The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 395

신마의선 (395)

At Yoon-heum’s explanation, Dan-ak Seon had to address one thing.

“How did you know he was the Black Dot Lord?”

“I didn’t know at first. I spent years monitoring Eunuch Sa Rye’s henchmen and painstakingly figuring out their connections. Then, he appeared in Muwi and urgently dispatched personnel to our side.”

Yoon-heum added with a troubled expression.

“But who would have thought Eunuch Sa Rye would join hands with the Demonic Cult….”

Yoon-heum, who had been humming, nodded.

“Well, that reason explains everything.”

“In what way?”

“From the suspicious demise of the late Emperor to the background of supporting the current Emperor…. Above all, when His Majesty first ascended the throne, the court was in a very chaotic state. As it was not a succession by the legitimate son, His Majesty’s position was not as solid as it is now. Eunuch Sa Rye is the number one contributor to making the current Emperor who he is.”

“So?”

“He is an extremely greedy person. He is by no means someone who would be satisfied with the position of Eunuch Sa Rye. What he’s aiming for is probably….”

Yoon-heum trailed off, but Dan-ak Seon could guess the rest without having to hear it.

“The revival of the Prime Minister system.”

Yoon-heum nodded.

“He will want to rise to a position truly second to none.”

At that moment, a word flashed through Dan-ak Seon’s mind.

‘Chief Secretary!’

Once he understood Eunuch Sa Rye’s goal, everything finally clicked into place.

The cabinet deeply involved in the Emperor’s policies.

The head of the cabinet, the Senior Grand Secretary, was generally called the Chief Secretary.

In fact, the current Chief Secretary of the court also held the position of Minister of Personnel, the head of the Nine Ministers, so in reality, his role was not much different from that of a Prime Minister.

Eunuch Sa Rye was trying to push him out and take over the role of Chief Secretary himself.

Dan-ak Seon recalled something he had once heard from Princess Yeongsun.

The current Eunuch Sa Rye is the person the Emperor trusts the most.

Even if this incident is resolved, he couldn’t help but worry about the aftermath.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only thing he was concerned about.

“But is it okay? I know that the Supervisor Eunuch of the Eastern Depot is favored by Eunuch Sa Rye.”

Yoon-heum, understanding Dan-ak Seon’s words, smiled.

“You don’t have to worry. Although the Eastern Depot is Eunuch Sa Rye’s henchman, there are still factions within it. Our movements have not been exposed yet.”

“Factions?”

“We never want someone like Yoo Geun to appear again.”

The close aide of the former dynasty who wielded power and acted tyrannically with the Emperor’s authority.

His misdeeds, which could not be fully recorded even in books, were still on the lips of many people.

“How much do you know about the history of eunuchs?”

At Yoon-heum’s sudden question, Dan-ak Seon hesitated to answer.

As if expecting this, Yoon-heum continued his explanation.

“When the Ming Dynasty was first founded, our eunuchs were not even treated as people. It was forbidden to learn to read, and if we were caught learning martial arts, our entire clan would face annihilation that very day.”

This was a decision made by Emperor Hongwu, who was concerned about the rise of eunuchs.

“Fortunately, Emperor Yongle’s ascension to the throne improved our treatment.”

Emperor Yongle, who forcibly removed his nephew, the Emperor, and became Emperor himself.

This was possible because many eunuchs who were dissatisfied with the reality assisted Emperor Yongle.

“But even now, the court officials are constantly looking for opportunities to kick us out. In this situation, if Eunuch Sa Rye follows in the footsteps of Yoo Geun….”

Yoon-heum sighed heavily with a grave expression.

“Even our current position, which is barely maintained, is likely to become precarious. Moreover, if a bloodbath occurs, only innocent eunuchs like us will die.”

“……”

“That is why we have no choice but to step in. Sorting out the poison within the eunuch organization is something that only we eunuchs can do. Only then can we prevent the sacrifice of innocent people.”

Dan-ak Seon nodded silently.

At first, he thought it was simply a power struggle between eunuchs.

But behind it, there was a complex reason he had not considered.

