The Healing Arts, Part 4
The pure yang qi of the Heavenly Yang Divine Pill poured into Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun’s entire body.
In other words, from this moment on, it was no different from a life-and-death struggle.
“Place the needles at every major pressure point and vital spot.”
“Yes!”
At Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae’s order, Seok Geum-ryong took out his golden needles as if he had been waiting for the command and assisted his master.
Phat, phatat!
Before long, golden needles were pricked into Im So-gun’s body, and an astonishing sight soon followed.
Half of her body turned blazing red, while the other half exhaled a piercing blue chill.
“This is the extreme yin qi of the Great Yin Severance Meridians fighting the extreme yang qi of the Heavenly Yang Divine Pill.”
Even as Yeo Gwang-rae instructed Seok Geum-ryong, he felt as though he were learning something himself.
After all, in all his years as a physician, had he ever once treated the Great Yin Severance Meridians?
He had treated similar meridian disorders once or twice, but never with such deliberate resolve, never with the intent of achieving a complete cure.
Drip, drip.
As a result, sweat ran down the foreheads of both Yeo Gwang-rae and Seok Geum-ryong.
Not because they were losing, but because they were concentrating with a care greater than they had ever shown before.
What a truly difficult case.
Seok Geum-ryong had wandered the Hebei slums for more than a year, battling all manner of ailments and sicknesses, but he could say with certainty that this treatment of the Great Yin Severance Meridians was the hardest and most difficult of them all.
Only if the Golden Needle Venerable and he gave it everything they had could the fierce forces of yang and yin be kept from invading one another and coexist at all.
If not for the Golden Needle Venerable’s mastery of acupuncture, this treatment would have remained a distant hope.
Still, Seok Geum-ryong persisted, his small hands moving with the seriousness of a child who knew his own life depended on the result, as he drove in the golden needles and did everything he could to heal Im So-gun.
Chirp, chirp, chirp!
By the time morning was nearly upon them, the moment that required life-or-death resolve finally arrived.
“Now it’s your turn, young man.”
Yeo Gwang-rae, who seemed to have aged years in the space of a single day, told Seok Geum-ryong.
The Golden Needle Venerable had already poured all his strength into the acupuncture, and now it was Seok Geum-ryong’s turn.
In other words, he had to employ the Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique, the gentlest and purest art under heaven, one that carried the power to destroy demons, and begin the true cure.
“Yes, I understand.”
As his turn finally came, Seok Geum-ryong felt his heart pound fiercely, but he remained calm and extended his hands.
From here on, he had to begin the qigong-within-acupuncture treatment.
Qigong-within-acupuncture was a method of healing by infusing powerful inner energy into the major meridians and pressure points, and by its nature, it required the patient to be stripped.
Miss Im. Please forgive my disrespect.
With that thought in mind, Seok Geum-ryong finally removed every piece of clothing from Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun.
Her breathtaking naked form, beautiful enough to rank among the finest in the world, brightened the room.
Yet Seok Geum-ryong did not waver in the slightest.
From this point on, they would have to fight a real battle.
Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique!
Seok Geum-ryong cast aside his fatigue and drew forth the Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique with all his might.
Whoooosh!
The inner energy of the Northern Dipper Cultivation Technique, the most gentle force in the world, settled powerfully into Seok Geum-ryong’s hands.
The energy was so fierce that his palms began to shine with a milky luster.
Now!
With those heated hands, Seok Geum-ryong began the qigong-within-acupuncture treatment on Im So-gun’s body, where one half was divided between extreme yin qi and extreme yang qi.
There was no denying that the process was excruciating for him.
“Haaah...”
Seok Geum-ryong’s inner strength surpassed that of ordinary adult experts by a wide margin, yet after two full shichen of qigong-within-acupuncture, even his reserves were on the verge of drying up.
And how could one ignore the exhaustion?
“I can see progress! Just a little more!”
