Chapter 43 : Qingha Divine Pill
"And… thank you to you too."
"Yes? Why, why me…"
"Well, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have known that Myeonggwang and Myeongryo had betrayed me, would I?"
"Ah, ah, that's right."
"Not only that, but you also threw yourself into catching the traitors without hesitation and even got injured like this."
"…Well, that's right."
"So I think you are more than qualified to receive this."
Grandmaster Gwangha, who had said that, took out a small wooden box from his bosom and handed it to Jang Baekseo.
"This… is?"
"Thank you. So much that I can't express it in words…"
Grandmaster Gwangha, who had a sad expression unlike his words, disappeared without any sound or sign, just like when he had first appeared.
Jang Baekseo, who was watching the scene in a daze, carefully opened the wooden box that Grandmaster Gwangha had handed him, thinking 'no way'.
'No way, no way, no way, no way, no way…!'
The moment he opened the wooden box, a clear fragrance spread from inside and filled the medical hall.
"Ki…"
And what was revealed was a small pill with a light blue light.
Grandmaster Gwangha had disappeared without explaining what this was called or what it was used for.
But Jang Baekseo, who had roamed the world in search of elixirs to save Sohyun before his regression, knew the identity of this light blue pill.
Qingha Divine Pill.
It was the best elixir of Qingcheng.
"Kiyaaaahooooooo!!!"
***
"…Hundred Rivers Association… is there no one who knows about this?"
The highest person in Qingcheng.
In the main hall where the Sect Leader resided, all the key members of the Gwang generation, who could be called the center of the current Qingcheng, were gathered.
"…"
"…"
When no one spoke, the Sect Leader let out a long sigh.
Hundred Rivers Association.
When he had first learned the name of this group, which was the cause of all this, the Sect Leader had decided on a sharp, bloody revenge against them.
But there was one problem…
It was the fact that no one knew about this place called the Hundred Rivers Association.
No matter how secret a group it was, if they had committed such an act in Qingcheng, a pillar of the Nine Great Sects, there should have been some trace left somewhere, but since there was not a single trivial trace, they could not even figure out what kind of place this Hundred Rivers Association was.
"Sect Leader, in my personal opinion, I think it is probably a group based in the Eastern martial world."
"Can you tell me the reason why you think so?"
One of the senior and junior brothers of the Gwang generation expressed his opinion.
"Do you remember that the story of the Eastern martial world came up when that child, Myeongryo, and Senior Brother Gwangha were talking?"
"I remember."
"I don't know how they bewitched the two children, Myeongryo and Myeonggwang, but thinking about the story they told at that time, there must have been an anxiety and inferiority complex about the Eastern martial world at its center."
"I see…"
"How could those who are not based in the Eastern martial world tell a story that would stimulate the anxiety of the two children like that? No, in the first place, if they were not people of the Eastern martial world, their words would not have had any weight."
At the plausible words, the Sect Leader nodded his head.
"Then…"
"I speculate that it is probably a subordinate organization of either the Righteous Heaven Alliance or the Chivalrous Alliance."
Although they did not have future information like Jang Baekseo, they were somehow approaching the truth by combining limited information.
"…Righteous Heaven Alliance… Chivalrous Alliance."
Both were organizations that were too large for Qingcheng to handle alone.
"What's more worrying is that Qingcheng may not be the only place where they have played such tricks…"
At those words, the Sect Leader imagined the worst-case scenario.
Sichuan was right next to the border between the Eastern martial world and the Western martial world.
As such, it would have been the first place where the evil hands of the Eastern martial world had reached, and if they were not fools, there was no reason for them to have dug only one hole.
In other words,
"It means that there is a high probability that they have already extended some evil hands to Emei and the Tang Clan…"
Normally, Qingcheng would have welcomed it with open arms if a problem arose within Emei and the Tang Clan, which were their competitors, but this matter was a little different in nature.
Although they were competitors within Sichuan, they were indispensable allies in the larger power dynamics of the Eastern martial world and the Western martial world.
"It would be good to tell them in advance."
In addition, they also needed to prepare for the things that would happen in the future.
"…It will be a difficult fight."
The Sect Leader's eyes sank deeply.
***
On the way back, Jang Baekseo's party returned in a carriage, unlike when they had gone.
Although the others were fine, Jang Baekseo's injuries were so severe that it would have been a great strain on his body to walk, let alone ride a horse.
Out of consideration for Jang Baekseo, Qingcheng had prepared a carriage, and thanks to that, they were able to return to the sect quite comfortably.
