The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

"Just in case you misunderstand, I'll tell you in advance. That person never acted that way wishing for you to suffer. Rather, it was with good intentions. This whole mess is just a result of a series of coincidences."

Geum Hyeonah, who had managed to relax her hardened face at Jang Baekseo's words, took a moment to catch her breath and then answered.

"Yes, I promise. I will never resent them."

Although she said that, a flame of an ominous color was flickering in Geum Hyeonah's eyes, unlike before. It was clear that another seed of anger had been planted in addition to the seed of hope that Jang Baekseo had planted.

But Jang Baekseo decided to pretend he didn't know. He decided to believe her promise, at least in words. Above all…

'Once she knows the truth, that fire will naturally be extinguished…'

"First, I'll tell you about the constitution you were born with. There is no word for the constitution you were born with in this Central Plains yet. But if I were to define it with a name, it would be the Self-Storing Divine Body."

"Self… Storing… Divine Body?"

Geum Hyeonah tilted her head at the words she had heard for the first time in her life.

As a member of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, which had a foot in the martial world, she had heard stories about various peculiar constitutions.

Things like the Nine Yin Severed Meridians or the Nine Yang Severed Meridians, the Body of Yin and Yang, and so on!

But she had never heard of a strange name like the Self-Storing Divine Body.

"It's natural that you don't know. As I said before, there is no name for this in the Central Plains, and I only learned about it through a medical book from Tibet, not the Central Plains."

Saying so, Jang Baekseo thought for a moment before saying the next words and asked a question.

"Child, do you know that there are many different kinds of elixirs in the martial world of the Central Plains?"

"Yes, you mean things like Shaolin's Small Rejuvenation Pill or Great Rejuvenation Pill, and Huashan's Azure Spirit Pill or Plum Blossom Pill, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Then have you ever heard of an ordinary person eating such elixirs?"

At this question, Geum Hyeonah tilted her head for a moment.

To martial artists, such elixirs were no different from priceless treasures. But for an ordinary person who had not learned martial arts to eat such an elixir… as elixirs were hard to obtain even with a lot of money, Geum Hyeonah had no memory of hearing such a story.

"No… I haven't heard of it…"

"That's right. Because to ordinary people who have not learned martial arts, such elixirs are too wasteful and meaningless."

At Jang Baekseo's answer, Geum Hyeonah tilted her head again.

She understood the word 'wasteful' to some extent. It was certainly a waste for ordinary people to eat something that could give a martial artist a huge increase in internal energy.

But was it a meaningless thing… Geum Hyeonah was a little puzzled. Of course, they wouldn't get an increase in internal energy, but elixirs had such enormous energy that they could increase the terrifying power of martial artists, internal energy. Of course, even if they didn't get an increase in internal energy, it would be very good for their health.

Jang Baekseo, who had guessed Geum Hyeonah's thoughts, nodded his head once and continued.

"Yes, of course it's good for your health. But think about it. To martial artists, elixirs are the best opportunity. But at the same time, they are also a huge danger. It's not about increasing internal energy in line with the growth of the dantian and acupoints over a long period of time, but about forcibly melting strong external energy into one's own internal energy. If you're greedy, you'll not only fail to increase your internal energy, but you'll also suffer internal injuries, or in the worst case, fall into qi deviation. Now, think about it. What would happen if an ordinary person who has not a single bit of internal energy, whose acupoints and dantian are not trained, and whose dantian is not even open, eats an elixir?"

For a moment, at those words, Geum Hyeonah's eyes widened.

"They could lose their life!"

At that answer, Jang Baekseo grinned and answered.

"No, nothing would happen. Their health would just get a little better."

"Yes??"

What on earth was this? He had said that even martial artists who had learned martial arts could suffer internal injuries or fall into qi deviation when eating elixirs, so why was there no problem when an ordinary person ate it?

"Heh heh, I can see what you're thinking. But have you forgotten? That you also ate an elixir called the Seonyang Pill, which is comparable to Shaolin's Small Rejuvenation Pill? As you said, if an ordinary person who has not learned martial arts dies when they eat an elixir, you would have lost your life long ago, let alone a serious illness."

At Jang Baekseo's words, Geum Hyeonah, who let out an 'Ah!', realized that she had already eaten an elixir and was still alive, and her face turned red with embarrassment.

Jang Baekseo, who looked at Geum Hyeonah with warm eyes, continued.

"Then you must be curious. Why is it so dangerous for martial artists to eat elixirs, but not at all for ordinary people? The reason is simple. You just have to think about where the two of them take the energy after eating the elixir."

At those words, Geum Hyeonah, who seemed to have realized something, let out a small exclamation.

"Ah! I see! It's the difference between bringing the energy to the acupoints and meridians, or just eating it normally!"

