Chapter 79

When Cho Yoon clutched Cheon-oh’s hem and managed only fragmented words before collapsing, Cheon-oh’s mind plunged into utter confusion—only to abruptly stop. Holding his master, who had gone limp against him, Cheon-oh sank down, worked his stiff lips, and finally managed to utter a few words.

“…Master?”

“….”

“Master….”

After desperately calling out four or five times while shaking the limp body, Cheon-oh slowly began to grasp the reality of the situation.

He had to accept it.

First, Master had lost consciousness.

Second, Master is in critical condition.

Third, and most importantly, I can do absolutely nothing.

He could not help his gravely ill master. Far from providing a cure, he had served a meal cooked with poisoned water.

Despite that, he had stubbornly insisted on coming along, and even while Master was agonizingly disposing of the toxins, he had harbored nothing but irreverent thoughts. He knew he hadn’t directly caused this disaster, yet he felt as though everything was his fault.

Beyond witnessing the dishevelment of a master who was always noble and immaculate, he had been shocked by an aspect of vulnerability he never could have imagined, paralyzing his ability to think logically. He didn’t even have the luxury to register the twisted sense of satisfaction that came from realizing Master was a mortal human with limits, or that his life was currently entrusted entirely into Cheon-oh’s arms.

Cheon-oh had to think, make a choice, and act.

If even one thing went wrong, it felt as though Master’s faint heartbeat would extinguish then and there. Extreme terror overwhelmed him, but he could not remain still.

Amidst the vast darkness, Cheon-oh retraced every word and action his master had ever taken. As always, he believed without a shadow of a doubt that the answer would be found there.

—Shaanxi… in Shaanxi Province.

The clue was not far off.

Perhaps he was interpreting his master’s wisdom through a shallow lens, clinging to a single word. Perhaps he was deviating entirely from Master’s intent, or perhaps he was committing an even greater blunder.

However, Cheon-oh could not simply carry Master back to the Estate of Deep Mists and wait in agony, doing nothing. The experience of counting numbers helplessly while being unable to do a thing was a burden he had carried enough of when he was seven.

He had to do something.

Anything.

Cheon-oh looked at the medicine chest that had slipped from his master’s back and fallen to the ground. Gold coins kept in a small compartment had spilled out from the impact and lay scattered. He had his own rucksack packed for several days of camping, and Master’s chest was filled with various herbs.

The river water seemed clean now, and since Master’s hand had touched it, everything would surely be fine soon.

“So… I immediately rented a carriage from the nearest village.”

“…I see. You went through a lot of trouble.”

“I thought you might be reluctant to show your face, so I also procured a veil and a bamboo hat from the village. I apologize for misusing your funds without permission.”

“No, you did well.”

Can I really say he did well? Cho Yoon pondered even as he spoke. However, considering the situation Cheon-oh must have faced and the emotions he surely felt, it seemed he had handled it quite adeptly.

How terrified must he have been when his guardian suddenly collapsed in an era where one couldn’t even call for an emergency rescue?

Desperate for help but not knowing who to turn to, he must have embarked on the road blindly, trusting only his master’s final words. Cheon-oh had done his absolute best in a situation fraught with anxiety and worry.

Furthermore, thinking of how the boy had sobbed uncontrollably when he finally woke up… yes, he had indeed done well. Even if he hadn’t, Cho Yoon couldn’t possibly scold him. This was Cho Yoon’s own mistake for overestimating his abilities.

Cho Yoon swallowed a sigh and tied his hair up.

Then, he donned the bamboo hat and lowered the veil.

By the time he strapped the sword back onto his waist, the sounds of a bustling city center could be heard nearby.

***

The first place Cho Yoon went after disembarking from the carriage with the boy was a crowded inn.

Just in case, he had asked if Cheon-oh had eaten or even drank water while waiting for him to wake, only to receive the shocking answer that the boy had completely abstained from food and drink.

Consequently, Cho Yoon gave the boy a gentle lecture and immediately sought out a decent restaurant.

Settling into a corner on the first floor of the noisy inn, Cho Yoon pushed the arriving dishes toward Cheon-oh and spoke.

“I have told you repeatedly that you must never skip meals, regardless of the circumstances. The nutrients from food are the very power that allows you to move and the source of your thoughts. If you do not eat, you will be unable to move your body or make logical choices when you truly need to. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Furthermore, you still have a long way to go before your growth period ends, so it is only proper to exercise even more caution. Never ruin your body like that again.”

