Return of the Cloud Dragon — Chapter 35: The Life-and-Death Tablet

BANG―! KWAAANG―!

The thick iron doors of the Demonic Physician Hall bent like taffy and went flying inward.

“Yeong-ah! Yun Cheon! I'm here! Are you still alive?!”

Hair standing in wild disarray, silk robes caked in dust and grime — it was a sight far too pitiful for the famed Life and Death Venerable of the world.

Kicking up clouds of dirt as he burst through the door, he looked less like a Venerable of the Cult and more like an aging bandit in flight.

Clenched tight in his hand, as though it might shatter at any moment, was the legendary elixir of the ages — the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow.

“…Grandfather?”

Beyond the haze of dust, Seol Yeong was looking at him.

His storm-charged footsteps froze to a dead halt.

“…Huh?”

Her complexion was still pale.

But the shadow of death that had so cruelly bound her was gone without a trace.

Instead, from her entire body rose a chill, crystalline energy, misting upward like a snow lotus newly bloomed.

And across from her—

Yun Cheon slowly uncurled from his cross-legged position and opened his eyes.

“Hoo…….”

With his sleeve, he casually wiped away the dark smear of blood on his lips. Exhaustion clung to him like a wet cloth, yet his eyes burned sharp and luminous.

“You're a little late, Elder.”

A sly, mischievous smile tugged at Yun Cheon's mouth.

“The fire… has been put out, for now.”

The Life and Death Venerable's jaw dropped.

“…You're telling me you controlled the Yin-Cold Qi yourself, in that state?”

His astonished gaze darted busily between Seol Yeong, exhaling pure clear energy, and Yun Cheon, calmly gathering in his frigid Yin.

The children who had stood at death's very threshold had instead broken through their shells — their constitutions had changed.

He didn't need to take a pulse to know it.

The crisis had already passed.

“Ha… I'll be damned.”

The strength drained from the Life and Death Venerable's legs, and he collapsed where he stood. Relief and emptiness had swept over him all at once.

“I'm so dumbfounded I can't even speak….”

Just then, his gaze drifted, almost unconsciously, to the jade ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠vial in his hand.

The vial gleamed with a radiant blue light.

The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hollow Azure Stone Marrow — the fabled elixir said to bring the dying back from the brink.

In an instant, the Venerable's eyes, loosened by relief, clouded over and sank.

Hold on. If that boy has already pulled through the crisis… then is it not the case that this Hollow Azure Stone Marrow need not be used at all?

A sticky, covetous desire flickered through the old man's aged eyes.

Right now, Seol Yeong had brought the Yin-Cold Qi under control and found stability.

If she were to take that elixir in this state…

It would slow the progression of the blocked-meridian condition that even his medicine could not cure, and buy his granddaughter more years of life.

No — with something like the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow, it might go beyond mere prolongation. She might be guaranteed ten years, more, of healthy living….

The vow he had made before the Sun Moon Escort Bureau flashed through the Life and Death Venerable's mind.

I swore I would become his guardian, no question. But the boy has already been saved. So is there truly any need to feed this treasure to him?

The old man's grip tightened on the vial. His eyes slid slyly toward Yun Cheon.

Yun Cheon grasped the meaning of that greasy, humid stare in an instant.

So even a master called one of the Five Great Venerables is nothing but a covetous old lecher in the face of his own bloodline.

What Yun Cheon felt was less bitterness than cold contempt.

The Hollow Azure Stone Marrow wasn't urgently needed right now anyway.

If anything… now that she's barely managed to form a dantian by controlling the Yin-Cold Qi, forcing the elixir down her throat would do more harm than good.

Seol Yeong had been saved from her affliction because he'd guided her into controlling the Yin-Cold Qi through the subtle principles of the Ice Soul Divine Art — and that alone was a greater gain than drinking the elixir would have been.

Besides, the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow was never something I obtained by my own strength. It was meant to be the price of my bargain with the Life and Death Venerable. There's nothing to regret.

Having settled his thoughts, Yun Cheon was just closing his eyes, choosing not to press the matter—

when a voice as cold as frostbite cracked across the room and jolted the old man awake.

“Grandfather!”

It was Seol Yeong. Her glacier-blue eyes pierced without a tremor through her grandfather's desire-clouded gaze.

“That elixir is not mine.”

The Life and Death Venerable flinched and opened his mouth as if to excuse himself.

“Yeong-ah, but… the boy's condition has improved too, and your body still….”

“It's because the benefactor risked his life to buy me time that I survived.”

Seol Yeong's eyes were resolute. This was not the petulance of a sickly granddaughter — it was the gaze of a warrior defending her honor.

“And yet, if I were to covet even the elixir brought for his sake… I would become a beast that knows neither gratitude nor debt.”

A chill radiated from her voice itself.

“You did not raise me to be so ungrateful, Grandfather. Do not shame me before my benefactor.”

Rebuked by his own granddaughter, even the great Life and Death Venerable found himself struck speechless.

