The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 374

The Divine Doctor (374)

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.”

Cho Ak-ryang frowned at Won Ji-geuk’s confident demeanor, which welcomed them without hesitation.

Bum Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa’s reactions were not much different.

In particular, Bum Gye-wi, who was ready to jump out at any moment, was completely deflated.

“Tch! What’s with the welcoming faces? Where’s that moronic brother of yours? All alone?”

Out of disappointment, Bum Gye-wi baited Won Ji-geuk.

However, all that came back was a relaxed smile.

It was then that Dan Ak-seon stepped forward.

“It seems you already know why we’ve come.”

Dan Ak-seon, skipping the greetings, went straight to the point.

“I heard that the Black Shadow Unit is managed by the White Society.”

At those words, Won Ji-geuk sighed exaggeratedly.

“It is truly an unfortunate matter. Even though the Black Shadow Unit acted independently without the approval of the main society, the main society itself cannot be free from the responsibility of neglecting their management.”

Won Ji-geuk was quick to cut off the tail with a few words [meaning he quickly disavowed responsibility].

Dan Ak-seon’s eyes turned cold at his audacity.

“Then how do you plan to handle the Black Shadow Unit’s affairs going forward?”

“Of course, we must take follow-up measures to prevent such unfortunate events from recurring.”

“What specific measures are you talking about?”

Won Ji-geuk’s eyes narrowed.

“I didn’t know that the Divine Doctor, who has rapidly emerged as a rising hero in the current Jianghu [the martial arts world], would have so much interest in insignificant salt merchants like us.”

It was obvious that he was being sarcastic, but Dan Ak-seon did not waver.

“The lives of the people in this place will be determined by whether you answer or not. Including you, of course.”

Won Ji-geuk’s snow-white eyebrows twitched.

But as if nothing had happened, he regained his composure and smiled gently.

“Alright. Then I shall ask. Do you perhaps have any desires from the main society?”

Won Ji-geuk spoke again, meeting Dan Ak-seon’s gaze as he stared at him intently.

“As I also feel responsible for the main society’s actions, I will try to come up with mutually satisfactory answers.”

Dan Ak-seon’s gaze softened slightly at Won Ji-geuk’s attitude, as if he would accept any proposal.

“Collect and dispose of all the distributed Blissful Mountain [a type of drug].”

“Hehe. Even the already distributed amount? That would be quite a lot of work…….”

“And in the future, you must not handle any medicinal herbs similar to or including opium poppies.”

“What if I refuse?”

Dan Ak-seon didn’t bother to answer.

Instead, he slowly gripped the Black Dragon tied to his waist and channeled the Majestic Power Divine Art [a powerful martial arts technique].

Won Ji-geuk inwardly scoffed at his clear display of hostility.

To think that he was acting up, trusting in the power of the accompanying experts.

But before long, he had to change his mind.

Because Dan Ak-seon’s increasingly powerful aura was unusual.

It was then that someone’s muttering voice was heard.

“You can refuse.”

It was Bum Gye-wi.

Thwack.

Cho Ak-ryang kicked Bum Gye-wi’s shin as hard as he could.

“What is it this time?”

“Why don’t you just hold a memorial service [implying Bum Gye-wi is ruining things]? If you had just stayed still, you would have been halfway there. Look at that guy. He was just contemplating whether to fight, but he immediately backed down because of you, didn’t he?”

Bum Gye-wi turned his head sharply and glared at Won Ji-geuk.

“Hey, but he’s the head of the White Society, he has to save face. If he backs down here, his subordinates won’t respect his authority, right? That’s why Evil Tiger did such a stupid thing, didn’t he?”

“Tsk. It’s already ruined.”

Cho Ak-ryang clicked his tongue and pointed at Won Ji-geuk.

“Look at that guy’s expression. Doesn’t he look like he’s already given up on everything?”

As expected.

Won Ji-geuk quickly nodded his head.

“Alright! I will fully accept your opinion. In addition, I will completely sever ties with the Black Shadow Unit.”

Disappointment flashed across Dan Ak-seon’s face.

It was clearly an unreasonable condition for him.

