Chapter 203
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 203
Chapter Title: An Old Grudge (2)
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The banquet hall was so boisterously noisy that no one noticed the sudden mishap that had befallen Moyong Seol.
Some people even burst into hearty laughter, chuckling, "Even the great Moyong Seol ends up puking after drinking that much!"
But.
One person alone.
"Seol-ah!"
Only Geum Sihyeon—who, until just moments ago, had been completely wasted and chugging alcohol straight from the bottle with his mouth agape—had been watching her properly.
"What?!"
"Form-Shifting Substitution...? How could someone that young...?"
Forgetting even to conceal his realm, Geum Sihyeon dashed over at a speed that left no shadow behind and checked Moyong Seol's pulse.
When the hell had she been poisoned?
And it wasn't just any ordinary poison.
It carried an aura of extreme yin energy.
Though she practiced ice arts and harbored an ice crystal in her body.
Moyong Seol only had half North Sea Ice Palace blood to begin with, and she hadn't fully mastered the Ice White Divine Art either.
Thus, if the yin energy grew excessively strong, she could fall into Qi Deviation at any moment.
And the poison had slyly exploited that very gap.
"Pardon the intrusion."
He couldn't strip her bare here.
So Geum Sihyeon scooped Moyong Seol into his arms and leaped into the air.
"Gasp, Treading the Void!"
"Isn't that the young man from Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress? How does he know such exquisite lightness skill...?"
The admiration was short-lived.
"......No one. Move."
A low voice, boiling up from the depths of the abyss, rippled through the entire banquet hall like it was swallowing it whole.
At its center.
Moyong Danha, having swiftly grasped the situation, shattered his usual impassive expression into one twisted in fury.
In the old days, he might have clung to a shred of conscience and only checked the bare minimum acupoints.
But the moment they entered the chamber, Geum Sihyeon naturally stripped Moyong Seol clean with a single fluid motion.
If some divine pervert lurking somewhere in the Central Plains saw it, they'd faint in shock and beg for the secret technique.
Of course, today wasn't about unwrapping a gift.
Geum Sihyeon's hands swiftly scanned her pallid body, precisely assessing her internal condition.
"Hoo......"
Her qi and blood weren't damaged beyond recovery, but her state was gravely serious.
Overflowing yin energy freezing her meridians in real time, utterly parched yang energy with no trace left to find, and poison qi slithering like venomous serpents along her qi and blood, rigidifying her entire body.
It was an excruciatingly vicious poison.
So potent that even a divine healer couldn't save her.
But.
"Just hold on a little longer, Seol sis."
In the entire world, only one person.
Someone who could absorb yin energy.
And infuse yang energy.
And even suck out poison qi.
With medical expertise rivaling that of a divine healer.
Only Geum Sihyeon could save her right now.
As his left palm caressed her lower dantian, the steel needle in his right hand—drawn from within his embrace—began meticulously piercing key points across her body.
If the harmony of yin and yang deviated even slightly.
If the acupuncture points strayed even a fraction.
It was a razor-thin procedure where the slightest error could spell immediate death.
Yet.
Geum Sihyeon's mind—capable of maintaining perfect cognition even when torn into four or five shreds—made the feat possible.
Inhaling even the poison qi leaking from the needles to prevent its spread, Geum Sihyeon heightened his focus to the utmost.
"Haa, haa......"
Imprinting the ragged sound of Moyong Seol's breaths onto his eardrums—a sound utterly unlike the one she made the night before.
Capturing every detail of her deathly pale, collapsing form in his gaze.
Suppressing his urgency, proceeding methodically, one by one.
He began purging the things devouring her life.
In the midst of it.
"Damn it—"
Geum Sihyeon unwittingly spat a curse.
That peculiar sensation from her lower dantian earlier.
A malevolent entity he'd sensed once before—parasitic in its host, seeking total control.
He sensed the presence of the Solitary Poison.
Fortunately, it was the same type he'd researched with the Divine Doctor previously.
Pausing his acupuncture briefly, he drew the Solitary Poison antidote he always carried.
Before he knew it.
Geum Sihyeon's eyes were glowing red.
Amid the banquet atmosphere that had frozen in an instant.
"Something has happened to my daughter."
At Moyong Danha's words, as if frost might fall any second, the banquet guests finally grasped the situation.
And their faces promptly drained of color.
Who the hell.
Who would dare touch the Moyong Family's daughter on a day like this, of all days.
