I Spent One Night with the Terminally Ill Daughter of the World’s Greatest Warrior

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The Heavenly Demon’s daughter suffers from Absolute Meridian Sickness.

Even though the Martial World Alliance Leader made a shocking announcement, I already knew this information.

“But it’s not ‘daughters’, is it?”

The Grand Princess.

Formally, the Heavenly Demon has one daughter.

And she suffers from Absolute Meridian Sickness; I knew that one of the Heavenly Demon’s daughters was afflicted.

Could there be an unofficial illegitimate child that I don’t know about?

“W-what do you mean? The Heavenly Demon has three daughters…? And all three have Absolute Meridian Sickness…?”

As a New Ascendant who was unaware of this information, I looked at the Alliance Leader with a face filled with betrayal, but he merely shrugged his shoulders in response.

“Information obtained from Kunlun, New Ascendant. Against the top experts in Ice Arts, he fathered three daughters, and among them, only the youngest, the current Grand Princess, remains ‘alive.'”

Died.

It’s a way of speaking that implies otherwise.

“Officially, yes. But that’s only due to the Heavenly Demon’s cruelty; in reality, they are definitely alive. The Heavenly Demon abandoned all but the current Grand Princess, but they are surely alive.”

Ah.

Abandoned.

In an instant, the images of two women’s faces flashed through my mind.

“And those two women seek revenge. Despite suffering from Absolute Meridian Sickness, they seek revenge against the Heavenly Demon who abandoned them.”

Only the most talented girl was left while all others were denied a parent-child relationship—

“Did they get thrown into a cave?”

The Heavenly Demon genuinely was serious about raising a hidden weapon.

Among the two orphans used to destroy each sect, the Heavenly Demon had directly discarded those children.

Both stubbornly survived and found their footing.

Just as I had established a base in the Mo Yong Family, others had also secured their places properly.

The hidden weapons knew.

Where each had hidden.

Especially in cases like mine, where little past laundering had occurred, some of the core courtesans of ‘demons’ scattered throughout those sects probably knew that I was a disciple of the Witch Doctor.

Of course, I wasn’t worried.

All that I had experienced and the work I had done as a physician mitigated the risks of someone raising a finger against me just for being from the Demon Cult.

“And besides, it’s not like being from the Demon Cult is considered a crime in this era.”

Being from the Demon Cult was merely a badge of being a loser of the times.

After the Heavenly Demon suffered a one-sided defeat against the Sword Saint, the Demon Cult became only a name; it faded into a sect that had to shut its doors, gradually losing its power as it languished.

But no matter how much time passed—

“Did the Heavenly Demon inject his daughters into the hidden weapons?”

A sense of disgust rose up within me regarding this human known as the Heavenly Demon.

“In fact, this person is also not unrelated to Absolute Meridian Sickness.”

“What do you mean…?”

“My greatest disciple, the Great Disciple of Kunlun, Jin Hyun, is the eldest daughter among the Heavenly Demon’s three daughters.”

“…….”

The New Ascendant gaped in shock, while the Sword Mistress and the people from the Imperial Palace openly frowned.

Those who didn’t know were reacting with disbelief, while those who did were responding with, “Why reveal that?”

I felt a shock descend into my chest.

The loneliness nestled within my heart would, at that marvelous revelation, perk its ears with surprise.

“By mastering the extreme yang martial arts that men typically cultivate, one can somewhat suppress the pain of Absolute Meridian Sickness. So the Physician Seok, won’t you ask for anything from me, whether it be a kiss or something else, to alleviate the symptoms of my disciple?”

With the Alliance Leader’s declaration, the hostility from Mo Yongseol directed at him seemed to slightly diminish—was it an illusion?

“The reason I reveal this is not as the head of a sect most at risk should the Demon Cult rampage, but as the ‘Martial World Alliance Leader’ who must consider the peace of the entire Martial World.”

“…While having the Heavenly Demon’s abandoned daughter as a Grand Disciple?”

“New Ascendant. Look at the big picture. Even if one is born of the Demon, if they cultivate the path and walk the path of a monk, aren’t they a Taoist and a monk?”

Despite the New Ascendant’s overt display of disgust, the Alliance Leader suppressed his words with reason.

“Even if the Demon Cult rampages, can they immediately cross over the Shaolin where you are? Can they even break through the Hua Mountain Sect located in Shaanxi?”

“…No.”

The New Ascendant answered with a weak voice.

“What this person worries about are the countless pleas from patients suffering from Absolute Meridian Sickness that may reach out toward Physician Seok. Just like the leader of the Purple Sword Gate.”

The Alliance Leader turned his gaze toward me.

“Physician Seok. Will you kiss not only the Heavenly Demon’s daughter, but also all women suffering from Absolute Meridian Sickness?”

