I gave the young man standing there in stunned silence a faint smile.
“Stay right there. I’m not going to hurt you.”
Then I looked at the arrow in my hand and let out a breath of relief.
Rushing here was worth it.
The young man in front of me was the Archer God.
In my previous life, he was the one who tried to snipe Provincial Commander Ak Yeong-gyeong.
But Provincial Commander Ak Yeong-gyeong was absurdly lucky.
This had been one of those lucky moments too – the arrow had done no more than graze his neck.
That was enough to save his life, and this young man had ended up captured and dragged away.
Provincial Commander Ak Yeong-gyeong had pitied his circumstances and forgiven him, and even the Emperor, perhaps unwilling to waste such talent, had only given him a light punishment.
But in the end, he took his own life.
Because during the interrogation, he learned things he had never known before.
And he couldn’t bear the guilt that came with them.
It had caused quite a stir back then, so I knew the rough outline of what had happened.
I hadn’t known the exact date he committed the crime, but when I arrived here today, I heard that Provincial Commander Ak Yeong-gyeong was coming.
That was how I realized today was the day it would happen and moved at once.
Originally, Escort Guard Seo Wu was supposed to catch this arrow, but the Archer God was even more skilled than I’d expected, so I had no choice but to intercept it myself.
I’d only barely managed it after pushing the No-Trace Step to its limit, and that made me realize all over again just how terrifying the Archer God’s skill really was.
Which meant I definitely couldn’t let him go.
I spoke to the young man with practiced ease.
“You should be thanking me. What would you have done if I hadn’t snatched that arrow out of the air?”
“…”
He still only stared at me blankly, looking completely dazed.
Then I’d better deal with the one behind him first.
“So, who hired you?”
“Hired? I don’t know anything about that! I came to stop him!”
That seemed to snap the Archer God back to his senses, because he hurriedly shouted,
“What are you talking about? Weren’t you the one who paid me the advance and told me to do this?”
“When did I ever? Got proof?”
What a shameless bastard.
I let out a snort and swung my fist at him.
“Urk!”
I grabbed his face after it snapped to the side and spoke coldly.
“At least make your bullshit sound believable if you want me to listen. This isn’t even worth hearing out. You came to stop him? Then shouldn’t you be out of breath from running, or at least have your clothes all disheveled?”
“Th, that’s…!”
By then, my people had arrived, and I handed the man over to them.
Then I turned back to the Archer God.
“I just saved you from throwing your life away, and you’re not even going to offer me a cup of tea?”
He clenched his fists and said,
“Come with me.”
A little later.
We arrived at a shabby little thatched house.
And of course, we brought along the culprit who had ordered the Archer God to carry out the assassination.
Escort Guard Seo Wu and Escort Guard Yeo Eung-am cut down a thick tree in the forest, drove it into the ground, and tied the man to it.
In the meantime, the Archer God brought out tea.
“Please, drink.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
I took one sip of the tea and set the cup right back down.
Was this actually meant for drinking?
He definitely couldn’t brew tea.
I held back the sigh rising in my throat and smoothly changed the subject.
“Still, it seems you don’t trust us yet. Your father appears to be inside, so why won’t you even let us greet him?”
“How… how did you know that?”
“I’m capable of at least that much. Otherwise, how do you think I caught that arrow earlier?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
He lifted his head and stared at the sky for a moment, then lowered it again and continued.
“The truth is, my father has been bedridden for five years now.”
“That’s awful. You must’ve had a hard time. Still, since we came all this way, wouldn’t it be only proper to greet him?”
“He can’t respond to anything…”
“That’s fine.”
At my insistence, he reluctantly guided me inside.
When I entered the room, I saw a middle-aged man lying sick in bed.
His face was gaunt.
I let out a sigh. The Qi I felt from him was unmistakably poison Qi.
I’d sensed it even before entering the room…
The information I had wasn’t wrong.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Eun Seo-ho, Deputy Merchant Lord of the Eunhae Merchant Group. I came because I have a connection with your son.”
At that, his lips twitched slightly, and his eyes blinked.
That meant he was still conscious.
I turned to the Archer God and asked,
“Have you had a physician see him?”
“Yes. Thankfully, there’s a kind physician who agreed to take on my father’s case.”
“Don’t trust that physician.”
