27 – 02# After the Rain, the Earth Hardens (10)

A girl with neatly tied back white hair, clad in black martial robes. Seolhwa sat cross-legged, focusing her mind. Soon, a blue aura began to flow from her body.

It was a sight akin to blue flames consuming Seolhwa, yet her expression remained utterly serene. Moomyung, watching from a short distance away, breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she seemed able to fully concentrate on her qi circulation without issue. According to Doctor Yi Cheongsoo’s diagnosis, it was a miracle that Seolhwa was even alive, given the poison within her body.

If the toxins weren’t removed, she’d be lucky to live another year. But the real problem was that the poison, firmly lodged in her dantian, was something even the most skilled doctors couldn’t touch.

‘In my long life, I’ve treated many patients… but I’ve never seen so much poison settled in the dantian like this. That’s why she was able to hide it from me during our first appointment.’

Normally, someone with that much poison would be in agony, or it would be apparent somehow. Seolhwa appeared so normal on the outside that Moomyung hadn’t even imagined it until he was told.

“A blessing in disguise, indeed.”

“That’s right. If it weren’t for Master’s method, Seolhwa wouldn’t have survived.”

“It was merely luck.”

But that deadly poison was now nothing more than excellent nourishment for Seolhwa. As she began to cultivate her inner energy by using the poison lodged in her dantian as fuel through qi circulation…

The speed was comparable to the inner cores boasted by the Shaolin and Wudang sects. However, that didn’t mean Seolhwa’s poison was infinite. It was simply accumulating very quickly.

Eventually, toxins of all sizes and kinds build up in the human body. But because of the toxins Seolhwa had absorbed until now, toxins were accumulating dozens of times faster than in an ordinary person.

But even that would eventually be burned away. When that happened, Seolhwa would be able to live like a normal human. Although, it’s hard to say if she might go crazy by then.

“Is it all over now?”

Sooah, sitting right next to Moomyung, raised her head to look up at him. Her brown bobbed hair tilted to the side. Moomyung nodded in response.

“For now, one hurdle has been cleared.”

“It’s probably because of that Demonic Cult, right?”

“Yes, since we’ve been entangled with them. They probably won’t just let it go.”

“…Then we have no choice but to become even stronger than we are now.”

The bloody battle from the previous night flashed back in Sooah’s mind, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Although they had been annihilated effortlessly by Master’s one sword, that was simply because the opponent was bad.

Their combined attacks and martial arts were by no means inferior compared to the martial artists of the Moryong Family. As evidence, Sooah hadn’t even drawn her sword once during yesterday’s fight, let alone used a technique.

Having spent nearly a month beneath the Master’s tutelage, Su-ah had become unimaginably close to the apex. And yet, she hadn’t quite reached it.

But understanding blossomed within her, a prodigy and monstrous talent unseen in the Mo-yong Clan for generations. The formation the Black Blood Guard displayed last night – she grasped its potency in full.

‘I have to admit it. Yesterday, I was of no help to Master.’

Had Su-ah forced her way into that bloody fray, losing an arm would have been the least of it. Because they were murderers, unhesitating to extinguish a life.

‘If I stand with Master, I will fight those wicked devils of the Demonic Sect.’

And those they fought last night were hardly the Demonic Sect’s main force. Should she continue with Master, they would inevitably face enemies far stronger.

‘I must become stronger than I am now.’

“Master…!!”

“It seems your meditation has ended.”

But the admirable resolve she’d painstakingly gathered dissolved in an instant, like frost under a summer sun, as Seol-hwa, face crumpled, rushed into the Master’s embrace.

“This is so much harder than before! And it smells weird, too!”

“Those are the impurities expelled from your body during the refinement process.”

“I want to wash! I want to wash!”

“…Seol-hwa, junior sister. Aren’t you being a bit overly indulged?”

Trusting Master after last night’s events was all well and good. But a side effect was that the junior sister’s childishness had escalated. Su-ah found the sight incredibly grating.

Yet, she wasn’t entirely ignorant of Seol-hwa’s situation, and she understood the desire to be pampered. With effort, Su-ah suppressed her irritation, settling for a mild scolding.

