Chapter 45

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"…Did you understand Taehujin's feelings?"

"Ah… Yes. Even though he said he didn’t have to be a disciple, he really cares about Ye Yun, and since Ye Yun has great potential, I thought it might be because of that…"

Since she could somewhat understand others' worries, she sometimes got confused about whether someone else had brought up this topic.

"I see…"

"But I'm not sure if that's a good idea…"

"Hmm. What do you think?"

"Ye Yun seems to want to have Taehujin as his master. He said he was led by Taehujin from the beginning and joined the Kunlun Sect."

"Yes, that's true."

"I think if he deeply respects someone, having another master might just cause him distress."

"Taehu has a free-spirited nature, so he doesn't have the time to stay in one place and teach a disciple, which is why he has this mindset."

"Even though Ye Yun is following him well now?"

"Now that we want to make Ye Yun a core talent among the sect's pillars, we plan to cultivate him within Kunlun Mountain as much as possible after we return. That's how organizations work. Even though they gathered to become immortals, they are still human, and people tend to favor those they see more often."

"Ah… That could be true. I just thought, since Ye Yun has such great potential… if we only consider his skills, I don't think there's any worry about him becoming the sect leader. He's also a good person."

Dankook Cheon felt that he was talking about something too difficult for a child who hadn't even turned ten, but he wasn't surprised that Dankook Ryeon understood well.

Dankook Cheon looked at Ryeon, who was quietly nodding, and continued.

"Is it really possible to teach such a great talent every day?"

"Me? Teach… teach him?"

Ryeon was startled and denied it. Dankook Cheon smiled at her reaction. Her small head, with her hair tied in two round braids, trembled like a butterfly's wings.

"Ye Yun may seem gentle on the outside, but he has a strong sense of pride since he has never lost before. Yet, he listens to you intently, as if he's about to die. Am I wrong?"

"Ah. Ye Yun said he didn't have any friends before. Since I'm his first friend, we get along well."

"Then, did he make remarkable progress only after becoming your friend?"

"When the mind is at ease, achievements come naturally!"

"Then, what about giving enlightenment to Jin Zhongxia this time? Did he also become your friend?"

He almost cried, with his nose and cheeks red, but who could call him a friend after seeing that?

Ryeon, knowing this, closed her mouth with an embarrassed expression.

Dankook Cheon, sitting upright, looked at his granddaughter, who was only looking down, and said.

"Can you see it?"

"…"

There was no specific reference, but both of them clearly understood what they were talking about.

Dankook Cheon quietly added.

"Didn't you also teach me?"

Even if she was a prodigy, helping and guiding a peer was different from enabling a former top martial artist to take a step forward.

"Can you see… the path, the direction of the sword, in your eyes?"

Ryeon, with her lips tightly pressed, slowly and quietly nodded.

Nod, nod.

"Hmm… You can see everything… You know everything, do you?"

Nod.

Ryeon only nodded again. Dankook Cheon closed his eyes and then quietly opened them, extending his hand over the table. After a moment's hesitation, Ryeon placed her hand on his.

In his hand, which was not only scarred by burns but also various cuts, Ryeon's hand was small, white, and delicate.

Dankook Cheon smiled wryly.

"How can a martial artist so easily offer their wrist?"

"Ah."

Ryeon smiled with an embarrassed expression. Dankook Cheon stroked the back of her hand.

"Can I examine you?"

Ryeon nodded.

At the same time, Dankook Cheon subtly moved his hand, grasping Ryeon's wrist and closing his eyes.

The candle, which had been illuminating the two of them in the dark night, flickered slightly, and the lanterns hanging from the distant eaves went out one by one.

The insects stopped chirping all at once.

In the silence, where the sound of a falling star could be heard, Dankook Cheon's power quietly circulated through Ryeon's meridians.

He had examined these meridians many times while she was unconscious and suffering. What he couldn't understand then, he could feel now.

A force as overwhelming as standing in front of Mount Tai covered in eternal snow.

A powerful force, like being in the middle of a stormy sea, was swirling within this small body.

When Dankook Cheon opened his eyes, the insects started chirping again, and the candle flickered.

In front of him were his granddaughter's eyes, which sparkled like stars.

"This power… This spiritual energy has healed me."

Ryeon nodded silently.

"Because of this power, you couldn't cultivate your inner strength."

"Yes…"

"How can a human body possess such power…"

Dankook Cheon, who had been emitting a sigh of either admiration or exclamation, suddenly stiffened.

"Since the Qinglian Water you made is so effective, is it also due to the spiritual energy you possess?"

"Yes."

"Then, stop the medicine shop business."

"What? Grandfather?"

"Is there a grandfather who would fatten himself by selling his own child's blood?"

Dankook Cheon said softly.

From a grandfather's perspective, it could be seen that way. Ryeon quickly shook her hands.

"No, no. First, it's not blood. No, that's not the point. Actually, having too much of this power is not good. I…"

"Too much power is not good? What do you mean?"

Dankook Cheon's eyebrows twitched. Ryeon, with a slightly tense expression, carefully continued.

"Because the spiritual energy is too strong, it keeps accumulating. If it accumulates too much… I get sick."

"…Sick?"

"Yes… So, I need to use it in time."

"How, how do you get sick?"

Dankook Cheon asked urgently. Ryeon, considering whether to dodge the question, decided to be honest.

She didn't want to make Dankook Cheon worry more by giving a vague answer.

"If it gets really bad, I might vomit blood… or have a fever… or suffer from a cold… But if I use it appropriately, I stay healthy. I can even defeat Jin Zhongxia!"

Ryeon demonstrated by swinging her sword.

Dankook Cheon's face turned from pale to white, and finally, he looked exhausted.

"…Do you really need to use this power to stay healthy?"

"Yes. So, the Qinglian Water business is, in a way, killing two birds with one stone? Fixing the ditch and catching the crayfish."

"Ah. You can even recite proverbs? You've grown up."

Dankook Cheon clicked his tongue and touched his forehead. If not used, it would harm her body. What could he say about this?

Then, something flashed through his mind.

"Neidangzhu… Your mother suffered like that."

"What?"

"She had a persistent cough. Her temperature fluctuated daily, and sometimes she even vomited blood. Even the famous doctors couldn't cure her."

It was a state that Ryeon couldn't imagine from the mother she knew. Although she wasn't a martial artist, she wasn't that sickly.

"When she got pregnant with you, it was a mess. A sick person getting pregnant…"

Ryeon, hearing this, felt a bit puzzled.

Dankook Hyunseong was the eldest son of the clan, and his mother was his wife, yet from Dankook Cheon's words, it seemed they didn't even expect the couple to have a child. How did such a marriage come about?

"But after she got pregnant with you, she became surprisingly healthy, and everyone called you a blessing…"

Dankook Cheon trailed off.

When Ryeon was in Wijiching's womb, everyone called her a blessing, but when she was born, the clan was attacked. Even if it wasn't the direct result, after that, Ryeon's condition became abnormal, and Dankook Hyunwoo entered seclusion, so some people pondered whether her birth was cursed.

"Please don't tell Mother, Grandfather."

But what was important to Ryeon now wasn't whether she was called a blessing in the past.

If a sick person gave birth to a child and became healthy, and that child was suffering in the same way, how could the mother remain sane?

Especially after seeing the child in a state of unconsciousness for over seven years…

"…I understand. I won't tell her."