Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 169:

Exchange

“Clearing his throat, the divine healer Yang Dong-myeong said, ‘Hmm, hmm. Both pulse and breathing are normal. He just briefly woke up and then fell asleep again because his body hasn’t fully recovered yet, so don’t worry.’”

Yang Dong-myeong, the divine healer who examined Mu-jin, spoke lightly.

As soon as Mu-jin fainted, his companions, who practically dragged Yang Dong-myeong from the adjacent hall where he was resting, and Ryu Seol-hwa, let out a sigh of mixed relief and disbelief.

“Who falls asleep like that?”

“Sigh, that crazy muscle freak.”

“Divine healer, does this mean the major crisis has passed?”

“The fact that he regained consciousness is a significant improvement. He will probably continue to wake up and fall asleep repeatedly for the next few days, gradually increasing the time he spends awake.”

—

“Thank you for taking care of Mu-jin, Shiju-nim Ryu Seol-hwa.”

Mu-jin’s companions also thanked Ryu Seol-hwa and cautiously left the room.

From the start, it wasn’t decided that Ryu Seol-hwa would be the one to care for Mu-jin. The divine healer had restricted the number of caregivers to one, and after some subtle competition, Ryu Seol-hwa was the one who ultimately took the role.

Originally, they had planned to take turns nursing him, but Ryu Seol-hwa did not leave the room except when she needed to bathe to keep her body clean.

And as usual, right after the others left.

To prevent bedsores from forming on Mu-jin’s body, which remained motionless, she carefully wiped him with a clean cloth, looking at him with worried eyes as he slept like he was unconscious.

While preparing to open a guesthouse business in Sichuan using the Sichuan-style cheese dish Mu-jin had created, she received an urgent letter from Gilan-hyeon.

The letter stated that Mu-jin and his companions were being pursued by forest bandits and planned to head to Nanchang.

Upon reading the letter, she quickly made her way to Nanchang, receiving another terrible letter on the way.

The letter stated that although Mu-jin and his companions had reached Nanchang, Mu-jin was on the brink of death.

As she was passing through Hubei Province to get from Sichuan to Nanchang, she found Yang Family Clinic in Danfeng-hyeon, Hubei Province.

The clinic was well-known, called Danfeng Yang Clinic, and had many patients lining up for treatment. She promised a large sum of money to Yang Dong-myeong, the divine healer, and succeeded in bringing him along.

However, the divine healer was not a man who moved just for money.

Initially, Yang Dong-myeong refused, but upon learning that the patient was Mu-jin, he readily agreed to accompany her.

When they arrived in Nanchang with Yang Dong-myeong.

Seeing Mu-jin in a half-dead state, Ryu Seol-hwa collapsed on the spot.

But that was over ten days ago, and now Mu-jin was showing signs of recovery, which filled Ryu Seol-hwa with mixed emotions.

—

The next day.

Following Yang Dong-myeong’s words, Mu-jin slept deeply for over six hours and awoke in the morning.

The first thing he saw was an unfamiliar old man sitting next to him, checking his pulse.

“Who are you, sir?”

“I am the doctor who treated you.”

Yang Dong-myeong answered nonchalantly, and Ryu Seol-hwa added an explanation.

“He is the head of the Yang Family Clinic in Danfeng, a man renowned as a divine healer even in the Central Plains.”

“Ha ha ha. It’s just an exaggerated nickname.”

Hearing their conversation, Mu-jin, still lying down, managed to form a fist with his hand in a gesture of respect.

“Thank you for coming all this way to treat me.”

“It’s no big deal for a doctor to come to a sick patient. Besides, Miss Ryu Seol-hwa here has generously compensated me for the trouble, so don’t worry.”

Mu-jin carefully asked Yang Dong-myeong, who answered nonchalantly.

“Uh, then, how long until I fully recover?”

“It will take at least a month and a half to fully recover.”

Mu-jin looked like he had received a death sentence and asked, hopeful.

“Then, is it possible to start training before full recovery…?”

“Hmm. If you want to see your intestines spill out of your side, be my guest.”

“……”

“Tsk. Martial artists, can’t even rest for a day? What do you think I feel when a patient I treated becomes crippled and returns to me within five days?”

“Um… that it’s pointless to treat someone who’s going to become crippled again…?”

“If you know that, why ask?”

“……”

Having experienced much frustration treating martial artists, Yang Dong-myeong wore a displeased expression.

“Looking at your body, it seems only I can treat you properly. Do you think I’d want to treat you frequently? I already have people lining up daily at my clinic entrance just to receive my treatment.”

