Chapter 280

Plum Blossom Single Sword, Seongheon.

The current Sect Master of Mount Hua Sect—and a Heaven-Beyond-Heaven swordsman.

Unlike the other Heaven-Beyond-Heavens who vanished or retired and left the worldly sphere behind, he was one of the very few still active on the front lines, alongside Divine Spear.

People said he had a benevolent nature—a gentle, considerate saint.

And when the Orthodox-Demonic War broke out, he was the one who threw himself into rescuing civilians more than anyone else.

His achievements on the battlefield weren’t on the level of Divine Spear, Sword Emperor, or Yoo Cheongil.

Even so, the reason he remained the martial artist most respected by the people was simple: he was a righteous man who moved for civilians during the war.

They also said that if he hadn’t deliberately refused the position of Alliance Leader, then Plum Blossom Single Sword—not Divine Spear—would have taken the seat without question, largely because public sentiment pushed him there.

Even though he refused in the end.

The story was famous: he said he didn’t suit the Alliance Leader’s chair, and that Mount Hua Sect’s disciples mattered more, so he turned it down.

Plenty of people regretted it, but even more people liked him more for it—saying it was exactly the kind of refusal you’d expect from Plum Blossom Single Sword.

The Heaven-Beyond-Heaven with the best public support in the Central Plains.

And...

...the Medical Immortal.

A secret most people didn’t know.

The greatest physician in the Central Plains—said to be able to bring back even the dead.

And he was Seongheon, too.

...I came all this way to persuade him and bring him back, but.

My mission was to take him to Henan.

But—

How the hell am I supposed to take him in that condition?

The moment I saw him, I grasped his problem.

A serious—critical—problem.

...That.

The old man smiling at me kindly—Seongheon.

The thought that came to me as I looked at him—

A walking corpse.

A walking corpse.

A living corpse.

That was exactly what Seongheon looked like to me.

...He looks perfectly fine on the outside.

For his age, he looked ridiculously healthy. Not a hint of anything wrong.

That’s just the surface.

My eyes couldn’t be fooled. What I was seeing wasn’t that.

Ssshh.

I looked away from Seongheon’s face and fixed my gaze on his shoulder line.

Something was rising there like heat haze.

A soft, white current.

Something nobody here could see—only me.

Primordial Life Force.

Primordial Life Force. The foundational current of life—what I’d called life force in my previous life.

Any living human should have it.

And a ghost shouldn’t.

Of course a ghost having none of it was the natural order, since it was the living’s current to begin with.

But—

...It’s leaking out that much?

Right now, it was seeping out of Seongheon’s body.

Life force is a regenerative current.

If a little leaks out, you don’t just drop dead on the spot—if you gather yourself, it fills back in.

But—

That’s not “a little.” That’s just leaking.

Seongheon’s life force was simply pouring out.

If it was visible to the naked eye, that meant there was a problem.

...His life force is draining.

Faster than it could replenish.

Which meant—

There’s something wrong with his body.

I wasn’t a physician, so I couldn’t say exactly what, but it meant something in Seongheon’s flesh was failing.

Life force draining meant death.

That was the same as saying death was already on its way.

“......”

Seongheon’s life was in danger.

The moment I understood it, I swallowed hard in secret.

“Why are you like that?”

When I couldn’t bring myself to say anything while staring at him, Seongheon asked.

“Ah—no. It’s nothing. I just... lost my words for a moment because I’m meeting someone so remarkable.”

I deflected, trying to shut my mouth for now. Seongheon seemed pleased and chuckled.

“Hohoho. You speak very prettily for a young friend.”

“Sect Master, please speak comfortably....”

“Is that so?”

“Of course. You’re my master’s friend.”

[Ugh.]

Maybe it was the words master and friend that did it—Yoo Cheongil reacted like he’d bitten into something rotten.

I ignored him.

“Ahaha... then I ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) will.”

“Yes.”

“Like I said, you worked hard coming all this way.”

“It’s nothing... but there’s something I’d like to ask, if that’s alright.”

“Ask freely.”

“It’s just...”

I gave an awkward smile and glanced to the side.

Toward Sacred Wind and Yuyeon.

