Chapter 3

Cheon Hyeon-Seok POV

The day of the duel finally arrived.

This past week, I was busy carrying out the usual tasks of the clan’s patriarch and preparing for the duel between Hwi and Seolhwa. There wasn’t much to prepare, just making sure that the arena was in good condition and sending letters to all of the Cheon Clan households. My wife would be the one preparing the food and drinks for all the guests who came to watch the duel.

My wife didn’t say much. More than that, I felt like she was avoiding me. She must have been disappointed in me for failing to protect Hwi, even though I was both the patriarch and his father.

My duty as the head of the clan and my duty as a father.

Honestly, I didn’t know which one I should prioritize.

Hwi, on the other hand, never seemed to show any disappointment in me. I had failed to convince the elders of Hwi’s ability to lead, even though he wasn’t skilled in martial arts, because he was skilled at many other things necessary to become a leader.

Despite my failure, Hwi still acted normally.

I asked him the day before the duel, “Do you think you can win?”

‘It’s not about whether I can win or not. This is the fight I must fight if I want to be recognized as the heir.’

I couldn’t say anything to his answer.

I figured that even if he lost, he could make his own way in life. He could even abandon martial arts and become a merchant. I always thought that Hwi was more suited to be a merchant anyway because he was very good at using his head.

He must have gotten that from his mother, who was also great at using her head. She came from a merchant family, after all.

But reality said otherwise.

When the duel was about to end, Hwi’s last move successfully made Seolhwa lose her wooden sword, even though his own wooden sword broke as well.

I was excited. To think that Hwi managed to pull off something like that against a genius like Seolhwa.

I was thinking that maybe I could use this to convince the elders that Hwi did have what it took to lead the clan.

While I was reveling in my quiet excitement, Hwi suddenly knelt, grabbing his chest, and vomited blood.

Then blood came out of his nose, ears, and eyes before he collapsed there on the arena.

“HWI!”

Uncharacteristically of my usual self, I panicked and jumped down to the arena.

I checked his pulse, and it was weak.

“Physician! Where’s Physician Hong!?”

The spectators were also in a panic, seeing Hwi suddenly vomit blood, with blood coming out of all his orifices.

Not long after, one of the elders jumped onto the arena, carrying Physician Hong. Physician Hong, who had been carried straight from his room, looked confused, but the moment he saw Hwi lying in a pool of his own blood, he immediately focused on him and checked Hwi’s condition by grabbing his hand and sending his inner energy through Hwi’s body.

“This is bad. Almost all of his blood vessels have ruptured, and there’s even a hole in his heart. What did he do? His heart and blood vessels look like they burst from the inside.”

“I don’t know. The duel was almost over, and then Hwi, in his final attack, managed to strike Seolhwa’s sword so hard that it flew away. But then he knelt, grabbed his chest, and started vomiting blood. Blood just came out of his nose, ears, and eyes.”

I glanced at Seolhwa, who was watching Hwi’s condition with a look of horror on her face.

The elder looked at Physician Hong and asked him.

“Can you save him?”

“I will do my best.”

As Physician Hong did his best to stabilize Hwi’s condition, stopping the bleeding and mending his heart with the energy thread he sent into Hwi’s heart, my wife ran toward the arena while screaming and crying.

“HWI!”

I glanced at Hwi and Physician Hong, then at the elder.

The elder just nodded his head, telling me to go to my wife. So I walked toward her, half-running actually, and hugged her, trying to calm her down.

“HWI! HWI!”

My wife kept screaming Hwi’s name as I held her back and tried to calm her down.

“No, stay here. Let Physician Hong do his best to save Hwi.”

“BUT HWI IS—OUR SON IS—”

“I know, dear. I know.”

That was all I could do in this kind of situation. I was the strongest martial artist in the clan, but when my son was dying like this, there was nothing I could do.

I saw Seolhwa’s parents, my brother and his wife, already on the arena, hugging Seolhwa, who looked traumatized after seeing Hwi like that.

Even with Physician Hong doing his best, Hwi was still vomiting blood. I could see that Physician Hong had turned pale. He glanced at me and slowly shook his head.

I felt like the sky was crashing down.

That signal from Physician Hong was confirmation.

Hwi couldn’t be saved.

My son would die.

All because I had failed to protect him.

All because I had allowed the duel to happen.

