A few days passed.
In the meantime, Jeok Yorap's condition improved, and he was able to get out of bed on his own.
At first, he struggled just to take a few steps, but he was able to stand up and walk on his own, so Hua Yunhui explained that this alone was a great improvement.
After another two days, Jeok Yorap began to wash his face on his own, and after another two days, he asked Seokcheong to bring him a small knife and shaved his beard himself. And after washing his body with water, he changed into the new clothes that Hua Yunhui had gotten for him.
"Anyone would say you're a Han."
"Right?"
At Old Man Ban's words, Jeok Yorap smiled brightly.
Since his father was a Han, he was very happy to hear that he looked like a Han.
"At this rate, even the disciples of Kunlun won't be able to recognize me."
"I think so too. Now, no one will be able to recognize you and Myung. Still, just in case, let's be careful for another year or two."
"Yes, we should."
It was when the two were talking.
Seokcheong came with a well-built porter.
"Huh? You look completely different with new clothes."
Seokcheong, who expressed his surprise at Jeok Yorap's changed appearance, pointed to a place for the porter.
"Please put it down there."
"Ah, yes. I understand."
The porter put down the goods from his A-frame.
It was a breastplate made of cast iron.
It was so heavy that there was a thud when it was put down on the ground.
"This is what you ordered from the ironworks. I'll see this person off and come back."
"Go ahead."
When Seokcheong guided the porter and disappeared outside Longevity Hall, Old Man Ban shouted towards the backyard of Longevity Hall.
"Myung! Come here!"
"Yes."
Cho Myung came running.
But there was a point that was so different that anyone who had known Cho Myung before would have been surprised.
He looked like he was thirteen or fourteen, not five.
In the few days that Jeok Yorap's physical condition had improved, another bone cleansing phenomenon had occurred, and he had grown about half a handspan taller.
"Huh? What's this?"
Cho Myung, who saw the object that the porter had put down, asked as if it were strange.
"Try it on."
"Wear it?"
"Yes."
Cho Myung tilted his head and lifted it.
It was quite heavy.
Of course it was. It was made with a hundred catties (60kg) of cast iron.
Looking at it here and there, he found a hook on one side and unfastened it. Then the breastplate split in half and he could wear it on his body.
Cho Myung put the breastplate on his upper body.
He felt the weight pressing down on his whole body.
"How is it? Can you run?"
"Of course. I can run as much as I want with this."
"Then that's good. From today, when you go up the mountain, wear that."
"Okay."
When Cho Myung answered bravely, Old Man Ban smiled with satisfaction and got up.
"From today, I will teach you the Hundred Strikes Art."
"Really?"
"Yes. Let's go to the backyard."
"Okay."
Cho Myung, with an excited face, followed Old Man Ban to the backyard.
Jeok Yorap, who was watching the scene, tilted his head.
"That kid, he's not even bothered by carrying a hundred catties."
Fighting Demon, Ban Nahan.
At one time, the fame of the Fighting Demon was truly great.
Even in the vortex of the Great War between the Orthodox and Demonic factions, he had wandered the world alone and fought against both the Orthodox and Demonic factions, winning every battle, and running on an undefeated path.
Just by looking at the faces of those he had defeated before he was defeated by the Divine Sword of Huashan, one could easily tell how great he was.
Ghost Blade Killer, Green Snake Staff, Fire Demon Lord, Thunderclap Sword, Bright Scholar, and even the Qi Sword Heavenly Guest.
They were all beings who shook the world.
Thus, by defeating the ultimate masters with external martial arts, which were looked down upon as a third-rate martial art, he had brought a considerable shock and ripple effect to the martial arts world.
"The basic principle of the Hundred Strikes Art is that the fist must be powerful, the feet must be fast, and the waist must be free. Just like this."
Old Man Ban, who had made two fists and slightly bent his upper body, moved his feet one step in all directions, front, back, left, and right, and shook his upper body here and there.
Then, as if there were an opponent in front of him, he threw a short punch, and in the eyes of Cho Myung, who was watching with bated breath, it looked like a very rhythmic movement.
Old Man Ban, who had shown the basic movements of the Hundred Strikes Art, was out of breath and gasped for air.
And a moment later, after catching his breath, he opened his mouth again.
"A person's body is extremely fragile. No matter how great a master is, if they are hit in a vital spot, they will become powerless in an instant. So, to defeat an opponent, you must first know the vital spots."
Old Man Ban taught him the vital spots one by one.
