The Red Moon (6)

Carrying Seol So-ha in his arms, Jin-hyeon looked at Heo Jang-un.

Heo Jang-un, glaring at Jin-hyeon with fierce eyes, flinched.

Jin-hyeon’s eyes were colorless and transparent. That gaze was like Seol So-ha’s, but ten thousand times more chilling and eerie.

‘What are you staring at, you son…’

Heo Jang-un was startled as he tried to speak.

His mouth wouldn’t open. The words he meant to spit out circled in his head, but nothing came out, as if his vocal cords were gone.

Jin-hyeon stared at Heo Jang-un, then smiled and bowed his head.

“Congratulations on your victory.”

For a moment, Heo Jang-un didn’t know how to respond.

In truth, he didn’t need to. The venue was a cauldron of excitement. Seol So-ha had been badly hurt, but the masterpiece of a bout they had shown had already stoked everything to the limit.

It was so loud that no one could properly hear their exchange.

Jin-hyeon passed Heo Jang-un without waiting for an answer. The others followed behind him.

Soon, they vanished from sight.

Mun Jung came down from the viewing stands, confirmed Heo Jang-un’s victory once more, and proclaimed that he would receive gold and silver treasures, along with the right to enter the Heavenly Will Alliance by special recruitment.

Everyone applauded and congratulated Heo Jang-un. To the crowd, he had been a bit excessive, but he was still a master who had put on a splendid duel.

And so the Radiant Sword Festival’s duel came to an end.

Saek… saek…

Seol So-ha’s breathing soon returned to normal.

“She is badly hurt, but her life’s in no danger.”

The famed physician specially dispatched from the branch released Seol So-ha’s wrist.

“Her right ribs are broken, but it seems she held them in place well with internal energy. If she manages it without straining herself, she will heal quickly. Her internal energy is deep to begin with.”

The body matters, but when one’s internal energy is deeply refined, recovery is far faster even if bones, sinews, and organs are damaged. That is, if one takes in enough nourishment.

At Seol So-ha’s level, it wouldn’t take even ten days for the ribs to mend.

“Her hand is fine as well. It took a lot of impact while torn, so the bone was somewhat damaged, but fortunately the joints and nerves were not harmed, so it will recover faster than the ribs. The wounds she sealed with Cold Qi are fine too.”

The physician let out a sigh.

“The problem is her internal injury. I watched the duel as well, but I don’t know when she took such a heavy blow to the abdomen. If that strike hadn’t landed, she wouldn’t have fainted from internal injury.”

Han Cheol-sang asked carefully.

“You said her life is not in danger…”

“She won’t lose her life. But the internal injury is severe. It is only because her internal energy and realm are high that it’s limited to this. If she were an ordinary martial artist, several organs would have ruptured and she would have died.”

The air in the room turned cold.

“Still, she is young and her internal energy is deeply refined. If she takes decoctions on time and is well cared for, she will return to normal within two months or so.”

Im Yeo-wol’s eyes trembled.

“Two months?”

“That is fast. You all seem to have cultivated internal energy, so you know how dangerous internal injuries are. If it is mild, it can be treated quickly with internal energy. But if it is severe, even circulating internal energy can itself be dangerous.”

The physician checked Seol So-ha’s pulse once more.

After a moment, he nodded.

“One fortunate thing is the patient’s constitution. I don’t know if it is her bloodline, but her capacity to accept Qi is high enough to take in ice arts. Even if she had cultivated a blazing yang art instead of ice arts, she would have become a tremendous master.”

A man’s Yang energy is strong, and a woman’s Yin energy is deep. In other words, it is not as easy for a woman to master a blazing yang art as it is for a man.

But Seol So-ha’s constitution was unique, so she would have achieved great attainment even if she had cultivated an extreme yang divine art. Her inborn talent was clearly exceptional.

“In other words, once she steadies her body, if she puts force into circulation, she can greatly shorten her recovery time. It is fortunate.”

