AR Chapter 117

Lee Ahn was shocked.

She had been surprised many times since meeting me, but this was the first time she had been this shocked.

Her eyes, hidden behind her flesh, began to tremble.

“Lee Ahn, the day has finally come.”

She couldn’t say anything. Although she hadn’t shown it outwardly, I could tell without asking how long she had been waiting for this moment.

“When will the procedure be done?”

“Now.”

“Really, right now? The moment I’ve been waiting for comes so suddenly?”

“Life-changing events usually come suddenly. That’s why when we look back, it all seems like luck or coincidence.”

“I’m nervous.”

“It’s okay. You can tremble. As long as I don’t tremble, it’s fine.”

I pretended to shake my hands, as if I might place the needles incorrectly. I was joking to ease her tension, but Lee Ahn was so nervous and excited that she seemed dazed, not realizing I was joking.

I would have liked to open a magnificent space with the Space-Time Transformation Technique and perform it there, but I couldn’t due to the inner energy required to maintain the space.

“Lie down on that bed over there.”

Lee Ahn lay down as instructed. She took several deep breaths. Until she woke up this morning, she really never dreamed that she would be lying down for the Body Poison Purification Technique today.

I started placing needles at the designated acupoints. I applied each needle with all my might. To an onlooker, it might seem like something any local doctor could do, but unlike appearances, it required supreme skill.

I had to infuse a specified amount of inner energy into each needle, and sometimes I had to recite incantations while placing them. Even a single mistake would result in failure of the procedure, and she would suffer severe internal injuries.

While placing the needles, I occasionally infused energy into her body to regulate her chaotic qi and blood.

Her body became burning hot, and sweat poured down like rain. She groaned in pain from the overwhelming agony.

“It hurts a lot, right? That’s normal.”

She said something. It sounded like she could endure it, but I couldn’t hear clearly. That’s how painful and difficult the procedure was.

I performed the procedure carefully until the very last moment.

After placing all the designated needles, I went outside for a moment.

I quietly closed my eyes, sat in a lotus position, and regulated my inner energy. It was truly an enormous drain on my mental and physical strength.

The needle placement didn’t end with just one round.

After removing all the needles, I started again from the beginning in a different order. As the procedure progressed, the drain on my mental strength increased, and her pain grew as well.

“Urghhhh!”

A scream escaped her lips.

Although she was usually patient and resilient, this pain seemed too much for her to bear.

‘Hang in there, Lee Ahn.’

It was heartbreaking, but she had to overcome it herself.

After the second round of needle placement, I filled the barrel I had bought with water and mixed in ground herbs. The measurements and herb combinations had to be precise.

Then I performed the needle placement again.

This was the final hurdle for her too. Though I wasn’t sure if she could hear me, I softly said to Lee Ahn,

“This is the last one. Endure it well.”

She gritted her teeth and endured the pain. I tried my best to alleviate her pain by intermittently infusing energy to soothe her qi and blood.

‘Endure it, Lee Ahn.’

Only after three rounds of grueling needle placement did I finally immerse her in the medicinal water. I fixed a long tube to her throat so she could breathe.

I had done all I could. Now I could only hope that the procedure would end successfully.

***

Lee Ahn dreamed.

It was a dream of her very early childhood.

“Can you learn the Full Body Petrification Technique for the Second Young Master?”

What’s the Full Body Petrification Technique? She wanted to ask but couldn’t. Her master was always scary.

“Yes.”

“There will be side effects from learning the Full Body Petrification Technique. Your body will swell up.”

She didn’t know exactly what “swelling up” meant.

“The swelling won’t go down. Ever.”

She also didn’t understand what it meant for the swelling to never go down. She didn’t know how much that single word “ever” would weigh on her life. She was only eight years old at the time.

“Will you still do it?”

“Yes.”

The atmosphere was such that it seemed she couldn’t say no.

But it wasn’t just because of the scary atmosphere that she decided.

