The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 344

Dan Akseon replied with a smile.

“You never know. There might be someone like my mother somewhere.”

“Ah! The one who was called the Devil?”

“Yes. If it’s someone like her, I might be able to spend my whole life with them.”

At those words, the Empress Dowager’s eyes showed a complicated expression.

Han Seolhwa felt the same way.

“So, you’re saying you’ll live alone for the rest of your life.”

“Pardon?”

Han Seolhwa spoke with a pitiful expression.

“Think about it. She has to have similar medical skills to you and a quirky… no, a unique personality like that. Do you think there’s another woman like that in the world?”

“I guess you’re right.”

Han Seolhwa sighed and shook her head.

“I don’t want to see you grow old alone and lonely like Uncle Cho.”

Dan Akseon smiled awkwardly at Han Seolhwa’s sincere gaze.

Han Seolhwa stared intently at Dan Akseon’s face.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

Contrary to her words, Han Seolhwa was very curious at this moment.

‘Is Dan Doctor the type that older women go for?’

Like the young lady of the Namgung family, and now even Princess Yeongsun.

Or does he have some secret technique to seduce older women?

It was then that the Empress Dowager cautiously spoke again.

“Then, perhaps with our Yeongsun…”

Han Seolhwa immediately cut her off.

“Absolutely not.”

The Empress Dowager was momentarily puzzled, but her expression changed at Han Seolhwa’s subsequent telepathic message.

—It’s a mistake to assume that everyone is as sensible and righteous as I am. Unlike me, those two fools will immediately lose their minds when it comes to Dan Doctor. If you bring Dan Doctor in as your son-in-law, those two will follow along. Are you confident you can handle those monsters?

The Empress Dowager was genuinely taken aback.

Although she had only met him today, Dan Akseon had captured the Empress Dowager’s heart at once.

The fact that he had lost his parents at a young age was a slight flaw, but it didn’t matter much.

Rather, since he had no parents-in-law, there was no need to worry about a difficult life after marriage.

His appearance, personality, excellent medical skills, and reputation in the Jianghu [the martial arts world].

On top of that, the immense wealth of the Shinma Merchant Group.

There was no candidate with more perfect conditions as a son-in-law.

Even Princess Yeongsun and Dan Akseon, sitting side by side, were a picture in themselves.

They were truly a match made in heaven; one could not imagine a better couple.

But a very serious disqualification had occurred.

In her haste, she had overlooked the most important thing.

‘I’d rather have strict parents-in-law.’

She was well aware of Cho Akryang and Beom Gyewi’s reputation in the Jianghu.

In the end, the Empress Dowager…

Had to swallow the words she was about to say.

* * *

The two who had left the Forbidden City began to walk towards Muwi.

How long had they walked?

Someone approached Han Seolhwa, whispered quietly, and disappeared.

‘Danwolru?’

It wasn’t difficult to find the Daru [a type of tea house] that the man had mentioned.

As soon as they entered the Daru, a man who had arrived earlier and was waiting stood up from his seat and showed courtesy.

It was Yoon Heum, a fellow member of Dongchang [Eastern Depot, a Ming dynasty secret police organization], who had recently handed Dan Akseon evidence related to the corruption of the Minister of Revenue.

“Your performance at the Imperial Palace was impressive.”

Dan Akseon smiled and bowed his head.

“Thank you for your help. Thanks to you, I was able to safely overcome the crisis.”

At this moment, Han Seolhwa suddenly opened her mouth.

“What do you want?”

Yoon Heum smiled awkwardly at Han Seolhwa’s cold gaze, which went straight to the point without beating around the bush.

“Don’t be like that; let’s have some tea first. The tea here is excellent.”

“If you don’t want anything, I’ll just get up and leave.”

At Han Seolhwa’s firm attitude, Yoon Heum hurriedly opened his mouth.

“I can’t win against you. Actually, I have a favor to ask, so I asked to see you two.”

Han Seolhwa frowned.

