Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: A Thread of Hope (1)
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Elder Jang's question darkened the face of the apothecary owner who was leading the way.
Apothecary owner Yang Nogap was a short man, a full foot—about thirty centimeters—shorter than the average fellow.
Because of that, he treasured his beard, which dangled down to his navel, like a precious gem.
He had a habit of gently stroking it during conversations.
As if petting a small, elegant lion dog on the table.
Now, caressing his suddenly bald chin like a barren mountain, Yang Nogap huffed hot breaths in rising frustration.
Two unusually long, curly nose hairs, dormant inside his nostrils, poked out.
"Well... There are two vermin in the village, and one of them, the most useless brat, did this to me."
Yang Nogap shuddered at the thought of Yeon Somi, who had stolen his treasure.
He snatched the offending nose hairs and yanked them out in one swift motion.
They had been slipping from his grasp like loaches just moments before.
Satisfaction bloomed on Yang Nogap's face, and he bared his dense, yellowish teeth like a demon.
"I was just pondering how to exterminate them. But somehow, things seem to be working out... Oh dear, I've prattled on about nonsense. Please, don't mind me."
Yang Nogap cut himself off mid-rant.
He knew better than anyone that Elder Jang wasn't the type to meddle deeply in others' affairs.
Even now, Jang Mucheon's thoughts were entirely on his granddaughter, Jang Ryeongwol.
"This way, Elder Jang."
The apothecary owner opened a red door emblazoned with a golden vermilion bird.
It was a place accessible only to Benevolent Heart Hall's most important guests, called the Golden Magpie Pavilion.
The first thing visible upon entering was a storage cabinet of thousands of drawers lining three walls, filled with herbal medicines.
Painted scrolls depicting gilded vermilion birds were placed here and there.
In a word, it was a space elaborately staged to properly fleece discerning customers.
As if to prove the point,
a bronze incense burner on the central table wafted thick, musky smoke from unadulterated musk extracted from a deer's genital pouch.
For reference, undiluted musk had a potent animalistic scent that rapidly circulated qi and blood, sharpening the senses.
In other words, it induced arousal, drawing out inner impulses.
Put simply, it encouraged impulse buying.
"Now, where is it~ I wonder~"
Yang Nogap, quite excited, hummed a tuneful soliloquy as he opened several drawers in the herbal cabinet.
He then pulled out a few items and explained them.
"Elder Jang, this is a wondrous herb grown in underground black veins, called Yin-Shedding Grass. It looks ordinary, but it slowly draws out the deep yin-cold energy hidden in the body, expelling the poison-like chill. Especially for extreme yin meridian ailments like the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse, this is the undisputed remedy through the ages."
"......"
"And this herb is known as Yang Fire Root. A precious root that has absorbed fiery energy from heaven and earth for a century. It infuses life force from fire qi into meridians blocked by yin energy. It's so rare that even Benevolent Heart Hall only received one this time. Whether more will come... I can't promise."
"......"
"Finally, this medicine is Great Yin Flower Grass. It blooms only one flower per full moon, truly absorbing the energies of heaven and earth. For extreme yin constitutions, it suppresses backlash and smoothly regulates qi flow."
Yang Nogap spoke without taking a breath, his wrinkled purple lips—resembling a chicken's vent—moving ceaselessly.
Elder Jang simply listened quietly, without much reaction.
There was some exaggeration, but they were all valuable herbs.
And they were things he had consumed countless times long ago.
Of course, their effects had been negligible.
'If it could just ease Ryeongwol's pain a little...'
Elder Jang and his granddaughter Jang Ryeongwol.
Three years ago, they had let go of the thread of hope.
Now, all that remained was to somehow alleviate the inevitable agony of approaching death.
"Yang Nogap, I'll take them all."
"Oh my, as expected of Benevolent Heart Hall's esteemed guest, Elder Jang. I'll prepare them right away."
Elder Jang bought all the expensive herbs, knowing full well they were useless.
Perhaps he hadn't truly let go of that thread of hope after all.
Elder Jang stepped out of Benevolent Heart Hall.
In one hand, he held a candy and a bag; in the other, the costly herbs.
Yang Nogap followed closely behind, seeing him off with utmost courtesy.
He had just sold herbs worth several years' supply of tonics in one go.
In high spirits, unlike usual, Yang Nogap began spouting idle chatter.
"I was already distressed by the false rumors that some place called Waiting People's Restaurant sells dishes good for wind-cold, but for you to recognize Benevolent Heart Hall's value and visit... I feel like I could soar like a bird."
After all, Elder Jang would half-listen, as always.
That's what he thought.
"......Waiting People's Restaurant? Isn't that a place that sells food? And they sell dishes good for wind-cold?"
"......?"
Elder Jang, who usually let Yang Nogap's chatter go in one ear and out the other,
reacted to the babble for the first time today.
'He latched onto the word 'wind-cold'? Though the severity differs, the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse is also a condition stemming from cold qi...'
Yang Nogap thought inwardly.
He was a man who had made his living on keen intuition for half a century.
Fearing Elder Jang might take an interest in Waiting People's Restaurant, he hurriedly changed the subject.
"......Oh, it's nothing. Probably some tiger-nosed fool peddling cheap herbs in food. No need to mind it, Elder Jang."
