The Matriarch's Headache
Even Seomun Cheong had never caused an accident quite this catastrophic. Her disciple harboring the Heavenly Demon? The very devil who had invaded the Central Plains four times and turned the entire world into a house of mourning? At this rate, she would have to formally induct the girl into the Goddess Sect. Maybe she should drag her up to the Supreme Elder Hall on Divine Maiden Peak and force her to spend the rest of her life reading Daoist texts until she died of old age. Seomun Su-rin seriously considered it.
Her foolish disciple had taken the world’s greatest calamity into her body. A disciple’s shortcomings were a master’s shortcomings, and all of this was because she had such a worthless teacher. If that was the case, then she would simply have to keep her in her arms for the rest of her life.
“You pathetic wench. All you had to do was take care of your own body and get out of there. Just why in the world did you pick up such a hideous thing? At this rate, do you really think those Demonic Cult bastards will ever let you go?”
“But… if I left it behind and ran away by myself, the Demonic Cult guys would come swarming in again…”
“Oh? So you were thinking of sacrificing your own body for the peace of the world? How dare you entertain such insolent thoughts?”
“How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this? Besides, rather than the world or whatever, I was more worried that the war would reach the Goddess Sect family…”
Faced with a disciple who spoke like that, how could Seomun Su-rin possibly get any angrier? She let out a long, heavy sigh.
Wanting to keep her in my arms was my own greed, after all. She saw the girl every day and it brought her joy. That was why she was trying to keep her close with a plausible excuse.
“So, after suppressing the Heavenly Demon Soul and leaving, it seems you headed toward Sichuan. But what’s this about treason? And who was the son of a bitch who split open my disciple’s chest? I’ll tear him to pieces.”
“Ah. The Embroidered Uniform Guard Assistant Commissioner? He was some high-ranking guy, but your disciple already sent him to the afterlife. But that guy was… right. A Blood Jiangshi Demon. That’s what he was.”
Seomun Su-rin frowned. Every time the girl opened her mouth, something heavy came tumbling out. An Assistant Commissioner referred to the third rank in the government’s military organization. If it was an Embroidered Uniform Guard Assistant Commissioner, that meant the Weiji Huichenshi. To think that the highest-ranking military official qualified to carry the Emperor’s banner had been a cursed demon performing human sacrifice for the Blood Sect. This was extremely sensitive information that could be considered high treason just by speaking it aloud.
“I think I should start from the story of when your disciple first arrived in Sichuan. I was trying to eat some mala hotpot, ah, the Greatest Chef Under Heaven. Right, Master, there’s a Greatest Chef Under Heaven in Sichuan. Well, he’s not actually the greatest under heaven, he’s the greatest in Sichuan, but since Sichuan cuisine is the best in the world, they call him the Greatest Chef Under Heaven instead of the Greatest in Sichuan. Anyway, there was this ultimate mala hotpot, but… ah, I never got to eat it in the end. Master, do you like mala hotpot by any chance?”
“……? It’s not to my taste. I don’t enjoy food with that heavy numbing spice, but mala hotpot or whatever doesn’t matter. Move on.”
“Ah. Anyway, there were these guys from the Five Poisons Sect. Ah, what were they again? Did they just have terrible timing and get caught in the crossfire?”
The Five Poisons Sect had chosen the wrong side by aligning themselves with the Eastern Depot’s Chief Eunuch, so they were scheduled to soon face a harsh assault from the strange experts of the royal manor and the Tang Clan’s avengers. Cheong had no interest and didn’t particularly want to know, so she gave a vague explanation and moved on.
“……And when I woke up after sleeping, they said it was all over.”
“I see. You maintained your loyalty until the end but didn’t dig too deeply. That’s quite commendable behavior for once. It would have been better if you hadn’t gotten hurt, though.”
“Ah, right. Master, look at this. The cross-shaped scar has a rather wild charm to it, doesn’t it? Whoa!”
THWACK!!
Cheong, who had dared to expose her unnecessarily large breasts in front of her master, immediately rolled across the floor.
“You’re really asking for a beating.”
“No, it really hurts…”
“You only say it hurts, but your toughness keeps improving. Good heavens. I don’t think even darksteel would be harder than my disciple’s skull.”
