LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 38
[Late evening, in the mansion area where the Mo Yong Family’s branch members reside. Common dining room.]
Mo Yongmu, a young man known for his exceptional skills among the branches of the Mo Yong Family, had to deeply suppress his dissatisfaction with the recent events.
“It’s unpleasant enough that such things were done against the young lady, but why must we be the ones to constantly deal with those who visit the Mo Yong Family, begging for a meeting?”
Mo Yongmu lamented, but no one passing by responded to his words.
“How long must we endure this as lowly retainers?”
He had hoped for someone to answer, but when it turned into mere muttering, Mo Yongmu flushed with anger and stood up abruptly.
“Ugh…”
Though his face burned with rage, he could clearly hear some remarks from behind him.
– He blames the physician when he is the one at fault.
– If the young lady had passed away, how would the head of the family bear that sorrow?
– The head of the family remains stable and strong because of the psychological comfort that the young lady’s survival brings. If he were to leave the mundane world to cultivate, what would happen to the Mo Yong Family?
Such conversations hadn’t just begun in the dining room.
They had been circulating for quite some time, and they were part of the lamentations shared among the warriors just before the funeral banquet.
– At least we’re better off. Those who thought the young lady was going to die packed their things and left the family, feel too ashamed to return now.
– We should think positively. Though it’s hard and exhausting right now to stabilize the chaos, things will eventually settle down over time.
The warriors were undoubtedly preoccupied with resolving the various incidents occurring near the Mo Yong estate day after day, yet they neither expressed irritation nor displeasure, at least not apart from Mo Yongmu.
– Isn’t he just sulking because he wasn’t chosen?
Previously, during the time when the Mo Yong Family had to act as if it were falling into the Demon Cult’s trap.
– You’re stepping up to take the lead? …Hmm, I’ll think about it. I will consider it, but don’t get your hopes up too high.
Mo Yongmu volunteered eagerly to rescue and take responsibility for the “women addicted to Spring Medicine,” but Deputy Head Mo Yongsan held a poor opinion of him.
Thus, he was excluded from the mission.
The Mo Yongmu, who shared a similar name—just a different character—managed to save not one but two young ladies addicted to Spring Medicine, while he had to settle for merely collecting a part of his salary before going to the tavern to get a glimpse of Hong Gi’s skirt.
What an unfair situation!
Who works the hardest for the Mo Yong Family, yet fails to receive even such a reward?
“Damn it, damn it….”
Although Mo Yongmu was furious, he couldn’t step outside.
– Do not let the people of the Mo Yong Family wander carelessly outside. Rumor has it that patients suffering from the Sickness of Absolute Meridians are gradually crossing the Yellow River northward.
The Deputy Head had issued a warning to the entire family.
As time passed since the incident at the Purple Sword Gate, it was said that the women who heard the news would soon visit the Mo Yong Family’s Medical Hall alongside Yu Giyeon to receive treatment for the Sickness of Absolute Meridians.
The patients naturally had many preparations to make, and since they needed to take breaks often during their journey, it would take time.
But what about the relatives of those patients who had come in advance to make requests?
In fact, in some sects, there were those who, after the funeral banquet of Mo Yongseol, were still lingering at the inn, paying high prices without returning to their own strongholds, signaling that the workload was likely to increase rather than decrease.
“Damn it, damn it….”
In the meantime, there was nothing a mere top-tier warrior like Mo Yongmu could do.
Although a top-tier warrior is generally acknowledged, such a status only applies in ordinary sects.
In the Mo Yong Family, with the greatest of all under its head, he might receive treatment not much different from that of an ordinary second-rate sect.
Thus, Mo Yongmu lay on his bed, lamenting.
The fact that Mo Yongseol had been treated was one thing, but if that Seok Muwol hadn’t openly boasted about sleeping with Mo Yongseol at the banquet, this situation wouldn’t have arisen.
Mo Yongmu ground his teeth in frustration.
Memories tend to warp over time, and while the tale had not been told to that extent, he could only swallow his anger every time he thought of the physician Seok Muwol, who had caused this mess.
“Ugh! If only I could treat those suffering from the Sickness of Absolute Meridians…!”
If that were the case, all the women across the continent—
“…Ugh.”
Mo Yongmu swallowed his bitter feelings and closed his eyes.
