The Unexpected Kindred Spirit (3)
“Honwon Dan?”
“Yes.”
“...Are you talking about the Honwon Dan made by Yak Seon, the greatest physician in history and the Medicine Immortal?”
“Yes.”
Im So-byeong’s eyes sharpened with sudden seriousness.
“That means...”
For the first time, the man who usually spoke so smoothly, as if his tongue had been dipped in oil, began to stumble over his words.
“Mm. So, in other words... you’re saying Mount Hua actually has the Honwon Dan Yak Seon left behind?”
Chung Myung, who had been silent for a moment, jerked his head around to look at Baek Cheon and asked, “Huh? Was I not supposed to say that?”
“...”
Baek Cheon could only stand there with his mouth agape, unable to say a word. Chung Myung gave an awkward laugh and looked back at Im So-byeong.
“Ah. Keep that a secret for now. It’s not something other people should know.”
“...”
Im So-byeong looked back and forth between the Mount Hua disciples before him, utterly dumbfounded.
So it’s true? It’s not a lie?
His grip tightened painfully on the armrest of his chair.
Then what about back then in the Sword Tomb...
How shocked had he been when he heard that Yak Seon’s tomb had been discovered?
If he had been able to, he would have rushed there immediately. But at the time, he had been stuck in a bandit stronghold at the very edge of the Central Plains, and by the time the news reached him, the matter of the Sword Tomb had already been resolved.
He had just barely soothed his disappointment after hearing that everyone who had rushed there had found nothing at all.
“You fooled the whole world.”
“Hehe. Well, not saying something isn’t the same as lying.”
At Chung Myung’s answer, Im So-byeong gave a subtle nod and leaned back in his chair.
“So what exactly is it that you want to say?”
“Simple. We want to settle the matter with Honwon Dan.”
Im So-byeong let out a faint laugh.
“Do you even know what illness I have?”
“Yep, I know.”
“...You know?”
“Yep.”
Im So-byeong stared at the Taoist before him with puzzled eyes.
Chung Myung had never taken his pulse. True, his skill was extraordinary, but taking someone’s pulse wasn’t something you could do just by looking. You had to sense the flow of energy...
As he thought it over, he suddenly widened his eyes.
“D-Don’t tell me, when you grabbed my hand, you were taking my pulse...!”
“Nope. I just took one look and knew.”
“...”
Im So-byeong slumped back into his chair again, now wearing a sulky expression.
“Where are you even selling this snake oil...”
“I’m not selling snake oil. I’m telling you I really know. That pale face, the yin energy gathered in your forehead, the coughing like you’ve got consumption, and on top of that, a brilliant mind and dazzling lack of martial talent!”
Chung Myung declared it like a verdict.
“There’s only one illness with those symptoms! Nine Yin Severed Meridians!”
Im So-byeong looked shocked all over again. Chung Myung grinned triumphantly.
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“...No, you’re not.”
“Huh?”
“I said no.”
“...”
Their empty stares crossed in the air.
“No?”
“No.”
“...No way.”
Chung Myung frowned and tilted his head.
That’s weird. The symptoms match too perfectly for it to be wrong.
“Kuh... cough! Cough!”
Just then, a coughing fit burst out of Im So-byeong, making his whole body jolt. He lowered the handkerchief from his mouth and smiled bitterly.
“If it were Nine Yin Severed Meridians, do you think I’d still be alive?”
“Ah, fair enough.”
Chung Myung nodded as if that made sense.
Nine Yin Severed Meridians referred to a condition where the nine most yin-filled points in the human body were blocked from birth. Those afflicted with it possessed twisted circulation, which granted them keen intelligence and exceptional martial talent—but precisely because their blood flow was so warped, they usually died before reaching twenty.
“So it really isn’t that?”
“Yep.”
“Ah. I thought I had it.”
Smacking his lips in disappointment, Chung Myung turned back to Baek Cheon.
“Sasuk.”
“What?”
“...The situation got messed up. What do we do?”
“...”
The muscles around Baek Cheon’s eyes and mouth twitched violently.
I really want him dead. I really do.
Primordial Heavenly Lord, why did you send this bastard down to Mount Hua to torment me? Why!
When Baek Cheon refused to answer, Chung Myung scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. Im So-byeong let out a sigh and spoke up.
“I...”
“Ah! Wait, wait! Don’t say anything yet! Let me guess!”
Chung Myung’s eyes gleamed with competitive fervor.
“It’s similar to Nine Yin Severed Meridians, but you’re still alive! Then... maybe Seven Yin Severed Meridians?”
“...”
“Or Three Yin Severed Meridians?”
Baek Cheon’s face was slowly turning red.
“Or maybe Two Yin—”
Unable to listen any longer, Baek Cheon exploded.
“You little bastard! Do you think this is something you can just guess by beating it into the ground? Why are you causing trouble without even being sure—”
But at that very moment, Im So-byeong sprang to his feet, startled.
