Cho Myung was fine.
It seemed no one had touched him because he was a child. Thanks to that, a bigger incident did not occur, so it was a stroke of luck if it was a stroke of luck.
On the other hand, Seokcheong's face was a mess.
It was because he had been beaten up.
"Aigoo, Cheong! Your face is a pulp! How much did you get beaten up! Is Myung okay?"
Hua Yunhui made a fuss nonchalantly and looked at Old Man Ban.
Old Man Ban, who had been relieved that Cho Myung was fine, nodded slightly.
It was clear that there was some kind of scheme that only the two of them knew.
Next, Old Man Ban looked down at the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
"How dare you make a person from the Hua Family Clinic look like this and kidnap them? How should I kill you?"
At Old Man Ban's murderous voice, the master of Hundred Herb Forest's heart sank to the point where he forgot the pain in his knee.
"Please spare me! Please just spare my life!"
The master of Hundred Herb Forest prostrated himself on the ground, raised his hands above his head, and begged for his life.
"No! How many more are you going to kill this time! I'll take care of it here, so please calm your anger and go back!"
"Move aside! These kinds of seeds must have their heads smashed to prevent future trouble."
"No. The main family is a clinic. Even if you are the Fighting Demon, as long as you are in the main family, I cannot stand by and watch you kill carelessly. Myung, what are you doing? Go and take your master back quickly! You too, Cheong, go back quickly!"
When Hua Yunhui gestured with his eyes and hands to go back, Cho Myung ran over and grabbed Old Man Ban's sleeve. Seokcheong also moved with a limp.
"Hmph! I'll be watching!"
Old Man Ban left that one word and went out of the detached building with Cho Myung and Seokcheong.
"Aigoo! I somehow saved my life, but it's completely crushed, so I'll have to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life."
Hua Yunhui said, looking down at the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
He had made him focus on himself without giving him a moment to breathe so that he wouldn't have any other thoughts.
At those words, the master of Hundred Herb Forest, who had lifted his head, clutched his knee and was dejected with a face that said his life was over.
"Well, if I treat it well with my medical skills, you might be able to walk, but hah, with what you've done to the main family, my sister will never allow it."
Hua Yunhui, who sighed as if muttering to himself and turned around.
At that moment, the master of Hundred Herb Forest, whose ears had perked up, grabbed Hua Yunhui's trouser leg like lightning.
"Doctor Hua! Please save me! You can't just go! Please save this old man!"
"No, it's not something I can decide. My sister is the one who runs the main family, so please ask my sister. Well, since things have turned out like this, she must be very angry, but if you write a memorandum, who knows."
"A memorandum? What kind of memorandum?"
"You'll have to discuss what kind of memorandum to write with my sister. If it's a memorandum saying you'll supply the herbs at half price or something like that, I think my sister might calm down, but anyway, I don't know. Sister! You say it. Let go of this. I have to go and appease the Fighting Demon's anger before he comes back."
When he brought up the Fighting Demon, the master of Hundred Herb Forest let go of his hand.
Hua Yunhui gestured to Hua Sochen and the head of the pharmacy with his eyes and then disappeared out of the detached building with short steps.
Hua Sochen understood something from Hua Yunhui's words and gestures.
She made a cold face towards the master of Hundred Herb Forest.
"Are you going to write a memorandum?"
A carriage was waiting outside Hundred Herb Forest.
Old Man Ban, who had come out with a heavy gait, got on the carriage right away.
And he vomited a lot of blood and then collapsed.
At that sight, while Cho Myung and Seokcheong were flustered and didn't know what to do, Hua Yunhui arrived.
"Go straight to the clinic! Hurry!"
At Hua Yunhui's shout, the coachman drove the carriage quickly.
"Big brother, grandfather, grandfather..."
"It's okay. It's because he suddenly overexerted himself."
Unlike his words, Hua Yunhui's expression was not good.
He busily moved his hands, pressed Old Man Ban's acupoints, took out the Nine Treasure Pill, and had him take it. And he placed golden needles in several places so that the medicinal effect would circulate quickly.
'He overdid it too much. His lifespan must have been halved.'
***
Golden needles were densely inserted into Old Man Ban's body.
Hua Yunhui checked Old Man Ban's condition by checking his pulse every hour.
The medicinal power of the Nine Treasure Pill was being exerted, so his condition was not getting worse, but it was not getting better either.
"How is he?"
It was Hua Sochen's voice.
When Hua Yunhui looked back, Hua Sochen and the head of the pharmacy were entering.
"I've barely managed to prevent it from getting worse."
"How many times did he vomit blood?"
"Twice."
"That's not good."
"Yeah. What should I do?"
"Move aside."
At Hua Sochen's words, Hua Yunhui made way.
