Chapter 67

“Ugh, every bone in my body aches.”

Hyuk Mujin groaned. His exposed upper body was stained dark reddish-black all over.

At the sight, the crotchety-looking old man—the Medicine King Hall Master—clicked his tongue.

“What the hell did you do to your body?”

He untied the bundle he had brought with him, revealing acupuncture needles as thick as stakes. Hyuk Mujin asked in a terrified voice, “You’re going to stick those in me?”

“What, scared?”

“They look like they’ll hurt like hell… Please go easy on me.”

“Sure, why not.”

The Medicine King Hall Master answered readily and took out two large needles.

“I’ll put one in the Baihui Acupoint at the crown of your head and one in the Huiyin Acupoint at your perineum. If you die, you won’t have to worry about pain anymore.”

“……”

“Now you’re finally ready to be treated.”

After silencing Hyuk Mujin with a single sentence, the Medicine King Hall Master got to work. In the blink of an eye, dozens of large and small needles pierced Hyuk Mujin’s skin.

Thuk-thuk-thuk.

“Argh! Argh!”

“A young punk like you, making such a fuss. From the sound of that voice, you’ll be hale and hearty for another fifty years.”

Leaving Hyuk Mujin, who had turned into a porcupine, behind, the Medicine King Hall Master turned to me.

“Strip.”

“What, what?”

“Are you deaf? Take off your shirt.”

When it came to age, to hell with being the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi or anything else. I shot a sidelong glance at the blue-glinting needles and took off my top.

Rustle.

“Hm?”

The Medicine King Hall Master’s eyes widened when he saw my body.

“What the hell are you?”

His voice was full of astonishment, and understandably so. Until yesterday, my body had been covered in bruises, but now it was clean.

I didn’t expect this much either.

After a single night’s sleep, most of the bruises had disappeared, and even my aching bones felt perfectly fine.

Is this the power of Sleep Mode?

It seemed that simply sleeping now let me recover quickly from most ordinary bruises. Even the Medicine King Hall Master, a physician seasoned by years of experience, found me fascinating and examined me for quite some time.

“Did you take an elixir last night?”

“No. I just circulated my qi all day and got a good night’s sleep.”

“Is it the effect of the Hundred-Year-Old Snow Ginseng? No, that’s too much…”

The Medicine King Hall Master glared at me suspiciously, as if wondering whether I had raided the medicine storeroom again, then shook his head.

“The Third Young Master may be discharged.”

Hyuk Mujin, who had been groaning, brightened.

“What about me? What about me?”

“I swear, if you run off again without permission, I’ll ram one of these needles into your Huiyin Acupoint.”

The gaunt old man muttered in a sinister voice, jabbing a large needle through the air. He looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

That’ll be one bloody opening ceremony.

“Third Young Master, get out. Unless you want the needles too.”

Thanks…

That was the moment I jumped to my feet to escape those eyes gleaming with madness.

A sudden flash of insight crossed my mind.

Where am I supposed to go now?

The pavilion had collapsed, leaving me with nowhere to return to. I had become homeless overnight, and as I stood there hesitating—

“Ahem. Medicine King Hall Master, are you inside?”

A familiar voice came from beyond the door. Wondering if it could really be him, I opened it and found exactly the face I had expected.

“Hyung?”¹

Jin Wikyung jumped a beat too late.

“No, what are you doing here? I came because I had something urgent to discuss with the Medicine King Hall Master during my duties. What an incredible coincidence!”

“……”

Nice try.

After hearing about my situation, Jin Wikyung led the way with a solemn expression.

“I know of a place you can use as a residence for a while. Follow me.”

He was clearly conscious of the people watching us. After all, the image he had built over the years was that of a coolheaded, capable Lesser Family Head who kept public and private matters strictly separate.

The problem was…

“It’s the Lesser Family Head.”

“Isn’t that the Third Young Master beside him? What are those two doing together in broad daylight?”

“Maybe he can’t bear to be apart from him for even a moment. You know how he dotes on the Third Young Master.”

Anyone who paid attention already knew: Jin Wikyung was a complete fool for his little brother.

Of course they did. Anyone who didn’t know would be the abnormal one.

He was still like this in his mid-thirties. I could only imagine how bad he had been when he was younger. Right after the battle, he had even been so overcome with joy that he carried me around on his shoulders.

“My youngest! My little brother!”

After making such a spectacle in front of hundreds of people, there was no way anyone could have missed it.

As I sighed inwardly, a thread of Sound Transmission slipped into my ear.

“How was that? Hyung¹ can act too, huh?”

I nodded. If there were an Academy Award for terrible acting, he might have had a shot at Best Actor.

“Are you all right? Mukyung didn’t do it out of malice, so I hope you’ll understand.”

“……”

His fists had been overflowing with malice. It was only thanks to my rapid recovery that I hadn’t spent several days staring at the Medicine King Hall ceiling.

I should avoid running into him whenever possible.

That kid had a nasty temper, and the martial arts to back it up. There was no dealing with him.

The moment Jin Mukyung appeared, he had shot straight to the top of my internal watch list.

“Still, see him often enough and you’ll grow fond of him.”

See him often enough and I’ll grow black-and-blue.

Oblivious to my thoughts, Jin Wikyung laughed heartily and continued walking.

We passed through the bustling heart of the Jin Family of Taiyuan and kept going. The farther we went, the fewer people we saw.

Where are we now?

