I searched the mountain for over two hours.
In the original story, the protagonist found his fortuitous encounter in the late dawn.
‘It was definitely a crack in a rock…’
I recalled the details from the novel.
Jin Myeong-woo had supposedly found the secret manual while resting in a crack between some rocks.
Wiping away my sweat, I scanned my surroundings.
Boulders were scattered throughout the dense forest.
It was impossible to guess which of the countless rocks was the one hiding the manual.
I started moving again.
I inspected each rock meticulously, but I couldn’t find what I was looking for.
The entire mountain was covered in rocks, making the search even harder.
‘Damn it, the sun’s going to set at this rate.’
Wiping the sweat from my brow, I decided to take a short break.
I sat down on a nearby flat-looking rock.
Crack.
The moment I sat down, I felt the rock give way beneath me.
I lost my balance and nearly fell backward.
I quickly stood up and looked at the rock.
A crack had formed.
The rock had split right where I had been sitting.
‘This is it.’
As if by fate, I had found the very rock I was searching for.
The crack was just wide enough for my hand to squeeze through.
I slid my hand into the crack.
My fingertips brushed against something.
It felt damp and cold, a clear sign it had been hidden in this crevice for a very long time.
‘Is this the secret manual…’
I carefully reached deeper and grasped the object.
The secret manual that Jin Myeong-woo had found in the original story was now in my hands.
I gently pulled the manual out.
It was wrapped in cloth.
Despite having been stored in a rock crevice for ages, it was strangely well-preserved.
I carefully unfolded the cloth.
A single book lay within.
I tucked the manual into my clothes and descended the mountain.
I planned to read it somewhere safe.
After quickly returning to the Jin estate, I told Seol-hee to take the day off and rest before entering my room.
I locked the door and closed the windows to ensure no one would disturb me.
Sitting in the middle of the room, I carefully opened the Daoist Yin-Yang Manual .
The yellowed pages gave off the distinct smell of an ancient book.
As I turned the first page, characters written in an elegant script came into view.
The first page contained a preface written by a Daoist immortal.
It spoke of the circulation of yin and yang and the manipulation of essence.
Below the text, a detailed meridian chart was drawn with intricate illustrations.
Turning to the next page, I found the actual training methods.
There were detailed explanations on how to gather and wield essence, and how to apply it during intercourse with a woman.
‘So this is the secret to the erotic arts…’
It wasn’t simply about indulging in lust, but a method of training by exchanging essence with a partner.
The principle was that the male and female essences would meet, complement, and strengthen each other.
What particularly stood out was the method for manipulating essence at the moment of climax.
It detailed a cyclical process of absorbing the woman’s essence as she reached her peak while simultaneously transferring my own essence to her.
As I turned more pages, even more advanced secrets appeared—things that were never mentioned in the original story.
‘Would this even work on Seol-hee, who hasn’t learned any martial arts?’
A question arose in my mind.
I examined the manual’s contents more closely.
In the novel, the protagonist used this manual to absorb the essence of women who practiced martial arts.
But Seol-hee was an ordinary person.
I continued flipping through the pages until I found a section written in small script.
[The energy of yin and yang exists in all things under heaven.
The effects will vary according to the depth of one’s training.
The essence of a beautiful woman, though weak, is pure and thus…]
“What?”
The script was too faded to read the rest.
I turned the page, but there was nothing else.
Only blank pages remained.
I closed the book.
To master the Daoist Yin-Yang Manual , I began training according to its instructions, starting with gathering essence while sitting in the lotus position.
Following the manual’s directions, I focused my consciousness on my dantian.
With each breath, I could feel a faint energy gathering in my dantian.
‘Naturally… follow the flow of energy…’
Just as the manual described, I drew the energy up along my spine.
A warm current started in my dantian and began to ascend my back.
It was slow at first, but gradually picked up speed.
Once the energy reached the crown of my head, it descended toward my chest.
It lingered near my heart for a moment before returning to my dantian, completing the cycle.
‘This… feels completely different from Cheolwon Qigong.’
It felt unfamiliar at first, but my body adapted over time.
I could feel the circulating energy growing hotter and stronger.
‘Alright, it’s about time…’
I moved on to the next step described in the manual.
I began to draw the energy from my dantian downward.
The energy gathered in my genitals, and the process was complete.
All that was left was to test it.
The problem was, there were only two women in the family who practiced martial arts.
‘Jin So-hee and Jang Seo-young…’
Jin So-hee was my half-sister and Jin Myeong-woo’s full sister.
Jang Seo-young was the second wife, Jin So-hee’s mother, and the youngest daughter of Jang Baek-mun.
Both women were skilled martial artists.
Their essence would undoubtedly be a great help.
‘But it’s dangerous.’
I couldn’t approach them recklessly.
‘Is there no other way?’
I wondered how I could get an opportunity to take them.
If I made a rash move, my status as the eldest son wouldn’t save me from being killed.
‘I’ll have to be patient… and wait for an opportunity.’
There was no need to rush.
First, I would test the effects of the Daoist Yin-Yang Manual on Seol-hee, and then I would conquer the mother and daughter in turn.
I had plenty of time, anyway.
Slowly but surely, I would make them mine.
I glanced out the window and saw that day had broken.
I must have started in the evening; I hadn’t realized so much time had passed.