But to think that he would accept it so readily.

It was clear that he was hiding something, but he couldn’t put his finger on it right now.

Cho Ak-ryang opened his mouth, taking the place of Dan Ak-seon, who was lost in thought.

“Can you swear? How do we know you’re not just saying that and plotting something behind our backs?”

“If you really can’t trust me, send someone to stay here.”

Since the other party had gone this far, Cho Ak-ryang couldn’t find any more fault.

It was then that Won Ji-geuk shouted with internal energy.

“From this moment on, the Black Shadow Unit is expelled from the main society. We will not have any further exchanges with them, and anyone who violates this, regardless of who they are, will be subject to the Salt Heat Punishment according to the main society’s laws.”

The Salt Heat Punishment was their own most brutal punishment, in which the whole body was bound and buried in salt to be salted alive.

With this, Won Ji-geuk had no choice but to keep his word.

As long as he was involved in the White Society, the oath of the Salt Heat Punishment was that absolute.

“By the way…….”

Won Ji-geuk suddenly threw a strange look at Dan Ak-seon as if he had just thought of something.

“Are you perhaps dreaming of becoming the leader of the Demonic Faction [a powerful and often morally ambiguous group]?”

“Pardon?”

Won Ji-geuk curled up his lips at Dan Ak-seon, who was puzzled by the sudden remark.

“Otherwise, how could you be so deeply involved in the affairs of other sects [martial arts schools or organizations]?”

Come to think of it, this wasn’t the first time this had happened.

Due to the nature of the Demonic Faction, which moved in pursuit of profit, ethical responsibility could not be expected.

Slave traders, including the Salt King Manor.

Even while enduring all kinds of criticism, those who were obsessed with making money were still scattered all over the Central Plains [the heartland of the martial arts world].

Dan Ak-seon frowned at Won Ji-geuk’s words that followed.

“I’m worried that one day you’ll ban our livelihood, illegal salt.”

“Doing business while keeping the moral code…….”

Won Ji-geuk trailed off strangely and chuckled.

“If that were the case, we wouldn’t have been called the Demonic Faction from the start.”

Dan Ak-seon also fell silent for a moment, unable to refute.

That’s because it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

But since he had gotten what he wanted, he didn’t want to have a sharp argument with him.

“I trust you will keep your promise.”

With those words, Dan Ak-seon turned around.

“No! Are we just going back like this?”

Cho Ak-ryang grabbed Bum Gye-wi, who was lingering and stalling for no reason.

Having left the White Society’s territory, the group turned back towards Muwi.

How long had they been running like that?

“Why do you have such a dark expression?”

At Han Seol-hwa’s question, Cho Ak-ryang and Bum Gye-wi also noticed that Dan Ak-seon’s expression was stiff.

“Something doesn’t feel right.”

After worrying for a while, unable to shake off the uneasy feeling.

“Ah!”

Dan Ak-seon, who had suddenly stopped, exclaimed.

Dan Ak-seon sighed softly as he met the group’s questioning gazes.

“We’ve been had.”

“Been had?”

Dan Ak-seon made a hollow expression at Cho Ak-ryang’s question.

“From the beginning, they had no intention of continuing that business.”

“Are you saying they were planning to make a big score and then quit from the start?”

“Yes. If the damage to the people gets any bigger, the government will never stand idly by.”

He had heard that Won Ji-geuk, the head of the White Society, had only recently taken control.

As such, he must have needed a lot of money.

That’s why he joined hands with the Golden Dragon Merchant Guild and other merchant guilds.

“Now that they have secured enough funds to some extent, it’s a business they can give up on. No, it was a business they had to give up on in order to think about the future. Before the court intervenes.”

He seemed to be making a big concession, but Won Ji-geuk himself was not losing anything.

“But that’s not the end of it.”

“Huh? There’s more?”

Bum Gye-wi, who asked back with a puzzled face, became even more bewildered at Dan Ak-seon’s words that followed.

“He deliberately gave up the Black Shadow Unit the moment we came. He took on the appearance of giving up because of us.”

“Why is that?”

