Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Dragon Veins
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"......It's...... over......"
On the morning of the fourth day.
Yeomyeong muttered as he brushed back his sweat-soaked hair. He had declared it would take only half a day, but he'd spent the next four days clinging to Wi Seongcheon without sleep or food.
'I shouldn't have poked at it.'
Yeomyeong grimaced, his face pale from mental exhaustion. How many life-or-death crises had arisen during the three-day treatment? If Yeomyeong weren't the world's greatest physician, and if he didn't have the soul-binding spectacle to forcibly hold onto the soul, Wi Seongcheon would have died long ago.
"Damn it."
Yeomyeong muttered under his breath. He glared down at Wi Seongcheon with bloodshot eyes. Wi Seongcheon hadn't eaten anything for three days either, yet his expression was serene, and his complexion was good.
"It took quite a while."
The Black Demon King jeered from behind. Yeomyeong still flinched at words he'd heard countless times along the way. The Black Demon King and the White Flame Witch had stayed in this room for three days, watching Yeomyeong treat Wi Seongcheon. If only they'd left the room, he might have caught a brief moment of rest. Yeomyeong straightened his slumped shoulders and turned his head.
"......His condition was more serious than I thought."
"You stepped up to treat him without even knowing properly?"
"Once I got into it, it turned out different from what I expected......"
"That excuse."
The White Flame Witch cut in abruptly. She had spent the four days in lotus position, lost in meditation, but now she sat comfortably, glaring at Yeomyeong.
"Am I supposed to take that as an excuse?"
"What?"
"You said half a day, but you dragged it out for three. And after barely finishing, instead of boasting proudly, you're whining, so the results must not be satisfactory."
At her jeer, veins bulged in Yeomyeong's neck.
"What do you know, Eunmae, to speak so lightly? Among the myriad things of heaven and earth, the most mysterious harmony is life itself, and among them, the pinnacle of profundity is the human body. That body is but a speck of dust compared to the world, yet it contains the universe encompassing all creation! To......"
"So, did it work?"
"......Though I claim to be the world's greatest physician, I am but one human. Though my skills reach the heavens......"
"In the end, excuses."
The White Flame Witch dismissed Yeomyeong's words with a snort.
"No need to spin tales with that long tongue. It's all excuses anyway."
"It's not an excuse!"
"He doesn't seem dead. Will he never wake up?"
The Black Demon King spoke up. Yeomyeong shook his head vigorously, cold sweat beading on his skin.
"No! That's not it. Even if it's late, he'll wake before the day ends."
"Jinchung, it seems you and I understand time a bit differently. Your 'half a day' turned into three days. If it's before the day ends, does that mean a week from now?"
"No! I can wake him right now!"
"Don't misunderstand, Jinchung. I'm not angry. Why would I have reason to be? The Dormant Dragon isn't my blood kin or disciple. Nor is he a distant junior of the unorthodox paths. He's just a promising young talent who caught my fancy a bit. No reason for me to get mad if you kill him or cripple him."
The Black Demon King smiled softly as he spoke.
"So don't fear me or resent me. If I cripple or kill you, it'll be because you failed to keep your oath to me. Even if I don't want to, I'll have to punish you."
"Wait!"
As the Black Demon King rose, Yeomyeong cried out, his face drained of color.
"The Dormant Dragon! Today...... no, before noon. He'll open his eyes before noon. So Black Demon King, don't be hasty......"
"Why would I be hasty?"
"J-just wait a little. Let me get some fresh air outside, eat something!"
"Before noon."
The Black Demon King chuckled and stroked his chin.
"Not much time left. I suppose I can wait that long."
"I'll wait here."
The White Flame Witch said quietly.
"......Do you think I'll run away?"
"Even if you use your bizarre sorcery, you can't escape this island under everyone's eyes. If you try knowing that...... it means you're admitting there's a reason you must flee. Then you can't make any excuses."
"......"
"This is the Blood Palace to begin with. My home. Wherever the master is, it's my domain."
"......Do as you please."
Ignoring his throbbing headache, Yeomyeong turned. With a flick of his hand, the tentacles connecting the soul-binding spectacle to Wi Seongcheon withdrew. Yeomyeong gazed sadly at the liquid dripping from the tentacles. Just three days ago, it had been a beautiful milky white; now it was a murky hue.
"......Do you know how precious the things used on the Dormant Dragon over these four days were? The soul-returning milky liquid to artificially form the spirit body and purify qi, the body-repairing white flower to regenerate flesh, the blood-infusing red flower to create blood! All are priceless treasures impossible to obtain now! The amount used on one Dormant Dragon could save a hundred souls teetering on death's door......"
