Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Words of Thanks After Revival
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Martial God (23)
Words of thanks after revival
Ak Muyoo's body reflexively shifted to the left, while his right foot simultaneously sliced through the air.
Thwack!
“Argh!”
With a scream, a small figure went flying.
Ak Muyoo quickly drew his dagger and swung it down at the fallen assailant.
“Stop!”
Someone bellowed, and he halted the blade.
He looked up.
His eyes widened. The place he had been heading to already had visitors—people he knew all too well.
Iron Blood General Gun Cheokjeon, Great Harmony General Ak Gun-eok, Ten Thousand Flowers General Choyu-ro—they were generals of the Northern Route Army. The one who had just shouted was Iron Blood General Gun Cheokjeon, and the one who had attacked him was Heaven Leisure General Adal.
Ak Muyoo looked at the group with a puzzled expression.
“How long ago did the war end…… What are you doing here?”
The five were in a terrible state, covered in wounds.
The narrow space reeked of decay from the blood and pus oozing from their bodies.
“He didn’t want us to go back.”
Gun Cheokjeon answered.
“You mean the Supreme Commander?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you know you’d fall out of favor with the Supreme Commander?”
“We knew.”
“You always preached ‘always be prepared,’ yet it seems you didn’t prepare yourself.”
He lived by the words that only the prepared survive, earning Gun Cheokjeon the nickname “Ever-Ready.”
“We didn’t expect him to strike so directly.”
“Tsk!”
Ak Muyoo clicked his tongue.
“But did you eat anything?”
“It’s been ten days since our rations ran out.”
“Here, share this and wait.”
Ak Muyoo gave the remaining fish to the group and headed to the lake. He needed to catch more fish.
He repeated the same process from before, scooping up every last fish. He cleaned them by the water’s edge and brought them to where Gun Cheokjeon’s group rested.
The five devoured them ravenously.
He watched them silently.
“How are the wounds?”
Ak Muyoo asked.
“No idea.”
Gun Cheokjeon shook his head.
“Do you know your bodies smell like they’re rotting?”
“…….”
The group looked at Ak Muyoo without a word.
“Follow me, all of you.”
“Why?”
“If you leave the rot as is, you’ll die.”
“You’ll treat us?”
“I can at least cut away the dead flesh.”
“Let’s go for now.”
The four stood up. They limped toward the lakeside. Heaven Leisure General Adal couldn’t get up.
“Carry Heaven Leisure General yourself since you kicked him.”
Gun Cheokjeon said as he walked.
“Ugh!”
Ak Muyoo hoisted Adal up.
“Isn’t your body too light?”
Ak Muyoo asked.
“I don’t weigh much.”
“It’s not that you don’t weigh much—this is woman-level light. I might have to strip you, so if you’re a woman, say so now.”
“P-put me down somewhere else.”
Adal said, her face flushing red.
“Really?”
Ak Muyoo asked in disbelief.
“I came in my brother’s place.”
“From the start?”
“No. My brother served the first seven years.”
“……Complicated. Anyway, stay here. If you can move, strip and wash the wounds.”
“Got it.”
He set Adal down and went to the others.
“Why leave Adal behind?”
Gun Cheokjeon asked.
“Because she’s a woman.”
“Adal’s a woman?”
Gun Cheokjeon and the other four were stunned.
“You really didn’t know?”
“We had no idea.”
“She said she came in her brother’s place.”
“Whoa! Even for an orphan…….”
Ten Thousand Flowers General Choyu-ro muttered in disbelief.
“Did she say it started three years ago?”
Gun Cheokjeon asked.
“Yes.”
“As expected…….”
Gun Cheokjeon nodded.
“Let’s look at the wounds first.”
Ak Muyoo started with Gun Cheokjeon.
Gun Cheokjeon’s wounds were deep.
He might need a proper physician more than anything, Ak Muyoo thought.
