Zhuge Hwaryeong continued to drag Tang Yuhwa around here and there.

It was mainly a place for food or entertainment.

"It's a waste."

"What's the matter! Senior Sister has been busy treating people lately, so this isn't even considered a waste!"

Although Tang Yuhwa grumbled at that action, she was still dragged along without much resistance.

Seeing that, Zhuge Hwaryeong smiled at Tang Yuhwa.

'It seems her mood has lifted a little.'

Zhuge Hwaryeong recalled Tang Yuhwa when she had heard that there was no way to open the chest containing the recipe for the Great Return Pill.

A sight as if she would faint.

Her face was pale, and her breathing was rough.

Tang Yuhwa, whose condition had worsened like that, had rested for a few days and then had started to wander around and treat patients like crazy.

That sight was not particularly strange.

Since Tang Yuhwa would immediately start treatment if she saw a patient even during her journey.

However, now, she was treating people as if she had been driven to the edge of a cliff.

She had even started to actively use poison, which she had almost excluded from her treatment.

Zhuge Hwaryeong, who was watching from the side, felt that that sight was very precarious. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Therefore, she was dragging her around here and there for no reason.

Tang Yuhwa, who had also noticed such a heart of Zhuge Hwaryeong, was in a state where her mood had lifted a lot.

'Right. Master is still alive. At a time like this, I have to come to my senses.'

Tang Yuhwa stealthily grabbed Zhuge Hwaryeong's sleeve.

"Thank you."

"What?"

Zhuge Hwaryeong blinked her eyes at the sudden thanks.

Although Tang Yuhwa's face was still her usual blunt face.

'Her ears have turned red? Cute.'

Zhuge Hwaryeong, who had noticed Tang Yuhwa's point of change like a ghost, smiled with satisfaction.

Since Tang Yuhwa was also on the quick-witted side, to the point that she was the only one who had noticed Baek Yoonjun's true nature, she noticed such a thought of Zhuge Hwaryeong and hastily turned her head.

"Th-thanks to you, I've come to my senses a little."

"Ah..."

Looking at Tang Yuhwa, who was stuttering, unlike her usual self, with her ears red while her head was turned, Zhuge Hwaryeong received a shock as if her heart had been hit with a hammer.

"Cu..."

"Cu?"

"Cuteee!! Our Senior Sister is so cuteee!!"

Zhuge Hwaryeong, with her eyes flipped, rushed at Tang Yuhwa.

Tang Yuhwa hastily moved her body and, without realizing it, stretched out her arm and activated the new Thousand Medicine Needle Case that was on her wrist.

Swoosh.

A needle coated with anesthetic poison was fired from the Thousand Medicine Needle Case, and that needle was accurately stuck in Zhuge Hwaryeong's glabella.

"Senior Sisterrr...!! Ah..."

Thump!

Zhuge Hwaryeong fell backwards with the most foolish expression she had ever had.

"Huh...?"

Tang Yuhwa, at the action she had done unconsciously without realizing it, made a foolish sound and just blinked her eyes.

Staring blankly at Zhuge Hwaryeong, who had fallen backwards.

"J-Junior Sister...? Junior Sister!!"

Only then did Tang Yuhwa come to her senses and hastily checked Zhuge Hwaryeong's condition.

"Kool..."

Tang Yuhwa, who had quickly checked Zhuge Hwaryeong's pulse, was relieved to realize that the needle fired from the Thousand Medicine Needle Case was an anesthetic needle.

Then she stared blankly at the new Thousand Medicine Needle Case hanging on her wrist.

'Hmm... I definitely made it as a tool to put in needles...'

Tang Yuhwa's feelings became complicated.

The Thousand Medicine Needle Case, which she had used unconsciously in the situation just before.

'It's like a hidden weapon when used like this...'

She thought the same thought that Baek Yoonjun had first had when he had seen the Thousand Medicine Needle Case.

'No... it wasn't a hidden weapon... it wasn't...'

Tang Yuhwa felt her spirits sink for no reason.

Since she had only been thinking in a medical direction, she had not even thought in this direction.

Come to think of it, it seemed she had shot a needle in this way during the life-and-death duel in Zhongnan.

"Ugh..."

Tang Yuhwa's spirits sank even more.

She squatted next to Zhuge Hwaryeong, who was stretched out on the floor and breathing softly, and stared blankly at her knees.

And so, as time passed, the effect of the anesthetic needle wore off.

"Eh..."

Zhuge Hwaryeong let out a groan and opened her eyes.

"Ugh... what happened? I feel like I've slept very deeply and am refreshed..."

Looking at Zhuge Hwaryeong, who could not grasp the situation, Tang Yuhwa.

"You were too excited before. So it seems you passed out because the blood rushed to your head."

"Ah... that's right. I was too excited before, right? Because Senior Sister's appearance was so cute..."

"It seems Junior Sister has a constitution that gets excited easily. It would be good to be careful."

"Ugh... I'm sorry."

Tang Yuhwa shamelessly decided to bury the truth deep inside.

