Chapter 376
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Chapter 376: “Should I Just Kill Him?”
Shim Tong, the Old Dao of Nine Heavens, and Tang Unmang, a venom expert (삼보절명), were like water and fire.
If Shim Tong’s personality could be described as fiery and direct, Tang Unmang’s was dark and reserved, reminiscent of the ancient master Immortal Sword Demon.
Even in their dealings with Yeon Jeokha, the two were diametrically opposed.
Shim Tong treated Yeon Jeokha as his lord and family, always by his side.
For Tang Unmang, however, Yeon Jeokha was a chain binding him, an obligation he had to endure until the antidote to the Waning Moon Poison was complete.
From the day Tang Unmang arrived at the Namyeon Inn, the two constantly clashed. What initially started as a clash of egos escalated into an open conflict where they couldn’t see each other without growling, like dogs and monkeys.
Although Shim Tong was overwhelmingly stronger in terms of combat, Tang Unmang was a master of using poisons. At first, both avoided drastic measures out of consideration for Yeon Jeokha.
One day, tired of Shim Tong’s taunts, Tang Unmang poisoned his fish soup. He didn’t intend to kill him, knowing that if he did, his own life would also be forfeit.
After suffering a whole day of abdominal pain, Shim Tong started beating Tang Unmang the next day. However, he couldn’t kill him either, as they needed Tang Unmang’s antidote.
From then on, the clashes became routine: poisonings and beatings, again and again.
As the fights repeated, Tang Unmang’s poison became more lethal, and Shim Tong reached the point of drawing his sword.
It was at that moment that Yeon Jeokha returned.
Among everyone present at the Namyeon Inn, only Tang Unmang immediately recognized Yeon Jeokha.
“Eh? Young Master Yeon? Couldn’t you find the Medicine Buddha?”
“What’s going on here?” Yeon Jeokha asked, looking alternately at Tang Unmang and Shim Tong, who was holding his sword.
Shim Tong’s expression showed disbelief at the sight of the young man. Dressed in a Daoist robe, carrying a bamboo sack, and with his face covered in marks, he didn’t look like the Yeon Jeokha he knew.
However, noticing Tang Unmang’s attitude and hearing the young man’s familiar voice, Shim Tong quickly sheathed his sword and rushed towards him.
“Ah, young master! What happened to that beautiful face of yours…?”
His surprise soon turned into fury. With a swift movement, Shim Tong grabbed Tang Unmang by the neck of his robe.
“Damn bastard! How dare you do this to our young master? Do you want to die?”
“Ack! Ack! Let me go! Young Master Yeon, what happened with the Medicine Buddha?”
Yeon Jeokha calmly replied:
“I found him.”
Hearing this, Shim Tong released Tang Unmang, who fell to the ground but quickly got up and anxiously asked:
“The antidote? What happened to the antidote?”
Tang Unmang was so nervous he even stuttered, aware that his fate depended on the antidote’s success.
“I found him, but he’s lost his mind due to old age,” Yeon Jeokha replied.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“It’s true. He’s so old that his mind comes and goes.”
Yeon Jeokha recounted in detail his encounter with the Medicine Buddha in Namamgung, omitting nothing. He knew that although Tang Unmang was a poison expert, he also had a deep knowledge of medicine, which could be useful.
“He said you weren’t poisoned?” Tang Unmang asked, trying to process the story.
“That’s what he said. Though I’m not sure how much to believe him.”
Without mentioning the curse of the Law of the Word (언령), Yeon Jeokha hid this information to keep Tang Unmang by his side.
Tang Unmang, although tempted to use the Medicine Buddha’s words as an excuse to leave, didn’t dare. Yeon Jeokha’s gaze held him back.
“If it’s a residual effect of the poison, it will heal with time. But if the poison still persists, it won’t. Better prepare the antidote. If I don’t recover, I’ll have to take it.”
Yeon Jeokha’s plan was simple: wait for the confrontation with the leader of the Yoomyung Cult to see if his body healed or not. Until then, he wouldn’t let Tang Unmang go.
Although discouraged, Tang Unmang didn’t protest. After all, what could he say in the face of Yeon Jeokha’s disfigured face?
“By the way, why were you two fighting in my inn?”
Shim Tong and Tang Unmang replied almost simultaneously:
“Old Tang poisoned my food…”
“That old man hit me first…”
Yeon Jeokha frowned.
Both spoke as if their actions were justified, making it difficult to blame one more than the other.
“Sangdo,” he called, addressing the innkeeper at the counter.
A young man named Sangdo hurried towards him.
“Yes, young master.”
“How long have these two been fighting?”
“The arguments started the day Mr. Tang arrived, and the physical fights began on the third day. Since then, there’s been a fight every three or four days.”
“How has this affected the business?”
“My grandfather says sales have dropped by half.”
“What does ‘half’ mean?”
“About ten silver coins less a day.”
“Has Mr. Tang been here for four months?”
“Yes.”
Shim Tong and Tang Unmang, ashamed, avoided Yeon Jeokha’s gaze, knowing they had caused trouble.
Shim Tong tried to defend himself:
“I only came here to support the business, eating once a day. But seeing Old Tang acting so arrogant, I couldn’t stand it…”
“Let’s be clear. Did you come to help the business or to fight?”
“Let’s say… both.”
“Ugh!” Yeon Jeokha suppressed his anger. Although frustrated, he knew Shim Tong had good intentions.
Turning to Tang Unmang, he said:
“Old man, I let you live to prepare the antidote, and now you ruin other people’s business?”
“I’m sorry. But that old Shim kept provoking me…”
“So you used poison in an inn? Are you trying to ruin the business?”
Tang Unmang had no answer and merely tugged at his beard in silence.
“What about the antidote?”
