SYM 58

The Hongbaek Sect’s Undead, the Eldest Young Master’s poisoning.

Just hearing those words made Namgung Eun-gwang feel dizzy.

“Eun-gwang! Gwang-ah!”

Those hired by the owner of the Golden Pavilion to be Madam Hwang’s bodyguards valued her safety more than her wishes.

As they prevented Madam Hwang from entering the space where the Undead stood, she howled with a sound like a beast’s cry.

“How can you do this to your mother! Eun-gwang-ah!”

Madam Hwang’s cries seemed utterly desperate.

Namgung Eun-gwang glanced at Madam Hwang. His tightly clenched fist was trembling, but his gaze was cold.

Namgung Eun-gwang couldn’t understand his own mother. Becoming the next head of the Namgung Clan was only a matter of time; it was inevitable that he would be the one.

But he couldn’t understand why she regarded Eun-hyeon as such a thorn in her side and was so displeased with him.

“Mother. Do you still not realize what you’ve done? You’ve dragged the Namgung Clan into this, and you’ve tarnished the Namgung name…! The Hongbaek Sect! To tie the name of a public enemy of the Murim with the Namgung name! If Father finds out about this, he will never forgive you!”

Madam Hwang, who had been shouting while only looking at Namgung Eun-gwang, opened her mouth blankly.

She had never imagined that the day would come when she would hear such words from her son.

“Gwang-ah. My son, Eun-gwang-ah…! I, your mother, did it for you! All of this was for you!”

Namgung Eun-gwang no longer looked at Madam Hwang. His tightly closed lips seemed to reveal Eun-gwang’s troubled heart.

When he checked his pulse, he felt a faint pulse. Eun-gwang’s eyes narrowed. He seemed to have symptoms of poisoning, but fortunately, his Eight Extraordinary Meridians seemed to be functioning properly.

Eun-gwang raised his head and met Ha Yeo-un’s eyes.

“Great Hero Ha! I will perform Qi circulation for my brother, so could Great Hero Ha stand guard for me?”

In this chaos of rampaging Undead, helping someone circulate their Qi was not an easy task. First of all, one had to be able to completely trust the person standing guard.

Ha Yeo-un chuckled and then nodded.

“Good. I will stand guard, so Young Master Eun-gwang can focus solely on helping the Eldest Young Master.”

Eun-gwang immediately helped Eun-hyeon sit in a lotus position, and then he sat in a lotus position behind him.

Almost as soon as Eun-gwang began circulating Qi, the Undead around them rushed toward them. Unlike before, when they had only targeted Ha Yeo-un, they were now relentlessly rushing toward Eun-gwang, probably to interfere with Eun-hyeon’s detoxification.

The first to charge was a tiger Undead. It was a tiger that would have been called San-gun when it was alive.

The tiger, with movements that belied its large size, quickly approached Namgung Eun-gwang from behind. But just as it opened its huge mouth to bite Namgung Eun-gwang’s shoulder, Ha Yeo-un’s gleaming blade split the tiger’s mouth.

The sword, which had torn the mouth horizontally, turned back and pierced the tiger’s neck. The blade, imbued with Sword aura, completely severed the tiger’s neck.

Thud.

The tiger’s head, with its mouth open, fell loudly to the ground. But even with its head severed, the tiger Undead did not stop. As it tried to swing its claws wildly, the sword moved again and cut off the tiger’s front paws.

The same thing was repeated thereafter.

Ha Yeo-un cut and cut again with his sword, ensuring that not a single Undead touched Namgung Eun-gwang.

Madam Hwang, ranting that she would not stand by if the Undead harmed even a hair on Eun-gwang’s head, eventually collapsed on her own.

Sweat beaded on Eun-gwang’s forehead.

He had to concentrate entirely on circulating Qi, ignoring any noise around him.

In fact, Eun-gwang had only received Qi circulation before; this was the first time he was doing it for someone else.

Infusing energy into another person’s body and forcibly moving their Qi was more difficult than he had thought.

He had to make delicate adjustments and overcome the pressure that his mistakes could endanger another person’s life. Moreover, he had to ignore the sounds, threats, and murderous intent coming from outside, as if he couldn’t feel anything.

Less than a moment after starting the Qi circulation, Eun-gwang began to regret whether he had done the right thing.

