Chapter 340

The middle-aged nun, Venerable Myoryeong, struggled to speak, her face pallid.

“The Venerable Nun… has entered nirvana.”

The moment I heard those words, my fist clenched on its own, and something deep in my chest sank with a heavy thud.

The two Elders of the Qingcheng Sect, who had rushed over after sensing the ominous mood, stared wide-eyed and shouted.

“Venerable Myoryeong, what do you mean? The Venerable Nun has entered nirvana?”

“That’s impossible! It can’t be!”

I already knew whom they meant by the Venerable Nun.

She, too, was one of the masters of the previous generation who remained vividly etched in Jeok Cheongang’s memories.

She was remarkably forthright. She stopped at nothing against her enemies, and her martial arts were outstanding. There were even times when she surpassed Hong Dao, that lazy bald monk.

During the Great Faction War, the Demonic Cult had feared her as the Blood Rakshasa¹, while the Murim of the Central Plains had bestowed upon her the sobriquet Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun.

Even as the years passed and the heroes of the past vanished one by one, she remained on Mount Emei and held her ground.

She was the Emei Sect’s sole Supreme Peak master and its respected Sect Leader.

And now the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun was dead.

First the Poison King, and now the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun.

What a damned mess.

I finally spoke the words that had been hovering on the tip of my tongue.

“Who killed her?”

“……!”

“……!”

Venerable Myoryeong, Gung Gibang, Hyuk Mujin, and the two Elders of the Qingcheng Sect.

Five pairs of eyes turned toward me at once. All five held surprise, though not for the same reason.

“The culprit?”

“D-Do you mean someone murdered the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun…?”

The two Elders of the Qingcheng Sect could not continue and fell silent. They had only belatedly realized what they had failed to notice in their shock at the news: Venerable Myoryeong’s current condition.

Venerable Myoryeong’s clothes were caked with dried, dark-red blood, and her complexion had turned a deathly blue.

She stared at me with wide eyes, then lowered her head.

“As expected, Young Hero Jin already knew.”

As expected?

At my questioning look, Gung Gibang nodded gravely.

“We had no choice. The man who murdered the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun…”

“He’s the same person as the culprit behind what happened at the Sichuan Tang Clan, or at least connected to him. I think so too.”

The Elders, realizing there was something they did not know, asked in urgent voices,

“You knew about the killer? Has something happened to the Sichuan Tang Clan as well?”

“Tell us everything. Quickly!”

There was no hiding it now.

Perhaps this had been inevitable from the moment the Poison King was murdered.

I drew a deep breath and spoke.

“A few days ago, Great Hero Tang Taesang, the Poison King, passed away. More precisely, someone murdered him.”

“……!”

“The Family Head, Great Hero Tang Sadok—the Myriad-Poison Asura—declared that he would have his revenge. By now, he should be pursuing the culprit with the members of his household.”

But the Poison King had not been the only victim.

Leaving the stunned Elders behind me, I looked straight at Venerable Myoryeong.

“What happened?”

“It was a middle-aged man. He was missing one arm.”

“A one-armed man?”

“Yes. He was…”

A trembling voice escaped Venerable Myoryeong’s lips.

“He was a fiend incarnate.”

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Fierce wind tore past us, and the surrounding scenery blurred with every stride.

The nun in my arms was astonishingly light, and the qi I could feel through our bodies was perilously faint.

She made it all the way here in this condition…

Venerable Myoryeong had not even finished telling us what had happened before vomiting a basinful of blood and losing consciousness.

Following close behind me, Gung Gibang spoke with a grim expression.

“How bad are her injuries?”

“Serious. I poured internal energy into her to bolster her vitality for now, but… it won’t be enough.”

Gung Gibang let out a quiet groan.

“She wasn’t this bad when we first set out. Venerable Myoryeong insisted she could endure the journey.”

“You should’ve stopped her anyway, you bastard.”

“……There was no stopping her. I’m sorry.”

My lips moved, but I pressed them shut without speaking.

I knew. Even if I had gone instead of Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin, I could not have stopped Venerable Myoryeong.

Even as she vomited blood, the voice she had forced out still rang vividly in my ears.

“The Sect Leader and all three Elders… That fiend killed them all. I—we couldn’t chase him as he walked away smiling.”

She said the fiend had descended upon Mount Emei, the sacred mountain of Buddhism, only three days ago.

The demon had climbed the mountain like any other pilgrim and sought out the residence where the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun lived. Three Elders happened to be there at the time.

Then a battle that shook heaven and earth erupted. A mountain peak collapsed, and Mount Emei itself trembled.

What Venerable Myoryeong had witnessed after recognizing the disaster and rushing there from the nearest location was four dead nuns and a single demon.

“Don’t look at me like that. My art of killing was simply stronger than Emei’s Dharma².”

“H-How could you do such a thing? Do you truly not fear Heaven?”

“How laughable. The Buddha and Heaven you speak of are all lies and illusions. I will show you that I have another Heaven.”

That was the last thing he said.

The killer struck Venerable Myoryeong with a palm and disappeared. Then, while the Emei Sect was consumed by grief and rage, two young men arrived.

After Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin told her that members of the Qingcheng Sect were nearby, she ignored everyone’s attempts to stop her and descended Mount Emei.

“Please help us. Please! No matter what, we must stop that fiend… Cough!”

