The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 138

“……!”

Dan Ahk-seon froze, utterly astonished.

He never imagined his opponent would suddenly try to kill him.

The footwork he had practiced, the Geumna hand techniques, were of no use in this moment.

His mind went blank.

Even then, the dagger was plunging toward Dan Ahk-seon’s solar plexus.

It was then that a gentle, flowing energy enveloped Dan Ahk-seon.

Cho Ahk-ryang, realizing the situation, intervened just in time.

“Kugh!”

A suppressed groan escaped the man who gripped the dagger with both hands.

The distance between the boy and the dagger was barely an inch.

Yet, the dagger advanced no further.

It was as if it had struck an invisible wall.

Time stopped, and space twisted for a fleeting moment.

When time resumed its flow.

The man was horrified by Cho Ahk-ryang’s sudden appearance, as if he had erased time.

A tremendous shock surged up his wrist, making his entire body tingle.

Crack.

A chilling sound erupted between the two men.

Cho Ahk-ryang had twisted and broken the man’s wrist.

Clang.

The dagger fell from the man’s hand.

But the truly astonishing thing happened immediately afterward.

The man suddenly shuddered and then slumped lifelessly.

Cho Ahk-ryang was deeply bewildered.

He had subdued him, but he hadn’t used a killing blow.

He had intended to keep him alive at least until he revealed why he had tried to harm Dan Ahk-seon.

However, the light of life had already vanished from the eyes of the man collapsing before him.

Dan Ahk-seon, seeing Cho Ahk-ryang’s expression, sighed.

“It’s not because of you, Mister.”

“Are you alright?”

Though still pale, Dan Ahk-seon nodded calmly.

“Yes. Thanks to you.”

As Cho Ahk-ryang released him, the man’s body crumbled.

Dan Ahk-seon approached him and checked his pulse.

It was as he expected.

The man was already dead, poisoned by a lethal toxin.

“Truly… it’s vicious.”

Dan Ahk-seon bit down on his lower lip.

“Step back.”

Cho Ahk-ryang pulled Dan Ahk-seon behind him and began searching the man’s body.

He hoped to find something that could provide a clue, but there was nothing.

“Let’s go back for now.”

Cho Ahk-ryang said, then looked at Dan Ahk-seon with a questioning gaze.

Dan Ahk-seon was still standing there, staring at the dead man.

It was then that he noticed Dan Ahk-seon’s shoulders trembling slightly.

Cho Ahk-ryang reached out and took Dan Ahk-seon’s hand.

It was as cold as ice, from the shock.

Cho Ahk-ryang channeled his inner energy into the hand he held.

Dan Ahk-seon felt his body slowly relax.

And so, the two returned to the inn.

“Welcome back, Doctor Dan.”

Bum Gye-wi, who had greeted Dan Ahk-seon with a bright face, cast a questioning look at Cho Ahk-ryang.

It was because of Dan Ahk-seon’s unusually grave expression.

Han Seol-hwa felt the same.

She studied Dan Ahk-seon’s face intently, asking with her eyes what had happened.

Cho Ahk-ryang opened his mouth with a grim face.

“There was an incident in the village.”

At Cho Ahk-ryang’s explanation, a terrifying murderous intent flashed in the eyes of Bum Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.

“Who dares?”

Bum Gye-wi, unable to suppress his rising anger, stormed out of the inn, while Han Seol-hwa quietly embraced Dan Ahk-seon.

“You must have been very frightened.”

Dan Ahk-seon sighed deeply.

“Yes. Honestly, my heart is still pounding.”

Han Seol-hwa nodded and gently stroked Dan Ahk-seon’s back.

Perhaps he had calmed down somewhat.

Dan Ahk-seon opened his mouth with a complicated look.

“So this is… what the Murim [martial arts world] is like.”

It was like glimpsing the dark side of the Murim he had only heard about.

Cho Ahk-ryang and Bum Gye-wi exchanged pitying glances.

A moment later, Bum Gye-wi returned with a defeated expression.

He had searched the entire village as if combing through it, but he could not find anyone who practiced martial arts or seemed suspicious.

Cho Ahk-ryang had expected as much.