“This gives them something to say to the Green Forest [a group of bandits]. They have gained the justification that they had no choice but to give up the business because of us.”

The Green Forest, whose biggest source of income had disappeared.

It was obvious where the anger of Evil Tiger, the Chief Bandit Leader, would be directed.

“It’s a scheme to divide us and the Green Forest.”

Dan Ak-seon sighed again out of frustration.

“In the end, we can’t avoid the conflict with the Green Forest.”

“Those bastards! How dare they deceive our Dan Doctor?”

Dan Ak-seon stopped Bum Gye-wi, who was turning around.

“If we kill them now, we and the Divine Doctor Merchant Guild will not be able to avoid criticism. Anyway, we made the conditions, and they accepted them entirely.”

Using force here is the worst possible move.

“So, you’re saying we should just leave it alone?”

Dan Ak-seon nodded his head with a bitter smile.

“We can’t do that. But first, we need time to think.”

In any case, the White Society will not be able to provoke them rashly until they gather their strength.

Rather, it was urgent to solve the immediate problem at hand first.

* * *

“What did you just say?”

Evil Tiger, who jumped up from his chair, glared fiercely.

A middle-aged man with a clear impression, who had been standing opposite Evil Tiger, sighed.

It was Seok Dan-pyeong, who was in charge of the Chief position.

“The White Society has given up the Black Shadow Unit. I heard that Won Ji-geuk, the head of the society, and the Divine Doctor met in person and negotiated directly. With this, the Black Shadow Unit has been completely erased from the Jianghu.”

He, too, was just as taken aback as he recognized the situation through the report that had just come up.

It was as if the biggest source of funds had been cut off at once.

He had overcome countless crises so far, but this time, he couldn’t see a solution.

But the problem wasn’t just that.

Seok Dan-pyeong’s subordinate, who cautiously entered the office, handed him a letter and hurried out.

Seok Dan-pyeong’s eyes wavered as he checked the contents of the letter.

“What’s going on?”

At Evil Tiger’s question, Seok Dan-pyeong crumpled the letter he was holding.

“Jeon Gwang, the chief of Crouching Tiger Stronghold, has requested a Green Forest General Assembly.”

Evil Tiger’s eyebrows twitched.

The Green Forest was a force formed by the alliance of eighteen major mountain strongholds.

Among them, Crouching Tiger Stronghold was a traditional powerhouse.

It had the greatest power in terms of size and influence, except for the main headquarters.

Therefore, the influence of the chief, Jeon Gwang, could not be ignored.

On the other hand, the status of Evil Tiger, the Chief Bandit Leader, had deteriorated to the point where it could not be compared to the past.

He had been reigning like a lion, wielding power and authority, but the situation changed from the moment he entrusted himself to Muwi.

The chiefs who followed him were also shrinking because of the head of the group, who was unable to spread his wings properly due to being suppressed by the Divine Doctor Triad.

From their point of view, it was an insult to their pride.

In addition, the agreement with the Divine Doctor Merchant Guild, which was unfavorable to the Green Forest, was decisive.

A pledge not to touch the Divine Doctor Merchant Guild no matter what.

The cunning bastards of the escort agency did not miss this golden opportunity.

They included members of the Divine Doctor Merchant Guild in their escort missions.

As a result, the escort agency had unilaterally dominated the negotiation process with the Green Forest, and unlike before, they no longer feared the Green Forest.

There were even rumors that the escorts were openly ignoring the Green Forest bandits.

The Green Forest’s position in the Jianghu was narrowing.

As a result, the dissatisfaction of each chief had reached its peak.

In fact, letters of protest from the chiefs, asking if they were branches of the Divine Doctor Merchant Guild, were arriving almost every day.

The reason they got involved with opium poppies was because of that.

They had to compensate in some way for the losses they had suffered due to his promise.

But now that even this was blocked, it was truly a desperate situation.

In this situation, he was urgently requesting a Green Forest General Assembly, so it was not difficult to guess the agenda.

Crack.

The armrest of the chair was crushed into powder by Evil Tiger’s clenched fist.

“Are they trying to drag me down?”