“Oh? You got it!”
“...”
Baek Cheon’s head whipped around.
“...I got it?”
“Yes.”
“...”
He got it?
All of Baek Cheon’s energy leaked out of him at once.
Whether Baek Cheon lived or died, Im So-byeong nodded in genuine admiration.
“As expected of the Mount Hua Divine Dragon.”
“Hehe. It was nothing. Pretty ordinary, really.”
As Baek Cheon’s shoulders sagged, Yoon Jong patted him reassuringly and silently shook his head.
“Please calm down, Sasuk. It’s not like this is the first time you’ve experienced this.”
“...That’s exactly the problem. It’s not the first time.”
“That is also true.”
While Baek Cheon seriously contemplated the meaning of life, Im So-byeong scratched his head with his fan and spoke.
“To be precise, it’s closer to One and a Half Yin Severed Meridians.”
“...What do you mean by that? Are you measuring it with scales at a market stall? Is that even a thing?”
At Baek Cheon’s question, Im So-byeong kindly explained, “The name changes depending on how many meridians are blocked. If nine are blocked, it’s Nine Yin Severed Meridians. If three are blocked, it’s Three Yin Severed Meridians. And if two and a half are blocked...”
“...Enough.”
He felt like listening any longer would make his head go strange.
At Baek Cheon’s reaction, Im So-byeong gave a bitter smile.
“So, in the end, Nine Yin Severed Meridians is the pinnacle of yin-type meridian blockage, and Three Yin Severed Meridians is the weakest. I’m somewhere a bit better than Three Yin Severed Meridians. Two major veins are completely blocked, and one is half-blocked.”
“...That’s an incredibly awkward illness.”
“Exactly what I keep saying.”
Im So-byeong twisted his face into a grimace.
“It’s too serious to ignore, but there’s no way to cure it, so...”
Chung Myung, who had been listening quietly, cut in.
“Either way, your lifespan keeps getting shorter.”
“That too.”
When Im So-byeong nodded obediently, Chung Myung’s eyes lit up.
“That actually works out well. If it were Nine Yin Severed Meridians, I couldn’t be sure Honwon Dan could cure it, but One and a Half Yin... no, One and a Half Yin and...”
“Let’s just call it Two Yin Severed Meridians.”
“Yeah. If it’s around Two Yin Severed Meridians, Honwon Dan should definitely be able to cure it.”
Im So-byeong fell into deep thought.
Honwon Dan.
Severed meridians could not be treated with ordinary spiritual medicines. Most spiritual medicines existed to advance martial cultivation, not to heal.
But Honwon Dan was different from common elixirs.
It was not created by a sect alchemist, but by Yak Seon, the one called the reincarnation of Hua Tuo himself. As its name implied—Honwon, meaning harmony—it was said to have the greatest healing effect in history when it came to restoring a body whose balance had been broken.
If it really is Honwon Dan...
If Chung Myung was telling the truth, then this was clearly worth discussing.
But still.
“...Though, at the moment, I’m not exactly desperate for Honwon Dan. It’s inconvenient, yes, but still...”
With narrowed eyes, Im So-byeong spoke in an intentionally indifferent tone. Chung Myung looked at him with an odd expression.
“Let’s not waste time pretending.”
“...”
“Isn’t it a little strange? You told me that the Green Forest would definitely follow me if I showed them my strength, yet here you are, hiding your own identity and putting Beon Chung out front instead... If it were me, I wouldn’t bother with such a hassle.”
“It’s just my preference.”
“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who’d create extra trouble just because he prefers it.”
Im So-byeong stared at Chung Myung in silence.
Yet even under that heavy, intimidating gaze, Chung Myung merely grinned.
“The reason’s simple if you think about it. It’s not that you won’t reveal yourself—it’s that you can’t. Those bandits wouldn’t accept a Green Forest King who’s coughing his lungs out like he’s got consumption. Even if a rebellion doesn’t break out, the unity would definitely weaken. Right?”
“Hmm.”
Im So-byeong crossed his legs and began fanning himself slowly.
“Interesting interpretation. Not unreasonable.”
Chung Myung shrugged and continued, “Right now, everyone’s too busy fighting the Maninbang to complain about the Green Forest King, but once things settle down, it’ll be a different story. Hmm... wait, was it the Green Forest that started the war with Maninbang too? To shift attention outward?”
Snap.
Im So-byeong closed his fan and tapped himself on the head with the tip.
“I said we should just part ways after exchanging a polite look, and you came in here with a knife, ready to cut right through my innards.”
“Well, it’s all right there on the surface.”
“What’s on the surface is not what everyone else saw.”
Im So-byeong let out a long sigh.
“So what is it you want? You came all this way, and if you say you’re going to shake my hand and leave, that only makes things feel worse. It’d be awkward to just let you go.”
