The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 246

It was late at night, past midnight.

Having finished his late duties, Feng Jin-sung returned to his residence and sat straight down at his desk without even changing his clothes.

He still had work to do.

Fortunately, filling Dan Ahk-sun’s vacancy wasn’t too overwhelming.

As befitting his reputation, Joo Cho-woon’s medical skills were outstanding, and the physicians who had learned medicine from Dan Ahk-sun were also so fundamentally sound that they could be presented anywhere without embarrassment.

Thanks to this, the coordination process wasn’t difficult.

Feng Jin-sung opened the book on his desk and began to record the patients’ conditions and treatments.

He was sure that Dan Ahk-sun would check the clinical records first thing upon his return.

Even though his body was tired, it was a rewarding task.

He was engrossed in writing detailed records when he heard a sound outside the door.

“Master, may I come in?”

“Is that Ah-doo? Come in.”

The door opened and Ah-doo entered.

“Why are you still awake at this late hour?”

Ah-doo smiled bashfully at Feng Jin-sung’s question.

“I was passing by and saw the light on in Master’s residence.”

Feng Jin-sung smiled when he noticed the tea set in Ah-doo’s hand.

He was in dire need of a cup of tea to chase away his sleepiness.

“Your senior brothers should take a leaf out of your book.”

Ah-doo shook his head seriously at Feng Jin-sung’s joke.

“Treating patients is no ordinary task. Compared to my senior brothers who are exhausted from working all day, the chores I do are nothing.”

“Chores? You’re probably the only one who thinks that way.”

As he said, attending to and guiding patients was no ordinary task.

The patients were already sensitive because of their pain.

Dealing with them required a considerable amount of mental strength.

Feng Jin-sung was very pleased with Ah-doo, who still tried to learn medicine late into the night.

That was why he had formally accepted Ah-doo as his disciple.

He was impressed by how Ah-doo tried to learn medicine in any way he could.

Moreover, he was sociable, quick-witted, and had an upright character, so he was loved by all his senior brothers.

‘It must be because of the environment around him?’

Dan Ahk-sun, who was a year younger than him, already possessed outstanding medical skills, and Joo Jang-myung, who was even younger, had already begun to learn medicine to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Moreover, since he was always in the House of Healing, he naturally dreamed of becoming a physician.

Feng Jin-sung asked Ah-doo, who was politely filling his teacup with tea.

“Do you still wake up at the hour of In [3-5 AM]?”

“Yes.”

“Then aren’t you short on sleep? It seems like you go to bed close to the hour of Chuk [1-3 AM] every day.”

“Not at all. I feel like even the time I spend sleeping is a waste.”

Feng Jin-sung frowned.

“You’re a real hard worker.”

“Pardon?”

“It means you push yourself very hard.”

“But if I don’t do this, I’ll be slow to learn.”

“Isn’t it hard?”

“Not at all. Rather, every day is fulfilling and happy. I sometimes feel uneasy about whether I deserve this much.”

Feng Jin-sung nodded at Ah-doo’s sincere answer.

His attitude toward life was special.

He didn’t take what was given for granted but cherished it and didn’t waste it.

That was why he learned so quickly.

“I need to become a physician as soon as possible. That way, Master Gok’s burden will be reduced.”

“You’ve thought that far?”

Feng Jin-sung patted Ah-doo’s shoulder.

“You will definitely become a good physician.”

Ah-doo, who was smiling awkwardly, suddenly darkened.

And Feng Jin-sung did not miss it.

“Why? Don’t you trust my words?”

Ah-doo was startled and waved his hand.

“No! How could I dare…”

“Then why that expression?”

“That’s…”

Ah-doo hesitated to answer and let out a soft sigh.

“I’m scared.”

“…?”

“I sometimes wonder if I deserve to be this happy. Like the sayings ‘Good things come with demons’ or ‘The Old Man Lost His Horse’ [a Chinese idiom about how a seemingly bad event can lead to good fortune]. I’m afraid that this happiness might suddenly disappear before my eyes.”

Feng Jin-sung felt deep pity for his young disciple who was feeling insecure.

