Chapter 18

The Demon's Selection (18)

Early morning.

Danaksun woke up earlier than usual due to the clattering noise coming from somewhere.

"Wow!"

Danaksun, stepping out of the hall, couldn't help but exclaim.

It was because the appearance of the Demon's Valley had completely changed from yesterday.

There was no trace of the messy scene.

Everywhere she looked was clean and neatly organized. Moreover, Choeakryang and Bangeui were busily moving around.

Behind them stood a new pavilion that hadn't been there before.

That's why it had been noisy since dawn.

Danaksun moved towards the two people. At that moment, a person walked out as the pavilion door opened.

It was Hansolhwa.

'This is her.'

Danaksun realized that this was the patient Bangeui had said he would bring.

"Hello."

Danaksun bowed her head slightly.

"My name is Danaksun."

Hansolhwa, who had been looking at Danaksun with a blank expression, nodded slightly.

—I am Hansolhwa. Just call me Aunt.

Danaksun's eyes widened.

It was because of the voice that was directly transmitted to her mind.

"Was that telepathy?"

Danaksun was amazed.

"I've heard about it from my parents. It's a technique that martial arts experts use to secretly converse. So Aunt is also an incredible expert?"

As soon as Danaksun finished speaking, Bangeui's telepathic message flew in.

—Hmph! What's so special about telepathy?

Danaksun looked at Bangeui with surprised eyes.

"Wow, that's really amazing."

Choeakryang frowned.

"If my inner strength had recovered, telepathy would be nothing…."

Choeakryang immediately regretted his words when he saw Bangeui looking at him with a smug expression.

At that moment, Danaksun smiled brightly at Choeakryang and Bangeui.

"You were building a place for Aunt to stay, right? You've been busy since yesterday."

"Huh? Oh…."

"Well, something like that…."

Hansolhwa's telepathic message flew to the two people, who had reluctantly nodded with awkward expressions.

—Hurry up. The roof on that side isn't fully up yet.

Bangeui's eyebrows twitched at Hansolhwa's instruction.

—Should I tell them about sneaking out last night? The smell of blood was intense.

Following her next telepathic message, the two people, as if they had never done anything, suddenly lifted a log.

The two continued their work silently.

Watching them, Hansolhwa headed towards the cliff.

Whoosh.

A powerful aura arose as she waved her sleeve.

A massive whirlwind formed in the distant space, scraping the cliff.

All the rags and cloth pieces scattered near the cliff were swept up by the wind and soared high into the sky. As Hansolhwa clenched the air, they were drawn to her hand.

Danaksun couldn't help but exclaim at the sight.

She finally understood why the valley was clean.

Hansolhwa had been using her martial arts to clean every corner of the valley for a long time.

When it seemed that the cleaning was almost done, Danaksun approached Hansolhwa.

She had recalled the reason why Hansolhwa had come here.

"Do you also have an ailment, Aunt?"

Danaksun smiled at Hansolhwa, who was looking at her with a blank expression.

"Let's go to my hall first. I'll start by taking your pulse."

Hansolhwa nodded and followed Danaksun.

* * *

Hansolhwa sat in a chair, watching Danaksun. Danaksun sat opposite her, eyes closed.

She had her fingers on Hansolhwa's wrist.

After a long time, Danaksun, who had been lost in deep thought, opened her eyes.

"Sigh…."

Danaksun sighed.

"Really… I can't believe it."

A look of regret appeared in Danaksun's eyes.

"It's not that you didn't want to speak, but that you couldn't."

Danaksun continued.

"Treating… I'm not sure if I can call it treatment, but it will take some time. Honestly, I can't guarantee the results. This is my first time dealing with such a condition."

Danaksun looked at Hansolhwa with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry."

Hansolhwa nodded silently.

She had hoped, but it was as expected. Even if the divine doctor and the demon doctor were here, the result would have been the same.

It was foolish of her to have been moved by false hope.

"I can only help you recover your voice for now."

For the first time, a glimmer of emotion appeared in Hansolhwa's always cold eyes.

—Do you mean I can speak again?

Danaksun nodded.

"I can't fix everything right away, but I can help you recover bit by bit. Of course, this isn't the ultimate cure."

Danaksun continued her explanation.

"It's important to block the cold energy flowing from the meridians. Then, I'll stimulate your nerves and muscles to increase their activity."

—Is that possible?

Danaksun nodded and then took out a wooden box containing acupuncture needles from her robe.

"Shall we start?"

Hansolhwa nodded, and Danaksun began to insert the needles into several acupoints on her body.

"Try to make a long 'ah' sound. Imagine slowly drawing up and expelling the heavy breath inside your lungs."

After a moment's hesitation, Hansolhwa followed Danaksun's instructions.

However, no voice came out.

Only a harsh, raspy breathing sound continued.

Danaksun smiled gently at Hansolhwa.

"You're doing well. Keep it up."

From then on, Danaksun continued the acupuncture with a serious expression. About half an hour into the treatment,

"…Ah."

A clear voice flowed from Hansolhwa's mouth.

Hansolhwa, startled, looked at Danaksun.

"Did I just… speak?"

"You're speaking now."

"…!"

Though her expression remained unchanged, Hansolhwa was incredibly surprised at this moment.

She didn't know how long it had been since she last heard her own voice.

They say you only realize how precious something is after you lose it, and for her, her voice was one of those things.

Choeakryang and Bangeui.

She now understood their boundless trust in this child.

At that moment, Danaksun raised her hand and pointed to the bed.

"Would you lie down for a moment?"

Danaksun spoke with a serious look.

