novelraw Chapter 99 : Accidental Encounter
Chapter 99 : Accidental Encounter
“Let’s talk after we leave.”
I closed the door and signaled to the driver.
The wheels rolled with the snorting of the horses outside. The carriage was a six-seater, so it could accommodate our party of four, including me, as well as Baek Hasin and Cho Min-ha.
The problem was the injured escorts outside, but the injured applied the golden wound medicine and decided to move, sitting on the roof of the carriage.
Besides them, since the rest were all masters of the peak level or higher, they could follow even if the carriage ran at full speed.
“Poison. You look to be in a serious condition. Judging by the wave-patterned clothes, you seem to be a super-master from the Hainan Sect.”
Cho Min-ha looked at Choi Mi-kyung’s complexion and grasped the situation at a glance. Although he seemed relaxed in many ways, he was a person with a sharp side.
“So I’m trying to go as fast as possible. Will it be okay?”
“I’m not so heartless as to be leisurely in front of a person in critical condition. How about it?”
“Of course, we should.”
Baek Hasin nodded his head from the side and answered.
I looked at the unexpected combination for a moment. I was curious how Baek Hasin and Cho Min-ha, two people who seemed to have no connection at all, had become a party.
But first, it was more important to reveal our situation and prepare for a possible threat. When I revealed the details of being attacked by the Blood Cult to them, Cho Min-ha slapped his knee.
“Sayurang! So that guy was that strange man from before.”
“She might ambush us on the way. Because she’s a persistent person.”
“It doesn’t matter. This time, I’ll take care of it. And there’s one more hot-blooded junior here.”
He put his arm around Baek Hasin’s shoulder and laughed.
“By the way, how did you two meet?”
At that, Cho Min-ha began to explain. During an intermediate mission, Baek Hasin had taken on the role of protecting a family from assassins, but when the number was larger than expected and he was surrounded by enemies, he had exploded his demonic qi.
At the moment when he was about to lose his reason, Cho Min-ha, who had been on a mission to annihilate that assassin squad, had helped him. And in the midst of that, he had also suppressed Baek Hasin’s demonic qi rampage.
‘This guy was also in danger.’
As soon as they had finished their first mission, they had both overcome a crisis of crossing the Jordan River.
Still, perhaps because he had reached the peak level through this journey, I could vaguely feel Baek Hasin’s power, which was flickering beyond the bandage.
I could certainly see that he was also growing rapidly.
The carriage quickly followed the road and headed towards Hubei Province. Fortunately, there was no attack from the Blood Cult on the way.
After taking turns sleeping after the conversation, time passed before I knew it, and we had reached the vicinity of the Martial Academy. This was the sphere of influence of the Martial Alliance, and at this point, even the Blood Cult could not use its power recklessly.
“Then we’ll be leaving first.”
I got out of the carriage and ran into the city with Yang Ha-eun.
‘Was the poison doctor’s address around here?’
I moved quickly, recalling the residence that Dang Surin had told me about before. Choi Mi-kyung, who was on Yang Ha-eun’s back, was already in a very critical condition. There was no time to dawdle.
In the midst of the urgency, when I asked a waiter who was sweeping in front of a nearby store for directions, giving him a few coins, I was able to find the poison doctor’s residence quickly.
“This is it.”
When I knocked on the gate of a rather large detached house, Dang Surin came out with the sound of the latch being unfastened.
“Gaga!”
She, who had appeared as if she had known, immediately hugged me. But Dang Surin sniffed and then said in a low voice.
“…You smell like a woman.”
“Now is not the time for this. It’s a critical patient.”
“What’s all the commotion?”
Just then, an old woman came out from beyond the open door. It was the Poison Doctor of the Tang family, Dang Pung-ok. She looked over our appearance and then pointed to the inner quarters with her chin.
“Hmm, I see. Come on in.”
And then she called the servants and had them take Choi Mi-kyung inside. Dang Pung-ok immediately began to diagnose her, who was laid on a medical bed, by taking her pulse.