She wanted to be by Geom Mugeuk’s side. She had liked Geom Mugeuk from the first time she saw him.

Did she really never regret it?

Time passed in the dream.

She was standing in front of a broken mirror. An unfamiliar girl in the broken mirror was glaring at her. A girl so fat that she couldn’t tell if it was herself or someone else was angry.

‘Why are you angry? I’m the one who’s sad because of you.’

Time passed again.

She was watching a drunk Geom Mugeuk from behind.

“Damn it!”

She could tell what Geom Mugeuk wanted to say right now.

How am I any less than my brother!

That must be the words he couldn’t bring himself to say. The Cult Leader trusted the Eldest Young Master more, and rumors were openly circulating that the Eldest Young Master would become the successor.

After the announcement at the Heavenly Demon Palace that anyone could become the successor if they had the ability, people openly disrespecting Geom Mugeuk appeared. Some even thought that disrespecting him was a way to get on the Eldest Young Master’s good side. Everyone thought Geom Mugeuk would die after losing the succession battle.

Only she knew how hard Geom Mugeuk had tried to please his father.

Bang!

Geom Mugeuk slammed the table. A wine bottle fell from the broken table and shattered.

She went to clean up the broken bottle.

Hang in there, Second Young Master.

At some point, Geom Mugeuk had stopped giving her even a single warm glance. He was entirely focused on whether he would become the successor or not. Still, she liked Geom Mugeuk.

The dream took her to another day.

To that fateful day when everything started to change.

Geom Mugeuk, who had returned from the Divine-Demonic Battle, was standing in front of a mirror.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at himself had changed.

Geom Mugeuk asked.

―How do I look?

It had been so long since she’d seen such a warm gaze from him. He must be in a good mood after winning the martial arts competition.

―You’re the most handsome in the martial arts world.

―That’s boring.

―The answer is always predetermined for questions from someone who gives monthly allowances.

When was the last time they had exchanged jokes like this?

Geom Mugeuk in the mirror was staring at her intently.

―Why are you looking at me like that?

At that moment, she woke up from her sleep and opened her eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling came into view.

Only after some time passed did she realize that this was the place where the Body Poison Purification Technique had been performed.

‘Is the Body Poison Purification Technique over?’

She slowly raised her body. The feeling in her body was different.

That’s when she looked at her hand.

A long, white, delicate hand.

‘!’

Her heart sank and then began to beat rapidly.

She tightly closed her eyes.

‘This might still be a dream.’

Please don’t let it be a dream!

With an anxious heart, she opened her eyes again. Her hands were no longer the bear-like hands they used to be. Her dream had been for them to just become a little smaller, but now they were beautifully delicate.

Suppressing the urge to shout, she slowly pulled back the blanket. Unfamiliar legs. The two long, white legs stretched out were so beautiful.

In the end, she couldn’t help but cry out. She experienced for the first time that when people are too happy, they shout without realizing it.

She got off the bed. As her feet touched the floor, she was afraid that her legs might suddenly grow huge and she would wake up from the dream.

But that didn’t happen. It was the moment she took her first step into a new life.

After getting off the bed, she slowly walked towards the mirror.

“Ah!”

An unfamiliar woman was standing in the mirror. Unfamiliar yet familiar. Because there were traces of her childhood self. How long had it been since she had seen her real self?

Her face was pretty, and her figure was perfect.

How could one face embody both elegance and innocence at the same time? Her gentle eyes looked intelligent, and there was an unapproachable dignity about her.

No other description was necessary. In a word, it was overwhelming beauty.

She felt like she might burst into tears, but surprisingly, no tears came.

It was because she still felt dazed, unsure if this was a dream or reality.

That’s when she noticed underwear and a white court dress placed beside the bed for her. Seeing them, her heart swelled, and she realized that all of this was not a dream.

―Whose is it? It’s for an extremely slim woman.

―I have someone to give it to as a gift.

―If you’re giving underwear as a gift, it must be someone very close to you?

―They are close.

