“Guh—!”
At the same time, the martial artist’s body stiffened completely.
The strength drained from his legs, and he staggered.
“W-What?!”
“What… Did that person just do it?”
“Did he strike his pressure points?”
The people in the marketplace surrounding us gasped in shock.
When the man’s hand slipped from my shoulder, I instinctively staggered and lost my balance.
Just as my body tilted as though I were about to collapse onto the ground, someone quickly caught me.
The touch was firm and familiar.
And…… so very dearly missed.
“……”
The people who had been pressing me moments ago all fell silent.
I barely managed to lift my trembling eyelids.
A man with long, dark-green hair roughly tied back.
A few loose strands brushed against his sharp jawline.
His fierce eyes were cold and still as a blade, while his intimidating features seemed to warn anyone not to approach him carelessly.
His broad shoulders and tall stature radiated an overwhelming presence simply by standing there.
Thump, thump.
The moment I saw that familiar face, my heart began pounding like mad.
‘Ah…….’
I couldn’t believe it.
Because this had never happened in my previous life.
“How dare you.”
Grind.
A low, rough voice slowly rang out, as though he were grinding his teeth.
The force radiating from him made the people’s shoulders flinch.
“Lay a hand on my daughter?”
My father, Yeon Baekgang.
The young family head known as the Mad Heretic of the Medicine King’s household had returned.
***
Bang!
“What did you just say?”
Yeon Sotaek abruptly rose from his seat, wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
The empty bowls on the table rattled and shook.
“The young family head…… is said to be returning in a hurry.”
“Why?”
“It seems…… he received a letter from the family head.”
The servant’s voice grew quieter and quieter as he delivered the report.
Yeon Sotaek’s expression twisted ominously in an instant.
After the incidents involving Yeon Ryeonghwa had been uncovered and he had been dismissed as her physician, he had secluded himself under the pretext of reflecting on his actions.
Yet even while doing so, he continued indulging in every delicacy imaginable and living comfortably.
And now, something else had happened to anger him once again.
‘Just when that dying girl suddenly started making medicine and causing a fuss…… now Yeon Baekgang is coming back as well?’
Yeon Sotaek planted his hand on the table.
He pressed down so hard that the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
“How dare…….”
Yeon Sotaek’s eyes grew cold.
“How dare a girl who is barely clinging to life, unable to die already, run wild like this? Who exactly does she think she has to rely on?”
At that moment, Geum Suryeon, who had been sitting quietly beside him all this time, spoke softly.
“My lord, please do not worry too much.”
Her calm voice suited her refined and elegant appearance, but there was a chill lurking in her eyes.
“Ryeonghwa will never become a variable.”
Yeon Sotaek turned to look at her.
“……My wife.”
“You are merely trying to do what is right, my lord. Others may not understand, but I do.”
The corners of Geum Suryeon’s lips hardened coldly.
“You know as well as I do, don’t you? That man is someone who must never become the family head.”
Yeon Sotaek narrowed his eyes.
Yeon Baekgang.
A military commander who had swept across battlefields and achieved great feats, and the Mad Heretic of the Medicine King’s household whom even the elders of the family could not handle carelessly.
And.
“He is an impure person who was experimented on with forbidden sorcery.”
No matter how much time passed, that fact would remain a stain that could never be erased from Yeon Baekgang.
Yeon Sotaek let out a long breath.
“Put the entire household in order again.”
He gave his order quietly.
“Make sure there isn’t a single trace left behind that Yeon Baekgang could use against us.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“The incident with the personal servant, and Do-pyeong’s matter.”
Yeon Sotaek’s voice dropped even lower.
“If word of them reaches Yeon Baekgang, he certainly won’t remain still.”
It would become somewhat troublesome.
But as long as no fatal evidence was exposed, things would still be fine.
All this time, he had been the one handling the large and small affairs of the Medicine King’s household in place of the family head and young family head.
The same was true of his role as Ryeonghwa’s physician.
At least on the surface, he was merely a loyal younger brother who had taken care of the family and his niece in his elder brother’s absence.
‘No matter how much of a man Yeon Baekgang is, he cannot touch me without justification.’
Besides, Yeon Baekgang had a weakness.
His daughter, Yeon Ryeonghwa, was terminally ill.
If that child ultimately failed to become a physician, Yeon Baekgang would not be able to retain his position as young family head either.
In the end, time was on his side.
Yeon Sotaek steeled himself with that thought and lowered his gaze.
And yet, somewhere in the back of his mind, an ominous feeling he could not explain kept raising its head.
The problem was that Yeon Baekgang was never a man who acted according to common sense.
If he happened to discover the things Yeon Sotaek had been hiding and went on a rampage before he could do anything about it, no one could predict where it would end.
That was precisely why he could not afford to let Yeon Baekgang get hold of anything.
Yeon Sotaek slowly turned his gaze toward the servant.
“Send someone to my elder sister.”