“…Will she be okay?”
Yang Ha-eun asked someone else first, which was rare for her. It meant that she was that worried about Choi Mi-kyung’s condition.
“It’s more serious than I thought. To use a strong poison in this way… is it the Blood Cult?”
She had guessed right. When I nodded my head, Dang Pung-ok took out her medical instruments as if she had known.
“A poison that messes up the blood and nerves so badly is rare. Everyone, get out of this room now. I need to purify the surroundings first and then start the treatment right away.”
And then the poison doctor disinfected the area with something similar to the Samadhi True Fire that was blooming from her fingertips. I grabbed the wrist of the hesitating Yang Ha-eun and came out as she was. It was the order of the famous poison doctor. There was nothing that we, who were not experts, could do in this place.
“Hic…”
As we left the door, Yang Ha-eun began to cry. It seemed she had been anxious in many ways. Since I didn’t have anything appropriate to say, I just mumbled whatever came to mind.
“She’ll be fine. Because that person is a poison doctor who is called one of the three great physicians of the central plains.”
“Gaga, who is that woman?”
Just then, I heard Dang Surin’s voice from behind. At her questioning, who had grabbed my wrist, I briefly explained Yang Ha-eun’s introduction and the Blood Cult attack.
“You smell like another woman too…”
But Dang Surin’s muttering continued. Since it seemed it would become a headache at this rate, I quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, what about what I asked for before?”
“Huh? I was just about to make the resistance poison for the Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity.”
Dang Surin took my hand and then headed to the pharmacy. When we passed through the doorway, which was guarded by martial artists, and entered the inside, the scent of various medicinal herbs mixed in a dark and cool space wafted over.
When Dang Surin opened a box that was placed on one side, there was a dark green pill.
“If you eat this and endure in a boiling poison bath for about two hours, you’ll be fine.”
She said so and then took me to the back of the pharmacy. Dang Surin, who had the servants put the medicinal herbs in a heated cauldron and began to boil them. A dangerous smell wafted from the rising smoke.
It seemed to have a lot of side effects at a glance. In a situation like this, it was more important to inform the pharmacist of any special conditions and symptoms before receiving a prescription.
“But I took the Great Return Pill a while ago, so shouldn’t I build up my resistance later?”
But despite such concerns, only Dang Surin’s explanation that it didn’t matter came back.
In the end, the prepared medicinal herb bath, no, the poison bath. I, who had taken off my clothes as simply as possible, soon swallowed the green pill and then entered the cauldron.
“Keuk.”
An excruciating pain as if it were boiling from both inside and out. There wasn’t a single place that wasn’t painful, from my internal organs to my skin.
“You just have to soak up to your neck in the bath. You’ll naturally inhale it as you breathe.”
As I was frowning in pain, Dang Surin, who was on the opposite side, leaned her arm on the edge of the cauldron and grinned at me.
Although the edge of the cauldron must have been hot, it seemed she was blocking it with her internal energy. Of course, it was the same for me.
“Although I’m grateful, I think you can go now.”
“No, I’ll watch.”
“What about Yang Ha-eun?”
“…I left her to rest.”
When I asked to confirm that she had been standing in front of the medical office earlier, Dang Surin answered bluntly. After that, we exchanged a few more words, but after that, the pain rose with the rampaging internal energy, and I had to pour all my strength into enduring it.
After two hours of excruciating pain, when I came out of the poison bath, exhausted, the evening was already deep. And so, around the time when the moon was clearly rising in the night sky, the door of the medical office finally opened.
“It’s finally over.”
Dang Pung-ok declared with a tired look. Yang Ha-eun asked with a trembling voice.
“…What happened?”
“She’s alive. But since her energy veins are weakened, she’ll have to rest for about a month. And visits are forbidden until the day after tomorrow.”
“Thank you! I, Yang Ha-eun, the first disciple of the Hainan Sect, will not forget my benefactor!”
Yang Ha-eun expressed her gratitude, bowing her head several times with a tearful voice.
