Chapter 226: Three Generations of the Jin Family-1
Chapter 226: Three Generations of the Jin Family-1
The damage the Jin family suffered in this incident was immense.
First, the docks built along the Zhu River and the anchored ships were completely devastated along with part of the Jin Family Stronghold, and four of the Jin Family Seven Experts, the elite warriors representing the stronghold, had perished.
Even looking back through the two-hundred-year history of the Jin Family Stronghold, it was a disaster that would rank among the worst.
But despite all that, the Jin Family Stronghold's leader, Jin Gong-mu, judged that what he had gained from this incident was greater than what he had lost.
The reason was that his daughter, Jin So-eun, had finally emerged as the successor to the Natural Staff technique, which she had been on the verge of completely abandoning.
Furthermore, had Jin Gong-mu himself not obtained a clue in this crisis that could let him break through the wall of the transcendent peak?
So, thinking of the future, one could say that the Jin family, previously trapped by its limits, might have actually gained future possibilities through this incident.
But even though his cold judgment told him that, Jin Gong-mu could never be happy.
No, he was far too sad and angry.
It was all because of the condition of his father, Jin Sa-mong, who had taken the Blood Burst Pill.
Jin Gong-mu, cradling his unconscious father in his arms, cried out in anguish.
"Father! Father! Physician Im! Where is Physician Im?! Physician Im!"
At this, Physician Im, who had been waiting nearby, rushed over to him in a panic.
"Here, I am here, Clan Head!"
"Come quickly! Hurry, my father, my father...!"
The moment Jin Gong-mu saw Physician Im's face, his expression momentarily brightened, but then a surge of anger suddenly welled up inside him.
It was because he instantly realized what it meant that the physician attending his father had been right here nearby.
It was likely he who had brought his father here.
And it was probably also he who had given his bedridden father the Blood Burst Pill to take.
Otherwise, how could his father, who had been lying ill after coming down from the mountains, have suddenly gotten his hands on a Blood Burst Pill?
Abruptly, resentment and rage toward the physician began to boil up in Jin Gong-mu's heart.
If he had not done so, his father, his father...
Grinding his teeth!
Sensing his own eyes about to radiate killing intent as he looked at Physician Im, Jin Gong-mu gritted his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut.
Because in truth, he knew all too well.
That all of it must have been the decision of his stubborn, obstinate father....
That Physician Im probably had no way to stop it.
But even knowing that, he was still angry.
He resented the man.
The father he had so hated and resented—he had only just realized that his resentment had actually been longing.
And the very moment he realized it, he had to send his father away.
The fact of it was so unbearably regrettable and filled him with remorse.
'Father, father....'
He felt tears about to fall.
He tilted his head back toward the sky.
The star-filled night sky was blurring hazily before him.
"Elder Clan Head!"
In the meantime, Physician Im hurriedly ran over and took Jin Sa-mong's pulse.
But both Physician Im, who was checking the pulse, and Jin Gong-mu, who had turned away from the sight, knew the truth all too well.
That there had never been a case of someone from the Jin Family Stronghold taking the Blood Burst Pill and surviving.
That Jin Sa-mong most likely had no hope left.
'Father....'
Finally, hot tears streamed down the face of Jin Gong-mu, who had sensed his father's end was near.
Suddenly, the last words he had spoken to his father in the room earlier flashed through his mind.
'Whether you leave again or not, I will no longer care. But! My children absolutely not! I will not let you ruin them like you did me! Absolutely not!'
Those had become his last words before sending his father off.
The feeling of bitter, desperate regret was slicing through his heart.
He should have said he missed him, rather than getting angry and shouting.
He should have shown him a smiling face, just once, just once.
He was shedding tears over such thoughts when it happened.
Physician Im suddenly opened his eyes wide and shouted.
"He's, he's alive!"
At those words, Jin Gong-mu, suppressing the anger surging up inside him, spoke to the physician.
"I know perfectly well that he's still alive!"
But then Physician Im shook his head frantically and cried out.
