Chapter 45
Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 45. The Spy
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In the small vial Yuseong handed over was the holy water he had just made.
When he had thought about heading to the Sichuan Tang Clan someday, the first face that came to mind was Jegal Yeongyeong's.
If he could definitively learn what effect the holy water had on her headaches, it would help in planning for the long term.
Jegal Yeongyeong accepted the vial.
She shook it lightly, and the liquid sloshed inside.
“What is this? It’s not alcohol, is it?”
“Of course not. It’s medicine.”
“Medicine? For headaches, you mean?”
The medicines prescribed by other physicians had been decoctions made from medicinal herbs.
“It’s effective not just for headaches but for a variety of illnesses. And though the amount here is small, if you apply a large quantity, it can even heal wounds.”
“Like a golden sore medicine?”
“Far superior to golden sore medicine.”
She let out a soft chuckle.
Shaking the vial, Jegal Yeongyeong laughed.
“Come on, are you saying this is some cure-all miracle drug?”
She thought Yuseong was pulling her leg again.
“It won’t cure every disease, but it does improve most ailments.”
“This isn’t… a joke?”
Seeing Yuseong’s serious expression, Jegal Yeongyeong gazed intently at the vial.
‘What on earth is in here for the White-Clothed Physician to be so confident?’
Having dealt with him before, she knew he might joke around occasionally but never spoke nonsense.
If his words were true, it was an incredibly valuable item.
She had heard of street hustlers peddling fake cure-alls at exorbitant prices,
but this seemed to possess effects beyond compare.
A legendary elixir that couldn’t be bought with money.
If someone were on the brink of death from a grave illness, they’d pay any fortune for it.
And others might try to seize it by force.
She grew cautious naturally, handling the vial she had gripped carelessly now as if it were a sacred relic.
“Such a precious medicine… why give it to me…?”
Yuseong swallowed the words, ‘Because you’re the perfect test subject, obviously.’
She had been the first person on whom he used the Healing skill by needling the Baihui acupoint.
Testing how much holy water was needed to alleviate her headaches made her the ideal candidate.
She always complained of headaches at a consistent level.
Yuseong knew precisely how much Healing skill was required to cure Jegal Yeongyeong’s headaches.
‘That’s why she’s perfect.’
This holy water wasn’t made from purely clean water.
Though it had become holy water and wasn’t unhygienic, its quality might be slightly lower.
She was the best test subject for gauging that level.
There was no harm in it, but he avoided blurting out the blunt truth.
It was enough to say something that would please her.
“You’re the most trustworthy person I know, Chief Strategist.”
Her face flushed bright red—
Jegal Yeongyeong struggled to compose her expression.
Her ears were probably red too.
It was impossible not to be affected when a handsome man said something like that out of the blue.
Especially to someone she had unconsciously grown fond of.
“B-but… if my head hurts, I could just get acupuncture. Do I really need to take this precious medicine? The amount seems so small…”
“Ah, it is precious, but I don’t have just this much. I made it myself.”
“What?!”
***
Jegal Yeongyeong left.
She had promised to test it right after finishing work today, so they agreed to meet briefly in the evening.
She would likely follow Yuseong’s instructions, induce a headache while studying something, sip the holy water bit by bit, and report the point at which the pain subsided.
Yuseong now recalled their recent conversation.
‘Selling this would make me insanely rich…’
Becoming rich and buying people’s loyalty with money.
If that were efficient, Yuseong would have considered it.
But Gaia was not the goddess of gold but of earth and healing.
The divine power gained from money was minimal.
Unless it was sincere prayer directed at Yuseong, money had its limits in winning hearts.
Then what about distributing the holy water to others?
That too gave him pause.
‘If I don’t deliver it personally, won’t the effect diminish greatly?’
Handing it over in person amounted to using Healing directly, rendering it pointless.
But if people felt more gratitude toward the one who procured the precious medicine than its creator, the leaking divine power would be wasted.
To provide holy water through others, he needed reliable intermediaries who would make it clear it was entirely his doing.
‘I can select those who truly need it and provide it within my limits. Of course, they must emphasize that it comes from me.’
Fortunately, Yuseong had connections that could help.
The House of Revelry.
He resolved to discuss it with So-ok once she fully took control.
***
Murim Alliance Strategist Office.
Scholars in academic robes were sorting and classifying documents arriving from across the land.
Once burdened by overload to the point of quietly considering resignation, the workload had been boldly reformed under Chief Strategist Jegal Yeongyeong’s orders.
It had eased to a level where clocking out on time was feasible.
Reports indicated an unsettled murim situation, but fortunately, no major incidents had erupted.
Everyone buzzed with the thought of safely clocking out today as usual.
Among them, one person couldn’t hide his inner tension.
