Chapter 114

[Sorry for delaying the schedule without even asking for your understanding.]

[You do not need to ask for my understanding, Master. I wish to follow your decision.]

They were traveling together, yet Cho Yoon had acted on his own… They had been right next to each other, yet he hadn’t even consulted him.

He wanted to apologize properly—profusely, even—but he stayed silent. Years of experience told him that no matter how much he tried to explain these things, Cheon-oh would only shake his head and answer with that one phrase.

Master is different.

It was fortunate that Cheon-oh still seemed to act within the bounds of common sense Cho Yoon had drilled into him when dealing with others… but when it came to him, Cheon-oh was extreme. The way he regretted his own mistakes as though he should die for them, while never counting Cho Yoon’s faults as faults at all, was frightening in its own way. Cho Yoon couldn’t crush that admiration, and he couldn’t leave that blind devotion untouched either.

So the only option left was the simplest one.

I’ll conduct myself better.

Tilting his head back, Cho Yoon let the indigo night sky slip into view through the face veil. Stars—bright enough to rival the haloed full moon—were scattered as though they might pour down at any moment. The promised time was drawing near, and the presence around them was quiet, save for five or six people.

Come to think of it, there had been a time long ago when he’d gone on a house call with Cheon-oh on a night like this—moon beautiful, air clear. Back then, it had been a diagnosis he’d taken on blindly just to earn money, and he’d ended up sweating bullets after being absurdly backstabbed in return. Yet the walk back to the inn, carrying a young Cheon-oh, had been… special.

The small body held in one arm, the clever sound of his voice, and his commendable behavior still felt vivid.

As memories from a long time ago tend to do, even if only the good emotions remained refined the more I recalled them, I couldn’t hide my pleased heart.

To think that kid… who was so small and cute.

Cho Yoon looked down at his own embrace once, then glanced at Cheon-oh standing quietly opposite him.

When did he grow so big… though he is still cute.

Was it because the time to send him off was approaching? Cho Yoon reviewed past memories sentimentally, surprised anew by Cheon-oh’s growth several times a day. As he was carefully observing the disciple he had fed and raised without realizing the passage of time, Cheon-oh’s carefully transmitted voice message suddenly jolted Cho Yoon’s attention.

[By the way… Master, are you truly alright?]

[With what? If it is about the Severed Meridians, I have a plan. It is a treatment difficult for you to perform, but since I intend to teach you at least the principles, it will be fine.]

[Not that… are you okay with revealing so easily to an official of the White Chivalry Alliance that I am your disciple?]

Stunned briefly by the unexpected question, Cho Yoon stiffened and blinked. Without giving him time to think about the intention, Cheon-oh’s explanation continued.

[You said you would not stop my revenge. No matter how this karma of blood ends, many Orthodox Murim warriors will treat me as an enemy, and this will also become a blemish on you, Master. In that case, it would be better to hide it like Senior Sister and Senior Brother…]

[Do not think such absurd thoughts.]

Cho Yoon cut off Cheon-oh’s words decisively. Seeing him speak so fluently without blockage, it seemed he had been thinking about this for a long time. It was something Cho Yoon hadn’t even imagined, but considering Cheon-oh’s nature, it was plausible he would worry about such things.

However, he couldn’t help but feel upset belatedly. Unable to hide all his discomfort, Cho Yoon kept his mouth shut tight inside the face veil. Soon, his calmly settled voice message reached Cheon-oh’s eardrums.

[First, I will ask a question only you can answer. Do you think your revenge is unjust?]

[…I apologize, Master. I do not know well. However, the fact that I will be criticized is as clear as looking at fire.]

[I cannot say you are righteous. But that does not mean I intend to blame you for acting against reason.]

Cheon-oh, clasping his hands politely, nodded with his gaze lowered. Seeing him listening obediently made the anger that had surged up subside in vain. Cho Yoon swallowed a murky sigh and raised his hand to lift the face veil blocking his view. The pitch-black pupils that quietly met his gaze were not buried even in the dim shade of night.

[However, I can say this one thing with certainty. No matter what resentment pours out because of you, it will not inflict even a shred of damage on me. There will never be a time in the future when I consider you shameful.]

[…….]

[There is a separate reason why Sa-yeong and Sa-hyeon hide their lineage, so go ask them yourself.]

Having finished what he had to say, he turned his body. Cheon-oh, who hesitated for a moment standing there, soon followed. If he could, he wanted to talk face-to-face until his disciple’s thoughts were fully sorted, but for today, there was a scheduled appointment. If he didn’t cut it off now, it was obvious they would be fixtures in the alley until the moon set.

After walking a short distance, a luxurious inn eight stories high came into view. Perhaps because it was a roadside inn, there was no wall, and the flickering light of an oil lamp could be seen beyond the wide-open middle-floor window. Sensing only Zhuge Seol-rin’s presence in the room, it seemed she had prepared well as instructed.

Having approached the inn close enough, Cho Yoon looked back at Cheon-oh once as if to say ‘follow well’, then flew up. He landed on the eaves in front of the open window at once, drawing a steep parabola—more accurately, he jumped high. But the leap without a running start, the long hang time, and the weightless, light landing and elegant movement made it look as if he alone had escaped the laws of the mortal world.

