The Master’s Stratagem (2)

Guests visited the Kuaiji Mountain Fortress.

It was the Soul-Returning Divine Doctor, Je Yeong-hak—Je So-yeon’s grandfather.

Neung Je-gang left the quarry and returned to the fortress.

The truth was, he had holed up at the quarry under the pretext of training Majil because he felt too guilty to face Je So-yeon. Outwardly she showed no issues, but for a young girl the memory of being stabbed was a severe shock, and he feared seeing him would only bring it back.

“Have you arrived, sir?”

“It has been a while.”

“I apologize for causing you worry.”

However one looked at it, Neung Je-gang could not help but be a sinner before Je So-yeon and her family.

“Let me examine the child first, then we’ll talk.”

“Yes.”

This was Je Yeong-hak, the foremost divine physician of the age. If he had no method, restoring Je So-yeon’s martial foundation would be impossible.

Je Yeong-hak took Je So-yeon’s pulse and spoke at length with Nam Yeong. Then he summoned Neung Je-gang.

“There is a way. But to carry it out, there are two problems…”

At “there is a way,” Neung Je-gang’s face brightened visibly.

“Please tell me. Whatever the problems are, I will resolve them.”

“Hearing that lightens my heart. Because her dantian shattered while she cultivated that art, the child’s body is now being damaged from within.”

“Sir?”

The wound itself had already been fully treated—Je-gang had confirmed it several times himself.

“You know the principle of Yin–Yang balance. While cultivating the cold-attribute art, the girl strengthened Yin, and in proportion her Yang also grew. Then, in a single moment, Yin vanished. What do you expect? When Yang swells in a girl’s body, problems follow.”

“What should we do?”

It made sense. Some women had excessive body hair or a deep voice—that was what happened when Yang predominated.

“The best method is to restore the dantian. Conveniently, you are cultivating the same art as the child?”

“Yes—but mine contains venom…”

“That does not matter. We will implant that venom into the child’s body.”

“Sir? W-what do you mean…?”

“I mean we will make your venom hers. Just as you are unaffected by it, so will she be.”

“Is that possible?”

He had never imagined transferring his own poison—one for which there was no cure if one were poisoned—into another’s body.

“You must think lightly of me.”

“No, sir. Only—I had never conceived of such a method…”

“But the real problem is something else.”

“Sir? What else…?”

“We need Ice Essence Crystals. While she adapts to the venom, it must be suppressed; among cold Yin objects, nothing equals Ice Essence Crystal. There is also Cold Jade, but it is weaker. The question is—how to obtain it…”

“There is a way.”

“Mm?”

“I know where there is Ice Essence Crystals.”

“Oh! Where?”

Both Je Yeong-hak and Nam Yeong looked astonished.

“At the Martial Alliance. There were two Ice Essence Crystals there.”

Neung Je-gang briefly explained what had happened when he visited the Alliance:

Two crystals that had turned a vast underground chamber into an ice cavern.

He had seen them with his own eyes.

But at the words “Martial Alliance,” Je Yeong-hak and Nam Yeong both shook their heads.

“Why?”

“Do you think the Alliance will hand over such artifacts? Not a chance.”

Nam Yeong shook his head.

But Neung Je-gang could not give up. He had to restore Je So-yeon somehow.

“We are still owed by the Martial Alliance, are we not? If we offer an exchange, might they agree?”

“Unlikely. Do you take Whirlwind Sword for an ordinary man? If you go with that request, he’ll demand something several times harder—or try to swallow you or even our whole fortress. Besides, Alliance affairs are not his to decide alone. The Lord, the Vice Alliance Lord, and the elders decide by council. Why would they part with Ice Essence Crystals for people unrelated to them?”

Nam Yeong’s words dented his confidence.

But if it could not be done, he would make it possible.

“I will bring the crystals by any means. If I must, I will steal them—or topple the Martial Alliance.”

With that, Neung Je-gang strode out.

“If you’re going to steal, do it first. If you ask for them and then steal them, you’ll be advertising that you were the thief.”

Nam Yeong offered the friendly warning.

“Understood. I’ll be off.”

When Neung Je-gang’s figure disappeared from sight, Je Yeong-hak looked at Nam Yeong, worried.

“Was it necessary to provoke him like that? Might it be dangerous? If the wound heals, So-yeon will be fine. A ruined dantian matters not, if we count it as never having practiced in the first place…”

What was this? “No problem”? Then all that talk about Yin and Yang—had they misled Neung Je-gang?

“Haha, do not worry. In today’s martial world, there are few who can truly trouble that lad. And I must do this to erase the guilt he carries toward So-yeon. If we force a marriage, he will marry—but knowing his nature, he would carry that guilt for life. That would make them both unhappy.”

“I suppose… but still.”

“Just watch. So-yeon will regain her martial arts, we will acquire Ice Essence Crystals, and the youngsters will naturally marry—three birds with one stone! Hahaha!”

Indeed, bringing up the Ice Essence Crystal and the Yin–Yang discourse were all stratagems to bring Neung Je-gang and Je So-yeon together in marriage.

The whole plan had sprung from Nam Yeong’s head. Neung Je-gang was dancing in his master’s palm.

“Now, shall we discuss how to use the crystals once we have them? Perhaps build a cool villa in a scenic spot…”

Whether or not they realized the ordeal their scheme would cause him, Nam Yeong and Je Yeong-hak spoke only of a bright future.