The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 59

Divine Doctor of Demonic Arts (59)

It was the hour when the dim twilight painted the western mountains red.

Unusually, the normally peaceful Divine Demonic Valley was filled with spirited shouts.

“Yes. Your stance is finally coming along nicely.”

Dan Ahk-seon, who was learning the Golden Touch Art, smiled brightly at Cho Ahk-ryang’s praise.

At that moment, a carrier pigeon flew towards the Divine Demonic Valley.

“A letter has arrived from the Jin Family of Seong.”

Cho Ahk-ryang, having received the letter, hummed lowly.

Rumors were circulating in the martial world that the Saintly Healer Shin’s son had appeared.

“Has the story of him treating the Martial Alliance Leader’s daughter become known?”

“It seems that way.”

Cho Ahk-ryang gathered Dan Ahk-seon and the others, informing them of the contents of the letter sent by Poong Jin-seong.

“I somewhat expected this would happen when going to the Martial Alliance.”

Dan Ahk-seon’s attitude was surprisingly calm.

“We should refrain from going down to the village for the time being. Our location shouldn’t be known yet.”

However, now that his existence was known, it was only a matter of time before those seeking him would appear.

Eventually, the fact that Cho Ahk-ryang and Beom Gye-wi were staying here would also become known.

Beom Gye-wi asked Dan Ahk-seon with a puzzled look.

“Are you perhaps worried about patients flocking here after hearing the rumors?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“Because I know what they’re looking for.”

Dan Ahk-seon smiled bitterly.

“That’s why my father felt disillusioned with the world and secluded himself here.”

Nung So-mil, who had been pondering something, exclaimed.

“Ah! Could it be?”

“Why, do you know something?”

Nung So-mil immediately answered Beom Gye-wi’s question.

“Didn’t it cause quite a stir back then? Come to think of it, that’s also why Saintly Healer Shin’s reputation increased.”

“So, what is it?”

Nung So-mil looked troubled, and Dan Ahk-seon spoke.

“It’s because of the Saintly Healing Pill.”

“……!”

Cho Ahk-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and even Han Seol-hwa couldn’t hide their surprise.

It was such a famous story that there was hardly anyone in the martial world who didn’t know about it.

Most of the prestigious sects in the martial world possessed secret elixir manufacturing methods. The Shaolin’s Great Revival Pill was one such example, as were the Mount Hua’s Violet Dawn Pill and the Wudang’s Grand Clarity Pill.

Supreme elixirs that healed internal injuries and greatly enhanced internal energy.

As difficult as they were to manufacture, their rarity made their value skyrocket.

Nung So-mil cautiously opened his mouth.

“There were even rumors that the Saintly Healing Pill was superior to the Shaolin’s Great Revival Pill.”

As rumors in the martial world usually go, they tend to be exaggerated and inflated as they pass from person to person.

However, the stories related to the Saintly Healing Pill were the opposite.

Those who had directly experienced it openly raved that the rumors felt understated.

In particular, the focus of that story was Hong Du-ta, the Beggars’ Sect Leader. [The Beggars’ Sect is a large information network in the martial arts world.]

He had a close friendship with the Nine Great Sects, with whom he had stood shoulder to shoulder for many years, but given his fair and upright character, he could not distort the truth.

Dan Ahk-seon, recalling the past, nodded.

“That’s why so many people came to find my father.”

“I bet there weren’t only those who quietly asked for favors.”

At Cho Ahk-ryang’s words, the others also nodded.

How could it be otherwise?

Elixirs, secret manuals, or other treasures of similar value.

The martial world was a place where even the slightest leak of one of these could cause a bloodbath.

Since they couldn’t dare to cross the walls of Shaolin, Mount Hua, or Wudang, the attitude of those who came to find the relatively approachable Divine Healer could not have been polite.

“Yes, I heard there were all sorts of people. There were countless threats, and some even attempted kidnapping.”

“But fortunately, you got through it well.”

Dan Ahk-seon shook his head at Cho Ahk-ryang’s words.

“No. The kidnapping was successful.”

“……!”

