Jong Pyeong-u's Choice
Tang Hyemi's face went pale as she watched Cheon Ryuyeong cough up blood. She was terrified that their benefactor might not survive. But she gritted her teeth and spoke firmly:
"It's true—no one without inner strength has ever taken it. But the Man-aek Hwan-dan is the Tang Clan's treasure. I can't even imagine it harming someone."
Pyeong-u carefully took Cheon Ryuyeong's wrist, his voice edged with anger:
"Does he look unharmed to you? He's injured."
"That's not what I meant. I meant—Grandfather would never make such a mistake."
At her words, Pyeong-u furrowed his brows.
Doksoo Tang Cheolhyeon was famed not only for his mastery of poisons but also for his medical skill. As Tang Hyemi said, if anyone knew the Man-aek Hwan-dan best, it was him. There was no way he would ignore Cheon Ryuyeong's condition.
Pyeong-u nodded slightly.
"Hmm… this isn't the time to argue right and wrong. At least the blood he spat is pitch black—that's some relief."
If it had been dark red, it would mean his condition was truly dire. But the blood was pure black.
That left only two possibilities.
The first: his body had collapsed beyond recovery. But Pyeong-u didn't think that likely.
No ordinary man had ever taken the Man-aek Hwan-dan, but its legendary potency was certain. If it had been too dangerous, Tang Cheolhyeon would not have prescribed it.
That left the second possibility: his body was expelling accumulated impurities.
Had Cheon Ryuyeong been healthy, the process would have occurred naturally. But his current state, both body and mind, was poor.
In short, he could not withstand the miraculous energy of the Man-aek Hwan-dan.
But—could Tang Cheolhyeon really not have known that?
Pyeong-u felt there was something more, something even he did not know.
When he released Cheon Ryuyeong's wrist, Tang Hyemi quickly asked:
"Well?"
"His pulse is much too fast."
"That means…"
"It seems the pill's energy is running rampant in him."
Tang Hyemi's expression clouded with dread.
"Ah! Could the Man-aek Hwan-dan really be the cause?"
"If Elder Tang didn't make a mistake… then it may be Brother Cheon's body itself that's the issue."
"Meaning, they overlooked his condition and gave him the pill…"
Pyeong-u shook his head, cutting her off.
"No. Thinking about it, Elder Tang wouldn't make such a basic mistake. This is something else…"
He lifted Cheon Ryuyeong into a sitting position.
"It might be something none of us knew. Not even Elder Tang."
Tang Hyemi, caught off guard, helped steady his shoulders.
"Something no one knew? What do you mean?"
"I'll check. I need a clearer picture of his condition. Hold him steady."
"What are you going to do?"
"I'll channel my energy into him and see directly."
At that, Tang Hyemi gasped. To probe someone's body by injecting qi was no easy task. It required at least the level of a supreme master…
She almost laughed at herself. She had forgotten—Pyeong-u was a supreme master, even if he looked no more than a youth of twenty.
She climbed onto the bed to hold Cheon Ryuyeong from the front while Pyeong-u sat behind him, his palm opening.
Cheon Ryuyeong, still unconscious, gave another cough.
"Cough…"
A trace of foul-smelling black blood seeped out—different from ordinary blood. Just as Pyeong-u suspected, impurities were being forced out.
He pressed his glowing palm to the Mingmun acupoint at Cheon Ryuyeong's back, channeling energy into him.
Bang!
The door to the chamber flew open.
Elder Jeolsudok, who had remained behind to oversee the Tang Clan's defenses, burst in, his face pale.
"What is happening to Young Master Cheon?"
He froze at the sight inside, instantly realizing something was wrong.
Tang Hyemi hurriedly explained what had happened. Elder Jeolsudok anxiously fixed his gaze on Pyeong-u and Cheon Ryuyeong.
Time seemed to crawl.
In truth, only half a gak passed, but to Tang Hyemi and the elder, it felt eternal.
