Chapter 18

“Where in the world are you, So-so?”

Wangbu, the village where the members of the Wang Estate lived, had not gone dark for three days.

All work at the estate’s twenty branches across the nation had been suspended. Every available hand had been ordered to gather information about girls around Wang So-so’s age.

Countless shops under the Wang Estate had also closed their doors to aid in the search, disrupting the daily lives of ordinary people.

“What do you mean by that?!”

Wang Geum-san stared at Wang So-so’s personal physician in shock.

“Did you not say she could survive for an entire week outside the Ice Pavilion?”

The physician glanced back at the members of the Medicine Pavilion standing behind him.

They lowered their heads in silence, silently urging him to speak.

If he withheld the truth now, the consequences would only be worse later.

“Under normal circumstances…… yes.”

“……”

“However, the energy of the Solar Body sometimes surges and reaches an extreme yang state.”

The physician’s voice grew quieter.

“And unfortunately, that surge appears to be happening now……”

He could not bring himself to continue.

He had watched countless patients die and had delivered terrible news to their families many times, but no one had ever accepted such words calmly.

And the man before him was Wang Geum-san, the master of the Wang Estate.

“Then…… how much longer can she endure?”

“……”

Faced with a father asking how long his daughter had before her final breath, the physician could only move his lips soundlessly.

“I asked how long she can endure!”

“……It may already be too late.”

“Uuuugh!”

“M-Master!”

“Bring the needles! Quickly!”

Wang Geum-san collapsed.

Wang So-so briefly regained consciousness, only to faint again soon afterward.

The cause was clearly the heat surging through her body as though it intended to burn her alive.

But I had never heard of an ordinary fever producing symptoms like these.

‘Where was the medical text written by Medicine Immortal Gong Yak-chun?’

Medicine Immortal Gong Yak-chun, known as the Reincarnation of Hua Tuo.

Throughout his life, he had gathered the essence of his medical knowledge into a single text known as the Universal Cure Treatise.

For some reason, Mantongbu had classified it as a confidential document.

Why?

I had no idea.

It was clearly a book that could save countless lives if released to the public, yet Mantongbu had never once considered doing so.

I searched through the Universal Cure Treatise stored in my memories.

Only after passing the sections on illnesses and reaching the section on unusual constitutions did I discover the cause of Wang So-so’s condition.

“A Solar Body born in a woman…… Of all times for it to flare up.”

Even the Universal Cure Treatise contained only a diagnosis and a method for temporarily stabilizing the energy.

“For now, I need to calm it down. At this rate, she will die……”

Following Gong Yak-chun’s instructions, I struck nearly twenty acupoints across her body.

The scorching heat gradually began to subside.

Not long afterward, Wang So-so opened her eyes.

“Umm…… Wh-who are you?!”

“I am Jin So-un of the Taeul Sect.”

I looked at her calmly.

“And who might you be, Young Lady?”

If I acted as though I already knew her identity, I would only invite suspicion.

She was none other than Wang Geum-san’s only daughter.

Even I would become suspicious if the person who rescued me claimed to have known beforehand that I would be kidnapped.

“I-I am Wang So-so.”

“Hmm…… Wang So-so? Could you perhaps be……”

“……Yes. I am the daughter of the Wang Estate.”

“How did you end up in a place like this?”

“I do not know either. Where are we?”

“In the mountains near Lujiang. You were being held by a group of suspicious men.”

“Th-those men…… What happened to them?”

“I took care of them.”

“……”

Contrary to my expectations, she did not panic.

She quickly regained her composure.

Perhaps, as Wang Geum-san’s daughter, she had been educated from a young age to remain calm in situations like this.

“For now, we should leave. It sounded as though more of their companions were on the way.”

“N-no!”

“Pardon?”

“I-I cannot move.”

I tilted my head.

“Wh-what day is it today?”

“Today should be the day of Gyemyo in the month of Sinsa.”

“Th-then today is when my solar qi surges. Normally, I would be inside the Ice Pavilion holding an Ice Pill.”

Come to think of it, Gong Yak-chun’s medical text had mentioned something like that.

The solar qi within someone who possessed the Solar Body would periodically surge, granting them an enormous increase in internal energy.

Was that not practically cheating?

Unfortunately, from Wang So-so’s perspective, it was no blessing.

At any moment, the raging energy might spread through her body and kill her.