Everyone in the room stared at Dan Ahk-seon with surprised eyes at the unexpected answer.

“Among those who sought the Saintly Healing Pill was my mother.”

Dan Ahk-seon continued with a smile.

“My mother said she seduced him, but my father insisted he was kidnapped until the end.”

The group, who had been momentarily stunned, burst into laughter.

If it was the Eccentric Demon of Life and Death, who had committed all sorts of eccentricities, it was easy to imagine him doing that.

However, the atmosphere turned heavy again at Cho Ahk-ryang’s next words.

“Now that Dan Physician’s existence is known, those seeking the Saintly Healing Pill may start acting up again.”

Beom Gye-wi, who had been listening silently, pointed towards the entrance of the Divine Demonic Valley.

“Shouldn’t we activate that formation in advance?”

Dan Ahk-seon hesitated and pondered for a moment, unable to answer readily.

In the meantime, Nung So-mil cautiously offered his opinion.

“Why don’t we just honestly say that the Saintly Healing Pill has disappeared and that we don’t know the manufacturing method? After all, now that Divine Healer has passed away, it’s impossible to manufacture the Saintly Healing Pill anyway.”

Beom Gye-wi scoffed.

“Knowing the greed of martial artists who are obsessed with elixirs, do you really think there are many people who will believe that?”

“We can make them believe it through rumors. As the saying goes, if one dog barks at nothing, all the dogs in the neighborhood will follow suit, won’t they?”

“Are you saying we should manipulate information?”

“That’s what I’m best at.”

Cho Ahk-ryang nodded.

“Not a bad idea. There’s nothing faster than a rumor based on facts.”

At that moment, Dan Ahk-seon brought up a surprising story.

“The Saintly Healing Pill hasn’t been lost, though?”

“……?”

Dan Ahk-seon casually opened his mouth to the questioning gazes of the crowd.

“I can make it. I’ve already made a lot.”

“Really? But why didn’t we know?”

Beom Gye-wi, who had been questioning, was taken aback by Dan Ahk-seon’s next words.

“You wouldn’t know. Because I didn’t tell you. But you’ve already taken it.”

“Could it be…….”

Dan Ahk-seon nodded towards Cho Ahk-ryang, who was trailing off, wondering if it was possible.

“The one that calmed Uncle Beom’s madness, the one I gave Uncle Cho when he went out, and the elixir that Aunt Han took on the day she was able to smile were all Saintly Healing Pills.”

“Huh…….”

Cho Ahk-ryang let out a hollow laugh.

On the other hand, Beom Gye-wi nodded with admiration.

“No wonder. The effect was too good…….”

Han Seol-hwa couldn’t hide her embarrassment either.

Every time she took it, she thought the effect was unusual, but it wasn’t just her imagination.

On the other hand, Nung So-mil was dumbfounded.

“Why are you using such a great elixir so carelessly?”

“It was absolutely necessary for the three of you. It’s not a disease that can be cured with acupuncture alone.”

Dan Ahk-seon replied as if it were obvious.

The three were dumbfounded and speechless for a while.

To think that they had been taking the Saintly Healing Pill, known as a treasure surpassing the Great Revival Pill, like a common medicine.

They had been enjoying an unbelievable luxury without even knowing it.

“Was our illness so serious that it was impossible to treat without taking the Saintly Healing Pill?”

Cho Ahk-ryang and Han Seol-hwa fell silent at Beom Gye-wi’s belated words.

It was because they realized the price Dan Ahk-seon had paid to treat them.

Beom Gye-wi smacked his lips regretfully.

“You should have told us. If you had, we would have absorbed the medicinal energy through circulating our qi [internal energy].”

Dan Ahk-seon replied with a smile.

“Even without going through a special process, the remaining medicinal energy is naturally absorbed into your internal energy after it has done its work. There are no side effects either. That’s why I didn’t tell you any precautions.”

At this time, Han Seol-hwa remembered something.

“You must have used quite a few elixirs so far?”

Beom Gye-wi also asked Dan Ahk-seon in surprise.

“Did we eat them all, so there aren’t any left?”

