The Path to Kaifeng
The road to Kaifeng.
“It might sting a little?”
“Don’t famous doctors or divine physicians usually poke you with needles so gently you don’t even notice? Like, don’t they just stick needles in chickens and let them run around?”
“Gu Chim Ji Hui? Wow, you even know that? But if you can’t even feel the needle, that’s a problem. What kind of assassin can’t feel pain?”
Then, immediately after—
A prick on the shoulder. Then another prick. Then a long, drawn-out prick.
“Is this right? It hurts for quite a while.”
“Huh? Why isn’t the needle going in?”
Humanity’s strongest body refused to even accept acupuncture.
Dang Nan-a’s expression turned flustered as she pressed down harder on the needle.
“What the—why is your muscle like a damn rock? Why. Won’t. It. Go. In—ugh!”
“Hey, that hurts. Ow. I said it hurts!”
“Just bear with it a little—ugh!”
Normally, when administering acupuncture, one should gently hold the needle between thumb and middle finger, twist it lightly, and insert it to the precise depth. For particularly knotted areas, one might even tap it in softly with the index finger.
But since the needle only sank into the elastic skin without piercing through, Dang Nan-a grunted and groaned before finally readjusting her grip on the long needle.
She flipped it so the tip pointed downward, wrapped her entire fist around the handle, and firmly blocked the end with her thumb.
Anyone watching would have thought she was holding a dagger or an ice pick rather than an acupuncture needle.
“Hey, aren’t you going to drop your defensive qi? Why are you wrapping your protective energy around yourself like that to block the needle?”
“Uh, wait, I didn’t do it on purpose—there, now it’s—OW!”
With a rather violent burst of pain, the distinct sensation of the needle plunging deep into her shoulder followed.
“Ah!”
It was the voice of a very flustered doctor. The kind of sound that, whether during medical treatment or surgery, was a patient’s worst nightmare.
“……I think I just heard the exact sound a physician should never make.”
“No, no. That didn’t happen.”
“Did I mishear? Oh, wow, that’s interesting. The pain seems to have dropped sharply?”
“Huh? Really? That shouldn’t be possible?”
“……Excuse me? Doctor?”
“No, it’s just… I stabbed it quite deep. Can you try moving your fingers?”
“Huh? Um… they’re not moving? Is that normal?”
“They’ll move by morning. Probably. Still, since it’s completely paralyzed now, the needle should go in properly. Alright then, here comes another prick.”
With a firm, grinding pressure that felt like it was trying to crush something, Dang Nan-a let out a resentful voice.
“Damn it… it still won’t go in……”
Cheong quietly thought to herself.
I really should have gone with scientific Western medicine instead of these quack Korean medicine hacks.
It’s truly the regret of a lifetime that there are no Western doctors around. Seriously.
However, there was one thing Cheong still didn’t know.
In this era, Western medicine was more obsessed with fundamental treatments than solving individual symptoms.
Where is the root of pain? The brain! Cut out the brain!
Where is the root of disease? The rectum! Cut out the rectum!
The back! Look at the back!
It might sound like a lie, but consider this: Westerners suffered terribly from toothaches. So the personal physicians of noble aristocrats practiced preventive medicine by pulling out all their patients’ teeth before they could even start hurting—including the respected royal family.
What? Disinfection? Washing tools and hands? Only insane germaphobe lunatics would do something like that!
Wait, what? Lunatics? The brain! Cut out the brain!
For reference, this was how Western medicine advanced in this era: Doctors would compare the visions they saw in their dreams, then adopt whatever the loudest person claimed as official knowledge.
The very concept was fundamentally different.
Korean medicine existed to treat the sick, so a physician who failed to cure someone had to be prepared to get stoned by angry patients.
Western medicine, on the other hand, was closer to a desperate attempt to save someone who was going to die anyway. If it worked, great. If it failed, the patient was going to die anyway, so the doctor bore no fault. And if the patient somehow survived, it was hailed as the discovery of a new treatment method, and another horrifying tool was added to the arsenal.
Therefore, Cheong had to be grateful to Dang Nan-a. Sort of.
