Chapter 59
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Sacred Hand Divine Pill
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The twilight glow of sunset painted the western mountains red.
In the usually peaceful Divine Demon Valley, an unseasonable shout echoed.
“Yes. Your stance is finally starting to look right.”
Dan Ak-seon, who was learning the Golden Grasping Hand, smiled brightly at Cho Ak-ryang's praise.
Just then, a carrier pigeon flew toward the Divine Demon Valley.
“A message has arrived from Pung Jin-seong's clinic.”
Cho Ak-ryang, who received the letter, murmured grimly.
Rumors were circulating in the martial world that the son of the Divine Physician of Sacred Hands had appeared.
“Has the story about him treating the Martial Alliance Lord's daughter gotten out?”
“It seems so.”
Cho Ak-ryang gathered Dan Ak-seon and the others to share the contents of the letter from Pung Jin-seong.
“I expected something like this would happen when I went to the Martial Alliance.”
Dan Ak-seon's attitude was surprisingly calm.
“We should probably avoid going down to the village for a while. The location of this place shouldn't be known yet.”
But now that his existence was known, it was only a matter of time before people started searching for him.
Eventually, the fact that Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi were staying here would also be revealed.
Beom Gye-wi asked Dan Ak-seon with a puzzled look.
“Are you worried that patients will flock here after hearing the rumors?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“It's because I know what they're looking for.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled bitterly.
“That's also why my father grew disillusioned with the world and went into seclusion here.”
Neung So-mil, who had been deep in thought, let out a gasp.
“Ah! Could it be?”
“What, do you know something?”
Neung So-mil answered Beom Gye-wi's question immediately.
“It was all the talk for a while, wasn't it? In a way, it's what made the Divine Physician's reputation soar.”
“So what is it?”
As Neung So-mil looked uncomfortable, Dan Ak-seon spoke.
“It's because of the Sacred Hand Divine Pill.”
“...!”
Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and even Han Seol-hwa couldn't hide their surprise.
The story was so famous that there was hardly anyone in the martial world who hadn't heard of it.
Most of the renowned sects in the martial world possessed secret recipes for crafting spiritual pills. Shaolin's Great Rejuvenation Pill was one such example, as were Huashan's Purple Mist Pill and Wudang's Great Clarity Pill.
Supreme spiritual pills that could heal internal injuries and vastly increase one's internal energy.
As they were difficult to produce, their rarity made them astronomically valuable.
Neung So-mil spoke cautiously.
“There were even rumors that the Sacred Hand Divine Pill was superior to Shaolin's Great Rejuvenation Pill.”
Rumors in the martial world were typically exaggerated and inflated as they passed from person to person.
But the stories related to the Sacred Hand Divine Pill were the opposite.
Those who had experienced it firsthand openly claimed that the rumors were, if anything, an understatement.
At the center of these stories was Hong Du-ta, the Chief of the Beggar's Sect.
Despite his close ties with the Nine Great Sects, with whom he had stood shoulder to shoulder for many years, his just and upright nature wouldn't allow him to misrepresent the truth.
Dan Ak-seon, recalling the past, nodded.
“That's why so many people came looking for my father.”
“I doubt they were all just asking politely.”
The others nodded at Cho Ak-ryang's words.
How could it be otherwise?
Spiritual pills, secret manuals, or treasures of similar value.
The martial world was a place where the emergence of just one of these could stir a storm of blood.
Since they didn't dare cross the walls of Shaolin, Huashan, or Wudang, the people who sought out the more approachable Divine Physician were hardly likely to be polite.
“Yes, I heard there were all sorts of people. Countless threats, and even some who attempted to kidnap him.”
“Still, it seems he managed to get through it all right.”
Dan Ak-seon shook his head at Cho Ak-ryang's words.
“No. The kidnapping was successful.”
“...!”
At the unexpected answer, everyone in the area stared at Dan Ak-seon with shocked eyes.
