A lot of time passed since Doctor Guyang's examination of my Reverse Heavenly Body started, as hours went by until the sun began to set.
I emerged from the room where the examination had taken place with a haggard expression, utterly exhausted both physically and mentally.
I was shivering from an unknown cold sensation after what I had just experienced inside the room during the examination, despite this not being the first time.
'I'm never going through this ever again!!'
Of course, Doctor Guyang did not forget to treat my internal injuries, healing them down to the point where they could recover naturally with the passage of time.
Even so, I was immensely traumatized once again after experiencing the examination, to the point that my body couldn't help but shiver as if it had been utterly violated in every area.
To think that this was only hours, not even a full day of this "examination". If I hadn't haggled to limit it to today and instead agreed to three full days, I couldn't help but shiver even more. It was a good thing I did.
Then I noticed Geonu standing beside the door of the room. He had been guarding the place since we entered, but now he wore an unusual expression as he silently looked at me.
'Was he guarding this place for hours? He must be really bored, doing nothing but waiting out here. Did he hear anything inside?'
"Geonu? Is there someth—"
"Young Lord, couldn't you at least give one more day?"
Just as I was about to ask Geonu why he was looking at me like that, I was interrupted by Doctor Guyang emerging from the room as well.
It seemed he wasn't satisfied with only a few hours of examination, so he pleaded with me to give him more time which is something I most definitely would not do.
It was already traumatizing enough to endure hours of examination while being completely exposed and touched in all kinds of areas, even the most private parts.
"No. We agreed to only do this today, so there's no use asking for more when we already settled on this deal."
"Tsk! Fine. I'll find some other way to do my research, you'll see."
Doctor Guyang begrudgingly accepted my rejection, though he clearly hadn't given up on conducting further research on my body.
He even left behind a warning. Although it sent shivers down my spine, I didn't take it too seriously.
Doctor Guyang then proceeded to pack up his belongings and gather the things he had brought. Geonu and I escorted him, as it was time for him to leave.
****
After escorting him outside, a carriage was already present and prepared for Doctor Guyang's departure. It was already late, and the coachman had been notified that he was leaving.
Doctor Guyang was a busy man. As the cult's greatest doctor and the cult leader's personal physician, there wasn't really time for him to stay any longer.
But he couldn't help feeling reluctant to leave behind such a unique constitution, one that could greatly heighten his medical knowledge and improve his skills to possibly stand on par with the Divine Doctor.
'If only I could stay longer and examine it further…'
Unfortunately, he noticed that the Young Lord clearly hated the examination and outright rejected doing anything beyond what had already been agreed upon.
That didn't mean today's examination was fruitless. In fact, he gained an abundance of mind-blowing discoveries, all of which had already been relayed to the Young Lord.
Just from those discoveries alone, he could file a new research paper to the medical committee and potentially be awarded for uncovering a second clue toward curing the untreatable constitution known as the Reverse Body.
'I can't wait to see the looks on those fools' faces when I once again present a new discovery Hahaha! this time not only a clue to treating the Reverse Body but also an entirely new body constitution.'
"Young Lord, it seems this is farewell for now. I hope that there shall be a day when we meet again."
'Honestly, I never want to see you ever again after what I just experienced because of you.'
"Yes. Farewell, Doctor Guyang. May your travels be safe and be free from danger."
It seemed that Doctor Guyang wasn't truly planning to give up on conducting further examinations, which almost made me want to tell him outright that it would never happen.
But I couldn't be so rude especially toward the Life and Death Doctor. I couldn't dare offend someone of his status even considering my status is higher than his.
After our farewells, Doctor Guyang boarded the carriage and departed, leaving Geonu and me behind as we watched until he disappeared from sight.
'Phew… finally he's gone. If I see him any longer, I might just react and do something unpredictable... or something I might regret.'
I was glad to see the man who traumatized me for the second time finally disappear into the sunset, far away from me and everything he had put me through.
The examination itself wasn't harmful, but it was extremely invasive and uncomfortable. It involved being completely exposed, touched all over, and forced into all kinds of strange and uncomfortable positions.
