Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Chapter 5. Resentment Builds Unknowingly (2)
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Damho gazed at the flowing river.
He was sitting on the deck of the Yunma Crossing River Ferry. His mind was already in Sakju, but reality had other plans.
To reach Sakju, they had to cross countless mountains and vast rivers. The journey was far from smooth.
Since rushing wouldn't help, Damho decided to take it easy instead.
'What I need is just a steadfast heart...'
Then heaven would clear the path for him.
Assuming heaven really existed, that is.
Damho glanced up at the sky for a moment before shifting his gaze to one side of the deck. Jong Ri-yeon was there.
She was treating an old man whose face looked pale at first glance. People in poor health gathered around her.
Some reeked terribly from grime, but Jong Ri-yeon examined their pulses without so much as a grimace.
"Take this prescription to a pharmacy, and they'll make the medicine for you. Take it twice a day without fail. Got it?"
"Yes, Doctor. Thank you so much."
The old man grabbed Jong Ri-yeon's hand and expressed his gratitude. She gave him a few more instructions before moving on to the others.
Most were poor folk who couldn't afford expensive remedies. Jong Ri-yeon wrote prescriptions using common, readily available herbs.
Only after finishing the last one did Jong Ri-yeon return to Damho's side.
"Whew!"
She sat down beside him and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. After a short rest, her stomach began to rumble.
"Ah! I'm starving."
It had been half a day since they boarded the boat. No wonder her belly growled after skimping on food.
Jong Ri-yeon looked at Damho.
"Got any hidden snacks?"
"......"
"Food. Anything?"
"Nope!"
"Tch!"
Jong Ri-yeon clutched her hungry stomach with a huge look of disappointment. Watching her, Damho wished Bang Jin-bo were there.
If Bang Jin-bo had been around, he would've whipped up a meal in no time. But Damho pushed thoughts of him aside.
Bang Jin-bo had stayed in Hwasan, forging his own path there.
Damho was lost in thought when—
"Doctor!"
A youthful voice snapped him out of it.
He looked up to see a child of about twelve or thirteen standing there with a small bundle.
The child held it out to Jong Ri-yeon.
"My dad said to give this to you, Doctor."
"Your dad?"
The child's father was the last patient Jong Ri-yeon had treated—a man who'd suffered from chronic stomach issues that had worsened without proper care.
Jong Ri-yeon glanced over, and the father gestured for her to eat it.
She unwrapped the bundle to reveal boiled potatoes.
"Wow! Can I really have this? What about you guys?"
"We've got more. Eat up, Doctor!"
The child bowed politely to Jong Ri-yeon and scampered back to his father.
Jong Ri-yeon picked up a potato and handed it to Damho.
"Here."
"......"
"It's his heartfelt gift. Eat it."
Then she took a big bite of her own. A happy smile lit up her face.
Jong Ri-yeon found joy in a single potato. Despite possessing medical skills that could amass the world's riches if she wished, she was content with this.
It was a worldview no ordinary person could comprehend. But Damho didn't find her strange.
A hundred people meant a hundred different sets of values. Jong Ri-yeon walked her own path, guided by her convictions.
That alone made her worthy of respect.
Damho followed her lead and bit into a potato. The well-boiled tuber mashed perfectly in his mouth.
"Tasty, right? Isn't it?"
Jong Ri-yeon chattered beside him.
Even without a reply from Damho, she kept talking nonstop. Sometimes she even asked and answered her own questions.
Damho ate in silence, while Jong Ri-yeon prattled on. The scene somehow suited them.
By the time they finished the potatoes, the boat reached the opposite bank. Passengers who'd prepared to disembark ahead of time hurried off.
"Doctor, we'll be going first."
The father who'd sent the potatoes waved goodbye with a smile as he left the boat.
"Take care."
The child who'd delivered them waved too.
Jong Ri-yeon saw them off with a smile.
"Be careful. Make sure to get that prescription filled exactly as I wrote it."
"Don't worry. We'll brew it as soon as we reach the village."
She reminded the others as well. Those she'd treated promised to do so and disembarked.
Only after everyone was gone did Jong Ri-yeon turn to Damho.
"Shall we go too?"
"Mm."
Damho nodded and stood. The potato had lightened his body noticeably.
As he led Black Ghost off the boat—
"Look at that."
"It's... a corpse."
The crew suddenly grew noisy.
A dozen bodies floated down the river. Each bore deep gashes.
"Murim folk?"
"Looks like a fight upstream. Ugh, scary stuff."
Shadows darkened the sailors' faces.
No one was unaware of the war raging across the Central Plains between the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Cult.