"I need to examine your body more closely."

Hansolhwa hesitated.

—My body?

She was so flustered that she inadvertently sent a telepathic message. However, Danaksun's eyes were as clear and calm as tea.

"I'm not as skilled as Bian Que's brothers yet."

Bian Que is one of the greatest doctors, along with Hua Tuo.

"He had two older brothers, both of whom were also doctors."

—I know that story.

It was a famous anecdote.

One day, the emperor asked Bian Que which of his brothers was the most skilled in medicine. Bian Que replied that his eldest brother was the most skilled, followed by his younger brother.

The emperor then asked why Bian Que's name was the most famous. Bian Que answered that he cured diseases with medicine and surgery.

In contrast, his younger brother treated patients when their conditions were still minor, and his eldest brother could diagnose and eliminate the cause of illness just by looking at a person's face, so people didn't know about them.

'That means…'

Hansolhwa was inwardly greatly surprised.

Interpreting Danaksun's words differently, it meant that she possessed medical skills on par with Bian Que.

Hansolhwa slowly nodded.

As she lay on the bed, Danaksun took her pulse and warned her.

"Even if you feel strange, don't open your mouth or move."

"Strange feeling?"

"Bangeui and Choeakryang were fine, but some people might feel ticklish."

Hansolhwa was puzzled but decided to trust Danaksun since she had already entrusted her body to her.

Hansolhwa closed her eyes quietly.

At that moment, a faint energy flowed into her pulse.

It was so weak and thin that she would have missed it if she hadn't focused.

Warm and gentle…

It felt like the mist of a spring day.

This energy slowly moved along the meridians, eventually stopping at the Yongquan point near her feet.

Then, it began to rise up her ankles and calves, and after a long time of examining her body, it slowly dispersed.

"Sigh…."

Danaksun's expression was complex as she pondered deeply.

But at a certain point, her eyes began to shine.

"Yeonshinhwanheo (練神還虛)…"

A single word muttered by Danaksun.

It was the crucial clue to deduce Hansolhwa's current state.

A glimmer of interest appeared in Hansolhwa's eyes.

"How did you know that? I heard you didn't practice martial arts."

"Medicine and martial arts ultimately converge. Just like Hua Tuo created the Wuqinxi (五禽戱)."

Danaksun continued her explanation.

"There are various internal cultivation methods in the martial world, and their training methods vary widely. However, the core principles they contain are often similar."

These can be roughly divided into three stages.

Yeonjeonghwaqi (練精化氣), Yeonkihwasin (練氣化神), and Yeonshinhwanheo (練神還虛).

Yeonjeonghwaqi is the process of cultivating qi from jing (精), which is the innate energy one is born with. Based on the accumulated qi, Yeonkihwasin is the process of nurturing shen (神).

Next, shen (神) is a state where the spirit and body are perfectly harmonized, transcending the limitations of the physical body. Yeonshinhwanheo refers to the realm of cultivating shen to its ultimate level.

A stage of transcending the physical body to reach a higher realm.

Since she had transcended the limitations of the physical body, she neither aged nor died. She had truly transformed into an immortal being.

"Although there are many sects in Taoism…."

Hansolhwa looked at Danaksun with a puzzled expression.

However, she could guess why Danaksun had brought up Taoism.

"But the core ideology that runs through them all is one."

Danaksun smiled.

"Immortality (不死) and Ascension (登仙)."

For this, each sect practiced in their own way. There were slight differences, but the main methods could be broadly categorized into four.

The Dandan Sect (練丹派) aimed to create elixirs for immortality. The Fulu Sect (附錄派) worshiped spirits and deities, using talismans and incantations to control evil energies. The Changsheng Sect (長生派) sought immortality through yin-yang harmony and sexual techniques. The Yeonki Sect (練氣派) practiced dantian breathing and Daoist exercises.

"Most existing Taoist sects belong to the Yeonki Sect. The elixirs they produce are influenced by the Dandan Sect."

This can be seen in the Huashan Sect, a representative Taoist sect of the present.

"I suspect that Aunt reached the stage of Yeonshinhwanheo a long time ago."

It was just a hypothesis, and Danaksun wasn't entirely sure.

She had never directly experienced a similar case to the current one.

However, there was no other way to explain Hansolhwa's condition.

The cold energy permeating her entire body, including her limbs, would have killed an ordinary person long ago.

She had survived until now because she had transcended the limitations of her physical body.

"The problem is that it's unstable. It seems you rushed to the next stage without fully completing the cultivation of shen."

The reason for her lack of expression, inability to taste, and the halted aging of her body was that her muscles and nerves had been fixed in time.

Hansolhwa's eyes flickered slightly.

After hearing Danaksun's words, she had a vague memory from the past.

"Can you cure it?"

Hansolhwa asked, and Danaksun nodded.

"Some research is needed… but it doesn't seem impossible. As I mentioned earlier, it will take some time."

"Time doesn't matter."

"However, there is something I'm concerned about."

Danaksun hesitated with a troubled look.

"Go ahead, it's fine."

Hansolhwa's words made Danaksun sigh quietly.

"The aging that had stopped will resume. The time of your physical body will start flowing again."

Hansolhwa nodded for a long time before speaking.

"That is truly what I desire. To age and grow old like everyone else."

"Really? Don't most women want their beauty to remain in their twenties? My mother did."

"My life is not a blessing."

Hansolhwa continued, looking at Danaksun.

"If you can free me from this prison of eternal time…."

Hansolhwa's eyes became wistful.

"I will regard you as my lifelong benefactor."