Feng Jin-sung stared at Ah-doo and held his hand.

“Have you ever heard the term ‘early success’?”

“Early success?”

“Yes. It literally means passing the civil service examination at a young age.”

At Feng Jin-sung’s words, a look of bewilderment appeared on Ah-doo’s face.

“Along with losing one’s spouse in middle age and poverty in old age, it is considered one of the three major misfortunes in life.”

“Why? Isn’t it a great honor for an individual or family to pass the examination at a young age?”

He could understand losing a spouse in middle age or being poor in old age, but he couldn’t easily understand why that would make life unhappy.

“The scholar Jeong Yi-cheon of the Song Dynasty once said, ‘Early success is one misfortune.’ There is even a saying that ‘Early success leads to an unnatural death.'”

It meant that if you passed the civil service examination too early, you would not die well.

“It shows how wary the ancients were of success, such as holding office or gaining wealth at a young age.”

Feng Jin-sung continued to explain for Ah-doo, who still had a puzzled look on his face.

“The reason why the ancients were wary of this becomes clear with a little thought.”

If one entered public service before one’s character had matured, there was a high possibility of falling into arrogance and prejudice.

Power and wealth given before one’s character was complete were, in themselves, a dangerous poison.

That was why many people were ruined by not being able to control themselves and being swayed by their desires.

“They not only don’t know how valuable their success is, but they also don’t understand those who repeatedly fail and suffer setbacks.”

As a result, they become ambitious for greater success and become career-oriented, or they lose their sense of proportion due to their achievements, treat others carelessly, and become hated for being smug.

Eventually, they fall into the abyss.

“A person who achieves early success has to meet many people and say many things, even if they don’t want to. As a result, the number of words and actions they have to pour out increases, and the time to fill their minds and bodies becomes insufficient, so they lose the time to reflect on themselves.”

If you only broaden your relationships without reflecting on yourself, the outside world grows, but your inner self becomes empty.

Eventually, you become arrogant, and your judgment becomes impaired.

“One of the inevitable side effects is that the goal to reach disappears after achieving great success early in life.”

A life adrift without a major goal is bound to fall into debauchery or be consumed by a lust for power that ruins oneself and others.

“As such, early success is as much a disaster as losing a wife in middle age or suffering from poverty in old age.”

“Um, Master…?”

“Yes?”

“I was never close to early success in the first place.”

Feng Jin-sung smiled meaningfully.

“That’s right.”

“Yes?”

“On the contrary, haven’t you already experienced enough misfortune at a young age? It’s like you’ve already paid your dues. So there’s no need to worry about a future that hasn’t even happened yet.”

“Ah!”

Ah-doo, who belatedly realized why Feng Jin-sung had mentioned early success, exclaimed and nodded.

Then he suddenly flinched and looked at Feng Jin-sung.

“Why?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Feng Jin-sung frowned at Ah-doo’s hasty excuse.

“Tell me now.”

“That’s, that’s…”

Ah-doo reluctantly opened his mouth at Feng Jin-sung’s gaze that was staring intently at him.

“In a way, isn’t Master Gok… similar to early success?”

At those words, Feng Jin-sung couldn’t help but laugh.

In fact, it wasn’t wrong.

Dan Ahk-sun was still quite young, but his medical skills were so outstanding that no one could match them.

Moreover, his influence in the current Jianghu [the martial arts world] was second to none.

His martial arts were the same.

The Three Divine Devils all unanimously acknowledged that he was undoubtedly among the masters.

Considering that he possessed this level of medical skill, influence, and martial arts at a relatively young age, it was an achievement that could be compared to early success.

However, there was one thing that Ah-doo had overlooked.

“He, too, suffered misfortune early in life, just like you. Losing one’s parents early is also a pain that is second to none.”

Perhaps that was why.

Dan Ahk-sun was far from the frivolousness that geniuses who achieved early success were prone to.

Rather, he practiced self-respect and self-love by enduring and being careful in his behavior in order to maintain his dignity.

It was then.

“But why did Master Gok’s parents die?”