“There are still five left. I can make more as long as I have the ingredients.”

Nung So-mil smiled wryly to himself.

He didn’t even consider that the ingredients were ridiculously expensive.

The reason why Sa-moo-sim led the merchants across the desolate desert for trade with the Pasa Kingdom was also to cover the cost of those medicines.

However, he wasn’t so clueless as to openly blurt out that fact.

Dan Ahk-seon spoke again.

“But I don’t think I can make that many anymore.”

“Why?”

Cho Ahk-ryang couldn’t understand.

There were far more expensive ingredients now than when he first came to the Divine Demonic Valley.

“It’s not easy to get the most important ingredient.”

“……?”

“The most important ingredient is the eggs of the Thousand-Year Fire Carp.”

Dan Ahk-seon turned his head and pointed to the pond connected to the waterfall.

“But if the ones that are left are healthy, I can probably make a few more in the future.”

“Are you saying the carp living in that pond are……?”

Dan Ahk-seon nodded.

Cho Ahk-ryang and Beom Gye-wi’s eyes met.

They remembered the fish that had died when they had cleaned up the place before.

“…….”

The two were silent.

They finally realized why Dan Ahk-seon had been so upset at the time.

Then Beom Gye-wi muttered to himself.

“I should stop peeing there now.”

“……!”

Everyone’s eyes were on Beom Gye-wi.

“You……!”

Han Seol-hwa, who had jumped up, began to emit a terrifying chill.

Cho Ahk-ryang hurriedly restrained Han Seol-hwa.

“Hold on! Sister Han!”

In the meantime, Beom Gye-wi was already running far away.

Han Seol-hwa, shaking off Cho Ahk-ryang, raised her hand and pointed to a spot in the air.

Crack.

The air froze in an instant.

A transparent ice spear gradually took shape within it. And following Han Seol-hwa’s lightly waving hand, it was fired like a ray of light towards Beom Gye-wi.

Boom!

With an earth-shattering explosion, Beom Gye-wi’s curse flew from afar.

“That was really dangerous just now!”

“Dangerous? Hmph! I’ll show you what’s really dangerous.”

Han Seol-hwa flew after Beom Gye-wi, and the two disappeared from sight in an instant.

It was only after a long time that Nung So-mil, who had been blankly staring, came to his senses.

“We’ll need to prepare, though?”

Nung So-mil said, looking at Dan Ahk-seon.

“Now that your whereabouts are known, there may be those who inquire about Master Gokju’s whereabouts.”

However, Nung So-mil was secretly wondering if anything would happen.

After all, Cho Ahk-ryang, Beom Gye-wi, and Han Seol-hwa were staying in the Divine Demonic Valley. It would probably take half of the Martial Alliance’s forces to do anything to these three.

On the other hand, Dan Ahk-seon’s mind was complicated.

His parents, who had lived a life of seclusion here to avoid people.

‘Do I have to confine myself here for the rest of my life too?’

It was because he knew better than anyone how much a life of confinement, cut off from the outside, could devastate a person.

* * *

Near Muwi, at the Gwanje Temple.

A middle-aged man in black martial attire, wearing a deeply pressed bamboo hat, was waiting for someone.

He straightened his posture as he leaned against the wall, carrying a sword diagonally. Soon, a shadow approached from afar.

An old man with flowing white hair and beard, and an unusually good complexion. Piercing eyes, a hooked nose, and a mouth full of stubbornness. At a glance, he was not an ordinary person.

As they got closer, the man in the bamboo hat respectfully bowed his head.

“Welcome, Elder.”

The old man received the greeting with a somewhat displeased look.

“It’s been a while.”

The man in the bamboo hat remained calm despite the old man’s obviously displeased tone.

“Are you still angry that I didn’t stop the inspection of the main gate? It was unavoidable.”

The old man let out a cold laugh.

“You must be busy with the Martial Alliance. Tell me why you wanted to see this old man.”

“Please, speak comfortably.”

“How dare an old man belonging to a minor sect speak informally to the Martial Alliance’s Inspector.”