The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 72

Although New Year’s Day had passed, Muwi was still steeped in a festive atmosphere.

The New Year’s celebrations didn’t end on the holiday itself but continued until the Lantern Festival, fifteen days later.

The streets were lined with red lanterns, and every house displayed spring couplets wishing for good fortune.

Elaborate paper cuttings of auspicious symbols adorned every corner, and the temple fair, a bustling market festival, was in full swing with lion dance performances.

Occasionally, firecrackers exploded here and there to ward off evil spirits believed to bring epidemics.

The overflowing crowds in the market exchanged New Year’s greetings and enjoyed the lively holiday atmosphere.

Someone was watching the crowded market from afar.

A disheveled old man wearing rags that had been patched so many times it was impossible to count.

He was short and ordinary-looking, but his aura was unique.

His complexion was unusually good, a ruddy face the color of a well-ripened jujube [a type of date-like fruit].

He was bald, not a single strand of hair on his head, but his calm and deep eyes held a dignity and majesty that were hard to imitate.

Even the harsh world’s generosity towards beggars seemed amplified during this time.

“It’s a bonanza. Tsk, tsk,” Irip, known as Red Bean Camel, grinned, revealing his yellowed teeth, and shuffled his feet.

After walking for a while, he reached a shack located under a bridge on the outskirts of the village.

“Tsk.”

Irip clicked his tongue softly.

His gaze was directed at a spot right next to the shack, in a sunny patch, where a beggar was lying covered in a straw mat.

“How can he beg like that?”

Irip approached him.

However, the beggar covered in the straw mat didn’t move at all.

Irip nudged his side with his toe. Immediately, a rough curse erupted.

“Damn it. Which bastard is disturbing this venerable elder’s rest?”

A skinny hand suddenly popped out from under the mat.

“If you’re going to give alms, hurry up and leave.”

Irip silently stared down at him, and only then did a gaunt face emerge from under the mat.

It was a mummy-like beggar with completely white hair.

“Huh?”

As their eyes met, bewilderment flashed across the eyes of the lying beggar.

Irip gave him a look of pity.

“What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see? I’m begging.”

“In that state?”

“What’s wrong with my state? I look plenty beggar-like.”

“Not at all. I thought it was a frozen beggar corpse. Even if people wanted to give alms, who would dare to come close out of fear?”

At Irip’s nagging, Hongjeokmun reluctantly got up with a clearly annoyed expression.

Then, he suddenly grumbled at Irip.

“Chief, aren’t you going too far?”

“Ahem. Where are your greetings? You should show respect when you see the Chief.”

“Screw you. I’m not talking as a Chief right now, but as a close friend.”

Irip chuckled.

“Oh, really? Then keep complaining.”

“How long do I have to stay here? How old am I! You said you’d treat me like an Elder, right? Look at my state. How is this Elder treatment? I should be in the Council of Elders, but instead, I’m begging on the streets! Does that make any sense?”

“Are you done?”

“No, not yet. If you’re a senior, shouldn’t you give hope to your juniors? But what kind of dreams and hopes will the young beggars have when they see my sorry state? Even an Elder is wandering the streets like this!”

“Tsk. Is there a reason why we’re the Beggars’ Sect? If we were just a group of beggars, we wouldn’t have maintained our lineage for so long. We are the chivalrous……”

“Chivalrous or whatever, I’m about to die!”

Irip frowned at Hongjeokmun’s exaggeration.

“Still, you have to repay what you’ve received. It’s obvious that the evil sects will be after the Son of Divine, so we have to step up and protect him, right?”

Hongjeokmun flinched at Irip’s mention of Divine.

Because it touched his most painful memory in some ways.

“We’ll be officially establishing a branch here soon, so just bear with it a little longer.”

“A branch? Are you kidding me? You want me to be on the front lines again?”

“What can I do? You’re the only one I can trust.”

“Damn it! Stop trusting me! I’ve traveled all the remote areas of the Central Plains!”

“Hey, hey, kids are watching.”

“I don’t care!”

Irip sighed quietly at Hongjeokmun’s stubbornness.

“If you keep acting like this, I might just make you the Chief.”

“Huh? What are you talking about out of the blue?”

“I’ve already written my will in advance. To make you the next Chief after me.”

“……!”

“How can I live out my full life if you keep making me tired like this? Oh no……. Suddenly, my blood pressure……. Hey, I think I’m having a stroke.”

Hongjeokmun sighed deeply.

He knew better than anyone how tiring the position of Chief was.

“No, that’s not what I meant. When did I ever make the Chief tired…….”

Irip chuckled at Hongjeokmun’s subdued attitude.

“Here, take this.”

“What is it?”

“Hongbao [red envelope]. It’s still New Year’s, after all.”

Hongjeokmun’s face immediately brightened as he received the red packet Irip handed him.

Hongbao is traditionally something you receive with blessings after bowing to your elders.

“Please accept my bow, Chief!”

Hongjeokmun prostrated himself and thought of New Year’s greetings.

‘Let’s see. Gold and jade filling the hall, meaning to become rich in a beggar’s life, is out of the question…….’

Happy Spring Festival, meaning Happy New Year?

Or Welcoming Spring and Receiving Blessings?