"You're the one who insisted on treating him, so why make a fuss? We didn't ask you to bring out the soul-binding spectacle and make a show."
Yeomyeong had no retort to the incredulous words. It was all true. He was the one who proceeded with the treatment unasked, and he was the one who proudly unveiled his most treasured possession, the soul-binding spectacle.
The Black Demon King left Yeomyeong fuming and the White Flame Witch sneering behind.
"You're still here."
The Black Demon King tilted his head.
A short distance away, Baili Hyang knelt. She had been like that for four days. No eating, drinking, or sleeping. Though she practiced martial arts, kneeling without food or rest for three days and nights had left her in a wretched state.
Baili Hyang took a breath.
Objectively, Baili Hyang qualified as an expert. Her talent was far from dull. At just over twenty, she had become one of the Five Saints in the Black Forest, where hundreds of prodigies gathered. Even if it was due to deference from those who revered the Black Demon King, her martial prowess had peaked—not at the top, but in the upper ranks—by age twenty-one.
Baili Hyang's misfortune was.
Having a father who was the unorthodox paths' greatest, the Black Demon King Baili Mowon, peerless through past and present. Her talent would have been acknowledged in any other family or sect. But as the Black Demon King's daughter, it went unrecognized. If she bore the Black Demon King's blood, she had to possess the utmost talent.
But Baili Hyang did not.
She steadied her breathing. Her parched mouth tasted foul, and her head spun slightly. In her wavering vision, only the Black Demon King's tilted head appeared sharply.
That expression and gaze. Baili Hyang knew them well. Expectation and affection for blood kin erased. Eyes dry as glancing at a roadside pebble.
The face that had worn down her heart countless times, making her crave love and attention.
"......Father."
"I told you to call me Alliance Leader."
"......Even when it's just us, can't I call you Father? Am I that much of a disgrace?"
"You're misunderstanding. I make you call me Alliance Leader not because I'm ashamed of you. I am your father and the Black Fiend Alliance Leader."
The Black Demon King recited in an emotionless voice.
"To me, you are my only blood kin, the only one who can call me Father. But I don't want to treat you specially just because you're my daughter. I was the Black Fiend Alliance Leader before I was your father."
"But......!"
"I thought you had that much awareness, but you still seem immature. Or do you want special treatment because you're my daughter?"
"Is it wrong for a daughter to hope for special treatment from her father......?"
Baili Hyang asked in a trembling voice. Normally, she wouldn't have questioned the Black Demon King like this. But now she couldn't help it.
Three days.
Baili Hyang knew what was happening in that room. Yeomyeong was treating Wi Seongcheon. The Black Demon King had appeared suddenly and pressed Yeomyeong over Wi Seongcheon's well-being. And for three days, he had watched the treatment without leaving the room.
Baili Hyang couldn't accept it. The name of that blatant emotion was jealousy. If I were in that position? Would Father step up like he did for the Dormant Dragon? Would he threaten Yeomyeong over my safety? Would he stay in the room for three days, waiting for me?
For the three days sitting here, Baili Hyang had asked herself countless times. What shook her now was the answer she'd reached.
Father wouldn't step up.
Father wouldn't wait in worry for me.
"It's not wrong."
Her eyes looked ready to spill tears any moment. The Black Demon King gazed at his daughter's eyes before speaking.
"So I treated you specially. Over ten years ago, I accepted you as my daughter when you came. I've never given you harsh tasks. You fell short of my expectations, but I never persecuted or cast you out for your shortcomings."
"But you were disappointed......!"
"You asked if it's wrong for a daughter to expect special treatment from her father. Hyang-ah. Answer me. If it's not wrong for a daughter to expect specialness from her father, is it wrong for a father to expect specialness from his daughter?"
Baili Hyang couldn't answer. Tears welled up and finally overflowed.
"I don't blame you for fantasizing me as your ideal father and holding expectations. But if you resent me for not matching your fantasy, it perplexes me. Do you know why?"
"......"
"Because I didn't abandon you for falling short of my expectations. Before you came to the Black Forest, when you lived in the Black Fiend Alliance with me. I was disappointed in you many times then. You were lazier and more lacking than me. Even so, you were my daughter. I kept you as such."
"I know. I, I am much...... inferior to Father."
"I never forced anything on you. I never warned you against laziness or to devote yourself to training. I let you do as you pleased."
The Black Demon King's voice grew even colder.
"You alone in the world receive such treatment from this Black Demon King. You alone bear the Baili surname from me. When you wanted to learn martial arts, I taught you. Your struggles with something like Blood Eye Torrent were pathetic, but I didn't cast you out or kill you for it."