Anger flashed across his face.
“What are you saying? No matter how much you’ve helped me, I can’t let that pass. He’s been coming every other day for five whole years to treat my father. How can you tell me not to trust him!”
After catching his breath, he continued,
“I want nothing to do with someone who slanders a benefactor like that!”
“Haa…”
I let out a sigh and asked,
“What did that physician say was wrong with your father?”
“He said the bones in his neck were damaged… and that his limbs were paralyzed because of it…”
“And because of that, he had you buy expensive medicinal ingredients that were supposedly good for the bones. You sold off your property to pay for them too, didn’t you?”
His face turned stiff with shock.
Because I was right.
“Am I wrong?”
“No. You’re right.”
“And that job the man had you do earlier – who introduced it to you? If I had to guess, I’d say it was that physician.”
“…!”
“Your father’s illness is the result of poisoning.”
“What?”
“He’s been poisoned.”
“Po, poisoned?”
“And you said that physician comes every other day on house calls, right? If you ask me, that physician is definitely in league with the ones who poisoned your father.”
“I… I can’t believe that.”
“Then I’ll make you believe it.”
I rolled up my sleeves.
After all, I was basically a walking antidote.
“Escort Guard Jin Yu, Escort Guard Lee Pil, keep that Young Lord from rushing in. Everyone else, protect me while I work.”
“Understood.”
I drew up my inner Qi.
Hummmmmm.
My clothes fluttered from the force of the surging Qi.
I carefully examined his father’s body.
Fortunately, the poison hadn’t reached the marrow yet.
That was why he still had his mind.
They must have used the poison this way because they wanted to keep him alive as long as possible.
“I’m going to purge the poison from your body now. Try to stay as relaxed as you can.”
Then I poured the clear, pristine Qi of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art into his body.
The Qi of the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art was the Qi of nature itself.
Maybe that was why I could pour it into someone else’s body without causing harm.
Little by little, I felt the poison Qi inside him being purified.
A little while later.
I opened my eyes with a deep breath.
Then I said to the man before me,
“How do you feel?”
“Ah… m, my voice… I can speak. Thank you. Truly.”
And he immediately called for his son.
“Jeong… Jeong.”
“F, Father!”
At a glance from me, the two escort guards released him, and he hurried over to his father.
“Yes… it’s you, Jeong.”
“F, Father!”
Hearing his father call his name for the first time in five years, the Archer God finally broke down in tears.
“I’m glad… so glad you’re safe!”
He slurred a little from not having spoken for five years, but there was no problem carrying on a conversation.
“Just as this gentleman said, I was poisoned all this time.”
“What? Th, that’s really true?”
“Yes. And that physician was never treating me.”
He seemed short of breath and couldn’t continue, only gasping.
“His body hasn’t fully recovered yet. He’ll need to keep rebuilding his strength from here on out, but for now, give him this first.”
I took a pouch from inside my robe and held it out.
“What is this?”
“Heavenly Spirit Root.”
“What?”
“It’s exceptionally effective for recovery.”
It was an Elixir Geumryeong had given me for my birthday this year.
And now I was using it here.
“Isn’t that incredibly precious?”
“This too is a matter of fate, isn’t it? And no Elixir is worth more than a human life.”
At my words, he bowed deeply in gratitude.
“Thank you so much. Thank you!”
Looking at him brought back memories of my previous life, and I could only smile bitterly.
Back then, how must he have felt when he learned he’d been deceived by the physician, and that after news of his capture spread, the physician’s group had murdered his father?
The Emperor had the physician’s group captured, and they hadn’t escaped execution, but the Archer God’s heart must have felt like it had been torn into countless pieces.
Just then, beside me, Escort Guard Seo Wu ground his teeth and asked,
“Where is that physician? A man like that should never be left alone!”
Come to think of it, Escort Guard Seo Wu had suffered because of a quack physician too.
And in my previous life, he had died because the response came too late.
This time, thanks to me, he’d been safely treated and was able to go on living as an escort guard.
But he’d gone through something similar himself, so there was no way this felt like someone else’s problem.
That was why even the normally cautious Escort Guard Seo Wu was reacting like this.
Then the Archer God rose from his seat and said,
“I’ll guide you there. I have many things to ask him myself. And I’m the one who suffered because of him… so I’d appreciate it if no one else laid a hand on him.”
