Chapter 168: So Sik-1
Chapter 168: So Sik-1
After Am Hyeol-hyang died, the first thing I did was search for the three ronin warriors.
My body hadn't fully recovered, and my strength had been completely drained from the tremendous battle, but none of that mattered.
Without a moment's hesitation, I set out to find them.
'Please, please!'
Realistically, I knew well enough that the odds of them being alive weren't high.
Given the skill Am Hyeol-hyang had displayed, he could have easily killed all three before meeting me again.
But I threw away all such rational judgments.
I simply prayed and prayed in my heart, desperately hoping they were alive.
- Warrior Jang! Jong Musa! Gong Musa!
When I shouted, carrying my voice with internal energy as I searched for them, the first to respond was Gong Musa.
"Seonu Gongja?! Is it really you, Gongja?"
He appeared completely unharmed—it seemed he hadn't yet encountered Am Hyeol-hyang.
What an incredible stroke of luck.
My heart swelled when I confirmed he was safe.
"Gong Musa! You're unharmed!"
"Seonu Gongja! Why did you come here?! What about your body...?!"
"I'm fine! Everything is fine now!"
I was so relieved he was alive.
I felt like tears might burst out at any moment.
But I couldn't afford to share a leisurely conversation with him yet.
I still had to find Warrior Jang and Jong Musa.
I lifted Gong Musa onto my back and began racing like a gale in the direction he'd indicated.
It was the direction Warrior Jang and Jong Musa had fled.
But knowing a direction alone never made finding someone easy.
It was only after considerable time had passed that we barely managed to discover him.
Warrior Jang, collapsed and bleeding with his chest pierced through.
"Warrior Jang!"
"Hyung-nim!"
He'd fallen unconscious, as if already dead.
But when I checked his pulse, I was able to confirm that his breathing hadn't stopped.
It wasn't an instant death.
I shouted toward Gong Musa.
"He's alive! He's alive! His pulse is still beating!"
"Oh! Gods of heaven and earth! Thank you! Thank you!"
Gong Musa embraced him, tears of emotion streaming down his face.
From what I could guess, Am Hyeol-hyang had probably deliberately left him breathing rather than killing him.
Likely intending to interrogate him in case he couldn't find me in any of the three directions.
What an incredible stroke of luck.
His intentions may have been foul, but at this moment alone, I felt like waking the dead man up just to thank him.
I stopped Warrior Jang's bleeding as quickly as possible, then crushed the spirit medicine I carried and placed it into his mouth.
Then I spoke to Gong Musa.
"Gong Musa, I'll go search in the direction Jong Musa fled! Please take care of Warrior Jang!"
"Understood! You must find that fellow Jong-woo too!"
If Am Hyeol-hyang hadn't killed Warrior Jang with that kind of reasoning, then Jong Musa was probably alive as well.
He too was likely collapsed somewhere, in a state similar to Warrior Jang.
So I had to find him quickly.
Judging by the direction, he would have been the first to encounter Am Hyeol-hyang, and if so, the odds were high he was in critical condition from excessive blood loss by now.
I couldn't waste a single moment.
But tracking his direction alone to find him still wasn't easy.
"Jong Musa!"
When I barely managed to locate him, he too was collapsed on the ground and bleeding, just as I'd expected.
My heart sank with a thud.
Because the amount of blood already pooled on the ground looked anything but ordinary.
"Jong Musa!"
I rushed over and checked his body.
But in his body, already drained of all color and deathly pale, no pulse beat any longer.
His body temperature was also growing colder by the moment.
I tried to wake him with a desperate voice.
"Jong Musa! Jong Musa! Come to your senses! Jong Musa!"
But of course, he couldn't answer.
He, who always wore a taciturn expression and gave innocent smiles, was now growing cold.
"Eeik!"
I didn't give up.
I intended to inject internal energy directly into his heart.
Because I remembered reading in a book that if you could get the heart beating again, you could save even someone who had died.
But then, suddenly, Mukrang's voice came through.
- Stop that. That method is only used when the heart has stopped from shock—it's of no use whatsoever for excessive blood loss.