"But...... but I am your disciple......"
"Do you want me to despise you?"
Baili Hyang clamped her mouth shut at the Black Demon King's icy question.
"Being my daughter doesn't make you entitled to inherit everything as my disciple. To be my disciple, you need qualities I deem worth teaching. But you lacked them. Yet, still, I had expectations because you were my daughter. So I taught you the essence of the Divine Demon Extermination Method, which you hadn't earned."
Fundamentals: fusion of mind, breath, and body.
First form: point. Second: line. Third: plane. Fourth: void.
Unified yet not seeking oneness. Clear self amid selflessness. Filling infinity with a fine brush.
"To you, who had no qualification beyond being my daughter, I imparted the essence of the ultimate technique I'd devoted my life to. But you couldn't comprehend it. Yet you complain I didn't take you as disciple. Why should I take as disciple one who gained nothing from the essence I transmitted via incantation?"
"......Dormant Dragon."
Baili Hyang's head drooped. She choked out through sobs.
"The Dormant Dragon...... isn't your blood kin. Why do you regard him so specially?"
"Because he pleased me."
"Then why not me......"
"You're making an odd comparison. You are my daughter, already in my heart."
With that, the Black Demon King passed by Baili Hyang.
"I'm displeased. Enough that I don't want to speak with you anymore. You still only seek from me. When I sought nothing from you."
"Father......!"
"I won't insist you call me Alliance Leader over Father anymore. Call me as you wish."
Baili Hyang whipped her head around, but the Black Demon King was gone. Tears streamed down as she covered her face with both hands.
Sought nothing.
Those words pierced deeper than any dagger into Baili Hyang's heart. Seeking nothing meant no expectations. No expectations meant disappointment. She had fantasized an ideal father and craved his hopes. That too...... was true.
The Black Demon King, her father, was right in everything. She wished to be treated specially as his daughter, but Baili Hyang knew she already was. Only she obsessed and yearned. Being the Black Demon King's daughter, the surrounding gazes, her father's gaze devoid of expectation. They instilled lack in Baili Hyang.
'I have no choice but to wish......'
To be regarded specially.
She didn't want anything grand. A pat on the head. Comfort when weeping sadly. Her name called in an affectionate voice. What Baili Hyang desired was the relationship of father and daughter in a harmonious home.
Baili Hyang staggered to her feet.
She still craved her father's love. His words stirred self-loathing more than anger toward him.
Without pleasing him, yet he said she was already in his heart.
Yet not loved by her father because.
Laziness, lack of effort, lack of talent.
Baili Hyang turned to look behind.
She envied Wi Seongcheon beyond that door.
'I hate myself.'
And loathing for herself welled up.
* * *
Wi Seongcheon blinked and looked down at his hands.
He'd heard three days had passed, but his body felt so light it was hard to believe he'd lain there the whole time. No hunger, no foggy mind—everything clear.
"No problems, it seems?"
Wi Seongcheon looked up ahead.
Yeomyeong, haggard with fatigue, stood there. Behind him were the Black Demon King and White Flame Witch.
Even after hearing the response, Yeomyeong's face didn't brighten. Wi Seongcheon found the silence odd.
"Is there a problem I don't know about?"
"......A little, yes."
Yeomyeong muttered softly. He couldn't lie. Was he hoping it wouldn't be noticed and staying silent?
What if it was?
"......Hm."
Wi Seongcheon first sat in lotus position and circulated his qi. Even before treatment, he'd felt no crisis in his body. Same now. Inner energy flowed smoothly. No sense of diminished quantity. What problem? Wi Seongcheon tilted his head and tried the reverse flow. No issue with shifting channels ei—.
"What's this?"
Wi Seongcheon's eyes widened. It was discovered quickly. Yeomyeong glanced nervously at the Black Demon King and White Flame Witch.
"What's the problem?"
"No, well, not exactly a problem. Just a bit peculiar......"
"You explain."
The White Flame Witch glared at Yeomyeong and demanded. Yeomyeong swallowed hard and raised both hands.
"Calm down first."
"My advice: speak of the mistake and solution before excuses. It's better for you."
"I-it's not a mistake. Something I didn't anticipate happened, that's all. His body's just so peculiar......"
"Mistake and solution first."
"The channels divided."
Yeomyeong bowed his head.
"......What do you mean?"
"The human body is a universe containing all creation......"
"Your tongue's getting long again. Shall I cut it short?"
"No, please, Eunmae! Let me finish. There's a reason for my words."
