Chapter 141

“Kyahhh!” Hong Seolhwa thrashed wildly as she screamed in agony. “Hold her tightly!” “My lady! Endure it! Please endure it!” If he could have, Namgung Cheon would’ve gladly taken her pain upon himself. Crunch— As he watched her body twist and contort unnaturally, Namgung Cheon could no longer bear to look and turned his head. And then, he asked Yeon Woo Jin, “Would it not be better to render her unconscious?” “We can’t. She needs to feel the pain to confirm that the treatment is working.” Even the act of healing tormented her. Namgung Cheon clenched his teeth. He had to stay strong. “Kyahhh!” Thud— With one final, ragged scream, Hong Seolhwa lost consciousness. Startled, Namgung Cheon called out in alarm, “My lady! My lady!” He immediately turned to Yeon Woo Jin. “Whew. Let’s stop here for today.” “Is... Is she going to be all right?” “Fortunately, the treatment is progressing well. Now you understand, don’t you? Why she can’t be treated all at once?” Namgung Cheon nodded fiercely. She had only received a partial session, and already the pain was unbearable. Looking at her unconscious body drenched in sweat, tears welled in his eyes. “We’ll take our leave now. Clan Head, please wipe down her body. That should help her rest more comfortably.” “Understood. Thank you.” After Yeon Woo Jin and No Sobaek left, Namgung Cheon brought warm water, soaked a cloth, and began gently wiping Hong Seolhwa’s body. She used to have a bit of healthy weight to her. Now, she was nothing but skin and bones. While he was tending to her like that— Hong Seolhwa’s eyes fluttered open. “D-Dear...” “You’re awake?” She gave a faint nod. “You endured so much today.” With a weak smile, she raised a trembling hand and caressed Namgung Cheon’s face. “You suffered far more than I did, my dear.” “What are you saying? I didn’t suffer at all!” At his words, Hong Seolhwa chuckled softly. That smile—it was beautiful. “My lady. You must recover—so you can keep showing me that smile. Always.” “Yes. I’ll recover and keep smiling for you, my dear. I promise.” **** While treating Hong Seolhwa, there was one place Yeon Woo Jin visited without fail every single day. The pill refinement chamber. There, all manner of medicinal pills used across Mushincheon were being prepared. And in one especially secret area— A place only the Lord of the Hall had access to— The Mushin Golden Pill was being made. To completely cure Hong Seolhwa, either the Mushin Golden Pill or a medicinal equivalent of comparable potency was required. To replenish her depleted innate true energy, such a supreme-grade elixir was absolutely necessary. But No Sobaek wore a troubled expression. The Mushin Golden Pill wasn’t something that could be produced at will. First, the ingredients required were extremely difficult to obtain. One needed Void-Crystal Milk, Yin-Yang Life-Death Fruit, and Five Elements Snow Orchid. On top of that, three martial artists at Hwagyeong-level, or at the very least Seventh Star Extreme Apex, were required. The three had to take turns infusing qi into the alchemical formation nonstop, carefully balancing the energies of the three ingredients in perfect harmony. Even a slight excess or deficiency would lead to failure. And a failed pill? It was unusable. If the powerful energies failed to combine correctly, they would simply annihilate one another. And that was before even acquiring the ingredients. And yet— Yeon Woo Jin said he’d go acquire them. Like he was just heading down to the market. And then he disappeared—only to return that same evening. In his hands were all three ingredients. Even more shocking—No Sobaek had never seen Void-Crystal Milk of such purity in his entire life. “Where in the world did you get these?” “I sort of... stumbled upon them.” As if such items could be “stumbled upon.” Absolutely not. And it hadn’t even taken him long. The three heavenly ingredients—said to reveal themselves only to those blessed by the heavens—he had gathered them all in less than half a day. No Sobaek asked again. “Please, just tell me. Only me. How did you get these?” Yeon Woo Jin hesitated for a moment... then nodded—and his eyes turned black. “When my eyes shift like this, I can see the energies of the world. Elixirs with power