There are many types of people in the world, but among them, the ones you should never get involved with are the eunuchs.

On the other hand, Dan Akseon readily nodded.

Since he had received help, it was not polite to refuse the other party’s request outright.

“What can I do for you?”

“Could we possibly dispatch some of our people to Muwi?”

“To Muwi?”

“Yes, specifically to Shinma Medical Center. It’s just one doctor and two assistants to help him.”

“May I ask why?”

“There are two reasons. The first is to purely learn medicine, and the second is to secretly observe Muwi. Ah, of course, it’s just to gather information, not to cause trouble or stir up conflict.”

“Now that you’ve told me, it’s not so secret anymore.”

“Haha. There are so many experts in Muwi. I didn’t intend to hide their existence from the beginning. I just want you to quietly overlook it if their identities are revealed.”

Dan Akseon tilted his head.

“But the second reason bothers me.”

Yoon Heum glossed over it, but Dan Akseon was not one to miss it.

Yoon Heum sighed as if he was in trouble.

“It’s just to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances. Even I haven’t received specific instructions from above yet… Please understand. But I can definitely say this: we are absolutely not trying to dig up people related to Shinmagok.”

Dan Akseon thought for a moment and nodded.

“That’s good. I was just about to ask for one of the royal physicians to be sent to Shinma Medical Center.”

“Is it because of the Empress Dowager’s chronic illness?”

“I see you already knew.”

From their first meeting, Yoon Heum made it clear that he was on the Empress Dowager’s side.

“I’ll talk to Uncle Neung first. But please understand that this is not something I can decide alone.”

“Thank you.”

Yoon Heum was finally relieved. He was sure that even if Neung Somil hesitated, he would not object.

‘I’ve solved a big problem with this.’

It was something he had been preparing for a long time.

If he had rashly stepped forward, there was a high possibility that the notoriously hot-tempered Shinma Three Venerables would hear about it and turn the entire Muwi upside down.

‘It seems they still don’t know about those guys.’

Well, even Dongchang, which prides itself on having the most comprehensive intelligence network in the world, had only recently detected suspicious circumstances.

At this time, the Daru employee brought the tea that had been ordered.

Yoon Heum lightly moistened his throat with a sip of tea and then got up from his seat.

“I hope you have a safe trip.”

Yoon Heum, who was politely showing courtesy, subtly raised a smile.

“I’ve already paid for the tea, so please savor it slowly.”

It was then that Dan Akseon asked with a puzzled look.

“Huh? But why are there four cups of tea?”

“Haha, who knows?”

As Yoon Heum turned around with a smile, Dan Akseon pondered to solve the riddle he had left behind.

However, unlike Dan Akseon, who was staring intently at the teacups, Han Seolhwa immediately realized the reason.

“Come out now.”

At that moment, a man appeared from the stairs leading to the second floor.

It was Cho Akryang.

“Oh? Uncle Cho! What brings you here?”

Cho Akryang calmly accepted Han Seolhwa’s sharp gaze and replied.

“I wanted to eat Peking duck. I was the only one who didn’t get to eat it last time, wasn’t I?”

“I see. Then shall we go eat together? Thankfully, the Empress Dowager gave me a lot of pocket money.”

The three of them left the Daru and set out to find the most famous inn in Beijing that specialized in Peking duck.

Dan Akseon kept looking around.

Cho Akryang, who was watching this with satisfaction, suddenly turned his head at the stinging gaze that flew and hit his face.

“What’s wrong?”

Han Seolhwa lowered her voice so that Dan Akseon couldn’t hear.

“Were you planning to kill even the Emperor if necessary?”

“Do you think I’m Beom Gyewi?”

“Then?”

“I was going to step in depending on the situation. According to the situation.”

In fact, as the atmosphere of the imperial court meeting became fierce, Cho Akryang almost jumped into it several times.

What did it matter if he was the Emperor or the Jade Emperor?

Dan Akseon’s safety was his top priority.

