novelraw Chapter 169 : If You Fail to Save Him, You Will Die (2)
Chapter 169 : If You Fail to Save Him, You Will Die (2)
Chapter 169: If You Fail to Save Him, You Will Die (2)
As he approached Ju Yudo, an impossible chill was felt.
Bohwa Satae stood with her eyes closed, checking the pulse on one of Ju Yudo’s wrists.
She was pouring every ounce of strength into calming the rampaging energy of the Blood-Qi Plague.
Seun sat across from her, holding the Black Needle in his hand.
‘The Blood-Qi Plague was an illness created by pushing the water energy of the Five Elements to its extreme. Had it not been for Bohwa Satae’s treatment, he would have died long ago.’
Before his return, the Blood-Qi Plague had truly been a horrifying epidemic.
After an incubation period of half a month during which it infected those nearby, the body would suddenly be seized by overwhelming cold, and the victim’s temperature would plummet past the limit and kill them.
Even under the blazing sun, the victims who died of the Blood-Qi Plague suffered dreadful frostbite over their entire bodies. It ravaged the Central Plains so violently that people called it the Winter Gnaw Frost.
The Blood Cult naturally took advantage of the chaos to worsen the suffering of the common people, while the Namgung Clan used the situation to claim that Sword Emperor Yu Jinhak was failing his duty, strengthening their own political power instead.
Of course, even in such a situation, the Sword Emperor, the Divine Maiden Sect Leader, and Bohwa Satae devoted themselves to discovering a cure for the suffering people.
In the end, Ground-Spirit Grass was found too late, after countless civilians had already died of the epidemic.
It usually took sixty days for a victim of the Blood-Qi Plague to die.
But Ju Yudo had survived for over a year, which showed just how desperately Bohwa Satae had fought for his life.
‘Though it still wasn’t a perfect cure.’
Tok!
With that thought, Seun inserted the Black Needle into Ju Yudo’s Central Stomach point.
The Black Needle contained Seun’s innate true qi.
“Huu-!”
The moment the needle entered, Ju Yudo suddenly let out a deep breath.
But it was not a groan of pain. It was a natural exhale born from newfound comfort in his body.
Saaa—
Seun’s innate true qi spread through his body. Within a single exchange, Ju Yudo’s complexion brightened noticeably.
‘Bohwa Satae focused solely on suppressing the plague’s energy with her own qi to find a proper cure. But as that period dragged on too long, the suppressed energy ended up harming not his body, but his mind.’
This was what Seun meant when he warned Oh Gong-gong that if he interfered, the Crown Prince would be consumed by murderous madness.
But Bohwa Satae could not be blamed. She had managed to keep alive someone who should have died long ago.
‘At any rate, now I finally understand why he carried such a terrible reputation before my return.’
Before the regression, Ju Yudo—who now lay collapsed before him—became the new emperor after the previous one passed.
And soon after, a dangerous term began spreading among the people.
The Returned Tyrant.
It was filled with the civilians’ rage and despair toward Ju Yudo.
The term referred to the tyrants Jie of the Xia Dynasty and Zhou of the Shang Dynasty—the worst tyrants in history.
Shockingly, the newly enthroned Ju Yudo was being called a tyrant who had returned anew.
Before taking the throne, Ju Yudo was praised by the imperial family and officials as virtuous, intelligent, and wise.
‘But once he ascended the throne, there was no greater tyrant.’
No one suspected that he had been the very first patient of the Blood-Qi Plague, so Seun had believed Ju Yudo had simply been hiding a monstrous nature.
But that was not the case.
Before his return, though Ju Yudo survived thanks to Bohwa Satae’s treatment, his mind collapsed around this very time, awakening murderous madness.
And the mental affliction remained incurable even after the remedy for the Blood-Qi Plague was discovered.
At the peak of the chaos wrought by the Blood Cult, a madman ascended the imperial throne—the worst possible scenario.
‘Until now, the reason he sided with the Namgung Clan and Namgung Myeong must have been because the imperial family saw Sword Emperor Yu Jinhak holding too much power within the Murim Alliance. They likely wanted to balance him.’
But once the madness took hold, he would have kept only the sycophants at his side.
‘Had Ju Yudo been a proper ruler, the imperial army would have been a tremendous help in the war against the Blood Cult.’
The Blood Cult would never honor the Pact of Non-Interference without Murim.
As they carved out Demonic Dominion, the Blood Cult massacred defenseless civilians repeatedly.
But Ju Yudo never aided the Anti-Blood Alliance.
He remained in the rearmost camp with Baek Doryeon, lost in pleasures.
Then, when an unavoidable crisis approached, he drove imperial masters and soldiers into a slaughter, destroying everything without even fighting properly.
That was why Seun had never planned to draw the imperial court to his side.
A tyrant allied with Namgung Myeong would be of no help in the war against the Blood Cult anyway.
‘But now everything changes.’
In that moment, a strange brilliance rose in Seun’s eyes.
Tok!
Seun inserted another needle around the Central Stomach point.
This area was the center of earth-energy in the body and stabilized one’s qi.
Saa—
For the first time, the wild water qi of the Blood-Qi Plague began to settle and move differently.
‘Heal Ju Yudo completely, restore him not as a tyrant but as a wise ruler. And take the imperial court not as Namgung Myeong’s backer, but mine.’
Chwaa—
At that moment, Seun finally began the true treatment in earnest.
* * *
The Divine Tiger Physician was unable to hide his bewilderment.
