Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: I'll Return to Mount Emei on Time, So Don't Worry Too Much
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"I'll get back to Mount Emei on time, so don't worry too much."
Three children sat in the garden pavilion, munching on snacks.
Yu Cheong-seon watched them with a gentle smile.
Chae-hwa asked,
"Aren't you having any, Senior Sister?"
"I'm fine."
"Sister, you should try some. It's delicious."
So Hong-ryeo held out a piece of confectionery, and Na Sang-a stared up with wide eyes.
Yu Cheong-seon had no choice but to accept it.
She took the snack, popped it into her mouth, and chewed it just like the children.
"How is it?"
A smile spread across Yu Cheong-seon's lips.
"It's delicious."
"Right? See?"
As the four of them sat there nibbling away,
Chae-hwa suddenly asked Yu Cheong-seon with a worried look.
"The elders or seniors won't scold me for getting hurt, will they?"
Yu Cheong-seon gently shook her head.
"There's not a single mark on your face. No one will find out. I'll keep your secret too."
Na Sang-a and So Hong-ryeo chimed in.
"Yeah. It's Brother Jang's medicine, so no way it'll be found out."
Then their gazes shifted to Yu Cheong-seon's arm.
"Sister's arm will heal right up if Brother Jang treats it."
"Yeah. Brother Jang's acupuncture is amazing."
"He goes swish-swish like this, and the needles are in before you know it. But it doesn't hurt at all."
Yu Cheong-seon smiled faintly. It must be the kids exaggerating, she thought, a chuckle escaping her involuntarily.
"Want to meet Brother Jang?"
"Yeah. He said he was going to eat earlier, so he's probably at the banquet hall."
"The ban... banquet hall is a little..."
She hated crowded, chaotic places. But pulled along by Na Sang-a and So Hong-ryeo, she reluctantly headed to the banquet hall in the inner courtyard.
Na Sang-a and So Hong-ryeo scurried about searching, while Yu Cheong-seon and Chae-hwa waited in one corner of the inner courtyard.
Soon, Na Sang-a and So Hong-ryeo came dashing back.
"Brother Jang already ate and left."
"I see. What a shame, then..."
"Sang-a, Hong-ryeo, there you are."
Na Ho-pyeong, owner of Ten Thousand Winds Inn, appeared. He had already exchanged greetings with Yu Cheong-seon upon her arrival at Deokyang So Family.
"We were trying to introduce this sister to Brother Jang."
Na Ho-pyeong asked Yu Cheong-seon,
"Ah, because of that arm?"
"No. The kids were going on about how he does acupuncture swish-swish and insisted I meet him, so I got dragged along. It's probably just exaggeration."
"That's no exaggeration."
"Pardon?"
"He's probably at Immortal Spirit Pharmacy right now."
"How did you..."
"In Deokyang Medical District, that's the most famous place. If there's no improvement there, swing by Clear Seclusion Clinic for a check. Then you'll know if Sang-a's exaggerating or not."
Na Ho-pyeong led Na Sang-a and So Hong-ryeo off toward the banquet hall.
Watching his retreating figure, Yu Cheong-seon thought,
The innkeeper likes Clear Seclusion Clinic and Physician Jang too, it seems.
She had expected him to make a fuss and urge her to go there. That matched his impression from their first meeting at Deokyang So Family.
But not this time. He spoke as if he knew her personality well.
Is Clear Seclusion Clinic really that good?
For Yu Cheong-seon, who had come from outside Deokyang City, it was a name she'd never heard before.
Yu Cheong-seon stayed at Deokyang So Family. True to its status as Deokyang City's premier martial house, it was a sprawling estate.
Plenty of room for the Emei Sect members.
Early the next morning, an elder from Emei Sect came to see her.
"Cheong-seon, head to Immortal Spirit Pharmacy before lunch today."
Her right arm had fractured during sparring before they reached Deokyang City.
Upon arriving at Deokyang So Family, she had met Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand for initial treatment.
Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand Yu Ja-gyeom was a renowned physician, famous even in Sichuan Province.
