Two years had passed. Patrick Schneider, age five. During the past two years, his body had grown, and he had learned to manage his heart.
“Young master. Young master!”
“Yaaaawn.... What is it, butler.”
“Young master. You must train. Sir Erickson is looking for you.”
“I’m tired, so tell him I’m resting today.”
“Didn’t you also rest yesterday, saying you were tired?”
“You’re wrong. Yesterday, my body was tired. Today, my mind is tired.”
“Young masteeeer!”
“Ah, I don’t care. I’m resting.”
It seemed he had managed himself a little too much. Patrick Schneider, who had turned five. The little boy who, until two years ago, lived with a sigh on his lips, had become quite a bit brighter in that time.
As his heart found room to breathe, he grew lazy.
‘Right. What can’t be helped, can’t be helped.’
He was a five-year-old who had realized there was no point in constantly worrying and agonizing over a problem with no answer. In the end, it seemed that for most worries, time was the only medicine.
Thanks to this, his original personality slowly began to emerge, and the one who welcomed this change in Patrick the most was, of course, his father, Baron Schneider.
“The little rascal is finally acting like a child.”
“My lord. You’ve arrived?”
“You’ve worked hard, Lawrence.”
“Not at all, my lord.”
Baron Jaycol Schneider. He was the master of the Schneider Barony and also Patrick’s father. Truthfully, he had been very worried in the past.
He was a son they had with great difficulty after more than five years of marriage, during which they had worried about being childless. But the condition of that precious son was quite strange. Ever since he was a newborn, didn't he just stare blankly into space and sigh deeply?
And then suddenly start shouting and getting angry about something? Sometimes, he would even look at his own father, himself, with a gaze that seemed to say, ‘Must be nice for you, not having a single care in the world.’ The feeling at that time was truly....
In any case, no matter how he thought about it, it was not the behavior of a normal baby. At first, he had even seriously worried if there might be something wrong with his mind.
Fortunately, the doctor and priest he had hired at great expense examined the child and found nothing wrong, and his wife advised that they should just wait and see. The result was....
“Hahaha. The little rascal is quite childlike now.”
Even the sight of his son diligently running away, saying he didn't want to train, was just heartwarming.
‘My lord, that’s not right.’
The butler, Lawrence, shook his head as he watched Baron Schneider. But Baron Schneider simply wished for his son to grow up healthy and energetic like this.
“As long as he’s healthy. I ask for nothing else.”
But he did not know. That his son was absolutely not someone who should be raised with such thoughts.
“Stance number one!”
“Haaat!”
“Begin!”
“Hap! Hap!”
Brian Erickson, the only knight in the Schneider barony. At his command, the soldiers swung their swords with vigor. To be a soldier in this Schneider barony, which was teeming with monsters, even an ordinary soldier had to be able to beat down five or six goblins.
That was why, though their numbers might be small, the soldiers of the House of Schneider were strong elite troops who…
“Cute. So cute. So adorable I want to bite down and chew them to bits.” ...had such a reputation, but…
To the eyes of five-year-old Patrick, who was lying on his side eating a cookie and watching from a corner, they seemed thoroughly unsatisfactory. Patrick had said he was resting from training because he was tired, but for some reason, he had come to the training grounds. The problem was his attitude, which showed not the slightest intention of training.
Brian, the only knight in the domain, glanced at Patrick and frowned.
‘He’s getting on my nerves.’
He said he wouldn't train, yet there he was, lying on his side at the training grounds and watching. It was impossible not to be bothered. On top of that…
“My father is a good man, a really good man. To think he pays those things a salary and feeds them, calling them soldiers. Aigoo. Just look at them toddle. They’d win first place at a talent show.”
How could he not be bothered when the boy was saying things like that? In the end, Brian frowned and spoke.
“Young master, what are you doing over there?”
“Watching.”
Patrick sent him a look as if to say, ‘Can’t you tell by looking?’ Brian spoke again.
“The soldiers’ training is not your spectacle.”
“That’s right. It’s rude to watch people who are training seriously from the side.”
“You know that well, and yet…”
“So when does the training start?”
“…”
As Patrick asked, his eyes sparkling with the innocent purity unique to a five-year-old, Brian’s face soured, and he shut his mouth.
‘How dare he act this way toward me, the only knight in the domain. He may be young, but he has no manners.’
Brian Erickson.
He was a two-star knight and the only knight present in this Schneider barony. From training soldiers to monster extermination activities, there were more than a few problems that would arise if he weren't around. As such, he expected to be treated with high regard, and indeed, the good-natured Baron Schneider treated him better than an ordinary two-star knight.
It was also unavoidable, as it would be troublesome if the only two-star knight in this harsh and barren domain were to leave. Brian had received such precious and valuable treatment, but…
“What? Why? What do you want?”
Patrick’s reaction to him was the very model of a hooligan.
