The Terminally-Ill Side-Character Inside of a Martial Arts Novel

Yoo Doha, who was reluctantly descending with a nearly useless rope tied around his body, glanced up.

Although there was no worry of falling with Hyuk Dojin holding the rope above, he was concerned because the rope supporting him looked extremely fragile.

No matter how great a master of the Demon Cult he was, he was still only human. If Yoo Doha fell down the cut cliff, he would be engulfed by the roar of the massive river heard from below.

If he fell normally, he might survive, but the bottom of the cliff was usually full of rocks. If he accidentally hit his head, it would be goodbye to this world.

Yoo Doha swallowed hard. As he carefully gripped the cliff and descended to examine the sparsely growing grass on the cut section, a voice transmission penetrated his mind.

[How is it? Do you see anything?]

[Nothing clear yet.]

Not that much would be visible anyway. There wasn’t even much grass. Nor were there any particularly eye-catching places.

Yoo Doha fumbled along the wall for a long time, then checked the last visible spot before reluctantly climbing back up.

Hyuk Dojin, who had been sitting on the ground holding the rope, quickly asked as soon as he saw Yoo Doha.

“Was there anything?”

“There was nothing.”

Unlike Yoo Doha, whose face was dirty with sweat and soil, Hyuk Dojin’s face looked very relaxed, creating a contrast.

Yoo Doha stared intently at Hyuk Dojin. Hyuk Dojin indifferently looked at Yoo Doha’s gaze, then abruptly turned his head.

“Let’s go.”

“…”

Did I come for nothing? I should have stopped Eun Do when he said he would come along. Regret briefly swirled in Yoo Doha’s mind before disappearing.

* * *

I was taking medicine and circulating energy in the mountains to stabilize my disturbed energy vessels and blood vessels. I was trying to return to a normal state while putting as little strain on my body as possible.

There were a couple more instances of coughing up blood, but rather than the dark red blood like before, slightly brighter blood burst out.

Ji Seok said it meant the blood was improving, so it was fortunate. I thought it was fortunate too, but it didn’t mean my current condition was good, so I still couldn’t help feeling heavy-hearted.

Yoo Doha and Hyuk Dojin, who had departed in the morning, did not return until late in the evening.

When the sun had completely set and most people had fallen asleep, Hyuk Dojin and Yoo Doha appeared, breaking through the formation.

“Hyuk…!”

…What’s this? Hyuk Dojin’s appearance was fine, but Yoo Doha looked miserable, as if he had rolled around in a sand pit. I stared blankly at Yoo Doha, then took out a handkerchief and approached to hand it to him.

“…Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.”

“Then why are you in this state?”

At my question, Yoo Doha just glanced at Hyuk Dojin and smiled faintly without saying much.

…What’s going on? As I looked at Hyuk Dojin with a puzzled face, he lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“You don’t need to worry about such things. More importantly, how is your body condition today?”

“Huh? Oh… It’s not bad.”

I tilted my head at Hyuk Dojin’s attitude of grabbing my shoulder, turning my body, and changing the subject.

I glanced back at Yoo Doha. He was smiling as if everything was fine, but a long shadow had settled on his face.

…Did something happen?

“That’s fortunate. Since the medicine is effective, it seems you’ll be able to hold out until we find the Five Leaf Fire Grass. But…”

His eyes rolled to fix on the huge blue wolf sleeping with its body revealed over there. Hyuk Dojin’s eyebrows rose slightly.

“…Why is Harang in that state?”

“I’m not sure? He seemed restless and anxious since the evening, then suddenly transformed into that form and acted that way.”

“Did something happen?”

“No. Nothing happened.”

I shook my head and looked at Harang. Harang, who had suddenly returned to his large wolf form without saying anything, was just sleeping in that state.

Is he sick somewhere? I approached worriedly and stroked his forehead, but Harang showed no reaction at all.

Usually, he would be busy growling when Hyuk Dojin approached, but now he showed no particular reaction even when Hyuk Dojin came close.

“Harang.”

As I called quietly, his tightly closed eyelids lifted and golden eyes were revealed. His eyes examined me and Hyuk Dojin once each.

“Are you hurting somewhere?”

At my question, Harang showed no reaction and just rolled his eyes, then shifted his body. He turned to the opposite side and collapsed weakly, looking exactly like a sick chicken. Is there really some problem?

I was worried that he showed no resistance even when Hyuk Dojin touched him. As I was examining Harang, Ji Seok, who had been far away, approached.

“Is there a problem?”

“It seems Harang is a bit sick.”

Ji Seok tilted his head slightly, then stared blankly at Harang and stretched out his hand.

Harang showed no particular reaction even when Ji Seok touched his body. After examining Harang for a while, Ji Seok clapped his hands and spoke carefully.

“He doesn’t seem to be sick anywhere.”

“Then why is he like this?”

“I’m not sure either, but with his listless appearance and drooping ears, he looks hungry or tired… By the way, do you feed wolf food?”

Food? Come to think of it, Harang didn’t eat separately. He took nourishment from the pure energy sleeping inside my body, but never consumed separate food.

“No. I’ve never fed him anything separately.”

“Then I think he might be like this because he’s hungry.”