Beads of sweat gathered on Pyeong-u's brow. Injecting qi into another's body was never easy—especially not when that body was already convulsing under the raging power of the Man-aek Hwan-dan.
If his energy clashed with the pill's rampaging force, the result could be catastrophic.
Pyeong-u might be gravely injured, and Cheon Ryuyeong could die outright.
Knowing this, both elder and maiden kept silent, letting him concentrate.
But unease grew. Pyeong-u's face was twisting more and more, his brow deeply furrowed.
At last, he withdrew his hand. Immediately, the elder and Tang Hyemi pressed forward.
"Well?"
"What's wrong?"
Pyeong-u's eyes shone with shock. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he said:
"Haah… Brother Cheon has… a dantian."
"What?!"
Both the elder and Tang Hyemi's eyes went wide.
The elder asked:
"But didn't you say he'd never trained in martial arts?"
Tang Hyemi added:
"If he had a dantian, Grandfather would have noticed during treatment!"
Pyeong-u looked from one to the other, then explained:
"It's tiny—half the size of a bean. It's not one formed by cultivating inner techniques, but from simple breathing exercises. He must have practiced long ago, but left it dormant. It's turned hard like stone."
It was common for minor martial schools to teach breathing or qi-gathering exercises.
Cheon Ryuyeong, in fact, had learned such from the great general who once cherished him. He had formed a dantian, but after the upheaval in his life, he forgot the practice entirely.
Pyeong-u gently laid him back down.
"It was as good as nonexistent. Elder Tang could not have known. But now, the Man-aek Hwan-dan seems to have awakened it. Or perhaps—the dantian itself sensed the pill and reawakened."
Elder Jeolsudok regained his composure and said grimly:
"So a long-dead dantian has revived, and now it's greedily sucking in the pill's energy."
Pyeong-u stroked his chin and nodded.
"Exactly. But it's like pouring a basin of water into a tiny cup. Unable to hold it, the energy overflows and rampages throughout his body."
"…"
"If his meridians were open, it might be different. But they're blocked. So the pill's energy is running wild in every direction. He's in grave danger."
Tang Hyemi glanced nervously at Cheon Ryuyeong's face.
"Then… what should we do?"
The elder gave the answer.
"We must remove his dantian."
Tang Hyemi's eyes trembled. She knew full well what those words implied—something far from simple.
Removal of the Dantian
To "remove the dantian" meant destroying Cheon Ryuyeong's.
Once destroyed, it could never be formed again.
Tang Hyemi spoke cautiously:
"Is there truly no other way?"
To a martial artist, the dantian was life itself. And so, Elder Jeolsudok's words felt like a death sentence to her. Yet she nodded after a moment—Cheon Ryuyeong was no warrior, but a strategist.
But then Pyeong-u broke in, face stiff:
"Brother once said he wanted to learn martial arts. If we destroy his dantian now…"
He remembered it vividly—the day in Cheon's hometown when he had cried out his desire to train, to grow strong.
Elder Jeolsudok stared, astonished.
"Young hero Pyeong-u! You yourself said he was in grave danger."
"…"
"And besides, what other choice do we have?"
"No. There is a way."
"…?"
"If we open the blocked meridians, we can redirect the energy of the Man-aek Hwan-dan. Guide it, give it a path to flow on its own."
The elder was struck dumb. He knew just how dangerous that was.
Tang Hyemi swallowed hard and shook her head.
"That's impossible."
"Not impossible—just difficult."
"But…"
"I'm not talking about grandly unsealing the full Ren and Du channels. That's impossible, you're right. But opening a few lesser points, making even a small pathway—that is possible. Then the pill's rampaging energy will settle."
At last the elder found his voice, trembling:
"You mean… you can actually direct the energy of the Man-aek Hwan-dan?"
Pyeong-u bit his lip, then nodded.
"I believe so."
