Chapter 300: Protection (護) (2)

'What should I do? Should I say it's a surprise magic trick? That's crazy. Should I put it back in my mouth? No, what would she think of me? Should I say it's a chronic illness? But I'm already at the Nascent Soul stage! Or...'

It's when my head is spinning with thoughts.

Kang Min-hee approaches me.

Feeling like my head will explode from the tension, I brace myself.

Considering Kang Min-hee's personality and the severity of the punishments at Black Ghost Valley, I might end up working in the labor camp with my spiritual power sealed for ten days or become the test subject for some crazy cultivators for a few days.

Then it happens.

"Are you alright, Seo Li?"

Kang Min-hee asks, placing her hand on my forehead.

"Ah…"

Come to think of it, I was so focused on my mistake that I didn't read her intent.

Kang Min-hee is actually worried about me.

"I'm okay. I apologize for showing such an unsightly scene."

"Unsightly scene? You vomited blood. That doesn't look okay at all?"

"Ah…this is…"

I try to think of a proper explanation.

"It's a side effect of a method I practiced before ascending to the Bright Cold Realm. It's just a bit of blood, so please do not worry."

"Hmm, really?"

However, I realize something is wrong.

Her intent is turning cold.

"My friends say it's a lie."

"…!"

Apparently, some ghosts who practiced devilish arts, like the Blood Demon Suppressing Sea Light or Blood Chain Binding Forest, have recognized my symptoms.

"I have a lot of friends. And among them, there is a friend with excellent medical skills. They say your symptoms are caused by internal turmoil."

"…Is that so…I apologize for lying."

"Huuu…"

She gestures tiredly towards me.

"Come here. I'll give you medicine."

"…! No, thank you. How could I possibly dare…"

"It's an order. Come here. Don't go coughing up blood somewhere else, get treated here."

I involuntarily follow her to her office.

Some ghosts start cleaning up the blood I had spewed at the back.

'Damn, I just came to greet her to raise some goodwill…'

Because the main body suddenly saw something strange, I ended up bearing the consequences.

She reaches into a storage scroll hanging in her office and pulls out a pill the size of an eyeball.

"Here. This is called the Yin Bamboo Pill. It's very effective for internal injuries."

"May I know what this medicine is made from…?"

"Why? Got allergies?"

"Yes…something like that."

"Hmm, let's see. It's made from ingredients good for internal injuries…dried leaves of Ghost Yang Flower that grows in places with thick yin energy in Ghost Valley, Ghost Bamboo that grows in swamps, and… Euk. Whine Bone Toad poop??"

It seems she is hearing the ingredients from her 'friends'.

"And black moss… and clay used for building houses??? Really? Why would you make medicine from that? What? The clay has the power of consciousness imbued in it? What is this..."

She hesitates for a moment, then asks me.

"It contains frog poop and mud…it should be safe to take… What do you think, do you want to eat this?"

"Yes, please give it to me."

If I think of it as Yuan Yu's body, I can eat things even worse than poop.

Rather, the thought of insulting Yuan Li actually makes me feel refreshed.

"Hmm. Alright."

I thank Kang Min-hee, chew the pill, and activate the Blood Demon Suppressing Sea Light.

Life energy surges through my body, and my chest feels refreshed.

"How is it? Do you feel better?"

"Yes, thanks to Grand Elder, I feel much better."

The disgusting, revolting feeling that made my stomach turn is completely gone.

Yet, I feel slightly worried.

'The main body's passed out right now.'

No, rather than passing out, it's more like he's lying down in the monks' quarters to recover his strength, sleeping as if fainted.

The problem is that the main body is sleeping.

After reaching the Core Formation stage, I hardly needed sleep or food, and since I swore revenge on Yuan Li after Hyang-hwa died, I haven't slept properly.

I rarely felt so weakened that I needed to sleep.

If I ever passed out, it was usually because I had encountered an exceptionally powerful enemy and fought until I lost consciousness, endured extreme environments for over ten years until my spiritual power was completely depleted, or met a great being.

'But, the main body started acting strange after looking at just one Taenghwa Painting.'

His physical condition isn't that bad either.

Thanks to the enlightenment from Tae Yeol-jeon, I learned how to draw power from deep within my unconscious, converting that power into vitality through the Formless Sword.

Yet, out of nowhere, I suddenly felt nauseous and fainted.

It's such a strange occurrence.

'Is there something hidden in that Taenghwa?'

Perhaps that's the case.

If so, it's truly terrifying.

Because Yeon has also seen Taenghwa.

Perhaps Tae Yeol-jeon is being controlled by deities like the Seven Brilliances Kings or the Future King without even realizing it.

My primary concern is the safety of the main body.

At the same time, I'm worried about the safety of 'us.'

'The main body has always been me.'

I am Seo Eun-hyun, and Seo Eun-hyun is Seo Li.

It's no different from playing with a puppet in one hand and performing ventriloquism.

Of course, calling it merely ventriloquism is an understatement given the resources and level of the technique involved.

'My current situation is like a ventriloquist fainting from exhaustion while the puppet wakes up and continues the performance.'

It's an utterly nonsensical situation.

So, is the current 'me' the original 'Seo Eun-hyun,' or a 'second personality' born from 'Seo Eun-hyun'?