“……!”

His face burned as though he'd been slapped across the cheek.

“Ahem… I've shown an ugly side of myself. It seems I drifted into folly for a moment.”

To mask his embarrassment, the Venerable let out a great, booming cough and thrust the jade vial he'd been clutching toward Yun Cheon.

“Here, take it. With this… your condition should improve considerably as well.”

Yun Cheon accepted the jade vial.

The touch of it against his fingertips was cool, but the elixir's energy churning within was pristine and clear — a treasure whose mere rumor was said to shake the world.

Yet instead of bringing the vial to his lips, Yun Cheon handed it straight back to the Life and Death Venerable.

“My thanks, but I have no need of it now.”

The Venerable's brows twitched.

“What? Why not? Are you afraid I might change my mind?”

“Nothing of the sort. Right now, my dantian is like a man walking on thin ice.”

Yun Cheon pressed a hand gently against his lower abdomen.

“I'm barely maintaining a precarious balance through the rotational force of the Yin-Cold Qi. If I were to hurl the massive wave of the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow into that….”

He added with a wry, self-deprecating smile:

“…it would simply break loose of my control. I'd lose the dantian I've only just managed to form. Too much is as bad as too little.”

“Hmm… let me take your pulse, then.”

The Life and Death Venerable laid his fingers on Yun Cheon's wrist.

The dantian he found in the boy's body was unlike anything he had ever known.

“…This is! The dantian is rotating? Unstable on the surface, yet forming some uncanny equilibrium. And furthermore….”

The marvel wasn't the spinning dantian alone.

The Yin energy of the Yin-Yang Great Spirit Blocked Meridians, the Yang energy — and on top of that, some unidentified toxic Qi. What in the world is this boy's body…?

The three forces held each other in an eerie triangle, maintaining equilibrium by the barest margin.

Just as the boy had said — pouring the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow atop that delicate balance would be like pouring oil on a burning house.

The boy, who knew little of medicine, had read the state of his own body through pure instinct.

He's wise beyond his years. Any other man would have been blinded by the treasure before his eyes….

The discipline to crush down desire and stop, cold and clear-headed — that, perhaps, was this boy's truest talent.

Inwardly, the Life and Death Venerable clicked his tongue.

“Then what do you intend to do, refusing the elixir and all?”

“Keep the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow safe, Elder. There's no telling when it might be needed in an emergency….”

Yun Cheon's gaze came to rest on Seol Yeong.

“That's right, Grandfather. The two of us have only put out the fire — we could turn precarious again at any moment. It's best to prepare for that time.”

Seol Yeong nodded in agreement with Yun Cheon's words.

“And since each of us came away from this with new insights, the research should progress faster as well.”

The glances that passed between the two of them held nothing of romance — only the trust of comrades-in-arms who had fought and survived an incurable disease together.

The bond of survivors who had pierced through the heavenly sentence of blocked meridians.

But through the Life and Death Venerable's eyes, that scene looked entirely different.

Ho? Well, well — look at those two.

Stroking his beard, the Venerable narrowed his eyes. Never once in his life had he seen that prickly, glacial granddaughter of his look at a man with such trusting eyes.

In that instant, the Life and Death Venerable looked at Yun Cheon through a completely different lens.

Now that I look properly… isn't there not a single deficiency in him, in talent or in character?

A boy with a time-limited constitution who had carved out his own path to survival; who had stood against a peak master with a body devoid of internal energy. Now that he could wield the Yin-Cold Qi with internal energy as well, he'd grown wings.

Even his looks were handsome — the only flaw was his origins.

But… what does pedigree matter? All it takes is my guarantee, as one of the Five Venerables. And I've already sworn to be his guardian anyway….

The Life and Death Venerable coolly assessed Yun Cheon in his mind — as a prospective husband for his precious granddaughter.

If he truly overcomes the so-called incurable blocked-meridian condition… might it not be time to entrust him with my rare and precious granddaughter?

Still, judging by Yun Cheon's temperament, moving too openly would only invite his wariness. So — naturally, very discreetly, he would have to wind the thread around him.

A joint research effort, hm… a fine pretext to keep the two of them together.

The Life and Death Venerable roared with laughter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and sprang to his feet.

“Excellent! Splendid!”

He strode over to Yun Cheon and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Your determination delights me, so I shall support you with everything I have. If you need anything for your research, name it.”

After all, he had already declared himself the boy's guardian before the Sun Moon Escort Bureau — and there had been no shortage of witnesses. The rumor would spread soon enough.

“But… you saved Yeong-ah without so much as touching the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow, and for that I must express my gratitude properly. Public and private must be kept distinct.”

The Life and Death Venerable drew a heavy black iron tablet from his robes.

It was no ordinary iron tablet.

Clank.

Across its dark-red, sinister-aured face, two characters had been engraved: Life and Death.

While I'm at it, I may as well bind this boy to me beyond any doubt.

The tablet Yun Cheon accepted, almost absently, was far heavier than it looked.

