Surviving as the Villainess’s Servant in a Martial Arts Novel - Chapter 22

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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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Episode 22

 

Seo Yeon-ri.

 

―’s real name is Seo I-yeon .

 

I-yeon was the only son of Seo Yeong-yeong , the youngest daughter of the Master of Seo Family.

 

Seo Yeong-yeong died giving birth to I-yeon. Her already weak body couldn’t endure the labor pains.

 

I-yeon, who lost his mother as soon as he was born, was taken in by his maternal uncle Seo Cheong-ja. Seo Cheong-ja, who had no children of his own, brought I-yeon under his care and raised him with devotion like his own child.

 

I-yeon always felt grateful to Seo Cheong-ja. Along with that, his guilt also grew.

 

Because I-yeon had been sick since he was young.

 

I-yeon was weak from birth. He nearly stopped breathing due to premature birth, and when he gained weight, he often had fevers or vomited, and broke out in rashes that made him writhe in pain more than once or twice.

 

When he finally developed a high fever that nearly caused a disaster, Seo Cheong-ja brought in a famous physician. However, the physician only shook his head.

 

“I don’t know the cause. No matter what method I use, nothing works at all. This is the first time in my life I’ve seen such a disease…”

 

The next physician, and the one after that, were all the same.

 

Seo Cheong-ja didn’t give up and continued searching for ways to treat I-yeon’s illness.

 

He gathered all the precious medicinal herbs from the Central Plains, and whenever he heard rumors of a skilled physician, he would go personally to bring them. Despite all these countless efforts, I-yeon’s condition didn’t improve.

 

It was around when I-yeon turned four that they finally got even a clue about the disease.

 

“The young master’s body is on the verge of collapse.”

 

It was thanks to Master Yeong-ro, the abbot of Musang Temple, who was introduced by Namgung Jeong, Seo Cheong-ja’s sworn brother.

 

Seo Cheong-ja, who couldn’t find even a way to slow down the disease, let alone a cure, felt like he had met a savior. Seo Cheong-ja asked with great joy.

 

“Please bestow your teachings upon us, Master.”

 

“It’s simple. Usually, all things in heaven and earth maintain harmony between yin and yang. Where there is yin, there is yang, and where there is yang, there is yin, so each energy has aspects that are both opposing and mutually dependent.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“People are the same. Even if one side of yin or yang energy is more abundant, they maintain a balance that doesn’t harm the body. In other words, there is no person made up of only yin, and no person made up of only yang.”

 

“Then, the child is…?”

 

Master Yeong-ro sighed.

 

“Almost entirely composed of yin.”

 

Seo Cheong-ja’s face turned pale.

 

“In cases of this constitution, most are born as girls, but the young master was born as a boy. Probably from the beginning, his body’s balance was off, so he was frequently ill.”

 

“That’s correct. He’s been frequently ill since childhood…”

 

“Of course, similar constitutions aren’t entirely absent in this world. In such cases, it’s called yang deficiency syndrome, and it’s usually resolved by giving tonic medicine with yang energy to balance the body. But even that is difficult for the young master.”

 

“Why is that?”

 

“The yin energy in his body has already exceeded the level that can be resolved with medicine, and most importantly… the yin energy disperses the yang energy.”

 

When Seo Cheong-ja showed a surprised expression, Master Yeong-ro continued his explanation as if he had expected this reaction.

 

“When this old monk put a little internal energy into the young master’s body to diagnose him, yang energy remained in his body for a brief moment. But when I examined him again shortly after, that yang energy had clearly diminished.”

 

“…”

 

“It was as if his body treated the yang energy as a foreign substance and eliminated it. That’s why many physicians must have suffered. No matter how much tonic medicine they gave him, the yang energy wouldn’t be replenished at all.”

 

Seo Cheong-ja couldn’t speak for a long time. Then, belatedly coming to his senses, he desperately asked Master Yeong-ro.

 

“Then, then is there absolutely no method? Somehow, some way to replenish yang energy…”

 

“There is no complete cure. However… I might be able to help extend his life even a little. Benefactor Namgung probably sought me out for that reason as well.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Because I had learned extreme yang martial arts.”

 

And so, Master Yeong-ro’s proposal was as follows.

 

First, dress Yi-yeon as a woman and raise him like a girl.

 

Usually men are accustomed to yang energy, and women to yin energy, but since Yi-yeon had a male body with abundant yin energy, creating even more imbalance, he suggested dressing him as a woman to achieve balance, even if temporarily.

 

Second, Master Yeong-ro would visit the Seo Family Estate once a year to infuse internal energy.

 

Originally, with Yi-yeon’s level of yin energy, quite a large amount of extreme yang energy would need to be infused all at once just to make daily life barely possible, but Yi-yeon’s body was too weak for that.

 

Even ordinary people struggle when they suddenly receive large amounts of internal energy, and if Yi-yeon received extreme yang energy all at once, it could have been truly catastrophic.

