Chapter 38
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: A Healer's Price
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Voices filled with worry and concern erupted throughout Hyeonjeong Hall.
At that moment.
*CRASH!*
The doors to Hyeonjeong Hall burst open, and a person stepped inside.
It was Han Seol-hwa.
*Fwoooosh.*
Standing at the center of a swirling chill, she stared at Namgung Baek with imperious eyes.
“Have your subordinates stand down.”
Her voice was cold, carrying a chilling quality unlike the first time they met. As a flustered Namgung Baek hesitated, Han Seol-hwa fully unleashed her energy.
*Crack, crackle.*
A white frost, starting from beneath her feet, instantly spread across the floor, then rapidly climbed the pillars and walls.
“Cough!”
It was then that several warriors inside Hyeonjeong Hall coughed up blood.
Namgung Baek hastily gave an order.
“Everyone, withdraw!”
“But, Alliance Leader!”
“Now!”
At Namgung Baek's thunderous shout, all the warriors vanished from Hyeonjeong Hall.
Once the two of them were alone, Han Seol-hwa spoke quietly.
“If you ever direct your killing intent at that boy again...”
Han Seol-hwa continued, speaking to the tense Namgung Baek.
“That will be the day I add my name to the Ten Great Villains.”
“......!”
With those words, Han Seol-hwa turned and left.
Namgung Baek stared for a long time at the spot where she had disappeared, then let out a sigh so heavy it seemed the ground might collapse.
“So she wasn't a Grand Immortal, but a Tiger's Maw Matron...”
A female ghost said to bring disaster wherever she roamed.
At this moment, that was how Han Seol-hwa felt to him.
* * *
Upon returning to the annex, Dan Ak-seon immediately sought out Pung Jin-seong.
He needed to explain the cause and reason for the illness he had discovered and devise a course of treatment.
“We need to restore her ability to produce blood. To do that, we have to activate her innate true energy.”
“But awakening her innate true energy will throw the balance off even further, won't it?”
Dan Ak-seon nodded at Pung Jin-seong's concern.
“Before that, I plan to use an elixir strong in yang energy to blast away the impurities in her blood. All at once. Otherwise, even if she's cured for now, the illness will just relapse over time.”
“That's too dangerous. It could be like burning down the whole house just to catch a flea. Especially in her currently weakened state, even the energy of an elixir could act as a poison...”
“Yes, controlling the yang energy is the key.”
Pung Jin-seong shook his head.
“It's more than that... The gap between the time the elixir is absorbed and the time its effects manifest. That gap is too large. If side effects occur, how would you possibly deal with them?”
He mentioned another reason as well.
“Even if her condition improves that way, a problem still remains. It will take a considerable amount of time to restore the yin-yang balance that has been so heavily skewed. In Lady Namgung's current state, she will never be able to withstand it.”
“What if it's possible to respond to that shift in yin and yang?”
“As I've already said, no elixir...”
“It's impossible with an elixir, yes. But it's possible with people.”
Pung Jin-seong belatedly realized something.
Both their gazes turned towards Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.
“I believe it's possible if you two help.”
Han Seol-hwa would use her yin energy to protect the five viscera, six bowels, and energy meridians, while Beom Gye-wi would use his yang energy to burn away all the toxic energy in the body.
“After buying time that way, we awaken her innate energy with the elixir.”
“With a method like that...”
Pung Jin-seong, who had been running all sorts of calculations in his head, nodded.
“It seems possible!”
Yin-cold energy arts and extreme-yang energy arts, two techniques with completely opposite properties.
These two had mastered their respective arts to the extreme, already reaching the level of grandmasters. With Dan Ak-seon's medical skills added to the mix, and himself assisting by their side?
It was by no means an impossible task.
‘No!’
It was entirely possible.
Dan Ak-seon spoke to Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.
“I need your help.”
Neither of them was the type to refuse Dan Ak-seon's request, so they readily agreed. Then, Cho Ak-ryang suddenly shot a strange look at Beom Gye-wi.
“Live long enough and you'll see everything. To think that guy is lending a hand to save someone's life.”
Beom Gye-wi flared up.