“Then, do you happen to know where the Black Dot Lord is now?”

At Dan-ak Seon’s question, Yoon-heum shook his head.

“He seems to be trying to contact Eunuch Sa Rye recently. But Eunuch Sa Rye is refusing to meet him.”

“He may have noticed that he is being watched.”

“His personality itself is very cautious.”

“The Black Dot Lord won’t give up on meeting Eunuch Sa Rye, will he?”

“I don’t think he will give up easily, as he is the only lifeline in the current situation.”

Yoon-heum, who had asserted that, carefully opened his mouth.

“Now that things have come to this, how about we join forces?”

“Join forces?”

“If there is anything I can do to help, I will gladly do my best. I will catch Eunuch Sa Rye, and Doctor Dan will catch the Black Dot Lord.”

Dan-ak Seon gladly accepted his offer.

“If we had been honest and had this conversation from the beginning, we wouldn’t have had to come this far.”

At Dan-ak Seon’s words, Yoon-heum lowered his head.

“I always had to be careful because I was dealing with Eunuch Sa Rye. Above all, I didn’t want to involve Doctor Dan and cause harm if things went wrong and our existence and purpose were exposed.”

Since he said that much, Dan-ak Seon couldn’t pursue the responsibility any further.

It was then.

“Oh, my goodness.”

Dan-ak Seon cast a puzzled look at Yoon-heum’s sudden surprise.

Yoon-heum lowered his head with an embarrassed expression.

“I have committed a great discourtesy. Even though I am in a hurry, I haven’t even offered a cup of tea to the precious guest who has visited my home.”

“I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“No. I recently acquired some precious tea.”

Dan-ak Seon couldn’t ignore Yoon-heum’s sincerity in brewing and serving the tea himself.

“It is high-quality Junshan Yinzhen [a type of yellow tea] produced near Dongting Lake.”

“Thank you.”

Dan-ak Seon nodded and brought the tea Yoon-heum handed him to his lips.

But as soon as he poured a sip into his mouth, he frowned.

Dan-ak Seon had already tasted all kinds of famous teas from the Central Plains thanks to Princess Yeongsun.

Among them was Junshan Yinzhen.

But the tea Yoon-heum handed him tasted subtly different from the Junshan Yinzhen he had tasted back then.

‘Poison!’

Realizing the identity of the subtle difference in taste,
Dan-ak Seon hurriedly spat out the tea he had been holding in his mouth.

Dan-ak Seon looked at Yoon-heum, who was sitting across from him, with surprised eyes.

But Yoon-heum had already swallowed a sip of tea.

Sure enough.

“Cough!”

Yoon-heum’s face turned pale in an instant.

Dan-ak Seon quickly made Yoon-heum vomit the tea he had drunk and then proceeded with detoxification.

Fortunately, he had the antidote, so it wasn’t difficult.

“That’s a truly terrible poison.”

Yoon-heum, who belatedly regained his senses, made a groaning sound.

If Dan-ak Seon hadn’t been here, he would have died from the deadly poison.

Yoon-heum immediately left his room and looked for the servant who had brought the hot water.

But he was already dead.

Yoon-heum stared silently at the cold corpse of the servant, and it was after a long time that he opened his mouth.

“I think we need to move up the plan.”

“Could it be that Eunuch Sa Rye noticed?”

Yoon-heum shook his head with a complicated expression.

“Since it’s something our Eastern Depot is doing, it’s not strange to incur resentment at any time. But just in case it’s someone sent by Eunuch Sa Rye, it’s better to hurry.”

As soon as he noticed the poison, Dan-ak Seon initially suspected Yoon-heum.

But if he had tried to poison him, he wouldn’t have risked it like this.

At that moment, a unique bird sound was heard from somewhere.

At the same time, Yoon-heum’s eyes flashed as he listened carefully.

“It is said that the Black Dot Lord has just appeared. Eunuch Sa Rye has also just left the palace.”

Dan-ak Seon nodded and started running towards the location Yoon-heum had told him.

