NOVEL NEXT Chapter 13
In the early hours past midnight, two men are facing each other in the main hall of the Mo Yong Family, where the head of the family resides.
“San-ah.”
“Yes, brother.”
Mo Yongcheon and Mo Yongsan.
Though they are brothers born from the same womb, the gap in their martial prowess is so vast that comparison feels futile.
Had it not been for Mo Yongcheon, the unparalleled master Mo Yongsan would have become the head of the Mo Yong Family, but no matter how high the mountain, it cannot touch the sky.
“I’m sorry for not being able to teach you everything.”
With that, Mo Yongcheon bowed his head toward his brother.
“That’s not true, brother. How could you say that? The reason you can’t tell me is precisely because there’s a significant reason behind it.”
Mo Yongsan waved his hands vigorously toward Mo Yongcheon.
“And I’m not some oblivious fool. Even if you don’t say anything, I understand why it’s a secret.”
“…….”
Mo Yongcheon lightly shuffled his feet.
The air brimming with energy emitted by Mo Yongcheon enveloped the room.
Incredible.
The energy that Mo Yongcheon exuded formed a barrier, preventing others from hearing the conversation within.
“So, what do you think it’s for?”
“That friend, Physician Seok Muwol, is a spy for the Demon Cult…what they call a ‘Zamdok.'”
“Did you know?”
“It’s my specialty to act like I don’t know even when I do.”
“…….”
Mo Yongcheon tapped on the table with his finger.
“Go on, speak more.”
“The fact that you accepted such a Zamdok as your son-in-law indicates that you truly treated Seol-yi, and it’s not just a repayment, but it means their hearts are truly aligned.”
“…….”
“To accept him as a member of the Mo Yong Family, regardless of his background or abilities, is because he was embraced as Seol-yi’s companion, isn’t it?”
“……You really…”
Mo Yongcheon shook his head in disbelief.
“I can’t keep up with you.”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of revealing this to anyone. You can just continue to ignore me when I shout ‘Brother!’ as if you don’t care. That way, whenever others ask, I can respond ‘Who am I to know everything your will entails!'”
“…….”
“Other families might have siblings who don’t get along, but though it’s embarrassing for me to say it, I’ll say it now. Brother, I’m proud that you are my brother.”
“…Thank you, San.”
“In that sense…”
Mo Yongsan’s expression turned serious.
“How far will you ‘allow’ this?”
“Allow?”
“Yes. Physician Seok Muwol.”
“…….”
“Don’t tell me you’ll permit everything…wait.”
Mo Yongcheon’s silence prompted Mo Yongsan to raise his hand.
“I’m not talking about the relationship with Seol-yi, am I?”
“Then?”
“It’s about money.”
“…Money?”
“Yes.”
Mo Yongsan seriously drew a circle with his finger.
“Many patients suffering from Absolute Meridian Sickness will be flocking to Physician Seok, and they will come to her with the determination to offer their bodies to be cured by her.”
“That’s…!”
“Regardless of your or Seol-yi’s wishes, they’ll flood in from all corners of the Martial World. Brother, if you were to say that a remedy for Seol-yi was developed in the Jiang Chang sect, what would you do?”
“…….”
Though it was hard to admit, Mo Yongcheon knew exactly how he would behave.
“I won’t say it explicitly. That makes it all the more certain. If the Purple Sword Gate’s sect leader sees Seol-yi cured, he will go beyond just offering his organs but…”
“Beyond?”
“He will try to push his daughter to be Physician Seok’s concubine, stealthily establishing the Mo Yong Family’s influence in the alliance.”
“That’s nonsense.”
In response to Mo Yongsan’s prediction, Mo Yongcheon drew a line sharply with his voice.
“The White Path’s disguised rogues wouldn’t dare to come under the shade of Mo Yong. They must know their place.”
“Even if they know their place, it’s possible for situations to arise that complicate matters.”
“……The treatment for Absolute Meridian Sickness.”