Jin-hyeon shook his head.

“Isn’t it fortunate enough that she survived a strike that nearly killed her?”

“It is.”

“Thank you. We plan to stay here for about three days before returning. Please look after her until then.”

The physician rose with a smile.

“Do not worry. I intended to do so anyway. Besides, the Branch Chief personally told me to pay special attention, so I’m in no position to leave even if you told me to.”

“Thank you.”

“I will go prepare decoctions. As for tending her, the young lady here who shares the room alone will be enough, so you may return now. The female physicians will be coming as well.”

“I understand.”

Jin-hyeon rose and looked down at Seol So-ha.

Her face was pale beyond words, the blood not even fully wiped away.

‘…’

Why?

Jin-hyeon thought it felt like a younger sibling had returned injured.

A relationship where you snapped at each other and sometimes didn’t even want to trade a single word, but if someone hurt them, you couldn’t help but get angry on instinct.

He had only a betraying older brother, but he knew at least what affection between blood kin was.

He and Seol So-ha were not sworn siblings, nor formal master and disciple. But Jin-hyeon realized it. At some point, he had come to see her as family.

Over Seol So-ha’s face, Seol Hong-baek’s face overlapped.

A lack of parents. A lack of siblings. It seemed he had such a void as well.

“Patriarch.”

“Yeah. Let’s go.”

Back in the room, the three sat on their beds and sighed.

“Still, she was impressive.”

Han Cheol-sang’s face was oddly calm, as if he were trying on that expression on purpose.

“Lady Seol is twenty. At that age, with that level of martial arts, and as the Radiant Sword Festival’s runner-up, isn’t it an achievement worthy of praise anywhere?”

Jin-hyeon nodded.

“She did far better than I thought. Even without that life-and-death bout, I think she would have reached the finals somehow.”

“But she wouldn’t have gotten there intact.”

“That’s right.”

Do Il-gang asked carefully.

“Lady Seol’s martial arts were truly tremendous.”

He meant the level of the Kung-fu she was cultivating, more than her raw skill.

“My knowledge is short, but it was the first time I had seen martial arts like that. Her swordsmanship was impressive too, but ice arts… The world is truly vast.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I only know one master of ice arts.”

He wanted to ask who, but Jin-hyeon didn’t.

Han Cheol-sang shrugged.

“Either way, the Seol Clan’s future is bright. From the Patriarch to the eldest daughter, it hasn’t been long since they learned new martial arts, yet they’ve improved this much already.”

“Indeed.”

“Patriarch repaid a favor properly, didn’t he?”

“I owed a life-debt. This isn’t enough. I’ve got a long way to go to repay it all.”

Han Cheol-sang snorted.

“You don’t need to dress it up like that. You just want to help the Seol Clan, don’t you?”

“If the chance comes. But it’s bleak that my business has to come first.”

“What else do you have to do?”

Jin-hyeon’s eyes sank as he looked out the window.

His worry for Seol So-ha was already gone. What remained were thoughts of the Divine Iron Merchant House, and Heo Jang-un.

“Young Master Do, rest, then drop by Lady Seol’s room now and then and keep Yeo-wol company.”

“Pardon? Ah, yes! I will.”

When Jin-hyeon left the room, Han Cheol-sang naturally followed.

The tavern was already packed. Word had gotten out that Seol So-ha was staying here, and people crowded in just to catch a glimpse of her face.

Of course, they knew she was badly hurt, so it wasn’t overly loud.

Jin-hyeon lightly ignored them and left the tavern.

“What is it?”

“I saw someone from the Divine Iron Merchant House.”

“Huh?”

He told him that he had met Gong Cheong with Ha Suk-heon.

Han Cheol-sang, who knew all of Jin-hyeon’s past, understood what it meant that he had met someone from Divine Iron.

“Are you thinking of revenge?”

“I have to.”

Jin-hyeon looked up at the sky.

