The Human Fleet and the Beginning of Great Chaos (2)
I can revive the dead.
After encountering so many miracles in such varied ways, the initial shock of bringing back someone from the dead has faded into a simple acceptance—it just is what it is.
The real problem was the demonic flame pouring from that corpse's body. It lay dormant while the man was simply dead, but the moment some kind of seal was triggered, his entire body erupted in flames and he burned to death right then and there.
We tried reviving him, only to discover he had been under the Seophonsul—Cheonma's mind control technique.
Question: Was there no way to detect it beforehand?
"That's impossible."
Sword Saint Geomseong answered my question.
"That Heukyang Singong you mentioned... the Cheonma Singong—it's in a realm of forbidden arts even I can't perceive."
"Is such a thing possible?"
"If I had known, I wouldn't have let the likes of Yugoein or Yugiyeon anywhere near our Moyong Sega."
Geomseong tossed a spark toward the two blazing coffins as he replied.
"It's not Cheonma who's remarkable. It's the Cheonma Singong."
They say a craftsman doesn't blame his tools, but with Cheonma, it seems the opposite is true.
"Even a child swinging a blade will cut an adult. How much more so if that blade is coated in deadly poison?"
"Is Cheonma a child, then?"
"Yes."
I had no rebuttal to Geomseong's firm declaration. Not out of loyalty or logic, but because I thought the same.
"If someone else who had mastered the Cheonma Singong to that degree had been in Cheonma's place now, I might have braced myself to lose an arm."
I would still have won. He spoke with unshakable confidence in victory, but the question was how much damage he'd take. The current Cheonma hadn't even landed a single vital strike against Geomseong before his defeat.
"As you know, Cheonma is a willful creature. It's not polite to say of a person, but his intelligence falls far short."
"Brute strength without the brains, and he crushes anyone who dares challenge him with that raw power."
Cheonma isn't a normal human. He's the pinnacle of abnormality.
Decades ago, that Cheonma sparked the great war between righteousness and evil, plunging the Central Plains into chaos, thanks to two key factors.
One: Magyo's brains worked tirelessly to flatter and manipulate him. Like eunuchs subtly steering a foolish emperor with flattery, Cheonma's protectors cunningly guided him toward their desired ends.
—We must attack this sect, O Supreme One. Your power is needed.
—That family's patriarch dares claim, in the most embarrassing words, that Cheonma could win with a single finger....
Things like that. I'd heard such tales directly from my master.
Cheonma was foolish, but his martial prowess was overwhelming. To compensate for his stupidity, Magyo had him take in clever women en masse, blending his might with their intellect.
What a mess of a man, yet he ultimately fell to Geomseong. If Cheonma was said to stride the heavens encompassing all creation, then Geomseong stood in the heaven beyond heaven, like a star in the night sky.
It was the kind of tale where one might spit blood crying, How could the heavens birth both Cheonma and Geomseong!
"Resurrection of the dead. An act that defies heaven and upends common sense—but that's not the pressing issue."
Geomseong pointed alternately at his own mouth, then Moyong Seol's, then mine.
"As long as we keep this secret until we die, never revive anyone frivolously against the natural order, and ensure the world remains ignorant of this miracle, that's all it takes."
A secret to carry to the grave. Even if someone dies, we must never carelessly bring them back.
"Father."
"Seol-ah. I know what you're about to say. But the dead are the dead."
Even Geomseong himself had briefly entertained the possibility at first—perhaps—but ultimately abandoned it and steeled his resolve. This was that secret.
"The dead must stay dead. Do you know how much suffering Qin Shi Huang caused in his search for the elixir of immortality? The entire Central Plains—no, everyone in this world—would swarm for even a single drop of Physician Seok's blood."
"......"
"I say 'a drop of blood' lightly, but imagine if the unorthodox sects or Magyo learned of it. The depravity that would follow... Even you, Physician Seok, can picture it in your mind."
"Indeed, Family Head."
For instance, imprisoning me underground and endlessly slicing off bits of flesh. Or dismembering me, devouring the pieces to monopolize the miracle and prevent its 'sharing' with the world. Or, stripped of will by Cheonma, bound in some prison to brew medicine eternally in a massive cauldron.
If they called me an 'infinitely regenerating herb,' anyone would treat me as such. As a physician, I say 'herb'; if I were a merchant, I'd call it a 'money tree.'
In other words:
"We are not fools like Cheonma, so even with a heaven-defying art like resurrection, we can endure, restrain ourselves, and hide it. I can, and so can you."