“Yes. Only Physician Seok possesses the method to treat it. There’s a way using the Extreme Yang Reversal technique, suggesting one wouldn’t even need to perform the act to mix it into the remedy for curing Absolute Meridian Sickness.”
“Hmm.”
“Whether they seek to obtain that treatment, or to position themselves upright in the Central Plains with that treatment, now that Mo Yong Family has embraced Physician Seok, we must prepare countermeasures for it.”
“That.”
Mo Yongcheon cautiously inquired.
“What would be best? I can handle enemies, but I expect nothing from those types.”
“Leave it to me. As long as you set some basic guidelines, I’ll handle everything so that you, Seol-yi, and Physician Seok won’t be put in an uncomfortable position.”
“Guidelines?”
“Yes. First…there’s just one thing that needs clarity.”
Mo Yongsan raised one finger and then spread the rest of his fingers wide.
“What about taking concubines? How will that be handled?”
“What?”
“I doubt Physician Seok would answer truthfully if I were to ask, so I’m wondering if you might have heard something.”
“……Are you suggesting bringing in another woman as a concubine besides Seol-yi? Though treating Absolute Meridian Sickness may grant her a life-saving bond—”
“Brother. Didn’t you see how the Grand Master of Jiang Chang looked at Physician Seok?”
“……Are you saying the child has feelings for Physician Seok?”
“Not feelings, but no one other than the Jiang Chang sect directly told her—no, specifically told themselves to come over here.”
“Hmm….”
“Brother. If you permit Physician Seok as your third wife or even more, I can build a mansion by the estate of the Mo Yong Family within three years.”
Mo Yongsan spoke earnestly.
“In that mansion, you would reside on the top floor, beneath you would be Physician Seok, beside her would be Seol-yi, and below would be rooms full of wives on every floor.”
“My home is a blissful abode.”
“Yes, I know. That’s just talk. But…it’s not impossible.”
Mo Yongcheon nodded heavily.
“San-ah.”
“Yes, brother.”
“While Seol-yi’s will is essential, at least for now, I don’t think she would want any other woman approaching Physician Seok, regardless if she were her concubine or not.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Mo Yongcheon gave his affirmation while covering his face with one hand.
“…I just heard it.”
“…Brother, are you spreading ‘swords’ throughout the entire family?”
“It’s not through the entire family. I only have a sword near the Medical Hall. The sound transmitted through the air conveys the sword’s intent.”
“……Based on the reaction I’ve seen from you.”
Mo Yongsan clapped his hands, making a ‘slap’ sound.
“Are two people involved in this, then?”
“…….”
“Wow, truly. Physician Seok is quite remarkable.”
“What are you talking about, San?”
“No, to be honest, isn’t it right? Seol-yi is beautiful, but hasn’t Physician Seok done quite the things up until now?”
He flinched.
“If I were Physician Seok…sigh, she’s my niece, but…”
“Stop it.”
Mo Yongcheon swallowed hard and shook his head.
“Seol-yi…was just in a lot of pain. She was suffering from a terminal illness, that’s why she acted that way. If she weren’t hurting, she wouldn’t have behaved like that.”
“…….”
“Absolute Meridian Sickness is the real culprit. Seol-yi is not at fault.”
“That, yes. Precisely. Absolute Meridian Sickness is the cause.”
Mo Yongsan scratched his cheek.
“But still, that nature resembles your sister-in-law more than you—”
“She wasn’t a bad person either.”
Mo Yongcheon shook his head even more firmly.
“She just loved me too much.”
* * *
“Physician! Can I just slay all the women coming to you for the Absolute Meridian Sickness treatment?”
“Behave yourself, Mo Yong-soja.”
I patted the head of the gentle but ferociously blunt Mo Yongseol while returning to the blissful abode.
“Given the circumstances, wouldn’t it be a waste to stain your hands with the blood of such women?”
“Physician…”
“Or maybe, were you unsatisfied after secretly sharing feelings in the Medical Hall earlier?”
“…That’s not it.”
