The Medicine King's Divine Pill
The battle over the Shanxi Yoo Family came to an end just like that.
Before anyone knew it, the sun had risen and morning had broken.
The Yu Family warriors gathered the corpses in one place, then forced the subdued prisoners together and made them kneel.
"Let me go! Untie me this instant! How dare lowborn trash like you lay hands on me—!"
Yu Seon-woo, having finally awakened from unconsciousness, threw a fit.
Apparently unable to grasp the situation, he hurled abuse at the servants and warriors watching over him.
But the eyes on him were ice-cold.
Everyone had heard what Yu Seon-woo had done.
To spite his younger sister, he had handed money to black market ruffians, led an attack on his own family, and had even been caught red-handed trying to set fire to the storehouse where precious medicinal herbs were kept.
No matter how direct his bloodline in the Shanxi Yoo Family might be, this had long since crossed the line of what could be forgiven.
If he was lucky, he would end up imprisoned.
If not, the punishment would be far worse.
"Yu Cheong-ah, you bitch! How dare you do this to your own elder brother—"
"Shut up."
Smack!
Yu Cheong-ah strode over and slapped Yu Seon-woo across the face.
It was a blow backed by inner energy; his lip split, and the inside of his mouth burst open.
Yu Seon-woo stared at her with bulging eyes, as if he couldn't believe he had just been struck.
But before he could say anything, Yu Cheong-ah cut him off.
"You should be grateful I'm showing this much restraint. Do you even understand what you've done?"
"Y-you bitch...!"
"Once Father, Mother, and Grandfather return from the Martial Alliance, I'll report every one of your crimes to them. They'll decide your punishment. Until then, keep your mouth shut and stay quiet."
"You... how dare you... to me...!"
"I said shut up."
Yu Cheong-ah abruptly pulled out a large acupuncture needle from her sleeve and drove it into one of Yu Seon-woo's acupoints.
"Ghk!?"
His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious from the sudden strike.
Turning to the family warriors, Yu Cheong-ah gave a cold order.
"Bind all four limbs and lock him in the thunder prison. Until I say otherwise, don't give him so much as a sip of water."
"Yes, Miss."
They dragged the unconscious Yu Seon-woo away and disappeared.
Watching him go, Yu Cheong-ah let out a long sigh, as though the ground itself might cave in beneath it, then turned back to us.
"I'm sorry you had to witness such an ugly spectacle after coming as benefactors to our family."
"Not at all. We know the circumstances. I'd say your anger is only natural."
"Thank you for understanding."
Yu Cheong-ah bowed her head deeply.
"And thank you as well for protecting our family. If not for the Young Lord and all of you, something terrible would have happened."
The family storehouses would have gone up in flames, and the Medicine King Divine Pill would have been stolen.
And that wasn't all.
Depending on how things had gone, Yu Cheong-ah herself might very well have been kidnapped or killed.
No wonder her gratitude was heartfelt.
"Raise your head. We only did what we were asked to do."
"Even so..."
"If you're truly grateful, then I hope the Shanxi Yoo Family will continue to maintain good relations with our clan."
"Of course. Our Yu Family has no intention of forgetting what we owe the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan."
After saying that, Yu Cheong-ah ordered the family servants to bring something out.
They returned carrying a container packed layer upon layer with luxurious medicinal herbs, along with a case that looked precious at a glance.
"This is...?"
"Open it."
I carefully opened the case and checked what was inside.
Resting there was a round pill that gave off a crisp, cooling fragrance.
I recognized it immediately.
"The Medicine King Divine Pill."
"It's one of the three divine pills made this time. The other two have already been promised elsewhere, so I can't offer them, but this much is within my authority."
Yu Cheong-ah spoke with a gentle smile.
"I heard the Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan is unwell, isn't he? The Medicine King Divine Pill grants resistance against all manner of illness and drives out poison and sinister energy, so it should be of great help to him."
"I never imagined you would give me something this precious. You have my sincere thanks."
This time, I bowed my head.
The Medicine King Divine Pill was not something one could simply buy at will with money.
Yet she was handing it over so readily.
Honestly, I was stunned.
"We're giving it because we want to remain on good terms with the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan as well. Ah, and once my grandfather returns, I'll ask him to visit your clan. If he personally examines your Lord's pulse, I'm sure he could help him recover his health very quickly."
"Then let me offer my thanks once more."
"The same goes for us. Thank you truly for saving my life and helping my family."
The two of us bowed to each other in mutual respect.
"Then I should be on my way as soon as possible. I need to deliver this to my father."
"If it were up to me, I'd keep you at our estate and host you for days... but yes, you should go. Travel safely."
"Of course. And if anything else happens, send word. I'll come at once."
With that, we retrieved the carriage we had left behind.
Yu Cheong-ah came all the way to the family gates to see us off.
She kept waving until we had gone so far that we were little more than blurs in the distance.
"Whew. I'm completely drained."
Seated in the carriage, Jin Cheon-hwi let out a rare groan.
Since this had been the first real battle he had experienced outside the clan, he seemed to have been under considerable strain.
Then his eyes lit up as he looked at me.
"You were incredible, Hyung-nim. So you really were hiding your strength, weren't you?"
His tone was far more relaxed than before, when it had still been somewhat stiff.