“Thank that child. I don’t know how he did it, but his initial response was good. If he hadn’t drawn out the poison in advance, she would have been dead by now.”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
At those words, Yang Ha-eun went back and forth and bowed her head. It seemed she was that relieved. It was a relief.
Since it seemed to have been settled to some extent, I also expressed my gratitude to the poison doctor and then headed to the room that had been assigned as a guest room.
“Gaga?”
Of course, Dang Surin had tried to use one room.
After a turbulent day, the next day came.
“Come and find me when you’re stable later regarding the academy matters.”
I left the detached house, subtly imprinting the bet I had made with Yang Ha-eun earlier.
And to Dang Surin, who had a sullen expression next to her, I had soothed her by saying that I would come with Yang Ha-eun later. Otherwise, she had been on the verge of following me to the academy right away.
“I’ve been comfortable thanks to you. Thank you for your utmost hospitality despite my sudden visit.”
I finally gave a formal greeting to Dang Pung-ok and then left the main gate.
“Gaga, I’ll definitely come and find you!!”
“…Me too!”
And so, as I was being seen off by Dang Surin, Yang Ha-eun, and the others and was entering the main road, I suddenly felt a presence.
“I don’t know who you are, but you might as well come out.”
Although the opponent had tried hard to hide, he could not escape my sense of qi, which had become that of a peak-level master. Soon, what was revealed were four martial artists who looked quite skilled.
“What is it?”
“We’ve come from the Geummun Merchant Guild. The head of the merchant guild wishes to see Mr. Zhuge Cheonwu.”
At those words, I had to try my best not to show my momentary tense expression. The Geummun Merchant Guild, there was only one reason why they would single me out and look for me.
‘The matter of stealing the elixir at the beginning of the semester.’
Come to think of it, since the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, my sorcery ability had become public. And what’s more, since I had already risen to the position of a first-class formation master in the Zhuge family and had even become the successor of Zhuge Hyeonguk, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient.
I thought for a moment about whether to accompany them and then slowly nodded my head.
‘It was only a matter of time anyway.’
If it was the Geummun Merchant Guild’s side, since there would also be Protector Jangyeo, there was a high possibility that it would be handled smoothly.
And what’s more, hadn’t they even come to see me off politely? Since they had come to find me like this, it was my duty to go. But even so, I had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.
“Does Protector Jangyeo know about this?”
A question with a double meaning. But they quickly exchanged glances and then nodded their heads and answered.
“Yes.”
“I have to stop by the academy for a moment to report on what I’ve been through this time. Is that okay?”
Escort Lee, who had been injured, had already been sent away after being paid with a bill when we had entered the city. Since Namgung Bihwa and Baek Hasin had also returned, I also had to stop by the Martial Academy for a moment to report and to receive a request for an outing.
Because going out without any special matter was a subject for a demerit.
Of course, this was an excuse. Since I could get a grace period of a few days by using Choi Mi-kyung as an excuse.
The real purpose was in the act of reporting that I was going to the Geummun Merchant Guild.
Because if a student set their outing purpose and route, it had the effect of preventing any possible harm from the merchant guild’s side.
Although I didn’t think they would be crazy enough to mess with a direct blood relative of the Zhuge family, since I had been encountering crazy guys like the Blood Cult recently, I had no choice but to be more careful.
“…Please do so.”
The four martial artists who accepted it surprisingly obediently. It seemed they had no intention of physically dealing with me.
And so, after stopping by the academy and getting an outing pass, the place I headed to was the top floor of a tall inn.
The building with a magnificent exterior was five stories high, and since it was a rather tall building in the city, the area was clearly visible through the window on the wall of the corridor.
And so, the place I arrived at, while being watched under the guise of an escort by the martial artists of the Geummun Merchant Guild, was in front of the most splendid room of the building. The splendidly embossed wooden door opened, and finally, a middle-aged woman revealed her appearance beyond it.
“You’ve come.”
The owner of the Geummun Merchant Guild, Geum Mi-ran.
(End of Chapter)