Treatment (4)
Morning broke, and shortly afterward, the Divine Doctor returned with medicinal ingredients.
It seemed he had received them from the Mount Hua Sect.
‘How does he manage that with such a frail-looking body?’
Even an ordinary person would likely find the round trip exhausting, yet the Divine Doctor went back and forth with his aged body as though it were nothing.
He must have accepted what one of the disciples brought him, right? Otherwise, it would have been impossible.
“…To think the turbid qi has truly vanished completely.”
The Divine Doctor muttered this as he examined the Sword Empress’s body.
Fortunately, it seemed all the demonic qi had disappeared.
While we were treating her yesterday, I had apparently lost consciousness and collapsed, and the Sword Empress had fainted soon after.
When the Divine Doctor hurriedly examined her, all the turbid qi within the Sword Empress’s body had already vanished.
He also said that there did not seem to be any major problem with my body.
What I could learn from this was—
‘As expected, the Divine Doctor can’t sense the demonic qi within my body.’
The Divine Doctor seemed capable of sensing the demonic qi in others, yet he had made no mention of the demonic qi inside me during his examination. It seemed highly likely that he simply hadn’t noticed it.
‘Why?’
It couldn’t be that it wasn’t there. Even now, I could clearly feel the demonic qi circling from my dantian onward.
‘Fortunately, it seems to be getting purified.’
The demonic qi within my body was being gradually devoured and purified by the Nine-Flame Wheel Art.
It was only that there was so much of it that the change was difficult to notice.
‘It doesn’t seem to be running wild, and I don’t feel any pain, either.’
That was the most fortunate part.
I had worried about what I would do if the demonic qi I had absorbed ran amok.
For the moment, however, there seemed to be no such problem.
Perhaps the Divine Doctor had realized that as well, because he told me to return and rest as long as there was nothing wrong with my body.
As far as he could tell, I should be fine.
He did, however, tell me to call him immediately if any problem arose.
I wondered why the Divine Doctor was being so kind to me for once.
‘To think it really pushed out the turbid qi. I have to find out exactly how it did that…! Opening up the body would be the easiest way, but that’s impossible. Then how should I….’
‘...’
It seemed best not to hear the rest, so I quickly came back down.
As I was about to leave, the Sword Empress told me that she would come to see me later and thank me properly then.
I told her she didn’t need to thank me and returned to my quarters.
And now—
“You said to come back before dinner… and you stayed out overnight?”
I was probably fucked.
******************
Two pairs of cold eyes were fixed on me.
A chill, as if I were standing atop a field of frost, brushed against my back.
‘…I’m fucked.’
Wi Seol-Ah glanced at me, then abruptly turned her head away.
Namgung Bi-Ah, on the other hand, stared at me without even blinking once.
Her expression was already cold by nature, but with her face turned into one of apparent reproach, I could almost imagine snow falling around her.
“No, it’s just that….”
How had I ended up being scolded like this…?
The sudden thought left me speechless.
…Why was I being scolded?
The situation was progressing in a strangely unexpected direction.
I almost found myself making excuses.
‘This is my house, and I’m being scolded just because I spent one night away.’
Of course, it was true that I had told them I would return before dinner and then failed to show up.
But I had my own circumstances, too.
What was even more absurd was—
‘Even knowing that, I can’t say a single word…!’
My instincts were telling me what to do.
Just keep my mouth shut for now.
If I opened it carelessly, I would be the one to suffer.
In the end, I simply kept quiet, exchanging only glances with Namgung Bi-Ah.
After staring at me like that for quite some time, Namgung Bi-Ah finally rose to her feet.
She began walking away, perhaps to train, then tossed a few words at me.
“…Next time, at least tell us….”
With that, she disappeared to go train.
For the record, that day’s meal was the quietest I had eaten since my regression.
Namgung Bi-Ah was normally a woman of few words, but what was astonishing was that Wi Seol-Ah did not say a single word either.
I say this now, but I nearly choked on my food.
And somehow, the next day arrived.
