The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 458

“Ah!”

Dahn Ahk-seon looked up at Beom Gye-wi with surprised eyes.

“Could this be the child?”

“Yes. She’s my daughter. Pretty, isn’t she?”

As if to prove he was the notorious fool for his daughter, Beom Gye-wi immediately started boasting about her.

Dahn Ahk-seon, meeting the sparkling eyes of Beom Ryeo-hwa staring at him, quietly smiled.

Her features were so adorable that she would stand out anywhere.

Her confident eyes and demeanor conveyed a strong and upright character.

Moreover, her innate sociability effortlessly closed the distance, naturally inspiring affection.

“That’s a relief.”

“Huh? What is?”

At Beom Gye-wi’s question, Dahn Ahk-seon quickly changed the subject.

He almost blurted out that it was a relief she resembled her mother.

“You look happy.”

Beom Gye-wi’s expression momentarily turned complex.

“Uh, well… let’s just say that for now.”

“Pardon?”

As Dahn Ahk-seon wondered at the incomprehensible words, Beom Ryeo-hwa glared at Beom Gye-wi with a sulky look.

“Daddy?”

“Ehehe. Of course. Very happy. So, Doctor Dahn should hurry up and get married too. I’m too resentful because only I’m happy… No, I feel sorry.”

Beom Gye-wi, startled, belatedly stammered an excuse.

“I’m glad to hear that you’re so happy, Clan Lord. I almost misunderstood you.”

Tension settled in Beom Gye-wi’s eyes as he noticed Byeok Hwa-ryeong, who had appeared unnoticed.

“Misunderstood? How so?”

“I thought you were tired of life here and were only looking for a chance to run away to the Central Plains.”

Beom Gye-wi awkwardly smiled and waved his hand.

“No, my dear. There’s no way I would.”

Byeok Hwa-ryeong, casting a meaningful smile at Beom Gye-wi, who was trying to avoid her gaze, greeted Dahn Ahk-seon.

“Welcome, Doctor Dahn.”

“It’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Thanks to you.”

Byeok Hwa-ryeong, smiling, noticed Beom Ryeo-hwa holding onto Dahn Ahk-seon’s sleeve, and her eyes changed in an instant.

“Our daughter, you should greet him properly.”

Beom Ryeo-hwa, flinching once, let go of Dahn Ahk-seon’s sleeve and quickly stepped back.

Then, she bowed politely with perfect etiquette.

“Beom Ryeo-hwa of the Beom Clan of Hainan greets the Divine Doctor of Primacy, the benefactor of our sect.”

It was hard to believe that she was the same innocent child from just a moment ago.

Dahn Ahk-seon looked at Beom Ryeo-hwa with fresh eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Ryeo-hwa.”

Beom Ryeo-hwa’s expression, which had been quite serious, completely disarmed at Dahn Ahk-seon’s exceptionally warm smile.

“Hehe. Nice to meet you too. Can I call you Older Brother?”

“Of course.”

Although the age difference was that of an uncle, it wasn’t wrong in terms of rank since he called Beom Gye-wi Uncle.

Beom Ryeo-hwa, flaunting as if to show off to Byeok Hwa-ryeong, soon smiled shyly.

“It’s like a dream. I’m an only child, so I’ve always been envious of friends who have siblings. My long-awaited younger sibling is still nowhere to be found, but I’m so happy to have such a wonderful older brother.”

“Me too. I never thought I’d have such a pretty younger sister.”

“Hehet.”

Beom Gye-wi felt a momentary sense of melancholy at the sight of his daughter twisting her fingers and blushing.

He never knew that the girl, who was a tyrant among her peers, having inherited her mother’s fierce personality, had this side to her.

Dahn Ahk-seon looked up at Beom Gye-wi.

“We should greet the Clan Lord first.”

But there was no need to do so.

From afar, Byeok Dae-gyeong, the Clan Lord of the Hainan Sword Clan, was walking directly to the dock with the elders.

