Chapter 14
Chapter 14
“Hmm? So something like that happened?”
Cheonung propped his chin on his hand and looked at Cheongsol with interest. Even though Cheonung was watching him, Cheongsol continued working without resting his hands as he spoke.
“And it seems the Fourth Young Miss suffered an internal injury. I heard she recently searched for medicinal herbs to prepare a decoction good for internal injuries.”
“So did that bastard Youngho injure Gakjeong internally?”
“I do not know the exact details either. Still, at least one person should know.”
“You mean the Hao Sect Master?”
As Cheongsol mentioned the Hao Sect Master indirectly, Cheonung frowned.
“Do not dislike her so much. For now, she is an important information network, is she not?”
“Even so, I do not like that woman.”
“I feel the same.”
“So? By now, Gakjeong should have recovered, right?”
“That is…….”
“What is it? Say it.”
“It seems the Fifth Young Master bought up all the medicinal herbs good for internal injuries.”
“What? Was that bastard always such a sly one?”
“In my view, it could be called a strategy…… more precisely, it seems he bought only the key ingredients needed to make the decoction.”
“How does Youngho know what ingredients go into the decoction?”
“That, I do not know either.”
Lately, Cheonung had been feeling a renewed sense of enjoyment. And not from life-and-death duels, but from hearing about his disciples’ circumstances.
“Just as you said, it seems I did well to raise disciples. At first it was just so-so, but as time passed, it became fun.”
“To the Alliance Lord, it may look like children’s games, but the people involved are risking their lives.”
“It is fun watching others fight while risking their lives. It is even more fun when I do it myself.”
Cheongsol briefly thought about what to do with this ignorant lord, but quickly erased the irreverent thought and spoke.
“What exactly is the Fifth Young Master?”
“I do not know either.”
“Did you not accept him as a disciple knowing what he was?”
“He looked interesting, but I did not expect it to this extent.”
Looking at his hopeless lord, Cheongsol let out a long, deep sigh.
“So what will you do now? Even with Horyeung of the Blood Wolf Unit, this time seems a bit dangerous.”
Since Cheonung had already erected a Qi Barrier, Cheongsol spoke without hesitation about Horyeung’s existence, which others did not know.
“For now, I will watch what that Hao Sect woman does and act accordingly.”
“She will probably assign people to watch him. Judging by the circumstances, it seems the Fifth Young Master defeated the Fourth Young Miss.”
“If that is the case, the Hao Sect Master will put even more effort into watching Youngho, so I will also lend a hand appropriately.”
“Understood. Then whom shall we assign additionally as the Fifth Young Master’s escort?”
“Assign no one.”
“Yes? You clearly said you would take action.”
“I will handle it myself.”
“What kind of bizarre method are you planning again…….”
“Do not worry, do not worry.”
After saying that, Cheonung smiled as if filled with anticipation and thought,
‘Show me. Whether you are the offspring of a monster, or the cub of a tiger.’
And whether you can surpass me, the true tiger.
Hearing Cheonung’s strange laughter, Cheongsol let out another long sigh.
Every time Cheonung laughed like that, things had never passed peacefully, which was why such a reaction was inevitable.
***
Knowing the state of her own body, Hong Gakjeong looked at Jin Woohyeon with urgent eyes.
“What about the other merchant groups? None left?”
“They say it would take over a month to prepare the herbs again. It seems he took even the very last of the last herbs.”
“That bastard Youngho!”
Hong Gakjeong shouted without realizing it.
Cough!
At that moment, thick blood sprayed from Hong Gakjeong’s mouth.
“Ugh…!”
The spot Youngho had struck still seemed to ache. No, it hurt. The internal injury Youngho left her was extremely vicious and malicious.
‘Just how do you inflict an internal injury like this?’
She could not understand it at all, nor could she accept it. What kind of training had he undergone to surpass her martial power?
The very fact that Youngho was stronger than her made no sense to her, so there was no way she could accept anything else.
Even when she hurried to brew a decoction to improve her internal injury even slightly, Youngho had selectively bought up only the core ingredients needed for the decoction.
She had no idea how he knew the ingredients, but she never thought Youngho would buy all those expensive materials.
Those herbs were mere pocket change to her, but to Youngho they were as expensive as a thousand pieces of gold.
‘So he really is connected to the Gold-Blood Hall!’
He must have borrowed money from the Gold-Blood Hall.
“Ghk!”
In truth, even without drinking a decoction, the problem could be resolved by going to the Medical Hall. There, she could take decoctions with effects far superior to what she usually drank.
But if she did that, her fellow senior brothers and sisters would learn that she had been injured.
By now, others would already know that something had happened between her and Youngho.
And judging by the circumstances, they would also know that she had been defeated by Youngho. Rage truly boiled up within her.
That was precisely why she absolutely could not go outside right now. She had to lie low and remain secluded inside her residence.
If she went outside now, she would become nothing more than prey for Baekcheong.
There was a secret passage, but even if she exited through it, her location and condition would be exposed faster than expected.
Driven into a corner with no way forward or back, Hong Gakjeong’s anger toward Youngho deepened even further.
Sensing that Hong Gakjeong’s martial presence was anything but normal, Jin Woohyeon spoke to her.
“Fourth Young Miss, you must calm yourself.”
“I know.”
Despite her words, thick killing intent was bubbling up from Hong Gakjeong’s body.
