Chapter 22
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Visitor
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The three felt their hearts sink. Leaving them behind, Dan Ak-seon stood up.
“Where are you going?”
Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly at Cho Ak-ryang's question.
“I'm going to prepare lunch and dinner in advance.”
“Already? Didn't we just have breakfast?”
“I think I'll be busy today.”
Dan Ak-seon said with an excited expression.
“I'm going to brew the wild ginseng I got yesterday.”
“All day?”
“Yes. The more care I put in, the better the result.”
Cho Ak-ryang stared blankly at Dan Ak-seon's back as he walked toward the pavilion.
He had a thoughtful expression on his face.
Soon after Dan Ak-seon disappeared from view, Cho Ak-ryang abruptly spoke.
“Primal chaos is the ultimate void.”
Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa looked at Cho Ak-ryang with confusion. However, their expressions changed at his next words.
“With nothing fixed, there are no limits...”
“Brother Cho, is that...?”
Cho Ak-ryang raised a hand to stop Beom Gye-wi. He then continued reciting for a long while.
“...as rising and falling intertwine and advance repeatedly, that is the clear foundation and essence of power.”
Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi stared at Cho Ak-ryang with shocked eyes.
Because what Cho Ak-ryang had just recited was the oral formula for an internal energy technique.
“Don't tell me that's your...?”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded at Beom Gye-wi's cautious question.
“If we're going to do this, we might as well do it right.”
The other two, however, were still looking at Cho Ak-ryang with astonishment.
He was, after all, one of the Five Absolutes Under Heaven.
As such, his pride in his own martial arts was second to none.
Yet here he was, willingly revealing his exclusive internal technique.
Just then, Cho Ak-ryang spoke.
“It's for that child.”
Cho Ak-ryang's gaze turned toward the pavilion.
“Isn't he doing his absolute best for us even now? I cannot betray that child's trust.”
Beom Gye-wi nodded.
“I feel the same. I can't imagine passing on my martial arts to anyone other than Physician Dan.”
Han Seol-hwa felt no different.
“I don't want to disappoint him either.”
The three met each other's gazes and nodded. Then, one by one, they revealed the oral formulas for their exclusive internal techniques.
They had willingly joined forces for Dan Ak-seon.
Thus, a martial arts research society of grandmasters, the likes of which was unprecedented in the history of the martial world, was formed.
* * *
Between Han Seol-hwa's ear and jaw.
Having inserted a needle there, Dan Ak-seon asked cautiously.
“How is it?”
“I still don't feel anything.”
“Really? Hmm...”
After a moment of thought, Dan Ak-seon slightly twisted the needle, pushing it a fraction deeper.
“Could you try circulating your true energy?”
Following Dan Ak-seon's words, Han Seol-hwa slowly drew up her true energy.
“Ah!”
A short gasp escaped Han Seol-hwa's lips.
“What does it feel like?”
“My face feels a little itchy.”
Dan Ak-seon's face lit up.
“Really?”
“Why are you so happy?”
“How could I not be? It's proof that your sensation is returning.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Dan Ak-seon took a needle and inserted a short one into the acupuncture point at the root of her ear.
“How about this time?”
“It stings a little.”
“That's an area dense with nerves. You frowned slightly just now when you said it stung.”
“I did?”
“Yes.”
Dan Ak-seon looked around and sighed.
“It's a shame I can't show you. I'll have to buy a mirror next time I go to the village.”
In that moment, Han Seol-hwa felt the muscles in her face twitch minutely.
“Ah! You just smiled.”
Dan Ak-seon beamed at Han Seol-hwa.
“So that's how you smile. It's so beautiful.”
‘This child, he really is...’
Han Seol-hwa was once again struck by how remarkable Dan Ak-seon was, smiling so contentedly. She knew how difficult it was to be so transparently happy for someone else.
“Thank you.”
“Hehe. It was nothing.”
Dan Ak-seon said as he removed the needles from various points on her body.
“Understanding the flow of your true energy certainly helped.”
