Chapter 68
Yeom Hwasin (3)
The carriage continued toward an unknown destination.
“Have you ever been here before?”
At Cheon-geuk’s question, Baek So-cheon shook his head. He had fought the Cheokcheon Alliance countless times, but the Murim Alliance had never managed to penetrate this far into its territory. This was Baek So-cheon’s first time here as well.
He had expected the place to be filled with vicious-looking people, yet those passing by appeared perfectly ordinary.
Martial artists walked past while talking loudly. Others laughed as though something had greatly amused them, while still others exchanged idle chatter. Taken in isolation, the scene would not have seemed out of place inside the Murim Alliance.
Yet they were unquestionably different people.
They worshipped the supremacy of the strong, regarded chivalry as hypocrisy, did not hesitate to kill, and lived solely for their own interests.
Of course, with so many people gathered here, there were bound to be exceptions. After all, not every martial artist in the Murim Alliance placed chivalry above all else either.
The carriage did not head for the Alliance Leader’s Palace. Instead, it stopped before a guest hall deep within the inner compound.
Without leaving the carriage, Yeom Hwasin spoke to Na Sa-rin.
“The journey must have been tiring. Rest for today, and we will begin the treatment tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Once the three of them stepped down, the carriage departed again.
A maid who had been waiting for them guided them to their rooms.
There was one room for Baek So-cheon and two for the women. Perhaps they were intended for honored guests, because the accommodations were exceptionally fine.
The beds were so large and comfortable that one felt one could fall asleep the moment one lay down, and the blankets were spotless. The furniture in the rooms was elegant and luxurious as well.
“I shall retire first.”
“Rest well, Elder.”
Na Sa-rin entered her room before the others.
It was still too early to sleep, so Baek So-cheon and Cheon-geuk decided to have a drink.
At their request, the maid overseeing the guest rooms brought liquor and refreshments to Baek So-cheon’s room. The liquor was a rare vintage difficult to obtain, and the accompanying dishes were equally superb.
Cheon-geuk used a silver needle to check the food and drink for poison. They had been brought here to provide treatment, so poisoning them would make little sense, but she remained cautious nonetheless.
“There’s no poison.”
“Yeom Hwasin isn’t the sort of man who uses poison. His pride in his martial arts is immense.”
“We still need to be careful.”
Baek So-cheon nodded and raised his cup.
“Let’s drink.”
“All right.”
They clinked their cups and drank.
“Whew. Without you, I might not have endured the past few days.”
“You would have done even better without me.”
From what Baek So-cheon had seen, she was not the sort of person who relied on others. Had only the two women come here, Cheon-geuk would probably have remained even more focused and vigilant.
“I’m sorry. You were dragged into this because of me.”
“Don’t misunderstand. I invested in you for the sake of myself and my alliance.”
Baek So-cheon gave a quiet laugh.
Cheon-geuk looked out the window. Gazing at the bright full moon, she said,
“I thought the moon here would look like something a ghost might crawl out beneath… but even here, it’s bright and beautiful.”
***
The next day, the three of them were escorted to a secluded chamber.
A man was waiting there beside Yeom Hwasin.
Yeom Sa-won.
He was Yeom Hwasin’s son and the heir to the Cheokcheon Alliance.
He was not as large as his father, but the resemblance was strong enough that anyone could immediately tell they were related.
Their atmospheres, however, were different.
Yeom Hwasin possessed an evil yet bold and expansive air. Yeom Sa-won, in contrast, gave off a dark and sinister feeling, as though he had risen directly from a shadow cast across the ground. His cold gaze resembled that of a snake.
His bearing alone revealed the difference between them. While his father concealed his wickedness thoroughly, the son deliberately displayed his.
The way he treated the three visitors was no different.
“There’s no need to exchange pointless greetings. Let’s begin.”
Baek So-cheon had no desire to exchange greetings with him either.
Na Sa-rin wrote a list of medicinal ingredients on a sheet of paper.
“First, prepare a decoction according to what is written here. Since two people will be taking it, make two portions.”
Yeom Hwasin ordered a trusted subordinate to prepare the medicine.
While it was being brewed, they had no choice but to wait in the chamber.
Yeom Sa-won looked at Baek So-cheon.
“You’re Baek So-cheon?”
“That’s right.”
“So you’re the one who ruined the grand undertaking of our alliance and my father.”
“That depends on which side one stands on, does it not?”
“I heard you lost your internal energy, but your mouth still seems full of it.”
The mockery was blatant.
Ordinarily, one would avoid provoking the person involved when a critical treatment was about to begin.
Yet Yeom Sa-won showed no restraint. Yeom Hwasin neither stopped nor rebuked him.
That alone revealed much about their relationship and Yeom Hwasin’s approach to raising his child.