"Yes. Should I bring Chae-hwa along?"
The elder smiled.
"That would be nice."
Yu Cheong-seon was about to call for Chae-hwa when a senior disciple approached.
The senior asked, face full of concern,
"How's the arm?"
"It doesn't hurt."
"Sorry, Junior Sister Yu."
"It's fine. These things happen all the time in sparring."
Even en route from Mount Emei to Deokyang City, they couldn't slack on training.
Her arm had taken a hit from a wooden sword during sparring with a senior and fractured.
"Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand at Immortal Spirit Pharmacy is an outstanding physician. You'll heal up quick."
"But when do we head back?"
"In two days. Why?"
"The main sect puts my heart at ease."
The senior chuckled.
"A true junior sister reason if ever there was one. Take Chae-hwa and go carefully."
Yu Cheong-seon soon found Chae-hwa, took her hand, and left Deokyang So Family together.
Passing through residential streets, they reached the main avenue teeming with people. Natural for a major city near Chengdu.
Yu Cheong-seon's grip on Chae-hwa's hand tightened slightly.
"Senior Sister, you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just tough with all these people."
"Senior Sister doesn't like crowds."
"Yeah. Raised on Mount Emei since I was little."
Of course, she had been to cities and villages before. But only briefly—most of her life had been spent training on Mount Emei.
Chae-hwa squeezed Yu Cheong-seon's hand reassuringly.
"This is the market district, so that's why. Fewer people at Immortal Spirit Pharmacy, probably."
"Maybe."
Yesterday, she had met Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand Yu Ja-gyeom at Deokyang So Family for treatment.
Moments later, they arrived at Immortal Spirit Pharmacy.
"Whoa, it's packed here too."
"Didn't expect this many for such a famous place."
A guide approached them.
"How can I help you?"
"Yu Cheong-seon from Emei Sect. This is Chae-hwa. We have an appointment with Physician Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand."
"Ah, Junior Yu from Emei Sect. We've heard. Please follow me."
The guide led them deeper into Immortal Spirit Pharmacy.
They entered a consultation room fragrant with herbs, where Yu Ja-gyeom—the man from Deokyang So Family—greeted them.
"You're here. Sit."
Chae-hwa waited off to the side as Yu Cheong-seon took a seat on the treatment bed.
Yu Ja-gyeom unwrapped the bandages and splint, inspecting her arm.
He pressed here and there, twisted it this way and that, making it throb painfully.
He unrolled his needle pouch and selected a Fire Needle, inserting it into her arm.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Swift and precise handiwork.
And moreover...
I can feel pure qi flowing. He's channeling internal energy.
Soon, he withdrew the needles, rebandaged and resplinted her arm, and said,
"Come back tomorrow."
With that, he tidied up as if their business was concluded.
Such a stern atmosphere, such a rigid face.
Yu Cheong-seon ventured cautiously,
"How many days until it's healed?"
"Four days."
Yu Cheong-seon gasped in surprise.
"Four days?"
"It's a fracture. You thought it'd be that simple?"
"But we're heading back to Mount Emei in two days..."
"Just stay in Deokyang a little longer. What's so hard about that? Try another physician—they'll tell you two months."
It wasn't hard. She wasn't a child, after all.
But Yu Cheong-seon felt that lingering in this chaotic place might give her a mental affliction instead.
And face this intimidating physician for four whole days?
She wanted to return to Mount Emei.
That was her thought as she left the consultation room with Chae-hwa.
After struggling through the throng back to the main street, Chae-hwa looked up at her.
"Senior Sister, want to try Clear Seclusion Clinic?"
"Clear Seclusion Clinic?"
"Yeah. Brother Jang fixed my wound super quick. Bet he'd heal your arm faster than that physician."
"You think?"
"And it's not scary at all. You were terrified of that one."
"...It wasn't scary."
"But I was."
A soft smile touched Yu Cheong-seon's lips.
"Truth be told, so was I."
Yu Cheong-seon stopped a passing warrior in Deokyang Medical District.
"Excuse me. Could you tell me how to get to Clear Seclusion Clinic?"
