Chapter 108 Triumphant Return

Chapter 108: Triumphant Return

Whoooosh.

A biting cold wind, like it was cutting through flesh, lashed his face.

A phenomenon I’d experienced once before.

‘Here again?’

Still, the situation was much better than when I first arrived.

Kwaaaaah.

Kwaaak!

Because the black dragon flying overhead was devouring the source of the cold, the chill quickly dissipated.

The problem was.

‘But isn’t that thing getting way too big?’

The more cold it consumed, the more the dragon’s size grew by the minute.

As if it intended to fill the entire world.

Sure enough.

After devouring the entire source, the dragon let out a massive roar.

Kwaaaaah!

Overwhelmed by its mythical majesty, my mouth opened wide without my realizing it.

And then.

Shiver shiver shiver.

Even knowing the dragon’s true identity was the Zhenwangji sealed within my body, my body trembled.

‘I was harboring something like this?’

Shaking with fear at its ferociousness, as if it would devour the world, our eyes met.

Kwaaah!

The black dragon roared again, flying straight toward me.

Shhhhh.

It entered my body.

* * *

“Huh!”

“You’re awake.”

My surprise at the unfamiliar ceiling lasted only a moment. Hearing the familiar voice of Baek of the North Palace, I relaxed.

“Where am I?”

“Your home.”

“Huh?”

Only then did I look around and realize I was in the former Jo Family Hall, now the Moojeon residence.

“You were asleep for three days.”

” Only three days?“

I lost consciousness on Jomchang Mountain.

Yet I awoke in Guryongseong.

Over two thousand li traveled in just three days.

But my confusion was quickly resolved.

”I carried you here.“

”Ah…”

If a master of Hwagyeong personally used their lightness skill, covering two thousand li in three days was entirely possible.

“Thanks to that, my legs are a bit sore.”

“Did you know how to joke?”

“Hmm… Not amusing?”

“No. I won’t forget this kindness and will repay it.”

“Have them buy a few bottles of Zhuyeqing.”

Bukgungbaek rose from his seat.

“Leaving already?”

“Now that I’ve seen you awake, I should return.”

As he opened the door to leave, he paused and turned his head.

“Ah, I nearly forgot to mention this.”

“……?”

“Paid leave, was it? I’ll arrange it as you suggested last time. Rest well. Once you’re better, good things will come.”

“This kindness! I am truly indebted!”

The more I see him, the more I like this gentleman.

After Baek left, the person who entered was my personal physician and tenant of the Muwonje, Seongjoso.

“Really, every time you go somewhere, you come back with serious injuries.”

“This time, I wasn’t injured in a fight.”

“Then why?”

“I became like this after drinking the cold-remedy liquid Miss Cheong gave me.”

“What?!”

“Could it be… you gave me a defective product?”

“No, that’s impossible! I made it after checking the secret formula multiple times?! Huh, did you perhaps just take it like last time? Or maybe you took two bottles at once. ”

Both are correct.

Given how urgent it was, you should have had the presence of mind to consider side effects.

But if I were to take even such minor reasons into account, I couldn’t hope to grow as a physician.

“Or maybe the recipe was wrong.”

I resolved to hold her thoroughly accountable.

“That’s impossible. The Qing Family’s secret recipe couldn’t be wrong.”

“Huh! You’re ignoring the victim like this?”

“Ugh…”

I delivered the finishing blow to her flustered state.

“Anyway, take responsibility.”

“Responsibility?!”

“No, why are you suddenly blushing? You made the elixir, so fix the problem. Naturally, for free. ”

“Ah….”

“And there’s one more condition.”

“Wh-what is it?”

“From now on, I’ll drop the honorifics.”

“Huh?”

“Why so surprised? I thought I was a year older than you.”

“Th-that’s fine, but….”

Truthfully, living under the same roof, it felt awkward to use casual speech with Myohyang while using formal speech with the young master.

Especially, how many times had I nearly messed up from confusion while eating at the same table?

So I’d decided I needed to sort things out someday. Since I’d just suffered a medical accident, I figured I’d handle it as part of the compensation.

“Then how should I address you…?”

“Titles? Well, that…”

Right.

Even though she looks like that, she’s the daughter of the general hospital director. Given her status, it would be absurd for her to call me “Master.” But the thought of her calling me “Brother” or ‘Master’ was utterly repulsive.

“I guess I’ll just keep calling her Team Leader Jin.”

In the end, my choice was to maintain the status quo.

“But still…”

But even with my thoughtful decision, she just hesitated.

Seems she wants something else.

I’m sharp enough to guess what crimes people committed just by looking into their eyes.

It was painfully easy to deduce why she was acting this way.

‘Women, always…’

When you work side by side, you inevitably develop a psychological closeness.

Cleaning Station was clearly exploiting that point to gain an advantage.

‘Oppa, business’s been slow lately. Could you maybe lower the rent a little?’

Just thinking about it was horrifying.

Since such a situation absolutely couldn’t happen, I resolved to teach her about society’s harshness.

“Hey! What are you doing not preparing the treatment?! You wanna see the patient die?!”

“You crazy bastard?”

* * *

The day after Cheongso, who’d suffered a crushing defeat in the power struggle, assaulted me with the sack of medicinal herbs he was carrying.

By morning, Myohyang arrived carrying a tray laden with food.

It was a nutritious meal: a thoroughly boiled chicken accompanied by various pickled vegetables and steamed rice.

Having not had a proper meal since arriving at Jomchang Mountain, I found myself involuntarily swallowing hard at the sight of this feast.

Hearing the sound, Myohyang smiled, her eyes crinkling like half-moons.

“You’ll recover faster if you eat properly, won’t you?”

“Th-thank you, sister.”

Slurp.

