I Decided to Give the Contract to the Male Vassal - Chapter 4

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 4

It was simply blocked, not that my dantian was broken.

‘Someone had intentionally and precisely blocked my blood vessels.’

If I could find a way to unblock the blood vessels, I could recover my scattered internal energy.

My heart pounded.

Others might not know, but I had been at the center of all kinds of information in the martial world.

I urgently began searching through the solutions in my mind.

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Four days passed.

During that time, the physician came and went several more times, and my body recovered smoothly.

Naturally, I told them my memory still hadn’t returned.

“Is this all there is for breakfast?”

“Yes… Originally, Miss rarely ate breakfast.”

“No wonder I’m so skinny. I need to eat better. Isn’t there more?”

I finished the white porridge the maid brought me and added to her.

“Don’t you know anything about me? I’ve lost a lot of my memory.”

“Ah… I haven’t been Miss’s personal maid for very long.”

She said she had only been assigned here after I had my accident. So there was almost no information about Chung-rin I could get from her.

For two days, I simply focused on recovery.

The food was very simple, mainly grains and vegetables, but during the process of nourishing my body and recovering my internal energy, such easily digestible foods were actually better.

After meals, I would check my body’s condition, and then take walks.

My permitted range of movement was limited to this residence, the rear garden, and the forest trail.

There were hardly any people coming and going around the residence.

“They must have heard that I lost my memory, so why isn’t anyone coming?”

“Miss Riri has visited several times. She came when you were sick, so you probably don’t remember.”

She was referring to Yeonriri, the youngest daughter of Yeomjo.

“All the medicinal herbs you received recently were also sent by Miss Riri. When I told her you were resting after losing your memory, she said she’d come later to let you rest fully.”

Excluding Yeonhopyeong and Yeon Ho-ryeong, I thought no one would care about Chung-rin’s life or death, but it seemed there was someone who cared about her.

As I was sipping tea made from cheap tea leaves, I heard several people’s footsteps from outside the door.

“Miss Yeonriri has arrived.”

Before I could even give permission, a woman in splendid red clothing entered.

She was a woman with upturned eyes that gave her a somewhat sharp impression.

Yeonriri.

The youngest daughter of the Yeomhwa Family head, a noble daughter two years older than Chung-rin at twenty-four.

“Miss Chung, you look healthier than I expected. That’s fortunate. Has your memory returned?”

“No.”

“Is that so?”

She replied nonchalantly and then gestured toward the door.

Three maids entered the residence carrying red clothes and accessories.

“The wedding day isn’t far off. We need to alter the wedding dress to fit Miss Chung’s body and embroider it, so let’s hurry.”

“Yes, Miss.”

The maids efficiently surrounded me and began dressing me in the red wedding dress.

Perhaps because of the word “wedding,” my body trembled.

Chung-rin’s emotions were dominating my body. I forced my shrinking shoulders straight and asked Yeonriri.

“I’m getting married? When?”

“Yes. Exactly 21 days from now. Even though Miss Chung has lost her memory, the wedding ceremony will proceed as scheduled.”

Even though I had spoken informally to her, she only glanced at me briefly and didn’t seem to mind much.

Seeing how she busily examined accessories from the jewelry box that might suit me, she seemed to be someone who disliked wasting time.

‘Hmm?’

On her hand as she picked up an accessory, I saw calluses that looked freshly formed. Like a direct descendant of the Yeomhwa Family, she seemed devoted to swordsmanship.

Then one of the maids removed the cloth that had been wrapped around my neck.

Along with my nape, the marks left by Yeonhopyeong when he strangled me two days ago were revealed.

“…It must be Brother Pyeong’s doing.”

A look of contempt for Yeonhopyeong briefly crossed Yeonriri’s face before disappearing.

It was the reaction of someone who knew how Yeonhopyeong had been treating Chung-rin.

Yeonriri briefly averted her gaze. It seemed tinged with pity, but there was also some discomfort mixed in.

Her expression showed she didn’t want to get involved in this situation.

“Miss Yeon. Can I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“About the ‘Magyen’…”

The moment I spoke that title, Yeonriri’s brow furrowed and silence fell for a moment.

The sudden silence of the surrounding maids was probably not coincidental either.

“That person saved me?”

Thud.

Yeonriri stopped moving. Even the air seemed to freeze momentarily.

At her gesture, the maids left their positions.

Only Yeonriri and I remained in my residence.

“Miss Chung. You must not carelessly speak that title.”

Her previously confident lips trembled slightly. Wariness flashed in her eyes as she faced me.

“Who is that person that…”

“Wicheonso, the Third Prince of the Heavenly Sect.”

It was a name even I was hearing for the first time. It seemed there had been major changes in Mageyo during the 10 years I didn’t know about.

