Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 7

Anyone with a discerning eye would have realized he was about to lose. Seeing this, Han Li had a question.

“I have a question. Why haven’t the older martial brothers come? Even if they’re not participating in the competition, with all this excitement, many would want to watch. But everyone here is a young disciple of our age.”

He asked without hesitation. Upon hearing this, Bbasak’s expression suddenly changed, and he looked at Han Li with a strange gaze.

‘Could I have said something wrong?’

Bbasak looked at Han Li suspiciously and said,

“Martial Brother Han, you really don’t know what’s going on with the sect? Even if you were in secluded training, didn’t your master mention it even once?”

Upon hearing those words, Han Li calmly reached into his robes and took out his waist token, showing it to Bbasak.

“Oh my, Martial Brother Han, why are you doing this? Would I not trust you? Haha!”

He quickly scanned the waist token, recognized it as genuine, and smiled again.

“Can you tell me what’s going on now?”

Han Li urged, asking again. He really wanted to know what had happened in the meantime.

“Of course, of course.”

It turned out that in the past few years, the power struggle between the Seven Mysteries Sect and the Arang Gang had become more severe, with more than ten disputes over the control of wealthy cities and towns.

In those disputes, many disciples had been sacrificed. The Arang Gang members were all violent, like enraged bandits, each one risking their lives and running wild.

However, although the disciples of the Seven Mysteries Sect had high martial arts skills, they lacked that kind of ruthlessness.

Seeing the Arang Gang charging like mad horses, the disciples were frightened and retreated, resulting in even more casualties for the Seven Mysteries Sect.

As this happened repeatedly, several high-ranking leaders of the Seven Mysteries Sect dispatched most of the inner disciples to participate in the bloody battles.

This was to protect the sect’s base areas, and on the other hand, to allow the disciples to experience the cruelty of the martial world and gain practical experience.

As a result, the Seven Mysteries Sect was able to gain the upper hand in subsequent battles, but many inner disciples never returned to the sect.

So, some sect leaders changed their strategy again. They assigned inner disciples to less important tasks or sent them to other regions to gain some experience in the martial world before allowing them to participate in battles with the Arang Gang.

Only then did the casualties greatly decrease, and this became an official internal rule of the sect two years ago.

Any disciple of the Seven Mysteries Sect, immediately after receiving their master’s teachings, would go out into the martial world to gain experience before taking on practical duties in the sect.

For this reason, older disciples were either dispatched outside the sect, fighting with the Arang Gang, or training in the martial world.

On the main mountain, except for the essential personnel to protect the sect, there were only young disciples who had not yet finished their master’s teachings.

Through Bbasak’s story, Han Li realized that the situation at Sunset Mountain had changed greatly from before.

Clang!

With a loud reverberation, the soft sword flew into the sky. Jo Ja-Ryung grabbed his right hand and took a few steps back.

He gasped for breath, his face pale. He had been unable to avoid Senior Brother Ryeo’s swift and fierce continuous saber techniques, and when he tried to block with his soft sword, he was overwhelmed by the immense force and dropped his sword.

“Senior Brother Ryeo, you are indeed amazing. This junior admits defeat.”

Jo Ja-Ryung forced a smile and bowed. A huge cheer erupted from all around.

“Senior Brother Ryeo, your skills are truly outstanding!”

“Senior Brother Ryeo, your saber techniques are amazing!”

“Senior Brother Ryeo, please teach this junior a move!”

The voices clamoring over each other were directed at their idol.

Senior Brother Ryeo sheathed his sword. A blush rose on his face. Suddenly, as if something had come to mind, he frowned and spoke calmly.

“Well, I still have some things to take care of, so I’ll take my leave first.”

Even as he turned to leave, he displayed excellent light body techniques [a martial art technique that allows for swift and agile movements], disappearing into the pine forest next to the cliff.

“Wow! Senior Brother Ryeo is amazing not only in saber techniques but also in light body techniques.”

“I know, right?”

The voices praising him buzzed again.

“By the way, junior brother, now that I think about it, I still don’t know your name.”

Han Li looked at Bbasak, who was standing next to him, and asked.

“My name is Kim Dong-bo. But Martial Brother Han, you can just call me Bbasak.”

Bbasak excitedly answered Han Li’s question. It seemed that a great tree that would become his backing had recognized his true worth.

“If you get sick or injured in the future, come find me. I’ll treat you for free.”

Han Li waved his hand, looked at the noisy crowd again, and then disappeared into the pine forest. Kim Dong-bo stood there blankly, feeling a strange, inexplicable sensation.

Even after thinking for a long time, he couldn’t grasp the meaning of what he had just heard.

* * *

Even after walking far from the cliff, he could still hear their voices. He wasn’t particularly interested in how they would resolve the conflict between An-ddung and Jang Jeong-gwi.

Remembering Kim Dong-bo standing there blankly, Han Li couldn’t help but feel an uncontrollable urge to burst into laughter.

After laughing for a while, he felt much lighter. It was as if all the gloominess from the Spirit Medicine Valley had flown away.

He walked through the pine forest, following his feet. As he went deeper into the secluded area, a shallow stream appeared in front of him.

He looked up at the scorching sun and thought it would be a good idea to cool off a little.

As he bent down and put his hands in the cool stream, he heard a groaning sound from upstream. Han Li couldn’t help but be surprised.

Following the groaning sound, he found a person wearing the inner disciple’s uniform lying by the stream.

