Chapter 87
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: Let's Walk a Bit
"You're here?"
In the late afternoon, at a shabby, quiet tavern, Ha Mu-baek greeted his master, Wi Ji-gun.
Since Ha Seol-ran had headed to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, Wi Ji-gun had secretly followed behind her.
It was his master's concern, preparing for any eventualities.
Even in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest, Wi Ji-gun had stayed hidden, protecting Ha Seol-ran all along.
But the moment Ha Mu-baek crossed the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall, he had moved separately.
At Ha Mu-baek's request.
"Aren't you working your old master too hard?"
Wi Ji-gun sat down, dust caked on his clothes here and there, showing how grueling his journey had been.
"You say that, but you look like you're enjoying it."
Ha Mu-baek smiled brightly.
Wi Ji-gun smiled back.
"True enough. It's been ages since I roamed the jianghu, and it feels good. The current jianghu is very different from the old days. With all this peace, there's a lot of positive energy around. You did well."
Back when Wi Ji-gun roamed the jianghu, it was chaotic everywhere due to the Demonic Cult and Blood Cult.
After a long war, this peace had finally come.
And Ha Mu-baek had contributed to it.
Wi Ji-gun hadn't joined the war.
He didn't particularly like bloodshed to begin with, and treating Ha Seol-ran was far more urgent and important.
"Where was that guy from?"
Ha Mu-baek asked.
"Your guess was right."
Ha Mu-baek nodded slightly at his master's answer.
The flow of internal energy he'd observed with the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye was unfamiliar, but it had a strangely familiar feel.
He'd asked his master to confirm because he needed certainty, and his hunch had been correct.
"He's hiding his power, unlike what you'd expect from his reputation. Seems like a schemer."
Ha Mu-baek nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Exactly. I never imagined someone could fool both you and me that thoroughly."
"He'd trained exclusively in infiltration and stealth, that's for sure. Even I was a bit surprised."
When they were deep in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest dealing with the blood corpses, if not for that chance sensing of his presence, neither Ha Mu-baek nor Wi Ji-gun would have noticed him.
To slip past Ha Mu-baek's senses and get that close...
How startled he'd been then.
The world is vast, he'd thought—but he hadn't expected the guy to be from there.
"Still, I didn't expect someone with that level of stealth skills from that place."
"Who knows? Could be from there, or somewhere else. The jianghu's been in turmoil."
Wi Ji-gun tilted his cup.
A bitter smile tugged at Ha Mu-baek's lips.
Right.
Guys who even used the Demonic Cult's latent blood technique—maybe they had other remnants from the Demonic Cult too.
But according to what Ha Mu-baek had seen with the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye back then, there were no traces of demonic arts.
And so, master and disciple shared a brief drink.
"Let's call it. I've been away too long. Hope I didn't get fired. Heh."
The old handyman had been gone a while, but he'd gripped the workers tight enough that it shouldn't be an issue.
"Ki Yu-chan. No idea how to fool that nosy guy."
But there was still the hurdle of getting past someone who micromanaged even the handymen.
Wi Ji-gun left first, and soon Ha Mu-baek dusted himself off and stood.
The sun was already dipping low.
"Time to head back."
His two-day, one-night outing was coming to an end. The Dragon Training Pavilion cadets were probably heading back reluctantly, one by one.
That's when a familiar silhouette caught Ha Mu-baek's eye.
It was amusing to watch.
The guy who'd been trudging along all slumped suddenly puffed out his chest, full of energy.
"Something happen?"
Ha Mu-baek sidled up and asked.
Dan Mok Un-roe, the owner of that silhouette, jumped at the sudden appearance.
Confirming it was Ha Mu-baek, he calmed his startled heart.
But the moment he did, worry surged up in his chest.
"I-Instructor... please help me..."
Tears streamed from his eyes as he spoke piteously.
No, desperately.
Ha Mu-baek was startled by the sight.
Wasn't the emotional swing a bit too much?
And right here in the middle of the street.
People passing by whispered as they saw the two.
He didn't care about their stares usually, but lately he'd been paying a little mind.
Probably because his little sister was around.
"Head back to the Dragon Training Pavilion first. Then we'll talk details."
"Y-Yes..."
Dan Mok Un-roe answered Ha Mu-baek with effort.
Night had deepened.
Yet Dan Mok Un-roe tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Dang Jin-san asked several times what was wrong, but he just clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.
From Dang Jin-san's perspective, it was maddening, but what could he do? The guy himself was like that.
Thus, past midnight.
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes were still wide awake.
No wonder.
The instructor had said they'd talk details at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
He couldn't sleep, wondering when he'd come.
His only remaining hope was the instructor.
[Awake?]
The instructor's telepathic voice rang in his ear.
Dan Mok Un-roe bolted upright in bed. Dang Jin-san was already asleep beside him.
[Come out the window.]
At the follow-up instruction, Dan Mok Un-roe hurriedly opened the window and slipped out.
Before, he'd have trembled in fear, but now it was nothing.
He'd scaled the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall's walls without a second thought.
Once outside, Dan Mok Un-roe leaped lightly to the ground below.
Ha Mu-baek was waiting there.
"Let's walk a bit."
Ha Mu-baek led the way. Dan Mok Un-roe followed.
How long had they walked?
"What happened?"