Or rather, she intended to. Until Seol-hwa, ignoring Su-ah’s words, pressed her lips against the Master’s cheek. At that precise moment, a string in her mind finally snapped.

“Junior Sister, now that I think about it… haven’t we neglected our sparring lately?”

“Sparring? Senior sister, will you spar with me?”

“Of course.”

Perhaps it was due to her mind still being akin to that of a child. Seol-hwa, seeing sparring as nothing more than a game, leaped from Mu-myoung’s arms, eyes shining. Mu-myoung hesitated for a fleeting moment.

Even a fool could see the murderous intent blazing in Su-ah’s eyes, enough to make one fear for their life. Yet, Seol-hwa remained oblivious.

But, the previous incident wouldn’t repeat itself. He couldn’t know anything else, but he was certain of that. Therefore, Mu-myoung chose to trust.

No matter what anyone said.

Su-ah was Mu-myoung’s first disciple, after all.

◇

“We’re not finished yet, draw your weapon!”

“S-Senior Sister. You look too scary…”

“I’ll teach you some manners!”

“Master!!!”

And the nameless faith shattered less than half a moment later. Of course, it wasn’t as severe as before, but it was still excessively harsh, that was undeniable.

Even Seolhwa, who normally laughed off bouts of intense sparring, looked at Myeong with a mournful face. Myeong, unable to turn a blind eye, had no choice but to halt the training.

Thankfully, there was a suitable pretext. To help rebuild the damaged village and, incidentally, to show Lee Cheong-woo, the physician, Seolhwa’s condition once more.

“Understood, Master.”

Surprisingly, Sua chose to back down readily. Before Sua could change her mind, Myeong took his disciples and descended to the village. In truth, there wasn’t much to do in the village, specifically.

Cleaning up the mess wasn’t as difficult as expected. Hardly any houses were completely burnt, and more importantly, miraculously, no one had died.

This was because the Black Demon Clan had been trying to extract information through torture. In the end, the most important thing about torture is to keep the subject alive for as long as possible, proportional to the pain inflicted.

Therefore, the damage from arson was concentrated on stables or straw piles in the yards, rather than houses occupied by people. Thanks to that, miraculously, there were no fatalities.

However, Physician Lee Cheong-woo was not unscathed, as he was the first person they sought out and tortured. As a result, both of his hands were torn to shreds.

He even lost two fingers on his left hand. Of course, considering the opponent, surviving at all was a stroke of good fortune, but that wouldn’t be much of a consolation, clearly.

“Still, Physician Lee Cheong-woo upheld his principles to the very end. He’s an admirable man with conviction and tenacity.”

“So, that’s why Master visits him every day?”

“At the very least, I must repay the loyalty he maintained, even at the cost of two fingers.”

“I want to eat something in the village, Master!”

“Alright, alright. Let’s take this opportunity to have a meal in the village.”

There was nothing particularly special planned. Visiting Physician Lee Cheong-woo for a casual chat, then wandering around the village for a meal. In some ways, it was a plan closer to an outing.

That is, until they saw the considerable number of horses tied at the village entrance. Even now, but especially back then, good horses were incredibly valuable property, commanding exorbitant prices.

And these were clearly military horses, no less than ten of them, positioned at the entrance, naturally drawing their attention. Sua spoke,

“Could it be the Demonic Cult?”

“I don’t think so.”

Although he hadn’t met them yet, nine times out of ten, the Demonic Cult didn’t care for appearances. If they considered appearances at all, they wouldn’t resort to Demonic Arts.

Compared to that, not only were there over ten horses, but they also carried a flag inscribed with ‘Lyun’ (聯). At least, it didn’t seem like the Demonic Cult, in his estimation, and that was indeed the case.

However, just as Myeong had discovered the group, they too had discovered him. Soon, a woman with captivating black hair stepped forward and approached Myeong.

“…Pleased to meet you, Daehyeop. Forgive my intrusion, but what is your esteemed name?”

“Myeong, I am called.”

“How unexpectedly… it’s the same name as my father.”

With a single word that fell like a thunderclap from the woman’s lips, Sua and Seolhwa’s gaze fixed on Myeong. Under the emotionless, corpse-like eyes, Myeong smiled.

So, a bolt from the blue could actually exist.

He hadn’t known until he was struck by one himself.