NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
The sun sets and rises again.
It’s been about two days since Yu Giyeon’s caretaker, Tang Yu-ri, revealed her identity. I was keeping a close eye on things, wondering if there would be any significant movements in that time, but unfortunately, Purple Sword Gate showed no particular activity.
“What a disappointment.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I brought them here on purpose.”
“Huh?”
Mo Yongseol’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Bringing them here on purpose… that sounds significant.”
“Of course it is. Purple Sword Gate is a rather peculiar place.”
What could I hide?
“Purple Sword Gate is a puppet of the Demon Cult.”
“…Huh?”
Purple Sword Gate is a lackey of the Demon Cult.
“To be precise, they are spies planted by the Demon Cult all over the Central Plains. They appear to be an upright faction on the surface, but in reality, they are foolish people shouting ‘Long live the Heavenly Demon, bless us all!'”
“Uh, uh-huh…”
“I was deliberately keeping this from Mo Yongseol because I didn’t want to talk about uncomfortable things. Honestly, I’ve been watching them, knowing full well what they’re doing to come in like this.”
I pointed aside.
“Without knowing that one of those spies has already betrayed them.”
“Haha.”
Tang Yu-ri, Yu Giyeon’s caretaker dressed like a pharmacist, smiled awkwardly.
“Betrayal? I never even thought of them as allies to begin with.”
“Uh, well…”
“I’m sorry, young lady. Their actions were so pitiful and their delays so frustrating that we decided to act first.”
“So then… the Sickness of Absolute Meridians is a lie…?”
“No, the Sickness of Absolute Meridians is real. It’s just that the ‘sect with a woman suffering from Sickness of Absolute Meridians’ was one of the Demon Cult’s puppets.”
In fact, while there are several sects with ties to the Demon Cult near Mo Yong Family, Purple Sword Gate was the only one that had a patient with Sickness of Absolute Meridians.
“Then why did you bring them in…?”
“I was observing how the Demon Cult would respond to this situation.”
Creeek.
As the door opened, a new guest arrived at the Medical Hall.
“Uncle!”
“Yes, Seol-ah. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other while being in the same estate.”
Mo Yong Family’s secondary leader, Mo Yongsan, entered the Medical Hall’s third floor.
“First, I must apologize. Without your knowledge, our family has been responding independently to Purple Sword Gate, but now it seems we must act first, so I wanted to ask for your understanding.”
“Understanding?”
“Yes. As Physician Seok mentioned…”
“I’m sorry, Deputy Leader. I didn’t mention anything separately.”
“Oh, really?”
Mo Yongsan scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“To put it simply, our family’s guards are doing such a good job that they can’t move.”
“…Huh?”
“Ordinarily, schemes need an opening to begin, but they haven’t been able to find a gap to move.”
Mo Yongsan lamented sincerely, seemingly incredulous.
“The status of the Demon Cult has fallen to the ground. Of course, our Mo Yong Family’s warriors are quite exceptional on average, but to think they won’t move even with a demon in the guise of a righteous person and their daughter added to the family.”
“…You knew about such people while allowing them in, right under your nose?”
Mo Yongseol glared at Mo Yongsan with a cold expression.
“That’s dangerous…!”
“It’s not dangerous.”
Mo Yongsan pointed out the window, indicating the blue swords hung there like laundry.
“Your brother—your father—has always been watching this place, hasn’t he?”
“Oh.”
“Of course, they don’t know that your brother is watching in real-time. But regardless of their ignorance, I wish they would start moving soon, yet they haven’t budged at all.”
Mo Yongsan turned his gaze toward me.
“So, it seems we need to create a crisis intentionally. If we don’t give them an opening, they will continue to play the role of patients and just sit there.”
“…….”
“I’m counting on you, nephew-in-law.”
He called me “nephew-in-law.”
“Deputy Leader, as a member of Mo Yong Family, I will make choices that benefit Mo Yong. If that is the method, I will follow through.”
“Good. In that sense…”
Mo Yongsan’s gaze moved to the woman, Tang Yu-ri, who had been silently watching.
“Hey, the disciple of the Demon Doctor.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. This is just my prediction.”
He looked back and forth between Tang Yu-ri and me.
“You came here to betray the Demon Cult and stick to my nephew-in-law, right?”
“To Physician Seok?”
“Betraying Purple Sword Gate, betraying the Demon Cult, and trying to sweep up the women around Physician Seok like picking up breadcrumbs, aren’t you?”
“…Ehe.”
Tang Yu-ri smiled bashfully.
“I’m not trying to take everything, but…”
“I know who you’re targeting.”
“……!!”
It seemed there had been some sort of telepathic exchange.
Seeing Tang Yu-ri’s surprise, it was evident.
“Uh… who are you referring to…?”
Mo Yongseol tried to ask discreetly, but neither Tang Yu-ri nor Mo Yongsan spoke up.
Slither.
So, I moved the hand that was resting on Mo Yongseol’s back to secretly indicate the answer.
– To take revenge on the father who abandoned me, I will show my mother and younger sisters being poisoned in front of him. Until then… I can’t die.
Well, abandoned children tend to have twisted emotions in various ways, but among them, Tang Yu-ri was particularly driven by revenge.
So why did she decide to align with us?
“…What do you say, disciple of the Demon Doctor?”
“Sounds good. I’m grateful.”
The answer was surprisingly simple.
While aiming for revenge against the Four Heavenly Families is one matter, there’s another reason. The poison from her master, the ‘Demon Doctor,’ has no effect on Mo Yong Family.
‘My master has figured out the antidote to every poison made by the Demon Doctor.’
She even concocted an antidote for new poisons made by the Demon Doctor in a blink of an eye.
And I am the disciple who inherited all that pharmacology from such a master.
