The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 61

The dawn began to break, painting the sky with soft hues. A dove, its wings beating against the emerging light, flew in through the narrow opening between the steep cliffs.

The dove, skillfully navigating the wind currents that buffeted the cliff face, circled gracefully before landing on a thick branch of a large oriental arborvitae [a type of evergreen tree]. The small bell hanging from the branch’s tip jingled softly as the branch swayed.

Shortly after, Neng Xiaomi emerged from the nearby thatched house, the door creaking open.

He offered the dove some food as a reward, then carefully removed the communication tube attached to its leg. Tilting his head, he examined the contents of the message.

The letter was from So Jeok-san, the leader of the Righteous Brotherhood. Samoosim had previously made a point of establishing a connection with him, though they hadn’t been in direct contact since, only exchanging greetings during occasional trips to the village.

“Hmm?”

Neng Xiaomi’s expression turned serious as he read the letter. He quickly started to move, but a voice stopped him before he could take more than a few steps.

“Where are you going?”

It was Beom Gyewi.

Neng Xiaomi turned, startled by the voice. Beom Gyewi was hanging upside down from the eaves of the thatched house.

Though he’d seen it before, he couldn’t help but be surprised every time. The sight of him inverted, his eyes shining with fierce intensity, was inherently bizarre.

“An urgent message arrived from the Righteous Brotherhood. It seems there’s a problem in the village.”

“Problem?”

“The owner of the regular herbal medicine shop, a friend of Master Gokju, has disappeared.”

Beom Gyewi’s expression hardened.

“Who took him?”

Beom Gyewi seemed to assume it was a kidnapping, but it was too early to jump to conclusions.

“I’m going to the village now to find out the details.”

Neng Xiaomi headed directly to the village.

As he entered, So Jeok-san approached him, his expression troubled.

“What happened?” Neng Xiaomi asked.

So Jeok-san’s face was etched with worry. “I was on patrol and sensed something was off. I investigated and found he was already gone. Everything was fine during the last patrol at the hour of Chook [1-3 AM], so it must have happened within the hour after that.”

“Anything unusual?”

“Someone reported seeing about thirty people secretly infiltrating the village at night.”

Neng Xiaomi felt a sense of foreboding.

“Did anyone see where they went?”

“The reporter said they vanished so quickly, he wondered if he’d imagined it.”

“Hmm…”

Neng Xiaomi, organizing his thoughts, went straight to the herbal medicine shop. Securing clues was the priority.

Arriving at the shop, Neng Xiaomi frowned as he examined the interior. Surprisingly, there were no signs of forced entry or struggle. Then, he noticed a few faint footprints on the wooden floor.

He rubbed the soil from the footprints between his fingers.

A slight dampness lingered. They clearly belonged to those who had entered after the morning dew had settled.

Neng Xiaomi’s eyes sharpened as he stepped outside and surveyed the area. A patch of slightly disturbed earth caught his attention. There were several sets of tracks, not just one.

Neng Xiaomi turned, estimating the distance from the herbal medicine shop, and inwardly gasped.

‘Ten people. They’ve mastered the martial art of ascension [a technique allowing for superhuman leaps]!’

With that level of skill, ordinary people who hadn’t even begun martial arts training wouldn’t stand a chance.

It was no wonder there were no signs of resistance.

The problem was the unusual level of the opponents’ martial arts. Covering more than ten feet in a single leap indicated considerable skill.

In particular, one person’s skill stood out. Only one of the footprints at the landing site was particularly faint.

It was proof that his lightness skill [a martial art focusing on agility and speed] was far superior to the others.

“Is there a place where ten to thirty people could hide without leaving a trace?”

So Jeok-san nodded, thinking for a moment. “There is one place I can think of.”

“Where?”

“An abandoned temple outside the village. If that many people moved within the village, they would have been noticed long ago. That place is usually deserted, so it would be easy to hide there.”

As expected, he knew the local area well, being a native.

“Thank you. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Then I’ll search the village with my men.”

“No, don’t do that.”

“Yes?”

“You might ‘startle the snake by touching the grass’ [a Chinese idiom meaning to alert the enemy].”

That’s what he said, but Neng Xiaomi’s true feelings were different. The invaders’ martial prowess was so great that even he wasn’t confident in facing them. If the Righteous Brotherhood got involved and were harmed, he wouldn’t be able to face Samoosim later.

‘What should I do? Should I bring my seniors here now?’

As he worried, a line of telepathy pierced his mind.

―Track them.

Neng Xiaomi recognized Beom Gyewi’s voice and looked around.

Then, once again, telepathy arrived.

―Don’t show it and be calm. There are guys watching you from afar. I’ll follow you, so move naturally.

At those words, a trace of anxiety vanished instantly.

Beom Gyewi was usually frightening, but at this moment, he couldn’t be more reliable. He felt like he could climb the 108 steps of the Shaolin Temple’s main gate without hesitation.

Neng Xiaomi asked So Jeok-san for directions to the abandoned temple.

He immediately used his lightness skill and ran north.

* * *

Beom Gyewi, following Neng Xiaomi at a distance, identified the men in black who were tracking Neng Xiaomi while trying to conceal their presence.

There were only two of them, but they were quite skilled.

‘Where did these guys crawl out from?’

At first, he’d been driven by simple curiosity, but now that the situation had escalated, he couldn’t help but wonder. Moreover, they were moving with surprising coordination.

The number of people tracking Neng Xiaomi gradually increased. By the time he reached the abandoned temple, the number of pursuers had reached eight.

They surrounded the area, blocking all possible escape routes.

It was as if someone had anticipated someone heading to this place.

‘I’m glad I followed them.’

Samoosim would have been able to handle the situation even if it turned unfavorable, but Neng Xiaomi was still outmatched.

