Chapter 480

**Chapter 480: The lazy One Steps In (5)**

*”Anyway, this place is disgustingly big.”*

He had noticed it before when he was wandering around looking for the dining hall, but the Tang Family was absurdly vast. It was shocking to realize how large families with history and tradition could be.

Exaggerating a bit, even the Tang’s kennel was probably bigger than Wei Yanho’s residence.

The pavilion in front of him was no different.

A building of this magnitude, in any other family, would have been considered a palace, but here it was simply one more pavilion among many.

As it was a very old place, the buildings themselves had a slightly worn look, but even that gave it a traditional air.

Although that wasn’t the case now. Perhaps at another time he would have thought so, but at this moment, no one could describe this pavilion as “traditional.” The stench emanating from inside crushed any atmosphere it might have had.

*”This is serious.”*

There wouldn’t be another place in the world that gave off such a smell. Normally, when a body began to decompose, it was sealed in a coffin and buried, so ordinary people would never have the opportunity to perceive such a stench.

But those emitting this smell now were living people. You couldn’t simply bury them just because they smelled awful.

“One moment.”

The Director, also known as the Master of the Medical Hall, stepped forward and knocked on the door.

“Is anyone inside?”

After a brief silence, the door opened, revealing a doctor with his nose covered with cotton.

“Has the Master come?”

“That’s right. Any particular problem?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the doctor let out a deep sigh.

“I don’t know. We’ve reached a point where neither the external appearance nor the pulse allows us to deduce their condition.”

“Hmm…”

“I’ve tried to diagnose them and administer medication, but I don’t know if they’re having any effect or not…”

The doctor’s face darkened.

The greatest feeling of despair for a doctor was not being able to do anything in the face of a patient. He didn’t even have a clue how to treat their condition. And the patients’ condition worsened day by day. It wasn’t difficult to imagine his anguish.

Furthermore, if they failed to resolve this, there was a real risk of this cursed disease spreading throughout the martial society.

The doctor raised his head slightly and looked at Wei Yanho, who was behind the Master of the Medical Hall.

At that moment, his face distorted.

*”What is that guy doing here?”*

He couldn’t hide his disgust.

He had also heard the rumors that had recently begun to circulate.

The unfounded gossip that this whole incident had actually started with Wei Yanho.

He had dismissed it as a simple rumor. The Tang Family was full of resentment and fear towards Wei Yanho. Defaming someone who was already rejected was something humans had always done without thinking twice.

But seeing Wei Yanho’s face, he couldn’t help but feel revulsion.

*”I must calm down.”*

While the doctor hesitated, the Master of the Medical Hall frowned slightly.

“What are you doing?”

“Ah… S-yes, I’ll guide you now. Please, come in.”

“Hmm… You seem quite exhausted.”

“My apologies.”

“It’s understandable.”

The doctor let out a sigh.

Rumors always spread from below. Unless they were intentionally spread by someone from above, all rumors flowed from the bottom up. When the superiors found out, it was already something known to everyone.

The Master of the Medical Hall was the only one in the Hall who was unaware of the rumor about Wei Yanho. That was why he could remain so calm.

*”There’s no need for me to say anything.”*

Words have wings. Even if he didn’t stop them, sooner or later the Master would find out. He already had enough worries; he didn’t need to add more.

The doctor, remaining silent, went inside and pulled back the curtain that concealed the patients.

“Mmm…”

“Ugh…”

Even Jangil, who prided himself on having seen all kinds of horrors in his life, looked away.

*”This is appalling.”*

Seeing people rotting alive was not normal. Any ordinary person would have already died. But the resilience of the martial artists didn’t even allow them to die.

While everyone avoided looking directly at the patients, Wei Yanho clicked his tongue and stepped forward.

“They’re corpses. Corpses.”

“Hey, you! That’s too much!”

“They’ve gotten worse.”

Jangil erupted in fury, but Wei Yanho ignored him and approached one of the patients, taking his pulse.

It was weak.

Too weak.

“Hmm…”

Wei Yanho scratched his cheek.

“People who should be dead, but are still alive…”

His brow furrowed. After a moment of reflection, he turned his head towards the Master of the Medical Hall and asked:

“Master.”

“Yes.”

“Have you heard of the symptoms of the Blood Explosive Dans?”

“Of course. I thought they might be a clue to the treatment, so I investigated everything about them. But… well, it wasn’t much help.”

“Then, do you know how long those who took them survived?”

“Huh?”

The Master of the Medical Hall tilted his head, confused.

“Aren’t almost all those who took the Blood Explosive Dans supposed to have died? So, don’t you know how long it took them to die?”

“Not that far…”

The Master left the sentence unfinished.

It wasn’t his fault. Taking the Blood Explosive Dans meant fighting a battle willing to die, and more users died in combat than from the side effects of the medicine.