Wishing that tomorrow would be a less exhausting and tiring day than today.
…
Thud, thud thud.
Swish swish swish.
Scratch, scratch, scratch.
What could have gone wrong?
After waking up, Mo Yongmu scratched his head while staring at his reflection in the well-polished copper mirror and couldn’t help but drop his jaw.
“…Huh?”
In his hand, a bunch of his own hair was caught.
As if his hair had been precariously hanging on, just a slight grasp caused dozens of strands to fall away.
“…….”
Mo Yongmu cautiously brushed his hand over his head.
He felt something strange, something that shouldn’t be felt, in the area he was rubbing. He swallowed hard and got out of bed.
The Mo Yong Family had facilities that were quite nice.
So nice that each room had its own small area for washing up.
Mo Yongmu carefully made his way to the restroom, scooped a handful of water into a basin, and submerged his head.
SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH.
He swirled water over his head a few times very carefully, then lifted his head to look at the copper mirror.
“Ugh, AAAAAAA!!”
His hair was gone.
What was left was merely a sparse collection of utterly bare strands.
In the basin, what looked like a bundle of black silk had been unleashed, swirling around.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!”
* * *
“…I never thought a single drug would cause my hair to fall out like this.”
“It’s one of the medicines made by the Master.”
Hair removal potion.
The potion, designed to weaken the roots and make hair easily shed from the human body, had been applied thickly to Mo Yongmu’s head while he slept.
Thanks to that, as soon as he brushed his head with his hand, he instantly became bald.
Though the hair roots that survived were holding on to some strength, no matter how many insisted it would be merely a few dozen strands at best.
“Soon enough, it should grow back. Hopefully, my hair will return.”
Anything that doesn’t mature properly tends to cause trouble.
Eating undercooked pork can lead to stomach issues, and consuming unripe fruit usually results in excessive sourness or lack of sweetness.
Aspiration is similar.
If what one fervently desires is not something one has previously wished for, but rather needs time to mature with the passage of time, then the desire needs time to grow and ripen.
“I think watching for a day should suffice.”
That’s how Mo Yongmu’s hair is.
Right now, he isn’t coming out of his room, they say.
“Suddenly losing all his hair would be very shocking.”
“Physician, how will you restore his hair?”
“Hair will grow back over time anyway; the passage of time will take care of that, won’t it?”
“True. It’s been cut down to a point nearing baldness; hair normally regrows anyway.”
Mo Yongseol looked at some blazing hair of someone in front of him and smiled ruefully.
“But is this really the right measure to recover someone suffering from baldness?”
“Indeed.”
“Why? I’ve looked at some medical texts in the Medical Hall, but baldness is due to weakened roots, not because there’s a limit on the hair itself.”
“That’s related to the individual’s mood.”
I thumped my heart with my thumb.
“The fact that Mo Yongmu lost his hair and wishes for it to grow back is not a big issue. That’s his nature. However, the story changes greatly when miracles are bestowed upon someone who had formerly had hair and then lost it.”
“Why? Is it that causing hair to grow again would stir up significant issues because of the desire for youth and other miracles?”
“No. It’s because it could deeply shock the person psychologically.”
Despair is like that.
“The feeling of frustration and loss when one loses what was once there is beyond words, yet ultimately, humans are beings who must accept fate and follow it, so they can only accept what has been lost.”
No matter how much Mo Yongmu may spin fanciful images in his mind over the disaster regarding his hair, in the end, he can only accept his fate.
“It is far more appropriate to grasp at the roots of the flaws within the Mo Yong Family and check if hair starts to grow than to return hair to a normal bald person and take it away again.”
Even if it were me, I couldn’t genuinely pull a miracle away from someone who sincerely wishes for it.
“No matter how much we might be able to bring about miracles, we must not mock the sincere hearts of those who are desperate for them.”
As for Mo Yongmu?
Well, if there were a mistake to point out, it would be that he recklessly entered the tavern, spent a night with Hong Gi, and spilled all the tales, true and false, leaking information about the Mo Yong Family to the Demon Cult.
* * *
And the next day.
After confirming that Mo Yongmu was indeed taking Extreme Hemostasis to see if his hair would grow back, I once again applied the hair removal potion to his head to make sure it was completely shaved clean.