'What?! B-but...!'
Of no use whatsoever—I couldn't have resented his words more.
But I couldn't just give up, could I?
Then he spoke again.
- Trust my words. My master was exceptionally skilled in the medical arts, so I too learned medicine to some degree. That's why I'm telling you this. To save him, that method won't work.
At his words, my mind suddenly snapped alert.
He had clearly said that to save Jong Musa, that method wouldn't work.
Didn't that mean there was another way?
I asked him urgently.
'Then how, how can I do it?!'
He let out a sigh and answered.
- First, stop the bleeding. And then... though I can't guarantee you'll be able to save him, if there is one possible method, it's to supply him with the blood he lacks.
The method he described was a strange one I'd never heard of before.
'Supply him... with blood?'
I couldn't understand.
Was he telling me to feed him blood?
But I'd never heard that drinking blood increased one's blood volume?
Then he began explaining further.
- That's right. It's a method of artificially injecting blood into his body through his blood vessels. It's not an easy method to perform suddenly in a place like this, and even if you do it, there's no guarantee he'll survive. Depending on the person, there's blood that suits them and blood that doesn't. Right now, you'll have no choice but to give your own blood, and if your blood happens to be incompatible with him, he'll certainly die because of the blood you gave him.
Supply blood into the blood vessels.
That, at least, I could understand.
Because if you literally put blood directly into the blood vessels, it could replenish the blood that was lacking.
Moreover, the mention of compatible and incompatible blood only added credibility to his words.
'So you're saying I put my blood in, and he can only live if that blood is compatible with him?'
After mulling over his words for a moment, I immediately asked in return.
'If I don't give him blood, he dies anyway, doesn't he?'
- That's right. So it is the only method you can attempt.
'Then there's nothing more to discuss. Tell me the method!'
Following Mukrang's instructions, I stopped the bleeding from Jong Musa's wound, then broke off a little piece from the gold I carried and used my internal energy to shape it into something very thin and long.
Then I drew my sword qi out extremely fine and was able to bore a hole through the inside of that gold needle.
That was to be the tube for injecting the blood.
Mukrang continued speaking.
- Seeing as his body temperature has only just begun to cool, it hasn't been long since his blood circulation stopped. So from now on, this is a race against time. Sterilize that gold tube by scorching it with fire, then fill it with your own blood first so that no air enters. If air gets into the blood vessels, he'll die. Then you must precisely insert it into the blue vein visible on his arm. After that, use your internal energy to push your blood into it.
I displayed astonishing concentration and was able to perfectly execute everything he said without the slightest error.
After pushing the blood from my finger through the gold tube into him for a moment, Mukrang spoke again.
- That's enough now. Let's observe his condition for a while. From here on, we can only pray that your blood is compatible with him. Now, inject your internal energy into his heart to restart his blood circulation.
With a fervent heart, I performed what Mukrang instructed.
'Please, please. Jong Musa, please.'
It was after spending a moment in such earnest prayer.
At last, I was able to see color slowly returning to Jong Musa's face.
His pulse had also begun to beat steadily.
I clenched my fist and let out a cheer.
"It's, it's working! It worked! Sword Saint Elder! It really worked!"
- Hahahaha! Truly a relief! For blood given without even checking compatibility to save a man—you people must really be connected by fate! Hahahaha!
He, too, seemed immensely gratified.
He couldn't stop laughing inside my head.
And I clasped my hands together and gave thanks to the heavens.
To the heavens that had granted me one more life, and that had allowed me to meet Mukrang.
After sharing a moment of joy with Mukrang, I began supplying blood to Jong Musa again.
Now that I'd confirmed it was working, I wanted to give him a sufficient amount.
And before long, Jong Musa was ultimately able to come back to life.
What was certain was that this was incomparably more joyful than merely surviving and defeating Am Hyeol-hyang.
After that, Gong Musa and Na each fashioned stretchers, loaded Warrior Jang and Jong Musa onto them, and were able to transport the two men to a physician located in nearby Geumsa.
