The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 194

“A patient shouldn’t fear the doctor. On the contrary, the doctor should fear the patient.”

Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi, entering the Divine Doctor Clinic, were met with an unexpected scene.

A secluded garden, hidden from public view.

In one corner, Dan Ak-seon was raising his voice at someone.

While his temper could flare up and linger, Dan Ak-seon was generally known for his exceptional good nature.

That’s why seeing him so serious was a rare occurrence.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

Beom Gye-wi approached Han Seol-hwa and asked cautiously.

Han Seol-hwa ignored him with an annoyed expression, and Beom Gye-wi’s face immediately turned fierce.

At that moment, Ah-du, who was standing next to Han Seol-hwa and looking towards the inner ward, explained instead.

“There’s a new doctor who arrived a while ago, and his patient’s condition suddenly worsened.”

Only then could Beom Gye-wi see the face of the doctor who was nervously fidgeting in front of Dan Ak-seon.

He looked to be in his early fifties.

From his eyes and demeanor, it was clear at a glance that he was quite stubborn.

But now, he looked as if he was about to burst into tears, fidgeting nervously in front of Dan Ak-seon.

“Is that something to get so angry about?”

Beom Gye-wi couldn’t understand.

A patient’s condition could improve or worsen at any time.

However, he frowned at Ah-du’s explanation that followed.

“He’s quite authoritarian. His tone and expression, too…….”

Because of this, some patients found it difficult to interact with him.

The problem was that patients couldn’t openly discuss their condition and symptoms because of him.

“This morning, one patient’s condition suddenly deteriorated so much that Doctor Dan had to urgently treat him. Fortunately, it improved, but according to Doctor Dan, it was a clear case of medical malpractice. He said that it could have been prevented if he had simply spoken with the patient about their condition.”

“What? How dare he anger our Doctor Dan!”

Beom Gye-wi burst out in anger and looked as if he was about to rush into the inner ward, but Cho Ak-ryang held him back.

“Stop it. This is not your place to interfere.”

“Let go of me. Huh?”

Doubt flashed in Beom Gye-wi’s eyes as he tried to shake off Cho Ak-ryang’s hand.

Cho Ak-ryang’s grip was unexpectedly strong, and he couldn’t shake it off easily.

“Have you been secretly training or something? Why have you gotten so strong?”

“Don’t be absurd.”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled wryly and released his hand.

Beom Gye-wi cast a suspicious look at Cho Ak-ryang.

“No, there’s definitely something going on…….”

At that moment, Dan Ak-seon’s voice was heard again.

“My father told me not to hate people. He said that hatred stems from anger, and anger is rooted in pain. And the beginning of that pain is mostly due to loss.”

Dan Ak-seon continued.

“A doctor is a lonely profession. Patients are always lying, and even if the patient is harmed because of it, the doctor ultimately has to take responsibility. That’s why we have to fear the patient.”

“……I’m sorry.”

Dan Ak-seon’s gaze softened as he looked at the doctor who was apologizing without even raising his head.

“The reason why we need to build a relationship of trust with the patient is the same. Even if the patient is lying, if we talk a lot, we can eventually judge the truth from the lies.”

The doctor standing opposite Dan Ak-seon bowed his head even deeper.

“I will keep that in mind. I will make sure that Doctor Dan doesn’t get angry like today, and I will never repeat the same mistake again.”

“I’m not angry. I’m just frustrated.”

“Yes?”

“I know better than anyone how hard Doctor Jang must have had it. He must have been in pain after losing a patient he had been treating for a long time. Isn’t that why he quit being a doctor for several years?”

“H, how did you…….”

“It’s a small world.”

It wasn’t difficult to inquire about doctors with just one connection.

“I understand that you’re keeping your distance from patients because of the sense of loss at that time. But if you do this, you’ll face the same situation again. So…….”

Dan Ak-seon said with sincerity.

“Don’t be afraid of the patient.”

“……!”

“We are doctors. So we must not make any mistakes in treating patients. Whether it’s a grain of sand or a boulder, it sinks in water all the same.”

Beom Gye-wi, who was listening to the words from afar, scratched his head.

“One moment he says to fear the patient, and the next he says not to fear them? Doesn’t that contradict itself?”

Ah-du smiled at Beom Gye-wi’s words.

“But it seems like he understood, right?”

That was true.

Doctor Jang, who had a look as if he had been struck by a hammer and was standing blankly, soon nodded and thanked Dan Ak-seon.