This situation was becoming more troublesome by the moment.

“I need to confirm something. You possess the Solar Body, correct?”

Wang So-so hesitated, uncertain whether she should answer.

Eventually, she nodded.

“Yes. That is correct.”

“Can you not move even for a short distance?”

“I can move a little, but if I exert myself too much, the solar qi will burn through the acupoints throughout my body.”

One problem after another.

I had heard the kidnappers say that the rest of their group would arrive soon.

‘What should I do……?’

Then I remembered the Secret Record of Ten Thousand Herbs, which had been classified alongside the Universal Cure Treatise.

It described how to create extraordinary medicines using nothing more than common herbs and poisonous plants that could be found growing almost anywhere.

The medicines recorded within it were said to possess remarkable effects, with scarcely an illness they could not treat.

“Young Lady, this may sound strange under the circumstances, but……”

I looked directly at her.

“If you were given the opportunity to change your constitution, would you take it?”

“Pardon?”

If Medicine Immortal Gong Yak-chun represented the pinnacle of acupuncture, then the greatest master of medicine and poisons was the Divine Physician of Life and Death.

His name was Dang Won-ho.

He had been born into the Tang Clan roughly two hundred years ago.

Unlike most members of the Tang Clan, who spent their entire lives conducting research within the family, Dang Won-ho entered Jianghu while still young and wandered freely for the rest of his life.

He was an eccentric, but also a genuine chivalrous hero.

There was no illness he could not cure with medicine and no person he could not kill with poison.

It was said that the power to decide life and death rested in his hands.

That was how Dang Won-ho earned the title Divine Physician of Life and Death.

I did not know why the Secret Record of Ten Thousand Herbs had ended up in the Murim Alliance instead of the Tang Clan, nor why the Tang Clan seemed unaware of its existence.

But none of that mattered right now.

Fortunately, the record mentioned someone who had once suffered from a problem similar to Wang So-so’s.

The Plain Hand Jade Maiden.

She had been an absolute master who dominated the same era as the Divine Physician of Life and Death.

Born with a Great Yin Body, she had reached the absolute realm in Ice Arts thanks to her constitution.

But that same constitution had left her unable to bear children.

So the Plain Hand Jade Maiden sought out the Divine Physician of Life and Death and made an absurd request.

She asked him to change her constitution.

The Divine Physician of Life and Death accepted without hesitation.

In the end, he discovered a method for altering constitutions of extreme yin and extreme yang.

The only problem was—

“I will do it! I will!”

Wang So-so’s face brightened as she nodded before I could even finish explaining.

I had expected Wang Geum-san’s daughter to be more cautious after being warned about swindlers from a young age.

But she showed no suspicion at all.

“You are clearly different from the people who kidnapped me.”

Her voice was firm.

“I can tell the difference between someone who cares about me and someone who intends to harm me.”

So she had not trusted me blindly.

She had already reached her own conclusion.

If Wang So-so survived, I was curious to see how much the merchant world of Jianghu would change because of her.

“Please listen to the rest first. Once this treatment begins, you will have to take a specially prepared pill every day for the rest of your life.”

I continued seriously.

“And you will never be able to return to your original constitution.”

The Plain Hand Jade Maiden had eventually borne descendants, but she had lost the ability to use Ice Arts.

“Furthermore, the medicine contains poison. You will need to perform qi circulation and breathing exercises every day.”

Wang So-so listened without interrupting.

“Purity is more important than anything else. Once you learn the required cultivation method, you will never be able to practice another internal cultivation method.”

The main ingredient of the medicine used to alter one’s constitution was poison.

Once the poison entered the body, its cold nature would begin consuming the excess solar qi.

Any residue left behind would then have to be neutralized through internal cultivation.

Because the cultivation method needed to remain completely pure, mixing it with another internal cultivation method would be impossible.

The Wudang Sect and Shaolin possessed advanced cultivation methods that were both pure and capable of accumulating enormous internal energy.

But the only one available to me right now was the Taeul Sect’s Taeul Heart Method.

“I will do it!”

“……If you learn the Taeul Heart Method now, you may lose the chance to practice more advanced martial arts in the future.”

“I do not want to become a martial artist.”

Her answer came without hesitation.

“I want to watch flowers bloom in spring. I want to fan myself through the heat of summer and go boating with my family in autumn.”

Her voice began to tremble.

