Return of the Mount Hua Sect

A day went by, then two days, and still, things didn’t get any better.

“Soso.”

Baek Cheon looked at her, his face filled with worry.

“Get some rest.”

“I am fine, Sasuk.”

“If the one who heals a person falls first, those who remain are bound to die.”

“…”

“If you’re not fine, the sick won’t survive.”

“… then just a little bit more.”

Seeing his sajil desperately trying to heal people, Baek Cheon couldn’t hide his sadness.

In the makeshift infirmary inside the largest house in the village, the sickest patients and children lay unconscious. And Tang Soso watched over them without a break.

She administered medicine and inserted acupuncture needles without rest. However, their condition didn’t improve so easily.

Clack.

At that moment, the door opened, and Chung Myung entered with Hae Yeon.

“There wasn’t anything unusual around us.”

“Are you sure?”

“There was nothing except snow. Oh, and ice too.”

“….”

She looked at Hae Yeon in case he had something to say, but he sighed with a heavy expression.

“I’ve been searching everywhere, but I couldn’t find anything that could be the cause of it.”

Tang Soso let out a deep sigh.

“Now.”

Chung Myung stepped forward and offered her the bowl he was carrying.

“What is this?”

“The medicine that was made a little while ago.”

“… for everyone to take.”

“No. You have to eat it. You.”

“….”

“You look like the sickest person here. So you eat.”

“It’s fine….”

“Eat it!”

“Eat it!”

“Listen to me and eat it!”

When her sahyung and sajae yelled at her with fiery eyes, Tang Soso flinched and took the medicine bowl.

“I-I will eat it.”

And she swallowed it all at once.

“… smack.”

She stuck her tongue out and looked at them, confused. They hadn’t slept in the past two days since they and Tang Soso had stayed up all night working for the people.

It felt really silly, but… this was her strength.

Baek Cheon, sitting in front of Tang Soso, quietly spoke up.

“Right; anything to point out?”

Tang Soso shook her head.

“I don’t know yet.”

“… then any guesses?”

“Yes. I had never seen anything like that in the Central Plains.”

“Hmmm.”

Yoon Jong’s face turned serious.

“If you don’t know the disease, wouldn’t it be tough to treat it?”

“… It is a disease, but they aren’t in a good state. Even those with symptoms were severely starved.”

“…”

“Is this a disease caused by an unhealthy body? I don’t know if they were even well because the body is already sick till the end.”

“For now, we are using porridge from the grain we brought and giving it to them, so those who are conscious will feel a bit better.”

“That is nice….”

Tang Soso was speechless as she covered her face with both hands.

‘Why am I this incompetent?’

She felt like crying out in helplessness.

If she had known it would be like this, she would have studied medicine more diligently. The situation would have been very different if only her father had been here.

No, it was obvious that if there was at least one physician with better skill than her, this wouldn’t have been such a helpless situation.

“Stop blaming yourself.”

A cold voice resonated in her ears.

When she looked up, Chung Myung stared at her intently.

“If it doesn’t come to fruition even after you’ve done everything, it’s not your responsibility.”

“…”

“On the contrary, you can indulge in self-reproach after you’ve done your best. Did you really give your all here?”

“… No, senior. Not… yet, no.”

“Right. Then think about it when it’s the right time to blame yourself. Don’t overlook any details. Self-reproach relieves the mind, but regret lingers for a long time. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

“Yes.”

Tang Soso bit her lip and nodded. But it didn’t change anything at that moment.

The disciples of Mount Hua observed her and then started discussing their opinions.

“An epidemic?”

“The village chief said he’s never seen a disease like this before.”

“Then, did the Demonic Sect really purposefully spread this?”

“Uh… I don’t think so.”

“Huh?”

Everyone turned to Chung Myung.

“They’re not that clever or skilled at such things. They’re just insane people.”

“…”

They didn’t know why, but his words felt trustworthy for some reason. Did crazy people recognize crazy people?

“Then what is…”

At that time, Yu Yiseol, who was listening, began to speak.

“No, plague.”

“Huh?”

