NOVEL NEXT Chapter 24
“I’m using medicine. What should I hide? This is it.”
“It’s Spring Medicine, isn’t it?”
As soon as I caught a whiff of the medicine that Dang Yu-ri pulled out, I realized its true nature.
“Is it… Spring Medicine?!”
Mo Yongseol’s face instantly turned red.
Even though Spring Medicine is something that’s typically referenced in a roundabout way, its true nature leaves no choice but to flush your cheeks.
“Dang Yu-ri, do you have any idea how dangerous a drug you’ve just brought out?”
“I hope you won’t glare at me like that. Let’s hear everything first, then it won’t be too late to judge.”
Dang Yu-ri handed me a paper bag containing the Spring Medicine.
“My plan is simple. To get Yu Giyeon and all the women from Purple Sword Gate addicted to Spring Medicine. Then, I’ll observe their actions and respond accordingly.”
“Let’s hear more about this ridiculous plan.”
“Just a heads up, if this is something on the level of Heavenly Demon’s schemes, I will be greatly disappointed.”
“Comparing me to the Heavenly Demon, you want to duel with me right now?”
“I just have a feeling that your scheme is somehow reminiscent of the Heavenly Demon.”
“That’s too much. Just because we grew up in the Demon Cult doesn’t mean our thinking is similar to that of the Heavenly Demon; calling it a serious insult.”
“Well then, why not come up with a plan that avoids such remarks?”
“Just listen. So, if they’re addicted to Spring Medicine, how do you think Mo Yong So-ja would behave?”
“Uh, um…”
After scratching her cheek for a moment, Mo Yongseol said:
“…Maybe they would seek to soothe their bodies by finding their beloved?”
She provided a very textbook, exemplary answer.
“Exactly. Especially since Yu Giyeon has a fiancé. So…”
“That’s thoughts worthy of the Heavenly Demon.”
I pointed to the floor.
“This is the Medical Hall, and with regards to Spring Medicine, I can handle any kind of Spring Medicine. Are you trying to make it seem like there’s a type of Spring Medicine I can’t deal with?”
“Well, that’s one method.”
“That’s something my pride won’t allow.”
That’s an insult to my teacher as well.
“Then, can you detoxify this? It’s specially made Spring Medicine.”
“Specially made or not…”
I glanced at Mo Yongseol for a moment.
“Physician?”
“…It’s nothing.”
I discreetly moved my hand in the air so that only Dang Yu-ri could see.
Tang (唐).
That Tang from the Four Great Clans.
While it’s the same character as in Dang Yu-ri’s name, the Tang I’m referring to isn’t about her at all.
It’s the real Tang from the Four Great Clans.
The source of that Spring Medicine is from the Tang Clan in Sicheon—the faction corresponding to the Great Houses.
“You know, right?”
“Of course. It’s not regarding ‘hypocrites’?”
“Right. It’s not that difficult to procure such Spring Medicine. That’s why we should use it.”
“So…?”
“It shouldn’t take too long for those from Purple Sword Gate to get here, right?”
Dang Yu-ri moved her hands with a sly look.
“Let’s get Yu Giyeon and the women of Purple Sword Gate all addicted to Spring Medicine, then send them to the sword brothers. They’ll be perfectly matched with the lovers on that side.”
“If that happens, the only remaining Purple Sword Gate junior in the Mo Yong Family would be ‘Yu-ri.’”
“Exactly. I’d become the only remaining junior in the Mo Yong Family. But what if they have ‘other desires’?”
Dang Yu-ri turned her gaze to Mo Yongseol.
“When Yu Giyeon and the other women from Purple Sword Gate are addicted to Spring Medicine, what if they come to ‘someone’ asking to cure their addiction?”
“…Huh?”
Mo Yongseol’s eyes narrowed.
“Especially if they’re not just crying out for help publicly, but sneaking in at night to try and assault? What would you do, So-ja?”