“I've saved plenty of people!”
“You?”
“Of course! How many bastards have I let go instead of killing them?”
“How is that the same as this?”
“What's the difference? Six of one, half a dozen of the other. The result is the same.”
Then, as if realizing something, Beom Gye-wi grinned at Cho Ak-ryang.
“What's with this childish behavior at your age?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It's obvious just by looking. Aren't you just sulking because there's no role for you, Brother Cho?”
Dan Ak-seon, who was discussing the specific treatment method and detailed procedures with Pung Jin-seong, interjected into their conversation.
“What? Uncle Cho's role is the most important.”
“Brother Cho's?”
Unlike the bewildered Beom Gye-wi, the corners of Cho Ak-ryang's mouth crept upwards.
“This procedure allows for no mistakes, not even the slightest. And it's not something we can attempt multiple times.”
Dan Ak-seon's eyes gleamed as he looked at the three of them.
“For that to happen, we all need to be in sync.”
“You mean we need to practice?”
Dan Ak-seon nodded at Han Seol-hwa's question.
“That's why Uncle Cho's role is the most important. His condition is the most similar to the patient's, after all.”
Han Seol-hwa and Beom Gye-wi.
Stared at by the two of them, Cho Ak-ryang was suddenly overcome with a sense of foreboding.
“Can I really trust those two?”
Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly at the worried Cho Ak-ryang.
“Don't worry too much. I'm here, after all.”
“Of course I trust you, Physician Dan. The problem is those two.”
“Right now, there's no other way. We just have to trust each other.”
Cho Ak-ryang sighed.
With Dan Ak-seon putting it like that, he couldn't very well keep refusing.
Just then, Pung Jin-seong spoke up.
“Now, the most important issue remains.”
The gazes of the group all focused on Pung Jin-seong.
“For such a difficult task, what would be an appropriate compensation?”
Pung Jin-seong smiled gently.
Beom Gye-wi, as if realizing something, shouted loudly.
“Elixirs!”
Pung Jin-seong nodded.
“Not just that, but we should also secure a hefty treatment fee.”
He too had already heard about the friction between Namgung Baek and the group.
“We should take every last bit, no discounts.”
Cho Ak-ryang chimed in after Beom Gye-wi.
“Of course. Physician Dan is the only one in the world who can cure this disease.”
* * *
Listening to the report, Namgung Baek gripped the armrest of his grand chair.
*Crack.*
The solid rosewood was crushed under his grip. Still not satisfied, he glared at the woman bowing her head below the dais and shouted.
“So? Are you telling me you couldn't find him?”
The eyes and ears of the Martial Alliance, the intelligence organization. The leader of the Heavenly Ear Corps, Jegal Yeon, lowered her head.
“My apologies. We have mobilized all our personnel, but we need more time. His whereabouts have been unknown for a very long time...”
Seeing Namgung Baek's overt disappointment, Jegal Yeon bit her lip while keeping her head bowed.
‘Is this really my job?’
It was too personal a matter to be considered Martial Alliance business. That's why she had been feeling unwell throughout this whole task.
Nevertheless, considering the immediate relationship between their families, she had no choice but to endure it.
She hid her inner thoughts and looked at Namgung Baek with a determined gaze, as if nothing was wrong.
“I will find him, without fail.”
Namgung Baek simply nodded in response.
After Jegal Yeon withdrew, Namgung Baek drank the cold tea. Even after downing three consecutive cups, the ball of fire in his chest remained.
The one who had presented the bed made of blue-flower silver jade.
It was rage directed at the head of the Flying Dragon Trading Company.
Ten years ago, when he first came to him, he had offered immense wealth to secure business rights within Anhui Province. Afterward, he used his skills to push out the other trading companies in Anhui, one by one, among which were quite a few with deep ties to the Namgung Family.
The Namgung Family remained silent about their struggles.
It was partly because they had already received a vast fortune, but the truth was that the Flying Dragon Trading Company had taken care of the Namgung Family, the rulers of Anhui, even more diligently than their existing interests had.
But while he was busy as the Martial Alliance Leader and had briefly neglected his family's affairs, this had happened. The owner of the trading company had already changed, and the man was said to have disappeared without a trace.