After exchanging simple greetings, Dahn Ahk-seon moved to the Canghai Pavilion, where the major affairs of the Hainan Sword Clan were decided.

“Hmm, so you’re saying that we need to clean up the unorthodox factions south of the Yangtze River to lure out the Three Lost Oddities, who are hiding from the Four Fiends?”

Dahn Ahk-seon nodded at Byeok Dae-gyeong’s question.

“Specifically, only those who have joined hands with the Four Fiends.”

If they could secure the whereabouts of the Three Lost Oddities, they would surely be able to obtain a lot of information related to Heavenly Will.

After a long time of pondering, Byeok Dae-gyeong cautiously opened his mouth.

“Are you suggesting that the physician Heavenly Will is behind Beon Gang-ryong?”

“I can’t be sure yet. However, it’s certain that they have a somewhat deep relationship. But recently, there’s been information that the Four Fiends and Heavenly Will have fallen out. Perhaps we can use Heavenly Will to create a definite opportunity to bring down the Four Fiends and his forces.”

The elders of the Hainan Clan, led by Byeok Dae-gyeong, nodded. Then, naturally, everyone’s gaze turned to Beom Gye-wi.

At that moment, Beom Gye-wi grinned, revealing his pearly white teeth.

“So, you’re saying we can just kill off all the annoying bastards we come across?”

At those words, Byeok Dae-gyeong and the elders flinched.

Judging from the chilling murderous intent flowing from his fierce eyes, he seemed to be serious.

Everyone in the current Jianghu [the martial arts world] knew that Beom Gye-wi was staying in Hainan.

If things went wrong, they would be misunderstood for unleashing a disaster from the Hainan Sword Clan into the Central Plains.

Byeok Dae-gyeong cast a desperate look at Dahn Ahk-seon.

He hoped that he would somehow stop his reckless monster of a son-in-law.

But…

“The bigger the commotion, the better. Enough to draw the attention of the Central Plains.”

Byeok Dae-gyeong tightly closed his eyes at Dahn Ahk-seon’s words.

‘What on earth happened inside for ten years…’

Instead of dissuading the monster who might cause a great massacre, he was encouraging him!

On the other hand, Beom Gye-wi couldn’t hide his beaming smile.

“Hehe. I’m so glad there are more bad guys.”

Byeok Dae-gyeong and the elders were inwardly speechless.

In fact, the words, “You’re the worst of them all,” were on the tip of their tongues, but they couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

After a moment of silence.

Byeok Dae-gyeong opened his mouth towards Dahn Ahk-seon.

“But from what I see, your martial prowess alone is comparable to our son-in-law, so is it really necessary to go to the Central Plains together?”

Still, as the Clan Lord, he had to think of the Hainan Sword Clan first, so he had no choice but to say this, even if it was just once.

If things went wrong, the Hainan Sword Clan would be the ones to take the blame, and the aftermath would be his responsibility.

Dahn Ahk-seon smiled and looked at Beom Gye-wi.

“I still can’t match Uncle Beom’s status in the Jianghu. I’m always ignored when he’s not around.”

Beom Gye-wi glared with wide eyes.

“Who dares to ignore our Doctor Dahn?”

The elders of the Hainan Sword Clan turned pale at Beom Gye-wi’s blatant display of power.

Dahn Ahk-seon smiled and spoke again.

“Besides, the two Three Lost Oddities have known Uncle Beom longer than me. If they know that Uncle Beom is with me, they will definitely come to us.”

When he was an enemy, he was more terrifying than King Yama [the King of Hell in Chinese mythology], but conversely, when he was an ally, there was no one more reliable than Beom Gye-wi.

Byeok Dae-gyeong sighed softly.

The real story was about to begin.

“Of course, our clan should lend a hand, right?”

The thirty-six waterways belonging to the Jiangnan Waterways Alliance were truly located all over the Central Plains.