Yeomyeong shot an exasperated look at the White Flame Witch.
"Why do you think this is nonsense?"
"I never said it was nonsense."
"Please, don't interrupt. I'm flustered too. Alright, look at this."
What Yeomyeong suddenly lifted was the myriad gourd bottle at his waist.
"This myriad gourd looks and weighs like an ordinary calabash. But it can hold and release objects far larger than itself, as long as they're not alive."
"Are you bragging now?"
"No! The point is, a martial artist's—no, a person's body isn't much different. Take you, Eunmae, and the Black Demon King. Your small bodies contain vast qi!"
"So what?"
The White Flame Witch furrowed her brow. Frustrated, Yeomyeong thumped his chest. But the Black Demon King nodded as if understanding.
"Qi exists yet doesn't exist."
"Yes! Black Demon King, if you willed it, you could fill this room with inner energy effortlessly."
"No need to even will it."
"Of course. Isn't it wondrous? That much power fits in a human body. If qi were visible, tangible, with weight! Your body would contain a city—no, a......"
"Ocean."
The Black Demon King corrected Yeomyeong, raising a finger.
"Or the sky."
"......I don't know the sky's weight, but an ocean. Anyway, your body holds qi as heavy and vast as an ocean full of water. That's why I call the human body a universe."
"What does 'channels divided' mean?"
Wi Seongcheon, listening intently, asked. Yeomyeong cleared his throat and turned to him.
"......I tried to integrate the lingering fairy qi and overgrown innate true qi in your body with your dantian's inner energy. That way, your body wouldn't burst."
"It didn't go as planned, so it took three days."
"Yeah, you bastard. Thought it'd be easy, but it wasn't, you punk."
"Why curse at me?"
"You're the easiest target!"
Yeomyeong cried out.
"I kept trying, but failed. So I tried extracting it from your body. Wasteful, but cleanest to eliminate risk. But that failed too! Tried poisons to forcibly reduce the innate true qi......"
"Poisons?"
"Yeah, poisons! But the innate true qi wouldn't shrink. What immortal elixir did you swallow?!"
Yeomyeong clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
"When innate true qi wouldn't budge, I tried extracting the fairy qi from the Dawn Heavenly Divine Pill. Thought that'd work for sure. Fairy qi doesn't integrate into the body unless born with immortal bone; it expels naturally."
"......And?"
"Couldn't extract the fairy qi—no, it wouldn't extract!"
With every attempt failing, Yeomyeong was going mad.
"So I poked around your body. Truly wondrous. The Peng Clan bred monsters over centuries improving the lineage, and your body was no different."
"I'm not a beastkin."
"You punk. Think lineage improvement requires beastkin blood? Your body inherited a constitution refined over at least centuries. No, the fairy qi not expelling is due to your constitution amplifying the innate true qi......"
"Results only."
The Black Demon King warned quietly.
"......All attempts failed. Was about to give up...... but stubbornly persisted. Honestly, dissecting that kid's body was fun. Especially the channels shifting freely, handling inner energy reverse flow so mystically......"
"Results."
"......Couldn't reduce innate true qi or expel fairy qi. So I hid them deep inside. Thought it'd clump like a relic or spirit beast core from his body, easy to extract later."
Yeomyeong's shoulders slumped.
"But when guiding the fairy qi and innate true qi...... his channels suddenly shifted. Then they divided. New channels formed—not for inner energy, but for fairy qi and innate true qi."
"Absurd."
The White Flame Witch spat in disbelief.
"Absurd, totally absurd. I thought so too. But it really happened. New paths formed for fairy qi and innate true qi, not inner energy."
Yeomyeong paused there.
"I thought about it: those channels are likely the first in martial history for him. And I discovered them first, so I should name them. How about Innate Channels?"
"Lame."
Wi Seongcheon grimaced.
"Then Seongcheon Veins, after you?"
"Must we name it?"
"Could go down in history."
"Then Dragon Veins."
Yeomyeong's brows furrowed at Wi Seongcheon's reply.
"What's the difference from Innate Channels or Seongcheon Veins?"
"My name in it is embarrassing."
"Why Dragon Veins?"
"My alias is Dormant Dragon, and someday I want Heavenly Dragon."
"Like a childish brat. Lame naming's the same, yet calling mine lame......"
"Anyway."
The Black Demon King's eyes chilled at the pathetic bickering.
"Are the new Dragon Veins in the kid dangerous? The bursting issue resolved?"
"......"
Yeomyeong and Wi Seongcheon pondered briefly how to respond to the Black Demon King casually calling it Dragon Veins.