The Outcast Writer of a Martial Arts Visual Novel-Chapter 254: When It Rains, It Pours - 4

Lightness Skill.

Simply put, it’s the wuxia world’s version of a movement ability.

In the martial world, lightness skill is a martial art used for fast travel. But in martial arts novels, its main function is actually to shorten narrative time. They’ll often gloss over a journey that would normally take a month on horseback and say it was crossed in a few days with lightness skill. After all, even the fastest marathon runner in the real world would still take a car or a plane to travel long distances.

In this world, lightness skill isn’t quite teleportation-level fast, and due to internal energy consumption and stamina limitations, even martial artists still ride horses for long journeys. Still, it’s arguably the most practical martial art in daily life.

“I’d like to learn it, if I can.”

With the five years’ worth of internal energy I had built up, I figured I should be able to learn lightness skill. So I nodded without hesitation at Im Ha-yeon’s unexpected offer.

“I can teach you, but...”

She trailed off with a hesitant expression. Why make the offer and then hesitate?

Could it be—

“Is it a sect martial art passed down only from master to one worthy disciple?”

A secret technique taught only to one disciple of good character. If so, even if she wanted to teach it, she’d feel conflicted.

Though, whether the occupation of a thief can be said to require “good character” is... debatable. But I decided not to say that out loud.

“Ugh... It’s not like that. It’s fine to teach... I mean, it should be fine.”

Clenching her fists, she muttered to herself like she was casting a self-hypnosis spell.

Didn’t look fine. Was I going to learn it and spontaneously combust or something?

“If you’d rather not, don’t force yourself.”

“I said I’d teach you, so I will. Come on, let’s go to the courtyard.”

Apparently she’d made up her mind. She dragged me to the inner courtyard, hidden from view.

“The name of the technique I’m going to teach you is Shadowless Phantom Step.”

“Shadowless Phantom Step... Just the name gives me chills.”

Martial arts that «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» come with dramatic names like that are usually the user’s signature skill.

Lightness skill used by the greatest thief in the world? Just hearing the name makes it sound amazing.

“It was originally Light Body Art, which includes both lightness skill and body technique, but teaching the whole thing would take too long—so I’ll start with the movement part.”

If lightness skill is the art of running fast, body technique is the art of controlling the body in combat.

Since martial arts can’t be mastered in a day, I had no reason to decline if she was going to focus on the key parts first.

“I’ll be in your care.”

“The essence of Shadowless Phantom Step is, as the name suggests, escaping without leaving even a shadow. So first, you have to learn how to make your body light.”

She picked up a thin branch from the courtyard, set it upright—and then lightly jumped onto it.

If it were me, I would’ve immediately shouted, Sorry, tree!

But she landed gracefully on the tip of the branch and looked down at me.

“The branch isn’t bending?”

Maybe she was pleased with my astonishment, because she gave a faint smile.

“If you just run fast, you’ll leave too many traces—and then you’ll get caught. Even if you’re running across grass, the key is to leave no sign of broken blades. That’s what Shadowless Phantom Step is all about.”

Wait. Was she capable of Grass-Leaping Flight too? That was a seriously advanced form of lightness skill.

And suddenly, everything made sense.

“So that’s why you’ve been eating midnight snacks without a care.”

No wonder she kept eating like bathroom scales didn’t exist.

“I-it’s not like that! W-wait!”

Snap. As her internal calm shattered, so did the branch—just like a chair finally giving out under its owner’s weight.

“...Do I seem sluggish lately?”

She asked me with the kind of voice someone might use to confess something deeply embarrassing.

If I messed up this answer, I might never learn this skill.

“You look the same as the first day I saw you. No—if anything, you look a bit thinner lately from stress.”

I said it with all the worry I could muster, suppressing every trace of amusement.

“Don’t flatter me... Anyway, there are plenty of lightness skills that make you run fast. But running fast without leaving a trace—nothing beats Shadowless Phantom Step.”

She spoke with real pride.

“So it’s a martial art optimized for fleeing.”

“If you master it, you can freely shift your body’s weight and center of gravity. You can do all sorts of things. Here, I’ll show you. Throw a rock at me with all you’ve got.”

She pointed at some pebbles nearby.

“You’ve seen me throw before. You might get hurt.”

I’ve trained under the Tang Clan’s top experts in projectile throwing, you know.

“Pfft. Just do it.”

She snorted and waved me on, as if to say how cute.

