“Nngh.”I startled at the sound that came out of my own mouth. So I make noises like that too, huh.“Damn.”It’s been fifteen days since the life-and-death duel with Ming Cheon.For anyone who hadn’t trained martial arts, these wounds would have hovered at death’s door. But for one who had trudged through innumerable slaughterfields, they were nothing special.“I figured I’d be mobile in ten days.”Vmmm.When I ran my inner force, strength returned to my four limbs.The inner force I’d spent had recovered to nearly eight-tenths, and the Three-Spirit Qi was vigorous.Even so, I was like this. Strangely, the wounds just weren’t healing well.“Why.”I had power to spare and my raw strength was back.If the wounds still didn’t knit within the expected window, then it was entirely a matter of qi.Sitting cross-legged, Yeon Hojeong sank deep inward.A moment later—Fwoooosh!Red flame—Vermilion Bird Qi—blazed up.It was the latest qi I’d gained, yet in vigor it topped the Three-Spirit Qi.Yeon Hojeong found the reason in his own disposition.“If Black Tortoise is a shield and White Tiger is a spear, Vermilion Bird is the execution itself.”It was so overwhelming a qi that unless you meant to kill, you hesitated even to draw it out.In short, the Vermilion Bird Qi swelling this large was proof the will to kill still clung thick in his heart. And since his return, he hadn’t felt death as closely as he had in the fight with Ming Cheon.According to the degree of crisis, Vermilion Bird Qi grows. My own killing intent, my extreme sense of peril, seem to have swelled it this far.Yeon Hojeong checked White Tiger Qi and Black Tortoise Qi as well.“As expected, nothing wrong there…”All three—White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—were fine. Differences in nature aside, all had settled in stably.After probing his body for a long while, Yeon Hojeong unfolded his legs.“Let’s not force an answer that won’t come.”Either way, the flesh was recovering. That was enough.He had just risen to his feet when—“First Young Master.”“Oh—Captain Shin.”“Um… you have a visitor.”Yeon Hojeong sighed.“Again.”At present, Yeon Hojeong was recuperating in a medical quarters set a fair distance from the Ming main house.The distance was considerable, yes, but still within the Ming Clan’s domain. Perhaps that’s why so many martial artists had come. Now that the Ming Clan had been branded Enemy of the Martial World, it was only natural that curiosity would surge.And the number who had come looking for Yeon Hojeong had climbed to near the hundreds.They’d all been turned away with the notice he was under treatment and unavailable for meetings, but a few threw tantrums and would not be denied. In the end, Shin Mo had had to draw steel more than once.“I want to be alone. Please send them back.”“It’s just that…”Yeon Hojeong cocked his head.On second thought, if it were anyone ordinary, Shin Mo would already have sent them away.“Who is it?”That was when a lordly voice cracked out like thunder.“It’s me!”Whoever it was, she’d shoved her way in on purpose. A woman poked her head out from behind Shin Mo.Yeon Hojeong’s eyes went wide.“You…?!”“Hehe, surprised?”“…”“Oh my, that surprised? Heh, that’s a bit unexpected.”Yeon Hojeong knit his brows.“Je Gal Ahyeon.”“Hey!”Je Gal Ahyeon yelped.“Did you already forget my name? Is that it? Wow—how hurtful can you be!”Yeon Hojeong let out a small, helpless laugh.Now he understood why Shin Mo had been in a bind. Je Gal Ahyeon was one of those he’d gotten along with the best at the Assembly, after all.“What brings you here?”“What do you mean, what! The whole martial world is in an uproar because of you—of course a friend comes to check on you!”Yeon Hojeong shook his head.“Not because of me—the uproar’s because of the Ming Clan.”“Look at you slipping aside. You’re the trigger, aren’t you.”Yeon Hojeong answered, flat.“It started as a private grudge. There wasn’t anything so grand about it at first.”Je Gal Ahyeon smiled.“So it wasn’t at first, but it became grand later?”