I'm Impotent?!
"Originally, Yin Yang Jiao He Shan is a drug that converts every bit of your internal energy into semen, sustaining endless lust. You'll stay in heat until your dantian shatters. That's why I slipped you the Summon Pill too. I wanted it to last a nice, long time."
The words tumbling from Jegal Jiun's mouth hit like a thunderbolt. In heat until my dantian shattered? Slash. Senior Sister's hand trembled faintly as the sword tip bit into Jegal Jiun's pale nape. A bead of red blood welled up and trickled down.
"Ah... no! Explanation! That was just an explanation!"
Jegal Jiun thrashed against her ropes, eyes wide with terror—but even then, they brimmed with indignant innocence.
"Senior Sister! Let's hear her out a bit more."
I forced the words out, and Senior Sister heaved a ragged breath before pulling her blade back just a fraction. But her eyes still promised to carve Jegal Jiun a thousand, no, ten thousand times over.
"Whew... no idea who the real demonic cultivator is here. What a temper."
Thwack! "Guhk!"
Senior Sister's fist slammed into Jegal Jiun's solar plexus. A dull thud echoed as her body bent like a shrimp, swinging in the air.
"Kyaa! Heuk...!"
Jegal Jiun gasped and dry-heaved. Senior Sister gazed down at her with a face devoid of pity or mercy.
"Keep explaining."
Hung upside down and unable to move, Jegal Jiun swallowed her pain and nodded frantically. For survival, she'd toss pride and everything else aside.
"S-so, you stacked yang energy on yang energy, so you need an extreme yin internal art to fill the shattered dantian. Force any other method before then, and it'll really shatter into pieces."
"Then spit it out—what's this extreme yin?"
At Senior Sister's razor-sharp demand, Jegal Jiun's eyes gleamed. Like a rat waving its last desperate card before a cat, utterly infuriating.
"Don't wanna. You'll kill me if I tell you now."
"...You venomous bitch!"
Senior Sister's hand shook with rage. The urge to sever that impudent neck warred with the fear of what might happen to me if she did.
"You mocking Mount Hua's Medical Hall? I'll kill you right now and head back to start treatment. We have the world's finest physicians."
Senior Sister bluffed sternly, but Jegal Jiun just snorted.
"Go ahead? Those lofty orthodox pricks ever even heard of Yin Yang Jiao He Shan? Think those noble types have studied an aphrodisiac for lust demons? How're they gonna treat what they don't even know? If you're confident your junior brother can live as a eunuch forever, then kill me."
"You...!"
"But you look like you'll actually do it if I say nothing, so I'll spill a little."
Jegal Jiun glanced slyly, instinctively sensing the tremor in Senior Sister's sword tip.
"Ever heard of the North Sea?"
"North Sea?"
Senior Sister's brow twitched.
"You mean the North Sea Ice Palace, one of the Five Outer Palaces?"
"Bingo! As expected from Mount Hua's prodigy—gets it right away."
Jegal Jiun smirked shamelessly, grinning even while upside down, blood rushing to her face. That obnoxious expression never faded.
"Figured it out now, right? That's all I'll say, so untie me. Without me, your junior Taoist will be crippled for life."
Senior Sister glared wordlessly. Her eyes burned with the impulse to slice out that snake's tongue. But she couldn't tighten her grip on the hilt. The word "crippled" weighed too heavily on her chest.
A Mount Hua disciple losing internal energy? Losing the dantian meant more than lost martial arts—it negated years of Daoist cultivation, ended a life in the jianghu.
Her gaze lingered on me briefly. Seeing my haggard face, deep regret flickered in her eyes.
"...Fine."
She spat the word curtly and sheathed her sword with deliberate slowness.
"We'll untie you."
She strode forward and reached for the knot binding Jegal Jiun.
"Oh my, thanks. Mount Hua Taoists really do have hearts as vast as the sea?"
"Shut it. Sparing you isn't mercy."
Senior Sister murmured lowly—a warning to Jegal Jiun, a mantra to herself. This is the Daoist way. Avoid killing, cherish life. Even for demonic scum, casually ending a life isn't the Dao.
Of course, she knew it was an excuse. What truly moved her wasn't the Dao De Jing, but her junior brother's pale face on the bedroll.
But without that rationalization, she couldn't suppress the surging killing intent.
Snap. The knot loosened, and Jegal Jiun's body plummeted to the dirt.
"Ow ow... be gentle."
"No chatter."
Senior Sister's hands showed no mercy. Tough, coarse ropes bit into Jegal Jiun's wrists and ankles, binding them tight. A restraint technique limiting joint movement to extremes, blocking qi circulation with pain if attempted.