“Ah!”
“What is it now?”
“Nothing, don’t worry. You should be able to move your arm by tomorrow lunchtime… probably?”
Cheong thought again.
The only advantage of having a Korean medicine doctor was that she was at least a real doctor. Now she doesn’t even have that anymore.
----
Breakfast for people of the Central Plains tended to be simple.
If that was the case, Cheong was more than willing to abandon her identity as one of them.
“That one. Yeah, soak it thoroughly. Ahh.”
Cheong nibbled at the dumpling Gyeon Po-hui offered like a baby bird.
When you wrapped vegetables simply stir-fried with red pepper paste inside a torn dumpling, the spicy and sour combination was truly delicious.
What else was she supposed to do when her arm wouldn’t move?
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t because of the injury, but because of Dang Nan-a’s brutish acupuncture that relied entirely on raw strength.
From Dang Nan-a’s perspective, if the needle wouldn’t go in, what else was she supposed to do?
Cheong could have used chopsticks with her left hand.
But at a leisurely meal with no competitors around, there was no reason to go that far.
Instead, the real competition was on the feeding side.
The moment Cheong swallowed, Dang Nan-a immediately scooped up a huge portion with her chopsticks and held it out.
“Wait, take out the eggplant. Take it out.”
“What? You don’t eat eggplant? You shouldn’t be a picky eater.”
“I only like the fried ones! And I’ve already grown as much as I’m going to grow. What’s the point of eating everything evenly to get even bigger? Hey. You. Where are you looking again?”
“No, it’s just… you said you’ve grown……”
As they bickered, Jegal Ihyeon was staring at them with an entranced look.
Since his gaze was different from Dang Nan-a’s, Cheong’s reaction was different too.
“What? Jegal. Never seen someone who eats a lot before? Am I that fascinating? I haven’t even eaten half yet.”
“If you ask whether it’s fascinating, then yes, it is quite fascinating. By the way, Sister, it looks like your arm is uncomfortable. May I ask how that happened?”
“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing. I got the acupuncture wrong last night and it caused temporary paralysis.”
It was a subjective answer of “no,” because Cheong couldn’t possibly admit that she had teased his little sister and ended up getting her arm properly wrecked.
Still, she wasn’t exactly lying.
“Ugh. That’s why they’re feeding me. No, what the hell? I went out of my way to think of you……!”
“I’m grateful for that. Hmm, do I need another needle?”
“I’ve gotten a bit used to it now……”
It didn’t sound very trustworthy. But since Dang Nan-a had said she was paying attention, and although it caused paralysis, the effect had come out properly, there was nothing more to say.
Since they needed to reach the next city, Hyogam, by evening, they set out from the Jegal Clan right after breakfast.
Jegal Hyang clung to her leg so tightly that Cheong briefly considered staying another day, but—
“Sister, when are you coming back? Will you come pick me up?”
Cheong let out a small chuckle.
After all, kids were creatures who gave affection easily and forgot it just as easily. No matter how cute they were, doting on them was ultimately pointless. Once they grew up, the boys became gross and the girls became snobby, so getting close to kids had no nutritional value whatsoever.
Cheong answered vaguely and patted her head.
“Sure. If you grow up pretty, I’ll come get you.”
“Hehe, I’ll be waiting, Sister.”
She’ll probably forget about the one adult who took her on a single walk when she was seven within a few days and later ask who I am.
----
Traveling in the Jegal Clan’s carriage was an incredibly comfortable journey.
It wasn’t quite on the level of the Demonic Cult’s obsidian carriage, but it was an invention from the Jegal Clan—the experts of mechanical devices—that offered a ride quality close to it.
Besides, there was no chance of anyone picking a fight.
Far from picking fights, people parted like a miracle the moment they saw the carriage with the Jegal nameplate attached.
They continued traveling northward in such comfort, and finally entered Henan Province and arrived at Xinyang.
Xinyang was a city situated with a large lake on its left side. That lake was Nanyang Lake.
However, Nanyang was the name of a town quite far to the west.
