Chapter 167
He stalled for a long while before finally looking away from me and slowly opening his mouth.
“My health hasn’t been good. Whenever I draw on demonic energy, it gets hard to stay in control. I’ve been trying to restrain myself, but...”
Yeon Ryang let out a labored breath before forcing out the rest.
“I can only come back to my senses after I see blood.”
“...What does that mean?”
“...”
Yeon Ryang hesitated, seemingly unsure how to explain it, then fell silent. Jinseong answered in his place.
“It is a side effect of the demonic arts. He grew strong quickly by defying the natural order, and now his body is deteriorating just as quickly for having violated it.”
“I... don’t understand.”
“There is only one end for a demonic practitioner who fails to transcend demonic influence, Miss Tang. The demonic energy devours them, and they become a murderous ghost incapable of distinguishing friend from foe. The Martial Alliance does not hunt members of the Demonic Sect without reason. The moment a demonic practitioner loses his reason, he turns into a monster that will not stop killing until he dies.”
It took me a moment to understand what Jinseong was saying. Each word seemed to scatter apart, reaching me from somewhere impossibly far away.
When I finally pieced them together, my lips began to tremble.
Then those times his eyes had turned red even when he was doing nothing...
“D-Did this start before we went to the Alliance?”
“It wasn’t as bad then.”
“If it wasn’t as bad, that means there were already signs! Why—why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Had removing the poison parasite so recklessly caused this? Or had suppressing his inner force for so long made it worse?
No. I should never have let his blood and energy remain twisted in the first place. We should never have gone to the Alliance.
I had been careless. I should have realized the moment anything seemed strange. I should never have forgotten that Yeon Ryang always tried to bear everything alone.
“Miss Tang.”
“There’s a way, isn’t there? There’s a way to make him better, right?”
“Miss Tang, please calm yourself.”
Jinseong rested a hand lightly over the back of mine and met my eyes, speaking in a calm voice.
“There is a way. My master summoned him because the condition can still be reversed.”
“Wh-What do we have to do? How do we fix it?”
“At Wudang, there are also—”
“Young Daoist. Could you move back a little?”
“Ah. My apologies.”
Startled by Yeon Ryang’s curt interruption, Jinseong withdrew his hand and stepped back. Then he resumed in his usual measured tone.
“Wudang possesses records left by ancestors who were once consumed by demonic energy.”
“What kind of records? Are there cases where they recovered?”
“I cannot disclose the details. But my master said there is a method. Therefore, one must exist.”
His clear, pale-gray eyes shone with unwavering faith in his master.
At the words there is a method, my blurred vision slowly began to clear.
Never had I found greater comfort in the fact that Jinseong was incapable of saying something he did not mean.
I slowly steadied my breathing.
If Yeon Ryang’s body truly was deteriorating, this was no time to waste energy on panic. We needed a solution as quickly as possible.
Trying to remain calm, I seized his arm.
“Come here, Brother. Let me examine you.”
Stay calm. Calmly... Damn it.
Despite all my efforts to think rationally, the moment I took his pulse, a curse slipped from my mouth.
His energy channels were twisted into such a tangled mess that his inner force could barely circulate.
It hadn’t been this bad when we left the Alliance... I thought I had cleared all the stagnant blood. When had it become tangled again? Had encountering those members of the Demonic Sect triggered it?
“Th-The healing pills. Take a healing pill first.”
I bit my lip and hurriedly pulled one from my robe, but Yeon Ryang shook his head.
“Later.”
“We can’t leave you like this! Your body is—”
“The young Daoist is right there. Later.”
Yeon Ryang cut me off with a wave of his hand. He seemed to be telling me not to reveal the full state of his body in front of Jinseong.
I could not answer. As I stood there breathing harshly, Yeon Ryang winked and brought his hands together in supplication.
“I’ll take it later. I promise. I won’t even complain about the medicinal broth, so let me off for now.”
“As if that needs saying. Tomorrow, you’re not getting out of the Hundred-Herb Bath.”
“Yikes. That seems a little cruel.”
He joked with the same easy expression he always wore.
That only made it hurt more.
He was so used to swallowing everything alone. It made me feel as though I still was not someone he could rely on.
Rubbing my forehead, I forced myself to think positively. The fact that he had told me at all was already tremendous progress.
When I remained silent, Yeon Ryang watched me cautiously and asked,
“Are you very angry?”
“You told me, so it’s fine.”
“I figured I’d be in serious trouble if I hid it again and made the decision on my own.”
“At least you know.”
At my grumbling reply, Yeon Ryang looked away and casually changed the subject.
“Still, I didn’t know Taoists dabbled in demonic arts too.”
“Considering their power, it is hardly surprising. Every martial artist desires to reach a higher realm.”
Yeon Ryang looked taken aback by Jinseong’s matter-of-fact reply.
“Are you allowed to admit that so readily? It’s a disgrace to your sect.”
“Every group will inevitably produce those who fall to greed and corruption. Rather than conceal a shameful precedent, it is better to acknowledge the fault and remain vigilant so the same mistake is not repeated.”
