The Martial God with Psychic Powers

Yeon Woo Jin had spoken the truth.
When the Changcheon Trading Group attacked them, suspicion had turned to certainty.
That they were the ones who had harmed her master.

If that were true, then who on earth was trying to drive a wedge between the Sword Pavilion and the Namgoong Clan?
There was one figure who came to mind.
The very man who had recently dueled her master—Lord of the White Flag Sword Sect.

But it was difficult to believe that a sect under Mushincheon would resort to something so despicable.
“There seems to be someone you suspect,” Yeon Woo Jin said.
The Sub-Head nodded.

“But he… is the head of a sect under Mushincheon. Sects under Mushincheon are strictly forbidden from doing such underhanded things.”
Yeon Woo Jin’s expression stiffened at the mention of Mushincheon.
“Where is this sect located?”
“The White Flag Sword Sect.”

“The White Flag Sword Sect?”
At that moment, a voice transmission echoed in Yeon Woo Jin’s ear.
—Ranked twelfth under Mushincheon. The sect master’s name is Tang So Un. He’s reportedly at the Sixth Star of the Hwagyeong realm.

—What about his personality?
—Reputedly excellent. Mild-mannered and known for his kindness to those around him.
—That personality could be a façade. Can you investigate further?

—Understood!
As he sensed the qi presence vanish in an instant, Yeon Woo Jin spoke.
“I’ve heard of him. But as far as I know, the master of the White Flag Sword Sect is well-regarded.”

“That’s right. That’s why my master didn’t reject him outright when he confessed his feelings. She gave him a chance to prove himself in battle.”
“Is it possible for members of the Sword Pavilion to marry?”
“Of course. They’re simply classified as ‘married branch’ after that. They’re still disciples of the Pavilion.”

“So if the Lord of the White Flag Sword Sect had won, the Pavilion Master would’ve left as a married branch?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So even Pavilion Masters aren’t exempt.”

“No. But typically, they don’t choose marriage. Most who come to the Pavilion do so out of love for the sword, to pursue cultivation.”
“Whatever the case, the Lord of the White Flag Sword Sect is the most likely suspect for now.”
“Could he really have plotted something like this?”
“Who knows. You can see the bottom of a ten-foot river, but not the depth of a person’s heart.”

The Sub-Head was startled by how naturally she was speaking with Yeon Woo Jin.
She had never held a conversation with a man for this long.
She wasn’t the kind of person who could talk easily with men—yet here she was, talking with ease.

And the more they spoke, the more her guard toward him seemed to lower.
No! I can’t let my guard down!
…she told herself, trying to be cautious, but her resolve kept weakening.

What on earth is wrong with me?
Did this man cast some kind of dark spell on me?
“Come to think of it, we don’t even know each other’s names yet. I’m Yeon Woo Jin,” he said, introducing himself.

The Sub-Head hesitated.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I must’ve subconsciously thought we’d grown close.”
As Yeon Woo Jin took a small step back, she hurriedly spoke.

“N-no! I… It’s just… This is the first time I’ve told a man my name…”
“Really?”
“Yes. I… I’m Baek Nan Hyang…”

“Then let’s find the one who did this to your Pavilion Master—together.”
“…Yes.”
She should have refused—but the words kept coming out against her will.

She was afraid that if she rejected him, this man before her might drift away.
Baek Nan Hyang—the Sub-Head—was scared of that possibility.
“Then shall we begin the treatment?”
“Right now?”

“Yes.”
Clack—
Yeon Woo Jin opened his acupuncture case.

“W-wait! To apply acupuncture… don’t we have to remove her clothes?”
“Of course.”
“A-and you’ll have to touch her body too?”

“Probably?”
“No! You can’t!”
“Well, can’t be helped. Alright, then—I’ll needle her without touching her.”

“What?”
“I won’t remove her clothes either. It’ll be a little harder, but it’s not impossible.”
Is that even possible?

Was this man joking right now?
“What? Is there something else you need me to do?”
“Th-that’s not…”

“Then I’ll take that as permission and begin.”
Baek Nan Hyang couldn’t help but wonder how on earth he was going to perform acupuncture without removing her master’s clothes or touching her.
“Would you mind just pulling the blanket back a bit?”

“Huh? Oh. Yes.”
Just the blanket, right?
Baek Nan Hyang pulled back the blanket and turned—and saw something floating in the air.

