"Sir Elder!""This wasn’t us! It was an accident!""More than that, it’s bad. The b-blood won’t stop!"One who couldn’t gather his wits, one who made excuses, and one who checked Namgung Hyun’s body all spoke at once.The Divine Physician stepped into the clamor and examined Namgung Hyun. His calm voice cut into the frozen air."Tell me honestly what he was struck by.""Th-that is…""We don’t know. He was moving alone in this dangerous place and got hit by a mechanism-formation device.""When he swung his sword, some strange liquid poured out from that Black Tortoise statue. He got drenched, then coughed blood and ended up like this."They all spoke at once again, but the Divine Physician seemed to know what was true. He pressed his brow."Good grief…"The Divine Physician turned toward Namgung Munseon and spoke urgently."It’s a mechanism-formation set along the inner courtyard wall. It’s a strong poison, so we need to treat him quickly, but to obtain an antidote for this Black Tortoise…"About to say Nine-Transmission Pavilion, the Divine Physician shut his mouth. He quickly rephrased the situation."There is a storehouse where we gather antidotes, but the guard there is strict, so entry isn’t easy. If I am to enter, I must report the situation to the Clan Head, and then perhaps…""Our Clan Head will be put in a difficult position," Namgung Munseon understood. Since they had snuck into a place the Tang estate’s master had forbidden entry, Namgung would also have to take responsibility."There is one other method."Seeing Namgung Munseon’s face darken, the Divine Physician carefully spoke."If you move the young hero to the Medical Division’s dispensary, I will quickly fetch the antidote.""May we trouble you so far?""It is no trouble. More than that, for now, we should move the young hero and fetch clean clothes for him. Fortunately, the Black Tortoise poison volatilizes quickly, so if we wrap him in this, you can carry him."The Divine Physician took off his outer robe and wrapped Namgung Hyun. A quick-witted Namgung warrior reacted at once."I—I’ll go get clothes quickly."No sooner had the one who kept making excuses finished than he dashed out of the grove.When the Divine Physician moved to lift Namgung Hyun, Namgung Munseon gently brushed his hand aside and picked Namgung Hyun up himself.Watching him, the Divine Physician spoke."Then I’ll go fetch the antidote at once.""Yes. Thank you."After confirming the Divine Physician’s departure, Namgung Munseon told the youth beside him—who still did not know what to do—to bring a new set of his own clothes as well. Only the warrior who had been out of his senses remained, and Namgung Munseon spoke in a low voice."You will report what happened here the moment you return.""Eh? Ah—yes, Elder!"As the young warrior started off, Namgung Munseon added in a chilly voice,"Know that Namgung Gangchang was here. If you give a false report, I will take it to mean you intend to bear his crime in his stead.""…"Namgung Munseon said no more and, holding the Clan Head’s son in his arms, moved toward the Medical Division.***The dispensary door eased open, and the Divine Physician slipped through the narrow gap. Looking back and forth between Sohwa and Namgung Hyun, he asked in a small voice,"Is he all right?""The poison in the Black Tortoise must be refreshed daily to show its full effect. It’s been left for days, so it wouldn’t have been that lethal to begin with.""Then why so much blood…""Those who were there must not have reported the situation properly. It wasn’t just one mechanism-formation device they tripped."Sohwa spoke evenly and took up a cloth she had soaked in clean water. As she wiped away the caked blood, skin covered in scars appeared. Some seemed very old."How could they do this to my colleague!"The Divine Physician flushed with anger. But Sohwa, in a calm voice, said to him,"It would be better for us not to involve ourselves in this matter."The Divine Physician sighed, sat beside her, and took up medical tools.He agreed with Tang Sohwa. Nothing good would come of this day becoming known to this Namgung youth either. However it happened, he had entered a forbidden area; thinking of the stern tempers of clan heads, it would be better to receive treatment quietly and go back.The Divine Physician poured a thin solution onto the bleeding areas, then began to stitch the open wounds with fine needle and thread.As he treated Namgung Hyun’s wounds, the Divine Physician’s eyes narrowed.Cleverly, the wounds were only in places that wouldn’t hinder movement. The tendons in the arm and areas like the shoulder were clean, without a single cut."It seems he could swing a sword up to the moment he fell."For someone with good nerves to end up like this felt strange.When the Divine Physician paused, Tang Sohwa glanced at him. Knowing the story, perhaps, she cut off his curiosity in a calm voice."It looks like he took it on purpose, so you needn’t feel so sorry.""But that only makes me worry more. It could mean he has suffered so many wounds… that he must