The Battle for the Heavenly Sword - Chapter 78

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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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78
Woo Geom-San Consolidates Supreme Power
Around evening, as the Feiyun Merchant Group was preparing to camp out, Ning Yunxiao’s mother, Liu Jiayan, woke up.
The very first thing Liu Jiayan did upon regaining consciousness was check on Ning Yunxiao’s safety.
Only after feeling Ning Yunxiao’s entire body to ensure nothing was amiss did she let out a sigh of relief.
“Ugh!”
Liu Jiayan bit her lip.
As her tension dissolved, excruciating pain rushed over her.
At that moment, Woo Geom-san held out a medicinal pill.
“This is called a Yeongbo Vitality Pill. It will help restore your vital Qi.”
Liu Jiayan merely stared intently at the Yeongbo Vitality Pill in Woo Geom-san’s hand and did not move.
Seeing this, Ning Yunxiao, who was by her side, spoke up.
“Mother! It’s okay to take it. That mister saved your life.”
“……I accept it with gratitude.”
Only then did Liu Jiayan accept the Yeongbo Vitality Pill.
Though she took the Yeongbo Vitality Pill at her son’s urging, Liu Jiayan did not swallow the medicinal pill right away.
Perhaps naturally suspicious, she sniffed it several times and touched her tongue to it to confirm nothing was wrong before finally taking the Yeongbo Vitality Pill.
As the Yeongbo Vitality Pill entered her body, her complexion noticeably improved.
Liu Jiayan offered her thanks.
“Thank you for giving me this spiritual elixir. I will surely repay this kindness.”
“Do not mind it, as it is hardly any great kindness.”
“You saved my life and my son’s, so what could be a greater kindness than that? As soon as I return to my family estate, I will give you a grand reward.”
The gaze Liu Jiayan directed at Woo Geom-san was incredibly cold, hardly the kind of look someone intending to repay a debt of gratitude would possess.
Her eyes seemed to warn him not to cling to them any further under the pretext of this favor.
“Mother!”
With an embarrassed expression, Ning Yunxiao caught Liu Jiayan’s sleeve and shook it. Only then did Liu Jiayan’s gaze soften slightly.
“I performed emergency aid, but it isn’t a complete cure, so it would be wise to receive proper treatment from a doctor in the next village we stop by.”
“I am fine.”
“Madam!”
“Could you perhaps take me to the Chief of the Feiyun Merchant Group? I have something to say to him separately.”
“He is coming this way now. I shall take my leave so you two can speak.”
Niu Jinshu happened to be walking over to this side.
Woo Geom-san vacated his spot so Liu Jiayan and Niu Jinshu could talk comfortably.
From Liu Jiayan’s hedgehog-like behavior, he could guess that she had some unspeakable circumstance.
Whatever her circumstances were, he had no desire to pry inquisitively.
Fortunately, Liu Jiayan’s condition had improved significantly after taking the Yeongbo Vitality Pill. It seemed unnecessary for Woo Geom-san to check on her state any further.
Woo Geom-san returned to where Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu were sitting. After all, he felt most at ease around those two.
“Welcome back.”
“You worked hard.”
The two welcomed Woo Geom-san warmly.
Woo Geom-san also smiled and sat down beside them.
As he sat, Gong Hwapyeong handed him a bowl containing an unidentifiable food.
“Have some of this.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a special nourishing dish I made. I threw in all the food I packed from the inn and boiled it. It might look like this, but it’s quite edible.”
“Thank you.”
Woo Geom-san readily accepted the bowl.
An ordinary person might have felt repulsed by an appearance fit for pigs, but Woo Geom-san did not care about the exterior at all.
First, he took a deep spoonful and put it in his mouth.
Woo Geom-san’s eyes widened as he marveled.
“Oh! This is actually pretty delicious.”
“Right? Hehe!”
“This fellow has quite a knack for this sort of thing.”
Zhang Yinu praised Gong Hwapyeong.
Woo Geom-san took another spoonful, put it in his mouth, and said,
“It’s a delicacy. It really is delicious.”
“Hehe! There’s still plenty left, so eat up.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, your medicine is truly miraculous.”
“Pardon?”
“To think a woman hovering between life and death is walking around perfectly fine like that, it’s truly remarkable.”
