Sowol Inn - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
Jang Wi also placed a hand on Baby’s forehead.
“There is a fever, though not a high one. If it continues like this, we should have Heo take a look.”
Jang Wi loosened the swaddling cloth as he spoke, his worry evident.
In that moment, Baby’s eyelids descended slowly.
Baby seemed devoid of the vigor from moments before, as if that liveliness had been a lie.
Come to think of it, last time too…….
The memory struck So Wol like a sudden blow, and his eyes widened.
The day after the village elder had risen into thin air, Baby had not woken even as the sun climbed high overhead.
On the night the chopsticks had floated, he slept with unusual depth.
And today.
The moment the knot was undone, the child lost strength.
This power was not being used without a price.
Each time it was called upon, the child’s vital essence seemed to drain away.
As So Wol’s expression grew grave, Jang Wi spoke to the others.
“We should leave now. Once we clear out, Yeon here can tend to the child properly.”
The hunters who had been watching picked up on the signal and soon rose to their feet.
“The meal was excellent, innkeeper. We’ll be back.”
“That thin noodle broth was outstanding. You should make plenty more.”
“Look after the child well. There won’t be any trouble.”
“Take care of yourselves.”
The men filed out through the gate, each leaving a word behind.
The man at the far end of the bench departed last.
Pausing at the threshold, he looked up at the door frame.
“What talisman is that?”
“A talisman written by a Taoist. A charm against spirits.”
“I see. I asked because I’d never seen characters like them before.”
The good-natured man nodded and disappeared after the others.
It was an odd thing to hear from a hunter’s lips.
For one who could not read, all characters would be unfamiliar.
So Wol watched the man’s retreating form until it vanished entirely, then closed the gate and drew the bolt.
* * *
Late that night.
So Wol sat in the empty hall where the guests had departed, watching over the cradle.
Shhh. Shhh.
The baby inside the cradle slept soundly.
He pressed his hand to the child’s forehead again and again, his face creased with worry.
The small body remained warm, though the fever showed no sign of climbing higher.
“……doesn’t seem to be a fever illness.”
So Wol gently opened the sleeping baby’s hand.
If he possessed Inner Energy, he might have examined the Qi Meridians, but such a thing was beyond him now.
What would he learn from seeing them anyway.
He had always known how to end lives, never how to save them.
Perhaps he needed to show the child to a physician schooled in Martial Arts…….
But no one suitable came to mind.
Heo is a good physician but knows nothing of Martial Arts, and Beop Gong might know someone, but that bald fool is nowhere to be seen lately.
“Beop Gong, that wretch vanishes whenever he’s needed.”
So Wol rubbed his throbbing forehead as he muttered.
There was one face he could recall.
But that person was already drowning in duties as Household Head.
He had no heart to trouble them with something like this.
Then it happened.
Knock knock knock.
Someone was rapping at the gate.
So Wol’s breath caught involuntarily.
It was because the man from that morning had sprung to his mind.
As he approached the gate cautiously, he felt a familiar presence and let out a hollow laugh.
“Sister, is that you?”
The saying goes the tiger comes when you speak its name.
He unbolted and opened the door, and a woman in a green robe looked up at him with a radiant smile.
“Good. You’re still awake.”
“You must be exhausted. What brings you here at this hour?”
“I put the children to bed and stopped by for a moment. Brother, will you make me some wonton soup?”
It was So Wol’s only sister, So Hye.
So Wol let out a soft laugh and opened the door wide.
“Of course. Come in.”
So Hye brushed the snow from her sleeves as she stepped into the Inn.
“Brother, what on earth did you do while I was away that people are spreading rumors about ghosts haunting the Inn? What happened?”
“The news has spread that far?”
“In Sacheon, there’s nowhere the Tang Clan’s ears don’t reach. Brother, am I the Household Head or not?”
So Hye, chattering as she entered the main hall, stopped in her tracks.
She stared blankly at So Wol and the baby in the cradle, her gaze darting between them.
So Hye’s pupils trembled slightly.
“…Brother? Whose child is that?”
“Not mine.”
“Then whose?”
“That’s the thing…”
So Wol’s face tightened awkwardly as he opened his mouth.
It was genuinely difficult to explain whose child it was.
