Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 8

After a short while, he opened his tightly shut eyes and stared at the pill in Han Li’s hand. A burning desire was evident in his gaze.

Han Li silently placed the pill in his mouth. Seeing him swallow it, he slowly removed the silver needles from his body. Once all the needles were gone, the pill’s effects began to spread.

Senior Brother Ryeo’s pale face flushed an abnormal red, gradually turning as red as blood. He began to convulse again, his limbs trembling, and low groans escaped his lips.

He didn’t want to show such an unsightly appearance, so he tried his best to suppress the groans. However, the immense pain eventually made him cry out.

The louder his cries became, the more severe his convulsions grew. After a long while, he slowly quieted down, eventually making no sound at all.

Senior Brother Ryeo’s face began to regain its original color, and his convulsions ceased. The painful moment seemed to have passed.

Senior Brother Ryeo slowly straightened his body, sat in a lotus position, and closed his eyes. He remained motionless, entering a state of meditative breathing.

How much time had passed? Suddenly, Senior Brother Ryeo, who had been sitting in a lotus position, opened his eyes, grabbed the long sword he had tossed aside, and jumped up.

He put strength into his arm and swung the sword, the blade gleaming, its sharp edge aimed at Han Li’s neck.

“Tell me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you!”

Senior Brother Ryeo’s eyes were cold and filled with murderous intent.

“Would the fact that I just saved your life be a sufficient reason?”

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, only slightly raising an eyebrow, a movement so subtle it would be missed if not carefully observed.

Senior Brother Ryeo’s expression seemed to soften slightly, but he still glared at Han Li with a fierce look.

“Before saving you, I thought you might try to silence me to keep this secret, but I didn’t expect you to act so quickly.”

Han Li finally gave a wry smile and continued.

“Ha! I knew saving you would bring me such trouble, but as someone who has studied medicine, I couldn’t just leave a dying person to die.”

Upon hearing his words, Senior Brother Ryeo looked perplexed. He slightly moved the sword away from Han Li’s neck, but didn’t completely lower it. Han Li inwardly breathed a sigh of relief but spoke in an even calmer tone to persuade him.

“I won’t reveal your secret to anyone else. I’m not someone who can’t keep their mouth shut. If you’re still worried, I’ll swear an oath. As you know, I’m not a martial artist, so if I break this oath, you can easily cut me down, right?”

“Then swear an oath.”

Senior Brother Ryeo replied firmly. Only then did Han Li completely relax. Although he didn’t think Senior Brother Ryeo seemed like an ungrateful and cruel person based on his observations before treating him, it was still uncertain.

If he were a petty person who repaid kindness with malice, he would have no choice but to use his only means of self-defense.

Thinking this, he subtly moved his fingers towards the iron tube inside his sleeve.

Only after Han Li carefully finished his oath did Senior Brother Ryeo sheathe his long sword.

He then touched his neck, feeling a thin line of blood where the sharp blade had grazed his skin.

Feeling something slightly sticky, he felt a chill down his spine and broke out in a cold sweat.

‘That was really close! I should have thought more carefully. No matter what anyone says, I’ll never go through such hardship again. Why should I care about other people’s problems?’

* * *

“You saved my life and even swore to keep my secret, so I, Ryeo Bi-woo, owe you a great debt. If you ever need my help before I die, come find me. I will help you with anything I can.”

Senior Brother Ryeo fully recovered his energy and gathered his scattered belongings. Then, he sincerely revealed his name to Han Li and made this promise.

“I don’t think I’ll ever bother you. Rather, you’ll likely have plenty of trouble on your own.”

Han Li smiled faintly and asked in return.

“How did you know?”

Ryeo Bi-woo looked surprised and puzzled.

“It’s something anyone could easily guess. How could you have peaceful days when a mere disciple of a protector surpasses the disciples of the sect leader, elders, and even the sect master?”

When Han Li hit Ryeo Bi-woo’s sore spot, Ryeo Bi-woo’s expression turned gloomy, and he didn’t say a word.

“These are matters I can’t interfere with. However, I can offer some help regarding the pain caused by the Marrow Extraction Pill you’re taking.”

“Really?”

Ryeo Bi-woo’s face was filled with joy, clearly indicating that the pain from the Marrow Extraction Pill was tormenting him greatly.

“Why would I deceive you?”

Han Li looked at Ryeo Bi-woo with clear eyes. He naturally had a prescription to alleviate the pain, as he had been researching it for Jang Seok-cheol whenever he had time.

It was very effective in reducing pain by significantly limiting the sensation of pain itself.

“That’s great. That’s really great!”

Ryeo Bi-woo rubbed his hands together excitedly, staring intently at Han Li.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not like I’m carrying the medicine with me right now. I need to go back to the Divine Herb Valley to make the medicine.”

Upon hearing this, Ryeo Bi-woo felt apologetic. He was now asking the person he had threatened to make medicine for him.

“Come to the entrance of the Divine Herb Valley around noon tomorrow and wait for me. I’ll make the medicine for you. Right now, Master Moon is away, so I can’t just bring outsiders in.”

