192. Incurable Disease (1)
Incurable Disease (1)
192. Incurable Disease (1)
"Wait. You're a Daoist of Yeongsan Sect? Don't tell me you're Yeongmok?"
Nangong Hye asked, visibly startled, as though she'd heard something about me from the elders of her family.
"Yes, that's right. Congratulations on your victory, young lady."
After delivering a perfunctory greeting, I openly ignored the three of them and turned to Novice Nun Suyeon.
"But what are you doing here? Don't you need to observe the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering?"
"Uh... well, all my senior sisters got eliminated in the first round. They all came back to the manor with bitter faces, and the mood got so heavy that I just stepped out for a walk."
"Why not hang out with Gyeong Su-yeon or Senior Sister Cho?"
"Gyeong unni got called out by Heroine Murong Rin of the Murong Clan. She said as head disciple she has to go pay her respects to influential figures of the Martial World."
"And Senior Sister Cho?"
"Well... um... honestly, I don't have any money. So Young Lady Cho always bought me sweets, and I already felt terrible just learning martial arts from her, so asking a girl that young to treat me again was just too embarrassing."
She wasn't ashamed of being poor. But she had a sense of decency. I really liked that about her.
"It wouldn't do for a younger sister to feel embarrassed on her older brother's account. Here, take this."
I pulled out two taels of gold and held them out. She hastily waved her hands.
"No. I can't take something like this."
"What do you mean you can't? It's money from your oppa. East Street has a shopping district—go get yourself a martial uniform made, or buy some drinks for your disappointed senior sisters. The youngest is supposed to do that kind of thing if she wants to be doted on."
At the mention of her senior sisters, she stole a glance at me, then quietly plucked the two taels of gold from my hand.
"Since it's money from you, oppa, I'll accept it gratefully. Later, when I become a nun, I'll offer a Thousand-Day Prayer for your wellbeing."
"I'm a Daoist too, so I conduct my own rites. I'll accept the thought, so instead of a Thousand-Day Prayer, go practice your martial arts."
This big girl was just too adorable. I stroked her hair, and she beamed happily, just like Cho-ryeong did.
"Oppa. Is it okay if I use this money to buy an iron plate? Junior Sister Cho's iron plate—it looked really cute, but when I looked closely it's an incredible treasure. They say the Mount Tai Strike suits an iron plate better than a sword, so can I get one fitted for myself too? Ah, a big one, of course."
She showed no sign of material desire, yet a greed for weapons peeked through. A born martial artist if I ever saw one.
—Layman. It's all right, isn't it?—
—I was hoping to ask you myself.—
After a brief exchange with Geo Am, I transferred him into the sword I carried, freed up the now-empty iron plate, and handed it to her.
"Take it. Senior Sister Cho's iron plate was one I made. Treat it with care, and think of it as the Layman himself."
She stared at Geo Am's iron plate and recoiled in shock. It was an iron plate I'd wielded with my large frame, so it would be considerably unwieldy for a woman, but for someone like her, it wouldn't be a problem at all.
"No! This is your weapon, oppa. And this iron plate—I lived next to a smithy once, so I know enough to see that this is a tremendous treasure!"
"Treasure, my ass. I told you, I knocked it together myself. This one's for you to use. I can always make another one later. Look, I've still got four swords, don't I? The Mount Tai Strike can be executed with a sword, too."
I gripped the sword Geo Am now inhabited and brought down a Mount Tai Strike. The surrounding air shuddered violently. Damn it. I was still a long way from matching a single strike of Geo Am's. After my light demonstration, Novice Nun Suyeon cautiously accepted the iron plate, and a smile of pure happiness spread across her face. By contrast, the three idiotic women surrounding her wore expressions thick with shock. These girls still hadn't left?
"M-my word. A perfectly balanced center and hilt. A blade polished to a mirror sheen. You're saying you forged such a weapon yourself?"
She had an eye for weapons, apparently. The Zhuge woman eyed the four swords I carried, naked greed surfacing on her face.
"What should surprise you isn't the weapon, but the martial artist who wields it. This flawless heavy sword—you call that the Mount Tai Strike?"
Flawless, my foot. Even with a blade this sharp, I couldn't even properly concentrate my strength, and the air shook. Nangong Hye, the Four Peaks champion who at least had some depth in martial arts, was more startled by me than by the sword, and the Mount Hua woman's face had frozen stiff.
"Hero, please don't misunderstand. Young girls are talkative by nature, and this is simply how we banter as we become acquainted. Mount Hua is a Daoist sect like yours, but we're also close to the Buddhist Mount Tai Sect, so I merely jested in hopes of growing closer. As a man of stature, I pray you'll overlook the trifling affairs of us young girls.
"Novice Nun, I apologize for my rudeness. I will call upon you again to pay my respects properly, and I hope we may foster friendship."
The Mount Hua woman apologized to Suyeon with deference, then slipped straight into the Mount Hua estate. She couldn't have had much information about me, yet the fact that she sensed something off and beat a retreat—she was probably the sharpest of the three. At the Mount Hua woman's abrupt departure, Nangong Hye and the Zhuge woman smoothly adjusted their expressions.
"I heard tales of valor from my father. They say you triumphed against that jiangshi and are as strong as the elders themselves? I envy you, Novice Nun. To gain such a dependable oppa. My own older brothers are learned men, but none of them are strong, so I've always envied an oppa like yours."
The Zhuge woman looked up at me with a subtle expression. So. You want to become my little sister too, and get a free weapon out of it? This was really starting to piss me off.
"Is that so? But I heard the young masters of the Zhuge Clan are incredibly handsome. Our oppa is a really great person, sure, but honestly, his face isn't exactly his strong suit."
