Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: 58. A New Man
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After Yuseong asked about his mother’s eyes and fell into thought, Jang Chil grew anxious.
“Medical Pavilion Master, is there some problem? D-don’t tell me Mother will…”
He couldn’t bring himself to say it aloud.
‘Her eyes are going completely blind?’
If his mother’s eyesight failed entirely, Jang Chil might have to quit the Medical Pavilion to care for her.
He could do it, of course.
He had even steeled himself for that day eventually.
But not now.
Even when Jong Hakjin proposed a wager, Jang Chil hadn’t given in.
He had resisted all sorts of temptations and scrimped diligently to save money.
‘Still not enough. It’d only last a few years.’
But if he didn’t quit his job, who would look after his widowed mother, trapped in darkness, unable to even leave her room alone?
His chest tightened.
‘Did I anger the heavens by running my mouth carelessly all this time?’
He regretted to death the past when he had spread idle rumors about the Medical Pavilion Master, who had rushed over and even saved his mother’s life.
As he beat his chest alone, wallowing in black despair,
Yuseong finally finished his deliberations and spoke.
“That’s not it. Quite the opposite—it looks promising.”
“Promising?”
Yuseong turned gently to Jang Chil’s mother, who was clutching his arm in anxiety.
“Ma’am, may I take a quick look at your eyes?”
“My eyes?”
Jang Chil glanced nervously at Yuseong’s acupuncture case.
Yuseong had earned the fame of One-Needle Divine Physician, said to cure nearly any ailment with a single needle.
But needles were not all the same. What if he poked her eyes just to check and made things worse? The worry gnawed at him.
“Medical Pavilion Master, you’re not planning to use needles on Mother’s eyes, are you…?”
“Of course not. I’m not needling her, so rest easy.”
“Well, then…”
“I’ll take a look.”
Jang Chil stepped back, and Yuseong quietly placed his hands over his mother’s eyes.
‘Why’s he suddenly checking her eyes?’
Jang Chil’s mother had heard plenty about the Medical Pavilion Master from her son.
She had heard so much about how remarkable he was that her ears rang, yet she never imagined he would attempt to treat her eyes.
When she had finally gotten a consultation from a physician’s disciple at a clinic,
She was told it was a natural phenomenon common among the elderly, and she had lived with that understanding ever since.
“Just relax.”
Her vision went dark under Yuseong’s hands.
A faint lantern light seeped through the gaps.
The intruding light spread like a hazy fog.
Nothing different so far.
But then.
“...!”
The hazy fog began to clear bit by bit.
The light filtering through the gap between Yuseong’s hand and her eyes sharpened.
‘Am I imagining it?’
With her eyes covered by his hand, it had to be an illusion.
How could failed eyesight be fixed?
“...”
Yet when Yuseong carefully lifted his hands, and her vision, long swallowed by darkness, slowly returned.
“Ahh…!”
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
It was because her son’s face, now etched with more wrinkles on his forehead over the years, appeared so vividly clear.
Her son gazed at her with pity.
She had strained desperately to preserve her fading sight,
And resolved that if it failed completely, she would not stand in her son’s way…
“Mother?”
She never dreamed she would see her son’s face so vividly once more with clear eyes.
She stroked the bewildered expression on Jang Chil’s face.
“You’ve suffered so much because of me…”
Then, as if snapping to her senses, she bowed repeatedly toward Yuseong.
“Oh dear, Medical Pavilion Master! Thank you so much for fixing this old woman’s eyes—thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Jang Chil, who hadn’t grasped what was happening, finally understood.
Though tears streamed down her face, his mother’s eyes were clearer and more focused than ever.
“M-Medical Pavilion Master, d-does that mean Mother’s eyes are really healed?”
“You fool! I can see perfectly—perfectly! Oh, Medical Pavilion Master, thank you so much!”
Jang Chil bowed deeply to the smiling Yuseong again.
Many times over.
His mother, despite her age, began bowing deeply alongside him.
Yuseong and Nangong Yurin had to hurriedly stop them, as the mother and son kept expressing their gratitude.
***
After the barrage of deep bows finally ended.
Jang Chil and his mother were a mess.
Tears and snot smeared everywhere, their original faces unrecognizable.
Nangong Yurin, too, had her large eyes brimming with moisture, lips pressed tight.
Her blue sleeve was soaked from how much she had dabbed at them.
“...”
Feeling awkwardly like the cold-hearted one, Yuseong had his right hand tugged by Jang Chil’s mother, who nodded silently in thanks.
She must be truly grateful, he thought.
But then she took Nangong Yurin’s left hand with her other.
“You’re a warrior from a great family, I hear?”
“I’m Nangong Yurin, Ma’am.”
“What a lovely name. And just as I heard, such a beautiful face.”
“Thank you.”
