The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 208

The Great War (1)

A slightly earlier dinner than usual.

Everyone except Cho Ak-ryang had gathered for the first time in a while.

Despite this, the atmosphere was heavy.

It was because of Ryung So-mil’s report on the Green Forest.

Dan Ak-seon opened her mouth with worried eyes.

“Is what they want ultimately him?”

Jin Young-san, whom the Green Forest called a traitor, was still receiving treatment at the Divine Healer Family.

Ryung So-mil shook his head with a complicated expression.

“It seems they are escalating things too much to simply want that.”

“Do you mean they have another purpose?”

At Dan Ak-seon’s question, Ryung So-mil sighed softly.

“It’s not that I have no idea…”

“What is it?”

“Perhaps the biggest reason is that Master Gok-ju did not respond to the invitation letter sent by Ak Ho-gun.”

Dan Ak-seon tilted her head.

“I actually found that strange too. I have no interaction or connection with that person, so why would he want to meet me?”

“The most likely reason is a proposal for an alliance.”

“You mean they want to join hands with us?”

Dan Ak-seon, who had been questioning, soon realized something.

“It’s because of the Murim Alliance [a coalition of martial arts clans].”

Ryung So-mil nodded.

“In reality, the Green Forest is having quite a hard time due to the Murim Alliance’s offensive. It’s been quite a while since the mountain fortresses stopped operating, so they must be starting to feel impatient.”

The power of the evil sects gathered in Muwi was not something to be ignored.

Each of them had survived the orthodox sects’ relentless pursuit and extermination orders for a long time.

Their martial arts were considerable, and their cunning, accumulated through experience, was also profound.

“And there are also three seniors. They must have thought that if they joined hands with us, they could sufficiently win the fight against the Murim Alliance, which is a union of noble families.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed, casting a complicated gaze.

“Hoo. We are not a Murim force, so why would they think that? This place is just a village for people with nowhere else to go.”

At Dan Ak-seon’s words, Ryung So-mil smiled bitterly.

He knew why she felt that way, but he wondered how many Murim people would actually think that way.

“Currently, we are operating by using trading companies as a means to avoid direct conflict with them, but there is also a more proactive countermeasure.”

“What is it?”

Dan Ak-seon, who had been delighted, couldn’t hide her disappointment at Ryung So-mil’s subsequent words.

“It is to join hands with the Murim Alliance, which is hostile to the Green Forest.”

“Ah…”

“Even if we don’t actually join hands with the Murim Alliance, just showing such a move would be enough. From the Green Forest’s perspective, it would be like increasing the number of difficult enemies, so they would have no choice but to withdraw their current decision.”

Dan Ak-seon shook her head.

“The Murim Alliance won’t help us.”

The venomous look in Jegal Yeon’s eyes when they announced the circular letter at the Gaebang’s [丐帮, Beggars’ Sect, a large and influential group often involved in intelligence gathering] headquarters was still vivid in her memory.

“They know that too, so they’re acting so blatantly. And perhaps…”

Dan Ak-seon looked at the people gathered in the room with a heavy face.

“The Murim Alliance may be deliberately standing by and watching this situation.”

“Come to think of it…”

Ryung So-mil made a sound as if he was thinking about something.

Indeed, there was something strange.

Even though the Green Forest had resumed its activities, the Murim Alliance’s response was too lukewarm.

“They may be aiming for the fisherman’s profit [waiting for both sides to weaken each other before intervening].”

At Ryung So-mil’s words, Dan Ak-seon nodded.

“Or they may be waiting for us to contact them first. And they will set conditions in exchange for helping us.”

If it was Jegal Yeon, she would be more than capable of doing that.

“I thought it would be enough to just protect Muwi, but I think I underestimated the world too much.”

At Dan Ak-seon’s words, Ryung So-mil smiled and offered comfort.

“There’s no need to blame yourself so much. Master Gok-ju has always made the right decisions.”

There was a reason why the saying ‘Trees may wish to be still, but the wind will not cease’ existed.

The Divine Healer Family and the Divine Merchant Guild had greatly extended their branches on the tree called Muwi.

However, the worry was whether those branches would break one day due to the wind they had embraced.

