The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 439

신마의선 (439)

‘Where did this monster come from…’

Gu Yang-jin swallowed hard without realizing it.

Except for his unusually cold eyes, he looked no different from an ordinary person.

But that was just the first impression.

The presence emanating from the silently standing young man was so overwhelming that he couldn’t even begin to fathom its depth.

A chill ran down his spine.

He couldn’t explain it exactly, but a martial artist’s instinct was constantly warning him of something ominous.

Gu Yang-jin instinctively realized that he was facing the strongest adversary of his life.

He was truly curious about the identity of the man who overwhelmed his surroundings with just his eyes.

‘Today, this gathering will bring more misfortune than fortune.’

The composure Gu Yang-jin had shown until just now was long gone from his face, which was more tense than ever.

It was then.

“Lord Gokju?”

Called by the voice, Dan Ahk-seon turned his head to look at So Jeok-san.

As their eyes met, So Jeok-san’s eyes gradually widened.

“You are Lord Gokju, aren’t you?”

So Jeok-san rubbed his eyes several times with a disbelieving expression and asked again.

It had been a full ten years.

His appearance had changed greatly in the meantime, so he couldn’t recognize him right away, but the Mukryong [a type of staff or dragon club] in Dan Ahk-seon’s hand was familiar.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, some of his childhood features still remained in the details, such as the shape of his eyes, the bridge of his nose, and his earlobes.

Dan Ahk-seon smiled quietly.

“It’s been a while.”

“Lord Gokju!”

So Jeok-san, who was about to hug Dan Ahk-seon tightly, stopped himself without realizing it.

He had unconsciously reached out his hand out of joy, but Dan Ahk-seon’s utterly unfamiliar aura contained something that was difficult to approach.

Dan Ahk-seon’s smile and tone of voice hadn’t changed much from before.

His charm, which warmly and gently captivated people’s hearts, was still there.

On the other hand, the energy that naturally flowed from his eyes and his whole body formed a very contrasting contrast.

But then.

Dan Ahk-seon suddenly hugged the hesitant So Jeok-san.

“Thank you.”

So Jeok-san, who was embraced in an awkward expression, showed bewilderment.

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“I heard you’ve been through a lot because of me.”

“…Lord Gokju.”

So Jeok-san choked up.

The memories of struggling alone to manage the Merchant Guild, worrying and struggling, flashed through his mind.

But it didn’t matter.

No matter how hard he worked, someone would always recognize him like this.

It was then that cheers erupted from all over the place.

“Lord Gokju…? Are you Doctor Dan?”

“You’ve become so handsome that I almost didn’t recognize you!”

“The Divine Devilish Doctor! Doctor Dan has returned!”

A strange heat settled on the faces of the warriors.

And this spread to the surroundings in an instant, and soon became a hot shout that shook the area.

At least in this Moo-Wei [a region or area], Dan Ahk-seon was incomparable to anyone.

A symbol that supports Moo-Wei.

Perhaps it was a being comparable to faith, or even more than that.

Dan Ahk-seon turned his head to look at Sa Mu-sim.

“Uncle Chief Manager, it’s been a while.”

Sa Mu-sim, who was still looking up at Dan Ahk-seon with an unbelievable expression, belatedly staggered and got up.

“Is your body alright now?”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to worry about me right now.”

At those words, Sa Mu-sim smiled even with his face covered in blood.

“With the Divine Devilish Doctor by my side, what worries could I have?”

“I’ll treat you first.”

Dan Ahk-seon quickly inserted needles into Sa Mu-sim’s vital points.

After leaving Sa Mu-sim, who closed his eyes and started regulating his breathing, Dan Ahk-seon got up.

Gu Yang-jin’s complexion turned ashen the moment his eyes met Dan Ahk-seon’s.

“You’re causing trouble to ordinary people here in Moo-Wei, and to make matters worse, you’ve harmed the people who tried to stop you.”

Gu Yang-jin let out a groan at Dan Ahk-seon’s words.

His tone was extremely polite, but his eyes were as cold as a huge glacier.

That contrasting appearance.

That’s why it inspired even more fear.

He was momentarily flustered by the feeling of fear that he was experiencing for the first time in a long time.

