Father's Awake
"Hum~ hum~ hum~"
Step, step.
"Oh, Lady Yeonhwa. Are you visiting the Patriarch again?"
"Yes, I can't skip a single day."
"How incredibly devoted..."
Going to the Sword Emperor to drain his Turbid Qi had become an indispensable part of my daily routine. Feeling my inner force grow made me feel full even without eating.
Scratch.
'Hmm...' Still, I felt a bit stagnant lately. It felt like I needed a so-called 'enlightenment' to reach the third stage. But since I hadn't hit a hard wall yet, I couldn't stop draining him.
Step, step.
As I walked toward the Patriarch's room—
Patter, patter, patter.
"Pant, pant! Lady Yeonhwa! There you are!"
Steward Yi ran toward me in a flurry.
"What is it?"
Scratch.
"I wanted to deliver an elixir for the Patriarch to consume."
"An elixir?"
"Yes! It is so precious that I felt uneasy leaving it to the servants..."
"Is that so?"
Whisper, whisper.
"It is none other than the Empty Blue Stone Milk."
"E-Empty Blue Stone Milk?!"
Isn't that an incredibly rare, legendary elixir? It's not something you can buy just because you have money.
"We obtained it with great difficulty. So, when you purify him today, please make sure the Patriarch takes it..."
"Understood."
Empty Blue Stone Milk... Honestly, I was a bit tempted, but I couldn't steal medicine from a sick man.
Bow.
"Then I leave it in your hands."
Steward Yi handed over the small medicine bottle and quickly scurried away. I turned and stepped inside the Patriarch's room.
Wheeze... Wheeze...
"Well, you must have lived a good life. Your family even got you Empty Blue Stone Milk."
They say that when hospital bills hit a hundred million won, even the most devoted child turns unfilial. Yet, the members of this clan are keeping him alive even as their family fortune declines. Truly, their family bond is thick.
"Let's see..."
Pop.
I opened the lid of the small medicine bottle I received from the steward.
"Huh?"
But the smell was a bit repulsive. Was it because it was medicine?
Sludge.
"Was Empty Blue Stone Milk always black?"
The color was pitch black too... Well, it wasn't like I had ever seen it in person before.
"Now, open wide~"
Drip.
I gently pried open the Sword Emperor's mouth and let the single drop of Empty Blue Stone Milk fall in.
Then—
Twitch.
Twitch, twitch.
"Oh! It's highly effective!"
The Sword Emperor's body began to twitch. Was he actually going to wake up like this?
But—
Spasm.
Shiver.
"Huh?"
It didn't look like he was moving to wake up. It was more like someone going into shock in a medical drama—
"No way?!"
Grab.
I quickly grabbed his wrist to check his pulse.
"The Turbid Qi... it increased?!"
Why? I only fed him Empty Blue Stone Milk...
Lick.
I quickly licked the tip of the medicine bottle. Instantly, a thick, foul Turbid Qi rushed up my tongue.
Gasp!
"You crazy bastard!"
The puzzle pieces in my head began to fall into place one by one. How a Transcendent Realm master had come into contact with Turbid Qi so easily, who benefited the most from the current situation, who Steward Yi always clung to...
"..."
And who hated me the most...
"Namgung Jaeyeong..."
I had my suspicions, but he really did this to his own brother with his own hands. He could have at least killed him. Instead, he turned him into a mummy who couldn't even die...
Shake, shake.
"No, this isn't the time for this."
This was no time to get sentimental. If things went on like this, Namgung Seon would die, and Namgung Jaeyeong would frame me for it.
Hummmmm.
I activated the Guihua Preservation, accelerating my perception to the absolute limit. In that split second, dozens of thoughts flashed through my mind, and the final conclusion I reached was...
"It's do or die!"
Slide.
I grabbed the Sword Emperor's hand and—
Hummmmm.
I poured my blood qi into his body.
"...!"
Twitch, twitch.
Rattle, rattle.
"You have to endure this, there's no other way!"
Since the Turbid Qi had already entered his mouth and spread to his organs, absorbing it through his skin was useless. I had to inject my blood qi directly into his body to cleanse his insides. They said removing the Turbid Qi would endanger his life because it had fused with his body... but he was going to die anyway if I left him like this. I had to pray for a miracle.
Sluuuuup.
I injected blood qi through our clasped right hands and retrieved the circulating blood qi with my left hand. It was exactly like undergoing dialysis at a hospital.
"Urgh...!"
Having it circulate through someone else's body made it feel like it wasn't even my own blood qi anymore. It thrashed so violently that it felt like my meridians were going to tear apart. It felt like receiving a transfusion of the wrong blood type.
Tremble, tremble.
"Damn it!"
Why do I have to go through this? Namgung Jaeyeong, once this is over, I am absolutely going to kill you.
Hummmmm.
After circulating the blood qi for who knows how long...
"I'm dizzy..."
I could no longer tell if this blood qi was mine or the Sword Emperor's.
Gush.
Before I knew it, both my mouth and the Sword Emperor's were drenched in blood. Mine was due to the strain on my meridians, while the Sword Emperor's was because the vanishing Turbid Qi had caused damage throughout his body. At this rate, both of us would suffer fatal injuries, but—
"Ah, here it comes."
My mind went blank, and my body felt like it was floating. I... had felt this before. It was a sensation similar to when I achieved the 7th stage of the Guihua Preservation.