In reality, the number of enemies was increasing, and there were more things to protect, but the available resources that could be used immediately were limited.

“Will things like this continue to happen in the future?”

Dan Ak-seon’s voice was full of worry.

“I just wanted to build a medical center with people I like and treat sick people.”

Beom Gye-wi offered comfort to Dan Ak-seon.

“Doctor Dan, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Then, he slowly got up.

“Don’t worry. I’ll go and take care of it.”

“Please don’t.”

Dan Ak-seon was surprised and tried to stop Beom Gye-wi.

She knew his preferred method of solving problems better than anyone else.

However, Han Seol-hwa, who would usually say something, surprisingly sided with Beom Gye-wi this time.

“This seems to be the best way this time. Ak Ho-gun is a cunning and greedy bastard. He’s not someone you can reason with by appealing to morality.”

“That’s not why I’m saying that.”

Dan Ak-seon explained her reasons.

“There haven’t been any casualties on either side yet. If we attack them first in that situation, we’ll be giving them justification.”

Beom Gye-wi paused at the word ‘casualties’.

He remembered beating up some of the Green Forest members who had come to capture Jin Young-san.

‘Well, that was outside of Muwi, so it doesn’t count.’

While he was busy rationalizing himself.

So Jeok-san burst through the door and shouted at Ryung So-mil.

“Chief! Something terrible has happened!”

“What is it this time?”

Ryung So-mil couldn’t hide his bewilderment and asked back.

So Jeok-san, who was panting as if he had rushed over, hurriedly handed over a note attached to a messenger pigeon.

“It’s a message from the Guangdong branch. There’s been an accident there.”

“An accident?”

Ryung So-mil snatched the message and checked its contents, then flinched and froze on the spot.

“A Murim person traveling with the merchant guild killed a Green Forest bandit?”

And it wasn’t just one person.

They had slaughtered them all, leaving only a few to report to Ak Ho-gun, the Chief Escort.

Unable to speak from the absurdity, Ryung So-mil couldn’t continue.

Dan Ak-seon hurriedly asked.

“Any casualties on our side?”

“No.”

“That’s a relief.”

Unlike Dan Ak-seon, who let out a sigh of relief, Ryung So-mil let out a sigh of a different meaning.

The fact that there were no casualties on their side wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

Since there had been unilateral damage to the Green Forest, there was no way Ak Ho-gun would let this pass.

Above all, the precarious situation of confrontation, which was like walking on thin ice but somehow maintained, was now facing a new phase.

Once bloodshed had occurred, the situation was already beyond repair.

No matter how it started or what the process was, looking at the result alone, it was the same as them declaring war.

Given Ak Ho-gun’s personality, it was obvious that he would use this as an excuse to take direct action.

‘Is the only thing left a do-or-die battle?’

The situation was rapidly changing.

But there was something to confirm before that.

“Huh?”

A look of bewilderment appeared on Ryung So-mil’s face as he checked the contents of the message.

“Is this name written here correct?”

Why was the name of someone from a sect unrelated to them popping up?

“Who is it?”

At Han Seol-hwa’s question, Ryung So-mil mentioned a person’s name.

“The person who killed the Green Forest bandit is Byeok Hwa-ryeong.”

“Byeok Hwa-ryeong of the Hainan Sword Sect?”

Dan Ak-seon suddenly remembered someone.

“If it’s that person…”

Dan Ak-seon, who had heard about Beom Gye-wi and Byeok Hwa-ryeong from Han Seol-hwa a long time ago, turned her head to look at Beom Gye-wi.

But…

Hic.

Beom Gye-wi suddenly started hiccuping.

“Uncle?”

“Huh? Uh… Why?”

Beom Gye-wi forced a smile at Dan Ak-seon’s questioning gaze.

But he looked very flustered.

“Are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. I’m always okay.”

Beom Gye-wi, who answered that way, glanced at Han Seol-hwa.

Han Seol-hwa frowned at his suspicious behavior.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly.”

“Uh-huh? What am I doing?”

Han Seol-hwa’s questioning continued.

His feigned ignorance made him even more suspicious.

“What kind of accident did you cause in Hainan?”

Cornered, Beom Gye-wi burst out in anger.

“Am I Cho Hyeong? Causing accidents everywhere I go?”

