The Wounded Patriarch
In her previous life, she had awakened around this time but suffered terribly from the spiritual energy, so she had no clear memory of properly meeting her grandfather. She hadn't known about this.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure was a legendary item said to be the earth's power condensed over ten thousand years into an intensely positive energy. Eating it raw would burn one up with excess yang energy—a true elixir of death.
If it had been used in her Balsa Sesu ritual, it surely would have been paired with a yin-energy elixir to control it. And to counter a ten-thousand-year treasure, the complementary ingredient would have to be equally rare.
'No wonder they say doing one Balsa Sesu drains the family estate down to the rafters...'
"When you see Grandfather, make sure to thank him sincerely from the heart. Got it? He gave you something truly precious."
"Yes, I understand!"
Ryeon actually knew little about her grandfather, Danmok Cheon-gi. In the memories she'd glimpsed, he had secluded himself deep in the family estate and quietly passed away just a few years later.
'Was there something wrong with his health after all?'
The fact that the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure had been meant for his own medicine weighed on her. He had it but hadn't refined and consumed it yet—likely because crafting a remedy suited to his condition was too difficult.
Needing such a complex medicine meant his health was in dire straits.
'I need to find out exactly what happened to Grandfather.'
Ryeon steeled her resolve. Peace, safety, health, and longevity naturally included the family's well-being.
'And if Grandfather passes...'
When the Moomwolgeom—Sword Without Moon—Danmok Cheon-gi reigned as the world's greatest martial artist, no one in Zhejiang Province dared challenge the Danmok Clan.
But after he suffered a grave injury battling Blood Valley, the family's fortunes swiftly declined. Then, with the death of their sole heir, Danmok Hyeon-seong, in a duel against the Geum Gajang lord a few years ago, they staggered badly. Danmok Cheon-gi followed not long after, leaving the Danmok Clan in such a pitiful state that calling it a "clan" felt embarrassing.
Without the history that had propped it up, it would have been just "the Danmok family."
Would it really have come to that a few years after my death?
'I have to do something with this power!'
Before, she hadn't understood why she was sick, why she hurt, or why she couldn't cultivate inner power. But now she did.
Wijicheong took a white fur muffler from the wet nurse Jang ssi and wrapped it around Ryeon's neck, then took her hand.
The residence of the retired patriarch, Wolyeongjae, lay deepest within the estate.
* * *
Built of ebony so dark it was nearly black, Wolyeongjae had a rustic charm at first glance. Though barely maintained over the years, wear showed in every corner.
Chief Steward Gang-rip, waiting at the entrance, greeted them as if expecting them and bowed to Ryeon before leading them inside.
Parting the air thick with the faint scent of medicinal herbs, a heavy curtain came into view first.
"Ryeon came to offer her thanks, Father," Wijicheong said softly, wrapping an arm around Ryeon's shoulders.
"Hmph. How fares the child's health?"
A gruff, heavy voice emanated from behind the curtain. Danmok Cheon-gi apparently had no intention of drawing it aside.
"Thanks to your care, she's much better."
"The Tang fellow called it no less than a miracle."
"It wouldn't have been possible without Physician Dang and you, Father. Ryeon, now's the time to give your thanks."
Wijicheong replied. The old man's tone wasn't particularly warm, but he knew Ryeon's condition in detail. In the past, even after waking, she'd been bedridden, her memories of greetings hazy.
Ryeon rolled her eyes, then decided to act.
"Yes! Thanks to the medicine from Grandfather, I'm all better. So I came to thank you... but..."
She looked up at the curtain and took a step forward.
"May I come in to greet you properly?"
She continued in an innocent tone, as if oblivious.
"It's blocking me from saying hello to Grandfather."
A flinch came from inside. The child, just risen from her sickbed, speaking so clearly seemed to surprise him.
Soon, a rough, twisted laugh like scraping metal echoed.
"Hmph. Bold child. Let her enter."
At the permission, Ryeon swiftly stepped through the bamboo-bead curtain.
"...!"
Seated quietly on a grand wooden chair, half of Danmok Cheon-gi's wrinkled face was marred by a terrifying burn scar, like red mud sloppily smeared over it. The scar on his left hand atop the armrest matched.
It was a familiar face to Ryeon. Before her Balsa Sesu, he had sometimes secretly peeked at her lying motionless.
But...
'My goodness. The light's making his face hard to see.'
She swallowed dryly. A flashy alert had popped up before her eyes.
Divine Eye 3 Stars (↑ from 1 Star) Achieved
Can now view Aptitudes and Talents.
Can view detailed personal achievements.
Just facing Danmok Cheon-gi and seeing his face had leveled her Divine Eye by a stage. His golden aura blurred his features, but his beast-like gleaming eyes stood sharp even within it.
Ryeon snapped to when she noticed the somewhat murky red light emanating from around his waist.
'Something new since Divine Eye hit 3 stars? Is that from the old Blood Valley injury?'
She quickly pretended to straighten her sleeve and summoned her status mirror.
New descriptions had appeared under Harmony, Divine Eye, and Purification—likely because 3-star Divine Eye allowed "seeing even more."
Ryeon quickly sorted her confusion and bowed.
"Ah! Grandfather... thank you for the medicine."
Danmok Cheon-gi twitched his brow at her greeting, stroked his chin, and spoke.
"It was useless to me anyway, so I gave it to thee. But that doesn't make its ingredients any less precious. Dost thou understand? As thou hast received the clan's hopes, thou must strive to meet them!"
His voice boomed through the room. Ryeon swallowed a sigh. How could someone shining like the sun pass quietly in just a few years?
But this wasn't the time to dwell.
"Yes, Grandfather! I'll do my best!"
If she could heal his injury, she might extend his life. And with her power, it was surely possible.
Spiritual medicines and beasts from nature often had extreme properties—adaptations for surviving harsh environments. The ten-thousand-year snow ginseng was extreme yin; the Ten-Thousand-Year Extreme Blood Treasure in her formula, extreme yang; inner cores from man-faced spiders or venom-horned freak dragons carried deadly poison. Consuming them required counters, lest one's meridians freeze or burn.
Even refined elixirs balancing them couldn't be taken lightly. Overwhelming, potent power was poison in itself.
Danmok Cheon-gi hadn't used the treasure because he couldn't balance the yin-yang in his formula.
'Spiritual energy turns toxic if absorbed too much at once, but if fed in slowly...'
But her power was different. Pure spiritual energy, neither yin nor yang. It could support weaknesses, temper strengths, and harmonize naturally.
Ryeon, the vessel for it, had ascended to heaven because the energy crashed like waves when even a spoonful needed caution.
But if refined gradually over time and given to Grandfather? He might live to a ripe old age.
Then she could use her spiritual energy before it built up, prevent the clan's chaos, and repay the debt of the treasure.
'One stone, three birds! Er, no—one move, three gains!'