A week had passed since the day I regressed, gained the ability to cultivate, and formed my dantian and yet the Life and Death Doctor still had not arrived.
In the meantime, I spent the days adjusting to this time period and cultivating in secret, careful not to be caught by Geonu or the other servants.
It took me a while to adapt. I had forgotten so many things and that often made me make mistakes that raised suspicion from Geonu and the others.
My internal energy which is the qi I absorbed into my dantian and converted into my own had accumulated to about a year's worth.
'I had to make good use of my time while waiting for the Life And Death Doctor to arrive since I can't afford to waste a second.'
This progress was absurdly fast as gathering even a single year's worth of qi usually took months or years for normal people.
But I suspected the leftover qi from the qi herb was the one responsible for this.
Since the qi herb was a rare and valuable herb used by martial artists for increasing their internal energy.
'That qi herb really was a miracle drug... It's frustrating that I wasted so much of it because of my stupidity.'
After the my initial qi deviation the remaining energy from the qi herb remained in my body which is absorbed through cultivation.
Because of my reckless actions at the time, the qi herb lost a significant portion of its energy, leaving only a small remainder for me to absorb.
The qi herb originally contained about thirty years' worth of qi. If I had taken and absorbed it properly, I could have gained at least twenty-five years' worth of internal energy.
But what was done was done. Even after regressing, there was nothing I could change about that event.
'Still... I managed to absorb one year's worth of qi. I should just focus on taking in whatever is left so I don't waste any more of it.'
Although it was painful to realize how much I had squandered, I was still grateful for what remained.
But having a year's worth of internal energy didn't change the fact that I only had three months or even less to become strong enough to prevent the tragedy of 'That Day'.
Yet, I was still nowhere near strong enough not even reaching half of what I needed that at my current pace, I might not achieve the strength required.
The thought frustrates me deeply that even now that I can cultivate and formed a dantian I still can't be relaxed for a second.
'No... I can't lose patience. Depending on my talent, I might still reach the bare minimum in time.'
A person's talent determined their cultivation speed and progress, just as one's talent determined success in any other profession.
Although effort or hardwork is important too as a deciding factor, but in the end cultivation or martial arts in general favors the talented.
If I happened to be talented, I could reach the necessary strength before 'That Day' comes. But I doubted it would be that easy.
I never really had the chance or shown any talent before since my meridians were previously containing qi blockage which blocks cultivation.
I couldn't even be sure if I had any talent at all since there was no way for me to know back then.
'How would I even know if I have any talent? I couldn't cultivate for years. It was only because of sheer luck that I even regressed...'
Doubts clouded my thoughts as the uncertainty of the future weighing heavily on my mind.
It spiraled into questioning my own abilities, turning into a familiar self-deprecation as I credited all my current achievements solely to luck and chance.
From there, I began doubting my future path entirely, panic rising as I imagined bad scenarios and everything collapsing again.
Sensing my panic, the intense craving reacted, trying to drown out my spiraling thoughts by whispering faint and unrecognizable words through my mind.
It wanted the bothersome thought gone, away from my mind and clouding my path.
Not only did it try to suppress the panic, it also attempted to twist it into motivation, but I was panicking too much for it to help.
'What am I going to do if I'm not talented enough? Will effort even be enough to make up for it?!'
I was in full-blown panic now as the reality of my uncertain future sank deeper and deeper.
Time was passing, and the closer 'That Day' came, the more two choices stood in front of me.
Options were to run away and abandon everyone again,
or face what was coming and risk a meaningless death, either way wasting this second chance.
'No... I can't run away. If I do, it'll be just like before. I'll repeat all the regrets of my past life.'
Running away wasn't an option. Doing so again would render this second chance of mine truly meaningless.
I realized that, from the beginning, I had already chosen my path: to fight back whether I had the strength or not.
As this thought settled in, my panic slowly faded. The intense craving surged through my body, fueling my determination and amplifying my emotions.
Feeling the rising emotions overflowing through me, I couldn't help but let out a tired smirk as I remembered something.
'My emotions... they're overflowing. This is the perfect chance to cultivate.'
I had discovered over the past few days that the intense craving, whenever it surfaced, caused my emotions to surge throughout my body.
This was ideal for the cult's cultivation method, which used emotions to accelerate cultivation. The stronger the emotion, the faster the cultivation, the uniqueness of our cultivation art.
Perhaps I had subconsciously been relying on this craving, deliberately pushing myself down then pulling myself back up, letting my emotions rise each time to use for my cultivation.
Seeing the opportunity, I planned to use it to cultivate and save valuable time by riding along the intense craving amplifying my cultivation speed.
'Alright... no use overthinking the future. I should focus on what I can do right now.'
I sat in a lotus position and began practicing the breathing and meditation method from the Nine Suffering Expression Manual, preparing my body for cultivation.
'Alright... I'm done preparing. Let's use this opportunity to cultiva-'
Knock! Knock!
Before I could begin my cultivation, a knocking on my door interrupted me.
I would have ignored it and focused solely to my cultivation but I had to answer.
I needed to know who it was and why they were knocking, so I reluctantly stood up and walked toward the door.
"Young lord, are you awake? I have something important to inform you."
"Yes, just wait a moment."
It was an old woman's voice which was one I instantly recognized and was familiar or became familiar with again after regression.
I grasped the door handle and opened it wide to see the person who knocked behind the door and interrupted me.
Standing there was an elderly woman with mostly gray hair and light wrinkles on her face, dressed in a servant's attire slightly higher in quality than usual.
Her name was Bi Hwa Seol which was someone among of the oldest servants. She had been my mother's caretaker, and after my mother died, she now took care of me and oversaw the household.
"What is it you wish to inform me of, Miss Bi?"