Namgung Baek was furious.
Just then, the commander of the Changcheon Corps spoke.
“The head of the Jinsung Medical House requests an audience.”
Namgung Baek nodded silently, and a moment later, the doors to Hyeonjeong Hall opened and Pung Jin-seong entered.
“Pung Jin-seong of the Jinsung Medical House greets the Alliance Leader.”
It was Pung Jin-seong, as polite and courteous as ever.
“I hear there was a small misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding? Was it a misunderstanding?”
Namgung Baek gave a wry laugh.
But he didn't bother to continue the conversation on that topic.
It was a matter that hurt his pride the more he thought about it, so he didn't even want to bring it up again. So, he asked about his daughter's well-being instead.
“Hyang, how is she doing?”
“As it happens, that is why I have come to see you, Alliance Leader.”
Color returned to Namgung Baek's face at Pung Jin-seong's next words.
“We have determined a course of treatment.”
“Are you saying a cure is possible?”
“I cannot guarantee the outcome, but one thing is certain.”
“......?”
“It is the only way to save the young lady.”
“I will trust you, House Head! So please, save my child!”
Pung Jin-seong looked at Namgung Baek with an ambiguous smile.
“I will convey your words exactly as you said them.”
“What do you mean...?”
“As you know, I am not the one in charge of the treatment. The people of my medical house, including myself, are merely assisting. The entire treatment depends on the Valley Lord.”
Pung Jin-seong continued.
“Normally, the Valley Lord would have come to explain the treatment process himself, but he is still researching the method. That is why I have come in his stead.”
Namgung Baek waved his hand dismissively.
“Just please, save her! I will never forget this debt for the rest of my life.”
“A debt? It is simply what a physician must do.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“As a matter of fact, there is something I must ask of you, Alliance Leader.”
Pung Jin-seong explained the general treatment method. Of course, he substituted other details for the parts involving Beom Gye-wi's and Han Seol-hwa's martial arts.
In the process, he particularly emphasized the need for elixirs.
“Elixirs, you say...”
Pung Jin-seong took out a pre-prepared paper and held it out.
A warrior from the Changcheon Corps took the paper and handed it to Namgung Baek.
However, as Namgung Baek scanned the list of medicinal herbs densely written on the paper, he let out a low groan at one point.
At first, common herbs were listed, but further down, there were elixirs so rare that even he was astonished.
“Heavenly Yin Snow Lotus Fruit and a thousand-year-old He Shou Wu...”
On top of that, Shaolin's Great Rebirth Pill, Huashan's Purple Cloud Pill also known as the Plum Blossom Divine Pill, and Wudang's Grand Purity Divine Pill. Each one was a legendary elixir or pill that could shake the martial world.
But the real problem was something else.
A single item written on the very last line.
“Azure Stalactite Milk?”
As Namgung Baek struggled to hide his bewilderment, Pung Jin-seong replied with his usual calm face.
“If you can procure it, the chances of success for this treatment will increase by more than ten percent.”
While Namgung Baek was deliberating, someone spoke up cautiously.
“Alliance Leader.”
The organization in charge of the Martial Alliance's financial planning and execution.
It was the leader of the Cheonghwa Corps.
“The elixirs requested by House Head Pung are strategic assets of this Alliance, approved only in special cases after a rigorous process. Please be prudent in your decision...”
Namgung Baek raised a hand, cutting him off.
“These medicines are for my personal use. I will procure them with the Namgung Family's assets.”
As if those were the words he wanted to hear, the man immediately withdrew. Seeing this, Namgung Baek turned back to Pung Jin-seong and asked.
“What is the original success rate?”
“Fifty percent.”
“Only?”
At the mention of a mere fifty-fifty chance, Namgung Baek's brows twitched.
But Pung Jin-seong answered calmly.
“Anyone else wouldn't have even dared to attempt it.”
“I understand.”
Namgung Baek made his decision.
“I will procure them for you, no matter what it takes.”
When his daughter's life was on the line, a ten percent difference was like the distance between heaven and earth.
“Just save Hyang. Save my child.”