The Madwoman's Arrival
The inn was still in chaos after the earlier commotion.
And inside…….
“Ughhhhhk.”
“Aaaaack—!”
The uproar continued without pause.
To be precise, the only sounds filling the space were the groans spilling from Ju Chihun and his subordinates as they crawled across the floor like insects.
The woman whose fluttering hair and shrunken pupils had already returned to normal—Hwa Yuhwa—offered a gentle, fairy-like smile and spoke.
“Still, it’s a relief this surgery wasn’t a total failure. At least all of you can still make a living, right?”
Shivers ran through their bodies.
Ju Chihun trembled, but his subordinates shook even harder.
The one who had been in the worst state was already half-dead.
The madwoman, who somehow looked strangely exhilarated, continued.
“Count yourselves lucky. If today hadn’t been such a pleasant day meeting the Captain, I would have made far more mistakes. Hohoho……”
What the hell is she saying? It was a good day, and this was the result?! Their bodies trembled violently.
No, they were outright shaking.
They finally realized her “mistakes” had been entirely intentional.
In truth, every problem already present in their bodies had worsened because of her so-called surgery.
Treatment? No.
Even if their mouths were torn open, they couldn’t call it that.
The agony had only grown worse.
They felt like they were going to die, yet they wouldn’t actually die.
Were they really supposed to live on while carrying this kind of pain?
She’s…… she’s actually insane! I’ve never seen a madwoman like this in my entire life!
That very madwoman spoke again, a smile still playing on her lips.
“Hurry up and stand. The way you’re all crawling on the floor makes it look like I’ve done something terrible.”
“Uh……”
Didn’t you? While they hesitated with that thought, the madwoman dropped another line.
“If you don’t stand right now, shall I make it hurt even more?”
“We’ll stand immediately!”
Ju Chihun and his five men shot upright.
In truth, they wanted to stay seated.
Partly because of the pain, but mostly because they could see her thighs clearly while sitting.
Ju Chihun had always prided himself on having met beautiful women, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from this madwoman’s face and thighs.
Perhaps it was simply the sad instinct of a man.
Knowing what she had done, she was a madwoman—yet her face remained that of a fairy.
And why were her thighs so beautiful?
Slender and graceful legs.
Every pair of legs he had seen before suddenly didn’t feel like legs at all.
Even the legs of the most beautiful courtesan in Hangzhou now seemed grotesque by comparison.
Even though they had been forcibly operated on, they still couldn’t look away.
Is this what it feels like to be addicted to opium? Knowing you’ll die, yet you keep smoking anyway…….
Exactly.
Though she was a madwoman, this fairy-like appearance of hers was addictive.
Even Xi Shi, the greatest beauty of the Warring States period, would seem ordinary next to this woman.
A flower that contained poison—knowing that, one still reached out to pluck it. Knowing full well it would kill them, they still couldn’t resist extending their hand.
With flushed faces, Ju Chihun and his five men stared fixedly at the fairy as she spoke.
“Thanks to you lot, it looks like I won’t be able to eat. Who will guide me to the Dan family manor?”
“……”
Huh? Why the Dan family manor? The six men exchanged nervous glances.
They wanted to keep looking at those thighs, but…… if they went, who knew what kind of disaster awaited them?
The fairy let out a small chuckle.
“You there. The one who shoved Seo Bongju forward.”
“Huk?! Me?”
Ju Chihun flinched in surprise.
He couldn’t tell if this was good or bad.
While he hesitated between the desire to keep staring and the fear of being turned into a half-cripple, the fairy’s skirt and hair began to flutter once more.
“You’re not going to guide me?”
“I’ll guide you! So please, no more surgery! Wait! Put those chopsticks down!”
Dan Hyunwoo was secretly letting out a sigh.
He had good reason to do so.
He was waiting for her to arrive.
“She should be here any moment now……”
His friend, yet a woman with a terrifying reputation.
Dan Hyunwoo, waiting for Hwa Yuhwa—the hidden supreme expert unknown to the central plains—felt his stomach twist with anxiety.