"I am here to inform you that the Life and Death Doctor has arrived and is waiting in the courtyard."
"WHAT?!"
The instant I heard it, I couldn't help shouting in surprised hearing the Life and Death Doctor arrival.
This was no time for cultivation i needed to greet the Life and Death Doctor immediately, or I would be seen as disrespectful.
Without warning, I dashed toward the courtyard, rushing past several servants and leaving Bi Hwa Seol and the others stunned.
****
I ran so fast that I arrived in the courtyard in no time, sweating and breathing heavily. I paused to catch my breath and wipe the sweat from my face.
"Oh! Young Master, you're already here! The Life and Death Doctor has just arrived."
"Huff... Really? Then lead me to him."
Geonu was already there and was waiting for me to arrive. He must have been the one who sent Miss Bi to fetch me.
Once I recovered, Geonu led me to the household entrance, where I saw a figure waiting for me.
An old man with long white hair and beard, wearing a physician's attire, holding a staff, and carrying a medicinal bag.
Upon seeing him I quickly brought my hands together and bowed slightly in respect and to greet the old man.
"I greet the Life and Death Doctor, Guyang So Hwang."
"I greet the Eighth Young Lord, Jeonsa Grace."
The Life and Death Doctor Guyang So Hwang returned the greeting although I didn't know whether out of genuine respect or simple courtesy.
He was the cult's greatest physician, the personal doctor of the cult leader, and a member of the Guyang Clan.
The Guyang Clan is one of the Seven Ghost Clans that is specialized in poison, medicine, and assassination.
I called him Doctor Guyang, since his full title was tiring to repeat and calling him by name alone would be rude.
'Finally... Doctor Guyang is here. I was getting tired of waiting.'
Finally after a week of waiting, he had finally arrived to treat my condition. My internal injuries still had not fully healed although I had grown used to the lingering pain and fragility.
After we finished our greetings Doctor Guyang spoke to me in a slightly angry and annoyed tone.
"I heard you did something incredibly foolish and severely injured yourself."
"Ha-ha... Yes, I did."
"So how are you already awake? With injuries like yours, you shouldn't have woken up for at least a month."
"Well... let's head inside first. We can talk about it there."
I felt embarrassed about my past actions and I now fully understood how reckless they were.
Besides that I also have no idea how to explain why I was awake despite the severity of my injuries.
Originally I should have been unconscious for at least a month only after I regressed that I am awake now.
That was the real reason I was awake now and I couldn't actually think of saying that to him.
So I bought some time to think of a believable excuse and to avoid being rude by making him stand outside after travelling all this way.
****
Once inside, Geonu immediately went to prepare green tea, but I quickly stopped him and ordered another servant to handle it instead.
I couldn't risk serving the Life and Death Doctor something made by Geonu. If Doctor Guyang disliked it, he might refuse to treat me altogether.
After a short while, the green tea was served to both of us. Doctor Guyang took a sip and took a break from his long journey.
Meanwhile, I still hadn't thought of a single believable excuse to give him that would hide my secret.
'Oh no... what am I going to do? I can't think of anything that would fool him!'
"Eighth Young Lord, I must ask how are you awake? In cases like yours, people usually fall into a coma or even... worse."
"I-I honestly don't know why I'm awake."
"You don't know? Hmm..."
Doctor Guyang fell silent, deep in thought while I waited anxiously for his next response to my on the spot made excuse.
Did he suspect something? Was my excuse way to flimsy and couldn't deceive him? Is he going to force the truth out of me after all?
Eventually, he snapped out of his thoughts and looked at me with a slightly doubtful expression.
"Then, if that is the case, allow me to read your pulse."
"Read my pulse?"
"If you won't tell me or if you truly don't know then I will simply find out myself."
He didn't seem particularly concerned about whether I was lying or not. He just wanted to do his job.
Even if I did confess to my regression, he would never have believe it and treat it as nonsense.
I extended my wrist the usual place for reading a person's pulse and the easiest for doctors to access.
Doctor Guyang took hold of my wrist, placed two fingers on it, and began reading my pulse.
"Hm?"
The moment he started, I felt a foreign energy enter my body. It was uncomfortable that it was almost jarring.
This wasn't my first time having my pulse read. Doctor Guyang visited once a month to check my condition.
He claimed it was because my father the current cult leader ordered him to, but I suspected there was more to it than just that.
He was after all known as the eccentric doctor of the Guyang Clan, the black sheep of his clan that was more focused on medicine than poisons or assassination.
But that wasn't the issue. The issue was that I had never felt this foreign qi enter my body before, and that confused me.
'Is it because I can cultivate now? Am I sensing Doctor Guyang's qi entering and moving throughout my body?'
That would explain it. Martial artists hated having their pulse read because they hated another person's qi invading their body.
Allowing someone to read your pulse was a dangerous act. They could analyze your qi flow and potentially deduce your cultivation method.
Or worse, an ill-intentioned practitioner could use their qi to disrupt your body, harming your internal pathways or even damaging your dantian.
But I trusted Doctor Guyang. He was a physician which is someone who heal, not harm their patients.
So I endured the uncomfortable sensation, suppressing the instinctive fear and believing in doctor Guyang having no bad intensions.
"HUH?!"
After a while, Doctor Guyang abruptly stopped. His eyes widened as if he had just witnessed something unbelievable.
He must have discovered my newly formed dantian in which expected and have waited to happen.
I just continued feigning ignorance in which pretending to be ignorant, keeping up the act making my excuse more believable.
"What is it? Is something wro-"
"How is this possible?! How could such a thing happen?! This should be impossible!"
Doctor Guyang was in complete disbelief at what he had just discovered laying in my body.
He had discovered something he had never thought possible but was something I have been waiting for a week to be found and revealed.
"How did you form your dantian?!"
****