Chapter 148
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: A New Miracle Drug
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“My parents worked together to find a way to treat him.”
“And yet they failed?”
At Cho Ak-ryang's question, Dan Ak-seon hesitated, lost in thought.
For a moment.
Then, with a resigned expression, as if letting everything go, Dan Ak-seon sighed.
“No. The treatment itself was a success.”
Dan Ak-seon began to explain what had happened.
“To properly set the bones that had fused incorrectly, they first had to be artificially rebroken. There was no other way to reset them in their original positions. The twisted muscles had to be corrected as well.”
Naturally, the process involved excruciating pain.
“The problem was that it would take a significant amount of time to fully heal.”
It wasn't a simple fracture that could be set with a splint; it was a complex one. Even a master with immense patience would have found it difficult to endure with willpower alone.
“To ease his pain, my mother used a medicine called Pain-Control Powder.”
“Pain-Control Powder?”
“It's a type of hallucinogen that induces a pleasant state, making one forget the pain.”
Thanks to it, the newly set bones healed properly, and the man’s arm was restored to its original state.
Beom Gye-wi tilted his head.
“Then why did he disappear from the martial world?”
It was strange for a master of his caliber to vanish without a trace.
But then, Dan Ak-seon said something unexpected.
“Because he passed away.”
Beom Gye-wi's eyes widened.
“He died? The Heaven-Shaking Fist?”
“Yes.”
“Who killed him?”
Dan Ak-seon sighed and shook his head.
“He took his own life.”
“Why? You said his arm was fixed.”
Unlike Beom Gye-wi, who struggled to understand, Cho Ak-ryang had a suspicion.
“Was he addicted? To that Pain-Control Powder?”
“That's right.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded.
“After his treatment was complete, he left, but returned a few days later.”
He was gravely injured.
“At first, we didn't think much of it. It's common for martial artists to live with injuries.”
But when it happened again, they couldn't ignore it anymore.
“We later found out. He was intentionally harming himself for the Pain-Control Powder. He had no other reason to get the medicine.”
Dan Ak-seon sighed.
“In the end, my parents decided not to let him into Divine Demon Valley anymore.”
His body was discovered a few days later.
Disappointment and disillusionment with himself for unhesitatingly destroying his own body just to get high on a mere drug.
Unable to bear the self-loathing, he had ultimately struck his own celestial crown.
“That's why I said it. Sometimes, false hope can be more agonizing than giving up.”
Cho Ak-ryang fell silent at Dan Ak-seon's words.
It was as good as saying the treatment was impossible.
There was no way Adu, who hadn't even learned martial arts, could endure the pain of the treatment without relying on the drug.
Just then, Beom Gye-wi said nonchalantly.
“Then can't you just reduce the dose?”
“If that were possible in the first place, don't you think the Divine Physician and the Demonic Physician would have tried it?”
Beom Gye-wi pouted at Cho Ak-ryang's scolding.
Then, feeling something was off, he turned his head toward Dan Ak-seon.
“Maybe...”
Dan Ak-seon, who had been standing there muttering with a blank face, suddenly shouted at Beom Gye-wi.
“That's right! There is a way. You're a genius, old man!”
“Huh? Me?”
Leaving the bewildered Beom Gye-wi behind, Dan Ak-seon broke into a bright smile.
“That's right. We just need to use less of the Pain-Control Powder.”
“But how?”
Dan Ak-seon explained to the still skeptical Cho Ak-ryang.
“Unlike my parents, I have you all by my side. And I also have the Dignified Fire Divine Arts.”
Plus, Pung Jin-seong was with him, ready to coordinate at any moment.
He was in a much better position than his parents were when they treated the Heaven-Shaking Fist.
“First, we'll use Lady Han's martial arts to lower the patient's body temperature and induce a state of sleep. In a hypothermic state, his metabolism will slow, reducing the pain, which means we can use less of the Pain-Control Powder.”
Even if his body temperature dropped to a critical level during the process, Beom Gye-wi was there.
He had been practicing the Dignified Fire Therapy with Han Seol-hwa.
