Chapter 92
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Yeah. That's Right.
At Ha Mu-baek's irritated shout, the five cadets exchanged glances.
And they recalled that horrific Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The Sa-gang-shi, and the Blood Gang-shi.
The demonic creatures they would have to face once they graduated from the Dragon Training Pavilion and were deployed to the Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest for real.
Was there anyone among the first-year cadets who had ever tangled with those things?
What about the second- and third-year cadets in the Hidden Dragon Corps and Wa Dragon Corps?
He could say with certainty: no.
Even if there were, it would only be one or two at most.
And though they'd faced them in the inspection battle, hadn't they taken those monsters down?
Plus, even if they were somehow weaker specimens, Yeon Ha-min had soloed a Blood Gang-shi by herself.
Perhaps because they'd returned to the Dragon Training Pavilion and everyday life...
They'd forgotten those short but intense days.
A fierce light slowly returned to the eyes of the five cadets.
Their confidence as well.
Ha Mu-baek noticed the change and smirked.
"Now you're starting to look decent."
At his words, Dang Jin-san gave an awkward grin.
"W-Well, facing off against disciples from other prestigious orthodox sects made us worry about their martial arts. Guess our vision got a bit narrow."
It sounded like an excuse.
"The swordsmanship you used against the Sa-gang-shi, and against the Blood Gang-shi? Both were the Three Talents Sword Method. Combined with Instructor Jegal's shield techniques."
At Ha Mu-baek's words, the five cadets nodded slightly.
Now they clearly understood.
Just how much experience and skill they possessed.
"Good. Then we need to prepare for one-on-one sparring now. Pyeong, Un-roe. Come out here."
At Ha Mu-baek's command, the two stepped to the center of the training ground, swords at the ready, facing each other.
"Alright. Begin!"
Their swords clashed fiercely in the air.
Two days had passed since Thunderclap Byok Ryeok-gae arrived at Senyu Valley.
He seemed to have forgotten the very reason he'd come to Senyu Valley, spending all his time before the spirit tablet of the previous valley lord, Gong Son Dae-gwang.
He hadn't eaten or drunk a thing during that time.
He'd even suppressed his bodily needs with internal energy.
Sunken eyes.
Pupils without focus.
That was Byok Ryeok-gae's current state.
Every two hours, Gong Son Mu-oe would stop by briefly to check on him, then quietly leave.
Thanks to that, the place became temporarily off-limits.
Gong Son Mu-oe had blocked anyone from approaching.
On the third day, late at night.
"Uncle."
Unable to watch any longer, Gong Son Mu-oe spoke up.
"......"
Byok Ryeok-gae said nothing.
Fatigue filled Gong Son Mu-oe's face. The treatment for Nine Yin Blocked Meridians had hit a wall. Still, he gazed at Byok Ryeok-gae's back with a worried expression.
Byok Ryeok-gae was his late father's close friend. To Gong Son Mu-oe himself, he'd been more than just an uncle—he'd treated him like blood kin.
He worried that this man might go astray.
So he spoke again.
"Didn't you come to the valley for a specific purpose in the first place? You only learned of my father's passing after I told you."
Byok Ryeok-gae flinched.
The shockingly sudden news had made him forget what he'd set aside.
"Right. Yeah... I came looking for him for a reason. But the guy's gone now."
A bitter voice.
He was still floundering in the shock of losing his close friend.
Plenty of people came seeking Senyu Valley.
Even today, several had already gathered at the valley gate.
The path to this deep gorge in the southern Namak peaks was treacherous beyond measure.
Coming all the way here meant their desperation ran that deep. Most came for a family member's illness.
People suffering from conditions even physicians had given up on.
They clung to this last hope, pushing through the perilous roads.
Byok Ryeok-gae had come searching for his late father for the same reason—someone close among his acquaintances was in that state.
A man who'd vanished without a trace during the last war.
And he'd even handed Byok Ryeok-gae a list of herbs to procure.
"You should get back to what you came here to do."
"Yeah. That's right."
His cracked voice grated like metal on metal.
Byok Ryeok-gae turned around, his throat hoarse as he spoke.
"I came to gather some herbs. Some easy to find, some rare. This place came to mind first."
Gong Son Mu-oe nodded slightly at Byok Ryeok-gae's words.
There was even a saying that Senyu Valley held more herbs than the imperial palace.
"I've already prepared all the herbs from the list you gave me."
"Thanks. As expected of Senyu Valley."
"But I have a question."
"For me?"
Gong Son Mu-oe nodded at Byok Ryeok-gae's question.
While preparing the herbs from the list, he'd felt a strange sense of familiarity. The ingredients were oddly familiar.
Pondering why, he'd realized the truth—and his hands had trembled.
"Is the patient suffering from Blocked Meridian Syndrome, by any chance?"
Byok Ryeok-gae nodded at Gong Son Mu-oe's question.
"As expected of Senyu Valley's lord. Figuring out the illness just from the herbs."
"But why only the herbs? Why not bring the patient?"
Blocked Meridian Syndrome was as incurable as it got.
No physician in the current martial world would dare claim they could treat it.
Not even the imperial doctors.
There were rumors that legendary spirit medicines could cure it, but nothing proven.
As far as Gong Son Mu-oe knew, the only record in the last century was Senyu Valley's treatment of Five Yin Blocked Meridians.
That was why his own granddaughter was here now.
Yet bringing only herbs, not the patient?
And that list of herbs matched records in Senyu Valley's archives.
