Chapter 41 Injuries

Chapter 41: Injuries

Lee Jeok-ha, Dan-un, and I entered the Hyeongcheon Bunta.

The injuries sustained fighting Makju-gwang were worse than expected.

Ogoksan immediately summoned every renowned physician within a hundred li radius.

Given Dan-un and Lee Jeok-ha’s status, it was a natural course of action.

The problem was.

“This poison is unfamiliar even to me, so I cannot intervene directly. I will attempt treatment to the extent possible, but…”

“First, we should prepare a decoction to restore vitality…”

“Huh! What good would supplementing the patient’s vitality do now? Are we preparing a funeral procession?!”

“No! This person?! So you’re saying we should do nothing at all?”

The consensus was that none of them could be trusted.

Frankly, as someone who’d experienced modern medicine, how could one possibly trust the words of a medieval Chinese physician? Maybe if it were a street vendor, but…

Still, what choice did they have?

If they did nothing, he’d likely die. They had to try this treatment, however flawed.

Even after a week of treatment, the deep gashes across his acupoints, caused by reckless qi manipulation, showed no sign of healing.

The broken ribs remained untouched.

Only the poison seeping into his body had been barely weakened.

‘Am I really going to die like this?’

He lay on the bed, struggling through this agonizing battle, when—

Creak.

Wouldn’t you know it, Cheongso-so and Myohyang appeared, opening the door.

And their faces were covered in tears.

“Huh? How did you…?”

He lifted his head with great effort to look at them.

“Waaah!”

Myohyang burst into tears as if her heart would burst, wailing loudly.

“…Let me see your wounds.”

Cheongso, her eyes reddened, approached carrying medical tools.

* * *

Ten days later, thanks to Myohyang and Cheongso’s devoted care, he barely managed to survive.

Especially since yesterday, his condition had improved significantly, allowing him to manage simple activities.

To recover from a physical state that three doctors couldn’t fix in just a week.

‘This is why they say Cheongjang, Cheongjang.’

Next time I hurt somewhere, I won’t hold back—I’ll go straight to Cheongja-so.

“Ow, that stings!”

“Just stay still. You keep moving, and it’s making the wound open up.”

“But it hurts! What am I supposed to do?”

“A martial artist can’t even endure this? Wait, are you really a peak-level master? What kind of master gets beaten up all the time?”

“Fights between masters are always fierce.”

“Oh my, I’m the youngest daughter of the Qingzhang Master. Think I’ve seen a master or two?”

“Oh ho! If a man says so, you should believe him… Ouch!”

Qingzhang finished wrapping the bandage, brushed his hands off, and stood up.

“For now, you must be careful even breathing. Running is obviously out of the question.”

“That much is common sense, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is, but…”

Cheongso-so gazed out the window somewhere.

Following his gaze, Dan-un, his face not just pale but deathly white, was swinging his sword.

How long has it been since he barely escaped death, and he’s already acting like this? He’s truly an incomprehensible man.

“…I’m worried he might do something like that.”

“Don’t worry. I avoided training even when I was perfectly healthy.”

“…”

“No, I mean, it’s just how it is.”

I asked Cheongso, who was looking at me with a pitiful expression.

“But how did you even get here? How did you know I was injured? ”

Even if Sicheon City is within Guryong City’s territory, bandits and rogue faction scum are scattered everywhere.

Two women crossing such a place is like sailing a junk boat across the waters off Somalia.

“Master Yong Musha assigned disciples from the Iseonbang to escort me. He also mentioned that Chief Jin was injured.”

After Seolcho-so finished explaining, I said to him with a slightly playful expression.

“By the way, closing the clinic? That’s truly a tremendous loss.”

Contractually, Seolcho-so’s loss is also my loss.

“Is that all you have to say to someone who raced here anxiously for a thousand miles?”

“······Thank you.”

“You’re practically groveling.”

“Still, it’s truly wonderful to see you alive.”

“······Really?”

“Ah, yes. It’s far better than dying.”

“······I see.”

A brief silence fell before Myohyang entered carrying the decoction.

“You worked hard again today, sister.”

Myohyang smiled brightly and handed over the freshly brewed decoction.

“You’re welcome. Drink up.”

As she took the decoction, the herbalist’s explanation came through.

“This decoction is made from Seolsam. It heals internal injuries, of course, and should also slightly enhance your internal energy. ”

“What?!”

Even though I know nothing about herbs, I know what snow ginseng is.

Though not a supreme elixir, it’s an herb that could grant a decade of disease-free longevity to an ordinary person. In modern terms, it cost more than a decent used car.

“Where did you get this precious stuff?”

“I heard some snow ginseng had just appeared nearby, so I bought it.”

“Where’d you get the money?”

To my question, the cleaning lady answered with an amused look.

“Myo-hyang unnie has a lot of money. Probably way more than me?”

“……No, what the hell?”

That’s ridiculous?

Even if the cleaning lady takes good care of me, it’s only five nyang a month. How many months has she been working to save such a fortune?

Especially since she covers all my living expenses too.

When I looked at her with a questioning gaze, she quickly averted her eyes and said.

“I’ll explain it in detail next time. For now, recovering your health is the priority, so drink this herbal decoction first.”

A strong scent wafted over.

The scent of money.

‘Something seems off…’

If she didn’t tell me herself, there was no way to find out.

I’d just have to dig deeper as things unfolded.

Steeling myself, I gulped down the herbal decoction.