Although this was also no different from Baek Yoonjun's specialty, since Tang Yuhwa was the one who understood his heart better than anyone, it seemed a side effect of resembling him in a useless way had occurred.

The gaze of Tang Yuhwa, who had evolved to be a notch more shameless, sank seriously.

There was no longer any sign of wandering.

"There's something I need to check."

"Haha, I understand. I'll have to escort you."

As soon as she returned to the medical room she had borrowed at the foot of Mount Emei, what she faced was a critical patient.

A critical situation where an old illness had worsened, the muscles were twisted, and the breathing was rough.

There was a limit to clearing the qi and blood with general acupuncture.

Tang Yuhwa took out a small bottle from her bosom without hesitation.

As she opened the bottle cap, a pungent sourness and a fishy scent spread out.

"Senior Sister...?! That's a bit too unusual."

The eyes of Zhuge Hwaryeong, who was organizing the medicinal herbs, widened.

It was a look of surprise, to the point of forgetting her usual composure.

"Aren't you using too much poison in your treatment lately?"

Zhuge Hwaryeong approached with concern and tried to hold Tang Yuhwa's hand.

"I know Senior Sister's heart has become urgent, but I think it would be good to calm down a little."

"It's fine. Even poison is a medicine if used well."

"I know that, but..."

Tang Yuhwa firmly pushed away the hand of the worried Zhuge Hwaryeong.

"It will only take a moment."

Tang Yuhwa's hand was unhindered.

She put a very fine amount of the poisonous liquid on the tip of a fine needle and then stabbed it into the patient's acupoint.

'Usually, I wouldn't have gone this far...'

Suppressing the fine trembling transmitted to her fingertips, Tang Yuhwa bit her lip.

A doctor does not harm a person.

That was her belief as a doctor.

She would keep her belief. However.

'As much as I have felt my limits, I need to be a little more bold.'

The chest that would not open, which contained the recipe for the Great Return Pill.

The sense of powerlessness she had felt in front of it stabbed her heart again.

What if, at the most important moment, she missed the chance to save her master because her skills were lacking?

If she settled for her current medical knowledge without any desire for improvement, she would just be turning a blind eye to the person she had to save.

'If it's lacking, I have to fill it. Even if it's poison.'

The corners of Tang Yuhwa's eyes hardened fiercely.

Both poison and medicine were, in the end, just tools.

What was important was the will of the one who handled them.

"Keueuk...!"

The patient flinched.

As the poisonous energy spread, it forcibly relaxed the twisted muscles.

In theory, it was not dangerous, but that was all; it was not a treatment method that had actually been performed.

'Hah... it should be fine... in theory, there's no problem...'

Naturally, it was not an experiment or anything.

It was a clearly verified act, just that it had not been used in a real situation.

However, since it was the first time it was used in a real situation, she could not help but be nervous.

A cold sweat flowed down Tang Yuhwa's cheek.

Fortunately, the patient's expression, which had been contorted in pain, relaxed comfortably in an instant.

The blocked qi and blood had been pierced by the fierce momentum of the poison, and he could breathe.

"...Phew."

Only then did Tang Yuhwa let out the breath she had been holding.

"See. He's alive."

Zhuge Hwaryeong stared blankly at the patient's relaxed face.

Really, the patient's breathing had become calm.

"Hah... really."

Zhuge Hwaryeong collapsed into a chair and grumbled.

"Because of Senior Sister, I won't live to my full lifespan, really. I thought my heart was going to drop."

"You're exaggerating."

"What do you mean, exaggerating! Next time, at least give me a heads-up. If not, let me hug you!"

"No."

Although Zhuge Hwaryeong pouted her lips, she carefully wiped the sweat on Tang Yuhwa's forehead with a handkerchief.

It was a gaze mixed with relief, worry, and a strange trust.

"Still... you're amazing, our Senior Sister."

"Be quiet."

Tang Yuhwa answered bluntly as if she were annoyed and organized the medical room.

But the red tips of her ears were still there.

"The patient is stable. There's no need to stay any longer."

"Yes, yes. Then shall we go back now? You must be hungry, so let's have a snack. Like dumplings."

"Dumplings?"

"Yes. They say there's a very famous place down there. They say the juice is amazing or something."

"...Let's go."

Although she shook her head as if she couldn't be helped, Tang Yuhwa took the lead and moved her feet.

Her footsteps looked a notch lighter than before.

And so, the two, who had arrived at the dumpling shop.

"Aren't the people over there Senior Sister Hyang and Great Hero Cheon?"

They had found Su Yeohyang and Cheon Suhye, who should still be on Mount Emei.

There was no problem up to the point of finding them.

"Ugh? Benefactor Tang and Brother... Sister Hwaryeong?"

Even Su Yeohyang, who had stuffed her mouth with dumplings until it was about to burst, was no problem.

Because it suited her.

"..."

Tang Yuhwa and Zhuge Hwaryeong, who had met the eyes of Cheon Suhye, who was hastily avoiding their gaze, were at a loss for words.

