To Catch a Fish, You Need Bait - 1

"Ugh..."

I barely managed to claw my way back to consciousness. When I opened my eyes and looked around, there was no one there. I tried to sit up, but my upper body still prickled and stung all over. Lifting only my neck with what little strength I had, I found my entire body studded with acupuncture needles and smeared with medicinal salves.

Right. That was it. I'd gotten played by the Tang clan again.

No—this wasn't getting played. I'd just trusted them. Ha... Cheon-an. You idiot Cheon-an. After everything the Tang family has put you through, you fall for it again? When you're dealing with a physician who sucks people dry of their blood, you should never drop your guard, no matter how extraordinary they are.

But there was something more important than that.

With a trembling heart, I called up my status window.

"Ha... haha..."

My internal energy had hit ten. The description for Mixed Blood had changed. And more than anything else—my final realm had shifted to First-rate.

Laughter burst out of me, and the pain that rose through my body kept me from fully expressing the joy, but I couldn't stop smiling all the same.

This body of Ho Cheon-an.

From this moment on, the path to First-rate was open!

Now the life of a true martial artist could begin. Sound transmission, standing atop grass blades, pressure-point strikes, genuine bone-shrinking arts, disguise techniques—I could use them all!

"Heh heh heh...!"

Where to start? Right—first I should master all those First-rate martial manuals I'd collected five years ago. No, wait—everything was completely different now. Maybe I should rebuild my entire martial framework from scratch?

I was lost in excited flights of fancy when the door opened.

"Already awake? You recover fast, boy."

"Elder."

"Indeed. I'm sure you're itching to move your body and circulate your internal energy this very instant, but hold out another day or two."

"Yes... truly..."

I was about to spill out words of gratitude in my joy, then hesitated. I was grateful to the Poison Doctor, of course—but did I really need to thank him when my body had been wrecked like this? No, the treatment itself was something to be thankful for, but it was a little...

While I, the great Cheon-an, was lost in that brief dilemma, the Poison Doctor simply nodded and moved on.

"For now, do not forget that today's results are only a temporary measure. It is true that the demonic energy mixed into your blood has been neutralized to a degree and drawn out. Your qi now flows more freely as a result. But fundamentally, there is still no means of dealing with the various energies tangled within your blood."

"Mm... I see."

The memory of grinning with delight at my raised final realm just moments ago suddenly felt hollow, and a fresh wave of disappointment settled in.

"Even if you bring a spiritual medicine richer in pure energy, the same method will no longer work. Detonate anything more potent than this inside your body and your entire frame will truly burst apart. From here on, the only answer is to discover a new approach through research."

Well—reaching First-rate alone was already a massive leap forward. If the Poison Doctor kept researching, he might uncover another lead yet.

"How long was I unconscious, by the way?"

"Barely half a day? Night has only just fallen. Ah, yes—the disciple from Jeomchang is still waiting for you. Care to speak with her?"

"Miss Yeo Il-ye is still waiting for me?"

"She is. Hmm..."

The Poison Doctor suddenly sank into thought.

"Do you know why I settled on Hyeongwi Mountain?"

"How could I possibly fathom the Poison Doctor's deep intentions?"

"Because of the bandits. Bandits are like weeds—root them out and they simply grow back in the same place. That being the case, it's better for me to plant myself on a mountain that already has them and suppress their activities through my research."

So settling on Hyeongwi Mountain was the Poison Doctor's own brand of chivalry. The Tang family people always seemed only half-orthodox, and yet in moments like this they were thoroughly righteous about it.

"That Jeomchang disciple, Yeo Il-ye, seemed to have business at the bandit stronghold on Hyeongwi Mountain, but with this old man squatting here she couldn't get to it and has been waiting ever since. The way she agreed without complaint when I asked her to stand guard for me... helping that child a little seems only proper. What do you think?"

"Me? I think you should do as you see fit, Poison Doctor."

"No. I'll be studying you for some time yet, so your wishes matter as well. My whereabouts are your whereabouts."

"Hmm... I suppose so."

I kept getting tangled up with Yeo Il-ye in the strangest ways. First at Hwanggeumga, and now here. Were both times nothing more than pure coincidence? Running into her while delivering the duel challenge could be written off as chance, but...

My feelings toward Yeo Il-ye were, to put it simply, complicated.

Granting her enlightenment had been a turning point for me.

Meeting Yeo Il-ye had given me the motivation to break free of the Second-rate mold. Of course, that "motivation" had come in the form of a thoroughly stimulated survival instinct.

What if I had never met Yeo Il-ye? What if I had never granted her enlightenment in that place, at that moment?