swallow them alone, quietly."Tang Sohwa did not answer the Divine Physician’s words. Not liking that, he knit his brow."Young Lady?""As I do not know another clan’s affairs, I would rather not add more words, but if it is your intent, Divine Physician, you may speak to Namgung."Tang Sohwa gathered the bloodied cloths into a basket, then lifted her head."Only, please leave out any mention that I came."The Divine Physician looked dissatisfied, but he said no more and nodded."I, too, will quietly wait for now."Looking down at the now-clean Namgung Hyun, the Divine Physician let out a sigh.Rising from her seat, Sohwa spoke."The Black Tortoise poison contains a component that induces sleep. It seems, with fatigue piled up, he succumbed to that old poison and fell asleep. I’ve mixed the antidote with water and fed it to him, so he’ll wake in half a shichen."As Sohwa moved to leave the room, the Divine Physician stopped her."Ah! Young Lady, there is something I must tell you.""Yes. Speak.""The symptoms of the Namgung Clan Head are not ordinary."In a grave voice, the Divine Physician looked around. Lowering his voice further, he whispered,"It’s not certain, but it seems he has been exposed to Oseoksan."At those words, a fine line formed between Sohwa’s brows."Oseoksan?""Yes. The Clan Head’s symptoms were similar to the addiction symptoms of Oseoksan you described. Partial loss of memory was the same as well. And…""Let’s speak of that later."Tang Sohwa covered the Divine Physician’s mouth with words and signaled toward Namgung Hyun.Namgung Hyun looked unconscious, but one never knew.Understanding Sohwa’s intent, the Divine Physician nodded quietly."Yes, I will tell you next time."Tang Sohwa glanced at the window, over which darkness had settled, then said to the Divine Physician,"He’ll probably wake in about two hours, so I’ll come back then. If anything happens before that, let Hanwon know right away.""Understood."With that, Sohwa left the Medical Division.It was nearing the end of the deep night, a still dawn with scarcely a trace of life.Entering the inner courtyard, Sohwa did not go to her bedchamber but headed for the study.She took down the large embroidery hung on the wall. When she opened the door locked by a formation, countless jars appeared.Sohwa brought two of them to the desk. One was a dokgo jar she had cultured from a Blood Cult member three years ago, and one was a new dokgo she had received from a Blood Cult member she met in Hubei.Sohwa lifted the basket she had set briefly on the floor. It was filled with cloths soaked in Namgung Hyun’s blood.Scritch, scritch.She cut the cloth and put it into the jars, but neither jar reacted.She had only tried it on a whim, so Sohwa was not greatly disappointed."Is my own blood truly the only variable?"With time to spare, Sohwa decided to feed the dokgo to their fill. She took out all the jars and bled over them. As the number of dokgo she raised had increased, so too had the amount of blood needed. Having made a rather large wound, it took time to close.Sitting at the desk by the window, Sohwa quietly waited for her wound to heal.As she quietly looked over the inner courtyard, a friction sound came from somewhere.Crack.It was the sound of a mechanism-formation installed in her pavilion moving.At the same time, a faint wind blew in from outside the window. It was a wind full of peony fragrance. An inner energy scent she had smelled before.No way…No—it wouldn’t be.Unless he had lost his mind, there was no way he would dare come here.Yet mocking Sohwa’s thought, a Blood Cult bastard dropped from the roof and dusted off his night-wear."Wow, I think I almost died?"Sohwa blinked slowly, wondering if she was seeing things.In that moment, Hae-rak, perched on the window frame, cast his gaze down to the desk."Isn’t that my dokgo? You were working hard even at dawn.""You…"Sohwa let out a breath of incredulous laughter."Are you in your right mind?""Hm?""Do you know where you are?""Tang Sohwa’s pavilion in the inner courtyard of the Tang estate."At that textbook answer, Sohwa’s expression tightened.Warriors of the five renowned houses of the Central Plains—Tang, Namgung, Pang, Zhuge, and Hwangbo—were staying at the Tang estate. Yet this insane Blood Cult man had broken into the very middle of it."It is the period of the Five Clans Joint Council."Hae-rak folded his arms with a face that said he didn’t see the problem."That’s why I came. On an ordinary day even my guts would tremble too much to come."When she gave no response to such nonsense, Hae-rak let out a hollow laugh."Think about it. On any other day, if I drew on my inner energy here, your guards would rush in. But now, even if I fail to conceal my inner energy by mistake, they’ll just think, ‘Ah, some hot-blooded clan brat must be having an argument,’ and leave it at that, no?""…"Sohwa lost the will to continue the conversation.This Blood Cult man was one to whom ordinary common sense did not apply.She sighed and said....

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