This wasn't some petty sect squabble—it was a war for the fate of the world. Its ripples had already reached every corner.
"We'll halt ferry runs for a while. No sense courting disaster."
The captain's words drew agreement from the crew.
"Yeah. Sigh, when will this war end? It's depressing."
"Damn Murim warriors dragging ordinary folks like us into the mess."
"Shh! Watch your mouth. What if a martial artist hears?"
The captain finally silenced them. Only then did they notice Damho hadn't left yet and glanced nervously. Fortunately, he said nothing, leading Black Ghost off the boat. The crew let out sighs of relief.
"Whew!"
"You lot, always mind your tongues. If those types get mad, folks like us get wiped out."
"Got it."
Damho walked on, ignoring the conversation behind him.
Jong Ri-yeon caught up.
"Looks like the Murim Alliance and Demonic Cult clashed not far from here. Who knows how many more will die around now."
Her face was grim. As a healer devoted to saving lives, scenes like this weighed heavy on her heart.
"Come on. Let's move before we get caught up."
Jong Ri-yeon mounted first and set off. Damho followed on Black Ghost.
How far had they gone?
Damho suddenly reined in Black Ghost. Jong Ri-yeon pulled up beside him.
"What's wrong?"
"There."
Damho nodded ahead.
Flocks of birds circled in the sky where he pointed. Jong Ri-yeon knew exactly what that meant.
"Ah!"
"Their battle reached here too."
As Damho said, countless corpses littered the area below the circling birds. The brutal fight had left them in horrific states.
Damho viewed it all calmly, but Jong Ri-yeon's face drained of color.
"What in the world?"
Death never got easier, no matter how many times you saw it. Her eyes shook like there was an earthquake inside.
Damho dismounted and inspected the bodies closely.
They were still warm, and the pooled blood hadn't fully congealed. They'd died recently.
He lifted one for a better look. The corpse's back was bloated purple. A foul stench hit him.
"Step back."
Jong Ri-yeon shouted suddenly. Damho pulled away and looked at her.
"Poison."
"Poison?"
At her word, Damho held his breath and retreated.
Dizziness hit him instantly.
The unfamiliar vertigo made his stance waver.
"You're poisoned already. Take this and circulate your qi to expel it."
Damho swallowed the pill she offered and began circulating his qi urgently. It was a Poison Suppressing Pill, crafted with her utmost care—a treasure that neutralized most poisons on ingestion alone.
But the toxin invading his body was vicious. Even the pill showed no effect.
Damho deployed his Dark Soul Heart Technique to drive it out. Sweat soaked him in moments.
"Insidious."
Even someone with his profound inner strength showed symptoms immediately. It was an extreme poison.
Jong Ri-yeon donned deerhide gloves from her pouch and swallowed a pill herself. She wrapped cloth tightly over her mouth and nose before approaching the corpse.
She examined the one Damho had flipped. Its back emitted a gruesome stench and was already melting—as if erasing traces of the poison.
Jong Ri-yeon glared at the dissolving body, eyes wide.
Her sight, smell, hearing—all senses sharpened. She strained to glean every detail about the poison.
Its odor, the melting pattern, the blood's color—she noted it all meticulously.
The longer she observed, the more her head throbbed. Early poisoning signs. Lingering longer was dangerous.
"Haa!"
She retreated hastily, flinging off the gloves. The tips that had touched the corpse had turned green.
A bit more time, and even the deerhide would've dissolved. The poison was that lethal.
"Damn!"
Jong Ri-yeon checked on Damho urgently.
His circulation peaked; his body trembled violently. Inside him raged a war between toxin and inner energy.
Damho had fought countless battles, but this internal clash with the poison was the fiercest.
He realized his refined Dark Soul Heart Technique was vulnerable to poison.
As he battled the invader with the pill's aid, he assessed his weaknesses and reflected on his arrogance.
Dark Phantom Fist and Poison Shadow Flow weren't perfect yet.
They were unfinished arts with much room for improvement.
A sudden insight flashed in his mind.
'Martial arts are the pathless way.'
He didn't know why it came.
The ephemeral thought stirred his inner energy. It surged like water in a rocking bucket, twisted into a spiral, then crashed toward the poison like a tidal wave.
Boom!
Damho's body jolted.
Blood poured from his nose and mouth.
"Ah!"
Jong Ri-yeon's eyes widened.
At first, she feared severe internal injury. But realizing it was dead blood carrying the poison, her expression eased in relief.
Whatever happened inside, he'd expelled the inhaled toxin.
Even after purging the poisoned blood, his circulation continued.
Whoosh!
The air around him churned wildly.
Jong Ri-yeon knew precisely what that signified.
'He's advancing again.'