Jang Baekseo certainly felt that Geum Hyeonah was a very wise child, as Geum Gadong had said. It was certainly a great thing to figure this much out with just this much explanation.

"That's right. To a martial artist, the acupoints, blood vessels, dantian, and meridians are powerful weapons that allow them to store and operate the intangible and powerful force of internal energy, but at the same time, they are very delicate organs. If external energy invades, they can block and protect it with the internal energy flowing through it, but absorbing the energy of an elixir is the exact opposite. It's about forcibly bringing energy that is outside one's control into one's own meridians and absorbing it as one's own internal energy. Since they are different energies, there will naturally be repulsion and rejection, and if you can't properly handle the energy of the elixir because of this, your meridians will be damaged. That is an internal injury, and if it gets worse, it leads to qi deviation."

When he finished his long speech, Geum Hyeonah was listening to Jang Baekseo's words with sparkling eyes. She was feeling pleasure in hearing the hidden secrets of the martial world, a world within a world.

At this, Jang Baekseo also felt a little amusement and continued.

"But ordinary people are different. When they eat an elixir, it is just swallowed, goes down the esophagus, and is absorbed through the digestive system. It's a natural thing, but you don't get a big wound or get hurt by rubbing an elixir on your skin or throwing it at someone. Similarly, even an elixir that is chewed, swallowed, and passes through the digestive system does not cause internal injuries. Energy, no matter how strong, cannot directly harm a person unless it is refined like internal energy."

After catching his breath for a moment, Jang Baekseo decided to start talking about the real main point.

"Then, if you ask if an ordinary person can't absorb any energy at all when they eat an elixir, as I said before, that's not the case. Although they don't absorb energy through their blood vessels or meridians like martial artists, ordinary people absorb energy throughout their entire body, including their flesh, bones, and skin. As I said before, while the elixir passes through the digestive system normally, some of the elixir's energy is absorbed by the body, but the amount that can be absorbed in this way is by no means large. Unless one has trained in a special martial art, alchemy, or external art, there is a limit to the amount that the body can absorb, and the energy that is not absorbed in that way all escapes through a person's seven orifices and pores and disappears into the air."

After hearing this much, Geum Hyeonah nodded her head and said.

"So that's why you said it was wasteful and meaningless."

It was true. If a martial artist ate it, they could suffer internal injuries or fall into qi deviation, but on the contrary, they could also get a huge increase in internal energy. The loss was great, but the gain was also very great!

But if an ordinary person ate it, there was no loss, but the gain was also proportionally shrunken.

So it was much more profitable to just eat much cheaper medicinal herbs or pills rather than eating an expensive elixir that couldn't even be bought with money.

After saying this much, Jang Baekseo looked at Geum Hyeonah with a serious face.

"But what if, what if the body forcibly absorbs all the energy of the elixir that was eaten?"

"Yes? …I don't think it would be good, that's for sure."

Jang Baekseo, who nodded his head at Geum Hyeonah's words, pointed his finger at Geum Hyeonah.

"That's your condition."

"Yes?"

Geum Hyeonah made a very bewildered expression, and then that expression slowly changed to surprise, and then to shock.

"Then, by any chance… the Self-Storing Divine Body is…"

"Yes. Normally, if you absorb more energy than your capacity, the body should naturally discharge the energy through the seven orifices and pores. But the constitution that tries to hold onto energy that exceeds its own body's capacity, even forcibly, and moreover, does not want to let it go, that is the Self-Storing Divine Body."

After hearing that, Geum Hyeonah's face turned pale.

Only after hearing this much did Geum Hyeonah understand the meaning of what Jang Baekseo had said before he started talking.

The person who was the cause of Geum Hyeonah's serious illness that Jang Baekseo had mentioned…

That person was…

"…Dad… it was because of Dad…?"

Geum Hyeonah's eyes shook violently, and her voice was also trembling extremely.

It couldn't be helped. The cause of the serious illness that had tormented her for several years! That cause was her own father, or more precisely, the various elixirs, including the Seonyang Pill, that her father had fed her, thinking of her!

Jang Baekseo, who was looking at Geum Hyeonah with pity, waited for a moment for her to calm down.

Soon, as if she had regained her composure to some extent, Geum Hyeonah asked a question she was curious about.

"But… then it's strange. Because my father has been feeding me elixirs steadily since I passed my first birthday… why did the illness only appear a few years ago?"

"There are three reasons. First, the things your father has been feeding you so far, which he calls elixirs, are of a very low grade."

Of course, they were very precious medicinal herbs and medicines in the market, but from the standard of a martial artist's elixir, they were things that couldn't even be included. As such, no matter how much he fed her, it did not exceed the level that would cause an illness due to the Self-Storing Divine Body.

"The second reason is that you are a child. It's a simple story. Aren't children beings that grow an inch every day?"