 

So he would infuse internal energy once a year, but only to the extent that Yi-yeon could endure.

 

Seo Cheong-ja was grateful even for that much.

 

“Thank you, truly thank you. Master! How can I ever repay this kindness…!”

 

“Not at all. I only regret that my meager abilities can only help this much. Also, there is one thing that concerns me…”

 

“What is it? Please tell me anything.”

 

Despite Seo Cheong-ja’s urging, Master Yeong-ro hesitated for a long time, unable to continue. Then he finally added quietly.

 

“I sense a sinister energy in the young master’s eyes…”

 

“His eyes, you say?”

 

“Yes. I’ve felt it since the young master entered, but when I look into his eyes for too long, I get a strange feeling. Somehow my mind becomes disturbed…”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Master Yeong-ro merely shook his head.

 

“Never mind. Just… it would be best to be careful.”

 

Seo Cheong-ja was bothered by the word ‘sinister,’ but he just smiled good-naturedly. There was no need to say harsh words to his benefactor.

 

Seo Cheong-ja returned to the Seo Family Estate and immediately dressed Yi-yeon as a woman. At the same time, he gave him the name ‘Seo Yeon-ri.’

 

From that time on, Yi-yeon became Seo Yeon-ri.

 

Living as Seo Yeon-ri wasn’t particularly inconvenient. He was quite young at the time, and since he rarely left his quarters due to his illness anyway, the people around him didn’t particularly suspect anything.

 

And so Yi-yeon was able to live without incident, receiving Master Yeong-ro’s treatment once a year.

 

No, he thought he would be able to live that way.

 

“The Young Miss has been kidnapped!”

 

Until Master Yeong-ro’s concerns became reality.

 

* * *

 

In fact, the signs had been there from the beginning.

 

“The young lady’s beauty is the greatest under heaven!”

 

It was precisely because of Yi-yeon’s beauty.

 

Yi-yeon was born beautiful.

 

Perhaps because he inherited the appearance of his mother, who was the greatest beauty in Shandong, Yi-yeon became more beautiful as time passed. Eventually, he even surpassed his mother.

 

Everyone who saw Yi-yeon couldn’t help but be amazed. They said it was the first time they’d seen such beauty in their lives, that there couldn’t be anyone as beautiful as Yi-yeon. They poured out praise until their mouths went dry.

 

Yi-yeon was embarrassed at first, but hearing it so often, he became accustomed to it. In fact, he knew it himself. He couldn’t help but know when he saw his reflection in the mirror.

 

And he liked his beautiful appearance. Even without pretending to be a woman, people automatically treated him like a precious young lady, and everyone was eager to do things for him.

 

Sometimes he felt like he was the master of the world.

 

But young Yi-yeon’s arrogant thoughts didn’t last very long.

 

“Young Miss, please look at me. Please look only at me…!”

 

The people around her began to change strangely.

 

It started with the maids who were close by.

 

At first, they looked at Yi-yeon with eyes of reverence and respect. However, at some point, murky desires began to mix in, and they gradually started crossing the line.

 

Lightly, they would beg Yi-yeon to love them, obsess over her looking only at them, and sometimes try to touch Yi-yeon’s body. There were even some who would strip naked and rush at her.

 

As such incidents repeated, Yi-yeon began to become frightened. Especially, the longer they stared into Yi-yeon’s eyes, the more they lost their reason.

 

Yi-yeon thought to herself.

 

‘Is it really because I’m beautiful? Isn’t there some kind of problem? This is too strange. For everyone close to me to become like this. This, this isn’t normal…’

 

Later, when she asked Master Yeong-ro about it, he only said he didn’t know either. Then he said it might be due to her constitution, that her yin energy might be too strong and affecting those around her.

 

Hearing those words, Yi-yeon became dejected. From some point on, Yi-yeon couldn’t make eye contact with others.

 

‘I just need to be careful, just me…’

 

She didn’t know why things had turned out this way, but if she was cautious, it would be fine. If she didn’t make eye contact with people, it would be okay. Then there would be no problems.

 

All of it was wishful thinking.

 

“It’s all because of you, Young Miss. Because you won’t look at me, because you keep turning your eyes to other people, I…!”

 

The one who kidnapped Yi-yeon was a maid who had been serving at Yi-yeon’s side.

 

Yi-yeon had liked that maid. She liked how she was good at her work and could satisfy her picky tastes well, and she also liked how she was quick-witted and didn’t go against her mood.

 

Most of all, she liked the maid’s gentle nature.

 

She would approach Yi-yeon first when she was being cautious and withdrawn, treating her warmly so that Yi-yeon’s heart gradually opened up.

 

Perhaps this maid might be different, might not change…

 

“Young Miss, let’s stay together forever, just the two of us.”

 

When she let her guard down, Yi-yeon found herself trapped inside a large wooden bucket.

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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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