Moyong Danha unhesitatingly approached the spot where Moyong Seol had vomited blood moments ago.
"......!"
Ignoring the crowd's shocked expressions, he dipped a finger into the mix of soil and her blood, brought it to his lips, and swallowed.
"Poison. And one that's especially lethal to the ice arts Seol practices—Cold Ice Poison."
No one could utter a word.
Everyone there, staring at Moyong Danha.
Felt as if his rage had taken visible form, rippling in the air.
'The family head treasured her that much...?'
Even the Moyong Family members were flustered, witnessing their patriarch's fury for the first time.
He'd never shown affection for his children before.
On the contrary, he prioritized the family over his kids, often keeping an emotional distance.
But today, right now.
"I, head of the Moyong House, beseech you all. Please, no one leave this place."
He was not the family head.
He was a father.
However.
"P-Patriarch...? Does that mean the young lady is in critical condition...?"
Someone asked in a trembling voice.
Only then did others sense something off.
If it was such a deadly poison, shouldn't he summon a physician immediately, or at least use his profound inner energy to suppress its spread?
But.
"The disciple of the Divine Doctor—who was first to check my daughter's condition—will treat her. I trust him."
At Moyong Danha's follow-up words.
Everyone felt a slight relief.
And an even greater shock rippled through their minds.
The one who had just carried off Moyong Seol was Geum Sihyeon of Ten Thousand Gold Treasury Fortress—the promising prodigy.
Which meant.
Not only did he possess Form-Shifting Substitution and even Treading the Void at a super-peak level or higher.
His medical skills rivaled the Divine Doctor's as well?
For the martial artists present, this shock eclipsed even the fear of Moyong Seol's potential death.
A moment later.
Geum Sihyeon returned to the banquet hall.
"Young Master Moyong Taek, Young Master Moyong Wicheon. I entrust Moyong Seol's safety to you."
At his first words.
The two brothers—who had been pacing anxiously with grim faces—brightened slightly.
And then.
Tat-dak, tat!
With peak-level agility, they vaulted over the fence and vanished in the direction Geum Sihyeon had carried her.
Geum Sihyeon watched them briefly before his gaze turned straight to Moyong Danha.
"Your daughter has passed the crisis."
At his next words.
"What?!"
"As expected of the Divine Doctor's disciple!"
Gasps they'd suppressed under the heavy atmosphere finally leaked out.
Regardless, Geum Sihyeon continued.
"If I may be so bold, please entrust the investigation of the culprit to me."
"You?"
"Today, here, I will uncover them. ......For Instructor Moyong Seol, who bestowed upon me undeserved grace and teachings at Hundred Flowers Academy."
He'd promised not to announce their engagement yet, so he couldn't use that pretext.
But the bond of master and disciple was justification enough to make Moyong Danha nod.
With silent approval, Geum Sihyeon slowly scanned the entire crowd.
'His eyes... were they always like that...?'
'Looking again, what an achievement at such a young age...'
'N-No way, nah, he couldn't know...'
As those gazes met various thoughts in people's minds.
Geum Sihyeon's tightly shut lips parted quietly, forming words.
"Might there be any members of the Azure Heaven Society present?"
The question seemed mismatched to the situation, leaving everyone puzzled for a moment, but a few faces quickly stiffened.
"Even if there are, I hope you're unrelated to this incident. Otherwise......"
As Geum Sihyeon's words trailed off.
"Gasp."
"Th-This is...?"
Centered on Geum Sihyeon.
A massive energy surge coalesced around him like a raging storm.
For an instant, they recalled the Heavenly Demon from their clash on the vast plains.
But that thought was swiftly dispelled.
Unlike the heavy demonic aura that sought to dominate all back then.
The energy Geum Sihyeon now emanated was so purely refined that even Daoist martial artists would gaze upon it in awe.
And then.
"Those with guilt, those who wish to confess. Kneel."
As the words flowed, Geum Sihyeon stomped forward.
And.
A ripple emanated from him.
Pure energy spread, brushing bodies, stirring minds, caressing hearts, then naturally receding like an ebbing tide.
After the gentle, serene wave crashed.
"Urk......!"
Only one person.
Knelt there, face deathly pale.
All eyes turned to him.
"N-No, I didn't...!"
Geum Sihyeon slowly approached the struggling culprit.
Squatted down, meeting his eyes.
And whispered softly.
"From now on, you cannot lie to me."