Belatedly, Gu Yang-jin, who remembered something, hurriedly looked around.

The Shinma Three Venerables [elite protectors], known for never leaving Dan Ahk-seon’s side like bodyguards.

In particular, Beom Gye-wi was the most fearful being to him.

Dan Ahk-seon opened his mouth towards him.

“They are in another place.”

“……”

A sense of relief settled on Gu Yang-jin’s eyes.

He couldn’t deny that the person in front of him possessed great martial arts skills.

But he was still a greenhorn with little experience in the Jianghu [the martial world].

He was confident that he could win him over.

“There was a bit of an unpleasant incident, but…”

Gu Yang-jin, who was about to speak while staring at Dan Ahk-seon, was startled and took a step back.

Dan Ahk-seon had suddenly closed the distance between them.

“Wa, wait a minute!”

Gu Yang-jin hurriedly tried to stop Dan Ahk-seon, but the Mukryong in Dan Ahk-seon’s hand was even faster.

The moment the dark light, flashing like lightning, aimed at his chest and exploded.

Gu Yang-jin drew up all his strength and raised his protective energy.

Bang!

With an explosion, Gu Yang-jin staggered and stepped back.

Fortunately, he didn’t collapse in an unsightly manner with a single blow like his subordinates.

But it wasn’t like there was no damage at all.

He barely withstood the blow, but he barely managed to swallow the blood that was rising up his throat.

His stomach was churning and his head was spinning from the clash just now.

Only then did Gu Yang-jin change his mind.

‘I have to get out of here somehow…’

But he couldn’t continue that thought either.

Because he realized that there was no way to escape from the space that the opponent already dominated.

At that moment, Dan Ahk-seon moved again.

“……!”

Gu Yang-jin’s heart sank.

He had been practicing martial arts all his life, but he couldn’t follow the opponent’s movements with his eyes.

It was as if the space in front of him had been erased in an instant.

The bewilderment soon turned into confusion, and soon into fear.

It was then that he discovered the dark shadow flying towards his side.

Gu Yang-jin hurriedly waved his hand to strike down the Mukryong.

But this was a fatal mistake.

His mind wavered, and his response was hasty, which eventually led to a mistake.

Uncharacteristically, his body reacted on its own to the obvious temptation of a feint.

Because of that, he couldn’t keep up with the changing trajectory of the dark light.

And Dan Ahk-seon was not lenient enough to overlook that mistake.

Crack!

“……!”

Gu Yang-jin’s eyes widened.

His knee, which had been bent backwards by the Mukbong [another name for the Mukryong], came into view.

It was a serious injury that would take several months of recuperation to barely be able to walk.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

The Mukryong in Dan Ahk-seon’s hand moved strangely, and then wrapped around Gu Yang-jin’s armpits and arms.

Kwaang!

“Keok!”

A scream escaped from Gu Yang-jin’s mouth as he was violently slammed to the floor.

Gu Yang-jin, who took in a lot of dust, was truly horrified.

A short fight that took place in an instant.

But the result was obvious.

“Ugh!”

Gu Yang-jin, who was struggling in a miserable state, cried out in alarm again.

A dark flash falling like lightning towards his forehead.

Gu Yang-jin hurriedly reached out his prosthetic hand to grab the Mukbong.

Kwajik.

The prosthetic hand shattered into pieces like a tanghulu [a candied fruit skewer].

The prosthetic hand, specially made by mixing cold iron and kunwu steel, was so strong and sturdy that it could easily grab and tear apart any sharp sword.

But it was utterly powerless in front of the dark Mukbong that was rushing in front of him.

But the real problem was different.

Even after shattering the prosthetic hand, the Mukbong did not stop.

Paak!

Gu Yang-jin’s head caved in from the crown to the forehead.

“What…, this is dogshit…”

Gu Yang-jin muttered, spitting out blood from all seven orifices.

And that was the last will he left behind.

He couldn’t close his eyes even in death.

His eyes, from which the light of life had disappeared, were filled with disbelief and fear.

“……!”

So Jeok-san stared at Dan Ahk-seon with surprised eyes.

It wasn’t because of the Old Monster Gomok, who had died without even putting up a proper resistance in the blink of an eye.