“My mother was one of the people after the Sacred Hand Divine Pill.”
Dan Ak-seon continued with a smile.
“My mother said she seduced him, but my father insisted until the very end that he was kidnapped.”
The group, who had been staring blankly, burst into laughter all at once.
It seemed entirely plausible for the Life and Death Demonic Physician, known for her bizarre antics.
But Cho Ak-ryang's next words made the atmosphere heavy again.
“Now that Doctor Dan's existence is known, the bastards looking for the Sacred Hand Divine Pill might start acting up again.”
Beom Gye-wi, who had been listening quietly, pointed toward the entrance of the Divine Demon Valley.
“Shouldn't we activate that formation ahead of time?”
Dan Ak-seon hesitated, pondering for a moment before answering.
In the meantime, Neung So-mil cautiously offered his opinion.
“Why don't we just honestly say that the Sacred Hand Divine Pill is gone and that we don't know the recipe? After all, with the Divine Physician gone, making it is impossible anyway.”
Beom Gye-wi snorted.
“You know the greed of martial artists who obsess over elixirs. How many people do you think would believe that at face value?”
“We can make them believe it through rumors. As the saying goes, if one dog barks at a shadow, all the dogs in the neighborhood will follow.”
“Are you suggesting we manipulate information?”
“That is what I do best.”
Cho Ak-ryang nodded.
“Not a bad method. Nothing spreads faster than a rumor based on fact.”
Just then, Dan Ak-seon brought up something astonishing.
“But the Sacred Hand Divine Pill hasn't been lost.”
“...?”
As the others stared in confusion, Dan Ak-seon spoke nonchalantly.
“I can make it. I've already made it many times.”
“Really? Then why didn't we know?”
Beom Gye-wi, who had just asked, wore a stunned expression at Dan Ak-seon's next words.
“You might not have known. I never told you. But you've already taken it.”
“Don't tell me...”
Dan Ak-seon nodded at Cho Ak-ryang, who trailed off in suspicion.
“The pill that treated Uncle Beom's madness, the one I gave to Uncle Cho when he went out, and the one Auntie Han took the day she was able to smile again... they were all Sacred Hand Divine Pills.”
“Hah...”
Cho Ak-ryang let out a hollow laugh.
Beom Gye-wi, on the other hand, gasped and nodded.
“No wonder. The effects were too good...”
Han Seol-hwa, too, couldn't hide her bewilderment.
She had felt the effects were extraordinary each time she took it, but it turned out it wasn't just her imagination.
Neung So-mil, for his part, was dumbfounded.
“How can you use such a legendary elixir so freely?”
“It was absolutely necessary for the three of you. These aren't illnesses that can be cured with acupuncture alone.”
Dan Ak-seon replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The three of them were so flabbergasted and dumbfounded that they were speechless for a long while.
To think they had been taking the Sacred Hand Divine Pill, a treasure rumored to surpass the Great Rejuvenation Pill, like a common household remedy.
Without even realizing it, they had been enjoying an unbelievable luxury.
“Were our conditions so severe that they were impossible to treat without the Sacred Hand Divine Pill?”
At Beom Gye-wi's belated question, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa fell grimly silent.
They were realizing what a price Dan Ak-seon had paid to treat them.
Beom Gye-wi smacked his lips with a hint of regret.
“You should have told us. I would have circulated my energy to absorb the pill's essence.”
Dan Ak-seon replied with a smile.
“Even without any special process, once the pill has done its work, the remaining medicinal energy is naturally absorbed as internal energy. There are no side effects, either. That's why I didn't give you any precautions.”
Just then, Han Seol-hwa recalled something.
“You must have used quite a few of the divine pills by now, haven't you?”
Beom Gye-wi, startled, also asked Dan Ak-seon.
“Did we eat them all? Are there none left?”
“There are still five left. And as long as I have the ingredients, I can make as many more as I need.”
Neung So-mil smiled wryly to himself.
To think he doesn't even consider how outrageously expensive the ingredients are.