"Do we really need to go this far?"
Jegal Jiun whined, staring at her rope-burned wrists like a scolded child. But to Senior Sister, it was just cunning theater.
"I'm holding back from hacking off your head and taking it as a trophy... so please, shut up. Every time I hear your voice, I want to kill you."
Senior Sister's voice was icy as frost. She meant it. The killing aura in her eyes hadn't fully subsided.
Jegal Jiun instinctively clamped her lips. Push further, and her head really might roll.
Senior Sister tied the rope's end securely to her waist—like dragging hunted game, or escorting a criminal.
"Yi Yi, hop on your big sis's back quick."
She offered her back, and I slumped against it without strength to refuse. Warm, firm. The familiar soap scent mixed with faint sweat brought strange comfort.
"Back to Wudang first. Get help there, then return to Mount Hua."
Drag drag drag. Senior Sister's steps were unflinching. Her back was warm and solid, but Jegal Jiun, tethered to her waist, was a mess.
"Aaaack! Rock! Another rock!"
Jegal Jiun rolled across the dirt, screaming nonstop. Hands and feet bound tight, she looked like livestock dragged to market. Dust caked her pale face; twigs and weeds snagged her clothes.
"Can't you slow down?! My knees are shredding!"
She flailed and shrieked, but Senior Sister ignored her, even quickening her pace to make the body bounce and jolt.
"Mmph! Urgh!"
Dirt spraying into her mouth, Jegal Jiun dry-heaved but curled desperately to survive the roll.
Wudang's mountain gate loomed ahead. The majestic tiled roofs brimmed with pure Daoist energy, soothing my weary body and soul.
"Hwa Yeon! Young hero Yi Yi!"
Gate-guarding disciples spotted us and rushed over. Blue Daoist robes flapping in the wind—welcome sight, yet I wanted to crawl into a hole.
"You found him! Are you alright?"
The first disciple checked me over, eyes full of worry.
"This child's condition is poor."
Senior Sister answered curtly, adjusting me on her back.
"Then to the Medical Hall first... and what's that behind...?"
The disciple's gaze fixed on the dirt-caked lump trailing her.
"Jegal Jiun of Bi Seon Mun."
Senior Sister replied flatly.
"Th-the Poison Spider? You caught the Poison Spider... alone?"
Disciples' eyes bulged. Dragging the infamous demonic expert like baggage, they couldn't hide their awe at her prowess.
Murmurs rippled around us.
"Incredible, as expected of Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword Fairy..."
Praise and reverent stares poured in. But Senior Sister's face remained coldly set. Jianghu fame meant nothing now.
"Please tend to Yi Yi first."
Her voice carried steel. The disciples flinched and parted.
"Y-yes! Of course. This way to the Medical Hall!"
They bustled into action. In my fading consciousness, I buried my face in Senior Sister's back. Her heartbeat thumped in my ear—the only proof I was still alive.
Wudang's Medical Hall. Tension hung thick in the herb-scented inner chamber. A white-bearded elder probed my lower abdomen gravely. Hyeoncheong Doin, pinnacle of Wudang medicine and head of the hall.
"How is it?"
Senior Sister's question dripped desperate plea.
"Heavens... how could this be."
Hyeoncheong Doin's wrinkled hand trembled faintly. He shook his head in disbelief, sighing deeply.
"The dantian's internal energy crumbles like a sandcastle, scattering. No—the vessel itself is cracked, true qi leaking out. At this stage, qi deviation turning him into a cripple wouldn't be surprising..."
"Th-then..."
Senior Sister's face drained to ashen.
"Strange. The Summon Pill holds the center, but there's no barrier around it. Touch it wrong, and it'll scatter everywhere, spilling even the last innate true qi. A precarious state."
"Can you heal him?!"
Senior Sister cried urgently. Tears beaded in her eyes, ready to fall.
Hyeoncheong Doin fell silent. That silence stretched eternally for us.
"I don't know... In my life treating tens of thousands, I've never seen such a bizarre dantian."
From the mouth of Wudang's finest healer—a negative answer. Senior Sister staggered, legs buckling, head bowing.
"No! I know the fix!"
Then, Jegal Jiun—crouched in the corner—sprang up, shouting boldly.
"What's that?"
Hyeoncheong Doin frowned.
"The Poison Spider, Elder."
A nearby disciple answered swiftly.
"Bi Seon Mun's...? What are you waiting for? Lock up that witch!"
At his bellow, disciples surged. But Senior Sister staggered forward, blocking them.
"Forgive us, Elder."
Her voice shook, but her resolve stood firm.