“Young Pavilion Master!”
“Oh my. Have you all been well at Wangya Ju’s residence?”
The five physicians of the Surgical Arts Department, who had been dispatched to Wangya Ju’s estate, paid their respects to Jin Cheon-hee. None of them bothered to hide their delight.
“Throughout the journey here, we missed nothing but the food you cook, Young Pavilion Master.”
“And you don’t miss the grueling work I put you through?”
“Oh my, please don’t say such things, even as a joke.”
Despite their protests, everyone seemed to have gained a bit of weight.
[Did you receive the secret letter properly?]
As Jin Cheon-hee sent a telepathic message, the group simply nodded without wiping the smiles from their faces.
“You don’t know how much Wangya Ju urged us to depart quickly. We ‘prepared’ a lot.”
“Yes. In particular, there were many necessary ‘items’ to bring along.”
Indeed, these were the chicks he had raised with his own hands.
Since he hadn’t seen them while they were stationed at Wangya Ju’s residence, he had worried their senses might have dulled, but they caught on instantly. If anything, their cunning had increased.
Just as Jin Cheon-hee had his own battlefield, these children must have had theirs.
Rough stones rolled through adversity, wearing down their jagged edges until they became round, leaving only the hardest core. It meant they had become more flexible—and significantly more shameless.
“Still, I hope there won’t be ‘such an occasion’ to use them.”
“Yes.”
He secretly exchanged signals with the five chick physicians from the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. Although they were disciples who had grown too capable to be called chicks now, Jin Cheon-hee still looked like a fledgling himself.
Regardless of appearances, the five chicks Jin Cheon-hee had taught in the past had returned as five phoenixes.
It was reassuring.
***
“This is not the will of the Hua Empire. It is my, Pung Ju-ha’s, personal choice. Therefore, it would be better to leave diplomatic protocols out of this. This has nothing to do with the Emperor’s will; I came simply because I wanted to.”
Hmm, telling a blatant lie without even wetting her lips. Wangya Ju is indeed something else.
Wangya Ju let out a deliberately unpretentious laugh.
“So do not pay formal respects, and do not treat me as a distinguished guest. I came as a secret agent, and the King of Ayesha is aware of this.”
At those words, Prince Han-bing replied with equal nonchalance.
“That is fortunate. If I were to pay full respects, it would take about the time of a tea ceremony to finish.”
“Hahaha, your exaggeration is severe.”
Was it really an exaggeration? If Prince Han-bing decided to move according to full protocol with his current body, it might not end even within the day.
“You will learn martial arts under me and practice handling Yin and Yang energies simultaneously. Of course, I only play the role of a guide. Ultimately, realization is something you must obtain yourself.”
“Yes. Understood.”
“There is no need to pay respects to me as a master.”
“How could I do that? Although we are outside our respective official positions, Wangya Ju is my master.”
“If you insist, call me Master Ju.”
“Yes. Master Ju!”
Wangya Ju seemed to secretly like His Highness. She smirked and engaged in easy banter.
“With the elixirs already consumed and the body prepared by the Opening Golden Needle Great Method, your internal energy is pure and thick. Your body is suitable to accept martial principles, so there will surely be achievements.”
“Understood. However…” The Prince glanced at Jin Cheon-hee and spoke worriedly, “Even if my body has improved, I am in a situation where I can only move slowly. I worry if I can learn the Solar Divine Art properly.”
At those words, Wangya Ju replied immediately, “The Prince doesn’t know this.”
“Pardon?”
“In all martial arts, moving slowly is harder than moving fast. Since His Highness has naturally done things that are difficult even when one tries to do them on purpose, you will be able to learn it sufficiently.”
Wangya Ju said her piece and stood up.
***
Indeed, just as Wangya Ju had boasted, His Highness produced results within a week.
The sight of their practice was strictly confidential, but Wangya Ju surprisingly ran errands exclusively for Gongsun Yeong, allowing her to witness the martial principles of the Solar Divine Art.
