My hand moved on its own.

That was the only right way to describe it.

Completely on its own.

My hand simply moved however it wanted.

Even with a blade at my throat, even knowing the killing intent in that sword was real, my fingertips did not stop.

My hand rose to his chest.

Without the slightest hesitation, it touched Divine Spear’s rotting skin.

What is this?

I was flustered.

...Why is it moving on its own?

This was different from the knowledge. The information and knowledge Seongheon had given me had clearly said observation with the eyes came first at a moment like this.

SHHHHHH—!!!

My hand and body, ignoring that information, began touching Divine Spear’s body on their own.

As if they already knew the way.

Press.

“...!”

My eyes widened. Pressure struck my dantian.

Energy rose, flowed through my acupoints, and heat surged upward.

The muscles around my eyes tightened sharply, and Moon Eyes opened.

Moon Immortal Sword’s Path.

Something else appeared within the sight that grasped another person’s martial path.

[Well now?]

Yoo Cheongil spoke in a voice tinged with amusement.

It sounded like he had found something.

And the same was true for me.

I can see it.

A line.

A path.

Something extending from the eyes was visible across Divine Spear’s body.

Was it telling me to follow that with my hand? No. I knew that was not it.

That was—

The path of energy.

It was telling me to use energy. The moment I realized that, my dantian responded.

WOOOOSH—!!!

Energy flowed out.

The blue energy of Blue Moon Heart Art streamed down my hand. It followed the lines wound around Divine Spear’s body exactly as they were.

“Moon Hero! If you do not stop, I will restrain you by force—”

“Wait—”

At the change that followed, Cheonrijinan stopped the martial artist.

“...Wait a moment.”

SHHHHHH—!!!

I could not even blink. The energy was definitely slow.

It had to travel along the path, and it felt like even the slightest disruption could not be allowed, so I kept forcing myself into perfect concentration.

...This is hard.

It was not easy. Compared to how slow it moved, the energy was fierce.

Why was it so hard to control? Was it reacting against Divine Spear’s energy, or else—

Is his rotting body, soaked in that Qi Wind Scent, the problem?

Controlling the flowing energy was absurdly difficult.

...If I get even a little bit wrong—

If I lost control of even a little of the energy I had already sent out, the backlash would hit me.

Seongheon’s knowledge told me.

Deviation of Qi.

If I slipped up here, my acupoints would twist.

So—

Do not make a mistake.

Not even one mistake could be allowed.

SIZZLE—!!!

As the energy flowed, a foul stench spread from Divine Spear’s body.

“Ugh!”

“This...!”

Everyone flinched at the foul smell rising together with black smoke.

They understood it too. If anyone interfered now, not only I but Divine Spear as well could be finished.

Ah... damn it.

The corner of my mouth twitched. Regret came rushing in.

Why did I do this?

What wealth and glory was I supposed to gain from doing something like this? Regret hit me immediately.

The problem was that my body had moved before I even had time to think.

SHHHHH—!!

The energy kept circulating. Every time it did, the stench spread, which also meant this was helping.

If the stink is coming out, that means it’s forcing out what was inside.

Drawing the filthy energy out of his body.

That was what my energy was doing right now.

Right.

I narrowed my eyes and examined the energy.

The direction of flow was reversed. The energy flowing through Divine Spear’s body was running backward.

Following that, it was stripping away and burning only the malicious energy from inside.

Is this even possible within common sense?

Was it possible to separate only the bad energy and burn it away?

By a martial artist’s common sense, it was impossible.

Yet it was happening.

“...This cannot be.”

“The energy...”

Divine Spear’s energy was steadily being cleared away. Proof that this was working.

[That horse-faced bastard left behind something bizarre. Worthless enough, too.]

I heard Yoo Cheongil’s displeased voice, but I did not react and stayed focused.

SHHHHH—!!

Little by little, I felt the energy continuing to flow. I kept draining the demonic energy that had spread around him, again and again.

“Urgh!”

The martial artists groaned under their breath. The energy pouring from Divine Spear was filling the room.

“...Strategist. I think you should leave first.”

“It is fine.”

Someone spoke out, worried Cheonrijinan might be harmed by the energy, but he simply watched me in silence.

How long...

How much longer did I have to endure this energy?

While I was thinking that and continuing to clear it away—

Tap!

“...!”

Something caught at the end. My eyes widened at the sensation.

This is it.

The source of the energy.

The energy destroying Divine Spear’s body.

I felt it. Physical damage aside, nothing would change unless I removed the source of this Qi Wind Scent.

So I tried to push that energy away and erase it too, but—

BZZZT—!!!

“...!!!”

My body jolted. Something burrowed into my fingertips.

Shit.

The amount of energy was not normal. This was—

It is not just a lump of energy.

His body was not rotting and expelling energy on its own. I knew it the moment I touched it.

I see now.

I had wondered why Divine Spear’s condition had gotten this bad.

Demonic energy.

This was demonic energy. Why had I failed to notice until now?

Was it hidden so thoroughly that even I couldn’t sense it?

Normally, I should have felt it the moment I saw him.

That did not mean it was weak. Not at all.

“Hoo.”

I steadied my breathing. I redirected the energy I had been sending out. I could not go any farther from here.

Can I retrieve it?

I narrowed my eyes. I had already cleared away the energy on the outside. If I rotated it carefully, it looked possible.

