The Solitary Herb
“A condition?”
Imaje looked at me with his clear, unreadable eyes.
“First, there’s something I need to make perfectly clear.”
“What is it?”
“I am a profoundly independent man. Even if I come to agree with your intentions, I have no wish to involve myself in the struggle for succession. If that’s what you came here expecting, then you’d be better off turning around and going home.”
I wasn’t interested in the succession struggle to begin with, so I answered readily.
“I’m not asking that of you. Tell me your condition.”
“Bring me Godokcho.”
“Godokcho?”
When Imaje nodded, a vague sensation brushed the edge of my memory, something half-remembered and maddeningly elusive.
Godokcho... why does that sound familiar?
Then Gang Hyeon cut in, his voice sharp with alarm.
“M-Master! How are we supposed to get that... Isn’t that way too dangerous?”
“Hmm. If everything you’ve told me so far is true, then this shouldn’t be a difficult condition.”
“B-But...”
“Finish listening. I’m leaving first.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Imaje rose and departed.
I turned to Gang Hyeon, who was still wearing a baffled expression.
“What’s so special about Godokcho that you’re making such a fuss?”
“Because it’s that dangerous. Godokcho only grows around here.”
“So it’s just an herb. Why is that a problem? Is it hard to find?”
Gang Hyeon shook his head.
“I know exactly where it grows. The real problem is the fellow living near it—the Dokgak Mang.”
“Mang? You mean a snake?”
Gang Hyeon flailed his hands in agitation.
“Not just any snake. It’s about ten yards long, with a body thicker than a log. And its scales are so hard you can’t even leave a scratch on them unless you’re exceptional. It’s basically a water dragon, I’m telling you, a water dragon.”
“A water dragon? You saw it yourself?”
Gang Hyeon nodded.
“I followed my master when he went to dig up Godokcho once. He said we had to drive it off from a distance first, so I threw my dao at it, but that blasted snake just wriggled and knocked it right back.”
“It didn’t even stick? It’s just an animal. How could that be?”
“Exactly. That’s the problem. It doesn’t work properly because there’s no internal energy in it.”
“No internal energy? What does that mean?”
Gang Hyeon went on with his explanation.
“There’s a thick mist hanging over the Dokgak Mang’s territory. It leaks poison when the beast is sleeping, and if you breathe that in, it interferes with your use of internal energy. It isn’t life-threatening, so it fades quickly enough, but... still, it’s an extremely dangerous creature.”
I was so dumbfounded I lost my words for a moment.
So he was telling me to go gather an herb after dealing with some legendary water dragon straight out of myth?
And without being able to use internal energy?
I might be able to avoid fighting and just sneak in to find the Godokcho, but naturally that would mean searching every nook and cranny for the herb.
In a place blanketed with poisonous mist, was it even possible to ignore the nuisance and keep searching?
Hell no. Not a chance.
Gang Hyeon spoke carefully.
“Young master, forgive me for saying so, but... it seems like Master was politely refusing you.”
Judging by the circumstances, that seemed about right.
Then why bother setting a condition at all? He could’ve just said no straight out.
Was he trying to make things difficult for me on purpose?
He didn’t seem like the petty type, but if he’d taken offense at some half-crippled man pretending to be an expert on external martial arts, then maybe that was possible.
External martial arts, after all, only became visible in the body after repeated training. Yet no matter how generously I looked at myself, my body was still soft and frail.
Hah.
I’d improved after taking Mahwandan, but to anyone who truly knew external martial arts, I was still nothing more than a scrawny little fishbone.
Maybe in Imaje’s eyes, I was just some smooth-talking bastard trying to recruit him with empty promises.
He probably had a right to be annoyed.
With a short sigh, I asked Gang Hyeon, “So what happened after you came face-to-face with the Dokgak Mang? You gave up and came back down?”
“You still want to try?”
“I have to. This isn’t the time to be picky.”
If there was even a thread of possibility, I had to push it through. That was the only way to stop the greater disaster.
He’d set conditions, whether as a genuine refusal or a roundabout dismissal. Either way, if I satisfied them, Imaje would have to keep his word.
“I’m not sure this’ll be much help.”
“Just tell me.”
Gang Hyeon looked embarrassed as he replied, “My master walked right up to the thing, knocked it flat with his fist, then crushed its neck until it passed out. After that, I dug up the herb and brought it back.”
“You said he couldn’t use internal energy.”
“You saw for yourself, didn’t you? Even without internal energy, he’s the kind of man who can beat down most masters.”
“...”
He wasn’t wrong.
That kind of brute strength, erupting from forearms as thick as a man’s thighs and a body packed wall-to-wall with muscle, would be hard for almost any master to handle.
Measuring whether such a thing was possible at my current level, I rose from my seat.
So I really do need to train my external martial arts.
Gang Hyeon asked, “You heading to the training grounds?”
“Yeah. I need to toughen my body up a bit.”
If I was lucky, the perfect environment for external training had already been prepared for me.
I’ll prove I wasn’t speaking nonsense.
With that resolve, I pushed open the gate and stepped out.