“…That… would be…”
With her eyes narrowed like a snake, Mo Yongseol smiled brightly and placed a hand on her sword.
“I guess I could just cut off that hand that’s acting all frisky first… ah.”
Mo Yongseol glanced at me in surprise.
“Uh, Physician?”
“Hmm.”
I turned Mo Yongseol’s head away.
“I understand now what I have to do.”
I snatched the Spring Medicine from Dang Yu-ri.
* * *
[Late at night, at a tavern a little distance from Mo Yong Family.]
“You proposed to the Sword Saint? Are you out of your mind?”
The martial artist Gi Woong, who was drinking at the tavern, couldn’t believe the words coming from the young man in front of him.
“Yes, indeed.”
The handsome young man smiled confidently, as if he had no shame.
“Did something go wrong?”
“Even if something went wrong, it went absurdly wrong, my friend!”
Gi Woong thumped his chest in frustration.
“Why not just go to Mo Yong Family and ask to be killed instead?”
“Listen, my friend. No matter how much you are my life-saver, there are clearly lines that can’t be crossed. Isn’t that right, Namgung-hyung?”
“Hmm.”
Another young man sitting next to Gi Woong put down his drink with a bitter expression.
“Call me Namgung-hyung. My surname is Nam and my name is Gung.”
“Then you’re calling me by your full name. Anyway, so Namgung-hyung, do you think this ‘No Sword Student Hong Ik’ is wrong?”
“I think it’s not strange at all if everyone dies.”
“Isn’t that right, Nam-hyung? I’m not the odd one here, right?”
Suddenly being called ‘abnormal’ by the two men, the No Sword Student Hong Ik gulped down his drink in anger.
“No, Hyung! How can a man not take on the challenge of the world’s leading beauty?”
“You proposed, didn’t you?”
“Not married yet! Until there’s a union, who knows? That guy must have used some trick!”
Hong Ik waved his hands in front of himself.
“It must have been hypnosis or some kind of marriage sorcery! Otherwise, how could someone with slightly better medical skills win the heart of the world’s leading beauty?”
“Ha.”
“No way.”
“There’s no way he wouldn’t be thinking that way.”
Hong Ik lowered his voice seriously.
“There’s no doubt he must have used ‘drugs.’ Using his position as a physician to mobilize medicines and make Mo Yong Soja addicted!”
“If the Sword Saint hears your comments and true intentions, he might want to kill you.”
“Why?”
“Because you sent that proposal thinking the world’s leading beauty cannot be taken from you by such a man.”
Gi Woong found this thought absurd, and the same applied to the young man sitting next to him, Namgung.
“Ha ha. There’s no way the world’s leading hero Sword Saint would kill someone without cause!”
“…Wouldn’t he?”
“When the Sword Saint was still active…”
“Hey! What kind of slander is that! That’s all a scheme of the Demon Cult! How can the greatest hero of the martial world wield his sword and slay innocents just because he’s in a bad mood?!”
Hong Ik declared defiantly.
“Humph! Just wait. Once this No Sword person ascends to the throne in the Dragon’s Meeting, the Sword Saint will have a change of heart! It’s common sense that the strong should bond with those equally strong, and powerful lovers should produce strong offspring!”
“That’s common sense…?”
“It is!”
Hong Ik stomped out.
“Hey, where are you going? To the bathroom?”
“Aah, I’ll be right back!”
After Hong Ik left, Gi Woong and Namgung glanced awkwardly at the empty chair and lowered their voices.
“Is he insane?”
“He is.”
The two looked at each other and nodded.
“Nam-hyung. Am I perhaps the one going crazy? Is it normal to provoke the world’s greatest?”
“While it might be a bit excessive to call it karma, he certainly seems deluded. But since that delusion aligns with the martial world’s common sense, it’s something we abnormal types must learn to tolerate.”
“Is it something we should just tolerate?”
“It might be better to ignore it than to provoke someone who’s trying to take another man’s woman as his wife.”
The two men let out synchronized sighs.