this immense emit energy that shoots straight into the sky. What’s fascinating is—each one has a different color. I just have to follow the energy pillar.” What on earth was he saying? The energy of elixirs shoots skyward? And you just follow it? Yeon Woo Jin smiled. “Easy, right?” No Sobaek thought to himself: Yeon Woo Jin isn’t human. Wait... if he could see the energy of these, then he must’ve seen others too? “You didn’t see any other energies?” “I did.” Click— Yeon Woo Jin opened a nearby chest. “My word!” It was filled with all manner of rare and precious elixirs. “I’ve only searched the surrounding region so far. If I search the entire Central Plains, I’ll probably find a lot more.” At this rate, he was going to wipe out every rare medicinal herb in the land. “I’m planning to use these to create a new kind of pill—my own.” If anyone else had said that, No Sobaek would’ve scolded them. A baby who couldn’t even crawl trying to run? But Yeon Woo Jin was different. He didn’t know what kind of pill it would be—but one thing was certain: It would surpass the Mushin Golden Pill. “You’re trying to make something even greater than the Mushin Golden Pill?” “Well, I do want to try—but first comes the patient. If the medicine is too strong, it could cause harm instead.” No Sobaek nodded. He truly had the heart of a healer. “You never cease to amaze, Young Lord. I’m constantly in awe.” “It’s all thanks to your teachings, Master.” “Haha... Even hearing that makes me happy.” “Well then, shall we begin the refinement?” There was just one problem. There were no Hwagyeong-level martial artists present at the moment. As No Sobaek pointed this out— Three men appeared silently. Startled, No Sobaek gasped. “Chosal Sword Lord? Hellfire Shade Emperor?!” “Hahaha! It’s been a while, Medicine King.” “Not since you treated me, I believe.” No Sobaek turned to the last man. “And you are... Jeok Seong?” “Yes.” “Jeok Seong... the Black Reaper?!” “A mere nickname.” “My heavens...” As No Sobaek stood in stunned disbelief, Yeon Woo Jin spoke. “I’ll need your strength.” “Command us, and we shall obey!” “I will burn this body to serve!” Watching the three burn with determination, No Sobaek could hardly believe his eyes. Was this really happening? **** Yeon Woo Jin, having learned the refinement method of the Mushin Golden Pill from No Sobaek— Immediately began the process exactly as he had been taught. Woom woom woom— The three elixirs, each carrying overwhelming energy, struggled to reject one another’s qi. But Yeon Woo Jin simply forced them to fuse. Tzzeuong— Overwhelmed by his power, the elixirs couldn’t even resist—they were fused together in an instant. No Sobaek shook his head, dumbfounded. It was said that harmonizing those three required at least a full month of careful refinement. And he had accomplished it in the blink of an eye. Now, all that remained was to maintain their harmony. Jeok Seong rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward. Infusing energy into the alchemical formation was no easy task. It ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) required incredibly delicate control. If even one area received too much qi, the pill would collapse. Sweat rolled down Jeok Seong’s forehead. Watching this, Chun Ho Seong and Ma Ryong whispered quietly to each other. “Looks harder than we thought.” “Yeah. This might end up being valuable training after all.” “Seems like you need to control the qi with extreme precision.” “The problem is, he has to maintain it for half a day.” “When we take over, we’ll have to match the exact flow of Jeok Seong’s qi. That won’t be easy.” “Let’s start synchronizing with him now.” “Right.” Chun Ho Seong and Ma Ryong immediately joined in, focusing and aligning their energy with Jeok Seong’s. Watching this, No Sobaek said to Yeon Woo Jin, “Seeing how loyally those three follow your commands... it’s as if they serve a true master.” “They do.” “...Pardon?” “They’re my subordinates.” “Wh-What?!” “My grandfather entrusted them to me.” Unbelievable. If the Chosal Sword Lord and Hellfire Shade Emperor had truly been handed over to him, then that meant more than half of Tianzhu Hall’s elite power had been transferred. Half of the Martial Lord’s personal force—now under