Chapter 51 : That’s the Problem

I called out to the teaching aid—no, to Shushruta—who was walking ahead of me.

“Hey, Shushruta. Let’s stop for lunch.”

Shushruta turned back with a puzzled look.

“Hmm? Already? It isn’t time to eat yet.”

I declared with a solemn face, “My mealtime is the mealtime.”

“……”

She stared at me for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and rolled up the map.

“Why are you sighing?”

“Good question.”

We found a shaded spot and settled down for lunch.

I tore into some jerky, while Shushruta nibbled on dried fruit. I kept staring at her in silence.

“...?”

Noticing my gaze, she looked back at me in confusion.

I held her stare without shame.

“What are you looking at? Haven’t you ever seen a handsome man before?”

“……”

She pouted and quickly turned her head away.

I pulled out a sheet of paper with all the body’s meridians mapped out.

It had a rough human outline with each meridian marked, their names and effects neatly noted beside them.

It was my work. Every time I looked at it, I couldn’t help but feel proud and impressed with myself.

Chewing on jerky, I studied the chart. Then, like a painter gauging proportions with his brush, I held the sheet up next to Shushruta.

“Hm…”

I squinted one eye and compared her to the drawing.

‘Just under the collarbone… ah, that’s Zhongfu. One of the Numbing Points. Striking it stimulates the thoracic nerves, making the arms useless.’

‘And that’s Yamen, the Mute Point. Between the chin and throat. Striking it stimulates the hypoglossal and cutaneous nerves, rendering speech impossible. And that one is…’

My gaze flicked rapidly between the diagram and Shushruta, mentally placing imaginary dots where I wanted to test.

After comparing my “teaching aid” to the real subject, I nodded in satisfaction and stood up.

“Shushruta.”

“What is it?” She looked at me while chewing fruit.

“Heh. Come here for a second.”

I smiled warmly as I approached, but her pupils dilated in alarm.

Like a startled cat, she sprang backward several steps.

“W-what? What are you trying to do to me?”

Her extreme reaction left me scratching my cheek awkwardly.

“What? I didn’t even do anything yet.”

Still wary, she frowned.

“Why are you smiling like that?”

“What’s wrong with my smile?”

“It’s too… lecherous.”

“Lecherous?!”

I was sure it was a gentle smile.

“It looks like the smile of someone who just slaughtered a dozen people without blinking.”

[Well… she’s not wrong.]

“……”

The oddly specific description left me speechless.

I beckoned her closer.

“Relax. It’s nothing weird. Come here.”

She remained distant, glaring.

“I don’t believe you.”

“What? You don’t trust your comrade? The one who shares life and death with you, your best partner, your perfect match, your… other half?”

“……”

Reluctantly, she hesitated, then slowly stepped closer.

“…What is it?”

“Sit down. Comfortably.”

I made her sit straight-backed on the ground, then took my place behind her.

Feeling along her neck, I searched for the right spot.

“Somewhere around here… ah, found it.”

On either side of the neck, in the hollows.

I pressed down.

“Feel good?”

“Ugh… it feels strange.”

She flinched as I worked.

“Just hold still.”

“What are you doing?”

“Loosening the muscles in your neck. It’ll make your head feel lighter.”

I kept massaging, and slowly she began to relax.

“Hmm… it does feel a bit refreshing.”

“See?”

Before long, she let out a dazed “Huuuh…” as if her soul was slipping away.

She leaned into me completely.

With a faint smile, she murmured, “I misjudged you. You were just trying to massage my neck for my sake.”

“You only realized that now?”

“As expected… you truly are my comrade in life and death.”

Her stiff body relaxed completely, melting into jelly.

That was when my eyes sharpened.

‘This is the moment.’

With her guard fully down…

I channeled inner energy into my fingers and jabbed a point.

“Ungh!”

Her body trembled violently and froze.

“O-oh… did it work?”

Her voice was full of panic.

“Ah, Ashuban! What is this? I can’t move! Something’s wrong!”

“Oh, really? You can’t move?”

“Yes! My body won’t respond at all!”

I grinned.

“Heh… wrong? No. It worked perfectly.”

“What?”

That spot was Tianzhu, at the back of the neck.

With inner energy, striking it temporarily paralyzes the whole body.

One hand pressing her Tianzhu like grabbing a cat by the scruff, I used the other to prod different points.

“Well then… let’s begin.”

I jabbed another point on her lower back.

“Ahh!”

“Hmm. That should be the Numbing Point for the legs. And let’s see… maybe here?”

Poke!

“Eek!”

“That’s the Mute Point…”

Poke!

“Kyah!”

“Oops, wrong one. Hold on.”

Poke!

“Ghhhk!?”

Her back arched like a bow.

“As I thought… hands-on practice is the best.”

All the vague knowledge floating in my head settled into place.

The locations and effects of the points stuck with me clearly.

It was fun too, and gave me a good feel for pressure-point striking.

Well… sure, there had been a few small mistakes. But nothing to fuss over.

Since having our guide Shushruta knocked out would be troublesome, I skipped the Sleep Point and Fainting Point.

Still, just testing the Numbing and Mute Points was satisfying enough.

“See what I mean?”

“Uuugh…”

Her weak voice came from behind me.

For some reason, after I finished my studies and released all the points, she collapsed immediately.

Even when I tried to help her up, she flopped around like a newborn calf, unable to stand.

In the end, I had no choice but to sling her over my shoulder like a sack of grain and continue up the mountain trail.

