Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Reunion
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He had jokingly called it a mess at home, but Seon Woo Hoon was keenly aware that the situation at the Namgung Clan was anything but ordinary.
The auras surging around the clan lord's residence exerted enough pressure that even he felt it intensely.
Undoubtedly, transcendent masters who had reached the pinnacle of their arts were clashing with full force, unleashing their martial prowess.
Unless one was a transcendent master themselves, even standing nearby would be forbidden.
Even from a distance, ordinary folk without the strength to properly control their inner energy would suffer internal injuries and vomit blood.
That was the caliber of their auras and power.
As the saying goes, "You see only as much as you know."
From the lingering energy alone, Seon Woo Hoon could gauge the true prowess of those involved.
'Incredible.'
Even among transcendent masters, differences in skill existed.
Terms like entry, early, mid, late, and peak weren't arbitrarily created to further divide those of the same realm.
Of course, anyone who took such rankings at face value and proclaimed themselves an "entry-level transcendent" or "peak transcendent" was just a poser.
Or one of those from the Heterodox Ten Freaks' Ranking Assembly.
In any case, Seon Woo Hoon compared the power he sensed from those auras to his own level.
'Stronger than me. The Sword King... I heard he'd devolved into a drunken madman lost in wine, women, and song, but his skills haven't rusted, it seems.'
That didn't mean he'd automatically lose if they fought.
The odds would just be low.
'And the one facing off against that Sword King... even thinking about it sends shivers down my spine.'
A surge of exhilaration made the hairs on his body stand on end.
Killing intent began to ripple from Seon Woo Hoon's body.
Before he knew it, his hands had gripped the hilts of his beloved weapons, the Crimson Dragon Sword and the Fiery Dragon Saber.
"Hey, you two-faced bastard."
Just as Seon Woo Hoon called Namgung Do "one-armed" in jest,
Namgung Do shortened "Ambiguous"—meaning neither this nor that—to "two-faced" as a jab at him.
It was a nickname poking fun at his use of both sword and saber.
"...Help me out here."
It bruised his pride—terribly so—but
Namgung Do, sensing the spreading auras from afar, knew this wasn't the time to stand on ceremony.
And it wasn't just that.
Unlike Seon Woo Hoon, who was solely fixated on the clash between transcendent masters stirring his battle lust despite it being someone else's affair, Namgung Do was also taking stock of the scattered skirmishes breaking out across the clan's compound.
Death permeated everywhere.
Just estimating the casualties made his head spin.
Considering the Namgung Clan's long history,
this catastrophe was the first since the time when every family member had staked their lives to repel the Rebel King's rebellion.
At Namgung Do's request, Seon Woo Hoon readily gripped his hilt tighter.
"Sure thing. Don't worry."
Friend was friend, after all, come what may.
And owing the Namgung Clan a debt would make it easier for his nephew to track down that Blue Sound Jade Maiden or whatever physician he was after in Namchang County.
As he'd thought before.
'Truly, there's no uncle like this in the world.'
Seon Woo Hoon's lips curved into an irrepressible grin of excitement. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That's how it happened."
Having heard Seon Woo Hoon's explanation, Wi Sowol murmured softly to herself, "I see."
With his sharp senses, Seon Woo Hoon naturally caught the mutter.
But he took it simply as her understanding the situation.
Yet the reason Wi Sowol had murmured that was entirely different.
'Seon Woo Hoon and Namgung Do. Those two must have come and prevented the clan's annihilation.'
If so, then it raised the likelihood that Seon Woo Hyun had been here in her past life as well.
It was a bit surprising, mingled with a twinge of disappointment and curiosity—why hadn't I known about that?
'Thanks to those two, the clan survived somehow.'
But it wasn't unscathed.
The Namgung Clan's compound, visible to Wi Sowol's eyes, was far beyond what empty words could call "fine."
Crumbled walls, collapsed roofs, torn-up grounds, corpses being cleared one by one...
