Meridian Breakthrough -1
Thud.
Having hauled all five bandits into the chamber the Poison Doctor used as his medicinal storehouse, Black Cat and Yeo Il-ye regarded each other with wary eyes.
"We've finished our business here, so why don't you be on your way?"
"That is none of your concern."
To Black Cat's eyes, Yeo Il-ye was nothing short of a walking bomb. The woman was about to launch a campaign of vengeance against the great powers of the martial world; she would become the eye of a storm, and anyone lingering nearby risked being swept up and destroyed for no better reason than proximity.
Simply having exchanged favor tokens already carried considerable danger. Now another thread of connection was forming on top of that.
I leaked the information and sent him off to Yunnan... and this is how it turns out.
She had used the new Tongyee Sect recruit Jeon Hu-dam to push the man far away into Yunnan, only for the Poison Doctor to set up shop on Hyeongwi Mountain of all places.
Unlike Black Cat, Yeo Il-ye harbored no personal feelings toward her. Yet to Yeo Il-ye—an orthodox martial artist—Black Cat was suspicion incarnate. She kept her face perpetually veiled in black gauze, wielded the assassin's Shadow Image Qi Gong as freely as breathing, and possessed skill far beyond what any mere wandering warrior should command.
No personal grudge existed, but a walking bundle of red flags clinging to her benefactor's side was impossible to ignore.
"Do not forget that my benefactor carries my favor token."
"Oh, for heaven's sake. I get it already—just stay away from Senior."
Yeo Il-ye snorted at Black Cat's sharp tone.
"The guiding's done, so you can leave now, can't you?"
"I still have business with my benefactor. You would do well not to concern yourself."
Yeo Il-ye still needed to hand over the gold taels to Ho Cheon-an. More than that, she wanted a quiet moment to offer her proper thanks. When she had stormed the Wanderer Inn there had been no chance for calm conversation, and their meeting before the Golden Family estate had been no better.
Will I ever again have a chance to meet my benefactor in a place free of prying eyes?
Black Cat grumbled; Yeo Il-ye ignored her completely. The odd pair arrived at the entrance to the Poison Doctor's hut.
What they found was Ho Cheon-an seated cross-legged on a mat spread before the dwelling, while the Poison Doctor mixed something nearby.
"Benefactor...? Elder...?"
"Hmm. Yes. You two stand guard. Bandits may cause a ruckus—if any appear, subdue them without question."
"...Senior, what is going on?"
"It's a long story. I'll explain when it's over. For now, do as the Poison Doctor says."
Neither Black Cat nor Yeo Il-ye fully grasped the situation, but they split left and right to stand guard as ordered.
"No matter what happens, neither of you is to interfere."
The Poison Doctor issued the stern warning, then focused entirely on the cross-legged Ho Cheon-an.
"First swallow the elixir and suppress its energy as hard as you can. Once you have it under control, I will pour the medicine I have prepared into your mouth. When the two meet, the energy will erupt explosively. Your task is to hold that medicinal force down until the very instant of eruption—then release everything at once."
"Remember this well. The moment you habitually try to control the qi, you risk severe internal injury. Ideally it will end with only mild pain. How badly you are hurt depends entirely on how completely you can let the energy go."
Both women flinched at the word "injury," but Ho Cheon-an had no attention to spare for them.
"Understood."
"Then begin."
The Poison Doctor placed the Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir into Ho Cheon-an's mouth.
Hoo.
Ho Cheon-an felt the elixir slide down his throat. More precisely, he felt its energy begin to unfurl the instant it entered his esophagus. A sweet, wine-like fragrance lingered in his nose and mouth as he began to control the force in earnest.
Three Origins Heart Method.
That was the internal cultivation art he currently practiced. It used the energies of the natural world with the barest minimum of refinement. The qi itself possessed no special properties, yet its recovery rate rivaled any superior method. Because the energy remained close to nature, replenishment came easily.
Since his total internal energy could never exceed nine, he had chosen to maximize recovery instead.
Ho Cheon-an drove the Three Origins Heart Method to its limit, pressing down on the elixir's surging power. Yet he felt as though he were trying to dam a river with bare hands. He was doing everything he could, but he sensed no real success in containing it.
"You're doing well. Just hold on until the medicinal properties fully permeate your body."
The Poison Doctor's words no longer reached him. The old man watched Ho Cheon-an's condition with intense focus. After roughly half a ke, he opened the young man's mouth without hesitation and poured in a bowlful of liquid.
While Ho Cheon-an still struggled to restrain the Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir, its energy suddenly multiplied.
Rumble—!!
A peal of thunder rolled through his mind. He had been too concentrated to notice the medicine entering, yet he instinctively knew the Poison Doctor had administered it. Until now the elixir's qi had felt like a slow-moving river; the jolt just now was the collapse of a dam.
Like a dam bursting or an eggshell cracking, the framework that had contained the elixir's energy shattered, and a tidal wave of power raced through his entire body.
The qi bound within the miraculous pill erupted without mercy, slamming through every meridian.
Kh...!
