[TS] Became a Peach Saint – Chapter 297

Contrary to his expectations, Shin Yi’s rough hand shoves Namgung Woon-hwi’s face into the oil.

“….!!”

Soon after, with the sound of sizzling, Namgung Woon-hwi begins to thrash around.

The crowd watching him all cover their mouths in horror at the cruelty.

Meanwhile, Shin Yi lights a cigarette.

—Click, click.

“Haa—”

At the same time, Namgung Woon-hwi’s face emerges from the boiling oil.

Once again, it wasn’t voluntary—Shin Yi had yanked him out by the hair.

“Ughhh…!!!”

Namgung Woon-hwi lets out a horrifying scream as he escapes the oil.

Though it was an extremely short time, his face had turned bright yellow, blisters had formed, and his delicate lips were already fried.

“How’s the holy water working? Feeling a bit more obedient now?”

“Ugh…! Ughhh…!”

As if unsatisfied with the answer, Shin Yi’s hand starts pushing Namgung Woon-hwi’s face back into the oil.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”

“Not to your liking?”

“Hey hey!”

“Knew it. Holy water’s a cure-all.”

The sound of a finger flicking reaches Namgung Woon-hwi’s ear as he keeps repeating his fearful response.

*Snap!*

**〈Rotation〉**

At the same time, a snapping sound comes from his groin, followed by excruciating pain.

“Kkkkuh!!”

As Namgung Woon-hwi writhes in pain, a light emanates from Shin Yi’s hand and seeps into Namgung Woon-hwi’s eyes.

Thanks to that, Namgung Woon-hwi’s melted, stuck-shut eyes open, and he begins to see the crowd again.

“Ah….”

Even in pain, Namgung Woon-hwi slowly moves his eyes to scan the crowd.

The gleeful gazes from before were gone, replaced by something entirely different.

“Cleansing isn’t about throwing out empty words like ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I’ll atone for my sins for life’ and doing it voluntarily.”

“…..”

“It’s when the angry gazes directed at you turn to pity, and then to sympathy.”

Namgung Woon-hwi’s head turns, and his eyes meet Shin Yi’s.

“When the hero you thought was punishing evil starts to look like evil himself.”

“What… are you… saying….”

“That’s when the cleansing happens.”

As Shin Yi said, the crowd was now looking at him with eyes full of fear.

But Shin Yi pays no mind and hurls Namgung Woon-hwi far away.

*Crash!*

As Namgung Woon-hwi lands hard on the ground, the first thing he sees is the pity-filled gaze of his grandfather, whom he had been desperately calling for.

“Grandfather, the washing machine’s done its cycle.”

As Shin Yi walks away, having done his job, the gathered crowd parts to make way for him.

*Step, step.*

Shin Yi’s footsteps echo as he leaves.

A path formed by the crowd as he walked, and at the end of it, a single person was waiting.

Contrary to the rumors, he was fully healed and looked clean.

“Hey, Namgung’s first son.”

“…”

*Slap!*

Namgung Cheon-woo’s neck snapped as if it would break from the sudden slap to his cheek.

“Answer.”

A stream of water dripped down from the hem of Namgung Cheon-woo’s pants, who had been watching everything from the beginning.

***

“Shin Yi. Is it possible that the mental part can’t be treated?”

“What mental part?”

“You know, like… the mind.”

The Murim Alliance leader’s gaze shifted to Namgung Cheon-woo and Namgung Woon-hwi lying on the medical hall bed, then back to Shin Yi.

“Are these kids out of their minds?”

“Ahem! That’s correct.”

“Now you feel the sense of crisis, huh? The first son is a moron, the second is a bigger moron, so the Namgung family is pretty much screwed now.”

“Ahem! Ahem!”

The Murim Alliance leader felt a chill down his spine at the extremely crude words he had never heard before.

Even the second son, who he thought was well-respected, was so arrogant that he dared to lay hands on a child, relying on the family’s prestige. If things continued like this, as Shin Yi said, the future of the Namgung family was bound to be bleak.

“Oh, by the way, I met the third son in Habfi.”

“The third son?”

“Yep. He’s hopeless too. His dad gave him some spiritual medicine, and he was running around beating people up in martial arts competitions. So I punched him once, and he ran off to bring his family members. Man, if these three start breeding, the Namgung family will be a real mess.”

“Ahem!”

“Grandfather, I’m losing my voice.”

When had he ever heard such words before?

The Murim Alliance leader had been noble since birth, a descendant of the Namgung family, and over time, he was called the Sword King and even ascended to the position of Alliance leader.

No one had ever spoken to him like this before.

“Feels dizzy when you experience it firsthand, huh?”

The Alliance leader almost nodded but barely managed to stop himself.

“Like termites, they’ll just keep gnawing away. A few more generations, and the Namgung family will be done for. The Namgung family will topple over.”

The Alliance leader, straining his neck, wanted to cover Shin Yi’s mouth.

But he couldn’t.

