Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Igniting the Flame
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(10)
Seol-yeong's treatment was difficult right from the first step.
I tried infusing inner energy through her back, but it felt like something was blocking it, refusing to let the energy enter her body easily.
It was like standing before a massive iceberg in a tiny boat.
My inner energy was absolutely insufficient.
"...As expected."
Seol-yeong murmured in a sorrowful voice.
Her voice, which had approached me with a sliver of hope, trembled faintly.
It wasn't time to give up yet.
The Solar Heart Method had two key characteristics.
One was that it was an extreme yang inner energy technique, and the other was that the longer the fight dragged on, the more the inner energy amplified.
At first, I'd taken the manual's words about growing stronger the longer the battle lasted at face value, but now I knew better.
What was written in the manual was just a metaphor.
In reality, the inner energy amplified as the heart raced faster and blood circulation quickened.
There were many ways to make the heart race.
After some thought, I slowly broached the subject.
"...There's still a way."
I explained the traits of the Solar Heart Method that I knew.
Seol-yeong, who had been listening expressionlessly, widened her eyes slightly toward the end.
"Inner energy grows with excitement...?"
I know.
No matter how you looked at it, this wasn't the kind of technique you'd find in the Wuhak Pavilion library.
Honestly, it was no different from a lustful art.
But there wasn't a shred of falsehood in my words.
What could I do? The more sexually aroused I got, the more my inner energy amplified.
Seol-yeong stared at me quietly before speaking.
"...So what do I need to do?"
"Can I call Jeong-seon?"
"...What?"
Seol-yeong's bewildered voice echoed in the room.
I understood her bewilderment, but there was no choice.
Right now, the one who could excite me the most was Jeong-seon.
"You're calling Jeong-seon...?"
"Yeah. Is that okay?"
"...Do as you like."
She gave permission, but a complicated mix of emotions stirred within her.
When Seonghan explained the Solar Heart Method, her heart had trembled for some reason.
Since inner energy amplified with excitement, she had wondered if he might demand something from her.
And if he had, she would have had no choice but to allow it.
For the sake of treatment, she could endure even worse.
But Seonghan's response had far exceeded her expectations.
'To think he's into men...'
She never imagined that Seonghan, of all people, would have such tastes.
A faint sense of regret washed over her.
Watching him choose the Solar Heart Method and grow at an astonishing pace day by day, she'd thought he might be her savior.
Honestly, a subtle affection had begun to bud in one corner of her heart.
And yet, he liked men.
Her emotions tangled into a knot.
Seonghan stood up briefly to fetch Jeong-seon, leaving her sitting blankly on the bed.
And she fell into thought.
Her current attire was quite provocative.
It was fine for Seonghan to see, but showing Jeong-seon felt a bit uncomfortable.
Of course, Jeong-seon, unlike other men, showed no interest in her whatsoever.
Maybe Jeong-seon liked men too.
"..."
Were Seonghan and Jeong-seon a perfect match?
The door opened, and Jeong-seon and Seonghan entered side by side.
Maybe it was her imagination, but their bodies seemed too close.
Close enough that it almost looked like they were embracing.
And for some reason, Jeong-seon's attire and appearance struck her differently today.
Perhaps because she'd never looked this closely before.
Her eyelashes were surprisingly long, and her figure seemed slender.
Almost like a woman's.
"Ah, is this why you called me?"
"Yeah, thanks for coming."
Jeong-seon glanced at her and the room, nodding as if understanding immediately.
Then, she sat down behind Seol-yeong alongside Seonghan.
"Seol-yeong, from now on, no matter what, don't look back. Got it?"
"...Back?"
"Yeah. You might cause Seonghan to suffer qi deviation if you do."
"..."
Jeong-seon warned her that she absolutely must not look.
Seonghan could get hurt if she did.
With words like that, she couldn't turn around anymore.
She couldn't risk harming Seonghan, who was working so hard for her sake.
She obediently faced forward and offered her back to Seonghan once more.
The warm, sturdy palm pressed against her back again.
Just the touch alone seemed to slowly thaw her body, frozen for so long.
However, this was the limit.
Like a single ray of light piercing through dark storm clouds.
All she could see was a tiny hope that the weather might improve.
Her condition and her relationship with Seonghan were exactly like that.
