Chapter 358
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## Chapter 358: It’s not Poisoning
Yeon Jeokha discreetly observed Baek Ilun’s face, the Medicine Buddha. His expression was serious and solemn, with no trace of frivolity. He didn’t seem to be joking.
“If it’s not a joke, then what is it?”
His gaze was clear, so he didn’t seem to be crazy either. If he wasn’t joking or crazy, why was he fanning a brazier without fire? What was going on?
Yeon Jeokha scratched his head, trying to understand the situation, but he couldn’t find an answer.
At that moment, Namgung Yeon, the Incomparable Among Ten, intervened.
“Doctor Baek, what kind of elixir are you preparing?”
Baek Ilun, who had been fanning the brazier with an indifferent expression, paused for a moment.
“…The elixir of clarity, no, the elixir of immortality.”
“The elixir of clarity or the elixir of immortality?”
“I already told you it’s the elixir of longevity. Tch, tch! Why don’t you understand, young man?”
Every time he spoke, the name of the elixir changed.
Yeon Jeokha looked at Namgung Yeon with surprised eyes. He didn’t seem to be joking, and he didn’t understand what was happening.
Namgung Yeon whispered softly:
– It seems his mind is a bit confused due to age.
– Is it normal for that to happen with age?
– Some people are like that, others aren’t.
Yeon Jeokha sighed deeply. Namgung Yeon had said that his mind was confused due to age, so that was probably it. After all, even he could see that Baek Ilun’s state was strange. Was it some kind of intermediate state between madness and sanity?
“What do we do now?”, Yeon Jeokha murmured with a desperate look.
To think that she couldn’t get an antidote from Baek Ilun made him feel lost.
“We should ask Tang Unmang to prepare the antidote.”
“Do you think we should?”
It was true, now the only person they could trust was Tang Unmang, the poison expert.
At that moment, Baek Ilun, who was still fanning the brazier, spoke.
“Who said that someone is poisoned and needs an antidote?”
Yeon Jeokha sighed. It seemed he had already forgotten.
“I told you I’m poisoned with the waning moon poison, created with 108 types of poisons. Have you already forgotten?”
Baek Ilun moved a hand, as if indicating that he should approach. Yeon Jeokha approached cautiously, and Baek Ilun grabbed his wrist suddenly. Then he released it abruptly.
“Poisoning? Your body is healthier than mine.”
“Of course, I’m healthier than you, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m poisoned.”
“You’re not poisoned.”
“I am.”
Yeon Jeokha hit his chest in frustration. Baek Ilun raised his voice.
“Hey! If you’re not a doctor, you can’t know. Are you the doctor or am I?”
“You’re the doctor, but…”
Yeon Jeokha murmured to himself: “But your mind is confused.”
“If you’re not a doctor, you don’t know. Why are you talking so much? You seem so ignorant. Tch, tch!”
“Ignorant? That’s too much, even for you!”
Yeon Jeokha couldn’t help but get angry. It was enough that they were insulting him in front of Namgung Yeon, who was intelligent. If it weren’t for the fact that Baek Ilun was mentally confused, he would have punched him regardless of age or gender.
“It’s ignorant to contradict a doctor’s diagnosis.”
“But, grandpa, look at my face. The poison is still in my system, and the heat is building up on my face.”
Baek Ilun kept his gaze on the brazier and spoke in an indifferent tone.
“What ignorant said that? It’s just a temporary clarity phenomenon. It’s a natural phenomenon that occurs when the body is adjusting. By the way your face has changed, it seems the waning moon poison was quite potent.”
“Is this a natural phenomenon? My face is swollen and full of pus.”
“It will gradually calm down. If there were toxins in your body, your eyelids would be different. They are completely different from yours, which have a good color.”
Yeon Jeokha looked alternately at Baek Ilun and Namgung Yeon with empty eyes. It seemed like nonsense, but he said it with such confidence that he couldn’t help but doubt. Honestly, he wanted to believe him. It was the kind of news one wanted to accept. But seeing Yeon Jeokha’s swollen face and Baek Ilun’s confused mind…
“What do you think, sister?”, Yeon Jeokha asked.
Namgung Yeon shrugged, as if to say she didn’t know. She wasn’t sure either. She wanted to believe, but she couldn’t do it easily.
*Growl*.
Yeon Jeokha’s stomach growled, as he had skipped lunch. With an embarrassed expression, he said:
“Well, when I eat regularly at the Eight Immortals Pavilion, if I skip a meal, this happens.”
Namgung Yeon just smiled silently. While Yeon Jeokha scratched his head, Baek Ilun pointed with a finger.
“There’s a yellow jar with grain pills, I mean, fasting elixir. If you take one, you’ll feel more energetic.”
Yeon Jeokha was happy.
“Really? Thank you.”
He approached the yellowish brown jar that Baek Ilun had pointed to. It was full of small pills the size of a bean. He took a handful and smelled them. After knowing that Baek Ilun was mentally confused, he couldn’t trust him. But when he smelled them, they seemed to be fine.
“Seeing that the jar is full, he probably didn’t make them long ago.”
Thinking they were fine, he passed one to Namgung Yeon and put one in his mouth. The taste wasn’t as good as the clarity pills, but it was tolerable.
Baek Ilun, observing Yeon Jeokha’s expression, asked:
“How are they? Are they okay?”
