Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: A Theft in the Medical Pavilion
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The heart of the Medical Pavilion Master heading toward the Medical Pavilion was warm beyond measure.
“Heh heh, to think such precious items have arrived.”
Last night, the spirit pills ordered by the Family Head had come in.
He had handled spirit pills many times before, but these ones were unlike anything he’d seen in his decades as a physician.
Just as a swordsmith rejoices at the sight of a fine blade, wasn’t it natural for a healer’s heart to warm at the sight of fine medicine?
Moreover, these spirit pills held special meaning for him.
—You know as well as I do that Hyeok is at a critical juncture right now. If you can use these pills wisely to help him recover fully, I’ll never forget your merit.
The Medical Pavilion Master clenched his fist.
‘Of course. It’s my duty.’
The entire clan was now focused on Second Young Master Namgung Hyeok. He had overcome the heavenly punishment of the Nine Yin Severed Meridians and displayed unparalleled martial talent.
‘I can’t be without credit in this.’
Once the fervor sweeping through the retainers cooled, they would start wondering how he had overcome the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, and naturally, their eyes would turn to the Medical Pavilion Master.
“If I can completely cure the Second Young Master, my position will be secure!”
He could already envision the bright future laid out before him.
Wearing a pleased smile, the Medical Pavilion Master entered the Medical Pavilion and flung open the door to the master’s chamber at the deepest part.
“Sniff! Sniff sniff! Heh, wonderful. Just the smell makes me feel healthier.”
A pure fragrance sank deep into his lungs...
“Hm?”
...Why was there no scent?
Just last night, the aroma had been...
In that instant, the Medical Pavilion Master’s eyes bulged wide.
“W-what is this?”
The neatly organized master’s chamber looked as if a typhoon had torn through it, a complete mess.
The shelves stacked with herbs were overturned, and the bookcase with medical texts had toppled and shattered.
“W-what in the world?”
The Medical Pavilion Master gaped, speechless.
Why on earth was it in such a state?
Staring blankly around the room, he suddenly jolted and rushed inside.
“N-no way!”
He hurried to the safe behind the desk in the center.
The spirit pills received yesterday were in there...
“Guh...”
The Medical Pavilion Master’s body convulsed.
A massive hole gaped in the solid iron safe.
Unable to accept the scene before him, he tremblingly opened the safe door.
“Heaaaaah!”
They were gone.
Clutching his throat, the Medical Pavilion Master retched at the sight of the spirit pills ordered personally by the Family Head, vanished without a trace.
And then...
“Thief! Thieeeeeef!”
From early morning, the Medical Pavilion Master’s plaintive scream echoed throughout the Namgung Clan.
* * *
Namgung Hyeok sat cross-legged, gazing at the spirit pills before him.
A pure, sweet fragrance wafting from the multicolored pills filled the room.
“Top quality.”
They couldn’t compare to priceless treasures like the Great Returning Pill or the Supreme Purity Pill, but they were clearly rare elixirs at a glance.
The subtle energy emanating from them and the clear scent stimulating his nose proved his judgment was spot on.
The problem was...
“Ugh. Will this be enough?”
The efficacy of spirit medicines couldn’t be compensated for by quantity alone.
What mattered was how pure and refined their energy was.
“If only I had something like a Great Returning Pill or Supreme Purity Pill, I wouldn’t even hesitate.”
Regretting what he didn’t have wouldn’t change anything.
Letting out a deep sigh, Namgung Hyeok grimaced.
“Damn those immortals. Why’d they have to stick me in this leaky bucket of a body?”
What kind of body was this, leaking like a bottomless jar, reverting no matter how much he patched it up?
“You think I’ll give up just because of this?”
He wouldn’t give up until he smashed his fist into those arrogant immortal faces!
Lacking something?
That was everyday life for him. If he lacked something, he’d make up for it with skill!
With a resolute expression, Namgung Hyeok picked up the spirit pills.
He unwrapped the cloth around them and shoved all four into his mouth at once.
The pills melted instantly in his mouth, releasing a fragrant aroma.
His mouth filled with the rich scent in a flash.
Gulp!
Without hesitation, Namgung Hyeok swallowed them and closed his eyes in a cross-legged position.
The energy from the pills, absorbed through his stomach, surged toward his dantian.
For an ordinary person, absorbing this energy would take dozens of days, but he was none other than the Poison Tyrant! Absorbing this much was child’s play.
‘Good!’
The energy from the four pills was absorbed in an instant, writhing in his dantian.
He circulated the Soaring Heaven Bright King Art to control the pill energy that threatened to burst out.
‘Definitely top-grade.’
The heavy fullness in his dantian brought a natural sense of pride.
But that was it.
‘If I don’t resolve the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, this energy will just leak away like water poured on sand!’
So first, he had to completely unblock those damn meridians.
Each time the Soaring Heaven Bright King Art moved, the pill energy shrank back. But soon, it rebelled, baring its teeth.
Roarrr! Boom—!
Flames erupted from his dantian, scorching his channels as if to burn them away, while the Soaring Heaven Bright King Art tried to suppress them.
The two energies clashed fiercely, neither yielding.
‘Hah, back in the day, this would’ve been nothing...’
He could’ve swallowed ten Great Returning Pills and sorted it out in one breath!
But he wasn’t the Poison Tyrant of old now.
Perfectly controlling this rampaging energy wasn’t easy for him in this state.
If he failed to control it, the backlash could cause internal injuries and lead to qi deviation.