Wi Seol-Ah had always been quick to cheer up even after becoming sulky, so unlike the day before, she soon approached me with a bright smile and chattered away.
As for Namgung Bi-Ah, I could not tell whether she kept things bottled up inside or not, but to me, she did not seem particularly bothered.
‘…Am I in the clear?’
Only then did I finally feel as though I could breathe again.
When I checked my condition, the demonic qi was still circulating, but it remained calm. The purification was continuing as well.
Worried that the demonic qi within my body might become noticeable, I even let my qi flow outward, but fortunately, only the qi other than the demonic qi inside my body was being used.
It felt as though something were pressing down on the demonic qi, preventing me from using it.
‘…Is this also connected to the voice I heard?’
The voice I had heard while absorbing the Sword Empress’s demonic qi.
That ominous and unsettling voice still lingered in my mind.
‘Could it be that Elder Shin’s disappearance was also….’
I could not shake off the thought.
Where had Elder Shin, who had been swept inside with me, gone?
Had the thing that devoured so much truly reached out even for Elder Shin?
This was not some pathetic thought about already missing him even though only a few days had passed.
I had certainly grown attached to him, but more important than that—
‘How far can that thing reach?’
If something existed, I needed to know what that something was.
And I needed to know what it wanted.
Was the thing Elder Shin had supposedly been suppressing the same one as yesterday?
I could not be certain, but nothing else came to mind in the end.
‘Is this also the fault of demonic cultivation?’
The Demonic Lord’s demonic art that had come along with me when I regressed.
I had been able to accomplish many things in my previous life with this disgusting power, but I did not want to repeat those same things now.
“…This is exhausting.”
For a moment, I imagined someone in my head saying, Even when things go well, you still find a way to make a mess of them.
Had Elder Shin truly disappeared completely?
I did not know why, but I had a feeling he had not vanished, despite what that implied.
I was sitting cross-legged and circulating my cultivation method when I sensed someone outside.
“Young Master, it’s Hongwa.”
I immediately stopped applying my qi at the sound of her voice.
My concentration had already been broken, so there was no point in continuing.
“What is it?”
Creak.
At my question, Hongwa carefully opened the door.
“…A guest has arrived.”
“A guest? Who?”
I wondered if it was Yeongpung again.
The only guests who came at all hours were Yeongpung and the Plum Blossom Immortal.
The Plum Blossom Immortal would be busy with everything going on, so perhaps it was Yeongpung after all.
But Hongwa’s answer overturned my expectation. An unexpected name came from her mouth.
“The youngest young lady has arrived.”
“Hm…?”
Gu Ryeonghwa had come to see me.
And she was not alone—there were two of them.
******************
Following Hongwa’s guidance, two people entered the room.
Gu Ryeonghwa, who seemed to be watching my reaction, entered alongside another woman.
“I’m sorry for coming so suddenly.”
“…It’s… all right.”
I was so flustered that I even stammered without realizing it.
The person who had come with Gu Ryeonghwa was none other than the Sword Empress.
The problem was that, upon seeing her, it took me quite some time to realize who she was.
That was how drastically her appearance had changed.
‘I thought she would only become somewhat younger.’
Her white hair had all turned black, and the wrinkles that had made the Sword Empress look older than the Plum Blossom Immortal had vanished without a trace.
She now had the appearance of a woman who looked to be past thirty. Even if one were to be generous, she did not look over forty.
‘Could merely absorbing demonic qi really change her this much?’
The internal energy that had been used only to prevent the demonic qi from spreading must have begun functioning again the moment the demonic qi in the Sword Empress’s body vanished.
I had personally experienced the purity and clarity of the Sword Empress’s internal energy yesterday, so I knew how remarkable it was.
But I had never imagined it would be this extraordinary.
“…I’m glad to see you look healthy.”
“You look quite surprised.”
Yes, I was extremely surprised.
The old woman who had slowly aged beneath the weight of time was gone, replaced by a woman with a dignified air….
She looked even younger than when I had seen her yesterday.
