The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 238

Having arrived at the northern plains, Sa Musim immediately sought out the tribe with whom he had a connection.

“Welcome.”

A man of impressive height, now exuding the air of a chieftain, greeted Sa Musim.

The man, expressing his goodwill by embracing Sa Musim warmly, led him into a mobile tent, which they referred to as a ‘ger’ [a traditional Mongolian yurt] in their language.

“This is a gift.”

The man opened the wooden box Sa Musim handed him, and his expression turned puzzled as he examined the contents.

Among the elixirs filling the box, there was a type he had never seen before.

“What is this?”

The man picked up an elixir with a reddish glow.

It was clear at a glance that it was no ordinary item.

He was already well aware of the efficacy of the Divine Elixir.

Sa Musim had gifted him several times before through merchants traveling to and from the Western Regions.

Sa Musim smiled and opened his mouth.

“Belated congratulations, Nergu. I heard you recently took a third wife?”

Sa Musim smiled faintly at Nergu, who still couldn’t hide his curiosity.

“I prepared this with the hope that your household will prosper.”

Sa Musim explained in detail the efficacy of the Dokgyesan that Nergu held.

Nergu wore an embarrassed expression.

“I have already received favors that are difficult to repay with the salt and goods you have sent me…”

“But you have also shown sufficient sincerity in return.”

“Protecting the plains we control from the wolf packs is a matter of course.”

“Still, I am grateful. Thanks to you, the danger to the merchant guild has been greatly reduced.”

Nergu’s expression brightened.

For Nergu, whose greatest assets were people and horses, Dokgyesan was an extremely satisfying gift.

“I am truly moved. To think that the scruffy and unimpressive child from before is now leading a tribe like this. Moreover, your power has grown much greater than before.”

Nergu shrugged his shoulders proudly at Sa Musim’s praise.

“That is also thanks to your grace.”

“Thanks to me?”

“Do you remember the young one you threw to me as a gift before?”

Sa Musim tilted his head, then recalled someone.

“Ah! That young fellow from the Blood Cloud Temple?”

Nergu nodded.

“It turns out he was the only blood relative of the Blood Cloud Temple’s leader, the Chongryeong (總領, Commander).”

Nergu continued his explanation.

“He unfortunately chose you as his prey while searching for game to mark his coming-of-age ceremony.”

It was the law of the plains that one had to succeed in hunting alone to be recognized as a warrior.

However, for the Blood Cloud Temple, the target of that hunt was a person.

“I handed him over to a sworn brother who had formed an Anda [a bond of blood brotherhood] with me. Han highly praised this and bestowed five hundred horses upon me.”

Of course, people to guard and care for the horses would have come along as well.

Only then did Sa Musim realize the reason for the growth of Nergu’s tribe.

“Due to that, the Blood Cloud Temple suffered a great internal strife (內訌).”

“Internal strife?”

“The Chongryeong, enraged at failing to protect his successor, personally massacred the group that had set out on the mission at the time.”

He added that the Blood Cloud Temple’s members, dissatisfied with this, started a rebellion, repeating the cycle of killing each other.

“But just when it seemed that the Chongryeong’s side would prevail, a certain force intervened.”

Sa Musim frowned.

It was not difficult to guess the force that had intervened in the Blood Cloud Temple’s internal strife.

“It must have been the Demonic Sect?”

Nergu nodded.

“A master of the Demonic Sect walked in alone and beheaded the Chongryeong. And that was in just ten exchanges.”

“……!”

Sa Musim couldn’t help but be amazed.

The martial prowess of the Blood Cloud Temple’s leader, the Chongryeong, was known to be on par with the leaders of the Nine Great Sects.

But to have his head taken in just ten exchanges.

Among the masters with that level of martial prowess, there was only one person he could immediately think of.

“Could that master be the Heavenly Demon?”

Nergu shook his head at Sa Musim’s question.

“It’s not the Heavenly Demon. I heard he’s very young. At most, around twenty years old.”

Sa Musim’s face became serious.

At that age, it couldn’t be one of the Six Demonic Venerables.

‘Has a new master emerged on their side?’

If so, it was an ominous sign in its own right.

At that moment, the tent was lifted, and Nergu’s subordinates brought in a large leather bag and boiled mutton.

“You must be tired from your long journey, so please, have something to eat first.”

Nergu tilted the leather bag and poured a full cup of the liquor inside, handing it to Sa Musim.

It was mare’s milk liquor (馬奶子), made using mare’s milk, which they called ‘airag’ in their language.

“I sometimes miss this plains liquor.”

Sa Musim, who had downed the sour-tasting liquor in one gulp, smiled slightly and took something out to hand to Nergu.

Nergu, who received the liquor bottle Sa Musim handed him, exclaimed with a bright face.

For the tribes of their plains, the most precious luxury was neither salt nor spices.

It was distilled spirits with a high alcohol content.

Originally, it was the tribes of their plains who spread distilled liquor to the Central Plains.

In the past, during the era of ruling a vast empire.

They, who expanded their borders without knowing limits, acquired the technology to distill fermented liquor from Persia and spread it back to the Central Plains.

But now that the Yuan Dynasty had fallen and they were driven back to the plains, it was a luxury that was difficult to enjoy.

To make distilled liquor, a vast amount of grain was needed.

But in this barren land, it was impossible to farm.

There was also a way to obtain distilled liquor by distilling mare’s milk liquor, but it was extremely inefficient.

The amount of milk obtained from an ordinary mare was surprisingly small.

So, to make mare’s milk liquor to serve guests, milk had to be obtained from about ten mares.

