Chapter 91
It was a spectacle that grew more wondrous the longer one watched.
Wherever the mysterious woman in the veil passed, trailing a shimmering golden aura, the wounds of the patients faded. Of course, the injuries did not vanish entirely, but as the bleeding stopped and the wounds grew faint, the impact of her healing was beyond imagination.
“Wow….”
Everyone stood with mouths agape, unable to tear their eyes away from her. Sau was no exception. Even though he had witnessed this scene once before, her healing still held his gaze completely captive. As he watched that beautiful sight with intense focus, he realized a fact he had not known before.
‘She is crying the whole time.’
It did not seem as though she were crying because she felt pity for those injured by the madmen, but rather for an inevitable reason. It was as if tears were a necessary component for using her healing power. It seemed like information worth remembering.
Just then, a noisy intruder appeared on the scene, which had been filled only with awe.
“Sami! Where are you! I can protect you today!”
“Haa….”
Sau sighed, approached the shouting man with the speed of light, and struck his back.
*Thwack!*
“Gah!”
The man let out a loud, obnoxious shriek and dropped to his knees on the spot.
“Be quiet. Do not disturb Baek Sam.”
“Young Master, that hurts so much.”
Jegal Haesu, who had made such a boisterous entrance, groaned in pain.
“I hit you so that it would hurt, so you should be in pain.”
However, Jegal Haesu also spotted the woman currently treating the people and pressed his lips shut.
“Whew.”
Meanwhile, Soso, who was the center of attention, was not even conscious of the gazes upon her. She was merely recalling the Golden Divine Healer she had seen within the illusion—the one who adjusted her golden aura according to the severity of the wounds. A richer golden aura for deep wounds, and a faint golden aura for shallow ones.
It had not been easy at first. But the more she treated the patients, the more she grasped how to control the concentration. Just as she had when neutralizing Namgung Hyuk’s Demonic Energy, she could draw out that energy as sharply as Sword Aura.
‘I am helping people and becoming more proficient with my healing abilities; it is killing two birds with one stone.’
However, she soon reached her limit. A sense of exhaustion she could no longer ignore washed over her. The energy, which she had been using with strange excellence, was running dry. There were still some she had not been able to treat, but Soso cleanly gave up on further healing. As Sau had said, she could not return to being a Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng in front of everyone. Furthermore, the bleeding of those with serious injuries had stopped, and the remaining patients only had minor wounds. This should be enough.
As Soso withdrew her golden aura, exclamations erupted from all around.
“Th-thank you! Healer Immortal!”
And at that moment, someone shouted.
“The Golden… Divine Healer?”
Those words acted as a catalyst.
“The Golden Divine Healer has appeared!”
“Golden Divine Healer! Thank you!”
*Oh no.* To think the name "Golden Divine Healer" had even come out. As Soso grew flustered, Sau cleared the area.
“Silence. If anyone mentions the Golden Divine Healer, I will kill them all.”
It was a warning delivered in a quiet voice, to be sure. But because it was imbued with majestic internal energy, it made not only their ears but their very hearts tremble. The people had no choice but to obey the warning. The surroundings went quiet, as if doused with cold water.
Taking advantage of the silence, Soso whispered to Sau.
“Young Master, I think this is my limit.”
“Agreed. Let us return.”
“Sami, you worked hard.”
Only then did Soso notice Jegal Haesu, who was still kneeling on the floor.
“Young Master Jegal, let’s go together. As for Young Master Namgung….”
Speak of the devil—Namgung Jin appeared just then. It seemed he had been the last to emerge from the illusion.
“Let’s go.”
Sau gently snatched Soso’s wrist and led her away.
* * *
On the roof of a building a short distance from the Dragon Gate, an old monk stood, leaning on a green jade staff known as the Green Jade Buddha Staff. The old monk watched everything that had transpired inside the Dragon Gate closely with his "Mind's Eye," which was suffused with mysterious energy.