Upon closer inspection, they were fine, slender acupuncture needles.
‘Qi Manifestation?’
Even if they were light, to suspend that many needles in the air at once…

The floating needles slowly began to move toward Yeo Hwa Rin.
What if a needle went in wrong?
At that moment, something even more astonishing happened.

Whirrr—
Yeo Hwa Rin’s body slowly began to rise into the air.
“I need to apply the needles to her entire body.”

He was casually speaking while levitating a person through manifested qi.
She couldn’t even do that herself.
As Baek Nan Hyang stared at him in disbelief, Yeon Woo Jin offered her a smile and resumed his focus.

Papapak—
While she was still stunned, the fine needles began to pierce Yeo Hwa Rin’s body.
In the blink of an eye, her entire body was studded with needles.

She looked like a human cactus.
Just as Baek Nan Hyang thought it was over—
A sudden crackle of lightning erupted from Yeon Woo Jin’s body.

How much more was she supposed to be shocked?
Among all the energies that existed in the world, lightning qi was said to be the hardest to master—yet he was manifesting it while still maintaining the airborne acupuncture.
The lightning coursed through him and into the needles embedded in Yeo Hwa Rin’s body.

Crackle—!
And in an instant, her body began to react to the lightning.
Her muscles spasmed violently.

Cough—!
At the same time, a gush of black {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} blood erupted from her mouth.
“Pavilion Master!”

“It’s the residual poison that remained in her body.”
Baek Nan Hyang believed him.
A man who could wield power like this—what reason would he have to lie?

Papapat—!
The needles that had been embedded in Yeo Hwa Rin’s body all withdrew at once, and her body was slowly lowered back onto the bed.
Her complexion was visibly improved compared to earlier.

She really was healing—Baek Nan Hyang could see it with her own eyes.
At that moment, Yeo Hwa Rin opened her eyes and slowly rose from the bed.
She examined her now noticeably lighter body.

Then turned her head toward Baek Nan Hyang and Yeon Woo Jin.
“Pavilion Master! Are you alright?”
“You silly girl. I’m fine.”

“Are you really alright?”
“Yes. I haven’t felt this refreshed in ages.”
She looked down at Baek Nan Hyang, who was tightly clutching her hand, with an affectionate smile—then shifted her gaze to Yeon Woo Jin.

“And who might he be?”
“Oh! He’s the physician who healed the Namgoong Clan’s matron. I told you when I brought the blood sample.”
“So he’s the one who treated me?”

“Yes. I brought him just in case…”
“You’re truly a master physician.”
Yeo Hwa Rin stood up from the bed and walked over to Yeon Woo Jin, bowing deeply at the waist.

“Thank you. My body feels so much lighter, thanks to you.”
“I’m glad. Now that you’re awake, I can explain things directly.”
“Explain?”

“Yes. The real treatment begins now—but it’s going to be quite painful.”
“Painful, you say.”
“Yes. So painful that most people would faint.”

Yeo Hwa Rin smiled faintly.
“If I endure the pain… will I be able to use martial arts again?”
“Yes.”

“……!”
Yeo Hwa Rin already knew the state of her own body.
She had felt it the moment she awoke.

Her qi would not gather.
Despair had crept in quietly—but Yeon Woo Jin had given her hope.
“Then even if it feels like my limbs are being torn off, I can endure it. No—I will endure it. Please. I beg you. Heal me.”

“There’s no need to worry. This is my specialty.”
That one word—specialty—made her trust him even more.
“Then I leave myself in your hands.”

“While the treatment is ongoing, no one is to enter this room under any circumstances.”
At Yeon Woo Jin’s words, Yeo Hwa Rin turned to Baek Nan Hyang and handed her the Pavilion Master’s command token.
“Until I give the order, no one is to set foot in here.”

“Yes, Master!”
“Is that sufficient?”
“Yes. I’ll need to prepare for today, so we’ll begin the true treatment tomorrow.”

 
****
Gong the Physician, the sole medical practitioner of the Sword Pavilion, broke into a satisfied smile when he heard the order forbidding anyone from entering the Pavilion Master's chamber.

It likely meant her condition had become critical.
They would come looking for him soon enough.
And then they would realize—

How precious he was.
How necessary he was.
Gong the Physician held a medicine bottle in his hand and grinned wickedly.

Inside it was the antidote that could neutralize her poisoning.
She could no longer wield martial arts.
And she would have no choice but to rely on him.

