The Eldest Daughter of the Sichuan Tang Clan Protects Her Family

“To hold yin qi and yang qi at the same time is a dangerous thing. If by mistake the cold cannot be drawn out… Myungdan won’t be able to endure it.”
“Yes. It’s a finicky matter. But I think Zhenren Wu So can do it.”
Sohwa did not explain further. Wu So would know inner-force manipulation far better than she. Few handled internal energy as well as an elder of a prestigious sect. She also believed Wu So could expel heat from himself if necessary.
In any case, Myungdan was not dead yet; the heat was not enough to kill him outright.
(Of course, extracting even this much heat would be painful and his body would need time to recover.)
Sohwa had no need to press further. Wu So made the decision.
He took the leaf Sohwa had held in her hand.
At that movement the Tang martial artists, led by Hanwon, all stepped back, and Tang Hak carefully supported the Divine Physician’s arm and led him toward the clan hall. The Branch Head, however, stepped forward.
“I will stand guard,” the Branch Head said.
Wu So cast him a glance. Seeing the still-honed look in Wu So’s eyes, the Branch Head gave a bitter smile.
“All right. If I stay, you’ll be more uneasy. Fetch those outside.”
“Very well. Please watch from there.”
For the first time Wu So showed trust in the Branch Head, but that was his last word. He examined Myungdan’s body and immediately put the Binggeukjicho in his mouth.
It was surely a quiet room, but Sohwa heard a tearing wind sound.
A gale of cold struck like a typhoon and stung her cheek. The suppressed internal energy had exploded as Wu So began to gather qi in his dantian.
Wu So’s surged True Qi flared hot and attacked the incoming cold, showing violent rejection. Sohwa’s brow twitched. Even observing was enough to make her skin feel as if it would tear; she could only imagine the agony of one who housed a storm within his body.
Yet on the surface Wu So’s expression was composed. He let the tempestuous qi within him collide as it would. He did not force it down or push it to one side. He only opened meridian passages a little to widen the way so the two forces could fight more comfortably.
The neglected heat slowly rode up over the cold. The moment the heat entirely climbed onto the cold, balance miraculously came.
Wu So seized that instant and pushed only the cold that had settled into Myungdan’s body. The heat twitched belatedly, but because the cold had all cleanly evacuated it calmed immediately.
Myungdan’s body convulsed from the sudden cold. Wu So opened his own qi-blood again and pushed a very small amount of warm internal energy in. It was a trace of warmth, but because that warmth chased after the cold, the cold began to run away quickly.
Binggeukjicho’s cold diligently sprinted through Myungdan’s meridians. As Sohwa had said, the heat that had been hiding in Myungdan’s organs began to slither out. The escaping heat clung straight to the qi-blood.
The chilled meridians slowly drew the heat in. The moment the heat entered the meridians it chased the cold. Naturally, the rate of qi circulation accelerated. The air currents around the meridians also intensified.
The heat that had permeated the organs was drawn out one by one with ease. The moment Myungdan’s heat brushed Wu So’s fingertips, Wu So opened his qi-blood and sucked the heat into himself.
Sohwa watched the whole flow. Inwardly she admired it. Though it had been her theory, she had not expected it to take so perfectly.
The one who actually succeeded did not relax; he repeated the process without letting his guard down. Contrary to his rugged exterior, Wu So continued delicate qi manipulations and gradually brought Myungdan’s heat into his own body.
Wu So’s body grew damp with sweat. Conversely, Myungdan’s complexion brightened and his breathing evened out. It was a truly astonishing change.
When no more heat could be drawn out, Wu So retrieved the remaining cold back into his body. Though his qi-blood had been somewhat spent from circulating through Myungdan’s conduits countless times, there was still a considerable reserve.
Yet worrying about a senior elder of a major sect was pointless. Wu So promptly gathered his qi-blood. After consolidating the rampant force within his body, he slowly removed his hands.
A breath passed through the room. Everyone exhaled breaths they had unconsciously held.
Wu So opened his eyes and checked Myungdan’s color at once. Relief spread across the elder of Mount Hua’s face as he looked upon his disciple. Myungdan’s face was unmistakably different from before. His skin had brightened to a yellowish tone, and his lips, which had been white and cracked, showed a faint return of color.
The Divine Physician who had been watching could not contain himself and rushed to Myungdan, hastily checking his condition.

“Ha.” The physician let out a hollow breath. “The body of a martial artist is wondrous every time I see it. Pulse and temperature have returned to normal. However, the organs were already damaged by heat once, so we must observe the course further.”
Hearing the Divine Physician’s words, Wu So’s face fully relaxed. He nodded and answered the physician’s diagnosis.
“Please take good care of him.”
“Yes, do not worry.”
Wu So rose from his seat. He nodded to the Shaanxi Branch Head with his eyes as he passed.
There was no sharpness in his manner. Was it his way of showing thanks?
‘He is a strange sort of man,’ Sohwa thought. She had assumed his youthful face—some twenty years younger than her memory—made him seem unfamiliar, but the Plum Blossom Swordsman before her was completely different from the Wu So she knew.
As Wu So passed the Branch Head he suddenly stopped in front of Sohwa. His huge body cast a shadow across the lantern, but unlike the gloomy air his voice was soft.
“Thank you.”
“Myungdan Daoist still cannot rise,” Sohwa replied.
Wu So tilted his mouth upon not receiving thanks.
“Still, you gave me Binggeukjicho and risked your clan’s secret being leaked.”
“Leaked… I have already clearly said I do not intend to leak it,” Sohwa frowned.
A dangerous thing to say. She knew what punishment the Tang Clan imposed on anyone who leaked clan secrets.
