Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 28. A Chill
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Nangong Yurin had grown up as the granddaughter of the Sword King, receiving the expectations of many.
"The Sword King's bloodline is all exceptionally talented in martial arts, so his granddaughter must possess remarkable talent as well."
Her father and older brother, Nangong Yuhyeon, both boasted outstanding talent, so it was natural for people to assume the same of her.
Her father was a Peak Realm expert, but Nangong Yuhyeon was truly extraordinary.
Thanks to the immense support poured into him from childhood, he had reached the Peak Realm at the age of twenty-two.
He was recognized as the greatest junior of his generation.
In contrast.
Nangong Yurin was too gentle in temperament to become a great warrior.
"Even if it's just sparring, how can you expect to win if you're only focused on defense? Our Nangong family's sword is a domineering sword. Don't you know that offense is the best defense?"
"..."
"Yurin. I can't say for certain without seeing your full resolve, but you undoubtedly possess considerable talent. Yet with such a timid heart, how can you achieve greatness?"
Even when her grandfather, the Sword King, coaxed and encouraged her, Nangong Yurin's nature did not change.
She was not prepared to harm others.
As a direct descendant of the Nangong Family, she had learned martial arts simply because she had to.
She had entered the Murim Academy because it was a place all renowned clans and sects' juniors passed through.
Her goal was to quickly finish her time at the academy and return to the family to live in Nangong Yuhyeon's shadow.
However.
After Nangong Yuhyeon fell victim to an assassin's attack and became crippled.
She, against her wishes, became the sole focus of the family elders' expectations.
"Yuhyeon's misfortune is regrettable, but thankfully your talent is no ordinary thing. Dedicate yourself to martial arts from now on."
She disliked how they treated her respected older brother as worthless now, and how they placed excessive expectations on her, who had no interest in martial arts.
Yet she had suffered in silence inwardly.
It was then that she heard a certain rumor.
The One-Needle Divine Physician!
It was a nickname still jokingly used only among a few, but it referred to a divine healer who could cure any illness with a single needle.
Some dismissed it as nonsense.
"Even the Divine Physician earned his title only after turning fifty. I hear this guy's only in his twenties. How absurd is it to call someone like that a divine physician?"
"But hasn't he treated major patients so far? I hear even the Demon Subduing Division Leader was successfully treated."
This was before the Demon Subduing Division Leader had reached the Transformation Realm.
"Hmph, that's still uncertain. The Division Leader might have been fooled. And even if he truly ascends to the Transformation Realm and sheds his mortal form, it could just be natural recovery, so who knows if the treatment really worked."
There were certainly those who refused to accept a young man in his twenties as a divine physician.
However, Nangong Yurin, who had always lived in the shadows of geniuses, believed that the world held geniuses who transcended common sense.
'Even as a joke, no one would casually call someone a divine physician. Physician Baek Yuseong must have incredible skills. He might even be able to treat my brother.'
That was why Nangong Yurin so desperately wanted to meet Baek Yuseong.
And.
"Please don't tell anyone else yet and wait, Young Lady. I'll hone my skills further and try treating your brother once."
Baek Yuseong had said exactly what she longed to hear.
"Sniff..."
Her brother's eyes, which everyone—even the Divine Physician—had declared incurable.
The one person who mentioned even a possibility had appeared.
The burden and anguish she had secretly accumulated burst forth, and Nangong Yurin's barely held-back tears finally spilled over.
"..."
In a bookstore far quieter than other shops, a grown maiden bursting into tears drew everyone's attention.
A beautiful woman in her late teens sobbing pitifully, and the handsome man standing before her.
People whispered.
"That trash—"
"Always relying on his looks—"
"Bet the guy cheated on her—"
Hearing that much, Yuseong quickly assessed the situation.
Fleeing now would be the act of an amateur. There were surely people here who knew his face, and it would only fuel misunderstandings.
He needed to calm Nangong Yurin and have her explain to everyone that it wasn't like that.
"Young Lady—"
"You bastard! How dare you make Yurin cry!"
Turning toward the loud shout, he saw Paeng Jisan striding in from outside the bookstore, his face twisted like a furious demon.
His ruggedly masculine features were contorted, making him look exactly like an enraged wild boar.
"Paeng Young Master. It's a misunderstanding. Please hear me out first."
"Misunderstanding my ass. I've disliked you since the first time we met. If it weren't for the White Tiger Division Leader that day—"
"Stop it, Paeng Young Master!"
Right on cue, Nangong Yurin stopped crying and intervened.
Otherwise, he might have spouted nonsense about demonic arts again and put Yuseong in a difficult spot.
"Yurin! Are you okay? If I hadn't spotted you passing by—"
Paeng Jisan had heard through his followers that Nangong Yurin had appeared in Luoyang's market district and had been searching diligently for her.
A chance encounter. Wasn't that perfect?
It could bring the two—whom he believed had feelings for each other (a misunderstanding)—even closer.
He had been delighted to spot her through the bookstore door, but upon seeing her crying, rage had boiled over.
And the opponent happened to be that quack physician who had embarrassed him slightly.
Paeng Jisan had grown up praised by his family elders for his unrestrained personality, saying it was befitting a man of the Paeng Family of Northern Hebei, so he was always confident in his actions.