“Hmm...?”

Seeing my gaze, Sacred Wind knit his brows slightly, like he’d caught what I meant.

“Bang....”

He tried to correct me—

“It’s fine. Step out for a moment.”

“...Sect Master...!”

It was a clear request: I wanted Sacred Wind and Yuyeon outside for a bit.

And Seongheon accepted.

Sacred Wind pushed back—

“Commander. Please.”

“......Understood.”

At the Sect Master’s request, Sacred Wind and Yuyeon finally left.

“Is this enough?”

“Thank you.”

It was, strictly speaking, rude to ask—and he’d granted it, so I thanked him.

But—

“Depending on what you say, I may need to question you about this as well. Is that acceptable, too?”

“......”

Seongheon’s tone was firm.

He’d allowed the rudeness, but if it turned out to be something trivial, he was going to chew me out for it.

“Yes. I’ll take responsibility.”

“Heh, heh, heh.”

Seongheon nodded with a laugh.

In that instant—

WHOOSH—!

A current carrying a floral scent brushed over my body.

A barrier.

Seongheon had raised a barrier.

Probably to keep our voices from leaking out.

“Alright. What is it?”

“It’s nothing complicated.”

In the sealed space, I asked Seongheon:

“I assume it hasn’t been long since you received the letters the Alliance strategist sent you. Is that correct?”

“That’s right.”

“And I believe you received them right around the time I first met the Plum Blossom Commander.”

“The timing isn’t exact, but that’s also correct.”

“Which is why I was curious.”

I finally asked what had been bothering me the whole time.

“The commander said he came to escort us on your orders. But timing-wise it doesn’t match, so I couldn’t understand how you knew to send people ahead of time. That’s why I wanted to ask.”

“.......”

The time the letters arrived.

The Plum Blossom Swordsmen leaving before that.

And the claim that they were acting under the Sect Master’s command.

The pieces didn’t add up. So I had to ask.

“How did you know?”

How did he know—how did he send people in advance?

When I asked—

“What a relief.”

Seongheon smiled and nodded.

“...Pardon?”

“No need to scold you.”

“Ah....”

He’d said he’d scold me if it was trivial—so this wasn’t trivial.

“You’re curious about the reason?”

“Yes. I am.”

How could I not be? It didn’t make sense.

Hearing my answer, Seongheon gave it to me quickly—

“I saw it in a dream.”

“...What?”

A completely unexpected answer.

“A dream...?”

“Yes. A dream.”

“...What the—”

I almost let something nasty slip out, barely managed to choke it back.

A dream? What kind of bullshit—

“You don’t believe it, do you?”

“...No, it’s just... yes. Honestly.”

I tried to phrase it politely, but I couldn’t.

How was I supposed to believe that?

“But that’s the reason.”

“...You’re saying you saw it in a dream?”

“Yes. Lately my dreams have felt unsettled... and that time was the same.”

“That time meaning...?”

“I dreamed that honored guests were coming from Henan. And with it, I felt that I had to move for it.”

“.......”

“So I sent the Plum Blossom Swordsmen.”

That was it?

The reason was literally that he saw it in a dream?

Is he serious?

It was hard to call him a liar when his expression was genuinely serious.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but that’s all. I’ve always tended to trust my dreams.”

“...No, but still.”

Sending the Plum Blossom Swordsmen—bringing out even Sacred Wind, the commander—just because of a dream? Was that supposed to be reasonable?

“It’s unreasonable, yes. But look—did it not come true?”

“.......”

I couldn’t argue with the result.

It had happened.

Which meant—

He really sent them out based on a dream, before the letters even arrived.

For me, that was impossible to accept—but if you took Seongheon at his word, that was exactly what he’d done.

Was I supposed to believe it or not?

While I was still trying to process it—

[He always had a screw loose somewhere.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke flatly to me.

[He always did things you couldn’t predict. So this isn’t something you can dismiss outright.]

Was he defending him? If so... it worked a little. When that old ghost said something like that, it carried weight.

“...Alright.”

I nodded for now.

“Is that settled?”

“Yes. If it’s the Sect Master’s word... then I should believe it.”

“Hohoho. Good. Thank you for trusting me.”