“I have no intention of doing that at all.”

My answer came out like a sword at the Leader’s words.

“Kissing is only for Mo Yong Sojeo. The ‘medicinal liquid’ that flows from me can be transmitted indirectly in countless ways.”

“That’s right. That is exactly it. In that sense, I, the Grand Master Taesangjin, would like to make a suggestion….”

The Leader pointed to the ceiling.

“First, let’s deceive the world. Let’s say that we have developed a new medicine.”

“Alliance Leader.”

“It wouldn’t be a bad thing for us as the Mo Yong Family. Mo Yong Sojeo. What do you think? Shall we shove medicine into the patients’ mouths in the name of a new medicine, or should other women…?”

“I cannot allow any person shoving their tongue in.”

Mo Yongseol tightly grasped my hand as she replied.

“It would be better to deceive the world.”

Since we were already deceiving, I felt no burden.

At least it was better than someone coming to me and asking for direct affection.

-Don’t forget. I will repay this grace… with my body.

…In that moment, various hidden weapons flashed through my mind, but I forcibly suppressed that thought.

-In this hell, you alone saw me as a single person.

Even if they were the Heavenly Demon’s daughters.

* * *

Late in the evening.

In a tavern where people gathered, various stories inevitably circulated, and the topics they discussed were understandably the latest rumors of the martial world.

However, the tavern was quiet.

Without a single empty seat, when ordinary guests walked into the tavern, they would turn around and leave with an exclamation of ‘Oops’ upon seeing the crowd. Silence filled the tavern as if a person were dying.

“That.”

Someone cautiously opened their mouth.

“Is it true that Absolute Meridian Sickness can be treated?”

That was the fuse for the explosion.

“Do you believe that? You’re saying that just to hide the fact that the Mo Yong Family has developed incredible medicine.”

“No, even then, can one say it like that? Is that what is meant by curing it?”

“How many suitors would fly toward the precious girl of the Mo Yong Family? That’s the Sword Saint’s strategy to block that.”

The people in the tavern were discussing the ‘cure for Absolute Meridian Sickness.’

And upstairs in that tavern, occupying a table in a space that ordinary people could not enter, sat a woman with black hair, elegantly picking at dumplings with chopsticks.

Dressed in the Kunlun Sect robe, she was the Grand Princess, the Great Disciple of the Martial World Alliance Leader, [Jin Hyun].

With dumplings in her mouth, she briefly glanced down with her slightly ‘red eyes’ before averting her gaze again.

Step by step, a woman approached Jin Hyun.

Even though Jin Hyun was being stared at, she continued to eat dumplings while looking downward.

“Sister.”

“……How far are you trying to avoid me, the Grand Disciples of the Cracked Ice Sect?”

The moment she said “sister,” Jin Hyun stiffened as if she was chilled to the bone, and she didn’t even look up as she responded.

“I’m in the middle of eating. I’m not bothering even a dog.”

“Woof woo.”

“…You said you stood up to the Sword Saint; has she driven you completely insane?”

“If So Yeonjeok is mad, then so is your sister.”

The woman’s raw expression caught Jin Hyun’s frown.

If someone were watching this, they would undoubtedly think that the two women looked somewhat ‘similar.’

Almost like sisters.

“So, what kind of excuse are you here for?”

“What are you planning to do? Will you let Muwol be eaten by Mo Yongseol as is?”

“Eaten… Are you too proud to call it by any other term?”

Jin Hyun swiftly picked up another dumpling.

“Why? Do you get jittery thinking that woman who you thought would die any moment has taken Muwol from you?”

“You sister.”

“If you leave the Mo Yong Family, the Physician Seok Muwol will be taken by the Cracked Ice Sect; then how would you reconvene that way?”

“Who are you talking about? Is what I just said about my story, or your story?”

So Yeonjeok’s teasing made Jin Hyun set aside the dumpling she was about to eat.

“Who would think I have feelings for Muwol like you?”

“Don’t you? He’s your lifesaver. Ever since Muwol entered the Mo Yong Family, you’ve been trying to separate him one way or another. Even while entering as the Grand Princess.”

“Ha.”

Jin Hyun briefly squinted and then ripped her dumpling apart with her chopsticks.

“Don’t speak carelessly. This is the center of the White Path, and there are many ears listening.”

“How many hidden weapons are there scattered throughout the Martial World? Ignorant folks may not know, but those in the know understand the truth.”

“They’re all keeping quiet because there are many parts that could tip them over if they spoke. At least the Cracked Ice Sect accepted you, So Yeonjeok, because it benefits them.”

“…….”

“If they can utilize the negative energy from Absolute Meridian Sickness well, they can produce a proficient expert who masters extreme dark energy in just a few years.”