“Yes, they’re not bad. Haven’t you tried them?”
“It’s been a long time since I stopped eating grains. I’m glad you like them.”
“I heard that grain pills don’t taste good, but these are okay. Do you have any secret?”
“Secret? I just made them thinking about health.”
“What did you put in them?”
“Don’t worry about it. If it relieves your hunger, it’s enough. Don’t keep asking.”
Baek Ilun turned his attention back to the brazier. It seemed that, no matter what he did, he always returned to the brazier.
Yeon Jeokha returned the remaining pills to the jar. Although he had eaten them because he was hungry, he felt uncomfortable. Remembering Baek Ilun’s expression when he asked if they were okay took away his appetite.
Namgung Yeon smiled as she watched Yeon Jeokha. She had also eaten them because he gave them to her, but if Baek Ilun had offered them to her, she wouldn’t have accepted them.
While the two young people talked, Baek Ilun didn’t take his eyes off the brazier. Yeon Jeokha and Namgung Yeon exchanged glances. Yeon Jeokha pointed to the entrance of the cave, and Namgung Yeon nodded.
“We’re leaving now. Thank you for your help.”
Namgung Yeon said goodbye, but Baek Ilun didn’t even turn his head.
“Those who leave, must leave. There’s no point in searching in Namamgung.”
Yeon Jeokha felt that those words were directed at him.
“That’s what we’ll do. Now that we’ve found you, there’s no need to go back to Namamgung.”
Finally, Yeon Jeokha and Namgung Yeon left the cave without looking back. They walked in silence for a while, still shocked by Baek Ilun’s state.
After a while, Yeon Jeokha murmured as if to himself:
“How can someone who came to Namamgung to train end up like this?”
“There are things that even training can’t prevent.”
“Is it the human limit?”
“Maybe that’s why Taoists strive so hard to train. To overcome those limits.”
“Like the leader of the Yoomyung Cult, who is obsessed with immortality?”
“After seeing something like this, I think I would want to be immortal too.”
“Do you think immortality is possible?”
“Ha! Why are you asking me? It’s the Taoists who believe in that. You’re a practitioner too.”
Yeon Jeokha scratched his cheek with a finger. He had become a practitioner just to learn magical techniques.
“I’m not interested in immortality.”
“Why?”
“What’s the point of living a long time alone? Unless I can live eternally with you.”
A smile appeared on Namgung Yeon’s face.
“Yes, that makes sense.”
Yeon Jeokha stealthily approached Namgung Yeon, but she pushed him away with a finger.
“Don’t get so close. You smell like sweat.”
“I even like your sweat smell.”
“But I don’t like it. Stay away. Then you bathe.”
“Tch!”
Yeon Jeokha walked forward, grumbling. Namgung Yeon followed him, trying to calm him down, but his mood didn’t improve.
After walking for a while, Yeon Jeokha slowed down. He didn’t know the way, and Namamgung was too dangerous to go aimlessly.
Finally, in a tired voice, he asked:
“Where are we going?”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, I wasn’t angry.”
“That’s good. Now I’ll guide you.”
Namgung Yeon turned and began to walk slowly. Yeon Jeokha, with an embarrassed expression, hurried to walk beside her.
After walking for about two hours, a rock wall appeared with the name “Namamgung” carved on it.
Reaching the entrance of Namamgung, Yeon Jeokha sighed deeply.
“Will what Baek Ilun said be true?”
“That you’re not poisoned?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure. Sometimes it seems like he’s right, but when I see your face, it doesn’t seem so.”
“Right? I’m confused. If it weren’t for my face, I’d want to believe him.”
“By the way, how were the grain pills?”
“Why?”
“They seemed to be okay. I tried them when I was young, but they didn’t taste like that.”
“Do they have anything to do with grain pills?”
“The jar was full. That means he didn’t make them long ago.”
“But he made them while he was mentally confused. I felt uncomfortable even eating them.”
Yeon Jeokha put on a sad expression, and Namgung Yeon laughed.
“Hahaha! I didn’t mean it badly. I said it because it seems like Baek Ilun still has his skills.”
“So his diagnosis could be correct?”
“Yes. In fact, the color of your face doesn’t seem to be from the poison. Before listening to Baek Ilun, I didn’t know, but now it seems to make sense.”
“If I’m not poisoned, why is my face like this?”
“I don’t know. It could be the temporary clarity phenomenon, as Baek Ilun said, or there could be another reason.”
“What if it’s not the temporary clarity phenomenon?”
“Then we’ll have to find a doctor as good as Baek Ilun.”
Yeon Jeokha put on a sad expression.
“Do I have to keep living with this face until I find a doctor? I don’t like that.”
“Don’t get discouraged. It could be that Baek Ilun’s diagnosis is correct.”
“I hope so.”
Yeon Jeokha replied in a dejected voice, and Namgung Yeon looked at him with concern.
“How are you feeling? Are you getting better gradually? Or are you still the same?”
She didn’t want to lose hope in Baek Ilun. But since it was the first time she had seen him, she couldn’t tell if his condition was improving.
Yeon Jeokha replied with a somber expression:
“It seems like I’m getting worse gradually.”
“…”.
The unexpected answer made Namgung Yeon close her mouth. Deep down, she wanted Baek Ilun to be right, but would it be just the delirium of a senile old man?