Gong Hwapyeong’s gaze was fixed on Liu Jiayan, who was talking with Niu Jinshu.
He did not know what serious topic they were discussing, but both Liu Jiayan’s and Niu Jinshu’s expressions were stiffly frozen.
Woo Geom-san said as he scooped up the food,
“How could that be entirely due to my acupuncture? She survived because she had the strength to survive.”
“If you don’t mind, could you perform a pulse diagnosis on me too? I feel like my acupoints and meridians have been weak lately, so in the morning…… you know?”
When Gong Hwapyeong pointed at his lower body with his finger, Zhang Yinu smacked his back with a loud thud.
Smack!
“Is that something to say to that young fellow? Your Qi is weak because you fool around so recklessly.”
“Who knows? Maybe his miraculous acupuncture can make my drooping son stand stiff again.”
“Ugh, standard nonsense!”
Zhang Yinu smacked Gong Hwapyeong’s back loudly once more.
Woo Geom-san spoke with a deliberately solemn expression.
“To save your son, Elder Gong, an ordinary needle won’t do. I’d have to drive something this big into him. Would that be alright?”
Woo Geom-san shook a long wooden chopstick right in front of Gong Hwapyeong’s eyes.
At that, Gong Hwapyeong shrank back in horror.
“Eek! You have to use a needle that big? No thanks! Forget it! I don’t need it, so don’t come near me.”
“If you truly wish, I can even perform acupuncture with a wooden chopstick.”
“No thanks! I’m not weak at all, so stop coming closer.”
“Tsk! Understood.”
When Woo Geom-san backed away with a disappointed look, Zhang Yinu burst into a hearty laugh.
“Puhaha! This fellow is a real character. We haven’t even known him long, but he already knows how to handle Hwapyeong.”
“Che! I was just trying to get a free acupuncture session, but I almost ended up walking around with a wooden chopstick stuck in my thing.”
Gong Hwapyeong grumbled as he sat back down in front of Woo Geom-san.
Even after that, the three of them continued their meal while sharing jokes.
After finishing dinner, the people of the Feiyun Merchant Group drew lots.
They were drawing lots to decide the order of taking turns on watch.
Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu ended up with the first watch shift.
“We’ll be able to sleep soundly tonight.”
“Luck was on our side.”
The two smiled.
It went without saying that standing watch first and sleeping soundly afterward was far better than waking up in the middle of a good sleep to stand watch.
Woo Geom-san said,
“Shall I stand watch with you?”
“No need! As a guest, don’t worry about a thing and sleep comfortably.”
“Just rest well, as this fellow said. We’ll be back soon, so don’t worry.”
Gong Hwapyeong and Zhang Yinu left for the watch post, leaving Woo Geom-san alone in front of the campfire.
Left by himself, Woo Geom-san recalled the moment he took Ning Yunxiao’s pulse.
The boy’s pulse, which throbbed violently like an active volcano, was by no means normal.
Not only that, but the boy harbored a massive amount of internal energy that did not match his age.
By the standards of an ordinary martial artist, it was an amount of internal strength that could only be gained by consistently practicing cultivation training for at least one Jiazi.
‘Did he take a spiritual elixir since childhood?’
Woo Geom-san furrowed his brows.
Taking a spiritual elixir did not mean that all the latent medicinal efficacy would be converted into internal energy.
If that were the case, the disciples and offspring of the Righteous Great Sects would all possess monstrous internal energy.
No matter how incredible the medicinal efficacy of a spiritual elixir was, the amount that could be converted into internal energy was not that much.
At most, about thirty percent.
And that was only when the compatibility with the mental law was excellent.
If one consumed a spiritual elixir without a proper mental law, they could not absorb even ten percent of the original medicinal efficacy.
Since more medicinal efficacy was lost during the process of converting it into internal energy, the limits were clear in various ways.
The Great Restoration Pill of the Shaolin Temple was about the only exception. Other spiritual medicines could not escape this limitation, and creating them was no easy feat either.
Because of this, the Righteous Great Sects only had their disciples consume them a maximum of two or three times during childhood, when it was easiest to absorb the medicinal efficacy, and focused them on mental law cultivation from then on.