Simply put, as their growth was fast, their bodies also grew quickly, and as such, the vessel that received the energy generated by the elixirs also grew in real time.

"And the last, the third reason is that although the Self-Storing Divine Body is a constitution that forcibly holds onto the energy of the elixirs it has ingested, it still discharges the energy that exceeds its own capacity, albeit little by little."

Only after hearing all three reasons did Geum Hyeonah understand why she had not suffered from a serious illness until a few years ago. In summary, her vessel was growing in real time, and the elixirs her father was giving her to fill that vessel were not substantial enough to make the vessel overflow. Even if it was filled to the point of overflowing, the amount of qi being poured in was small, so it was in equilibrium with the qi that was escaping.

The golden balance that had been maintained thanks to this was broken exactly three years ago… in other words…

"The Seonyang Pill… it was because of the Seonyang Pill…"

So tragically, the Seonyang Pill, which Geum Gadong had obtained with great difficulty out of his deep love for his daughter and had fed her, wishing for her health, had completely broken her vessel.

"Hoo… that's right. The Seonyang Pill… a legendary elixir comparable to Shaolin's Small Rejuvenation Pill. Its energy is pure and gentle, so it's a treasure that everyone in the martial world covets… how on earth would your father have known that that treasure would ruin your body…"

Geum Hyeonah looked at Jang Baekseo's face blankly with a devastated expression.

To Geum Hyeonah, who could not continue speaking, Jang Baekseo continued.

"Once the balance was broken like that, a vicious cycle repeated. To improve your condition, he obtained elixirs that were much more effective than the low-grade elixirs he had been feeding you until then and fed them to you, and as a result, your condition worsened even more. That situation repeated itself…"

Who in the world would have known that the elixirs, which had good energy that would supplement the body and which anyone in the world would covet, would actually threaten the life of his precious daughter… not only Geum Gadong, but also any of the physicians who had diagnosed Geum Hyeonah so far, would have never imagined it.

Although Geum Hyeonah had not completely shaken off her devastated feelings, a stronger light of hope was in her eyes than before.

"Then if I don't eat elixirs from now on, my body will recover, right!"

But at Geum Hyeonah's hopeful question, Jang Baekseo shook his head with a sad expression.

"The energy that fills your body is already causing abnormalities and disabilities in your physical activities, and on top of that, it is also interfering with the flow of the internal acupoints and meridians, which are weak but definitely flowing even in an ordinary person… This is so severe that the energy that should have been naturally discharged even a little is completely stagnant and has hardened, and if this state continues, you will not be able to endure until your body returns to its normal state…"

At these words, the light of hope in Geum Hyeonah's eyes went out coldly.

But soon, at Jang Baekseo's continuing words, that light became strong again.

"But didn't I say from the beginning? That you can live."

But for some reason, Jang Baekseo, who had said that much, could not continue his words and began to hesitate, wondering what he was hesitating about.

"What's wrong? Are you uncomfortable somewhere…?"

"Hoo… no, it's not that. What I'm trying to say is that… um, that… there is a cure… but it's a bit…"

"A bit?"

"It hurts a lot…"

Geum Hyeonah, who had been listening tensely until then, burst out laughing.

"Haha, no, I was so tense, wondering what you were going to say~"

"No, child, this is not a laughing matter… this will really, really hurt."

"No matter how much it hurts, can it be as much as the pain I've endured so far?"

Geum Hyeonah was speaking from the heart. The pain of the illness was terrible, but the pain of the medical treatment to cure it was also not to be taken lightly. She had been hit with thick, large needles all over her body, and she had drunk cups of medicine that made her vomit just by smelling it. She had also had hot moxibustion that made her want to scream because it was so hot. The past few years of her battle with the illness had literally been a fight against pain.

That's why Geum Hyeonah was confident.

No matter how painful and agonizing it was, it couldn't be more than this battle with the illness!

Contrary to Geum Hyeonah's face, which was filled with confidence, Jang Baekseo's face was stained with worry.

"N-no, it won't be… this will really, really hurt more than all the pain you've ever experienced in your life combined…"

"Benefactor! I'm fine! If I can just get better, I can endure that much pain!"

Even though he hadn't even cured her illness yet, seeing Geum Hyeonah, whose title for Jang Baekseo had become 'benefactor,' Jang Baekseo realized that he had to make up his mind too.

And with a resolute face, he stood up from his seat and looked around the room.

"What's wrong?"

"Since you speak so resolutely, I have decided not to hesitate any longer. So I will prepare for the treatment right now."

"Yes? Right now… then do you mean we can start the treatment right now?"

"Yes. If you put your mind to it, this treatment can be completed in just one day. Although it will take some time to recuperate and recover later."

At those words, Geum Hyeonah's eyes widened.