They were the kind of people who would not hesitate to take lethal poison to prevent any possible confession.

There was no way such meticulous individuals would leave behind any clues that could lead to their capture.

“Just what kind of guys are they?”

Cho Ahk-ryang opened his mouth with a stern face at Bum Gye-wi’s words, who was still seething with anger.

“Even if the ambush had succeeded, that guy would have died. He was already poisoned with a lethal dose of poison.”

“So, he attempted the assassination knowing he would die? And he took the poison himself to destroy the evidence?”

Cho Ahk-ryang nodded, and Bum Gye-wi clicked his tongue.

“There aren’t many guys that ruthless.”

Then, suddenly, a person flashed through his mind.

“Could it be those guys?”

“……?”

“The Tang Clan! They openly provoked us not long ago.”

Although they had backed down due to Jeongyeon Shinni’s threat, they were not the type to give up so easily.

The ambusher was poisoned.

The Tang Clan were experts in poison, and one could not discuss poison without mentioning them.

However, Cho Ahk-ryang shook his head.

“It’s not them.”

Even though the Tang Clan would use any means necessary to achieve their goals, this was not their style.

Because they still upheld some principles and justifications as a righteous sect.

Besides, they had not yet obtained the Absolute Severing Strike they desired.

As long as there was still room for negotiation, they would not recklessly launch an ambush.

Above all, if the Tang Clan had directly tried to kill Dan Ahk-seon, they would not have used such a clumsy method.

‘Could this be what they were aiming for?’

Cho Ahk-ryang suddenly felt a chill.

What if this ambush was intended to provoke an all-out war between them and the Tang Clan?

He still didn’t know who was behind it, but this was a very real possibility.

At that moment, Han Seol-hwa asked Cho Ahk-ryang.

“Did they specifically target Doctor Dan?”

“He knew that Doctor Dan was a physician.”

Cho Ahk-ryang explained the situation at the time once more.

“He accurately grasped Doctor Dan’s personality, that he couldn’t ignore a patient in need.”

“Could it be related to us?”

Cho Ahk-ryang shook his head.

“He didn’t care about me. He was only watching Doctor Dan from beginning to end.”

Bum Gye-wi tilted his head.

“Could it be related to the Divine Doctor or the Demonic Doctor?”

At those words, Cho Ahk-ryang and Han Seol-hwa fell into thought.

It wasn’t an entirely impossible story.

The Divine Doctor and the Demonic Doctor had walked different paths, and their grudges were complexly intertwined.

It was somewhat known that Dan Ahk-seon was their child.

It was only natural that the resentment towards the two people who were no longer in this world would be directed at their child, Dan Ahk-seon.

It was then that Dan Ahk-seon, who had been silently thinking, opened his mouth.

“Perhaps I am the one involved in that grudge.”

The three of them wore puzzled expressions.

“What grudge could anyone have against Doctor Dan?”

At Bum Gye-wi’s question, Dan Ahk-seon raised his eyes and looked up at the three of them.

“The Joint Decree.”

Dan Ahk-seon continued with a calm face.

“Wouldn’t there be people who don’t want the Joint Decree to be completed?”

The three of them revealed startled expressions, as if they had been caught off guard.

Dan Ahk-seon was right.

Someone must have disliked the current situation.

But the problem was that there was no way to know exactly who it was.

On the other hand, Dan Ahk-seon, who had regained some composure, nodded calmly.

“I expected something like this would happen someday.”

He just didn’t know that day would be today.

“Let’s rest for today.”

Cho Ahk-ryang gave a gentle smile for Dan Ahk-seon, who must have been very surprised.

“Don’t worry, we’re here.”

Dan Ahk-seon forced a smile and nodded. But as he headed to his room, Dan Ahk-seon turned back to the group.

“Don’t worry too much. This is the path I chose. I was prepared for this level of danger.”

The three of them also smiled back and nodded.

As soon as Dan Ahk-seon disappeared into his room, the expressions of the three people turned cold, as if nothing had happened.

Dan Ahk-seon might be able to move on from this incident, but they couldn’t.

They would find the mastermind behind this incident and thoroughly punish them!

For now, that was all they could vow.

Early the next morning.

