The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

As I was hurriedly trying to go out to meet Nam Sojeong, the door opened again and Hyuk Dojin and Yoo Doha entered with complicated expressions.

Hyuk Dojin seemed slightly surprised to find me downstairs on the first floor.

As I stared at him, Hyuk Dojin slowly approached. After confirming my stiffened face, his mouth opened slowly and he let out a small sigh.

“How are you feeling, wife?”

“I’m fine. More importantly, what’s that story? Nam Sojeong is unconscious? Is she seriously injured?”

At my urgent question, Hyuk Dojin looked back briefly instead of answering, then dispersed the busy people before sitting in front of me and speaking quietly.

“There are no visible external injuries.”

“Then why…?”

“In the middle of the martial arts match, she suddenly collapsed, trembled all over, and lost consciousness. That’s all.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes. We checked if the opponent used poison or hidden weapons, but that wasn’t the case either. In fact, the match was almost over with Nam Sojeong’s overwhelming skills. It happened just as the opponent was about to forfeit due to exhaustion.”

“How is that poss…”

I was about to ask how that was possible, but the door opened again and Nam Sojeong appeared on a stretcher.

I got up from my seat and looked towards the door. The stretcher carrying Nam Sojeong disappeared into a room located inside on the first floor.

I moved along following them. A doctor who had come with us from the Demon Cult had arrived first and was taking Nam Sojeong’s pulse.

The path to enter was blocked by people lingering in front of the door.

But Hyuk Dojin approached and lightly dispersed them, then made way for me. I entered following behind him.

The doctor glanced at us and was about to get up from his seat, but Hyuk Dojin showed his palm.

The doctor nodded and took her pulse again, and in the meantime, I approached and stood beside her.

As Hyuk Dojin said, Nam Sojeong seemed to be quietly sleeping. There were no visible external injuries, and she wasn’t groaning in pain.

“How is she?”

“…Hmm”

The doctor rubbed his brow while putting down Nam Sojeong’s wrist. When I pressed the doctor who was only letting out groans without giving an answer, his mouth opened slowly.

“…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

The doctor continued his explanation with a complicated face.

“There’s no problem visible from the outside. Didn’t you say there was no problem when you checked for poison? Likewise, her pulse is normal.”

“Then why can’t she wake up?”

The doctor put a few more guesses into words with a puzzled face, but there was nothing he could say for certain.

In the end, the doctor left leaving only questions behind.

I stared blankly at Nam Sojeong sleeping quietly after closing the door. As he said, she looked so calm that it seemed like she would wake up if shaken.

“…Who was her opponent?”

“A disciple from a minor sect. He wasn’t someone related to the Murim Alliance, nor was he related to the Golden Blood Sand Sect.”

“What about the Black Dao Sect?”

He stiffened his expression for a moment at my question, but soon relaxed and answered slowly.

“Likewise, he had no relation. Moreover, although the Murim Alliance Leader told us various things about Black Demon and the Black Dao Sect, in the world, Black Demon is dead and those who know of the Black Dao Sect’s existence are extremely rare.”

“Then doesn’t that mean they might not know even if there was contact with the Black Dao Sect?”

I looked up at him.

Hyuk Dojin raised his eyebrows at my pointed question, then put his hand on his chin as if thinking for a moment. He narrowed his brows and frowned slightly.

“That’s a possibility. Certainly, if they hid their identity, the probability of not knowing would be high. However, even if the Black Dao Sect did that, Nam Sojeong’s current state is not understandable.”

Certainly. Nam Sojeong’s collapse now was a completely different story from that. I bit my lip and held her hand.

Like the doctor taking her pulse, I also infused inner energy and scanned her body. As I slowly scanned her body once thoroughly and was about to gather it back, the energy that arose from inside her body suddenly rushed at my energy as if trying to suck it in strongly.

I opened my closed eyes and quickly withdrew my hand.

At that moment, Nam Sojeong’s body shook greatly upwards. Hyuk Dojin approached, grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. I bit my lip hard while forcibly suppressing the energy that I hadn’t finished gathering back inside my body.

“Are you alright?”

I nodded and looked up at Hyuk Dojin. I felt like I had been causing only worry lately.