Then I never would have crossed paths with Heukmyo. Without meeting Heukmyo, I never would have gone to Hwanggeumga to put on a magic show, and so I never would have run into Tang Do-gyeong either.

Naturally there would have been no Tang Family Fierce Tiger Hidden Dragon Combat Method, no reason for Tang Gwang-ryeol to summon me... and I would still be living as just another Sichuan nangin, with no hope of reaching First-rate or climbing any higher.

Yes, Yeo Il-ye had tried to kill me. But without that incident, would I have risen to First-rate as I had today? Would I have found the chance to grasp the root of my Mixed Blood and push further still?

The price for her attempt on my life had already been paid with the Favor-and-Grudge Token.

I'd used that token to drive off the assassins at Yeongsang-ru, and put it to thrifty use luring Tang Do-gyeong into a yabawi game as well.

How should I put it? I was only now realizing just how thoroughly Yeo Il-ye and I had become entangled—this way and that.

With a connection this deep, wasn't it only natural to care?

Truthfully, the real reason Yeo Il-ye weighed on my mind was something else entirely.

I hadn't known it then, but I knew it now.

When a person gains enlightenment, they change.

Just as Tang Do-gyeong had resolved the knot of bitterness toward his family after his enlightenment and returned to the Tang clan, some kind of change must have taken place within Yeo Il-ye as well.

And that was what bothered me.

After I gave her enlightenment—how exactly had Yeo Il-ye changed?

When I worked to grant Tang Do-gyeong his enlightenment, I had been certain of the outcome.

I had already seen how Yeo Il-ye changed, and I understood Tang Do-gyeong well enough to know that after enlightenment he would gain the Familial Love trait.

I had calculated that enlightenment would bring change, and that the change would be a positive influence on him.

But with Yeo Il-ye, I had considered none of that. I hadn't even been aware that people changed. I had simply given her enlightenment as a means of tying her feet so I could survive.

She had tried to kill me, and I had given her enlightenment to stay alive... and regardless of those circumstances, the simple fact that I had altered the person known as Yeo Il-ye was what gnawed at me.

"Hah."

My feelings about her were so tangled that a sigh escaped on its own.

"Hmm. So there's some history with the Jeomchang disciple as well?"

"Something like that."

"If there's one thing this old man has learned over the years, it's that problems between people mostly resolve themselves once you face them with a little time."

The words the Poison Doctor tossed out landed squarely in my chest.

"You're right."

Had Yeo Il-ye and I ever properly sat down and talked, even once? We had only ever brushed past each other because the situation never allowed otherwise.

Perhaps she, too, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt the need to speak with me—and that was why she had been waiting.

"The elder is correct. I should talk with her."

"Good. Then, for the time being—are you in favor of helping Yeo Il-ye?"

I nodded, and the Poison Doctor called her inside.

"Benefactor, are you feeling any better?"

"Haha, I'll mend soon enough."

After the brief exchange of courtesies, we got to the point.

"Well then. I called you here to ask what purpose keeps you on Hyeongwi Mountain."

"My purpose, you say."

"Ah, don't misunderstand. You ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠need not speak of it if you'd rather not. But since you helped me, is it not only natural that I should help you in turn? Though I suppose an old man who sat here a full month blocking your path has little right to say so. Ho ho."

"How could this humble Yeo ever blame a senior of your standing?"

Yeo Il-ye seemed to deliberate for a moment, then opened her mouth.

"I am searching for an object called the Seven Treasures Jade Belt. It is a treasure that vanished when my family's estate burned. I heard by chance that Mak Yeo-bu, the chieftain of the Gaewang stronghold, has it in his possession."

The Poison Doctor let out a long sigh.

"Haa... haha. Had you simply told this old man your circumstances, I would have stepped aside at once... I ought to apologize even now."

"It is fine. This may put the elder in a somewhat awkward position, but if I may speak without shame..."

To summarize Yeo Il-ye's account: Mak Yeo-bu, who held the Seven Treasures Jade Belt that had been her family's treasure, was a leading candidate among her enemies—and she had been waiting for the chieftain's return so she could hear the belt's origins from his own mouth.

"Hmm. In that case, I may be of some use."

Whether from guilt over having obstructed her, the Poison Doctor took an active stance.

"Once you capture this Mak Yeo-bu, prying open his mouth will be no easy task. Leave that part to me."

"Then if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mak Yeo-bu simply returns, the matter will be resolved quickly."

"If I leave, will he not come back of his own accord?"

Hmm.

It was true that Mak Yeo-bu ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would return eventually. But at this rate, it was likely to become a wait without end. If you wanted to catch a fish, hanging bait was far more efficient than waiting for one to swim by on its own.

And if the Poison Doctor was willing to cooperate, I had a much better method.

"What about this approach?"