Chapter 46: dical Ward (1)
BOOM!!!!
A massive explosion erupted as Il-mok's sword clashed with Jang Hwi's spear.
The three onlookers shared similar expressions of shock. They were all astonished because they knew how long Il-mok had been learning martial arts.
But after the initial shock, each face revealed a different emotion.
'Damn it...'
Jang Hwi, who had been aiming for a killing blow, felt frustration. Having witnessed Il-mok's incredible talent, his failure to eliminate him would now haunt him even more.
anwhile, concern shadowed both Jin Hayeon and Kwan Mu-yeol's faces.
"Cough..."
Il-mok had managed to block the incoming spear, but the difference in skill was undeniable. He was pushed back about ten paces before coughing up blood.
"Young Master!"
"Damn it..."
After spitting blood, Il-mok cursed with an expression of wounded pride.
'Being able to manifest sword qi in half a year would be enough to call him a genius.'
'Is his pride hurt because he nearly died?'
As Kwan Mu-yeol and Jin Hayeon were each lost in their thoughts...
"My realm... has risen again..."
Il-mok muttered with a wronged expression, then collapsed to the ground.
"..."
"..."
Amidst the strange silence, the trio—engaged in their fierce battle monts ago—stared in bewildernt at the fallen Il-mok.
***
'A familiar ceiling.'
That was my first thought upon opening my eyes.
But it wasn't Windrock Palace where I usually slept.
It was a place I had stayed once before—the dical ward's ceiling.
"Are you feeling better, Young Master?"
Right on timing, Jin Hayeon’s voice reached my ears.
Turning my head, I saw Jin Hayeon looking down at with her usual stoic expression, bandages wrapped around various parts of her body.
Master was also beside her.
"Five attacks in just half a year, three brushes with death, and two stays in the dical ward—what a busy life you have."
I couldn't help but smile bitterly at Master's words.
From Eldest Brother's rampage, to the crazed Branch Leader of Kuqa County, the bandit attack, the recent assassin, and now Jang Hwi—my days had been nothing if not eventful. But my bitter smile wasn't because of that.
'The old man conveniently left out what he did.'
The very first attack I faced, and the most dangerous mont of all, was undoubtedly when Master held a sword to my throat and threatened to make his disciple.
In fact, all these troubles began from that mont, and moreover...
'Honestly, compared to Master's aura that day, the rest feel like nothing...'
He was the main culprit who unnecessarily inflated my courage.
"Still, I'm glad your achievents are progressing rapidly because of it. People naturally grow stronger through adversity, so don't worry too much."
"...Yes, Master."
Did he develop a sixth sense after I cursed him so much?
But there was a more important matter at hand.
'Right. My level has risen...'
The thought made my whole body itch for so action.
To be honest, I couldn't exactly rember how I had created sword qi. Only a vague sense of that feeling remained.
Which ant...
—I need to recapture that feeling right now!
—Grab a sword quickly!
—This is my only chance!
My obsessive-compulsive tendencies were flaring up.
While fiercely battling with so voice in my head, Master's voice brought back to reality.
"Though I'd like to order you to rest until you've fully recovered, there's an urgent matter to handle first. Let's take care of that and then you can rest."
"An urgent matter, Master?"
"I've heard the full situation from Wan-pyeong and Hayeon. Wan-pyeong has completed all preparations; you should finish what you have started."
"Ah..."
Only then did I recall what had happened before I fainted.
With Jin Hayeon's support, I got up and followed Master out of the dical ward.
Outside, the sky was still dark.
"How long was I asleep?"
"Perhaps less than two hours, Young Master."
After exchanging a brief conversation with Jin Hayeon, we soon arrived at the kitchen.
The place responsible for Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's foods and drinks.
However, the atmosphere was unusual.
'Wow... It's like a scene from a historical drama.'
Torches illuminated the center of the facility, and dozens of warriors maintained vigilant guard around the area, exuding a solemn presence.
In the center, several n and won knelt like criminals.
The scene resembled an interrogation straight out of a historical drama.
