Senior Brother of the Sect Leader (1)
The story that the Ice Palace had fought the Demonic Sect and won spread through the entire North Sea in no time at all.
“So those black-clad bastards were Demonic Sect bastards?”
“You didn’t know?”
“What would a fool like me know? Did you know, brother?”
“People kept it quiet, sure, but the rumors were still going around, weren’t they? Anyway, the child of the former former Palace Lord who just took the Palace Lord’s seat led the Ice Palace warriors out and crushed every last one of those Demonic Sect bastards.”
“Huh. So that means people won’t just keep disappearing now.”
“Exactly! And it means that plague won’t keep spreading either.”
“D-do you really think that’ll happen?”
“Tsk tsk. Have you lived your whole life getting fooled?”
The older-looking man clicked his tongue and continued.
“People who actually entered the Ice Palace saw it with their own eyes and confirmed it. The Ice Palace must have taken serious damage this time too. I hear the casualties were beyond counting. Right now, they’re sending huge amounts of medicine and supplies into the Ice Palace, aren’t they?”
“So it’s really…….”
“I’m telling you it is.”
“That’s a relief. Really, what a relief.”
Everyone who heard the news was moved to tears at the thought that their lives were about to change. They would no longer have to tremble every time they stepped outside, afraid someone might drag them away.
“When the Palace Lord changes, the world changes with it.”
“Didn’t they say he was the child of the former former Palace Lord? Thinking about it, life wasn’t so bad when that former former Palace Lord was in charge.”
“Like father, like son. That’s the way of it.”
As the crowd praised Seol So-baek in unison, the older man who had been leading the conversation from the center let his expression shift ever so slightly.
“The thing is,” he said.
“Yes?”
“Well…… from what I’ve heard, the one who led all this wasn’t the new Palace Lord, but people from the Central Plains.”
“The Central Plains?”
“You know, those foreigners who told the village chief of Joga Village the cause of the plague and then left.”
“Ah!”
“Ah! Those Central Plains people!”
Those gathered around slapped their hands together, each one saying he’d heard of them.
Hadn’t rumors spread across the North Sea not long ago that some foreigners had come and taught people how to cure the mysterious plague sweeping through the region?
Thanks to the Joga Village chief spreading the treatment everywhere, many of the afflicted had been able to get back on their feet.
“I hear those Central Plains people led the Ice Palace from the front lines and fought the Demonic Sect.”
“Come on. How does that even make sense? How many of them could there possibly be?”
“Hey now, do you think I’m just making that up? That’s what the Ice Palace warriors themselves said!”
“The warriors?”
Everyone who had been scoffing now stood there with their mouths hanging open. If the warriors themselves had said it, there was no way to dismiss it.
“B-but who are they, anyway?”
“I heard them say something like…… Hosan? Hwa…… Hmm. Anyway, some Taoist sect in the Central Plains.”
“Not one of the Nine Great Sects?”
“That’s what they said.”
“Good heavens…….”
The people talking looked at one another. It was hard not to believe, but it was also hard to swallow whole.
“If that’s true, then those Central Plains people deserve our thanks for the rest of our lives.”
“You can say that again.”
The warm wind that had blown in across the North Sea was beginning to thaw not only the Ice Palace, but the lives of the North Sea people as well.
The disciples of Mount Hua had saved the Ice Palace, and they had saved the North Sea too. They had every right to be treated as the Ice Palace’s most honored guests and indulge in endless luxury.
……That was how it should have been, anyway.
“……Gul.”
“Yes.”
“Water.”
“…….”
“Gul!”
“A-why are you yelling!”
“……Ice. Ugh, get me some ice. My whole body feels like it’s being stabbed to death.”
“I mean…….”
“Gul. Go get this bandage redone…….”
“Kyaaaagh!”
Unable to endure it any longer, Jo Gul hurled the bandage he was holding onto the floor.
“What do you mean, you’ve been ordering me around for three days straight! I’m a patient too, you know? A patient! Don’t you see this bandage?”
At that, Baek Cheon, who had been lying motionless as if dead on the bed, lifted his head slightly. His hair stood out in unruly tufts beneath the bandages wrapped all the way around his head and face, making his appearance positively ghastly.
“Then should I go?”
“…….”
When murderous intent began to leak out from the eyes visible through the bandages, Jo Gul shrank down and muttered, “No…… that’s not what I meant…… I’m a patient too.”
“You can still walk, can’t you?”
“So, Soso is here too! Soso’s legs are perfectly fine.”
“Soso is the physician. Should I ask the physician to run errands?”
“N-no, but…….”
And then it happened.
