The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 400

Divine Doctor of Demonic Arts (400)

After concluding the Nine Great Sects meeting in Xi’an, Dan Akseon returned to Muwi and held another meeting with the Three Demonic Venerables.

One of the plans he had been contemplating was taking concrete shape.

“They will move before long. Subo also asserted that they wouldn’t last past next year, so we need our own countermeasures.”

“Countermeasures?”

Dan Akseon nodded at Cho Akryang’s question.

“Thinking about Subo’s words in reverse, it also means they won’t move immediately. This means it’s an opportunity for us.”

“Do you mean we should strike first before they run rampant?”

“Similar, but slightly different.”

“……?”

“I mean we should choose the battlefield where we fight.”

Dan Akseon continued his explanation.

“The reason the Central Plains suffered so much during the Righteous-Demonic War was because we fought them in the Central Plains. So the damage from their rampage accumulated as losses. It took a considerable amount of time to repair and restore it. If we didn’t know they would rise again, we wouldn’t know, but repeating the same situation knowingly is foolish, I think.”

“Even so, those inflexible Righteous Sects wouldn’t dare to wage an all-out war first, would they?”

“We’re not the Righteous Sects, are we?”

Cho Akryang chuckled at Dan Akseon’s response.

He found Dan Akseon’s attitude of naturally recognizing himself as a member of the Demonic Path amusing.

The eminent figures of the Nine Great Sects in the Central Plains.

None of them treated Dan Akseon as a member of the Demonic Path.

At that moment, Dan Akseon continued to reveal his plan.

“How about forming a special unit with a small number of powerful individuals to attack their bases? Even if it’s not direct damage, if we can shake their foundations, their rampage will be delayed. Conversely, the Central Plains martial arts world can buy enough time. Furthermore, it will also have the effect of dispersing their attention and increasing their anxiety.”

Even small damages, when accumulated, eventually lead to significant losses.

If the Demonic Cult reacts to this and invests its full force, we can simply chip away at the opponent’s strength by using hit-and-run tactics.

It’s an impossible operation for most experts, but it wouldn’t be a problem for the Three Demonic Venerables.

Cho Akryang and Han Seolhwa exchanged glances and nodded.

It wasn’t an entirely impossible plan.

A scheme that subtly steals the opponent’s sheep when the opportunity arises (順手牽羊) [Shunshou Qianyang: lit. “Steal a goat in passing,” a Chinese idiom for taking advantage of an opportunity] and a strategy that shakes the opponent’s fundamental weaknesses by removing firewood from under the cauldron (釜底抽薪) [Fudichouxin: lit. “Removing the firewood under the pot,” a Chinese idiom for undermining the foundation].

It also incorporated the principle of luring the tiger out of the mountain to induce a fight in favorable terrain (調虎離山) [Diaohulishan: lit. “Lure the tiger from its mountain lair,” a Chinese idiom for drawing an enemy away from their defenses].

However, this plan had an unavoidable problem.

“It could provoke them and accelerate their rampage. If they strike the Central Plains with full force, we will be isolated within the enemy’s territory. Also, the Central Plains martial arts world, unprepared, may have to endure great damage.”

“So, I’m trying to pressure them by using a method of gradually tightening the noose, starting with one base. We must become a slow, soaking drizzle, not a blaze that startles them.”

Cho Akryang tilted his head.

“But we haven’t even found out the location of the Divine Land drawn on the Celestial Demon Fan, let alone their bases, have we?”

Dan Akseon smiled.

“There’s one place that’s already been revealed, isn’t there?”

After organizing his thoughts for a moment, Cho Akryang soon recalled one place.

“Are you talking about the Gangmyeong Inn?”

“Yes. There must be a clue in that inn where those who received the fake Demonic Art manual went on their own.”

“But they won’t easily reveal their true colors.”

Since the fake Demonic Art manual incident, the Beggars’ Sect has been relentlessly watching the Gangmyeong Inn.

However, they couldn’t find any clear evidence that they were related to the Demonic Cult.

