My Recovery Days - 1
After about four days, I could finally get out of bed. Considering I'd been unconscious for ten days, that meant I'd been lying down for a full two weeks, but thanks to the deer spirit beast's antler velvet and Yangyang Wang's stabilization of my energy channels, there wasn't much strain in moving around.
Thank goodness.
I let out a quiet sigh of relief inside as I watched my limbs move smoothly at my command. I could have managed a day or two of bed rest without issue, but by the third day, my body started aching in a whole different way. There's a limit to lying around, and not being able to get up for three straight days was pushing it. If I hadn't been able to rise today on the fourth day, I might have lost my mind. With a sound mind but a body that wouldn't move, it'd be the mild version of a vegetable.
"You're finally up."
Ak Wang seemed relieved by my recovery, opening his mouth with a somewhat gentler expression.
"Consider yourself lucky. For a Hwagyeong master to clash inner energy with you, suffer internal injuries, and still rise from bed in less than a fortnight—it's nothing short of a miracle."
"I'll keep that in mind."
But he quickly reverted to his gruff tone, offering what sounded more like a scolding than advice. He was right. My luck had been extraordinary this time. If it had been truly good luck, I wouldn't have run into Koke Temur at Jiayu Pass in the first place. And using martial arts against a Hwagyeong and taking internal injuries? I could've died right there without it being strange at all.
Koke Temur, who had no intention of killing me; Kki-ing-i, who willingly offered her antler velvet; Yangyang Wang, who jumped into immediate action; and Ak Wang, with his experience caring for Ak I-yeon during her qi deviation. If even one of those had been missing, I'd still be lying there—or preparing for my third life.
"From now on, I'll act according to my station."
With that, I bowed my head to Ak Wang and made my vow.
At my current level, the maximum I could take on was a Chojeoljeong master. That was proven truth, considering how I'd shaken off Mun Kyung, who'd come sniffing around for Samshik.
Once I reach the Peak realm, could I take on a Hwagyeong too?
The thought flickered through my mind. I'd silenced a Chojeoljeong with a first-rate body—if I hit Peak, maybe I could handle a Hwagyeong. A reasonable question.
"Good. Don't forget that vow. For a martial artist, lacking courage is shameful, but excess courage is foolishness."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"And only another Hwagyeong can plot against a Hwagyeong. Remember that too."
"...Of course, Your Highness."
His kind but pointed advice pierced my heart, and my response came a beat late. Maybe because I'd just been entertaining thoughts of taking down a Hwagyeong at the Peak realm.
In the two weeks I'd been down, Jiayu Pass had buzzed with activity before settling back into quiet. The masters led by Yangyang Wang and Pung Seung, along with the Gongdong-pa Taoists who'd come for reinforcements, had long since departed.
"Everyone who left asked after the Left Vice Inspector General. They hoped the righteous man who stood tall even before a Hwagyeong master would rise again."
As I prepared to leave Jiayu Pass with Ak Wang, the Jiayu Commandant approached with gentle well-wishes.
He'd been polite when I first arrived at the pass. It would be stranger for a local official to be high-handed toward a central inspector, but after I collapsed before Koke Temur, he'd grown even more warm and deferential. Almost like he held me in respect.
The thought nearly made me burst out laughing. Respect earned only by risking my life against a Hwagyeong master. With my oversized ego, the difficulty curve for earning respect was insanely high. But once gained the hard way, it was probably more solid than any other emotion.
"I'm just glad to see the Left Vice Inspector General uphold his great cause again—as one warrior to another."
"You're too kind. In the end, it was just reckless bravado that got me floored."
I downplayed his lavish praise. I could feel Ak Wang's sharp gaze from behind, so I couldn't afford to get cocky. Saying something like "I was pretty badass, huh?" at this timing might make him explode. He might flatten my skull, thinking, This punk still hasn't learned.
"The true great cause was shown by you, Commandant, and the soldiers of Jiayu Pass. Your dedication to the realm and the people in this harsh frontier, your courage in holding firm against the barbarians. It was truly a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight."
At those words, Ak Wang's piercing stare faded. Close call. I'd dodged becoming Han Un Z Flip with a concave head.
"My actions were mere bravado, but your stand before the enemy supreme warrior is a courage none could match."
I bowed toward the Jiayu Commandant.
