The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

I thought I would spend some quiet time alone, but thanks to Joo Hwarin’s company, it wasn’t boring.

I was worried she might be stiff at being referred to as the daughter of the influential Blood Soaked Joo clan, but Joo Hwarin treated me better than I expected.

She showed more consideration for me than I did for myself. She even shared various information related to the Demon Cult with me.

“And… Oh! Have you seen Grandpa Do Hyul, who is called the protector? I heard that the Southern Manchuria’s Do clan, to which he belongs, was originally not a group in the Central Plains. It was formed when people from Southern Manchuria relied on Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. That’s why, in the beginning, there was a lot of talk about people who held positions despite they weren’t members of the Demon Cult, but now it is a family made up of the leaders of the Demon Cult. Especially Do Seokhwi, the elder of Southern Manchuria clan, is very temperamental.”

Joo Hwarin widened her eyes, opened her mouth, and growled, making a cute expression. When I chuckled at her, she also smiled and spoke again.

“If he gets even slightly uncomfortable, he gets angry right away, so you should be careful when you meet him later. I’ve been scolded by him often.”

“Is he that scary?”

“Yes. He’s also very tall. He’s almost six feet tall, isn’t he? Even if I completely bend my neck looking up, it’s hard to meet his eyes.”

Almost six feet tall? How much is that in meters? Roughly around two meters? That’s almost a giant.

“Most people are nervous when they meet Elder Do Seokhwi… But in the Demon Cult, there are only three people who are superior to him.”

The two of them are probably Hyuk Dojin and the Cult Leader, but who is the remaining one?

As I tilted my head, Joo Hwarin smiled slyly and said:

“It’s Elder Man Do, the Vice Cult Leader.”

“Man Do?”

It was a name I had never heard before. If he’s the Vice Cult Leader, he must be quite high-ranking… I didn’t have any memories of reading about him in the novel.

“He usually resides outside the cult and only comes inside when summoned by the Cult Leader. So, he rarely meets people. That’s why there are many rumors and speculations about Elder Man Do, but there’s one thing everyone agrees on.”

He’s strong.

Joo Hwarin’s eyes sparkled.

“People dare to say without confirming with their eyes that he can’t be beaten even by the Young Cult Leader. Isn’t that amazing?”

She praised Vice Cult Leader Man Do, exclaiming how impressive he was.

But I thought, Hyuk Dojin, the Young Cult Leader, is more impressive than Vice Cult Leader.

Externally, Hyuk Dojin seemed to have crossed into adulthood not long ago.

Yet the fact that such Hyuk Dojin stands side by side with Elder Man Do is even more surprising, isn’t it?

People from the cult probably think that Hyuk Dojin, being the Cult Leader’s offspring, should naturally be strong. Is that why they evaluate the Vice Cult Leader more highly?

Even Moyong Do, who was three years older, wasn’t as strong as Hyuk Dojin.

“Maybe you’ll be able to meet him at the wedding ceremony soon. Although he’s rarely seen, he always participates in major events. And of course, he’ll attend the Young Cult Leader’s wedding.”

Come to think of it, when will the wedding be held? I wanted to finish the complicated event quickly and hide somewhere to live quietly.

To live quietly, as if it existed or not, and then go into the ground.

I suddenly looked down at my wrist. It was getting drier as the days went by. Although there wasn’t a big difference between the year before last and last year, there was a clear difference between last year and this year.

Without medication and with the long journey, my body had weakened. I was deteriorating even compared to last month.

I didn’t want to struggle, drying up in pain.

If I knew I was going to die anyway, I wanted to die more comfortably. Without suffering.

I opened my clenched hand. I looked down at my palm. It was a small hand that had never held a sword.

Could I slit my wrist with this hand? Although it was a thin wrist, it seemed unlikely that I could slit it with this hand.

“Miss?”

As I heard the voice digging into my ears, I turned my gaze, and Joo Hwarin was standing there, looking puzzled.

She turned her gaze toward the door, and I followed her gaze, turning my head.

I didn’t answer, but the door was open, and standing there was Hyuk Dojin.

He looked at me with a calm face, slowly approached, and wrapped my wrist with his hand, which I had been looking at.

“Do you think it feels too thin even for Sowol?”

“What?”

“You were staring at your wrist absent-mindedly without even realizing I came in.”

As I slightly parted my lips, Hyuk Dojin smiled.

“We’ll have to feed you more from now on. If you get any thinner than this, people might start calling me a scoundrel for starving my wife.”

As his joking mixed words came to an end, another person walked in through the door.

He was an impressive old man with a long, flowing beard and finely etched wrinkles that made it hard to guess his age.

He closed the door behind him and stood next to Hyuk Dojin, then furrowed his eyebrows while lightly tapping Hyuk Dojin’s wrist and wrinkling his white eyebrows. Is it okay for him to treat the Young Cult Leader like this?

As I looked at him with surprise, the old man rolled his eyes and glanced at me before letting out a chuckle.

“Why? Do you think an old man who has lived his life fully and dares to be rude to the Young Cult Leader without knowing that my life is in danger?”

“…?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not behaving like this because I’m an old man who doesn’t value his life. So… hey, how long are you going to hold onto her?! She won’t break her hand if you let go for a moment, so step back!”