“I want to embrace the people I love whenever I wish. I want to hold the hand of the man I adore and speak with him.”

She clenched her hands tightly.

“I want to have children. I want to watch myself slowly grow old.”

Her eyes remained fixed on me.

“That is all I want.”

Wang So-so possessed almost everything a person could desire, yet had been denied the ordinary life enjoyed by everyone else.

Her desperate longing pierced straight through me.

“I understand.”

“Are you truly going to help me? I will make sure Father rewards you—”

“We can discuss that after we return home.”

I glanced toward the forest.

“The pursuers are almost here.”

I carefully lifted Wang So-so onto my back and began moving slowly, putting as much distance as possible between us and the abandoned house.

“What do you mean?”

The man delivering the report lowered his head.

“The final carrier-pigeon message said that Wang So-so’s condition appeared strange……”

Secret Bow Unit Captain Bang I-nam’s brow furrowed deeply.

“I warned them repeatedly.”

His voice turned cold.

“Did they disobey my orders and lay their hands on that child?”

He could already imagine what had happened.

Those bastards followed instinct rather than reason.

That reckless nature was likely why men born into the Namgung Clan had ended up doing such work in the first place.

Even so, this mission had been ordered by Namgung Sang-won.

How dare they ignore his instructions?

“No! They were thoroughly warned about that.”

The messenger hurriedly shook his head.

“They said she appeared to have suffered from a chronic illness even before the kidnapping. They also reported that the room they entered was unusually cold.”

“The room was cold?”

Bang I-nam’s expression changed.

Now that he thought about it, that was strange.

Even if she was a young woman, why had the Wang Estate kept her so tightly confined inside the estate?

Perhaps those men had been telling the truth.

If Wang So-so truly suffered from some strange illness, the situation might become even more complicated.

“So they are waiting at the hideout?”

“Yes. They asked us to bring a physician.”

“Fools! Bringing a physician would leave behind a witness.”

No one outside their inner circle could be allowed to learn of this matter.

Even within the BlueSky Merchant Guild, only those who had sworn loyalty to Namgung Sang-won knew the truth.

Everyone else had to remain ignorant.

The day this scheme was exposed, the consequences would not end with only Namgung Sang-won and those directly involved losing their lives.

“Th-then what should we do?”

“For now, we go there ourselves. If there is no other choice, we were ordered to kill her and silence everyone involved.”

Keeping Wang So-so alive and using her as a hostage would be ideal.

But if that proved impossible, they would have to kill her cleanly.

Considering how deeply Wang Geum-san treasured his daughter, even her death alone would be enough to throw the Wang Estate into chaos.

However, Bang I-nam’s confidence did not last long.

“Wh-what happened here?!”

“Search the area! Look for survivors!”

“There are none. Every one of them is dead.”

“Wang So-so is missing as well.”

“……”

Bang I-nam’s thoughts became tangled.

Everything had gone wrong.

It was not merely the kidnapping that had failed.

The grand plan prepared by Namgung Sang-won and the Namgung Clan’s collateral branches had also begun to collapse.

“H-here! I found tracks.”

One of the warriors crouched beside the footprints.

“There is only one set, but judging by how deeply they sank into the ground, the man must have carried Wang So-so away.”

The confusion burning through Bang I-nam’s mind instantly turned cold.

“You two, take care of the bodies. Everyone else, follow me.”

His expression hardened.

“Unless you are absolutely certain you can kill the enemy, do not use the Namgung Clan’s sword arts.”

The warriors of the Secret Bow Unit were no less furious than Namgung Sang-won.

Their resentment was clearly directed at whoever had interfered with their mission and killed their comrades.

Following the tracks, they entered the forest.

The mountain woods were swallowed in darkness, without even a trace of moonlight reaching the ground.

Because they were carrying out a secret operation, they could not risk using torches.

Then—

“Kgh……”

The sound of blood bubbling from someone’s throat broke the silence.

The first warrior fell.

“It is him!”

“Where is he?”

“How many enemies are there?”

“Kuhhheuk!”

Although they had learned excellent martial arts from the Namgung Clan, they had never been properly trained in stealth or assassination.

Fighting inside a pitch-black forest left them completely helpless.

Another scream soon rang through the trees.

A warning bell blared inside Bang I-nam’s mind.

This could not continue.

Losing Wang So-so was already a disaster, but it would be far worse if they were all slaughtered here.

“Flints! Light your flints!”

