“Truly, a physique befitting a prince.”

Jin Cheon-hee examined the patient with a critical eye. The body before him was well-formed, a testament to disciplined training.

For patients suffering from Severed Meridians, the primary obstacle was immediate survival. Yet, even if they cheated death, they were often condemned to a life plagued by vascular complications. Cheon-hee recalled his master from his previous life, a man who had eventually required artificial blood vessel replacement surgery due to an aortic dissection.

On Earth, such vascular fragility was typically found in the elderly or young patients ravaged by complications from diabetes, alcohol, tobacco, or poor diet. Their systems were already saturated with medications, requiring a physician to meticulously list every chemical compound in their blood before daring to operate. Thorough blood tests were non-negotiable; many patients only discovered they were diabetic while lying on the pre-op table. One had to verify if they had taken antiplatelets like aspirin within the last two weeks, or, in the case of the elderly, scour their history for knee pain analgesics.

Aging, in essence, was the act of prolonging life through a cocktail of chemistry. The extension of the human lifespan was a victory of science over nature.

Prince Han-bing, however, was different.

His body was a temple—clean, devoid of toxins, and maintained by a pristine diet. Perhaps due to a temperament that rejected stress, his blood vessels were remarkably robust.

The only concern is…

Jin Cheon-hee’s gaze drifted to the prince’s neck.

The carotid artery.

The Marrow Cleansing process was not merely an exorcism of bodily waste; it was a diagnostic flood, a way to map the body’s blood flow. And the flow near the carotid artery worried him.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t warrant surgical intervention; drug therapy would suffice. But the variable changing the equation was the Nine Yang Severed Meridians.

“Are you not in pain?” Cheon-hee asked, breaking the silence.

“I am fine.” The Prince’s voice was tight, a suppressed groan escaping his lips. “Urgh.”

His patience was formidable. Unlike the Emperor, who would have likely made a fuss, Prince Han-bing bore the agony with stoic dignity.

“I have become accustomed to pain since childhood,” the Prince murmured. “Compared to that, this is not unbearable. However… as it drags on, the escalating intensity is agonizing… Huu.”

Cheon-hee’s expression softened. It reminded him of his master in this world, the White Qilin, who had lived in perpetual torment due to the Nine Yin Severed Meridians. Although he knew the pain of Severed Meridians was beyond the comprehension of ordinary men, witnessing it was always regrettable.

Typically, Marrow Cleansing was performed on young children before they accumulated martial arts internal energy, not on fully grown adults. Children felt the pain less acutely; for an adult, the sensation was akin to being flayed from the inside.

“It will hurt,” Cheon-hee warned. “I am starting the procedure on the acupoints at the back of the neck. Raise your hand if it becomes unbearable.”

Moments later, His Highness raised a trembling hand.

Jin Cheon-hee nodded. “You can lower it now.”

“You aren’t going to make it less painful?”

“Hahaha. You know that is impossible. I cannot simply hold the acupoints shut while performing a Marrow Cleansing. I only needed to verify if the energy had entered the meridian properly.” Cheon-hee checked the needles one last time. “Hm… It is going well.”

The Prince muttered something under his breath.

Cheon-hee didn’t speak the language fluently, but the sharp intonation suggested it was a curse in the Ayesha tongue.

***

Once the Marrow Cleansing concluded, the Prince was bathed, only for the process to be repeated.

When the pain—intense enough to induce syncope—finally subsided, Prince Han-bing collapsed from exhaustion. He did not wake until the following day.

Upon rising, the Prince repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist, staring at his own hand as if it belonged to a stranger.

“Internal energy has increased,” Han-bing said, wonder in his voice. “My physical condition has improved as well.”

“Since you have already learned martial arts, normally your internal energy wouldn’t spike like this. We forcibly circulated the blood points to temporarily induce a Solar Physique.”

“Can I not live simply by continuing this acupuncture?”

“…Wouldn’t the pain be too severe?”

“That is true. Phew…”

Prince Han-bing reached for a cup of cold tea with a trembling hand.

“The heat surging in my body remains the same. But perhaps because my constitution has improved, the pain feels more manageable.”

“That is a temporary respite. It will return to its normal intensity soon.”

“Then?”

“We will perform the Opening Golden Needle Great Method.”

