At the White-Haired Painter-Physician’s words, the Commissioner of Land Affairs shot back with a question of his own.
“Aren’t you the one who should know that? How would we know?”
I had been thinking the same thing, so I nodded. Then I asked the White-Haired Painter-Physician,
“Is there a reason you’re asking that?”
“Well… judging by his daughter’s symptoms alone, she’s already past the point where treatment should be possible.”
“What?”
“From the symptoms alone, there’s no way she should make it past this autumn.”
“…”
“But when I checked her pulse, I found the progression had stopped. No – in fact, her condition has actually improved. Enough that I can treat her.”
“…”
For a moment, none of us could speak.
How is that even possible?
Then again, that was exactly why even the White-Haired Painter-Physician was asking us.
The Commissioner of Land Affairs thought for a moment before speaking.
“All we really did was stop her from drinking the tea she’d been having.”
“With the Fourfold Compound Poison, once you’ve been taking it for about three years, the poisoning keeps progressing even if you never touch it again.”
“Ah! Come to think of it, there’s the snow.”
“Snow… you mean the stuff that falls from the sky? But this region…”
The White-Haired Painter-Physician looked puzzled. It made sense – this was a place where it never snowed.
The Commissioner of Land Affairs pointed at me.
“I put in a request with Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho here, and he brought snow all the way from the North Sea.”
“Ah, so that’s why Young Master Eun Seo-ho is here.”
“Yes. That’s how it ended up. Thanks to that, I was able to figure out the young lady’s condition.”
I gently continued,
“I think it’s heaven recognizing the heart of you, Lord Commissioner, who cares so deeply for your daughter.”
“I’m embarrassed to hear that.”
The Commissioner of Land Affairs cleared his throat and went on.
“When are you planning to begin treatment?”
“I’ll start right away.”
“I’m counting on you to take care of my daughter.”
“Yes. I’ll do everything I can. And… if it’s not too presumptuous, after I finish today’s acupuncture, may I take a look at the snow Young Master Eun Seo-ho brought?”
The Commissioner of Land Affairs returned to his office.
He sat down in his chair and recalled what had happened a couple of months ago, right before he left for Beijing.
Dong Jaryeong had sat on her bed, face deathly pale, and said to him,
“Father, my fate… it isn’t changing.”
“That’s not true, Jaryeong. Your fate can definitely change.”
“I’m going to stop struggling now.”
“…”
“I wanted to go to Beijing with you this winter and see the snow fall, but… I don’t think I can.”
“Jaryeong…”
“Oh, when you go to Beijing this time, please listen carefully to the Ministry of Works officials’ advice. Because of that, you’ll be able to get what you’re looking for, Father.”
“All right.”
As the Commissioner of Land Affairs nodded, she handed him a book.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a book where I’ve written down the things I’ve seen – things that will happen in the future.”
In other words, it was a kind of book of prophecies.
“I wrote it thinking it might help you, Father.”
Even as she was dying, his daughter was thinking of him, and the thought made his chest tighten. But he deliberately scolded her.
“You foolish child! Your body’s already in bad shape, and you forced yourself to write all this? Do you really not understand this is shortening your life?”
“I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry, Father.”
“Hoo… I’ll be back.”
With that, he hurried out of his daughter’s room.
He didn’t want to embarrass himself by crying in front of her.
If she saw his tears, it would only make her sad.
So he left for Beijing and paid a visit to the Ministry of Works.
While he was taking care of business, her words suddenly came back to him.
Right then, as if on cue, an official from the Ministry of Works asked him,
“My lord, why do you look so troubled?”
So he told them what was weighing on his mind, and the Ministry of Works officials recommended the Eunhae Merchant Group to him.
The only reason he accepted the Ministry’s advice was because of his daughter’s words.
Otherwise, he would naturally have turned to one of Guizhou’s local merchant groups.
They would have put in more effort for him, and it would have been easier for him to repay the favor.
But the Eunhae Merchant Group secured the snow far faster than he had expected.
And because he traveled together with Eun Seo-ho, the one who brought the snow, he was able to learn that Dong Jaryeong had been poisoned.
Today, according to the White-Haired Painter-Physician, just as Jaryeong had said, she shouldn’t have lived past autumn.
But for some reason, the poison’s progression had stopped, and that was why treatment was now possible.
