Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Je-Won Baek Clan
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What’s best, or what’s right—these are questions for before the deed is done.
The deed was already done, and Dang Mujin’s only option left was to follow Yi Chung’s lead.
“Should we give her the medicine right away?”
“No. Let’s get out first. Moving to a stable location takes priority.”
Yi Chung hoisted the limp Baek Hyanga onto his back and headed out of the main hall, lightly vaulting over the wall.
Before following, Dang Mujin glanced at Baek Chaseo, lost in his training.
His knees trembled with exhaustion, yet he showed no sign of stopping.
Devoted, yet horrific. Desperate, yet ugly.
What would I have done if I were the head of the Baek Clan? Dang Mujin wondered as he leaped over the wall.
*
With the weather so chilly, they couldn’t handle things outside. Left with no choice, Dang Mujin and Yi Chung entered a guest room and lit the lamp.
Dan Seolyeong, who had been asleep next door, must have sensed their presence. She rubbed her eyes and came into their room.
“What are you doing out in the middle of the night... Huh?”
The moment she spotted Baek Hyanga on Yi Chung’s back, Dan Seolyeong’s expression turned peculiar, as if she couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.
“That... Isn’t that Miss Baek? Why’d you bring her here?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Yi Chung pried open Baek Hyanga’s mouth, and Dang Mujin tore off a small piece of the medicine, slipping it into her mouth.
Yi Chung skillfully massaged her throat, and the medicine fragments slid one by one down past it.
Yi Chung laid Baek Hyanga on the floor and grasped her left hand.
No need for lengthy explanations—his intent was clear. Dang Mujin took her right hand.
“We’ll guide the medicine’s energy to unblock the obstructed meridians.”
“Got it.”
Of the body’s twelve meridians, six connect to the hands.
Among them, the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, and Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian formed the Hand Three Yin Meridians, linking the torso to the hands as yin channels.
Yi Chung and Dang Mujin channeled their internal energy, wrapping around the medicine’s qi spreading from her stomach throughout her body and guiding it.
Something she could have done instinctively if conscious, but now unconscious, they had to move the medicine’s qi in her stead.
The two directed the medicine’s yang qi to crash against the yin qi clogging the meridians. Each time, Baek Hyanga’s body twitched as if pummeled by fists.
Dan Seolyeong spoke in an anxious voice.
“Is she okay?”
“Probably.”
How many times did they repeat it? One stubborn strand of yin qi entrenched in Baek Hyanga’s body finally broke.
*Cough.*
Baek Hyanga vomited blood while still unconscious. Quick as ever, Dan Seolyeong turned her head to the side to keep it from blocking her airway.
The blood pooling on the floor was closer to black than red.
With the fishy blood stench came a wave of stale yin qi spreading everywhere. Even Dan Seolyeong, ignorant of martial arts, felt the room chill for an instant.
“Good. Keep going.”
Dang Mujin guided the yang qi once more.
It couldn’t be done crudely or forcefully—twisting a meridian could make it worse than no treatment at all.
But it couldn’t be too leisurely either. Before the medicine’s qi dispersed, they needed to clear as many acupoints as possible and melt the yin qi.
After quite some time like this, a small set of footsteps echoed in the silent inn.
Dang Mujin stayed focused on channeling true qi, but Yi Chung released Baek Hyanga’s hand and perked up at the sound from outside.
The footsteps drew nearer, and someone knocked on the door.
Yi Chung signaled Dang Mujin to continue the treatment, then cracked the door open just enough to peek out. Sure enough, it was Baek Chaseo.
“Physician. Sorry to disturb you so late.”
Baek Chaseo fidgeted restlessly, unable to calm himself. Yi Chung put on an uncharacteristically kind expression.
“It’s fine. I don’t sleep much anyway. What brings you here?”
“Have you seen Hyanga by any chance? She vanished without a word, and I have no idea where she went.”
Yi Chung’s mind raced. How had he found this place before dawn? Had Baek Chaseo figured everything out?