Thinking that, I slowly turned the energy around. In the same direction it had originally come from. Little by little, I retrieved it.

WOOOO—

Only when all the energy of Blue Moon Heart Art had finally returned to my dantian—

“Haa—”

did I let out the breath I had been holding.

“...Damn.”

I was exhausted. I wiped the sweat gathered on my forehead.

Then I looked at Divine Spear with tired eyes.

He was still unconscious, and his wounds remained exactly as they were, but—

“I have roughly cleared away the energy.”

The contaminated energy in the Qi Wind Scent that had been pouring out of him felt dramatically weaker now.

After confirming that, I turned to the side.

“What do you think?”

I asked Cheonrijinan.

“...Will you grant me the chance?”

“...”

Cheonrijinan did not answer. He only stared at me with trembling eyes.

And that was no different from an answer to me.

*****

“...His breathing has returned.”

The Therapist, who had been feeling Divine Spear’s pulse, spoke.

“The energy that was falling apart has also recovered to some extent. Just how could such a miracle...”

A moment ago, they had barely managed to keep the energy in his body from scattering apart.

Now, the energy that had been flowing out had stabilized somewhat, and his ragged breathing had returned.

“This truly is a miracle.”

A miracle. That was how the Therapist dared describe it.

“...A miracle.”

Hearing that, Cheonrijinan narrowed his eyes.

Soon after, the Therapist left the room.

“That prideful Therapist called it a miracle.”

Cheonrijinan’s gaze turned to me.

“Was it truly a miracle?”

“Well.”

I was still struggling to steady my exhausted breathing.

“...I worked pretty hard, at least. I do not know if I would call it a miracle.”

“This goes beyond something that can be described as effort.”

There was sharpness in his eyes.

“What exactly did you do?”

“If you ask what I did, I already told you.”

His gaze was stinging, but I did not let any discomfort enter my voice.

“I saw it, learned it, and mastered it.”

“Nonsense.”

Cheonrijinan cut me off firmly.

“This is medicine. °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° And not just any medicine, but the Medical Immortal’s art. You expect me to believe you learned it in that brief moment? Do you think that makes sense?”

Learning medicine took years at the very least. And that was only to acquire enough knowledge to treat a person.

After that, the time needed to actually practice treatment and become proficient would be much longer.

And I was claiming I had learned that in only a few months? If you counted the time I had spent staying at Mount Hua, not even a full month?

No one would believe that.

But—

“It might not make sense. But.”

I only shrugged as I spoke.

“I did it.”

“...What?”

“The result is right in front of you, so I do not know what more I am supposed to say.”

I had done it.

“That is all that matters, isn’t it?”

The result had proven it, and that was everything. Just as always.

“Ha...”

Cheonrijinan let out a breath as though he found me absurd.

“So you have nothing more to explain?”

“I showed you. I explained it to you. I even proved it. What more am I supposed to do?”

Maybe because I was tired too, my tone came out somewhat sharp.

“I obtained what the Medical Immortal left behind. This was the only way. You know that better than anyone.”

If they could not bring the Medical Immortal here, then a method equal to that was necessary.

“And you are saying you will take his place.”

“There is no other option.”

“And you believe that will be possible?”

“I do not know.”

“What?”

“There is no certainty anywhere. But if I cannot do it, it does not look like there is enough time left to find another way either.”

I loosened my wrist slightly. My body did not hurt, but my dantian was tingling strangely.

“I wondered whether what I brought back would be enough... but after seeing him today, I understand.”

The divine pill I had brought from Mount Hua after hearing about Moon Immortal Sword.

I had thought it might help if I used it on Divine Spear, but after what I saw today, I understood.

That won’t be enough.

I knew it after seeing Divine Spear’s condition.

That was true of what Moon Immortal Sword’s Path had shown me, and true of the power Seongheon had left behind.

And on top of that—

Demonic energy.

The demonic energy lodged inside Divine Spear’s body. Once I had felt that, I became certain.

I have to do it.

Damn it all, but it looked like no one except me could do this.

Even if Seongheon himself, the Medical Immortal, had come in person, it probably would have been the same.

“I have to do it. If it is not me, the alliance leader will die.”

“...”

I said it with certainty. Cheonrijinan’s brow remained tightly furrowed even after hearing it, but—

“...”

Unlike before, he did not answer with immediate refusal.

And just as that brief silence passed—

“You...”

Cheonrijinan spoke to me.

“What exactly are you seeing?”

It was a strange question.

What was I seeing?

“I do not know. Is there something I am supposed to be seeing?”

I was seeing far too many things to point to just one.

“For now, I am only looking at saving the alliance leader.”

“It seems something happened to you at Mount Hua. You have changed a little.”

“That may be true.”

So much had happened that my head was a complete mess.

So—

“Make your decision. Will you let me save the alliance leader?”

“You are saying you can save him?”

“Come on. How could I promise something like that? Sometimes people die while you are trying.”

If he wanted me to say I would save him no matter what, that was a pretty selfish thing to ask.

“But I will try.”

“...”

Cheonrijinan thought about it. It was the first time I had ever seen his expression reveal that much.

Soon, the old man moved his lips.

“Do you need preparation?”

That was permission. Hearing it, I steadied my breathing and answered.

“Give me half a day.”

Just a little.

I needed time.