And from that physician, renowned by Na's family name, they were able to obtain firm confirmation that with proper recuperation, both men would be able to rise again in full health.
Truly, it was an unfathomably fortunate outcome.
***
"Well now, I thought I'd try to repay some of my debt to you, but instead I've only ended up further indebted."
These were the words Warrior Jang, lying in the physician's room, spoke to me with a weary smile on his face.
Beside him, Jong Musa, whose condition was somewhat worse, was also smiling apologetically with a still-pale complexion.
Na had rented out an entire detached building in the physician's rear garden and had the two of them receiving treatment there alone.
So at present, only Na and the three ronin were in the room.
It had cost a fair amount of money, but for me, who had grown wealthy from raiding Heuksangbang in the past, it was no burden at all.
Besides, hadn't I also recently plundered every last bit of the Sichuan Assassination Gate's hidden assets?
I chuckled and replied.
"Your dreams are far too grand. To think you were dreaming of repaying a debt to me. I shall have to take this opportunity to ensure you can no longer harbor such vain dreams at all."
The place where I had spent money for their sake was not only in renting the detached building.
Since I had used up all the spirit medicine I had been carrying in this incident, I had purchased yet another massive supply of spirit medicine for them.
It was practically at the level of having swept through and bought up every last bit of spirit medicine available in the vicinity of Geumsa.
Of course, upon returning to the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads, the Seventh Squad's storehouse was piled high with spirit medicine.
But would it not be a waste of time to go all the way there and retrieve it?
As long as it was not spirit medicine of the Small Reversion Pill's caliber, the price was hardly burdensome anyway.
It was money left to spare, so there was no need to be stingy with it.
I had entrusted all of it to the physician, requesting him to use it for their treatment, so I thought that once they recovered, they would likely return with bodies far healthier than before.
I felt deeply satisfied.
'Hmm, so this is the joy of spending money.'
As I was inwardly basking in such thoughts and contentment, Warrior Jang addressed me with an apologetic expression.
"Young master, there was truly no need to go so far. Even a brief, simple treatment would have had me well again in no time."
He seemed extremely uncomfortable.
Seeing him still apologetic like that even though I had deliberately responded jokingly to tell him not to feel burdened, he appeared to be a man who by nature could not live with debts owed to others.
Left with no choice, I answered him with a serious expression.
"Warrior Jang, do you not see? The one in debt is in fact myself. Had the three of you not risked your lives to help me, my life would have ended there. Thus, the three of you wagered what was most precious to you to save what was most precious to me. So how could you think mere material goods such as these constitute a debt? And moreover..."
I abruptly grasped his hand and continued.
"As you yourself said when you saved me, are we not already comrades? Do you intend to make me into a scoundrel so shameless as to begrudge spending money even when saving a comrade?"
At times, the warmth felt from a single point of contact conveyed the heart more effectively than many words.
I felt that perhaps now was such a moment.
When I grasped his hand, instead of answering, he clasped mine tightly and conveyed his heart.
Deep feelings of goodwill and gratitude were transmitted through the warmth of his hand.
After that, our hearts having grown much more at ease, we exchanged stories with one another about all that had happened.
They were deeply curious about life at the frontline, and about the events I had experienced in the interim.
And above all else, they very much wished to hear the story of Am Hyeol-hyang's death.
"...And so that is how it came to pass."
"Haah, the world is truly full of strange and extraordinary people. To think there was such a prodigy who could kill Am Hyeol-hyang, the king of assassins, with such ease."
Since I could not bring myself to speak of Mukrang's secret, I had told them that a departed master of unknown identity had appeared, killed Am Hyeol-hyang, and saved me.
And so, I recounted the deeds done through my body as though I had watched them from the side, which felt rather strange.
At that moment, Gong Musa abruptly asked me.
"By any chance, could that departed master of unknown identity be the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il?"
"...Excuse me? Who did you say?"
At such an utterly absurd suggestion, I could not even manage my expression and could only frown as I asked back.
At that, Gong Musa spoke again.
"Well, someone who could kill Am Hyeol-hyang so easily can't be common, can they? He would surely be one of the Fifteen Absolute Masters, and if so, might it not be the Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword, who was nearby not long ago?"
