Even Hoeui Hall Has Its Limits
Hoeui Hall. It was a rather famous traditional medical house. The current head, Shin Hyeon, had built his reputation on exceptional medical skills and, with his generous character, produced many disciples. One could say the present Hoeui Hall had risen to stand among the top ten medical houses of the world solely through Shin Hyeon’s efforts.
So asking them for the antidote isn’t entirely wrong, but…
Lying sprawled inside the carriage and watching the clouds drift past, Choun-seong muttered to himself.
“The antidote is a completely different story.”
In this world, people might assume any doctor had mastered every medical art under the sun, but Choun-seong knew better.
Hoeui Hall is a decent comprehensive hospital, sure, but rare diseases are another matter entirely.
With so many patients coming through their doors, they would naturally grow skilled at treating common ailments. But what about conditions so rare they were almost never seen? What if curing such an illness required shutting oneself away for a hundred days, a thousand days, researching without seeing a single other patient?
In this trash worldview where human rights are buried six feet under, who the hell would actually do that?
If the novel had featured characters with that level of conscience, he never would have left a savage comment calling it a shitty gangho.
Wuxia was always like this. These heartless gangho bastards would happily leave powerless, penniless patients to die nine times out of ten.
Well… it only makes sense to treat rich patients with common diseases rather than poor ones with rare, unprofitable ones.
Reality wasn’t any different, of course. Choun-seong focused on that truth.
This kind of problem isn’t something you take to a general hospital in the first place.
The poison afflicting Cho Ja-hyeok was no ordinary toxin. The moment it entered the body, a blue flower-like pattern would bloom over the heart, and in the end it became an extreme poison that devoured the entire physique. Later, people would tremble in horror and give it a name.
A colorless, odorless lethal toxin that leaves a blue flower pattern on the victim’s chest. Eventually consumes the entire body.
In the original story, it was the poison the Blood Sect would eventually deploy en masse to sow terror.
Because the toxin was so rare and reserved for high-ranking targets, few people would even recognize it.
But I know the man who does.
That wasn’t what worried him. Sinking deeper into the comfortable chair, Choun-seong recalled a memory from a few days earlier.
“Is it true the Lord has been poisoned?”
Baek No’s face drained of color as he shouted at Choun-seong’s explanation.
Choun-seong pressed a finger to his lips and spoke quietly.
“Shh. I told you this is a secret.”
“Y-yes… Understood.”
“You too, Yeom Choong.”
“Yes!”
Seeing Yeom Choong snap to rigid attention, Choun-seong continued in a low voice.
“The problem is, this isn’t an ordinary poison.”
At those words, both Baek No and Yeom Choong’s expressions turned strange.
“Young Master… since when have you been an expert on poisons…?”
They didn’t believe him. The start was already a disaster. Yet trying to explain only made things more awkward.
“After being struck by the Three Immortal Sword, you self-studied so diligently that you’ve even mastered poison! This Baek No is overjoyed!”
Fortunately it had been an unnecessary worry. He never expected Baek No to jump in with such dramatic flair.
Choun-seong sighed and kept speaking.
“Ahem. In any case, being poisoned by this is no small matter.”
“What do you mean by ‘no small matter’?”
“This poison doesn’t infect you all at once.”
Baek No and Yeom Choong’s faces turned deathly white.
If it wasn’t a one-time poisoning, it meant the toxin had been administered gradually over multiple occasions. Which meant—
“Young Master, are you saying there are people inside Chogabo spreading poison?”
“Exactly.”
Baek No’s complexion turned sallow. Choun-seong stared straight into his trembling eyes and once again pressed a finger to his own lips.
“…If it’s that poison, there’s no doubt about it. Among those who can touch the Lord’s meals, narrow down the suspects, Baek No.”
Baek No was so shocked he couldn’t even speak. His mouth simply opened and closed uselessly.
Finding the sight oddly entertaining, Choun-seong added one more remark.
“In my opinion, this doesn’t seem like something a single individual could pull off. There may be a larger force behind it, so proceed with extreme caution.”
Snapping out of his recollection, Choun-seong let out a long sigh.
I barely avoided getting kicked out of the family, yet it’s still one mountain after another.
Changing his fate to avoid being driven out was no easy task. There were simply too many things he had to handle.
Two older brothers who viewed him with distaste. His own nonexistent foundation and precarious position inside Chogabo. And now he even had to face the Blood Sect’s schemes alone.
Seriously, outside the blanket is hell. Once this is over I’m locking myself in my room and never coming out again.
If the Blood Sect caught him while he was wandering around outside, his life would be completely ruined. So this matter had to succeed no matter what.
Which means I need to find that man…
His name wasn’t known yet, but he was the unrivaled master of poisons who would later become famous for creating the antidote to the Blood Flower Poison.
He had to locate him and break through this obstacle.
Yeom Choong kept knocking on the carriage window again and again. He genuinely couldn’t figure out where they were headed.
“Young Master, are you sure this is the right road?”
“If this is the path to Seomgok, then yes.”
“But it’s the complete opposite direction from Hoeui Hall?”
“I know.”
Even after being told to drop it, the excessively curious Yeom Choong wouldn’t stop asking.
“Ah, I said it’s correct!”
When Choun-seong raised his voice, Yeom Choong would flinch and fall silent, but the doubt never left his face.
Eventually Choun-seong made up his mind.
“Yeom Choong, stop questioning everything I do. Just tell yourself your Young Master has a plan.”
“But the Lord has been poisoned. Time is of the essence…”
Watching him stomp his feet in frustration, it was clear the man was suffering inside. Such loyalty.
In a much gentler tone, Choun-seong explained.