Does hearing ‘Are you alright?’ often mean that I’m causing a lot of worry? Distracting thoughts rushed in, but I forcibly erased them and turned back to look at Nam Sojeong. Hyuk Dojin’s gaze also fell on her.

“What was that just now?”

Instead of answering, Hyuk Dojin removed his hand that was wrapping my shoulder and approached Nam Sojeong.

He slowly took Nam Sojeong’s hand. I approached closer, worried that she might show the same reaction to him.

But fortunately, Nam Sojeong didn’t shake and Hyuk Dojin wasn’t repelled.

Hyuk Dojin slowly exhaled and shook his head.

“There was no reaction for me. What were you so surprised about?”

“Didn’t Dojin feel it? The fierce energy chasing as if trying to devour my inner energy.”

“No. At least I didn’t feel it.”

“That can’t be… That’s impossible. Clearly when I put energy into Nam Sojeong’s body, something rose greatly as if trying to devour that energy. That can’t just be an illusion…!”

“It’s the Qi-Dispersing Powder.”

A low and calm voice covered my voice that I was pouring out to him.

It was Man Do’s voice entering through the open door.

“…Qi-Dispersing Powder?”

“It’s a poison made by the Sichuan Tang family. When it enters the body, it digs into the dantian and forcibly disperses all inner energy, eliminating the power accumulated through training. In the Central Plains, they call it Qi-Dispersing Pill.”

Man Do approached Nam Sojeong, grabbed her wrist and closed his eyes tightly.

He also scanned Nam Sojeong’s body once with inner energy, then spoke slowly.

“The Qi-Dispersing Powder settles in the body and looks for food until its effect runs out. The food is pure inner energy. For martial artists, the power and martial arts settled in their dantian are more precious than their lives. Therefore, martial artists fear this poison more than any other.”

“But when I checked Nam Sojeong’s body, the power inside her body was still intact.”

“Of course. The Qi-Dispersing Powder feeds on pure energy… in other words, inner energy accumulated through righteous methods. But Demon Cult members usually learn demonic arts, and that process is different from righteous methods. As a result, the Qi-Dispersing Powder is just sleeping without being able to devour the inner energy filling Nam Sojeong’s body.”

Only pure energy, he says. Then was that thing chasing my energy earlier, the Qi-Dispersing Powder?

Thinking like that, everything fell into place.

“Is there no way to detoxify it?”

“Only the Sichuan Tang Sect would know the detoxification method. But it’s questionable whether the Sichuan Tang Sect, which keeps antidotes even more secret than poison formulas, would reveal it. Moreover, they have a long-standing grudge against our cult…”

“What if we ask for the Murim Alliance’s cooperation?”

“Even if the Murim Alliance helps, we can’t force it if the Sichuan Tang Sect refuses.”

It was a situation where I couldn’t help but sigh, blocked front and back.

I brushed back my fallen hair and stared intently at Nam Sojeong. Nam Sojeong’s face smiling brightly in front of me yesterday remained.

We weren’t particularly close. But I couldn’t just turn my head indifferently seeing her lying poisoned.

At least if there’s something I can do, I should try.

* * *

Two martial artists unsuited to the shabby inn were guarding the entrance.

I stared at the entrance quietly, then slowly approached. The martial artists tried to block the entrance as soon as they saw me, but I took off the hat I was wearing and showed my hair. Only then did the martial artists make way. I opened the door and stepped inside.

Like the shabby exterior, the inside of the inn was also worn out here and there.

But in the middle of such an inn sat a woman wearing expensive red silk clothes. It was a very mismatched sight, but it didn’t matter. I didn’t come to eat anyway.

“I heard you wanted to see me?”

“Jeok Biwol.”

She was an opponent I particularly didn’t want to meet. How dare this impudent woman target my brother.

I couldn’t hand over a man blindly devoted to martial arts and family to such a seductive woman.

As I stared down at Jeok Biwol quietly, she jerked her chin as if telling me to sit. I exhaled and sat in the chair, and immediately her voice flowed out as if she had been waiting.

“Yesterday, I heard there was bad news for the Demon Cult? I heard a woman from the Ink Stained Nam clan who participated in the Crimson Lotus Festival suddenly collapsed and is in a coma… That’s unfortunate.”

She clicked her tongue as if pitying, but a faint smile hung on her face.

