Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 71

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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 71
I smiled and reached out my hand.
“Then give me the Manduokdan.”
“What did you just say?”
“If you feed me the Manduokdan, you can enter the Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber without worry. I won’t go around getting beaten up by anyone.”
“……You little thing. Do you even know what the Manduokdan is, asking for it like you’re pestering the family? And where on earth did you hear that your grandfather has one?”
“Well, I happen to know these things.”
Truth be told, I was just guessing. Since he hadn’t given it to Namgoong Hui yet, he must still have it.
At my answer, Dang Jung pressed his temples with such force that I thought he might lose his mind.
“Ugh. I won’t live my natural lifespan, I won’t live it. Do you think a Spirit Elixir is some secret technique that makes you invincible? A weak person eating a Spirit Elixir is just a weak person who ate a Spirit Elixir.”
“Still, that’s better than not eating one at all.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
After grumbling for a while, Dang Jung seemed to think it wasn’t a bad idea and nodded slowly.
“You’re still too inexperienced to absorb the Manduokdan yet……. But there’s no helping it. Wait here.”
“Huh? Grandfather? I was just speaking carelessly. You should take it. You need it for the Closed-Door Cultivation, don’t you?”
I hadn’t expected him to actually give me the Manduokdan, and I jumped in surprise.
“At my level, Spirit Medicine doesn’t provide much benefit. Stop your fussing and take it.”
“But still…….”
“No more talk. Wait.”
When Dang Jung returned shortly after, he was holding a small wooden box. As he opened it, a clean, sweet fragrance rose into the air.
I felt an enormous presence of power that bore no comparison to any Spirit Medicine I’d consumed before. My eyes rolled around in bewilderment.
I’d just said those things to reassure him—I wasn’t actually planning to swallow a Spirit Elixir.
……I should never ask Grandfather for anything. If I asked for candy, he’d probably buy the entire candy store.
As I hesitated, Dang Jung urged me forward.
“What are you doing? Take it. Quickly.”
Still wavering, I reached for the Spirit Elixir.
This was the Destiny of Fortune that should have gone to Namgoong Hui. It felt strange that the Manduokdan, which was supposed to fall into someone else’s hands, was coming to me instead.
The Manduokdan dissolved on my tongue without even needing to chew, seeping into my mouth.
“Ugh. It’s bitter.”
“Then you knew it was the real thing? Swallow it quickly.”
As I swallowed the Spirit Elixir, which had melted like jelly, a scorching power flowed down my throat and into my body.
The pain was like tearing through living flesh, and my face contorted involuntarily.
“Stay calm and circulate your Qi. That’s right. Just like that.”
Dang Jung placed his hand on my back and began to guide me.
I slowly closed my eyes. Beyond the darkness, I saw a single stream of murky, greenish light.
Walking aimlessly after the light, I clenched my teeth. What I saw was not a single stream of light.
It was a massive river.
The river had seemed to flow gently from afar, but in an instant, like a dam that couldn’t withstand a downpour, it surged forward and swept over me.
Every time the poisoned waters touched my body, it felt as though my skin was corroding. My entire body trembled at a pain I had never felt even when touching extreme toxins with bare hands.
I flailed about like a person caught in a torrential downpour.
“Don’t let yourself be swept away. Swallow it!”
At Dang Jung’s stern voice, my mind snapped into focus.
I hastily straightened my body and recited the incantation of my Mental Cultivation Method. Then the murky poison seeped into the river’s edge. The poison, spreading like ink, sank to the river’s bottom, deeper and deeper.
In an instant, a small amount of poison turned the entire river black. As the river’s color changed, my Dantian, swollen as if about to burst, slowly began to devour the Manduokdan’s power.
But the Manduokdan’s power refused to go down quietly. The energy flowing through all my blood vessels writhed and thrashed as if biting at me.
Gritting my teeth, I pushed my poison deeper. If I could tint the entire river with my own color, then I thought I could swallow this tremendous power in one gulp.
At that moment, the light, fleeing from the poison, rushed toward my head. It was aimed at my Baihui Acupoint. Dang Jung, alarmed, urgently pushed his True Qi to redirect the energy’s path.
For a moment, my vision spun at the tangled flow of energy. As I bit my lip and struggled to restore the flow, Dang Jung pushed more of his True Qi in as if to reassure me.
His familiar Inner Power wrapped around my body and guided the circulation. Gradually, my breathing became easier.
I began to walk along the riverside, following Dang Jung’s energy. The river, which had become a shallow stream, glowed with a murky, greenish hue. The stream gradually dried up, becoming a small puddle, and seeped into the ground, wetting my feet.
“You only managed to swallow about thirty percent. There’s quite a bit of residue left.”
Dang Jung clicked his tongue and withdrew his hand. I slowly opened my eyes.
The unabsorbed essence of the Manduokdan remained in my mouth like candy crumbs, accumulated in the corners of my Minor Meridians.
Just as disappointment at the unsatisfying feeling set in, my eyes widened involuntarily.
My Dantian had grown at least twice as large as it was before consuming the Manduokdan.
“This, this is only thirty percent?”