This time, she was serious. She had heard the girl learned the Muscle Tendon Change Classic. She never imagined that its mysterious power would turn her into someone with a skull made of darksteel. Seomun Su-rin, who had been planning to leave the chest wound as a scar to serve as a lifelong lesson, changed her mind.
There were some idiots for whom lessons simply didn’t work. This was a pathetic wench who, even after having a hideous mark carved into her chest, was instead giggling and talking about its wild charm. Leaving it as a lesson would only leave a flaw that others would look at with disgust.
“For now, let’s return home. Given the nature of the news, the disciples’ worries are no small matter.”
From what she had heard, there was no benefit in staying at the Tang Clan any longer. Since it was related to the imperial family’s secret power struggles, it would be better to leave the secular world entirely and hide her body until the names that had been entangled settled down a bit.
Cheong rolled her eyes and answered quietly.
“Um, I have to wait for my sworn sister, Physician Ho…”
“Leave that old man in front of us and tell him to set up a household in Zigui later. No matter how much of a servant he is, we cannot bring him into the sect proper.”
Zigui was the name of a city near the Goddess Sect. The Goddess Sect was a sanctuary forbidden to men. At least it had been since the time of the Martial Heaven Supreme Emperor. Before that, there had been a few instances of shameless imperial scoundrels invading, but since the Divine Maiden of Wushan enshrined in the temple was the daughter of the Flame Emperor and the Emperor’s lover, they had turned a blind eye. After the government’s power waned, however, they had never permitted it again.
In other words, in Seomun Su-rin’s lifetime, it had never happened even once.
“Um, about treating the scar… Ah. It doesn’t really matter, though.”
“A scar can be taken care of with medicine. The Tang Clan’s Jichang Mountain is famous for its effective remedies, isn’t it?”
“Huh? You mean just applying medicine was enough?”
“What else would it be? Did you think you had to knead the distressing wound to make it worse?”
“They definitely said eoyan joma. It wasn’t exactly kneading, but they were stroking it and stuff…”
Eoyan joma. Shortened to anma, it referred to the healing art of the Chinese people. It was also a primitive medical practice that had arisen naturally in various parts of the world, not just among the Chinese.
“Eoyan joma is for muscles, tendons, and bones. What would you use it for on a lump of flesh? Besides, they’re already so heavy and large that they ruin the drape of your clothes. Don’t even think about touching them. They’ll only get bigger.”
Cheong’s eyes narrowed.
That Dang Nan-a was a truly terrible wench. Shouldn’t her medical license be revoked? Of course, there was no such thing as a medical license in the Central Plains, and since the barbaric Central Plains didn’t recognize female physicians, she was merely a physician in name only—Ho So-in.
Knock, knock.
Just as the saying goes that speaking of a tiger makes it appear, Dang Nan-a knocked on the door at the perfect moment and showed up.
“Lunch is ready. Would the Grand Matriarch perhaps grace us with her presence?”
Dang Nan-a spoke while fidgeting with a nervous expression, inviting them to the meal. Yet her eyes sparkled and remained fixed on Seomun Su-rin, unable to leave. It was only natural. The Grand Matriarch Seomun Su-rin was an idol to every female martial artist in the Jianghu. How could a female martial artist not be nervous and excited upon meeting the greatest among women?
Cheong pointed her finger, saying she had caught her at the right time.
“Hey. You. Is it okay for a doctor to deceive a patient?”
“Huh? Who? Me?”
“Yeah, you.”
However, this was an unfair accusation for Dang Nan-a. While she couldn’t say there was no personal motive, it had been a medical procedure meant to properly align the internal organs after they had been completely severed in half. Moreover, she had concentrated her entire mind and even operated her internal energy, pouring out extreme sincerity. Each time she broke into a sweat, became exhausted, and drained her stamina completely.
Seomun Su-rin was not a physician either, so her knowledge of treatment only went as far as stitching up tears, setting broken bones, and wiping and applying medicine to bleeding wounds. She did not truly understand medical arts.
“……Sorry. I didn’t know.”
“Hmph. Sorry for being a quack, huh?”
“I’m really sorry.”
“Really? If you’re sorry… Ahem. You have to grant me a request later. You have to grant it as much as you’re sorry.”
