NOVEL NEXT Chapter 19
[At that moment, the Mt. Wudang Sect.]
News flew to the Wudang Sect, one of the nine sects where those who aspire to cultivate their way into becoming sages gather, about events happening in the Mo Yong family.
“Hehe, it seems the Sect Master will have quite the trouble ahead.”
The most senior elder of the Wudang Sect, a well-aged Taoist known as the ‘Grand Elder,’ scratched his completely bald head and burst out laughing at the news brought by Jeon Seokgu.
“The Sword Mistress, that unruly one, can’t contain her youthful spirit and gets into trouble.”
“Grand Elder, is it really okay to speak like that about the Sword Mistress?”
A young Taoist with a tall physique and a striking appearance asked.
“Listen, my disciple Chang Hyeon.”
“Yes, Grand-Sir.”
Wudang’s Grand Disciples’ attitude became more serious.
“There’s a saying that has been passed down through the ages in the Central Plains martial world, from my generation to yours. What is it?”
“It refers to the young heroes of the martial world; men are called the Nine Dragons, while women are called the Six Phoenixes.”
“Right. Nine Dragons and Six Phoenixes. But what do we call them now?”
“Nine Dragons and Six Flowers.”
“Correct. Flowers. When Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon was actively working, he made a statement about the term ‘Six Phoenixes.’ The word ‘phoenix’ (鳳) signifies the male, so why refer to the most beautiful woman as ‘Six Phoenixes’? Why not call her ‘Six Huang’ (六凰)?”
“Is it a command to be strong enough to change even the long-standing traditions of the martial world?”
“The sentiment is similar. Do you wish to realize it yourself, or do you wish to be told outright?”
“If it’s about martial arts, I prefer the former; if it’s about life principles, I prefer the latter.”
“Then I shall tell you directly.”
The Grand Elder of Wudang, Dong Jeong Daoist, assumed a serious tone as he spoke.
“If one is handsome and pretty, they are generally forgiven.”
“…Pardon?”
“The Sword Mistress, indeed.”
Seeing the expression of Dong Jeong Daoist, Grand Disciple Chang Hyeon felt a hint of worry but quickly changed his expression and bowed his head.
“Being a great senior of the martial world makes it difficult for me to speak lightly, but no matter how beautiful one is, not everything can be forgiven, can it?”
“That’s a valid point. But in the face of overwhelming beauty, one’s thoughts often change. You’ve likely never encountered a truly beautiful woman.”
“Are you referring to…”
Chang Hyeon instinctively took a step back.
“Are you suggesting to meet the daughter of the Mo Yong family—the First Flower of the Martial World, who recently cured the Sickness of Absolute Meridians?”
“Uh…”
“Grand-Sir?”
“Maybe a bit similar? No, could she even be compared?”
“Excuse me?”
“You missed the first time the Sword Mistress appeared in the martial world.”
Dong Jeong Daoist stood up, crossing his arms behind his back.
“She was like a single flower of a honeysuckle. She was so beautiful that even a New Ascendant struggled with the notion of stepping into secular paths.”
“How… how beautiful could she have been?”
“She was called the world’s most beautiful, the pinnacle of the Six Flowers, the Full-Sword Flower (滿劍花).”
“…….”
“Had her Reversal of Aging brought her appearance back to her early or mid-twenties—not like the mid-thirties she appears now—many men in this world would have challenged the Sword Mistress.”
“…….”
Chang Hyeon’s expression distorted oddly, but Dong Jeong Daoist failed to notice.
“If someone were to see her at twenty years old…”
Whizz.
“Everything that stood would stand again; such a miracle could happen.”
A few remaining strands of hair on Dong Jeong Daoist’s head fluttered in the wind.
“But ultimately, time is a fleeting matter; how can one reclaim what is past? Nostalgia, longing, and revisiting memories is all we can do.”
Whoosh.
“How futile it is to try and hold onto something that has already departed. In the grand scheme of nature, humans are but fleeting beings. If such a thing were to happen, it could only be called a miracle by the will of heaven.”
“…….”
Chang Hyeon thought today that the Grand-Sir’s head was particularly shiny but remained silent, bowing his head to collect his thoughts.
Clear mind.
Chang Hyeon emptied his heart.
Gazing at Dong Jeong Daoist, whose head shone like the round sun.