I feel confused about my identity.

Of course, it isn't as if I'm suffering or worried about being truly separated from the main body.

'It is what it is.'

I possess the memories of the original Seo Eun-hyun, as well as his enlightenment.

Whether I am Seo Li or Seo Eun-hyun or a second personality born from him.

Honestly, that's all there is to it.

I have no desire to possess the main body or to steal his life and the power of his regression.

The main body's life, the power of regression, and his fate are all in themselves terrifying despair and pain.

I don't want to take that on.

'What worries me is 'regression'...'

Until now, I was sure that if the main body died, his consciousness would fully transfer to me, and I would become the resurrected form. If the resurrected form dies, I would regress again.

However, seeing signs of separation between the main body and 'my' consciousness raises a concern.

'If the main body dies, he might regress without resurrecting as me….'

That would be a loss for the original and a huge concern for me.

'If that happens, what will happen to me?'

Would I regress with the main body, or stay in this world line?

Either way, it doesn't matter.

'Once the main body wakes up, I'll need to discuss this issue with him.'

I organize my thoughts and bow my head to Kang Min-hee in front of me.

"Thank you very much, Grand Elder."

"Alright. It's good if you're feeling better. Next time, don't think it's rude. If you're struggling or in pain, speak up immediately. I hate people who pretend to be fine the most."

"Haha… Is that so?"

"Yes. Back in the day, there was a fool like that in my hometown."

"What kind of fool?"

"That fool and I…how should I put it, we worked together in a place like a merchant association. That fool made a huge amount of mistakes when he first joined. He managed to improve after making the mistakes soon enough, but… Anyway, in his second week, he spilled a drink on his superior's desk."

"…"

I know exactly what she's talking about, and my mind sinks.

'Damn it.'

It's about me.

Definitely about the incident when I spilled coffee on Chief Hyun-seok's seat.

'Hyun-seok hyung-nim... I thought he was the scariest in the department back then.'

They say when a woman harbors resentment, frost falls in summer.

Then why doesn't frost fall when a man gets angry?

Because when a man is angry, it's a force in itself.

Now, Oh Hyun-seok and I got along well as brothers, and he himself is the type who easily laughs and makes friends.

However, typically, such people are the most terrifying when they get angry.

After work, I was called to the smoking area for an hour and a half and got a stern lecture while standing in a parade rest posture.

It was the first time I realized how terrifying it could be to be reprimanded without getting hit.

'Especially when someone as big and muscular as him speaks in a low, stern voice….'

I thought there was a lion growling in front of me.

"When that stupid bastard messed up, I waited for him to get scolded by his boss and then we went home together. When I saw him, he was drenched in cold sweat and his legs were so weak he could barely stand. When I told him to... How should I explain this here...um, something like a transport magic artifact? I told him to sit, but he insisted on standing."

That's exactly how it was.

She had waited for me, struggling herself.

I remember the events of that day.

Even worse, it started raining when we got off the subway, and Kang Min-hee didn't have an umbrella.

Back then, both of us commuted from our family homes in the southern part of Gyeonggi, so we took the Shinbundang Line from Seoul to Gwanggyo.

One of the reasons I started dating her was that our commuting routes overlapped, and we both got off at Gwanggyo.

'When we got off, all the convenience store umbrellas were sold out and there was nowhere to buy one….'

Since my home was closer to Gwanggyo Station, I decided to run home and gave my umbrella to Kang Min-hee, who had further to go.

'That's a memory too.'

Kang Min-hee recounts the story exactly as I remember it, including how I gave her my umbrella.

However, her perspective on the experience seems slightly different from mine.

"That idiot moron bastard dared to catch a cold the next day and wandered around all day with a fever, driving me crazy trying to take care of him. I was so frustrated watching him sniffling all day without being able to speak properly."

'I don't remember it being that bad...'

From my memory, I managed to get through the day fairly well.

But it seems Kang Min-hee remembers it a bit differently.

"And what's more, that day, there was something called Excel from my hometown. Our superior taught it to us that day, but because of the cold, he couldn't properly get it in his head, and kept coming to ask me about it."

She laughs as if amazed by her own story.

"This shows that if you fail to take care of yourself in time, the harm spreads to the whole group. Remember this: don't act like that idiot moron."

"..."

Hearing her story, something stirs in me, and I ask a question.

"But, excuse me, Grand Elder."

"What is it?"

"In the story you just told…you mentioned that the fool gave you his raincoat and got a cold the next day."

"Yes, that's right."

"Then, if you hadn't taken the raincoat, wouldn't you have caught the cold instead?"

"That could've been the case. But unlike that fool, I'm smart."

She sighs and continues.

"If I had caught the cold instead, I could have learned from that fool later, right? He's too dumb to understand anything more than what I explain to him, but I can grasp most things with just a single explanation. So it would have been better for me to learn from that idiot later. Therefore…"

She lights a pipe and stands up.

Kang Min-hee begins drawing a formation on the ground that communicates with the Nether Ghost Realm, finishing her story with the following words.

"If I could go back in time, I would get sick instead."

"..."

The main body woke up again.

I explained everything I had experienced to the main body and summarized all the events that had occurred while he was asleep, transmitting the information to his consciousness.

However,

I did not convey Kang Min-hee's last remark to the main body.