As So Wol hesitated, So Hye’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Never mind the rumors. Brother, look me in the eye and tell me truthfully—that baby isn’t yours?”
At her suspicious interrogation, So Wol felt a pang of injustice.
“So Hye, your brother hasn’t set foot outside this Inn.”
Only then did So Hye’s expression relax with relief.
“I was frightened for a moment—I thought you’d secretly taken a wife without telling me. Why is there a baby in the Inn?”
“Well, you see…”
So Wol began laying out everything that had happened, piece by piece.
How Beop Gong had suddenly appeared, and how the child’s mother had died in Maeng’s Prison.
He held nothing back—the fact that the child had been born with the Baihui Acupoint already open, and that the child could float objects in the air.
After hearing the story, So Hye looked as if she wanted to grab Beop Gong and throttle him on the spot.
“What? Master Beop Gong, have you lost your mind? How could you think of leaving a baby with my brother? And you, Brother—what were you thinking, accepting it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t have the chance…”
So Wol laughed awkwardly.
His sister was already burdened with the duties of the Household Head; there was no need to add his worries to hers.
After venting her frustrations, So Hye finally moved toward the cradle.
“Honestly, Brother, you’re too soft for your own good. How did you manage a newborn alone…?”
So Hye began fussing as she examined the sleeping child from every angle, then fell silent.
So Wol asked, his face tense.
“What is it?”
“…You’ve taken good care of him?”
“Have I?”
“Yes. There’s no diaper rash, no skin irritation, and the baby’s put on weight beautifully.”
Hearing something he hadn’t expected, So Wol looked down at the child with an odd expression.
He’d only thought he was keeping the baby alive, making sure it didn’t starve.
But hearing from another that he’d done well brought a strange feeling.
“Raising a child is no small task… my poor brother, you must have suffered.”
“Suffered? It’s just one more mouth to feed.”
So Wol, feeling embarrassed, scratched his cheek and changed the subject.
“So Hye, while you’re here, would you perform a Qi Pulse Diagnosis on the child?”
“Why? Is something wrong with him?”
“I’m not entirely sure, but he seems to grow tired after exerting himself. Today when he undid a knot in a sack, he kept sleeping as if drained of energy.”
So Hye’s expression grew serious.
She channeled a strand of Inner Energy through her fingertips and traced it along the baby’s Qi Meridians.
A deep blue aura gently enveloped the child’s body.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything specifically wrong…”
So Hye’s eyes widened as she murmured.
“Incredible. The Baihui Acupoint really is open.”
At that moment, the sleeping baby’s eyes opened.
Perhaps the deep blue aura enveloping his body tickled him.
The baby, wiggling his small fingers and toes, slowly opened his eyes.
Gold light flickered across the black pupils of Baby’s eyes.
Clink.
The teacup on the table trembled of its own accord.
But only for a moment.
The gold light faded quickly, and the teacup stilled.
At the same time, Baby went limp, all strength draining from his small frame.
“Baby!”
So Wol started in alarm and rushed to gather Baby into his arms.
So Hye immediately seized the child’s wrist and sent her Inner Energy flowing through him.
But her Inner Energy rebounded before it could even trace the full length of his Qi Meridians.
“……?”
So Hye furrowed her brow and placed her hand over Baby’s crown.
As she traced the flow of Qi, her expression darkened by degrees.
“This is troubling.”
“What is it? Is something wrong?”
“The Qi he drew in through his Baihui Acupoint is churning wildly inside his body.”
“Is that bad?”
So Wol asked, and So Hye nodded.
“It is. You know as well as I do — one must accept only what is needed and release the excess. But this child is too young; he doesn’t yet know how to open and close the gate. Every time he uses his strength…”
“Natural Qi floods in all at once.”
“Yes. His body cannot bear it — far more than he can hold.”
So Wol looked down at the child nestled in his arms.
“So that’s why the fever took hold.”
“Right. It’s not exhaustion from a lack of Qi. He’s suffering because he’s taken in too much.”
“If he keeps using his strength like this, what will happen?”
“If this continues… his body won’t survive it.”
Silence fell.
Only the child’s thin, shallow breathing filled the hall.
So Hye looked from Baby to So Wol in turn, then spoke.
“We should send this child back.”

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