Because she, too, was in a state where her cheeks were puffed up from stuffing her mouth with a lot of dumplings, just like Su Yeohyang.

Cheon Suhye hastily chewed and swallowed the dumplings in her mouth and then opened her mouth to the two with a nonchalant face.

"What a coincidence."

"Excuse me... Great Hero Cheon. You have some dumpling filling on your cheek."

At Zhuge Hwaryeong's point, Cheon Suhye hastily wiped her mouth and then put on a nonchalant face again.

"Have Benefactor Hwaryeong and Benefactor Yuhwa also come to have a meal?"

Looking at that, Zhuge Hwaryeong stealthily added 'clumsy' next to 'bluff' in the evaluation items of Cheon Suhye that she had made.

---

The time was before, when Tang Yuhwa was taking care of a patient. A quiet backyard of the Emei Sect.

"Phew... did I shake them off?"

The one who had carefully poked her head out from behind a wall was the great disciple of the Emei Sect, Su Yeohyang.

She let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat on her forehead.

"I really thought I was going to die... what kind of training does Master make me do so harshly."

The face of Su Yeohyang, who had escaped from the torture that was called Jihwa Shinni's special training and was read as 'rolling', was full of a sense of liberation.

But that sense of liberation was also short-lived.

Grumble...

A sound like thunder echoed from Su Yeohyang's stomach.

"Ah... I'm hungry. I have to eat before I train."

Su Yeohyang rubbed her stomach with a tearful expression.

At that moment, the noisy voices of children were heard from a distance.

"Wow! Sister! Show me your sword, your sword!"

"Sister! Can't I touch it just once?"

"Hey! I'm first!"

Although the noisy scene was a daily landscape of the Emei Sect, since it was a little different this time, Su Yeohyang tilted her head and moved her feet in that direction.

"Huh? What's going on?"

And there, she witnessed a very interesting sight.

"Kids. Don't push... keep in line."

The sight of Cheon Suhye, whose soul was being drained, being held by the children to the point that the hem of her white robe was tattered.

"Sister! You're the Plum Blossom Sword, right? Can you make flowers bloom here?"

"Sister! Are you good at sword fighting? Let's have a match!"

At the pure malice of the children, which had no ruthless selfish desires, Cheon Suhye's pupils were wandering, having lost their place.

Having come out to show off the spirit of a great hero, which was read as 'posing', she had become a toy for the children that the Emei Sect had taken in.

'Pfft!'

Su Yeohyang covered her mouth, holding back her laughter.

But her laughter was also short-lived, and as she saw Cheon Suhye's pitiful gaze, her playful savior instinct was activated.

"Oh my, what are you doing over there? Great Hero Cheon?"

Cheon Suhye's eyes flashed open.

She urgently sent a request for help with her eyes.

'H-help me!'

Su Yeohyang, who would be sad if she were second in terms of being quick-witted, smiled.

"Kids, that Great Hero Cheon over there has to go on a very important mission right now."

"A mission? What mission?"

As the children's eyes widened, Su Yeohyang shouted in a tragic voice.

"It's the mission to punish and seal the evil 'dumpling monster' in this vicinity!"

"...?"

A silence fell for a moment.

At the same time, gazes that said 'are you ignoring us because we're kids? What kind of nonsense is this?' poured down on Su Yeohyang.

However, since Su Yeohyang had not obtained the position of the great disciple of the Emei Sect by playing ddakji, she was not flustered at all.

She spread her arms in an exaggerated manner and raised her voice as if she were performing a play.

"A very heinous...!! A monster whose juice bursts out. If we don't punish this with Great Hero Cheon, the peace of Mount Emei...!"

"Ooh...!"

The children's eyes sparkled, and they turned their gaze towards Cheon Suhye.

Although Cheon Suhye was inwardly going crazy with embarrassment, since she had grasped Su Yeohyang's intention, she had no choice but to play along.

"Ahem! That's right! If you touch the juice, your flesh will melt..."

"It's a very heinous monster that melts clothes!"

Although she had played along, Su Yeohyang quickly cut off Cheon Suhye, who was not very quick-witted and was about to spit out cruel words without a care.

"Ooh!!"

"A monster that melts clothes! How cruel!"

While the children were admiring, Su Yeohyang snatched Cheon Suhye's wrist.

"Now, then let's set out! Great Hero Cheon!"

"Hmm! Let's go! Great Hero Su...!"

The two, without looking back, broke through the children's encirclement and ran towards the main gate of the Emei Sect.

Although they were as tragic as generals breaking through a thousand troops and ten thousand horses, their destination was the dumpling shop down there.

"Heok, heok... I-I'm saved."

Cheon Suhye patted her chest as she came down the mountain path.

Su Yeohyang giggled and patted her back.

"You know that Great Hero Cheon is treating for the dumplings for that, right?"

"...Of course. I will buy them all."

Cheon Suhye nodded her head sincerely.

Thinking that a few plates of dumplings were cheap for the price of protecting the dignity of a great hero.

(End of Chapter)