A goose that lays golden eggs stays whole if greed is curbed and properly tended, yielding gold daily.
"But Cheonma is different."
Cheonma wouldn't just gut the goose—he'd toss it in a pot and boil it alive.
"Since his petty schemes failed, he'll surely try something else against us."
"With the likes of that low-grade plot from the Dark Sword Sect?"
"Yes. It's laughable from our view, but to Cheonma, it's the best plan his squeezed brain could produce."
"......"
Is this really okay?
"The real danger is when brains attach themselves to such a Cheonma. Especially the most worrisome ones."
"Which brains do you mean?"
"The countless greedy bastards in the orthodox sects."
Orthodox sects. Not some subset of Magyo or a shorthand for an unorthodox faction called the 'Orthodox School.'
"The Nine Great Sects and Eight Schools. The Five Great Families excluding Moyong. Gray organizations like Haomen. The outer martial world. And... the court, the imperial palace. Even with just the Geukyang Jihwan for treating Jeolmok Jeong, rumors are already swirling. If 'resurrection of the dead' leaks out, the rest is obvious."
Geomseong shook his head slowly.
"Thus, I plan to act more proactively than before."
"Act how?"
"Even if the truth spreads later and causes issues, we'll expand our allies—those who pursue practical gains through ties with Moyong rather than enmity fueled by greed, choosing martial world's peace over chaos. The first step is..."
"Geomhu?"
"Yes."
"The 'method to revive the dead' must be hidden from Geomhu as well, correct?"
"Indeed."
Geomseong nodded emphatically at my question.
"We can handle other matters, but 'resurrection' must remain concealed. The desire to conquer death... it's innate to every human."
I understood. If Moyong Seol died right now, I'd splash my blood or kiss her back to life, no matter what.
"And one more thing."
Geomseong clasped his hands behind his back and approached the roaring coffins.
"What I've said so far was a martial artist's stance on the miracle you possess, Physician Seok. What follows is the word of an organization head... or 'family head,' if you will."
Somehow, Geomseong was more verbose than usual today.
"It's advice on how one at the top of an organization—where countless lives hang on your choices—should think and carry themselves."
"......"
Listen and engrave it, perhaps. For the future. It's aimed at Moyong Seol, but I'm to heed it seriously too.
"In the martial world, especially the orthodox sects, win one leader to your side, and most below them will follow."
"Form bonds with sect leaders for schools, family heads for clans?"
"More precisely, the foremost figure in that organization."
Geomseong pointed to himself.
"The number one. The strongest."
"Understood."
"Moyong Sega's foremost is me, Moyong Cheon. Haedong Geomgak's top master is Geomhu. In nearly every sect or clan, the strongest is their representative."
"There are exceptions?"
"Yes. Take Hwasan or Mudang, for example."
Hwasanpa and Mudangpa. Both Taoist sects.
"Among the active ones, Shaolin's Sinseung comes to mind. He's Shaolin's mightiest monk, but not the abbot."
Being the strongest doesn't always mean holding the top position of power.
"Moyong will secure those top masters to protect Moyong Sega."
"By fulfilling their wishes, like with Geomhu?"
"Yes. To that end... we start closest to home."
Moyong Sega is in Yodong Castle.
"South lies the Peng Clan, north the court and imperial palace."
Among nearby martial forces matching Moyong's scale, Hubei Peng Clan stands out. The imperial palace is untouchable by martial law, but still entangled.
"We'll prescribe Geukyang Jihwan for a woman in the palace to gain their cooperation. Can you prepare the Geukyang Jihwan?"
"Of course, Family Head. But..."
My eyes met Moyong Seol's. As a former Jeolmok Jeong patient herself, she knew of the Peng Clan affair and looked flustered.
"I thought Hubei Peng Clan had no official Jeolmok Jeong patients, Family Head."
"Perhaps an unofficial one? Their top blade master, the Blade Emperor?"
"No, not that. However..."
Geomseong paused, gazing at me before speaking slowly.
"Physician Seok. You described your miracle as 'granting desperate wishes.'"
"Yes."
"Then."
Geomseong pointed upward with a finger.
"......Can you make lush foliage thrive in a scorched, rootless wasteland?"
"That."
Geomseong phrased it circuitously out of respect for the Blade Emperor, a fellow hero and senior of his era.
"In other words, can you make hair grow on a bald head?"
If he's asking if a hair-growth miracle is possible...
"Uh, well. We'll know once I try."
I'd have to experiment directly.
"If I can revive the dead, surely I can revive dead hair follicles?"