The White Qilin Opening Golden Needle Great Method.

It was the magnum opus created by his master, the White Qilin Divine Physician. At a glance, it appeared connected to the principles of Marrow Cleansing, but the fundamental mechanics were different. If Marrow Cleansing was a purge to remove waste, the Opening Golden Needle Great Method was a fortification, strengthening the body through potent drugs and Qi Arts.

In truth, it shared disturbing similarities with the dark arts used to create Jiangshi.

His master had performed it on his own body to survive. It wasn’t hard to fathom his mindset at the time. What wouldn’t a person do to cling to life? He had abandoned the dignity of the living, experimenting on himself with a Great Method designed for corpses.

Phew.

Using his own flesh as a test subject, he had completed the technique. Yet, even that desperate innovation hadn’t cured the Nine Yin Severed Meridians; it had merely bought him a few more years of borrowed time.

The entire Gangho had wished for the Blood Qilin’s death, yet he had stubbornly persisted, living a life that felt like being crushed under a millstone. What had he seen in that existence to make it worth the struggle?

Human affairs were unpredictable. The despair of that era was now the salvation of a prince in this one.

Some darkness burns itself to call forth light. Humans call that ‘Hope’.

“The treatment will be carried out over the course of a month,” Cheon-hee explained.

He did not sugarcoat the reality—that this was a Great Method akin to Jiangshi creation, and that if the Prince refused, dangerous surgery would be the only remaining option.

Hearing this, His Highness offered a sad smile.

“You know what my answer is.”

“Can we not keep the details a secret?”

“My Royal Father will be furious if he finds out.”

“…”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded wordlessly.

“There won’t be a single day without pain for a month.”

“That means you, Young Divine Physician, will also have to grind your stamina and mental strength to dust. It won’t be easy for either of us.”

Saying this, the Prince swallowed his tea, his movements slow and deliberate.

“I don’t know,” Han-bing mused, looking into the cup. “What I learned was always a life of responsibility, the life of the eldest son inheriting this country. Do you think I wouldn’t want to live for myself? But if I continue like this, I will die soon. And even if I survive through surgery, my brothers who covet the throne will eventually kill me. Those addicted to gambling and drugs usually keep poor company, do they not?”

Cheon-hee remained silent. In the original novel, Prince Han-bing likely died early. A second or third prince would have inherited the throne, creating a power vacuum easily exploited by the Blood Immortal Cult. The Cult thrived on human weakness.

In the Supreme Heavenly Demon, there were only dead men walking. This was likely why the original author struggled to write; the narrative weight of so much death was suffocating.

If Cheon-hee didn’t know the original plot, would he have acted differently? Regardless, he agreed with Prince Han-bing’s conjecture. There was no path for this kingdom’s survival other than this man inheriting the throne.

“What do you want to do when you get better?” Cheon-hee asked softly. “Among the things you couldn’t do before.”

“…”

Slurp.

The Prince turned his gaze toward the window.

In the Central Plains, it was spring. Here, winter still held the world in its jaws. Watching the snow fall with tedious persistence, Han-bing spoke.

“I want to use lightness skills. Fast enough to make my heart feel as if it will burst. Is that funny?”

“Hm… No. My master also danced a sword dance immediately after fully recovering.”

Recalling the emotion carved into that sword dance made Cheon-hee’s face heat up, but for his master, that act had been her declaration of life. Compared to that, wasn’t a desire for speed quite sensible?

“I want to drink alcohol, too. They say the liquor in this neighborhood is stronger than anything in the Central Plains. Is that true?”

“Well, the Central Plains is so vast that the range is extreme, so it is hard to say definitively… But generally, Ayesha Kingdom spirits are potent.”

“Then,” the Prince said, meeting his eyes, “let us have a drink when I recover completely.”

“I heard you do not like alcohol. Is that wise?”

“Can I not simply empty the snack plates continuously?”

“Hahaha, please do.”

The patient was ready. Now, it was time for Jin Cheon-hee to prepare himself. Watching the snowflakes fill the distant horizon, he steeled his resolve.

“It is fortunate. I am quite confident in long-term battles. I have fought them more than once or twice.”

“Indeed. The Emperor of the Hua Empire sent a very reassuring physician.”

***

For a whole month, the routine was absolute.