Baek Cheon asked as he looked back at Yu Yiseol.

“Samae, what do you mean?”

“Plague means that disease would spread more among the weak.”

“Right.”

“Chief, was fine.”

Baek Cheon’s eyes widened at those words.

‘Come to think of it…’

The old man, the village chief, looked frail, so it wouldn’t be strange for him to collapse first. But he didn’t appear to be ill.

How could the frail old man avoid it if it was a plague?

“Come to think of it, some old people were fine.”

Everyone nodded.

Baek Cheon looked at Yu Yiseol in shock.

‘She didn’t seem interested in other people.’

Meanwhile, it seemed like she was closely observing her surroundings.

“If… so, did the old men have something in common?”

“I don’t know that.”

But then Chung Myung said,

“Uh? I think I might know.”

“What?”

Baek Cheon turned his head around so fast that it might break. This was more surprising than the fact that Yu Yiseol was observant. That Chung Myung was paying attention to something like this.

“What?”

“We’re talking about old people not getting sick, right?”

“Right!”

“They’re wealthy!”

“Uh?”

Chung Myung grinned and made a circle with his fingers.

“A lot of money. In this village.”

“….”

Emotions drained from Baek Cheon’s face.

‘Right, right.’

‘It’s my fault for expecting anything.’

‘I wanted to have hope.’

Everyone gave up hope for Chung Myung.

“W-what’s with your expression?”

“No.”

“Amitabha. Who was to blame? Pigs only saw pigs with their pig eyes.”

“Then, everyone looks bald in your eyes? Uh?”

“A-amitabha! This man!”

“Not my business!”

Everyone shrugged off Chung Myung’s words.

However, Tang Soso was the only one who didn’t let those words go.

“… they’re rich?”

“Yes. They seem to be living well. Right, this is a village, but…”

“… wait.”

Tang Soso muttered to herself.

“Being rich means having a lot to eat. Then nutrition… No, if this is because of starvation, I should see improvement with medicine and porridge….”

Then, as if something came to her mind, she looked up.

“W-wait, that!”

“Uh?”

The villager, who was in good condition, the lady helping around the infirmary, looked.

“In this village, everyone had their doors locked when we came.”

“Yes, right.”

“Has that been since this disease was known?”

“No. It wasn’t like that. It was that way before too.”

“Why?”

“… people were disappearing, and there were rumors about demons in black roaming outside, so everyone has been refraining from going outside for several months.”

“How many months back? And before that?”

“Before that, as usual….”

“W-what about the food?”

“It’s winter now, so I’m managing with dried meat and the grains we’ve stored.”

Tang Soso looked shocked.

“T-this…?”

She slowly revealed her face, looking blank, and felt a sense of absurdity.

Baek Cheon asked a little quickly.

“You thought of something?”

“… I did think, but… is this right?”

“Huh?”

Tang Soso jumped up and looked at the details of the patients again.

“… right, right, ah, this? Why this?”

Examining the patients’ bodies one after another, she continued to look puzzled.

“Sasuk.”

“Uh?”

“This isn’t a disease that was caught, but the symptoms are similar, right?”

“What are you talking about! Speak straight!”

“This… this is a pulmonary disease.”

“Uh?”

Baek Cheon tilted his head.

Pulmonary meant lung…

“Ah!”

But Jo Gul jumped up as if he had noticed something.

“Ah, no! Uh? Why that!”

“Right?”

“…. Why?”

Baek Cheon was frustrated with the two of them constantly asking questions about what and why.

“What is this! Let us all be surprised together!”

“Sasuk! It’s a lung disease!”

“So what about it?”

“The disease that someone gets from staying closed up for a long time!”

“… is there something like that?”

Jo Gul pounded his chest in frustration and said,

“It is a disease that elders get when they are stuck in the same place where the most prestigious family decides to isolate themselves for training! Like a ghost, they become lethargic, their noses start bleeding, and their teeth fall out from their gums!”

“…the exact same symptoms?”

“But this is known to people who train in medicine, so what’s the big deal…?”