Furthermore, most of the consumers were members of the Demon Cult. Although there were some in the orthodox faction who had taken them, there weren’t enough to obtain data on how long it took them to die on average.

“It’s a bit strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yes. Shouldn’t they be dead?”

Wei Yanho pointed to the patients, and the Master of the Medical Hall closed his mouth.

“Since they are martial artists, their life force is more resilient. But even so, they should have already died. However, they are still alive.”

“Mmm, that’s…”

The Master couldn’t answer immediately either.

*”He’s not wrong.”*

Medically speaking, they had already crossed the limit. Only because they were martial artists could this phenomenon be accepted; if they were ordinary people, this would be impossible.

“But they are martial artists, aren’t they?”

“Don’t swords pierce them?”

“Huh?”

Wei Yanho shrugged.

“Being martial artists doesn’t mean their bodies are exceptionally strong or that their life is more resilient.”

“No, that’s…”

The Master of the Medical Hall looked at him in disbelief. It was a proven fact, why question it now?

“Young Wei, martial artists are stronger than ordinary people.”

“Yes, but that’s because of their internal energy, isn’t it?”

“That’s…”

The Master of the Medical Hall opened his eyes wide.

What was the difference between an ordinary person and a martial artist?

Internal energy, or more precisely, the ability to accumulate and use qi. Martial artists absorb external qi and store it as internal energy. Based on that energy, they achieve feats unimaginable for an ordinary person.

They break rocks with their bare hands, jump over small mountains, and run on water.

So, what happened to a martial artist without qi?

Although their martial knowledge and experience would make them superior to ordinary people, they wouldn’t be able to exhibit extraordinary strength.

The Master of the Medical Hall blinked, as if he had understood something, and Wei Yanho nodded.

“These people have run out of all qi. If they had energy flowing in their bodies, I could understand how they are resisting. But they don’t have an iota of qi, and yet they are still like this. That doesn’t make sense.”

“…Certainly, there’s something in that.”

The Master admitted Wei Yanho’s words. It was a point he had overlooked. What was important was not his pride, but how to treat these patients. If the opinion of someone outside of medicine could help, it should be accepted.

“It could be a clue.”

“Yes. I think so too.”

At that moment, Jegal Munin spoke.

“My lord.”

“What is it?”

Jegal Munin’s face was serious.

“It’s just an idea, but perhaps we’ve been misinterpreting something.”

“Huh? What?”

“The Blood Explosive Dans.”

Wei Yanho tilted his head.

“What about them?”

Jegal Munin swallowed and continued.

“Until now, we believed that the Blood Explosive Dans were created to awaken latent power. A medicine that activates latent power, allowing one to fight harder at the cost of life. That was our interpretation.”

“And it’s correct.”

“Everyone thought so. But… perhaps activating latent power was not the objective, but only an intermediate step.”

“Huh?”

“‘Activating latent power to fight at the cost of life.’ I never could understand it. That’s wasting the future. The power of the Demon Cult is not so weak as to need to take such risks. Suicide tactics are for the weaker side.”

“…Until now, no one had questioned it.”

“Because it’s the Demon Cult. What wouldn’t those lunatics do? It was natural to assume they would do something so outrageous. But… upon reflection, there are too many things that don’t add up.”

Wei Yanho stared at him before speaking.

“What are you trying to say?”

“Perhaps…”

Jegal Munin paused, as if what he was about to say was difficult even for him.

“The Blood Explosive Dans were just a means to achieve this state.”

“This state…”

Wei Yanho looked at the patients and then tilted his head.

“Why would they want to force this state? Unless they are administered by force, it wouldn’t make sense.”

“But now it does, doesn’t it?”

“… ”

Wei Yanho couldn’t answer.

It was true. Now it made sense, because there were already victims on this side.

“So they did tests on their own followers before using them here?”

“I can’t assure it. But I have a strong feeling. Perhaps the Blood Explosive Dans were never created with the purpose we believed.”

“Mmm…”

Wei Yanho scratched his cheek.

“Well, that’s not what’s important now.”

“…Yes.”

Wei Yanho cut off the conversation and silently observed the patients.

*”It makes sense.”*

Although it sounded like a far-fetched idea, there was something convincing about it. Before his eyes lay people who shouldn’t exist.

People who had run out of all qi.

And yet, they were still alive.

It was as if their bodies were blank canvases.

*”The problem is what they intend to achieve by forcing this qi void…”*

Wei Yanho shook his head.

*”First, the treatment.”*

Maybe, by treating them, they would discover something.

Determined, Wei Yanho raised his head and looked at the Master of the Medical Hall.

“Master of the Medical Hall.”

“Yes, Young Wei.”

“I’m just asking just in case.”

“Yes?”

Wei Yanho turned his head slightly and spoke.

“If a patient dies during treatment, is the doctor guilty?”

“… ”

*”This bastard… what is he planning?”*

A wave of unease washed over the face of the Master of the Medical Hall.