Chapter 67

“Ugh, every bone in my body hurts.”

Hyuk Mujin groaned. His exposed upper body was stained dark reddish-black all over.

At the sight, the cantankerous-looking old man—the Medicine King Hall Master—clicked his tongue.

“What the hell did you do to your body?”

When he untied the bundle he had brought with him, stake-like acupuncture needles were revealed. Hyuk Mujin asked in a trembling voice:

“You’re going to stick those in me?”

“What, scared?”

“They look like they’ll hurt like hell… Please go easy, if possible.”

“Sure, why not.”

The Medicine King Hall Master answered cheerfully and took out two large needles.

“I’ll put one in the crown of your head and one in your perineum. If you die, you won’t have to worry about pain anymore.”

“……”

“Now you’re finally ready to be treated.”

After silencing Hyuk Mujin with a single sentence, the Medicine King Hall Master got to work. In the blink of an eye, dozens of large and small needles pierced Hyuk Mujin’s skin.

Thuk-thuk-thuk.

“Argh! Argh!”

“A young punk like you, making such a fuss. From the sound of that voice, you’ll be hale for another fifty years.”

Leaving Hyuk Mujin, who had turned into a porcupine, behind, the Medicine King Hall Master turned his head toward me.

“Take it off.”

“What, what?”

“Are you deaf? Take off your shirt.”

When it came to age, to hell with being the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi or anything else. I shot a sidelong glance at the blue-glinting needles and took off my top.

Rustle.

“Hm?”

The Medicine King Hall Master’s eyes widened when he saw my body.

“What are you made of?”

His voice was filled with astonishment. It was understandable. Until yesterday, my body had been covered in bruises, but now it was clean.

I didn’t expect this much, either.

After sleeping through the night, most of the bruises had disappeared, and even the bones that had been aching felt fine.

Is this the power of Sleep Mode?

It seemed that simply sleeping now let me recover quickly from most ordinary bruises. Even the Medicine King Hall Master, who had spent years as a physician, found me fascinating and examined me for quite some time.

“Did you take an elixir during the night?”

“No. I just circulated my qi all day and slept deeply.”

“Is it the effect of the hundred-year snow ginseng? No, that’s too much…”

The Medicine King Hall Master glared at me suspiciously, as if wondering whether I had raided the medicine storeroom again, then shook his head.

“The Third Young Master may be discharged.”

Hyuk Mujin, who had been groaning, brightened.

“What about me? What about me?”

“I swear, if you run off again without permission, I’ll jab your perineum with a large needle.”

The gaunt old man muttered in a sinister voice as he raised a large needle and stabbed it through the air. He looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

That’s going to be one bloody opening ceremony.

“Third Young Master, get out. Unless you want to be needled.”

Thanks…

That was the moment I jumped to my feet to escape those eyes gleaming with madness.

A sudden flash of insight crossed my mind.

Where am I supposed to go now?

The pavilion had collapsed, so I had nowhere to return to. I had become homeless overnight, and was hesitating when—

“Ahem. Medicine King Hall Master, are you inside?”

A familiar voice came from outside the door. I opened it, half expecting the impossible, and saw the face I had anticipated.

“Hyung?”

Jin Wikyung jumped a beat late.

“No, what are you doing here? I came because I had something urgent to discuss with the Medicine King Hall Master during my duties. What an incredible coincidence!”

“……”

Nice try.

After hearing my situation, Jin Wikyung led the way with a solemn expression.

“I know of a place you can use as a residence for a while. Follow me.”

His behavior was clearly influenced by the eyes around us. The image he had built over the years was that of a cold, capable Lesser Family Head who strictly separated public and private affairs.

The problem was…

“The Lesser Family Head!”

“Isn’t that the Third Young Master beside him? What are those two doing together in broad daylight?”

“Maybe he can’t stand being apart from him for even an instant. He absolutely dotes on the Third Young Master.”

Anyone who paid attention already knew: Jin Wikyung was a complete fool for his little brother.

Of course they did. Anyone who didn’t know would be the abnormal one.

He was still like this in his mid-thirties. I could only imagine what he had been like when he was younger. After the battle ended, he had even been so happy that he carried me around on his shoulders.

My youngest! My little brother!

After making such a spectacle in front of hundreds of people, there was no way anyone could have missed it.

As I sighed inwardly, a thread of Sound Transmission slipped into my ear.

—How was that? Hyung can act, too, huh?

I nodded, thinking that if there were an Academy Award for terrible acting, he might even contend for Best Actor.

—Are you all right? Mukyung didn’t do it out of malice, so I hope you’ll understand him.

“……”

His fists had been overflowing with malice. It was only thanks to my rapid recovery that I had not spent several days staring at the Medicine King Hall ceiling.

I should avoid running into him whenever possible.

That kid had a nasty temper, and the martial arts to back it up. There was no dealing with him.

Jin Mukyung had shot straight up to the number-one spot on my internal watch list the moment he appeared.

“Still, see him often enough and you’ll grow fond of him.”

See him often enough and I’ll grow black-and-blue.

Jin Wikyung, unaware of my inner thoughts, laughed heartily and continued walking.

We passed through the bustling center of the Jin Family of Taiyuan and kept going. The farther we went, the fewer people we saw.

Where are we now?

The area occupied by the Jin Family of Taiyuan was enormous, a reminder of its former glory. Even from a distance, it looked as though several soccer fields had been joined together, so it was only natural that I couldn’t see everything. There were still unfamiliar places everywhere my feet took me.