Ho Cheon-an instinctively tried to seize the force, then barely managed to release it. Even while repeating the Poison Doctor's warning in his head, his body had moved on its own. It was a martial artist's instinct to stop qi from escaping—and a living creature's instinct to calm the wild energy thrashing inside him.
Suppressing both and simply allowing the elixir's power to rampage was anything but easy.
A bitter taste rose in his mouth. Every time the elixir's energy battered him, he knew he had to empty himself and let it pass—yet he kept trying to grab hold without realizing it.
I must become a reed in the storm! I am a reed!
A tree that stands rigid in a storm is simply uprooted and flung away. Only the flexible reed that bends can lie down and survive.
The instant he tensed to seize control, collision occurred—and every collision damaged his meridians.
In that extreme state, Ho Cheon-an finally understood the Poison Doctor's words.
Clots filling the blood... so that's what he meant.
Until now he had never felt discomfort while circulating energy or accumulating internal force. No sense of blocked flow, no feeling of obstruction. The Poison Doctor's claim had never quite felt real.
Only when the Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir's energy stormed through him like a tempest did he grasp it. A trickle of stream water will find its way around any number of stones.
But the massive surge released all at once from the elixir could not stretch out freely; something was clogging it.
A little still leaked past, yet the phenomenon was more than enough to reveal that the meridians he had believed completely open were in fact littered with obstacles.
Once his body itself registered the truth, Ho Cheon-an was finally able to abandon all control of the energy.
Whoooooosh—!!
Whether the Poison Doctor's medicine had fully taken effect or not, the elixir's force grew even more violent inside him. Even after surrendering every rein and becoming a pliant reed, the pressure still made his consciousness waver.
A storm strong enough to snap even a reed's waist tore through his entire body.
Then—
Thuk.
Thuk-thuk.
Thududududuk!
At some point the flow began to accelerate. Ho Cheon-an felt the sudden quickening of the elixir's energy at the same time that the meridians which had been crushed under the immense pressure gradually eased.
Sssssss...
Breath returned to a flow that had felt utterly choked.
The immortal qi is truly melting away.
At the same time he felt the refreshing energies that had filled him vanishing at high speed. Just as the Poison Doctor had said, the immortal qi must have neutralized itself upon colliding with the demonic impurities.
Overall the circulation was growing faster, yet the elixir's energy still did not drain away with satisfying freedom.
It was much quicker than before, but a bottleneck sensation remained.
Ho Cheon-an understood why the Poison Doctor had called this only a temporary measure. The waterway had opened, yet it was far from clear and free.
"Can you hear me? The greater part of the pill's energy seems to have left you. Tighten the reins of your qi and circulate at high speed. Scrape up every last remnant."
Ho Cheon-an grasped the meaning at once and entered energy circulation. He was to gather whatever Jade Wine Purple Spirit Elixir energy remained and smash it against the demonic clots still lodged in his blood vessels.
Feeling the freer movement of qi, he began meticulously collecting the leftover force. Only scraps remained, yet when carefully gathered they formed a surprisingly substantial current.
Since the clots are everywhere and travel with the blood, there's no need to lower the pressure with a large circuit. I'll spin it fast and hard through the Lesser Heavenly Circulation.
He chose the Lesser Heavenly Circulation—which only passed through certain points of the torso—and whirled the elixir's remaining energy as rapidly as possible. The choice proved correct; he felt the energy diminish by tiny degrees and focused entirely on the cycle.
Once. Twice. Three times... five times.
When he sensed that the elixir's energy would shrink no further, he gathered what was left into his dantian.
He could no longer maintain concentration beyond that.
Ho Cheon-an's eyes snapped open.
He saw the Poison Doctor release a long breath of relief.
"Well? Does it feel resolved?"
"I felt something break, but..."
The moment he opened his mouth, his entire body throbbed. Simply moving his jaw sent electric jolts through every limb.
"Let me see..."
The Poison Doctor wiped the blood trickling from Ho Cheon-an's chin and brought it to his own lips. Only then did Ho Cheon-an properly register his condition.
He was a complete wreck.
Internal injuries had already forced him to vomit a mouthful of blood, and neither arms nor legs would obey him.
After tasting the blood, the Poison Doctor laughed with open delight.
"Hahaha! The flavor has definitely changed. Congratulations!"
This crazy old... senile...
Watching the Poison Doctor's bright smile, Ho Cheon-an felt his body tip backward.
The Poison Doctor... is a Tang as well, isn't he...
Poison Doctor Tang Cheo-in! Ho Cheon-an had dismissed the man's warnings as mere formal caution, empty words to cover the worst case. He could not have been more wrong.
Tang Cheo-in's warning had been literal. The few mistakes Ho Cheon-an had made had already left his body half-dead.
Yet to the Poison Doctor it was no problem at all. Ho Cheon-an's condition was that of a patient with severe internal trauma—but for this man, such a state was merely something to be completely cured.
Through his fading consciousness, Ho Cheon-an recalled the vow he had made while looking at Tang Gwang-ryeol after the duel with Tang Do-gyeong.
If he ever trusted a Tang again, he would change his surname.
Guess I should start introducing myself as Nya Cheon-an from now on...
With that absurd thought, Ho Cheon-an's consciousness cut out.