Mount Liang, mentioned in Water Margin [a classical Chinese novel].

They, who considered themselves rooted there, took the names of the eight major waterways from the ideals of “All within the Four Seas are Brothers,” “Acting on Behalf of Heaven,” and “Loyalty and Righteousness,” and attached them.

The Righteousness Waterway of Dongting Lake, which Dahn Ahk-seon had subjugated, was one of those eight.

However, excluding this, there were still thirty-five waterways remaining.

It was a number too overwhelming for Dahn Ahk-seon and Beom Gye-wi alone to handle.

Dahn Ahk-seon nodded and met Byeok Dae-gyeong’s gaze.

“I heard that the Hainan Sword Clan has long been considering advancing into the Central Plains.”

“That’s right.”

Byeok Dae-gyeong readily admitted.

The Hainan Sword Clan had long protected the Central Plains from pirates and other invaders from the front lines, braving the rough waves.

However, the process of being properly recognized for this was never smooth.

Not to mention the checks from the prominent sects of the Central Plains, they often had to endure subtle humiliation and insults.

Of course, they knew the reason why.

The practical martial arts of the Hainan Sword Clan and their rough temperament adapted to the sea.

From the perspective of the Central Plains martial arts world, they seemed no different from the heretical sects.

Thanks to their efforts and achievements so far, they were able to build a friendly relationship with the government, but that was it.

The Hainan Sword Clan’s long-cherished desire to advance into the Central Plains was still distant.

Even now, with the Hainan Sword Clan’s status elevated thanks to Dahn Ahk-seon, the attitude of the other orthodox sects had not changed significantly.

The prejudices and preconceptions accumulated over many years were still there.

Therefore, they were reluctant to readily offer the Hainan Clan’s strength for the sake of the orthodox martial arts world of the Central Plains.

And this was the same for the other elders.

Naturally, they could only be skeptical.

However, they had to change their expressions at Dahn Ahk-seon’s next words.

“What do you think is the most necessary condition for the Hainan Clan to advance into the Central Plains?”

“Speak. I’m listening.”

“It’s justification.”

“Justification?”

Dahn Ahk-seon nodded at Byeok Dae-gyeong’s question.

“The Kunlun Sect, which suffered the greatest damage among the Nine Great Sects, still needs a lot of time for reconstruction. Moreover, the other Nine Great Sects also lost a significant number of core elite experts in the last battle in Shinji.”

This was a story everyone knew.

If the Nine Great Sects had their full strength as before, the Waterways Alliance would have been too busy watching their every move, even if the Four Fiends were great.

“Just as a friend in need is a friend indeed, the Nine Great Sects will remember the Hainan Sword Clan’s help. From what I’ve experienced, they distinguish between favors and grudges more clearly than anyone else.”

“But I wonder if those arrogant… no, those proud people will welcome our cooperation.”

“There’s no other clear alternative right now. Above all, the Hainan Sword Clan is familiar with water.”

“So?”

“The reason why the orthodox martial arts world is struggling with the Jiangnan Waterways Alliance is because most of the battles are fought with waterways that favor the bandits. But if the Hainan Sword Clan steps in, the bandits will be faced with an unexpected hidden force.”

Some of the elders exclaimed and nodded.

“Indeed. Compared to the fierce waves of the sea, the waves of the Yangtze River are like flat ground.”

“That’s right when you hear it. When it comes to diving, no one in the Central Plains can dare to compare with us.”

By itself, the bandits would lose their greatest advantage.

Moreover, the martial arts of the Hainan Sword Clan had made great progress in recent years.

Given the same conditions, the Hainan Sword Clan was nothing short of a natural enemy to the bandits.

Towards them, Dahn Ahk-seon continued.

“The Central Plains needs a new center of power. Of course, it will be a difficult journey, but the honor that the Hainan Sword Clan will gain at the end of that battle will surely be of great help in establishing a foothold for advancing into the Central Plains.”