Chapter 89
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Seven Yin Severed Meridians
Ha Mu-baek headed toward a single wall.
An old beggar was crouched in front of it.
Ha Mu-baek plopped down on the ground before him.
"I've heard you're Elder Bang."
The beggar elder was the one Dan Mok Un-roe had once called Grandpa Bang.
"Heh heh. That's right. I'm Bang."
Elder Bang grinned, revealing the few teeth he had left.
"After all the chaos I stirred up at the Pang family estate, and now this mess with the Yeon Clan in the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest... I figured Muchang would be in an uproar. I thought that old Iron Cane Beggar would come rushing here."
Ha Mu-baek gave a faint smile as well.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
In response to Elder Bang's words, Ha Mu-baek simply nodded.
"I heard that the Beggar Clan's supreme master, Thunderclap Beggar, whose name was Bang, vanished after turning the battlefield to ash during the last war."
At those words, Elder Bang flinched noticeably.
Thunderclap Beggar.
He was one of the top five absolute experts in the Beggar Clan's history.
As the clan's former Grand Law Protector, he was of a higher generation than the current Vice Clan Leader, Iron Cane Beggar—essentially a legend from the previous era.
He had been an absolute master who swept through enemy forces on the battlefield.
And then, one day, he had vanished without a trace.
It was a massive loss of power for the Beggar Clan.
And now, that very man was here.
In the shabby guise of a beggar, no less.
This was Ha Mu-baek's first time meeting him in person. During the last war, they had always fought on different fronts.
"I never imagined I'd meet you here like this, Elder."
Ha Mu-baek was the sort who treated even the Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader as he pleased. For him to show such respect and deference was something else entirely.
"Heh heh. I'm grateful for the courtesy. I've heard plenty about you, both back then and now."
Thunderclap Beggar, Elder Bang, was well aware of Ha Mu-baek's reputation—not just from the war, but recent events as well.
"Was it because of the Dan Mok Clan's destruction?"
It was an utterly outrageous question.
Thunderclap Beggar fell silent at Ha Mu-baek's blunt inquiry.
His eyes were filled with complexity, dominated most by regret and remorse.
"If I hadn't been deceived by those bastards... I could have stopped it. What a fool I was. By the time I got there, it was all over."
His voice carried even a tinge of self-loathing.
"It wasn't just a simple connection, then."
"We were sworn brothers. The family head back then, Hwan... that guy and I. Heh heh."
"They say even beggars like us can have childhood friends."
"For a wretch like me, that's more than enough."
Thunderclap Beggar smirked in response to Ha Mu-baek's words.
"By the time I arrived, late as it was, they were all dead... Nothing left. Only Hwan had a breath left in him. His dying wish was for me to look after those children. He barely managed to get them out."
Ha Mu-baek nodded silently.
During the last war, while her clan was being wiped out, how had a woman managed to escape with children all the way to Muchang?
When he realized Elder Bang was watching over them, he had suspected as much.
And he was right.
With none other than Thunderclap Beggar abandoning the battlefield to protect them actively, she had made it here despite carrying the children.
"According to Un-roe..."
"That traitorous bastard? Yeah, I've heard. I'm still hunting him down."
His voice brimmed with fury.
"Do you perhaps have the clan's martial arts as well?"
Thunderclap Beggar nodded at Ha Mu-baek's question.
"I couldn't let the clan's lineage end. Hwan himself taught me the secret manual."
Just as he thought.
A prestigious clan like the Dan Mok wouldn't lack a contingency like a secret repository.
"But why..."
Thunderclap Beggar shook his head with a bitter expression at Ha Mu-baek's puzzlement.
"Yeo Hwa. That child didn't want it. After that catastrophe, she lost all faith in the martial world."
It was understandable.
Her entire clan gone in a single night.
"Even so, living like that..."
Ha Mu-baek murmured sympathetically but trailed off.
It was their situation.
No reason for him to meddle.
They were them, and he was him.
Ha Mu-baek could never truly know or understand Yeo Hwa's feelings.
"Then, did you know about Dan Mok Un-hye's condition?"
Thunderclap Beggar replied with a darkened face.
"I couldn't figure out the cause at all. Sure, what does a martial artist like me know about illnesses? But I thought I knew at least as much as the average doctor around here... That's why I've been trying to pull strings with Senyu Valley somehow."
"It's Seven Yin Severed Meridians."
Ha Mu-baek stated it plainly.
Thunderclap Beggar's eyes widened in shock.
The diagnosis was completely unexpected.
"I-is that true?"
He asked in disbelief. Ha Mu-baek nodded silently.
Having stayed outside the range of Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun's senses, Thunderclap Beggar hadn't heard the conversation between Yeo Hwa and the others.
He only knew they had visited and left.
"Hah... That poor child... No. Even severed meridians aren't hopeless. I'll have to go to Senyu Valley myself."
Thunderclap Beggar rose with a resolute expression, as if decided.
"It was good meeting you. Take care of Un-roe. You've probably noticed, but he's got real talent."
Just as he turned to leave.
"Seven Yin Severed Meridians can be cured."
The words stopped him in his tracks.
"What do you mean?"
Thunderclap Beggar spun around hurriedly, and Ha Mu-baek explained the rough circumstances.