“To be honest, until then I couldn’t steel my heart. I only thought I had. But this time, I realized I didn’t know myself.”

“You’ve always been strict about debts and grudges, Patriarch.”

“I tried to trade the debt of one stroke of a blade for ten years of life. But no matter how I think on it, it feels like I’m the one losing.”

Han Cheol-sang gave a bitter smile.

A grudge of being killed. What grudge could be worse?

“So I’m going to go.”

“To the Divine Iron Merchant House?”

“Yeah. Before I beat them down, I think I should meet my adoptive father first.”

Han Cheol-sang didn’t speak at length.

“Let me come with you.”

Jin-hyeon shook his head.

“I’m going alone.”

“Patriarch.”

“I’m telling you this, Brother Han, because I’m not trying to hide it. And because I think you need to know my destination and goal.”

Han Cheol-sang’s gaze hardened.

The Divine Iron Merchant House is a merchant house that splits Sichuan in two. It’s different from Mighty Tiger. No one knows how many masters they have.

Jin-hyeon didn’t know either. He had heard that his brother and father sometimes invited masters, but from waking until sleep, he forgot everything and only hammered.

“You are strong, Patriarch. But one hand can’t block ten. For the sake of the one-in-ten-thousand, I must go too.”

“…”

“Most of all, if Divine Iron has joined hands with Cheongyang, there may be Cheongyang Association masters there.”

Jin-hyeon stopped.

Han Cheol-sang continued.

“If you’re worried about the party, tell the Branch Chief. Wouldn’t they be better than the Black Society?”

“…”

“Even if we don’t storm in head-on, we should prepare for what might happen.”

Jin-hyeon stared ahead, then nodded.

“Tell Young Master Do and Yeo-wol that I’ll be back by tomorrow evening. I’ll go find the Branch Chief.”

“Understood.”

Jin-hyeon drew a deep breath and smiled.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been back to my old home. Going empty-handed won’t do. I should bring a gift.”

“A gift?”

Killing intent fell across Jin-hyeon’s smiling face.

“A mad dog should be enough.”

The moment he won, he went to Gong Cheong, but Gong Cheong congratulated him and then issued an expulsion order. It was because of his drinking bout with Ha Suk-heon.

He won the Radiant Sword Festival and was still slighted. Heo Jang-un was furious, and he had to vent it.

But he had already become famous, so even that wasn’t easy. In the end, he chose drink.

Many who recognized Heo Jang-un urged drinks on him, and after drinking for two hours, his mood loosened.

Everyone recognized him. Everyone looked up to him. It had been a long time since he’d felt like this.

Among them were even those who, saying they had an overage daughter with fine beauty, made subtle offers for him to meet her. Heo Jang-un smiled and said he would meet her if he had the chance.

Young and old alike poured him drink. After accepting it all and paying an entire tavern’s bill, he stumbled out before the hour of the boar, dead drunk.

When he was moderately drunk, he was fine. Once the liquor climbed to his head, rage surged again. That anger summoned every kind of desire, including lust for killing and lust for sex.

‘That bitch really was pretty.’

Heo Jang-un’s eyes gleamed wetly.

He was thinking of Seol So-ha.

‘Where did they say she was staying? Should I pay her a visit? If that bastard isn’t there, then…’

She probably still hadn’t come to. Violent sexual desire and destructive murderous impulse showed plainly on Heo Jang-un’s face.

It was when he was about to turn back the way he’d come.

“Congratulations on the win.”

Startled, Heo Jang-un looked toward a side alley.

A man stood there, wrapped in shadows. It was too dark to see his face, but the white hair glinting in moonlight was unmistakable. Heo Jang-un’s complexion turned pale at once.

The white-haired demon took a step forward.

Beneath that shadowed face, the moon reflected in eyes that flashed with a distinct blue monstrous aura.

“You’re burning red today. Makes the moonlight look downright dull, doesn’t it?”