I started to slowly explain the situation to Meihua Xian, but I couldn't tell him everything.
So, I told the truth without lying, but didn't reveal everything.
"…First, I left the family and continued to carry the Guiwu with me."
I excluded the story about the demon technique and simply said that after finishing my training, I fell asleep at night and woke up to find my energy had increased.
Honestly, there was nothing else to explain.
I had just woken up in the morning to find myself in a state of having absorbed the energy.
I also wondered whether I should mention Xin Noya, but decided not to for now.
I thought it would be right to bring it up after discussing it with Xin Noya.
Explaining the situation didn't take long.
After the brief explanation, Meihua Xian stroked his beard.
Would he believe me? Honestly, I found it hard to believe myself.
As expected, Meihua Xian spoke with a troubled look on his face.
"That's a hard story to believe..."
The sound of pouring tea was particularly loud in the silence that followed.
"Your story about absorbing the Guiwu's energy is also hard to believe. That energy should not be possessed by outsiders, and it's unbelievable that you have it."
"Yes, I understand."
The coexistence of different energies.
Moreover, the inherent characteristics of the energies are different.
Not just the Nine Flames Wheel Technique, but the tyrannical energy of other fire techniques.
The Daoist energy that Daoists possess is in a completely opposite position.
It's a coexistence of the natural flow and the aggressive stance of breaking through any obstacles.
It's already miraculous that I've reached the fourth level with such an impossible combination.
It's even more miraculous that I can walk around without falling into madness.
I don't know if it's due to the demon technique.
There's no other way to explain it.
If not for this damned ability that's still around my neck after the regression, such an absurd situation wouldn't have happened to me.
"...Sigh."
Meihua Xian was still looking me in the eye.
"In this situation, I can sense the plum blossom energy, which only a few disciples of the main sect possess, in you."
The energy hidden in my dantian.
After Xin Noya said he had hidden the fragrance, I couldn't sense it either.
But Meihua Xian seemed to have sensed it immediately.
Whether intentional or not, this was definitely a troublesome situation.
If someone from the Huashan Sect were to learn the Nine Flames Wheel Technique of the Gu family and reach a high level, it would be a matter that the family head of the Gu family would have to personally investigate.
"I don't think you're lying, but it's not a story that can be easily believed, and as the sect leader, I need to verify it."
"Yes..."
"Fortunately, it seems there's no major problem with the Guiwu..."
No problem?
How could he say that so casually...?
'Verify it?'
What method does he have in mind to verify it?
He wouldn't damage my dantian or body, right?
After all, I'm here to return the Guiwu, which I lost in a drinking game.
The Huashan Sect is a righteous sect of the Nine Great Sects, so I don't think they would do anything outrageous.
If it were any other righteous sect, I wouldn't trust them, but the Huashan Sect is at least reliable.
After a long moment of contemplation, Meihua Xian clapped his hands with a bright expression.
"Well, this is for the best."
"Huh?"
Meihua Xian drank the remaining tea in one gulp and stood up.
"Sect leader...?"
"You mentioned that your youngest sister is also here for the visit, right?"
"Yes... that's correct."
Why is she suddenly mentioned?
Meihua Xian nodded at my answer.
"Perfect. Follow me."
Meihua Xian suddenly stood up and walked ahead, telling me to follow.
I asked with a puzzled look.
"Where are we going?"
Meihua Xian smiled slightly and answered.
"Since you're here to visit Huashan, shouldn't you go see your sister?"
"...Huh?"
I could only stare blankly at his words.
...Now, all of a sudden?
******************
Creak! Thud!
The sound of a water mill echoed dully in the forest.
Bird songs could be heard occasionally, and sunlight filtered through the tree shadows.
In this beautiful setting, a small cottage stood at the end of a path.
A little distance from Huayin County.
The cottage, built by the 10th Huashan Sect leader after his retirement, now served as a place of rest.
"It's all ruined."
Inside the cottage, the elderly Noya with white hair said.
His hoarse voice was unpleasant to hear, but no one in the cottage paid attention.
It couldn't be helped, given his name.
Divine Doctor.
The old man was known as such in the Central Plains.
A heavenly doctor who could save anyone as long as they were still breathing.
The Divine Doctor, who wandered and was hard to find, was here.
"Your meridians and energy flow are all twisted. How did you endure the pain as your body rotted away?"
"It wasn't that painful..."
The woman glanced at her disciple and replied.
But the Divine Doctor's frown deepened.
"Are you saying this even now? A child should know the truth."
"...Divine Doctor..."
"Don't call me that."
The disciple's shoulders trembled at the Divine Doctor's reprimand.
She looked at her teacher with tearful eyes.
"Teacher..."
Tsk!
The Divine Doctor clicked his tongue.
Sweat beaded on his forehead from the rare diagnosis.
A boy sitting beside him took out a cloth and wiped the sweat from the Divine Doctor's forehead.
The Divine Doctor gently placed the woman's arm he had been holding.
The diagnosis was almost complete, but the Divine Doctor's expression didn't improve.
The woman's body was rotting, starting from her dantian.
She looked like an ordinary old woman, but considering her age, she appeared even older.
It was impossible, given the realm of martial arts she had reached.
Meihua Jianhou (Plum Blossom Sword Empress).
The female hero who roamed the Central Plains, leading Huashan, was now in such a state.
The Divine Doctor thought the reason she could still move and breathe was due to the energy she possessed.
'If that runs out...'
The Daoist energy that kept her alive was gradually being consumed.
The biggest problem was...
"...I've never seen a disease like this before."
Someone gasped at the Divine Doctor's words.
The Divine Doctor, who was unmatched in medical skills throughout the Central Plains, had spoken.