"I-is that really possible?"
He asked again, unable to believe it despite hearing everything.
"It's my little brother's situation. And my master's."
He wouldn't lie about family or his teacher.
"Hah... Haha... Hahaha. Thank you. Truly, thank you..."
Before he knew it, Thunderclap Beggar was gripping both of Ha Mu-baek's hands tightly.
"My master said she needs to eat well."
Thunderclap Beggar nodded vigorously.
"That I can handle. Even as a beggar. Up until now, Yeo Hwa refused, but with Un-hye's health on the line, she won't now."
That resolved another of Ha Mu-baek's questions.
Why someone of Thunderclap Beggar's caliber would let them live in such poverty despite secretly protecting them.
Yeo Hwa, Dan Mok Un-roe's mother, had refused help.
She could have accepted some for her children's sake...
Ha Mu-baek quickly shook his head to clear the thought.
It was their business anyway.
"Various herbs will be needed too."
"Just tell me in advance, and I'll procure them. Even if I have to raid Senyu Valley's herb warehouse."
He spoke such terrifying words casually.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Ha Mu-baek brushed off his clothes and stood. Thunderclap Beggar rose as well.
"Thank you. Really."
Thunderclap Beggar's eyes reddened once more as he expressed his gratitude again.
Ha Mu-baek thought he'd seen a lot of tears today.
With Thunderclap Beggar stepping in, the minor issues would all be handled by him.
Now, the only concern was the treatment process for the Seven Yin Severed Meridians.
Ha Mu-baek slowly made his way back to the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Hunan Province's Mount Heng.
It was one of the Five Great Mountains of the Central Plains—the Southern Peak.
A profoundly deep and treacherous range, but nowadays, it was far more famous for Senyu Valley.
Senyu Valley, one of the New Eight Great Sects, was nestled there.
In the deep heart of Senyu Valley, grim-faced individuals had gathered.
"Another failure?"
"Yes."
"Hah, what are we to do? We followed the medical texts to the letter."
"We should review it once more."
"No. We need to consult other texts..."
Debate raged on.
Senyu Valley prided itself on possessing the Central Plains' finest medical arts.
Yet here were its senior experts, brooding over an unsolved problem.
"We should consult the Divine Scripture."
The elderly man seated at the head frowned at the middle-aged man's words.
The elder was Gong Son Mu-oe, lord of Senyu Valley.
"We haven't exhausted the valley's full capabilities yet. Let's try more treatments. Besides, the meridians' progression has halted for now."
After much deliberation, he made his decision.
The valley lord's word was absolute, so all bowed their heads.
Except the middle-aged man who had suggested the Divine Scripture. He kept his head raised.
"Father—no, Valley Lord. It's only temporary. It's Nine Yin Severed Meridians. We don't know when or how it might advance. We must open the Divine Scripture."
The middle-aged man was Gong Son U-kyeong, the valley's young lord.
Even his son's insistence didn't sway Gong Son Mu-oe.
"Opening the Divine Scripture demands too great a sacrifice. We should try more varied methods first. This is Senyu Valley."
"But the patient is the forbidden treasure of the Manmul Alliance. If anything goes wrong..."
Gong Son U-kyeong said with a worried face.
Manmul Alliance.
Another of the New Eight Great Sects.
A sect formed by blacksmiths, renowned for crafting the Central Plains' finest weapons. They also boasted unmatched expertise in mechanisms and traps.
"We still have treatments we haven't tried. Plus, there's a record from a century ago of curing Five Yin Severed Meridians. We haven't used those methods yet."
"The patient's body is frail. I'm concerned she won't endure all those treatments. Especially with her energy and blood meridians weakened by the severed meridians—even supplementing with precious medicines has its limits."
Father and son, valley lord and young lord, master and disciple—they clashed without yielding an inch.
The other physicians present couldn't side with either.
Both arguments held merit.
"Still, the Divine Scripture is off-limits."
"Father!"
Gong Son U-kyeong shot to his feet at Gong Son Mu-oe's firm declaration.
"Not yet. It's our last resort. The Divine Scripture isn't medicine—it's sorcery. We are a medical sect. Medicine comes first."
"We are a medical sect, but incantations and sorcery are also core pillars of our valley."
Gong Son U-kyeong refused to back down.
Bam!
Gong Son Mu-oe slammed his fist on the massive table.
"You fool! As young lord, you want to rely on the Divine Scripture at the first hurdle? Do you not know the price of opening it?!"
"Curing Nine Yin Severed Meridians is no small matter!"
Gong Son U-kyeong stood firm.
"Fine, say it's a great challenge. If we solve it easily with the Divine Scripture, what then? You'll rely on it for even simpler problems. Become addicted to its temptation, seek only the Divine Scripture blindly, and ruin yourself—no, ruin the valley. Depending on how it's used, the Divine Scripture becomes a Demonic Scripture!"
Gong Son Mu-oe's shout echoed thunderously. Gong Son U-kyeong bit his lip.
He was right.
But this time, he couldn't shake the thought that relying on the Divine Scripture might be acceptable.
Nine Yin Severed Meridians were that intractable.
To be precise, it was a constitution rather than a mere illness.