At that moment, her eyes flashed dangerously. That gaze, like that of a warrior who had sworn revenge, was more than enough to send a chill through Jin Woohyeon’s body.
‘It seems she will stir things up.’
At this point, even he could not stop Hong Gakjeong. Right now, she was simply immersing herself in hatred.
Hatred far too deep. In truth, Hong Gakjeong ending up like this might have been an inevitable course of events.
Faced with such a regrettable reality, Jin Woohyeon could only squeeze his eyes shut.
Hong Gakjeong rose from her seat and spoke.
“I am going to the Medical Hall right now.”
“At most, within half a Shijin, the other young masters will come looking for you.”
“It does not matter. I will win anyway.”
“How on earth……?”
“We are going to obtain a spirit pill. At the very least, one on the level of the Grand Reversion Pill.”
Jin Woohyeon spoke with his eyes wide open.
“That is impossible! If something goes wrong… no, that constitutes a grave crime within the Unorthodox Alliance!”
“It does not matter.”
“…Pardon?”
“I said it does not matter. If I can just kill Youngho and that bastard Baekcheong…….”
Hong Gakjeong’s eyes flashed with chilling killing intent.
“I would even offer my life to a demon.”
Seeing the sheer madness burning in her gaze, Jin Woohyeon, despite his reluctance, had no choice but to squeeze his eyes shut and nod.
Hong Gakjeong would probably die in the near future. The one who killed her might be the Alliance Lord, or it might be another young master.
But if she was going to die anyway, what did it matter?
Jin Woohyeon simply followed the Fourth Young Miss he had sworn to serve.
Even though it was a fate that crossed a river from which there was no return, Jin Woohyeon did nothing more than obey Hong Gakjeong’s order.
Thus, the two of them used the secret passage and headed straight for the Medical Hall.
Bang!
Hong Gakjeong violently flung open the doors of the Medical Hall and headed straight for the place where spirit pills were manufactured.
“Fourth Young Miss, what brings you here?”
When the junior physician spoke respectfully, Hong Gakjeong replied in a strangely alluring voice.
“I want a spirit pill that surpasses the Grand Reversion Pill.”
“That requires, at the very least, Chief Aide Cheong’s approval. Do you have a permit?”
“No.”
At Hong Gakjeong’s utterly matter-of-fact reply, the junior physician looked at her with flustered eyes.
“You only need to give me the spirit pill.”
“That is not possi—”
Slice.
As soon as the junior physician voiced opposition, Hong Gakjeong immediately severed his neck.
Even though she was suffering from an internal injury, Hong Gakjeong’s footwork swordsmanship still reached the realm of art.
The expression on the junior physician’s face as he died without even feeling pain looked as though he had not yet realized he was dead.
Seeing the junior physician’s head fall to the floor, the other physicians cried out in shock.
“What do you think you are doing! Fourth Young Miss!”
Slice.
“The Alliance Lord will never forgive—”
Slice.
With every step forward, Hong Gakjeong swung her sword at those who dared oppose her. The physicians had only learned the bare minimum of martial arts for diagnosing pulses and could not resist in the slightest.
Each time Hong Gakjeong’s sword was swung, another physician collapsed.
Some survived even after being cut by her blade, but they were not fortunate.
Those who lived on after being slashed bled too much and died slowly, agonizingly aware of their suffering.
“Aaaaaargh!”
When even a senior physician was cut down, the remaining physicians trembled in terror and did nothing but clear a path for Hong Gakjeong.
Without showing any emotion, as if she felt nothing toward those she had slain, Hong Gakjeong headed toward where the spirit pills were gathered.
The moment Hong Gakjeong picked up a spirit pill, Jin Woohyeon immediately scanned the surroundings and spoke.
“I will stand guard.”
“Protect me well. If I die before I can take my revenge, I will resent you first.”
“……Do not worry.”
With that, Hong Gakjeong placed the spirit pill into her mouth.
The spirit pill began to melt smoothly the instant it entered her mouth, even without being chewed.
Feeling the pure and clear energy, Hong Gakjeong unconsciously formed a relaxed smile.
But that was not what mattered right now.
‘Extract as much of the medicinal effect as possible.’
Normally, it would take several months to fully absorb the spirit pill’s effects, but time was now critical.
She had to draw out as much of its efficacy as possible immediately.
Hong Gakjeong at once assumed a cross-legged meditation posture and began absorbing every last bit of the spirit pill’s power.
Without taking too much or too little for her level, the spirit pill’s energy gathered appropriately in her dantian.
She was astonished by the pill’s effects, far greater than expected, but even being surprised was a luxury she could not afford.
Forcing as much of the spirit energy as possible into her dantian, Hong Gakjeong opened her eyes while exhaling white vapor from her mouth.
“Congratulations on your breakthrough!”
Jin Woohyeon congratulated Hong Gakjeong as he saw that she had broken through a new wall by consuming the spirit pill.
“More importantly, how much time has passed?”
“About two Dakyung.”
“It took longer than I thought. Let us go quickly.”
Feeling her newly broken-through power, Hong Gakjeong smiled in satisfaction.
At this level, she would be able to defeat that bastard Baekcheong with ease—assuming she killed him rather than subdued him.
If she had a future, she might have worried about how to dissipate the remaining medicinal energy still left in her body, but Hong Gakjeong knew that she no longer had a future.
And so—
“We are going to that bastard Youngho’s residence.”
“Understood.”
Hong Gakjeong intended to vent her hatred upon as many people as possible.