It seemed that, over the course of this mission, the wall between us had finally come down.
So I answered him just as casually.
"Sounds like you're certain now. Different from when we first came, huh?"
"I can't explain it any other way."
Fair enough.
How could he possibly know that I had returned from the past and gained this level of skill?
It made far more sense to think I'd been hiding my claws all along.
"Think whatever you want."
I gave a faint smirk as I said it.
Cheon-hwi, looking a little excited, continued.
"We're really lucky to have received the Medicine King Divine Pill. I just hope it can heal the Lord...."
"Even if it doesn't cure him completely, it'll leave him in far better condition than he is now. It's an elixir containing the Medicine King's secret art, after all."
Of course, Father had already been using the Jeonghwagyeol every night to expel the poison from his body.
But the toxins that had built up over time, and the weakness they had caused, couldn't be healed in an instant.
The Medicine King Divine Pill would improve his condition tremendously.
To be honest, I'm a little concerned about Black Night Castle.
Still, even if Father recovered, they wouldn't intervene at once.
If they did, they risked exposing themselves.
Those bastards didn't begin moving openly until about ten years later, when the Lord of Black Night Castle emerged from secluded cultivation.
Until then, they preferred to work through underlings and avoid stepping onto the front stage of history whenever possible.
I intended to make full use of that fact.
Of course, if I did what I did in my first life—publicly expose their existence and declare war outright—they'd respond immediately.
But I had no intention of doing that until I possessed enough power.
So for now, this was fine.
Thinking that, I leaned back against the carriage seat.
I wanted to rest as much as I could on the way home.
A few days later.
When Jin Muyeol returned home, the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan was thrown into an uproar.
What they had believed to be an ordinary escort mission had turned out to be something much bigger.
Big enough that the Young Lord might well have died.
And yet Jin Muyeol had resolved it brilliantly and come back alive.
Not only had he earned the Shanxi Yoo Family a debt they could never wash away, he had even brought back the precious Medicine King Divine Pill.
The members of the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan could no longer look at Jin Muyeol the same way.
"The Young Master really has changed."
"He's not the frail, powerless man he used to be."
"To accomplish something this great and raise the clan's prestige...."
"Just the clan's prestige? Didn't you hear he even obtained medicine that can treat the Lord?"
Everyone chattered excitedly about Jin Muyeol's achievements.
As a result, Sagong Cheon, Jin Cheon-hwi, and Im Ho-gyeong, who had accompanied him, were bombarded with questions.
"The Young Lord personally came up with the plan and lured the villains in?"
"I heard from Guard Im that it was the Young Lord who took the enemy leader's head."
"And according to Young Master Cheon-hwi, he even wiped out Green Forest bandits on the way there?"
The rumors spread in an instant, until everyone in the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan knew of Jin Muyeol's feat.
And as for Jin Muyeol himself—
"Father. Please take it."
He was handing the Medicine King Divine Pill to the Clan Lord lying sick in bed.
Jin Yu-gwang, Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan, looked at his son with trembling eyes.
"Can I truly accept something like this?"
"Of course. I brought it for you, Father. It's not as if I can use it elsewhere."
"But... this too is a kind of spiritual elixir. It would help you if you took it."
"The Medicine King Divine Pill is indeed excellent for increasing inner energy, but right now what you need most is detoxification and recovery of vital strength. And there are plenty of other ways for me to obtain elixirs that improve inner energy."
That was the truth.
With the knowledge of the future he possessed, Jin Muyeol knew many ways to grow stronger.
One of them was acquiring spiritual elixirs.
And he knew for certain how to obtain quite a few of them.
So there was no need for him to cling to the Medicine King Divine Pill.
"But I am already driving out the poison with the cultivation method you taught me...."
"Even so, removing all the poison that's built up so far will take a long time. At worst, you may have to remain like this for years. Rather than that, it's better for you to recover quickly now and restore discipline to the clan."
"...!"
"Father. At first, you were caught off guard and brought low before you even realized what was happening. But not anymore. Once you recover through this opportunity, they won't dare try to move against you so easily again."
If Jin Yu-gwang's condition worsened again through the same method, even the clan members would realize something was wrong.
And once that happened, it wouldn't be strange for the truth to come out.
The fallout would be enormous.
"Even the elders who joined hands with them can't make a move right now. So please, trust me and take the Medicine King Divine Pill."
"...Very well."
Jin Yu-gwang's face hardened with resolve.
"I will trust you. After all you've done for me, how could I possibly refuse?"
"Father!"
"There was a time when I thought there was nothing left but despair. I believed the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan was finished. But you are changing everything. You are the hero of our clan. I am truly proud that you are my son."
Jin Yu-gwang smiled gently and swallowed the Medicine King Divine Pill.
Wooooong.
The energy of the Jeonghwagyeol began to pour out from his body.
An elixir and a cultivation method of similar nature had met, creating a powerful synergy.
Jin Muyeol stepped outside the room and silently stood guard at the entrance.
And then, a day later—
"L-look over there."
"My heavens."
"Th-that's the Lord!"
Jin Yu-gwang, the sixth Lord of the Northern Heavenly Sword Clan, rose from his sickbed and announced his recovery.
It happened on the very next day after Young Lord Jin Muyeol returned from the Shanxi Yoo Family.