That would be the end. This frail body clearly couldn’t withstand the reaction.
In normal circumstances, he’d take his time.
There was that saying about going slow when in a hurry.
However.
‘Screw that. If it’s urgent, you break through straight ahead—what’s with going around?’
With his meridians clogged tight and death looming, go around?
The grim reapers would be clapping in delight.
‘I absolutely can’t let that happen. I’ve got too much to do.’
He’d planned to refine his body with the Profound Body Tempering Art first, but he’d skip it.
‘Die this way, die that way... Screw it. No matter the path, as long as I reach the capital!’
Namgung Hyeok released the two energies in his dantian.
Fwoooosh!
The suppressed flames exploded outward, swelling in size.
His face twisted at the energy that seemed ready to melt his channels.
‘Grrrrrgh!’
It felt like lava overflowing inside him.
He was burning up.
‘If I can’t endure this, I might as well bite my tongue and die!’
Roarrr! Boom!
The Soaring Heaven Bright King Art pulled in the erupting pill energy.
Ignore everything else.
One goal.
He cracked open a slight path before the blocked energy, and the two forces charged fiercely toward his heart.
Chaos erupted as scorching heat threatened to incinerate his body, but Namgung Hyeok just gritted his teeth.
Boom boom boom!
The energy roiled, hot energy surging to the crown of his head.
The two dragon-like energies that had been progressing well suddenly bit and tore at each other.
‘Whoa, this is no joke.’
Even as he thought that, the clashing energies reached his heart and pressed into the blocked meridian.
Cold sweat poured down his back like a waterfall.
‘Damn, no gap! Did it narrow even more?’
This was maddening!
The tightly blocked Nine Yin Severed Meridians tormented him.
Namgung Hyeok heightened his focus.
‘Can’t mess up. Not old enough to tour the afterlife yet.’
He had to go to the immortal realm, not the underworld!
Namgung Hyeok circulated the Soaring Heaven Bright King Art to its limit.
Its purity was unrivaled through the ages.
He seized the violently surging pill energy and began breaking it into fine pieces.
He started removing the impurities still lingering in the pill energy.
‘Sharper. Even pointier!’
The Soaring Heaven Bright King Art enveloped the pill energy like it was devouring it, sharpening into a keen, piercing spear.
Namgung Hyeok regulated his breathing.
The spear, laden with scorching heat, targeted the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.
Then, it bared its fierce fangs toward the tiny gap in the meridian.
Namgung Hyeok ground his teeth.
‘Go!’
The spear shot sharply toward the sealed meridian.
Shiiiing!
The spear thrust fiercely into the closing channel.
Kwaaaaang!
His entire body convulsed from the immense impact.
For a moment, his consciousness nearly flew away from the shock. But Namgung Hyeok desperately clung to his fading mind and pushed the energy spear deeper into the channel.
‘Pierce—!’
Boom!
Something exploded inside his body.
At the same time, black smoke billowed from the crown of his head and nose.
Crack crack crack!
His bones screamed throughout his body.
His flesh rippled in waves, accompanied by gruesome sounds like bones crunching.
Blood spurted from his throat, and black blood streamed from his nose.
But Namgung Hyeok didn’t release his circulation. Stopping halfway would just repeat the process. He had to finish it properly.
‘Once more!’
The energy pulled back, then charged again like a bull with fire up its tail, smashing through everything in its path toward the meridian.
Boom!
Another massive explosion rocked his body.
Namgung Hyeok’s cross-legged form swayed violently.
‘Damn, it’s twisting.’
His flesh couldn’t withstand the huge energy explosion inside. At this rate, he might fall into qi deviation.
‘Should I give up?’
Even the great Namgung Hyeok briefly entertained the thought of surrender.
But!
‘Bullshit! I never give up!’
Not until he beat those immortals to death.
Better to die than fail to ascend to the immortal realm again.
‘Here goes!’
Namgung Hyeok pulled the energy back once more. Then, pouring in all his strength, he shoved it into the meridian.
As if he didn’t care if he died doing it!
Empowered by his will, the Soaring Heaven Bright King Art melted the inner pill energy completely, swirling like a vortex as it shot into the meridian.
BOOM!
A heaven-shaking, earth-rending blast echoed in his mind.
Spurt!
Dead blood leaked from his nose and mouth. But at the same time, his ashen complexion rapidly regained its healthy glow.
Namgung Hyeok fell into a trance.
The Soaring Heaven Bright King Art energy shattered the last remnants in the meridian, then circulated through his limbs and organs, beginning to repair his body.
Sizzle!
The black smoke from his crown and nose gradually faded, and the scorching heat subsided.
And then.
Flash!
As Namgung Hyeok opened his eyes, a blue light briefly filled the room before vanishing.
“Huuuuuh!”
He exhaled deeply.
Crack!
“...?”
At the sound of bones shifting, Namgung Hyeok tilted his head.
...Damn, did it break?
No?
Probably not?
With a strange unease, Namgung Hyeok raised his hand.
Crack crack!
“Hah, what a refreshingly crisp sound.”
Fortunately, it hadn’t broken.
He lightly caressed his heart.
Pat pat.
Crack crack, his wrist bones clicked repeatedly.
“Ah...”
Namgung Hyeok’s mouth fell open.
He tapped his chest a couple times with a dazed look, then muttered.
“...It’s open.”
Heh heh, heh heh heh heh!
The corners of Namgung Hyeok’s mouth lifted.
“I did it!”
You bastards!
I never give up!
Never!