Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: The Formula's Flaw
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“Oh, my apologies.”
Pung Jin-seong said with a smile. He then reached out and took a needle.
“Allow me to assist.”
“Stop! What do you think you’re doing!”
Beom Gye-wi showed strong resistance.
“Why should I trust my body to a man who treats the daughter of the Martial Alliance’s leader?”
“When it comes to a patient, there is no righteous or evil.”
Dan Ak-seon also sided with Pung Jin-seong.
“You can trust him. He’s studied for far longer than I have and has much more experience.”
“Well, if Doctor Dan says so…”
With both of them working together, the treatment sped up. In the midst of it, Pung Jin-seong casually broached a topic.
“Would you care to take a look, Valley Lord?”
Understanding the meaning behind his words, a troubled expression appeared on Dan Ak-seon’s face.
“It’s intriguing, but I can’t leave this place. I have to treat the uncles and the aunt.”
“Of course…”
Pung Jin-seong nodded.
“The Blood Hand Honored One also seemed to be in quite a precarious state.”
“Yes. He’s improved a lot, but there’s still a long way to go. His energy meridians are only just beginning to settle. If he were to recklessly circulate his internal energy…”
“It would lead to irreversible consequences.”
“At that point, even I would be helpless.”
“He should be fine. As long as he doesn’t foolishly test his luck.”
Pung Jin-seong added with a humorous smile.
“After all, he’s probably used up a lifetime’s worth of luck just by meeting you, Valley Lord.”
“Come to think of it, I was worrying for nothing. What reason would there be to use martial arts here? It’s not like there’s an enemy right in front of us.”
Dan Ak-seon and Pung Jin-seong looked at each other and smiled.
However, one person, Beom Gye-wi, could not smile.
“Alright, Uncle. All done. Just do a handstand for an hour, then drink your herbal tonic.”
“Thanks, Doctor Dan.”
The moment Beom Gye-wi got off the bed, a look of confusion flickered in Dan Ak-seon’s eyes. It was because the corners of Beom Gye-wi’s eyes, as he headed out of the hut, were moist.
“Is something bothering you?”
Beom Gye-wi blinked a few times to shake off the tears, then listlessly shook his head.
“No. It’s nothing.”
With those words, Beom Gye-wi headed outside.
Just then, he came face to face with Cho Ak-ryang, who was also stepping out of the hut.
“Brother Cho, I’m sorry for everything.”
At Beom Gye-wi’s sudden apology, a deep suspicion arose on Cho Ak-ryang’s face.
“What are you playing at?”
“It’s not a trick, I’m being sincere.”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
“Why are you suddenly acting so out of character? And what’s with that look in your eyes?”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“It’s the kind of look that makes me want to punch you.”
At those words, Beom Gye-wi nodded and beat his chest.
“Fine. Give me a good one. They say you should grant a dead man’s wish, so why not grant a dying man’s?”
“Dying soon? Who?”
As Beom Gye-wi stared at him, Cho Ak-ryang’s heart sank.
“Did Doctor Dan say that? That I’m going to die?”
Beom Gye-wi nodded at the bewildered Cho Ak-ryang.
“He said you’d die if you used your internal energy. But you used your martial arts when you dealt with those Evil-Shattering Corps kids last time.”
Cho Ak-ryang was finally able to calm his startled heart.
“Is that all? That was…”
At that moment, Dan Ak-seon’s voice came from behind Beom Gye-wi.
“So that’s what was making you so gloomy?”
Dan Ak-seon walked out of the hut.
“Uncle Cho is perfectly fine. I checked his pulse just last night, remember?”
“Huh? So he’s not going to die?”
“Of course not. By the way, it seems something happened that I don’t know about?”
Dan Ak-seon looked at Cho Ak-ryang.
“Did you use your internal energy at some point without my knowledge?”
Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi flinched and froze.
“You….”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s glare and growl, Beom Gye-wi hurriedly spoke.
“No. Why would he need internal energy to deal with guys like that? Right, Brother Cho?”
Beom Gye-wi tried to gloss over it, but it only raised more suspicion.
“Guys like that? Who are you talking about?”
“Th-that is…”
Stuck and flustered, Beom Gye-wi finally squeezed his eyes shut.
“I-it’s a secret!”
“A secret?”
“Yeah! Doesn’t everyone have at least one?”
“I don’t have any secrets from you uncles…”
At Dan Ak-seon’s somewhat dejected voice, Beom Gye-wi was startled.