“Is this the right way?”

“Mmhh.”

“What’s with you again? Why can’t you talk?”

I tilted my head.

“Did I forget to release the Mute Point? I could’ve sworn I released everything.”

“Mmhh!”

“Well, they said it was halfway up the mountain. We’ll get there if we keep climbing.”

We had gone up quite a distance when Shushruta suddenly pounded on my back.

“Mmhh!”

“What? What? What is it?”

She twisted free of my grip, jumped off my shoulder, and smacked me repeatedly while spitting out strange sounds.

“Mmhh! Mmhhahh! Ahhh!”

She was clearly trying to say something, but I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

I looked at her like she was a toddler babbling nonsense.

“Just speak properly. What’s with the cutesy act?”

“Ahh!”

Whack!

She landed a sharp slap on my shoulder.

That stung more than I expected. Not wanting another one, I decided to keep my mouth shut and listen to her nonsense.

After a few more bouts of garbled sounds, she cleared her throat several times—“Khm! Khm!”—and finally forced her voice out.

“They’re enemies, you idiot!”

…So my pressure-point technique was sloppy after all. Seems her meridians released slower than intended.

Reflecting on that, I replied, “Enemies? You could’ve just said so earlier.”

“……”

She fondled her dagger, glaring at me with sharp eyes.

I coughed and looked away.

“So where are they?”

“From above. I hear rustling, bustling, clattering… as if they’re busily preparing something. I also hear water bubbling.”

The Heavenly Demon murmured,

[Hmm. Cooking in the mountains, perhaps?]

“Could be. We’ll see soon enough.”

“What?”

“Not you.”

“……”

I nodded.

“If they’ve gone through so much trouble preparing, it’s only polite to pay them a visit. Let’s go.”

Following Shushruta’s lead, we kept climbing until a sign suddenly came into view.

‘A signboard? Here?’

The path was rough enough that even wild animals would avoid it, yet there stood a sign—newly placed, too.

I stepped closer for a look.

It was a crude wooden board with a large, garishly painted arrow. Underneath, messy handwriting read:

“THIS WAY!”

The gaudy colors and sloppy strokes alone told me the maker’s mental state wasn’t exactly sound.

“Whoever made this is insane.”

Shushruta glanced at me and pursed her lips.

“Just like you. You’ll get along well.”

We locked eyes for a moment before I followed the arrow.

The signs appeared at intervals, kindly guiding us forward.

“They really went all out.”

Following the rainbow-colored trail, we finally emerged into a wide clearing.

At its entrance hung a huge banner, fluttering in the wind:

“We warmly welcome you to Lynda’s Tea Party! Congratulations!”

It congratulated, welcomed, and celebrated all on its own.

Like the signs, the banner was painted in a wild jumble of colors that made my eyes ache.

It looked like the random scribbles of a six-year-old with a fistful of crayons.

In short, it was a banner soaked in pure madness.

“Well, well…”

I stroked my chin like I was admiring a piece of modern art, then called out,

“Shushruta.”

“What is it?”

“Do you know this Lynda?”

“…Of course.”

She nodded with an uncomfortable expression.

“I suspected as much from the bizarre signs.”

“And who is she?”

“Mad Lynda. Like you, she’s a wanted criminal.”

Mad Lynda.

I vaguely remembered our informant at the lake mentioning the name.

I nodded.

“Oh, so she’s family. What’s her bounty?”

“Thirty-two gold. She’s a big shot, hunted by several noble knights.”

“What did she do?”

Shushruta shook her head.

“Mad things.”

I grinned with satisfaction.

“Heh. That’s way below my hundred gold. Compared to me, she’s nothing but a small fry.”

When it came to madness, I had her beat.

Shushruta replied dryly,

“…That’s nothing to be proud of.”

“So what? At least it’s not even half of that crazy mage’s bounty.”

Her tone grew stern.

“Don’t underestimate her. Mad Lynda is a master of poisons. She experimented on herself until she lost her mind. She’s a lunatic, utterly unpredictable.”

The Heavenly Demon chuckled low.

[So this time, it’s a Poison Fiend.]

Whoever that was, I didn’t care. Something else bothered me.

“Fine, fine. But you said noble knights are after her? Why aren’t they after me?”

Now that I thought about it, it annoyed me a little.

I wanted to clash with knights like Sir Fogsley too.

Shushruta explained,

“Because royal knights have already been dispatched to chase you. The nobles cannot interfere once the crown takes action. Who dares seize what the king himself commands?”

“Ah, that makes sense.”

“It does.”

I thought for a moment, then said, “So the noble knights go after Lynda, and the royal knights go after me?”

“Exactly.”

The difference in rank was clear.

I let out a cold laugh.

“Heh. Our little Lynda… how cute.”

“…That’s not something to be happy about.”

Shushruta glanced at the deranged banner.

“From the looks of it, she seems to hold some fondness for you. Try to talk first. Perhaps this can end without a fight.”

“For me? Why?”

“How should I know? Maybe she just recognized a kindred spirit.”

I stared her down.

“I’ll handle it. Just stay back and watch.”

“……”

Shushruta looked at me with deep suspicion.

“What are you staring at? Go on, shoo.”

“Hmph.”

Whoosh!

She vanished, leaving me alone.

I strolled leisurely toward the bannered entrance.

Friend or foe. Ally or target.

To kill, or to spare.

That was the question.

(End of Chapter)

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