Whether it was true or not, I couldn’t honestly believe it—yet if he’d offered that as the reason, there was no point picking at it further.

This whole private setup was already forced.

Alright, then.

Let’s say that’s done.

...Now the real point.

This was what mattered.

We had to make the reason we came here crystal clear.

“And, Sect Master....”

“Speak.”

“You must have read the letters the strategist sent—”

“Ah. Right. That.”

“Yes. And that—”

The moment I was about to bring up the Medical Immortal—

Slide.

Seongheon pulled the letters from his robe and placed them on the desk.

Then—

“I think the strategist is mistaken.”

“...Pardon?”

He said it with a serious face, looking straight at me.

“The Medical Immortal isn’t in Shaanxi. It seems your strategist friend misunderstood something. You came a long way... I’m sorry.”

“.......”

“I’ll send a letter back and ask what happened. For now, why don’t you rest? You must be tired after such a long journey.”

Hearing that, I shut my mouth.

Of course.

At the same time, I let out a dry laugh inside.

In the awkward silence, I spoke.

“...Thank you for your consideration. As you say, I’ll rest for a bit.”

I didn’t drag it out.

After seeing Seongheon’s reaction, I couldn’t push any further.

Damn it.

This was—

It’s not going to be easy, is it?

Seongheon didn’t look like he wanted to go to Henan as the Medical Immortal.

*****

CREEEEAK.

I left the Sect Master’s residence and was guided again.

It looked like the others had already unpacked their luggage.

And I could see mine had been unpacked to a degree, too.

I sat down on the floor and let my exhausted body slump.

“Haaah—.”

A breath I’d been holding poured out. There was no way I could keep it in.

“...Ah, I’m dizzy.”

The situation had gotten complicated. Plum Blossom Single Sword being in that condition was bad enough—

And it feels like he wants to hide that he’s the Medical Immortal.

I didn’t know what Jegal Jin wrote in those letters.

But Seongheon didn’t look like he had any intention of revealing he was the Medical Immortal.

And he didn’t look like he had any intention of going to Henan, either.

To begin with—

Taking him in that state is a problem, too.

If Plum Blossom Single Sword really was the Medical Immortal...

Would he leave his own body like that?

It didn’t make sense. Did he even realize he was sick? Was it some other issue? I couldn’t tell.

Either way.

The problem was his attitude.

If he wasn’t the Medical Immortal, that would honestly be better.

But—

If he is, and he’s pretending he isn’t...

That meant he absolutely wouldn’t go.

And persuading him would be damn near impossible.

“Ah, shit.”

I’d thought it wouldn’t be easy, and yeah—of course.

Nothing ever goes easy.

Sacred Wind being tied up with HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE, too.

The Sect Master being a walking corpse, too.

“...Would it kill the world to let me have one simple thing?”

Everywhere I went, it was one insanity after another.

“Ugh.”

I was pissed. My stomach burned with it as I lay back.

“...Ah.”

Work, plans, all of it—whatever.

I was tired.

“...Did we still have time until night?”

I decided to rest for one or two shijin.

So I closed my eyes.

I don’t know.

Just rest first.

Think after.

That was the thought I sank into as I let myself fall asleep.

[Sleeping?]

At Yoo Cheongil’s words, I nodded.

“...Wake me up later.”

[If I feel like it.]

Same curt answer as always. I ignored it.

I fell asleep, trying to cool my head.

*****

“Wake up.”

A voice.

...Yoo Cheongil?

I opened my eyes at the sound. The room was dark, like the sun had vanished.

“Uuugh....”

I sat up, clutching my aching head.

“...Old man. How much time passed?”

“About one shijin.”

“Ah, yeah?”

Not much.

“Thanks for waking—”

I stopped mid-sentence. Something was off.

“......”

The voice was wrong.

It wasn’t Yoo Cheongil’s voice.

I snapped my head toward the source.

And there was someone I didn’t expect.

“Thanks. Sleep well?”

No—not someone.

“...Sect Master?”

“Heh, heh, heh.”

Plum Blossom Single Sword, Seongheon.

He was looking down at me from the air.

Translucent.

Like a ghost.

“So you really can see me.”