Let’s Look At The Patient First

After a few days passed, Gyo-ha recovered to the point where he could walk.

Those who saw it couldn’t hold back their shock.

They could understand why the physicians had swarmed Gyo-ha.

When he first arrived, he was no different from a living corpse, yet in less than a week, he was walking around just fine.

It was even more startling when compared to Namgung Hyeok, who had been brought in with him.

Under the people’s stunned gazes, the first place Gyo-ha went to was the training ground.

Gyo-ha quietly took his stance.

“Keung.”

A groan slipped from Gyo-ha’s mouth.

Gyo-ha deeply furrowed his brow.

He held it for a while, then relaxed his stance again.

“…It’s not coming out.”

The technique he had used at the end.

Even though he had used it himself, the memory was hazy.

It was the same even when he tried thinking of Spider Sis again.

Gyo-ha scratched his head hard.

He could copy techniques others used just fine, yet he couldn’t even imitate the technique he himself had used.

“Well, it doesn’t matter.”

Just confirming that such a technique existed was enough.

With time, it would come back to him.

Gyo-ha didn’t rush himself.

There was a means to grow stronger. And there were also many people just as strong.

That alone was enough.

‘That man was someone who used to be big once, too, right?’

He wasn’t even active anymore.

Then how much stronger were the masters who were active right now?

And the Twelve Heavens who reigned behind them?

And it wasn’t only humans out there.

Gyo-ha had gotten fairly strong, but when he recalled Spider Sis he’d met before, he still shivered.

Time had passed, but the memory was still vivid. He could be sure she was by no means beneath the Sword Saint and Sword Queen.

So even thinking about it was enjoyable.

As he moved his body with a grin, the branch lodge grew noisy.

Gyo-ha grabbed a passing Beggars’ Union disciple.

“What is it?”

“They’ve arrived!”

Leaving those words, the disciple dashed off.

Arrived?

Had the branch master who went to fetch the Medicine Immortal returned? Even so, it was too soon.

Wiping his sweat, Gyo-ha walked in the direction the disciple had run.

But before he even got there, he could tell who had come.

No, that someone was coming.

An aura you could feel even from afar. It was a presence Gyo-ha recognized too.

Soon, one person descended into the center of the Beggars’ Union branch lodge.

“Grandpa Sword?”

He looked quite different from when he had been at the Namgung Clan.

As if he had come in a hurry, his hair and the hems of his clothes were a mess. But no one dared point it out.

From his tightly set face flowed a presence that overwhelmed everything.

“Where is he?”

“Th-that way.”

When a Beggars’ Union disciple pointed, Namgung Jin-yeong hurled himself away.

Only after Namgung Jin-yeong vanished did they let out relieved breaths.

“As expected of the Sword Saint.”

Someone’s admiration spilled out.

Gyo-ha blinked as he looked at the spot Namgung Jin-yeong had left.

“…Was there someone on his shoulder?”

No one was talking about it.

Because Namgung Jin-yeong’s presence had been that intense.

The place where Namgung Hyeok stayed was clean, unlike a Beggars’ Union branch lodge.

Partly because it was a guest room for visitors, but also because ever since Namgung Hyeok arrived, the Beggars’ Union disciples had been tidying it every day.

The physicians criticized it every time they came, so the disciples had no choice but to become diligent.

When they went to the guest room, along with Namgung Jin-yeong’s voice, a familiar voice could be heard.

“This is beyond my ability.”

“There are elixirs.”

“Elixirs don’t solve everything. In his current condition, the elixir’s energy can instead ruin the body. Like the Beggars’ Union disciples said, waiting for a great physician is best.”

“Then we’re supposed to just watch like this? Didn’t I send you all the way to Beijing to study for moments like this? Huh?”

At Namgung Jin-yeong’s voice, the one with him bristled.

“Even the Patriarch of the Luoyang Lee House couldn’t fix this! If that’s what you wanted, you should’ve sent him to one of the Three Great Physicians!”

It was the Medicine Hall Chief’s voice.

The one carried on Namgung Jin-yeong’s shoulder was the Medicine Hall Chief.

The Medicine Hall Chief, who had been sighing, spotted Gyo-ha and greeted him with his eyes.

“You’re here?”

The Medicine Hall Chief spoke more comfortably than before.

It helped that Gyo-ha and Namgung Hyeok had become sworn brothers.

He was treating him like real family.

Gyo-ha came in hesitantly and scratched his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. You were dragged into our main house’s affairs, so we should be the ones apologizing.”

