Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Promotion Exam
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“Good. I'll provide the necessary herbs, so treat the patient yourself. Right in front of my eyes.”
With that declaration, she turned and ascended the platform once more. The first round of the promotion exam came to a close. The disciples scattered in shock and confusion. I stood frozen in place like a stone statue, struggling to calm my pounding heart.
“Senior Brother!”
A frantic voice called out, followed by the soft, voluptuous sensation of someone hugging me tightly from behind. Along with her familiar scent, Soso's enormous breasts pressed firmly against my back. It was a bold move, uncharacteristic of her usual demeanor.
“You're... you're amazing! Everyone mocked you, but I knew it! I knew you'd pull it through!”
Her voice trembled faintly with excitement and pride. The body pressed against my back quivered ever so slightly.
The suffocating tension that had weighed on me moments ago melted away like snow under her warm body heat. I started to say something but stopped myself. The soft, overwhelming weight against my back made my head spin. The sensation from last night, when they overflowed in my hands, came flooding back vividly.
“I... I just did what I could.”
“No way! You're the best, Senior Brother! You didn't back down even in front of our cold Master!”
Soso hugged me even tighter. Her full breasts mashed even deeper into my back. Damn. I could feel the blood rushing southward again.
I coughed awkwardly, trying to pry her off. But she refused to let go. Instead, she rubbed her face against my shoulder and whined.
“Senior Brother, I'm so happy...”
Her hot breath tickled my nape. My body twitched at the itchy sensation. This innocent girl seemed completely oblivious to how much she was teasing me. Or maybe... she knew exactly what she was doing.
I was lost in the intimate closeness when—
“That's enough.”
An icy voice cut between us.
I turned to see Master Hyehyang standing there, looking down at us. Her gaze lingered briefly on Soso's arms around me and her breasts against my back before shifting to me. Her eyes brimmed with blatant contempt and disgust.
Soso jumped back in alarm, her face flushing crimson in an instant.
“M-Master...”
Hyehyang ignored Soso entirely and ordered me.
“Shadowless. Follow me.”
She turned and headed toward the Healer Immortal Hall, her residence. With no choice, I shot Soso an apologetic glance and followed behind.
The deep inner chambers of Master's private quarters in the Healer Immortal Hall. This was a forbidden zone no one but the elder herself could enter freely. Hyehyang led me straight into her room.
The space was filled with rare herbs and ancient tomes. The air was thick with the scent of medicinal plants.
She closed the door silently and bolted it from inside.
A completely sealed room. Amid the pungent herbal aroma piercing my nose mingled her unique cool fragrance. The rustle of silk as she turned faced me squarely where I stood in the center of the room, approaching slowly.
I held my breath. Her quarters felt like the lair of a massive beast, and I was the foolish prey that had walked in on its own.
Hyehyang stopped just within arm's reach. Her face was as cold as if dusted with frost. Her emotionless eyes scanned me from head to toe.
“Tell me the truth.”
Her voice was low and quiet, yet carried enough pressure to freeze the air in the room.
“How did you diagnose it?”
My heart sank. Here it comes.
For a fleeting moment, a dizzying temptation seized me. Should I hypnotize her? The surest way to escape this crisis. Make her meet my eyes and thread my mind into the depths of her consciousness. I could erase all her doubts and implant absolute trust in me.
But that thought vanished from my head as quickly as it came.
...Insane.
She wasn't some ordinary martial artist. A woman with exceptional medical skills worthy of being called the next Healer Immortal, backed by a mental fortitude to match. Someone with her strength of will would sense the intrusion instantly and counterattack. No half-baked hypnosis could pierce her mental barriers.
The outcome was obvious. I'd be branded a user of mysterious sorcery, and my head would roll in no time.
I banished the dangerous notion entirely. And grasped the only lifeline I had prepared: acting. It was all I could do.
I mustered the most innocent expression I could, tinged with a hint of grievance. Shoulders slightly hunched, I feigned the fragile disciple barely enduring her piercing gaze.
“Master... it's true. Long ago, in a dusty corner of the Scripture Pavilion, I stumbled upon an old medical text...”
My voice trembled faintly. Of course, even that was calculated acting.
...Wait, where the hell did I actually see Silkworm Devouring Poison? Honestly, I couldn't remember a thing. It just popped into my head during the exam, and in that moment, I had an inexplicable certainty. But having already committed, I had to explain.
Mixing truth with lies.
“Most of the book was ruined by mold and worms, but the section on 'Silkworm Devouring Poison' remained faintly legible. The description of that bizarre parasite worm draining life force from within was so eerie, I couldn't forget it. When I saw the patient today, it suddenly came back to me.”
As my earnest excuse continued, Hyehyang said nothing. She simply analyzed every micro-tremor in my eyes and facial muscles with her cold gaze. A relentless scrutiny, as if hunting for lies.
A heavy silence filled the room. Only the faint bubbling of herbs and my heartbeat broke it.
After a long while, she finally spoke softly.
“I see.”
A short reply. I exhaled inwardly in relief. But it didn't last.
Doubt still lingered in her eyes. She didn't believe me. She was just letting it slide this once. 'Whatever your secret is, I'll uncover it with my own hands someday.' That's what her gaze conveyed. A chilling sensation, like a blade grazing my nape.
Hyehyang shifted topics, as if ending the Silkworm Devouring Poison discussion there.
“Enough of that.”
She stepped back and crossed her arms. Her already firm breasts stood out even more, capturing my gaze. Not as overwhelmingly large as Soso's, but full enough that even through her clothes, their shape and weight were evident.
“Aren't you... too close to Soso?”
An unexpected question. I was at a loss for words.
“I don't care. But it seems others find your intimacy uncomfortable.”
Others who were uncomfortable. Faces flashed in my mind—senior brothers who openly flirted with Soso. They'd surely complained to Master. Their jealousy meant nothing to me. The issue was her intent in saying it.
Was she really concerned about others' stares? No. She wasn't the type to fuss over trivialities. This was a test.
As I pondered my response, words I never imagined came from her lips.
“Well, with Soso's vulgar body, it's no wonder any man would have impure thoughts.”
“......Pardon?”
I doubted my ears. Vulgar? To that girl with her beaming, purely innocent smile.
But Hyehyang ignored my reaction and continued. The corner of her lips curved into a strange smile.
“If such defiling thoughts ever cross your mind... don't suffer alone. Consult your Master. Guiding you on the right path is part of my duty, after all.”
Consult her? My Master?
Last night's events replayed vividly in my mind. Soso shyly untying her robes on command, revealing her full breasts. The hot, soft feel of sliding into her mouth. Her small lips straining to accommodate me, jaw aching wide. The face with teary eyes as she swallowed my release at the end.
I flinched.
My body trembled. Her words pierced my guilt precisely. As if she knew every 'bad deed' I'd done to Soso last night. My heart raced wildly, blood rushing to my face.
Her eyes narrowed.
“What's wrong?”
I snapped to attention. I bowed my head hastily, desperately hiding my expression.
“N-Nothing! I was just... deeply moved by your profound wisdom, Master.”
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
“I'll... keep your teachings in mind.”
Hyehyang stared down at me silently. Suspicion was plain on her face. She glared at my bowed head as if piercing it, then turned away as if losing interest.
“It's time.”
She walked to the herbal bath setup in one corner and spoke. Inside, Chilbo Temple's venom fangs and Fire Jade Herb bubbled, emitting an unpleasant purple smoke.
“Now it's time to prove if you were right... or wrong.”