Because he had no intention of curing her completely.
If she didn’t want to suffer, she would have to obey him.
‘Just a little longer, and she’ll be mine.’

Gong the Physician had long harbored feelings for Yeo Hwa Rin.
But then another man came along—someone else who desired her.
The Lord of the White Flag Sword Sect.

Panic had surged through Gong.
If the Sword Sect Lord won, he would lose her forever.
So before Yeo Hwa Rin’s duel with him, Gong had given her Gwehyeoldok—a twisted poison disguised as a tonic.

Gwehyeoldok could temporarily boost one’s internal power—but only if taken in conjunction with the proper procedures.
Without that, if one simply tried to force the energy to rise, the sudden power might spike, but the damage to the danjeon could lead to qigong deviation.
Thanks to Gwehyeoldok, Yeo Hwa Rin had overwhelmed the White Flag Sect Lord in their duel.

But not long after, the poison’s true nature began to unravel her qi and injure her danjeon.
She had tried to correct the flow herself, but in the end, she had succumbed to deviation.
Gong smiled smugly.

It was time to bring his grand plan to its conclusion.
Naturally, the Pavilion would now scramble to treat the deviation.
That’s when he began administering herbs that were specifically antagonistic to those used in such treatment.

The herbs alone had restorative effects on the body and posed no overt threat.
In fact, they worked almost like tonics.
But the moment a deviation-curing medicine entered the body?

They would transform into poison.
Not a poison that killed—but one that would cause lifelong agony.
However, there was one thing Gong had failed to account for.

In an effort to avoid suspicion, he had continued giving her the antagonistic herbs—causing their toxicity to double.
If Yeon Woo Jin hadn’t been nearby, Yeo Hwa Rin would already be a corpse.
But Gong remained blissfully unaware of that.

He was still savoring his perfect fantasy.
Though he could no longer function as a man, that didn’t stop him from loving her.
After all, love didn’t have to be physical.

And there was another victim of his perfect scheme—
The Namgoong Clan, suppliers of the Pavilion’s medicinal herbs.
If the Sword Pavilion and the Namgoong Clan clashed and the latter weakened, Gong could use the forces he had secretly built to devour the Pavilion whole.

The martial arts those forces had learned?
They were the Sword Pavilion’s very own techniques.
Of course, they lacked the Pavilion’s internal cultivation method, so they had been trained using a different one.

Which explained why the flow of their qi had been so unnatural.
Gong was dreaming of the day he would become the Pavilion Master himself, bringing happiness to Yeo Hwa Rin.
How could a man become the Pavilion Master?

Because he had mastered the legendary martial art Sunflower Manual (Gyuhwa Bojeon).
His body was gradually becoming that of a woman.
Soon, it would be complete.

All that remained was to eliminate the thorn in his side—Baek Nan Hyang.
For that, the Namgoong Clan’s role was critical.
They had to sap as much of her strength as possible.

Then he would appear to “treat” her in her weakened state—and dispose of her quietly.
Her death would be blamed on the Namgoong Clan.
And once the crisis reached its peak, he would unleash his secret forces to “save” the Sword Pavilion.

Yeo Hwa Rin would be moved by the act—and come to love him.
Gong the Physician smiled in anticipation, waiting for the moment Yeo Hwa Rin would come searching for him.
Just a little more, and she would be completely his.

He smiled, drunk on expectation.
 
****

Crunch—
“Ghhhk!”
Yeo Hwa Rin clenched her teeth, enduring the pain as Baek Nan Hyang paced anxiously outside the room.

But there was nothing she could do.
All she could do was press her hands together and pray with all her heart.
No—she had no choice but to trust in Yeon Woo Jin.

Thud—
Unable to bear the excruciating pain any longer, Yeo Hwa Rin finally lost consciousness.
The moment the sound died down, Baek Nan Hyang rushed in and checked on her.

“P-Pavilion Master… she really is going to be okay, right?”
“Yes. Her condition was worse than I expected. The pain must have been more severe because of that.”
“It was really that bad?”

Yeon Woo Jin nodded.
“She completely damaged her qi flow and danjeon by ingesting Gwehyeoldok before her duel with the White Flag Sect Lord. On top of that, she overused certain tonics under the guise of treatment.”
“Gwehyeoldok…?”

“Yes. It looks like she took it just before the fight.”
“There was a special pill the physician Gong made… he said it was something he had prepared just for her… No way—could it have been that?”