It was the voice of Golden Needle Venerable Yeo Gwang-rae that jolted Seok Geum-ryong awake when he felt as though he might fall asleep on the spot from sheer fatigue.
While Seok Geum-ryong was carrying out the qigong-within-acupuncture, Yeo Gwang-rae had been observing Im So-gun’s condition, and what was this?
The extreme yin force that had wrapped her body from birth is... slowly melting away!
Incredible as it seemed, the Great Yin Severance Meridians, that infamous incurable condition, was gradually being healed.
What was even more astonishing was that this was not all.
At present, hot and cold qi coexisted in Im So-gun’s body, and that energy extended beyond her, reaching Seok Geum-ryong himself, whose hands were pressed against her.
Sssrrr...
Along Seok Geum-ryong’s palms, while he continued the qigong-within-acupuncture, two exquisite currents flowed into him.
What did that mean?
It meant that not only Im So-gun, but Seok Geum-ryong as well, was absorbing extreme yang and extreme yin qi, causing his inner strength to grow even further.
“Physician.”
Startled by the rare phenomenon, Seok Geum-ryong called to the Golden Needle Venerable.
“There’s no need to say more. It’s a perfectly natural phenomenon. Young Master Seok should simply enjoy this chance encounter.”
Yeo Gwang-rae said with a smile.
The extreme yin and extreme yang qi that Im So-gun could not bear flowed into Seok Geum-ryong instead, and it was no different from taking a supreme elixir or divine pill.
Whoooosh!
As a result, Seok Geum-ryong himself achieved results in the realm of inner power that far surpassed the Zenith Realm.
That was because two opposing forces had found their perfect place within his body and were leading it toward boundless growth.
My heavens. My inner strength has increased even more!
As he treated another person and felt his own inner strength increase in such an unbelievable way, Seok Geum-ryong did not know whether to laugh or cry.
In any case, while he was still feeling delighted,
“Mmm...”
After a full day had passed and then another half day followed, Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun finally recovered consciousness.
The moment she awakened after the completion of a treatment unprecedented in martial history, it meant only one thing: she was cured.
“Miss Im. Are you awake?”
At last, once the Great Yin Severance Meridians had been fully cured, Seok Geum-ryong and Yeo Gwang-rae asked, forcing back the overwhelming joy in their hearts.
“My clothes...”
“Ah, there was no other way. We had to perform qigong-within-acupuncture.”
Seok Geum-ryong apologized with a formal bow, and he could see Im So-gun’s cheeks turning red.
No matter how young a boy he was, she had shown him her naked body, so feeling embarrassed was only natural.
But that was only for a moment.
“......!!”
As soon as Im So-gun, who had put her robe back on, checked the condition of her body, she was shaken to the core.
“Th-this can’t be!”
The gentle, steadily intensifying pain of cold qi had completely vanished by now, and the Great Yin Severance Meridians that had tormented her like a punishment from heaven had left only its extraordinary martial talent behind, while all the negative energy had disappeared without a trace.
Did they really cure the Great Yin Severance Meridians?
Even after confirming it herself, Im So-gun still could not believe it, and she covered her mouth with her hand.
This was the moment when the dream she had carried every single day since her birth with the Great Yin Severance Meridians was finally fulfilled.
Only the innate inner energy and talent of the Great Yin Severance Meridians remained, while the unbearable pain that had chilled every bone and joint in her body was gone.
“Congratulations, Miss Im.”
“From now on, not only has the road opened for you to rise toward the Upper Super Peak Realm, but you will not die young anymore. Better still... you will even be able to marry and bear children, so there is no need to worry.”
After Seok Geum-ryong’s congratulations came Yeo Gwang-rae’s detailed explanation.
He brought up the matter of children because one of the greatest side effects of the Great Yin Severance Meridians was the inability to continue one’s bloodline.
In the current jianghu and martial world, that was an issue of tremendous importance, so he told her plainly, and Im So-gun was so overjoyed that tears welled in her eyes.