Perhaps conscious of my gaze, the Sword Empress gave me a faint smile.
“I was greatly surprised myself. I never thought I would be able to return to my original appearance, yet I have done so in such a short time….”
‘It seems this wasn’t an instance of rebirth.’
Since she called it her original appearance, she must have looked like this originally.
Of course, it would have been absurd to undergo rebirth from absorbing demonic qi just once.
“The Divine Doctor said it was impossible for someone to change like this in a single day and tried to come find you, but I told him to calm down first.”
“Ah, I’m truly grateful for that.”
I recalled the Divine Doctor’s face, his eyes gleaming as he said he wanted to study my body.
There had definitely been a hint of madness in his expression.
‘I should avoid him for a while….’
He was a little frightening.
“I came here because I have yet to thank you properly.”
“You really don’t have to….”
“How could I not? You saved my life, and not for anything trivial.”
Having said that, the Sword Empress politely bowed her head to me.
I was startled and tried to stop her, but her words came first.
“Thank you. You saved the life of this inadequate woman….”
“Lady Sword Empress….”
“Thanks to you, I can see a year I never thought I would live to see, and I no longer have to leave my disciple behind with regret. How could I not express my gratitude?”
“I only did what I could.”
“I know better than anyone that doing that is the most difficult thing of all.”
Was that really so?
The Sword Empress’s words were sincere, but I could not understand them.
My actions had not come from some pure conviction, as her words implied.
All I had was the futile desire to atone for my sins.
The Sword Empress then said to me,
“If there is anything you desire, tell me. This life I received from you—I can give it to you whenever you wish.”
“Master!”
Gu Ryeonghwa called out to the Sword Empress in surprise, but the Sword Empress’s eyes were resolute.
At that, I let out a hollow laugh.
“After going through all that trouble to save you, what will you do if you offer up your life right away?”
I had struggled so hard to save her yesterday, and now she was immediately trying to give me her life.
I took it to mean that this was the extent of the Sword Empress’s gratitude toward me.
‘Above all….’
I glanced at Gu Ryeonghwa.
Perhaps noticing my gaze, Gu Ryeonghwa met my eyes, then cleared her throat and looked away.
‘I think I’m the one indebted to you instead.’
It was a pointless thought.
I quickly shook my head to dispel it.
“I don’t need your life. There may be something I ask of you someday.”
“Tell me what it is. I will grant you anything.”
“Wait, how do you know I won’t ask for something outrageous before you say you’ll grant me anything?”
What if I suddenly asked her to betray Mount Hua or kill someone?
Perhaps she had noticed what I was thinking, because the Sword Empress let out a soft laugh.
“No matter what you ask, I cannot imagine you requesting something that would harm another person or that would be needed for such a purpose.”
What made her think that way?
Faced with the Sword Empress’s burdensome trust, I was the one who averted my gaze this time.
‘I was the one who burned Mount Hua.’
It was an even more frightening truth because I had decided not to forget it, but to face it.
Until every disciple of the Mount Hua Sect had died and the lofty mountain had vanished as a handful of embers—
My eyes still remembered every scene I had witnessed.
“…It’s not something I need to ask for right away, so I’ll come see you soon.”
The Sword Empress smiled sweetly at my words.
“Ah, there is also something I would like to ask you.”
“Ask me?”
“Yes. It is something I have wanted to ask for a long time… but deliberately refrained from doing so.”
As she said this, the Sword Empress told Gu Ryeonghwa to wait outside.
Gu Ryeonghwa clearly wanted to stay longer, but the Sword Empress was firm.
“Go wait outside for a moment.”
“Yes….”
In the end, Gu Ryeonghwa left with a sullen expression.
The Sword Empress quickly wiped the smile from her face and adopted a rather serious expression.
What could she possibly be about to ask?
When I told her she could go ahead, the Sword Empress spoke as though she had been waiting for permission.
Along with a deep sigh.
“Do you, by any chance, know of Cheonhui’s whereabouts?”
“…!”
What the Sword Empress had wanted to ask me about—
Was my mother.