The only unusual things were that she’d touched the snow and spoken with Eun Seo-ho.
There had been two reports that color had returned to Dong Jaryeong’s face, and those times had one thing in common.
She had been talking with Eun Seo-ho at close range.
He’d figured it was just his daughter reacting to Eun Seo-ho’s handsome face – she was still a young woman, after all.
But thinking back on it now, it didn’t seem that simple.
“Yeon Gyeok.”
“Yes, my lord.”
At his call, the guard standing by the door stepped inside.
“You said it before, didn’t you? That Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho didn’t seem like an ordinary person.”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“What exactly did you say back then?”
“I said the only reason the snow could be brought all the way from the North Sea to here without melting was because of Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho’s martial arts.”
“Right, that was it. But he did still use an artifact to help, didn’t he?”
“Yes. That’s why I examined that item closely. And as far as I could tell, it wasn’t an artifact at all.”
“It wasn’t an artifact?”
“That’s right.”
He spoke with firm conviction.
“I believe that item was a kind of misdirection. The Qi in Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho and the Qi in that item felt identical, so I think he simply imbued it with his own Qi.”
Yeon Gyeok, the Commissioner of Land Affairs’ bodyguard, was a Peak–realm warrior.
However, he was far more sensitive to Qi than most, on a level comparable to Profound–realm masters.
“In my opinion, Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho has already surpassed the Peak realm. But judging by how he still can’t fully contain his Qi, it hasn’t been long since he stepped into the Profound realm.”
“What? At his age?”
“It’s certainly astonishing.”
Yeon Gyeok continued,
“As far as I know, whether it’s extreme Yang Qi or extreme Yin Qi, anyone who stays close to that Qi is affected by it.”
“In a bad way?”
“It depends on the situation, but take the young lady as an example. Half–baked Yang Qi only agitates the poison in her, while Extreme Yang Qi burns that poison away.”
“I see.”
“But Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho’s Qi is Extreme Yin. And Yin Qi halts the progression of poison.”
He went on,
“And Extreme Yin Qi has the ability to purify anything that isn’t pure.”
“You mean things like poison?”
“Yes. That counts as something impure as well.”
If so, he had to conclude that the halt in Dong Jaryeong’s poisoning was due to Eun Seo-ho.
And Yeon Gyeok wasn’t finished.
“Still, it’s strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“Extreme Yin Qi that strong is rare even among the North Sea Ice Palace’s disciples, yet a man is carrying that kind of Extreme Yin Qi.”
“That reminds me of something. I heard Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho inherited the ultimate techniques of Extreme Heaven Sword Gwak Hoon, the hero from two hundred years ago.”
“In that case, it makes sense.”
The Commissioner of Land Affairs recalled Dong Jaryeong’s words.
“I think we should stay on good terms with Deputy Merchant Lord Eun Seo-ho.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“According to the future I just saw, he’s going to become this Empire’s hero.”
He had already planned to show Eun Seo-ho favor, especially after what Dong Jaryeong had said.
And now that he believed Eun Seo-ho was the reason Dong Jaryeong’s life had been saved, he had to repay that debt properly.
“But my lord, I think we should pretend we don’t know any of this.”
“True. The fact that he used the excuse of an artifact means he doesn’t want this revealed.”
If he found them burdensome and started avoiding them, that would be a serious loss.
I scratched just below my ear.
Hmm, my ear’s a little itchy. Is someone talking about me?
After I finished the acupuncture and she drank her decoction, she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.
After that, I showed the snow to the White-Haired Painter-Physician, since he’d asked to see it.
He examined the snow I showed him.
But he couldn’t figure anything special out. It seemed this kind of case was a first even for him, and he found it fascinating.
If even I thought it was strange, that said enough.
I went back to my room, took off my outer robe, lay down on the bed, and sank into thought.
Something had bothered me during my earlier conversation with the Commissioner of Land Affairs and the White-Haired Painter-Physician.
In that situation, there was one obvious question the Commissioner hadn’t asked.
The question, “Can my daughter survive?”
From what I’d seen so far, he was someone overflowing with worry for his daughter.
Come to think of it… his complexion had been oddly brighter for the past few days.
Almost like someone who already knew Young Lady Jaryeong would pull through…
Already knew?
I jolted upright.
If that were true, it would explain a lot of the odd things I’d noticed.