Seeing her scowl, Wu So let out a small laugh before he knew it. It was a light chuckle like a breeze, but it made him seem like a different man.
For a moment Sohwa glimpsed the Wu So in her memory.
“I was absent-minded and misspoke. In any case, it’s thanks to you.”
“…I will accept thanks when Myungdan Daoist wakes.”
It was uncomfortable that a man old enough to be her father kept offering formalities. When Sohwa again declined to accept thanks, Wu So straightened his posture with a smiling expression.
“I hope Myungdan opens his eyes soon.”
“With the Divine Physician here, he should wake soon,” Tang Hak replied as if to comfort Wu So, but Sohwa did not add anything. The crisis had passed but she could not relax. Now it truly depended on the patient’s resilience and the physician’s skills.
The Tang party stayed at the Shaanxi Branch to observe Myungdan’s condition. A few days later, news spread that Myungdan had finally opened his eyes and commotion erupted at the Shaanxi Branch.
***
“Myungdan! Myungdan!” Wu So shook Myungdan’s shoulder roughly, but Myungdan only stared blankly and could not push him away.
Wu So, whose face had been etched with tension, asked the Divine Physician beside him, “Why is he like this? Is there still heat remaining?”
The Divine Physician spoke with regret. “It seems the damaged organs have not recovered.”
The Divine Physician had given stimulants and employed every medical technique he knew, but Myungdan remained dazed and showed no reaction. It was as if his head had been struck by heat.
A young Plum Blossom Swordsman standing beside Wu So asked urgently, “Divine Physician, is there no other method? Couldn’t we try giving some elixir or something? Tell us any method. We’ll fetch it by hook or crook!”
The Divine Physician shook his head.
“I have never seen injuries caused by Heat Art before, so I cannot give a certain answer. I am sorry.”
Because the treatment was not something he had devised, the Divine Physician could not rashly propose an alternative. In truth, no method came to mind.
Silence filled the sunlit, warm room. The young Plum Blossom Swordsmen who were close to Myungdan twisted their faces and shed tears.
In that bleak atmosphere Wu So tried to collect his emotions. He roughly wiped his face with one hand and turned to the Branch Head.
“I will take Myungdan back to Mount Hua. He won’t be of help to the branch staying here.”
The Branch Head nodded. It did not mean they no longer needed him. It meant it would be better for Myungdan to return to the main mountain to focus on recovery.
Wu So was impatient by nature; as soon as the Branch Head gave permission he straightened Myungdan up.
“Elder, I will take him!”
The Mount Hua adepts waiting behind rushed forward as if at a signal to support Myungdan. Wu So, heading outside with them, paused and turned his head to the Divine Physician.
“By the way, where is Tang Sohwa?”
“The lady is in the Medical Division.”
Wu So narrowed his eyes a little and the Divine Physician let out a wry laugh. He realized what misunderstanding Wu So had entertained—that Sohwa had been sent to the Medical Division to steal the credit for saving Myungdan.
“Since arriving at the Shaanxi Branch, the lady has spent much time in the Medical Division. She likely intends to leave the treatment method should another such accident occur.”
At that, Wu So flinched slightly. His concern for his disciple had diverted his thoughts. The Blood Cult still openly roamed the Central Plains. There would surely be other victims.
Yet a child from another branch—or {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} a person not even part of the branch—had not missed it. Wu So felt ashamed that he had not seen that the young physician was more capable than many of the elders.
‘A member of another sect is also someone’s disciple and precious under the same law. I had not noticed those children were in danger.’
No, he need not think of other sects. Mount Hua adepts still remained at the Shaanxi Branch.
‘I have been thinking only of my own feelings…’ He felt the weight of his lack of cultivation. He cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment.
“How long will it take?”
“Yes. Since there are medicinal materials difficult to procure in the Shaanxi Branch, it appears she has been discussing treatment with the Medical Division’s head daily. Also, opinions differ on how to divide the Binggeukjicho, so the talks have not easily ended.”
The Divine Physician let out a small sigh, unusual for him.
“The lady thought the Hubei Branch was also in danger and wanted to distribute Binggeukjicho to that branch and others, but the Medical Division head insisted on an unreasonable request….”
“Unreasonable?”
“Yes. She said one leaf would suffice and wanted to keep three leaves, but the Medical Division head insists on producing the whole root intact in exchange for payment, so the discussion has dragged.”
“Tang Sohwa’s point is reasonable, but did the thing not appear in Shaanxi? You must pursue it, so three leaves are insufficient. We can pay any price—tell her to stop worrying the lady.”
The Branch Head interjected. It seemed he had already been briefed by the Medical Division head.
The Divine Physician answered with a troubled face.
“But that is the lady’s property; I cannot presume to speak for her.”
“Three leaves are sufficient. Tell Tang Sohwa not to worry.”
At Wu So’s words the Branch Head frowned, but before he could reply Wu So answered.
“I will secure the Binggeukjicho. You may pay me the price.”
“That is not an easy thing. It is said to be rare even in the North Sea. How can you be sure?”
“I believe the lady received the Binggeukjicho from Heukcheon Amgui.”
“Huh?”
The Divine Physician asked in surprise at Wu So’s words; Wu So smiled bitterly.
“I think I know the channel through which Heukcheon Amgui procured Binggeukjicho. So, Branch Head, do not trouble the young lady further.”
The Branch Head’s face hardened at the impudence, but he did not add anything. In truth, he was inwardly relieved—he had been hesitant to ask the helper for all the spoils, so Wu So’s offer to retrieve Binggeukjicho had been welcome.
Wu So paid no heed to the Branch Head’s inner change of mind. He turned directly to the Divine Physician and asked what he most wanted to know.
“Then may the lady now leave the Medical Division?”