Jin Hyun pointed with her eyes to herself, then to So Yeonjeok in turn.

“Kunlun secretly took the Heavenly Demon’s eldest daughter as a hostage while the Cracked Ice Sect planned to use the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline to create the greatest sect in the world. To foster a greater swordsman than the Great Disciple who was murdered by Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon.”

Jin Hyun fussed with her chopsticks.

“If you bring Seok Muwol as a legitimate partner and let him contribute to the Cracked Ice Sect’s medicine, giving birth to a child of Seok Muwol, then the Cracked Ice Sect will be able to nurture a master.”

“My point is that you should remain as a hostage buried in Kunlun, why on earth are you trying so hard to follow me here? Did you have some sort of intuition?”

“Not at all. Just because I’m speaking honestly, every plan has gone off the rails.”

Jin Hyun sighed heavily.

“I was thinking about how I could receive the spiritual medicine that embraces Yang energy from Seok, but it turns out I need to receive something other than that.”

Jin Hyun rolled her sleeve up.

There was no trace of color all the way from her fingers to her arm.

“You probably feel the same way, Jin Hyun. Extreme Yang Arts… To survive like us, we need continuous blood energy through the internal cultivation method that embraces Yang energy. It also has to be linked with ‘Demon Energy.'”

“…….”

“Kunlun is trying to complete the internal skills that operate two energies through me, while the Cracked Ice Sect was purely relying on your talent and mental power. Either way, both will pass before they turn thirty… no, probably before forty.”

“You….”

“But now, things have changed. What do we do, against our rival? Is the leader of Cracked Ice Sect not talking about calling you to the chamber?”

“Don’t cross the line, you crazy girl.”

So Yeonjeok gripped her teacup tightly, while Jin Hyun returned to lifting dumplings with a cold expression.

“Calling you—”

“Sis, if you splash that on me, you’ll die.”

At the moment Jin Hyun’s pupils shone ‘golden’, So Yeonjeok set her teacup down.

“……..”

“And I was just stating the reality. Things have changed. Do you think they would just sit back? Even if the Demon Cult has become a toothless tiger, and even if that lunatic bipolar coward can’t think of coming down from Mount Tian, a true master remains a true master.”

“…You can’t say that to your biological father.”

“Shut up.”

Jin Hyun stuffed the dumpling into her mouth.

“So what’s your plan? Are you going to jump over the wall of Mo Yong Family to attack?”

“That is….”

“Hot news!!”

A man burst through the tavern door.

“The official declaration of the Martial World Alliance Leader!”

Everyone in the tavern perked up at the man’s voice, including the two daughters of the Heavenly Demon, dressed in White Path sect attire.

“The solution to Absolute Meridian Sickness lies in the ‘Extreme Yang Preservation Pill’ developed by Physician Seok Muwol with his true energy!”

“…Huh?”

“…….”

So Yeonjeok tilted her head, and Jin Hyun frowned slightly.

“What do you mean… no, were you saying sleep was the answer, but suddenly it’s about a pill? So sleeping means…!”

“Just say it plainly; there’s no need to wrap it up in layers. Is that what the Master intended?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s about the ruse.”

Jin Hyun made a circle with her fingers and started poking her chopsticks into it.

“This is the truth, but it’s a bit awkward to state it publicly, so they are just alluding and speaking around it.”

“But… if they say that, Muwol…!”

“Muwol will attract everyone’s attention anyway. Rival, you’re still speaking as if you came out of the same womb as me.”

Jin Hyun poked the last dumpling with her chopsticks.

“Do you really think the Absolute Meridian Sickness spread across the Central Plains is just one of the diseases of the martial world, and that the only cure is one person, Muwol?”

“Sister.”

“I mean….”

“You’re trying to make it seem great but in the end, aren’t you just after Muwol?”

“No. I don’t care if Muwol ends up with anyone, whether it’s Mo Yongseol or anyone else, as long as there’s love… Except for one person.”

“Who, me?”

“That can’t be.”

Jin Hyun shrugged her shoulders.

“While it might be one thing for someone else, but the youngest… no, the Demon Cult’s ‘Grand Princess’ cannot take Muwol from me.”

* * *

News flew to Tian Mountain Demon Cult as well.

“Oh my.”

A white-haired girl, looking as innocent as a young child, giggled at the news sent by a messenger.

“Brother has slept with that girl, Mo Yongseol.”

“Grand Princess! That’s not the important issue right now. The survival of the Demon Cult is at stake….”

Crumple.

“……Hehe.”

“Grand Princess! Please retract the Heavenly Demon’s divine powers…!”

The girl clutched the paper in her hands, her red eyes sparkling.

“The audacity of a woman who’s four years older than me to take my brother’s first…!”