“…Yes, Master.”

Answering submissively, Cheon-oh picked up a spoon and began eating the meat soup. The broth, simmered for a long time with meatballs, sliced meat, and rice cakes, was Cho Yoon’s alternative after failing to find a specific rice dish.

Watching Cheon-oh eat silently and with impeccable manners, Cho Yoon felt satisfied and began to consider what he should do next in this place.

Cheon-oh believes I have some business to attend to in Shaanxi. If we just return to the Estate of Deep Mists like this, he’ll definitely think he did something wrong. Since we’re already here, I should stop by the Peony Escort Agency to send a reply to Sa-yeong… and I should probably help ensure Zhuge Seol-rin doesn’t misunderstand the protagonist.

Cho Yoon, who had already drastically altered the original novel’s landscape and felt little affection for the source material, decided to help the protagonist for reasons that were once again purely personal.

It was the same logic he had used four years ago when he sold the information about the protagonist being the owner of the divine artifact to pave a path for the siblings.

Cheon-oh wants revenge when he grows up. And his targets are the corrupt factions of the White Chivalry Alliance and the Demonic Cult. In a simple dichotomy, Cheon-oh currently belongs to the Orthodox side. Specifically, the Orthodox side that is completely on the protagonist’s team.

The powers directly involved in the Seomun Clan’s extermination were the Namgung Clan, who led the White Chivalry Alliance, and the Demonic Cult, who were the masterminds behind everything. In the original novel, all of these groups were destined to fall at the hands of the protagonist.

Cheon-oh had been kidnapped by the Demonic Cult as a child and raised as one of them, but he eventually conquered the old Demonic Cult, absorbed all other Unorthodox factions, and struck the Orthodox factions with his swollen military might.

There may have been various political schemes involved, but the result was that his revenge was complete.

But now, Cho Yoon had rescued Cheon-oh and was striving to raise him healthily…

They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The protagonist will certainly be helpful for Cheon-oh’s revenge. Provided, of course, that the protagonist doesn’t associate Cheon-oh with Joo Cheon-oh, the Sovereign of the Underworld. If I play my cards right, I can explain that away as well….

The problem was whether the altered flow had affected the protagonist, which he planned to verify by going to see Zhuge Seol-rin. He knew from the occasional news delivered by Hui that the protagonist’s actions hadn’t deviated significantly from the original, but he thought it wouldn’t hurt to see for himself this time.

It’ll be troublesome if the protagonist is already being treated like a braggart. The rising stars he gathers are supposed to grow into upright young people who will help Cheon-oh with his revenge later.

As for the romance between Zhuge Seol-rin and the protagonist… well, I’ll just explain things clearly to Seol-rin. Cho Yoon nodded to himself, finalizing his itinerary.

At that moment, Cheon-oh, having swallowed his food, spoke up cautiously. It happened to be the exact moment Cho Yoon’s thoughts had completely drifted away from him.

“Um… Master, are you truly alright now?”

“Hmm?”

“The poisoning. You struggled enough to lose consciousness. Are you truly fully recovered? Do you not need to go indoors to rest… or shouldn’t you be seen by someone?”

How admirable… whose child is this to be so thoughtful and cute?

Cho Yoon smiled broadly in his mind, forgetting the gravity of the situation.

Looking at it now, the way the boy had struggled to be helpful when he collapsed was deeply touching.

He had always thought the boy’s character was a bit lacking, but it seemed he had been wrong. A child who worries about his teacher this much couldn’t possibly be anything but kind.

Indeed, the persona of Joo Cheon-oh, the Sovereign of the Underworld, was merely a tragedy brought about by poor education.

Cho Yoon tried his best to calm his swelling heart and spoke serenely.

“I once taught you about illnesses that, once caught and recovered from, never strike a second time. Do you remember why?”

“Yes. Because the body remembers the disease and recreates the medicine it made before. You called this phenomenon immunity.”

“Correct. Such immunity can also occur with poisons. And I happen to have an exceptional immunity to poisons.”

It’s probably because this is a martial arts world closer to fantasy, Cho Yoon rationalized to himself.

Realistically, it would be impossible to build a poison immunity by recklessly experimenting with herbs like the original Cho Yoon did. However, ‘Cho Yoon’ had accomplished it, and Cho Yoon could instinctively feel that the Zhenniao’s poison could no longer affect his body.