Hua Sochen checked Old Man Ban's pulse first.
As her younger brother had said, it seemed it would not get any worse, but it would not get any better either.
He might open his eyes, but it was doubtful if he could get out of bed.
Hua Sochen, who had put down Old Man Ban's hand, said to the head of the pharmacy.
"Give it to me."
The head of the pharmacy handed her a small black wooden box.
Hua Sochen, who had received it, opened the wooden box and took out a small pill.
It was a pill that looked like a gold nugget.
"Sister, what's that?"
"Is this the first time you've seen it?"
"Yeah."
"It's the Nine Treasure Pill."
"Huh?"
"The real Nine Treasure Pill made with dragon's saliva and supreme earth fire fungus."
"The Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill?"
"Yes. The last remaining Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill."
The Nine Treasure Pill originally contains dragon's saliva and supreme earth fire fungus.
But dragon's saliva and supreme earth fire fungus are precious elixirs that even herbalists find hard to see in their lifetime. So, the current Nine Treasure Pill was made with purple dragon grass instead of dragon's saliva, and black dew fungus instead of supreme earth fire fungus.
Still, its medicinal properties were so outstanding that it was sold at a considerable price.
Hua Sochen crushed the Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill with her hand and put it in the water cup that the head of the pharmacy had handed her.
And after stirring it well, she slightly lifted Old Man Ban's upper body and had him take it.
"Change the needles."
When Hua Sochen got up from her seat and said that, Hua Yunhui, who had been watching as if in a daze, removed the golden needles he had inserted and then began to insert them again.
He had placed the needles so that the medicinal power of the Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill could be well exerted.
A moment later, Hua Yunhui, who had wiped his sweat and straightened his back, made a deeply moved face towards Hua Sochen.
"Thank you, sister."
"You don't say things like that between family."
"I know. But still, thank you."
"You'll have to watch him all night."
"Don't worry about that."
"Okay."
Hua Sochen, who had nodded, approached Cho Myung, who was on one side, looking at Old Man Ban with a face that looked like he was about to burst into tears.
"Your master will be fine."
"It's because of me."
"What?"
"Both big brother Cheong and master ended up like this because of me. Grandfather too, he was hit by the bad big brothers while trying to protect me."
Tears finally flowed down Cho Myung's cheeks.
Hua Sochen did not wipe away the tears.
Instead, she bent down and met Cho Myung's eye level.
"Myung."
"Yes."
"If a younger brother you know well is being bullied by kids of Myung's age, will you just watch?"
"...?"
"You'll try to protect and save him, right?"
Nod, nod!
"Yes, Myung would do that. But then Myung got hurt. So is that the younger brother's fault?"
"No. It's not the younger brother's fault."
"That's right. It's not the younger brother's fault. It's the fault of the bad kids who bullied the younger brother. It's the same for your grandfather, master, and big brother Cheong. They got sick not because of Myung, but because of the bad people. Do you understand?"
Nod, nod!
When it seemed that Cho Myung understood, Hua Sochen stroked his head.
"Your master will probably wake up tomorrow. So Myung should show a bright appearance. In the clinic..."
"I know too. I learned from big brother Yunhui that if you act brightly, that energy helps the illness get better quickly."
"That's right. You've learned very well. Then you'll smile brightly, right?"
"Yes."
"Yes, I'll only trust Myung."
Hua Sochen stroked Cho Myung's head once more and then straightened her bent upper body.
And she approached the inner sickbed.
Seokcheong was lying there.
With his face a pulp.
Hua Sochen was about to say a word but stopped.
He was snoring and asleep.
"I'll have to tell him to rest well for a few days."
"He will."
Hua Yunhui received the words.
"You don't have to worry too much."
This time, it was said to Jeok Yorap.
"I'm just grateful that I'm always indebted to you."
"I should be the one to be grateful. But I don't want to say that. It feels like we're not strangers anymore. Rest."
Hua Sochen ended her words with that and went out of the patient room.
At this time, the head of the pharmacy, who was following behind, looked back at Hua Yunhui.
"Thanks to your wit, I got a memorandum from the master of Hundred Herb Forest. We'll be buying herbs at half price for the next five years."
"That's great."
"Yes, thanks to Old Man Ban, we can breathe a sigh of relief. Take good care of him."
"Yes."
When Hua Yunhui answered, the head of the pharmacy, who was about to go out, looked at Cho Myung for the last time.
"Was he always this big?"
The head of the pharmacy, who had tilted his head once, disappeared with the thought that he must have seen wrong.
That night, around midnight.
Old Man Ban opened his eyes.
One of his arms was heavy, and when he turned his head, he saw Cho Myung sitting close to the bed, resting his head on his arm.