“I know my father regards you as someone special. But I do not.”
Baek So-cheon could tell where the man’s hostility came from.
He was jealous of him.
Baek So-cheon glanced at Yeom Hwasin. It occurred to him that Yeom Hwasin might even have used Baek So-cheon to provoke his own son.
Without saying anything, Baek So-cheon turned away and ignored Yeom Sa-won.
Yeom Sa-won snorted as though he found the gesture ridiculous. Fortunately, he did not provoke Baek So-cheon any further.
Baek So-cheon was not offended in the slightest. In fact, he was pleased.
Surprisingly many organizations collapsed because of their leaders—or the families of those leaders.
‘That’s right. Act as insolently as you like while you still can.’
Once Baek So-cheon severed his head, he would no longer be able to act insolently even if he wanted to.
In the meantime, the medicine was prepared.
Yeom Hwasin said to Na Sa-rin,
“Treat my son first.”
He intended to go second in case they attempted some sort of trick.
Na Sa-rin handed the prepared medicine to Yeom Sa-won.
“Drink it.”
Yeom Sa-won hesitated and looked toward Yeom Hwasin, distrust evident in his eyes as if asking whether it was truly safe.
Yeom Hwasin nodded firmly.
After drinking the medicine, Yeom Sa-won lay down on the bed as instructed.
Na Sa-rin inserted needles into his body and pressed his acupoints in a prescribed sequence.
The treatment ended.
A short while later, Yeom Sa-won suddenly bolted upright and vomited up what had been inside him.
“Guaaagh!”
He then collapsed back onto the bed and fell asleep.
Using a pair of chopsticks, Na Sa-rin lifted a worm from the contents he had vomited.
“It is a Celestial Primordial Gu.”
Yeom Hwasin, who had already known it was inside him, nodded calmly.
He immediately woke his son.
“It would be best to let him rest for a day.”
Na Sa-rin’s attempt to dissuade him was useless.
“That will not be necessary.”
Yeom Sa-won regained consciousness and remained dazed for a moment. Then he noticed the Celestial Primordial Gu held in Na Sa-rin’s chopsticks.
“You damned vermin!”
He lunged forward, snatched the Gu away, and hurled it to the floor.
Then he crushed it beneath his foot.
Crack!
Yeom Sa-won shouted at Na Sa-rin.
“You bizarre old woman! Don’t just stand there gawking! Hurry up and pull that filthy worm out of my father!”
Cheon-geuk silently seethed as she watched.
‘That insolent bastard!’
This was what made the place so dangerous.
Its heir was an ill-mannered wretch like him, while the man who led the organization watched such behavior without offering even the slightest reprimand.
‘Whether you’re the strongest man in the martial world or not… you’ve done a terrible job raising your son.’
Then again, perhaps only someone with such a vile personality could survive as the heir of the Cheokcheon Alliance.
Next came Yeom Hwasin’s turn.
He drank the medicine, and Na Sa-rin began pressing his acupoints.
She was secretly astonished.
The sensation beneath his skin was unlike anything she had experienced in her eighty-four years of life.
It went beyond mere hardness. It was an exceedingly strange sensation.
She wondered whether a needle could penetrate such skin at all, yet it slid in more easily than expected.
That made it even more remarkable.
Na Sa-rin removed the Gu from Yeom Hwasin’s body in exactly the same manner.
Before long, Yeom Hwasin also vomited up a Celestial Primordial Gu.
Ordinarily, a person who expelled a Gu would fall asleep again, but Yeom Hwasin did not even lose consciousness.
Even the effects of the treatment made an exception for him.
Crack!
Once again, Yeom Sa-won rushed forward and viciously stomped the Gu to death.
His anger remained unsatisfied and spilled toward an unrelated target.
“Father, now that this is done, eliminate all of them. Nothing could be more humiliating than the world learning that we were afflicted by Gu.”
With an amused expression, Yeom Hwasin looked at Baek So-cheon.
“What do you think? Surely you anticipated a situation like this.”
Baek So-cheon remained calm.
“I believed that even if you did not repay our kindness, you would not kill us.”
“It seems you misjudged me.”
“Did I?”
“Forget me for a moment. What about my son? You should have prepared for him as well.”
“Of course I did. I was worried that the precaution might have been excessive, but after seeing your son, it appears perfectly appropriate for his level.”
Na Sa-rin continued where Baek So-cheon left off.
It was precisely what Baek So-cheon had secretly asked her to do through a sound transmission.
“While removing the Gu, I placed the young master under a Soul-Ensnaring Art. If even one of the three of us dies within five days, he will take his own life.”
At her calm explanation, Yeom Hwasin’s expression instantly turned cold.
“You dared place my son under a Soul-Ensnaring Art?”
Na Sa-rin’s expression also became cold.