‘Insolent brat. Even your father doesn’t treat me so carelessly…?’
Baron Schneider was a gentle and soft-natured man, so how did such a ruffian of a son come to be? Judging by his words and actions, despite being only five, his prospects were not just yellow but a whole rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
If he had his way, he wanted to fix the boy’s habits right this instant, but…
‘Tsk, there are too many eyes watching.’
He couldn't get into a scuffle with the only heir of the domain in front of all the soldiers. Especially not when that heir was a mere five-year-old child.
“If you are not going to train, then don't interfere and get lost.”
“Get lost?”
“Yes.”
“... Me?”
“You heard me, did you not?”
At Brian’s words, Patrick looked up at the sky, let out a deep sigh, and said.
“Master, this is how I live.”
Brian might have wondered what nonsense this little kid was spouting now, but Patrick was currently savoring the bitter taste of his five-year-old life. It had been a truly long time. He even thought it was the first time he had heard it in this life.
Get lost?
How long had it been since someone dared to speak such words to the Radiant Dragon Grandmaster, Jin Cheon?
‘What should I do? Do it? Or not?’
Five years since being born into this world. At first, he was bewildered, not knowing how to accept the chaotic reality, but even during that time, he had consistently practiced his internal energy training. Truthfully, as a newborn, there wasn’t much else to do anyway.
But…
‘It’s too small.’
He looked down at his own hands and feet. Although he was eating well and growing well, the limbs of a five-year-old were too short and stumpy. At the very least, fighting that punk in this body would be unreasonable.
No, well, if they fought, he would win. He would probably win. No matter who the opponent was, if it went to the end, he would win unconditionally.
But the Radiant Dragon Grandmaster had his pride. How could he grit his teeth and get into a dogfight with such a low-level opponent?
‘Sigh, it can’t be helped.’
“Are you not leaving?”
“No. I’m going. I said I’m going.”
Patrick sauntered away, leaving the training grounds behind.
‘Haaa… What a humiliation. A humiliation. For I, the Radiant Dragon Grandmaster Jin Cheon, to have to retreat from a mere punk like that.’
If his friends from his past life saw this, they would be greatly saddened…
‘No, they wouldn't.’ [Puhahaha.
Look at that guy.
Just look.]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk. He lived life recklessly and ended up like that.]
[How embarrassing for him?]
[I have to spread the word.]
They were the kind of guys who would rather hold their stomachs laughing and make fun of him. The few friends he had were all like that. For a moment, Patrick belatedly reflected on whether he had lived his past life too recklessly.
After leaving the training grounds, Patrick returned to the mansion. He couldn't teach the domain's soldiers anything right now. At the moment, Patrick himself was in a tight spot.
But there was one person. One person whom Patrick had to train consistently from now on, no matter what it took. That person was right here in the baron’s mansion.
“Mother, how are you feeling today?”
“I told you, didn’t I? I’ve been much better lately.”
Ava Schneider.
The baroness of Schneider. And she was also the only person Patrick could call Mother in this life and the last. Leaning against the bed, her figure was a bit thin and gaunt, but she was so beautiful and elegant that anyone would marvel at her.
In fact, she was originally a commoner. She was an ordinary village girl from the domain, but the moment Baron Schneider saw her, he fell in love at first sight and, after a passionate courtship, succeeded in marrying her. With her simple and kind nature, wise intellect, and elegant beauty.
Anyone who saw her would not believe she was a commoner who had never received formal education; she carried herself as a splendid noblewoman. If there was one flaw, would it be that her body was too weak?
Her constitution was frail to begin with, but after giving birth to Patrick, her health had steadily declined, and now she spent most of her day lying in bed. And Patrick knew the reason for it.
“Mother, have you been doing the breathing method I taught you?”
“Of course. You’re the one who asked me to. I’ve been doing it every morning and evening, just as you said.”
“You’re doing well. You must continue to do it consistently.”
“Don’t you worry. Didn’t we make a promise?”
The baroness smiled kindly at Patrick and spoke. And Patrick went behind the baroness and said.
“I will give you a massage.”
“Thank you. My son is so kind.”
With his small, fern-like hands, Patrick massaged her shoulders, simultaneously sending his energy into her body to examine its flow.
‘She’s practicing the method well. It’s gotten much better.’
The baroness felt good as Patrick’s warm energy entered her body.
“It’s truly strange. Just having my son give me a massage makes my body feel so comfortable.”
“...”
“You have no idea how happy and grateful I am for this time you spend thinking of your mother like this. My beloved son.”
“...”
At the baroness’s heartfelt words, Patrick bit his lower lip hard and said nothing. No, he couldn’t. This was an emotion that was too unfamiliar to him.
‘A mother…’
This was a relationship he was having for the first time. Patrick, in his past life as Jin Cheon, was an orphan who grew up alone. Before his Master took him in, he had no one he could call family, and he didn’t know what parents were or what a mother was.