“First, cut out the rotten parts, stitch them up, and apply salve. Do you have any medicine?”
“We have some ointment.”
Gun Cheokjeon pulled out something wrapped in oiled paper.
“This might work for emergency treatment.”
Ak Muyoo prepared to make a fire.
He gathered fallen leaves and branches nearby and lit them with flint. Once the flames rose, he took a long box from inside his clothes. Inside were a knife with a blade only at the tip and a long handle, silk thread, and a strange needle shaped like a fishhook.
He heated the knife in the fire first.
“Aren’t you going to put on clothes?”
“Clothes?”
Ak Muyoo looked at himself. He was still naked.
“Damn it!”
He grimaced and pulled on his pants.
“You carry an impressive tool around naked, huh. What’s that?”
Gun Cheokjeon asked with a slight smile.
“Things I used as an embalmer’s assistant.”
“You were an embalmer too?”
“One of the many jobs I’ve done.”
He cooled the heated knife on a rock. Once it had cooled, he began the work.
“Can I skip the stick to bite on?”
“Just do it.”
“It’ll hurt.”
He pried open the wound and cut away the rotten flesh.
Ak Muyoo’s hands were swift. He quickly removed all the dead flesh. Then he melted the salve over the fire until it was soft and applied it to the wound. Gun Cheokjeon had five major wounds.
“Try circulating your qi to recover as much as you can.”
The second person Ak Muyoo treated was Plain Iron General So Daehwa.
“Why are you treating us?”
So Daehwa asked.
Truth be told, the regular army and the Wind Corps weren’t on good terms. The regular army’s victories were built on the Wind Corps’ sacrifices. From the Wind Corps leader’s perspective, the imperial generals wouldn’t look kindly.
“For my sake.”
He answered while cutting away the flesh.
“For you…….”
So Daehwa gritted his teeth.
“He didn’t just abandon you generals. He fed our Wind Corps to the Blood Wolves.”
“The Blood Wolf Clan is after you?”
“I don’t know. But if we encounter them, we have to fight.”
“You think we’ll fight for you?”
“You generals seem to be hunted by the Blood Wolves too, don’t you?”
“…….”
“Truthfully, using you as shields has pros and cons.”
“Tell me the pros first.”
“You five know martial arts, so you can help if we run into enemies. I’m not asking you to save my life. Just reduce the number coming my way.”
“You’re saying you can handle a few Blood Wolves yourself?”
“A stray dog knows a few poems after three years at school, but I rolled around battlefields for ten years. Unless they’re masters…….”
“Then what’s the con?”
“We’ll be easier to detect.”
“What’s better for you?”
This time Gun Cheokjeon asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Soldiers assess the situation before deploying. If it’s bad for the whole force, they sacrifice the few. Right now, we can’t fight and might just be baggage. From your view, leaving us behind would be far more advantageous.”
“Of course, in the desert alone, yes. But thinking long-term, no.”
“How so?”
“You five are the strongest martial artists in the Northern Route Army. Plenty of soldiers know you survived until the war’s end. If you don’t return after the war, they’ll grow suspicious. And that suspicion points to Supreme Commander Joo Sang-cheol.”
“Now you call him Joo Sang-cheol.”
“He’s no soldier anymore.”
Ak Muyoo shrugged.
“Continue.”
“Joo Sang-cheol needs to deflect that suspicion. He can’t succeed easily without it. What’s the best way for him to avoid suspicion?”
“Perhaps…….”
“As you guess. If the Wind Corps rebels, everything’s solved. Your deaths, and the ten years of embezzling our pay too.”
“We haven’t been paid for ten years?”
“Yes.”
“He seemed clever—why do something so stupid?”
“He promised, and on the battlefield, carrying money gets you robbed. So we asked him to hold it. Plus, he made a very tempting offer.”
“What offer?”
“He’d divide the dead men’s shares among the survivors.”
“…….”