It was based on his earlier attempt through the Mingmun point. Luckily, the pill's energy had not resisted his qi—it mingled with it instead of exploding.
That was why the pill was called a treasure.
The elder exhaled a low groan. He knew Pyeong-u was a supreme master. But to manipulate someone else's internal energy—that was a profound mastery even Elder Tang Cheolhyeon could not reach.
"Young hero Pyeong-u… then you are saying that in the art of controlling qi, you surpass even the masters of the world…"
He had begun in disbelief, but could not finish.
For it was true. Who else reached supreme mastery before the age of twenty? He too, like Tang Hyemi, had forgotten just who Pyeong-u was.
Pyeong-u's eyes shone.
"I can do it."
"…"
"I have seen Brother's longing—to learn martial arts, to grow strong. And now I have seen his long-dead dantian stir back to life."
The elder asked quietly:
"You mean it is fate?"
"Yes. That is how I feel."
"Even if he survives, he will not suddenly become strong. At best, he will only stand at the threshold."
"I know. But it will give him a foundation to grow swiftly."
"He is already twenty-five. Starting now, he can never reach true mastery. Why take such a gamble?"
Pyeong-u shrugged. It was the same thing he and Cheon Ryuyeong had spoken of on the carriage to Sahan-hyeon, the same words he had shouted back home.
"He doesn't dream of becoming a master."
"Then why?"
"He wants only not to be a burden to his comrades."
"...!"
"Brother knows the truth—that in the end, one must protect oneself."
The elder regarded him gravely.
"Even so, if you fail, both of you may become cripples."
He could not understand Pyeong-u's choice. He knew too well how dangerous this attempt was. If it failed, Pyeong-u would suffer grievous backlash, and Cheon Ryuyeong might die.
Tang Hyemi spoke timidly:
"If you try and both are ruined, wouldn't it be better just to remove the dantian? Then at least he returns to what he was. Nothing lost."
Pyeong-u smacked his lips.
"Nothing lost? That's what you call it?"
"Well… yes."
"No. He would lose one of his dreams. The future he yearned for."
"…"
"And I owe him a debt. If I had done my duty as his guard, none of this would have happened. This is my chance to repay that debt."
He had been wavering. But the more he spoke, the more his resolve hardened.
If Cheon Ryuyeong were conscious, he would have told him: Do it! Don't fear—try!
Pyeong-u looked down at him and asked silently:
"Isn't that right, Brother? This is the choice you'd want? That my path is the right one?"
The elder gave his last warning:
"Even if you can, can he endure it? Forcing open meridians is agony beyond measure. In his state…"
But Pyeong-u smiled faintly and cut him off.
"You don't know my Brother."
"…?"
He recalled Cheon Ryuyeong at Sahan-hyeon, standing unbowed against Jin Dam-hwi of the Jinsan Escort Agency, even as his body was in ruins.
Cheon Ryuyeong, who had stood tall before countless demonic masters, who had pressed forward even when his body broke, for the sake of others.
"He is… the strongest man I know. That's why I can make this choice."
"…!"
"Then, let us begin. Lady Tang, guard the door—let no one enter. And Elder—"
The elder had already steeled himself.
"What shall I do?"
"Can you perform acupuncture?"
A faint smile crossed the elder's lips.
"I am a Tang Clan elder."
"Then protect his twelve meridians. If his organs are harmed, success will mean nothing."
"Understood. But remember—his strength is nearly gone. If this drags on, even his will cannot save him. Do not forget—his life is more important than his dantian."
"I know. That's why I'll open only a few points around the dantian. Just enough to stop the rampage. Two gak will be enough."
"Two gak…"
The elder nodded. If Pyeong-u truly could guide the energy, then it was worth the attempt.
And so, in the inner chamber on the second floor of Taedang Hall, a perilous gamble began—one that could leave both Cheon Ryuyeong and Pyeong-u crippled.