“Yes.”
The servant immediately bowed.
“Tell her to return to the Medicine King’s household as soon as possible.”
“I will carry out your command.”
A brief silence followed, and Yeon Sotaek opened his mouth as though he had made a decision.
“And…….”
His gaze shifted toward Geum Suryeon.
“Those letters.”
It was only a short phrase, but Geum Suryeon seemed to understand his meaning immediately and smiled.
“Yes.”
“Did you keep them?”
“Yes. Just in case, I stored them in the safe.”
Yeon Sotaek’s voice sank low and cold.
“Burn them without leaving a single trace.”
Geum Suryeon and the servant both froze.
Yeon Sotaek added sternly,
“They must never fall into Yeon Baekgang’s hands.”
At those words, the air in the room grew even heavier.
Geum Suryeon quietly lowered her head.
“I will keep that in mind.”
The servant hurriedly withdrew outside to carry out his orders.
When the door closed, silence once again filled the room.
‘Something feels ominous…….’
Yeon Sotaek turned his gaze toward the window.
Dark clouds were slowly covering the sky.
As though a massive storm that would swallow the Medicine King’s household was quietly drawing near.
***
“Urgh…… l-let…… me go…….”
The martial artist, whose pressure points had been struck by Father, finally managed to speak through gritted teeth.
His muscles had stiffened because his pressure points had been blocked in an instant, leaving him barely able to speak properly.
Father looked down at him coldly before tapping one of his pressure points once more with his index finger.
“Guhk!”
Only then did the martial artist’s body loosen.
He coughed violently before collapsing face-first onto the ground.
I looked at Father with a strange feeling.
Judging by the way he handled his sword and the force he had been emitting, the martial artist was clearly quite skilled.
Even so, Father had subdued him in an instant.
‘The Mad Heretic of the Medicine King’s household…….’
The nickname by which Father had been called within the family and throughout the streets suddenly came to mind.
Most descendants of the Medicine King’s household throughout its history had possessed rational, calm temperaments befitting physicians.
But Father was different.
At times, he could be endlessly cold, yet at others, he was as fiery as a flame.
He was completely unpredictable, doing whatever he pleased.
“Urgh……!”
The martial artist, finally able to move again, reached toward the sword lying on the ground.
But his hand stopped when Father stepped on it.
“AAARGH!”
He screamed in pain.
Father lowered himself and looked down at him with piercing eyes.
“Tell me.”
His voice was chillingly low.
“Why were you holding my frightened daughter?”
“Th-that…… this child wasn’t even a formal medical student, yet she touched our Young Master, so…….”
“Touched?”
Father abruptly turned his head.
His gaze swept over the pale-faced boy lying on the ground.
“……”
After staring at the boy’s face for a moment, Father’s eyebrow twitched slightly.
Then, after checking the acupuncture marks remaining on his body, he let out a disbelieving scoff.
“Are your eyes merely decorations?”
“The poison had blocked his qi and blood, and he was on the verge of losing his breath. She struck the exact points and cleared them with acupuncture.”
Father’s gaze moved over the acupuncture marks remaining on the boy’s hands, feet, and head in turn.
“If she had been even a little later, he would have died.”
“……!”
“My daughter saved him. Your master.”
“B-But she’s a sick child without any formal qualifications…… I merely intended not to let her leave until we confirmed her identity.”
“Ah.”
Father nodded as though he understood.
“So you’re the type who saves a dying man and then demands his belongings in return.”
His gaze slowly swept across the surroundings.
The people who had been murmuring among themselves all flinched.
“And this side is full of worthless bastards who think they can say whatever they want just because they have mouths.”
The people who had witnessed him subdue the martial artist in an instant quietly averted their eyes.
Father snorted.
“If you want to demand responsibility, then at least pay the price of the life you owe first, huh? Instead of standing there empty-handed and running your mouth.”
At the blatant mockery, the martial artist’s face flushed and twisted with anger.
Then it happened.
A faint voice came from behind us.
“……Enough.”
“Young…… Young Master!”
The boy seemed to have regained consciousness as he struggled to sit up.
His pale face was still completely drained of color.
“I apologize.”
“……”
“For showing disrespect…… to the young family head of the Medicine King’s household and his daughter.”
I didn’t know how he had recognized him, but it seemed the boy knew Father’s face.
“The young family head of the Medicine King’s household?”
“He should be on the battlefield…… Why is he here?”
The people began murmuring loudly.
The suspicious gazes that had been directed at me only moments ago quickly faded.
But to me, all those voices seemed very far away.
The familiar warmth coming from Father’s arms.
That alone felt strangely vivid.
I had missed it.
So very much.
Then Father looked down at me in his arms.
“Ryeonghwa.”
The moment he looked at me, his fierce eyes crumpled.
“So…… it really is you.”
The moment I heard that voice, filled with emotion—
Everything I had been desperately holding back came crashing down.
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