“...What a strange man.”
Jinseong paid no attention to his baffled response. Instead, he took something out and held it toward him.
It was a small jade ornament.
“My master instructed me to give you this. It will conceal your demonic energy.”
Yeon Ryang’s brow furrowed at the clear energy contained within the jade, but he accepted it without protest and tucked it into his robe.
Apparently, he had no intention of antagonizing Jinseong as he had before.
Jinseong looked between the two of us and asked gently,
“Would you like some time to speak privately?”
“Yes. Could you give us a moment?”
“Of course. I will return in half an hour.”
Jinseong bowed and turned away. Just then, Cane came scampering out of nowhere, climbed onto the top of Jinseong’s foot, and chirped in recognition.
“Kii?”
Jinseong turned to me in confusion.
“M-Miss Tang? The sable has come to me.”
“It probably remembers you and wants to say hello. You can take it with you.”
“I... understand.”
Still looking unsure what to do, Jinseong awkwardly scooped up Cane and withdrew.
I let out a sigh, dragged Yeon Ryang into the room, and demanded,
“The Sword Immortal came back while I didn’t know, didn’t he? What exactly did the two of you discuss?”
“Nothing important.”
“If it truly were nothing important, Daoist Jinseong wouldn’t have come all this way. You didn’t make some strange bargain, did you? You didn’t agree to infiltrate the Demonic Sect as a spy, or become an experiment for the demonic arts, or anything like that?”
“What? Hahaha! No, definitely not. My little sister really does have a wild imagination.”
Yeon Ryang burst out laughing and shook his head vigorously.
“He truly didn’t say much. You experienced it yourself, Sohae. Ordinary people like us can never understand what goes on in the minds of old masters. I suppose something about me happened to catch his interest, though I have no idea why.”
“...I can’t deny that.”
Grandfather had been the same at first, and so had the Divine Physician of Ghost Hands. Both had acted as though they might kill me at any moment, only to soften without warning and begin treating me kindly.
I accepted his explanation, but that did nothing to ease my concern. I looked up at Yeon Ryang with a grave expression.
“Even so... Last time, merely spending a few days with Daoist Jinseong was difficult for you. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
“The young Daoist said I wouldn’t have to encounter any of the other Taoists. He may be irritating, but he isn’t the sort to lie. We can trust him. A foul mood is better than being devoured by demonic energy.”
Yeon Ryang shrugged and added casually,
“Going to Wudang will be good for you too, Sohae. Opportunities to observe Wudang’s swordsmanship up close are rare, you know. You’re not planning to send your brother alone, are you? Now that our guide has arrived, we should go.”
Though he pretended to sound cheerful, he had clearly already decided to follow Jinseong.
After hesitating, I slowly nodded.
*****
Jinseong waited in silence until we were ready to leave the safe house.
He must have found lodging nearby, because he would disappear in the evening, then return at sunrise to help prepare meals for the village children.
“Daoist Jinseong, you’ve gotten good at washing dishes.”
Unlike the first day, when everything had seemed awkward to him, he now scrubbed the pot with practiced ease. At my admiration, Jinseong looked faintly embarrassed and scrubbed even harder.
“Will you be departing today?”
“Yes. I think we can leave now. That man finally looks somewhat human again.”
Only after feeding Yeon Ryang medicinal broth morning and evening, soaking him in the Hundred-Herb Bath for several hours at a time, and covering him with needles from crown to toe twice a day had his pulse begun to resemble that of a human being.
“Sohae. Can your brother come out now? I can’t tell whether this is a bath or a coffin.”
“No. Lie still until Daoist Jinseong and I bring back a carriage.”
But remaining motionless in the bath seemed unbearable to him, and he complained about it every day.
Naturally, I ignored him.
“Your brother’s legs aren’t broken. I have no trouble walking.”
“No. Stay still unless you want me to break them.”
“...”
“I’ll be back. Watch the house with Cane. Let’s go, Daoist Jinseong.”
Leaving the speechless Yeon Ryang behind, I departed the safe house with Jinseong. We intended to find a carriage that could carry him as far as Jun County.
The moment we descended the mountain and entered the village, however, piercing gazes converged on me.
“That green robe... Could she be...?”
“It certainly appears so. The one from the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild...”
People stared at my green robe and whispered among themselves with peculiar expressions.
What was this? Did the people around here hate the Tang Clan?
I was just beginning to hunch my shoulders and wonder whether I should cover the robe when another voice reached me.
“Now I understand why they call her the Poison Butterfly. She certainly has the bearing for such a name.”
Poison Butterfly?
I blinked at the unfamiliar term, and Jinseong quietly explained,
“Poison Butterfly is what people have begun calling you, Miss Tang.”
“What? Me?”
“Yes. Rumors about you have spread throughout the Yueyang region. They say you disposed of the villains who had infiltrated the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild...”
Jinseong trailed off awkwardly when he saw my expression.
My neck stiffened at the unexpected sobriquet.
Jang Miryeo!
Jang Miryeo had spread those rumors on purpose.
That woman!
She was determined to squeeze every last bit of use out of me!