The very ones used a century ago for Five Yin Blocked Meridians.
"I was planning to... if we couldn't find a way before she got older, I'd bring her here. Dae-gwang would've been happy to see the kid."
"Who is it?"
His father's name had come up, piquing his curiosity about the patient.
"Cheon-seung's granddaughter. Seven Yin Blocked Meridians, they said..."
"What? Uncle Dan Mok's? But the Dan Mok Clan was wiped out..."
Gong Son Mu-oe was startled by the unexpected name.
The name Cheon-seung.
He knew it well.
Dan Mok Cheon-seung, the last clan head of the Dan Mok Clan.
Gong Son Dae-gwang, previous lord of Senyu Valley.
Bang Ho-gun, former top expert of the Beggars' Sect.
These three had been childhood friends and sworn brothers.
The bond formed when Gong Son Dae-gwang had stayed briefly with the Dan Mok Clan as a boy.
To Gong Son Mu-oe, Dan Mok Cheon-seung and Bang Ho-gun had been uncles in all but blood.
"The Dan Mok Clan was wiped out... because I was a fool and a failure. But at the very end, I barely made it there in time to see Cheon-seung off. And I managed to get out the last surviving bloodline."
"Then your sudden disappearance..."
"How could a sinner who failed to stop his sworn brother's clan from being destroyed strut around the martial world? I had to look after the last bloodline too. Though I couldn't even do that properly."
Gong Son Mu-oe stayed silent at the words laced with regret.
He couldn't presume to grasp that depth of feeling.
"That's fortunate. To think the Dan Mok bloodline survived..."
Words he uttered only after a long pause.
"Yeah. If even those kids hadn't made it, I might've gone before Dae-gwang."
When he learned the Dan Mok Clan had fallen because he'd been tricked by Blood Cult bastards, his will to live had utterly shattered.
If his dying friend Dan Mok Cheon-seung hadn't entrusted his daughter-in-law and grandchild to him from his very arms...
"But that's a problem. Seven Yin Blocked Meridians... for such a precious surviving bloodline."
Deep worry creased Gong Son Mu-oe's face.
Dan Mok Cheon-seung's descendant was no stranger to him.
"Even here in the valley, Blocked Meridians are hard to treat. A century ago, we barely managed Five Yin. Seven Yin... Shamefully, my own granddaughter suffers from Nine Yin, and I can't even treat that properly."
There was no energy in his voice.
He was thinking of his pitiable granddaughter.
"Hah. Even Senyu Valley, huh..."
Byok Ryeok-gae looked stunned, as if it hadn't crossed his mind.
"Even if Dae-gwang were alive?"
"Forgive my impertinence, but... I daresay my medical skill now rivals Father's—nay, surpasses it."
Byok Ryeok-gae nodded slightly at those words. A faint smile crossed his face.
He admired his friend's son boldly claiming to have surpassed his father.
"Then I've truly met a noble soul."
"A noble soul?"
Gong Son Mu-oe asked, puzzled.
Come to think of it, something was off.
Seven Yin Blocked Meridians was so rare even diagnosing it was incredibly difficult. Ordinary physicians didn't even know the cause.
Yet Byok Ryeok-gae knew exactly what it was and came for herbs.
And those herbs?
They resembled the ones for Five Yin treatment. A few differed, but that's how he'd recognized them as Blocked Meridian herbs.
He hadn't brought the patient, only seeking herbs. Planning to bring her if the condition worsened.
And now, calling him a noble soul.
Reviewing Byok Ryeok-gae's words carefully, Gong Son Mu-oe reached one conclusion.
"Could it be... there's someone who can cure Seven Yin Blocked Meridians?"
Even as he said it, disbelief made his voice tremble slightly.
It was simply inconceivable to him.
A question born of faint hope.
Yet Byok Ryeok-gae nodded.
Gong Son Mu-oe's eyes widened in shock.
"I-Is that true?"
He couldn't accuse him of being duped by a charlatan.
No one knew better than he how formidable Byok Ryeok-gae was.
Besides, that herb list Byok Ryeok-gae had brought.
It was credible.
Still, he couldn't wrap his head around it.
Blocked Meridian Syndrome ranged from One Yin to Three, Five, Seven, and Nine Yin Blocked Meridians.
The more meridians blocked, the exponentially harder the treatment.
That was why Nine Yin stumped them.
And now someone who could treat Seven Yin?
Senyu Valley's limit was Five Yin.
"Heaven's luck aligned."
"Hah..."
Gong Son Mu-oe let out a sigh like a lament at Byok Ryeok-gae's reply.
The martial world was vast indeed, teeming with eccentrics more numerous than grains of sand on the riverbank.
He'd thought Senyu Valley the pinnacle of medicine, but it was hubris.
"Who is this noble soul? This is a difficult request, but... might I humbly seek guidance?"
Desperation laced his cautious question.
How could it not?
His granddaughter's life hung in the balance.
Nine Yin's difficulty dwarfed Seven Yin. But if this noble soul surpassed them, perhaps there was a way—a slender thread of hope fueling his plea.
"That's not for me to reveal."
Gong Son Mu-oe had mentioned his granddaughter's Nine Yin earlier, so Byok Ryeok-gae understood his heart fully.
Yet it wasn't his place to say yes or no.
"Then at least arrange for me to meet this noble soul. I beg you."
Gong Son Mu-oe knelt before Byok Ryeok-gae and pleaded.