It had slowly started moving along the blood vessels.
But that movement didn't follow the incantations of the Great Ten Thousand Qi Cultivation Technique.
Instead, it was moving in accordance with the incantations of a cultivation technique I had learned in the future—the one I knew well.
I was so shocked by the unexpected behavior of the Mystic Dragon Star Physique that I was left speechless.
'How?'
But there was no time to be stunned.
When the Mystic Dragon Star Physique reached the dantian, it expelled the energy I had swallowed.
And then—
My memory cut off.
.
.
.
"..."
When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the middle of the room.
Ah!
Suddenly, the events just before I lost consciousness came rushing back.
I had eaten the Pure Icy Snow Plum and nearly died because I couldn't control its energy.
I quickly adjusted my posture.
"...!"
I could feel the cold and vast internal energy accumulated in my dantian.
It was definitely the energy of the Pure Icy Snow Plum.
The Mystic Dragon Star Physique had swallowed the entirety of its energy and circulated it through my body, depositing it into my dantian to save me.
"Unbelievable. I almost died because of the Mystic Dragon Star Physique, but now I'm alive thanks to it."
Suddenly, I remembered what the Black Trace Immortal Physician had once said.
"According to legend, a girl born with the Mystic Dragon Star Physique becomes a prodigy of the world, while a boy becomes the center of it."
At the time, I had thought it was just a comforting remark. But only now did I understand its true meaning.
In hindsight, it had always been a bit strange.
Even in my previous life, I had faced death many times, but never something like this.
But no matter how much I pondered, it wasn't a mystery I could solve right now.
The important thing was that I had survived, so I chose to be thankful and focused on the internal energy in my dantian.
The Black Trace Immortal Physician had once advised me that if I wanted to live a long, healthy life, I needed to cultivate ice arts.
Because the Mystic Dragon Star Physique was incompatible with yang energy, martial arts heavy in yang were not suitable for me.
Fortunately, I had formed a connection with a master who used ice arts, and I had become his disciple.
The foundation of those arts was the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Arts.
At first, the term "divine arts" had seemed exaggerated, but the more I practiced the technique, the more I understood why it had earned such a title. It was truly an extraordinary cultivation method.
'But that kind of expert just happened to settle in Hubei with no ties? That's suspicious…'
I always thought there must've been a reason, but I never got to find out.
I shook off the thoughts and calmly began practicing the technique.
It was as if I had spent decades training—it felt natural as the energy flowed through the opened meridians in my body.
Looks like the Mystic Dragon Star Physique forcibly opened them.
Though I could sense its presence within me, the Mystic Dragon Star Physique didn't move at all.
After finishing the technique, I opened my eyes.
Only then did I take in my surroundings—and the entire room was covered in a sheet of frost.
"What the—!"
Startled, I jumped up, and my clothes fell off limply.
Rustle.
"Huh?"
I blinked in confusion.
The clothes that had fallen to the floor were hardly recognizable—they were half-rotted and completely frozen.
'What the hell…'
Tilting my head, I opened the door I had previously locked.
Creeeak.
Standing right outside was Palgap, his face full of worry.
"Palgap, thanks for—"
"Waaahhh! Young Master!"
Before I could even finish speaking, Palgap collapsed on the spot and began wailing.
"W-What? Why are you crying all of a sudden?"
Palgap, sniffling and sobbing, said,
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?! The whole night passed and you didn't come out. The door froze solid, and I kept hearing bone-breaking noises from inside…"
"R-Really? Hahaha…"
"But now that you've come out safely, I'm just so relieved…"
Still sobbing, Palgap suddenly tilted his head.
"Sniff sniff. But… what is that smell? Wait, why are you naked?"
"Oh, that's…"
Palgap wrinkled his nose and quickly stepped back.
'Huh? Don't tell me…'
I had thought something smelled awful… and apparently, it was me.
Still, did he really have to recoil like that?
"...What are you doing?"
"N-No! It's not what you think…"
"Too late. I'm already hurt."
"I-I was just going to prepare a bath for you, that's all!"
.
.
.
Palgap immediately drew a bath, and I soaked in water filled with aromatic oils.
After enjoying a refreshing bath, I came out and put on the clothes Palgap had prepared—but then a problem arose.
"Hmm, these clothes feel a little tight?"
To that, Palgap replied with a look of disbelief.
"Young Master, those are the clothes you wore just the day before yesterday!"
"Then why is it smaller?"
"Huh? Now that you mention it…"
Palgap looked me over and said,
"You seem taller and more built than before, Young Master."
"Really?"
"And your face looks more handsome, too. Please look at yourself in this mirror."
I took the hand mirror Palgap offered and examined myself.
Sure enough, my face looked slightly different—more refined, even.
There was only one cause behind all these changes:
The internal energy of the Pure Icy Snow Plum.
Palgap said we'd need to tailor new clothes and went off to call the seamstress.
While I bathed, Palgap had also cleaned up the room, which had been a mess.
I sat on the edge of the bed.
It had felt like I'd locked myself in for about roughly two hours, but in reality, it had been nearly an entire day.
Yet I wasn't hungry, nor was I tired.
I drew up my internal energy.
A faint blue glow emitted from my hand.
This was fifty years' worth of internal energy.
I had nearly died, but in the end, it turned out to be a blessing.
And now, this was my sharp claw—my hidden weapon.
So, I needed to keep it a secret.
As the old saying goes: "The tiger hides its claws."
I moved on to the next step.
The ice arts master who had taught me martial arts had been a truly good person.
But when it came to training, he had been strict and terrifying.
"If you practice martial arts without proper stamina and strength, your body will collapse. You must build a proper foundation—rigorously and thoroughly. It'll be grueling and make you curse, but you must endure it."
