Jin Cheon-hee solemnly swore on his parents’ names. He could have sworn on his grandparents’ names, too, if they’d asked. Just as he finished his oath, a commotion erupted outside. Before he could even wonder what it was, the door was flung open.
“What is the meaning of this? We are in the middle of…”
A servant, having arrived in a great hurry, cut off the Hwaju physician’s protest, his words tumbling out like a thunderclap. “The White Qilin Divine Physician has commanded you to adjust your medical robes and come immediately!”
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened slightly. The command to “adjust one’s medical robes” was not one that fit the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. If a patient arrived, they just had to be treated. Why the formality?
Before Jin Cheon-hee could voice his confusion, the servant announced, “An Imperial Highness (Wangya) has arrived!”
Imperial Highness?
Jin Cheon-hee mulled over the word. Imperial Highness. A prince or princess of the imperial bloodline, one who did not possess the right of succession to the throne. It could refer to anyone from the emperor’s siblings to, in some cases, his children.
“An Imperial Highness, you say?” Phantom Archer asked, startled.
“Yes. Her Imperial Highness, Wangya Ju, has arrived!”
At those words, the Hwaju physician shouted, “That’s impossible! Her Imperial Highness, Wangya Ju, is a longtime patron of the Hwaju Medical Pavilion! You must have mistaken her for another imperial bloodline!”
“I am not so bold as to commit such disloyalty that would cost me my head. It is, without a doubt, Her Imperial Highness, Wangya Ju.”
At that confirmation, the Hwaju physicians’ faces turned deathly pale. The donations Wangya Ju gave to the Hwaju Medical Pavilion were no small sum. But it wasn’t just a matter of patronage. The mere fact that they were attending to a member of the imperial family was a massive symbol for their pavilion.
“Medicine Sage is a man whom Her Imperial Highness trusts her body to.” That fact alone was proof of their reliability, and it was the very reason countless martial artists sought out the Hwaju Medical Pavilion.
Jin Cheon-hee thought, ‘So their VIP regular just walked into the rival’s shop.’
And this was the Medicine Sage of Hwaju who had been sending his underlings to stir up petty trouble. This was a golden opportunity to shatter that bastard’s jaw.
***
All imperial family members in this world were descendants of Fuxi, the Great.
Fuxi was a primordial creation god, one of the Three Sovereigns who had gifted humanity with the Eight Trigrams, fire, and animal husbandry. He had sired children in the mortal realm, and those descendants were the imperial family of today.
The imperial family all used the surname Feng, (風, pheonix).
As befitted those who claimed a creation god as their ancestor, those in whom the blood ran thick could use supernatural abilities.
The imperial hierarchy was decided by two things:
- The strength of one’s maternal relatives.
- The potency of Fuxi, the Great’s blood one had inherited.
The manifestation of this blood did not discriminate between men and women, and no one knew how these “abilities” would manifest. In this continent, the imperial family, regardless of age or gender, would fight with spears in hand for the crown.
Wangya Ju was the one born with the strongest of these abilities. And yet, she was also the one who had personally refused to become the emperor. Her disposition was simply too free-wheeling and unrestrained. There was no way a person like her could live her entire life trapped in the imperial palace.
Therefore, she had endorsed another, one whose blood was thinner but who was virtuous and wise, to become the emperor. She herself became a Gunwang, a Sovereign Monarch, supporting the imperial throne.
She possessed two abilities.
- She could control the mass of any object she touched.
- She could control the heat of any object she touched.
It was rare for two abilities to manifest simultaneously in one person. On top of that, she had an innate talent for martial arts and the leadership qualities of a great general. Thus, even without powerful maternal relatives, she had defeated the armies of the eight other princes and princesses, one by one. And on the throne she had thus cleared, she placed her cherished younger brother.
She was, in every sense, a human slaughtering machine, the Azure Dragon that protected the throne.
She loved to wear red (朱, ju), loved wine (酒, ju), was high-spirited (走, ju), and loved all things beautiful and splendid (姝, ju).
But what she loved most of all was the blood of her enemies.
For these reasons, the Emperor had bestowed upon her the title Pillar Sovereign, the Pillar of the nation.
Jin Cheon-hee thought, ‘Wangya Ju? No, why on earth would she come here?’
In the original story, she never came to the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. Her destination was the Hwaju Medical Pavilion, the clinic she had patronized for years.
Jin Cheon-hee realized, ‘Phantom Archer’s incident… it was a much bigger deal than I thought.’
Big enough to change the very actions of the imperial family.
With the help of the Pavilion members, Jin Cheon-hee quickly adjusted his medical robes and went outside. A great many physicians had already gathered to receive the prince.
Not long after Jin Cheon-hee arrived, the palanquin finally appeared. It was a litter carried by twelve martial artists. The aura emanating from every single one of the carriers was so formidable it was suffocating.
“Her Imperial Highness, arrives!”
All the physicians bowed, their heads touching the ground to show their respect. “Your Imperial Highness, ten thousand years! Ten thousand years!”
It was a wish that she would live ten thousand years to protect His Majesty, the Emperor.
“Enough. I have no time for such pleasantries.”
A woman dressed in robes the color of blood stepped down from the palanquin.
A crushing pressure descended. It was bizarre. A single person had merely stepped onto the ground, but the sheer force of her presence as her feet touched the earth was so overwhelming it stole the breath.
Jin Cheon-hee thought her crimson radiance was like a blooming, blood-red flower petal.
‘Beginning of Spring’. The season for meeting those you long to see. The day when, according to the harmony of yin and yang, fates and destinies intertwine.
In that sense, this year’s ‘Beginning of Spring’ was turning out to be a spectacular one.