“Gul.”
“Yes?”
Yoon Jong, lying in the next bed like a corpse, struggled to raise his body as though crawling back up from hell.
“Bring me the ice…… before I twist your neck backward.”
“…….”
“My face hurts so much on both sides I feel like I’m going to die, you little bastard.”
“……Yes, sir.”
At that grinding tone, Jo Gul obediently tucked his tail between his legs. He knew damn well he was in the wrong, so he couldn’t even think of making an excuse.
In an instant, he had become a pitiful little thing, grumbling under his breath as he started moving again.
“Should have snapped both your legs in half…… Why the hell are they still fine?”
“My legs?”
“No! My legs, my legs! I meant my legs!”
Yoon Jong, who had just been ready to bully Jo Gul again with eyes blazing, suddenly clutched his waist and fell back down weakly.
“Uuuugh…….”
Lying there, staring at the ceiling, his eyes went dull and empty.
“Sasuk…….”
“What?”
“I think I’m going to die…….”
“……Good. I’ve lost all feeling at this point. I can’t even tell how much anything hurts anymore.”
The aftereffects of battle always came after the battle was over.
For an ordinary person, these were injuries that would have killed them several times over. They were all used to pain to a certain extent, but enduring wounds of this magnitude was no easy thing.
And on top of that…….
“Damn it, this mahwa or whatever it is…….”
Baek Cheon raised his arm and ground his teeth as he looked at the dark blotches visible through the bandages.
Mahwa.
Wounds caused by demonic qi continued to gnaw at the flesh. The remaining mahwa in each wound was proof of that.
Because of it, the internal energy that should have been used to restore the body was instead being spent driving the mahwa out.
It was only natural that recovery would be slow.
“Those leech-like bastards…….”
“Exactly.”
At that moment, Hye Yeon, who had been lying in a corner bed, struggled to sit up. Then, letting out a faint groan, he said, “......My body is in no condition to be described.”
“Monk, are you a little bett…… pfft!”
“W-why are you— pff, pffhaah!”
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong, who had naturally turned to look at Hye Yeon, immediately jerked their eyes away, refusing to let themselves laugh even if it meant enduring the pain. Their wounds stung like mad, but they simply couldn’t hold it in.
“......W-why are you acting like that?”
“Ugh.”
“H-hngh.”
Baek Cheon and Yoon Jong alternated between clutching their stomachs, convulsing with laughter, and groaning in pain.
“M-my head…….”
“Agh. I’m losing it, my head! Ngh.”
And no wonder…… black blotches, like flower petals, had bloomed all over Hye Yeon’s shiny bald head. It made him look as though several huge bald patches had appeared at once.
Don’t laugh!
I feel like I’m dying.
They knew full well that they ought to be concerned—these were wounds from a battle in which they had risked their lives and been struck by demonic qi—but their bodies were brutally honest.
“......What is it, benefactors?”
“N-no. Nothing, monk.”
“It’s nothing!”
Baek Cheon barely managed to suppress his laughter and calm himself before staring back up at the ceiling.
It was a horrifying war.
Truth be told, he never wanted to go through it again. The Demonic Sect bastards were bad enough, but just thinking about that demon-like bishop still sent chills down his spine.
Being able to lie here and groan was a stroke of luck…….
“Sago! Try putting this on. It’s a special ointment from our Tang Family, and it’s the best thing for swollen wounds! I just made it. No, no, stay still and I’ll put it on for you.”
“…….”
Baek Cheon’s head turned weakly.
Dang Soso was loosening Yu I-seol’s bandages and carefully, carefully applying ointment all over her face. Her hands were so cautious it was as though she feared the slightest pressure would crush her, or a puff of breath would send her flying away.
“……Soso.”
“Yes?”
“Is that medicine for swelling?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me some too…….”
“Ah, right.”
Soso pulled another jar of ointment from her sleeve and tossed it at him.
“…….”
“Apply it. It should work well.”
Baek Cheon squeezed his eyes shut. The corners of his eyes were damp.
And yet I’m the Great Disciple…….
These martial nephews and nieces treated the Great Disciple like dirt on the bottom of their shoe. They definitely hadn’t been like this before, so how had it ended up this way…….
No, this is all because of that damn bastard.
Thinking of Chung Myung, Baek Cheon barely managed to lift his head and ask Dang Soso, “By the way, Soso.”
“Yes?”
“Has Chung Myung still not shown any improvement?”
“…….”
Dang Soso’s face darkened slightly.
“His injuries were so severe. Honestly, it’s a wonder he’s still alive.”
“…….”
“I’ve handled the external wounds for now, but the internal injuries are so bad…….”
