Chapter 139
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 139
Chapter Title: Misunderstanding at Kunlun
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Cho Ak-ryang wore a bitter smile.
It was obvious what they were misunderstanding.
‘Well, I suppose.’
Even to himself, the current situation seemed far too coincidental.
But he couldn't afford to be hostile toward them right now.
"There seems to be a grave misunderstanding."
At Cho Ak-ryang's words, Goengseongja drew his sword. Having seen the body of his cherished disciple, one couldn't expect him to have any patience.
"Silence! If you do not kneel on the spot, you'll have only yourself to blame when my sword shows no mercy!"
The moment he finished speaking, the Kunlun disciples lined up behind him drew their swords in unison.
The blue light glinting from twenty blades shattered coldly upon the snow.
Cho Ak-ryang's eyebrow twitched at Goengseongja's informal speech.
However, for Dan Ak-seon's sake, he forced himself to be patient and spoke again.
"We are not the ones who killed them."
"If you follow us back to our sect peacefully, we will give you ample opportunity to explain!"
Unable to watch any longer, Beom Gye-wi let out a scoff.
"What do these bastards take us for?"
Having already summoned his killing intent, Beom Gye-wi curled his lips into a chilling smile.
"Go on, try and take us."
Ready to strike at any moment, Beom Gye-wi glared at Goengseongja.
"If you can."
The Kunlun disciples flinched as they faced the aura emanating from Beom Gye-wi.
For an instant, they felt the blood run cold in their veins.
It was then.
"Wait!"
At Dan Ak-seon's urgent cry, everyone's gaze gathered in one place.
Dan Ak-seon hurried over to one of the bodies.
It was a young Taoist who looked to be no older than twenty.
When he placed a hand on the man's neck, a faint pulse could be felt.
He was still, however weakly, breathing.
Without hesitation, Dan Ak-seon took a needle from his robes.
"What are you doing!"
The Kunlun disciples were horrified at the sight of Dan Ak-seon inserting a needle into the body.
But Dan Ak-seon didn't bat an eye and continued with the necessary treatment.
Misunderstanding his actions, the Kunlun disciples launched themselves forward in unison.
However, they never reached Dan Ak-seon.
Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa had blocked their path.
"Stand back!"
Cho Ak-ryang's shout twisted Goengseongja's face into a scowl.
"You truly are beasts in human skin! To take the dead hostage once more!"
That was the last of Cho Ak-ryang's patience.
"Move that mouth of yours one more time."
A fierce light blazed in Cho Ak-ryang's eyes.
"And I will wipe the name of Kunlun from the martial world."
It was then that Han Seol-hwa, who had been standing silently, moved.
Her hand lightly cut through the air.
But the result was anything but light.
*Crack.*
A massive fissure opened up, separating the Kunlun Sect Taoists from Dan Ak-seon's group.
The fissure gaped open like a black maw, its depth impossible to fathom.
Glaring at the flinching Kunlun Taoists, Han Seol-hwa spoke.
"This is Physician Dan's time."
A chill, more severe than the bitter cold of the Kunlun Mountains, began to flow from her.
An unconcealable shock settled upon the faces of Goengseongja and the other Kunlun disciples.
"Could it be...?"
Finally guessing the identity of the three, Goengseongja let out a low groan.
But they were disciples of Kunlun.
They would rather die than bow before injustice.
It mattered not who their opponent was.
They had never been the type to shy away from threats.
They were the ones who had chased the demons beyond the Qilian Mountains.
They were the ones who faced those very fiends, who could pour out at any moment, from the closest proximity.
If they had cared for their own lives, they would never have enrolled in Kunlun in the first place.
As the Kunlun Taoists' fighting spirit surged, it was Cho Ak-ryang who was taken aback.
‘Are these people sane?’
He had expected them to know their place and back down by now, but instead, they were showing their fighting spirit, ready for battle.
Their reckless demeanor was like looking at dozens of Beom Gye-wis.
‘How dreadful.’
Cho Ak-ryang, shuddering inwardly, stared straight ahead.
The situation was already spiraling toward the worst-case scenario.
Neither Beom Gye-wi nor Han Seol-hwa were the types to go back on their word.
Besides, he himself had made a declaration he couldn't take back now.
It was a truly explosive situation.
But the standoff did not last long.
"Mister Beom! Please start a fire! I need hot water!"
