Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Half Success (1)
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"I smell something burning. What the hell did you do?"
Sima Geon shot a displeased look at Cheol Woo, who was brushing off his hands as he approached.
"There were too damn many blood-soaked bamboo stalks to deal with."
"So you burned them? Don't tell me you torched the whole bamboo grove."
Sima Geon asked again, utterly dumbfounded.
"Nah, not the whole thing. Just cut down and gathered the ones splattered with blood, then burned those. Turns out there weren't as many as I thought once I got chopping."
"What about those guys?"
"Buried them deep. That's why it took so long. Damn, if I'd brought some Bone Dissolving Powder, this would've been over in no time."
"Be realistic. Even if Bone Dissolving Powder works wonders, how much would you need to dissolve that many bodies?"
"This much?"
Cheol Woo spread his hands about a foot apart, then let out an awkward chuckle, realizing how ridiculous it sounded.
"Heh heh heh! Yeah, that doesn't add up."
He chuckled to himself for a good while, clearly amused, before turning his eyes toward the barracks and wiping the grin from his face.
"Still going?"
"Yeah."
"It's taking too long. I figured you'd be done by now. Has it been about two hours?"
"Not quite that long."
Sima Geon couldn't hide his tension at the drawn-out treatment time either.
"The condition sounded bad from the start, and it looks like it's no joke. Even a top healer from the Living Immortal Medical House brought out Celestial Pure Jade Milk."
"It'll be fine."
Sima Geon murmured with fervent hope, his gaze fixed on the barracks.
"Of course it will. That kid's got grit. She'll pull through, so don't worry too much, Boss."
"She has to."
Sima Geon nodded heavily.
"What's up with that guy? Still sleeping?"
Cheol Woo's eyes shifted to Sima Ho, who was dozing soundly in the pavilion.
"I let him sleep on purpose. No point waking him—he'd just worry."
"Even so, it's been long enough. Shouldn't he have woken up by now?"
"Must be tired."
"Tired my ass!"
With a light scoff, Cheol Woo strode up to the pavilion and gave Sima Ho's curled-up butt a couple of taps.
"Hey, how long you gonna snooze? Get up already."
"Let him sleep a bit more."
Sima Geon tried to stop him, but Cheol Woo ignored it.
"With our little sister's life on the line, family should worry together. Sleeping through it like this? No way."
As the kicks to his butt grew firmer, Sima Ho— who'd been out cold— furrowed his brow and cracked his eyes open.
"Ugh, what the hell?"
"What the hell? You sleepy right now?"
"Out of nowhere with that? I'm dead tired, and you wake someone who's sleeping fine..."
Sima Ho grumbled irritably, then sensed something off and glanced around cautiously.
In an instant, his forcibly opened eyes widened like saucers.
He bolted upright and shouted.
"Th-the Clear Heart Clinic! Little sis—how's the treatment?"
"Shh! Still going on, so pipe down and sit."
Sima Geon shot Cheol Woo a glare and spoke quietly.
Sima Ho clamped his mouth shut and sidled up to Cheol Woo, whispering.
"How long was I out?"
"Roughly two hours, give or take."
"What? Two hours? That much time passed?"
Sima Ho's jaw dropped, then he suddenly frowned.
"Weird. I wasn't even that sleepy."
As Sima Ho puzzled over it, Sima Geon and Cheol Woo both turned toward the barracks at the same time.
The door opened, and Hwang Jeong stepped out, exhaustion plain on his face.
"How'd it go?"
Sima Geon rushed over and grabbed Hwang Jeong's arm.
"The golden needle treatment we started today went off without a hitch. Her condition has definitely improved."
"Ah!"
Sima Geon let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank you. Truly, thank you."
As Sima Geon bowed deeply in gratitude, Sima Ho and Cheol Woo, who'd hurried over, bowed awkwardly too.
"Come inside first. You can hear the details there."
Hwang Jeong turned and headed back into the barracks. But his expression wasn't as bright as they'd hoped.
Sima Geon, still bowed low, missed it, but Cheol Woo didn't.
'Something feels off.'
Cheol Woo sensed an ominous vibe from Hwang Jeong's face but kept it to himself. He simply followed silently behind Sima Geon, whose face was flushed with emotion, into the barracks.
The first thing that hit the three men inside was the stench.
Gok Ja Yu and Yu Sa Ha had opened both windows for ventilation, but the odor lingered stubbornly.
"What is this smell? Rotten as hell."
Sima Ho pinched his nose and grimaced. But Sima Geon and Cheol Woo didn't bat an eye. Having undergone complete physical transformation themselves in the past, they even cracked faint smiles.
"It's a bit rank, isn't it? That's the impurities leaving her body."
Hwang Yeong said with a thin smile.
Her pale face drenched in sweat like she'd been caught in a downpour, she looked far more drained than Hwang Jeong.
"You need to circulate your qi and rest first, miss."
Gok Ja Yu said with concern.
"It's not that bad."
Hwang Yeong waved him off lightly and continued, looking at Sima Geon.