“Carry it with you. This is my sigil — the Life-and-Death Tablet.”

“…Why give this to me?”

“It means that from today, I am your guardian.”

Yun Cheon's eyes widened.

This was no mere offer of aid.

It was a declaration that the Life and Death Venerable, one of the Five Great Venerables of the Heavenly Demon Cult, would formally stand behind him.

Watching Yun Cheon's bewilderment, the Venerable chuckled darkly to himself.

Take it. The moment you do, you are in the palm of my hand.

This tablet was both a symbol of guardianship and a set of shackles to bind his prospective grandson-in-law in place.

“…Thank you, Elder.”

Even Yun Cheon could not read the full depths of the old man's scheming, and he accepted the tablet with a cupped-fist salute.

As with the Inspection Bureau affair before, the guardianship of the Life and Death Venerable will prove an immense help going forward.

To cure the blocked-meridian condition and purge the latent poison, the old man's medical arts were an absolute necessity.

Beyond that, it would grant him stable standing within the Demonic Cult — hardly a bad offer.

Not bad at all.

Two people, one bed, different dreams.

But Yun Cheon did not yet know—

what turmoil this tablet would unleash in the power structure of the Demonic Cult, so briefly settled. Nor did he know that deep within his own body, the Yang energy coiled in hiding was beginning, little by little, to stir in response to the rotation of the Yin-Cold Qi.

At the same moment.

Near the Mad Path Pavilion, at a tavern beloved by the Cult's disciples — the Pavilion of the Drunken Immortal.

“Wench! The cup's empty! Bring more highland barley wine!”

A young noble draped in silk robes as dark as ebony — Yu Ha — raised his cup high.

Around him, more than a dozen burly escorts roared their approval.

“WAAAH! The Young Pavilion Master is the best!”

“Hoo, now THAT's good wine!”

Yu Ha, as though he had been waiting all along for the heat of the room to reach its ripest moment, opened his gambit in a voice of studied nonchalance.

“Gentlemen — do you have any guess as to who that man was? None other than one of the Five Great Venerables himself. The Life and Death Venerable, or so I hear.”

“……!”

The rowdy air of the tavern froze in a heartbeat.

At the surrounding tables, the ears of cult warriors deep in their cups pricked up at once.

“And here's the truly astonishing part — he personally received our shipment, and he guaranteed it. Declared himself the guardian of the shipment's owner, no less!”

“Whaaat?!”

Gasps of astonishment erupted from every corner.

The Life and Death Venerable — who had always stood alone like a lone general, belonging to no faction — becoming someone's backing? It was an event that would crack the factional map of the Cult wide open.

“Who in blazes is this person the Life and Death Venerable is guarding?”

“Is that even true? In all my years I've never once heard of the Life and Death Venerable sheltering anyone!”

Cries of disbelief burst out all over the room.

“Well, now. The Sun Moon Escort Bureau's credibility is on the line, so that much I can't say… but astonishing news either way, wouldn't you agree?”

Yu Ha set his empty cup down on the table with a soft clack and smiled a smile full of meaning.

With the Hollow Azure Stone Marrow, his body should have recovered by now, no?

The moment his words ended, the tavern erupted into a fever of chatter. A few of the warriors hastily settled their drinking tabs and left their seats at once.

Yun Cheon. On the board I've laid out for you — show them everything you can do, as much as you please. And then climb higher, and quickly.

Yu Ha was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fully aware of the ripple effect of the words he had cast out.

By tomorrow morning, the rumor would cross the walls of the Mad Path Pavilion and spread through the entire Cult.

And Yun Cheon, standing at the eye of that rumor, would become the core of a vast whirlpool — whether he wished it or not.

That was when it happened.

In a corner of the tavern, from a table drowned in shadow, a man in a bamboo hat slowly raised his head.

“So the Life and Death Venerable… has made himself a guardian.”

The forearm revealed beneath his rolled-up sleeve was covered in knotted, lumpy muscle, as though forged from braided steel.

His bronze skin was rough and scorched-looking, as if licked by forge fire.

Less a warrior's garb than the coarse workman's clothing of a smith who beat iron for a living.

Leaning against his table was a gigantic black iron war hammer, its surface emblazoned with a brilliant pattern of red flames devouring black iron.

The symbol of the Flame Fire Venerable, wielder of the most destructive fire arts among the Cult's Five Great Venerables.

The man downed a bottle of fierce fire-wine in one draught.

“Kuh, now this is interesting. The Master always did say old Life-and-Death wasn't the sort to give his heart to anyone outside his own bloodline….”

The man's eyes smoldered like coals in a forge.

“I meant to laze about a while longer, seeing as I've only just come out… but I simply can't stand not knowing.”

As the man rose, the air around him rippled like heat haze and turned scorching hot in an instant.

“Just how well can this so-called guardian of the rumor endure my flames? I suppose I'll have to see for myself.”

A combative smile curled across the lips of Gongya Pae, disciple of the Flame Fire Venerable.