Chapter 96
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: A Great Debt
Ten days had passed since the Seonyugok Pavilion Lord arrived in Muchang.
It was the same routine day in and day out.
Wake up in the morning, train, eat, and sleep at night.
The only difference was that Dan Mok Un-roe's expression had brightened a bit.
If one had to nitpick, Baek Ri-pyeong had changed too.
His face was more serious, but a hint of composure had crept into that seriousness.
Ha Mu-baek watched his students with satisfaction.
These changes were having a positive effect.
The other three students were focusing even harder on their training.
In preparing for the Dongtuje—a pure sparring tournament—the students were gradually gaining confidence in their own skills.
The trigger had been Dan Mok Un-roe's performance not long ago.
"Urgh. What'd you think? Did you see it?"
Dang Jin-san exclaimed dramatically.
"I saw. It was a total failure."
Nak Woo-jin replied calmly.
"No, no. I definitely found a gap in the flow..."
Dang Jin-san tried to say more, but no one was listening. Everyone was absorbed in their own training.
Ha Mu-baek observed each one's practice in detail.
'Not bad. They're getting the hang of it.'
Among them, Dan Mok Un-roe and Baek Ri-pyeong stood out the most. Yeon Ha-min wasn't far behind either.
Ha Mu-baek had recognized these three's talents long ago.
Purely in terms of talent, Dan Mok Un-roe and Yeon Ha-min could easily rank at the top of the entire Dragon Training Pavilion.
They surpassed even the Namgung siblings, Ji-hu and Ji-yu.
The only drawback was their late start in martial arts.
Dan Mok Un-roe had been the first to overcome that weakness, and soon Yeon Ha-min followed suit.
And these were kids who hadn't even been training for a full year yet.
Perhaps stimulated by them, Baek Ri-pyeong was showing results beyond even what Ha Mu-baek had expected.
It was a virtuous cycle.
With these three leading the way, Dang Jin-san and Nak Woo-jin followed behind.
Now, all five students had no doubts about the martial arts they were learning.
They simply honed them further.
"Wow. It's intense, huh."
Ha Mu-baek was lying back at a slant, and Han Seol-bing murmured beside him with an admiring look on her face. She must have snuck up at some point.
"What about your group?"
"It's our break time. No breaks here?"
"They train and rest on their own."
"What kind of instructor is this irresponsible?"
Ha Mu-baek chuckled at her question.
"I've always been like this."
Han Seol-bing shook her head at his response.
"More importantly, you're not neglecting the kids because you're busy with other stuff these days, right?"
"Huh?"
"Seol-ran was worried. Said her brother seems preoccupied with a lot lately."
So that's why she'd come.
It was because of Seol-ran.
"She really cares about the students. As their guardian of sorts, that's something to be grateful for."
"So, what's going on?"
Han Seol-bing asked again.
"I'm busy taking care of my own students. Plus, I have to repay some old debts from my former subordinates."
Han Seol-bing frowned at Ha Mu-baek's answer.
Particularly at the mention of debts from his old subordinates.
Because she herself had been one of them.
"Did we ever owe you anything? All I remember is fighting our hearts out on the battlefield..."
"You owe a big one. That kid Mu-hyeon lost his life... And you racked up quite a debt too. Thanks to that, you're standing here safe and sound."
Han Seol-bing's eyes widened round at Ha Mu-baek's words.
She realized what he meant.
"Is something happening in Seonyugok?"
Ha Mu-baek didn't answer.
He simply kept his gaze on the students training away.
"What's going on? If it's that kind of thing, then I..."
"Forget it. I'll handle it."
"Still..."
"It's something you can't do. If I need your help, I'll say so first."
Han Seol-bing shut her mouth at Ha Mu-baek's firm tone. She knew from experience that nothing she said would sway him when he was like this.
"Hm... looks like they've arrived."
Ha Mu-baek's gaze turned toward the distant east.
He'd sensed the presence of those entering Muchang.
Among them was a familiar yet subtly different aura.
The aura of someone suffering from meridian blockage.
That was how he knew the guests from Seonyugok had arrived.
"Let me know if you need anything."
Han Seol-bing shook her head, awed by Ha Mu-baek's monstrous senses, and said.
"Of course."
As he replied, Ha Mu-baek stood up.
"Un-roe. Focus more on your opponent's sword path. Don't rely on luck like last time. Pyeong. Have more confidence in your own sword. Ha-min. Concentrate on your own sword. Jin-san. Same for you. Don't force yourself to spot gaps in your opponent's flow and lose focus—start with your own sword's flow. Woo-jin. You too, focus more on your own sword's flow."
Ha Mu-baek rattled off improvements for all five based on his observations.
"Self-study for the rest of the time."
And as always, he ended with those words.
Before the five could say anything, Ha Mu-baek's figure vanished.
Ha Mu-baek headed to the inn where Gong Son Mu-oe was staying.
They'd apparently secured a place with a separate annex this time—it was different from last time.
Wi Ji-gun had arrived first.
He too had sensed the newcomers' presences.
Whether through carrier pigeons exchanging updates, the group entering Muchang was heading straight for this inn.
Less than half a shichen later, ten people entered the annex. Among them was a woman who had struggled down from the carriage, supported as she walked.
She was surely the patient with Ninefold Meridian Blockage.
"You've had a hard journey coming all this way. It must have been especially grueling rushing like you did. And Ji-yu, you've suffered the most enduring that trip."
The ten newcomers bowed lightly at Gong Son Mu-oe's words.