"I won't forget the devotion of the Giwangga retainers and Jiayu Pass."
"L-Left Vice Inspector General?"
Mentioning Giwangga made him stammer in surprise. Of course—suddenly, I wasn't just Left Vice Inspector General Han Un, but Han Un of Giwangga. But this bow of respect and gratitude was his due.
Amid the soldiers' fear, he'd moved to protect the royal grandson. If we let that go unrewarded, who would ever revere and shield the king's kin?
"Nor will I forget Ak Wangga. Not as the brother-in-law of Duke Ak, but for the ability and character of Commandant Nam Ok."
"An honor!"
With Ak Wang's follow-up endorsement, I could sense the commandant bowing hastily. Being praised by a reigning king who named him personally must have swelled his chest. I figured we'd soon see him promoted to second-grade noble.
- Kki-ing, Kki-ing~
- Kki-ong.
And as if guaranteeing his rise, Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i approached the commandant and licked his face. Intense affection from the spirit beasts. What more auspicious omen could there be? Truly a joyous occasion.
Every day felt anxious and jittery. It was like I'd fallen into hell while still alive. Was I being punished? For heartlessly treating Gaga in my immature, ignorant youth, for scorning her—was this the price I was finally paying?
If so, it was too cruel. If Heaven, Buddha, or the Primeval Lord of Heaven found me insolent, punish me alone. I'd gladly bear that karma.
But to punish me by endangering Gaga too? What could be more cruel and heartbreaking?
Gaga...
I closed the scripture that wouldn't enter my eyes. Even martial cultivation felt risky with this mindset—inner demons might come. All because I was going mad with worry for Gaga. Nothing else filled my thoughts.
She's... okay... right...?
I bit my lip without realizing. News from Gaga at Jiayu Pass had cut off. Right when Grandfather and Father mentioned local skirmishes.
Of course, I told myself it was coincidence. She was just too busy for letters. Grandfather and Father said the fighting was on the plains—Jiayu Pass was safe.
But... what if something had happened at the pass? What if Gaga got caught up in it?
No.
Tears welled up. She was already so busy, and now dragged into battle? What sin had Gaga committed? If there was sin, it was mine.
So, Heavens—if you read my heart, please let me hear from Gaga. Buddha, Primeval Lord, anyone—let me know her news. If she's suffering, let me bear it instead—
- Ppiae-ae-ae-ek!
Huh...?
A strange cry suddenly rang out. Not the messenger pigeon's coo I'd awaited day and night. That one's a cute kid that gurgles around—not a screamer like this.
...A messenger hawk?
But as I turned to identify the source, my heart pounded uncontrollably. It was a messenger hawk. Like the pigeon, it carried letters—but harder to tame, proportionally faster.
"Fr-from Jiayu Pass?"
- Ppiae-ek!
The hawk on the windowsill flapped its wings, as if understanding and replying. Probably just wishful thinking. My desperate hope making me read into it.
But it didn't matter. Whether it was from the pass or not, the letter would tell.
Please.
With trembling hands, I untied the letter from the hawk. If it wasn't from there, my heart might shatter.
To my beloved Yeon-i, who is always in the thoughts of her ever-doting fiancé Un.
Ah.
I smiled broadly at the first line. A letter from Gaga. One sent because she was thinking of me...
Wait...?
Un?
The word felt off, so I blinked. Strange. It brimmed with love, yet unease too. Phrases Gaga wouldn't normally use.
Gaga was kind and warm. She always greeted me with a smiling face—my ideal fiancée. But separate from that warmth, her letters stuck to a rigid format. As an official writing reports constantly, the habit bled into our correspondence. Even that made me happy, seeing her diligence. Her efforts to infuse warmth into the stiffness were adorable.
The format's broken.
But it was shattered.
And the handwriting's different.
Unlike Gaga's fluid, confident strokes, this felt solemn and steadfast. If I had to compare... like Grandfather's.
Why?
My pounding heart sank like a lie. Anxiety and dread filled the void.
Grandfather, summoned by His Highness Giwang—the patriarch—and gone out briefly. His handwriting in Gaga's letter?
Why? How? Was this even Gaga's letter?
Gaga...
Tears blurred my vision. If not for the last line about heading to Kaepyeong soon, I might have sobbed outright. At least it meant waiting quietly would reunite us. I'd learn what happened to her.