Dan Ahk-seon’s eyes, standing blankly and looking down at Gu Yang-jin.

He was terrified by the extremely cold and indifferent murderous intent and the unwavering ruthlessness contained within them.

It was a completely different and more ruthless appearance than the Dan Ahk-seon they remembered.

But that was only for a moment.

“Waa!”

So Jeok-san, who came to his senses at the roar that shook the area, ordered his subordinates to clean up the area.

Just in time, Sa Mu-sim also finished his breathing and opened his eyes.

Sa Mu-sim also couldn’t hide his surprise after grasping the surrounding situation.

Unless you were the person who had been watching Dan Ahk-seon for the past ten years, there was no way to know what had happened to him.

However, he could guess that Dan Ahk-seon’s personality had changed greatly from before, so much so that the saying “even frozen ice can be broken” was meaningless.

The top floor of the Shinma Merchant Guild’s main headquarters.

So Jeok-san, who had guided Dan Ahk-seon and Sa Mu-sim to the Lord’s office, brewed tea himself.

‘He’s like a completely different person.’

Even while pouring tea into the teacups placed in front of each of them, So Jeok-san kept glancing at Dan Ahk-seon’s profile.

Looking at him lost in deep thought while drinking tea, he missed Dan Ahk-seon’s pure and kind smile from the past.

Sitting silently like this, he seemed like a mix of Cho Ak-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa.

An overwhelming atmosphere that was difficult to approach.

Perhaps that’s why he became careful without realizing it.

On the other hand, Sa Mu-sim still gave Dan Ahk-seon a soft look.

“You’ve changed a lot.”

Sa Mu-sim nodded at Dan Ahk-seon, who answered with a bitter smile.

“Ten years is a very long time.”

And the two were silent for a while.

How much time had passed like that?

“Is it completely over now?”

Dan Ahk-seon smiled slightly at Sa Mu-sim’s question.

“Did it take too long?”

“It seems long, but when you look back, time passes in an instant.”

“It’s such a good thing to have someone waiting for you.”

Dan Ahk-seon was endlessly happy to see the two of them, who were unchanged unlike himself.

The traces of time were evident in Sa Mu-sim, who now had quite a few gray hairs, and in Neung So-mil, who had the trustworthy demeanor of a Merchant Guild Lord.

But the way they looked at him was still the same.

At that time, Sa Mu-sim asked carefully.

“But why didn’t Senior Cho and Senior Han come with you?”

They were two people who never left Dan Ahk-seon’s side.

At first, all three of the Shinma Three Venerables protected Dan Ahk-seon.

But soon after, Beom Gye-wi left Shinji and headed to Hainan Island.

Because the time when his child would be born was approaching.

Since then, Beom Gye-wi occasionally visited Shinji to check on Dan Ahk-seon’s condition.

But he mostly stayed in Hainan Island, and thanks to that, Cho Ak-ryang and Han Seol-hwa took turns guarding Dan Ahk-seon.

The fact that those two were not seen was all the more unexpected.

It was then that an unexpected story came out of Dan Ahk-seon’s mouth.

“The two of them went on a trip.”

“A trip?”

“Yes. A trip just for the two of them.”

Dan Ahk-seon continued to explain to the two, who were still puzzled and didn’t know what was going on.

“I thought I would miss the opportunity again if I came back to Moo-Wei, so I forced the two of them to leave. And I think I did the right thing. If they were here, they would have been more angry than anyone else.”

So Jeok-san, who belatedly realized something, couldn’t close his open mouth.

“Se, seriously…? Did the two of them become that kind of… relationship?”

Dan Ahk-seon smiled.

“They say that even mountains and rivers change in ten years, so there’s no reason why relationships between people shouldn’t.”

“The most fearsome couple in martial arts history has been born!”

Dan Ahk-seon gave a complicated look at So Jeok-san’s joke.

“It’s also the relationship that was formed the latest.”

Every day would be precious to those two.

So he strongly urged them to take a private trip.

Sa Mu-sim looked at Dan Ahk-seon with a profound look.

“But that was only possible because you believed that Lord Gokju could now overcome the harsh storms of the Jianghu alone.”

Dan Ahk-seon nodded slowly with an ambiguous smile.