Divine Doctor's Valley (2)
While Dokgo Ryeong sat frozen in terror, drowning in memories of the past, Unyeong grinned and pointed straight at her.
"That friend there is Dokgo Jin's daughter."
"Ho?"
Watching one of Namgung Woncheong's eyebrows climb, Dokgo Ryeong clenched her teeth.
Unyeong, you crazy bastard!!
She squeezed her eyes shut. Seeing that, Namgung Woncheong burst out laughing.
"Keu-ha-hat! Are you frightened?"
"…"
"Come here, will you?"
"No… I mean…"
"Hmm?"
Watching her hesitate, Namgung Woncheong chuckled.
"Those eyes are the spitting image of your father's, but the way you carry yourself is a whole different story."
"Eu-ha-hat! Not at all. The elder scared the Mad Demon so thoroughly that this child must have inherited the fear."
"Wh-who's scared…?!"
When Dokgo Ryeong flared up and snapped back at Unyeong's words, Namgung Woncheong looked at her with a laugh.
"Keu-ha-hat! That's right. She really is Dokgo Jin's child."
"Isn't she?"
"They say children take after their parents, and it seems true. And the one beside her…"
Namgung Woncheong glanced briefly at Wi Ilcheong.
"Seeing as you travel with Dokgo Jin's daughter, you must be Wi Ilcheong."
"Yes, Sword God Elder."
"An amusing combination. The Mad Demon and the Lust Demon… Keu-ha-hat."
"More importantly, Elder, introductions can wait — please come inside first. You've come for the same reason as always, I take it?"
"Ah, that's right."
"Sohong, go prepare the medicine ahead of time."
"Yes, Father."
"Sword God Elder, please come in."
"Very well."
As Namgung Woncheong disappeared inside with a smile, Unyeong followed after him. Once the two were gone, Dokgo Ryeong clutched her chest and collapsed onto the floor.
"Hwaah… I thought I was gonna die."
"…Is the Sword God Elder truly that terrifying?"
"Hey, you bastard, he's ridiculously strong. What if I mouth off and get myself killed?"
"To hear such words from Lady Dokgo's mouth… I am reminded once again of the Sword God Elder's greatness."
"I'll kill you?!"
Just as Dokgo Ryeong was about to lunge at Wi Ilcheong in a fit, Unyeong came bursting back out from inside.
"Lady Dokgo."
"Huh?"
"The Sword God Elder would like to see you."
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong's face went sour. Watching her eyes dart about in search of an escape route, Wi Ilcheong casually reached out a hand.
"Hwaaang!!"
"…Please don't run away. Just go."
"You… Lust Demon bastard!!"
"Shall I touch more?"
"Shit… shit shit shit!!!"
Realizing resistance was futile, Dokgo Ryeong headed toward Unyeong with her hair dyed pink.
"Eu-ha-hat, I wasn't the one who called for you?"
"You son of a bitch…"
Grumbling, Dokgo Ryeong followed him into the room. Upon entering, she found Namgung Woncheong seated with his upper garments removed. His physique, still remarkable enough to rival young men despite his age, was astonishing — but something else shocked Dokgo Ryeong even more.
"Th-that wound…?"
"Ah, this? A curse left behind by the previous Heavenly Demon."
Looking at the dark sword scar that ran from Namgung Woncheong's shoulder blade across his belly, a chill ran down her spine. Then Unyeong approached, examining the wound.
"It's festered worse than before, Elder."
"Has it? I suppose my time is drawing near, keul-keul-keul."
"I'll scrape out the wound first and place some needles."
"I leave it to you."
As Unyeong began treatment, Namgung Woncheong spoke as if nothing were amiss.
"You're curious why I called for you, I take it?"
"…Yes."
"I heard it from my son. A wanted order has been issued, has it not?"
"…"
At those words, cold sweat began to bead on Dokgo Ryeong's skin. As the former Alliance Leader, Namgung Woncheong would likely respect the Alliance's decision. If she were captured now, there would be no way out. More than that… she couldn't even escape this old man. The moment she resolved to flee, she would already be cut down somewhere.
But what Namgung Woncheong said next was entirely different.
"Keu-ha-hat, don't be so frightened. Strange, truly. No matter how I look at you, you resemble Dokgo Jin, yet your behavior is completely different."
"Not so. Even the Mad Demon, after challenging the Sword God Elder once, was so cowed he never dared set foot near Anhui Province again, did he not?"
"Is that so?"
"Grr…"
Watching Unyeong openly criticize her to her face, Dokgo Ryeong's anger surged, but she forced it down.
"I'll lift it. The wanted order."
