The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 205

Only by dawn did Sa Mu-sim and Neung So-mil return to the Divine Doctor Clinic.

The bloodstains and stench of blood all over their bodies were washed away with a bath.

As soon as they entered, Beom Gye-wi peppered them with questions.

“How did it go? Did he say anything?”

Sa Mu-sim and Neung So-mil exchanged glances and wore bitter smiles.

Unexpectedly, they had gained almost nothing.

Neung So-mil shook his head.

“He didn’t say anything until the end. However…”

“However?”

“It seems certain that he is related to the Demonic Sect. His eyes changed when the Demonic Sect was mentioned.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed and looked around.

“The Demonic Sect may rise again.”

Such a thing should not happen, but she kept having ominous premonitions.

More than anything, the atmosphere was unsettling.

In particular, the series of events that started in the Kunlun Sect [a major Taoist sect] and have occurred recently seemed to foreshadow an unusual situation that might occur soon.

Han Seol-hwa nodded.

“They are the kind of people who will reappear at any time if their roots are not pulled out.”

Han Seol-hwa began to explain about the masked men she had faced with Dan Ak-seon.

Beom Gye-wi’s eyes became more serious as he listened to Han Seol-hwa’s story.

“The Outer Lands colluded with the Demonic Sect?”

Neung So-mil became anxious at Beom Gye-wi’s unusually grave expression.

The seriousness of the matter struck him anew.

“If they move, they will clash with us first.”

Beom Gye-wi nodded at Dan Ak-seon’s words.

“We are in the same situation as the Kunlun Sect.”

The Kunlun Sect is confronting the Demonic Sect at the edge of Qinghai Province.

On the other hand, most of the Byeonbang Five Families [powerful martial arts families in the border regions], except for Mansu Manor, were located in the north.

Due to Gansu’s geographical proximity to the Outer Lands, they had to pass through Muwi to enter the Central Plains.

As such, physical conflict was inevitable.

At that moment, Han Seol-hwa, who had been silently contemplating, suddenly opened her mouth.

“I think I should go to the Northern Ice Palace.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed quietly.

Given the situation, it was not difficult to guess why Han Seol-hwa wanted to go to the Northern Ice Palace.

However, she couldn’t help but worry.

Especially now that Cho Ak-ryang was away.

“Are you going to be okay alone?”

Han Seol-hwa smiled at Dan Ak-seon’s concern.

“If you’re talking about my safety, you don’t have to worry.”

Beom Gye-wi nodded.

“That’s right. Who in the current Jianghu [the martial arts world] can deal with the Witch? The most useless worry in the world is worrying about the Witch.”

Han Seol-hwa stared at Beom Gye-wi with a suspicious expression.

She was suspicious of the fact that Beom Gye-wi, who used to nitpick, was taking her side for once.

As expected.

“Strike while the iron is hot, why don’t you move right now? Leave Doctor Dan to me.”

Han Seol-hwa belatedly realized Beom Gye-wi’s intentions at the sight of him trying to hold back his laughter.

“You’re going to send me away and monopolize Doctor Dan?”

“Huh? N, no way. I’ve never even thought about that?”

Beom Gye-wi jumped up and shook his head, but his expression clearly showed that he felt guilty.

Han Seol-hwa stared at Beom Gye-wi and reached out to pull Dan Ak-seon toward her.

“I guess I have to stay here.”

At those words, Beom Gye-wi seemed momentarily flustered, but soon he burst out.

“Why? You have to go and get definite information! Go quickly! Hurry!”

“What if I don’t want to?”

“You can’t not want to. No, you have to go even if you don’t want to. Why are you being so indecisive?”

“That’s enough.”

Beom Gye-wi pouted at Han Seol-hwa’s icy gaze. But as if nothing had happened, he smiled and continued to persuade her in a way that was unlike him.

“Don’t do that, just go. If you happen to meet Brother Cho on the way, help him a little. Originally, time is of the essence in this kind of thing. The more time passes, the less information you can find out from the Ice Palace, right?”

It was a fairly logical reason that was hard to believe Beom Gye-wi had come up with, but Han Seol-hwa cut him off with a single word.

“I’m not going.”

Han Seol-hwa turned her head away as if she didn’t want to talk anymore.

“I can’t leave Doctor Dan to an idiot.”

“Are you saying that for me to hear?”

“…….”

“This is too much.”

Beom Gye-wi’s eyes turned fierce at Han Seol-hwa’s attitude of ignoring him.

Dan Ak-seon smiled and stopped them.

“Now is not the time for us to fight. We need to find a way to deal with them.”

Beom Gye-wi, who had been panting, reluctantly softened his murderous intent.

Dan Ak-seon stared at him and carefully opened her mouth.

“And I have something to tell Uncle Beom.”

“Huh? To me?”

“I…….”

“What is it? Why do you look so sorry?”

Dan Ak-seon sighed and opened her mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Beom Gye-wi looked bewildered at Dan Ak-seon’s sudden apology.

“I went after them with Auntie without telling you.”

“Ah, that?”

Beom Gye-wi smiled casually as if it were nothing.

“It’s okay. No, it’s a good thing for me.”

“Yes?”

Beom Gye-wi burst into hearty laughter at the puzzled Dan Ak-seon.

“Thanks to you, I realized my importance again, didn’t I? If I had been there, you wouldn’t have been cornered like the Witch.”

“What?”

Han Seol-hwa, who had been furious, couldn’t help but feel embarrassed at Beom Gye-wi’s next words.

“You said it yourself. You were caught by those guys and had a hard time, right? Because of that, Doctor Dan had to face one of the attackers alone.”

“That’s…….”

