CLS-Chapter 459

Chapter 459:

Contrary to the Medicine Hall Master’s tension, Wei Yan-ho’s question was all too ordinary.

“Have you ever tried using spirit medicines?”

“Spirit medicines, you said?”

It was ordinary but unexpected. And obvious.

“Yes. The problem right now isn’t just that the meridians are ruptured, but even if the meridians were intact, there’s no qi to circulate in the first place. So I was wondering what would happen if we poured qi into them…”

“They would die.”

The Medicine Hall Master spoke decisively without a moment’s hesitation.

“What happens when rain keeps pouring into a river with a broken dam?”

“There would be flooding.”

“Exactly.”

The Medicine Hall Master nodded and said.

“Qi flows throughout the entire body, but there are specific pathways for that qi to flow. When qi strays from its path or takes the wrong route, it strains the body, and we call that Qi Deviation.”

“Right.”

“If we force qi into this body right now, the qi will naturally overflow, and the situation will worsen beyond control.”

“So it’s not a matter of which comes first, the chicken or the egg?”

“If we had to determine priority, we could say repairing the meridians comes first. Only after the meridians are restored can treatment using qi become possible.”

“Hmm…”

Wei Yan-ho looked at the patient and frowned.

Repairing the meridians…

‘Easier said than done.’

Even fairly skilled masters take considerable time to repair their meridians when they’re damaged. How could they possibly repair the meridians of those whose qi channels are completely destroyed?

It would be impossible unless they underwent Complete Body Transformation.

“So in the end, there’s no solution?”

“I’m still searching for one.”

“So there isn’t one.”

“Young Hero.”

The Medicine Hall Master sighed and said.

“Among all the diseases in the world, not a single one had an answer from the beginning. Even diseases that we now consider naturally curable were once incurable, and catching them meant certain death. The medical arts of today are the result of someone’s efforts and more efforts to conquer those diseases.”

“Mm…”

There was firm determination in the Medicine Hall Master’s eyes.

“Young Hero’s words are correct. Right now, there is no answer. But I will find a way. By any means necessary.”

Wei Yan-ho quietly nodded.

“I hope you can.”

It wasn’t sarcasm but genuine.

Wei Yan-ho, who had come outside, let out a deep sigh.

“Since there’s no answer anyway, why bother looking and only getting upset?”

At Jang-il’s words, Wei Yan-ho narrowed his eyes.

“What, what! Why, why!”

When Wei Yan-ho glared at him, the startled Jang-il slowly backed away.

“Forget it. That’s why you live as a beggar.”

“What’s wrong with being a beggar!”

“Tsk.”

As Wei Yan-ho shuffled forward, Jang-il followed behind.

“Let’s go together!”

Jang-il, who had stuck close to his side, stealthily gauged Wei Yan-ho’s mood.

“Did you give up?”

“I never thought I could do anything from the start. I was just confirming.”

“So did you gain anything?”

Even Jang-il found his own question absurd.

‘What am I expecting from this guy?’

This question shouldn’t be directed at Wei Yan-ho. It was a question that Wei Jeong-han or Zhuge Woo should be asking. Wei Yan-ho wasn’t suited for investigating and solving such matters.

Jang-il knew this fact well. Yet ridiculously, Jang-il was asking Wei Yan-ho such things.

‘I end up having expectations without realizing it.’

Jang-il sighed.

He knew the reason.

This was proof that Wei Yan-ho had somehow become their center. He wasn’t thinking that Wei Yan-ho would produce something amazing, but rather wanted to know what direction Wei Yan-ho wanted to go. That way, he could investigate according to what Wei Yan-ho wanted.

It was right then that unexpected words reached Jang-il, who was about to blame his own foolishness.

“There’s something I need to confirm.”

“Huh?”

Confirm?

That meant he hadn’t gained absolutely nothing.

‘What did he gain?’

Jang-il had also gone to the Medicine Hall with Wei Yan-ho. But he felt nothing there. He did learn one fact—that the stronger one’s martial arts and the more qi consumed, the faster the decay progresses after the seizure ends—but that information didn’t seem likely to help solve this matter.

“Master said yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“That taking one step is important. He said that instead of spending time trying to find a way to solve everything at once, if you move even one small thing, you’ll eventually reach a solution.”

“Your master is dead, isn’t he?”

“In the end, it’s what I said though…”

“…”

Jang-il looked at him with a face that said ‘this guy has completely lost it now,’ but Wei Yan-ho ignored Jang-il’s gaze.

“So where are we going?”

“To Father.”

“Eeh?”

Jang-il’s face became slightly dumbfounded.

“So…”

Wei Jeong-han pressed his brow while looking at Wei Yan-ho, who had suddenly barged in and thrown out an absurd question.

‘Should I ignore this… but somehow this seems like an important question…’

Normally, he would have waved his hand and told him he was busy now, come back later, but Wei Yan-ho’s current question was definitely something he couldn’t ignore. It was puzzling how this fellow had come up with such a question.

Jang-il, who was next to Wei Yan-ho, also had his mouth hanging wide open.

‘He does absurd things from time to time.’

Perhaps because his way of thinking was different from ordinary people, there were times when he felt the direction of thought was different. Just like now.

“So what you’re saying is…”

Wei Yan-ho asked once more.

“You said the Demon Cult members ate the Blood Explosion Pills in the old days, right?”