The look in the Archer God’s eyes as he said that was nothing like the dull, vacant look he’d had before.
Then a voice stopped him.
“Jeong…”
“Yes, Father.”
“There’s something I need to tell you.”
Sang Deok had already packed his things.
Once orders came down, he was supposed to kill Man Jeong’s father and leave this place immediately.
“Heh heh heh. Stupid bastard. Bowing and scraping without even knowing we’re the ones who poisoned his father.”
He was a member of an assassin group.
They weren’t especially skilled, but once they chose a target, they never let go, clinging to it until the end.
That was why they were fairly popular.
“Still, it’s a shame. I’ve gotten pretty attached to this place.”
Right then.
Fwiiiiish!
An arrow flew in from somewhere and pierced his left hand.
It happened so suddenly that he didn’t even register the pain.
And before he could feel that pain, another arrow came flying in.
Fwiiiiish!
Thunk!
That arrow pierced Sang Deok’s left thigh and pinned it to the wall.
Two more arrows followed in quick succession, piercing his right hand and right thigh and driving them into the wall.
“Aaaaagh!”
Unable to bear the pain, he screamed, and someone stepped into view.
“Nice to see you, Physician.”
“Y, you, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
The one who appeared before his eyes was none other than Man Jeong.
“What about you? What exactly did you do to my father?”
“I, I don’t know what…”
“My father recovered.”
“…!”
“And my father told me everything. Seven years ago, you came to him and asked him to help kill Lord Ak! And when he refused, this was the method you used!”
“…”
“My father remembers every mocking thing you said in front of him.”
At that, Sang Deok bit his lip.
‘H, how did this happen? That poison was real!’
Seven years ago, Sang Deok’s group had accepted a contract to assassinate Ak Yeong-gyeong.
But Ak Yeong-gyeong was cautious and meticulous, so it had been hard to find a chance to kill him.
Then they learned that near the edge of Mount Tai, there was a family with extraordinary skill in archery.
The Yungang Man Clan.
They went to that Clan and offered Clan Lord Man Juk a huge reward, but he rejected them outright.
But they didn’t give up. They kept watching the area and learned that his son, Man Jeong, was also an outstanding archer.
So they came up with a plan.
Ruin the family, drive the son into a corner, and make him kill their target for them.
Truth be told, it was also revenge for how coldly he’d thrown them out after calling them trash.
And Sang Deok had deliberately kept Lord Man Juk conscious.
So he could watch with his own eyes as his son was driven into the Unorthodox Sect.
And every time he came on a house call, he mocked him both mentally and physically.
‘If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve wiped out his consciousness too! Damn it!’
He quickly tried to placate Man Jeong.
“There seems to be some misunderstanding. Your father only just regained his senses, so his mind isn’t fully clear yet. That’s why he’s mistaken about…”
“Shut your mouth!”
Wham!
“Ghk!”
Man Jeong slammed a rough punch into Sang Deok and said,
“But there’s something you should be curious about, isn’t there? How I got here, and what happened to the man who ordered me to do the job. Aren’t you curious?”
“…!”
Now that he thought about it, something was strange.
By now, word should’ve started reaching him… but there had been nothing at all.
Right then.
“Ah, looks like you already handled him.”
A pleasant, melodious voice rang out, and a handsome man in lavish clothes approached with a group behind him.
I stepped into the physician’s house.
A man who looked like the physician was spread-eagled against the wall, pinned there by arrows.
Wow, that’s some incredible skill.
It wasn’t easy at all to fire arrows with just enough force to pin a person to the wall like that.
“Is that the physician?”
At Escort Guard Seo Wu’s icy voice, the Archer God nodded.
“Yes.”
“I see.”
Come to think of it, what had happened to the physician who had deceived Escort Guard Seo Wu and Lady Hong Geum-so?
Escort Guard Seo Wu asked me for permission.
“May I put my hands on him for a bit?”
“If that Young Lord allows it.”
When Escort Guard Seo Wu turned his head, the Archer God nodded.
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Escort Guard Seo Wu gave a fist salute, then walked up to the physician and kicked him in the shin.
Crack!
“Aaaaagh!”
Ah… that sounded like a bone breaking.
–TL Notes–
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