Chapter 121
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 121
Chapter Title: Cheers for Seongsu Clinic
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“To the prosperity of Seongsu Clinic, cheers~!”
“Cheers!”
Chu Miyoung and I clinked our glasses with gusto.
The toast felt crisp and satisfying, but just in case, I only took a single sip.
“Ehey~ Sipping like that? One shot, one shot!”
But somehow, Chu Miyoung noticed right away again.
“Haha, my tolerance isn’t all that high.”
“How much can you handle, then?”
“Well...”
I didn’t even know my exact limit myself.
I’d never drunk whiskey until I passed out.
Probably similar to baijiu? Even one bottle of Master’s favorite Zhuyeqing liquor was a bit much for me.
“If you’re not the sipping type, just down it! We’ve gotta get buzzed together to keep the vibe alive!”
“Alright.”
She was pushing so hard, I couldn’t dodge it anymore.
She must really want to bond.
I’d amp up the atmosphere without going overboard.
Pretending to cave, I tossed back the rest of the glass.
...No matter how I sliced it, this stuff was potent.
“Ahh~ When you first mentioned the wuxia concept, I thought it was nuts, but now that it’s fleshed out, it’s not bad at all. You two have some wild ideas, but chatting with you makes me think we can really pull it off.”
“Right?”
“Director Han wouldn’t sign a deal without thinking it through, so I worried too much.”
“Hey, thanks to you, we nailed all the precautions. Appreciate you coming all the way here to help.”
The conversation drifted into light small talk.
“Of course I’d come when Director Han asks for help! You went back and forth to Daegu every week when I screwed up!”
“Well, I had fun with it too.”
Chu Miyoung and I chatted about this and that while drinking.
No matter how strong the whiskey was, it shouldn’t hit that fast after one or two glasses, but she kept giggling like she wanted to play up the drunk vibe.
“You know, when we first met, Director, you were so cool! Fixing my jaw like crack!”
“Haha, how’s it now?”
“No more sounds! When it feels stiff, I just massage the masseter and lateral pterygoid~”
“Glad to hear it.”
“If it weren’t for you, Director, I’d still be creaking around here... dealing with stalkers... crunching numbers in the red...”
Topics popped up randomly.
From talk of the fourth branch to first impressions, circling back to the fourth branch.
Chu Miyoung dug up embarrassing old memories while praising me.
“Since we’re doing this, I’ll help you make it huge!”
“Yeah, thanks. I’m always grateful. Thanks to you, we took our first step into networking...”
“I’m thrilled to be that first one!”
And suddenly, she pulled me into a tight hug.
Whoa!
It wasn’t threatening at all, but I nearly shoved her away on reflex.
Martial instincts...
“So, Director Yu, how are you planning to teach martial arts to the director here? Didn’t you say you learned from a hidden murim master? Is it okay to just spill it like this?”
Chu Miyoung plopped back in her chair like nothing happened and fired off questions.
Did I say that? I think I bluffed something when catching the stalker.
“Director Hwang said you’re killer at the big three lifts. Kendo or something? Or sword dance?”
“I did a bit of kendo. Sword dance... could call it that?”
Before meeting Master, I’d learned street-level third-rate sword techniques, so I could say I knew a little kendo.
But now that I knew what real martial arts were, looking back, it wasn’t even that.
Just mimicking moves, so sword dance? But no artistry, so not quite dance either.
“I’ll teach something like sword dance. Want a peek?”
I pondered what techniques to show.
The ‘real’ stuff was out, obviously. Couldn’t risk qi deviation.
So, something flashy on the surface. Tang Clan arts aren’t inherently showy.
Why do you think hidden weapons are hidden? Maybe All-Heaven Flower Rain, dumping every projectile at once—that’s visually flashy.
Otherwise? Sword, of course. Fits the Martial Alliance Leader vibe perfectly.
“Show me, show me!”
“Not great here... garden? Nah, let’s hit the room.”
We cleared our drinks and moved.
“No decent sword handy.”
Unfortunately, I didn’t carry one.
Illegal in Korea, after all.
No umbrella since the weather was clear.
A stick would do, but... hmm.
I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and gripped it upside down as a substitute.
“Ooh!”
Excited, Chu Miyoung cheered, and I dropped into stance.
Left hand forward, right arm with the bottle and right foot pulled back sharply.
“CG a blue sword aura on here.”
I couldn’t channel sword qi without Nangong Clan’s breathing method.
Pretending, I swung the pulled-back ‘sword’ up to the upper left.
“Oh!”
Then Heavenly Tier Stance.
Sword thrust high toward the sky, gripped two-handed.
Whoosh!
I brought it down crushing like pressing the world below.
The Path of Domination’s Soaring Heaven Nangong Clan.
Imperial Sword Form drawn with heavy sword principles over quick-draw.