"Huh? Right!"
Beom Gye-wi nodded blankly and scrambled into action.
"Ma'am!"
At Dan Ak-seon's subsequent call, Han Seol-hwa nodded.
As she drew upon her internal energy, the surrounding temperature dropped sharply.
Small water droplets began to condense in the air, seemingly freezing in an instant before swelling into a large block of ice.
Beom Gye-wi rummaged through their luggage and brought out a large cauldron.
It was a piece of cookware they had packed early on, as they had been camping out frequently since entering Qinghai.
Gripping the cauldron with both hands, Beom Gye-wi channeled his internal energy.
The cauldron instantly glowed red-hot, and Han Seol-hwa's ice was placed inside.
Cho Ak-ryang remained in his spot, guarding against any unforeseen developments.
The Kunlun Sect Taoists, on the other hand, wore dazed expressions.
They had not expected those who had been radiating killing intent, as if ready to murder them, to back down so suddenly.
Dan Ak-seon shouted at them.
"Prepare some clean cloth!"
Seeing them hesitate, Dan Ak-seon snapped.
"Hurry! Do you want this man to die?"
"...!"
Only then did the Kunlun Sect Taoists grasp the situation.
‘The Divine Physician!’
If the three monsters before them were who they thought, then this boy must be the Divine Physician's son.
"Bring some cloth!"
At the command of Goengseongja, who had come to his senses, the Kunlun disciples rushed off somewhere.
A moment later, they returned with white cotton cloth in their hands.
In the meantime, the water inside the cauldron held by Beom Gye-wi had begun to boil.
Han Seol-hwa skillfully used her internal energy to cool the hot water, and if the temperature dropped too much, Beom Gye-wi would heat it again.
Taking the cotton cloth, Dan Ak-seon worked his hands tirelessly to save the patient before him.
After a two-hour-long struggle, Dan Ak-seon let out a sigh of relief.
He had finally passed the critical stage.
The bleeding was stopped, and the displaced organs had been returned to their proper positions.
All that remained was for the patient to regain consciousness.
Dan Ak-seon looked up at Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.
"Please."
Reading the look in Dan Ak-seon's eyes, Beom Gye-wi glanced at Han Seol-hwa with displeasure.
Han Seol-hwa was just as reluctant.
But at Dan Ak-seon's pleading gaze, she reluctantly extended a hand.
Beom Gye-wi also extended his hand, pressing his palm against hers.
They then began to circulate the Dignified Fire Divine Arts.
An auspicious energy, the likes of which they had never seen, enveloped the area, causing the watching Kunlun Taoists to let out gasps of admiration.
They wondered if this was what the aurora looked like, a phenomenon only seen in the frozen lands far to the north, where the sun never sets even at night.
Even amidst this, Dan Ak-seon did not rest.
Though exhaustion from the long treatment crept in, he used the Dignified Fire Divine Arts to continuously massage the patient's hands and feet.
How much time passed like that?
"Ugh..."
The unconscious young Taoist began to let out a groan.
A moment later, he struggled to open his eyes.
Seeing the man he thought dead regain consciousness, Goengseongja took a step forward without thinking.
But he was promptly blocked by Cho Ak-ryang, who was standing guard with an ironclad posture.
"It's alright. The crisis has passed."
At Dan Ak-seon's words, Cho Ak-ryang nodded and stepped aside to clear the way.
Goengseongja's gaze wavered at the sight.
‘Is that boy really the Divine Physician's...?’
It was just as the rumors said.
But it was hard to believe until he saw it with his own eyes.
That was how formidable the Blood Hand Honored One's reputation was in the martial world.
The reputations of the other two were not far behind.
The existence of Dan Ak-seon, who could command three such individuals with a few words, was truly astonishing.
But that was only for a moment.
Goengseongja approached the young Taoist.
"...Master."
Goengseongja nodded at the young Taoist who recognized him.
"Yes. It is I."
"What about my senior and junior brothers...?"
Instead of answering, Goengseongja bit his lip.
He felt that if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to hold back the sobs erupting from deep within his chest.
Blood from his bitten lip trickled down his chin.
But Goengseongja paid it no mind.
The pale face of his only surviving disciple, Neung-un, pierced his heart with a much greater pain.
"You don't need to worry about the others."
As a Taoist, he couldn't bring himself to lie.