“That’s right.”

“You said those Demon Cult members showed symptoms like this when they ate the Blood Explosion Pills.”

“That’s right.”

“Then most of them must have died, right?”

“It’s something I already explained.”

“Then…”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes lit up as he asked.

“Among those who ate the Blood Explosion Pills, isn’t there anyone who survived?”

“…”

Wei Jeong-han scratched his head vigorously. He had never thought he would receive such a question.

“What are you planning to do knowing that?”

“If the symptoms are the same as those of the Blood Explosion Pills, then to save those who had seizures, we ultimately need to treat the Blood Explosion Pills, right?”

“That’s right…”

“Then we need to investigate those who ate the Blood Explosion Pills and survived. How they survived.”

It made sense.

So much sense that it was strange why no one had thought of it until now.

But…

“Let me answer first. As far as I know, there are almost no survivors among those who ate the Blood Explosion Pills.”

“Hmm.”

Wei Yan-ho wasn’t disappointed. And he calmly waited for Wei Jeong-han’s next words.

“But there are some. As far as I know, there are a few who ate the Blood Explosion Pills and survived. But the problem is that most of them are Demon Cult members, and there’s currently no way to investigate them. Unless we storm into the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.”

“Mm…”

Wei Yan-ho made a contemplative sound.

“Then among those who aren’t Demon Cult members, there’s no one who ate the Blood Explosion Pills?”

Jang-il frowned.

“Hey, you crazy bastard. Who would eat something that kills you? Would you eat it?”

“Adults are talking, so beggars shouldn’t butt in.”

“I’m older than you, you know?”

“I understand, so go out and beg.”

“Gah!”

Wei Yan-ho lightly pushed away Jang-il, who was about to have a fit, and turned to Wei Jeong-han.

“There aren’t any?”

“There are.”

Jang-il asked in bewilderment.

“Th-there are?”

Wei Jeong-han nodded with a somewhat gloomy expression.

“There are. Although the Blood Explosion Pills were treated as precious items even within the Demon Cult, it wasn’t to the extent that they never flowed to our side. War is like that. In times of crisis, there were many who died without even getting to take a Blood Explosion Pill despite being determined to take one and fight to the death. If you set your mind to it, it isn’t impossible to obtain them.”

“Ah…”

Jang-il asked as if he couldn’t understand.

“The Blood Explosion Pills themselves could be obtained. There would be cases where Blood Explosion Pills were found on dead Demon Cult members. But are you saying they consumed them? When eating them means death?”

“Because it was a situation where they’d die even without eating them.”

Wei Jeong-han’s voice carried weight. As if the terrible scenes of that war from the past were coming to mind.

“Since they were going to die anyway, there were many who decided to eat the Blood Explosion Pills and kill at least one more demon before dying. Everyone was driven to that edge.”

Though spoken in a calm tone, it was words that couldn’t help but feel chilling. Jang-il shook his head as if he couldn’t imagine it.

“Anyway, so there were people who ate them?”

“That’s right.”

“Then among them, aren’t there any who survived?”

“…There are.”

Wei Jeong-han stroked his chin.

This was something he should have thought of before Wei Yan-ho pointed it out. Being busy wasn’t an excuse.

“Where are they?”

“…It’s quite far. To be precise, among those I know who ate the Blood Explosion Pills and survived, there are about ten.”

“Ten?”

“But seven of them became disabled. About five can’t even speak properly. At the time, they were barely breathing. Now probably…”

The rest could be understood without hearing it.

“What about the remaining three?”

“One’s whereabouts are mysterious. It’s common among martial artists. He probably went into seclusion somewhere or buried himself somewhere. And another is in a place too far for you to visit. The North Sea isn’t a land you can go to just because you want to.”

“Then…”

All possibilities had disappeared.

Wei Yan-ho couldn’t hide his disappointed expression as he asked.

“What about the remaining one?”

“Coincidentally…”

Wei Jeong-han answered with a subtle expression.

“I don’t think you’ll need to look for him.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s coming here right now.”

“What?”

Wei Jeong-han answered as if he found it absurd himself.

“The most unharmed among those who ate the Blood Explosion Pills, and the one closest to this place, is coming here right now. And to see you, no less.”

“…Huh?”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Wei Jeong-han as if asking what that meant.

“No way, really?”

Jang-il’s eyes widened as if he knew who Wei Jeong-han was talking about.

“That person?”

“That’s right. That person is the case I mentioned earlier. When the situation became hopeless, he consumed the Blood Explosion Pill he had been carrying and had a seizure, sweeping away all the demons around him.”

“What an amazing person.”

Even Wei Yan-ho couldn’t help but admire such a story.

“And he was fine after that?”

“He wasn’t completely fine. He experienced everything that those who eat Blood Explosion Pills go through. Everyone thought he would die. But he survived. Not just survived, but even recovered his original martial prowess. I thought it was truly remarkable…”

Wei Jeong-han stroked his chin.

‘At the time, we thought there would be no occasion for our side to consume Blood Explosion Pills again, so no one tried to investigate it.’

If he had known something like this would happen, he wouldn’t have let it pass so easily.

“So who is this person?”

Wei Jeong-han answered nonchalantly.

“The Heavenly Alliance Leader.”

“What?”

“The Heavenly Alliance Leader. The person who’s coming to meet you right now.”

“…Whaaat?”

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes went wide.