He wondered if he should have blocked the Undead himself and asked Great Hero Ha for help, but he shook his head. It was impossible for him to block all those Undead with his own skills.

So, helping Eun-hyeon circulate his Qi was the right thing to do.

Eun-gwang focused on driving out the poison from Eun-hyeon’s body and helping his Qi flow.

After a long time, a faint energy began to gather around Eun-gwang’s body.

While helping Eun-hyeon circulate his Qi, Namgung Eun-gwang had gained an enlightenment and advanced to the next stage.

Eun-hyeon knew that Eun-gwang was infusing energy into him from behind and circulating Qi. Something that had been suffocating his heart was released, and his body was filled with Pure Qi.

The energy that Ha Yeo-un had infused was also pure, but the energy that Namgung Eun-gwang gave was more compatible with Eun-hyeon’s constitution, making it easier to circulate Qi.

With the help of the suddenly increased Inner energy, Eun-gwang drove out all the poison in Eun-hyeon’s body.

The Greater Heavenly Cycle, which had been difficult to circulate at first, now flowed smoothly. He drove out the Turbid Qi hidden in the subtle meridians and infused Pure Qi.

“Hoo… Are you awake, Brother?”

When Eun-gwang took his hand off Eun-hyeon’s back, Eun-gwang’s entire body was soaked with sweat.

Even though Eun-gwang had gained enlightenment in the middle and his Inner energy had greatly increased, he was so exhausted that he could hardly move a finger.

Nevertheless, the corners of Eun-gwang’s lips were turned upward.

This was the first time he had poured out everything to help someone, and it was a much better feeling than he had expected.

“Eun-gwang-ah… Thank you.”

Eun-hyeon thanked Eun-gwang in a hoarse voice. His tightly closed throat was scratchy.

He had never imagined that Eun-gwang, who always treated him coldly, would help him like this.

Eun-hyeon hadn’t really clashed with Eun-gwang, but that meant that they were so far apart that there was no chance of them clashing.

“Brother, that Godeok Temple is the life gate. Let’s get out of here quickly. I’ve driven out the poison, but considering your physical condition, it’s best to get out quickly.”

This formation absorbed the life force of the living and supplied it to the dead.

Getting out of the formation would also help Ha Yeo-un, who was fighting the Undead.

“…Okay. Let’s go.”

Ha Yeo-un, who had heard the sound even while fighting the Undead, looked at Eun-hyeon once and smiled.

[Young Master Eun-gwang. There may be Madam Hwang’s subordinates or the remaining remnants of the Hongbaek Sect waiting outside, so be careful.]

[Understood. Then I will take my brother and leave.]

Namgung Eun-gwang exchanged a short Telepathic Transmission with Ha Yeo-un.

Then, Eun-hyeon, together with Eun-gwang, moved along the path that Ha Yeo-un had cleared.

Seeing this, Ha Yeo-un ordered the Dark Shadows who had been hiding until now.

[Dark Shadow, all of you escort the Eldest Young Master out through the life gate with Namgung Eun-gwang.]

[Understood.]

Every time Ha Yeo-un swung his sword, the Undead who tried to interfere with Eun-hyeon and Eun-gwang fell. Before long, they were far enough away that Ha Yeo-un’s blade could not reach them, but there was still no problem. Ha Yeo-un protected the two from the Undead by sending energy imbued with Inner energy. In front of Godeok Temple, which they approached in that way, stood Madam Hwang and her subordinates.

Madam Hwang had become so haggard in a short period of time that she was unrecognizable from her original appearance.

Eun-gwang felt dizzy as he looked at Madam Hwang and her subordinates blocking the way in front of Godeok Temple. Seeing his mother, who didn’t take her eyes off him for a moment, it didn’t seem like she was going to let them go easily.

Eun-gwang slightly raised his gaze and looked at Godeok Temple behind Madam Hwang.

Should he pick up Eun-hyeon and use light body skill to run away? If he moved quickly before Madam Hwang’s bodyguards blocked him, it might be possible.

But he was so exhausted that he didn’t know how much he could move.

Still, he couldn’t think of any other way right now.

“Um, Brother, I’m going to…”

It was when Namgung Eun-gwang grabbed Eun-hyeon’s hand and was about to use light body skill.

An Undead, unusually small in stature, was approaching from behind Eun-gwang, brandishing a blade.

Eun-hyeon’s eyes widened as he spotted the Undead.