I swiftly grabbed a chicken leg and tore into it.

“Oh my? That’s so hot…”

Steam was billowing off it, but I didn’t care.

“I’m a pro, so it’s fine.”

Thanks to gaining the passive skill ‘Immunity to Cold’ upon reaching the peak, this level of heat wouldn’t even cause a blister, let alone a burn.

Munch. Gulp.

“Wow! This is insane.”

It was so tenderly cooked that it tore along the grain the moment he chewed, sliding down his throat.

After that, there was nothing left to see.

He just tore into the whole chicken, stuffing rice and pickled vegetables into his mouth.

A moment later, after devouring every last bit of the food Myaohyang brought, she asked with a smile.

“I boiled one more chicken. Would you like me to bring it over?”

“Sure.”

Only after eating that second one did he feel like he could finally live a little.

“Ugh, that was good.”

“Seeing you eat so heartily makes all my hard work worthwhile.”

“Only you could say that, sis.”

“Hehe, if there’s anything else you’d like to eat, just let me know anytime.”

“More than that, I’d like to know what’s happening outside.”

“Should I ask the outer guard to send someone?”

I shook my head at Myohyang’s suggestion.

“No. Instead of them, call Hwaran.”

It felt unsettling to expose my home address to her, given her stalker tendencies, but since the Information Bureau had recently switched to a paid service, I had no choice if I wanted free intel.

As expected, hasty monetization only accelerates customer churn.

But as if anticipating my move, Jeok Hwaran appeared from a completely unexpected place.

“Did you find me?”

“Ugh!”

The moment I spoke, she appeared holding a teapot.

“You… how did you get here?! I moved without telling anyone on purpose!”

Unlike me, whose heart nearly stopped from the shock, Jeok Hwaran responded with ease.

“I heard you were back, so I rushed over. And even if you hadn’t told me, I could easily find out where you moved. Hehehe.”

She filled the cup to the brim with a smile.

“Now, have some tea first.”

Jik Hwaran perched on the bed and handed me the teacup.

As a Confucian boy, this was an act my values could never tolerate.

I kicked her.

Thud.

“Men and women are separate! Where do you think you are, plopping your butt on a man’s bed?!”

But Jik Hwa-ran, having fallen, merely stroked her own buttocks, now as bare as her heart, her face flushed.

“Oh my… What a force. “

”This is maddening…“

What kind of deal needs to be made to make a deal?

When I glanced at Myohyang to see what was going on, she gave me an awkward smile and shook her head.

Most likely, she just barged in.

There’s no helping it.

Since it’s already happened, I might as well get what I can and then kick her out.

”Sit down somewhere for now.“

”Yes.”

“Where again?! Not the bed! Go get that chair over there and sit on it!”

“Yes…”

“Sis, step outside for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“Stop messing around and just go get the chair, I said.”

With Myohyang gone, just the two of them remained in the room.

I asked the strangely flushed Jeokhwaran about the news from outside.

“For free?”

He confirmed the unexpected partial paywall.

“Haa… How much?”

“I have more money.”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

“Let’s go out together.”

“Where?”

“Hmm… I was thinking maybe the nearby city…”

“Forget it. I won’t ask.”

A city meant a two-night, three-day trip from here.

It was painfully obvious he was scheming some absurd plan.

“Th-then how about Guryongsan Mountain…”

“Just to the entrance.”

“Fine.”

After barely settling on a day trip, I heard the situation unfolding.

“First, regarding the situation at Jinchangsan… The expeditionary force of the Ten Armies has completely retreated. However, we’ve only confirmed they withdrew to Seojang; it’s unclear if they returned to Cheonghae, so the garrison’s return will be delayed a bit.”

“Can we know how many casualties there were?”

“It’s not certain, but it’s estimated to be around twenty.”

“What about the severity?”

“There are so many critically wounded that the death toll keeps rising. They’ve gathered every physician from nearby villages and government offices to treat them, but the fighting was so fierce that several seem beyond saving.”

He knew it was unavoidable, but the primitive level of medicine in this world felt frustratingly inadequate.

‘I can’t exactly bring the Qing Family’s doctors along.’

With a heavy heart, he pressed on with his next question.

“What’s the situation in Hanjung?”

“They’re still locked in a standoff. The Ten Thousand Demon Army’s three thousand demon soldiers have the entire Hanjung Fortress surrounded, while the Nine Dragons Fortress’s two thousand warriors hold the line. As you know, Hanjung is…”

“I know. That it’s not an easy place to defend.”

Unlike the Jianchang Branch, which used the mountain gate of the Jianchang Sect—built atop Jianchang Mountain—as its headquarters, the Hanzhong Branch was situated right in the middle of a city built on flat land.

If the enemy were an army, it might be different, but against flying and leaping top-tier masters, city walls are meaningless.

It’s a place with absolutely no defensive advantage.

“The only silver lining is that the inner sect masters, including Mun Sang, are there. And Jeong Do-maeng has dispatched his own warriors too.”

“How long will it take them?”

“By distance, it should take twenty days, but given the urgency, I expect they’ll arrive within seven.”

“That’s a relief.”

Truthfully, this was his greatest worry.

I’d feared it might escalate into all-out war.

After listening to all the worldly news for over half an hour, my lingering questions were finally resolved.

“It’s getting late. Why don’t you head back?”

“I was just about to. And…”

“Don’t worry. I, Jin Mujeon, am a man who’s never known a lie. I’ll come find you soon.”

“Hohoho, then I’ll see you ‘soon’.”

As soon as that stalker—no, that Jik Hwa-ran—left, I called out to Myo Hyang.

“Right now, write ‘Jik Hwa-ran Forbidden Entry’ and post it on the main gate.”

How dare she trespass?