The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 391

Divine Physician of the Demonic World (391)

“Are you saying he’s the Black Dot Lord himself?”

Dan Akseon nodded at Neung Somil’s question.

“It’s just a guess, though.”

“No. There’s a high possibility that’s the case. I felt something was off when I first met him. He had too much information for a mere branch leader.”

“But why would the Black Dot Lord be hostile to us?”

Neung Somil pondered for a moment before speaking.

Originally, these kinds of problems become more difficult the more you think about them.

The answer might be surprisingly simple.

“Perhaps he has joined hands with someone else.”

The Black Dot Syndicate is a group that doesn’t care about the principles of the Jianghu [the martial arts world] or honor, and thoroughly pursues profit.

As such, it wasn’t an impossible scenario.

They were the kind of people who could turn their swords around at any time if guaranteed a huge profit.

“Could it be…?”

Dan Akseon trailed off, something occurring to him.

Among the forces hostile to them now, there was only one strong enough to be compared to them.

“Is this also Subo’s scheme?”

Everyone’s eyes darkened at Dan Akseon’s words.

After a moment of silence.

Dan Akseon sighed softly.

“First, we need to find out about the Subseon he had. To do that, we need to find Uncle Ga first.”

The question was whether Ga Dudal would see the warning posted by the Shinma Merchant Guild [a powerful merchant organization] and come to find them.

“There’s no other way right now.”

Beom Gyewi clicked his tongue as if he regretted something.

“I should have broken that bastard’s ankle back then.”

Neung Somil chuckled wryly.

The warning was spread throughout the Central Plains through the Shinma Merchant Guild so that Ga Dudal could recognize it.

However, most of the people in this place didn’t seem to expect much.

But Neung Somil’s thoughts were different.

Basically, humans are creatures ruled by fear.

Unless they were figures from prestigious orthodox sects who valued honor and righteousness, they would inevitably react.

The only reason he was so confident was that his situation was once no different from Ga Dudal’s.

There was no need to look far for a similar example.

You could see it just by looking at Yeop Danyeong, the Shanxi branch leader of the Black Dot Syndicate.

By confessing the identities and positions of other branch leaders, he had practically betrayed the Black Dot Syndicate.

But Neung Somil fully understood him.

For those who had experienced Cho Akryang or Beom Gyewi, it was an extremely natural reaction.

Only they, the people involved, didn’t know the weight of terror their infamy held.

Neung Somil curled up a strange smile.

“Let’s just wait and see.”

* * *

A remote mountain village in the Central Plains, whose name was not even properly known.

Located deep in the mountains, it was an out-of-the-way place where the only outsiders who occasionally visited were hunters and herbalists.

A small ethnic group that had long established its roots in this area was particularly wary of Central Plains people.

For this reason, it took Ga Dudal a considerable amount of time to become close to them.

It would have been impossible without his innate sociability and the friendliness he had developed while wandering throughout the Central Plains.

Plus, a few gifts to win them over.

Thanks to this, Ga Dudal was recognized by them and was staying as a guest.

It was truly the perfect place to hide from the eyes of outsiders.

“I can’t find this taste anywhere else.”

An old inn that had been around for many years.

Ga Dudal, who was playing with his chopsticks in a corner seat, exclaimed in admiration.

He prided himself on being a gourmet, but he couldn’t find such excellent flavors anywhere else in the Central Plains.

It was also the biggest reason he chose this place as his hideout.

At that moment, someone entered the inn.

Ga Dudal quickly buried his face in his bowl so that he couldn’t be seen.

But he didn’t forget to observe the other person out of the corner of his eye.

‘Shinma Merchant Guild?’

Since this place was also inhabited by people, merchants occasionally came from outside in addition to those who climbed the mountains.

These remote mountain areas were where they could sell salt and tea and make high profits.

Among them, the Shinma Merchant Guild was especially welcomed by the villagers because they didn’t take outrageous profits.

“…?”

It was then that a sense of bewilderment arose in Ga Dudal’s eyes.

He assumed that the reason he came to the inn was for a meal, but what was this?

The merchant belonging to the Shinma Merchant Guild was posting posters all over the inn.

Unable to resist his curiosity, Ga Dudal stealthily approached the poster after the merchant disappeared.

Then, in a moment.

He shuddered without realizing it.

―自己來就活(Jǐ jǐ lái jiù huó)，타기내취사(duǒ qǐ lái jiù sǐ).

Ten characters that didn’t seem to mean much.

But when one signature was added below it, the meaning became clear.

“What the hell!”

Startled, Ga Dudal forgot his situation and burst out in a scream close to astonishment.

The owner of the signature was none other than Cho Akryang.

Ga Dudal’s heart sank.

In short, it meant that if he came directly, he would be spared, but if he was caught and dragged in, he would be killed. [The phrase is a warning: Surrender and live, hide and die.]

Ga Dudal looked around to see if anyone was watching.

Fortunately, he was the only guest in the inn.

Tear.

Ga Dudal hurriedly tore off the poster, but his palms were already drenched in sweat.

And so, several days passed.

“Should I just hold out?”

Ga Dudal, who had forgotten to eat and sleep and was only sighing, shook his head.

“No. What kind of people are those monsters?”

Even if no one else did, it was clear that once Cho Akryang and Beom Gyewi set their minds to it, they would search the entire Central Plains to find him.

Clearly, it was impossible to think about it rationally, but his instincts were warning him fiercely.

Since they had even mobilized the Shinma Merchant Guild, he had thought about going deeper into the mountains where merchants didn’t go, but in the end, this was also a temporary solution.

He had also heard rumors that Nokrim [a group of bandits] had declared that they would fully cooperate with Dan Akseon.

