When I opened my eyes, instead of the cave ceiling I'd grown sick of seeing for over a month, an ordinary ceiling greeted me.
"Ugh…"
As I raised my upper body, pain radiated through my entire frame. Not from wounds, but muscle aches. This was all a problem caused by my insufficient External Arts attainment.
My internal energy was growing quickly thanks to the Crazy Wolf Life-Stealing Art, but there was no shortcut for External Arts, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Letting out a deep sigh, I looked around. The room was wide and luxurious, but rather than flashy, it felt calm.
I clearly remembered seeing Tang So-wol and a middle-aged man who resembled her at the end. If so, this place…
"The Tang Clan, is it."
I glanced down at my body and saw my bare upper torso wrapped in bandages.
The wounds seemed mostly healed, but… the muscle aches told me not much time had passed.
I needed to get up to do anything, so I braced myself for a bit of pain and was about to rise fully.
Squeak—
The door suddenly slid open, and I met eyes with Tang So-wol, who was carrying a bundle of things.
"Young hero Cheon?! You've finally come to!"
"I just woke up. Ah, sorry, but could you lend me a hand for a moment? This frail body of mine overdid it a bit, and now I can barely get up on my own."
"With a body like that, what are you trying to get up for? Don't be ridiculous."
Tang So-wol shook her head and lightly pushed my forehead. My still-trembling body had no strength to resist, and I flopped backward onto the bed.
I'd only managed to sit up, but it had hurt quite a bit. All my effort had gone to waste.
I stared at her with a hint of resentment and disbelief, and she just shrugged as if she knew nothing, taking a seat beside me.
"Just rest a little longer. I'll have a servant assigned to you—tell the child if you need anything."
"I don't particularly enjoy lying still."
"I don't particularly enjoy watching an injured person hobble around, either. How about you wait quietly until you're better?"
"…It seems you've grown more stubborn while I was asleep."
"Well, this is the Sichuan Tang Clan, after all. They say even a dog raised here eats half its meals at home."
"The great Tang So-wol of the world is no dog, is she?"
"Woof woof."
"…"
Tang So-wol, who had let out a puppy sound, stared down at me intently.
"Young hero Cheon. It seems you still haven't grasped the situation."
"It's a bit hard to accept the sight of the Tang Clan's youngest daughter barking like a dog."
"No. Not that."
Tang So-wol let out a small laugh and poked my cheek with her finger.
"Young hero Cheon, you've been kidnapped now. Quite the opposite situation from last time."
"Huh."
Surely she wasn't holding a grudge now. I was so dumbfounded that I just stared blankly at Tang So-wol's face for a moment.
Deciding she'd teased me enough, Tang So-wol nodded with a satisfied expression and pulled out new medicine and bandages from the bundle she'd brought.
"It's time to change the dressing, so I'll sit you up for a moment."
"…It was you who laid me back down after I'd already gotten up."
"And so it's also my job to sit you back up, isn't it? Just relax and leave it to me."
With that, she slipped her arm under my shoulder and carefully lifted my upper body.
She unwound the bandages and began wiping the wound with a damp cloth—her movements looked quite practiced.
"Surely you didn't keep grinding the medicine while I was unconscious?"
"What do you think?"
"I'd like to think so. I don't much care for strangers putting their hands on my body."
"Congratulations. As the young hero said, I'm the one who's been tending to your wounds all this time. You can rest easy."
"I'm grateful, but… isn't this usually something a servant would do? And the Tang Clan has its own Medical Pavilion, doesn't it?"
"We do have servants, and the Medical Pavilion is separate, but you woke up before I could call either."
"Hm?"
"It took five days to get here from that cave. Young hero Cheon was unconscious for about that long, too. I came by to check on you one last time, and there you were, trying to get up on your own."
So I had come to my senses shortly after arriving at the Tang Clan.
"Wait. You're saying you tended to me for five whole days, not just a day or two?"
"Please, spare me your thanks. I owe you my life, young hero Cheon. It was the least I could do."
"No, what I'm asking is whether you handled things like my bowel movements during that time, Tang So-wol. If so, I'll have to take responsibility."
"…What do you mean by responsibility?!"
"Surely you didn't intend to admire every inch of my body and just move on? They say the children of wealthy houses are more wanton, and it seems that saying holds true."
"Th-that's…!"
Tang So-wol's face flushed crimson, her lips moving wordlessly. Yet even so, her hands never stopped—tearing bandages, applying fresh medicine. It was a little amusing to watch.
Unfortunately, she seemed to calm down before long.
"Haa… Rest assured, nothing of the sort you're imagining happened. Father took care of the more sensitive parts on my behalf."
"Your father… the Poison King? Surely you didn't have the Poison King do something like that…"
"Samadhi True Fire! I used Samadhi True Fire to burn away the impurities! Nothing happened at all! If you understand, then let's end this conversation here!"
"Well, if that's the case, fine."
If I teased her any further, she'd genuinely get angry, so I decided to stop here.
Tang So-wol huffed and puffed, but her hands never stopped moving. Before I knew it, all the minor wounds had been treated, leaving only the large one on her chest.
As she unwound the bandages covering half of his upper body, faint scars were revealed beneath. Tang So-wol, who had been grumbling, froze at the unmistakable traces of sword cuts.
"…This was truly dangerous. If the blade had gone just a little deeper, your guts would have spilled out."
"It wasn't dangerous. I knew it would only graze the skin, so I let it through at a razor-thin margin."
"It looks like scars will remain as well."
"Isn't a scar on a martial artist's body proof that they survived a crisis? It's something to be proud of."
"Of course. Isn't the young hero Cheon the great benefactor of the Sichuan Tang Clan? Be as proud as you like."