The warrior replied with a pleased expression.
"Ah, headed to Clear Seclusion Clinic?"
It was far more famous than she realized—she was just out of the loop.
Hand in hand with Chae-hwa, Yu Cheong-seon made her way to Clear Seclusion Clinic as directed.
Not in the bustling heart of Deokyang Medical District, but on the outskirts.
The crowds thinned naturally the closer they got.
"Senior Sister, nice with hardly anyone around, right?"
Yu Cheong-seon gave a gentle smile.
"It is."
Soon, a modest clinic bearing the Clear Seclusion Clinic sign came into view.
It wasn't rundown—quite tidy, in fact.
The two stepped inside.
"Not swarming like Immortal Spirit Pharmacy."
"That's what makes it better."
"Who's that up front?"
A fearsome-looking man with a sword strapped to his back sat at the very front of the waiting room.
The pair halted unconsciously at the intimidating sight.
But soon a young man emerged, handing him a bowl of decoction. The man drank it down, and like magic, his expression softened. He brushed past them wordlessly and departed.
Chae-hwa whispered at the sight.
"What kind of decoction was that to melt a scary face like that?"
"Who knows. Probably something to soothe anger."
"Come on, Senior Sister. As if such mystical decoctions exist."
"We train in martial arts, but medicine's a mystery to us. The world of medicine must hold wonders like our martial arts."
"If there's a decoction like that, it'd be perfect for calming Senior Sister's anxiety, huh?"
"It would."
At that moment, a young man noticed them and approached.
"Ah, welcome! You're the ones from Deokyang So Family yesterday, right?"
"Yes. I'm Yu Cheong-seon."
"Bae Seon-u here. I'm the apprentice. Have a seat first."
They followed him to the waiting room and sat on chairs fashioned from tree stumps.
As they settled in,
Rustle.
A pleasant breeze wafted from every direction, tousling Yu Cheong-seon's hair.
So refreshing.
Just sitting in this waiting room eased her mind somehow.
"Here for the arm fracture?"
Yu Cheong-seon nodded as she filled out the medical record Bae Seon-u handed her.
"Yes."
"And, um..."
Bae Seon-u met her eyes for a moment.
"What is it?"
"Just checking your complexion. Wondered if anything else hurt."
"Oh."
"No need to worry or feel anxious, though. Our physician's skills are incredible. Please wait for your turn."
Leaving the surprised Yu Cheong-seon behind, Bae Seon-u headed inside.
Chae-hwa looked up at her.
"He spoke like he read your mind."
"Yeah. Comforting words like that do settle the heart a bit."
Time passed, and soon it was Yu Cheong-seon's turn. Bae Seon-u called them in.
The young man from the garden yesterday greeted them with an easy smile.
"Didn't get a proper greeting yesterday. Jang Wol of Clear Seclusion Clinic."
"Yu Cheong-seon of Emei Sect."
"Chae-hwa's here too. Good thing there's no scar on your face."
Chae-hwa bowed politely.
"Thank you. It's all thanks to Brother Jang."
"Good. Be more careful from now on—no more injuries. And don't neglect your external martial training."
Yu Cheong-seon watched them blankly. It was the first time she'd seen anyone in the jianghu treat Chae-hwa so kindly.
Jianghu folk usually act all high-and-mighty based on status.
As Yu Cheong-seon sat, Jang Wol handed her a bowl of decoction.
"This is Augmented Warmth-Calming Decoction. It'll settle your mind."
She had come for her fractured arm, yet here was this decoction out of nowhere.
But it promised to calm her mind, so she accepted it half in doubt and drank.
Once she finished it carefully,
"Ah..."
Behind the bitter taste, a warm energy spread through her body. Her pounding anxiety ebbed, her mind cleared, and her body and spirit relaxed.
Jang Wol smiled and asked,
"Feeling better?"
"Yes..."
"Glad to hear it. I'll get you back to Mount Emei on time, so don't worry too much."
Yu Cheong-seon started in surprise.
Were all the people here mind readers or something?
