Translator: Nox

Chapter 105

105

"Alright. Then let's deal with that damned Go. I don't think Brother can endure any more, so we need to finish this today."

Clapping her hands to change the subject, Yeon-ryang looked out of the cave and muttered.

"I wondered why the weather was so nice. Is today the day I go to the afterlife..."

"It is not."

"If possible, finish me in one go, Sister. I don't like being sick for long."

"Oh, come on! I said you're not going to die! Don't say such ominous things and roll up your sleeve. I need to check your pulse."

"Ouch, ouch, ouch. I got it. I got it."

As So-hye scolded him, lightly hitting his forearm, Yeon-ryang feigned pain and held out his wrist.

Seeing him grinning slyly, it seemed like he was making a joke in his own way.

So-hye glared at him and took his pulse.

The blood stasis that had been blocking the flow of Qi was almost gone, but a pitch-black Qi, presumed to be Go, was tearing through Yeon-ryang's body, damaging his Meridians.

The unpleasant sensation of it gnawing away at his True energy was even transmitted to So-hye.

Frowning, So-hye removed her hand from his wrist.

"I need to move Go's location. If I touch it wrong, it could damage Brother's Dantian."

"That guy isn't going to move so easily."

"I have to move it, even if I have to force it. Lie down, Brother. I'll use Poison Needles to block the Meridians so that Qi and Blood Points don't flow to your lower body. Brother, try to gather your Inner Energy towards your chest. Let's make it rise towards your stomach."

"Understood."

Yeon-ryang obediently lay down. So-hye took out her needle case from her sleeve and shouted.

"Ju-ryeong! Come in now!"

Then Ju-ryeong, who was outside the cave, made a strange crying sound as if he didn't want to.

"Krrk."

"Don't be fussy and come in. Are you going to let Yeon-ryang die?"

"Krrreureureuk."

"Hey, aren't you coming in here now?"

When So-hye shouted again, Ju-ryeong, with his fur standing on end, slowly entered the cave.

Wrinkling his nose and frowning, it seemed that he hated Yeon-ryang's Demonic Energy terribly.

Yeon-ryang looked disappointed.

"Furball. Are you avoiding me now? Just because my appearance has changed a little? We've been through so much together; I'm hurt."

"Is he acting like that just because he grew a beard? It must be because of Brother's Demonic Energy."

"That's unexpected. That guy likes Poison, though. Why does he hate Demonic Energy?"

"That's not a Qi that Ju-ryeong can swallow. And are Poison and Demonic Energy the same?"

"People hate them both the same, though."

"......"

Hmm, somehow, So-hye had no rebuttal.

She sat Ju-ryeong at Yeon-ryang's head and opened the lid of the needle case.

As she inserted Poison Needles into each Meridian, Yeon-ryang's eyebrows twitched. He clearly looked uncomfortable as his Qi and Blood Points were blocked.

"Even if it's uncomfortable, just bear with it a little. Is your Inner Energy gathering?"

"It's not gathering well, but I'm trying."

"Okay. Let's watch for about fifteen minutes."

Yeon-ryang nodded and closed his eyes. They held their breath and waited for Go to move.

Lying still and concentrating on the flow of Qi, he whispered softly.

"It's coming up."

"I'll give you an Antidote pill."

So-hye hurriedly put an Antidote pill into Yeon-ryang's mouth, and his face contorted.

"Ugh. What kind of taste is..."

Yeon-ryang's Adam's apple moved as he tightly closed his eyes. So-hye anxiously chewed her lip and observed his condition.

Before long, Yeon-ryang's breathing became rough. At the same time, Go began to thrash wildly.

The Go, about the size of a child's forearm, was wriggling so much that it could be seen on top of his stomach.

It's too big. Should I use more Poison?

She tried to maintain her composure, but her heart was pounding with anxiety.

So-hye strained her eyes, trying not to weaken.

Yeon-ryang, enduring the pain, began to tremble, and his teeth chattered. So-hye put a clean cloth in his mouth and increased the number of Poison Needles she inserted.

Her intention was to artificially change the flow of Qi and Blood Points to slow down the spread of Poison and concentrate the Poisonous energy around Go.

The blood vessels all over his body swelled and throbbed from the Poisonous energy that Go was spewing out as it struggled, and the area around his eyes turned black.

"Kuaaak!"

Yeon-ryang scratched the floor and bit down on the cloth. Wherever his fingertips scratched, the stone crumbled and stone dust flew.

Cold sweat streamed down So-hye's forehead as she watched. Ju-ryeong also whined anxiously, rustling the straw.

At that moment, Go, who had been rampaging for a while, began to crawl towards Yeon-ryang's heart.

If Go were to gnaw at his heart, there would really be no way to stop it. So-hye hurriedly struck Yeon-ryang's chest with a Poison Palm.

"Ugh!"

Yeon-ryang vomited black blood from the surge of Poison.

Go, who had been hit directly by the Poison Palm, jumped up and seemed to go down, but then trembled and scratched at Yeon-ryang's stomach.

Seeing it struggling even after being soaked in extreme Poison, it was a tenacious creature.

Should I feed him another Antidote pill? Can Yeon-ryang endure it?

While pondering, she fiddled with the Poison in her arms, but the fierce movement that seemed to tear through his skin suddenly stopped.

Yeon-ryang, who had been groaning in pain, spat out the cloth soaked in blood and saliva.

The area around his eyes, which had turned black, was returning to its original color.

"The seizure stopped, eugh!"

"Huh? Really? What, is it dead? Brother. Let me check your pulse."

So-hye hurriedly took Yeon-ryang's pulse, but she couldn't feel Go's Qi at all.

However, the extreme Poison was rapidly seeping into the Meridians that Go had wounded.