He knew the future.
Could Young Lady Jaryeong also be someone who came back like me?
I mulled it over for a moment, then had no choice but to shake my head.
If that were true, it would mean she died young in her previous life too, so she wouldn’t know much about what came after.
So that theory was out.
That left only one option – Young Lady Jaryeong had the ability to see the future.
And judging from the personality I’d seen in her, it was highly likely she’d written down future events out of worry for what would happen after she died, then handed them to the Commissioner.
Thanks to that, the Commissioner could govern Guizhou in peace without major incidents.
But I still didn’t know why the poisoning that threatened Young Lady Jaryeong’s life had stopped progressing, or why her condition had improved.
That poison called the Fourfold Compound Poison supposedly kept progressing after about three years of ingestion, even if you never took another drop.
Just then, something felt odd where my hand was resting.
The blanket was soft, so why did it feel hard?
I looked at where my hand was and realized why.
Ah…
It was my Qi.
It hadn’t been long since I’d reached the Profound realm, so I still couldn’t completely rein in my Qi.
Even so, I could control it far better than at first.
“Huh?”
I blinked, staring at my hand.
Come to think of it, my Qi was the Supreme Yin Ice Sea Divine Art’s Qi.
In other words, it inherently carried the power to purify.
Could the Qi I hadn’t fully contained have affected Young Lady Jaryeong?
And that’s why…
It was a theory with some real weight to it.
Either way, I needed to be careful.
If people realized my Qi had the power to neutralize poison, they’d figure out that my martial art came from the Snow Wind Palace, the sect that had been wiped out.
Even if that didn’t happen, I’d be swamped by people seeking me out.
Sure, I could probably gain a lot from that, but I had no desire to haggle over people’s lives.
Besides, struggling to save someone’s life takes a level of self–sacrifice I just didn’t have.
That’s why physicians who might take payment but still lose sleep, suffer, and fight tooth and nail to save lives are so respected.
I could never understand the kind of people who bully folks like that…
Though of course, there are some who don’t deserve to be called physicians.
Anyway, I know myself well.
I’m not someone with that kind of selfless spirit.
“Well, it worked out, didn’t it?”
I hadn’t meant to, but thanks to it, I could save Young Lady Jaryeong.
Hmm, the Commissioner of Land Affairs, the White-Haired Painter-Physician, and everyone else probably hadn’t caught on, right.
.
.
.
A few days passed after that.
Young Lady Jaryeong’s complexion was improving day by day. Just from that, anyone could tell the treatment was going well.
And the physician in charge of her treatment stayed glued to the White-Haired Painter-Physician’s side, assisting him and learning about detoxification.
According to that physician, treating illness and dispelling poison followed completely different principles.
Then I received a summons from the Commissioner of Land Affairs and headed to his office.
“I heard you were looking for me.”
“Ah, come in, come in.”
He offered me a seat, and I sat down at the low table.
“I called you so we could share a cup of tea for a bit. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
A maid brought in the tea and poured for us.
“Go ahead, drink.”
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
As expected of the tea served in the Commissioner’s residence, it was exceedingly fine.
Just then, I heard the deputy’s voice from outside.
“My lord, it’s Ji Yeong.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, and Deputy Ji – the same one I’d seen on the ship before – stepped in.
“My apologies, but something has come up that requires you to come in person.”
“Is that so?”
The Commissioner of Land Affairs turned to me to ask for my understanding.
“Would it be all right if I step out for a moment?”
“Of course. Think nothing of it.”
He left with Deputy Ji, and I stayed in his office, quietly enjoying my tea alone.
He really does seem to trust me quite a bit, huh?
This was the Commissioner of Land Affairs’ office, after all, yet he was leaving an outsider like me alone in it.
He’d shown me favor before, but now it felt like he’d completely brought me into his own sphere.
Just then, a book sitting on the Commissioner’s desk caught my eye. The handwriting… it was a woman’s script.
I spread out my Qi and checked the surroundings.
I wanted to make sure no one was secretly watching me.
Once I confirmed no one was around, I quietly walked over to the desk and looked at the book.
[Father, a famine will strike soon, and it will last for a very long time. You must prepare.]
My guess had been right.
Young Lady Jaryeong could see the future.
“Huh?”
I froze at the next line written after that.
–TL Notes–
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