At Bang I-nam’s shout, the warriors hurriedly pulled flints from their robes.

Click. Click.

Sparks scattered, briefly illuminating the darkness.

And at that exact moment—

Swish!

A blade sliced through the air.

Another warrior collapsed.

“Captain! At this rate, we will all be killed!”

“Light the fires! Form the Firmament!”

“Kuhheuk!”

Another warrior lost his life while the others struggled to light the fires.

By the time flames finally illuminated the forest, only five men remained.

“Come out! Show yourself!”

Bang I-nam shouted into the darkness.

“If you refuse, I will find Wang So-so and kill her immediately!”

He doubted the enemy would truly reveal himself because of such a threat.

But then—

“I always knew you bastards were no good.”

A voice emerged from the darkness.

“But I never realized you were this rotten.”

A man slowly stepped into the firelight.

A mask covered his face, and he wore an old martial uniform. The sword in his hand was an ordinary blue-steel blade that could be purchased from any forge.

Nothing about him revealed his identity or affiliation.

“Reveal yourself,” Bang I-nam demanded.

“My identity?”

The masked man tilted his head.

“Is it not more convenient for both sides to remain masked? Besides, I already know who you are.”

“……If you refuse to reveal yourself, I will force you.”

“How many of us do you think there are?”

“No matter how many there are, we will not lose.”

“Why? Because you belong to the great Namgung Clan?”

“……!”

The Secret Bow Unit warriors stiffened.

“Ah, let me be more precise.”

The masked man continued casually.

“You belong to the Namgung Clan’s BlueSky Merchant Guild. Namgung Sang-won’s secret lackeys.”

“……!”

“……!”

The warriors were so shocked that they all turned toward Bang I-nam without even considering what their reaction revealed.

Bang I-nam’s expression crumpled.

Their response was practically an admission.

“There is no need for further conversation.”

He drew his sword.

“Attack!”

The moment Bang I-nam gave the order, the warriors unleashed the Boundless Firmament Sword Art.

Now that their identities had been exposed, they needed to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.

Using the Namgung Clan’s finest sword art was the fastest way to end the matter.

However—

“Kuhheuk!”

“Kheok!”

Two warriors collapsed before they even understood what had happened.

The swords of the remaining two did not appear particularly threatening either.

‘This cannot be! This is the sword art of the great Namgung Clan!’

Their swords could not reach the intruder.

They could not even come close.

Worse, the warriors seemed to struggle merely to hold their weapons, as though all strength had suddenly drained from their hands.

No one watching them would have believed they were elites of the BlueSky Merchant Guild.

“Kheok!”

“Kak!”

The remaining warriors soon fell as well.

The masked man slowly approached Bang I-nam.

“Y-you bastard! Who are you?”

“Who am I?”

“You must be from Wudang—or perhaps……”

Bang I-nam’s eyes widened.

“Yes! Mount Hua! You are a disciple of the Mount Hua Sect!”

“Mount Hua……”

The masked man paused.

“I suppose I do have some connection with them.”

“Do you think you can interfere in the Namgung Clan’s affairs and escape unharmed merely because you belong to Mount Hua?”

“I never said I belonged to Mount Hua.”

Swish!

A cold sensation passed across Bang I-nam’s neck, accompanied by a wave of dizziness.

He desperately turned his head.

“Oh……”

Blood began flowing from the side of his neck.

“Y-you damned bastard……”

“What a shame.”

The masked man sighed.

“It would have been better if I had encountered Namgung Sang-won today.”

He paused in thought.

“No, perhaps not. The collateral branches have not begun their rebellion yet. Meeting him now might make things rather troublesome.”

“You bastard…… Just what are you……”

Blood continued pouring down Bang I-nam’s neck.

As his consciousness began to blur, he forced himself into position and unleashed the Boundless Firmament Sword Art at the Twelfth Star.

“……!”

Yet he could not continue for even three forms.

An unfamiliar force repeatedly interrupted his techniques, causing his internal energy to twist and tangle inside his meridians.

“Did you learn nothing from watching your subordinates die?”

“H-how can the invincible Boundless Firmament Sword Art……”

“The Boundless Firmament Sword Art is not invincible.”

Bang I-nam collapsed helplessly.

As his life faded, he could no longer see the expression beneath the masked man’s face.

Yet for some reason, he imagined that the intruder was smiling coldly.