“…!”

Feng Jin-sung flinched and froze in place at Ah-doo’s sudden question.

Ah-doo was even more embarrassed by his reaction.

“I’m sorry. I said something unnecessary… Then, please rest well, Master.”

Ah-doo, who was quick to notice, quickly bowed and left.

“…”

Even after Ah-doo disappeared, Feng Jin-sung sat blankly for a while, absorbed in his own thoughts.

How much time had passed?

“Hoo.”

With a long sigh, Feng Jin-sung got up.

He walked towards the bookcase in one corner of the room and took out a book.

Then he turned the pages and stared at the letter inserted between them.

A letter that was too old and faded.

As he carefully unfolded the letter that seemed as if it would crumble at any moment, a familiar handwriting was painfully engraved in his eyes.

‘Master…’

It was a letter that he had read hundreds of times.

Yet, every time he read it, his heart ached as it did now.

—Never let that child know.

A sentence that was especially heartbreaking.

Feng Jin-sung closed his eyes tightly as he stared at the letter for a long time.

‘Shouldn’t Master Gok know the truth now?’

Feng Jin-sung’s 고민 [worry/anguish] was deepening.

It was because of a conversation he had with Neung So-mil a while ago.

The story that Dal-ja, who identified himself as Bat-Erziji, the guy who was captured by Beom Gye-wi after attacking Byuk Hwa-ryeong on his way back to Hainan Island, had mentioned was constantly on his mind.

Despite being from the Blood Cloud Squad, the guy who had fallen into the hands of the Demonic Sect had a history of sending ordinary people who had taken poison as assassins to assassinate Dan Ahk-sun.

Not only that, but he also murdered disciples of the Kunlun Sect and kidnapped disciples of the Common Faction in order to interfere with Dan Ahk-sun.

Yet, that man cursed Dan Ahk-sun like this.

—It’s all your fault. So feel the responsibility and writhe in agony! Just like your father and mother did.

Moreover…

Just before he took his last breath, Dan Ahk-sun asked him this.

—Do you know anything about the deaths of Shin-ui and Ma-ui?

Now, Dan Ahk-sun must also be questioning the deaths of his two masters.

He hadn’t asked him directly yet, but it wasn’t always the best policy to keep denying it.

Above all, now that it was certain that the Demonic Sect was targeting Dan Ahk-sun, the meaning of the late master’s will had become meaningless.

‘Oh dear.’

Feng Jin-sung was startled when he inadvertently cast his gaze out the window.

He had been 고민 [worrying] for so long that a considerable amount of time had already passed.

The moon hanging on the eaves was already far away.

It was then that he spotted Neung So-mil running somewhere in a hurry.

“Chief Neung? Why at this hour?”

Neung So-mil, who met Feng Jin-sung’s gaze, shouted urgently with a pale face.

“Physicians are people who save lives, right?”

“Yes? Of course, because I’m a physician.”

“Then please pretend you didn’t see me.”

“…?”

While Feng Jin-sung was puzzled by the incomprehensible words, Neung So-mil flew into the darkness.

And it wasn’t long before he understood why.

It was because of Beom Gye-wi, who was stomping in.

“Senior Beom? You’re back already? But why are you alone? Where is Master Gok?”

Beom Gye-wi sighed heavily at Feng Jin-sung’s question.

“He went to Mount Hua.”

“At this hour?”

“He said he had to hurry. So he packed a few things as soon as he got here and left right away.”

“But why are you here, Senior?”

“One of the three of us has to protect this place.”

“Isn’t Senior Han Seol-hwa here?”

“She followed Doctor Dan instead of me. She said she had to go to Mount Hua. Doctor Dan agreed, too.”

“What about Senior Cho?”

“I… lost.”

“Pardon?”

“I lost the lottery!”

Feng Jin-sung smiled bitterly.

Only then did he realize why Neung So-mil had given him such a desperate look.

Perhaps Neung So-mil had made the lottery.

Judging from Beom Gye-wi’s mood right now, it was easy to guess why Neung So-mil hated lotteries so much.