Her voice and every single action irritated me so much that I wondered if there had ever been someone who upset me this much in my life. As I frowned, Jeok Biwol showed both her palms.

“So. What’s the reason you called me?”

“…Honestly, I’m not very pleased with you.”

“What? Did you call me to fight? I was curious why you suddenly wanted to see my face… I’m disappointed.”

I slowly exhaled and calmed my anger. I was displeased that the corners of Jeok Biwol’s mouth were raised diagonally, but I had to endure it.

Her smooth brow seemed to be mocking me, but I had to endure it. After all, I was the one in need now. Suppressing my rising anger, I forced myself to speak.

“You know about the Qi-Dispersing Powder, right?”

“I know. On our side, we call it the Qi-Dispersing Pill. But why?”

“I’d like you to tell me the antidote for it.”

“The antidote?”

Jeok Biwol opened her eyes round at my words, then soon let out a small snort, ‘Hmph…’

She crossed her legs, rested her elbow on them, propped her chin, and her eyes sparkled.

“Why? Was that woman who collapsed yesterday poisoned with the Qi-Dispersing Powder?”

Her appearance of sparkling her eyes as if interested was unpleasant. Is she using others’ misfortune as her opportunity? I stared at her intently, then seeing no particular reason to hide it, answered quietly.

“That’s right. She was poisoned with the Qi-Dispersing Powder. Fortunately or unfortunately, thanks to learning demonic arts, her inner energy wasn’t dispersed, but as a result, she can’t wake up. I’m thinking of asking the Sichuan Tang clan for help, but as you know, the Sichuan Tang clan and the Demon Cult are mortal enemies, right? ‘The Tang family’s enemy, whether dead or alive, cannot live under the same sky.’ You know that, right?”

“True. If it’s the Sichuan Tang Sect, they would never tell even if they had to bite their tongues and die. So you need me?”

“That’s right. I thought the Golden Blood Sand Sect, which is poison itself, would know the antidote for the Qi-Dispersing Powder.”

She shrugged her shoulders as if it was obvious and straightened her back to lean against the chair.

Jeok Biwol looked at me quietly with calm eyes, then tilted her head.

“Asking me to tell you the antidote for the Qi-Dispersing Powder without any intention of granting my request… What do you think?”

“If you don’t want to grant it, you don’t have to. I have no intention of begging while clinging to your pant leg.”

“I guess she’s not that precious to you?”

“She is precious.”

“But still, is that attitude okay?”

“At least I don’t want to beg you while crushing my pride.”

And, if necessary, there are other methods too. But I wanted to avoid that. I didn’t want to step forward at the expense of my own health.

Jeok Biwol stared at me in silence, then flicked her finger to quietly tell something to the man standing behind, then looked at me.

“It’s an arrogant and absurd attitude, but I’ll tell you. It’s not particularly difficult to detoxify anyway.”

“…Really?”

“A woman’s word is worth a thousand gold. I keep the words I say. Only petty people or shady men casually spread lies.”

I looked at her with distrust mixed in at her compliant attitude.

Jeok Biwol chuckled and spoke lightly.

“Besides, if I help, something will probably fall to me later. Even a passing dog knows gratitude, surely the Young Madam of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult won’t treat gratitude worse than a dog.”

“…”

“The detoxification of the Qi-Dispersing Powder is simple. If you give sufficient food to the Qi-Dispersing Powder already inside, it will disappear on its own. It would be difficult elsewhere, but the Demon Cult has quite a few elixirs, right? Feed that. Then it’s over.”

“…Is it that simple?”

“It’s usually simple if you know. It’s difficult if you don’t know.”

Jeok Biwol smiled and leaned her body forward.

“But, I’m curious. The Qi-Dispersing Powder is of little use to those who have learned demonic arts. If the Tang clan wanted revenge on the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, they would have used a stronger poison than the Qi-Dispersing Powder. But they used the Qi-Dispersing Powder, which is difficult to obtain… Isn’t it strange?”

“What do you mean?”

“In other words…”

Her finger stretched out. Like the leg of a widow spider, her thin long finger slowly rolled to point at me. At its tip was me.

“How many people in the Demon Cult would the Qi-Dispersing Powder work on… that’s what I’m saying.”

It was the moment when Jeok Biwol’s smile stabbed into my heart like a dagger.