“Regrettable, but unavoidable. Continue your Qi Circulation diligently, and try to absorb the residue left in your Minor Meridians. If you scrape it all together, it should help.”
Dang Jung, who had replied, gazed at me intently. His face showed uncertainty, as if he still hadn’t made a decision.
“Sohye. Your grandfather isn’t sure if this is the right choice.”
“It is the right choice.”
I squeezed Dang Jung’s hand and whispered.
“Grandfather. You said last time that I had roughly ten years remaining, didn’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“If I could break through that barrier, how much longer do you think I might live?”
“Thirty years, easily.”
Then I want to ask you to enter Closed-Door Cultivation for my sake. I don’t want to live in the Dang household without you.”
My insistence drew a sigh from Dang Jung. He chewed his lip with worried eyes before finally surrendering.
“……I’ll try not to exceed three years. Do you think you can hold on?”
“Of course. I’ll listen well to what Dang Geunmyeong says.”
“Good. I understand. But first—let’s get you washed up.”
Dang Jung subtly released my hand. Only then did I realize how badly I was covered in waste matter.
Ugh. I must reek.
I laughed awkwardly and crept away from Dang Jung.
* * *
Dang Jung postponed his entry into the Closed-Door Cultivation Chamber by several days. He wrote dozens of letters and sent them somewhere, then made the rounds visiting the Poison King Hall, the Medicine Hall, the Elder Council, and the Enforcement Bureau, speaking with people.
I couldn’t say for certain, but it seemed he was leaving arrangements for my sake.
Yes. With him taking such pains to give his solemn instructions before leaving, no one would dare lay a hand on me. If they did, they’d face his wrath the moment he finished his cultivation.
I composed myself as if nothing were amiss and saw him off.
“Child. Do you think you can endure this?”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
“If it becomes too much, even now—”
“Stop that. You’re doing it again. Just come out quickly. Hurry back, grandfather.”
Dang Jung, his eyes clouded with reluctance, slowly nodded.
He held me close one final time, then vanished in an instant.
With grandfather gone, my chest felt hollow. I crouched by the pond alone, sighing deeply, when Dang Geunmyeong spoke.
“It’ll take longer than three years.”
“I know.”
“Then why did you persuade him?”
“I was afraid he might succumb to a Heart Demon if he held back. The worry and stress would consume him.”
“The Master is not so weak as that.”
“A Heart Demon is nothing special. When you can’t do what you want and anxieties pile up—that’s a Heart Demon.”
Dang Geunmyeong regarded me silently at my melancholy reply, his expression uncomprehending. His gaze unsettled me, so I rose to my feet.
“I need to meet with Gu Gyeongcheon. I should go now, sir.”
……
He turned away, as if to say go ahead.
My second meeting with Gu Gyeongcheon was a disaster.
Nervous about my rejection last time, he watched my expression carefully throughout dinner and tea.
After killing time appropriately and returning, I complained to Song Ji.
“This man won’t do. I’d rather meet the son from the messenger station.”
“Go ahead. The messenger station’s son is better than the merchant house’s son. Have you seen Yong Mopa-gi?”
“Not yet. Since grandfather chose him, he must be mild-mannered enough, I suppose.”
He’d picked nothing but men who looked like chaff.
Mentioning grandfather made my spirits sink.
Only a day had passed since he entered seclusion, yet it felt like I hadn’t seen him in a year.
I wish he’d have an enlightenment moment and come out next week. Though that’s unlikely.
I hugged my pillow and rolled around before burrowing under the blankets.
Even with grandfather away, there was still work to be done. I needed to conserve my strength for tomorrow’s dawn training.
The moment I closed my eyes to sleep, I heard Dang Seho’s voice.
“Hey! Hey! You in there?”
The boy pounding on the Byeoldang’s door, unable to wait for someone to open it, vaulted over the wall.
“Come on? Wake up quick! If you don’t open this door, I’m counting to three and coming in. One, two—!”
“What? What’s going on?”
I frowned and threw on an outer robe. When I opened the door, I found Dang Seho breathing hard, gasping.
“Hey, you need to run. Now.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
He’d come running in such haste that his entire body was drenched in sweat. He had no time for explanations and shouted urgently.
“Ask questions later—just run!”
“What?”
“Elder Dang Gak is—!”
“Step back, Young Master.”
In that instant, someone yanked Dang Seho backward. It was Dang Gak.
“Wait, Elder….”
Dang Seho’s face drained of color. He trembled visibly, shuffling backward step by step.
The air had turned sinister. Dang Gak, who had been staring at me with a peculiar intensity, spoke in a glacial tone.
“Gu Gyeongcheon is dead.”
“What?”
Dead? The man who’d been perfectly fine moments ago? We’d just eaten together, shared tea—how could he possibly be dead?
My bewildered face made him scowl.
“Why did you kill him?”
“That’s not—”
“Enough! You think you can weasel out of this? Words seem useless with you. Let’s see if you can keep playing dumb locked away in the Thunder Prison.”
Dang Gak let out a furious shout and reached toward me. A sharp pain lanced through the base of my skull, and my vision swam.
The injustice of it ignited a string of curses.
What the hell? Why would I kill him?

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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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