“Alone, there was no way to win. Then you bury the whole thing.”Plain words, but the kind that sent a chill down the listener’s spine.No way to win alone? That meant he’d intended to win alone from the start. Whether possible or not, that he’d even conceived such a thought was extraordinary.And when he realized he couldn’t win alone, he buried the Ming Clan as it was.Whether by force or by stratagem, burying an organization on the level of the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces in a short span is something few could do.Je Gal Ahyeon let out a sigh.“How did you end up a monster at your age?”“Calling a person a monster is a bit much.”“So you do know it’s harsh?”“No matter.”“There it is again. Fix that old-man way of talking already.”“How is ‘no matter’ an old-man way of talking.”“Ugh, I’m getting tired all of a sudden.”“Go.”Snorting, Je Gal Ahyeon strode over and plopped down beside Yeon Hojeong.Yeon Hojeong frowned.“It’s hot. Scoot.”“Liar.”“Can’t you see the weather? Scoot.”“No! I’m standing guard, so be grateful.”“Guard what—my circulation’s already done.”“Rude little—”Je Gal Ahyeon drew a small brocade pouch from her sleeve.“Here. Take this.”Yeon Hojeong blinked like a fool.“What is it?”“Think I smeared poison on it or something? Just take it when I tell you.”Yeon Hojeong took the pouch.Je Gal Ahyeon snapped her head away.“Good grief, my father’s the world’s biggest soft touch. What’s so lovable about a guy like you that he even sends you a pill.”“A pill?”“It’s a treasure called the Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill. Eat it.”Her tone had gotten a bit rough.Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.“What’s a Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill?”Je Gal Ahyeon’s jaw dropped.“You don’t know the Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill?”“No.”“The Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill. The Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill! We’re talking the Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill here!”“I said I don’t, you brat.”“Hey! We’re both from the Seven Great Families—at least memorize the signature elixirs each house boasts about!”“Why would I care—knowing it doesn’t mean I can steal and swallow it.”“Give it back.”“Don’t take back what you gave.”Je Gal Ahyeon huffed and puffed. Looked like her temper was rising.Just then, Shin Mo spoke in a careful voice.“The Celestial Mechanism Pill is the Je Gal Clan’s pride—an elixir. It comes in Greater and Lesser; even the Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill is a treasure that greatly aids inner-force cultivation.”Yeon Hojeong’s ears pricked.The word “elixir” had already sparked a bit of anticipation. Hearing it put that way, it sounded even better than expected.“Yeah? So if I take this, my inner force increases?”“The so-called elixirs refined by the major orthodox schools are treasures that compress medicinal efficacy to the extreme. Not at all the same as the odds-and-ends pills drifting through the rivers and lakes.”“That so?”“Yes. It will be of great help to restoring the First Young Master’s inner force, which was damaged in this battle.”Yeon Hojeong looked at Je Gal Ahyeon.She met his gaze with a lofty expression, as if to say, See?Yeon Hojeong nudged her arm with his elbow.“Any Greater Celestial Mechanism Pill around?”“…Wow. I held back. Know that you just barely lived. I was this close to socking you for real.”“Well, thanks anyway.”Je Gal Ahyeon was floored.What kind of treasure was the Lesser Celestial Mechanism Pill? Though in pure inner-force gain it might fall short of the Lesser Pellet Pill, it was a specific cure for stabilizing the body—and among treasures that boost inner reserves regardless of the inner force’s nature, it was a treasure among treasures.Yeon Hojeong gave an awkward little smile.Seeing Je Gal Ahyeon staring at him, dazed, it did seem a truly great item. Honestly, just coming all that way to bring a gift like this was something to be grateful for.Je Gal Ahyeon shook her head.“Father… even if he’s our benefactor, this is a bit much.”“Benefactor?”“Ugh, forget it! Just eat it, already!”“I’ll eat after I eat.”“Argh!”If there’s one talent she has, it’s making people mad—best of the age. After huffing for a while, Je Gal Ahyeon finally turned her back.Shin Mo smiled as he spoke.