As despair began taking over me, I felt my knees losing their strength.

“Move.”

A calm voice suddenly came from the sky.

We looked up and saw a woman with red, curly hair akin to flames, floating down toward Hwi.

The woman looked foreign. Her eyes shone with a golden light, her skin was fair, and she wore clothing that was clearly not Chinese. It was some kind of robe with a white cape decorated with golden embroidery. She also carried a wooden staff with a blue gem floating above its head.

While we were still trying to process what had just happened, the woman landed beside Hwi, knelt down next to Physician Hong, and spoke.

“He’s using mana while his body wasn’t ready, huh?”

Physician Hong looked at her in confusion.

“Mana? Wait, who are you?”

The woman answered.

“Elara Veynes, a mage, and I’m the only one here who can save this boy.”

After saying that, the woman spoke again.

“If you want to save this boy, then give me some space.”

Hearing that, Physician Hong was about to say something, but Elara moved first.

She raised her wooden staff slightly, and a blue light emanated from its gem.

Suddenly, Physician Hong, the elder, Cheon Seolhwa, and her parents disappeared from the arena and reappeared near me.

What just happened?

After there was no one left on the arena, the woman tapped her staff lightly against the ground.

A large circle with intricate patterns appeared on the ground, surrounded by a golden light.

The woman began chanting something in a language I didn’t understand.

Then, the light suddenly gathered around Hwi, and the circle disappeared.

She knelt down again, seemingly checking Hwi’s condition, and then spoke.

“He’s fine now. Take a look for yourself.”

Hearing that, Physician Hong climbed back onto the arena and checked Hwi’s condition.

After a while, Physician Hong stood up, turned toward me and my wife, and said,

“He’s healed. Young Master Hwi is completely healed.”

I was stunned.

It took me a while to process what I had just heard.

Hwi, who had been on death’s door, with blood coming out of all his orifices, his blood vessels ruptured, and a hole in his heart, had suddenly been completely healed.

It was a miracle. It was something that even the Divine Physician couldn’t do.

I climbed onto the arena while holding my wife and checked Hwi’s condition.

He was stable. He was just sleeping.

There was no blood coming out of his body anymore, and his pulse had already returned to normal.

My wife immediately began crying as she hugged Hwi, who was still lying on the arena floor.

I stood up, gave a palm-and-fist salute, and bowed deeply to the woman who had appeared out of nowhere, floating down from the sky and saving my son’s life.

“Thank you very much. I don’t know who you are or how you did it, but you saved my son’s life.”

“Thank you.”

I bowed to her even more deeply, causing her to look at me awkwardly.

“Well, it’s fine. It’s nothing difficult for me.”

“Please, if you need anything, do tell me. I will do my best to repay your favor.”

“Please, stand up. Don’t keep bowing to me. I feel awkward.”

The woman said that while looking somewhat shy before introducing herself to me.

“My name is Elara Veynes, and I’m a mage. I came from far to the west, from a country called Britain.”

I didn’t know what a mage was or what kind of country Britain was, but since she had already introduced herself, I had to introduce myself as well.

“I’m Cheon Hyeon-Seok, the patriarch of the Cheon Clan.”

“I see, so you’re the head of the clan.”

She looked at me for a moment before looking at Hwi again.

Then she spoke to me again.

“I actually came here because I have some business with your clan. There’s a question I want to ask, and I’d also like to ask for your cooperation, if possible. But that can wait.”

She glanced at Hwi.

“Let’s talk about it later, after you take care of him first. He’s already fine, but sleeping on a stone floor like this isn’t going to be comfortable.”

Hearing that, Physician Hong immediately asked the servants to help carry Hwi to the Medicinal Hall, just in case he suddenly needed another treatment. He could also sleep there.

After Hwi was taken away and my wife followed him, I looked at the spectators and the elders who had come to watch the duel.

They were our guests, so I needed to prepare the banquet for them now that my wife was in no state to take care of it.

I looked toward the woman named Elara.

“We will have a banquet after this. If you will be so kind, please wait in the guest room for now. We will talk later during the banquet.”

“Let’s do that.”

With that, the duel was over.

Hwi had lost, and according to the rules, the heir position now belonged to Seolhwa.

I didn’t really care, though.

Just having Hwi survive this ordeal was already enough for me.