The Fragile Elixer of the Fallen Clan

Living with a frail body in a Murim clan felt like carrying a burden so heavy it squeezed the air out of your lungs. Every breath was a reminder of guilt, of being a disappointment. That was the life I knew. The life of Dan Mok-ryeon.

The adults in my clan always seemed so far away, like I could never reach them. My younger siblings, who used to follow me around, soon outpaced me, leaving me behind as they grew stronger. It hurt, but there was nothing I could do. When the Blood Demon Valley rose up against us, our clan shook, our family broke apart, and I could only watch.

When death finally came, I was almost relieved. It was an escape from the pain that felt like my body was being pierced by countless needles, and from the agony of seeing my family suffer while I was powerless to help. It was supposed to end there, but it didn’t.

—

“I don’t understand…”

I sat up in bed, confusion swirling in my mind. My body was still weak, but my eyes—my eyes sparkled as if they held the light of a thousand stars.

‘How am I alive? How did I come back? And not just that—how did I go back in time?’

I looked down at my small hands, my tiny limbs, and grasped my head, trying to make sense of it all. I remembered dying. The pain that had plagued me all my life finally fading away as I slipped into what should have been eternal rest. They buried me, and my spirit wandered, lost for who knows how long.

Then, out of nowhere, I was pulled into something—something vast, something beyond comprehension. I saw things, places, events that had never been part of my life before. I even saw my own past, as well as glimpses of the future.

‘And during that time…’

The memories were fuzzy, like trying to remember a dream after waking up, but I let out a deep sigh as I pieced together what little I could.

“Ah!”

My thoughts were interrupted as someone entered the room.

“Miss, are you awake?”

It was Nanny Jang, who had cared for me since I was born. Her face was lined with age, but her eyes were warm, always crinkling into a gentle smile.

“Nanny…”

“Miss, it’s time for your medicine. If you finish it, I have a treat for you as a reward.”

She set a white porcelain bowl in front of me, filled with a dark, almost black liquid. Next to it was a small treat, lightly dusted with sugar. I knew that medicine well—the bitter taste made me cringe every time.

“…Can’t I just skip the medicine and the treat?”

“Now, now, don’t say that.”

Her tone was firm, and I knew there was no getting out of it. Reluctantly, I took the bowl. Nanny Jang had always been there for me, never leaving my side through all the years I’d been bedridden. 

—

Knowing how much worry and heartache Nanny Jang had gone through, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse the medicine. I forced down the entire bitter potion, squeezing my eyes shut as I did. When I opened them again, I saw Nanny Jang watching me with such gratitude that it looked like she was about to cry.

It wasn’t just Nanny Jang. Everyone in the household reacted the same way. Whenever I spoke, grimaced after swallowing the bitter decoction, or even relaxed a little while eating a sweet persimmon, their eyes would well up with tears, their hearts swelling with emotion.

I couldn’t blame them.

‘Seven years… almost like I was in a coma. And now, I’ve somehow returned to this time.’

For reasons I still don’t fully understand, my soul had been disconnected from my body shortly after I was born. For seven long years, my body was nothing more than a lifeless shell. I didn’t move unless someone moved me, didn’t eat unless someone fed me. I didn’t cry, didn’t laugh, didn’t even speak.

Eventually, the clan decided to try a powerful spell called Self Purification to bring me back.

‘Mother… She must have been so desperate to try such an expensive spell without even knowing if it would work.’

Self Purification is usually cast on newborns. It establishes the foundation of the dantian, purges impurities, and aligns the bones and muscles, making the body fit for martial arts.

It wasn’t meant to cure illnesses, but they tried it anyway. And miraculously, it worked! After the spell ended, I woke up.

Seeing me, this little girl who had been like a lifeless doll for so long, finally show some emotion and start to speak, how could the adults not be overwhelmed?

My mother cried so hard when she saw me awake that she nearly fainted, leaving Nanny Jang to take care of me. Nanny Jang, trying to hold back her own tears, quickly wiped her eyes and placed the treat in front of me.

“Oh my, how mature you’ve become,” she said with a gentle smile.

Thinking it was better than the medicine, I nibbled on the treat while keeping an eye on Nanny Jang’s reaction.