“Still…”

Gyo-ha spoke while glancing at the sleeping Namgung Hyeok.

After fighting together, seeing him asleep alone made it impossible not to feel sorry for him.

“Je-ya is right. You don’t need to feel sorry.”

Namgung Jin-yeong, who had been stroking Namgung Hyeok’s head, turned his head.

“If anything, it’s fortunate you were there. Even if I’d assigned guards, they wouldn’t have been able to beat that bastard.”

The Medicine Hall Chief’s and Gyo-ha’s gazes turned to Namgung Jin-yeong.

From the wounds on Namgung Hyeok’s body alone, Namgung Jin-yeong could guess how brutal the fight had been.

Because yin qi had seeped into the wounds themselves.

And Namgung Jin-yeong had known the Cold-Blooded Grim Eunuch in his youth.

“That bastard lost his manhood in an accident when he was young. His parents wanted him to work at the palace, but he couldn’t endure it and fled.”

Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.

‘…So he really was a eunuch.’

It wasn’t just his appearance.

“…I knew his circumstances and felt sorry for him, so I let him escape. Back then, I was nothing but a brat myself.”

He was already an evildoer who had killed several people.

Even so, he had found his circumstances pitiable.

“To think a mistake from my youth would return like this.”

Namgung Jin-yeong let out a deep sigh. You never knew how grudges in Kangho would come back around.

It was something his master, Yun Heo, always said.

“More than that, I heard your injuries are serious too?”

At Namgung Jin-yeong’s question, Gyo-ha smiled awkwardly.

The Medicine Hall Chief beside him shook his head and took something out.

“Just in case, I brought Healing Pills, but it seems even these have become unnecessary.”

Because elixirs were no different from poison to Gyo-ha, he had only brought Healing Pill.

Even in a moment like this, he had brought Gyo-ha’s share too.

“I heard you even handed over the Medicine Immortal’s token? I won’t forget to repay this.”

Namgung Jin-yeong said that.

When had he heard that? It looked like he had run straight to Namgung Hyeok’s room the moment he arrived.

Then Namgung Jin-yeong rose from his seat.

“Where are you going?”

When the Medicine Hall Chief looked at him in puzzlement, Namgung Jin-yeong sighed.

“They said there’s someone who was captured, right? I need to see his face.”

The Medicine Hall Chief nodded too.

But Gyo-ha, beside them, blinked.

As if Gyo-ha’s reaction was strange, the two of them looked puzzled instead.

“You didn’t know?”

“Ah, no.”

“Well, the Beggars’ Union disciples must’ve been out of their minds too. The Cold-Blooded Grim Eunuch’s disciple was captured along with him. If you’re curious, you come see him too.”

“I’ll stay here.”

It wasn’t Gyo-ha. The one who asked was the Medicine Hall Chief.

Then Namgung Jin-yeong spat out bluntly.

“Of course, where could you be going when there’s a patient here?”

Namgung Jin-yeong swept out of the tent.

At that sight, the Medicine Hall Chief let out a sigh.

“He’s becoming more and more like a child.”

Then his eyes met Gyo-ha’s, and he cleared his throat as if embarrassed.

It seemed the two of them talked like this usually as well.

It was only possible because their closeness had built up that much.

“I’ll be back.”

Gyo-ha greeted him too and followed after Namgung Jin-yeong.

The captured man’s name was Gung Hyeong.

Whether he had been interrogated, or because his wounds were deep, his condition wasn’t good.

The one guarding Gung Hyeong greeted them when Namgung Jin-yeong and Gyo-ha entered.

The moment he saw Gung Hyeong, Gyo-ha realized who it was.

He was the one who had been called great sahyung.

His expression wasn’t good. That was only natural.

Because his master and fellow disciples had all died.

Gung Hyeong looked at the two of them with dull eyes.

“This old man is Namgung Jin-yeong.”

“Ah…”

Gung Hyeong nodded.

Then he hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth.

“What happened to that boy?”

“If you mean Hyeok, he’s still alive. He still hasn’t woken, but we’ve learned a great physician’s whereabouts, so he should show improvement.”

“That’s fortunate.”

As if the words from Gung Hyeong’s mouth were unexpected, Namgung Jin-yeong’s and Gyo-ha’s eyes widened.

“…Your master is dead, yet you’re unfazed?”

“I’m sad. It’s regrettable.”

His words felt sincere.

“Even so, you don’t show any hatred.”

Gung Hyeong nodded.

“I know my master’s and our actions weren’t right. I believe we paid the price.”