Thanks to him, even though I had only started learning martial arts at the age of twenty-four, I had reached the level of a first-class martial artist.
He had said it was because of my exceptional talent, but having a solid foundation also played a big part.
That's why I now began rebuilding that foundation, retracing those steps from memory.
The thought of going through that grueling process again brought tears to my eyes for a moment.
'But… why does it feel more bearable than last time?'
I was doing the same training as before.
Maybe it was easier because I'd already done it once.
Or perhaps my body had changed somehow.
After all, Palgap had said he heard bones cracking and shifting from inside the room.
'Don't tell me… a complete physical transformation?'
That seemed to be the case.
And just like that, the five-day break I had been given passed in a flash.
***
The morning after my vacation ended.
Starting today, I had to begin working at the Finance Pavilion.
Everyone working at the Eunhae Merchant Group wore a wooden identification tag.
I looked down at the newly issued one.
[Eunhae Merchant Group – Finance Pavilion – Special Trainee: Eun Seoho]
My position was listed as "Special Trainee."
That's because I hadn't entered through the usual hiring process.
However, special trainees of the Finance Pavilion had access to all areas within it.
I strapped the tag to my waist and left the room.
Upon arriving at the Finance Pavilion, I first headed to the office of Yoo So-Ak, the Pavilion Chief and Chief of Internal Affairs.
A martial artist stood guard in front of the office.
His name was Gyo Jin-woon.
He was one of the two personal guards assigned to Yoo So-Ak.
"You've arrived?"
"The Chief is in, right?"
"Yes, please wait a moment."
Guard Gyo Jin-woon informed the Chief of my arrival, and I soon heard a voice from within.
"Enter."
The door opened.
I stepped inside.
Stacks of documents were piled precariously on Yoo So-Ak's desk.
"You've come."
Yoo So-Ak lifted his head, his face weary with fatigue.
"Yes."
"Here—this is your task for today."
Yoo So-Ak carefully pulled out a scroll from the precarious stack of documents on his desk and handed it to me.
I accepted it and unrolled it.
The task was to review last year's grain supply records and summarize the key points in a report.
'Just like last time.'
It was the same assignment I'd received in my previous life.
"Then go review it and submit your report."
"Yes, sir."
Chief Yoo So-Ak lowered his head again and became absorbed in his work. I rolled up the scroll and exited the office.
I made my way to my desk.
Sitting in front of it, I looked around.
Doing this again stirred up a lot of emotions.
Just then, a man dressed in gray official robes and a matching gray headpiece approached.
"Young Master, you've arrived?"
"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."
His name was Yeo Chang-Ui.
He had been assigned as my assistant—a rank 7 official in the Finance Pavilion.
Employees of the Eunhae Merchant Group were ranked into nine tiers based on experience and ability, from 1 to 9.
The Chiefs of Internal and External Affairs were on par with the Vice-Leader of the Merchant Group.
Beneath the Chief of External Affairs and the Chief of Internal Affairs are their respective Vice Chiefs, and their rank is Rank 1—the highest tier.
Rank 7 was the seventh of the nine ranks—not particularly high, but considering his age, not low either.
He had just enough free time and experience to be assigned as my assistant—appropriate for someone like me, just beginning hands-on training.
'Chief Yoo must have handpicked him.'
There's no way they would assign just anyone to assist the son of the Merchant Lord. If Yeo Chang-Ui left a good impression on me, he might even rise quickly through the ranks.
Assigning him to me was clearly Chief Yoo So-Ak's decision.
He was someone who valued skill and character above all else.
'And if memory serves, he was quite capable and a good person.'
Unfortunately, our time together had been far too short.
He died unexpectedly not long after we met.
Had it not been for that accident, he would have likely become my right-hand man.
"I apologize for the trouble I caused last time. I was unwell."
"Please, think nothing of it."
"I'll be more mindful of my health from now on. Now, if we're ready, let's begin. I'll need to retrieve some documents relevant to the task."
"You're going to fetch them yourself?"
"Yes. There are quite a few I need. Could you help me carry them?"
"Of course. It would be my honor."
One thing I learned from the future:
You couldn't complete a report to Chief Yoo So-Ak's satisfaction by merely reviewing the surface-level documents.
I had to personally verify them and collect exactly what I needed.
So Yeo Chang-Ui and I headed to the archives.
I had been there so many times that I could walk the path with my eyes closed.
Soon, I began picking out the necessary documents.
To properly summarize last year's grain supply issues, I needed more than just supply records—I needed production logs, demand records, supplier lists, distribution data, and much more.
Back then, not knowing this had earned me many scoldings from Chief Yoo.
But not this time.
I was one of the key figures who had elevated the Eunhae Merchant Group into one of the top three in all of Zhongyuan.
This sort of work was second nature by now.
Yeo Chang-Ui's eyes flickered with surprise as he held the tray and received the documents I handed him—each one selected without a moment's hesitation.
A small smile crept onto my face.
.
.
.
That day,
I completed my assigned task in just four hours.
Normally, I would've had to take a break every two hours because of fatigue, but with my new internal energy and improved physique, I felt no such exhaustion.
Thanks to that, my efficiency soared, and I finished far earlier than expected.
"All done."
At my words, Yeo Chang-Ui approached, wearing an expression of disbelief.
"Already? That can't be… this job normally takes at least two full days! You can't just rush it. Chief Yoo will be furious if it's sloppy."
"Then how about we make a little bet?"
Yeo Chang-Ui blinked.
"A bet?"
"I'll submit this right now. Let's see if it passes or not. If it doesn't, I'll sort out all these documents myself."
Piles of records I had referenced were scattered around my desk.
It would take at least an hour to clean them all up.
"But if I pass… how about you clean it all up by yourself?"
At that, Yeo Chang-Ui nodded readily.
"Deal."