It was not because Ju Yudo had suddenly begun an unexpected rampage.
‘What in the world is this boy……?’
It was because of Seun, who was displaying astonishing acupuncture right before her eyes.
Without the slightest hesitation, he inserted a needle into the Central Stomach point to restore the stagnant meridian flow, then immediately stimulated the Celestial Pivot point.
Just moments before, she had instantly understood his intention and let out a gasp.
Those two acupoints helped earth-energy circulate throughout the entire body.
‘He realized I was suppressing the water qi, so he left open the acupoints that act like a dam holding back overflowing water.’
Even without a single word exchanged, he had read her intentions from actions alone and supported the treatment.
Even her own disciple, Geumhwa Satae, whom she had personally trained, had never been able to help to this degree—so Boyeon Shinni felt genuine admiration.
‘They said that beyond being a Divine Craftsman, he possessed the qualities of a Divine Physician. It was not an exaggeration after all.’
The memory of Geumhwa Satae returning from the Tang Clan and praising the Tang Clan Leader’s medical skill until her mouth dried came to mind.
Tok!
At that moment, Seun inserted a needle into the third and final point, the Leg Three Miles point.
Saaa—
Kwa-ga!
A sound like a bursting bubble rang beside her ear where she held the pulse, and the water qi she had been suppressing surged out wildly.
But none of that energy harmed its owner. Instead, guided by Seun, it filled the three targeted points with perfect accuracy.
Soon, Ju Yudo’s breathing had completely stabilized.
‘Whew, with this, the crisis has passed.’
The treatment was not finished, but the worst had been averted.
Boyeon Shinni slowly opened the eyes she had kept closed.
[The Crown Prince’s condition stems from the disruption of the Five Elements’ balance caused by the Blood-Qi Plague]
“……!!”
Seun, sitting directly across from her, immediately sent a voice transmission.
[As you know, Shinni, earth-energy is the central force among the Five Elements and maintains their harmonious balance. Unless his fundamental earth-energy is restored, the water qi we suppressed can erupt at any moment.]
[What do you intend to do.]
[I will replenish it with the power of the Ground-Spirit Grass I brought.]
‘……!!’
Boyeon Shinni was shocked at the mention of Ground-Spirit Grass.
Among all spirit herbs of the Central Plains, it was the greatest of all earth-energy containing herbs.
And it was in this child’s possession?
Yet the surprise faded quickly, replaced by concern on her face.
[No. With His Highness the Crown Prince’s body weakened to this degree, accepting the immense earth-energy of Ground-Spirit Grass is far too dangerous.]
[That is why I will need your assistance, Bohwa Satae.]
[What do you mean……?]
[His body is too weakened to accept it as is, so I believe……!]
The more Seun spoke, the wider her eyes grew, as if they would burst.
The method he proposed was something she had never heard of in her entire life.
No—could this even be called a treatment?
Depending on how one looked at it, it was nothing short of a new torture method.
[Are you certain you can endure it?]
[There is no other method. If we miss this chance, a mad tyrant may be born someday. Such a thing must be prevented.]
[……But.]
[Since you agree, I will proceed immediately, Divine Physician!]
[W-wait!]
Cheocheok!
As Boyeon Shinni floundered in shock, Seun reached out and took the pulse of Ju Yudo’s right wrist.
Saaa—
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
He then drew forth both his Golden Arm Qi and Innate True Qi to their absolute limit.
“……!!”
“!!”
Everyone in the room—including Geumhwa Satae and Oh Gong-gong—was left speechless by the pure, breathtaking radiance of that immaculate energy.
At that moment, Boyeon Shinni took Ju Yudo’s left wrist from the opposite side.
‘There is no helping it.’
Saaa—
Chwaaaa!
At the same time, she too raised her own inner qi to its utmost limit.
Her cultivated energy flowed through her hand into Ju Yudo’s body.
Her qi coursed through his damaged meridians and was slowly absorbed.
Saaa—
The process known as Bone-Purging and Marrow-Washing, performed for heirs of prestigious clans and major orthodox sects, was taking place.
Indeed—this was the very method Seun had explained to her through voice transmission.
‘Forcefully induce a pseudo Body Reformation.’
Using the combined strength of two masters of the Manifest Realm, they would reconstruct the body through a forced Body Reformation.
Boyeon Shinni’s pure energy began to fill every corner of his inner body, and the turbid qi embedded within Ju Yudo was pushed out all at once.
Chwaaah!
And astonishingly, all that turbid qi began to rush along the path of Innate True Qi that Seun had laid down beforehand.
But this was not a normal process of Bone-Purging or Body Reformation.
Normally, when a martial artist achieved enlightenment and opened the Gate of Life and Death, the newly opened path allowed the turbid qi to be expelled naturally outside the body.
But here, the turbid qi was not being expelled outward—it was being sent entirely into Seun.
This was unavoidable.
Ju Yudo had indeed learned martial arts, but his realm was merely the Peak Level. Opening the Gate of Life and Death was impossible. As the name “pseudo” implied, this forced Body Reformation could not allow proper expulsion of turbid qi.
Thus Seun was absorbing every bit of the turbid qi that should never have been expelled.
Boyeon Shinni could not hide her worry for Seun, who did not let out a single groan.
‘That horrifying accumulated filth must feel like his entire body is being torn apart. How is he enduring this……?’
But she had no idea.
A faint smile had begun to form at the edge of Seun’s lips as he absorbed the new poison.