However, worried that the still young Cho Myung might lose interest in the Hundred Strikes Art, he ended it by teaching him once for now, and then taught him the basic movements of the Hundred Strikes Art one by one, breaking them down.
"Should I do it like this?"
"......!"
Surprisingly, Cho Myung imitated it exactly after seeing it just once.
'Is it thanks to the Immortal Demonic Aura that the senses and nerves of his whole body have developed?'
Old Man Ban, who had tried to hide his surprise, nodded and praised him.
"Yes, you did very well. You should do it like that. From today, when you go up the mountain, practice the movements you just learned."
"Okay."
Cho Myung, who had answered with a bright smile, repeated the movements he had just learned on the spot.
Even though it had not been long since he had learned them, he was getting faster and more accurate.
Old Man Ban, who was watching Cho Myung's movements carefully, belatedly realized the existence of the breastplate and widened his eyes.
'Don't tell me he doesn't feel the weight of a hundred catties at all?'
Old Man Ban thought it was absurd, but he couldn't erase that suspicion.
That's how light Cho Myung's movements looked.
***
The most influential places in the land of Sichuan were the Sichuan Merchant Alliance, the Divine Doctor Family of the Divine Land, and the Qingcheng Sect and the Sichuan Tang Family.
But now, the Hua Family Clinic had declined and had to give up the praise of being the Divine Doctor Family of the Divine Land, and only the three pillars of the Sichuan Merchant Alliance, the Qingcheng Sect, and the Sichuan Tang Family were supporting the land of Sichuan as the giants of the business and martial arts worlds.
One of them, people sent from the Sichuan Tang Family, came to visit the Hua Family Clinic.
Hua Sochen, looking at the two people sitting in front of her, Tang Huaping and Tang Xiulian, thought that what was to come had come.
"Looking at your expression, it seems you've guessed the reason we came?"
"Yes."
When Hua Sochen answered, Tang Huaping nodded and pushed the bundle in front of him towards Hua Sochen.
It was the betrothal gift that the Hua Family Clinic had sent when they were promoting the marriage of Tang Xiulian and Hua Yunhui.
Tang Huaping was the younger brother of the head of the Tang family, and Tang Xiulian was the daughter of the head of the Tang family and the party to the marriage.
So the Tang family had shown a certain level of courtesy to the Hua Family Clinic.
Knowing that, Hua Sochen was in a position where she could not say anything.
But that was her position as the temporary head of the Hua Family Clinic, and as the older sister of her beloved younger brother, she could not just stand by.
"Since there is a family, we also exist, so I understand the current situation. It's not your fault, and it's not the fault of the adults. The times were like that, and the war between the Demonic and Orthodox factions... and it's the fault of the fiends who killed my grandfather and parents and the Orthodox Faction who couldn't stop them."
"Yes."
"But there's one thing I want to ask. Although we couldn't be tied together like this, I hope you two don't think that you've wasted your emotions in your hearts."
"......?"
"Go and see Yunhui. It may not be beautiful, but you can at least say a farewell that it was a good connection."
"Didn't brother Yunhui refuse me?"
"No, that's not it. He just avoided you because he was shy. When the marriage talks came up, my deceased parents asked for Yunhui's opinion first."
"So?"
Tang Xiulian asked with round eyes.
Even though the situation had become like this, it seemed she was really curious about Hua Yunhui's thoughts.
"My parents had no intention of accepting the marriage if Yunhui said he didn't want to."
"Ah!"
"I wonder what's the use of it all now, but we shouldn't leave any misunderstandings."
The moment Hua Sochen's words ended, Tang Xiulian shot up. Then she looked back at Tang Huaping.
"Yes, it would be better to say farewell in person."
When Tang Huaping nodded, Tang Xiulian ran outside.
"Thank you."
Hua Sochen expressed her gratitude to Tang Huaping.
"As an adult, I'm just sorry. If you ever need the help of the Tang family, just say the word anytime. This is a message from the head of the family, so don't take it lightly."
"Thank you."
Hua Sochen expressed her gratitude once more.
***
Healing Hall.
It is the place where general patients are diagnosed and treated at the Hua Family Clinic.
Hua Yunhui was examining an old woman who was suffering from a high fever.
"Since when has it been like this?"
"It's been about two days..."
Even while speaking, she was looking around, as if she was not very confident in the young doctor.
Hua Yunhui, knowing the old woman's heart, pretended not to know and checked her pulse and examined her face.
It was to diagnose the illness by examining the degree of emaciation and the color of the face, which is called Guan Xing Cha Se.