“Since your friend is here, why don’t you share a meal.”“With her?”“Yes. Had the Je Gal Clan not exerted themselves, First Young Master, your recovery would not have been so swift.”It was slow.“What do you mean?”“Before the battle broke out, just in case, they’d already lined up the best physicians in Henan. Your condition was extremely grave at the time, was it not?”Even if left alone, well…“It was.”“On the day you lost consciousness, the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Physician came and saw you.”Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.He knew the Heaven-Penetrating Divine Physician as well. Among those called divine physicians, he enjoyed the highest renown—one of the top three great doctors in the martial world.Yeon Hojeong looked at Je Gal Ahyeon.She still sat with her back turned. Arms folded tight—looked like she was genuinely sulking.Yeon Hojeong poked her in the side.“A meal?”“Eek! Hey! You crazy bastard—where are you touching!”“I’ll buy something tasty. Eat with me?”Je Gal Ahyeon cleared her throat. Her face reddened a ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) little, but the way her ears perked up said her appetite had stirred.“Ahem! You’re buying something tasty?”Yeon Hojeong smiled.“Yeah. I’ll buy you anything you want.”Truth be told, he owed Je Gal Ahyeon in more ways than one.Leaving aside this help—he’d been suspecting her. No—he’d been suspecting all Seven Great Families.Because she was the one most entangled with him, he’d been a bit colder to her than he should have.“Heehee.”Watching Je Gal Ahyeon giggle like a fool, Shin Mo laughed inwardly.“They’re at the good age.”Then Yeon Hojeong asked,“How are things on the Ming side, by the way?”“Ah…”Shin Mo’s face turned awkward.“Are you certain you wish to hear it?”For fear it might hamper recovery, he’d deliberately withheld it till now. But seeing him today, it seemed time to report.“I know the gist. I’ve heard the doctors’ chatter coming and going. I just want the details.”“Understood. Then—”Just then—“What do you mean, ‘then,’ you brat. It’s practically a funeral parlor over there.”Chaaang!Shin Mo’s drawn blade flashed like a bolt of light to the rear.“Oh-ho? Look at that edge. People kept calling you Gale-Sword, and you really do carry astonishing sword-qi.”Shin Mo’s eyes sharpened.“Who goes there?”The old man grinned.Though he looked past seventy, his teeth were as white as Ga Deoksang’s.“I’m the boss of the beggars.”“…?”“My disciple says some rascal puffed him full of wind, so I came to see what kind of punk you are.”“…!”Shin Mo’s eyes wavered.“Could you be the Union Lord of the Dragon Head Union?”“That I am.”Tack.Shin Mo sheathed at once and gave a crisp cupped-fists salute.“I am Shin Mo, Captain of the Yeon Clan’s Azure Hawk. I pay respects to the Union Lord of the Dragon Head Union.”The Union Lord, Hwa Jincheon, burst out in a booming laugh.“They say yours is a gentleman’s house—looks like you keep your men well. I’ve never had a private chat with your Clan Lord, but seeing you, I feel I know his temperament.”“You flatter me.”“Heh heh.”“Please leave.”“…Huh?!”The smooth flow of conversation seemed to cut off with a snap.Shin Mo spoke evenly.“The First Young Master is in recovery. No one enters without permission.”Hwa Jincheon’s eyes sparkled.Even when the Union Lord of the world came, being told to leave if not permitted.“Stiff.”A stiff temperament. He liked that.Hwa Jincheon was about to speak with a smile when—“Captain Shin.”“Yes, First Young Master.”“It’s fine. He’s already inside anyway.”“…As you command.”Shin Mo stepped aside.Hwa Jincheon looked to Yeon Hojeong.Sitting cross-legged, calm, he was like a painted scene. A mysterious current of qi ringed his whole body.Hwa Jincheon’s lips curved. A quiet admiration colored his gaze.“No wonder Sang was swayed.”Yeon Hojeong rose and offered a cupped-fists salute.“I am Yeon Hojeong of the Yeon Clan.”Hwa Jincheon studied him steadily.Composed yet unhurried.“So the world’s saying you’re a butcher of all under heaven—and you look a lot more normal than I expected.”

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