And the crowning horror: the blood scrawled "Reverse Heaven" over the royal-granted plaque of the Sword King Household.
That writing, surely painted in the blood of Namgung clansmen, declared the attackers' identity and their manifesto.
The arrogance—fearlessly proclaiming their deed—seemed evident even in the strokes of the characters.
In her past life, the damage must have been even worse.
Racking her memory, she recalled that the previous lord, Namgung Won, who had secluded himself in golden retirement, had returned to the clan around then.
To be clear, this era was no age of great peace.
Epidemics flared up everywhere.
Commerce had flourished, making goods abundant, but agriculture—the true foundation—suffered frequent poor harvests.
On top of that, the imperial court had essentially outsourced domestic security to the martial world while focusing on repelling foreign invaders from the northern and southern barbarians, yet those foes grew bolder.
The age still harbored dangers and chaos.
Yet life was tolerable enough.
Even failed crops could be offset by booming trade, allowing survival amid hardship.
When plagues struck, the court or the martial world would open their coffers and summon physicians.
Thus, while not a true golden age, no one called it an era of chaos.
But that seemed to have ended here.
True turmoil was now at hand.
Those two characters proclaimed it.
'Reverse Heaven Alliance...'
Of course, the world wouldn't change overnight.
The emperor was called mediocre but diligently managed state affairs, and foreign threats were being held at bay.
Even in the orthodox and heterodox martial world, local power struggles never ceased, but no side escalated to total war capable of wiping out another faction.
Yet once a crack began, it would spread in an instant, crumbling the dam.
"By the way, how did you end up here?"
Wi Sowol, lost in thought, snapped back to reality at Seon Woo Hoon's question.
She saw him grinning slyly and glancing at Seon Woo Hyun.
"With my nephew here, no less. Last time, you said you knew each other, and sure enough, what a fine pair you make. Right, nephew? This is the girl I mentioned in my letter. Impressed by your uncle's eye for talent?"
"Uncle. That's rude to Lady Wi."
Seon Woo Hoon clicked his tongue at Seon Woo Hyun's stiff response, delivered without a hint of embarrassment.
"Enough. The kid doesn't know romance."
More than that, Seon Woo Hoon was curious about Wi Sowol's circumstances.
"Anyway, how did you...?"
"Later for that. Help clean up first."
Wi Sowol had spoken with Seon Woo Hoon partly because he'd approached her upon spotting her, but mostly to grasp the situation.
With the basics confirmed, it was time for her to do her part.
Wi Sowol donned the beak mask and apron she'd entrusted to Ryu Yeonseo and gotten back.
Time to return to being a physician.
As Wi Sowol moved, Hwangbo Yun and Seon Woo Hyun—who'd been gauging Seon Woo Hoon's level—and the newly joined Seon Woo Hoon trailed after her like ducklings.
Leading was Wi Sowol, her Moonflower Army robes gleaming under the bright moonlight.
The followers were three tall figures who drew eyes even among martial artists; it was impossible not to stare.
Yet Wi Sowol pushed through the gazes, steadfastly seeking those in need of her hands.
"Broken?"
"Who...?"
"It's broken."
For martial artists, unless it was an open fracture like those from the Beggars' Sect, breaks counted as minor injuries.
Their training granted recovery far beyond ordinary folk.
But without proper alignment, it could lead to non-union like Mount Hua Sect's Yujin Daoist's case or deformities, so Wi Sowol swiftly set the bone and splinted it.
"Don't move the arm."
"Ah, y-yes... Th-thank you."
"Hm. Do you know Namgung Shin?"
"I'm from Bright Fate Platoon, so not really..."
"Got it."
Having treated her first patient, Wi Sowol moved to the next.
Spotting someone lying bleeding, her steps quickened like a rabbit's hop.
Having gained enlightenment, she was eager to test it, her pace naturally hastening.
"Slashed. Need to draw out the energy first."
Injuries from martial artists left residual energy.