Only one thought filled his mind.
'He made Yurin cry, so he's a bad guy. If I beat him up, Yurin will like me even more.'
The common view was that the Paeng Family men were ignorant and reckless, but the Paeng men refused to accept it.
"It was just a few tears from gratitude toward Physician Baek. Don't trouble an innocent man for no reason."
For "just a few tears," Nangong Yurin's state was anything but.
Tears streamed down her delicate chin, still forming droplets that fell steadily.
The puddle of tears at her feet was proof.
"No. You don't need to defend this guy. He clearly deceived you and made you cry."
"I told you it's not like that!"
"Yurin, stay out of it. I'll handle everything."
Ignoring Nangong Yurin's words entirely and pushing his own narrative, Paeng Jisan clenched his fist toward Yuseong and boldly shouted.
"I'll fight you without using internal energy, so if you're a man, spar with me! The winner gets Yurin— ahem, if I win, you'll prostrate yourself and apologize to her!"
He calculated that even the White Tiger Division Leader couldn't punish a fair duel.
"..."
The authority of the Paeng Family of Northern Hebei.
A Peak Realm novice clenched his fist and shouted boldly, but it stirred no emotion in Yuseong.
He was the one who had overcome even Shaolin's Four Great Vajras' Hyegang without using internal energy.
Yuseong had grown even stronger since then.
He had absorbed the intricacies of Shaolin's ultimate techniques and gained confidence that he could handle even Peak Realm experts without internal energy.
Yuseong desperately wanted to accept this duel.
Lingering resentment from the tavern still remained.
However, the duel did not happen.
"Why won't you listen to me, Paeng Young Master? How many times have I told you it wasn't me? I said it was tears of gratitude!"
Flustered, Nangong Yurin shrieked.
"Y-Yurin. I—"
"I've held back all this time because you never crossed the line, but I really hate this side of you, Paeng Young Master! You should be the one apologizing to Physician Baek!"
"Eek...!"
He seemed the type who criticized others mercilessly but couldn't tolerate it himself.
As Nangong Yurin yelled, Paeng Jisan's face turned beet red, as if it might explode.
"..."
He ground his lips until they bled, glared at Yuseong, then turned away.
*-Y-Yurin, d-don't get cocky just because you defended me once. I-I was just p-pitying your weak h-heart. And if I s-see you again, I'll k-kill you, so w-watch yourself.*
A strand of sound transmission burrowed into Yuseong's ear.
The feat of infusing qi with voice to deliver it directly to the ear, possible only for Peak Realm experts.
Unfortunately, Paeng Jisan, who had only recently entered Peak Realm, couldn't handle it skillfully, so his voice broke up stutteringly.
'What a dimwit.'
Misunderstanding alone, getting hurt alone.
Paeng Jisan slunk away pathetically like that.
"I'm sorry, Physician. You must have been shocked. Paeng Young Master must have misunderstood seeing me cry. Let me apologize on his behalf."
As if she hadn't just snapped at Paeng Jisan, she apologized again in a soft voice.
"No need. Young Lady Nangong has nothing to apologize for. Anyway, it seems we're done here, so I'll take my leave. I have business to attend to."
"Ah, I've kept a busy person too long. I'll definitely wait for that day."
"Understood."
Nangong Yuhyeon, famed as a once-in-a-century prodigy.
Unless the Nangong Family was the final boss, he would surely be helpful.
Yuseong wanted to cure him too.
As Yuseong stepped out of the bookstore with Nangong Yurin, a woman who had rushed over using lightness skill halted before him.
Her preferred white scholar's robe was slightly dirtied with dust.
"Chief Strategist?"
It was Jegal Yeongyeong, who had been searching everywhere to confirm Yuseong's safety in person.
Jegal Yeongyeong's gaze first swept over Yuseong's entire body.
"Are you alright? I heard something big happened last night."
"As you can see, I'm perfectly fine. The formation you taught me was a great help."
"Phew, that's a relief. Are you perhaps in shock and need rest or something?"
"Not at all. I'm completely unaffected."
Relieved to see Yuseong unharmed, Jegal Yeongyeong's gaze shifted sideways.
"But who is this..."
A beauty who looked like she was from a renowned family, though her face was unfamiliar.
And tear stains that hinted at some story.
"Chief Strategist, pleased to meet you. I'm Nangong Yurin."
Her slightly youthful face matched her sweet, gentle voice.
As Murim Alliance Chief Strategist, she had heard comments that her voice had grown a bit sharp from headaches.
She hadn't paid much mind before, but for some reason today, her own sharp tone grated on her.
She tried to infuse as much softness as she could muster.
"I see. What brings you two together?"
Jegal Yeongyeong's gaze turned to Nangong Yurin.
Feeling the gaze a bit prickly despite the soft voice, Nangong Yurin recalled Yuseong's request not to tell others until her brother was treated.
"It's a secret matter, so please forgive me for not being able to tell you, Chief Strategist."
"..."
Jegal Yeongyeong's gaze now turned to Yuseong.
'Did the Cold Immunity trait glitch? Why am I getting chills?'
Yuseong shivered lightly.