"Father. Is treating our Ji-yu really possible?"
The woman who stepped forward and asked was Gong Son Hwa-gyeong, Gong Son Mu-oe's daughter and the mother of Gong So-yu, the girl afflicted with Ninefold Meridian Blockage.
Gong Son Wu-gyeong, as sub-valley lord, couldn't leave Seonyugok, so she had come to Muchang with her daughter.
Gong Son Mu-oe nodded at Gong Son Hwa-gyeong's question and introduced Wi Ji-gun and Ha Mu-baek.
"This is Master Wi, who will examine Ji-yu."
A flicker of surprise crossed the group's faces.
They'd guessed from seeing him with Gong Son Mu-oe, but he looked every bit the martial artist, not a physician.
"I'll start by taking her pulse."
Wi Ji-gun bowed slightly and approached Gong So-yu, grasping her wrist.
He infused a bit of his internal energy to examine her meridians for a moment.
Then he had Ha Mu-baek take her pulse as well.
Once Ha Mu-baek had thoroughly checked her meridians and released her wrist, Wi Ji-gun asked him.
"What do you think?"
"My experience as a disciple is still shallow... but it doesn't seem much different from Sevenfold Meridian Blockage."
Wi Ji-gun nodded at Ha Mu-baek's answer.
"That's my thought as well."
Everyone's eyes widened at those words.
It meant she could be cured.
Even Seonyugok, famed for the world's best physicians, hadn't found a cure and could only halt the progression of the disease.
Yet this master and disciple were saying they could treat it.
"I-is that truly possible, Master...?"
Gong Son Hwa-gyeong asked in a trembling voice.
With her daughter's life on the line, her reaction was only natural.
"Meridian Blockage is ultimately a fatal condition where the meridians clog and sever. Both Sevenfold and Ninefold are caused by excessively strong yin energy... Fortunately, with my sect's method of handling yin energy, there's no real difference between the two."
Gong Son Hwa-gyeong stared in disbelief at Wi Ji-gun's calm explanation.
As a member of Seonyugok herself, she was an exceptional physician.
Thus, she knew her daughter's condition all too well.
Fivefold and Ninefold Meridian Blockage were different.
It wasn't just that the number of blocked meridians increased from five to nine.
Complex issues arose in succession.
Nine meridians had to be tended simultaneously, yet no combination of herbs could achieve it.
The barely viable method they'd found was using herbs for five meridians and acupuncture for the remaining four—but sometimes they overlapped, sometimes they missed spots.
This led to uneven care of the nine meridians, creating discrepancies that made treatment elusive.
"The nine meridians are currently in varying states. Thanks to your diligent care, they haven't clogged further... but no one knows how long that can last. In the end, the weakest one will give out first."
Gong Son Mu-oe nodded at Wi Ji-gun's follow-up.
That was precisely why they were at an impasse.
"My sect's heart method can nourish all nine meridians evenly at once. We'll start there."
"Ah... Aaaah."
A sob of gratitude escaped Gong Son Hwa-gyeong's lips.
"Sob... Sob sob... Sob sob sob."
Gong So-yu finally broke down in tears at the news that a full recovery was possible.
How hard had it been to feign calm and detachment all this time?
Every day was filled with fear and dread.
She never knew when her meridians would fully block and sever, bringing death.
What face would she show her mother and father then? What anguish would they feel, left behind?
She couldn't even imagine it.
It was too terrifying.
All those pent-up emotions burst forth at once.
"Sob sob sob sob."
Thus, Gong So-yu's tears wouldn't stop easily.
Ha Mu-baek and Wi Ji-gun watched impassively.
Gong Son Hwa-gyeong held her daughter, stroking her back while shedding her own tears.
After watching the mother and daughter for a bit, Wi Ji-gun left first.
Gong Son Mu-oe guided him to a prepared room.
It was set up for the treatment.
"May I observe the procedure?"
Gong Son Mu-oe asked cautiously.
"Without my sect's heart method, the acupuncture is meaningless... But in Seonyugok, you might glean something from it."
Gong Son Mu-oe clasped his hands in salute and bowed deeply at Wi Ji-gun's permission.
"I am deeply grateful for your grace, Master."
Wi Ji-gun smiled and helped him up.
How much time passed?
Gong Son Bi-yeon brought Gong Son Hwa-gyeong and Gong So-yu, who had stopped crying.
"It'll be painful today, so we'll use acupressure on the blood points."
Gong So-yu nodded tensely at Wi Ji-gun's words.
Once she lay on the treatment bed, Ha Mu-baek lightly pressed her blood points.
Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.
Gong Son Hwa-gyeong carefully removed her daughter's clothes.
"Thank you for allowing us to witness your secret technique, Master."
After fully undressing her, Gong Son Hwa-gyeong bowed.
She and Gong Son Bi-yeon had also been permitted to observe.
Gong So-yu's naked body, without a stitch on, was heartbreakingly gaunt.
A skeleton barely holding on.
She'd somehow endured day by day in that state.
It was pitiful beyond words.
Ha Mu-baek was the one who drew the needles.
He slowly inserted them into Gong So-yu's body.
Gong Son Mu-oe, Gong Son Hwa-gyeong, and Gong Son Bi-yeon watched tensely.
"Nngh..."
As the number of needles increased, Gong So-yu occasionally grimaced and let out groans.
Pain seeping through even in deep slumber.
How much time passed like that?
Her body was now bristling with needles.
"Now, on to the next step."
Ha Mu-baek said calmly.