Ha Mu-baek asked.
"Hye-a... Hye-a's in a lot of pain."
Dan Mok Un-roe replied in a heavy voice, sounding on the verge of tears.
He was clearly holding back sobs.
"Lately, she says it hurts at night sometimes, so bad she can't sleep. Yesterday, her condition looked really serious."
At that, Ha Mu-baek recalled Dan Mok Un-roe's little sister.
The pale, sickly girl he'd seen on his first visit to their home.
He'd recognized at a glance she had severed meridians.
Probably.
'Seven Yin Severed Meridians.'
It was a condition impossible to mistake.
It matched exactly what his own sister, Ha Seol-ran, had suffered from.
A pang shot through Ha Mu-baek's chest.
No one understood Dan Mok Un-roe's feelings better than he did.
The bewilderment and helplessness at the first onset.
The sky-falling despair upon learning what it was.
And that sliver of desperate hope when his master said he could treat it—though it would be extremely difficult—and that he would treat it.
He'd felt and overcome all those emotions to reach today.
His sister, Ha Seol-ran, fully cured and healthy.
Even hearing the news by letter back then had filled him with joy like being reborn.
When he'd finally come to the Dragon Training Pavilion and seen her again after so long, words couldn't describe it.
She'd left while afflicted, and he'd seen her briefly before the cure.
But confirming her healthy form with his own eyes at their reunion...
What had his emotions been then?
Indescribable.
'This kid's just like me.'
In Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes, brimming with sorrow and desperation, Ha Mu-baek saw his past self.
That's why he had to answer.
"She can be cured."
A quiet voice, but firm.
At those words...
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes widened.
They reddened in an instant.
Tears poured down soon after.
Hearing the words he'd longed for, tears flowed immediately.
"Really?"
He asked in a trembling voice.
"Of course. I don't make empty promises."
"But the doctors don't even know the cause..."
"I know the cause."
"You haven't even checked her pulse. You only saw her briefly..."
Dan Mok Un-roe kept questioning, as if he couldn't believe it.
Challenging Ha Mu-baek's words was born of his desperate wish—even those challenges—to have Ha Mu-baek shatter them and confirm his sister could be fully healed.
Understanding that desperation, Ha Mu-baek answered calmly.
"I know a child who had the exact same condition. And she recovered fully, healthy as can be."
Dan Mok Un-roe's eyes grew even wider.
"Wh-who? Who was it?"
"Ha Seol-ran. My sister."
"Ah... ah... ah..."
At Ha Mu-baek's answer, Dan Mok Un-roe's mouth gaped open. He seemed at a loss for words.
"Waaah!!!"
Then he burst into heartbroken sobs.
Sobs of relief.
Ha Seol-ran.
Hadn't they clashed endlessly as cadets?
Hadn't they journeyed through the perils of the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest together?
Who would imagine she'd once been frail?
He couldn't have dreamed it himself.
She'd had the same condition as his sister—and she'd recovered fully.
That meant Hye-a could too.
Overwhelmed by relief, Dan Mok Un-roe just wept piteously.
The instructor had the answer, after all.
Good thing he'd turned to him.
That was his thought.
"But."
Ha Mu-baek's follow-up made him stop crying.
"The treatment won't be easy. It took Ran years. She said the process was agonizing. It's a rough road."
Ha Mu-baek gazed steadily at Dan Mok Un-roe.
Dan Mok Un-roe, gradually ceasing his sobs, looked back with a resolute face.
"Doesn't matter. If there's a way, I'll do it. I'll cure her no matter what!"
A firm voice.
Full of determination to see it through.
Ha Mu-baek nodded quietly.
"Get some rest."
With that, he turned away.
Dan Mok Un-roe watched Ha Mu-baek's retreating back.
A reliable back.
At their first meeting, he'd seemed like a hateful instructor—but now, more trustworthy than anyone.
"Hm? What is it?"
Wi Ji-gun, deep in meditation, sensed Ha Mu-baek's presence and opened his eyes, unfolding his legs.
His disciple visiting late at night.
Unusual behavior, so worry creased Wi Ji-gun's face.
"Seven Yin Severed Meridians. I want to know the treatment method."
Wi Ji-gun looked steadily at Ha Mu-baek.
"Something happened?"
"The little sister of a kid under my care has Seven Yin Severed Meridians."
"Hmm..."
"Did Ran suffer that much too? In so much pain she couldn't sleep...?"
Ha Mu-baek asked with a gloomy face. His voice was profoundly heavy.
As her brother, he'd been off at war, drenched in blood, oblivious to her pain.
Guilt crashed over him all at once.
"If it's that bad, the condition's progressed quite far. Ran started treatment before it got that severe. Of course, she went through agony too. There were nights she couldn't sleep from the pain."
"I see."
Ha Mu-baek's voice darkened further.
"That's all in the past now. Tell me about this child."
Ha Mu-baek recounted Dan Mok Un-hye's state when he first met her, and what Dan Mok Un-roe had told him today.
"Hmm. If you spotted it, you must have planned to treat her eventually."
"Yes. But it seems to be progressing faster than I thought."
Ha Mu-baek had figured she had at least a year.
"If it progressed on anyone's schedule, it wouldn't be a severed meridian condition. Let's go see her at first light."
"Yes. Understood."