He was lying on the ground, writhing all over, and his limbs were trembling incessantly.

Han Li immediately realized that he was showing signs of a critical illness and that if he didn’t help now, his life would be in danger.

He strode forward and took out a box made of birch wood from his robes. From it, he took out a shiny silver needle and neatly inserted it into the acupoint on his back.

After quickly finishing the acupuncture on his back, Han Li turned him over to prepare to insert needles into the acupoints on his chest.

As he turned him over, Han Li couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. The person lying here was none other than Senior Brother Ryeo, who had just displayed his divine might in the duel at the cliff.

Han Li looked at his face again. He was not the brave and dignified figure he had seen just now.

His usually cold face was distorted with pain, and white foam was constantly forming at his mouth. He seemed to have lost consciousness from the extreme pain.

Han Li regained his composure and quickly inserted the silver needles into his body.

Only after placing dozens of silver needles without stopping and completing the final acupuncture could he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

This kind of acupuncture technique, which could save a critically ill patient with acupuncture alone, was very burdensome even for him.

Only when his entire body was covered in shimmering silver needles did Senior Brother Ryeo regain consciousness.

“You are…”

He tried his best to say something, but he didn’t have the strength to finish.

“I am from the Spirit Medicine Valley. Don’t try to speak. You need to regain your strength first. I’m just helping you regain consciousness. Your illness is strange, and it seems that only Master Moon can treat you. Unfortunately, he is not on the main mountain right now.”

Han Li frowned as he checked his pulse.

“Medicine… medicine…”

An anxious look appeared on Senior Brother Ryeo’s face. His lips trembled, and he tried to raise his arm to say something, but he couldn’t.

“Do you have medicine on you to treat your illness?”

Han Li immediately understood his intention and asked if his guess was correct.

“Hmm…”

Senior Brother Ryeo realized that Han Li had understood him and barely nodded. Without hesitation, he began to rummage through his body.

Among the miscellaneous items, he found a small white bottle. Judging by how securely it was sealed in such a high-quality bottle, this must be what Senior Brother Ryeo was looking for. He held the bottle and looked at Senior Brother Ryeo’s expression. Indeed, his face was full of joy, and he was blinking his eyes as hard as he could.

Han Li opened the bottle, and surprisingly, instead of the scent of medicinal herbs, a strong fishy smell wafted out.

He carefully took out a pink pill. The pill had a beautiful color, but it emitted an unbearable, foul odor.

“Is this the pill?”

Han Li regained his composure. Senior Brother Ryeo was so urgent that he didn’t even have time to speak, and he just blinked his eyes.

“The Chusuhwan [a fictional pill]. When you refine it by mixing a total of twenty-three rare medicinal ingredients, such as the Mokran, Galmihwa (Scorpion Tail Flower), and Baengnyeon Namuiran (Hundred-Year Blue Ant Egg), the surface has a reddish hue, and it has a strange fishy and musty smell. Taking this will forcibly and greatly increase the body’s hidden potential, and you can raise your current power by one level at the cost of your future lifespan. Am I right?”

Han Li coldly stared at Senior Brother Ryeo, and as he spoke each word, Senior Brother Ryeo’s face turned pale, with not even a trace of blood left. His bewildered state of mind was clearly revealed.

“Since you’ve already started taking this pill once, you must take it again at regular intervals, and you must suffer the pain of having your muscles pulled and your bone marrow sucked. If you don’t take it, if you’re lucky, you’ll become paralyzed, and if you’re unlucky, you’ll lose your life. Moreover, even if you take the pill on time at the right intervals, you will die within ten years due to the excessive use of your life force.”

Han Li continued to speak without hesitation.

Han Li paused for a moment. Upon hearing Han Li’s words, Senior Brother Ryeo revealed the despair of having his most hidden truth exposed on his face. Also, his eyes showed a great deal of bewilderment.

“You must be very surprised. This kind of pill is very rare, so you must be wondering how I know about it.”

Han Li read his mind and turned the conversation to himself.

“It’s actually very simple. I’ve also taken this kind of pill before.”

Senior Brother Ryeo was greatly surprised by Han Li’s words, which contained a shocking truth, but he immediately showed a look of disbelief.

“However, the way I take this pill is different from yours. I only took one pill. I divided that one pill into ten pieces and used it each time as a supplementary means to enhance the effects of other medicinal herbs. So, I didn’t experience any side effects that would harm my body. The discrepancy between the appearance and smell of this pill is so great that it left a deep impression on me. Before, I always thought that there wouldn’t be anyone in the world who would take such a strange pill except for me, but I never expected that there would be one.”

After finishing his words, Han Li looked at Senior Brother Ryeo with a look that was both admiring and pitiful.

Senior Brother Ryeo closed his eyes as if he didn’t want to meet Han Li’s gaze. Only his chest, which was rising and falling erratically, revealed his confused state of mind.

“You must have been taking this pill for several years now. If you don’t want to take this pill again, I can ask Master Moon to make an antidote for you. Even if you can’t completely regain your previous lifespan, you can live for another 20 to 30 years. But you won’t be able to maintain your martial arts achievements. If you continue to take this pill, your martial arts will improve day by day, and you will grow much faster than now. But judging by the severity of the seizures, you will only live for 5 to 6 years at most. It’s your body, so you have to choose. Whether to take this pill again or throw it away!”

Senior Brother Ryeo’s eyelids were trembling severely. It was clear that a fierce struggle, different from his usual self, was taking place in his heart.
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