* * *
A miracle occurred.
It was the same when the Sickness of Absolute Meridians was cured, but now that I saw the Sword Mistress, I could state it more decisively.
‘What on earth am I?’
What kind of effects are these things coming from my body causing?
No, what is even happening right now?
As a physician, I can’t believe this situation, but as someone with a foothold in the martial world, it’s beyond understanding.
“Mo Yong Soje. Is Reversal of Aging… really happening this easily?”
“I’ve never experienced it myself, but at least it shouldn’t be like this.”
Mo Yongseol glared intently at the bed with a face full of tension.
Fortunately, she was clothed, revealing nothing, but if the Reversal of Aging had occurred while she was unclothed, she would have quickly covered my eyes.
“Goodness.”
Mo Yongseol swallowed as she looked at the Sword Mistress.
“Is that… the Sword Mistress?”
“Uh-huh.”
I scanned the Sword Mistress from top to bottom.
Her hair, now a slight grayish shade, was nothing like the white of aging but contained some mystical energy.
And above all, her face and skin.
Despite having feelings for Mo Yongseol, which would make me assert her to be the finest, I’d have to admit that the woman standing before me right now is a close second.
Now, this twenty-year-old (?) lady in front of me.
“…First of all.”
The Sword Mistress opened her mouth.
“I need to decide on a suitable name for this new, youthful form.”
Gazing at her reflection in the mirror, the Sword Mistress spoke seriously.
“If I went around claiming to be Geum Jeomri with this appearance, everyone would surely be suspicious.”
“Well…”
“If we are talking about speech, then naturally I am asking Physician Seok and Mo Yong Soje, so I’m speaking this way, aren’t I?”
She knows.
She is aware that her speech style is the very essence of the great senior of the martial world, the Sword Mistress.
“Did you also speak like this at twenty?”
“…Physician Seok, I understand what you mean.”
The Sword Mistress replied while brushing her fingers over her skin that had fallen away from her body.
“From now on, I will live like when I was twenty.”
“?”
Her voice changed.
“…I was deliberately speaking more heavily before. Since I have been speaking this way since I was twenty.”
“That.”
I couldn’t say that Mo Yongseol probably wouldn’t do the same.
Even if the Sword Saint were watching over me, if the Sword Mistress were to stab me with her sword, she’d subtly let me know, ‘That’s your fault’ and leave me to my fate.
“Is that true?”
“Could a girl ever lie?”
“…….”
“With this appearance, I cannot go around saying I am the Sword Mistress, so I must thoroughly hide my identity according to the suggestions of Physician Seok and the Mo Yong family.”
The Sword Mistress, Geum Jeomri, had already steeled her resolve.
“I’ll cover my face with the white mask used by Physician Seok, and if I wear the white robes usually worn by physicians over my attire, I believe no one will suspect too much. Ah, and I’ll help out at the Medical Hall while staying with the Mo Yong family.”
“Wait a minute.”
No way.
“Are you saying you want to be a nurse?”
“That doesn’t sound too bad, I think.”
Covering her mouth with one hand, the Sword Mistress smiled lightly.
That appearance — a naive young lady of twenty years old—
Get a grip.
I mustn’t be enchanted.
No matter how wondrous a sight it is that deities like the Primordial Heaven Lord or the Jade Emperor might have caused a second Reversal of Aging to happen, the woman before me is already eighty-six—
“Oh. Speaking of, back in my youth, I was often told I looked younger than my age.”
“…So what do you intend to do?”
“I think living as if I am seventeen wouldn’t be bad either, Physician.”
“…….”
“What do you think, Mo Yong Unni?”
“Uh, well…”
The dart, no, the Sword Mistress’s blade turned towards Mo Yongseol.
“Um, sis?”
“That’s right. So Jeong is twenty, and I, [Geum Serin], am seventeen.”
In the meantime, she has finally decided on a name.
“I’d like to ask one thing. The Sword… No, let’s change the title entirely, or even thoroughly.”
Slurp.
I swallowed.
I slapped my cheek hard, collecting my thoughts.
“Gold Nurse.”
“Yes, Physician Seok.”
My heart thumped and my insides twisted.
“Though your body has younger, your martial arts remain unchanged?”
“The martial arts… Yes, the martial arts remain unchanged.”