It was time for her to arrive, yet a small worry kept gnawing at him.
He wasn’t worried about Hwa Yuhwa herself.
He was worried about everyone who had met her.
Surely she didn’t quit the Mumyeongdae and that’s why she’s late?
He hoped not.
Dan Hyunwoo felt a slight impatience.
His father’s condition showed no signs of improvement.
Although he had infused inner energy and restored some physical health, his father still wouldn’t open his mouth or call him “son.”
How long would this state continue?
While he waited secretly for her and mulled over various worries, Yu Sucheon, who had been sweeping outside, suddenly burst into the room.
“A…… a supreme expert is approaching!”
Dan Hyunwoo gave a small chuckle.
Oh? It seems Sucheon’s senses have sharpened a bit.
Well, constantly watching everyone’s moods would make anyone sensitive.
He had to read the atmosphere of the Dan family members, check whether Jeon Akgwan was working properly, and keep an eye on Cheon Ilseong to make sure he didn’t cause more trouble. It was exhausting work.
Come to think of it, he had gotten a bit thinner lately.
Dan Hyunwoo said, “I know. Well then, she’s finally here.”
Dan Hyunwoo slowly walked outside.
Yu Sucheon quickly followed to prepare to greet the guest, then unconsciously drew in a sharp breath.
“Huuup……”
He couldn’t help it.
A beauty straight out of a painting was walking toward them.
A slender, delicate figure wrapped in a pure, elegant aura.
Skin like white jade and long hair that flowed like water.
When the wind blew and carried her scent, Yu Sucheon felt his mind go blank for a moment.
It wasn’t merely a scent—it was a fragrance.
His heart seemed to drop.
The first love he had cherished in his heart had just flown away from his chest.
Why did I ever think that girl was my first love?
Only now did he feel true first love.
This was real first love.
He had experienced all kinds of hardships and met every famous beauty, yet he now wanted to boil the toe dirt from this woman’s feet and drink it.
No, a beauty like her probably didn’t even have dirt on her toes.
Only at this age was he seeing a true beauty for the first time and feeling his heart race.
Yes. This was the feeling of first love.
Just as he was thinking that—
The beautiful woman, Hwa Yuhwa, who had locked eyes with Dan Hyunwoo, broke into a bright smile.
Her eyes were filled with excitement, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. Her smile bloomed like flowers on a spring day.
Hwa Yuhwa wore an expression as pure and graceful as a young maiden.
With a brighter and more bashful demeanor than ever before, she approached Dan Hyunwoo.
Her steps quickened.
She threw herself into his arms.
“Captain! I missed you so much!”
A sweet fragrance brushed the tip of Dan Hyunwoo’s nose.
But to him, it was a burdensome scent.
He knew well that her feelings were mixed into that fragrance.
Yet he couldn’t push her away, so Dan Hyunwoo simply let Hwa Yuhwa remain in his arms.
She was someone who had dropped everything and come at his call, and someone who would give him the desperate help he needed.
Their embrace lasted a long time.
Yu Sucheon stared at the scene as if entranced.
His eyelids trembled.
First love—annihilated.
Hwa Yuhwa smiled brightly, carrying the shy demeanor of a young girl.
“I can’t tell you how happy I was when the Captain sent me that letter. I wanted to rush here in one go, but I had so many things piled up that I had to finish them first. It was exhausting.”
Hwa Yuhwa walked through the Dan family manor with light, graceful steps.
Her footsteps were buoyant.
This was the Captain’s home that she had always wanted to visit at least once.
So right now, it felt like a dream.
However, Dan Hyunwoo found her clinginess burdensome and kept gently pushing her away.
She kept trying to sneak closer and link arms with him.
Even as she was pushed back, Hwa Yuhwa continued smiling brightly.
Eventually, Dan Hyunwoo’s expression hardened.
“That’s enough. You know very well that this side of you is a burden to me.”
“Ah…… I always end up making the Captain angry. I’m sorry…… Ehehe.”