Oh, now she’s underestimating me? I’ll show her.

I grabbed a rock and locked my gaze on her.

Even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. And when a rabbit goes after a lion, it needs even more strength.

I hurled the rock with the force of a closer throwing his final pitch. Like David flinging a stone at Goliath, I threw everything I had.

“Meteor!!! SHOOTING!! STAR!!!”

“Pfft!”

“Wait—!”

She changed direction in midair?!

Im Ha-yeon evaded the barrage, twisting through the air, then landed gracefully right where she’d intended.

“How was that?”

Her voice was as smug as her movement.

“Kunlun Sect’s Cloud Dragon Eight Movements?”

To twist and steer one’s body freely in midair... That had to be the same technique that let one move like a dragon in the sky.

“You even know that from Joseon? Yeah, one of my predecessors managed to steal the secret scroll and integrated it into Shadowless Phantom Step.”

Ah, the Kunlun Sect.

One of the Nine Sects and One Gang. Based in the remote mountains of Qinghai, beyond Sichuan.

They’re known for two things: the Cloud Dragon Eight Movements and being the first sect wiped out whenever the Demonic Sect invades. Like the tollgate of the martial world. The early warning system of evil’s return.

Like a famous restaurant that gets its secret recipe stolen because people put up with the location.

But hey—it’s great for me. This might really be the world’s greatest lightness skill.

“But the internal energy technique I’ve learned is different from yours. Will that be a problem?”

A cultivation method is like an operating system on a computer. No matter how good a skill is, if the OS isn’t compatible, it can mess up your body.

“You’ve trained a righteous sect’s method, right? Not an unorthodox or demonic one?”

“That’s right.”

Even the internal technique used by So-hee to suppress the Heavenly Killing Star’s bloodthirst was said to be a Buddhist method. So it should be fine.

“Then it’s okay. Come on, it’s a thief’s lightness skill—what kind of cultivation method do you think it was made for? It’s compatible with anything. Made to work with whatever you happened to ‘borrow.’”

So this was like the DOOM of movement techniques. Runs on fridges, karaoke machines, anything.

“Then... should I perform the nine-prostration ceremony?”

“...Do you want to become my disciple?”

There was something slightly... disappointed in her voice.

“If you want.”

After all, these things aren’t usually taught for free. Martial arts are traditionally passed down between family or sworn master-disciple relationships.

“No. I’m teaching you as thanks for everything. That’s all.”

“Then... I’ll be in your care.”

And just like that, I began learning Shadowless Phantom Step from Im Ha-yeon.

-------------

Just like I was learning martial arts from Im Ha-yeon, there was something she needed to learn from me, too.

“How is it?”

Im Ha-yeon looked up at me with an expression like a high school girl checking her college acceptance results.

“Let’s start over from the beginning.”

Rejected.

“What?!”

She stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Why did you spend several pages right at the start explaining the historical period and the exact year?”

“Because readers need context if the story’s going to make sense!”

“And then, as soon as you’re done with the background, the first characters we meet are some unrelated people from centuries ago. And the story even continues with them. Why?”

“Listen, at the very end of the story, it turns out they’re—”

I’m not listening.

“And then your protagonist is just some normal guy living his daily life? He doesn’t even show up until a third of the way through? What kind of one-volume novel does that?”

“It’d be weird if something big happened right at the start!”

“Then why’d you include the aphrodisiac subplot?”

“Because Storm of the Tang Clan is popular... I was trying to create an event using it...”

Her voice trailed off, clearly aware of how flimsy her reasoning sounded.

Hmm.

What a mess.

This was definitely worse than the piece she submitted for the Literary Society.

She probably got caught between wanting to write what she loved and chasing popularity, and ended up swerving completely off course.

“Sigh... It’s no good after all, isn’t it?”

She saw the expression on my face and slumped, her voice defeated.

“That said... the story itself could be fun.”

Anyone can criticize. But criticism alone only leads to giving up.

“What?”

“A story about a thief? Good choice. You went with something you’re confident in. The beginning is full of problems, but the core structure is solid.”

“G-good, you say?”

“Everything except the core structure is a mess. And with a setup like this, even going all-out might barely get you across the finish line. You’d need to write dozens of volumes.”

“Ugh... and I spent two weeks on it...”

She mumbled bitterly, like all her effort had just evaporated.