If there was a way for the Demon Doctor to poison her master, it would probably be only one.
– Disciple. This master doesn’t know the antidote for Spring Medicine either. Spring Medicine is a kind of ‘law of this world.’
There is no medicine that can counter the Spring Medicine.
To be exact, while it’s possible to create a ‘supplement’ that shortens the effect of Spring Medicine or relieves pain when it’s active, there is nothing that can fully neutralize it.
“Good. Then, let’s start preparing. We’ll loosen the defenses to let them move. That, nephew-in-law?”
Mo Yongsan alternated his gaze between me and Mo Yongseol.
“Right now, nephew, you’re completely immune to Spring Medicine, correct?”
“Yes… that has happened.”
“Exactly. Even if someone poured Spring Medicine on me, I have become someone who cannot be poisoned by it.”
Mo Yongseol firmly held onto my arm while smiling brightly.
“At this moment, that’s the kind of body I have.”
* * *
[Outside Mo Yong Family, at a certain restaurant.]
Here, a group of people gathered at a restaurant after leaving Mo Yong Family. There was only one man among them, and the majority were young women, seated around a large circular table, while a middle-aged man sat in the seat furthest from the door.
“Everyone, thanks for your hard work getting into Mo Yong Family.”
The leader of Purple Sword Gate, Yu Gwain. He had called the several women as caretakers for his daughter, Yu Giyeon, who was currently residing at Mo Yong Family.
“You all haven’t learned martial arts. That’s why you were able to enter Mo Yong Family.”
“Yes, Lord.”
The caretakers answered with their heads bowed. Among them was a woman with an expressionless face, ‘Yu-ri.’
“It’s time to reveal our true colors. I’m going to give you a command.”
Yu Gwain placed paper bags in front of each of the caretakers.
“Tonight, we will pour Spring Medicine in the Medical Hall.”
“Excuse me?”
“Open the paper bag.”
Following Yu Gwain’s instruction, the caretakers cautiously opened the bags.
“What is this…?”
“This is a Dan-hwan. It contains powdered Spring Medicine.”
The off-white powder looked as if it had some oil on it, resembling finely crafted porcelain.
“Don’t worry. It was made using agar powder. It’s safe to consume.”
Yu Gwain took out a Dan-hwan and chewed it, swallowing it.
“This way, the medicine will flow out from inside. What I just ate doesn’t contain any poison. I did this to prove in case anyone among you had doubts.”
If someone were to ask why a leader of Purple Sword Gate would go to such lengths to demonstrate,
“I know there’s a disciple of the Demon Doctor mixed among you. Though I am the leader of Purple Sword Gate, it’s only right to show proper respect to a disciple of the Demon Doctor.”
Yu Gwain pressed his two hands together and made a fist.
“Please, help me. So that my daughter can take Physician Seok.”
As Yu Gwain bowed his head, those in the room began to exchange anxious glances.
“Uh, uh, sir. A disciple of the Demon Doctor? We are merely…”
“We’re just the minions of the Demon Cult. How could there possibly be a disciple of the Demon Doctor among us?”
One shocking truth. All the caretakers gathered in this small banquet hall, and Yu Gwain himself were all minions of the Demon Cult.
Purple Sword Gate is one of the branches of the Demon Cult disguised under the White Path of the Martial World, and the caretakers they summoned from Purple Sword Gate were all members of the Demon Cult.
The reason these people hadn’t been revealed as members of the Demon Cult until now is that they hadn’t learned any martial arts of the Demon Cult.
Despite this, they still followed the Demon Cult because they shared the same goal.
“I’m sorry, but I have a disciple of the Demon Doctor. You who said that may also be one of them, and really… even if you are a disciple of the Demon Doctor, our given task remains the same.”
Yu Gwain pointed at the Dan-hwan in front of him with a serious expression.
“Swallow it. And after you’ve entered the inner sanctum of Mo Yong Family…”
Yu Gwain raised a glass filled with liquor and scattered it forward.
“This way, it will look like someone sprinkled Spring Medicine.”
“Spring Medicine…”
“I have one question to ask.”
Caretaker Yu-ri raised her hand.
“What is the reason for wanting to abduct Physician Seok?”
“That is.”
Yu Gwain’s voice deepened, sounding heavy.
“On a personal level, it’s because my daughter has fallen for Seok Muwol.”
“What?”
“I don’t understand why they would fall… Sigh.”
Yu Gwain’s sigh was deep.
“Your roles are significant. Release the Spring Medicine. With the Spring Medicine in your belly and breath to scatter, cause anyone nearby the Medical Hall of Mo Yong Family to fall into a stupor.”
“And what will happen to us?”
“Heavily intoxicated with Spring Medicine, run at the guards of Mo Yong Family.”
“What?”
“We can’t suppress them with martial arts, but we can with pity.”
Yu Gwain scanned the caretakers.
“Do you know why I specifically gathered you ‘young women’?”
“Uh…”
“If a young woman intoxicated with Spring Medicine runs in for a hug, even the finest warriors of Mo Yong Family would surely get disarmed.”
Yu Gwain formed a ring with one hand and poked the other finger through it.
“While you hold them off 1:1, I will infiltrate the Medical Hall and…”
Whoosh.
“I’ll abduct Seok Muwol. Then…”
Yu Gwain.
“I will confine him underground and continue to create Extreme Yang Reversal. No one will know.”
“…….”
He was serious.
“That.”
Caretaker Yu-ri asked once more.
“With what confidence?”
“Well, obviously, they don’t know I’m still a minion of the Demon Cult, nor do they know I’m going to steal Seok Muwol!”
Yu Gwain was sincere.
“Before my ‘Flying Shadow Steps,’ even the world’s Sword Saint must take a step back!”