“Do you know why the lake in Xinyang is called Nanyang Lake? To explain that, I must start from the time of the Xin Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. At that time……”
Jegal Ihyeon suddenly began automatically firing off a lecture on the subject.
Since no one had even asked, it was truly a bizarre occurrence.
“……And thus, it was later divided into Nanyang and Xinyang. Ah, speaking of Nanyang, I cannot suppress my special feelings since it is the place where my ancestor Zhuge Liang spent his childhood. Furthermore, in the past, Liu Xuande visited our ancestor Zhuge Liang three times while serving as county magistrate, so the famous story of the Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage actually took place in Nanyang……”
The topic naturally flowed into Nanyang, so it seemed he had wanted to talk about Zhuge Liang all along. Well, it made sense that he couldn’t resist bragging about his family’s greatest ancestor.
However, Nanyang was the neighboring town. This was Xinyang.
Not long after the Jegal Clan carriage entered the city, a group of martial artists came rushing over. It was a commendable competition between the local orthodox martial halls, each wanting to receive them.
Among them, Cheong spotted a familiar face.
“Ah. So this is the place?”
She had thought he looked familiar.
“Isn’t that Young Master Wang from the Great Justice Gate?”
It was Wang Son-seok, the successor of the Great Justice Gate.
Wang Son-seok also recognized Cheong.
She had her face covered, which made her even easier to recognize due to her distinctive physical features. If she had shown her face, he probably wouldn’t have recognized her at all.
“Ah! It’s Lady Seomun! Have you been well?”
“I’ve been……”
Cheong, who had been about to give the usual reply, suddenly froze.
After picking up the Boksinjeok and returning, just how cold and brutal had that winter been?
And those damn Demonic Cult bastards were absolute sons of bitches.
Thinking about it again made her furious. She decided she should summon the Heavenly Demon later and smash some things to vent her anger.
“Lady?”
“I’ve been… so-so. I can’t even say I’ve been well, not even as empty courtesy……”
Wang Son-seok broke out in a cold sweat. Since it was difficult to respond to that, he had no choice but to change the subject.
“Ah! So you’re on your way to participate in the Grand Murim Tournament? Oh, and this young hero from the Jegal Clan here is the one with the renowned reputation of—Maengsin—”
Wang Son-seok’s words suddenly cut off.
He had stopped right at “Maengsin,” so it ended up sounding like he was about to say “Beast’s Body!”
It was all because of Dang Nan-a.
Despite how poorly Cheong was treated, Dang Nan-a was a proud member of the Five Flowers of Murim—the Understanding Poison Flower.
The members of the Jegal Clan, who had unusually high aesthetic standards, would normally have continued their exercise while saying “How beautiful,” but the normal reaction for a man was to have his words completely blocked like this.
“What? Cheong-ah, do you know him?”
“I received some help from him before… or wait, thinking about it, didn’t the people from the Great Justice Gate end up owing me? What do you think?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct. Our Great Justice Gate received a great favor from Lady Seomun. By the way, this truly beautiful young lady is……”
It was a statement that could have been considered rude, but in truth, Wang Son-seok wasn’t even properly hearing what Cheong was saying.
There was a radiant beauty standing right in front of him, after all.
“This is Dang Nan-a.”
“The Understanding Poison Flower!”
Watching that scene, Cheong thought to herself.
Seeing that, I kind of want a nickname too. Just saying the name automatically fires off an exclamation.
In fact, Cheong did have a nickname. It just hadn’t spread very widely.
She had the magnificent title of Wol-ah Divine Sword. It had even been bestowed by the Mount Hua Sect’s Sect Leader, Yu Ha-jin himself!
It wasn’t the Wol-ah Sword, but the Wol-ah Divine Sword.
Calling a young girl who would soon be insisting she was officially twenty years old a “divine sword” was a grandiose title that would make everyone snort.
In fact, that was precisely why it hadn’t spread.
People assumed the Mount Hua Sect Leader had either gone senile or, after seeing the Female Mad Dog, had shamelessly gilded a mere young girl without regard for dignity.
Since no one truly believed it, the name never spread.
It was the consequence of having a title that was simply too grand.