In an uncharacteristically loud voice, she shouted,
“And you dared harbor the intention of killing our Alliance Leader?”
“You damned old hag!”
“Look at me carefully. See for yourself what this damned old hag is capable of doing.”
It was the first time they had witnessed Na Sa-rin’s anger.
That made it all the more terrifying.
The pressure she released at that moment was no weaker than Yeom Hwasin’s.
“Then we merely need to detain all of you for five days.”
“Unless you release us immediately, I will take my own life. Once I have resolved to die, you may be able to kill me, but you will never be able to subdue me.”
She was utterly certain that no one could stop her from taking her own life.
“Test me if you are truly curious.”
A taut silence continued.
In the end, Yeom Hwasin was the one who stepped back.
“Ha ha ha ha! I see the saying that old ginger is the spiciest did not arise without reason. My son was merely playing a prank, so please accept his apology.”
Yeom Hwasin looked at Yeom Sa-won.
Reluctantly, Yeom Sa-won gave a cupped-fist salute.
“It was only a childish prank. If I went too far, I apologize. I will be sure to repay this debt someday.”
Yet it sounded less as though he meant to repay a favor and more as though he intended to settle a grudge.
Pretending not to notice, Na Sa-rin nodded and accepted his apology. Her voice returned to its usual gentleness.
“It is all right. After five days, the Soul-Ensnaring Art will disappear naturally.”
Without offering even a single word of thanks, Yeom Sa-won left the room.
In contrast, Yeom Hwasin expressed his gratitude to her.
“You have gone to great trouble.”
“Think nothing of it.”
Yeom Hwasin turned to Baek So-cheon.
“Come and see me. The two of us have something to discuss. I will wait outside, so join me shortly.”
Yeom Hwasin went outside first.
Once only the three of them remained, Cheon-geuk vented her fury over Yeom Sa-won.
“Do not stop me later. One day, I will cut off that ill-mannered brat’s head with my own hands.”
It was one thing for him to treat her or Baek So-cheon that way, but he had left without offering so much as a glance of gratitude to Na Sa-rin, the woman who had saved him.
He had even treated her like a monster.
Baek So-cheon thanked Na Sa-rin.
“Thank you. We all survived because of you.”
“More importantly, there is something I must tell you.”
What Na Sa-rin urgently revealed next was shocking.
“When I touched Yeom Hwasin’s body… I realized it was no ordinary body. He may have attained the Vajra Indestructible Body.”
“…!”
Baek So-cheon and Cheon-geuk were stunned.
The Vajra Indestructible Body.
It was the ultimate form of external defensive cultivation, impervious not only to blades but also to fire and water—something that no physical method could ever break or sever.
It was said that once someone reached the state of Vajra Indestructibility, sword aura and even sword force might deliver an impact, but they could never cut the body.
What if it were true?
This was not just anyone.
It was Yeom Hwasin.
He had already been almost impossible to kill.
Now that monster had grown wings.
A thirty-percent chance? Forty percent?
Not even close.
If they fought him now, their chance of victory would not even reach ten percent.
The number-one position in the Martial World Ranking would have to return to Yeom Hwasin.
‘Was this what he trusted in?’
That faint bluish energy Baek So-cheon had seen around his body.
He recalled what Yeom Hwasin had said while they were riding in the carriage.
That he enjoyed excitement, but not stupidity.
Was this the source of his confidence that no one could kill him?
Was this why he had appeared openly before the Murim Alliance headquarters?
Was this why he had declared that capturing him would require sacrifices a hundred times greater than normal?
“I should go outside for now.”
“You should.”
Baek So-cheon left the room soon afterward.
Cheon-geuk looked after Na Sa-rin.
She was not concerned about Yeom Hwasin’s enormous body. She was worried about the tiny body before her.
“Are you feeling all right?”
“I am fine.”
Cheon-geuk also expressed her gratitude.
“We all survived because of you, Elder.”
“It was not because of me.”
“What?”
Na Sa-rin looked out the window.
Far across the courtyard, Baek So-cheon was walking toward Yeom Hwasin, who stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
Only then did Cheon-geuk understand that Baek So-cheon had asked Na Sa-rin to make those preparations in advance.
Watching Baek So-cheon, Cheon-geuk repeated the same words she had spoken about Yeom Sa-won.
“…Do not stop me later.”
She did not say what she did not want Na Sa-rin to stop her from doing, but Na Sa-rin understood that her meaning was the exact opposite of what she had intended regarding Yeom Sa-won.
‘Very well. I will not stop you, so love him to your heart’s content.’
She thought it would be good for her Alliance Leader to live with a burning heart.
Na Sa-rin intended to remain cold and watch over her until the very last moment.
All she wished was for this small body of hers to endure for as long as possible.