“It's thanks to your outstanding medical skills.”
Dan Ak-seon gave a bashful smile at Han Seol-hwa's praise. But the smile didn't last long.
Because a commotion suddenly erupted outside.
“Huh?”
Dan Ak-seon glanced out the window, a puzzled look on his face.
He saw someone confronting Beom Gye-wi at the entrance to Divine Demon Valley.
But the atmosphere around Beom Gye-wi was ominous.
“Mister Beom! Wait!”
Shouting loudly, Dan Ak-seon hurried out of the thatched house.
Beom Gye-wi was inwardly dumbfounded.
He could count on one hand the number of people who could withstand his killing intent so directly. Moreover, judging by the man's trembling legs, he didn't even seem to have learned martial arts, yet he was holding on like this.
Despite the threatening warning, the man did not back down.
“I heard the Young Valley Lord had a companion. It seems that was you, great warrior.”
Young Valley Lord? Companion?
Seeing the bewildered Beom Gye-wi, the man repeated what he had first said.
“Please inform the Young Valley Lord. Tell him Pung Jin-seong has come to see him.”
*Clang.*
Beom Gye-wi gripped the Great Thistle Staff slung across his back.
“If Physician Dan says he doesn't know you, you won't be leaving here alive.”
It was then.
“Mister Beom! Wait!”
Beom Gye-wi paused at the sound of Dan Ak-seon's voice from a distance. He could see Dan Ak-seon running toward them.
*Pant, pant.*
As Dan Ak-seon rushed over, panting for breath, Pung Jin-seong bowed politely.
“Have you been well, Young Valley Lord? No, I should call you Valley Lord now. Haha, old habits die hard.”
Dan Ak-seon sighed at Pung Jin-seong's pleasantry.
“Come inside for now.”
Beom Gye-wi looked at Dan Ak-seon with a puzzled face.
“Is this someone you know, Physician Dan?”
Dan Ak-seon gave a bitter smile and nodded. Feeling awkward, Beom Gye-wi stepped aside.
Following Dan Ak-seon toward the pavilion, Pung Jin-seong looked around.
“It's been a long time since I was last here. I've missed this scenery.”
“You went through a lot because of me, didn't you?”
“I was a bit surprised, yes.”
Pung Jin-seong let out a sigh.
Setting aside the accusation that Dan Ak-seon was involved with a figure from a dark sect with a kill order on them, the news that he had been taken to a branch of the notoriously infamous Evil-Shattering Corps truly made his heart drop.
‘That man named Gwak was as venomous as a snake.’
This was clearly his own fault for handling it poorly.
Still, for someone from the Martial Alliance, he never imagined they would act so shamelessly. But when he arrived at the temporary branch of the Evil-Shattering Corps after traveling all night, it was engulfed in flames.
All members of the Evil-Shattering Corps were dead.
Rumors were rampant that they had been too drunk to escape the blaze, but Pung Jin-seong couldn't believe it. The idea that elite martial artists of the Martial Alliance could be wiped out simply because they couldn't handle their liquor was absurd.
The fortunate thing was that Dan Ak-seon wasn't there.
He tried to resolve the situation quickly, but he was tied up for a considerable time by the Martial Alliance's investigation.
That was why he had only just now managed to wrap things up and come to Divine Demon Valley.
“I'm sorry.”
Pung Jin-seong looked puzzled at Dan Ak-seon's words.
There was no reason for Dan Ak-seon to apologize. Then, belatedly recalling what he had said at their last meeting, he smiled brightly.
“Are you just going to let it go with words?”
Pung Jin-seong was not one to miss such a rare opportunity.
“Please retract my disownment.”
“What?”
Pung Jin-seong smiled brightly.
“It's the Blood Hand Honored One, isn't it?”
Seeing Dan Ak-seon's unconcealed surprise, Pung Jin-seong slowly nodded.
“So he was staying here after all.”
“How did you know?”