“I see…….”
Baek Cheon let out a sigh.
Unlike them, who had regained consciousness fairly quickly, Chung Myung had remained unconscious for three full days since being carried into the Ice Palace.
Because his injuries were so severe, he couldn’t share the same room with them and was being treated separately in a private room.
“He won’t have some kind of problem, will he?”
“......He’ll be fine. This is Chung Myung Sasuk we’re talking about, after all.”
At Soso’s words, Baek Cheon slowly nodded.
“Right. He should be.”
Then the tightly shut door was thrown open. Without even turning his head, Yoon Jong snapped, “You little punk, what took you so long to bring the ice? The whole world’s frozen solid!”
“......Ice?”
“Uh…… huh?”
Just as Yoon Jong was about to answer, he pushed himself up a little and looked toward the door. Chung Myung, wrapped head to toe in bandages, had his head tilted to the side.
“Sahyeong, you’ve really grown up. Sending me on errands now and all.”
“......Wh-when did you get here?”
And why are you perfectly fine? Why the hell are you fine?
“Ice? Sure, ice sounds great. I’ll get it for you right now.”
“Ch-Chung Myung! That’s not what I meant, I thought you were Jo Gul!”
“......That somehow pisses me off even more.”
“Huh?”
……Huh. Fair enough. Yeah, now that he thought about it, that did make sense.
Chung Myung walked over to the window and opened it. Then he tore a chunk of ice off the frozen outer wall and tossed it at Yoon Jong.
“Here you go, sahyeong! Ice coming in! Ice!”
“Don’t, don’t throw it! Aaaagh!”
Yoon Jong caught the ice by reflex, then screamed as his wound must have split open, writhing about on the bed.
Watching that, Chung Myung clicked his tongue.
“What the hell did you get so worked up about? You’re still groaning over that little bit? You’re pathetic! Back in my day, if you got stabbed three or four times, you didn’t even bother getting stitched up! You just slapped some dirt on it and it healed!”
“......That’s because you were a beggar.”
“Dong-ryong, shut up.”
Chung Myung frowned slightly and roughly tore off the bandages wrapped around him.
“Geez, who wraps bandages like this? It’s uncomfortable.”
“Ah, you’re not supposed to take them off yet—!”
Dang Soso had been trying to stop him, but the instant the bandages came loose and Chung Myung’s body was exposed, she gasped and opened her mouth wide.
On the body she had assumed would be torn apart and split wide open, leaving behind permanent scars, fresh flesh had already grown in thick and full.
“......Is he even human?”
She wasn’t a proper physician, but she had still seen plenty of injured people. By all common sense, this was something she simply could not understand.
“You’re all such drama queens!”
At that moment, Baek Cheon staggered up.
“......You’re really healed already?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“......Really?”
Baek Cheon climbed down from the bed and made his way unsteadily toward Chung Myung.
“Huh?”
Chung Myung tilted his head. The strange one wasn’t only Baek Cheon. The other martial brothers silently got down from their beds as well and slowly gathered around him together with Baek Cheon.
“Huh? What’s with you guys?”
As Chung Myung stared at them with round eyes, Baek Cheon smiled faintly.
“Chung Myung.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re all healed, but we’re still hurting like hell.”
“......So?”
“The more I think about it, the more I feel like it has to be because your internal energy is much purer than ours.”
“......Sure. I guess. And?”
“So I thought about it.”
Baek Cheon bared his teeth just a little, and there was something distinctly predatory in his smile.
“If our internal energy got a little higher too, we’d probably heal faster.”
“......That figures. What kind of obvious nonsense are you—”
“So.”
The madness began to creep into his eyes.
“Hand it over. Liquid Sky Essence.”
“…….”
“I’m not asking for much. One drop. Just one drop. One drop each per person!”
“…….”
“Hand it over, or we settle this right here and now.”
“…….”
Chung Myung stared blankly at the martial brothers surrounding him.
They didn’t seem to have discussed it in advance, but the moment Baek Cheon moved, they closed off every escape route on pure instinct. Seeing that terrifying coordination, tears almost came to his eyes.
But…… Monk, why are you in on this?
And…….
“......When did Jo Gul Sahyeong get here?”
“Huh? I’m right—”
“What exactly are you even getting involved in?”
“I don’t know what’s happening, but I felt like I should join in.”
“......Oh yeah?”
Chung Myung slowly turned his head. Through the open window, the blue sky and sunlight poured in dazzlingly.
Sahyeong.
Senior Brother of the Sect Leader.
The kids turned out incredibly well.
Incredibly…… in a different way, though…….