“He’s become quite mature now. I can’t treat him like a child anymore.”

Beom Gye-wi smirked at Cho Ak-ryang’s admiring words.

“He was always mature, just short.”

Han Seol-hwa chimed in.

“Yeah. Unlike someone who can’t act their age.”

“Who? Brother Cho?”

Han Seol-hwa frowned at Beom Gye-wi’s question.

This was why she didn’t like talking to Beom Gye-wi.

Even when she was being so openly sarcastic, he couldn’t understand, so in the end, she was the one who felt frustrated.

Cho Ak-ryang, realizing the situation, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Han Seol-hwa glared at him, displeased with his reaction.

“By the way, where have you been since early this morning?”

Beom Gye-wi grinned at Han Seol-hwa’s nagging.

“I was busy protecting the peace of Muwi.”

Cho Ak-ryang gave Beom Gye-wi an incredulous look at his brazen attitude.

“What about you, Witch? I haven’t seen you since this morning?”

Han Seol-hwa looked around at Beom Gye-wi’s question.

“I took a look around the village.”

“Suddenly? Why are you doing something you don’t usually do? Since when have you been taking morning walks?”

“I thought I felt a faint demonic energy (魔氣).”

Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi’s faces hardened.

“Demonic energy?”

“Here in Muwi?”

Han Seol-hwa hesitated for a moment before letting out a soft sigh.

“Maybe it was just my imagination.”

She had spread her senses and searched every corner of the village, but the traces of demonic energy she had felt fleetingly had disappeared without a trace.

On the other hand, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi couldn’t take it lightly.

It was Han Seol-hwa, of all people, who had mentioned it.

It was then.

“Where have you been since this morning?”

In the meantime, Dan Ak-seon had approached them.

Beom Gye-wi grinned as if he had never worn a serious expression.

“Some guys were bothering our gatekeeper, so I went to teach them a lesson.”

“Ah, so that’s why Uncle Cho left in such a hurry.”

“Brother Cho? Brother Cho didn’t do anything. I chased them all away.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“Huh?”

Beom Gye-wi was momentarily flustered but quickly gathered his thoughts.

“Oh. No one was hurt or killed. At least not within Muwi.”

“That’s a relief.”

Beom Gye-wi brazenly brushed off Cho Ak-ryang’s dumbfounded gaze.

At least he hadn’t lied.

“Shall we start the treatment then? The clinic needs to open after this hour, so we should hurry.”

“Huh? Are we next?”

Ah-du said to the puzzled Beom Gye-wi.

“The Young Master and I have already finished our treatment.”

Dan Ak-seon, who had free time after Cho Ak-ryang left to respond to Sojeok Mountain’s call, had treated the two of them first.

The urgent patient had appeared right after that.

So now, only Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi’s treatments remained.

“Then I’ll go first.”

Beom Gye-wi stepped forward.

He couldn’t waste the few precious moments he could spend alone with Dan Ak-seon.

“How have you been lately?”

Beom Gye-wi smiled and nodded as Dan Ak-seon asked, placing needles on key blood points.

“I don’t feel anything even when I see blood now. And the headaches are gone too.”

“That’s a relief. It seems like a full recovery is not far off.”

Beom Gye-wi’s face lit up at those words.

“Then can I go to Dokgye Mountain now…….”

Dan Ak-seon cut him off with a serious expression.

“Not yet.”

Dan Ak-seon continued to explain, trying to soothe Beom Gye-wi, who was quickly becoming sullen.

“As I said before, the energy of Dokgye Mountain could potentially stimulate the Brain Gate blood point.”

“Then how long do I have to… live like this?”

An unhidden worry was evident on Beom Gye-wi’s face as he vaguely trailed off.

However, his face immediately brightened at Dan Ak-seon’s words that followed.

“Either way, you won’t need Dokgye Mountain once the treatment is complete. Once you fully achieve balance in your mind and body, the fire energy that was rushing to your head will naturally flow downwards according to the principle of Suseunghwagang (水升火降, water rises, fire descends).”

“Ooh!”

Han Seol-hwa gave Beom Gye-wi a pathetic look.

“It’s useless anyway. Why is that so important?”

Surprisingly, Cho Ak-ryang took Beom Gye-wi’s side.

“You don’t understand. What that means.”

“That’s right! Witch, you don’t understand!”

Han Seol-hwa snorted.

“It’s useless anyway. It’s not like you have someone to date.”

Beom Gye-wi flared up.