Master walked through this grim spectacle, sat down in the prepared seat at the head position, and commanded.
"Begin."
I expected an interrogation to start, but what followed was unexpected.
Two of the kneeling individuals—a man and a woman—stood up and suddenly began brewing tea and preparing refreshnts.
"Il-mok, watch carefully the ingredients and tea those people are handling."
Understanding the situation, I approached them with Jin Hayeon's support and began examining the ingredients they were using.
As I observed the process of preparing the refreshnts, one thought dominated my mind:
'Well... I fucked up.'
I don't know if it's because my head isn't working properly as my injuries haven't healed yet, but honestly, I couldn't discern anything unusual.
To my eyes, they were just using ordinary ingredients to make ordinary snacks and brew ordinary tea.
'Should I just pin the bla on soone? Or should I honestly say I don't know?'
Yes, considering Jang Hwi's sudden attack and everything else, sothing suspicious was definitely going on.
Maybe if I just made sothing up, it would work?
While I was pondering this, the refreshnt table was fully prepared.
"How is it?"
When Master's question reached my ears, I felt as if eons were passing.
After countless deliberations, I made my decision.
"I didn't notice anything unusual."
I couldn't risk causing trouble with false accusations.
Upon hearing my answer, Master made a strange expression and looked at Third Brother, who had been waiting beside him.
"Taste it."
"Yes, Master."
Third Brother gave a glance before approaching the prepared refreshnt table.
"First, the appearance is similar to what was served that day, Master."
After saying this, he took a bite of the refreshnt and then lifted a teacup to sip the tea.
"...The taste and aroma are different from what we had that day, Master."
I inwardly sighed with relief at Third Brother's words. It seed I had made the right choice by being honest.
Master's face darkened in anger.
"How dare you mock now?"
The two who had prepared the food prostrated themselves, crying out,
"We're innocent!"
"We prepared it exactly as we did that day! The taste of food can differ depending on one's mood. Third Young Master perceives it differently because you suspect us!"
Killing intent surged from his body upon hearing their defense.
"You dare treat like a fool in front of Master? The refreshnts and tea today look and taste similar to those from that day, but sothing is missing. That day, the sweetness and flavor were much stronger, and the tea was likewise much more bitter and intense."
His words triggered a mory in .
'Co to think of it, even coffee or carbonated drinks can be dangerous for sensitive people if they drink too much. Could it be that they didn't use anything special, but instead made the tea much stronger to enhance its effect?'
It was possible, but that alone seed insufficient.
'Senior Brother said sothing was missing from the taste of the snacks too, so there must be more to it.'
While I was contemplating whether to interject, the two accused continued to proclaim their innocence in response to Third Brother's accusations.
Suddenly, several n erged from the darkness.
One of them had a face familiar to .
'Master's personal guard.'
The man who had driven the carriage when Master first abducted . The leader of Master's elite guards and the Pavilion Lord of the Hidden Guard Pavilion.
They each presented sothing they had retrieved.
"These are the items we found after thoroughly searching the kitchen and the quarters where they stay."
Master nodded at the Pavilion Lord’s report and then instructed ,
"Co and examine these."
As I approached Master with Jin Hayeon's support, a thought crossed my mind.
'Master is ticulous.'
He had quickly gathered the suspects to prevent them from destroying evidence, then had his direct subordinates collect evidence.
As I reached them, I began examining the various items they presented.
Most were unfamiliar to , but there was one thing I recognized among them.
'Wow. I can't believe this actually exists in this era.'
Dark brown, bean-like objects with a sweet yet bitter aroma—coffee beans.
***
Like most Korean office workers drowning in work, governnt employees also enjoyed coffee during morning commutes or after lunch.
I often drank coffee with fellow officials in my departnt, and Lee Ji Yeon was no exception.
But from a certain day, she stopped drinking coffee.
—I'll buy the coffee today.
—Jihoon, I'd like chamomile tea instead of coffee, please.
—Hmm? Now that I think about it, you haven't been drinking coffee lately, Ji-yeon?
—Ah, yes... it doesn't suit my taste anymore.