* * *
At dusk, when the sky had sunk into a deep red wash, Sama Ryang muttered to himself as he circled the large pavilion.
It had already been more than half a month since the Third Young Master had gone off to find Imaje.
He wasn’t a weak man, so there was no reason to panic, but worry still crept in despite himself. What if something had happened?
Just as he was about to head inside, wondering if the young master might be in his quarters after all, a thin voice called out to him.
“Oh? Doctor! You came again today?”
Yeon Hong approached with a broom in hand, smiling brightly.
Sama Ryang returned her greeting with a gentle smile.
“Yes. I thought perhaps he might return today, so I came to check. And I’m not a doctor anymore.”
“Ah! Right. I keep forgetting. It’s become a habit. Are you adjusting well to your work in the Military Council?”
“Adjusting... I’m not sure. It’s just been rather hectic.”
Yeon Hong looked at the shadows under his eyes and asked, “You look tired these days. Shouldn’t you be going in early to rest?”
“I suppose I should. I stopped by to see whether he’d come back, but it seems he hasn’t today either.”
Yeon Hong only smiled without answering.
She seemed to be in especially high spirits, and then she reached into her sleeve, pulled out a sheet of paper, and handed it to him all at once.
“Actually, a letter arrived this morning. Please read it quickly.”
“A letter? For me?”
Yeon Hong nodded.
...!
Very few people in the sect knew he visited the Third Young Master’s quarters so often.
Sama Ryang, his heart suddenly quickening, immediately unfolded the letter and began to read.
It’s me. I thought it’d be better to talk in person, but since I can’t, I’m sending this instead. Forgive the terrible handwriting. I’ve been hammering iron day and night, so my arms are shaking like mad. Even now they’re trembling, and I feel absolutely miserable.
It really is the young master!
But hammering iron? What exactly does that mean?
I managed to meet Imaje and speak with him, and as a condition for helping us, he told me to bring him Godokcho. At any rate, he’s not an easy man.
Sama Ryang’s pupils trembled.
...Godokcho?
Having worked in the Medicine Hall, his knowledge of herbs was so extensive it could only be described as overflowing.
He knew exactly what each herb did, what happened if it was taken incorrectly, and what dangers lurked in the process of harvesting it.
Among them, Godokcho was especially troublesome. It was both a rare medicinal herb and a poison herb.
There would definitely be a Dokgak Mang lurking there.
The Dokgak Mang was a spiritual beast that released poisonous mist capable of suppressing internal energy, much like san-gong poison. A brief exposure would probably be fine, but prolonged exposure could leave lasting aftereffects.
That was why at least ten masters were usually dispatched to harvest Godokcho.
And he’d made that the condition?
Condition? That’s less a condition than an order to get lost.
As disappointment welled up, the next line caught his eye.
Just so you don’t make a fuss again, I’ll say this now—I already have the Godokcho. So there’s no need to worry.
“What?!”
His involuntary exclamation startled Yeon Hong, who hurriedly stepped in.
“W-What is it? You suddenly sounded so frightening. Did something happen?!”
Sama Ryang shook his head.
“Ah, no. I was just surprised for a moment...”
Godokcho was the herb that grew by feeding on the Dokgak Mang’s poisonous mist.
For that very reason, it possessed exceptional power for suppressing surging energy, and because of its high value as a medicinal ingredient, people often gathered skilled hands to harvest it.
And yet, how had the young master... no, why did he have it?
Could it be!
At first he hadn’t understood, but thinking about it carefully, the wild grass lying beneath the Mahwandan had been Godokcho. He had left it uneaten at the time, and now it was helping in this way. Perhaps one really did have to cast aside greed to get by in this world.
Sama Ryang felt like his mind might fly right out of his skull.
Then... he took Mahwandan without Godokcho?
That was an almost impossible feat. In the Medicine Hall, Mahwandan was refined only after the hall master and the heads of each department gathered together to oversee it.
Its fiery yang energy was so immense that it had to be suppressed to the utmost during refinement, and even then, it could only be assimilated when taken together with Godokcho.
And he would also need a master there to regulate his true qi...
He had naturally assumed that Gwangmyeong Jwasa’s help had been involved, which only made the situation more bewildering.
Still dazed, Sama Ryang read the last part.
I don’t really know how to wrap this up. Anyway, I’m doing fine, so don’t worry. The food here’s pretty good too. You keep doing your part. And send my regards to Yeon Hong.
Sama Ryang folded the letter and tucked it into his robes.
...At least he really is safe.
That was a relief, but why, if he already had the Godokcho, hadn’t he simply returned at once?
Sending a letter at all suggested that he intended to stay on Unambong for the time being.
Sama Ryang thought briefly, then dismissed the question.
He must have his reasons.
He couldn’t possibly understand everything from the letter alone, so for now, the proper thing was to continue carrying out his duties, just as the young master had said.
“It really was from the young master, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. He says he’s safe and well.”
“Oh! Thank goodness. Did he say when he’d be back?”
Sama Ryang shook his head.
“He didn’t say anything like that. It sounds like his stay away from home may be a bit longer.”
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