Gun Cheokjeon looked at Ak Muyoo in bewilderment.
“Don’t give me that look. Didn’t you come to war trusting the Emperor? You trusting the Emperor is the same as us trusting Supreme Commander Joo Sang-cheol. And that bastard’s got a silver tongue.”
“Khkhkh! Hahaha! Ugh!”
Gun Cheokjeon burst out laughing but grimaced. Pain shot from the stitches.
“Anyway, having gone through squad leader, company commander, and battalion commander in the Wind Corps, I’d be the prime rebel ringleader.”
“So you’re treating us…….”
“To survive myself.”
“I see.”
Gun Cheokjeon nodded.
Ak Muyoo treated the others, applied the salve, and finished.
“The most urgent thing now is recovering your bodies.”
“Understood.”
The four sat cross-legged and began circulating their qi. Meanwhile, Ak Muyoo went to General Adal. She waited in her undergarments.
“Where are you hurt?”
“Stomach, butt, arm, chest—four places.”
“Which is the worst?”
“Stomach.”
“Then let’s start there.”
Ak Muyoo looked at her stomach.
“That’s…….”
Adal hesitated, her face red.
“There’s no guarantee you’ll live even with treatment. As I said, I assisted an embalmer for years—I’m good at embalming and burial too. Your choice.”
“Got it.”
Adal lay down and lowered her clothes. The wound wasn’t on her stomach but right above her privates.
“Is your dantian okay?”
Ak Muyoo asked.
“Fortunately, it seems fine.”
“Lucky in misfortune. I’ll shave the pubic hair first. Oh, what’s your name?”
“Ah, Ara.”
“I see. Does your father know you came to the battlefield?”
Ak Muyoo asked while shaving her pubic hair with the surgical knife. It was sparse, so it was done quickly.
“Father?”
“If I were your father, I couldn’t send a pretty daughter like you to war.”
“I don’t know.”
“Does he not know, or do you not know if he knows?”
“He might not have at first, but he probably does now.”
“You should seriously consider independence.”
“You think so?”
“From experience. But was it stabbed, or…….”
“Feels like a hidden weapon burrowed in.”
“If it’s a hidden weapon, you should’ve…….”
“I was too busy running.”
“It’ll hurt a bit.”
Ak Muyoo pried the wound open with the knife. Inside, a dark hidden weapon appeared. He reached in with his fingers and pulled it out. It was arrowhead-shaped.
He cleaned the wound thoroughly, stitched it, and applied salve. The second spot was her chest. It was a sword slash from left breast across to the right.
The flesh had rotted, pus streaming out. Even if it healed, a nasty scar would remain.
“How did you hide such big breasts?”
“My brother’s armor was loose…….”
“You padded it with cotton?”
“Yes.”
“Such nice breasts—such a shame.”
“You know women’s bodies well, huh?”
“I told you I was an embalmer’s assistant.”
“I see.”
After treating her chest, he did her arm and butt.
“Circulate your qi.”
He said once finished.
“Thank you.”
“You’re not revived yet. Save the thanks until after.”
Ak Muyoo grabbed his club and entered the water. From then on, he relentlessly struck the surface, catching fish without rest.
The group spent five days at the lake.
During that time, Ak Muyoo practiced Mad Thousand Blood Steps nonstop—not a hundred times a day, but over ten thousand. Watching him, Gun Cheokjeon’s group circulated their qi and nursed their bodies.
Ak Muyoo stood staring west.
“What is it?”
Gun Cheokjeon approached and asked.
“Enemies.”
Ak Muyoo pointed to the billowing clouds rising.
“How many?”
“Between two hundred and three hundred. Coming from south and north too.”
“Only the east is open.”
Gun Cheokjeon said.
“That’s a trap.”
“Trap?”
“That’s where most will be.”
“Then we…….”
“We go west.”
“West is their base…….”
“That’s why we go there. They won’t expect an attack on their home.”