Remembering Venerable Myoryeong crying out until the moment she lost consciousness made me clench my teeth.

Just what kind of bastard was he…?

A one-armed, middle-aged man. A master with enough terrifying martial prowess to single-handedly kill the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun, a Supreme Peak master of the previous generation, along with three Elders.

What was his purpose? Why had he done such a thing? And was he the same man who had murdered Tang Taesang, the Poison King?

What if he wasn’t?

The moment my thoughts reached that point, a chill ran down my spine, and my heart began pounding violently.

If the two incidents had been committed by different people… it was only a matter of time before Sichuan became a land of death.

Just as my previously effortless steps began to grow heavy, the two Elders of the Qingcheng Sect spoke.

“I think we should part ways here.”

“I’m sorry, but circumstances leave us no other choice.”

It was only natural for them to worry about their own sect.

First the Sichuan Tang Clan, and now the Emei Sect. Anyone with a brain could guess that the Qingcheng Sect might be next.

“There’s no need to apologize. I would have done the same.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“Are you going straight to Mount Qingcheng?”

The older of the two Elders shook his head.

“I will lead some of our Disciples to assist the Emei Sect. My Junior Brother will return to the main sect with the remaining Disciples. What about you?”

“Venerable Myoryeong’s injuries are worse than I thought. I intend to find a physician first, then contact the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

With so many of their members away, the Sichuan Tang Clan and the Qingcheng Sect had both been left virtually undefended. They needed to be warned, just in case.

The Elder, whose own sect was in the same position, understood that perfectly well.

“For now, focus on treating Venerable Myoryeong. We will send someone to the Sichuan Tang Clan.”

“Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it. May fortune favor your martial path.”

“And yours.”

We exchanged martial salutes and split into three groups.

The two Elders led their respective groups of Disciples north and east, leaving only four people, including me.

Ah. Jeok Cheongang and Venerable Myoryeong were here too.

We had come all the way to Sichuan to heal one patient, but instead of finding the Divine Physician, we had gained another.

What is this, some kind of hidden-camera prank?

Fuck, as if.

I heaved an inward sigh and was about to start walking again when—

Step. Step.

Light footsteps came up the dirt path, accompanied by cheerful humming. A boy climbing the mountain trail finally spotted us and opened his eyes wide.

“Huh? Wha—?”

It was a familiar face. The boy’s name was Mungyeong.

I was glad to see him again after only a few days, but before that feeling could fully surface, another thought flashed through my mind.

“Mungyeong.”

“What brings everyone here…? Huh?”

“You’re a medical apprentice, right?”

I still remembered him treating people on the deck of the swift ship.

I did not know exactly what treatment he had provided, but according to the river bandits, he was quite skilled.

“Yeees. I am, but…”

Mungyeong answered with a bewildered expression, then looked at Venerable Myoryeong in my arms. No further explanation was necessary.

He pulled a wooden case of acupuncture and moxibustion³ tools from the travel bag in his arms and strode toward us.

“First… let me examine the patient.”

Swish.

It took Mungyeong only moments to check her pulse and insert the needles.

Yet despite handling the entire process with effortless fluidity, a shadow hung over his face.

“…How is she?”

I did not need to ask to know the answer would not be good.

Sure enough, Mungyeong quietly shook his head.

“Not good. Not at all.”

“You managed to give her some basic treatment, right?”

“Yes.”

I let out a sigh of relief.

It might have been unkind, but I had never expected much from Mungyeong in the first place. He was young and had only been studying medicine for a short time.

Basic treatment was all I had wanted from him.

“You did well. That’s enough for now. If we get to Chengdu as quickly as possible and find a way…”

“Will that really be enough?”

“What?”

“In one month, her flesh will begin to rot. In four months, her bones will melt away.”

“Hold on. What the hell are you talking about…?”

But Mungyeong continued in the same quiet voice.

“After half a year of horrific pain, she will look like a living corpse. She might survive a year at most. Once her organs begin to rot, she will finally stop breathing.”

“…What?”

“Even if you take her to Chengdu, you won’t find any suitable treatment. The physicians available among the common people can only handle women’s ailments of the sort suffered by high officials and nobles. And the Sichuan Tang Clan…”

Two things shocked me.

First, that Venerable Myoryeong’s injuries were so severe.

Second, the unfamiliar sight of Mungyeong calmly describing something so horrifying.

“I heard rumors all over the marketplace that the Tang Clan’s martial artists had headed west. It will take them several days at least to return. By then, it will be too late. How long ago was she injured?”

Hyuk Mujin answered haltingly.

“Th-Three days. A little over three days, I think.”

“Three days…”

Mungyeong let out a quiet groan, then continued in a heavy voice.

“The Black Hand Seal is a terrifying evil technique. Once seven days and nights have passed, there will be no turning back.”

Grab!

That was as far as he got.

My patience snapped. Unable to hold back any longer, I seized him by the collar.

“You… How the hell do you know that?”

A teenage medical apprentice had just named an evil technique no one else present had ever heard of.

The Mungyeong I knew could never have possessed such knowledge.

“Tell me. Now.”

Mungyeong swallowed hard at my chilling aura before answering,

“My Master… My Master told me everything.”

“Your Master?”

“Y-Yes. Yes… Cough!”

A flash of realization streaked through my mind.

The strength drained from the hand gripping his collar.

A murmur like a groan slipped from my lips.

“The Divine Physician…?”