I let out a hollow laugh and shook my head decisively.
"It absolutely cannot be that man. I can vouch for it because I have been in his company—even if he had the ability, he is decidedly not the sort of person who would take such an action."
"Hmm, is that so?"
As Gong Musa tilted his head with a dubious expression, Warrior Jang, who was lying down, added his voice.
"Indeed, I too think Seonwoo Gongja's words are likely correct. Having been in his company, would the young master not know him well? Besides, isn't that man Seo Il soon to face off against the Sword Saint Elder? He probably went straight there."
"Ah, come to think of it, that does check out."
At Warrior Jang's words, Gong Musa nodded as if grasping the reasoning.
However, the one failing to grasp things was actually me.
"...Excuse me? Warrior Jang? What did you just say? Against whom is Seo Il facing off?"
At that, he instead looked at me with surprised eyes and asked back.
"Surely you haven't not heard? It is the most famous story spreading through the martial world at present. The Poisonous Eyed Ghost Sword Seo Il challenged the Heavenly Robe Sword Saint Hae Un-baek daehyeop not long ago. And so it was said the duel would take place at the Flying Dragon Squad headquarters, and that day is... Ah! That day is today!"
"Ah, now that you mention it, it truly is today! The day has already arrived! Kyaa, if only I could go and see that spectacle with my own..."
"I too would love to see that spectacle..."
They said this and that, but their subsequent words did not reach my ears.
Because the news was too shocking, I had immediately plunged into thought.
'The Ghost Sword challenged the Sword Saint Elder to a duel?'
To have failed to hear such momentous rumors—it seemed I had been so focused on the Seonwoo family affairs that I had grown negligent of other news.
'Seo Il challenged the Sword Saint Elder to a duel?'
Somehow, it was strange.
Because for the Strange Sword Seo Il to challenge the Sword Saint Elder was something that simply did not make sense.
I, who had personally met both men, knew this better than anyone.
That man Seo Il was absolutely no match for the Sword Saint Elder.
But the problem was that Seo Il likely would not be unaware of that fact either.
That coward, who only ever fought battles he could surely win and killed everyone lest a surviving opponent seek revenge later—there was no way he would issue a challenge he was certain to lose.
'If that is so...'
It was highly likely that his challenge to the Sword Saint Elder was not an act of his own will but the scheme of another.
And that other was undoubtedly the man I knew.
I clenched my fist and recalled his name.
'Jegal Ji-gang!'
The military advisor of the Murim Alliance and the man currently called the greatest intellect under heaven.
What was more, was he not someone who knew the Sword Saint Elder better than anyone?
There was no way that Jegal Ji-gang would devise a plan doomed to fail.
Nor would Seo Il ever engage in a fight he was bound to lose.
Thus, it was obvious that they would have, in some fashion, created a situation where Seo Il had no choice but to win.
'Damn!'
I sprang to my feet.
Setting aside the fact that the Sword Saint Elder was Miss Cheongyeon's father, he was the first truly respectable elder I had ever met.
A genuine adult who had given me the feeling of a father even before my own father had.
And so, if it was true that he had fallen into Jegal Ji-gang's trap, I absolutely could not remain idle like this.
First, I hurriedly apologized to the three warriors.
"I apologize to the three of you, but it seems I must go now."
At that, the three, who exchanged glances with puzzled eyes, immediately nodded to me.
"It seems there is indeed some connection to this matter after all. Go at once, young master."
"Indeed. You need not worry about us in the slightest. We are already receiving treatment far beyond what we deserve."
"...Thank you."
About to depart with a light heart thanks to their understanding, I suddenly looked at the three men, hesitated a moment, and then took a letter from my baggage.
It was the letter my father had written for me to show to Dang Gaju.
I had wanted to deliver this one personally, at least.
Because I wanted to properly convey the feelings about my heart that I had come to realize during my time in the Seonwoo household.
But it seemed no matter what, I would not be able to do so.
"I have a small favor to ask of the three of you. Once your bodies have recovered..."