“So you had a secret from me, Uncle.”
“Doctor Dan, are you sulking?”
“It’s a secret.”
Pouting, Dan Ak-seon turned away. Anyone could see he was thoroughly peeved.
“D-Doctor Dan. That’s not what I meant…”
Flustered, Beom Gye-wi appealed to Cho Ak-ryang for help. When it came to using his head, Cho Ak-ryang was at least better than him.
“Brother Cho! Say something…”
Beom Gye-wi couldn’t finish his sentence.
Cho Ak-ryang, who had been standing right in front of him, had vanished.
“You cheap bastard!”
He fumed for a moment at the sight of Cho Ak-ryang standing at a safe distance.
Beom Gye-wi quickly hurried after Dan Ak-seon.
“Doctor Dan, just listen to me. Please?”
But Dan Ak-seon remained tight-lipped and disappeared into the main building.
“What do I do?”
Beom Gye-wi paced anxiously outside the building, stomping his feet.
Watching from afar, Pung Jin-seong found the whole situation quite amusing.
***
That evening.
The savory scent of meat filled the Divine Demon Valley.
A bonfire was lit in the center of the valley. Over it, delectable pieces of meat were roasting to a golden brown. Drawn by the enchanting aroma, people gathered before the fire as if bewitched.
“What’s with the meat? We’re only supposed to eat what Doctor Dan allows.”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s question, Beom Gye-wi, who was diligently grilling the meat, answered gruffly.
“It’s not for me. It’s for Doctor Dan.”
“You think that’s going to make him feel better?”
“Even Doctor Dan can’t want to eat greens every single day. He’s putting up with it because of us. Besides, just smell this. Who in the world could refuse this?”
True to his word, the meat Beom Gye-wi was grilling smelled divine.
Unconsciously swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth, Cho Ak-ryang threw a barb.
“You could have at least caught something bigger, like a wild boar.”
Beom Gye-wi scoffed.
“You don’t know a thing. Look at this tender meat. This is the best time of year for rabbit.”
“Is that so? Then shall I lend a hand?”
Cho Ak-ryang casually took a seat by the fire.
He then slyly picked up a skewer with rabbit meat and began turning it this way and that, roasting it.
“What do you think you’re doing? Trying to get a piece of the action now?”
Beom Gye-wi’s brow furrowed deeply.
Before he could finish, Han Seol-hwa appeared from nowhere and began grilling meat as well.
“You people! Don’t touch it! That’s all for our Doctor Dan!”
It was then that Dan Ak-seon’s voice was heard.
“Don’t worry about it, let’s all eat together. For our health, we need to consume meat occasionally.”
Dan Ak-seon, walking alongside Pung Jin-seong, arrived at the bonfire.
Beom Gye-wi quickly grabbed a skewer and handed it to Dan Ak-seon.
Taking a bite and chewing, Dan Ak-seon exclaimed in delight.
“Wow! This is delicious!”
“Right?”
Watching Dan Ak-seon’s reaction, Beom Gye-wi cautiously asked.
“Are you not mad anymore?”
“Huh? I wasn’t mad.”
Beom Gye-wi’s face instantly brightened. His hard work hunting had paid off.
“Can we eat now, too?”
Feeling pleased, Beom Gye-wi waved his hand at Cho Ak-ryang as if to say, “do as you please.”
Cho Ak-ryang, Han Seol-hwa, and even Pung Jin-seong.
Each of them picked up a skewer of meat.
As they were enjoying their meal, Cho Ak-ryang noticed something.
It was a rabbit pelt, stretched out to dry.
“What’s this for?”
Beom Gye-wi answered Cho Ak-ryang’s question.
“I’m going to treat it nicely and make gloves for Doctor Dan.”
“Do you even know how?”
“That’s your job, Brother Cho. You’re good with your hands.”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded.
“Alright. I’ll consider it payment for the rabbit meat I ate today.”
It was at that moment.
“A rabbit?”
Dan Ak-seon asked again, his voice trembling.
“The meat we’re eating right now… was a rabbit?”
Dan Ak-seon walked toward the rabbit pelt spread out to one side. Staring at the pelt with a dazed expression, he looked at Beom Gye-wi with wavering eyes.
“By any chance… did this rabbit have one of its ears half-torn?”
“Huh? How did you know that, Doctor Dan?”
Thud.
Dan Ak-seon dropped the meat skewer he was holding. He then clutched the rabbit pelt in a tight embrace.
“Waaah! Aso!”