This clashed with the body's own energy, hindering recovery.
Thus, the Weird Physician insisted on expelling residuals first for such wounds.
"Circulate your energy and expel it yourself."
Wi Sowol lacked the inner energy to do it for him.
Residuals slowed healing but, unlike poison or demonic arts, caused minimal direct harm.
Apart from the Reverse Heaven Alliance being heterodox, their residuals were relatively pure.
Leaving them be, Wi Sowol sprinkled liquor, then took up her needle.
"Stopped the bleeding and stitched it, but if the residuals are heavy, it could fester. See the clan's physician to remove them and take medicine."
"Ah... I will."
"I'm looking for a guy named Namgung Shin. Know him?"
"Namgung Shin from Fierce Wind Platoon?"
"That's him."
"If it's him... Fierce Wind, so probably west side..."
"West? Got it."
En route to Namgung Shin, Wi Sowol checked three more injured.
Injuries that clan physicians would normally handle were now left to self-circulation and endurance.
Seon Woo Hoon, watching Wi Sowol treat them, remarked,
"She really became a physician, that one."
"Didn't you know Lady Wi well, Uncle?"
"What're you saying? You're the one who said you've known her for a while."
"Just brushed past her on the road once."
"She knew who you were."
"I truly have no idea. You must know her well, telling me to meet her."
"Truth is, I only saw her once."
The uncle and nephew stared in mutual bewilderment, each thinking the other knew more.
Hwangbo Yun, watching their dumbfounded exchange, thought,
'I'm still Sowol's closest friend. We're both from Gansu.'
Maybe I should teach them a bit about Sowol.
As Hwangbo Yun opened his mouth with that in mind,
"Ah! Physician!"
A shout from someone spotting Wi Sowol.
It was none other than the Namgung Shin she'd been seeking.
Battered with scratches signaling his battle participation, he ran to her, breathing raggedly.
Seeing him, Wi Sowol murmured softly,
"You're fine. Good."
Even the duckling trio thought, loads of wounds, and that's 'fine'?
But Reverse Sword Namgung Shin, who'd roamed with Wi Soil in her past life, would call himself "fine" even with his gut split open and organs spilling: "No vital organs hit."
Scratches? Mere dry skin.
To them, such wounds were trivial as chapped skin.
Wi Sowol relaxed, but Namgung Shin suddenly said,
"P-Please come with me."
"Problem with Hui-ah?"
Wi Sowol asked gravely.
First Seon Woo Hyun, now Seon Woo Hoon too.
With syphilis cure copies doubled, it was over—but injury in this fight changed things.
Fortunately, it wasn't that.
"The Lord...!"
"Ah, that. Yeah. Lead on."
Namgung Shin panted, trying to take point.
But newly entered peak realm, his lightness skill drained from battle was too slow for the followers.
"Hey."
"...What?"
Namgung Shin's voice sharpened at Seon Woo Hyun's call.
He'd disliked Seon Woo Hyun's first impression.
Sticking close to the physician from the start—just disliked.
Yet he seemed far more skilled.
It irked and unsettled Namgung Shin greatly.
"Choose. Tell me the location, or let me carry you."
"Carry?"
"Tell us, we'll go ahead. If not, hitch a ride to match speed."
"......Head to the Lord's Residence, Physician."
No long deliberation.
Seon Woo Hyun's words were reasonable, and options were one.
Namgung Shin couldn't bear the humiliation of being carried by that man before Wi Sowol.
Thus he chose to lag, but one couldn't allow it.
"Sowol-ah, hitch on."
"...Mm."
Wi Sowol's Soaring Night Hundred Steps drew power from external energy even without her own.
But her current reserves made matching others hard.
Setting aside transcendent Seon Woo Hoon, Seon Woo Hyun and Hwangbo Yun were top peak masters.
Leaning on Hwangbo Yun's back, Wi Sowol repeated inwardly,
'For a physician's duty. To fulfill a physician's duty...'