"We did our utmost with the Celestial Pure Jade Milk and our clan's golden needle technique, but sadly, we couldn't fully cure her."
"Ah!"
Sima Geon, who'd been on tenterhooks, couldn't hold back a despairing sigh.
He bit his lip hard and turned to Hwang Jeong.
"You just said it improved..."
"It did improve. Far healthier than before— that's certain."
Sima Geon looked baffled at Hwang Yeong's words.
"But not fully cured. We gave it everything, but we couldn't eradicate the root of the illness. I'm sorry."
Hwang Yeong bowed apologetically, but Sima Geon shook his head vehemently.
"Nonsense. We know full well how much effort you put in. I hear it's a needle technique that could harm the healer too. All I can say is thank you—I'm grateful beyond words."
"Not at all. It's our duty as healers. Chances to treat such a rare condition don't come often. And with Celestial Pure Jade Milk on top. I hate to say it to you all—feels like a failing on our part—but from a healer's perspective, it was a stroke of luck."
Sima Geon showed no real reaction to Hwang Yeong's candid words, but Cheol Woo—who'd been sour since hearing they'd used Celestial Pure Jade Milk and still failed—bristled immediately at "stroke of luck."
"Been feeling ominous ever since we heard it failed outright."
"Enough."
Sima Geon cut in quickly, but couldn't stop Cheol Woo's mouth.
"All fancy talk in the end. Luck? Damn, must be nice."
"How dare you say that!"
"Insulting the miss and our clan like that?!"
Yu Sa Ha and Gok Ja Yu bellowed, faces red with rage. If it weren't the barracks, they'd have drawn weapons on the spot.
Cheol Woo wasn't one to scare easy.
"Did I say something wrong?"
He jutted his chin out, provoking them openly. Sima Geon let out a quiet sigh and called softly.
"Hey."
Cheol Woo, locked in a staring contest with Yu Sa Ha and Gok Ja Yu, flinched.
He turned slowly, met Sima Geon's coldly sunken eyes, and swallowed hard.
"Apologize. Now."
Her tone was flat, emotionless, utterly ordinary—yet Cheol Woo couldn't muster a hint of defiance.
"My apologies. I spoke out of frustration and made a grave mistake."
His massive frame bent in half.
His words were impeccably polite.
The sudden shift left the furious Yu Sa Ha, Gok Ja Yu—even Hwang Yeong—stunned.
"Forgive my brother's blunder. I apologize too."
Sima Geon bowed again.
"No, please don't."
Hwang Yeong waved her hands awkwardly, looking troubled.
After an awkward pause, Sima Geon gazed pityingly at Sima Jin, still lying motionless like the dead, and spoke.
"How much better is she?"
"She'll have no trouble with daily life. But..."
"Not fully cured, so relapse is always a risk."
Hwang Yeong, who'd hesitated, nodded.
"We expect no major issues and hope for the best, but we can't rule it out entirely. I'm sorry."
Hwang Jeong scowled at her apology and defended her.
"Nonsense. Anyone could see it was flawless golden needle work. Couldn't have done better."
He turned to Sima Geon.
"The tragedy is how vicious this condition was—worse than we imagined. And there was a miscalculation."
"Miscalculation?"
"We overestimated the Celestial Pure Jade Milk."
Sima Geon and Cheol Woo stared at Hwang Jeong, baffled.
"No denying it's an unparalleled elixir. We've even treated Nine Yin Severed Meridians with it in our clan. So we thought it could handle the Heavenly Yin Divine Meridian's yin qi. But it fell short."
Sima Geon and Cheol Woo were speechless at "even Celestial Pure Jade Milk fell short."
Sima Geon had obtained Celestial Pure Jade Milk from the Ghost Gate Clan and taken it himself; both had firsthand experience of its legendary effects.
Sima Geon emerged from Black Dragon Valley with a flawless body and vast inner power beyond compare to his pre-transformation self. Cheol Woo reached the Diamond Indestructible realm.
True, they'd taken far more than what Sima Jin got—but having truly felt its power, Hwang Jeong's words made no sense.
"Damn, if even Celestial Pure Jade Milk isn't enough, what kind of elixir do you need to handle that Heavenly Yin whatever's yin qi?"
Cheol Woo asked in frustration.
"Less 'not enough' and more 'wrong tool for the job.'"
Hwang Yeong glanced at the still-deeply-sleeping Sima Jin and continued.
"To my knowledge, few elixirs surpass Celestial Pure Jade Milk. Maybe the fabled Ten Thousand Year Ginseng King. But unlike its near-perfect yin-yang balance, elixirs specialized in extreme yang or yin can outperform it—like a Snow Mountain Fox's inner core or Ice Crystals from millennia-old snow."
Sima Geon grasped her point instantly.
"So Jin needs a Snow Mountain Fox inner core, not Celestial Pure Jade Milk."
"In hindsight, yes."
Hwang Yeong nodded weakly.
"A Snow Mountain Fox inner core—how do we get one? Does it even exist?"
Sima Geon's eyes blazed. He'd scour the world for it if needed.