Even after returning, Jang Baekseo had to live in the medical hall of the Mysterious Profound Sect for a while.
Although he had to return in a hurry because the situation in Qingcheng was chaotic, the extent of the injuries Jang Baekseo had suffered was so severe that he still needed a long time to recuperate.
But unlike the thoughts of the people around him, Jang Baekseo was getting better at a really fast pace.
There were two reasons for his fast recovery. The first reason was the effort that Jang Baekseo himself had accumulated.
Since his regression, Jang Baekseo had been practicing the Dansim Art, which strengthened his innate true qi, without missing a single day.
Thanks to that, his wound recovery ability was also faster than that of an ordinary person, and since his ability to handle internal energy itself had already reached the transcendent realm, his skill in soothing and recovering wounds with internal energy was also unparalleled, so it was inevitable that his recovery speed would be faster than that of ordinary people.
And the second reason was thanks to Geum Hyeonah's care.
Geum Hyeonah and Jang Baekseo's junior brothers, who had run over in joy at the news that Jang Baekseo's party had returned, could not help but be horrified at the sight of Jang Baekseo, who was wrapped in bandages.
Although Yuhan and Sohyun could do nothing but be horrified, worried, and angry, Geum Hyeonah was different.
She immediately sent a letter to her father, invited the best doctor in Sichuan, and invested a large sum of money to gather medicinal herbs that were good for the body.
The medicinal herbs that had disappeared into Jang Baekseo's mouth in the past few days were enough to fill several large baskets.
Although Jang Baekseo felt a little burdened by Geum Hyeonah's attitude, he thought it was not that bad.
Although he was recovering from his illness quickly, his wounds had not yet fully healed, so he was forbidden from training and was cooped up in his room. Jang Baekseo was staring blankly at the wooden box in his hand.
"…To think that it could be obtained so simply…"
Of course, it was not really obtained simply.
But despite that, it was enough to make Jang Baekseo feel a sense of doubt.
Before his regression, Jang Baekseo had run around the world asking for help to save Sohyun.
And of course, Qingcheng was also included in that.
But they too had coldly rejected Jang Baekseo's request.
Although they were Daoists who should have helped the common people, had no greed, and should have been engrossed in cultivation, the ones Jang Baekseo had met were just martial artists wearing the shell of a Daoist.
Yet, Jang Baekseo had believed in them, Qingcheng and the Orthodox Faction martial world, and had gone around asking for help.
And the elixir that he had not been able to obtain despite that was now in Jang Baekseo's hands.
Of course, the current Jang Baekseo knew well.
'How foolish my actions were before my regression, and how stupid I must have looked to them…'
Of course, that fact did not offset the miserable and terrible feelings and the sense of betrayal of the past.
Well, whatever happened before his regression, in the end, Jang Baekseo had obtained the elixir.
Moreover, Jang Baekseo knew not only this, but also another way to obtain the elixir.
Hadn't he worked so hard to improve his martial arts for that purpose in the first place?
Although it was a situation where he should be happy, Jang Baekseo's mind was now full of one worry.
"First of all, it's a decision to get one more elixir just in case, but…"
To execute that method, at least the martial prowess of the peak was needed.
Originally, Jang Baekseo had been confident that he could reach the peak realm without difficulty if he had about a year.
But through this fight, Jang Baekseo had suffered not only external wounds but also quite a blow internally.
Although his recovery was fast thanks to the function of the Dansim Art and Geum Hyeonah's utmost sincerity, it was inevitable that the time to reach the peak would be delayed.
But there was an item that could solve that troublesome situation at once, and that was the Qingha Divine Pill.
If Jang Baekseo took this now, he would be able to reach the peak realm right now.
'But…'
Nevertheless, the reason why he could not readily put the Qingha Divine Pill in his mouth was because of the anxiety of what if things went wrong and he could not obtain the elixir through another method…
The fight with Myeonggwang was dangerous.
It was a good thing that the gamble he had thrown at the very end had worked. If Myeonggwang had ignored such a provocation and had continued to attack faithfully, it might have been Jang Baekseo, not Myeonggwang, who had died at that time.
'And I don't know how many more times this will happen in the future.'
If Jang Baekseo were to stay cooped up in the sect, turn a blind eye to external affairs, and just train until he reached a satisfactory level, it would be fine. But the regressed Jang Baekseo had goals of raising the sect and stopping the Righteous-Demonic War, in addition to saving Sohyun. And if he moved for that, he could be caught up in things much more dangerous than the incident in Qingcheng.