“……I will restrain myself. But, what do you mean only you can treat me?”

Mu-jin asked with a puzzled look, and Yang Dong-myeong immediately pulled out a long needle and aimed it at Mu-jin’s acupuncture point.

Although the action seemed highly dangerous, the result was rather strange.

Ting!

The needle, making a metallic sound, bounced off, its tip blunt and deformed.

“To penetrate skin that has reached the level of invulnerability, the doctor must also have some level of martial arts proficiency.”

Saying so, Yang Dong-myeong infused qi into a newly drawn needle, causing a sword-like energy to emanate from it.

It could be called needle qi.

Yang Dong-myeong inserted the needles into Mu-jin’s acupuncture points with the aura surrounding them and spoke.

“Ah, just because you infuse internal energy into a needle and insert it into an acupuncture point doesn’t mean it will work. It’s only possible because our family’s secret internal energy technique supports the acupuncture points. If someone else tries it, the acupuncture points could twist or be destroyed instead of being treated.”

Despite speaking leisurely, Yang Dong-myeong’s swift needle insertion skills justified his nickname as a divine healer.

After quickly finishing the acupuncture, Yang Dong-myeong examined the wound area, replaced the bandages with clean ones, and left the room.

Even after Yang Dong-myeong left, Mu-jin looked regretful, and Ryu Seol-hwa spoke cautiously.

“It’s unfortunate that you can’t train, but how about using this opportunity to practice the Qi Conducting Technique instead? This decoction was specially prepared by the divine healer. It will greatly help in building internal energy.”

Saying so, she carefully fed Mu-jin the decoction spoon by spoon.

She only called it a ‘special decoction,’ but it was far more than that.

Each dose of the decoction cost dozens of gold coins, and without Yang Dong-myeong’s permission, even carrying a load of money wouldn’t get you any. It was difficult to make and contained highly expensive ingredients, so only a few doses were made each year.

Thanks to Ryu Seol-hwa’s financial power, Mu-jin was drinking the decoction three times a day.

He had been unconscious for fifteen days, so he didn’t even realize he had been drinking it.

“Thank you for your care, Shiju-nim Ryu Seol-hwa. I will never forget this kindness.”

At Mu-jin’s words, Ryu Seol-hwa, who looked like she was about to cry, replied with a determined expression.

“Yes, you must never forget.”

“Pardon?”

“You don’t intend to avoid repaying a debt to a merchant, do you?”

“Of course, I must repay it. Yes.”

Mu-jin answered with an awkward tone, feeling something different about her attitude.

—

Right after receiving treatment from Yang Dong-myeong, Mu-jin fell asleep immediately after drinking the decoction.

His body still needed recovery, and staying awake for long periods wasn’t beneficial, so it felt like his body was putting on the brakes.

After waking up a few hours later, Ryu Seol-hwa, who was always by his side, would feed him the decoction or Yang Dong-myeong would use qi to insert the needles.

As the time he stayed awake gradually increased, Mu-jin began following Ryu Seol-hwa’s advice after each treatment.

—

“Indeed, it feels like a lot of energy is accumulating in my body.”

Mu-jin, who had mastered the active cultivation technique, used the Great Vehicle Mind Technique to circulate the energy from the decoction throughout his body and accumulated it in his danjeon without having to sit in a lotus position.

While it wasn’t like taking a Lesser Restoration Pill or a Great Restoration Pill, which could instantly increase decades of internal energy, it was far more effective than practicing the Qi Conducting Technique without any aids.

Each session of Qi Conducting Technique noticeably increased his internal energy.

Mu-jin spent the following days sleeping, drinking decoction, practicing the Qi Conducting Technique, and receiving acupuncture, until he eventually succumbed to an intense desire.

“Can’t I at least eat some meat? Or at least have a protein supplement?”

It was maddening enough to be unable to exercise for a month and a half, but for the past few days, Mu-jin had been consuming only decoction and water, without any solid food.

At this rate, his already serious muscle loss could accelerate further.

Every day, during the brief moments he woke up, he would move his arms to check his muscles and could feel them rapidly shrinking.

Yang Dong-myeong sighed as he looked at Mu-jin, who was showing severe signs of anxiety.

“Your intestines aren’t fully healed yet. If you eat meat, it could spill out through the holes in your intestines, causing the rest of your intestines to rot. Well, if you want to die, I won’t stop you. Aren’t all martial artists like that? They ignore advice, train recklessly until they break their limbs, and even when told to rest, they persist in practicing the Qi Conducting Technique until they fall into Qi Deviation. Isn’t that right?”

