet at Heaven’s Gate Temple.”

I had no idea where Heaven’s Gate Temple was. I was simply parroting back what I had heard.

Jin Wikyung had been mechanically saying, “Correct, correct,” after each answer, but now he tilted his head.

“The Heaven Shaking Sword? Did I tell you his sobriquet too?”

No. The coachman had told me that.

The moment our eyes met, I clutched my forehead.

“Ah, my head! My head hurts!”

“Oh, my youngest!”

This was practically a cheat code.

“It’s only a simple contusion. The swelling and bruises should be completely gone within three days at most.”

Leaving the physician’s final words behind, I walked out of Medicine King Hall. A servant with a plain, friendly face was waiting for me at the entrance.

“I’ll show you to your quarters, Young Master.”

The servant set off without hesitation. He already seemed to know that I had lost my memory, because whenever we passed a building or a person, he would explain who or what they were in a quiet voice.

A guide, an errand boy, and an encyclopedia.

I could roughly guess why Jin Wikyung had sent him.

He was busy with his duties, so this was probably his way of looking after me.

“We’ve arrived.”

At last, we stopped in front of a two-story wooden building.

Wasn’t this kind of building called a pavilion in China? It had a distinctly old-fashioned charm.

“Wow.”

It was unbelievably spacious, too. The moment the servant opened the door, my jaw dropped.

“Your bedroom is on the second floor. Bells have been installed throughout the building, so please ring one if you need anything.”

Once the servant left, I collected myself and began exploring the pavilion. The first floor alone looked to be well over three hundred square meters.

To someone who had lived in a goshiwon room barely seven square meters in size,¹ it might as well have been an Olympic stadium.

This is the first time I’ve ever envied an NPC.

There were six rooms on the first floor alone. A sudden wave of curiosity rose in me.

What could be inside?

Treasures? Martial arts manuals? Amazing items?

I didn’t care what it was. I flung open the nearest door.

“Whoa.”

The exclamation slipped out the moment the door opened. There were no fluorescent lights, yet the room was bright—thanks to the silk clothes packed onto the shelves along the walls. There was an astonishing amount of them, even at a glance.

Of course, it wasn’t what I was looking for.

This bastard has a lot of clothes.

A club rat—no, a pleasure-house regular through and through. I clicked my tongue, closed the door, and went straight to the second room. Then I threw that door open too.

“More clothes?”

I had underestimated Jin Taekyung. At this point, wasn’t he practically the fashion icon of his era?

Trying to ignore the unease creeping over me, I moved on to the third room.

The door flew open.

“…What kind of shopping-addicted bastard is this?”

Seriously, what kind of person was he? Seeing three rooms packed completely full of clothes made my throat close up, as if I had swallowed a sweet potato.

Could it be…

My unease was taking shape, growing heavier by the second. I trudged to the final room. Unlike the others, it clearly hadn’t been used in a long time. I took hold of the rusty handle and slowly pushed.

Creeeak.

With an irritating groan, the final room revealed what lay inside.

Sunlight filtered through a small window. Dust rose with every step. And beyond it stood several bookshelves.

“Found it.”

A smile spread across my face before I even realized it.

There were five bookshelves in total. I approached the nearest one and pulled out a book. When I brushed off the thick layer of dust, the writing on the cover appeared.

This was why the System was so convenient. Thanks to Synchronization, I could read and pronounce even writing that looked like an alien language as naturally as my mother tongue.

“Three-Turn Footwork?”

Ding.

System

Item Window

Three-Turn Footwork

Type: Martial Arts Manual

Grade: Third Rate

Restriction: None

Description: The most basic practical footwork technique. It can even be purchased on the open market.

• Would you like to train in this martial art? (3 / 10)

Jackpot!

My heart pounded as I read through the System window.

Three-Turn Footwork. The most basic third-rate footwork technique. This was it—the kind of martial arts manual I had only ever seen in novels.

My first plan was to learn martial arts.

So the System applies to martial arts training too.

The suspicion I had formed after completing the Quest to circulate my qi, just before coming to the Jin Family of Taiyuan, had now become certainty.

Thank goodness.

I had been worried that I might have to learn everything step by step, like the protagonists and NPCs in novels. Fortunately, that fear had proved unfounded.

Even a trash game is still a game.

If the System applied to ordinary martial arts the same way it had when I circulated my qi, rapid growth would be a piece of cake.

I was about to shout, “I accept!”—but stopped.