A faint chill entered his gaze.
But Chung Myung only smiled at the slight sharpness in his aura.
“You’ve got the question backwards. It’s not what we want—it’s what you want.”
“What?”
“Hey! Bring a chair!”
At Chung Myung’s words, Jo Gul flinched and started to move for a chair, but Beon Chung rushed out several times faster and brought one in front of him.
“...”
Im So-byeong looked at Beon Chung as though he’d just seen something unbelievable.
“What’s wrong with that guy?”
“...It would take too long to explain.”
Baek Cheon replied weakly.
Chung Myung sat down in the chair Beon Chung had brought, crossing his legs in exactly the same way as Im So-byeong.
“You don’t seem to understand the situation yet.”
“...”
“I’m being nice and explaining it, but you’re awfully slow on the uptake. Don’t you get it? I have Honwon Dan. Honwon Dan.”
“...”
“That thing Yak Seon forged, grinding himself to dust, the Honwon Dan that there’s barely any left in the world now? I have it. The Honwon Dan that can solve every single one of your annoying problems in one shot?”
“...”
Im So-byeong’s expression began to twist.
“And yet, what? What do I want? My goodness, I can’t do business with a man like this. Do you think I’ve got nowhere else to sell it? If I walked out right now, there’d be a line of people waiting to buy this thing! A line!”
Waving his arms about, Chung Myung rubbed his brow with exaggerated frustration.
“Ah, talking about lines makes me want liquor. Where’s the booze...”
Snap.
Before he’d even finished, Beon Chung had already come up and held out a bottle of liquor as if he’d prepared it in advance. This time, even Chung Myung looked a little taken aback.
“...Thanks.”
“Of course, Brother!”
That guy... is way better than I thought.
Chung Myung uncorked the bottle and drank as though he were nearly pouring it down his throat. Then he slammed the bottle down hard.
“Kaaahhh!”
He wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and a smile spread slowly across his lips.
“All right, listen carefully.”
Im So-byeong stared at him with a face that looked half mesmerized already.
“You’re in a situation where you need to cure your illness as quickly as possible and properly take control of the Green Forest, right? There’s a limit to pretending you’re the Green Forest King while also not being the Green Forest King. Why? Because Maninbang is going to do everything it can to wipe out the Green Forest first.”
“...”
“Once the war gets harsher, you won’t be able to stay out of it. But then... once the war becomes too severe and you’re forced to step out, what happens? Huh? The Green Forest King turns out to be that coughing invalid?”
Im So-byeong let out a long sigh.
“And if rumors spread that you’re still sick, the Green Forest would fall apart in an instant. You can’t possibly not know that, can you? So you kept the situation as it was because you had no other choice.”
Im So-byeong scratched his head furiously, sending his long hair bouncing around.
“Ugh. I can’t beat a Taoist when it comes to this sort of thing.”
“But!”
Chung Myung was now fully enjoying himself, even waving his hands wildly.
“All those problems get swept away with just one Honwon Dan! Swept away! Clean and simple! Huh? Just one pill!”
Watching this, Baek Cheon smiled faintly.
He’s really selling it.
He’s blatantly selling it, too.
As if possessed by a professional snake-oil hawker, Chung Myung kept tossing Im So-byeong around with words, then pulling him back in.
“So!”
Bang!
Chung Myung slammed his hand against the chair so hard that one of the armrests snapped off and clattered to the floor.
All eyes snapped toward him at once. He smiled wickedly.
“It’s not a matter of asking what I want.”
“...”
As if he hadn’t been speaking with such force just now, Chung Myung slowly leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs again.
“How much are you paying?”
“...”
“Make an offer.”
Im So-byeong’s lips, turned pale as paper, trembled. Then they slowly parted.
“A... million...”
“Huh? Can’t hear you.”
“An extra million nyang on top of the conditions!”
“Aigoo. I could sell it somewhere else and get five million without even trying.”
“Th-then two million!”
“Sahyungs. Pack our bags!”
“Th-three million! Three million is my limit! Three million! Taoist! Please spare a thought for my situation!”
“Looks like the bandits aren’t making much money these days. Three million? I should just eat this myself and die.”
“Fo-four million is impossible...”
The bargaining grew more and more fierce.
Baek Cheon and the others could only sink into one fundamental question.
Sasuk.
Hm?
Does Mount Hua even have any Honwon Dan left right now?
...Didn’t we use it all up in that last battle with Maninbang?
Then what exactly is he selling?
Can’t you tell?
Yes?
He’s scamming him.
...
Watching Chung Myung laugh gleefully with his legs crossed, while Im So-byeong desperately tried to persuade him, Jo Gul felt a fresh wave of admiration wash over him.
Then he glanced out the window.
A Taoist is scamming a bandit.
Why wasn’t lightning striking from the sky?
Well.
What a world.