Even airag was in short supply, so the luxury of distilling it again was not easily conceivable under normal circumstances.

As a few cups of such good liquor went around, the air inside the ger quickly heated up.

Nergu, who was pleasantly laughing with a flushed face, opened his mouth as if he had belatedly remembered something.

“I think we can send the ginseng you requested last time starting next month.”

“Oh!”

Sa Musim’s face lit up.

Among the ginseng distributed in the Central Plains, the ginseng from the Haedong region was considered the best product, but its quantity was limited, so the amount released to the general market was extremely small.

Moreover, since it was traded in the form of tributary trade, only merchant guilds approved by the court could intervene arbitrarily.

Therefore, most of the woefully insufficient ginseng supply was dependent on the Heuksumalgal (黑水靺鞨) [Black Water Mohe], a nomadic tribe in the Heilongjiang area.

Unlike other nomads, they were a semi-agricultural and semi-pastoral people who raised pigs and farmed.

Dalyun and Heuksumalgal checked each other, but they often traded in the face of profit.

A prime example was ginseng (人蔘).

“I hear there is not a day without bloodshed in the Jurchen area.”

They farmed and raised livestock, but that alone was woefully insufficient to sustain their lives.

So, the Heuksumalgal occasionally crossed the border at the risk of their lives.

In the past, the purpose was plunder, but not now.

It was solely to collect ginseng.

Recently, as the silver standard system had taken root perfectly, commercial transactions in the Central Plains had become active.

Now as in the past, the first thing wealthy people take care of is their health.

As a result, the demand for ginseng had surged, and the supply could not keep up, causing prices to skyrocket.

“Unlike Haedong, which takes the form of tributary trade, the Heuksumalgal are openly having their tribal chiefs step forward to establish trade relations. The quality is secondary, but the quantity and transaction volume are overwhelming.”

“Thank you. I will pay you enough.”

Generally, ginseng is exchanged for the same weight in silver.

Any merchant would gladly exchange it for silver if they only brought ginseng, so if they could secure the quantity, they could seek huge profits.

As a result, border disputes in the Jurchen area had become frequent, but that was just a distant story unrelated to them.

Nergu smiled and responded.

“We can also obtain the Divine Elixir thanks to you, so it’s a good thing for each other.”

Large and small conflicts between tribes were always happening, and the people of the plains preferred battle as a way to resolve those conflicts.

Therefore, casualties were inevitable.

However, after securing the Divine Elixir, the casualties on Nergu’s side had noticeably decreased, allowing them to gain an advantage in combat power and influence over other tribes.

After exchanging smiles and well wishes, Sa Musim spoke of the real reason he had come here.

“Do you know anything about the recent movements of the Blood Cloud Temple?”

At Sa Musim’s question, Nergu nodded with a heavy look.

“Even if you didn’t ask, their recent movements are unusual. Usually, they form small groups and live scattered, only gathering when planning a raid, but recently, they have been gathering and moving together more frequently. Some have also been found as corpses.”

Sa Musim could guess the reason.

“It must be because of that guy.”

“Do you have something in mind?”

At Nergu’s question, Sa Musim readily provided information.

“It’s because of a martial artist from the Central Plains called the Seven Severing Demon Lord.”

As Sa Musim explained about No Dan-yang in detail, Nergu finally exclaimed and nodded.

“So that’s why the Blood Cloud Temple’s raids have been quiet recently.”

After pondering something for a moment, Nergu stepped out of the ger.

As Sa Musim followed, Nergu raised his hand and pointed in the distance.

“There is a rocky area about three days’ ride away in that direction. It’s called the Seoknok Plain (石綠平) [Green Stone Plain], and recently the Blood Cloud Temple has been intensively searching that area.”

Sa Musim’s eyes flashed.

“It seems they have pinpointed the location of the Seven Severing Demon Lord?”

“Judging from the fact that they have narrowed the search range much more than before, I guess that’s probably the case.”

“Then this is no time to be doing this.”

Nergu gave Sa Musim a sorry look as he hurried on his way.

“I would like to attach people to you, but I can’t.”

Sa Musim smiled faintly and patted Nergu on the shoulder.

“I know. Isn’t this the busiest time of the year for you guys?”

Moreover, it was easier to move alone in many ways.

“Just in case, take this with you.”

Sa Musim, who received the item Nergu handed him, smiled.

It was a small flag the size of a palm with an eagle engraved on it.

It was an item symbolizing the direct envoy (使者) of the Khan (汗) [ruler], the head of the Dalyun (達延) tribe, which truly dominated the current plains.

“If you get into a fight with the Blood Cloud Temple, show them that. For now, they won’t want a fight with us, so they won’t openly provoke you.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

Sa Musim nodded, exchanged a brief greeting, and immediately flew away.

After running for a whole day, he arrived at a plain area with mossy stones.

Upon closer inspection, the stones rolling around were from the ruins of an old castle that had collapsed long ago.

It was then that something caught Sa Musim’s eye as he looked around.

It was a building made of roughly piled mud walls with only a roof to barely block the dew.

But the scale was quite large, so it could accommodate a large number of people and horses.

‘Is it a horse market?’

It seemed to be doubling as an inn.

Sa Musim walked inside nonchalantly.

He had decided to take the risk in order to accurately grasp the current situation.

Of course, he was wearing the human skin mask he had obtained from Cho Ak-ryang in preparation for any possible situation.

The warriors, presumed to be members of the Blood Cloud Temple, cast sharp glances from all directions, but Sa Musim maintained a nonchalant expression.

At that moment, someone approached Sa Musim, emitting killing intent.

“I don’t recognize your face.”