No. From Baek Chaseo’s perspective, the most suspicious ones were Dang Mujin’s group. They were the only ones who knew about her meridian blockage syndrome.
If Baek Hyanga, who’d stayed quietly at home for years, suddenly disappeared, coming to check on them was natural. It was just sooner than expected.
Yi Chung feigned surprise.
“Oh dear. Maybe she stepped out for some air?”
“You know as well as I do, Physician—my daughter isn’t in any shape to enjoy a stroll.”
“If Miss Baek doesn’t return by morning, I’ll help search for her myself. Head back for tonight.”
Baek Chaseo took a step back and said,
“Understood. But I have one more question.”
“What is it?”
“The chill, medicine smell, and faint blood scent wafting from the room—what’s that?”
Before Yi Chung could reply, Baek Chaseo yanked the door open with force.
It flew open with a bang, revealing Baek Hyanga collapsed on the floor.
Baek Chaseo’s hand went to his sword hilt as he growled,
“You quack. I’ll give you a chance to explain.”
Yi Chung’s expression hardened. At this point, no need to play the calm, kindly physician.
“You’re the one who needs to explain. Not me. You refused treatment over some nonexistent marriage talk and obsessed with your Blazing Flower Palm instead.”
Baek Chaseo stiffened for a moment, then let out a deep sigh.
“Guess I can’t let this slide. I wanted to overlook it since you’re a physician.”
A tacit admission.
Baek Chaseo drew his sword in a flash and swung it wide. The blade arced straight for Yi Chung’s neck. A clear killing blow.
Swordplay crude, talent lacking—but decades of training gave Baek Chaseo’s sword its own weighty presence.
Not enough to behead Yi Chung, though. Yi Chung drew his sword in a crisp motion, parrying it.
*Clang—*
Blocked on the first clash, Baek Chaseo’s face filled with shock.
“You’re no physician? You vile bastard!”
Baek Chaseo’s eyes flashed as he thrust again.
Interrupted mid-treatment, Yi Chung swung his sword with clear irritation. But settling things now wasn’t ideal.
Too many people in the cramped room—his techniques were severely limited. Plus, Baek Chaseo could at least block awkward swings.
‘This is a hassle.’
Yi Chung tossed his sword aside and faced Baek Chaseo barehanded.
Yi Chung’s hands flew at Baek Chaseo’s wrists and face. After blocking a few, Baek Chaseo realized Yi Chung outclassed him.
“Urgh!”
As Baek Chaseo grunted, Yi Chung said coolly,
“Back off. Don’t interfere with the treatment, and I’ll keep quiet about this.”
“Keep quiet?”
“Yeah. You don’t want this spreading across the Central Plains martial world, do you? Let’s end it amicably.”
Of course, it wasn’t sincere. Yi Chung wasn’t one to forgive someone who’d bared killing intent.
If persuasion somehow worked and Baek Chaseo calmed, Yi Chung could leisurely finish the treatment, then kill or spare him as he pleased.
But Baek Chaseo didn’t buy it.
Both caught off guard, neither had the luxury for rational thought.
“I hate your kind most in the world. Strutting around like you’re superior just because you’re talented. Pretending to bestow favors, acting magnanimous.”
“You’re mistaken. I’m no great person. Below average, if anything. The problem’s you—scum crawling at the bottom. How many would eye their own daughter’s privates just to boost their martial realm a bit?”
Yi Chung sneered, and Baek Chaseo’s eyes wavered.
He knew it was wrong. But he’d blinded himself with excuses that it was all for the clan.
To cling to that flimsy rationale, he’d thrown himself into training, avoiding his daughter’s face these past few days.
Yet Yi Chung’s foul mouth stripped it bare.
Guilt, shame, inferiority, self-loathing, rage. A sticky mess of emotions flooded Baek Chaseo’s mind.
Without realizing, Baek Chaseo shouted,
“I just wanted recognition once. I can’t revive the clan, but I want to stop its quick fall. Is that too greedy?”