Hwa Yuhwa looked dejected, her expression downcast.
The loneliness that leaked into her final laugh made Dan Hyunwoo let out a deep sigh.
“Haa, just stay still.”
Dan Hyunwoo’s hand moved toward Hwa Yuhwa’s torn skirt, which left her thighs clearly exposed.
Though her clothes had buttons, they were always getting ripped.
So he would always mend the torn fabric for her.
Gathering heat at his fingertips as if igniting inner energy, Dan Hyunwoo fused the cloth back together and said,
“I’ll give you new clothes soon, so bear with this until then.”
“This is exactly why I can’t help but fall for the Captain!”
Hwa Yuhwa gazed at him with sparkling, excited eyes.
His usual cold yet kind demeanor always made her heart flutter.
But Dan Hyunwoo ignored her and called for Eun Doyun, ordering him to bring the new clothes he had bought for Dan Seoyeon.
Soon, the clothes were in Dan Hyunwoo’s hands.
“Go change and come back.”
“I’m fine with the clothes the Captain just mended for me?”
“Father is ill. I need your help.”
Swish.
Hwa Yuhwa’s aura changed in an instant.
Among her many faces, this was the one she wore as a physician.
This was Hwa Yuhwa when she had saved countless lives.
“I’ll change and be right back.”
Dan Hyunwoo took the lead.
Hwa Yuhwa followed with a stiff expression.
This wasn’t just anyone—it was the Captain’s father.
Nervous sweat dampened her forehead.
Creak.
The door slid open.
Hwa Yuhwa immediately noticed through scent alone that Dan Hyunwoo had been carefully tending to his father.
There was no typical patient odor.
The shadow of death had not yet drawn close.
As expected of the Captain.
Dan Yuseon stared blankly into the air.
Hwa Yuhwa’s gaze swept over his entire body in a single glance.
She could tell at once that the Captain had forcibly sustained his body by supplementing his qi.
It was something only the Captain could do—something no one but the Captain could accomplish.
But the condition was not so easily overcome.
It was clearly severe.
She now understood why the Captain had called for her.
“Hyunwoo, who is this person?”
Jin Yeongyeong, who had been holding Dan Yuseon’s hand, asked while looking at Hwa Yuhwa.
With a slightly furrowed brow.
Even another woman would find her breathtakingly beautiful.
Even with her waist-length hair simply tied back, she looked like that.
She was beautiful, but why had this young-looking woman entered a sick person’s room? Dan Hyunwoo answered the question in her eyes.
“This is Hwa Yuhwa. She is a physician.”
“A physician?”
That appearance belonged to a physician?
She looked like she had only just reached twenty…….
“Even the best doctor in Hangzhou couldn’t identify the condition. Can this person truly treat him?”
“If she cannot treat him, then no one in this world can.”
Even with Dan Hyunwoo’s words, it was hard to believe.
No, it was unsettling.
She was too young to be a physician, and too bizarre to be someone who saved lives.
At that moment, Hwa Yuhwa took Jin Yeongyeong’s hand and felt her pulse.
She was so fast that Jin Yeongyeong only realized she was having her pulse read after a moment.
As Jin Yeongyeong startled, Hwa Yuhwa spoke.
“You’ve been hiding it, haven’t you?”
“W…… what do you mean?”
“You have pain in your heart, don’t you? It seems you’ve had many shocking events. It’s become quite weak. You’ve been enduring it somewhat with breathing techniques, but you need treatment soon. And your digestive organs aren’t in good shape either. You often have acid reflux, yes?”
“Th…… that’s……”
“Your knees are bad as well. You feel pain every time you walk. It looks like you carried and moved many heavy things in the past.”
Her knees had been hurting for a very long time.
Ever since she carried bolts of silk at the Danhwa Silk Shop.
And also when she wandered the central plains searching for Dan Hyunwoo.
Jin Yeongyeong’s eyes widened.
Even the doctors didn’t know about this. She figured it out just from taking my pulse for a moment?