Cheon-oh, staring blankly at his master’s clothes and face veil fluttering in the void, snapped to his senses and soared up nimbly following Cho Yoon. The weight of the medicine chest he volunteered to carry on his back was significant, but no weight was felt on the toes stepping on the eaves. Due to the nature of the martial arts they learned, their presence was faint even usually, so no one detected the two.

Cho Yoon checked that his disciple had come up before bending his waist to step inside the window frame. Zhuge Seol-rin, who had been standing in the middle of the spacious room, saw Cho Yoon and bowed deeply. Cho Yoon, waving his hand to cast a sound-blocking curtain, walked lightly and spoke.

“From now on, I will forcibly pry open and pierce your narrow qi meridians to make a path. It is a terribly painful procedure where all the important qi meridians of your entire body will be torn to shreds. do you think you can endure even if your bones are crushed and muscles filleted while you are alive?”

“C-Can one live even if the qi meridians are torn?”

“There is medicine that can restore them immediately. Through the process of tearing and healing, your qi meridians will gradually become wider and sturdier passages, so if you endure well, you might even be able to learn martial arts afterward. However, I cannot guarantee how painful it will be.”

Cheon-oh, who entered like Cho Yoon, locked the window. The wind chime that had been swaying faintly became quiet, and the pale moonlight was blocked by the window paper. In the room lit by the warm oil lamp, Seol-rin broke Cho Yoon’s expectation and immediately knelt and bowed her head without any hesitation.

“I have been prepared since the moment the Hero said he would visit again. Foolishly, this girl has never experienced such pain, so I cannot say I can endure it, but I will try my utmost until the end so as not to make the Hero’s kindness in pitying this girl go to vain.”

“That is enough.”

At that, Zhuge Seol-rin’s eyes sparked with intelligence. The sight of it tugged at Cho Yoon in a way he didn’t bother to deny. It was just like the night sky he’d been staring up at a moment ago.

Yes. That’s the face I wanted to see.

He remembered their first meeting—how she’d gotten angry in such a refreshingly direct way, so unlike her quiet exterior. A child like this—lively, smart, curious—should not be left to resign herself to suffering as though it were simply “her lot.”

Cho Yoon, smiling small inwardly, took off his bamboo hat and sent a voice message to Cheon-oh.

Cheon-oh, having put the medicine chest on the floor, approached Seol-rin with long strides without any questions and reached out his hand. Even when the startled Seol-rin flinched reflexively, he didn’t care and pressed hard on the Great Bone acupoint and Shoulder Well acupoint on her shoulder. And catching Zhuge Seol-rin, who fell forward unable to even scream, he meticulously pressed the Spleen Shu acupoint on her lower back.

Cheon-oh, who roughly lifted the unconscious Seol-rin and moved her to the bed efficiently, looked back at Cho Yoon as if asking ‘did I do well?’. Cho Yoon, who had told him to press the sleeping acupoints but didn’t know he would execute it so faithfully, only then came to his senses belatedly.

If I tell him to kill someone, won’t he really just kill them first and ask questions later?

He couldn’t bring himself to say Cheon-oh wasn’t that kind of kid. In the end, Cho Yoon just had to be careful.

Cho Yoon let out a short sigh and approached the bed. He saw Seol-rin sleeping soundly thanks to the quick treatment. In addition, Cho Yoon pressed all the points effective for anesthesia, such as the Leg Three Miles on the shin, the Union Valley on the hand, and the Kunlun and Great Surge on the foot. He had no intention of giving Zhuge Seol-rin that much pain from the start. Since she would be groaning in sickness for two months after the procedure, he hadn’t lied either.

When Cho Yoon sat next to Seol-rin, Cheon-oh familiarly brought the medicine chest he had put down. Cho Yoon rolled up the sleeve of his left hand to the elbow and spoke.

“Give me the medicine bowl and the small knife. I do not need the pestle.”

“Yes, Master.”

Cheon-oh opened a small drawer of the medicine chest, took out a small ceramic medicine bowl half the size of a palm and a small knife, and held out the handle side. Cho Yoon, taking only the knife, raised his left arm over the medicine bowl Cheon-oh was holding. The exposed arm was wrapped in a bandage made of silk cloth, and when he unwrapped it, a cut that hadn’t been there long was revealed. Cheon-oh asked with a face that instantly turned dumbfounded.

“Master? What is this…”

“It will not be a pleasant sight, so close your eyes.”

“Master?”

“Hurry. Do not open them until I say it is done.”

Cheon-oh’s two eyes, which had been wandering here and there, closed tightly. He didn’t know what was going on, but he seemed to follow orders for now. Cho Yoon checked if his disciple’s vision was blocked well, then slashed diagonally next to the wound he had made when treating Hwang Chu’s son with the tip of the knife. Drops of blood formed and pooled inside the medicine bowl with a dripping sound.

Cheon-oh’s lips trembled as he heard that sound with his sharpened five senses and even smelled the scent of blood. Cho Yoon, who accelerated the bleeding by clenching and unclenching his fist, spoke calmly.

“I am late in informing you. Everything that makes up my body possesses efficacy similar to spiritual medicine.”

From bodily fluids on a small scale to flesh and bones on a large scale.

It was a secret setting of ‘Cho Yoon’ that he hadn’t wanted to believe for a long time, but now thought was reasonably convenient.