Han Seol-hwa couldn’t continue, her excuses becoming poor.

Beom Gye-wi’s words painfully pierced her heart to simply ignore.

What if something had happened to Dan Ak-seon?

Even thinking about it now made her spine chill.

It was fortunate that Dan Ak-seon cleverly bought time, but she couldn’t deny the fact that Dan Ak-seon was in danger due to their scheme.

Dan Ak-seon stepped forward to defend her.

“They were all considerable experts. Enough to be the head of a sect. Besides…….”

“It’s okay, Doctor Dan. You don’t have to make excuses for her.”

Beom Gye-wi smirked at Han Seol-hwa.

“She’s just gotten dull because she’s only been dealing with weak guys.”

“……!”

Han Seol-hwa glared at Beom Gye-wi, radiating cold light.

Beom Gye-wi received that gaze and raised a meaningful smile.

“Have you ever fought the Demonic Sect guys?”

Han Seol-hwa paused, and Beom Gye-wi nodded as if he knew it.

“Don’t talk if you haven’t fought those crazy bastards. Unlike you, Brother Cho and I were left with no body parts because we were breaking their heads. We fought for days without even sleeping or drinking water.”

“…….”

“I stopped counting after thirty. There was no point in counting the numbers themselves.”

“Hmph! Not because you’re stupid?”

Beom Gye-wi flinched as if he had been stabbed in the heart.

In fact, he had no memory from a certain point on.

This was because he was seized with madness when he saw blood back then.

So, he had only heard about the situation at the time, relying on Cho Ak-ryang’s memory.

Beom Gye-wi coughed awkwardly.

“Ahem! Anyway, while you, the Witch, were leisurely soaking idiots in a pond in some shack called Subing Palace, Brother Cho and I were busy beating those crazy devils.”

Han Seol-hwa hated Beom Gye-wi’s boastful attitude, but she couldn’t deny it.

“Was the Demonic Sect’s power that great?”

Beom Gye-wi’s expression hardened at Dan Ak-seon’s question.

“Power?”

Beom Gye-wi shook his head.

“It went beyond the level that could be expressed in such words. That was…….”

Beom Gye-wi trailed off, recalling something.

Although it was only a part, he still had memories of that time.

“……Madness itself, far beyond death or fear.”

Beom Gye-wi stared at Dan Ak-seon with a serious look.

“Those guys are really dangerous.”

And he continued, as if receiving a pledge.

“So never try to face those guys directly. Never leave my side. Got it? Doctor Dan.”

Dan Ak-seon nodded.

“Yes. I will.”

Only then did Beom Gye-wi smile as usual and pat his chest.

“As I always say, our Doctor Dan only believes in m…….”

“Only believes in Uncle.”

Beom Gye-wi wore a more than satisfied expression when Dan Ak-seon answered one step ahead.

And he smiled at Han Seol-hwa as if to tease her.

“Yeah. Because I’m different from someone who’s weak.”

“This…….”

As Han Seol-hwa unleashed her murderous intent, Beom Gye-wi also glared at her without backing down.

Only Dan Ak-seon, who was caught in the middle, was in a difficult position.

“Sigh.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed.

She often felt this way when Beom Gye-wi and Cho Ak-ryang fought, but Beom Gye-wi was more talented than anyone else at scratching the other person, as if it were innate.

* * *

“So…….”

A heavy silence fell in the room.

A voice echoed, breaking the silence that made it hard to even breathe.

“They rejected our offer?”

A dry voice that did not feel emotional.

However, the subordinates prostrating in front of him could not even open their mouths due to the suffocating tension.

“And you couldn’t even bring the traitor?”

Crack.

Black ironwood, which is said to be harder than any other tree.

However, the armrest of the Taesa chair [a type of high-ranking official’s chair] made of that black ironwood was crushed as it was under one person’s hand.

A terrifying light flickered between the bulging eyes reminiscent of a tiger.

“If you have a mouth, tell me. How ridiculous do I look now?”

The man sitting in the Taesa chair.
A thick murderous intent rippled between his bulging eyes, reminiscent of a tiger.

“Is there still no reply?”

Ak Ho-gun was furious at the sight of his subordinates with their mouths shut.

He had politely invited them to this headquarters through a letter, but there was still no news.

Nothing was going his way.

He wanted to lead all his subordinates to Muwi and fight to the death right away.

But this was only a thought.

He couldn’t ruin the grand plan by being swept away by momentary emotions.

Among the Green Forest bandits [outlaws or rebels] who were looking at each other, Jang Han, who was the bravest, stepped forward.

He was Dam Woo, the head of Bokryeong Village.

“If you give the order, I will lead my subordinates to Muwi.”

“Go? And then?”

At Ak Ho-gun’s question, Dam Woo gritted his teeth with a determined look.

“I will ask those arrogant people who ignored the authority of the Chief Escort Leader for their due punishment. And using this as an example…….”

Ak Ho-gun frowned and cut him off.

“You have to look at where you’re going to lie down before you stretch your legs. Are you telling me to throw all my subordinates into the mouths of monsters? And then? Will you and I be left to do Green Forest banditry?”

Blood Demon Venerable, Mangsan Choja, and even Ice Jade Immortal.

One of the three would be fine, but even if all the Green Forest’s forces were put in, it would only be a pyrrhic victory at best.

It was more trouble than it was worth.

Moreover, a fight for the sake of fame without any real benefit was not his taste.

Ak Ho-gun smiled faintly as he thought of a way to pressure Dan Ak-seon and the Three Venerables.

“It’s a little early, but I’ll have to take out the prepared card.”

If pushing doesn’t work, you can pull.

There were plenty of ways to force the other party to the negotiating table.