The clothes Geom Mugeuk had prepared for someone close were for her.

She put on the underwear and court dress and stood in front of the mirror again. She was even more beautiful than before.

She was so happy that Geom Mugeuk had bought clothes for this moment. His consideration for her felt so good. At least at this moment, Geom Mugeuk’s feelings for her felt even better than curing the side effects.

She slowly walked outside.

The person she had wanted to see so badly was standing in the courtyard with his back turned.

Lee Ahn slowly called out to him.

“Second Young Master.”

Geom Mugeuk slowly turned towards her.

Geom Mugeuk saw her in the court dress. For a moment, his eyes widened.

He had already seen her beautiful transformation when he laid her on the bed after completing the Body Poison Purification Technique. But seeing her standing before him with her eyes open was different from then. She was so beautiful that he was at a loss for words.

“The Body Poison Purification Technique was successful. Congratulations, Lee Ahn.”

Tears finally flowed from her eyes.

“Your eyes will swell, don’t cry on a day like today.”

“It’s okay if they swell. I’ve lived with swelling my whole life.”

“Now you have to live differently.”

“No, my life hasn’t changed. I’m the same Lee Ahn now as I was before you performed the Body Poison Purification Technique.”

“Yes, you’re the same Lee Ahn to me too.”

Lee Ahn ran and hugged Geom Mugeuk. She cried in his arms for a long time. She didn’t say thank you. She felt that saying it in words would diminish her gratitude.

“Can I ask again?”

“What?”

“Why are you being so good to me?”

“Don’t ask. It’s a question you’ll have to ask again soon.”

“What?”

With an enigmatic smile, Geom Mugeuk took her hand.

“Let’s go, we need to show you off.”

“To whom?”

“Who else? Starting with the worst person in the world who called you an ugly heart.”

Lee Ahn smiled brightly at Geom Mugeuk’s words.

***

I walked down the street with Lee Ahn.

People parted like the Red Sea. Everyone stared at her, dumbfounded. Not just men, but women too. Children looked, and old people stared. Monks looked, and Taoist priests looked. Even a barking dog stopped its bark to stare at her.

―Everyone is looking at you. How does it feel?

―It’s too overwhelming.

―Enjoy it.

―How can I enjoy it when they’re all staring like that?

―Enjoy those gazes. Ah, I wish they’d look at me like that too.

―Please take them!

―You won’t say that when you get used to it.

It was the same when we arrived at Myriad Flowers Tower. All eyes were focused on her. Exclamations of admiration burst out everywhere.

There were famous beauties among the courtesans, but they were incomparable from the start. It was the same beauty, but Lee Ahn exuded a noble dignity. Even without any makeup, her face radiated light.

We entered the room where Extremely Evil Laughing Demon and the Myriad Flowers Tower Mistress were.

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon was lying on the Myriad Flowers Tower Mistress’s lap.

“Fortunately, you’re still here.”

“We waited until you came. What kept you so busy?”

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon glanced at me, then looked at Lee Ahn beside me and was shocked. Extremely Evil Laughing Demon sat up.

I thought this phrase would sum up Lee Ahn’s beauty.

Beauty that even made the lying Extremely Evil Laughing Demon sit up.

“Who is this?”

“This is my new heart.”

“What happened to the old heart?”

“I threw it away.”

“Did you kill that ugly heart?”

Knowing he was asking sincerely, I laughed.

“Yes, I killed it with my own hands.”

“How could you kill it?”

“Why are you saying that? Don’t tell me you miss the ugly heart?”

“No, she hasn’t paid back all the money for repairing the carriage yet.”

Lee Ahn smiled brightly at those words. When she smiled, it felt like everything around her lit up.

At that moment, the Myriad Flowers Tower Mistress casually asked Extremely Evil Laughing Demon,

“She’s prettier than I was when I was young, isn’t she?”

I urgently looked at Extremely Evil Laughing Demon.

‘Be careful! It’s a trap, Laughing Demon!’