The very reason Sa Mu-sim had led a caravan into the desolate desert to trade with the Pasa Nation was to cover the cost of those ingredients.
But he wasn't so tactless as to blurt that fact out loud.
Dan Ak-seon spoke again.
“However, it will probably be difficult to make that many anymore.”
“Why is that?”
Cho Ak-ryang couldn't understand.
After all, they had far more high-priced medicinal ingredients now than when he had first arrived at the Divine Demon Valley.
“Because the most important ingredient is not easy to obtain.”
“...?”
“The most crucial ingredient is the egg of a Thousand-Year Fire Carp.”
Dan Ak-seon turned his head and pointed to the pond connected to the waterfall.
“Still, as long as the ones that are left stay healthy, I should be able to make a few more in the future.”
“The carp living in that pond... don't tell me?”
Dan Ak-seon nodded.
Cho Ak-ryang's and Beom Gye-wi's eyes met.
They remembered the fish that had died when they were bustling about, claiming to be cleaning the pond.
“...”
The two men said nothing to each other.
They finally understood why Dan Ak-seon had been so distressed at the time.
Just then, Beom Gye-wi muttered to himself.
“I guess I should stop peeing in there.”
“...!”
Everyone's gaze simultaneously converged on Beom Gye-wi.
“You...!”
Han Seol-hwa shot to her feet and began to radiate a terrifyingly cold aura.
Cho Ak-ryang hastily tried to stop her.
“Wait! Sister Han!”
In that instant, Beom Gye-wi was already fleeing into the distance.
Shaking off Cho Ak-ryang, Han Seol-hwa raised her hand and pointed to a spot in the air.
Crackle.
The air froze in an instant.
Within it, a transparent ice spear gradually took shape. And with a light flick of Han Seol-hwa's hand, it shot toward Beom Gye-wi like a beam of light.
KABOOM!
Along with an earth-shattering explosion, Beom Gye-wi's curses flew from the distance.
“That was seriously dangerous!”
“Dangerous? Hmph! I'll show you what's really dangerous.”
As Han Seol-hwa flew off in pursuit of Beom Gye-wi, the two of them vanished from sight in an instant.
Neung So-mil, who had been standing there dumbfounded, finally came to his senses after a long moment.
“It seems some preparations will be necessary.”
Neung So-mil said, looking at Dan Ak-seon.
“Now that your activities are known, people may start searching for you, Valley Lord.”
However, Neung So-mil wasn't particularly worried.
After all, none other than Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa were staying in the Divine Demon Valley. To deal with those three, the Martial Alliance would probably have to mobilize half of its entire force.
Dan Ak-seon, however, had a heavy heart.
His parents, who had lived in seclusion here their entire lives, hiding from the world.
‘Will I have to lock myself away here for the rest of my life, too?’
He knew better than anyone how a life of isolated confinement could wear a person down.
***
A Guan Di Temple, located near Wuwei.
A middle-aged man in black martial robes, his bamboo hat pulled down low, was waiting for someone.
Leaning against a wall and cradling a single sword, he soon straightened his posture.
A shadow approached from the distance.
An old man with a ruddy complexion that belied his flowing white hair and beard. Piercing, tiger-like eyes, an aquiline nose, and a mouth set in a stubborn line. A single glance was enough to tell he was not a man of ordinary temperament.
As they drew closer, the man in the bamboo hat bowed his head respectfully.
“Welcome, Elder.”
The old man received the greeting with a look of displeasure.
“It has been a long time.”
Despite the old man's clearly resentful tone, the man in the bamboo hat remained composed.
“Are you still angry that I didn't prevent the inspection of your sect? It was unavoidable.”
The old man let out a cold laugh.
“You must be terribly busy with the affairs of the Martial Alliance. State your reason for seeking out this old man.”
“Please, speak comfortably.”
“How could an old man from a minor sect dare to speak informally to a great Inspector of the Martial Alliance?”