"The speed of poisoning is too fast? I need to detoxify immediately..."

"Cough, cough! Uwaeeck!"

Before So-hye could finish speaking, Yeon-ryang vomited endless amounts of black, dead blood.

The congealed blood clots contained Go's corpse, dissolved in the Poisonous liquid.

So-hye screamed at his face, which had turned purple.

"Ugh! Ju-ryeong! Quickly suck up the Poisonous energy!"

"Kiit!"

"Bloodletting needles! No, Antidote pill first, aak! Where's the Antidote pill? Eat this! Brother, quickly circulate your Qi! Hurry!"

So-hye shoved an Antidote pill into Yeon-ryang's mouth and quickly pulled out the Poison Needles that had been inserted into his body.

Hurriedly lifting him up and placing Ju-ryeong on his lap, Yeon-ryang began to drive the Poisonous energy to one side, sitting cross-legged.

He was smiling, revealing his blood-stained teeth, as he continued to vomit black blood. He looked relieved.

So-hye smiled along with him for a moment,

"Ugh, So-hye. I don't think I can make it... waeeck! Brother is, really dying..."

"Huh? No! Don't faint! Detoxify and then faint! Hey! Yeon-ryang!"

So-hye had to jump up and stab Bloodletting needles into all ten of his fingers.

25. Given Life, Chosen Life

After Go disappeared, Yeon-ryang became healthier day by day.

The back muscles, which she thought would take at least a month to heal completely, were completely healed in five days, and there were no aftereffects from being poisoned by the extreme Poison.

It was truly a monstrous recovery.

"Go was sucking on Brother's spine. To think he would get better so quickly just because that one thing is gone."

So-hye shook her head as she pulled out the Poison Needles, and Yeon-ryang chuckled.

"You're telling me. I thought it would feel as refreshing as having a bad tooth pulled out if that disappeared... It's strangely numb."

"What does it matter if it's numb? It's better than being in pain."

"That's true. I'm all better now, right? Then can I train?"

"Only for half an hour today. No more than that."

"Got it!"

Yeon-ryang answered energetically and jumped up from the bed, snatching his sword.

So-hye burst out laughing at the sight of him running out of the room with an excited face.

He got a good sword, his back was healed, and his body must have been itching.

After tidying up the needle case, she went outside the hermitage.

The sweet smell of apricots wafted in the humid summer breeze.

In the yard, Yeon-ryang and Deposed Queen were talking. She had no idea when he ran out with his sword, but she laughed at the sight of him standing there pretending to be gentle.

"Yeon-daehyeop, where are you going?"

"To stretch my body. Mama, is there anything you want to eat for dinner? How about fish?"

The monks who were listening to Yeon-ryang's casual question gave awkward smiles. So-hye quickly approached and pinched Yeon-ryang.

"Brother, you have to use honorifics with Mama."

"Really? I don't think Mama cares. Mama, are you uncomfortable?"

"Of course not. I like that you treat me comfortably."

Deposed Queen waved her hand as if to say, "What are you talking about?"

As Deposed Queen's health improved and she went out more often, the two naturally encountered each other more often.

Deposed Queen, who had no chance to meet men other than the Emperor and eunuchs, was very uncomfortable being alone with Yeon-ryang, but she quickly adapted when Yeon-ryang acted without hesitation and even started talking to him first.

It seemed that she liked Yeon-ryang's eloquence.

...Or maybe she liked Yeon-ryang's face.

Anyway, Deposed Queen wanted to hang out with So-hye and her brother.

"Fish is good too. Are you going to the stream? Can I come with you?"

"Of course. Mama, do you do some fishing?"

"Haha. I've done it as entertainment in the palace. But the eunuchs caught everything."

"Don't worry, Mama. My sister is much better at catching fish than those eunuchs."

"Oh my, really? Is Yeon So-jeo good at fishing?"

"Of course. You'll be surprised when you see my sister's skills."

Yeon-ryang looked at So-hye and chuckled. So-hye poked Yeon-ryang in the side and waved her hand at Deposed Queen.

"Brother is teasing me. My skills aren't that great, Mama. The stream is a bit far, are you sure you'll be okay? Should we pack some lunch in advance?"

"Should we? I'm already excited about going on a picnic with you two."

Deposed Queen's cheeks, smiling shyly, were tinged with a beautiful light.

Deposed Queen's beauty, having regained her health, was as admirable as a fully bloomed flower.

Her glossy hair was as soft as silk, and her jade-like skin was clear and smooth.

She had the kind of presence that made one think, "Indeed, the Emperor's concubine is a concubine."

The thought that So-hye was the one who revived her beauty made her shoulders lift for no reason.

Grandfather's standards are ridiculously high, but maybe I'm a pretty good doctor.

As she became arrogant and twitched her lips, Yeon-ryang pressed down on the top of her head.

"Stop thinking strange things and bring the pot and seasonings. Let's cook lunch right away at the stream."

"Really? What are we going to cook?"

I want to eat spicy fish stew with lots of chili powder and chopped green peppers. Yeon-ryang probably doesn't know how to make it.

As she licked her lips and asked, Yeon-ryang chuckled and replied.

"Depends on what you catch. Mama, what do you like more? Steamed? Fried?"

"How do you two usually eat it?"

"When we're camping out, it's hard to cook properly, so we just prepare it and grill it. Just add a little salt."

"Then I want to try eating it that way too."

"You want to? Then I'll grill it over a bonfire."

"Yes!"

Deposed Queen nodded, her eyes sparkling. It seemed that she wanted to experience the daily life of someone from the Rivers and Lakes / Jianghu.

Listening to the conversation between the two, So-hye smiled and packed dried rations.

I'm going to eat rice.