“Write it like it could wrap up in a single volume. If it gets popular, you can always expand it later with additional backstory.”

“...I’ll try.”

She nodded, holding her precious draft gently, the spark of hope returning.

With her feedback session done, it was time for me to return to the courtyard and receive some critique of my own.

“Why are you still overloading the Bubbling Spring Point with internal energy when I told you to just run fast?”

“It’s the best way to change direction quickly.”

That’s how I threw a barbarian punch, did a double jump, and everything else.

“If you go all out from the start, you’ll be exhausted in a few steps and get caught.”

“Was that... was that a jab at my writing just now?”

Returning my own critique like that, huh?

“Hmph! But where did you learn your footwork? Your technique’s a bit misaligned, but I saw hints of upward-style martial movement.”

“An old lesson from someone back home.”

Has it already been over a year since I met So-hee?

Her face, always expressionless but full of unspoken emotion, flashed in my mind.

I wonder if she’s getting my letters. I hope she replies. Though they said exchanging mail from Salmak is unrealistic...

I suddenly really missed her face.

“...A woman?”

“Hm?”

“She’s a woman, right?”

Im Ha-yeon’s voice had gone cold.

“...How did you know?”

“If you overuse internal energy on the Bubbling Spring Point again, I’m going to start throwing rocks.”

She looked at my leg as if it had some cursed parasite on it—and grabbed a stone.

“Surely that’s a bit much—”

“You need to learn this fast!”

...Okay, fair. But still.

The way she threw those rocks—there was emotion in them.

-----

“Will I really never see Sister Ha-yeon again?”

Ten days had passed since Im Ha-yeon stopped showing up at Daseogak. Ha So-so looked at me with concern.

“She’s working hard at the printing house. Once things settle down, she’ll return.”

“She must feel so lonely staying home all the time. Manager, you have to take good care of her.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Huh?”

“Goo-goo-goo!”

Just in time—Goo-goo arrived. I gently unwrapped the paper tied to his leg.

[Pick up kimchi dumplings on the way.]

I showed the note from Im Ha-yeon to Ha So-so, and we both laughed.

Later that afternoon, long past lunch, I was deep in thought over a problem that had no easy solution: Im Ha-yeon’s situation.

—Those guys who came before. They probably left Wuchang before even receiving my letter. Damn impatient bastards. They might come again, so stay alert.

That’s what the Hao Clan’s Yichang branch manager had said, sighing.

If only we had a clearer picture of what was going on in Wusan. That might give us a breakthrough—but for now, no solution in sight.

“Kyaaah!”

My thoughts were interrupted by a scream from downstairs.

“What’s going on?”

“Manager! You’d better come down—now!”

I rushed downstairs—only to find over a dozen martial artists surrounding the front of Daseogak, driving people away.

“What is the meaning of this?!”

Don’t tell me... Hao Clan sent more after their last five failed?

These ones didn’t look like common street thugs either. They looked like they actually knew how to use their swords.

“Are you Manager Kang Yun-ho?”

A man stepped forward—well-dressed, more like a scholar than a martial artist.

“I am. Did you come from Wuchang?”

“Yes, we came from Wuchang.”

So... they hadn’t heard about the Sichuan Tang Clan involvement? Or they were here to force the issue regardless?

I glanced toward the entrance. No way to send someone to the Seocheon Escort Bureau now. Maybe the Merchant Guild would act?

Let’s try talking first.

“Miss Im Ha-yeon no longer reports to Daseogak. Pressuring unrelated parties in this way—”

“We don’t even know who Im Ha-yeon is, and we’re not here because of her.”

He cut me off with a shake of his head.

“But you said you’re from Wuchang...”

“We’re from the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild. Here—look at this.”

Not the Hao Clan? From Ten-Thousand Gold?

Why would they—

He pulled a document from his coat and handed it to me.

What was it?

I cautiously unfolded the document and began to read.

“...A transfer agreement assigning all of Daseogak’s debt to the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild? And what does that have to do with what you’re doing here?”

Misfortune, meet catastrophe.

When life gives you one problem, the others don’t wait their turn.

While I’d been focused on solving the previous crisis, another was quietly creeping in.

All the scattered debt tied to Daseogak had been consolidated and transferred to the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild.

The man, expression calm, took the document back and delivered a devastating line.

“As of today, due to default on payments, the Ten-Thousand Gold Merchant Guild will begin foreclosure proceedings on Daseogak.”