“The rumors about him were widespread. The medicinal herbs you recently acquired also caught my attention. And I couldn't understand why you suddenly disowned me. So I thought about it... and his name came to mind.”
Pung Jin-seong looked at Beom Gye-wi, who was standing at a distance.
“Then that man must be... Mang Mountain's Thistle.”
“...!”
“There's no need to be surprised. With that fearsome appearance and the Great Thistle Staff, how could I not know?”
Pung Jin-seong smiled brightly at Dan Ak-seon.
“What will you do now? I've discovered the secret you were hiding, Valley Lord. Will you still disown me?”
“I don't want you to be in danger, Mister. This time, too, because of me...”
“I'm threatening you right now.”
“Mister...”
Pung Jin-seong took Dan Ak-seon's hand.
“I know very well what you're worried about. That's why I took some measures before coming here.”
“Measures?”
“You must have guessed that I visited the Martial Alliance.”
As Dan Ak-seon nodded, Pung Jin-seong continued.
“I vouched for your identity there.”
Dan Ak-seon stared at Pung Jin-seong with surprised eyes. Pung Jin-seong nodded as if it were nothing.
“If you were to become an enemy of the Alliance, then I would become their enemy as well. We're in the same boat now, Valley Lord.”
“But why...?”
“Haven't I told you before? Who in the world would abandon their own family?”
Pung Jin-seong looked at Dan Ak-seon's face and smiled softly.
“If you cast me out now, you're essentially telling me to go die, Valley Lord.”
“Huu...”
In the end, Dan Ak-seon had no choice but to relent.
“I'll retract the disownment. And I apologize again. You've suffered so much because of me, haven't you?”
“Haha. When have I not?”
Pung Jin-seong asked back with a satisfied expression, then turned to Dan Ak-seon.
“Would you introduce me to them? Since we're in the same boat now, it's only proper that we greet each other.”
A moment later.
Pung Jin-seong found himself face to face with the three.
“I am Jin-seong of the Pung Family. I lead a small medical family, humble though it may be, called the Jinsung Medical House.”
“Jinsung Medical House?”
A peculiar light gleamed in Cho Ak-ryang's eyes.
He, too, had heard the rumors about the Jinsung Medical House, which had been gaining fame at a frightening pace recently.
Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa, on the other hand, were indifferent.
Despite their uncomfortable gazes, Pung Jin-seong did not lose his smile.
“I am on close terms with the Valley Lord, so I ask for your kind consideration.”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded and asked Pung Jin-seong with a profound gaze.
“Very well. I hear you're involved with the Martial Alliance?”
“Due to some recent events, I have formed a relationship with them.”
“The Martial Alliance! You're telling me you're on the side of those damn bastards?”
Pung Jin-seong waved his hand at the shouting Beom Gye-wi.
“It is merely a relationship of mutual assistance.”
“Could he be a spy for the Martial Alliance?”
Seeing Beom Gye-wi still unable to shake his suspicion, Pung Jin-seong nodded as if he understood.
“Words alone cannot erase suspicion, I suppose. However, please know that one of my masters was a Demonic Physician. When it comes to patients, I make no distinction between the righteous and the unorthodox, just like the Valley Lord here.”
At the mention of the Demonic Physician, Beom Gye-wi's suspicion softened slightly.
Just then, Pung Jin-seong placed the items he had brought onto the table.
“It's been a long time since my last visit, and as a guest, I couldn't come empty-handed, so I prepared a small gift.”
Pung Jin-seong unwrapped the silk cloth he had brought and opened the box inside.
“Wow! These are just what I needed!”
And no wonder, for the box was filled with hard-to-find medicinal herbs.
“From now on, just tell me what herbs you need.”
“Thank you, Mister!”
Dan Ak-seon threw his arms around Pung Jin-seong. Pung Jin-seong, who was savoring the pleasant feeling, flinched at that moment.
It was because of Dan Ak-seon's next words.
“Then please get me some Azure Stone Oil.”
For the first time, the smile vanished from Pung Jin-seong's face.