But this life was different. He had a mother who believed in him and loved him unconditionally. If he put himself in her shoes…
As a newborn, Patrick was by no means normal. The baby didn’t cry much and just stared blankly into space, muttering to himself. How must that have looked to the adults around him?
It wouldn’t have been strange if they had seen him as slow-witted or an imbecile. But even amidst such concerns, his mother always gave Patrick a constant smile and cared for him with all her heart and soul. He was able to keenly realize what motherly love, something he had never felt in his past life, truly was.
And after he had somewhat gathered his wits and had the leisure to look around, he belatedly realized something. The reason for his mother’s frail health.
‘Nine Yin Severed Meridians. It was absurd. How could I have been looking right at her and not known?’
Nine Yin Severed Meridians. Even in the world Patrick had lived in his past life, this was a serious illness. That is, until two hundred years ago.
Those born with severed meridians were intelligent and possessed outstanding looks, but in return, they could not escape an early death. That was why the severed meridians were called a heavenly punishment. But two hundred years ago, after a man known as the Eastern Eccentric Physician perfectly established a method to treat the severed meridians, the situation changed.
For the people of the martial world, the Nine Yin Severed Meridians became a blessing instead. Those born with the constitution of Nine Yin Severed Meridians were naturally handsome or beautiful and blessed with brilliant senses.
On top of that, during the treatment process, their bodies were altered to become advantageous for practicing martial arts, so how could it not be a good thing? In Jin Cheon’s time, there was even some crazy bastard researching whether one could artificially block meridians to create a severed meridian constitution.
In any case, the severed meridians were a frightening disease, but it was also a disease that could definitely be cured if one knew the treatment method. Patrick earnestly persuaded his mother, the baroness, and passed on the internal energy training method to her under the guise of a health regimen that was good for the body.
Of course, how to teach her was the biggest dilemma. What parent would docilely learn from their young son who was just beginning to toddle, when he said he would teach them something? Still, the situation was urgent.
Patrick ultimately chose a direct approach. He told her he knew a health regimen that would cure her illness, and pleaded with her to please follow it.
[A health regimen? Where did you learn such a thing?]
[I just… picked it up somewhere.]
It was a truly poor excuse. But what could he do? No matter how much he racked his brain, there was no other way.
He thought he just had to be thick-skinned and push forward, but the baroness just gazed at Patrick and then spoke with a faint smile.
“Tell me when you feel ready to tell me.”
“...”
The baroness knew that what Patrick was saying was a lie. Knowing it, she still chose to believe that her son had his reasons for what he was doing. The baroness’s attitude became an even greater burden for Patrick.
“So, what should I do?”
“First, the posture… no. The legs like this and the hands…”
‘Let’s just focus on the treatment first.’
Patrick decided to concentrate on the treatment. And she faithfully did as her son instructed. She held the posture he told her to and did the breathing method he taught her.
That was already a year ago.
And now.
‘Energy has now gathered in her dantian. If she trains just a little more diligently, she can be completely cured.’
In Patrick's view, his mother, the baroness’s, condition had improved a lot. From the beginning, her case of Nine Yin Severed Meridians was not on the severe side. Even with Nine Yin Severed Meridians, it was rare for all nine meridians to be blocked.
Usually, it started with two or three, and the number of blocked meridians gradually increased until finally, all nine were blocked, leading to death. The baroness had four blocked meridians when Patrick discovered it, which was why the treatment had been able to proceed so smoothly until now.
‘That’s enough for today.’
Withdrawing his energy, Patrick took his hands off her shoulders and said.
“You must continue to do the breathing method consistently in the future.”
“Of course, I have to do as my son tells me.”
She herself was feeling that her physical condition had improved a lot since she started the breathing method Patrick taught her. Breathing was easier than before, and recently her condition had improved to the point where she could take light walks. Her physical condition, which hadn't improved no matter what the doctors did, had clearly gotten better.
She looked at her son with loving eyes and said.
“Will you stay with mommy for a while? I’ll bake the cookies you like.”
“No. I’m busy today…”
“I see. Alright then.”
“Let’s do it later. When you’re a little healthier, mother.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
Seeing the baroness’s disappointed expression, Patrick felt a mix of emotions. Other than his Master, this was the first time he had a being who loved and cherished him so blindly. Was it possible for a being to pour out such infinite love and trust for the simple reason that he came from her womb?
A mother…
‘This is difficult. It’s much easier to just fight.’
For Patrick, this was a very difficult emotion. He did not know how to accept this feeling and how to return it. As a result, whenever she approached, he would create distance and needlessly run away.
“I should just focus on my own training.”
Separate from treating the baroness’s severed meridians, his own training was also important. He had to become stronger as quickly as possible.
‘That bastard Brian is dead.’
A person with a goal is bound to become stronger. Though it would be quite an unfortunate thing for the person who becomes that goal.