No woman could dislike being called pretty.
Nangong Yurin gave a slight smile.
Now Jang Chil’s mother turned her gaze to Yuseong.
“I never realized the Medical Pavilion Master was such a handsome man.”
“Ahem.”
Yuseong coughed awkwardly and shot Jang Chil a glance.
He had praised Nangong Yurin’s beauty but said nothing about Yuseong’s own carefully refined features. How rude.
But Jang Chil’s expression was odd.
He seemed fidgety, unable to stay still.
“M-Mother—”
“You two, don’t hold back—have a beautiful romance. With skills as outstanding as the Medical Pavilion Master’s, if you, young lady, persuade your family diligently, the two of you can surely marry.”
As she clasped their hands together, Jang Chil flailed his arms and let out a wail.
“Uwaaaah! I’m so sorryyy!!”
It seemed Jang Chil had fed his mother some nonsense again.
Yuseong turned to Nangong Yurin in disbelief.
She must feel the same.
But.
Their eyes met for an instant before she whipped her head away.
“Don’t tell me, Jang Chil, you…?”
Jang Chil’s bewildered mother let go of their hands, allowing Yuseong to disentangle his from Nangong Yurin’s.
Nangong Yurin, released, unconsciously clutched at empty air before slowly withdrawing her hand.
***
After bidding farewell to Jang Chil’s mother, who needed rest following her recovery, Yuseong and Nangong Yurin stepped outside.
Jang Chil scurried after them and bowed deeply.
“I’m sorry, Medical Pavilion Master! Lady Nangong Yurin!”
Yuseong sighed at his expression of utter remorse as he apologized profusely.
“Don’t let it happen again. How embarrassed do you think Lady Nangong was?”
“I’m sorry. Mother gets lonely, so I was just chatting about this and that, and it got out of hand… I swear I’ll never do it again. I can swear on it!”
“No need for oaths… I’ll trust you, anyway.”
“Thank you for forgiving me. And for treating Mother, too. Oh, and this…”
Jang Chil pulled a money pouch from his bosom.
“Why this…?”
“You should take the treatment fee.”
The pouch Jang Chil forced into his hand was slightly open, revealing a hefty sum of silver pieces inside.
It might be little compared to what Yuseong had done, but it was undoubtedly a large amount for Jang Chil.
“It’s too much. She’s like family.”
“No, no. It’s money I saved to care for Mother if I quit. I wouldn’t regret giving it all—even after deducting living expenses.”
“We don’t need this much.”
After some back-and-forth, Yuseong took only a little and returned the rest to Jang Chil.
He had simply been surprised that Jang Chil, whom he saw as frivolous, proved so dutiful.
Returning to the Murim Alliance, Nangong Yurin’s expression seemed bright.
Her faint smile brimmed with vitality, uplifting even onlookers.
‘It’s not the right time to bring up her treatment. If it’s really that, I couldn’t treat it right away anyway.’
Deciding to wait for another chance, Yuseong grinned playfully and changed the subject.
“Do you always tear up that easily?”
“Ah… a little. And it reminded me of my brother earlier.”
“...”
Nangong Yuhyeon had eye injuries too.
He worried his teasing might sour Nangong Yurin’s mood.
“But now I feel great. Because I believe the Medical Pavilion Master will treat my brother’s eyes.”
A radiant smile bloomed, brightening even onlookers.
***
The next day.
Jang Chil brought a bundle of snacks and handed them to Yuseong.
“Mother said to give you these. Thank you again, and sorry!”
“You can stop now. Tell her I’ll enjoy them.”
“Yes, Medical Pavilion Master!”
Jang Chil backed out of the treatment room with polite bows.
A close servant servant beckoned him over.
“Jang Chil, come here a sec.”
“Why?”
In a secluded corner, the servant slung an arm over Jang Chil’s shoulder.
“I heard someone saw you at the Murim Academy yesterday—with the Medical Pavilion Master and Nangong Yurin? How was the vibe between those two? Super pink and lovey-dovey?”
The servant grinned lecherously.
He expected Jang Chil to regale him with juicy details from yesterday.
“What bullshit? Nothing like that happened, so shut your trap or go haul herbs!”
“Hey, why the sudden—weren’t you the one most excited about it yesterday—”
“Tch! Say crap like that once more, and you’re done?”
Jang Chil stormed off with a straight face, leaving the servant stunned.
‘He used to love these stories most—why’s he acting up? Did he eat something bad?’
Jang Chil had been reborn.
He now ensured Medical Pavilion news stayed internal and faithfully relayed outside tidbits to Yuseong, becoming a devoted servant.
***
One day, Jang Chil brought Yuseong some news.
“Medical Pavilion Master, Sword King came looking for Lady Nangong Yurin to take her back to her family.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, felt like you should know.”