"Jianhou."
"Yes..."
"How long has this been going on?"
The Jianhou glanced at her disciple and continued.
"About four years..."
"What happened?"
"...That's..."
Gulp.
Suddenly, the Jianhou clenched her trembling fist.
Blood trickled from her trembling lips.
"Teacher!"
The disciple supported her teacher.
At the same time, the boy beside the Divine Doctor handed a cloth to the Jianhou.
"...Thank you."
Nod.
The Jianhou nodded.
The Divine Doctor stroked his beard as he watched her slowly wipe the blood.
"...A restriction?"
An unknown disease and a restriction.
A restriction that even affected her ability to speak—something he had never seen in his life.
'If there was a restriction, I should have noticed it during the diagnosis.'
A restriction that affected a martial artist's body should have left some trace.
Especially a restriction on specific actions would leave a clear mark.
But the Divine Doctor felt no such trace.
He only felt the rotting of the Jianhou's body.
It felt as if all the knowledge he had accumulated over eighty years was collapsing.
'Unpleasant...'
The discomfort of not knowing.
The anxiety of possibly not being able to save someone.
He had left the medical world because he couldn't bear this dirty feeling.
'That damn Dao Hua...'
If not for the summons of the Celestial Venerable, the Divine Doctor wouldn't have gone to Anhui.
If he hadn't been in Anhui, he wouldn't have received Meihua Xian's summons.
...The rough methods of these damn martial artists.
"Divine Doctor..."
"I told you not to call me that."
"Sorry... Elder Tai."
"Alright."
"Can I ask how much time I have left?"
The Divine Doctor sighed at the Jianhou's question.
He knew better than anyone.
And this was the part he hated most to talk about.
"Two months at the earliest, maybe until winter if you're lucky."
You won't make it past this year.
The Divine Doctor swallowed the rest of the words.
The young girl was already crying in her teacher's arms.
He hated seeing this.
He hated seeing such things.
Especially when he couldn't fix it.
'Life is still disgusting.'
No matter how much knowledge he accumulated, there would always be someone he couldn't save.
This was why the Divine Doctor hated being called a Divine Doctor.
The boy gently approached and lightly grabbed the Divine Doctor's collar.
The Divine Doctor hid his dark thoughts and stroked the boy's head.
"I'll do what I can, for Dao Hua's request and our connection."
But don't have high hopes.
The Jianhou quietly nodded at the Divine Doctor's words.
Seeing this, the Divine Doctor swept his hand over his face and said to the children.
"The old man needs to talk to the patient, so go play outside for a while. You too."
The boy nodded.
But the Jianhou's disciple seemed reluctant and clung closer to her teacher.
"Me, I want to stay with Teacher..."
"Linghua."
The Jianhou's firm voice made the disciple flinch.
She looked at her teacher with teary eyes, but the Jianhou was firm.
"Go outside now."
"...Yes."
The boy had already gone outside, and the disciple reluctantly followed, moving out of the cottage.
******************
When they stepped outside the cottage, a cold wind blew, unusual for the summer.
Gulinghua wiped her tears with the back of her hand and closed the door of the cottage.
She shouldn't have cried.
Losing someone was still difficult.
'...Teacher.'
Feeling tears welling up again, she tried to wipe them with her clothes.
Someone handed her a cloth from the side.
It was the boy who had been sitting beside the Divine Doctor.
She had heard he was the grandson...
Seeing him, Gulinghua felt a chill run down her spine.
Even if he were her age, he was still a man.
Gulinghua disliked men.
So, the boy was no different.
Especially since he was her age.
She wanted to push away the approaching hand, but he was the grandson of the doctor treating her teacher.
She couldn't treat him rudely.
She had to suppress her disgust and politely refuse.
"I don't need it..."
Before Gulinghua could finish her sentence, the boy understood and went back to sit around the cottage without a word.
Gulinghua breathed a sigh of relief.
'...Teacher.'
She missed her teacher's face lying in the back.
Tears kept streaming down when she thought about not making it past this year.
'What should I do... What can I do?'
The Divine Doctor was said to be the best in the Central Plains.
If he said he couldn't fix it, there was nothing she could do.
Feeling helpless, she couldn't do anything.
"Why are you standing there?"
Gulinghua, who had been sniffling, looked up at the voice.
"Linghua, why are you outside?"
Meihua Xian, the sect leader of Huashan where she belonged, stood there.
She quickly wiped her eyes and straightened her posture.
"I... I greet the sect leader."
As Gulinghua was bowing, she paused when she saw the boy standing beside Meihua Xian.
The fierce eyes, the black hair, the red martial robe that proved his lineage, and the deep red eyes.
Unlike her half-siblings, he was the only true blood.
And the person Gulinghua resented the most.
Gulinghua was immediately overwhelmed by boiling emotions.
Why is he here?
Why is he here when he should be causing trouble in the family...?
Just the thought of him being in her only place of solace, away from that disgusting family, made Gulinghua unable to calm down.
"Why are you...?"
"You."
Ouyang Qian interrupted her.
And he slowly approached.
Gulinghua's breath quickened as he got closer.
What is he planning to do?
She had changed.
She could easily overpower her brother, who used to just play and eat without any effort.
She didn't have her wooden sword, but she believed it was enough.
She could handle whatever he did.
Gulinghua prepared herself mentally.
But Ouyang Qian just passed by her.
"What...?"
Confused, Gulinghua turned around.
Ouyang Qian was standing in front of the Divine Doctor's grandson.
"...?"
The boy looked up at Ouyang Qian.
"Why are you here?"
Gulinghua's eyes widened.
It was killing intent.
She could feel a strong killing intent in Ouyang Qian's voice as he spoke to the boy.