Tae Jeongheon, fifth in the Strategist Office hierarchy, was that man.
Tae Jeongheon’s gaze cautiously drifted to the Deputy Strategist’s desk.
Scribble, scribble.
The Deputy Strategist was compiling a report for Chief Strategist Jegal Yeongyeong.
He would consolidate the reports submitted by the office staff and deliver them to her.
But.
‘I think the Deputy Strategist swapped that report last time.’
Tae Jeongheon had witnessed it by chance and suffered sleepless nights for days.
The Deputy Strategist had served the now-retired former Chief Strategist Sima Byeong.
When Jegal Yeongyeong bested Sima Byeong’s son Sima Cheon to become Chief Strategist, most of Sima Byeong’s followers quit en masse.
Yet the Deputy Strategist, who had enjoyed his favor, continued serving Jegal Yeongyeong.
Initially suspected of ulterior motives, people gradually dropped their doubts seeing his loyal service.
Now, almost no one questioned him.
‘What if that was to earn trust? Black faction groups are showing signs of forming alliances in several places. It’s critical intel—nothing can be overlooked…’
It bothered him more because it was information he had gathered himself.
Rush straight to Jegal Yeongyeong and report the Deputy Strategist’s suspicious behavior?
He was Tae Jeongheon’s direct superior.
Bypassing the chain of command on mere suspicion—if it proved a misunderstanding—would ruin his future.
‘But ignoring it sits wrong with me.’
The name Jeongheon, meaning to take righteousness as his law, given by his parents, felt heavy today.
‘No helping it. I have to confirm.’
Tae Jeongheon bided his time.
The Deputy Strategist rose with the compiled reports.
“Then I’ll head to the Chief Strategist.”
As the Deputy Strategist left the office, Tae Jeongheon clutched his stomach and stood.
“My stomach’s acting up.”
“You’ve been pushing it since we’ve been ending early. Skip even if the White Tiger Division Leader tempts you today.”
“Yeah, I will.”
Mumbling a vague reply to his colleague, Tae Jeongheon slipped out quietly.
He tailed the Deputy Strategist discreetly.
The Chief Strategist’s office wasn’t far.
Based on what he’d seen before, the switch could happen en route.
The office aide handling odd jobs was away on errands.
At this hour, with routines in place, Tae Jeongheon was the only one who could uncover the Deputy Strategist’s scheme.
He widened his eyes.
His family martial arts, though modest, aided his stealthy steps.
When the Deputy Strategist was halfway to the office,
From behind, his shoulder twitched suspiciously as he held the reports.
‘He just rummaged in his bosom, didn’t he? Or did I imagine it?’
As he tilted his head in doubt, the Deputy Strategist turned naturally.
“Ah, Jeongheon. Help me a moment.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Having worried about being caught tailing, he acted casual.
Tae Jeongheon hurried to the Deputy Strategist.
The Deputy Strategist flung open a hallway window and peered out.
‘What’s he looking at?’
As curiosity drew Tae Jeongheon’s head forward.
‘Gah!’
He sensed killing intent and twisted away, but.
Slash—!
His throat burned, breath failing.
In his falling vision.
The Deputy Strategist’s eyes gleamed with unprecedented ferocity.
He held what looked like a halved brush, its back fitted with a razor-sharp blade.
‘The Deputy Strategist is the spy!’
Carelessness between second-rate warriors spelled disaster.
He wanted to shout, but his throat—somehow slashed—left him powerless.
As the Deputy Strategist raised the blade to finish him.
“What’s going on!”
The Chief Strategist’s voice rang from behind.
“Jeongheon! Jeongheon! Are you all right!”
The Deputy Strategist hastily capped the brush tip, restoring its innocent shape, and shook Tae Jeongheon frantically.
Blood spurted wildly from his throat.
‘You bastard! You meant to kill me like this!’
But deprived of bodily control, Tae Jeongheon couldn’t resist.
Death seemed inevitable.
***
Stepping out of the Chief Strategist’s office for some air, Jegal Yeongyeong heard a thud— a suspicious sound.
Seeing someone collapse spraying blood, another crouched beside, she shouted.
“What’s going on!”
Rushing over, the Deputy Strategist wept as he called to Tae Jeongheon, whose throat was half-severed, blood pouring.
Tae Jeongheon’s body jerked wildly.
Warriors rushed in at the commotion, and the Deputy Strategist yelled.
“An assassin was hiding! He fled that way!”
Tae Jeongheon’s pain-twisted eyes, filled with desperate injustice, slowly closed.
He had barely avoided instant death, but there was no time to rush him to the Medical Pavilion.
In dire moments, stay calm.
She plunged her hand into her bosom.
‘This is all I can trust right now.’