Cho Akryang frowned at Han Seolhwa’s smirk.

But only for a moment.

“You held back pretty well, too.”

Han Seolhwa immediately replied to Cho Akryang’s words.

“I trust Dan Doctor.”

Cho Akryang was about to argue at Han Seolhwa’s resolute answer but stopped. Instead, he asked what he was most curious about.

“What were you talking about with the Empress Dowager for so long?”

Han Seolhwa sighed softly at Cho Akryang’s question.

“It seems the Empress Dowager has her eye on Dan Doctor as her son-in-law.”

“Son-in-law? You mean that son-in-law, as in 駙馬都尉 (fuma) [imperial son-in-law]?”

“She seemed ready to send a matchmaker to get a betrothal right away.”

Come to think of it, she was a remarkable woman in many ways.

Even in a situation where her own life was hanging by a thread, she would go so far as to personally take the lead for her daughter’s marriage.

‘Maybe that’s a mother’s heart.’

Her words that having a daughter was a sin felt strangely pathetic.

Cho Akryang asked with concern.

“Of course, you refused, right?”

“Of course.”

“How?”

Han Seolhwa paused for a moment.

Cho Akryang and Beom Gyewi.

She couldn’t bring herself to say that she had stopped them by selling their infamy.

Cho Akryang cast a puzzled look for a moment.

But what did it matter?

It was a relief that it worked out well.

Soon, Dan Akseon found an inn specializing in Beijing duck.

As the food they had ordered came out, Dan Akseon suddenly missed Beom Gyewi.

Peking duck was a food filled with memories of him.

“Shall we stop by Hainan Island after we eat this? I’m curious to know if Uncle Beom is doing well. You two want to see him too, right?”

Han Seolhwa and Cho Akryang replied sharply.

“No!”

“Absolutely not!”

Dan Akseon was rather embarrassed by their serious expressions.

At the sight, Cho Akryang coughed lowly and came up with a plausible reason.

“Should we interfere with their newlywed life?”

Han Seolhwa immediately took the words.

“Since they got married late in life, they’ll need more time alone.”

“Ah! I guess so…”

Dan Akseon sighed and took a piece of Peking duck to his mouth with a pitiful expression.

At this time, Cho Akryang and Han Seolhwa exchanged glances and nodded silently.

Originally, the enemy of an enemy is an ally.

* * *

At that moment, Hainan Island.

Today, the port was as busy as ever.

The leader of the Hainan Sword Sect, who was checking the goods being unloaded at the pier, greeted a man with a delighted expression.

“Welcome. I’ve been seeing you really often lately, haven’t I?”

“That means business is booming.”

The head of the Shinma Merchant Group, who nodded with a smile, handed him a small box wrapped in cloth.

“This is the Cheongsimdan [a type of herbal medicine] I mentioned last time.”

“Oh! There’s nothing better for relieving fatigue, right? Thank you. I’ll pay you later.”

It was then.

The head of the Shinma Merchant Group, who was handing the box to the other party, tapped the box.

The leader, who quickly understood the meaning, nodded.

“Hmm. No, I’ll pay you now. Wait a moment.”

The leader moved the location to a nearby outpost and opened the box to check the contents.

A piece of paper was placed on top of the neatly packaged pills.

—Multiple suspicious individuals discovered. Merchant ship belonging to the Joyang Merchant Group. A man in his forties wearing gray light armor. Unique gait.

Starting with this, detailed descriptions of several people were written.

“Are they finally starting to show themselves?”

It was then that one person caught his eye as he looked outside through the window of the outpost.

His gaze silently began to follow the person in question.

Meanwhile.

The people in question began to roam around Hainan Island.

The sight of them haggling over the price of goods with bundles on their backs made them look like merchants to anyone.

But this did not last long.

Suddenly, the surroundings became dark.

They were startled as they looked around.

A huge shadow blocking their path, appearing out of nowhere.

The owner of the shadow suddenly asked.