System

• Would you like to train in this martial art? (3 / 10)

The number in parentheses bothered me immensely. I had learned exactly three martial arts so far: the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique, the Jin Family’s Spear Technique, and the Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique.

Could it be…

Is there a limit to how many martial arts I can learn?

If that suspicion was true, now was not the time to learn a third-rate martial art like Three-Turn Footwork. I needed to find a higher-grade martial art—one that could keep me alive until Logout and help me raise my Level and Fame quickly.

The good news was that this room contained several hundred martial arts manuals, give or take.

“Good. Good.”

That meant I could learn seven more martial arts. If I filled those slots with nothing but the best techniques, Logout would only be a matter of time.

With a satisfied smile, I pulled out the next book.

Ding.

System

Item Window

The Night King: Well-Endowed Man

Type: Erotic Novel

Grade: None

Restriction: None

Description: Even better when read with illustrations.

“…”

Today’s battle against work had been fierce. Jin Wikyung had not left the office once between morning and the present hour, which was approaching midnight. This grueling pace had already continued for two months.

“You’ve worked hard.”

Wipeng’s words signaled the end of the day’s work.

Jin Wikyung rose, stretching his stiff body, and left the office. After all, the owner of that room was not Jin Wikyung, but his father, who had vanished without warning one day.

His residence was a pavilion in the inner compound at the center of the Jin Family estate, and it took about a quarter hour to walk there.

“It’s cold tonight.”

Wipeng, who had followed him like a shadow, draped a thick fur cloak over his shoulders. Jin Wikyung smiled tiredly.

“Thank you. Without you, I might have collapsed long ago.”

“What else can I do? Someone has to play the lady of the house.”

“Forget it. The old men are already hounding me enough as it is.”

Jin Wikyung rubbed his dry eyes. Though he was in his mid-thirties, he remained unmarried. He had kept putting marriage off on the grounds that he was still young, and those delays had added up to more than a decade.

I suppose I’ll have to do it eventually. For the family’s sake.

Had he ever been in love? Yes.

But Jin Wikyung was no immature child. One day, he would become the Family Head and bear responsibility for everyone in the household. If a political marriage could strengthen the family, he considered it a small price to pay.

“The stars are bright. We almost wouldn’t need torches.”

Sensing the mood, Wipeng changed the subject. Jin Wikyung shook his head. His residence had come into view.

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

Following Jin Wikyung’s gaze, Wipeng tilted his head. A faint light was leaking from a nearby pavilion.

“Isn’t that the Third Young Master’s residence?”

“It is. It’s late, but the lights are still on.”

As he spoke, Jin Wikyung strode forward. Wipeng had no choice but to follow.

“My lord, why don’t we come back another time? The memory loss is just an excuse. He’s obviously drinking.”

“Shh.”

The two men entered the pavilion. The light came from the old room on the far left. Constant creaking sounded from within, as if someone were moving around without pause.

“I underestimated the Third Young Master. It sounds like he even brought a woman in. Listen to that. I’ll bet this month’s salary on it.”

Wipeng’s lips moved. He was using Sound Transmission, sending his voice through internal energy.

“Wipeng.”

“Yes?”

“Shut your mouth.”

Jin Wikyung sent the short, heavy reply through Sound Transmission, then moved right up to the door. Through the open crack, he could see what was happening inside.

Then Wipeng cut in with a wounded expression.

“I never took you for this sort of person, my lord, but your tastes are rather unusual…”

He gasped.

The next moment, Wipeng’s mouth fell open.

What did I just see?

Am I seeing things because I’ve been feeling weak lately?

He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve, but all five senses continued to take in the scene before him exactly as it was.

“Now, take two steps diagonally…”

A sturdy young man muttered continuously as he moved without pause. Countless footprints covered the dusty floor, and more were appearing even now.

Swish. Stumble.

“Fuck, they made this martial art like shit—aaagh!”

It was the Third Young Master. That foul personality and that foul mouth. There was no doubt that he was Jin Taekyung.

He had not trained in martial arts since he was twelve, yet here he was, practicing past midnight until he was drenched in dust and sweat.

“Wipeng.”

Wipeng, who had been staring blankly, snapped back to his senses.

“Yes, yes?”

Jin Wikyung gazed into the room with dazed eyes. Jin Taekyung had fallen over and was hurling vicious curses at the ceiling, but he soon got back up and resumed practicing his footwork.

“As promised, you won’t be getting paid this month.”