“Not yet…”
“Hey, crazy old man! How can you say ‘not yet’ after four months? Do you look at my face and still say that?”
Hearing Yeon Jeokha’s shout, Tang Unmang shrugged his shoulders guiltily. If he were in Yeon Jeokha’s place, he wouldn’t have endured even a single day with that face.
“Give me three more months. By spring, at the latest, it will be ready.”
“Do you want me to spend the whole winter with this face?”
“I can only promise to make the antidote.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that even if you take the antidote, it may not work.”
“Young master! Why do you keep listening to this insect’s nonsense? Should I just kill him?”
At Shim Tong’s words, Tang Unmang’s face turned as pale as paper.
“As I mentioned, the Waning Moon Poison (낙월독정) is the result of the interaction of 108 poisons. Even I have my limits.”
Tang Unmang was upset. I’m neither Hua Tuo nor Bian Que, he thought, referring to the legendary physicians of antiquity. What was expected of him was too much.
Yeon Jeokha stopped Shim Tong, who kept insisting on killing the old man, and calmly replied:
“It’s alright. I’ll wait until spring.”
“But, again, I can’t guarantee that your face will heal.”
“I know. But what you have to know is that you won’t leave this inn until my face is healed.”
“Ugh!”
Tang Unmang, his head throbbing with pain, pressed his temples with his thumbs. What a disaster for using poison recklessly!, he thought.
———
Just as the conversation was ending, Nam Su-gyeong came down from the second floor with a pile of laundry.
Seeing her, Yeon Jeokha raised his hand to greet her with a friendly smile, but she didn’t even look at him.
Passing by Sangdo, she casually remarked:
“They finished early today, huh?”
Obviously, she was referring to the constant fights between Shim Tong and Tang Unmang.
Sangdo quickly intervened.
“Young Master Yeon is back!”
Nam Su-gyeong, who was about to leave through the door, suddenly stopped and turned around.
“Where is he?”
Sangdo pointed to Yeon Jeokha, who was standing next to Shim Tong.
Nam Su-gyeong’s eyes widened at the sight of his face. Although she knew Yeon Jeokha had had problems, she didn’t imagine he was so disfigured.
“Are you really Young Master Yeon?”
“Hello, friend. Are you still as busy as ever?”
Leaving the laundry on a nearby table, Nam Su-gyeong approached Yeon Jeokha and examined him closely.
“Oh! That way of speaking, it’s definitely you. I had heard something had happened to you. Is this why?”
“That’s right.”
Without hesitation, Nam Su-gyeong inspected his face carefully.
“It’s inflamed and suppurating. Doesn’t it hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t hurt. Although it looks serious, I don’t feel much.”
“Really? It looks very uncomfortable. It must be difficult even to wash your face.”
“I haven’t washed it for days. You can’t even tell. See? Who would notice?”
Nam Su-gyeong, wrinkling her nose, commented:
“Well, there’s a strange smell. It must be because you haven’t washed. But the more serious it is, the cleaner you should be. Even if nobody notices, wash your face.”
When Nam Su-gyeong started scolding him, Yeon Jeokha slowly backed away.
“Okay, okay, I will.”
“And those clothes, what are they? Have you become a Daoist now that you went to the Wudang Sect?”
“I’m an external disciple.”
“You haven’t become a real Daoist, have you?”
“I’m just doing good deeds. It’s part of the training. I don’t even wear the Daoist hat.”
“What’s this about doing good deeds?”
“It’s a type of training for Daoists. If you do good deeds, your mystical energy and life are prolonged.”
“Ah! So that’s why Daoists do so many good deeds.”
“Wow, you know more than I thought. I’m doing that too now. On the way here, I drew many talismans. For free.”
“You know how to draw talismans?!”
Nam Su-gyeong’s eyes lit up with excitement. The talismans of the Wudang Sect were expensive in the market. Although some considered them superstitions, they were still in high demand.
“Of course. I always carry materials in my backpack.”
Yeon Jeokha proudly pointed to his bamboo backpack.
“What luck! Make some talismans for the Namyeon Inn. Something to improve sales. Lately, the income has dropped, and I’m worried.”
Hearing this, Shim Tong and Tang Unmang fell silent, their faces flushed.
………………..
That night, after having dinner at the inn, Yeon Jeokha relaxed with a cup of tea. Now that he was in Kaifeng, all he had to do was wait for news from the Golden Guard (금의위).
While he enjoyed his free time, he remembered someone he missed deeply.
‘Now that I think about it, I haven’t informed my sister.’
Knowing Namgung Yeon’s personality, he was sure she would be busy looking for doctors to help him.
‘I should write to her to let her know I’m okay.’
He called Sangdo and asked him to bring him paper, brush, and ink. By the light of an oil lamp, he carefully wrote a letter, although his calligraphy was clumsy.
“Sangdo.”
“Yes, young master.”
Sangdo, who was still awake to attend to him, quickly approached.
“Tomorrow you will go to Kaifeng.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Take this letter to the Namgung Family. Do you know any place to send it?”
“For shipments, the Righteousness Escort Agency (인의표국) of Kaifeng is the best.”
“How much does it cost?”
“I’ve heard they charge one silver coin per letter, regardless of distance.”
Yeon Jeokha took out two silver coins and left them on the table.
“One is for shipping, and the other is for you, for the errand.”
“Oh! Thank you very much, young master!”
Sangdo accepted the coins and the letter with enthusiasm.
“By the way, is Nok Dam-pyeong still behaving well?”
“Yes. If someone saw him, they would think he’s really mourning for three years.”
“Really?”
Smiling, Yeon Jeokha got up. He wanted to verify for himself if Nok Dam-pyeong, of Sambobang (삼보방), was keeping his mourning promise.