But worried his disciple might become agitated, Goengseongja mumbled a vague response.
It seemed to work, as a faint smile appeared on Neung-un's face.
"Ah... that's a relief... *cough*."
Goengseongja hastily rubbed Neung-un's back.
Once his breathing had somewhat stabilized, Neung-un asked in a trembling voice.
"What happened to those men in black?"
"Men in black?"
At his master's question, Neung-un began to explain what they had experienced.
But even this seemed to tax him, as he spoke very slowly and haltingly.
Through this arduous explanation, Goengseongja was finally able to grasp the full situation.
There were three assailants.
They wore masks, so their faces couldn't be identified.
One of them had completely white hair, and another was a man as short as a dwarf.
Goengseongja finally realized he had been making a ridiculous misunderstanding.
The description of the assailants was a world away from Dan Ak-seon's party.
At that moment, as if his energy was spent, Neung-un slowly closed his eyes.
Goengseongja was startled.
"No, you fool! Open your eyes! Neung-un!"
Goengseongja's mournful voice shook the cold air.
But once his eyes were closed, Neung-un did not move.
Goengseongja fell to his knees before Dan Ak-seon.
"I beg you! Please, this boy... please save him! I will follow your orders for the rest of my life, and if you ask for my life, I will gladly give it. So please, just save this boy..."
Finally, thick tears began to fall from Goengseongja's eyes.
He couldn't bear to lose the only disciple he had left.
At his heartfelt plea, Dan Ak-seon let out a soft sigh.
Goengseongja's heart sank at the sight of Dan Ak-seon slowly shaking his head.
But his eyes widened at Dan Ak-seon's next words.
"He's only fainted."
"Then...?"
"I already told you the crisis has passed."
Dan Ak-seon looked at the other bodies with pained eyes and said.
"Though it was too late to save them."
"Ah!"
Goengseongja's face brightened.
Seeing this, Beom Gye-wi grumbled under his breath.
"What's with him? Is he crazy?"
"Tsk!"
Cho Ak-ryang clicked his tongue and shot Beom Gye-wi a look.
He could only imagine the feelings of a master who had lost his disciples in a sudden tragedy.
"Well, am I wrong? One moment he's raging like he's going to kill us, the next he's crying and laughing... Is that something a sane person would do, I ask you."
Coming from Beom Gye-wi of all people, Cho Ak-ryang was simply dumbfounded.
However, Goengseongja bowed his head toward Beom Gye-wi.
"I apologize. I will spend my life atoning for the sin of misunderstanding my benefactors. Please, I beg your forgiveness."
At his extremely polite apology, Beom Gye-wi felt rather awkward.
If he kept berating the man, who looked like he might burst into tears again at any moment, he would just make himself look like the bad guy.
Feeling awkward, Beom Gye-wi let out a dry cough and looked around.
As it happened, there were some suitable targets right in front of him.
Beom Gye-wi began to vent his frustration on an innocent party.
"Hey, you. Come here."
A Kunlun Sect disciple, pointed out by Beom Gye-wi, flinched.
"You were glaring at me earlier, weren't you?"
"Th-that... was because the situation wasn't clear..."
Neung-heo, a third-generation disciple of the Kunlun Sect, trailed off with a troubled expression.
But Beom Gye-wi had no intention of letting him off the hook easily.
"No, it wasn't. It was the look you give a murderer of your own sect members."
As the disciple flinched, Beom Gye-wi shot him a vicious glare.
"Hmph! You want to go a round? You know, right? If it wasn't for our Physician Dan, that guy would be dead too."
Neung-heo and the other Kunlun disciples were struck dumb.
Even if they had mouths, they had nothing to say.
"...I apologize."
"What? I can't hear you."
Neung-heo and the other Kunlun disciples bowed their heads in unison.
"We were at fault. Please forgive us."
Watching from a distance, Cho Ak-ryang was inwardly impressed.
Their attitude was so straightforward and sincere that it was hard to believe these were the same demonic figures who were about to charge in, disregarding their own lives just moments ago.
Their personalities were all simple and fiery, but surprisingly, they held no grudges.
‘Are they like this mountain?’
Cho Ak-ryang raised his head and took in the sight of the towering peak.
Jade Void Peak, where white clouds wrapped around the mountainside, shattering into silver light.
He saw their reflection in that image.