“Since the two of you went together, that’s why I’m saying it.”

“Hey! You…!”

However, Beom Gye-wi couldn’t continue speaking.

It was because Ryung So-mil had checked the rest of the message and said its contents.

“They say they’re coming to Muwi now.”

“…!”

Hic!

Beom Gye-wi’s hiccups became even worse.

* * *

At the same time.

There was a man hearing the same news in a different place.

“What? Byeok Hwa-ryeong?”

Ak Ho-gun, who jumped up from his chair, glared with wide eyes.

A middle-aged man with a refined appearance, who had been standing opposite Ak Ho-gun, showed embarrassment.

“If it’s Byeok Hwa-ryeong, isn’t she the Deputy Head of the Hainan Sword Sect?”

Seok Dan-pyeong, who was in charge of the Chief Instructor position, also wore a troubled expression at Ak Ho-gun’s silence.

He knew the relationship between Ak Ho-gun and Byeok Hwa-ryeong well, as he had been assisting him longer than anyone else.

In the past, Ak Ho-gun had sent a matchmaker to the Hainan Sword Sect to propose to Byeok Hwa-ryeong.

The government office often bothered them with crackdowns.

That was because the Six Doors [a government agency responsible for law enforcement and investigation] and the Hainan Sword Sect had a friendly relationship.

He judged that forming a marriage relationship with the Hainan Sword Sect would alleviate some of the pressure from the government office.

At the very least, he felt it would be a worthwhile deal just to monitor the movements of the government office and obtain information about them.

However, what came back was a cold rejection.

Ak Ho-gun was inwardly dumbfounded at the answer that it was impossible because she was already promised to be married.

That person she was promised to was none other than Beom Gye-wi.

The orthodox Hainan Sword Sect and one of the Ten Evils [a group of infamous villains]?

Even though he himself was a member of the Ten Evils, Ak Ho-gun couldn’t believe that fact.

So he was even more furious.

He thought Byeok Hwa-ryeong was making fun of him.

Even if she hated him, how could it be Beom Gye-wi of all people!

There had been a deep, irreconcilable feud between him and Beom Gye-wi for a long time.

Seok Dan-pyeong carefully opened his mouth, watching Ak Ho-gun’s expression.

“You must handle this matter with caution.”

However, one of the leaders who had first reported opened his mouth with a determined face.

“If you give the order, I will immediately gather the experts and drag that seaside wench here.”

Ak Ho-gun’s eyebrows twitched.

Seeing this, Seok Dan-pyeong quickly gestured to stop, but another tactless leader shouted with a passionate face.

“There are many deaths, including Deputy Leader Dan Gwi. Only a few survivors, including Leader Gwak. How can we just let this grudge pass? If we overlook this, the entire Murim will look down on our Green Forest.”

He may have said it with loyalty in his own way, but it was no different from adding fuel to the fire.

“Shut up! You bastards!”

“Ch, Chief Escort?”

Ak Ho-gun’s wrath poured out on his flustered subordinates.

“Gwak Young-san! No, bring all those bastards from Danreung Village!”

“Yes? Why those people…?”

Ak Ho-gun glared at the leaders who were unable to continue speaking in embarrassment as if he would devour them.

“Are you telling me to leave alone the guy who ridiculed the Deputy Head of the Hainan Sword Sect as a geisha?”

“H, but our Green Forest’s damage is great, so of course…”

Seok Dan-pyeong sighed and rebuked.

“What are you going to do if you increase the number of enemies in the current situation, which is like being isolated and helpless?”

At those words, the other leaders in the conference room became mute.

It was already difficult enough to deal with the Murim Alliance, but what if the Hainan Sect joined in?

The thought alone was terrifying.

They rarely interfered in the affairs of the Central Plains, but they were the most vicious of all, who would see the end no matter what damage or sacrifice occurred if grudges arose.

Why else would they be called the Dang Family of Sichuan and the Byeok Family of Hainan [families known for their ruthlessness and vengefulness]?

Moreover, if they were at odds with them, the government office would naturally intervene.

In many ways, they were people who should not be faced as enemies.

“I think I’ll have to meet them in person.”

Ak Ho-gun, who was looking for a way to overcome the situation in front of him, already had a headache.