Honestly, if she had heard such an absurd thing, she might have thought, 'Is this a scam?' but for some reason, Geum Hyeonah did not hear a single word of what Jang Baekseo was saying as a lie.

"What should I prepare?"

Geum Hyeonah asked with a resolute face, and Jang Baekseo soon told her the necessary items.

Most of the things could be solved with the things in the room, but since they needed a bathtub large enough for one person to enter, a quantity of water, and a few medical tools such as medicinal herbs to apply, Geum Hyeonah rang a bell and called the maids, ordering them to prepare these things urgently.

To the maids who questioned why such things were needed, she ordered them to keep this matter a secret, and also, as per Jang Baekseo's other request, she ordered them to clear the people near the pavilion where she was.

The maids showed reluctance, but Geum Hyeonah, who showed the appearance of a clever but naive girl in front of Jang Baekseo, showed the dignity of the daughter of the master of the Geumjo Merchant Guild, which was considered the richest in Sichuan, in front of the maids.

Soon, as per her order, the people near the pavilion were cleared, and the medicine and water were prepared.

"Benefactor, but is there a need to hide your identity?"

"Tsk, there's a reason for that. Due to circumstances, I'm not in a position to show my face publicly."

"Fufu, are you perhaps an evil person or a public enemy of the martial world, benefactor?"

Jang Baekseo, who was looking at Geum Hyeonah, who was smiling and asking a deadly question, with eyes that said 'what is this girl talking about…,' continued.

"Tsk! You brat, what are you going to do if I'm really an evil person or a public enemy of the martial world?"

At this, Geum Hyeonah smiled brightly and answered with a full smile.

"It doesn't matter to me whether you're an evil person or a public enemy of the martial world, benefactor."

Whether he was a public enemy of the martial world or an evil person, it didn't matter as long as he cured her. Jang Baekseo took it that way, but Geum Hyeonah's intention was probably different.

Soon, thinking that the preparations for the treatment were completely finished, Jang Baekseo handed Geum Hyeonah a strange object, a wooden block with a cloth wrapped around it.

"What is this, benefactor?"

"What do you mean, what is it? It's a gag. Didn't I tell you before? That the treatment process is really painful. You have to bite it so you don't bite your tongue or break your teeth during the treatment."

Whether she was listening or not, Geum Hyeonah was smiling and turning the roughly made gag around in her hands as if she was so happy.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Fufu, can I have this gag after the treatment is over?"

Jang Baekseo, who was wondering what this was again, readily nodded his head. Wasn't he an old man whose inside was over forty, even though his outside was a boy? How could he understand the workings of a young girl's mind?

So Jang Baekseo, who had given up on understanding Geum Hyeonah's behavior, soon gave the next instruction.

"First, take off your clothes."

"Yes, benefactor."

As soon as Jang Baekseo's words fell, Geum Hyeonah took off her clothes in a flash.

'Doesn't this girl have any shame?'

In fact, he had thought that the most difficult part would be to convince her of the reason for taking off her clothes during the treatment process, but she was following him without any hesitation, so much so that Jang Baekseo was dumbfounded.

"Ahem, although I ordered it for the sake of the treatment this time, even if you are young, a woman should not take off her clothes so easily in front of a man, do you understand?"

At Jang Baekseo's words, which he had blurted out in his bewilderment, Geum Hyeonah said, holding her undergarments.

"I can do this because it's in front of you, benefactor, not just any man."

"No, what is that… no! No! Don't take off your undergarments too!!"

Jang Baekseo, who had turned his eyes away from Geum Hyeonah, who had taken one foot out of her undergarments without hesitation, and was stopping her, felt that at some point, he was the one being stopped.

To Geum Hyeonah, who had finished her preparations for the treatment, Jang Baekseo instructed her to wrap the long cloth hanging from the ceiling around her arms, fix it, tie it tightly, and also hold it.

When this was done, Geum Hyeonah was standing in the room with only her undergarments on, with her arms raised upwards.

Geum Hyeonah somehow felt that this was similar to the appearance of a mother who had given birth to a child.

And whether he knew Geum Hyeonah's thoughts or not, Jang Baekseo finally put a gag in Geum Hyeonah's mouth.

When all the preparations for the treatment were complete, Jang Baekseo stood behind Geum Hyeonah and asked with a solemn face.

"I will now begin the treatment. Are you ready?"

Nod!

Geum Hyeonah, who could not answer because she was biting the gag, just nodded her head slightly.

Geum Hyeonah nodded her head and closed her eyes firmly. Because she believed in her benefactor. No, to be precise… because she believed in the boy who had held her wrist, that boy's cool but gentle hand.

As she was thinking that, a resolute voice came from behind her.

"I'm starting!"

At those words, the moment Geum Hyeonah tightly gripped the cloth that had tied and fixed her arms!

Slap!!

"!??!?!?!?!"

The treatment had begun

(End of Chapter)