Not just one or two, but as many as she was sorry? It was truly a vicious way of speaking. Cheong, who was not one to be taken lightly, was about to protest that there was no such thing when Dang Nan-a, who had already changed direction, spoke politely to Seomun Su-rin.
“Lady Seomun, this humble girl has one request. While also looking after Cheong’s wounds, would you permit this girl to stay at the Goddess Sect and take her pulse?”
“If you would do so, I would be grateful, but…”
Seomun Su-rin looked around the splendid guest hall. The Goddess Sect lived by frugality and simplicity; the only area they did not skimp on was meals.
“The lifestyle of our sect is quite austere, so it will be rather difficult. Will that be alright?”
“Of course! I’d actually love it! Thank you!”
Even if she weren’t her disciple’s friend, Seomun Su-rin had a rather favorable opinion of Dang Nan-a. For one thing, she was a woman. It was true that because there were no female physicians in the Jianghu, women found it difficult to ask for a pulse reading when they had embarrassing conditions. She had heard the girl was a spoiled child who threw tantrums and acted coquettishly, but it seemed rumors couldn’t be trusted.
And so, after receiving lunch as well, Seomun Su-rin immediately packed her things and left the Tang Clan.
Only then did Seomun Su-rin turn her gaze toward Choe-ri-ong.
Choe-ri-ong couldn’t meet her eyes and only stared at the floor. In terms of martial prowess, age, and even his relationship with Cheong, there was nothing in which he surpassed her. All he could do was shrink back obediently and await his judgment.
Seomun Su-rin saw through his anxious heart.
The Purple Lightning Demon Lord was a figure with quite the notorious reputation as a patrol envoy of the Demonic Cult. Still, it seemed he felt shame for his past. Even so, to have scattered his lifelong cultivation—Seomun Su-rin couldn’t even imagine how hollow that must feel.
Her disciple had taken his side and spoken for him, so there might have been some biased interpretation mixed in, but if he had taught her a divine art after his internal energy had been dissolved…
Seomun Su-rin eventually let out a deep sigh and spoke.
“My disciple is so lacking that whenever she goes out into the Jianghu, it feels like leaving a child by the water’s edge, and my heart is never at ease. At times like that, I hope you will look after her.”
“……Yes. Thank you, Senior.”
“Hmph.”
To think she would be called Senior by a great demon because of her disciple’s shortcomings. It was truly absurd. Still, if a master of the Harmonious Realm was going to attend to her disciple, that much was tolerable.
Her disciple’s Jianghu journey had to be extraordinarily bizarre. Perhaps it was a trial that followed her because she refused her innate murderous nature. There was no way to forcibly confine her and block it.
In the courtyard of the royal manor, the Virtuous Manifestation Prince, who had been pacing around, asked Yeon Pa, who wore a sly smile.
“Hmm. Would it not be acceptable to at least see them off?”
“Your Highness, it is best not to be seen at all. Even though she looks like that now, she was once called the Mad Bitch of the Female Light Dog. Do you think the Supreme Matriarch of the all-female Goddess Sect, who even passed on her surname to her named disciple, would watch with open eyes as she enters another family’s house?”
“No, who said anything about entering a family? I merely wished to bid farewell to a close friend.”
“Aigoo, Your Highness. You must know when to hold back. Later, after the matter is settled and you seek forgiveness, do you think she would dare raise her hand against the son-in-law sitting on the dragon throne?”
Yeon Pa spoke with a bright, beaming smile.
“No, son-in-law? I am not such a—”
“Are you not? Did you not clearly ask this old woman about a policy of harmony between the government and the Murim?”
“That was for the greater cause…”
The Virtuous Manifestation Prince made his excuse with a bright red face. Yeon Pa, having caught a rare opportunity, chattered away like a grandmother teasing her grandson.
“The greater cause, yes, the greater cause is good. This old woman likes the greater cause, and she likes selfish motives too. I have lived comfortably until now, so if it pleases Your Highness, it pleases this old woman as well. Hehe.”
And in truth, this was the biggest problem with those who carried the blood of the Son of Heaven. They thought that simply flashing a purple background with a golden dragon pattern would make everyone in the world flip their eyes and come running. Shouldn’t one first ask whether the liquor merchant was even open for business before worrying about what to drink? Gulping down honey water by the bowl before even sitting at the drinking table would only fill one’s stomach for nothing.