With Seonghan there, she could glimpse a small hope that her illness might get better.
At that moment, Seonghan said softly.
"Help me."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, quickly."
From behind, Seonghan's urging voice mixed with Jeong-seon's faint chuckle, followed by a sticky sound.
"Mmgh... Puhah... Chup."
It was a sound she couldn't even guess at.
It resembled licking candy at times, or the wet friction of rubbing damp hands at others.
Unable to see, her hearing sharpened, constantly imagining the source of the noise.
And then, change occurred.
"Ha-ut... Mm."
She clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle the moan that nearly escaped.
It was the first time.
The first time such a sound had come from her mouth, and the first time the warmth from her back spread sensually throughout her body.
It felt like time was rewinding.
Back to before her illness, to her childhood when emotions flowed richly.
Like darkness vanishing in bright light, waves of inner energy from her back gently, sometimes mercilessly, devoured the yin qi lurking in every corner of her body.
The yin qi that had seemed to eternally clog her meridians was absorbed into Seonghan's inner energy with shocking ease.
It felt as if Seonghan was filling her body completely.
A moan slipped out from the warmth and fulfillment.
"Ah-ang..."
This time, she couldn't cover it.
Embarrassingly, she let out a coquettish moan in front of two men.
It was lewd even to her own ears.
For the first time, she felt grateful that they were behind her.
Otherwise, her flushed cheeks would have been exposed.
And at that instant, the amount of inner energy from her back surged.
'This is...'
Had her voice excited him?
Just her voice alone?
The thought that her voice aroused Seonghan felt strangely thrilling.
No, it felt good.
She'd thought he liked men, yet he was excited by her.
Seonghan's inner energy grew stronger, now reaching body parts far from her back: neck, shoulders, arms, chest, and waist.
The sticky yin qi accumulated over years from her Chronic Yin Meridian Blockage burned away in the light, dissipating as wisps of breath.
"Haa, haa..."
Sometimes cold as ice, other times hot sighs escaped her lips.
She no longer covered her mouth.
It felt good every time her sounds elicited a reaction from Seonghan.
Her unchanging expression over the years began to shift slightly.
"Hng... Seonghan..."
Jeong-seon called Seonghan's name, followed by the sound of something unraveling.
She couldn't quite pinpoint it.
It felt like fabric or clothing, but slightly different.
And then she saw what it was.
A bandage was tossed carelessly to her side.
Thanks to that, she could identify it without turning.
But a bandage?
'Was he injured?'
When Jeong-seon had entered earlier, no bandages were visible on his body.
Nor on Seonghan's.
That meant it was wrapped somewhere hidden.
'Why?'
Bandages were typically for wounds or injuries.
So why unwrap it now?
And why a bandage, of all things?
"Hng-ut..."
Seonghan's inner energy swelled again.
She had no idea what was happening behind her.
The dry, rubbing sound of skin on skin only fueled her imagination further.
"Haa..."
Seonghan's faint moan from his lips was incredibly stimulating.
She felt jealous of Jeong-seon, who was witnessing—and creating—that scene.
If she were a man too—
The thought crossed her mind unbidden.
"Ah-ng..."
Then came an unfamiliar moan from behind.
Whose was this high, shrill voice?
It couldn't be Seonghan's.
But the timing overlapped with his moans.
That left only Jeong-seon.
Had Jeong-seon's voice always been so thin?
Searching her memory, she didn't think so.
She wanted to turn around.
The tiny seed of doubt blooming in her heart demanded confirmation.
But she endured for Seonghan's sake.
Her suspicions were trivial compared to his safety.
"We're hitting the limit soon."
"...Yeah."
Seonghan replied regretfully to Jeong-seon's words.
Many parts of her body had improved astonishingly, but the yin qi around her dantian was immovable.
She'd eradicated countless strands, but the dantian, spewing yin qi from every nook and cranny, stood firm like a rock.
Even so, it was enough.
Her body no longer trembled, no more breath escaped uncontrollably.
Her shaking hands and weak, cold-ridden voice had improved greatly.
The yin qi would eventually refill her body over time, but that didn't matter.
For now, she wanted to savor this warmth fully.
In place of the yin qi, a hot ember settled in one corner of her heart.
A desire-tinged affection for Seonghan.