Chapter 15: Sect Token (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 15: Sect Token (3)
“One of the Four Venerables took a disciple?”
The woman in the bamboo hat let go of her sword hilt.
She looked at me with an intrigued expression; her face was truly beautiful.
Yet, there was a strange resemblance. With those round eyes and long eyelashes, I wondered if this was what Lady Ha Yeon would look like if she lost some weight.
“Were you very surprised?” the woman asked.
She pulled her bamboo hat lower, perhaps trying to hide the eerie red eyes she had just revealed. It was a relief not to have to meet her gaze.
“You should have said so sooner. I almost killed you for nothing.”
-This woman is a bit strange.
No, she was very strange. Her words sounded exactly like she would have killed me without a second thought if I had been a mere training disciple.
“I was trying to tell you earlier.”
“Is that so?”
Looking at her face, she didn't seem to be twenty yet, but she spoke to me with natural condescension. Her tone was remarkably casual.
“The Four Venerables raised a good disciple. On the surface, you seemed no different from a common training disciple.”
I think I knew why she said that.
It is said that great masters can instinctively sense an opponent's skill. This is called Qi Sense. However, Namcheon Iron Sword had told me that because I practiced Innate True Qi rather than a standard internal energy system, even a master would find it difficult to gauge my strength unless I actively revealed my energy.
“You’re quite something.”
“In what way?”
“You’re the first person your age to block one of my palms.”
She was overflowing with confidence in her own skill. But she had every right to be. Even now, my insides felt incredibly uncomfortable; her internal power was immense. She might even be beyond the level of a Unit Leader.
She was a monster of a woman.
“Is the old man doing well? Just like Yi Ryeong, he hasn't shown his face in years.”
She spoke of my master, Hae Ak-cheon, as if he were an inferior. Furthermore, she even mentioned Yi Ryeong, one of the Seven Blood Stars.
Could this woman be...?
Tap!
Just then, someone appeared beside us. It was Lady Ha Yeon. She glared at the woman in the bamboo hat with a face full of displeasure.
“I thought you said you were leaving.”
Her demeanor was entirely different from yesterday. It wasn't just a momentary flash of anger; she seemed to genuinely loathe this woman. The feeling appeared to be mutual.
“My, my. Someone might think you’re the master of Six Blood Valley.”
The woman’s blunt words were laced with thorns.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Sure, sure. I’m sure it isn’t.”
“Please leave quickly. I won’t be seeing you off.”
“I’ll leave on my own two feet, so stop pestering me. I’m starting to get annoyed.”
The woman’s hand moved toward her sword hilt.
Shhh!
Even Lady Ha Yeon’s hands were beginning to glow red. The atmosphere turned murderous in an instant, and I felt like I really shouldn't be standing here. If I had known, I would have come a little later.
Then, a saving grace arrived.
“Are you here?”
The voice coming from afar was a low bass that echoed just like it did in the Divine Healer’s cave. At the sound of the Divine Healer’s voice, the woman’s lips twisted slightly. She looked displeased.
Slide.
The woman took her hand off her sword and looked at me.
“Give my regards to the old man. And let’s meet again.”
She tilted her bamboo hat up slightly and winked with one of her red eyes. It felt more terrifying than playful.
-My former master told me to watch out for women like that.
-With those red eyes, isn't she a thousand-year-old nine-tailed fox?
The two of them talking at once made my head spin. It seemed they disliked this woman because of the sword’s pained voice.
-Kill meeeee...
The sword was still suffering. What on earth had she done to make a sword feel such agony?
Turning around, she took her place at the head of the group of bamboo-hatted figures and waved her hand, calling out, “Let’s have a duel the next time we meet!”
Then, she leisurely led her group out of the main hall. It felt as if a typhoon had just swept through. I had been shocked by Hae Ak-cheon’s martial prowess when I first met him, but this woman made my skin crawl in an entirely different way.