"Eh?"
"What of it? I just granted my son's request not long ago, so this much should be fine."
"Y-you can do that?"
When Dokgo Ryeong asked hesitantly, Namgung Woncheong smiled kindly.
"It doesn't matter. If they say no, I'll just throw a bit of a fit at my son."
"Th-thank you!"
"In exchange, will you grant me one request?"
"What is it?"
"May I hold your hand for a moment?"
"…What?"
For an instant, the words Has this old geezer gone senile? nearly slipped from Dokgo Ryeong's lips.
"Your hand, I mean. Let me see your hand."
"…"
When Dokgo Ryeong carefully extended her right hand, Namgung Woncheong took hold of it.
"Hmm… These are clearly a martial artist's hands, and yet…"
"…"
"Pardon the liberty."
"W-wait a moment…!"
Despite her refusal, Namgung Woncheong ignored her and took her pulse at the wrist. As his clear, cool inner energy flowed through the captured wrist and swept through her body, Dokgo Ryeong squeezed her eyes shut.
Shit… I'm screwed…
Offering one's pulse was equivalent to revealing every detail of who one was to the other party. What martial arts one practiced, what inner energy one had cultivated, and to what level of skill — all of it could be known thoroughly. Just as Eun Yakbyeok had instantly recognized that Dokgo Jin and Dokgo Ryeong were the same person the moment she took Dokgo Ryeong's pulse, Namgung Woncheong too withdrew his hand with a sigh of wonder.
"Heo…"
"Shit… How did you know?"
When Dokgo Ryeong abandoned all pretense and spat out a curse, Namgung Woncheong's eyes widened.
"…Is it truly you, Mad Demon?"
"Didn't you already know? Grabbing my pulse out of nowhere like that…"
"When you grow old, you develop a strange sort of sixth sense. Something about your behavior felt suspicious — I sensed you were hiding something. Honestly, I never thought you would have a child."
"Damn it… If I'd known you were here, I never would have come."
When Dokgo Ryeong glared resentfully at Unyeong, he averted his gaze.
"Eu-ha-hat, I know nothing."
"Shit…"
"I say, Divine Doctor. Did you know?"
"I only learned of it by hearing about it."
"Keu-ha-hat, what entertainment to find in my twilight years."
Namgung Woncheong laughed heartily and looked at Unyeong.
"I offered to serve you tea, yet why did you never come?"
"Shit, no matter how many years passed, I couldn't even get a feel for that Heart Sword of yours."
"Keu… keuk… keu-ha-ha-hat!"
Namgung Woncheong looked at Dokgo Ryeong with a sly grin.
"How did this come about?"
"…I don't really know myself. I obtained the Ice Palace's divine treasure, absorbed its Yin energy, and while circulating my energy I underwent Bone and Body Reconstitution. When I came to, I was like this."
"Keul-keul-keul… You reached beyond your station with greed."
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong hesitated, lips parting and closing, before finally asking.
"…What do you intend to do with me now?"
"Hmm?"
"Now that you know my identity, do you mean to kill me here?"
"I? Kill you? Why?"
"…You were the former Wulin Alliance Leader, and though it's awkward to say it myself, I caused quite a bit of trouble, did I not? I even beat your son half to death…"
"Keu-ha-hat! Did you think I would reproach you for that?"
"…You wouldn't?"
Dokgo Ryeong was flustered by Namgung Woncheong's hearty laughter.
"Did you not say it yourself back then? That you had 'disciplined' my son."
"…I did, but…"
"And we settled our accounts. That was the end of it."
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong stared at Namgung Woncheong in astonishment, then lowered her head.
"…I should have come for that tea long ago."
"I waited all that time, yet you had forgotten. It's not too late, though?"
"Just give it to me here."
"Keu-ha-hat! Very well. Unyeong, would you bring out a tea set?"
"…Is the Sword God Elder truly going to serve the tea himself?"
"I invited the guest, so it is only proper that I do so."
"Yes. Please wait a moment."
Once Unyeong left and the two were alone, Namgung Woncheong grinned at her. Finding that gaze oddly unpleasant, Dokgo Ryeong frowned and asked.
"Hey… what's with you, old man?"
"Ah, well… it's just fascinating. In all my years, this is the first time I've seen a man turn into a woman."
"…I'm just as bewildered myself."
"So which have you chosen?"
"What do you mean?"
Namgung Woncheong's mouth still curved in a grin, but his eyes narrowed.
"Are you 'Lady Dokgo,' claiming to be Dokgo Jin's daughter? Or are you Dokgo Jin?"