Novice Nun Suyeon giggled lightly, hugging the iron plate I'd given her to her chest. If she truly took Buddhist vows and lived a life of chastity, I really would end up as the ugly older brother she remembered for the rest of her life.
"A man's worth is not in his face. A woman who has set her heart on the martial path ought naturally to be drawn to the strongest martial artist."
Nangong Hye suddenly looked at me with eyes full of favor, as if she were taking my side. Of all the things I didn't know about her, at least one thing was clear—she was definitely still a virgin. Still, take your husband-hunting elsewhere.
"Since I've shown you an unsightly side of myself first, I shall arrange to meet you again properly through the elders of my family at a later date."
Nangong Hye offered a respectful cupped-fist salute and withdrew. I doubted I would ever have reason to see her again. The Zhuge woman also looked reluctant to leave, as if she wanted to stay, but once the Mount Hua woman and Nangong Hye had both departed, she too slipped away with a faint smile.
"Suyeon. In the future, if you run into rude people like that again, tell them you're Yeongmok's one and only little sister."
"It's fine, oppa. It's true that you're ugly. So what if you're ugly? You're ugly, and you're doing just fine anyway, oppa."
She said it to me with a bright face, without a shadow of darkness. Maybe being a nun really was her calling.
"Um... may I ask you something?"
While I was talking with Suyeon, a small voice came from behind. Small, but a rather beautiful voice. I turned around. A female monk wearing a face veil and a monastic robe stood there uneasily. Suyeon looked at her and greeted her not with a cupped-fist salute, but with a palms-together salute.
"What brings you here, Nun?"
"I wear monastic robes, but I am not a nun, Novice Nun. Circumstances compel me to cover my face. I am a disciple of Emei, and I am unaccustomed to dealing with people. Though we were strangers, I spoke to you because you were a novice nun."
"Right? Fellow Buddhist disciples can always strike up a conversation more comfortably. But what business does a disciple of Emei have here?"
"I am looking for someone. Where must I go to find the Medicine Immortal?"
"The Medicine Immortal?"
Suyeon tilted her head. So she really had come to our manor that day and done nothing but play with Cho-ryeong. Well, to be fair, that day Lee Eun-ha had been too busy peeping on Murong Rin and Gyeong Su-yeon having sex like some kind of stalker to have time for introductions. Even though Lee Eun-ha had given Suyeon a legendary-grade spirit pill.
"I said the Medicine Immortal of Yeongsan Sect. I heard she's a very young woman..."
"Ah! Yeongsan Sect! That's right. The unni who gave me the medicinal pill that day—that was the Medicine Immortal unni! What luck. Our oppa here is a Daoist of Yeongsan Sect."
Eager to help a fellow Buddhist disciple, Suyeon proudly put me forward. The female monk pressed her hands together in a palms-together salute as if she'd barely managed to find the place, though the manor where Yeongsan Sect was staying wasn't exactly hidden away in some Peach Blossom Spring. She invoked the name of Amitabha Buddha.
"Thank you, Novice Nun. Disciple of Yeongsan Sect. Could you possibly arrange for me to meet the Medicine Immortal? I have a truly desperate matter and I need the Medicine Immortal's help."
What a hassle... Lee Eun-ha had long since grown thoroughly sick of the Medicine Immortal's reputation and was reluctant to take on any patients. I was no physician, so I had no idea what illness this woman had, but bringing her along would genuinely annoy Lee Eun-ha. Beside me, however, Novice Nun Suyeon's eyes sparkled with anticipation toward her newly acquired oppa.
This little sister thing was a bit of a problem, too. If it had been Byeok-geum or Peng Gang, I'd have just said it was too much trouble and refused. In the end, after a moment's deliberation, I decided to guide her over. I'd just have to apologize to Lee Eun-ha honestly later.
"You came looking for me, did you? Do you have some kind of illness? I'd need to examine you closely to be sure, but I don't see anything particularly wrong."
Contrary to my expectations, Lee Eun-ha came out looking uncomfortable, but the moment she saw the female monk she spoke up with a suddenly bright expression. Was this woman harboring some strange expectation about me again?
"It is not an illness of the body that kills. But for a woman, it is a sickness no different from death."
"For a woman? I don't understand. More to the point, that face veil—do you intend to keep it on? However much I've studied pharmacology, I cannot examine a patient without even seeing her face."
At Lee Eun-ha's words, the female monk hesitated briefly, then glanced softly at me and spoke in a small voice.
"I have my reasons. I will remove the veil before the Medicine Immortal, so could the gentleman please excuse himself?"
Death as a woman. A concealed face. Did she have some large scar on her face that was difficult for a man to see? As I quietly rose to leave, Lee Eun-ha spoke in a firm tone.
"No. I have not made an unreasonable demand to see you naked. I am no physician at a medicine hall, and this is the first time I've met you, young lady. If you will not even grant me a request that is entirely reasonable, then treatment is impossible."
Lee Eun-ha was a sensible person, but she had her wayward moments. She spoke resolutely, as if determined to make this female monk show her face to me. The female monk sighed briefly and spoke slowly.
"I see. I apologize for my rudeness. Besides, at this point, I suppose there's no great harm in showing my face to a man."
Slowly, she removed the face veil. Beneath it, after stirring so much curiosity, was... just a bald woman in nun's robes, her face flushed red.
Not exactly some earth-shattering secret, was it? Just as the thought crossed my mind, she looked at my face and suddenly burst into sobs.
"Just as I thought. It doesn't bother you at all, does it? Looking at my face stirs no feeling in you whatsoever, does it? Medicine Immortal. Please, I'm begging you, save me. I cannot—I cannot live the rest of my life as a bald nun!!"