He had also thought about secretly crossing the Great Wall and hiding in the grasslands, but that was also a stopgap measure.

After the Blood Cloud Temple was suppressed, the grassland tribes near the Great Wall were already Dan Akseon’s people.

Considering all this, he couldn’t help but sigh.

It was truly a situation where there was no place to hide in this wide world.

His skin was rough from not sleeping for days, and there were dark shadows under his eyes.

Ga Dudal, who had been agonizing over the past few days with a haggard face as if he had a serious illness, finally nodded weakly.

“Still, they say they’ll let me live if I go on my own, so I guess I have to go.”

In fact, he had survived safely last time, hadn’t he?

“Haa… Where did my fate go so wrong?”

Ga Dudal, who left the village with reluctant steps, felt his feet were unusually heavy today.

* * *

Gok Unkyung, who was guarding the entrance to Muwi, was very embarrassed by the long line that had suddenly formed.

He was even more disoriented because it happened before he could fully recover from the injuries he sustained in the battle with Yu Gijin.

Besides…

“Who did you say you came to see just now?”

Still, Gok Unkyung had to be faithful to the task at hand, so he asked the old woman at the head of the endless line again.

Was she in her seventies?

The old woman, who had faint traces of beauty from her younger days, raised her voice in a clear tone.

“Cho Akryang, I came to see that bug-like bastard!”

“Are you saying you came to see Senior Cho?”

“Humph! Senior, my ass. How dare that petty man be called that.”

While Gok Unkyung was speechless at the old woman’s abusive language.

The old woman, who had discovered someone, raised the bamboo staff she was holding and pointed to one place.

“Humph! There he is. I don’t know how wickedly he used his heart, but he hasn’t aged at all. Even time couldn’t stand that temper and avoided it!”

Gok Unkyung, who turned his head towards the place the old woman was pointing, was able to find Cho Akryang standing there with a surprised face.

It was then that Cho Akryang’s eyes widened as he carefully watched the old woman.

“Miss Shim?”

“Yes, it’s me! You’re threatening to kill me now just because I rejected your confession? How long ago was that? Even the landscape has changed five times!”

“What are you talking about?”

At Cho Akryang’s question, the old woman raised the paper she had brought.

It was the notice posted throughout the Central Plains through the Shinma Merchant Guild.

“You crazy bastard! I don’t care if I die, but don’t touch my family. At least if you’re human, you’ll have that much conscience!”

Cho Akryang was speechless at the sight of the old woman waving her cane and shouting at the top of her lungs.

‘How did this misunderstanding happen?’

Gok Unkyung, who barely calmed the old woman down, spoke to another person in the back this time.

“Did you also come to see Senior Cho?”

“…Yes.”

The elderly man in his sixties, who answered weakly, cast a fearful gaze towards Cho Akryang.

“About thirty years ago, I tricked him into selling him a spirit medicine. I am deeply remorseful, so please spare my life.”

That was the beginning.

Even though Gok Unkyung didn’t ask separately, the people who were lined up began to talk loudly.

“I was caught trying to pickpocket him before. I was forgiven at that time, but I’m still worried…”

“I secretly spat in the food when I was making it before. The waiter who was watching it ran away a while ago. So I was wondering if that guy secretly reported it…”

Gok Unkyung chuckled without realizing it.

He realized once again that when a person becomes so dumbfounded, they chuckle.

On the other hand, Cho Akryang’s position was different.

Before he knew it, his face was as red as a drunken man.

He swore that he had never had such an embarrassing day in his life.

To think that the shameful memories of the past, which he had forgotten, would skip over decades and follow him so persistently.

Fortunately, Beom Gyewi was not here.

If that bastard had seen it, he would have grabbed his stomach and laughed at him.

“How much scandal have you been spreading? How much unnecessary resentment have you built up?”

“…!”

Cho Akryang flinched at Han Seolhwa’s voice from behind.

He was so embarrassed that he didn’t even notice her approaching.

‘What a disgrace!’

Han Seolhwa, who was giving him a pathetic look, was also a considerable burden, although she was better than Beom Gyewi.

The embarrassment soon turned into anger, and that anger was directed at one person.

It was Ga Dudal, the culprit of all this.

‘Just wait until I catch you.’

As he was grinding his teeth inwardly.

Cho Akryang’s gaze was fixed on one place.

The very end of the long line.

It was towards a man who was standing awkwardly, shuffling his feet.

Cho Akryang burst out with a mournful cry as he confirmed the man’s face, who was startled when their eyes met.

“You bastard!”

Before the earth-shattering roar could dissipate, Cho Akryang was already standing in front of Ga Dudal.

“W-was it me?”

Cho Akryang’s murderous aura poured down mercilessly on Ga Dudal’s face, which had turned pale.

“Then who else would it be but you?”

“At first, I thought so too, but…”

Ga Dudal looked around.

“There are so many people in front of me. And behind me too…”

Certainly, that was true.

Even now, there were people pushing in behind Ga Dudal.

Cho Akryang couldn’t even remember, but when he saw them flinching at the sight of him, it seemed like they had met in the past.

“The others are not subject to the notice, so please go back.”

People were greatly relieved by the roar filled with magnificent inner strength and scattered in all directions.

“Hehe, long time no see. How have you been?”

Ga Dudal, who sensed the crisis in Cho Akryang’s bleak eyes, tried to act friendly.

“Still, I came on my own, so you’ll spare me, right?”

“Of course.”

Ga Dudal’s face, which had been filled with relief, quickly lost its color at Cho Akryang’s words that followed.

“I’ll leave you with your life.”