“……”

Yang Dong-myeong immediately suppressed Mu-jin’s nonsense and asked as he continued treating his body.

“What is this protein supplement?”

“It’s something like that.”

“Oh, it must be another secret of your family.”

“My family, you say?”

Mu-jin asked with a puzzled expression, and Yang Dong-myeong shrugged and replied.

“I’ve heard some things about your family from Miss Ryu Seol-hwa.”

Mu-jin, who was confused for a moment as he was half-asleep, soon understood what he meant.

In this world, he was known as the descendant of the Righteous Clan, which had been annihilated by the Demonic Alliance.

And one of the reasons Yang Dong-myeong had come all the way from his home in Danfeng, Hubei Province, and had been taking care of Mu-jin for several days was related to that.

—

Fifteen days had passed since Mu-jin first opened his eyes.

During that time, as his body gradually recovered, the time he spent awake continued to increase.

“Mu-jin, how are you feeling today?”

“Amitabha. I wish you a swift recovery.”

The faces of those who watched over Mu-jin changed daily, depending on the time of day.

However, there was one person who never changed.

“Are you alright, Shiju-nim Ryu Seol-hwa?”

Over the past fifteen days, during which he had repeatedly fallen asleep and awakened, Ryu Seol-hwa had never left his side.

If it had been only once or twice, it could have been a coincidence, but by now, Mu-jin could clearly see that she was tirelessly taking care of him without a break.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but worry.

Constantly nursing him all day might harm her health, and more importantly, she was not the person she used to be.

“Don’t worry about my body; I’m fine.”

“It’s not just your body. Don’t you have responsibilities? Doesn’t the head of the Cheonryu Sangdan have any objections?”

She wasn’t just the precious daughter of the Cheonryu Sangdan, but a merchant in charge of overseeing the medical business. She shouldn’t be spending so much time on him.

Understanding Mu-jin’s concern, Ryu Seol-hwa smiled faintly and showed him a bundle of letters she had gathered.

“I have instructed that all correspondence related to my business be sent here. I’m handling my work from here, so there’s no need to worry.”

This was half-true and half-false.

During the first few days after arriving here, when Mu-jin was at death’s door, she couldn’t focus on any work and dedicated herself solely to nursing him.

Her devotion was almost reverent, and no one could bring themselves to stop her.

Mu-jin looked at her with a complicated expression.

“Don’t worry about it. Do you think I wouldn’t care about the health of the nurse?”

Yang Dong-myeong reassured Mu-jin as he unwrapped the bandages on his abdomen, disinfected the wound, and replaced the medicine.

Then, with a look of incredulity, he added.

“Your body is quite remarkable. It’s already healing this fast.”

“Am I much better now?”

“At this rate, you should be able to move and eat properly in about fifteen days.”

Initially, he had said it would take about a month and a half, so it was good news that the recovery time had shortened by about fifteen days.

Mu-jin let out a sigh of relief internally, knowing he would soon be able to supplement his protein and resume exercising.

“However, just because you can move or eat in fifteen days doesn’t mean you can train intensively or eat meat right away. After not eating solid food for over a month, you’ll need to start with porridge and gradually adapt, or you’ll suffer immediate consequences.”

“Hmm. I’m aware of that much.”

“That’s a relief to hear.”

Mu-jin tried to ignore Yang Dong-myeong’s skeptical gaze.

Yang Dong-myeong, who looked suspiciously at Mu-jin, soon finished the treatment and left the room.

After a moment of awkward silence.

Ryu Seol-hwa, who seemed to be contemplating something with a complex expression, finally spoke in a resolute tone.

“Monk Mu-jin.”

“Yes, Shiju-nim Ryu Seol-hwa?”

“About today, and everything we’ve done to help you so far, do you understand?”

“I have it engraved in my heart, so don’t worry.”

“No, I’m worried, so I’m telling you now. If I don’t say it now, I might miss the chance and never be able to tell you.”

What on earth is she trying to say?

While Mu-jin looked puzzled, Ryu Seol-hwa took a deep breath and began to speak.

“Can you please stop now?”

“Stop? What do you mean?”

“…I know that you are aware of things we don’t know. You knew about the situation with our family, in Sichuan, and you even predicted something would happen with the Jegal family. And now, this incident.”

“……”

“I won’t ask how you know things others don’t. But, can’t you stop now?”

“……”

“Why, why do you keep doing this to yourself…”

Her emotions seemed to rise as she continued speaking, causing her to pause and catch her breath before speaking again.

“So, please, let’s return to Shaolin. If Shaolin assigns you another task like this, you can entrust yourself to our Sangdan. So, please, let’s go back. Okay?”