Question Mark
"Off to Honam!"
My bold declaration drew a look of utter disbelief from Jegal Cheom.
"Didn't you come here to diagnose the young master's illness? Leaving without reaching any conclusion—what kind of..."
"The conclusion's already been reached," I cut him off with a firm voice.
"The young master's symptoms themselves aren't my concern. The reason I took this case is to uncover my missing master's whereabouts and the mastermind behind this bizarre plot."
I paused for a beat before continuing. "That said, I'm not just washing my hands of it. I'll tell you how to alleviate the young master's symptoms."
Jegal Cheom's eyes widened. "A way to alleviate the symptoms?"
"I can't cure it alone. But with Master's help, I'm certain we can. So until I find him, I'll share a method to ease the immediate pain."
I crossed my arms. "There's a craving energy in the young master's body. The seizures happen because it was forcibly cut off from the outside. Force the qi and blood circulation to slow dramatically, suppressing the craving itself."
It was bullshit—translating modern drug withdrawal substitution therapy into wuxia terms—but the framework held up.
"Specifically, perform a stable Guided True Qi Induction Technique that suppresses the dantian's fiery energy and circulates the qi in the limbs at an excruciatingly slow pace. Twice a day, until I return with Master."
"That alone will work?"
"You'll know once you try. First, I need to see Paeng Cheol-hwan."
I strode forward. Hwangbo Suyeon and Seol Muyeong shadowed me like ghosts. Jegal Cheom hesitated briefly, then hurried after.
"Kwaaaagh! Kill me! Just kill me already!!"
In Haebuk Paenga's most secret chamber, even the world-shaking overlord Paeng Cheol-hwan was reduced to a weeping old father before his son's agony. His massive hands pinned the boy's shoulders, but the seizure's inhuman strength defied imagination.
"Step aside, Paeng family head."
I entered through the opened door, my voice cool and sunken.
"Y-Yeon daehyup!"
"Paeng family head. Pull yourself together and listen. I'm giving you a secret method to suppress the immediate seizure."
Paeng Cheol-hwan's bloodshot eyes flashed open. "A secret method?"
"Believe me, or let your son suffer and bite his tongue off in death. The choice is yours."
My extreme phrasing hardened his expression.
"Understood! Whatever daehyup commands, I'll do it!"
Hands behind my back, I unpacked the cliché "inner energy healing" I'd typed out countless times in my past life, draping it in real-world wuxia jargon. Modern medicine's "induced coma" or "neural stabilization," wrapped in the grandiose shell of True Qi Guided Induction Technique.
One gak... two gak... half a shichen.
In the suffocating silence of the chamber, an unbelievable miracle unfolded.
"...Kuhk... kuh..."
Paeng Suho's thrashing body began to settle. His rolled-back eyes righted themselves; the foam at his mouth ceased.
And finally.
Snore... snore...
"H-He's asleep...! Suho... my son is breathing peacefully!!"
Peaceful breaths after three shichen. Paeng Cheol-hwan clutched his face with massive hands and sobbed like a beast. Any patriarch's dignity was long gone. He dropped to his knees, seizing my hands and bowing repeatedly.
"Thank you! Truly, thank you, Yeon daehyup! Haebuk Paenga will never forget this grace, even if the heavens split in two!"
I screamed victory inwardly but feigned indifference as I withdrew my hands.
"This is temporary. Twice a day, until I return with Master. Maintain the technique. I promise: I'll bring him back and fully save your son."
The next morning, before Haebuk Paenga's grand gates.
"Wh-what the hell is all this?"
Jegal Cheom's eyes bulged as he climbed the carriage. Two enormous purple sandalwood chests sat squarely before the gates.
"A small token to ensure Yeon daehyup and his companions travel to Honam comfortably."
Paeng Cheol-hwan, eyes still red from nursing his son all night, smiled warmly and flung open the lids.
Morning sun gleamed off a golden feast. One chest brimmed with premium dried foods and rare medicines; the other overflowed with eye-searing piles of gold nyang.
Jackpot! How much is this?! Gold nyang by the chest—like some novel setting from my past life?!
My inner capitalist slime wanted to dive in, but I desperately controlled my face.
"I have no need for such vain wealth... but out of respect for the family head's sincerity, I'll take it."
Arrogant acceptance. My roleplay seemed to touch him deeper; he bowed low.
"Wait for us, Paeng family head. I'll return with Master."
I boarded the carriage. Hwangbo Suyeon, Seol Muyeong, and Jegal Cheom followed.
"Hya!"
The coachman whipped the horses into motion. Paeng Cheol-hwan stood with hands clasped, watching us until the gates vanished.
"Master, where did that true qi treatment to suppress the young master's symptoms come from...?"
Hwangbo Suyeon asked cautiously.
Ah, gotta explain that now?
"It's inspired by a completely different medical principle from another world."
I dodged vaguely. She nodded and dropped it. Reliable fanatic—accepting my master's nonsense as profound truth without question.
Glancing around, Jegal Cheom stood with arms crossed, eyes sharper than before.
"Yeon daehyup."
He spoke lowly.
"Do you have a guess what Daeryeok Dobang did?"
I glanced at him. "A guess, yes. But no certainty, so we go ourselves."
"If I tell you more about what I know of Daeryeok Dobang..."
He unfurled his fan and continued.
"On the surface, they run an escort agency and Taoist temple. But they're known to control Honam's underground black markets."
"Black market... Did Paeng Suho get it there?"
I smiled bitterly. Ruining the body for quick gains. Even in this wuxia world, the same desires played out the same way—in the shadows.
Thoughts swirled. Of Daeryeok Dobang. Of Master. Of the drug that reduced the young master to this.
In novel terms, something like Jeung-gidan—vapor pills. Unnaturally exploding inner energy, but cessation destroys the body. I'd used this trope endlessly over ten years and thousands of wuxia tales.
But facing it in reality felt worlds apart. Not fiction—real human suffering.
I wanna rip these bastards apart.
I slammed my teacup down. Of course, ripping would be for Hwangbo Suyeon and Seol Muyeong.
"Yeon daehyup."
Jegal Cheom hesitated, then spoke frankly.
"To be honest, at first I thought you were just some weird scholar my uncle foisted on me."
"Weird scholar, huh."
"But seeing this..."
He snapped his fan shut.
"I get why Uncle asked for your help."
I met his gaze. Not the simpering playboy from before Suyeon. Serious, trustworthy eyes now.
I exhaled shortly. "If you need help, say so."
"It's not just for Suyeon. I really want to solve this case."
I nodded. "Understood, Jegal gongja."
Our group finally entered Honam. Akyang's lights flickered faintly ahead. Vast Dongting Lake gleamed gold against the evening sky.
No time for scenery, but it tempted a pause.
In an Akyang inn room, I sat alone and unrolled pristine paper.
With Spectrum Brush Technique strokes, words flew across the page—organizing what I'd learned.
Shuuuuk.
The brush trailed afterimages.
The purpose behind addicting Haebuk Paenga's young master. Daeryeok Dobang's true intent. The missing Master.
All threads weaving into one grand narrative. My writer's instincts roared to life.
What colossal black curtain waited at the end? Daeryeok Dobang couldn't be the pinnacle—they were mere pawns.
Then who was the true shadow?
I scrawled a massive question mark on the paper.
Staring at it long, I blew out the candle.