“Before he caught the Heavenly Lord’s eye and became the Third Prince, he had no notable background. Because of that, some princes called him by the derogatory term Magyen. My brothers were among them.”

From the perspective of those from prestigious families, he must have seemed lowly.

Was Yeon Ho-ryeong feeling some kind of inferiority complex toward the Third Prince who had suddenly gained authority?

“I don’t know what whim made him save Miss Chung, but he’s a dangerous person. And as for how he’s dangerous… it would be better not to ask.”

Yeonriri drew that line and clapped her hands.

Then the maids re-entered my residence.

They began dressing me again and trying accessories on me.

‘Why did that person save Chung-rin…’

As Yeonhopyeong said, was it because Chung-rin and he knew each other?

No, there was nothing written about him in Chung-rin’s diary. So they were likely strangers.

Rather, as Yeonriri said, it made more sense that he had acted on a whim.

I felt I needed to learn more about this matter.

Yeonriri had the maids measure me again with a serious expression. Then she gestured again to have them remove the clothes.

“When the wedding dress is completed, we’ll bring it back then.”

Yeonriri left those words and departed from the residence. The maids followed behind her.

One of the maids brushed past me and slipped something to me with her fingertips.

It was a small note.

I quickly tucked it into my sleeve.

After my personal maid left and I was alone, I returned to my bedroom and unfolded the note.

Written there was the same code I had used.

Today, at the hour of the dog (7-9 PM), come to Sohongru.

Someone who had seen the code I left was trying to call me out.

This also meant they intended to test me.

I planned to accept that invitation.

To do that, I would need to leave this residence and go to Sohongru…

‘Before that, I need to fix this body.’

From what I had observed over three days, it seemed I could recover my body to some degree using several cultivation methods.

First, I needed analysis to understand this body’s meridians, so I spent the first two days nourishing and managing my body.

And now it was time to put the method I had been thinking about into practice.

I sat in lotus position and deployed a special mental cultivation technique.

It was a mental technique that drew up qi to forge internal energy in the dantian.

If I applied this precisely, I thought I could remove one of the needles blocking my blood vessels.

I drew up my inner energy toward the empty dantian according to the mental cultivation formula.

With shallow breathing, the qi that gradually extended through my blood vessels gained enough power to break through the taut barrier.

‘…Just a little more.’

Tang.

A single black, microscopic needle shot out and embedded itself in the wall.

In that brief moment, a liberating sensation like my breathing passages had opened washed over me.

Just from one needle being expelled, the faint inner energy began to settle in my dantian.

There were still eight needles remaining in my body.

Since I needed sufficient recovery after removing each one, it would take time to remove them all.

‘It takes about two weeks to remove one needle, so to remove all the rest would take at least four months…’

I was still far from properly breaking through.

Though my current state was somewhat disappointing, it was a very satisfactory result compared to my days as a martial arts cripple.

Moreover, with such a small amount, there would be no worry of being discovered that my internal energy had returned for the time being.

Now I was ready to go outside.

As soon as the sun began to set, I declared to my dedicated maid that I would burn sleep incense.

“I plan to sleep soundly until tomorrow, so absolutely do not wake me until morning.”

The dedicated maid’s residence was far from here. It was deliberately arranged that way to isolate Chung-rin, but it was rather good for me. From that distant residence, she wouldn’t bother to come looking for me while I was sleeping.

After she went outside, I secretly burned incense made by combining medicinal herbs.

It was a device to create a hazy blur so that even if someone peered inside, they wouldn’t be able to see clearly.

On the bed, I piled up clothes and blankets in layers to make it look like I was lying there.

Then I took out a hooded cloak and pulled it down so my hair and face wouldn’t be visible. Among my few pieces of clothing, I was fortunate to at least have a hooded cloak.

Perhaps because Chung-rin had been so well-behaved, even those watching me didn’t guard the door at night.

‘As long as I return before dawn, I won’t be caught.’

As soon as I stepped outside my residence, cold wind that penetrated my lungs greeted me.

‘I want to just flee like this.’

Even though more than 10 years had passed, I still had information about Sangteon-dang, so hiding my appearance wouldn’t be difficult.

Still, I would return to the Yeomhwa Family.

Because if I disappeared without a word, I didn’t know what harm might come to Chung-rin’s family.

Having decided to repay my debt to Chung-rin, I had no intention of choosing to flee in my current state.

I deployed Sangcheonseong (Ascending Heaven Star), a lightness technique that could reduce my presence while using minimal internal energy.

Thanks to this, I freely and quickly passed through the interior of the Yeomhwa Family estate.

Then I exited the manor through a passage that remained in Chung-rin’s memory.

It was my first outing since deciding to become Chung-rin.

My destination was the North-facing Pavilion of Laughter on North-facing Road.

There would be someone there who remembered me, ‘Chung-rin’.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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