“Idiot. Dreams aren’t greedy only if they’re big. If your skills are pathetic, even ordinary dreams are overreaching.”
The final blow. He’d lived with an inferiority complex, but no one had spat such words to his face until Yi Chung.
Rage whitened Baek Chaseo’s vision.
“You dog!”
Baek Chaseo swung wildly, scraping walls and splintering the door—he didn’t care. He looked half-mad.
The innkeeper, drawn by the midnight commotion, yelped at the swordfight and fled back to his room.
Fury lent Baek Chaseo’s swings immense power, but they grew sloppy and wasteful.
Yi Chung seized the opening, shoving Baek Chaseo’s forearm to disrupt his strike, then pressed the Extreme Heaven acupoint under his armpit. Strength drained from Baek Chaseo’s arm.
Yi Chung struck the Soul Gate next, and as Baek Chaseo slumped, he thrust both thumbs at the depression behind his ear—the Heavenly Valley, a classic death point.
But in that instant, Dang Mujin’s hand shot out from the side, pushing Yi Chung’s away.
A glint lit Yi Chung’s eyes. The kid’s improved this much?
“What?”
“No need to kill him.”
Yi Chung’s technique wasn’t flawless either. But Dang Mujin blocking it mattered. Unthinkable just months ago.
Yi Chung felt an odd satisfaction.
“How many times have I told you? Kill anyone who harbors a grudge against you.”
“I know. But if we kill Baek Chaseo, what about Miss Baek?”
Dang Mujin pointed out something Yi Chung hadn’t considered.
Killing Baek Chaseo would breed resentment in Baek Hyanga toward Yi Chung. Then what to do with her?
Of course, Yi Chung had no intention of killing her. Simple reason: she was still a patient, and patients must be treated.
“Carry her around while treating her. Once cured, kill her or whatever.”
“Elder. Don’t be stubborn. You didn’t set those rules just to follow them.”
“Baek Chaseo already swung at me. If I don’t kill him here, how do you know what he’ll do?”
“It’s for his clan. Besides, once her meridian blockage clears, Miss Baek will have incredible talent. If she revives the Je-Won Baek Clan, won’t her father regret his mistakes?”
The unique yin qi of meridian blockage syndrome. And the yang qi supplemented by medicine.
Even with insufficient yang qi, the two energies were starting to balance, building internal energy within her.
Once enough yang qi balanced the yin, how much internal energy would Baek Hyanga gain?
Internal energy wasn’t everything in martial arts. But abundant internal energy guaranteed massive progress in short time—that was fact.
Even with average talent, she’d surpass Baek Chaseo in years. And to Yi Chung’s eye, her odds of reaching peak realm were decent.
Yi Chung looked at Dang Mujin. He stared back with wide-open eyes, convinced his judgment was right.
Yeah. To Yi Chung, Dang Mujin’s view seemed plausible enough.
But Yi Chung had seen too much filth in the world. He knew things didn’t roll so ideally.
‘Too soft. Too yielding.’
Dang Mujin had much going for him, but his nature was too soft.
Well, a greenhorn physician tending patients in some backwater village wouldn’t harden into a killer overnight.
No one entered the jianghu heartless from birth.
New martial artists were like that. Young Yi Chung had been too.
Yet at the same time, no martial artist stayed soft forever.
‘Time will harden him naturally.’
For the first time in ages, Yi Chung bent his principles.
He clicked his tongue and stepped back from Baek Chaseo.
A whim for his first disciple? Or one he could afford with little life left?
Dang Mujin’s eyes widened.
“You’ll spare him?”
“Why? Should I just kill him?”
“No, of course not. Good thinking.”
Dang Mujin grinned brightly, satisfied, and resumed Baek Hyanga’s treatment.
Yi Chung watched him silently.
The half-baked master knew his half-baked disciple would one day become a ruthless jianghu denizen.
But at the same time, he hoped the process wouldn’t hurt too much.