The sheer size of the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s estate spoke to its former glory. Even from a distance, it looked as large as several soccer fields combined, so it was only natural that I couldn’t see everything. There were still unfamiliar places everywhere my feet took me.

Everything’s run-down.

By now, the people had disappeared completely, leaving the road deserted. The occasional pavilion and other buildings whose purposes I couldn’t identify were old and gloomy.

It had the kind of atmosphere where rats held sports festivals during the day and ghosts played go-stop at night.²

When I looked around, Jin Wikyung hurriedly began to explain.

“Given how things have been for our family, even maintaining this much has been more than we could manage. We’ll need to carry out extensive renovations now, of course.”

“I don’t really mind.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I meant it.

I had lasted five whole years in a cramped, three-pyeong³ goshiwon⁴ studio. Rats could be caught, and as for ghosts… Well, it wasn’t as if real ghosts would actually show up.

“As long as it’s spacious, I don’t mind.”

“So, no matter what the circumstances are, you don’t care as long as it’s spacious?”

The premise sounded slightly ominous, but I nodded anyway. Jin Wikyung’s face brightened.

“That’s a relief. I was worried you might dislike it.”

“Where exactly is this place?”

“We’re here. This is the building.”

“Oh.”

We stopped in front of a large three-story pavilion. Compared to the other buildings we had passed, it was much cleaner and had a distinctly elegant, old-fashioned charm.

I also liked the tall stone wall surrounding it.

“It’s nice.”

There was no reason at all to dislike a place like this.

Jin Wikyung smiled brightly, looking pleased by my reaction.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s much cleaner than I expected. And it looks incredibly spacious.”

“That’s right. I had the training ground built large.”

“A training ground!”

“I had another one built underground in case the weather was bad.”

“Oh. Two training grounds!”

“If we divide them up, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Whoa. If we divide them up, that’d be perfect… Huh?”

Wait. What had he just said?

“I’m not supposed to use it alone?”

“Oh, well…”

Jin Wikyung gave an awkward smile.

“It’s spacious enough for two people to use it together, isn’t it? You might grow closer while you’re at it.”

“Who is it?”

Unease began to creep up my spine.

And bad premonitions were never wrong.

Instead of answering, Jin Wikyung strode into the pavilion.

“Mukyung! Your big brother’s here!”

Oh, damn it.

“So, I’d like you two to live together until his residence is rebuilt.”

After hearing the situation, Jin Mukyung readily nodded.

“Very well.”

I hadn’t expected him to accept so readily.

His unexpected response surprised both me and Jin Wikyung.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Yes. But please send me one person tomorrow.”

“Of course. I was worried about you shutting yourself away in the training ground all alone anyway, so this works out well. I’ll find you a capable servant who’s quick on the uptake. Or should I bring in a cook while I’m at it?”

“A servant or a cook is unnecessary.”

“Then what?”

Jin Mukyung gave me a long, meaningful look.

“Please call a physician.”

“……”

“……”

Of course.

The scenery I had seen on the way here suddenly rose before my eyes.

An empty street with no people around. An underground training ground where not even a scream could escape. The perfect conditions for committing a crime.

He’s really made up his mind to beat me senseless.

As I shivered with a chill, Jin Wikyung stammered, “M-Mukyung. No, that’s not it, right? It’s not what I’m thinking, right?”

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. It might be worse.”

“If it’s worse…”

“Then you’ll need to call an undertaker instead of a physician.”

I threw myself toward the exit without delay.

Whoosh! Grab!

Goddammit.

Jin Wikyung caught me by the nape and hauled me back. Jin Mukyung let out a short laugh as he watched.

“What a pathetic movement technique. Even a back-alley dog would be faster than you.”

This time I fired back without backing down.

“If something’s faster than me, is it really a dog? It’s Red Hare, isn’t it?”⁵

“Even after taking that beating, you still haven’t come to your senses.”

“Hit me! Come on, hit me!”

Of course, I had no intention of actually being hit. I had a dependable protector on my side.

“Enough!”

The booming shout shook the underground training ground. Unlike before, Jin Wikyung’s face had hardened.

“What do you two think you’re doing?”

I had never seen him like this. They said it was frightening when a kind person got angry, and Jin Wikyung now showed me exactly what that meant.

“Instead of getting along as brothers, you’re trying to start a fight in front of me?”

Under his fierce glare, Jin Mukyung and I both fell silent.

“It isn’t half a year or a year. It’s only fifteen days. I’m asking you to live together just until the pavilion is finished. Was that such a difficult request?”

Jin Mukyung flinched. As the one responsible for demolishing the pavilion, he couldn’t help feeling guilty.

“That was because that brat was being rude…”

“And that gives you the right to demolish a pavilion and beat up your little brother? You call that an excuse?”

Jin Mukyung lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

This time, the arrow turned toward me.

“Taekyung, what about you?”

I wanted to whip out my ID card, but I held myself back.

This body was only twenty now, and Jin Mukyung was my blood brother, three years older than me.

“Answer!”

“……I’m sorry.”

Jin Wikyung glared sternly at both of us.

“This is a decision I reached after careful consideration. If you dislike each other that much, say so now. I’ll respect your wishes.”

Jin Mukyung and I locked eyes in midair.

Our answers burst out at the same time.

“I don’t want to.”

“Nor do I.”

“……”

After a heavy silence, Jin Wikyung finally managed to speak.

“I’m glad you two are willing to follow your big brother’s wishes.”

Why ask when he’d already decided on the answer?