At last, I can enjoy the joy I was born to have, both as a martial artist and as a woman.
To be perfectly honest, from the moment she was born with the Great Yin Severance Meridians, Im So-gun had given up on the life of a woman.
But now that the Great Yin Severance Meridians themselves had been cured, there was nothing left to fear.
“I am deeply grateful. How can I ever repay this kindness?”
Im So-gun bowed her head toward the two men who had worked day and night without rest for her cure, especially Seok Geum-ryong, who had taken the difficult first step, offered the treatment, and given her hope.
Since they had saved the life that would otherwise have been cut short, her gratitude was beyond measure.
If Seok Geum-ryong were to use her recovery as an excuse to demand that she join his ranks, she intended to accept willingly.
No, she had assumed that this was the very reason he had treated her.
Yet what was this?
“I am both a martial artist and a physician. It is only natural for a physician to save the sick. It is a great relief that the result was so good, and I am satisfied.”
Seok Geum-ryong did not force Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun to enter his service.
Far from demanding it, he did not even seek any reward at all.
“Still, I ought to do something for you...”
“No, that would not be necessary. Even this here physician would not wish for it.”
“That’s right. The medicinal ingredients and the Heavenly Yang Divine Pill were supplied by Seokga Manor, so we haven’t suffered any loss.”
Not only Seok Geum-ryong, but even Yeo Gwang-rae showed a humble attitude, and Im So-gun was left truly impressed.
Honestly, if Seok Geum-ryong had used this cure as a pretext to ask her to come under him, she would have felt somewhat disappointed, but instead her feelings changed completely.
Swish.
As soon as her condition improved after curing the Great Yin Severance Meridians, Im So-gun immediately dropped to her knees and bowed deeply to Seok Geum-ryong and Yeo Gwang-rae.
“What is this!”
“Oh dear, this is too much.”
At her sudden gesture, Yeo Gwang-rae waved his hands in protest, and Seok Geum-ryong also hurriedly tried to help her up.
Even so, Im So-gun, now strengthened by even greater martial power and inner energy than before, did not budge and remained steadfast.
“No. If it were not for the two of you, especially Young Master Seok Geum-ryong, I would have died young. Moreover, Young Master Seok did not pressure me in any way, despite bringing up a complete cure... he is the greatest of great men.”
Im So-gun was speaking with genuine admiration.
Compared to Seok Geum-ryong, who had shown such magnanimity, she herself had heard reports of his rising influence and freely slandered him, judging him unfairly from old memories, had she not?
Her face naturally grew hot at the thought.
Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun was a proud and imposing martial artist overflowing with confidence, and at the same time a person capable of admitting her mistakes and acknowledging them.
“I, Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun, one of Seokga Manor’s Four Honored Guests... will formally place myself under the command of Young Master Seok Geum-ryong, the fifth young master of Seokga Manor.”
“......!!”
When Im So-gun declared her intent, Seok Geum-ryong was greatly startled, yet he could not hide his delight.
The addition of Moon Spirit Sword Lady, a Super Peak expert who would one day become the world’s foremost female master, would bring explosive growth not only to Seok Geum-ryong’s faction, which had no foundation and remained weak, but also...
Compared with my brothers, each of whom has outstanding talent and a powerful maternal clan behind them, I will no longer fall short.
Compared with his other brothers and younger siblings, each backed by formidable maternal families and blessed with exceptional talent, he now possessed strength that was no less impressive.
Though they were still few in number, they were all elite.
“Do you truly intend to stand with me?”
Seok Geum-ryong asked again, both pleased and solemn.
That was because the path he walked was destined to be a thorny and grueling one.
“Of course. This life that Young Master Seok saved, I shall dedicate it to you.”
Without hesitation, Moon Spirit Sword Lady Im So-gun answered at once.
The strongest force representing Seokga Manor, one of the Four Honored Guests, Moon Spirit Sword Lady, was now entering Seok Geum-ryong’s faction.