So now, he could minutely control the pure yang true energy.
And while the patient slept, they could use the Dignified Fire Divine Arts to preserve his primal essence.
“If I borrow everyone's strength, there's a good chance of success. Though the treatment period will be quite long.”
With a lower body temperature, the slowed metabolism meant that the bones and muscles would also take that much longer to heal.
Still, for now, it was the only way to treat Adu without the side effects of the Pain-Control Powder.
“You can... fix my leg?”
Adu, who had been muttering in disbelief, belatedly shook his head.
“But I don't have any money.”
“I will pay for the treatment.”
Cho Ak-ryang continued, speaking to the startled Adu.
“I'm not the type to live with debts.”
“But...”
Adu hesitated to answer.
It would be wonderful to receive treatment, but there was another reason he couldn't readily agree.
Cho Ak-ryang noticed it at once.
From their earlier conversation, he guessed the reason for Adu's hesitation.
“I will also take responsibility for your siblings until your treatment is finished.”
Adu's face brightened for a moment at Cho Ak-ryang's words.
But soon, his conflict was evident again.
Cho Ak-ryang's kindness was so overwhelming that he wondered if it was okay to accept so much.
Just then, Dan Ak-seon offered Adu a smile.
“Instead of that, how about you work with me?”
“Work...?”
For the still cautious and suspicious Adu, Dan Ak-seon proposed with a gentle gaze.
“We're going to establish a medical house soon. We'll probably need a lot of help. If it's someone as trustworthy and upright as you, I think I could entrust you with work.”
“That's not a bad idea.”
Cho Ak-ryang's face lit up as he nodded.
“For your siblings' sake, how about you do that?”
After Cho Ak-ryang's continued persuasion, Adu finally nodded.
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed better than a life wandering the streets.
Dan Ak-seon also looked satisfied.
“Then, for the time being, learn the trade here at Jinseong Clinic. And when I open my medical house, you'll come to Muwei. You and all your siblings. Let's start the treatment then. I need to prepare as well.”
“My siblings too?”
Adu asked cautiously, watching Dan Ak-seon's expression.
Dan Ak-seon smiled and nodded.
“Of course. The more people who know medicine, the better.”
That night.
Sa Mu-sim, who had been sound asleep, slowly opened his eyes.
Spreading his senses around him even while sleeping was one of his old habits.
But his web-like senses detected an unusual presence.
‘A master!’
And one with an immense presence at that.
Just as he tensed up, tightening his relaxed nerves...
A line of telepathic message suddenly reached him.
—If you're awake, come out.
Sa Mu-sim let out a dry laugh and got up from his bed.
Fortunately, it was a familiar voice.
When he stepped outside, he saw a pair of eyes shining brightly in the pitch-black darkness.
It was then that a towering figure, like an iron pagoda, strode forward through the darkness.
Confirming it was Beom Gye-wi, Sa Mu-sim smiled and spoke.
“What brings you here at this late hour?”
“To give you some information.”
“Information?”
“Yeah. Amazing information that can make the trading company grow immensely.”
A look of confusion appeared in Sa Mu-sim's eyes.
Beom Gye-wi's eyes and voice seemed slightly excited.
He wondered if this was why he had felt his energy signature was different from usual.
Meeting Beom Gye-wi's gaze, which held a strange heat, Sa Mu-sim nodded.
“I'm listening.”
Beom Gye-wi grinned and began to speak.
“There's something called Dokgyesan.”
“Dokgyesan?”
“It's...”
With a fervent expression, Beom Gye-wi explained the effects of Dokgyesan, which Dan Ak-seon had briefly mentioned during their visit to the Emei Sect.
“Of course, I'm definitely not telling you this because I want to take it myself.”
At Beom Gye-wi's words, Sa Mu-sim inwardly suppressed a laugh and nodded.
There was no other way to explain the look of intense longing in Beom Gye-wi's eyes.
But aside from that, Sa Mu-sim valued this information very highly.
“If mass production is possible, the trading company's profits could increase several dozen times over.”
“Huh? That much?”