Only suspicious circumstances in many ways.

It was then that Dan Akseon smiled awkwardly after hesitating for a moment.

“Bait… I’m sorry to say, but…”

“……?”

“We happen to have the right person, don’t we?”

Cho Akryang turned his head, following Dan Akseon’s gaze, and smiled faintly.

Far away.

Because Gadu-dal, who was obliviously picking and eating herbs that were good for his body, caught his eye.

“That’s right. If it’s that guy…”

Cho Akryang nodded.

If they were members of the Demonic Cult, they would lose their minds and rush at him like moths to a flame on a summer night as soon as they discovered him.

Gadu-dal, who felt a strange feeling, flinched and looked this way.

“P, please save me.”

Cho Akryang burst into dry laughter at Gadu-dal’s appearance, instinctively blurting out those words without even realizing it.

“I’m glad I didn’t kill him and kept him alive.”

“He will definitely reveal his true colors in order to recover the fan, which is the item of the previous Celestial Demon.”

Gadu-dal smiled along, not knowing what was going on, at Dan Akseon’s smiling face.

* * *

The outskirts of Qinghai Province.

A small village where only merchants passing to and from distant places occasionally pass by.

The only inn here, Gangmyeong Inn, barely maintained its existence thanks to the occasional merchants who came by.

Around noon.

A man entered the inn, which bore the marks of harsh weather over the years.

“Welcome. What can I get you?”

Whether there were no servers, the cook himself stuck his head out from the kitchen to greet the guest.

Was he in his seventies?

A gray-haired old man with scars that sparsely covered his face, naturally creating a sense of dread.

The guest, looking around the quiet inn with no customers, dusted off the sand from his travel cloak and took a seat near the entrance.

“One serving of somyeon [Korean wheat flour noodles].”

The cook’s eyes gleamed strangely the moment he confirmed the man’s face, which was revealed as he took off his travel cloak.

“Please wait a moment.”

As the cook disappeared into the kitchen, Gadu-dal looked around anxiously.

‘Why am I here alone?’

From what he heard, this place was one of the Demonic Cult’s hideouts, but he couldn’t back out now.

There was no other way now.

He had no choice but to trust Dan Akseon, who had told him not to worry because he would be safe.

As he was restless with half fear and half complicated feelings, that’s when.

The somyeon he had ordered came out.

‘Could they have put poison in here?’

However, he couldn’t feel anything suspicious from the cook’s appearance as he put down the bowl of somyeon and turned away indifferently.

For a moment, he wondered if Dan Akseon had guessed wrong.

However, he didn’t have the courage to bring the food to his mouth.

Without a choice, he stirred the noodles with his chopsticks, pretending to eat.

That’s when.

Two people entered as the inn door opened.

At first glance, they were clearly merchants passing through this area.

They also ordered food and took their seats.

However, among the many seats, they happened to be at a table close to him.

Moreover, it was in a position that blocked him between himself and the entrance.

Gadu-dal was inwardly nervous, but even after a long time, he didn’t feel anything strange.

‘Did they really guess wrong?’

Gadu-dal tilted his head and took out the Celestial Demon Fan from his chest.

Then, he openly spread out the fan and started fanning himself as if to show off.

Of course, what he held in his hand was not the real thing.

One of the countless imitations he had made in the past to evade the Demonic Cult’s pursuit.

However, no matter how fake the Celestial Demon Fan was, as long as it was in the hands of Gadu-dal, the person who had stolen it in the first place, it was no longer an imitation.

As expected.

“It’s Ghost Shadow Demon Child (鬼影魔子) [Guiying Mozi: likely a title or nickname].”

“To come here on your own. Are you clueless? Or are you fearless?”

“It must be bad luck.”

Gadu-dal’s heart sank in an instant.

Two merchants staring intently at him.

They were no longer ordinary merchants.

Not to mention the thick murderous intent swirling in their eyes, but above all, the eerie energy pouring out from their entire bodies was clearly the demonic energy that only those who had mastered demonic arts naturally revealed.

‘They’re more skilled than I thought!’