"By any chance, are you hurt anywhere?"
"I have a fever, why are you looking for a wound... you can just prescribe a decoction to lower the fever..."
"When it's cold, you rub your hands together and they get hot, right? That's because the skin is rubbing against each other. Similarly, when a disease occurs in the body, the body clashes with the disease. Then you can get a fever like you, grandmother. If a wound from an injury doesn't heal and lasts for a long time..."
Hua Yunhui kindly explained, not caring about the old woman's grumbling.
"Is it because of this?"
The old woman rolled up her right leg.
A festering wound was visible on her shin, with yellow pus flowing out.
Just by looking at it, it was a wound from being hit by a farm tool.
"Look, look. The fever is because of this. Since it's festering like this, of course you'll have a fever. We have to treat it right away. It will hurt."
Hua Yunhui squatted down on the spot, cut the festering wound with a sharp small knife to remove the pus, applied medicine, and bandaged it.
"Be careful not to get it wet, and come back in two days."
"What about the decoction?"
"You don't have to take it."
"Really?"
The old woman's face brightened.
It was probably because the treatment would be expensive if she had to take a decoction.
"If you say you want to take it, I'll prescribe the most expensive one. Do you want to take it?"
"No! No! I'm fine!"
The old woman waved her hands and refused.
Hua Yunhui smiled and finished the treatment.
"Don't forget to come back in two days. If you don't, I'll prescribe a decoction and send it to you."
The old woman promised to come for sure and then went outside.
At this time, Hua Yunhui, who was seeing the old woman off, saw Tang Xiulian staring at him from one side.
Hua Yunhui was startled, then wiped his hands and approached her.
"When did you come?"
"Will the clinic make money like that?"
"A doctor is not a person who makes money."
"Still, you have to make money to live. Do you have time?"
"Right now, the patients..."
"It'll just take a moment."
Tang Xiulian grabbed Hua Yunhui's hand and pulled him.
If he had to take care of a patient, he could have resisted, saying he couldn't, but Hua Yunhui was obediently dragged.
What did the two talk about, Hua Yunhui returned alone only after half an hour.
With a face like a person who had lived through everything.
It was dinner time.
"The head of the family gave me two bottles of this."
Seokcheong held up the wine bottles with a face that said he didn't know what was going on.
Then Hua Yunhui, who had been sitting blankly with a gloomy face, shot up, snatched one of the bottles, and went out with a swagger.
"What's going on? I heard the young lady of the Tang family was here, why is he like that?"
Seokcheong looked back and forth between Old Man Ban and Jeok Yorap with wide eyes. But the two also did not know what was going on.
"Did the head of the family not say anything?"
"She said, 'This is the best for forgetting,' or something like that."
Old Man Ban, who had been thinking deeply about Seokcheong's words, soon guessed the reason without difficulty.
"I heard the people from the Tang family came, so it seems the marriage with the Tang family has been broken off."
"What?"
Seokcheong, who was surprised, turned in the direction where Hua Yunhui had disappeared.
His face was full of worry.
"What do we do? He always said she was scary like his sister, but he was always smiling..."
Seokcheong lamented.
Since Jeok Yorap and Cho Myung didn't know what he was talking about, they could only blink their eyes silently.
Old Man Ban briefly explained what he knew to Jeok Yorap and Cho Myung.
"He pretended not to be interested, pretended not to like her..."
Old Man Ban, whose heart was also heavy, trailed off and just sighed deeply.
"Young master...!"
When Seokcheong called out anxiously and was about to go outside, Old Man Ban stopped him.
"It's better to leave him alone."
"Why?"
"Because those are things you have to sort out on your own."
Since Old Man Ban said so, it seemed so.
Seokcheong couldn't follow and just made a pitiful face.
"What do we do about our young master..."
***
"Big brother Cheong!"
"Yeah?"
"Why can't big brother Yunhui and the young lady of the Tang family get married?"
"Well, it's because the clinic is ruined."
"The clinic is ruined?"
"Yeah, it's ruined. The divine doctor passed away, and the head of the family and his wife, and the doctors who were famous for being skilled, all passed away."
"Then big brother Yunhui won't be happy?"
"That's right. He can't be happy. He won't be happy now."
"I have to protect him..."
"......?"
At the muttering that was like a monologue, Seokcheong just stared at Cho Myung.
"Big brother."
"Yeah?"
"I'll train harder. So I'll protect my big brothers well so they won't be sad again."
"......Yeah. But..."
"......?"
"No... thank you."
(End of Chapter)