Everyone was bewildered by Dan Ak-seon’s sudden burst of tears.
“Aso? Who’s Aso?”
Dan Ak-seon answered, sobbing.
“He was a friend I met while gathering herbs. I treated him when he was hurt before, so we became close. He even understood my words…”
Dan Ak-seon shed tears like pearls.
“I’m sorry, Aso. I ate you!”
“...!”
Beom Gye-wi was utterly dumbfounded.
At that moment, he saw Cho Ak-ryang subtly put down the skewer he had just put in his mouth and stand up. Han Seol-hwa was also trying hard to act nonchalant as she moved away from the fire.
***
Lying in bed, Dan Ak-seon couldn’t fall asleep.
Something vague had been circling his mind all day, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. As he slowly replayed the day’s events, a thought suddenly struck him, and he shot up from his bed.
His conversation with Pung Jin-seong had flashed through his mind.
“Cause and symptoms…!”
Hurriedly lighting a lamp, Dan Ak-seon spread open a piece of paper on the table.
It was the paper on which the oral formulas for the internal arts of Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa were written.
“Right! This was it!”
Dan Ak-seon’s eyes sparkled as he carefully examined the contents.
The thoughts in his head finally became clear, and he realized the nature of the lingering question.
The clue to solving the problem was surprisingly close.
“Uncles! Aunt!”
Dan Ak-seon ran out of the building.
At Dan Ak-seon’s sudden shout, the three of them emerged from their huts at the same time.
“What is it?”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s question, Dan Ak-seon shook the paper with the oral formulas.
“I was caught in the trap of the oral formulas.”
“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden? A trap in the oral formulas?”
Dan Ak-seon took a few deep breaths to calm his excitement.
“If I draw a diagram of how your true energy flows according to the oral formulas of your arts, it looks like this.”
Dan Ak-seon picked up a piece of charcoal from the bonfire and drew on the paper.
“Just as every person’s constitution is different, so are the body’s energy meridians. The major meridians aren’t vastly different, but the locations of the minor meridians vary slightly.”
Dan Ak-seon continued his explanation.
“Naturally, you are different from the person who first created your internal art, right? But because you forced your true energy to circulate according to the oral formula, a small discrepancy occurred between the theory and the actual application. The deeper your internal energy becomes, the wider that gap grows. Eventually, this brought about an imbalance that led to side effects.”
Listening to Dan Ak-seon’s explanation, Beom Gye-wi tilted his head.
“But why did only I get those side effects? My master was fine.”
“That’s probably… because he never reached your level, Uncle Beom.”
“Huh? Come to think of it…”
As Beom Gye-wi conceded, Han Seol-hwa also nodded silently.
Dan Ak-seon pointed to different spots on the drawing.
“Aunt, this part here, and Uncle Beom, this part of your minor meridians is blocked. Because of that, the true energy that was supposed to circulate through the minor meridians and return to the dantian lost its way, scattering to the wrong places. That’s what ultimately caused the side effects.”
Just then, Pung Jin-seong belatedly appeared.
“I was making the same mistake I told you about, Uncle.”
“A mistake?”
“To cure a disease, you must find and fix the cause, but I was only trying to treat the symptoms. But that can never be a fundamental cure. The real cause is the oral formulas of the arts, which don’t align with your actual minor meridians and are operating separately.”
Cho Ak-ryang, who had been listening silently to Dan Ak-seon’s explanation, nodded.
“Now that you mention it, the pieces fit together.”
Cho Ak-ryang looked at Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi.
“The origins of your two internal arts are so ancient it’s hard to even guess their beginnings. Even a father and son of the same blood have different constitutions, let alone unrelated people. The practitioners who inherit the arts constantly change, but the oral formulas themselves have not. It’s more than possible for problems to arise from that.”
“But you were fine without any side effects, Brother Cho.”
At Beom Gye-wi’s question, Cho Ak-ryang smiled faintly.
“Your two internal arts could be considered close to the original, primitive forms of internal arts. On the other hand, the Primordial Limitless True Energy was created in a later era. It was refined by studying countless other internal arts and correcting for their trial and error, so naturally, it has fewer side effects.”
“Hmph! Acting all high and mighty over something you didn’t even create.”
“What, you bastard? Who said I created it!”
Ignoring the two who were quickly getting heated, Han Seol-hwa asked.
“If you know the cause, is a cure possible?”
“First, let’s confirm.”
Dan Ak-seon placed his fingers on Han Seol-hwa’s wrist.