The fact that he hadn’t noticed the demonic energy they had been hiding until they revealed their presence was proof of that.

Hiding his trembling eyes, Gadu-dal glared back at the men.

“Disappointing. To threaten someone who came for negotiations with martial arts. Is that all the Demonic Cult, which pretends to be so great, is capable of? Besides…”

Gadu-dal looked around once and raised a confident smile.

“Are you going to try to do something to me with only five people? Aren’t you underestimating my lightness skill, called Shintu (神偷) [Shentou: lit. “Divine Thief,” referring to his thieving skills]?”

In the meantime, Gadu-dal sensed the energy of those who were surrounding the inn in a 品 (品) [Pin: a Chinese character that resembles a pyramid shape, indicating the arrangement of the ambush] shape from the outside.

It was then.

“Six.”

“……?”

Gadu-dal looked towards the kitchen with a puzzled face.

The cook who had greeted him at first.

The moment his eyes met his, Gadu-dal got goosebumps all over his body.

Unlike the men who had disguised themselves as merchants, he didn’t reveal a chilling murderous intent, nor did he emit a flamboyant demonic energy.

Yet, his chest felt stuffy and the nerves all over his body were stretched taut.

He could sense that he was an expert at least several levels ahead of the other five.

The cook, who had walked out with an indifferent look, sat directly across from Gadu-dal.

“Try running away.”

The cook, who started with those words, flashed a cold glint in his eyes.

“I knew you weren’t ordinary since you stole the Lord’s item, but how dare you talk about the level of this cult?”

Gadu-dal, pretending to be calm, countered those words, sensing the danger swirling quietly in the opponent’s eyes.

“Of course I can’t help but doubt the level of service when you treat guests so carelessly.”

“Guest?”

Gadu-dal took out another Celestial Demon Fan from his chest.

“Could it be?”

The eyes of the Demonic Cult member disguised as a cook shook.

He instinctively guessed that it was the other remaining Celestial Demon Fan that Black Dot Owner, Yu Gijin, had possessed.

Gadu-dal smiled smugly, confirming that appearance.

“Only I in the world can steal this while avoiding those monsters.”

The cook, who had been staring intently at Gadu-dal, emitted a chilly glint in his eyes.

“Are you going to dare to negotiate with this cult?”

“I have to find a way to live too, don’t I? Now that I’ve run away from those devils, I have nowhere to set foot in the Central Plains anymore. I need to have a full pocket to go into hiding.”

“…….”

“Ah! As it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that I risked my life on, you better not think about lowballing the price.”

Gadu-dal smiled as he felt the presence of the two men subtly narrowing the distance between them and himself.

“You better not. It will be faster for me to destroy the fan than for you to catch me.”

“What if we refuse?”

Gadu-dal also responded with courage to the cook’s old man’s bleak eyes.

“I’ll have to take it back to Sinmagok, right? If I take the information that this place is a Demonic Cult’s hideout, I might still save my life, right?”

“Ha!”

The old man snorted briefly, with a dumbfounded look in his eyes.

It was then.

A person came in through the store door and reported directly to the old man.

“The surroundings are clean.”

“Are you sure?”

“I have confirmed that there is no one within a hundred yards.”

Gadu-dal was inwardly greatly surprised by those words.

Although he didn’t show it on his face, he suddenly felt his liver shrinking.

‘What? They said they’d be nearby? This is different from what we agreed on!’

He had believed Dan Akseon’s words not to worry so much…

‘Could it be that they abandoned me?’

It was then that the old man, who had been frowning for a moment, slammed the table in front of him.

Kwaang!

With a deafening explosion, Gadu-dal was surprised and took a few steps back without even realizing it.

“……?”

It was then that doubt arose in Gadu-dal’s eyes.

Contrary to the loud noise, the table was surprisingly fine.

At that moment.

Thud.

Gadu-dal’s eyes widened at the sight of the table losing its shape in an instant, turning into powder, and collapsing.

Suddenly, the name of one person known to use such martial arts flashed through his mind.