Yet Ning Yunxiao was breaking past this limitation and accumulating an immense amount of internal energy.
It was a phenomenon difficult to comprehend with Woo Geom-san’s common sense.
“I can’t make heads or tails of it. I wonder if this kind of phenomenon is recorded in the Bojebang?”
Woo Geom-san pulled the Bojebang out of his bundle and began to read.
***
As dawn began to break, the people of the Feiyun Merchant Group packed up their camp and prepared to leave.
Woo Geom-san also placed the Bojebang, which he had read through the night, back into his bundle and prepared to depart.
One of the things he realized while reading intently through the night was that the Bojebang he had obtained was no ordinary medical manual.
As if the passage claiming it was created by imperial decree was not a lie, the Bojebang was filled with all kinds of medicine.
He would have to verify the authenticity separately to know for sure, but judging by the vast volume and depth, it was clearly compiled with utmost devotion.
He did not know through what circumstances the vagabond had obtained the Bojebang, but both books were undoubtedly authentic. Moreover, they were clearly the very first original manuscripts ever made.
To a doctor, it was a treasure among treasures that they would long to hold even in their dreams.
Woo Geom-san thought that such a treasure falling into his hands could never be a mere coincidence.
Perhaps destiny had placed the Bojebang into his palms.
‘I must read the Bojebang and master medicine whenever I have time.’
Coincidentally, Woo Geom-san had also been feeling a limitation with just the Nine Heavens Soul Returning Acupuncture alone.
If he studied the Bojebang deeply, he would be able to save even more people.
Though Woo Geom-san held no grand ambition like saving the world and helping the people, he had no reason to refuse the power to protect those close to him.
Just then, Gong Hwapyeong peered into Woo Geom-san’s face and spoke.
“Hey, are your eyes alright?”
“Pardon?”
“No, I’m just saying because it looked like you were reading books all night. Reading books like that without any light will ruin your eyes.”
“Thank you for your concern. Fortunately, I have good night vision, so I can read without much trouble. My eyes won’t be getting any worse.”
“You must be an even greater expert than I vaguely imagined. I’m envious!”
“Envious of what?”
“Damn it! You’ve got a handsome face. You’re tall. You’ve mastered martial arts, and you even know how to perform acupuncture. Is there anything you don’t have?”
“I haven’t married yet, though?”
“I haven’t married either.”
“Ah!”
“The heavens truly are unfair. Is it right to give one person all the good things like this?”
Gong Hwapyeong looked up at the sky, repeatedly shouting about how unfair it was.
Zhang Yinu shook his head side to side and said,
“Don’t mind him; he’ll calm down after a while.”
“Does this happen often?”
“Not often, but occasionally he wildcats around like a wild ox with its tail on fire.”
“Haha!”
Woo Geom-san burst into laughter despite himself.
At that moment, the Chief of the Feiyun Merchant Group, Niu Jinshu, approached Woo Geom-san and asked,
“What is so amusing?”
“It’s nothing. But what brings you here so early in the morning?”
“I came because there is something I must let Young Master Woo know.”
“Please speak.”
“It’s about the mother and son we rescued yesterday.”
“Yes?”
“They have decided to travel with us as far as the Yangtze River.”
“Without stopping by a village to receive proper treatment from a doctor?”
“She herself adamantly insists that she is fine.”
At Niu Jinshu’s words, Woo Geom-san furrowed his brows.
Although she had improved thanks to Woo Geom-san, she needed to be treated by a doctor to recover properly.
Even so, it was incomprehensible why she insisted on straining herself to move with the Feiyun Merchant Group.
“If she doesn’t receive treatment now, she will suffer from aftereffects later on.”
“Can’t Young Master Woo look after her along the way?”
“As I said yesterday, I have merely mastered a single acupuncture technique by luck; I am not a proper doctor.”
“Still, it’s better than having no one. I will compensate you handsomely, so please accompany us and check on her occasionally, Young Master Woo. I ask this favor of you.”
“Did she agree to that as well?”
“It is already an agreed matter.”
“Understood. Then let’s do that.”
Woo Geom-san had no choice but to accept Niu Jinshu’s proposal.
He could have refused, but Ning Yunxiao’s physical condition weighed constantly on his mind.

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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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