Dan-ak Seon, who joined Han Seol-hwa in the middle, was soon able to find Eunuch Sa Rye leaving the office with his guards.

He had visited Muwi with the Emperor, so it wasn’t difficult to recognize his face.

“We have to wait and catch them the moment they meet.”

At Dan-ak Seon’s words, Han Seol-hwa nodded silently.

So the two of them began to follow Eunuch Sa Rye, concealing their presence as much as possible.

No matter how powerful a master was, there was no way to escape the senses of the two who had set out with determination.

And as expected.

Before long, Dan-ak Seon was able to find a bamboo hat man secretly approaching Eunuch Sa Rye’s procession.

Yu Gi-jin, who had escaped from Muwi.

It was him.

However, Dan-ak Seon did not move rashly.

As he held his breath and endured.

Soon, Eunuch Sa Rye’s procession headed to the most luxurious and famous inn in Beijing.

The owner of the inn came out himself and greeted Eunuch Sa Rye politely.

And soon guided him to a private room in the inner hall.

Already, a meal was prepared for him in the private room.

Unexpectedly, the meal was very simple.

A single dried and grilled herring and a porridge made with pine nuts were all there was to the simple meal.

Eunuch Sa Rye silently picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

At that moment, a person quietly entered the private room.

“……!”

Eunuch Sa Rye’s eyes shook slightly at the sight of the suddenly appearing bamboo hat man.

But soon, he regained his composure as if nothing had happened.

It is common to express the martial arts world as a forest of swords, but the political world was also a place where dangers lurked no less.

As a person who had overcome countless schemes and crises, he also had the courage not to bat an eye at ordinary things.

Yu Gi-jin took off his bamboo hat and bowed respectfully to Eunuch Sa Rye.

“This ignorant commoner, Yu Gi-jin, greets Gonggong [a respectful title for eunuchs], who commands ten thousand eunuchs.”

Eunuch Sa Rye put down his chopsticks and stared at Yu Gi-jin.

After a while.

“What business does this official have with you?”

Yu Gi-jin smiled.

At that moment.

Bang.

The door to the private room suddenly opened and two people jumped in.

Alarm took hold on Yu Gi-jin’s face as he belatedly discovered Dan-ak Seon and Han Seol-hwa.

“Finally caught them in the act.”

Yu Gi-jin’s figure shook once at Dan-ak Seon’s shout.

And immediately rushed towards Dan-ak Seon.

But there was no way that a surprise attack would work on Dan-ak Seon, who was fully prepared.

Crack.

Yu Gi-jin’s figure, who had been hit in the side by the Black Dragon [Dan-ak Seon’s weapon] wielded by Dan-ak Seon, collided with the wall as it was.

Crash.

Yu Gi-jin, who was bounced off while breaking the wall, changed direction and started to run away.

It seemed like he was aiming for this from the beginning.

“I’ll chase him.”

Dan-ak Seon left Eunuch Sa Rye to Han Seol-hwa and flew out of the private room.

Even if he was Eunuch Sa Rye, who boasted power, Han Seol-hwa was a benefactor who had shown grace to the Emperor in the past.

As such, she would be able to handle Eunuch Sa Rye more easily than himself.

“Who are you?”

Eunuch Sa Rye, who belatedly recognized Han Seol-hwa, wore a surprised expression.

But that was the end.

“Ugh!”

The terrible cold that arose along the sleeves wielded by Han Seol-hwa sealed Eunuch Sa Rye’s mouth.

It was then that a group of people rushed in and surrounded the private room.

The Jinyiwei’s [imperial secret police] guards, led by Yoon-heum, rushed in.

“It’s been a while, Gonggong.”

Yoon-heum politely paid his respects to Eunuch Sa Rye.

Then he smiled at Eunuch Sa Rye, who was scolding him with his eyes.

“Let’s go with us.”

The charges against Eunuch Sa Rye had already been reported directly to the Emperor.

This is also why he brought the Imperial Guards belonging to the Jinyiwei, who only followed the Emperor’s orders.

This was to fundamentally prevent the Eastern Depot’s guards from taking Eunuch Sa Rye away.