"That's not it! His condition! His condition isn't bad! No, no! It's not that it isn't bad, but he can definitely live! His blood meridians are still in a healthy state!"
"...What... did you say?"
Jin Gong-mu's mind went utterly blank.
Because it was something he had never expected.
His father's blood meridians, after taking the Blood Burst Pill, were healthy....
At this, Physician Im shouted at him, as if annoyed.
"Ah, what are you doing right now?! Do you think you have plenty of time?!"
At Physician Im's scolding, Jin Gong-mu's mind snapped back to attention.
And then, flustered and not knowing what to do, he asked Physician Im.
"Oh! Y-yes! Physician Im! Wha-what should I do? What and how should I do it?"
"Quickly, we must move the Elder Clan Head! Very carefully! And prepare a spirit medicine!"
"R-right! Spirit medicine! Prepare the spirit medicine! No! Before that, Father! Move the Elder Clan Head!"
Jin Sa-mong was moved by Jin Gong-mu and the warriors of the Jin Family Stronghold as swiftly and safely as possible to the Medical Hall.
And Physician Im, who had shouted loudly at the normally unapproachable Clan Head Jin Gong-mu and exerted every ounce of his strength, ultimately succeeded in saving Jin Sa-mong's life.
He released the wrist where he had been taking Jin Sa-mong's pulse and collapsed backward, lying flat as if all his strength had drained away, and said.
"It's done. Now... the critical situation has passed."
At this, the face of Jin Gong-mu, who had been watching anxiously with bated breath beside him, crumpled completely.
It was a face where joy and relief mixed, making it impossible to hold back tears.
"Is it... really...?"
With his face twisted in joy, he grabbed Physician Im's hand tightly and said.
"Ugh! Thank you. Thank you! Physician Im! Truly, truly thank you! I will never, ever forget this kindness!"
Listening to his words of thanks, Physician Im smiled with deep satisfaction.
That was because, along with the sense of accomplishment at saving Jin Sa-mong, he was already looking forward to the reward from Jin Gong-mu, who would now seek to repay the favor.
The people of the Jin Family Stronghold, famously known for never forgetting a grudge, were also renowned for never forgetting a kindness.
So much so that among the martial artists of Guangdong Province, sayings circulated like proverbs.
'The people of the Jin Family Stronghold repay both kindness and grudges tenfold.'
And since the very head of that Jin Family Stronghold himself had said he would repay the kindness, there could be no worries or anxieties in Physician Im's future.
His path forward seemed likely to be strewn only with flowers.
Thinking such thoughts, Physician Im, who had been lying spread-eagled on the floor catching his breath for a moment, suddenly sat up as if remembering something and asked Jin Gong-mu.
"But it's very strange. How could the Elder Clan Head be so perfectly fine? I've seen countless people from the Jin Family Stronghold take the Blood Burst Pill, but this is the first time I've seen someone with their blood meridians so stable. Usually, the stronger one's martial arts, the more severely their blood meridians would be damaged?"
At his question, Jin Gong-mu also furrowed his brow slightly.
Because it was an abnormal situation he too was experiencing for the first time.
Just then, his daughter Jin So-eun, who had been quietly waiting and watching from the side, suddenly spoke up.
"Could it not be because he didn't use his rage? Since Grandfather no longer uses the Mad Demon Heart Art."
"Huh?"
At her words, Jin Gong-mu's expression went blank as if he had been struck on the head.
And he muttered vacantly.
"Right, that's it. Since he didn't use rage, taking the Blood Burst Pill wouldn't have made the damage severe."
Jin Gong-mu suddenly felt his heart swell with emotion.
It had not been long since he heard of the possibility that abandoning rage would let him look toward the transcendent peak, and now he had learned that abandoning rage even allowed one to survive taking the Blood Burst Pill.
And that was not all.
Most importantly, had he not heard that by abandoning rage, one could challenge even the legendary realm of the Natural Staff technique, the thing he had only ever dreamed of?
Truly, it was nothing less than killing three birds with one stone.
That was it.