"…I don't understand your meaning. I am Dokgo…"
"Are you still continuing your path of vengeance?"
"…I am."
"Hrm…"
Namgung Woncheong stroked his beard and sighed.
"Do you still live only to kill Dokseon?"
"I threw myself into the Murim with that single goal from the start, so I will continue as such."
"…I see. You haven't changed at all."
"What would change just because I've become a woman's body?"
"Forgive me. I apologize."
"…For what?"
"Seeing you travel with the Lust Demon, I assumed you had already taken him as your husband…"
"Hwek?!"
"…"
Dokgo Ryeong made a strange sound in her fluster, her hair turning pink.
"Wh-why would I marry some man?!"
"…"
Watching Dokgo Ryeong suddenly screech, Namgung Woncheong laughed.
"Keu-ha-hat!! Ah… you're still lost in confusion."
"Wh-what are you talking about…"
"It seems you haven't decided yet. That's fortunate."
"…May I be a bit rude for a moment?"
"Go ahead."
"Have you gone senile? You've been rambling nonsense to yourself this whole time."
"Keul-keul-keul…"
Namgung Woncheong grinned and picked up the stick beside him.
"Shall we try dodging again?"
"…That's why I asked for your understanding first."
"Still no manners, tsk tsk…"
"…I never learned any."
When Dokgo Ryeong grumbled, Namgung Woncheong set the stick down again and asked.
"Have you no thought of living as you are?"
"…What do you mean?"
"Giving it all up and living as some nameless woman."
"…You say the same thing."
Dokgo Ryeong furrowed her brow. Eun Yakbyeok, Unyeong, and now even Namgung Woncheong — all saying the same thing. To abandon the life of the vengeful spirit Dokgo Jin of the past. To live as Dokgo Ryeong from now on. And her answer was already decided.
"…Not in the slightest."
"Why is that?"
"It's a question I don't understand. Do I need others' opinions to decide my own life?"
"Hrm… A fair point. But what if the person in question has no will to live?"
"I am moving with a clear will."
"Is that truly so? For whose sake is your revenge?"
"…For my own peace."
"Then if you complete that revenge, what will you do? Have you ever thought about it?"
"…I don't understand what you're trying to say."
When Dokgo Ryeong dodged the question, Namgung Woncheong spoke.
"I, you see, spent my entire life living to kill the previous Heavenly Demon, Cheon Yongtaek."
"…"
"We were always opposed. The Orthodox Murim and the Demonic Cult. The Wulin Alliance Leader and the Cult Leader. Sword and saber. Everything was different. Even I had only one son, while that fellow had one daughter."
"So what are you trying to say?"
"After I killed the Heavenly Demon, I could proudly say I had reached the pinnacle of the Murim. But do you know what remained for me?"
Namgung Woncheong spread his hands open.
"Loneliness, emptiness, and the wound that fellow left behind — that is all."
"…Are you trying to say that revenge is empty, or some such nonsense?"
"No. I wish to speak of what lies beyond. Of what comes after revenge."
"…"
"When I was drowning in a terrible emptiness, do you know where I found joy? …In my son."
Namgung Woncheong clenched his open hand into a fist and wore a kind smile.
"Raising a child turned out to be quite entertaining. The little one who was crawling on the floor just the other day now brings his own granddaughter along."
"…"
"And so, you see, I worry about you."
"Mind your own business."
"I at least had family, but you don't seem to have a single place to rest your heart."
"I don't need such a thing."
"Is that truly so?"
"…It is."
"You hesitated."
"I did not."
Namgung Woncheong stared piercingly at Dokgo Ryeong. She could not meet his eyes directly.
"Keul-keul-keul… Forgive me. When you grow old, the only thing that increases is meddling."
"…Don't concern yourself."
"Wi Ilcheong would make a rather fine match."
"…What are you talking about?"
Namgung Woncheong said,
"I mentioned earlier, did I not? That I have a granddaughter."
"Hm?"
"While we're at it, pairing my granddaughter with Wi Ilcheong wouldn't be half bad."
"Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?!"
"Noble houses always form ties this way. This would be a good chance to grow closer to the Wi clan as well."
"Th-th-th… what…!"
"Did you not say so yourself? That the two of you wouldn't marry. Now I'm growing curious."
Namgung Woncheong once again stared piercingly at Dokgo Ryeong.
"What is the relationship between you and Wi Ilcheong?"
"Ah… th-that guy is!"
"That guy is?"
"Th-that is to say…"
Dokgo Ryeong's eyes spun in circles. As her hair began turning pink from the roots until it became a complete shade of pink, Dokgo Ryeong opened her mouth.
"He's… a traveling companion…"