Chapter 45: Recovery
After regaining consciousness, I spent another full three weeks in the infirmary.
My body still needed time to recover completely.
Of course, considering the severity of my injuries, my recovery speed was absurdly fast.
I had been struck by the Thousand Poisons Old Demon's Purple Blood Destruction Palm.
And I had even taken a blade through my side.
An ordinary person would've crossed into the afterlife long ago.
I'm really getting my money's worth from eating that Iceblood Serpent.
Apparently, when the physicians first saw my condition, they had practically given up on me.
But the poison resistance I had gained managed to hold back the venom from the Purple Blood Destruction Palm.
And after waking up, I continuously circulated my internal energy through the Kunlun Blue Soul Scripture, speeding up my recovery even further.
Meanwhile...
both inside and outside Kunlun, things had become extremely noisy.
The incident involving the disappearance of twenty-three Kunlun disciples had become public knowledge.
In fact...
Kunlun itself had been the one to reveal it.
The number of missing disciples had been too large.
And the incident had taken place near the border with the Demonic Cult.
Even if the sect tried to hide it, the truth would eventually come out.
Trying to conceal the matter might only create even bigger misunderstandings.
Fortunately...
all of the missing disciples had returned safely.
And the incident had been determined to be the work of the Thousand Poisons Old Demon and his group rather than the Demonic Cult.
From the sect's perspective...
there was no longer any reason to keep it hidden.
So Kunlun immediately sent a letter to the Righteous Alliance.
Its contents were roughly as follows.
[A disappearance occurred near the border with the Demonic Cult, but the incident was unrelated to the Demonic Cult.]
[The Thousand Poisons Old Demon acted independently.]
[Kunlun destroyed the Thousand Poisons Old Demon's group and upheld justice in the martial world.]
Something along those lines.
Kunlun's decision to reveal the incident publicly turned out to be the correct one.
The Thousand Poisons Old Demon.
One of the public enemies of the martial world.
A master ranked among the Hundred Great Poisoners Under Heaven.
Kunlun had eliminated a villain who should have disappeared from the martial world long ago.
A prestigious righteous sect standing at the forefront of justice.
The incident once again engraved Kunlun's reputation into the minds of martial artists everywhere.
And in the process...
my name began being mentioned as well.
Once I judged that my condition had improved enough, I left the infirmary.
Then I decided to stay at the Event Hall for a while.
It was my own decision.
I didn't want to keep living like a patient, constantly breathing in that stale medicinal smell.
And more importantly...
the Event Hall was still the place where I felt most comfortable.
Surprisingly, Jin Gwangung didn't say much about it.
On the day I left the infirmary, he suddenly appeared and said,
“Good. Now I don't have to keep looking at you lying around like some dying weakling.”
“Do whatever you want.”
And after that...
he didn't appear in front of me even once.
About two days after unpacking my things at the Event Hall...
I finally felt as though my body had properly returned to normal.
I decided to get out of bed and take a slow walk.
I had been lying down for so long that my leg muscles felt a little stiff.
And right on cue...
Myeongjeon came looking for me first.
“Martial Uncle Mujin, are you going somewhere?”
“Just going for a walk.”
I looked at him.
“Want to come?”
Myeongjeon's eyes lit up.
“To walk alongside Kunlun's hero, Martial Uncle Mujin!”
He pressed a hand to his chest.
“The honor is entirely mine!”
"..."
I thought this every time I dealt with him...
but Myeongjeon's social skills were overflowing.
No.
"Overflowing" wasn't enough.
It was practically a flood.
I left the Event Hall with Myeongjeon.
While walking, we happened to run into Hyeongwon and Yu Seola.
They joined us.
Originally...
I had planned to walk quietly by myself.
Somehow, all four of us ended up walking side by side.
We followed one of the mountain paths around Kunlun.
The ridges stretched gently beside us.
From somewhere in the distance, the sound of clear running water could be heard.
Then...
voices came from a small pavilion farther down the path.
“I'm telling you, my husband came back.”
“Without a single serious injury.”
Another woman responded,
“Really? Goodness, that's wonderful.”
“You must've been worried sick....”
Someone else said,
“Kunlun hasn't fallen yet.”
“I heard some young Taoist saved everyone....”
Without realizing it, I stopped walking and glanced toward them.
Everyone gathered there was an adult.
Except for one child.
A little kid, maybe five or six years old, was tightly holding the sleeve of a woman who seemed to be his mother.
The sight was oddly cute.
My gaze lingered.
Then Myeongjeon suddenly spoke loudly beside me.
“Martial Uncle Mujin, how about taking the valley path over there?”
“It's perfect for walking!”
His voice was loud enough that the people near the pavilion could naturally hear him.
At that moment...
the woman whose sleeve the child had been holding suddenly turned toward us.
She stared at us with a blank expression.
What?
Why is she staring like that...?
I tried to look away and continue walking.
Then...
“Please wait!”
“Please, just a moment!”
The woman lifted the child into her arms and hurried toward us.
The moment she stopped in front of us...
she spoke breathlessly without even taking time to recover.
“Is Taoist Mujin here?”
“Han Mujin, the disciple of First Elder Gwangung?”
Why did someone I'd never seen before know my name?
I tilted my head.
“I'm Han Mujin...”
“but may I ask what this is about?”
Her eyes widened.
“It really is you!”
“You're really Taoist Han Mujin!”
Then suddenly...
she bowed deeply.
“Thank you....”
Her voice trembled.
“Thank you so much...”
“for saving my husband....”
Her words were mixed with relief and tears.
Her sudden behavior completely caught me off guard.
“...Pardon?”
I blinked.