What he focused on most was the healing ability of the woman called Baek Sam. The moment the golden aura rose from her hands, a small ripple appeared on his face, which had been as stoic as stone.
‘She truly… was the Golden Divine Healer.’
However, she was a Divine Healer whose abilities were still insufficient.
The hem of the old monk’s robes, a faint smile playing on his lips, fluttered in the wind. He wanted to invite her to the Murim Alliance quickly and make her his own. So that he could help her perfect the martial arts she had been practicing in secret, away from everyone’s eyes.
Just as he was about to return, having finished what he came to confirm, it happened.
“……!”
For an instant, he felt a chilling gaze that seemed to pierce to his very bones. He instinctively took a few steps back to identify the owner of the gaze. It was a man wearing a black hat. He was the only one among Baek Sam’s party whose identity he could not grasp.
A pitch-black gaze was burrowing into the old monk’s mind. Soon after, the man’s figure began to blur.
‘…He intends to come this way!’
The old monk gathered all his energy at once and escaped the rooftop in a single bound. It was a speed that the common eye could not even hope to capture. Immediately afterward, the man who had been watching the old monk stood straight upon the roof.
The man stared intently at the spot where the old monk had vanished.
‘Is that fellow the one who mimicked the madmen of the Demonic Cult?’
No sooner had he left the Dragon Gate than he had felt a sharp gaze, and upon looking, he had found a suspicious character. The old monk seemed to be a martial artist of a very high realm. The old monk had created the madmen? The combination was highly strange and suspicious. However, it seemed a bit too late to follow him.
The man returned to his party.
“……Young Master Sau! Where have you been?”
“I saw someone who looked dangerous, so I went to check on them for a moment.”
“Gasp! Who was it?”
“I don’t know. It might have been my mistake.”
Of course, it was a lie. There was no way he could have been mistaken. Sau simply found it bothersome to explain. It was obvious that if he spoke of the old monk, the overly curious Baek Sam would grill him with questions. While Sau liked that the old monk had made the Demonic Cult appear to be an even more heinous organization, he did not necessarily condone him walking around in the guise of the Demonic Cult.
He decided that if the old monk committed any more bothersome acts, he would pursue him to the ends of the earth.
‘I won’t let it slide a second time.’
The corners of his lips, hidden beneath the black hat, curled up slightly.
* * *
Upon returning to the inn, Soso’s party sat in a circle in their room and discussed what had happened at the tavern.
“You have no idea how stinging the hands of the Bewitching Healer of the Moonlit Night were! I coughed up black blood! Sami… aren’t you worried about me?”
Soso carefully patted Jegal Haesu’s shoulder. Although he was speaking playfully, the fact remained that he had not been treated for his Turbid Pulse Condition. He simply hadn’t vented his frustration to others; in truth, he must not have been feeling well. Soso wanted to lift his spirits. She felt pity for him, hiding his true feelings behind playfulness for fear of worrying others.
“I am worried. That is why I will be sure to treat you myself, Young Master.”
“As expected, there is no one like you.”
“So please, do not be too disheartened. Young Master Jegal is a companion of the Golden Divine Healer, who will become the most capable in the world.”
“Sami!”
Touched, Jegal Haesu spread his arms wide as if he were about to pull Soso into an embrace. The one who stopped him was Namgung Jin.
“Jegal Haesu, that is excessive.”
With a frown, he slapped Jegal Haesu’s arm down.
“Young Lady Baek, but why is it that I saw nothing, nor did I meet the Bewitching Healer of the Moonlit Night?”
He claimed he had simply been trapped in a pitch-black space before coming back out.
“Perhaps it is because there is nothing you need to see yet?”
“That is a pity. I had secretly been looking forward to it.”
“Ah, instead, I saw something related to the Namgung Clan.”
“The Namgung Clan? What did you see?”
Soso recalled Cheon Yujin and the Golden Divine Healer walking along the forest path. The name that Cheon Yujin had discussed slipped through her teeth.
“Namgung Seogwang. Do you happen to know that name?”
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