It seed strange that soone who had been drinking coffee just fine for months would suddenly claim it didn't suit her taste.
And that afternoon, I learned the reason from her colleague, Kim Changwan.
—I think the stress from dealing with civilians’ complaints was too much. She recently went to a psychiatrist and was diagnosed with depression and panic disorder.
The news was quite shocking, and I felt sorry for her, but I was also puzzled.
—But what does coffee have to do with depression?
—I'm not entirely sure, but apparently drinking coffee when you have severe depression can cause heart palpitations and increased anxiety. It can also make you feel like you're about to have a panic attack.
—I see...
After hearing that story, I vaguely rembered searching the internet out of curiosity about the side effects of caffeine and foods that worsen depression.
Of course, since I didn't have depression at the ti, I just looked it up once and moved on. The details were hazy in my mory.
Also, there was no guarantee that those people had actually fed coffee to Senior Brother. I didn't even know if coffee existed in this era.
So I was worried sothing I didn't recognize might appear, but as luck would have it, coffee was exactly what they had used.
It was absurd in many ways, but now there was a more pressing matter.
"Third Brother, was the missing taste and aroma similar to this?"
I held out the coffee beans to Third Brother. He sniffed it and then popped a bean into his mouth.
"Yes! This is the missing taste and aroma!"
At his exclamation, I turned to Master.
"Master, this is originally an ingredient used to make a type of drink by pouring boiling water over it. This drink enhances ntal acuity and improves concentration, but it also has side effects such as insomnia, heightened anxiety, and potentially worsening feelings of depression."
"Is that what you learned from the innkeeper?"
"Yes, Master."
I apologized ntally to the late Uncle Taehyun, since I couldn't reveal my past life mories, so I had to improvise.
Satisfied with my explanation, Master nodded and issued orders.
"Imprison them imdiately and interrogate them to find out who's behind this. Also, investigate all their past activities to find anyone involved, and determine the source of those evil beans."
"As you command!"
As the assembled individuals bowed their heads in obedience, the accused cried out in indignation,
"This is slander, Heavenly Demon!"
"Third Young Master! I've served you for over ten years—how could you do this to ? And didn't I also eat the sa refreshnts that night?! This is unjust!"
"Didn't you hear him? It amplifies depression! It may be dicine for healthy people, but it was revealed to be poison for ! How dare you wag your tongues!"
But the enraged Third Brother wasn't fooled by their act.
After watching them being dragged away for a while...
'So, is my job done now?'
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course, further interrogations and investigations would be needed to reveal who was behind this, but that wasn't my responsibility. I didn't particularly have talents for such things anyway.
And above all, I had no ti for such things right now.
"Master."
Right now, I have sothing more urgent than anything else.
"Speak."
With Master's permission, I answered in a rather serious tone.
"Then, I shall return to Windrock Palace for training."
Since waking up, my mind had been constantly replaying the mory of creating sword qi.
I wanted to swing a sword right away, and this bizarre interrogation was driving mad.
But Master frowned as if he couldn't understand my words.
"Training?"
"Yes. I must imdiately internalize the insights I gained..."
Before I could finish my explanation...
Darkness consud my vision.
***
Thud.
"Young Master?"
Jin Hayeon, who had been supporting Il-mok, murmured with a puzzled tone as he suddenly lost consciousness mid-sentence.
What jolted her from her confusion was the voice of the Heavenly Demon, who was like a god to her.
"I pressed his pressure point."
Now she understood that the Heavenly Demon had knocked out his youngest disciple.
"Having overwhelming talent cos with its own problems. To suffer such side effects..."
The Heavenly Demon examined the unconscious Il-mok with a sympathetic expression, then instructed Jin Hayeon.
"Until the injuries he sustained today are fully healed, wake him only for als, and force him back to sleep after he finishes eating. His body could be damaged by excessive training."
Supporting Il-mok, Jin Hayeon responded to the Heavenly Demon's command.
"I will follow your orders."
For the ti being, Il-mok wouldn't be troubled by insomnia.
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