Chapter 106
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 106
Chapter Title: Nest (3)
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It was an incident from far away in the Western Regions.
At that time, the boy was a clumsy wandering beggar. His father and mother had clearly died, so as an orphan, he first set out to find someone. But the memories afterward were all jumbled up, and he couldn't even recall who he was or whom he was searching for. He had been too young back then, every day a chain of hunger and hardship, and several years had flown by just like that.
Looking back, he wondered how he had even managed to beg enough food to survive.
Anyway, that day the boy nearly ended up boiled in a pot. Like a stray dog caught by the townsfolk to eat.
The boy barely escaped, utterly exhausted without even the strength to beg. So he leaned against a tree and blankly watched a passing caravan procession.
With indifferent eyes.
With his will to live broken.
He was slowly dying.
Then suddenly, someone broke off from the group and trotted over, extending a hand.
It was a lovely girl.
"Take my hand."
"……?"
"Take it and stand up."
The boy stared at the girl's hand for a long while before asking.
"...Why?"
What had she said back then?
Probably something like, if she passed him by like this, he'd die, so she'd treat his wounds and give him food. Then she asked if he had anywhere to go, if he had parents, and when he said no to everything, she asked if he wouldn't come with her. She added that they'd need the adults' permission, but her father would surely heed her words, so not to worry.
Actually, the content of her chatter didn't matter.
He simply found her chirping voice pleasant to hear, and it was novel that someone was showing him genuine concern.
"With you?"
"Yes. With me."
The boy suddenly wondered.
If he grasped that fair hand and stood, could he really stay together with this angel-like girl before his eyes?
What would such a life feel like?
So the boy took the girl's hand, and thus the abandoned child was saved.
A touch of warmth.
To save one human, surprisingly little was needed.
Crackle.
Flying Tiger unleashed a flash of energy.
And as he took seven steps, he unleashed fifty-six sword strikes into the empty air in rapid succession.
Around him, bluish sword gleams flashed chaotically, and Iron Butterfly let out a shrill jeeerrr~ before gradually scattering.
It was the result of unleashing the Sixty-Four Wind and Water Rings in a single burst.
Moreover, it was born from the Overwhelming Blade's might—worthy of being called a treasured sword—the ever-purer inner energy, and his ceaseless efforts.
At this level, it could be called an absolute technique without shame.
Hoo—
Flying Tiger, having poured his strength into that one outburst, steadied his ragged breath while focusing on respiration to reclaim some of it. A natural habit since absorbing Wang Baek-gun's teachings. As he contemplated his inner self, he suddenly gave a wry smile.
He had taken another step forward!
A dramatic leap—exactly fitting the phrase.
Before, five and a half steps had been the limit, yet now he walked seven and remained intact. (Here, "intact" meant his dantian was drained and his head spun, but not to the dire point of qi deviation like before.)
One step shy of the goal of eight—ninety percent mastery.
Thus, it was the day the ideal form he had vaguely envisioned for the Wind and Water Rings first took shape.
Why not rejoice?
That was the reason for his wry smile.
Like a single ray of sunlight piercing heavy clouds on an overcast day only to vanish moments later, the thought of Gong Won-yeong brought a fleeting joy to his leaden heart—and that ephemerality felt all the more cruel.
Soon, Flying Tiger shook his head as if to dispel idle thoughts and began slowly wielding his sword.
He could only do what was within his power.
While he waited.
Patience was his greatest asset, after all.
As the sun reached its zenith, the guest Flying Tiger awaited arrived.
It was Hidden Moon, master of the Western Chamber.
"Have you heard about the woman's condition?"
"This morning, from the child tending to Won-yeong, I roughly heard what Physician Heo relayed. Yeong-i had two more seizures since, and used up all three vials of Ice Jade Dew you gave me, right?"
There was more to the message, but Flying Tiger chose not to voice it.
Replacing Ice Jade Dew with another spirit medicine was difficult, and even if found, it wouldn't hold two months at this rate. Her soul was trying to flee her flesh, and such stopgaps had reached their limit.
A more fundamental treatment was needed—if possible at all.
Flying Tiger quelled his seething heart, composed his features, and bowed in greeting.
"That Won-yeong and I have endured this far is entirely thanks to Hidden Moon's grace. My deepest gratitude."
"Hmm."
Hidden Moon inwardly marveled.
The young man before him must be scorched black inside. His next words would decide his lover's fate. Yet he revealed no haste, instead first expressing proper thanks.
Proof of a steadfast spirit.
"A trifling favor. I've reaped great gains through you too, so think nothing of it. And if A-ryuk's rash judgment left any grudge, let's clear it now."