-What are you going to do? She wants a match next time.
-You’d better train hard.
My head began to ache. But there was someone who looked even more troubled than I did. Lady Ha Yeon’s expression as she stared out of the hall was incredibly complex—a mix of anger and bitterness.
“My Lady?”
She snapped out of it at my call.
“Ah... Young Master.”
“Are you alright? That person just now was...”
She cut me off.
“Young Master, the Divine Healer is looking for you.”
It was as good as telling me not to ask. I had a suspicion, and if I was right, it was far beyond my level to get involved. Being a disciple of the Four Venerables didn't mean I could stick my nose into everything.
*
Inside the room of the main hall, it was just me and the Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments. Looking at him, I became curious. Why did that red-eyed woman seem so wary of him?
-Isn't it because he's the king of networking?
Well, those Sect Tokens were certainly impressive.
As I was wondering, the Healer spoke to me.
“I heard you are a disciple of the Four Venerables, but your face doesn't seem to belong in a place like this.”
I didn't exactly have a "villainous" face. After all, I was originally from the Yikyang So family, a reputable Orthodox family. Even so, before my regression, my face had sharpened into a harsh impression from all the hardships I endured.
“...There are circumstances.”
“I suppose. Who doesn't have circumstances? Roll up your sleeve and give me your wrist.”
He asked for my wrist to take my pulse. As I held it out, the Divine Healer pressed his index and middle fingers against my pulse point.
Could he really fix my Dantian?
-Actually, does it even matter if it's fixed?
‘I suppose not.’
As the Lesser Conversation Sword said, a Dantian was no longer essential to me. Since I was refining Innate True Qi with the complete Innate Heart Method, I could manage without one. However, to avoid Hae Ak-cheon’s suspicion, I had to restore it.
“Hmm.”
The Divine Healer let out a groan and frowned while taking my pulse. Was something wrong? As I looked at him with a puzzled expression, he opened his eyes and spoke.
“Strange. Truly strange.”
“Is something wrong?”
I didn't have a huge lingering attachment to restoring my Dantian, but his reaction made me uneasy. Or had he sensed the Innate True Qi through my pulse?
-Impossible. Innate True Qi is different from internal energy. It cannot be detected through a simple pulse reading.
‘Is that also something your former master said?’
-Indeed.
He really trusted his former master. I looked at the Divine Healer anxiously, but instead of answering my question, he spoke again.
“Take off your top.”
“My top?”
After a moment’s hesitation, I removed my upper garment. Once I did, the Divine Healer began to check the various acupoints across my body. It was frustrating as he continued the examination in silence. After checking the pulses across my entire body for a long time, he finally pulled his hand away.
“Is there a problem?”
“Did you, by any chance, consume the Descending Immortal Spreading Snow?”
‘!?’
I was stunned. I hadn't said a word, yet he knew I had eaten the herb just by taking my pulse. He wasn't called a Divine Healer for nothing.
“How did you know?”
“Checking your pulse, I found that your body has accumulated twice the amount of cold energy than a normal person.”
He was an extraordinary man. Regardless, hearing that cold energy remained in my body bothered me. I thought the cold energy had been expelled or resolved after I felt refreshed from practicing the Innate Heart Method. Apparently, that wasn't the case.
“How did you come to eat the Descending Immortal Spreading Snow?”
I hesitated at his question. Should I tell him the truth?
“I am a physician. I do not speak of my patients' affairs to anyone, so speak freely.”
The Divine Healer spoke to me as if soothing a child. Hearing that sincere voice, he certainly felt different as a physician. I suppose that’s why so many peerless masters handed over their Sect Tokens as payment.
“I was searching for a fully grown Descending Immortal Spreading Snow and ended up behind a waterfall.”
I told the Healer everything that had happened there. I explained how I was bitten on the foot by a four-eyed monster with a human face, and how I ate the spirit herb to cool down the burning sensation from its venom.