Slowly, yet with meticulous care, Tang So-wol traced her fingers along the wound. In her dark eyes, a mixture of regret and gratitude shimmered.
"…In case you might say something careless elsewhere, I'll let you know—I've already arranged with my father to gloss over matters concerning the young hero Cheon."
"Was that even plausible enough to pass?"
"If we claim the traces of our fight were from a sparring match, and that she went with the kidnappers willingly, we could make it work somehow."
"I don't think people in the world are that foolish."
"That's exactly why it works better. When the words come from none other than the Poison King himself, anyone with a brain has to believe them."
"Ah…"
True. It was the word of the Poison King—one of the few Harmony Realm masters, and the clan head of the Sichuan Tang Clan. Who would dare openly doubt it? At the very least, they would pretend to accept it on the surface.
As for the whispers behind their backs, he could simply crush them with his authority. The Poison King, Tang Jincheon, had more than enough power and influence for that.
And the truly important issue was that Tang So-wol had been attacked by Unorthodox Sect martial artists.
Every martial artist is bound to be sensitive to Karmic Debt, but the Sichuan Tang Clan is a family that values it so much that they've even nailed it into their Family Precept.
Yet someone held a grudge against the Tang Clan and tried to harm Tang So-wol.
I managed to take down the Hundred-Kill Blade Master, the ringleader, but that alone wouldn't be enough to quell the Tang Clan's anger.
They would formally protest to the Black Alliance, and any place even remotely connected would not be let off easily.
At that point, my story would be pushed to the back and naturally forgotten.
As I nodded inwardly, Tang So-wol, who had finished applying medicine to her wounds, began wrapping the final bandage.
"Whatever the circumstances, you are my benefactor, young hero. Neither I nor my father intend to let this slide."
"Good. I had no intention of letting it slide either. I should take what I can get."
"I like your honesty. Well, recovery is the top priority for now. I'll assign you a servant to attend to your needs and a physician from the Medical Pavilion, so just focus on getting better soon, young hero Cheon."
"I will."
Tang So-wol gathered the used bandages and soiled towels, then rose from her seat. Since I was already up, I figured I might as well do some Qi Circulation, so I closed my eyes and settled my mind.
Just as I was about to sink into that state of calm, Tang So-wol's voice came from where she stood by the door handle.
"Young hero Cheon."
"Is there something more you wish to say?"
"Once you've recovered, my father will summon you to discuss compensation."
"Good. An opportunity to state my wishes directly to the Tang Clan head doesn't come often."
"Young hero, what you wish to request is for you to decide, but… well…"
"Is there any reason to hold back now? Speak freely."
"Would you please not be too startled if my father says something strange? Since I'm the youngest, he tends to be a bit overprotective…"
"Hmm? That's only natural, isn't it? Your daughter nearly went through something dangerous recently. I understand completely."
"No, that's not it… hmm."
Tang So-wol, after mulling it over for a moment, failed to find the right words and let out a sigh.
"Hah. Never mind. There's no point in saying it now anyway, so just keep that in mind. Just remember it."
"?"
After muttering that to himself, he now waved his hand.
"Then I'll really be going now. Get plenty of rest."
Creak—
Tang So-wol vanished, leaving behind only a few short words just as she had when she arrived. He stared at the firmly shut door, then focused once more on his Qi Circulation.
As Tang So-wol had said, now was the time to focus on recovering.
***
Ten days had passed.
During that time, his body had not only recovered perfectly but had grown far stronger than it had been before he collapsed.
It was only natural, of course. Even if the goal was to maximize my recovery, I had been stuffing myself with mid-low grade elixirs at every single meal.
Once I was able to move my body again, I rented a suitable training ground to practice my swordsmanship. I told them there was no need to hide anything since I didn't have any remarkable techniques, but they insisted on giving me a private training ground anyway.
That just went to show how much the Tang Clan valued me as a distinguished guest. In fact, it wasn't just once or twice that I felt awkward because every servant or warrior I ran into bowed their head to me with utmost respect.
If it were just people bowing to me, I had seen plenty of that even before my regression. Especially when I was part of the Black Alliance, I had served as a captain, so I was more than used to it.
However, this was the first time I had received greetings filled with respect and gratitude rather than fear or contempt, so I couldn't quite get used to it.
Perhaps that was why I began to avoid crowded places and focus on my training.
The Sichuan Tang Clan was not a martial family counted among the Five Great Families for nothing. Once I set my mind to focus on training, there was no more comfortable place than this.
The Black Alliance's facilities weren't bad either, but… they couldn't help but pale in comparison to this place where I was treated as an honored guest.
So today, too, I had risen early in the morning and was swinging my sword in the private training ground where no one else was present.
Before I knew it, Tang So-wol had crept up and was squatting in a corner of the training ground, watching me.
"…If you were going to come, you should have said something. Why are you lurking around like some shadow?"
"Lurking? I'd rather call it my warm consideration, trying not to disturb young hero Cheon."
"Fine. Let's call it consideration. But don't you usually come around evening time? It's not even lunch yet. What's the matter?"
I had heard that since the last attack, Tang So-wol had felt something too, and had been throwing herself into her training lately.
Since she hadn't finished absorbing the purple poison-nurturing herb yet, she was focusing on her Hidden Weapon Art… She'd come by every evening, grumbling about how tired she was, without a single day off.
So for her to skip training and come here like this, it must be something important.
I sheathed the training sword I had been swinging and turned toward Tang So-wol. She had risen to match my movement, and now she smiled as she brushed the dirt off her backside.
"Father is calling for you. He says he'd like to talk over lunch together."
"Ah."
The time had finally come.