NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7
“Welcome. It’s your first time in this annex, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. I’ve never been here before.”
A place where a star has fallen. Starfall Garden.
No, a star didn’t literally fall from the sky. The name was given after Sword Saint Mo Yongcheon blew away the training ground with the Seven Stars Sword, leading to the construction of this annex.
“I lived here with my mother until I was seven. Just my father, mother, and me.”
Mo Yongseol reminisced as she scanned the small courtyard resembling a secluded shrine in the corner.
“When the sickness of absolute meridians began to manifest, I moved to the main estate of the Mo Yong family. It’s only about a walking distance, though…”
The estate of the Mo Yong family is quite expansive.
However, saying it’s about a 30-minute walk from here to the family’s main hall means it’s quite far from Starfall Garden.
“…….”
Mo Yongseol stared at the tree planted at one side of Starfall Garden for quite some time.
Under the towering peach tree stood a gravestone that looked like it was chiseled from marble.
And in front of it was a bouquet of flowers placed as if just this morning.
In the morning, the traces of Mo Yongcheon.
And the person Mo Yongcheon left the bouquet for before the feast began—
“It’s my mother’s gravestone.”
Mo Yongseol’s mother.
There’s no name written.
An unnamed gravestone.
“There’s no corpse; it’s just a gravestone.”
Although she was the wife of the Sword Saint and the lady of the Mo Yong family, she had become a being ‘whose name cannot be mentioned.’
“I don’t know why my father left this stone there. But if he sees it as a trace of my mother…”
Mo Yongseol clasped her hands in front of the gravestone and lowered her head.
“Mother. I’m better now. And this is the physician who treated me.”
“…I’ll pay my respects.”
I bowed towards the gravestone.
“I am Physician Seok Muwol. Although I haven’t met you, I will take good care of your daughter so that she no longer suffers from the sickness of absolute meridians.”
“Take care of me?”
Mo Yongseol grabbed my hand.
“Aren’t you going to look after me?”
“In the worldly sense, people like Mo Yong Soje are referred to as ‘young ladies.'”
“I’d prefer to be called something else.”
Mo Yongseol gently tightened her hold on my hand.
“What would you like to be called?”
“Well, for now… as a patient.”
Mo Yongseol’s expression hardened as she was about to put her hand on my shoulder.
“What?”
“I’m not joking; the meridians that opened a moment ago are tightening again.”
“…that.”
As soon as I mentioned that her symptoms of absolute meridians were reappearing, Mo Yongseol turned pale.
“In that case—”
“Of course, if we treat it right away, she’ll be fine soon. Just… we need to grasp an important piece of information regarding managing Soje’s condition.”
“…Whatever you say, I’ll do it. But about this information?”
“Indeed.”
I stretched my hand toward Mo Yongseol’s shoulder.
“Is it a one-time miracle, or does that act genuinely cure your sickness? The theory has been established, but we have to check for additional symptoms and monitor the progress from now on.”
“Ah, so you’re talking about that ‘external justification’ that my father mentioned.”
The external justification.
Despite my efforts to phrase it subtly so that Mo Yongcheon wouldn’t notice, Mo Yongseol caught on to my intention without difficulty.
“What will you do? If you wish to say it has nothing to do with you, I shall report it as such.”
“If it has something to do with me, how could I lie?”
Mo Yongseol stepped closer and hugged me.
“Isn’t it something more than just a relationship between a man and a woman now?”
“Soje.”
“Um. It’s indeed nicer when you call me that when we’re alone, but… hmm.”
Mo Yongseol looked up at me and chuckled.
“We can worry about that later. Physician, your expression is growing stern.”
“If treatment lags, it could be troublesome.”
“I understand. Then, as for treatment, we can do it whenever…”
Mo Yongseol pointed to the room.
“What are you going to do? This has to be reported whether it’s through my father… or if someone comes later, right?”
“Coincidentally, it seems so. I inadvertently set Soje up for embarrassment.”
“If I were truly embarrassed, I wouldn’t be talking about having slept with you in front of others.”
Hmm. That makes sense.
“But still, isn’t it too much to talk about it like that?”
“I don’t want to talk about it either.”
Squeezing.
“…If it’s you, physician, I could talk about it any time. Even in front of the men who gaze at me grotesquely or the women who glare at you even more.”
“That hits home.”
I hugged Mo Yongseol tighter.
“Me too. That’s why I… spoke in such an impudent way to the lord.”
“Ha ha, the last part?”
“Indeed.”
“Why did you say that? After all, he’s your father-in-law.”