“Those two seem to be in love. How can someone think of breaking apart two lovers who seem to share love, just because of martial world ethics?”
“It’s not about loving a woman; it’s about wanting to possess the world’s leading beauty and gain recognition from the Sword Saint for his future.”
“Can that even be considered manly?”
“Many men in the martial world would call it honor, and it’s truly pathetic, but what can we third-rate warriors do about it?”
Namgung’s shoulders drooped.
“In the end, in the martial world, power is law, and the strong become justice.”
“How can the strong taking another’s woman and trampling on someone’s purity be considered righteousness?”
“Such is the age. It’s truly lamentable.”
“If only Physician Seok had been stronger, such things wouldn’t have happened.”
Gi Woong cautiously posed a question.
“What if he’s just a physician, but it turns out he’s a master, strong enough to line up those proposing to Mo Yong Soja and smash them on the head?”
“Then that Sword Saint would need to show his might, like in his younger days. If he doesn’t win the Dragon’s Meeting and earn the title of ‘Medicine Dragon’ or something, others would continue to try and pull those two apart.”
“Ah, it’s truly lamentable. Why does heaven send such tribulations to those who are in love? Why doesn’t it rain down punishment on those who try to separate lovers for their own selfish desires?”
“Indeed. If I were heaven—”
Boom!!
“?!”
“W-was that thunder?”
The two men jumped at the sudden sound of what seemed like lightning striking nearby.
“Is it… raining?”
“No way, that can’t be. This is literally like a bolt from the blue—”
Aaaahhh!!
Horrified screams from outside startled the two warriors into drawing their swords and rushing out.
“Junsui! The lantern there? Let’s settle this matter!”
“We’re not running away; we’re going to do justice!”
The two warriors reassured Junsui as they rushed out of the tavern, heading towards the source of the screams.
“Ugh…!”
“W-what happened…!”
Psshhh.
They found a man who had turned to charcoal.
It was as if a lightning bolt had struck from a clear blue sky; the man was trembling with his pants down.
And that man was none other than No Sword Student Hong Ik, who had just stepped outside for the restroom.
“Oh my, what in the world…?”
“Why are you like this, Gi-hyung?”
“No, was I mistaken?”
Gi Woong sensed something gleaming far away on the top floor of the tallest building in Mo Yong Family’s estate.
“Is there… a person standing there with a sword?”
“…?”
“Wait, maybe I was mistaken.”
Gi Woong lifted his head to look at the sky.
“It’s just that lightning struck out of nowhere. It’s divine retribution. It’s punishment for someone who has been drooling over lovers, trying to separate those who genuinely love each other!”
Gi Woong raised his hands towards the heavens and extended his condolences to the charcoal figure of Hong Ik.
“May you think twice in your next life before trying to take another’s lover; live a life where you win the heart of an unclaimed woman.”
“…It seems like he deserves divine punishment.”
Namgung pointed with a firm expression at something fallen beside Hong Ik.
“Isn’t that… Spring Medicine?”
* * *
“If those after Mo Yong Soja in the central plains were to use Spring Medicine, I should prepare my mind and strengthen my resistance to it.”
“Um, sir…?”
“Mo Yong Soja.”
I slightly opened the paper bag containing the Spring Medicine.
“Normally, one should build up resistance to such things. How about trying to train a bit?”
“…That.”
Mo Yongseol gazed at me with half-dreamy eyes and a faint smile.
“Maybe if I get addicted, what will happen to me…?”
“Don’t worry. I’m a physician; I can help.”
I planned to confirm directly through Mo Yongseol.
“Let’s see just how much they might spiral out of control because of Spring Medicine; it’s time for a little experiment.”
First, it seems we need to build some resistance so she doesn’t feel the effects of the medicine.
It’s certainly not because I want to see Mo Yongseol unravel under the influence of Spring Medicine.
‘But really…’
I’m a man.
A man just wants to see the new side of the woman he loves, so why make excuses?