Being traumatized by such an experience was to be expected.
Still, seeing him completely out of sight, no longer anywhere near me allowed me to release those pent-up feelings in a sigh of relief, even if they wouldn't disappear completely.
"huh?"
Without me noticing, Geonu had silently started walking toward the house. This was unusual behavior for him, as he normally notified me even when doing the smallest things.
I assumed he might be tired. I certainly was perhaps even more than him so I quietly followed him back inside.
But just before entering, Geonu stopped right before placing his foot inside, which confused me.
"Geonu?"
"I know, Young Master, that you must be tired, but could we speak for a bit?"
It seemed Geonu wanted a private conversation between the two of us, which answered my confusion but also raised another question.
Why speak outside? Couldn't we just talk inside instead of standing out here, especially when it was already getting dark as the sun is about to finish setting?
Still, judging from how serious his expression was, I concluded there must be a reason. I silently nodded in approval.
"Thank you, Young Master. It's just that I needed to talk to you about something ever since I overheard your conversation earlier."
"?! You heard us from outside?!"
"Yes, I apologize, Young Master. I didn't mean to overhear your conversation… and that includes the misleading grunting inside."
I was surprised to learn that he had overheard what Doctor Guyang and I discussed, but what embarrassed me most was what he said afterward.
The grunting had come from the treatment of my internal injuries. It was surprisingly painful, causing me to groan involuntarily, but it must have sounded like something else entirely.
I understood how it could be misunderstood, especially given how it sounded. Still, even if Geonu didn't seem completely misled, it wouldn't hurt to clarify.
"That was just because of the treatment! It was really painful—I couldn't help bu—"
"It's okay! It's okay! I understand, Young Master. You don't have to explain."
He cut me off before I could finish my explanation. Although he claimed to understand, the way he said it made me uneasy it was as if he didn't truly believe me and had instead chosen his own interpretation.
That was deeply concerning. I didn't want to be misunderstood especially in that way by Geonu, but all I could do was hope that he truly understood and believed me.
After that was resolved, I finally questioned what he truly wanted to talk about. It clearly wasn't just this.
"Then, with all that aside, what do you really want to talk about that we had to speak outside?"
"Well… we need to speak in private, away from anyone who might overhear. What I want to discuss relates to what I overheard in your conversation with the Life and Death Doctor."
That made sense. Topics like those required the utmost secrecy as information regarding a person's constitution is only discussed between family members and trusted friends.
I had already suspected this was about what had been discussed in the room. Hearing it confirmed only solidified that.
"Alright then. Let's get started before the servants come looking for us. What do you want to talk about?"
"I heard everything when I said everything I meant everything from your constitution, how it changed, how you can now cultivate. All of it."
I hadn't expected him to overhear everything, but I didn't mind. In fact, I was glad he did.
It saved me from explaining, and he learned about my new ability to cultivate just as planned albeit a bit different than i expected it to go.
But instead of seeing happiness or any sort of positive expressions, all I saw was a serious, blank expression on his face.
"Why aren't you glad? Shouldn't you be happy that I can now cultivate just like everyone else... just like I always wanted?"
"It's not that I'm not happy for you… but I also can't say that I am."
"???"
His response only confused me further as what he said didn't make much of a sense to me based on how he said it.
I had expected him to be just as happy as I was once he learned I could cultivate without drawbacks, but instead, it felt as though he didn't want me to.
Since only he knew what he meant so there was only one thing to do wait for his explanation.
"After the examination began, I had plenty of time to think about what I overheard. I came to numerous conclusions, and nearly all of them pointed to one thing."
"And that is?"
"Young Master, I believe it would be better for you to give up your right to inherit the throne."
"?!!!"
That was the last thing I expected to hear although from what he said earlier I felt that this was going to be the case.
Instead of supporting me after everything he overheard which I expected that he would he instead said this.
He was asking me to give up my status as the heir to the cult leader position for reasons I couldn't understand.