He had fallen asleep while massaging his arm because he was worried.
"You rascal."
Old Man Ban stroked Cho Myung's head with his other hand.
At this time, Hua Yunhui, who had been dozing off, shot up.
Then he remembered why he had been dozing off and looked back at Old Man Ban.
"Huh? You're awake."
Hua Yunhui, who had come over, rubbing his eyes, checked Old Man Ban's pulse first.
"Can you do it properly in that state?"
"Just as a martial artist has a martial artist's instinct, a doctor has a doctor's instinct. Please stay still."
It wasn't just words, but from the moment he took the pulse, he began to concentrate quickly.
"It's very good. You feel it too, don't you, old man?"
"I do. It seems your golden needle technique has reached the heavens."
"I wish it were so, but unfortunately, it's not."
"...?"
"My sister brought the Dragon God Nine Treasure Pill. It's the last one left in the clinic. I'm telling you so you can at least say hello to my sister later."
"I have received a great favor."
"The clinic has also gained a lot thanks to you, old man, so I don't think it's something to be called a favor. But there's the kindness that my sister showed. Just say thank you once."
"Yes, I will."
Old Man Ban nodded readily and smiled.
As Hua Yunhui had said, he was grateful for the heart of Hua Sochen, who had readily given out the precious elixir.
And he thought that the reason she had done so was because she considered the Longevity Hall family members to be special.
'It seems she really accepts us as one family.'
Old Man Ban felt a strange emotion.
He had learned the Hundred Strikes Art from his master and had just wandered the world, but he had never even thought of starting a family.
So he had never felt the strong bond and harmony that a family gives, but lately, since Cho Myung appeared, he had been feeling a similar emotion.
"Since it seems to have gotten better, I'll remove the needles."
"Yes, go ahead."
Hua Yunhui approached and began to remove the golden needles from his upper body.
But as he looked back and forth between Hua Yunhui, who was removing the golden needles, and Cho Myung, who was sleeping with his arm as a pillow, something suddenly came to mind.
"You said the golden needles wouldn't go into Cho Myung's body, right?"
"Yes."
"Can you try again now?"
"You'll wake the kid."
At Hua Yunhui's words, Old Man Ban reached out the hand that Cho Myung was not using as a pillow and pressed his acupoint.
"He won't wake up easily now. Try inserting the needle."
Hua Yunhui, who had hesitated for a moment, inserted the golden needle he had removed from Old Man Ban's body into Cho Myung's arm.
As expected, the golden needle did not go in.
"It won't go in."
"Go and get a knife."
"What?"
Hua Yunhui, who was looking at him with a bewildered expression.
But Old Man Ban had a serious face.
"The energy in Myung's body is a mysterious energy that is second to none in the world. It probably won't be injured even if you cut it with a knife, or even if it is injured, it will heal quickly."
"What? What kind of absurd...!"
"Let's see if it makes sense or not."
Hua Yunhui just blinked his eyes and then ran out of Longevity Hall.
And he soon returned with a sharp knife used to treat patients' wounds.
"Are you really going to do it?"
"Do it."
"Really?"
"If you can't, give it to me."
When Old Man Ban reached out his hand, Hua Yunhui did not hand it over and lightly cut Cho Myung's forearm with the knife.
But there was not a single scratch.
Hua Yunhui looked at Old Man Ban.
"Cut deeper."
Hua Yunhui looked at the sleeping Cho Myung's face once and then cut with more force.
It was a force that would have cut half an inch into the flesh.
"It won't cut."
"Try cutting with more force."
"More?"
"Yes, I need to see what happens if he gets injured."
At Old Man Ban's determined expression, Hua Yunhui, who had hesitated for a moment, cut with twice the force, thinking "what the hell".
But the knife just pressed against the flesh and passed by, and there was no wound.
"With more force!"
Old Man Ban shouted, and Hua Yunhui cut with even more force.
But it was the same.
"Is that all the strength you have?"
Hua Yunhui cut really hard.
Nevertheless, there was no wound.
"If it doesn't work even with this, isn't that enough?"
"No. I need to know what Myung's strengths are. That's how I can train him properly. Hurry up and do it with more force."
Hua Yunhui, who had learned the reason why Old Man Ban was doing this, cut with all his might, thinking "what the hell".
But it was the moment the sharp blade cut through Cho Myung's flesh.
"Aaargh!"
Suddenly, Hua Yunhui was sent flying.
The energy that had shot out from Cho Myung's body had sent Hua Yunhui flying.
And as if that were not enough, the energy gathered in the air and formed the shape of a giant snake, and it suddenly approached Old Man Ban's face.
"It's not me! It's not me!"
Old Man Ban raised one hand and took a surrender posture.
(End of Chapter)