Mo Yongseol blushed lightly and smiled faintly.
“I’m just feeling disappointed.”
Lick.
Her red lips shimmered in the moonlight.
“I’m still not cured of Absolute Meridian Sickness, you know.”
Just as Mo Yongseol said, she wasn’t ‘cured’ yet.
Her condition had merely improved compared to others.
If the yin energy weighing pressure on her blood vessels was currently at 1/100, this number would gradually rise to 2/100, then 5/100 over time.
Each time she received yang energy infusion, it would come closer to 0/100.
“It would be fantastic if staying with you could supply my yang energy.”
“Are you planning to stay by my side for life?”
“Oh, didn’t you know? I have no thought of separating even a bit. Just like when I left the room, that crazy… ahem.”
“She was indeed quite the crazy woman.”
Seated on the wooden floor of the blissful abode with Mo Yongseol, I unfolded a small folded paper.
“Yu Giyeon, daughter of Yu Gwain. 24 years old. Has sexual experience. Probably one of the students from the Purple Sword Gate.”
“Does she have a fiancé?”
“Well… the partner doesn’t have to be a fiancé, but for a woman at 24 years old, engaging in such matters isn’t necessarily a significant flaw.”
“But that kind of woman threw her attraction at Physician Seok.”
Mo Yongseol visibly frowned.
“I thought that woman was trying to blackmail and trap Physician Seok.”
“I’d say that sounds like a delusion.”
“A delusion?”
“You’re either thinking the Mo Yong Family is holding a knife to me, threatening me.”
I laid back.
“After researching and developing a treatment for Absolute Meridian Sickness, and then seeing the most powerful forces among the five great families try to hide it, using the excuse of a night with Mo Yongseol.”
“What nonsense…”
“That’s just the thinking of an ordinary, common man bound by conventional wisdom. The problem arises when such people, unaware of their foolishness, harbor strange convictions.”
I observed.
“When they believe they’re acting ‘justice’, it’s troublesome in a whole new way.”
I remembered the woman who had looked at me with the intention of ‘saving’ me.
“That woman is mentally not all there. Even though she herself is suffering from Absolute Meridian Sickness, she thinks that I, who can treat it, cannot think or judge normally right now.”
“…….”
“The fundamental reason for that is she doesn’t think of others first; she only considers herself based on her own standards. If she thinks she’s trying to save me, even that is not truly about saving me…”
“…Is it because she wants to portray herself as the hero of the Martial World, rescuing me from a pit of great evil? How grand and magnificent that would be?”
“Exactly. Moreover, believing she can do that against the Mo Yong Family, with a Sword Saint present, makes it all the more undeniable.”
Who would fear the Sword Saint if they are mentally unwell?
A daughter who cannot even rein in her own father.
“I wouldn’t keep any such women around, even if there were 108 of them.”
“…Is that so? Huh, I misunderstood then.”
“Misunderstood?”
“I thought that because she wasn’t a virgin…that was why you were rejecting her.”
“I’d like to assert that’s a misunderstanding.”
I pulled Mo Yongseol into my embrace.
“Whether virgin or not, there’s only one woman I want to hold in my arms.”
“……That.”
Mo Yongseol blushed while gazing intently at me.
“Is it ridiculous to ask at this point… why?”
“Why are you asking?”
“For three years, to be honest, I made her life hell to the point where she could have such certainty about my feelings.”
“Ah, that.”
What.
I did have a bit of a rough time.
I had a tough time, but…
“That’s all in the past. I’m not holding onto any sentiments about it.”
“Physician…”
“If I had to state the fundamental reason, it’s because I’ve lost my mind over you.”
I pressed my lips to Mo Yongseol’s forehead.
“Is that why first love feels somewhat terrifying?”
“That’s the same for me as well.”
Mo Yongseol embraced me.
Using the night sky as our blanket, we laid down right there and closed our eyes.
Mo Yongseol’s body, which should have been colder than the night air, felt perfectly warm like a normal person’s, making me not feel any chill at all.