CHAPTER 58: RECOVERY AND REALIZATION

Confirming that his muscles beneath the skin were still firm and full of vitality, she finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Her bright black eyes held a trace of reproach, but more than that, they radiated deep concern.

"You child, do you have any idea how much you scared us today?"

"This morning, you were holding onto that Gluton Beast’s corpse without moving an inch. No matter how we called you, you didn’t respond. Then, somehow, that Gluton Beast’s corpse turned to ash, and your body shriveled up at an alarming rate—within less than a quarter of an hour, you looked like an old man."

Bok Taejin was shocked.

So he really had almost died of old age earlier!

"And after that, we have no idea what happened, but your body suddenly recovered, and you even seemed to be in better condition than before. Beomhyeon said you were fine and just needed to sleep until you woke up naturally. But even by noon, you hadn’t woken up. We set aside some food for you, but Beomhyeon stole and ate it all."

Aunt Seo sounded rather resentful as she brought up Im Beomhyeon.

Bok Taejin, however, was more concerned about something else. "Brother Im was home at noon? He didn’t go to Reed Bay today?"

"He did! He caught some ducks and geese but ended up being chased all the way back to the village by Blackie leading a whole flock of geese. After resting for a bit, he took Sowoo and went back to hunt more geese."

Bok Taejin nodded in understanding before asking if Second Uncle was home.

"Second Uncle?" Aunt Seo said while pulling Bok Taejin toward a long wooden bench. "He went up the mountain to gather herbs. Based on the time, he should be back soon."

Bok Taejin wasn’t too keen on sitting.

Everyone was busy, and he was the only one doing nothing—it made him feel like an outsider.

But Aunt Seo wouldn’t have it.

When she saw him trying to get up, she pressed down on his shoulders, forcing him to sit back down.

The usually gentle Aunt Seo rarely ever glared, but she did now. "You! You’re always worrying us. Do you even realize how weak you still are? Right now, what matters most is recovering properly. How much have you eaten today? And you still want to help us with work? Wait right here! I’ll get you something to eat!"

Bok Taejin had no way to argue.

The strength Aunt Seo had just used on his shoulders had genuinely startled him.

He really was so weak now that even a woman had more strength than him...

Aunt Seo went into the large kitchen, and before long, she returned carrying a big bowl.

She handed the bowl—complete with a spoon—to Bok Taejin. "Eat this first, but don’t eat too much. You still need to have dinner later. I’m going back to work, so just put the bowl over there when you’re done."

She gestured toward a large wooden basin in the corner, already piled with dirty bowls and dishes, clearly waiting to be washed together.

As Aunt Seo went back to crushing garlic, Bok Taejin stirred the meat broth in his bowl with the spoon.

The broth was made from pork belly, cut into small chunks and stewed until tender.

Bok Taejin also found some walnuts, pine nuts, and dried dates—wild fruits from the mountains.

The broth was thick and sticky, likely containing some kind of starch or flour.

He took a small sip and immediately noticed a faint fragrance and smooth texture, likely from lotus root starch, blending perfectly with the rich meat flavor.

With the dried fruits and lotus root starch balancing the taste, the broth wasn’t greasy at all.

As the food entered his stomach, its energy was quickly absorbed.

Before he knew it, Bok Taejin had finished the entire large bowl of broth.

Yet, strangely, his stomach didn’t feel full—instead, the vitality within his body was circulating much more actively.

Bok Taejin had a theory.

Vitality sustains life, while death energy causes aging.

Food nurtures life, so once digested and absorbed, it transforms into vitality.

Now that his cultivation had advanced, his body’s ability to convert food into vitality had also accelerated.

His appetite would probably increase to an astonishing level soon.

As for the rat carcass earlier, it must have been due to the unique diet of the Bone Eating Beast, which caused it to contain an extreme concentration of death energy.

That energy must have triggered the dormant death energy inside him, disrupting the balance that his Taiji Diagram had been barely maintaining.

The fact that the Gluton Beast’s corpse turned to ash meant that all of its energy had been converted into death energy and absorbed by him.

But even with that explanation, something still didn’t add up.

Bok Taejin wanted to ask the small light whether there was a deeper connection between Hunter Vine and Bone Eating Beasts.

But since the small light had already exhausted itself saving him, he had no choice but to wait.

After sitting for a while, Bok Taejin placed his empty bowl into the large wooden basin.

He wanted to help wash the dishes but couldn’t find a water source, which made him think about running water.

With the quality of the bamboo in the valley behind Im Beomhyeon’s house, it might be possible to create a decent water pipeline.

But how would he make a faucet? Bok Taejin was stumped.

And what about winter?

The temperatures here dropped so low that the pipes would definitely freeze.

Would the water still be able to flow then?

How much would temperature fluctuations affect the pipes?

These were all very real problems.

Just then, a faintly familiar voice echoed in his mind: "Idiot."

Bok Taejin stiffened, his consciousness quickly reaching into his mindscape—only to be startled by the sight of the small light at his brow.

It had already regained about sixty to seventy percent of its brightness!

"Idiot." The voice spoke again.

Bok Taejin suddenly understood—the small light was talking!

Previously, it had only been able to transmit thoughts in a rather mechanical way.

But now, it could actually speak!

And he finally realized why the voice sounded so familiar—it was remarkably similar to the One Flower Sect’s Ancestor’s voice!