Beom Gye-wi was the one surprised by Sa Mu-sim's words.
He had guessed there would be considerable demand once Dokgyesan's effects became known, but he hadn't imagined the company's profits would increase by that much.
Sa Mu-sim, who had been deep in thought, finally nodded.
“I will ask the Valley Lord about it.”
At that, Beom Gye-wi showed a satisfied smile.
“Hahaha. Yes. I knew you were destined for greatness ever since I saw you eat that Gongcheongseokyu.”
Beom Gye-wi, now in a good mood, praised Sa Mu-sim to the skies.
Sa Mu-sim responded with a smile and bowed respectfully.
“I will do my best to meet your expectations.”
The next morning.
At the breakfast table where everyone was gathered, Dan Ak-seon smiled and spoke.
“I think the new medicines derived from the Divine Demon Pill will be completed soon.”
“Oh! Finally?”
Seeing Beom Gye-wi react more enthusiastically than usual, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa gave him a suspicious look.
“Yes. I've found the right direction.”
After repeated research and experiments with Pung Jin-seong, he had finally found a breakthrough.
“Then is all that's left to visit the Kongtong Sect?”
Beom Gye-wi looked flustered at Cho Ak-ryang's words.
He quickly sent a signal to Sa Mu-sim with his eyes.
Sa Mu-sim, smiling and nodding, called out to Dan Ak-seon.
“Valley Lord.”
“Yes?”
“There is something I would like to ask.”
Sa Mu-sim got straight to the point.
“I heard you can make something called Dokgyesan.”
“Dokgyesan? Of course I can make it. But why do you ask all of a sudden?”
“Would it be alright to make and sell it?”
“Sell... Dokgyesan?”
Dan Ak-seon rested his chin on his hand and tilted his head.
“Will it sell well?”
Seeing this, Sa Mu-sim smiled warmly and nodded.
“It will sell well. No, it *sells* well.”
It would probably sell out as fast as they could make it.
And that wouldn't be all.
“Perhaps with Dokgyesan, the Divine Demon Trading Company might write a new chapter in its history. If we can produce it, we will see unprecedented profits.”
“Is it that significant?”
“Yes. If not managed properly, it will create such a groundbreaking trend that all sorts of counterfeits will flood the market.”
“Hmm...”
Seeing Dan Ak-seon still half-doubting, Sa Mu-sim grinned and spoke to Beom Gye-wi.
“Senior Beom. May I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead. Ask away.”
“The Sacred Hand Divine Pill and Dokgyesan. If you had to choose only one, which would you pick?”
“What's there to think about? Dokgyesan, of course!”
Dan Ak-seon looked back and forth between Beom Gye-wi and Sa Mu-sim in surprise.
“Is it really that amazing?”
Pung Jin-seong, who had been eating quietly on the side, chuckled and nodded.
“Still, how can one compare the Sacred Hand Divine Pill and Dokgyesan.”
“Right?”
“But it's not entirely wrong. To some, it would be a far more valuable medicine than the Sacred Hand Divine Pill.”
“Who?”
“Hmm... If I had to give an example, I'd say the heads of households who strive for peace and happiness at home.”
Pung Jin-seong let out a hearty laugh at Dan Ak-seon's still-confused expression.
“There are such things. You'll understand when you're older, Valley Lord.”
For men facing a situation as despairing as death, Dokgyesan was nothing less than the only escape from helpless suffering.
“What's certain is that Dokgyesan will definitely make money.”
Sa Mu-sim picked up where Pung Jin-seong left off.
“And it could raise the Divine Demon Trading Company's profile far higher than it is now.”
With Pung Jin-seong agreeing and Sa Mu-sim pressing the point, Dan Ak-seon had no choice but to concede.
But then, Sa Mu-sim delivered the final blow.
“Once sales of Dokgyesan begin, you will no longer have to endure, Valley Lord.”
“Huh? Endure what?”
“The elixirs.”
Dan Ak-seon's eyes wavered at Sa Mu-sim's next words.
“Because you'll have more than enough money to buy any elixir you want, and it will never run out.”