The old man, who had slapped Hyuk Dojin’s hand to get out of the way while talking, finally raised his voice.

Then, while the old man nudged Hyuk Dojin aside,I looked at Joo Hwarin with embarrassment in my eyes.

Is this okay? I asked with my eyes, but Joo Hwarin just smiled as if she were used to it.

Meanwhile, Hyuk Dojin let go of my wrist and stepped aside. He looked embarrassed. This time, the old man grabbed my wrist, which was descending down.

As if handling public property, my wrist moved easily here and there in his grasp.

“Stay still. If you keep moving, it’s hard to feel the pulse.”

With those words, the old man closed his mouth and closed his eyes tightly.

In my confusion about what was happening, Hyuk Dojin’s voice came quietly.

“He’s the doctor who checked your pulse when Sowol fainted yesterday. He may look rough and tough, but he’s a doctor, so don’t be too surprised.”

…He could’ve just said he’s a doctor.

Feeling my pulse after grabbing my wrist like that, I couldn’t help but feel flustered.

Despite his appearance that looked easily over a hundred years old, his back was straight, and his grip was firm.

The old man took my other hand as well, touching my pulse gently and furrowing his eyebrows deeper than his wrinkles between his eyebrows. Then he let out a shallow groan and sighed.

As his hand slowly fell from my wrist, the old man said:

“Did you often feel sick when you were young? Bleeding and fainting even when you were still? Huh?”

“No. I only had a little anemia when I overexerted myself, but otherwise…”

It was ordinary. I was always sick. The days I felt worse were when I did something special that day.

For example, taking a walk or something like that.

The old man groaned and ran his fingers through his beard as I blurted out the words that had been lingering in my mouth.

“Regarding your head, has it been like this since birth? Or did it gradually change due to illness?”

“I’ve heard it’s been like this since birth.”

“It’s congenital then…”

“Do you understand anything, Hwa Ui?”

Is the old man’s name Hwa Ui? It’s unique.

In response to Hyuk Dojin’s voice, Hwa Ui looked up at him and spoke calmly.

“Has the Yong Cult Leader also checked this young lady’s pulse?”

Hyuk Dojin nodded lightly.

“Then you’ll understand. There shouldn’t be any particular problems.”

Hwa Ui turned his gaze from Hyuk Dojin to me and asked:

“Is your appetite on the shorter side?”

“A little…”

“Are you intentionally eating less, or do you get tired and find it difficult to eat?”

“The latter is closer.”

“Do you have any picky eating habits?”

“No, I don’t have any.”

As he nodded, Hwa Ui looked at me and raised his eyebrows. Then, he carefully grabbed my wrist again, checked his pulse, then spoke softly.

“It’s strange… it’s peculiar.”

Hwa Ui muttered, leaning his head forward continuously.

Narrowing his forehead as if he couldn’t understand, he sighed and then looked back at Hyuk Dojin.

“Did you feel it too? Something strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“The blood vessels.”

When I looked up at Hyuk Dojin from my trapped wrist, he glanced at me and nodded once. Is there something strange about my blood vessels?

When I turned my gaze back to Hwa Ui, he grabbed my other wrist and opened his mouth once more.

“The blood vessels are incredibly thin and weak, as if they could break at any moment. Usually, in such cases, people can’t master martial arts. To cultivate, one must accept the natural energy and circulate it throughout the body. For that, strong blood vessels are essential.”

Come to think of it, there was a time when I forced myself to practice breathing to learn martial arts when I was young and suffered greatly.

Wasn’t it just because I was sick?

“And the blood vessels of those who haven’t learned martial arts are blocked by accumulated turbidity. However, even though I don’t know what this means, your blood vessels are clean. Moreover, even the most difficult, conception vessel and governor vessel, are clear.”

Conception vessel? Governor vessel?* Hwa Ui, who was muttering words I couldn’t understand, hurriedly continued speaking.

“Did you happen to take a lot of elixirs or herbal remedies when you were young?”

Well, I did take them. Since Moyong Do often generously gave me all the elixirs that came into his possession.

But I felt like I shouldn’t mention that, so I said it in a roundabout way.

“I took a lot of herbal remedies because I was often sick.”

“Since you’re from the Moyong clan, you must have used precious herbs. Well, even so, it’s remarkable. Don’t you think so, Young Cult Leader?”

As I looked back at Hyuk Dojin, who once again was asked, he glanced at me before turning his gaze back to Hwa Ui.

“What do you think?”

“If I were to stake my entire life on it, this doesn’t make sense. Basically, if the blood vessels are thin, it wouldn’t be strange for them to burst and cause death while cleaning your vessels. Don’t you know how difficult it was for the Young Cult Leader to clean the vessel? It’s not a pain that humans can endure. It’s so excruciating that it would be better if bones were broken and flesh was pierced. But do you really think these thin blood vessels endured such pain?”

He shook his head in disbelief.

“I’d rather believe the word that a newborn baby performs a sword dance.”

*In traditional Korean medicine the Conception vessel (Ren Mai) and Governor vessel (Du Mai) are two of Twelve Main Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, they run down the center of the body and are paired (central to energy practice). They are the regulators of Yin and Yang energy and also called the sea of all Yin and Yang energy.

For now I have provided only a basic description of the terms, but when and if this topic develops further and is needed to understand the plot, I will find more detailed information for you.