“Whoa, nice. Feels like it’s burning up inside me?”

Expensive stuff really is better. Seeing the effect kick in immediately after drinking it.

“Hehe, it was worth the trouble to get it.”

“Thank you so much, sis.”

“Don’t mention it. Compared to what Team Leader Jin did for me, this is less than a tenth of what I owe him.”

“No, what did I do for you? I’m always the one getting help.”

Though I do get scolded along with it.

“No, that’s not it.”

Myohyang smiled brightly and continued.

“I rushed here for ten days upon hearing Team Leader Jin was critically ill.”

What? Was she about to start nagging again?

A sudden tension rose, but my worry proved unfounded.

“All the way here, I only had bad thoughts. What if something happened to Team Leader Jin? How would I live then?”

“No, it’s not like that…”

Myohyang continued, her voice breaking.

“I’m so relieved he’s getting better. Really.”

“…Sis.”

Seeing tears overflow like a burst dam made my heart ache and tremble.

Who dared call her a wildcat? She’s such a warm-hearted sister, worrying about me like this.

Sniff. Sniff.

Cheongso-so, her eyes red too, busily turned back the snot threatening to escape.

It was like a melodramatic scene unfolding inside the room.

A warm feeling welled up deep within his chest and swept through his heart.

‘Is this… another kind of family?’

Clunk.

“Um… I think you took the wrong decoction, so I brought it back.”

That was before Bunta’s servant brought the decoction brewed with Seolsam.

* * *

Another week passed.

Myohyang and Cheongsoso declared they would return to Guryongseong, saying they had been away too long.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Of course. Master Yong has provided such a solid escort.”

“Those Black Path scum are just that kind of place.”

“But if there are a hundred of them, that changes things.”

“What?!”

Is she completely insane?

Staring at her wide-eyed in utter shock, Cheongso handed me a bundle of medicinal herbs.

“Don’t forget to boil these for him. And don’t you dare sell them off somewhere.”

“Miss Cheong…”

Was it because she’d been so kind when I was sick?

She looked like an angel in white.

As I gazed at her, overcome with emotion, the cleaning lady revealed a resolute gaze and whispered quietly.

“And, about the settlement ratio. Since I came out on a business trip this time, if you could lower it a bit from forty percent…”

“Stop. Don’t ruin my moment.”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Oh! Why keep harping on a settled matter? Are you a leech?”

“No! You old man!”

After that peaceful farewell, I returned to my room.

As I tried to lie down on the bed, a stabbing pain shot through me.

“Ugh… When will this heal?”

According to the cleaning service, it would take at least ten more days to heal.

It was truly frustrating.

‘Still, at least my insides didn’t burst. If they had, I’d be on trial in some hell right now.’

There was nothing to be done.

All he could do was wait patiently for recovery.

Just as he lay on the bed, about to close his eyes, he heard crying outside.

Opening the window to look out, he saw Danun and his attending physician arguing.

“You keep pushing your training, won’t your wounds worsen? Please, just lie down for a month, no, just a fortnight. I’ll take full responsibility and see you fully healed.”

“Injuries of this magnitude can be overcome through training.”

No wonder his body won’t heal when he spouts such insane nonsense and swings his sword day in and day out.

Thanks to that, the physician is going mad.

For the past fortnight, Danun’s attending physician had been visiting the training hall morning and evening to monitor him.

Traveling wasn’t easy in this era.

Because of the needlessly vast world, even the next village over was at least a couple hours’ walk away.

As a result, the physician, forced to walk twenty thousand steps a day without a pedometer, grew gaunt and emaciated by the day.

Despite that, I cheered Dan-un on.

‘Yeah, you’re doing great.’

Because I wanted that bastard to get so sick he’d be limping around for three years.

Then he wouldn’t dare challenge me to a fight.

And Danun wasn’t the only one stubbornly clinging to this.

“Oh dear! Young Master, you’ll get yourself into real trouble if you keep this up.”

The physician dispatched from Muwangseong stared at Lee Jeok-ha, who had come out wielding a sword, his face drained of color as he cried out.

“I know my own body better than you do. Don’t worry.” ”

This guy had only been awake for a day.

Yet he came out to train the moment he opened his eyes.

‘Good for him.’

It was truly a sight that made one shake one’s head.

“Let’s just sleep.”

Anyway, they weren’t the type to listen if you tried to stop them.

I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

Thinking that doing nothing and lying down to sleep was truly the best.

And that evening.

“Huh?! Someone came looking for me?”

The Ogoksan branch chief came rushing into my room, making a huge fuss.

“The… the Crown Prince of Muheungseong is here!”

Who was the Crown Prince of Muheungseong?

Wasn’t he the prodigy born with the Heavenly Martial Physique, whose fame had resounded throughout the Northeast since birth?

Moreover, he was the man who, at thirty, had reached the pinnacle of his art and was already slated to become the next Lord of Muheungseong.

“Why would such a person come all the way here?”

“Well, that’s…”

Just as Ogoksan, looking exasperated, was about to answer, pounding his chest,

“I came to see my younger brother’s benefactor.”

Whoosh.

A man entered, exhaling a breath-taking sigh along with the biting wind blowing from the late autumn mountain.

Thud.

A sharp, deep sigh, truly befitting the Crown Prince of Muwangseong.

His toad-like face clearly showed he was a brother to Lee Jeokha.

“Um… It’s cold, so could you please close the door?”