It was still long before sunrise, but Dan Ahk-seon’s group left the inn.

The three people, arranged in a square formation as if surrounding Dan Ahk-seon, vigilantly scanned their surroundings.

“No abnormalities on the right.”

At Cho Ahk-ryang’s words, Bum Gye-wi also nodded.

“Same on the left. Not even an ant.”

Han Seol-hwa, who had been staring ahead, nodded silently.

To prevent any possible ambushes, they were moving while spreading their senses in all directions.

Dan Ahk-seon wore a troubled smile at their tense gazes.

“Don’t be like this. Let’s travel as usual and have fun.”

Despite Dan Ahk-seon’s pleas, the three only nodded silently.

Dan Ahk-seon sighed quietly at the still stiff atmosphere.

“I need to train my martial arts harder in the future.”

Dan Ahk-seon had also realized something through this incident.

If Cho Ahk-ryang hadn’t stepped in when he did, he wouldn’t be alive right now.

But he couldn’t rely on the three of them forever.

So, he wanted to become stronger.

‘Both my body, and… my mind.’

There was no knowing when he might face a similar crisis again.

He couldn’t show such a pathetic figure as he did yesterday.

And that was the way to protect everyone.

Having steeled his resolve, Dan Ahk-seon looked at the distant, towering Kunlun Mountains.

The destination was now right in front of him.

That afternoon.

The group, having traveled all day, arrived at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains and stopped there.

It was because of Cho Ahk-ryang’s quiet voice.

“I smell blood.”

The wind was blowing from the mountain peak.

It carried a faint, fishy scent of blood.

After sweeping his surroundings with cold eyes for a moment.

Cho Ahk-ryang raised his hand and pointed to one place.

“It seems to be that way.”

Protecting Dan Ahk-seon, they began to climb the Kunlun Mountains.

How long had they walked?

Blood that had dyed the snowfield red came into view.

And they also saw five bodies half-buried in the snow.

“They seem to be disciples of the Kunlun Sect?”

At Bum Gye-wi’s words, Cho Ahk-ryang nodded.

The red, blue, and yellow cord decorations added to the ends of their sleeves.

In addition, a unique Taegeuk [Korean symbol of balance] pattern was engraved on the back of the Taoist priest who was lying face down.

It was the symbol of the Kunlun Sect, called Samtaegeuk (三太極) or Huiseon (喜旋).

Unlike the Taoist sects of the Central Plains, which used the dualistic Taegeuk, the Kunlun Sect still adhered to the Samtaegeuk.

“Huh?”

Cho Ahk-ryang frowned as he examined the cause of death of the bodies.

“What’s wrong?”

Cho Ahk-ryang was silent even at Bum Gye-wi’s question.

He just stood silently with a complicated expression.

After a moment of doing so.

Cho Ahk-ryang pointed to one of the bodies.

“This one was struck by a powerful Yang-Gang [masculine and forceful] martial art, and his internal organs have been burned.”

And he immediately pointed to another body.

“That one’s meridians have been frozen by a viciously cold energy that has penetrated his vital points.”

Cho Ahk-ryang looked down at the body at his feet and smiled bitterly.

“This one’s insides have been shaken and all the bones in his body have been shattered. He was clearly hit head-on by a Jeonsagyeong [powerful martial art technique] of considerable power.”

“Huh? That sounds like what happened to us?”

Bum Gye-wi looked at Cho Ahk-ryang and Han Seol-hwa with a bewildered face.

Then he shook his head.

“Huh? No? We’ve been together the whole time?”

It was then.

“Stop!”

A voice that shook the cold air erupted.

As the group turned their heads towards the direction of the voice, figures running down the slope, stirring up snowstorms, came into view in the distance.

A moment later.

The eyes of the people who arrived in the area shook violently.

It was because they belatedly discovered the bodies lying scattered everywhere.

“How dare you! To kill disciples of the Kunlun Sect in this place, so close to Samseongyo (三聖坳) [Three Saints Ridge]!”

The middle-aged Taoist priest leading the twenty or so Kunlun Sect Taoists.

Gwaengdoja (宏道者) [Broad Path Practitioner] cried out in a hoarse voice.