"None at all."
"Good. Then shall we discuss the Golden Jade Immortal you've been seeking?"
Little Bian Que, the Golden Jade Immortal.
She was the famed disciple of O-song Jin-in, whose arts had reached the divine. Thus, at least for women's ailments, she was hailed as unrivaled.
They sought her hoping she might cure Gong Won-yeong.
In other words, she was Flying Tiger's last hope.
"About a week ago, thanks to ransacking Zhongnan Mountain, we found her thatched hut. But it was empty. She'd left mere months prior, and the hasty packing suggested some sudden recent affair, not a routine outing."
"Of all times, recently?"
"Regrettably. So I've set professional trackers on her trail and planted contacts around her abode in case she returns."
"……."
To Hidden Moon's eyes, Flying Tiger closed his and muttered something. Pitying him, he called softly.
"Hey, Flying Tiger."
"One moment."
"……?"
"How long ago did the Golden Jade Immortal leave her abode, roughly?"
"Estimates place it from half a month ago to within two or three months."
"No word from the trackers? On sighting her movements."
"Not yet. Capable as they are, her retreat's isolation means no witnesses, and time has passed—pinpointing even the origin is tough. It's a dead end. That's what's stumping them."
"Then, if I specified her likely destination and narrowed the departure to a timeframe, would that aid the tracking?"
"……!"
Hidden Moon stared at Flying Tiger in astonishment.
"Shaanxi's Hanzhong region. Departure between half a month and twenty days ago. Sound right?"
"How could you...?"
"A hunch. But not baseless. It seems finding her this way is futile, so I'm volunteering."
"Care to share that basis?"
It dated to his treatment at Zhao Family Manor on Ye Mountain.
Ma-yeop had said the Golden Jade Immortal's temperament was extraordinarily eccentric—a stranger's plea would fall on deaf ears. Even Ma-yeop himself counted among them, lacking close ties.
His alternative: he knew someone acquainted with her and would ask via them.
To that end, Ma-yeop headed to nearby Goseok Mountain Manor in Hanzhong. To beseech Manor Lord Mun Hwa-gyun for an introduction.
But when Flying Tiger arrived just a day late, the Guimyeon band had already ravaged it—and there he found Ma-yeop's corpse.
All plans in ruins.
Now, who was that person Ma-yeop sought?
Though he hadn't named them directly, his hints let Flying Tiger guess.
Anyway, that person.
Perhaps they, lingering at Hanzhong Post, received Ma-yeop's request and contacted the Golden Jade Immortal on Zhongnan Mountain? Prompting her frantic packing and dash to Hanzhong?
The timings aligned perfectly, matching the suddenness. Plus, Ma-yeop's claim that even she couldn't refuse that person's plea.
Countless assumptions for her abrupt exit, of course—but at least one held water.
Thus, a hunch.
"Hmm, a hunch. You forcing pieces together in desperation?"
Hidden Moon spoke coolly, and Flying Tiger nodded readily.
"Fair criticism. But no other path, right? Hidden Moon, as you know, Won-yeong and I have little time left."
"Understood. If you're set on it, thus: keep the investigators on task, but I'll dispatch an extra tracker par excellence to probe your angle."
"Thank you."
Hidden Moon consented, then after a pause, spoke in a deeply settled tone.
"But separately, mark this well."
"Please."
"Curing your woman is no easy feat. Fetching the Golden Jade Immortal changes nothing—whether she can truly revive her is another matter."
"……."
Flying Tiger couldn't admit he knew that all too well. Voicing it might make it real.
"So prepare yourself. Beyond your utmost efforts to heal her."
"Steel my heart? But mine... sigh."
"No. Tangible preparations. That's the crux of the second deal I'll propose today."
Hidden Moon drew three small vials from his bosom and set them on the table in turn. Eerily like his first deal with Flying Tiger.
Then: three white porcelain vials and one red gourd. Now: two white porcelain and one subtly indigo porcelain.
The red gourd neutralizer swapped for indigo—the deal's crux, Flying Tiger knew.
The whites were Ice Jade Dew Gong Won-yeong had taken. Hidden Moon nailed it: scant vials left even in his hands, nigh impossible to procure more.
And the indigo one.
"A priceless elixir to revive even a corpse—so long as the soul clings."
Flying Tiger bolted up in shock, but Hidden Moon waved him down.
"Don't leap ahead. Instead: one da-jing (15 minutes) after ingestion, without exception, certain death. Not even living Hua Tuo, nay Tai La Immortal, could save then—it's peerless poison too."
"……."
"Behold: Gyeop-hwa-ram . Death to the living, brief life to the dead—a poison and medicine both."