“You say it had a human face and four purple eyes?”
“Do you know of it?”
“You’ve had a rare experience, meeting a Human-Faced Snake. Truly.”
“Is it a spiritual creature?”
Since he called it a rare experience, I wondered if it was a divine beast. The Healer shook his head.
“It is no spiritual creature. Rather, it is closer to a monster or a demon.”
“A demon?”
“I have heard that strange snake craves human flesh from an early age. It hides in dark places and preys on people.”
Hearing that sent a chill down my spine. Those bones I saw were indeed human. If I hadn't had the Lesser Conversation Sword or the Namcheon Iron Sword, I might have ended up as its meal.
-Ahem.
The Lesser Conversation Sword let out a boastful sound. Yes, I lived thanks to you.
“However, the Human-Faced Snake loathes extreme brightness. You wouldn't have encountered it if you had simply been carrying a torch. You were quite unlucky.”
“...Pardon?”
“The reason it has four eyes and a purple hue is because it is accustomed to the dark. Ancient texts contain passages advising one to never let a fire go out in places where a Human-Faced Snake might dwell.”
“Ha...”
I felt a bit cheated. You’re telling me I wouldn't have run into that thing if I had just brought a torch? No wonder the person who found the herb before my regression never mentioned a Human-Faced Snake; they must have brought a torch behind the waterfall.
Still, I suppose I shouldn't feel too bad since it led to a fortuitous encounter.
“At any rate, so that was the reason.”
“The reason for what?”
“Your blood vessels are filled not only with cold energy but also with intense Yang energy. That is why I asked what happened.”
“Is... the venom still there as well?”
The Healer shook his head at my question.
“That is the part even I cannot understand.”
“What do you mean you can't understand?”
“The Descending Immortal Spreading Snow is a spirit herb possessing cold Yin and cold energy. It has no particular self-purifying ability to neutralize poison. Yet, there is no trace of venom left in your body.”
That was a relief. If I had venom on top of the cold and Yang energies, I’d be nothing more than a walking corpse. I had a hunch about the venom, though.
‘Is it because of the Innate True Qi?’
When I had consumed the Blood Drum, it had been neutralized naturally. Between the Human-Faced Snake’s venom and that, it seemed Innate True Qi might possess a powerful detoxification ability. But the problem was the cold and Yang energies remaining in my system.
“Elder. Then, are the Yang and cold energies alright? Will they cause problems for my body if they remain?”
“Of course they will cause problems.”
“What?”
“If only one of them remained, that is.”
“What do you mean?”
“The cold and Yang energies have balanced each other out and melted into your pulse points. It is no different from the energy of a spirit medicine being accumulated within you.”
No different from having consumed a spirit medicine? Then wasn't that a good thing? Being bitten by the Human-Faced Snake had turned out to be a massive stroke of luck.
“Then, if my Dantian is treated, will I be able to accumulate internal energy quickly?”
“If you can balance and absorb the two energies melted into your pulses, you will be able to build internal energy much faster than others. Ultimately, it depends on your own effort.”
My mouth hung open at the good news. I had thought it was too late to start building internal energy even if my Dantian was restored, but this changed everything. I might even be able to develop my Lower Dantian alongside my Middle Dantian.
“Thank you, Elder!”
Overjoyed, I stood up to bow.
“Don't do that. I haven't done anything.”
The Divine Healer stopped me from bowing and pulled something from his robe. It was a Sect Token with his title and name engraved on it.
“Why are you giving me this?”
“It is the Sect Token we agreed upon. Take it.”
“Pardon?”
What was he talking about? Since this was the payment for treating my Dantian, there was no reason for him to give me a token. I didn't understand.
“I’m using it to receive treatment, so there’s no need to give it to me...”
Then, the Divine Healer spoke words I never expected.
“How am I supposed to treat a Dantian that is perfectly fine?”
‘!?’