...Mimicking that one move’s form.
In real combat, a direct hit would end it, but I chained a few more.
One horizontal, then two in an X.
Long ago, I’d seen the Martial Alliance Leader clash with the Heavenly Demon right before my eyes.
The day my lies about not knowing her got busted... but watching their swordplay was a huge lesson.
Couldn’t learn directly, but those striking moves stuck with me.
“How was it?”
“Uh, uh, uhhh...!”
Chu Miyoung looked utterly flustered.
At the same time, my mind sharpened. Surging qi burned off the alcohol, head clear.
Last time before Seo In-ae, my remaining qi was low, but now I’d steadily built it with meditation.
That shouldn’t look too hard... right?
Just a hard downward chop.
“What... just happened...?”
But Chu Miyoung stared like she’d seen a blue sword aura illusion.
I didn’t do anything that shocking.
“You asked for a martial arts demo? Not too hard, right? Just captured the feel.”
“No, that downward chop! The world almost crashed down! Gravity tripled or something! Saw smoke too... what did you do?”
Chu Miyoung flapped her mouth.
“Felt like my body flipped upside down for a sec... ugh.”
Suddenly, she clamped her hand over her mouth.
“You okay?”
Only then did I check on her.
I’d focused on not getting drunk myself; she looked off.
“Didn’t you drink too much?”
Whiskey’s nasty kick made sense now!
“Ah, dizzy from being too wasted?”
Phew, so it was the booze, not my qi!
Tension was high from the start.
“Thought you were a pro since you were chugging.”
“I handle soju fine, but cognac’s new... ugh, sorry.”
No need to apologize.
Figured it was too quiet on Jeju with no patients.
“Lean on the bed a sec. Let me check your pulse.”
Did my qi trigger it, or did alcohol take time to spread?
She’d been all smiles heading up, but now staggered to the bed like she’d collapse.
“H-how is it?”
“Obvious. Slippery pulse going wild, as expected.”
Food stagnation clogged her upper GI.
Could tell from complexion alone, no need for pulse.
“Ah... could you grab some hangover relief? Feels like puking.”
Hangover meds, huh.
Back at Tang estate, clinic stocked Against-Metal Decoction and Immortal Sobriety Pill.
For vomiting/nausea hangovers, Against-Metal; for headaches/confusion, Immortal Sobriety.
Against-Metal bases on Pingwei Powder, triple chenpi for qi dispersal post-drinking. Controls nausea/vomiting from reversed qi.
Immortal Sobriety uses more herbs; take before drinking, stay sober like an immortal.
Store-bought? Some mimic Against-Metal ingredients, some don’t, but aim to settle the stomach.
“Should’ve taken it beforehand.”
“Didn’t know it’d hit this hard...”
Chu Miyoung clutched her chest.
Stomach really churning.
She looked embarrassed, but I wasn’t scolding.
If pre-drink or next-morning hangover, I’d suggest relief meds.
But right after drinking? Different approach better.
“Best to puke it out now.”
Sweat-vomit-purge to expel evil qi—classic Korean medicine.
Supplement in peace, purge aggressively in illness.
Overdo it, risks esophageal inflammation or qi distortion.
But vomiting ideal here.
Stagnation under heart, upper jiao—better up than down.
“No emetic herbs, but acupuncture’ll help.”
No decoctions or tools, but needles always in my bag.
“Huh?”
“Take off your top.”
She didn’t get how needles induce vomit.
Not standard.
But she followed instructions, shedding her top.
I propped her up, moved to bathroom.
Needled Back-Shu points on back.
Back-Shu transport organ qi, sensitive in disease for diagnosis/treatment.
Poke-poke-poke!
Spleen Shu and Stomach Shu for digestion.
Liver Shu and Gallbladder Shu to break stagnation.
Key hangover points.
For calming, needle and wait for homeostasis.
But goal: induce vomit.
Whoosh!
I deliberately reversed qi at needle sites.
The next day.
After purging evil qi cleanly and sleeping soundly, Chu Miyoung woke murmuring with hollow eyes.
“...Had an insane dream.”
“Dream? What kind?”
“You... wielding real martial arts with a water bottle, smoke rising, world shaking.”
“Whoa! You were really smashed last night! Feeling okay now?”
“Yeah. Thanks to you, I’m fine. CG the aura like that, perfect.”
“Ahahaha, that’ll work! Sweet dream!”
Chu Miyoung scratched her head and got up.
Pulse check: stable, unlike yesterday’s frenzy.
“Gonna wash up quick! Appointment time’s closing in.”
Phew, good she got wasted.
Smoke? Didn’t put that much power.
...Probably?
I vowed more caution, changed clothes.
Teach forms, hand over treatment manual—busy day.
Prepped, we headed to the fourth branch site.