It was rage.
Just by abandoning that, all these things became possible.
Only now could Jin Gong-mu fully rejoice in the things the Jin family had gained.
And only now could he look properly at his lovely daughter, who would become the hope of the Jin Family Stronghold going forward.
Looking at his daughter Jin So-eun with a deeply moved expression, he said.
"So-eun, you have truly been through so much. Thank you. Thank you so much."
At this, Jin So-eun blushed as if embarrassed and scratched her head like a man.
"Hardship? Not at all. I merely did as Grandfather instructed...."
It was at that moment.
A feeble voice was suddenly heard.
"Hmph! Do you finally get it? That this is all thanks to me?"
Jin Gong-mu and Jin So-eun turned in shock toward the direction of the voice.
Because it was Jin Sa-mong's voice.
He had regained consciousness.
"Father!"
"Grandfather!"
As Jin Gong-mu and Jin So-eun cried out and rushed over to him, Jin Sa-mong frowned and spoke again.
"Be quiet, you rascals. I survived the Blood Sea Demon and the Blood Burst Pill, and now are you two trying to kill me?"
Jin Gong-mu, eyes brimming with tears, tightly held his father's arm and asked in a low voice.
"Are you alright, Father?"
But Jin Sa-mong scoffed again.
"Hmph! Alright? You see the state I'm in and you still ask that? If I were alright, why would I be lying here? You call that a question? Tsk, tsk."
Then the teary face of Jin Gong-mu crumpled slightly.
But Jin Sa-mong's words did not end there.
"And you fool, do you now understand this father's insight and profound intentions? If I hadn't taken So-eun into the mountains with me, what would you have nearly done? The idiot didn't even know that and was running around saying his father ran away. What? You don't care if I go into the mountains alone, so leave So-eun behind? You won't let me ruin her anymore? Tsk, you fool, you pathetic wretch."
Then Jin Gong-mu, whose face had been crumpling and was now completely contorted, could no longer hold back his temper and began firing back.
"Hmph! Insight? What insight? Did you think I didn't know that the only child willing to follow you into the mountains back then was So-eun, so you took her with you? It was just good luck, not insight! And when I told you, I, Jin-jak, was going to challenge the Natural Staff technique, couldn't you have given me permission then?! If you had, I would have revived it far sooner than this, wouldn't I?! Then this sort of incident would never have happened at all! You were someone who beat me so badly back then that I couldn't even utter the word 'Natural'!"
"Wha, what?! Hmph! Ridiculous! You? Challenge the Natural Staff? Do you think the Natural Staff is a realm a fool like you can reach just by challenging it?!"
"Of course I can reach it! Who do you think So-eun takes after in reviving the Natural Staff?! She inherited all my talent...!"
"You wretch?! She takes after me, so how can you say she takes after you?!"
"Did you give birth to So-eun?! I did, didn't I?! Isn't it only natural for a daughter to take after her father?!"
"You fool! Have you never heard of skipping a generation?!"
Seeing Jin Sa-mong, who had just been wandering the brink of death, now raising his fever and shouting, and Jin Gong-mu, who refused to back down and shouted back at his father, Physician Im hesitated, flustered, and tried to stop them.
"Ah, no, I...."
But caught in the non-stop back-and-forth barrage between father and son, there was no way he could interrupt.
It was then.
Jin So-eun, who had been staring blankly at the two of them, suddenly burst into a soft giggle.
"Pfft!"
At her expression, Jin Sa-mong and Jin Gong-mu stared at her with strange looks.
Then Jin So-eun smiled at the two of them and said.
"When I was young I didn't really know, but I think you two resemble each other so much. You are exactly the same, you know?"
At those words, Jin Sa-mong and Jin Gong-mu suddenly looked at each other.
And both of them could feel it at once.
That the image of Jin Sa-mong's past self and the image of Jin Gong-mu's future self were facing each other.
They were father and son, exactly identical down to the way they stared at each other with disapproving eyes.
"Hmm, ahem."
"Hmm, hmm."