Beom Gyewi secretly followed the men.

* * *

Meanwhile, Neng Xiaomi passed through the half-collapsed Iljumun Gate [the first gate of a Buddhist temple] and entered the temple grounds.

He soon found a person.

It was a man dressed entirely in black, his face hidden behind a mask.

A hint of disappointment flashed in the man’s eyes, visible above the mask.

“I was expecting a big catch, but only a small fish got caught.”

As soon as he spoke, another man stepped out from behind him. At the same time, the remaining men who had been blocking the eight directions revealed themselves and closed in on Neng Xiaomi, surrounding him.

Neng Xiaomi tilted his head, looking around.

“The temple where the monk disappeared is now full of rats.”

A thick murderous aura emanated from the eyes of the man who seemed to be the leader at Neng Xiaomi’s words.

“Arrogant… Haven’t you grasped the situation yet?”

Neng Xiaomi frowned, pinching his nose at the man’s threat, which was laced with murderous intent.

“Are you talking out of your butt? What’s that awful smell?”

“……!”

“Looking at you, you don’t seem to be nameless nobodies, so shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Neng Xiaomi, and I used to lead a place called Sinsobang, though it’s now been dissolved. Who are you and where do you live? Or are you really just rats?”

He was pushing them to reveal their identities.

“Ah! I guess I can’t say that to masked guys? Well… I’m sure you’re embarrassed because you’re so petty that you’d kidnap ordinary people who haven’t even learned martial arts.”

“Shut up!”

One of the men in black burst out in anger. In his hand was a heavy sword radiating a sharp murderous intent. Neng Xiaomi’s eyes lit up as he recognized the sword.

“Golden Ring Greatsword?”

Three ring-shaped golden rings were lined up and hung through holes in the sword’s blade.

It was a sword also known as the Decapitation Sound Sword because the sound of the golden rings colliding was said to distract the opponent.

It was also the signature weapon of Jangnakbang, who once reigned as the overlords of Shanxi.

“You guys are the mad dogs of Shanxi!”

The leader slowly removed his mask as Neng Xiaomi recognized them. Neng Xiaomi’s heart sank as he saw Ak Yeongho’s face.

He was momentarily taken aback, forgetting that Beom Gyewi was nearby.

He never expected to encounter the masterminds behind the Shanxi Bloodshed [a massacre that occurred twenty years prior] in this place. Though they had been reclusive recently, they still wielded considerable influence in Shanxi.

The only sword faction in the Demonic Faction comparable to the Habuk Paenga of the Orthodox Faction was them.

The men in black openly sneered at Neng Xiaomi’s surprised expression.

‘I need to find out where the rest of them are.’

There were only ten people in the temple. Neng Xiaomi adopted a timid look to try and glean information.

“Oh, man, Neng Xiaomi, I’m ending my eventful life here.”

“Where did your bravado from just now go?” Ak Yeongho mocked.

Neng Xiaomi shook his head, looking dejected. “As the saying goes, ‘look at where you’re going to lie down before you stretch your legs’ [meaning assess the situation before acting]? If I hadn’t known who you were, I wouldn’t have known, but now that I do, how dare I, a lowly person like me, harbor evil thoughts in front of the great heroes of Shanxi?”

Ak Yeongho’s lips curled slightly at Neng Xiaomi’s resigned attitude.

“What is your relationship with Bingok Seonja [Ice Valley Immortal]?”

Neng Xiaomi slumped down and answered, “I’m working for her. In return, I take care of her chores.”

“Is the child named Danak Seon also staying with her in a place called Sinmagok [Divine Hemp Valley]?”

At that moment, a cold light flashed in Neng Xiaomi’s eyes, but it disappeared so quickly that no one noticed.

‘They already knew and came prepared.’

Then there was no need to hide anything.

“Yes, he is. The young doctor is treating her illness.”

“Illness?”

“Yes. I don’t know the details, but she’s been receiving treatment from that young doctor every day.”

Ak Yeongho’s face brightened at those words. He judged that things might be easier than he thought.

“Does that doctor have the Holy Water Elixir?”

“Of course. I’ve seen him use it several times!”

Ak Yeongho couldn’t hide his excitement. Neng Xiaomi seized the opportunity and spoke.

“You can easily lure that young doctor out by using the herbal medicine shop.”

“He didn’t seem to know much?”

“Did you perhaps already kill him?”

At Ak Yeongho’s gesture, one of the men in black dragged the owner of the herbal medicine shop out from behind. Neng Xiaomi frowned involuntarily at the sight of the herbal medicine shop owner, who was barely conscious due to severe torture.

“I told him to tell me where that young doctor lives, but he stubbornly said he didn’t know. But I didn’t know he really didn’t know….”

Ak Yeongho, wearing a bitter smile, said to Neng Xiaomi, “Have this person guide us to the place called Sinmagok that he mentioned.”

Neng Xiaomi managed his expression and answered, “But Bingok Seonja is there. With only this many people….”

“Why do you think this is all the people we have here?”

“Yes?”

“There is a group that moved ahead to find Sinmagok. They will join us and deal with Bingok Seonja.”

Ak Yeongho offered a conciliatory measure when Neng Xiaomi didn’t answer.

“If you cooperate, I’ll spare your life.”

Neng Xiaomi’s face lit up.

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“You’re not going to go back on your word, are you?”

“What?”

“Think about it. There’s no way that could happen, right?”

Neng Xiaomi changed his expression, as if he had never been scared. It was because he had already heard what he wanted.

“It wouldn’t be good for this event to be known to the outside world, so of course you’ll try to kill me to shut my mouth. Killing and exterminating and uprooting are essential for this kind of thing. Isn’t that right?”

“You, you bastard…!”

“What do you expect from hillbillies from Shanxi? You can’t even lie properly.”