Of course, Jang Baekseo had no intention of throwing himself into danger right now, but even if he was careful, it was impossible to completely avoid unexpected and great dangers like this trip to Qingcheng.
'What if I take the Qingha Divine Pill and something happens later and I die…'
It was a 'what if' story, and he intended to be careful so that such a thing would not happen no matter what, but there was absolutely no 'absolute' in the world.
If Jang Baekseo did not take the Qingha Divine Pill, even if Jang Baekseo died for some reason, things would proceed as in the original history, and the Mysterious Profound Sect would bring in a skilled doctor to treat Sohyun.
And if the Qingha Divine Pill was there…
Even if Jang Baekseo died, Sohyun could be saved.
'Hoo… my head is complicated… should I look for a way to get the elixir right now, other than 'that' method?'
The method that Jang Baekseo was constantly talking about was related to the Hegemon King.
The Hegemon King!
It was the name of the incarnations of violence, death, and blood that had struck the martial world thirty years ago.
They had turned the world upside down, and in the process, many treasures had been lost or taken by the Hegemon King.
How much time had passed after the chaos of the Hegemon King had ended?
A strange rumor had spread in the martial world.
In other words, it was a rumor that there was a secret treasury of the Hegemon King where the treasures that had been lost or taken during the Hegemon King's march across the world were gathered.
This rumor had spread quickly in the Jianghu, and soon, there was a time when all the martial artists of the world were frantic to find the treasure.
Literally, the whole world was frantically searching for the secret treasury of the Hegemon King.
But in the end, none of them could find the secret treasury of the Hegemon King, and soon, this story was treated as a mere rumor and was forgotten.
'But in the end, it wasn't a rumor!'
That's right. Although everyone had treated it as a rumor, the secret treasury of the Hegemon King was by no means a rumor.
In the world before his regression, a certain martial arts master had found the secret treasury of the Hegemon King and had obtained an enormous amount of treasures, elixirs, and even the martial arts of the Hegemon King there.
The martial arts master, for fear that this story might leak out, had hidden himself in the secret treasury, had eaten the elixirs, and had learned the secret manuals.
Afterwards, when he had come out to the martial world, he had been on a roll for a while with the internal energy he had gained from the martial arts of the Hegemon King and the elixirs, but… he had soon become a public enemy of the martial world for learning the martial arts of the Hegemon King and had met a miserable death in the end.
And Jang Baekseo knew the location of that secret treasury of the Hegemon King.
The man who had become a public enemy of the martial world had resisted so fiercely until the end that he could not be captured alive and had been killed on the spot in the end.
As a result, no one had learned the location of the secret treasury from him, but later, when the Righteous-Demonic War broke out, Jang Baekseo, who had been able to obtain various high-quality information as the Sword Demon, had belatedly learned the location of the secret treasury of the Hegemon King, which had made a martial arts master a public enemy of the martial world, through the information organization of the Demonic Cult.
How surprised he had been at that time?
To think that the secret treasury of the Hegemon King, which had only been a rumor, was in such a place…
As Jang Baekseo was having thoughts related to the Hegemon King…
Knock, knock.
A cute visitor had come after a long time.
Click.
"Couldn't you sleep, Sohyun?"
When he opened the door, Sohyun was there as always.
She was a child who always came to Jang Baekseo's room when she couldn't sleep or had a bad dream.
That's why, when the new Profound Mystery Pavilion was built, Sohyun had chosen to stay in the old Profound Mystery Pavilion, which was close to Jang Baekseo's room.
"No, I came today because I thought you would be lonely, Senior Brother!"
"I'm lonely?"
As Jang Baekseo was tilting his head at Sohyun, who was saying something unexpected…
Dododo.
Sohyun, who usually entered the room only after Jang Baekseo had given her permission, entered the room before Jang Baekseo had given her permission today, took Jang Baekseo's hand, and led him to the bed.
As Jang Baekseo, who was led by Sohyun's hand, lay down on the bed, Sohyun also lay down next to him with a plop.
"When you're sick, you're lonely… Sohyun was also very~ lonely when she had a cold last time and slept alone. But because of the cold, I had no strength in my body, so I couldn't even go to you, Senior Brother… so since you would be lonely too, Senior Brother, Sohyun came in advance!"
Looking at Sohyun, who was boldly revealing the reason for her visit, Jang Baekseo could only laugh softly.
(End of Chapter)