At the voice that sounded as if he had reached enlightenment, Namgung Jin-yeong furrowed his brow.

“You followed him even while saying it wasn’t right?”

“Because Master saved me. It was my parents who cut off my member.”

Gung Hyeong spoke bitterly.

How often would parents cut off their son’s member?

Yet surprisingly, it was common.

“…They were trying to send you to the palace.”

“But I was rejected because I was too old. My father hung me from a tree and beat me, calling me a useless bastard.”

“And the one who saved you was the Cold-Blooded Grim Eunuch?”

Gung Hyeong nodded.

Unlike the other disciples, Gung Hyeong had bold features. That was why he looked manly.

The reason the Cold-Blooded Grim Eunuch had taken more care of Gung Hyeong than the others was probably because he was reminded of himself in his youth.

“Even so, I have no intention of justifying what I’ve done. If you punish me, I will accept it willingly.”

With those words, Gung Hyeong closed his eyes.

Namgung Jin-yeong nodded.

“If Hyeok were here, he would’ve shown you mercy. But that won’t happen.”

Namgung Jin-yeong looked at Gung Hyeong with calm eyes.

Because he knew how terrifying the martial arts he possessed were.

He couldn’t pass the mistake he’d made in his youth onto Namgung Hyeok.

“If you want to resent someone, resent this old man.”

“I don’t resent you.”

Gung Hyeong replied with his eyes closed.

Namgung Jin-yeong and Gyo-ha walked out of the jail.

“You’re going to kill him?”

“…I have to.”

He was the successor of an evildoer.

He had already committed evil acts several times while helping his master.

But you could read hesitation in Namgung Jin-yeong’s voice.

Gung Hyeong’s last answer was decisive.

He was truly accepting death calmly.

It meant there was room for redemption.

But because he was the Cold-Blooded Grim Eunuch’s disciple, forgiving him wasn’t easy.

“Great Patriarch!”

At that moment, a Namgung Clan martial artist came running.

“The Medicine Immortal, the Medicine Immortal has arrived!”

At the Namgung Clan martial artist’s shout, Namgung Jin-yeong’s gaze changed.

The two of them hurled themselves away without either bothering to be first.

The Medicine Immortal, seen after a long time, was no different from before.

He looked like a common herb gatherer. Beside him, the branch master lay collapsed, panting roughly.

The Medicine Immortal clicked his tongue the moment he saw Gyo-ha.

“So you’re really alive.”

At the random remark, the people around them were startled, but Gyo-ha smiled instead.

Because he knew the Medicine Immortal’s personality.

This too was an expression of welcome.

“I told you to contact me if something went wrong with your body, and you called me to treat some other bastard.”

“Medicine Immortal.”

Then Namgung Jin-yeong stepped forward.

“I am Namgung so-and-so. Heal my grandson. I beg you.”

Namgung Jin-yeong bowed deeply.

At the sight, the Namgung Clan martial artists, startled, bowed as well.

“We beg you!”

“We beg you!”

Namgung Jin-yeong was no different from the Namgung Clan’s symbol.

They couldn’t even imagine him bowing his head.

But Namgung Jin-yeong had no hesitation.

“Please.”

When even Gyo-ha stepped in, the Medicine Immortal stroked his beard.

“First, let’s look at the patient. You lot, stand up too.”

It was as good as half acceptance.

Relief rose on the faces of Namgung Jin-yeong and the Namgung Clan martial artists.

And so the group walked to Namgung Hyeok’s room.

Suddenly, Gyo-ha’s thoughts went to the collapsed branch master.

He still couldn’t get up. Now even his legs were trembling.

The Medicine Immortal told them why.

“Don’t worry about him. He was in a hurry, so I only gave him a secret medicine. If he sleeps well for a few days, he’ll recover.”

Had he drawn out his latent potential.

They could understand why the Medicine Immortal had arrived sooner than expected.

People’s eyes changed.

Because they hadn’t expected him to sacrifice this much for the Namgung Clan.

But the Medicine Immortal wasn’t finished.

“He shoved it into his mouth before I could even explain the side effects.”

The Medicine Immortal clicked his tongue briefly.

Only then could they guess what happened.

Since it was medicine from the Medicine Immortal, he had thought it was an elixir and swallowed it.

How Beggars’ Union-like of him.

Even the Beggars’ Union disciples watching from the side were sighing.

And maybe it was sweat, but his groin area looked damp, as if soaked.

The group didn’t try to find out what it was.

Pretending not to notice, they turned their heads and headed to Namgung Hyeok.