Yeon Woo Jin. It showed just how deeply the Martial Lord cherished him. “Then please continue guiding them well. I’m going to check on the patient.” “Understood.” **** A few days later— Namgung Cheon swallowed hard as he looked at the brilliantly glowing, golden-hued pill in Yeon Woo Jin’s hand. Anyone could tell at a glance—this wasn’t an ordinary pill. “Wh-What is that?” “A Golden Pill.” “S-Sorry? Do you mean... the Mushin Golden Pill?” “Not the Mushin Golden Pill—this one is slightly lower in grade. But it’s still a Golden Pill. It’s what she needs to replenish her innate true energy.” Could a pill that restored innate true energy possibly be anything but extraordinary? It was obvious the ingredients were worth more than mountains of gold. “Th-This... this is so p-precious...” “It’s a gift. A gesture of respect for a Clan Head who cast aside pride and came all the way to Mushincheon for his wife—and also an apology for the unfortunate incident you experienced here.” “I-I’ve long forgotten about that.” “Well, I haven’t. So please, don’t hold anything against Mushincheon.” “H-How could I possibly harbor resentment? Mushincheon is now a benefactor to the Namgung Clan!” “Thank you for saying that. Even so, this is still a gift. Please accept it.” Namgung Cheon’s eyes welled with tears. It was clear—this pill contained elixirs that couldn’t be bought even with a fortune. And they were giving it to him freely, without expecting anything in return. From that moment on, Namgung Cheon swore—anyone who spoke ill of Mushincheon in his presence, he’d rip their damn mouths open. Yeon Woo Jin stepped up to Hong Seolhwa, gently opened her mouth, and placed the Golden Pill inside. Then, he swiftly inserted acupuncture needles all across her body. No matter how many times he saw it, Namgung Cheon never ceased to be amazed by the speed of Yeon Woo Jin’s needling. Soon, Hong Seolhwa’s body began to tremble—and she started to groan again. “Hhhuup—!” But unlike the first treatment, she didn’t scream in agony. “...What?” Namgung Cheon could see it. A miracle was beginning to unfold before his eyes. Her dry, lifeless skin was beginning to regain color. Was he imagining things? It even looked like a bit of healthy flesh was returning. A short while later— Yeon Woo Jin removed all the needles and spoke. “Thankfully, her body has absorbed the pill’s energy without issue. If we continue treatment like this, when it’s time to leave, the two of you should be able to walk out hand in hand, enjoying the scenery.” “Thank you! Thank you so much!” Namgung Cheon and Hong Seolhwa expressed their thanks over and over, and Yeon Woo Jin gently told them to rest as he quietly stepped outside. “My dear... my body feels full of vitality.” At her words, Namgung Cheon beamed brightly. “Well? Aren’t you glad we came here?” Hong Seolhwa looked at him and smiled. Not a weak, exhausted smile—but one full of life. Namgung Cheon choked up. He had thought he’d never see that smile again. Now that it had returned—he vowed to do anything, anything at all, for the Divine Physician who had given it back to him. **** It had already been a full month since Namgung Cheon arrived at Mushincheon. In that time, Hong Seolhwa had made a complete recovery. Her complexion was healthy and glowing, her movements light and full of energy. She used to barely be able to eat, but now she was eating well. Namgung Cheon found himself just watching her in silence, happy beyond words simply to see her eat. “You should eat too, dear.” “Watching you eat is more than enough for me. I feel full just seeing it.” “Oh, stop it, dear.” Back then, even her laughter had been dry and forced. Now, her smile radiated with vitality. “My lady, the Divine Physician said that after today’s treatment, you’ll be fully cured.” “Really? Does that mean... we can finally go home?” “Yes. But I don’t know how to repay the grace we’ve received from him. He even refused any form of payment...” He was torn. What could he possibly do to repay this favor? “Maybe there’s something he needs?” “Hm...” “Why don’t you ask? Tell him you want to repay the favor without burdening him.” “You’re right. I’ll ask him when I see him later.” Creak— Just then, Yeon Woo Jin opened the door and stepped inside.