“Isn’t telling me to do it outside the same as saying not to have children?”
“……Father, I can scold you later.”
Fortunately, Mo Yongseol is on my side.
As long as Mo Yongseol is on my side, even if the Sword Saint wanted to kill me, he wouldn’t be able to.
“If your father tells you to take up a sword or train, be sure to refuse. He’ll definitely say something like that.”
“Well, you need strength to protect your woman as the son-in-law of the Mo Yong family, right?”
“Thank you for the kind words, but don’t you think our situation is a bit different?”
Mo Yongseol stood beside me, slowly lowering her hand that was holding me from the waist.
“I’ll protect you, physician. You just have to keep yourself safe until I come to you.”
“Oh dear. Where might those dangerous hands go?”
“What does it matter? We’re engaged.”
Even if we’re engaged, can a woman really tease a man like this?
“You can write it as is in the report. After all, it’s just telling the truth.”
“…If there’s time, I suppose we can insert variations.”
“Variations?”
“Yes. To see if treatment can happen even outside, as the Sword Saint mentioned.”
“What will you do if the patient refuses to be treated?”
“Are you hoping for that?”
“Do you know that?”
Mo Yongseol pulled me inside by opening the door.
“I’ve never heard of doing it outside before.”
With a rustle.
Pushing me into the room, she swiftly shut the door, pulled out a blanket from the wardrobe, and spread it wide.
“It’s not a bed, but I’ll try to make it as similar as possible. Right? We just need to recreate it?”
“…Ah, yes. As for the analysis of variations, that can wait until after the treatment begins to monitor the progress.”
“Then….”
Click.
“All you have to do is lie still. Hehe.”
One thing.
There was something I couldn’t bring myself to say to the Sword Saint.
-I’ve never done it outside.
That statement.
Some might say, ‘Even so, he’s your father-in-law; how can you say that?’
I felt a bit on edge after saying something that could be interpreted as emphasizing thorough contraception.
“Now, lie down. You were going to lie down from beginning to end anyway, right?”
“Anyone hearing would think I was lying down on purpose.”
The Sword Saint doesn’t know.
“I couldn’t have gotten up in the first place.”
“Ah-hah.”
“Are you going to bind me again with acu-pressure this time?”
“Hmm…are you going to write that in your report?”
“I’ll see.”
“If so, we’ll start with the acu-pressure. Then we’ll loosen it and do comparative analysis. If the symptoms of absolute meridians lessen after loosening it…”
“Then the position will change.”
Does she even realize how dangerous her daughter is?
“Huh.”
I obediently lay down under the blanket, pointed upward.
“I’m glad there isn’t a bed.”
“Why’s that?”
“Well, you can’t bind my hands to the bed with cloth, can you… ah.”
“I’m just recreating it, recreating~”
Mo Yongseol gathered my hands together and raised them over my head.
“At midnight, you came through the window and worked hard to persuade me… that in the beginning, you were the one who forced me.”
I was.
I was forced by Mo Yongseol.
I had no option for the selection of ‘doing it outside.’
* * *
Afternoon.
It was around the time when the sun would be setting soon, about an hour remaining.
Martial World Alliance Leader Grand Master Taesangjin discreetly surveyed those in the reception room with him.
The New Ascendant of Shaolin Temple.
The Sword Mistress of Haedong Sword Sect.
And the face-concealing swordsman – Imperial Palace’s inspector Yeocheong.
Including himself, four of the top ten martial experts in the world had gathered in one place.
Waiting for someone and harboring questions to throw at someone else in their minds.
‘I’m going insane.’
Taesangjin thought.
“I just wanted to finish up and grab some medicine, but an unexpectedly troublesome event has happened.”
He was the leader of the Martial World Alliance.
The head of the Kunlun Sect, but since Kunlun is very far from the Middle Plains, his identity as the Martial World Alliance Leader is much stronger.
And since stabilizing the Martial World meant improving the safety of Kunlun, he had actively sought to resolve disturbances and conflicts arising in the Middle Plains.
Even if he ranked low among the top ten martial experts, he could confidently say that his ability to read people’s true intentions ranks within the top three across the world.
So he had long since given up on receiving ‘good medicine’ from his private matter – Physician Seok Muwol.
Patter, patter.
With slow footsteps, the owner of the reception room arrived.
“You’ve come, Sword Saint.”
The world’s best.
Even if all four present here, or the warriors affiliated with the Martial World Alliance waiting outside, rushed at him, they could not defeat this unprecedented strongest man.