When the sun rose, Cheon-hee performed the White Qilin Opening Golden Needle Great Method. When the sun set, he returned to his quarters and worked with the Ice Crystal bestowed by the King and the Thousand-Year Giant Clam’s Spiritual Elixir.

“Are you weaving thread?” Gongsun Yeong asked, peering over his shoulder.

“Yes. If you apply the Metal element of the Five-Elemental True Qi to the Spiritual Elixir, manipulation like this becomes possible.”

“Oho. Fascinating. Are you going to make fabric?”

“Hm… In a way, it is similar. Though it is closer to a net and a balloon than fabric.”

“…?”

Gongsun Yeong couldn’t understand what he was babbling about. But was it a new occurrence for this guy to do strange things? She simply thought, He is experimenting again, and left it at that.

“Do you sleep even two shichen a day?” she asked, eyeing the dark circles under his eyes.

“Barely.”

“You will die like that.”

“Kehehehehe. Go to sleep first, Sister.”

Jin Cheon-hee laughed with deliberate exaggeration, shooing Gongsun Yeong away.

She couldn’t understand. Wasn’t the patient getting better? She didn’t know the medical specifics, but she had heard the Royal Physician of the Ayesha Kingdom singing Jin Cheon-hee’s praises. Why, then, was he working as if chased by a ghost?

Well, if that’s just the kind of guy he is…

A moment later, she asked one final question.

“That treatment method you said you would do. Are you afraid of failure?”

“I am afraid.”

“Afraid the patient will die?”

“Of course I am afraid of that. But… I am also afraid of the future that will occur if this person dies.”

“Well… Isn’t it nothing new for the common people to groan under the weight of a dissolute king?”

“Hahahaha. That is true.”

He laughed it off. For some reason, his nonchalance looked hateful, so she reached out and pinched his cheek.

“Ouch!”

“Anyway, looking like you carry the burden of the world. Cheeky.”

***

The treatment continued relentlessly for a month. Marrow Cleansing followed by the White Qilin Opening Golden Needle Great Method.

By the time the cycle concluded, five physicians from the White Qilin Medical Pavilion arrived. Surprisingly, the one leading them was Wangya Ju.

Since it wasn’t an official state visit, she had deliberately obscured her face with a bamboo hat. She greeted Jin Cheon-hee with evident pleasure.

“Yo! Have you been well? You still have a face soaked in fatigue.”

“No? I requested martial arts manuals and support physicians, but why did you come personally?”

“Why don’t you say a word of welcome?”

Did she ask that with a straight face on purpose?

“Ah, no… Gl… Glad to see you. Your Highness Ju. Of course, I am glad…”

“I came to teach personally. You said you needed the Solar Divine Art?”

“Yes. Yeess. That is true.”

Wangya Ju teaching personally?

That implied that diplomacy with the Ayesha Kingdom was of paramount importance to the two Emperors, Pung Ha-eun and Pung Ha-geum.

Cheon-hee’s prediction had been correct.

In the original timeline, this kingdom was devoured by the Blood Immortal Cult. If not for the Star of Heavenly Slaughter, Ha-ryoon, the Cult would have consolidated power here and scattered blood across the region. The Golden and Silver Princes didn’t know the original novel, so they couldn’t have predicted the future that far; they were simply solidifying every alliance they could.

Teaching personally to create a bond.

The Central Plains placed heavy emphasis on lineage, but the Outer Realm was no different. The bond between master and disciple was sacred. The Northern Sea Ice Palace hadn’t bestowed a name on the First Prince and accepted him as a disciple on a whim. If the future King of the Ayesha Kingdom utilized the martial arts of the Northern Sea Ice Palace, the bond between the two nations would become irreplaceable, worth more than chests of gold.

Even if Prince Han-bing failed to overcome the Nine Yang Severed Meridians and died, there was political merit in having extended the son’s life. The Ayesha King would not be able to treat them poorly.

And if he survived? If he received the Solar Divine Art personally from Wangya Ju?

There would be no gaps. Truly.

Since His Highness Eun and Wangya Ju were collaborating, they must have had the leisure to devise such a stratagem.

And they are using me as a game piece, too.

These damn Imperial Secret Bloods.

Look forward to how expensive the medical bill will be. You Pung family bastards.

Jin Cheon-hee sharpened his metaphorical knife inwardly.