Harang is like this because he’s hungry? As I stared blankly at Harang, as if to confirm Ji Seok’s words, he opened his eyes to look at me, then let out a deep sigh and turned his head abruptly.

…Is it true? I withdrew my hand that had been stroking Harang’s fur and spoke carefully.

“But Harang held up well until now without being fed anything. Even when Dojin and I left Guangxi alone, there was no problem with Harang. But why now…”

“It’s probably because his size has increased.”

Ji Seok let out a low groan while rubbing his chin. He narrowed his eyes while examining Harang’s condition and pulled in his chin.

“For a wolf of this size, the requirements would surely be considerable. Moreover, if he’s a spiritual beast called the guardian deity of the Far North, it would be even more so. If he ate meat through hunting like ordinary wolves, it would be resolved, but if not, he needs that much. What have you been feeding him until now?”

At his question, I rolled my eyes slightly and raised my index finger.

“This.”

“…What?”

Ji Seok asked again as if confused. Hyuk Dojin, who was standing beside, let out a small sigh and supplemented my words.

“She means he’s been living by sucking the pure energy in Sowol’s body.”

“Ah, I see. Then he probably needs that energy now too.”

“Then why doesn’t he just eat…”

“He’s probably instinctively sensing it. That the Young Madam’s body condition is not good. That if he absorbs energy in that state, it will get worse.”

At his words, Harang opened his eyes to stare intently at me, then raised his body. Harang looked down at me with his huge body that seemed to block the sky, then slightly curled his body and returned to the young Harang again with a bright light.

“Kya…”

Harang examined me, then trudged over to Joo Hwarin, who was dozing off in the corner, and jumped.

“Oh my!”

Joo Hwarin lifted his face in surprise at Harang’s action. Seizing the moment, Harang snuggled into Joo Hwarin’s arms and soon fell asleep with his eyes closed. I stared blankly at that sight, then turned my head.

“If we can’t give him the pure energy in the Young Madam’s body as food right away, it would be better to look for other nutrients. If it’s something imbued with purity, even ordinary herbs are insufficient but can be supplemented to any extent. However, to maintain that huge body, it won’t be enough with just a moderate amount and purity, so it will be a temporary measure.”

“…In the end, you’re saying I need to eat the Five Leaf Fire Grass for things to be resolved.”

My head was complicated in many ways. Various interests were entangled with just me. Hyuk Dojin and the Demon Cult, the Righteous Sects and the Black Dao Sect, even the Golden Blood Sand Sect. Now, on top of that, even Harang’s health was entangled with me.

I sighed deeply and ran my hand through my hair. The complex thoughts quietly settled on the mountain birds in the middle of the night.

* * *

As soon as night passed and morning came, Hyuk Dojin and Yoo Doha moved busily again.

Yoo Doha tried to hand over the clothes he was wearing yesterday to Eun Do. However, Hyuk Dojin stopped him, saying there would be problems if someone else wore them when someone had seen Yoo Doha’s face.

In the end, Yoo Doha had no choice but to follow Hyuk Dojin down the mountain with a frown. After seeing off the two departing, I turned my body and moved straight up the mountain.

I climbed straight up the difficult path with protruding rocks and roots along the rugged mountain terrain. I leisurely climbed to the top of the mountain after escaping the formation and looked down below. From the mountain, the Huai River could be seen at a glance in the distance.

I sat on the cliff and quietly closed my eyes to circulate inner energy. A cool breeze blew and swept through my hair. After some time passed, I felt the sunlight shining down on my head and opened my eyes. And as I got up from my seat, a voice flew from behind.

“I thought you wouldn’t come.”

As I turned my body, Namgoong Seolbyeok was standing there. He looked at me with calm eyes, then slowly approached and stopped at a certain distance.

Yesterday, while Hyuk Dojin and Yoo Doha were away, a letter from Namgoong Seolbyeok arrived while I was looking at the Huai River from here.

He requested to have a conversation with me. In truth, I wanted to tear up the letter immediately, but I couldn’t do that.

If he had sent the letter so precisely, he probably knew about the formation too, and if he wanted, he could attack this place by joining forces with the Murim Alliance warriors and Namgoong clan warriors.

But the fact that he didn’t do that and sent a letter first meant he probably had something important to say. That’s why I came here again to meet Namgoong Seolbyeok without telling Hyuk Dojin.

“If I didn’t come.”

At my briefly cut words, Namgoong Seolbyeok’s head tilted slightly.

“…Were you planning to attack?”

At my question, he smiled slightly and shook his head. I stared blankly at Namgoong Seolbyeok’s appearance and continued speaking.

“How did you find out I was here?”

“I guessed that if the Five Leaf Fire Grass in the Huai River was the target, you would be hiding in the nearby mountains. So it wasn’t difficult to find.”

…Does that mean it would be easy for others to find this place too? As I slightly furrowed my brows, Namgoong Seolbyeok added words.

“I sent other people to search other mountainous areas. So only I know that you are here.”

“…”

It was the same this time too. This man held my lifeline but didn’t wield it. Just like at the inn before, and now too.

“The Namgoong clan is staying in Hefei and spending time leisurely anyway. So you don’t need to worry.”

“What are you scheming?”

“There’s no scheme. Just.”

His words flowed quietly and softly on the wind.

“I just wanted to have a conversation face to face with you, even if only once.”