"I'll be off then."
He seemed briefly curious, but Elder Jang turned toward the alley, apparently losing interest.
"Yes, yes. Next time, I'll prepare even rarer items. Please take care."
After seeing him off, Yang Nogap rubbed his palms together like a hustler.
As he was about to enter Benevolent Heart Hall,
"Hey, Yang Nogap."
Elder Jang stopped.
Still facing away, he spoke to Yang Nogap.
"I've heard rumors that you've been jacking up prices on wind-cold medicine for the common folk lately."
"Ah, oh dear... What do you mean."
Startled, Yang Nogap waved his trotter-like hands and hemmed and hawed.
In truth, Elder Jang never cared about village matters.
Yet today, for some reason, he brought up the prices of wind-cold medicine used by the commoners.
Whatever the reason, Yang Nogap feared losing trust from his big client and quickly continued.
"Oh dear, there are these false rumors in the market lately..."
"Keep it reasonable."
Elder Jang cut off Yang Nogap's excuse.
His eye corner twitched slightly upward, and instead of words, a heavy aura emanated from his mouth.
A chill like midwinter suddenly lingered in the air.
The fine hairs on Yang Nogap's nape stood on end. A cold shiver ran from head to toe.
"A, alright. P, please take care."
Yang Nogap, who had seen Elder Jang as merely a rich old man, replied awkwardly in bewilderment.
Elder Jang's figure was already far away.
Yang Nogap called over a subordinate sweeping in front of the shop.
And then...
"What have you been doing until now? Still haven't figured out if that Woonsik Oh at Waiting People's Restaurant is using illegal herbs in his food?"
He blamed his subordinate for the chill running down his own spine.
Thwack.
"That's... Oh dear, sorry."
Yang Nogap began kicking his innocent subordinate's shin.
Thwack, thwack.
"Oh dear... Elder. W-we'll get it done soon."
Crunch, crunch.
Elder Jang walked through the market crowd like an ordinary person.
Normally, he would have used lightness skill to return home in the blink of an eye.
But today, for some reason, he took slow steps.
As if he wanted to feel the dirt underfoot like a commoner.
'The supreme master of Jianghu... Martial God... What's the use of it all? Just a hollow title from a man who can't save his own granddaughter...'
Jang Mucheon inwardly berated his own powerlessness.
At that moment, red blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. He had bitten his lip hard enough to draw blood.
"......!"
Then.
The word 'wind-cold' pierced into Elder Jang's ear.
He halted his steps.
And attuned his ear to the conversation about wind-cold.
The source wasn't the alley he was in. It came from near Waiting People's Restaurant, quite a distance away.
But as a supreme master, Elder Jang possessed the Thousand Li Earth Listening Skill, able to hear a falling leaf from a hundred zhang away.
Thus, he could eavesdrop on their talk.
'No, is there such a miraculous dish anywhere else? My stubborn wind-cold dropped right away after one bowl from Waiting People's Restaurant, like it was never there.'
'That's not all. After eating there, heat surges through my body; I only wear sleeveless clothes now.'
'Come to think of it, the neighbor guy dying from severe wind-cold is now bounding about like a martial artist. This food isn't just food—it's medicine. Top-grade medicine. First time in my life for such a wonder.'
Wind-cold was a cold caught from prolonged exposure to cold winds or low temperatures.
The Nine Yin Absolute Pulse and wind-cold differed vastly in severity, but both stemmed from cold qi.
Until now, Elder Jang had tried every remedy known in the Central Plains for the Nine Yin Absolute Pulse: immortal herbs, elixirs, pills, golden dan, secret medicines, divine drugs.
Without discrimination.
Yet for some reason...
He was drawn to mere food.
Strangely, strongly.
"A dish that suppresses severe wind-cold in one go..."
At those words, his halted steps began moving again.
Toward Waiting People's Restaurant, where Woonsik Oh was.
Elder Jang arrived at Waiting People's Restaurant and joined the long line.
He wanted to sweep aside everyone and take the front, but
he endured, etching 'patience' in his mind for his granddaughter's wish to live quietly in the village.
Having concealed his presence, he looked like a mild-mannered old man to anyone.
He had hidden it so thoroughly that the men ahead and behind were shoving him, nearly flattening him like a pancake.
"......!"
Then.
Elder Jang's wrinkled eyelids flew wide open.
The fresh-faced young cook had noticed his presence.
'I figured the one making bizarre dishes wasn't ordinary, but he even sensed my aura?'
Elder Jang was a supreme master, fully concealing his aura in Return to Pure Simplicity.
In this state, third-rate, second-rate, even first-rate martial artists couldn't detect him.
Only those at the peak felt a faint incongruity, and only supreme masters could confirm his existence through the absence of aura.
Yet a mere food vendor had sensed him.
'Hah, what an interesting fellow.'
Elder Jang grinned widely, pulling up the corners of his mouth. A smile unseen on his face in ages.
The thread of hope he thought severed seemed to faintly glimmer again in his rough grasp.
'What the heck? Why's he suddenly doing that?'
The old man standing amid the crowd lifted his mouth corners wide, as if showing off his teeth count.
Chilled by the eerie action, I flinched and averted my gaze.
As I shook the wok like nothing happened.
"Uh, oof."
My legs gave out.