Whoosh!
In an instant, my vision was dyed crimson.
"Where is...?"
I was definitely treating the Sword Emperor, but when I came to, I was in a strange space.
"Is this what they call a mindscape?"
I had heard that during martial arts training, one could accidentally enter a mindscape and gain enlightenment.
"..."
The reason I thought of this place as a mindscape was simple.
Whoosh.
Brilliant sunlight, a blue sky, and a pure white earth.
And finally—
Splash.
Splash.
A sea of blood stretching all the way to the horizon.
Unless it was a mindscape, there was no way a sea of blood could exist.
"Ugh."
A sea of blood. Honestly, it was pretty disgusting. Some might ask how a girl who literally flays people alive could find this disgusting... but what can I do? That's just how I feel.
"How long do I have to stay here?"
It felt like I had been waiting for quite a while, but nothing was happening. Was this time in reality just a split second, like in those old legends?
Step, step.
Splash, splash.
I had to do something to get out. As a test, I dipped just my feet into the sea.
"Hmm."
It was lukewarm and slightly sticky. And... surprisingly, other than that, it felt normal. Of course, if this were reality, cleaning it off would be a massive pain, but this was a mindscape.
Splash, splash.
Getting a bit used to it, I waded deeper into the sea. This time, up to my waist.
"It's a bit funny."
I had heard a legend about someone who bathed in the blood of virgins. Supposedly to regain their youth or something. From a modern person's perspective, it was obviously a foolish waste of time.
"Because blood is just blood, after all."
Hummmmm.
Indeed.
"Whoa! What was that?"
A voice that seemed to vibrate through my entire body. It was so loud I couldn't even tell where it was coming from. Was it the voice of my own mind? Or the mindscape contained within the Myriads Heaven Asura Art?
Blood is merely blood. Nothing more, nothing less.
"Well, obviously..."
Who doesn't know that?
Yet, blood possesses a divine power. Do you know why?
"Divine power?"
Come to think of it, all the martial arts of the Blood Sect were related to blood... Hearing it put that way, it was intriguing. Why was that?
Hummmmm.
It is simple. Because humans believe it to be so.
"Huh?"
Because humans believe it is divine, blood holds divine power. That is all.
Blood is fundamentally blood; human intent makes it divine.
"Is this... a mnemonic?"
Blood is just blood, but human intent makes it divine...
Whoosh!
As I recited the mnemonic, my vision began to brighten. Was I finally returning to reality?
O Chosen One, do not be bound by the standards of the mortal world.
"Spouting nonsense right until the very end..."
"Am I back?"
Rub, rub.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying flat on the floor. Rubbing my eyes, I saw the ceiling of the Patriarch's room.
"My body... feels incredibly light."
The sunlight felt like cotton candy, and the air carried a faint, inexplicable scent of mint. It was the kind of feeling you get when you occasionally sleep incredibly well. But whenever I slept this well, I would always end up late for school or work, which was a real pain.
Slam!
"In here!"
"You wench! What do you think you are doing to the Patriarch?!"
As if they had been waiting, Namgung Jaeyeong and Steward Yi burst in with perfect timing. Their voices put on a frantic act, but they couldn't hide the smirks at the corners of their eyes.
And—
Rumble.
"Uncle! There must be some misunderstanding!"
"That's right! How could our benefactor..."
Following closely behind were Namgung Geon and Namgung Hyeok, rushing in along with the members of the Blue Sky Squad. The room wasn't small by any means, but it was now packed to the brim.
"..."
"Uh..."
"..."
Why are they acting like that?
Everyone must have come here with something to say, but strangely, they only hesitated, and no one could open their mouths. It was as if they had seen a ghost.
Turn.
Curious, I turned my head in the direction of their gazes—
Grin.
"They really did see a ghost."
I saw a ghost there too. If a mummy is awake, that's a ghost.
Slide.
The mummy was pushing his upper body up from the bed. No, he was now fully the Sword Emperor, Namgung Seon. His body was still withered and emaciated, but his eyes shone with an indescribable, brilliant light.
"F-Father!"
"Patriarch!"
Flinch.
"B-Brother..."
Everyone had a different reaction upon seeing the Sword Emperor, but they all tried to do the same thing. They opened their mouths to speak to him. Someone wanted to ask how he was, someone wanted to ask questions, and someone wanted to make excuses, but—
Raise.
"Do not speak."
It was the Patriarch's first command. Though it came from an old man who had just woken up, it carried an inexplicable, irresistible weight.
"For my consciousness was fully clear even while I lay there."
Whoa...
He wasn't unconscious? To think he hadn't lost his sanity even in that hellish state. It was a miracle he hadn't gone mad.
Thud.
"Countless times, I wanted to let go of my consciousness, but I held on steadfastly. For the sake of the Namgung Clan, and for the sake of you all."
"Patriarch..."
"Therefore, I know. I know that Geon came to weep by my side every night, that Hyeok changed the water in my vase, and..."
Flinch.
"B-Brother!"
"And I know that Jaeyeong mocked me while speaking of the Heavenly Demon Sect."
"Gasp!"
Shock.
"W-What did you say?!"
"Acting Patriarch—no, Uncle! Is that true?!"
"No wonder..."
The room erupted into chaos at the Sword Emperor's words. Namgung Jaeyeong tried to stammer out an excuse, but—
Shake.
"So do not speak another word. I was not asleep; I heard everything."