Everything’s run-down.

Now the people had disappeared completely, leaving the road empty. The occasional pavilion and the buildings whose purposes I couldn’t identify were old and gloomy.

It had the kind of atmosphere where rats could hold a sports festival during the day and ghosts could play go-stop at night.¹

When I looked around, Jin Wikyung hurriedly began to explain.

“Given how things have been for our family, even maintaining this much has been more than we could manage. We’ll need to carry out extensive renovations now, of course.”

“I don’t really care.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

I meant it.

I had lasted five whole years in a cramped, three-pyeong goshiwon studio.² Rats could be dealt with, and ghosts… Well, it wasn’t as if real ghosts would actually show up.

“As long as it’s spacious, I don’t mind.”

“So, no matter what the circumstances are, you don’t care as long as it’s spacious?”

The premise sounded slightly ominous, but I nodded anyway. Jin Wikyung’s face brightened.

“That’s a relief. I was worried you might dislike it.”

“Where exactly is this place?”

“We’re here. This is the building.”

“Oh.”

We stopped in front of a large three-story pavilion. Compared to the other buildings we had passed, it was much cleaner and had a distinctly elegant, old-fashioned charm.

I also liked the tall stone wall surrounding it.

“It’s nice.”

There was no reason at all to dislike a place like this.

Jin Wikyung smiled brightly, looking pleased by my reaction.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s much cleaner than I expected. And it looks incredibly spacious.”

“That’s right. I had the training hall built large.”

“A training hall!”

“I had another one built underground in case the weather was bad.”

“Oh. Two training halls!”

“If we divide them up, there shouldn’t be any problem.”

“Whoa. If we divide them up, that’d be perfect… Huh?”

Wait. What had he just said?

“I’m not supposed to use it alone?”

“Oh, well…”

Jin Wikyung gave an awkward smile.

“It’s spacious enough for two people to use it together, isn’t it? You might grow closer while you’re at it.”

“Who?”

Unease began to creep up my spine.

And a bad premonition was never wrong.

Instead of answering, Jin Wikyung strode into the pavilion.

“Mukyung! Your big brother’s here!”

Oh, damn it.

“So, I’d like you to live together until your residence is rebuilt.”

After hearing the situation, Jin Mukyung readily nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

I hadn’t expected him to accept so readily.

His unexpected response surprised both me and Jin Wikyung.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“Yes. But please send one person tomorrow.”

“Of course. I was worried about you shutting yourself away in the training hall all alone anyway, so this works out well. I’ll find you a capable servant who’s quick on the uptake. Or should I hire a cook while I’m at it?”

“A servant or a cook is unnecessary.”

“Then what?”

Jin Mukyung gazed at me with deep, intent eyes.

“Please call a physician.”

“……”

“……”

The scenery I had seen on the way here suddenly rose before my eyes.

An empty street with no people around. An underground training hall where not even a scream could escape. The perfect conditions for committing a crime.

He’s really made up his mind to beat me senseless.

As I shivered, Jin Wikyung stammered out:

“M-Mukyung. No, that’s not it, right? It’s not what I’m thinking, right?”

“It’s exactly what you’re thinking. It might be worse.”

“If it’s worse…”

“Then you’ll need to call an undertaker instead of a physician.”

I threw myself toward the exit without delay.

Whoosh! Grab!

Goddammit.

Jin Wikyung caught me by the nape and dragged me back. Jin Mukyung gave a short laugh as he watched.

“What a pathetic movement technique. Even a back-alley dog would be faster than you.”

This time, I fired back without holding anything in.

“If something’s faster than me, is it really a dog? It’s Red Hare, isn’t it?”³

“Even after taking that beating, you still haven’t come to your senses.”

“Hit me! Come on, hit me!”

Of course, I had no intention of actually being hit. I had a dependable protector on my side.

“Enough!”

The booming shout shook the underground training hall. Unlike before, Jin Wikyung’s face had hardened.

“What do you two think you’re doing?”

I had never seen him like this. They said it was frightening when a good person got angry, and looking at Jin Wikyung now, I understood exactly what they meant.

“Instead of getting along as brothers, you’re trying to start a fight in front of me?”

Under his fierce glare, both Jin Mukyung and I fell silent.

“It isn’t half a year or a year. It’s only fifteen days. I’m asking you to live together just until the pavilion is finished. Was that such a difficult request?”

Jin Mukyung flinched. As the one who had demolished the pavilion, he had every reason to feel guilty.

“That was because that guy was being rude…”

“And that gives you the right to demolish a pavilion and beat up your little brother? You call that an excuse?”

Jin Mukyung lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

This time, the arrow turned toward me.

“Taekyung, what about you?”

I wanted to whip out my ID card, but I held myself back.

This body was only twenty, and Jin Mukyung was my blood brother, three years older than me.

“Answer!”

“……I’m sorry.”

Jin Wikyung glared at us with a stern expression.

“This was a decision I reached after careful consideration. If you dislike each other that much, say so now. I’ll respect your wishes.”

Jin Mukyung and I locked eyes in midair.

Our answers came out at the same time.

“But I don’t want to.”

“I don’t want to either.”

“……”

After a heavy silence, Jin Wikyung finally managed to speak.

“I’m glad you two are willing to follow your big brother’s wishes.”

Was that even a question? He’d already decided on the answer.