"Why?! Didn't you hear that I can finally cultivate? Sure, we thought it had negative effects before, but all of that was resolved! There shouldn't be anything to worry about, so why are you asking me to give it up now?!"
"Young Master… it's precisely because of that that I'm saying this. It's because you were incapable of cultivating that you were able to live this long."
"?!!… What do you mean?!"
Shocking revelations just kept on coming as another Geonu revealed there is another adversity to overcome.
This was the second time someone had told me that my inability to cultivate had preserved my life. But if Geonu overheard everything, then this meant something else entirely.
That meant there was another danger that surpass the one that was just resolved earlier today, one he hadn't told me about until now.
"Haven't you experienced assassination attempts multiple times? Attacks sent by those who view you as a potential threat to the other Young Lords as you are someone still eligible to inherit the throne."
"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything? Are you telling me they're the ones trying to kill me? Don't you think that's a bit late to tell me?"
It turned out the danger he was referring to was the assassinations sent by the Seven Ghost Clans to eliminate competitors for the candidates they supported.
There were currently eight candidates for the throne, including me seven of them belonging to the Seven Ghost Clans. Each clan offered a member as a bride to the lord, hoping to bear the next heir.
Since I was an illegitimate child born from an affair with a commoner woman, I belonged to none of them. That made me an easy target.
I reminded Geonu that assassination attempts had been happening since I was a child and it is not something new to me.
"Yes, it's understandable that you assumed they were serious about killing you, but in truth, they never took you seriously at all."
"What?! Then why send assassins to poison my food or attack me outright?"
"Those were half-hearted attempts. They couldn't be bothered to send real assassins to kill a child who couldn't even cultivate, to a child who could never become a threat… but that all changed today."
"??!!"
I couldn't believe it.
Once again, my inability to cultivate had preserved my life—just as I had been told earlier.
That meant all the assassination attempts I experienced as a child weren't even something that was taken seriously.
Now that it was revealed I could cultivate, they would take my assassination seriously and send actual professionals.
'If those weren't even serious attempts… I can't imagine what it'll be like when they are.'
This was bad extremely bad.
I didn't just have that day to worry about anymore. I now had even more deadly threats to face.
The Seven Ghost Clans were the most powerful clans in the entire Heaven's Death Religious Order. They controlled the cult, while the royal bloodline depended on them.
That made everything far more dangerous. As someone born from none of those clans, I would be seen as a major threat once they learned I could cultivate.
"So, Young Master, please don't be stubborn. Give up your right to inherit the throne. That way, they may spare you, and you can live and pursue martial arts like you always wanted."
Geonu continued to persuade me while I was still shaken by everything I had just learned.
It seems the Heaven's just keeps on toying with me after overcoming one another pops up you can just tell how much the heaven's like to mess with me.
Geonu's proposal had some merit and a chance of working, but it wasn't without flaws in fact there are major flaws.
'Even if I agreed, was there any guarantee they would keep their word?'
If I give it up, I don't believe they would honor any promise. Once I lose my status, nothing would stop them from killing me.
That was the most serious flaw.
If I gave up my status, I would lose my allowance, my servants, and Geonu would be reassigned. I would be left alone broke and unprotected.
It would also crush the very reason I wanted to cultivate in the first place, destroying a dream I don't even know I can call it even a dream at this but I had held it for so long.
"Geonu… do you really think it would work the way you say it will? What if they don't do what we expect?"
"There's a chance it won't go as planned, but this still gives you the highest chance of survival. You've barely lived through half-hearted attempts so far this way, there's a chance you wouldn't have to deal with them at all."
Then it all still comes down to luck although I guess He might be right.
This could be my best chance at surviving what was to come as maybe once I give my status there wouldn't be any reason for a tragedy like 'That Day' to occur in the first place.
But this wasn't a decision I could make rashly. This was no different from the time I had to choose between sealing my cultivation or risking death.
After weighing my thoughts back and forth several times, I finally came to a decision although it might become one I might regret, but one I accepted nonetheless.
"I have decided that—"
****