“She is a tremendously good-natured person. If it were me, I could never show the practice of the Gongsun Sword Art to an outsider, yet she reveals it easily. Sometimes she even recites the mnemonic chants casually.”
“Uh… Sister…?”
There’s an ulterior motive here. One hundred percent.
Although Wangya Ju claimed to be far removed from politics, standing behind her was the Golden and Silver Emperors. While this person disliked politics, asking if she couldn’t do it at all was a different matter entirely. If she lacked the capability, she would never have been able to seat her two younger brothers in their current positions of power.
It was correct to view it as a choice to abstain, not an inability to act.
“Umm… Sister.”
“Hm?”
Should I warn her? Jin Cheon-hee pondered. Warn her that she might be suddenly kidnapped in a sack, dragged to the Imperial Palace, and worked to the bone in the military gate?
Ugh… It might be just my feeling.
And above all, the Clan Head, the Black Ice Poison Dragon Gongsun Hyeon, might do something about it.
The worry was brief. Jin Cheon-hee attained enlightenment through his anguish and smiled brightly.
Right. Sister is bad at hiding her expressions, so it’s better to stay silent than for her to make a sour face in front of Wangya Ju and get hooked for disloyalty.
It didn’t take even the time of a blink to reach this conclusion.
“Wangya Ju has been magnanimous since the past.”
“Right? Goodness… Even I’m troubled. Hahahaha!”
Gongsun Hyeon had better hold onto his sister, Gongsun Yeong, tight. She was the type to be kidnapped just by someone offering her candy.
“Come to think of it, Wangya Ju has a surprising talent for teaching.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I thought she wouldn’t be able to teach others, but she accurately pinpointed exactly what Prince Han-bing lacked.”
“Oho! Amazing.”
“Prince Han-bing also has quite outstanding understanding, so at this rate, he’ll cross the wall.”
“Becoming a Transcendent Master from a Peak Master.”
“Correct. Among Spirit, Energy, and Body, his Energy was sufficient, but his Body and Spirit were just a little lacking.”
When checking the pulse and observing the energy radiating from the body, Jin Cheon-hee had already guessed as much, but the confirmation was satisfying. It seemed the Prince was top-notch in martial arts talent as well.
“They say people with Severed Meridians are born geniuses, and he is a genius too. Hey. But weren’t geniuses usually people with a bit of madness and twisted personalities, like you or your master?”
“…Sister. Are you cursing me while smiling like that?”
“No, not cursing. Prince Han-bing is really nice, you know. Polite and easy-going.”
“Our Master is nice too! Polite and easy-going!”
“You are blinded by loyalty.”
Truly too much. Jin Cheon-hee grumbled internally.
“By the way, what are you doing with your five subordinates?”
It was true. The physicians who came from Wangya Ju’s residence were sticking close to Jin Cheon-hee’s side. They seemed to be busy, yet they moved with the distinct air of avoiding attention.
Jin Cheon-hee replied innocently, “What do you mean, ‘what are we doing’? We’re simply discussing how the medical world is running in this rough Gangho after such a long time apart.”
“…It doesn’t seem like only that.”
Jin Cheon-hee turned to his group. “Everyone, am I wrong?”
At those words, the five Senior Physicians laughed heartily.
“Oh my, Young Pavilion Master is right. We were just boasting about the snacks at Wangya Ju’s residence.”
“Indeed. Indeed. Wangya Ju doesn’t spare the ingredients, so a lot of honey goes into the snacks. Isn’t that right?”
“Actually, I’m worried because the officials who got addicted to those snacks all have decayed teeth.”
“…Still suspicious.”
But there was nothing Gongsun Yeong could fault about this. What harm could come from doctors gathering together?
Jin Cheon-hee added, “And the upcoming procedure isn’t something I can do alone. We’re also holding planning meetings.”
“That seems like the main purpose. Well, fine. It’s the last procedure soon, right?”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee smiled meaningfully.