“The reason we’re taking this route is to recruit one person.”
“Who?”
“The Divine Hand Ghost Doctor.”
“…lol Never heard that name before??”
Of course he hadn’t. The man’s name wouldn’t become known for several more years. And there was no way Yeom Choong would believe talk of knowing the future, so after thinking for a moment Choun-seong simply said what he always said in these situations.
“When in doubt, just say this.”
“Your Young Master has a plan.”
Seeing Yeom Choong give up on asking any further questions—with eyes that clearly screamed I’m looking at a crazy bastard—Choun-seong smirked.
That evening.
After finishing his dry rations, Yeom Choong approached Choun-seong, who was exercising in one corner of the camp.
“Young Master, what are you doing this time?”
He must have sensed the unusual energy while Choun-seong was circulating the Cheondan Divine Art.
They said the Cheondan Divine Art’s qi flow is nearly impossible to detect…
His own achievement was still low and he couldn’t control the energy perfectly, yet Yeom Choong’s senses seemed exceptionally sharp.
Come to think of it, he was supposed to be quite skilled even among the escorts, wasn’t he?
Choun-seong had always thought of him as a bandit whether his mouth was shut or open, but he had heard Yeom Choong was a fairly respected escort warrior.
“Just practicing some internal energy. Why?”
“That… it felt strange… It seems different from the Choryu Mind Technique you learned before.”
He was surprisingly perceptive despite his bear-like appearance.
Since he couldn’t reveal the truth, Choun-seong asked while Yeom Choong scratched the back of his head.
“I reconstructed the martial art my own way. It seemed decent, so I’ve been training it.”
“Oh dear. The Choryu Mind Technique is recognized as first-rate throughout the gangho. If you carelessly tamper with it and something goes wrong, you could ruin your body.”
“It’ll be fine, won’t it?”
He had tried to brush it off, but Yeom Choong’s face flushed red and he suddenly exploded.
“Martial arts are techniques that have been passed down and refined through generations! Even if it doesn’t suit you at first, there’s a reason for everything once you learn it properly! You must never change training methods on a whim!”
It was the first time he had seen Yeom Choong this aggressive, so Choun-seong was at a loss for words.
Yeom Choong eventually pounded his own chest and sighed heavily.
“Aigoo, Young Master. Training alone like this is going to cause a big problem.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“This won’t do at all. For the time being, I will personally guide your martial arts training.”
When Choun-seong gave him a skeptical look, Yeom Choong puffed out his chest.
“Although I am not direct-lineage and haven’t learned every single form, as a candidate for head escort I have learned Chogabo’s martial arts. I should be able to help.”
Head escort candidate? The head escort position was one of only five supreme posts in all of Chogabo. When you considered that four of them were white-bearded old masters, it meant Yeom Choong was far more respected than Choun-seong had realized.
“Wow, Yeom Choong. I’m seeing you in a new light.”
“Hehe, what do you think? Can you trust me completely now?”
Choun-seong had been floundering on his own with no clear direction. There was no chance he would refuse such a golden offer.
“All right. I’ll be in your care from now on.”
“Hehe, I’m the one who should say that. However, training must be strict. While I am instructing you, you must follow my every word without question.”
“Of course.”
Choun-seong’s face brightened at the thought of learning proper martial arts.
But he had forgotten one universal truth—nothing in this world is free.
The usually bumbling Yeom Choong transformed into a vicious demon the moment martial arts training began.
“Hey! Stand up straight, damn it!”
Casual speech was the baseline; he even kicked Choun-seong’s straightened leg with a loud thud.
When Choun-seong staggered, Yeom Choong roared like he was spitting flames.
“I told you to hold the horse stance for half a shichen without moving a single inch, you bastard!”
Hey, hey! I’m your superior! You’re treating the son of the lord who pays your salary like this?
And you’re not even thinking about the five weights you hung all over my arms and legs?!
Choun-seong protested with his eyes, but the Yeom Choong who now held the instructor’s whip was an entirely different person.
“Hey! What? I said! What? With the head escort candidate? Carrying a rock the size of a grown man! What? What? Eating together with the head escort candidate!”
Yeom Choong’s tirade showed no signs of stopping.
“Hey! Are you trying to catch mosquitoes? Stop that! I said stop it!”
Choun-seong became certain. This was clearly retaliatory education.
There was no way anyone would make a beginner who had only started training a few days ago run alongside a carriage while carrying a massive boulder, or sleep while maintaining horse stance. Racing a carriage? Was that even something a human should do?
Eventually Choun-seong exploded.
“Ugh, I can’t take this anymore. Are you actually teaching me properly?”
He decided it was time to give this loud-mouthed escort a proper beating.
Yet Yeom Choong’s expression instead brightened as if he had been waiting for exactly this.
“Actions speak louder than words.”
And so their sparring began.
In truth, Choun-seong felt confident.
Even though I haven’t trained for long, I possess the Cheondan Divine Art. And I also have the Nine-Wall Matchless Fist!
He had learned some of the strongest martial arts mentioned in the original story.
With that confidence he took the opening stance of the Nine-Wall Matchless Fist. Yeom Choong tilted his head.
“Aren’t you using the Choryu Sword Technique?”
At least he still used polite speech during sparring. The same man who turned into a complete thug the moment training started.
Thinking he would crush him completely, Choun-seong answered.
“There’s no need to use a sword. I’ll show you this young master’s hidden secret technique right here.”
The supreme fist technique that multiplies in power with each consecutive strike, up to nine blows. A high-level art whose escalating force cannot be defended against even when anticipated.
Clenching his fist, Choun-seong faced his opponent.