“Is it the same as not being able to use it because you don’t have it, versus not using it because you do?”

In the meantime, Dan Ak-seon removed the needles from Beom Gye-wi’s body.

“How do you feel?”

Beom Gye-wi, who had briefly circulated his energy to check his condition, smiled brightly.

“Very good! My head is very clear and refreshed!”

Dan Ak-seon nodded with a smile and then approached Cho Ak-ryang.

Dan Ak-seon, who was taking Cho Ak-ryang’s pulse, slowly nodded.

“You’ve gotten a lot better. I don’t think you need acupuncture today.”

Beom Gye-wi tilted his head at those words.

“Huh? Come to think of it, you didn’t get acupuncture yesterday either. Wait……? The day before yesterday too, Brother Cho didn’t get acupuncture, did he?”

Dan Ak-seon paused at those words.

“Well, there are days like this.”

Cho Ak-ryang tried to brush it off nonchalantly, but he couldn’t escape Han Seol-hwa’s keen eyes.

“You’re already fully recovered?”

Cho Ak-ryang flinched at Han Seol-hwa’s words.

“Oho! You’ve fully recovered?”

Beom Gye-wi stared at Cho Ak-ryang with suspicious eyes.

“No wonder. I thought your grip was unusually strong earlier. So that’s why?”

Come to think of it, Cho Ak-ryang’s aura was also somehow different.

His gaze was stable, and he didn’t get easily agitated like before.

He had regained his composure to a degree that was clearly in contrast to the past.

And it wasn’t difficult to realize where that composure came from.

He had completely recovered his martial arts.

Dan Ak-seon was one thing, but there was no way the person involved wouldn’t know that fact.

Cho Ak-ryang frowned and glared at Beom Gye-wi.

“So what if I have?”

“Then there’s no reason for Brother Cho to be here.”

“Why isn’t there a reason! To complete Doctor Dan’s martial arts…….”

“Ahem. Why are you people who know better acting like this.”

Beom Gye-wi, cutting off Cho Ak-ryang’s words, wore a meaningful smile.

“You’ve already passed on all the core essentials that are the foundation of martial arts. Whether or not you achieve it after that depends solely on your training and enlightenment.”

“……!”

“Why, am I wrong?”

Cho Ak-ryang, at a loss for words, looked at Dan Ak-seon with a troubled expression.

In response, Beom Gye-wi’s gaze naturally turned to Dan Ak-seon as well.

“Doctor Dan. Why didn’t you say that Brother Cho had fully recovered?”

“Th, that’s…….”

Dan Ak-seon was visibly flustered.

After a moment of hesitation.

He let out a long sigh and hung his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Beom Gye-wi was rather taken aback by Dan Ak-seon’s apology.

“Huh? No, Doctor Dan. I’m not exactly grilling you. I was just curious as to why you did that.”

“Actually…….”

Dan Ak-seon opened his mouth hesitantly.

“I kept wondering whether I should tell you that you had fully recovered. But…….”

“But?”

“I was afraid that if I told you the truth, Uncle Cho would leave…….”

At those words, an unmistakable light of emotion flickered in Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes.

On the other hand, Beom Gye-wi began to persuade Dan Ak-seon with a nonchalant expression.

“It’s okay, Doctor Dan. Why, there’s also the saying, ‘Meeting is followed by parting’ (會者定離). That’s just how things are in life. Where there is meeting, there is always parting.”

Cho Ak-ryang couldn’t help but feel dumbfounded.

“Did you hate me that much? You wanted to kick me out so much that you even used words that don’t suit you?”

Regardless.

Beom Gye-wi didn’t even glance at Cho Ak-ryang.

“Either way, Brother Cho is just going to cause trouble if he stays here. How many times has he gotten hurt after we finally fixed him? Honestly, from a doctor’s point of view, that kind of patient is the most troublesome. Isn’t that right?”

“You…….”

Cho Ak-ryang was speechless with bewilderment.

He wanted to shut that annoying mouth right away, but he couldn’t think of anything to say because it wasn’t exactly wrong.

“Wait.”

It was then that Han Seol-hwa stepped forward.

“Oh, yeah. Witch, you say something too.”

Beom Gye-wi, who was encouraging Han Seol-hwa, soon wore a puzzled expression.

Han Seol-hwa’s gaze, which was fixed on something, was unusual.

And at her next words, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi’s expressions hardened.

“It’s demonic energy.”

The two followed her gaze and turned their heads.

Sure enough.