As the Sword Mistress extended her hand without any preparation, pink sword energy vividly flowed from her hand, forming a sword.
Gulp.
Mo Yongseol swallowed hard as she beheld the Sword Mistress’s martial energy.
“I have a question.”
“Feel free to ask, So Jeong Unni.”
“…Before taking the Extreme Yang Reversal, wasn’t the color of your sword energy different from this?”
“…That’s true.”
The Sword Mistress gazed dreamily at the untouched, pink sword energy.
“Perhaps this is the color I desired.”
“…….”
“The color of when I was twenty. It was unmatched by anyone, but having been untouched for so long, only faded as time passed by. Physician, could you check for me later—”
“Just tell me the results. Only the results.”
I rose from my seat.
“When it is time to appear as the Sword Mistress, cover your face with a mask and change your clothing. When appearing as Gold Nurse, don appropriate attire that befits a nurse. Gold Nurse shall… be described as a hidden sword of the Haedong Sword Sect.”
“Oh my, where are you going, Physician?”
“I have something to inquire about.”
I pointed north toward the Mo Yong family.
“I will be meeting the Sword Saint.”
* * *
Swish.
Leaves fluttered in the wind while dirt dust brushed against a gravestone.
The Sword Saint brushed the dust away with his hand and soon stood to greet the one entering the annex courtyard.
“Physician Seok.”
I, Seok Muwol.
“You must already know.”
“What do you mean? The sight of a woman’s indecency who has regained her youth, while her soul remains unchanged?”
As expected.
The Sword Saint had seen everything already.
In that case, there shouldn’t be a huge problem in our conversation.
“…Everyone desires the body of their youth. That could indeed refer to Reversal of Aging or be considered a miracle.”
“What are you getting at?”
“My blood.”
I produced a medical dagger and laid it on my palm.
“I want to check if it works for men too. If my body performs miracles, then perhaps…”
“Perhaps what?”
“Perhaps my body works in such a way.”
I lightly grazed my hand, letting blood flow.
“If wished earnestly, this flesh may bring about that miracle.”
“…Then I must ask you.”
The Sword Saint narrowed his eyes, questioning me.
“What caused such a change in you, having had no changes for three years?”
“Well…”
“To someone, it mitigates Absolute Meridians, while for others, it cures the Absolute Meridians and reverts them to their youthful selves, and for yet another, it returns over a hundred years… restoring to their most beautiful and youthful state. Moreover, the Sword Mistress was not even a patient of Absolute Meridians.”
“Yes.”
Thus, I could be somewhat ‘certain.’
“Do you consider yourself a miraculous being, or even a divine object that brings miracles to those who consume what comes from your body?”
“I request you to check, Sword Saint.”
I extended my hand.
“Would you confirm this?”
“…….”
The Sword Saint extended his hand, his expression complex, and used his sword arts to gather my blood.
“If a miracle should occur—if there is something you hold dear…”
And the Sword Saint, with utmost care, dropped a few drops of my blood beneath the gravestone.
“Then I shall call you my son or son-in-law.”
Plop.
There was no change.
“…a miracle.”
The Sword Saint silently gazed up at the sky.
“It seems to only resonate with the living.”
“…….”
“What was the miracle I hoped for? There were two.”
The Sword Saint turned toward me, shaking his head slightly.
“My beloved daughter has been cured of her incurable disease and has not died, so that wish has been fulfilled. The other, however, seems to be denied by heaven.”
“…….”
“I wish I could find a body and sprinkle it over the bones; even that is impossible. It seems that such a miracle is not in the cards for me.”
The Sword Saint sighed deeply and chuckled bitterly.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“Not at all, Lord.”
If a miracle had truly occurred, would he have genuinely called me a son or son-in-law?
Feeling as if I had taken a step closer, I genuinely felt relieved.
“Now then, let me ask you. Why do you think you have become that ‘miraculous man’?”
Oh no.
“What has made you the one who fulfills the wishes of the living?”
“That…”
Why is he asking this right now?
The atmosphere was just nice—
“…There has been only one change within me.”
I had no choice.
I had to speak the truth.
“Before that night, I was a virgin.”
“…….”
“Aside from that, nothing else has changed for me.”
The moment I became an adult; that was when perhaps my constitution changed.
“My daughter made me into the one who brings about miracles.”