Baek Cheon looked at Yoon Jong, confused. Yoon Jong looked just as puzzled. The two exchanged glances and nodded.

‘I have no idea what they’re talking about.’

‘I should just stay quiet.’

Whether or not they were aware of their emotions, Tang Soso and Jo Gul began a heated conversation.

“But what about this lung disease? It only appears in warriors, right? Especially the young ones who undergo secluded training.”

“No, no. If you think about it, the old person closing the door might not be sick because they’re warriors.”

“Ah, right! But these people didn’t learn martial arts!”

At that moment, Chung Myung tilted his head as if he had come up with something.

“That’s a disease?”

“Yes! It’s also known as sect disease.”

“Why?”

“Is there any place other than family sects or similar institutions where they pile up things like wheat pills and beef jerky and stay indoors for years? It’s a disease that only affects the later generations of prestigious families….”

“Ah… that’s quite a disease.”

Chung Myung gazed out the window with a pensive expression.

‘It really is like that.’

Sorry, my sajaes…

I didn’t know…

“Shouldn’t I have said that?”

No matter how much he tried to say it, there was no way that Chung Myung could have said it.

“Well, that isn’t important. So, is there a cure?”

“Yes! And it is very simple.”

“What?”

“Vegetables!”

“… Uh?”

Tang Soso’s face was now overflowing with joy.

“This disease is dangerous enough to kill a person, but the treatment is so easy! You can feed them fresh veggies, raw food, and fruit!”

“Ah… is that all?”

“Yes! Treatment is quite simple. They should get better after eating.”

“… but the vegetables are medicine?”

“People who came out and ate just the meat to take care of themselves are close to dead.”

“….”

He didn’t even know it…

A little guilt crossed his face.

“I don’t know if the disease is the same, but it was worth a try!”

Tang Soso exclaimed in an excited voice. It was worth the excitement because it was the moment when the worries were resolved.

However, the face of Chung Myung, who heard that was unmatched.

“Ah, is that so?”

“Yes!”

“But how do you get vegetables in here?”

Tang Soso nodded her head and then tilted it.

“… Uh?”

Chung Myung pointed outside with his chin.

“This winter?”

“….”

“In this snow field?”

“…”

“If you went to the Central Plains and came back, everyone would be dead here, right?”

“….”

Tang Soso’s eyes shook violently.

“Ah, No….”

It might be better to hunt a tiger here. Where could one find enough vegetables in the North Sea to feed so many sick people?

The mountaintop that she had been searching for was suddenly hidden underground.

No, it was better when they didn’t know about the disease. What could be more hopeless than knowing a cure but not being able to use it?

“No. It can’t be like this…”

Tang Soso muttered with a devastated expression as Yu Yiseol spoke.

“Again.”

“… huh?”

“Cure, again.”

Tang Soso looked at her with empty eyes and whispered.

“Vegetables and fruits.”

“What else?”

“Huh?”

“You said something more. You said it.”

Tang Soso tilted her head and looked surprised.

“Raw food!”

“Right!”

Tang Soso looked wide-eyed.

Since lung disease was a condition only known by members of certain families and physicians, it was difficult for regular people to guess its true nature. However, as someone from a prestigious family, she should know.

Most of them were treated with vegetables and fruits, so she simply forgot about raw food.

“I… I said raw food…”

“It’s there.”

Yu Yiseol pointed beyond the window.

The lake.

A vast lake of the North Sea stretched out.

“Fish is a form of raw food. Unless it’s baked.”

“Ah!”

Everyone turned their heads at once.

In response to their gaze, Chung Myung smiled.

“Chung Myung!”

“Go and catch them quickly!”

“Many! As many as possible!”

“And they need to be fresh, so catch them alive, okay!”

Chung Myung gazed up at the ceiling, his face bright with anticipation.

‘Sahyung, sect leader sahyung.’

These little idiots just ordered me around so easily; what was I supposed to do now?

Was Mount Hua returning?

-Don’t waste time; hurry up and catch those fish!

… ah sahyung, just see if I end up in heaven.

I’m definitely going to pull out your beard.

Absolutely!