“It would be most convenient to talk with the Martial World Alliance Leader. He is the person who has the least connection with the sickness of absolute meridians.”
Without any pleasantries, he declared to converse with the Martial World Alliance Leader and took a seat.
“The Shaolin Sect is worried that the influence of the Great Hwan Dan may be threatened.”
“Ahem.”
“I assume the Sword Mistress came as an individual and not as a representative of the Haedong Sword Sect. Even though the sect is comprised entirely of women, many female disciples who married common men and had children afflicted with the sickness of absolute meridians have left the sect.”
“…….”
“As for the Imperial Palace, there are indeed concerns regarding the sickness of absolute meridians, but I suppose they’ve come to recruit Physician Seok Muwol as a court physician.”
“You seem well informed, Sword Saint.”
Martial World Alliance Leader nodded at the words of the Imperial Palace’s inspector, Yeocheong.
If the Sword Saint were a man slightly lower in his standing than him, he would have recommended him actively as a military leader within the Martial World Alliance.
Someone who has everything yet cannot have a healthy daughter.
He was supposed to be that way, but now she has become healthy.
While health is indeed a good thing, as the leader, even the mere tension in the reception room felt like something was churning in his stomach.
‘I want to quit.’
Is there no one who can take the place of the Martial World Alliance Leader?
Or perhaps, just letting the Sword Saint take the role and wield dictatorial power?
“Leader.”
“Speak, Sword Saint.”
“The Mo Yong family has no intention of hiding the method for treating the sickness of absolute meridians.”
“…I truly appreciate that.”
A slight relief washed over him.
“There are many patients suffering from the sickness of absolute meridians in Namgung and the other families, as well as other sects. Had Mo Yong intended to monopolize or conceal it, I would have found myself in a severe predicament. So, the method is what?”
“Through the union of man and woman, infusing vital energy.”
“……Huh.”
The New Ascendant revealed his displeasure openly, and the Sword Mistress slightly reddened her face, clearing her throat.
“So you’re saying that the actual method is a blend of Yin and Yang?”
“Indeed.”
“…Sword Saint, if that were true, there would be countless individuals who have already cured their sickness of absolute meridians.”
“Indeed. It seems the ‘confirmation’ has already been handled.”
“……Tsk.”
With just a single outburst, the leader felt a burning sensation in his abdomen.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Leader, the moment I suggested we meet, even if I had wanted to delay, you would have already taken action prior. Because it’s you.”
“Thank you for thinking highly of me, but what have I done?”
“You’ve already sent a communication to a family in this region with patients affected by the sickness of absolute meridians. And the reply must have come back forthwith. Am I mistaken?”
“……That is indeed correct.”
Ah.
That guy just needs to run the Martial World Alliance and manage the military and all.
“What’s the outcome?”
“It remains unchanged. No different from before; no changes whatsoever.”
“I see.”
“Therefore, we have no choice but to consider this matter regarding ‘special’ cases.”
The leader opened his mouth, enduring the probing gazes from others.
“It could be that Mo Yongseol has the sickness of absolute meridians that is treatable in a special way, or that all cases are treatable with Physician Seok Muwol’s vital energy.”
“What a ridiculous statement.”
“If it’s the first, then there’s no hope; but if it’s the latter, then there is hope—for other patients afflicted with the sickness of absolute meridians.”
With a heart filled with a glimmer of hope, the leader threw out the statement that others had longed to hear, his eyes brimming with tears.
“If Physician Seok Muwol can treat all patients suffering from the sickness of absolute meridians, the Mo Yong family will send Physician Seok Muwol throughout the Middle Plains!”
“Leader, let me say just one thing.”
The Sword Saint took a breath and spoke with a serious voice.
“Among others, there is one called the ‘Physician of the Dragons.’ He possesses medical knowledge unmatched by any of his contemporaries and has the ability to subdue even a decent-level thug quite effectively with his acupuncture technique, despite being no martial artist. He trains diligently, shows respect and courtesy to elders, and above all, knows how to take responsibility as a man. He is—”
He couldn’t say, ‘That’s just one line.’
“Physician Seok Muwol. He is the one who treated my daughter….”
Unable to say it to his face.
But he almost did.
The Martial World Alliance Leader swallowed his words.
Instead, he said.
“So what is that son-in-law doing now?”
“…….”
It was just a light question.
Crash!
The Sword Saint had almost raised his teacup, only to crush the cup with the strength in his hand.
Thanks to his strong physical conditioning, no blood flowed; however, tea dripped from his hand like blood.