“Nanny, I want to go outside. Just to the garden in front,” I said, hoping she’d agree.

“I’ll ask the elders and get permission for you, Miss,” she replied, pulling me into a gentle hug and patting my back. 

I might have lived like a doll for those seven years, but I wasn’t entirely lost. I was just small, too small for my age. 

—

As soon as Nanny Jang thought I was asleep and quietly left the room, I jumped out of bed and grabbed the mirror. I focused, channeling a bluish energy from my fingertips into it. As soon as I did, letters began to appear on the mirror—a mysterious magic that would probably amaze anyone who saw it.

[Confirming user: Dan Mok-ryeon]  

[Adjusting display for convenience… ■■□□□]

A line of text started scrolling across the mirror, like something out of a game or a computer monitor.

[Displaying information observable by the user.]  

[Displayed in the format easiest to understand.]

The display gradually filled up, one box after another, until all five were complete.

[■■■□□]  

[■■■■□]  

[■■■■■]  

[Change complete!]  

[The Immortal Mirror is now visible!]

‘The format easiest to understand…’

I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed. Was this really the best I could manage? A game-like display?

‘Damn. Is that really all I’m capable of?’

I sighed, but I couldn’t deny it. This was my new reality.

“Coming back from the dead is no small feat…”

During my time wandering the afterlife as a soul, I saw and learned a lot. Knowledge is powerful, and once you understand something, you can’t unlearn it. Even though I’d forgotten much of what my body couldn’t handle when I returned to the past, some things stuck with me, like a permanent mark on my soul. But I could only access what I could comprehend, in a way that made sense to me—and apparently, this was it.

Pushing aside the embarrassment, I stared intently at the mirror. Soon, ink-like letters began to float up on its surface.

Just like this:

Dan Mok-ryeon

Traits: Infinite Source of Spiritual Energy / Partially Comprehended / Mourned by Malice / Sickly Greenhouse Flower  

Harmony: 7 stars  

Spiritual Sight: 2 stars  

Purification: 1 star  

Health: 3 / 100  

Inner Power: Unobtainable  

Outer Power: Not Acquired  

Aptitude: Measurement Error  

Five Stars: Measurement Error  

Spiritual Energy: 76 / 100  

Caution: Maintain spiritual energy below 50. Sustaining this level for more than two months will result in death.*

‘A mirror that shows as much as possible in a way I can understand…’

But knowing how to see all this information and actually being able to do something about it were two entirely different things. Most of my abilities were pretty pitiful. My health was a measly 3 out of 100, and I hadn’t even acquired any outer power.

‘And inner power is completely unobtainable.’

I put my head in my hands, feeling the weight of it all. Meanwhile, my spiritual energy was soaring, almost like it was trying to break through the sky.

This was the biggest challenge I’d ever faced. It was impossible to reach the highest realm in Murim with only outer power and no inner power. Even if I somehow managed to avoid dying from my body breaking down due to the overwhelming spiritual energy, how could I possibly survive as a martial artist in Murim?

In my past life, I didn’t even know any of this because I couldn’t learn martial arts. My aptitude and the mysterious ‘five stars’ were unmeasurable, and the spiritual energy level was flashing in bright red on the mirror. A caution notice even popped up below it:

Caution: Maintain spiritual energy below 50. Sustaining this level for more than two months will result in death.

Yeah, the most important thing right now was staying alive—I had two months left, according to this.

‘Maintain spiritual energy below 50?’

Even though the situation was pretty grim, seeing a clear number gave me a weird sense of comfort. If I could somehow lower it to 50, I might just have a chance. I didn’t know how yet, but I was determined to figure it out.

“What do these traits even mean…”

I didn’t fully understand what ‘Mourned by Malice’ or ‘Partially Comprehended’ meant, but I knew what ‘Infinite Source of Spiritual Energy’ and ‘Sickly Greenhouse Flower’ were about. They explained why I had died in my previous life—my body just couldn’t handle the overflowing spiritual energy, and it kept breaking down.

But not this time.

I clenched my fist tightly. For some reason, I had been given a second chance. I now knew why I had been so sick before, and I knew what I had to do to stay healthy.

“From now on, I’m going to live a safe, disaster-free, and long life…” I whispered to myself, determined to make the most of this second chance.