bookpower Chapter 6
Chapter 6
I thought I would spend some quiet time alone, but thanks to Joo Hwarin’s company, it wasn’t boring.
I was worried she might be stiff at being referred to as the daughter of the influential Blood Soaked Joo clan, but Joo Hwarin treated me better than I expected.
She showed more consideration for me than I did for myself. She even shared various information related to the Demon Cult with me.
“And... Oh! Have you seen Grandpa Do Hyul, who is called the protector? I heard that the Southern Manchuria’s Do clan, to which he belongs, was originally not a group in the Central Plains. It was formed when people from Southern Manchuria relied on Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. That’s why, in the beginning, there was a lot of talk about people who held positions despite they weren’t members of the Demonic Cult, but now it is a family made up of the leaders of the Demonic Cult. Especially Do Seokhwi, the elder of Southern Manchuria clan, is very temperamental.”
Joo Hwarin widened her eyes, opened her mouth, and growled, making a cute expression. When I chuckled at her, she also smiled and spoke again.
“If he gets even slightly uncomfortable, he gets angry right away, so you should be careful when you meet him later. I’ve been scolded by him often.”
“Is he that scary?”
“Yes. He’s also very tall. He’s almost six feet tall, isn’t he? Even if I completely bend my neck looking up, it’s hard to meet his eyes.”
Almost six feet tall? How much is that in meters? Roughly around two meters? That’s almost a giant.
“Most people are nervous when they meet Elder Do Seokhwi... But in the Demon Cult, there are only three people who are superior to him.”
The two of them are probably Hyuk Dojin and the Cult Leader, but who is the remaining one?
As I tilted my head, Joo Hwarin smiled slyly and said:
“It’s Elder Man Do, the Vice Cult Leader.”
“Man Do?”
It was a name I had never heard before. If he’s the Vice Cult Leader, he must be quite high-ranking... I didn’t have any memories of reading about him in the novel.
“He usually resides outside the cult and only comes inside when summoned by the Cult Leader. So, he rarely meets people. That’s why there are many rumors and speculations about Elder Man Do, but there’s one thing everyone agrees on.”
He’s strong.
Joo Hwarin’s eyes sparkled.
“People dare to say without confirming with their eyes that he can’t be beaten even by the Young Cult Leader. Isn’t that amazing?”
She praised Vice Cult Leader Man Do, exclaiming how impressive he was.
But I thought, Hyuk Dojin, the Young Cult Leader, is more impressive than Vice Cult Leader.
Externally, Hyuk Dojin seemed to have crossed into adulthood not long ago.
Yet the fact that such Hyuk Dojin stands side by side with Elder Man Do is even more surprising, isn’t it?
People from the cult probably think that Hyuk Dojin, being the Cult Leader’s offspring, should naturally be strong. Is that why they evaluate the Vice Cult Leader more highly?
Even Moyong Do, who was three years older, wasn’t as strong as Hyuk Dojin.
“Maybe you’ll be able to meet him at the wedding ceremony soon. Although he’s rarely seen, he always participates in major events. And of course, he’ll attend the Young Cult Leader’s wedding.”
Come to think of it, when will the wedding be held? I wanted to finish the complicated event quickly and hide somewhere to live quietly.
To live quietly, as if it existed or not, and then go into the ground.
I suddenly looked down at my wrist. It was getting drier as the days went by. Although there wasn’t a big difference between the year before last and last year, there was a clear difference between last year and this year.
Without medication and with the long journey, my body had weakened. I was deteriorating even compared to last month.
I didn’t want to struggle, drying up in pain.
If I knew I was going to die anyway, I wanted to die more comfortably. Without suffering.
I opened my clenched hand. I looked down at my palm. It was a small hand that had never held a sword.
Could I slit my wrist with this hand? Although it was a thin wrist, it seemed unlikely that I could slit it with this hand.
“Miss?”
As I heard the voice digging into my ears, I turned my gaze, and Joo Hwarin was standing there, looking puzzled.
She turned her gaze toward the door, and I followed her gaze, turning my head.
In response to Hyuk Dojin’s voice, Hwa Ui looked up at him and spoke calmly.
“Has the Yong Cult Leader also checked this young lady’s pulse?”
Hyuk Dojin nodded lightly.
“Then you’ll understand. There shouldn’t be any particular problems.”
Hwa Ui turned his gaze from Hyuk Dojin to me and asked:
“Is your appetite on the shorter side?”
“A little...”
“Are you intentionally eating less, or do you get tired and find it difficult to eat?”
“The latter is closer.”
“Do you have any picky eating habits?”
“No, I don’t have any.”
As he nodded, Hwa Ui looked at me and raised his eyebrows. Then, he carefully grabbed my wrist again, checked his pulse, then spoke softly.
“It’s strange... it’s peculiar.”
Hwa Ui muttered, leaning his head forward continuously.
Narrowing his forehead as if he couldn’t understand, he sighed and then looked back at Hyuk Dojin.
“Did you feel it too? Something strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“The blood vessels.”
When I looked up at Hyuk Dojin from my trapped wrist, he glanced at me and nodded once. Is there something strange about my blood vessels?
When I turned my gaze back to Hwa Ui, he grabbed my other wrist and opened his mouth once more.
“The blood vessels are incredibly thin and weak, as if they could break at any moment. Usually, in such cases, people can’t master martial arts. To cultivate, one must accept the natural energy and circulate it throughout the body. For that, strong blood vessels are essential.”
Come to think of it, there was a time when I forced myself to practice breathing to learn martial arts when I was young and suffered greatly.
Wasn’t it just because I was sick?
“And the blood vessels of those who haven’t learned martial arts are blocked by accumulated turbidity. However, even though I don’t know what this means, your blood vessels are clean. Moreover, even the most difficult, conception vessel and governor vessel, are clear.”
Conception vessel? Governor vessel?* Hwa Ui, who was muttering words I couldn’t understand, hurriedly continued speaking.
“Did you happen to take a lot of elixirs or herbal remedies when you were young?”
Well, I did take them. Since Moyong Do often generously gave me all the elixirs that came into his possession.
But I felt like I shouldn’t mention that, so I said it in a roundabout way.
“I took a lot of herbal remedies because I was often sick.”
“Since you’re from the Moyong clan, you must have used precious herbs. Well, even so, it’s remarkable. Don’t you think so, Young Cult Leader?”
As I looked back at Hyuk Dojin, who once again was asked, he glanced at me before turning his gaze back to Hwa Ui.
“What do you think?”
“If I were to stake my entire life on it, this doesn’t make sense. Basically, if the blood vessels are thin, it wouldn’t be strange for them to burst and cause death while cleaning your vessels. Don’t you know how difficult it was for the Young Cult Leader to clean the vessel? It’s not a pain that humans can endure. It’s so excruciating that it would be better if bones were broken and flesh was pierced. But do you really think these thin blood vessels endured such pain?”
He shook his head in disbelief.
“I’d rather believe the word that a newborn baby performs a sword dance.”
Tl/note:
*In traditional Korean medicine the Conception vessel (Ren Mai) and Governor vessel (Du Mai) are two of Twelve Main Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, they run down the center of the body and are paired (central to ki – or qi in chinese – practice). They are the regulators of Yin and Yang ki and also called the sea of all Yin and Yang energy.
For now I have provided only a basic description of the terms, but when and if this topic develops further and is needed to understand the plot, I will find more detailed information for you.