Following Wangya Ju, a patient was carried down on a stretcher.
***
The patient’s condition was horrific.
He was a man in his thirties with refined features. They said he had taken a bad fall from a horse. Fortunately, there was little damage to his internal organs, but his leg was the problem. The bone was fractured, and it had jutted out through the skin.
‘A fracture. And an open fracture at that…!’
The pain must be excruciating.
“Pavilion Master Zhuge Rin! Examine him and begin treatment! Now!”
Wangya Ju. One of the Emperor’s sisters and the master of the Ju Palace. And this very woman was shouting at everyone, her voice urgent and pale.
The stretcher was rushed into the treatment room. The escorts from the Ju Palace moved with a precision that held not a single tremor. The patient was laid on the medical cot.
“Kkeueueuk!”
The patient let out a groan, his body wracked by blinding pain. It was a testament to his considerable mental fortitude that he hadn’t fainted.
His Master immediately began his examination. “A reduction seems difficult.”
A reduction, in the Murim, usually meant a closed reduction—the art of using one’s hands to set the broken pieces of bone, fitting them together like a puzzle. In the Murim, they would then apply a splint, bind it, and wait for it to heal naturally.
‘But this isn’t just a fracture; it’s an open fracture. The risk of infection is high.’
This was one of the incidents that had occurred in the novel. But seeing it in reality, the man’s condition was far worse than what he had read.
Jin Cheon-hee immediately asked, “How long ago did the accident happen?”
Just like any other trauma, the golden hour was critical for fractures.
“It has been about two shichen (one hour) since the Prince Consort fell from his horse. But… who might you be, young hero?”
‘One hour… That means the accident happened nearby. For something like this to happen near the White Qilin Medical Pavilion, of all places… The event has changed from the novel. No. That’s not what’s important right now. Focus on the patient.’
Prince Consort. Wangya Ju’s spouse.
At the news that it was none other than the Prince Consort who was injured, everyone looked deeply shocked.
Only Jin Cheon-hee knew this was coming, having read the novel. But acting calm in this situation would be, in its own way, just as strange. He widened his eyes, feigning surprise.
The Ju Palace martial artist had asked the question.
In Jin Cheon-hee’s place, Zhuge Rin answered. “He is my direct disciple.”
At those words, it was the Ju Palace contingent’s turn to be shocked. Jin Cheon-hee was far younger than they had expected.
Ignoring the reactions around him, Jin Cheon-hee continued to think. ‘One hour. That’s not too bad. He might be okay.’
It was then that the Hwaju physicians shouted. “You must amputate!”
“What!? You say to amputate his leg?!” Wangya Ju cried out, horrified.
Yoo Ho shouted, “Are you not guests? This is a White Qilin Medical Pavilion treatment room! Will the Hwaju physicians please leave!”
At that, one of the Hwaju physicians spoke calmly. “You are correct. However, were this any other patient, it would be different. But Her Imperial Highness has long been a patron of the Hwaju Medical Pavilion. I merely followed in my haste, thinking this old one could be of assistance.”
Yoo Ho moved to throw him out, but Wangya Ju raised a hand to stop him. Then she asked, “In your view, this requires amputation?”
“The fragmented bone has burst through the skin. If it were internal, it could be healed with a manual reduction, but as it is, it is dangerous. To save the patient’s life, you must amputate.”
It was not a good look. The Hwaju physicians were stealing the thunder from the White Qilin physicians in their own clinic, stating the diagnosis first. It made the situation incredibly awkward, but the Hwaju Medical Pavilion wasn’t about to care about appearances. If this could turn Wangya Ju’s footsteps back toward them, it was worth it.
And in their expert opinion, this required amputation.
The patient groaned, managing to speak. “Your Imperial Highness…”
“Speak, Rang-rang.” It was her fond name for the Prince Consort, Cheon Yu-rang.
“I would rather take my own life than live as a one-legged man.”
At those words, Wangya Ju’s brow furrowed. “How can you say such a thing.”
“Please… I am begging you… Kkeuk…! Just… just don’t amputate. Please do not take away my one joy in life… Your Imperial Highness…”
Wangya Ju’s eyes wavered.
Jin Cheon-hee thought, ‘This scene… this is definitely different from the novel. Originally, the accident happened near the Hwaju Medical Pavilion. There’s a variable I don’t know about.’
It was an event that should have happened near the Hwaju Medical Pavilion, because that was the clinic she had sought out.
‘Is this some kind of butterfly effect? Or… a conspiracy?’
The future had changed. The location of the accident had changed.
In the original story, Wangya Ju would reject her consort’s desperate plea and amputate the leg. It was an unavoidable choice to save his one and only life. But to Cheon Yu-rang, it was a punishment more horrific than any other.
For a man who had lived his entire life as an artist in the pleasure districts, the inability to dance was a death sentence. He had been able to endure the pointing fingers of those who scorned his “lowly” birth, all because he had Her Imperial Highness’ favor. But it seemed that nothing could replace the loss of his life’s purpose.
After that, he would refuse all food and drink, slowly wasting away.
“Please, just one bite. My Rang-rang… I have prepared every delicacy in the world for you, why will you not eat!”
If his leg was not amputated, he would die.
But even if his leg was amputated, he died.
After that, Wangya Ju would lose her will to govern and seclude herself. And that would signify a crisis for the imperial throne. The world would, just like that, descend into a time of chaos.
Like a line of dominoes, one small factor would grow, eventually toppling the imperial family.
Thinking that far, Jin Cheon-hee could only reach one conclusion.
‘Yes. This has to be a conspiracy. What do I do?’