The Murim world is a society of absolute meritocracy. Considering the social status and weight of the name Shin Yi, he couldn’t even think of laying a hand on him, let alone speaking carelessly.

Thus, the Murim Alliance was in a position where they had to protect Shin Yi.

With the eyes of the entire world drawn to Shin Yi and the Murim Alliance, if Shin Yi were to leave with even the slightest injury after visiting, all the blame would fall on them.

It belonged to the Murim Alliance.

“These kids look just like the Nangong family. Ugh, terrifying.”

As Shin Yi waved his hand and took a step back, the leader felt like his vision was going dark.

“Is there no way, Shin Yi?”

“Hmm… Since I’m currently a Saint, I can use holy water.”

At Shin Yi’s words, the leader’s face lit up.

“Is there such a thing?”

“Yep.”

Shin Yi rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a bottle filled with a sloshing liquid.

It was labeled “Olive Oil.”

“Oil?”

“No, it’s holy water. There’s a saying that holy water knows everything. With this, the first and second sons can face their true selves, and if there’s any chance of redemption, they might change.”

Shin Yi stared at the leader, asking what he wanted to do.

After a moment of thought, the leader nodded.

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“There will be a fee, is that okay?”

“Of course. But how much…?”

Even treating physical injuries is difficult, but a medicine that treats the mind? The leader had never heard of such a thing in his life.

No matter how much of a big shot the Nangong family is, there’s always a limit to the funds they can use. He had seen families fall into ruin because of treatment costs more than once or twice.

“Shouldn’t we keep being friends?”

“Y-yes. I understand.”

“The treatment might be a bit rough. But I guarantee the results.”

The leader nodded without hesitation.

It was that important.

“I’ll give you the power of life and death over the first and second sons. Even if the treatment goes wrong, I won’t hold it against you.”

“Yep. Just leave it to me. I’ll run the washing machine for you. But give up on the second son having kids.”

***

Creak─

The wooden door opened, and Shin Yi walked out.

The place, without even a signboard, was a library that had been there since the early days of the Murim Alliance, its origins unknown.

Some had heard of it, some had entered, but only a handful had gone all the way to the end—the Hwanhwan Mansang Library.

Human level, Earth level. And the so-called Heaven level, known as the end of the library.

Shin Yi had just visited the Heaven level of the Hwanhwan Mansang Library and was on his way out.

“Did your business go well?”

Waiting at the entrance was the Naegakju of the Murim Alliance.

His face was filled with worry.

‘The rumors were understated.’

Having seen Shin Yi’s treatment methods firsthand, the Naegakju knew just how crazy Shin Yi’s personality was.

That’s why he couldn’t help but worry.

Shin Yi had asked to remove the condition of advancing to the finals in exchange for being undefeated in combat, and the Naegakju had nodded, but the time Shin Yi could use the Hwanhwan Mansang Library was only one day.

What could he possibly achieve by reading such complex martial arts books in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea?

“Yep. Thanks to you, it went well.”

“Thank you.”

“Haha.”

Despite that, Shin Yi, with his hands neatly folded, bowed politely, and Naegakju couldn’t help but let out a pleased smile.

The evil spirit-like demeanor during the treatment was nowhere to be seen—it was hard to believe it was the same person.

“The books from the Hwanhwan Mansang Library can’t even be taken out. Did you achieve what you aimed for?”

“I just skimmed through them and left.”

“Is that so…”

A bitter smile formed on Naegakju’s lips.

“Can I have a word with Jeon Ho?”

Naegakju glanced at the deputy inspector standing beside him.

“Shin Yi, the deputy inspector… no, Jeon Ho was just following orders. Please, don’t be too harsh on him.”

Like the leader of the Murim Alliance, Naegakju also felt sorry for breaking the friendship between Shin Yi and Jeon Ho.

However, no matter what, he had to prevent Shin Yi’s anger from being directed at Jeon Ho.

“I just want to talk.”

“Is that so?”

From the reports he had heard and the brief moments he had observed Shin Yi directly, Naegakju knew Shin Yi wasn’t the type to lie about such things.

“Then this old man will take his leave now.”

“Yes, thank you. Take care.”

Once again, Shin Yi bowed politely, and Naegakju walked away with a calm smile on his face.

“Han So-jeo…”

“Let’s talk.”

Shin Yi walked to the back of the deserted hall, avoiding the guards of the Hwanhwan Mansang Library.

Following behind, Jeon Ho noticed a squirrel wagging its tail on top of Shin Yi’s head.

‘Whatever happened inside, it seems Danpung is really excited.’

Shin Yi, who had been walking into the darker area, suddenly stopped.

“Jeon Ho, you did a great job acting.”

“Should I quit the Murim Alliance and join a theater troupe?”

Shin Yi extended his fist, and Jeon Ho bumped his fist against it in response.

*Tap.*

“Nice.”

“Haha.”

Jeon Ho laughed heartily, and the squirrel still looked excited.

“What happened inside the library? Did you find some legendary martial arts book or something?”

“Ah, about what happened…”