“Yes. Soon, the last. Whether Metamorphosis is possible is now left to heavenly luck.”
“You trust the heavens? As if.”
Saying that, Gongsun Yeong scratched her head vigorously. “Ay, damn it, you and your disciples are all slippery as eels! Goodness! I’m going on an errand again!”
Jin Cheon-hee and the disciples waved their hands slyly at her retreating back.
“Have a safe trip!”
“Go safely, Sword Heroine Gongsun!”
“I’m not going far~”
Damn it.
Somehow, the disciples Jin Cheon-hee raised all ended up resembling Jin Cheon-hee.
***
The meeting of a good teacher and a genius is like lightning in a typhoon. When you come to your senses, they have crossed the realm in an instant.
With only such slow movements.
Eventually, His Highness realized the martial arts of Yin-Yang dual energies and became a Transcendent Master.
Now, only the last Great Method remained.
Zhuge Rin’s Secret Technique: The Opening Golden Needle Great Method.
The Prince drank the decoction and slipped into anesthesia. The Senior Physician checking the pulse spoke.
“Hm, he fell asleep very well, Young Pavilion Master.”
“Wow, your anesthesia skills have improved while I didn’t see you.”
“It is thanks to you, Young Pavilion Master.”
Round stones are strong.
It means they carved themselves against countless adversities to reach that shape. Huge rocks roll and roll, are cut and cut, eventually becoming pebbles smaller than a fist.
Round pebbles are children’s treasures. Good for playing jacks, good for playing hopscotch. Perfect for land-grabbing games too. Small round stones give their bodies to children and create a moment’s memory.
But their hardness is no less than large rocks. The soft parts have been cut away, and now only the unweathered core remains.
Like that, Jin Cheon-hee looked at the five Senior Physician pebbles.
Pebbles who advanced to government office, went to Wangya Ju’s residence, and earned their respective places.
There was Basalt, who subtly ignored the Young Pavilion Master for being too young when they first met, and Granite, who grabbed the collar of a rude patient’s family member.
There was Sandstone, who went to the bamboo forest and cried while hugging his knees whenever something went wrong.
Limestone, who ruined work because it wasn’t satisfying unless it was perfect, and Rhyolite, who ruined work by trying to judge everything too hastily.
Those pebbles were gathered here now.
They were no longer huge, unwieldy rocks. They were the Aunt, Uncle, Sister, or Brother you might find next door. They looked at their teacher with moderately weathered faces and moderately smooth expressions that could be seen anywhere.
The first pebble, carved round first, yet rolling hard without breaking, spoke up.
“We will start the Opening Golden Needle Great Method. No one is nervous, right?”
“Aigoo, Young Pavilion Master. Do you give a vacation if we are nervous?”
“Hahahaha.”
Strangely bright, yet standing in their respective places with a bizarrely mad intensity.
Jin Cheon-hee moved his hands without making a single mistake.
“Young Pavilion Master. If you were going to do this, why didn’t you call the Senior Physicians of the Acupuncture and Moxibustion Department instead of us? They would be much better.”
“Ey, I’m already top-notch in acupuncture, why call those people? Just to make them jealous?”
“You should listen to Department Head Sama Byeong too.”
“Hahahaha.”
They joked around, but Jin Cheon-hee’s hands accurately pinpointed the acupoints with terrifying precision.
However, the strictly necessary people were only the anesthetizing physician and Jin Cheon-hee alone. The remaining four chatted with arms crossed, although they claimed they were maintaining the formation.
“Young Pavilion Master, you are doing acupuncture by applying the Seizing Hand, right?”
“Yes. Even if this patient’s body is healthy, it is a case of Nine Yang Severed Meridians. I have to be careful.”
“Don’t show this kind of thing to patients. If Young Pavilion Master does this, martial artists bully us, asking why we don’t do acupuncture with the Seizing Hand. They don’t listen even if I say a hundred times that I’m from the Surgical Arts Department.”
“They know when a leg is broken. Then they know it’s the Surgical Arts Department.”