Han Li finished speaking leisurely.

“Alright. I’ll go there. Thank you so much.”

“My name is Han Li, and I’m Master Moon’s direct disciple. Just call me Junior Brother Han.”

When Han Li heard him speak in a friendly and intimate tone, he quickly revealed his name to avoid the awkwardness.

* * *

Ryeo Bi-woo said he needed to go back and check his condition and promised to come to get the medicine at noon the next day, then bid farewell to Han Li.

Han Li silently watched Ryeo Bi-woo disappear.

Until now, Han Li hadn’t asked why Ryeo Bi-woo was taking such a kind of elixir.

Han Li also knew that even if he asked, he couldn’t undo what had already happened.

Behind his shining and glorious appearance, there must be unspeakable hardships. Perhaps it was something he couldn’t give up, even if it meant risking his life.

If he were to force him to reveal these hardships, it would be no different from reopening a wound that had barely healed.

Han Li’s actions were right. Before leaving, Senior Brother Ryeo saw that Han Li didn’t ask about the reason he was taking the Marrow Extraction Pill and was moved by his thoughtfulness.

Han Li’s decision to give a pain-relieving elixir to the person who had threatened his life was simple.

It was to do him a small favor so that he could help him when needed.

Even if he didn’t need his help this year or for several years, it didn’t matter.

Giving a little help to someone who needed it was one of the things that made him feel good.

Even though Ryeo Bi-woo wasn’t a great person, after going through this together today, he didn’t think he needed to worry about him harming him.

Han Li hurried back to the Divine Herb Valley to make the elixir to keep his promise.

Making a pain-relieving medicine wasn’t that difficult. He just needed to find the right ingredients in the herb garden and mix them.

However, the mixing process was a bit complex, so he needed to be careful.

After focusing on making the medicine for a long time, Han Li had mixed enough medicine for Senior Brother Ryeo to use for a year.

The reason he didn’t make more was that he wanted Senior Brother Ryeo to come to him every year to get the medicine.

He didn’t want him to forget the favor he had done.

* * *

As evening approached, Han Li suddenly sat on the chair in front of his door with an unusual expression.

He looked up at the pitch-black sky, and the bright moonlight entered his eyes. In the moonlight, he saw the faces of his family far away in his hometown.

It had already been four years since he had left his parents. After coming to Noeul Mountain, he had to train hard almost every day, so he had no time to think about his family, and he had never gone down the mountain to visit them.

He had only sent most of the silver he received each month to his home through someone else or received letters from his parents written by Uncle Jang every year.

The letters said that the family’s situation had improved compared to before, that his eldest brother had already married and become independent, and that his second brother had also brought home a good prospective bride, so there would likely be a celebration next year.

Other than that, there were no other special stories. Of course, these changes were all thanks to the silver he had sent home.

However, in the letters where Han Li asked about their well-being, he felt that his family’s attitude towards him was becoming more and more polite, as if they were treating a stranger.

Han Li was confused about how to respond to the letters. However, even this feeling became dull over time, and the faces of his family became blurry in his mind.

When he saw a scene like tonight, a flood of emotions would come, and he would reminisce about his family in his hometown.

Looking back, the warm and peaceful days he had spent at home were something he couldn’t easily obtain now, so they felt even more comfortable and precious. He slowly enjoyed this feeling.

Han Li gently touched the leather pouch containing the peace talisman he carried in his chest.

Touching the leather pouch would usually give him a faint sense of satisfaction, but for some reason today, his heart was restless, and he couldn’t find peace.

Right now, Han Li felt inexplicably depressed and found it difficult to control his emotions.

His whole body felt uncomfortable, and the qi and blood in his body began to churn incessantly. The strange inner force generated through the cultivation of the incantation was also trying to run wild.

‘Qi Deviation!’ [A dangerous state in cultivation where one’s internal energy goes out of control]

In an instant, this terrifying phrase flashed through Han Li’s mind. Han Li stood up and tried to regain his composure by taking deep breaths.

Since Master Moon was not here, only he could save himself from the danger before him. Han Li was still frustrated as to why he was about to suffer from Qi Deviation without any reason.

Now was not a good time to find the root cause of this problem, but he had to figure out what was causing the Qi Deviation to thoroughly resolve this situation.

Han Li raised his head and looked around carefully. However, nothing eye-catching was visible. As he rubbed his chin with his right hand, he felt something bulging on his hand.

‘The leather pouch… the peace talisman!’

What it was immediately came to Han Li’s mind.

‘Could it be that this is what caused this mess?’

Han Li couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t have time to hesitate now. If his condition worsened, he could fall into an uncontrollable state at any time, so he grabbed the pouch and threw it far away with all his might.

‘No! It’s getting harder to endure. The distortion of qi and blood is getting stronger.’

Han Li tried once again to suppress the strange phenomenon in his body, staring intently with bloodshot eyes at the place where the pouch had been thrown. He had to find the cause before his body was destroyed.
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