Then, a suitable greeting came to mind.

“May all your wishes come true!”

“May you always be quick-handed and as you wish.”

Quick Hands as You Wish was the epithet symbolizing Hongjeokmun.

Although he looked shabby and had an eccentric personality to the point of being called Small Sea Crazy, he was the Beggars’ Sect’s best martial artist, recognized by everyone. He was also a master who was named as one of the three best boxers in the Central Plains, albeit in the last seat.

Along with Kwonjeol Cho 악량, and Beopryo, the head of the Disciplinary Hall of the Shaolin Temple.

The moment he opened the hongbao to check the contents, Hongjeokmun, who had been beaming, suddenly frowned.

“Is this all? Who can put this in their mouth? After buying a few dumplings, there won’t be anything left!”

“The sect’s circumstances aren’t generous…….”

“When were they ever generous? When will they ever be generous?”

“If they were generous, would they be beggars?”

“…….”

“…….”

Both of them became gloomy without either saying anything first.

After a while, Irip suddenly handed something to Hongjeokmun.

Hongjeokmun’s face lit up as soon as he recognized it was a bottle of alcohol.

He was a man crazy about alcohol, to the point where he prided himself on having drunk as much alcohol as a small sea.

How else would his epithet be Small Sea Crazy?

“It’s Shanxi Fen wine. I even went to Xinghuacun to get it directly.”

“Perhaps from the Yoo family?”

“Yes. I got it with difficulty because I thought of you.”

Before the words were even finished, the bottle was already in Hongjeokmun’s hand.

The movement of snatching the bottle was not even visible.

It was speed worthy of the epithet Quick Hands as You Wish.

“Huh?”

Hongjeokmun shook the bottle and gave Irip a puzzled look.

“There’s a sip missing?”

“That’s how much I received when I got it in the first place.”

Hongjeokmun stared intently at Irip.

In the silent, pressing gaze, Irip finally confessed.

“Okay! I took just one sip! It was hard to get, so I just tasted it!”

Only then did Hongjeokmun relax his expression.

Hongjeokmun opened the lid, put his nose to the mouth of the bottle, sniffed, and exclaimed.

“Hiyah! Good! Indeed, Shanxi Fen wine! It’s amazing!”

Hongjeokmun savored the aroma several times but didn’t actually drink the alcohol and closed the lid again.

“Why aren’t you drinking it?”

At Irip’s question, Hongjeokmun replied with a brazen face.

“If I drink it now, I’ll have to share it. I’m just going to save it and drink it secretly by myself.”

Irip burst out.

“You have no sense of loyalty at all!”

“Loyalty? The person who lied about just one sip of alcohol is talking about loyalty?”

Irip, who had nothing to say, turned his gaze to a distant place.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he opened his mouth.

“We spent this year like this, but let’s stay up together on the upcoming Lunar New Year’s Eve.”

The last day of the year is the most important day of the New Year.

On this evening, also called Jeya (除夜) [Lunar New Year’s Eve], the whole family would sit around and eat a meal called Yeon yabahn (年夜飯) [New Year’s Eve dinner], and there was a custom of staying up all night until dawn the next day. This is because you shouldn’t sleep until you pay New Year’s greetings to the god who comes down in the middle of the night.

Staying up all night like this is called Suse (守歲) [watching the year].

“No thanks. We’ll just talk about depressing things if we drink together.”

At those words, Irip and Hongjeokmun’s faces turned gloomy. It was because they were reminded of one person who was no longer there.

In the past, the three of them used to enjoy drinking all night together.

It was then.

“Huh?”

Bewilderment appeared on Irip’s face.

The lion dance procession was just passing over the bridge.

The lion dance, which brings good luck, was an excellent performance to liven up every holiday.

It imitates the shape and movements of a lion, and two or three people enter the lion mask and leather made to move the eyes intricately and dance.

One person controls the head, and the other person controls the tail.

In addition, one person moves a ball attached to a pole to tease the lion.

But the problem was that the movements of the warriors performing the lion dance were unusual.

“That’s Divine Travel Hundred Transformations, isn’t it?”

I thought it was unusual.

The representative lightness skill of the Hwasan Sect was being used in the lion dance. Hongjeokmun replied indifferently.

“Has it been about half a month? Hwasan also dispatched several Plum Blossom Sword Troops here.”

“Why?”

“Why else? It’s probably for a similar reason to us.”

“Then why didn’t you report it?”

“Wouldn’t I have? The pigeon with the letter attached is probably arriving at the main base by now.”

Hongjeokmun was subtly criticizing the Chief who had suddenly come without prior notice. Hongjeokmun continued, turning to Irip, who was clearing his throat awkwardly.

“After watching quietly, I noticed that there was a difference between them and us.”

“……?”

“The Hwasan Sect disciples change every ten days. It means they only have to endure for ten days. Unlike the beggars somewhere.”

“We don’t have enough people. There’s no choice…….”

“Ha! Are you saying the Beggars’ Sect doesn’t have enough people now? If you’re just counting heads, we’re the largest sect in the Central Plains?”

“Ahem, lower your voice. Why don’t you just advertise it openly? That the Beggars’ Sect has put surveillance here?”

“Tch.”

“By the way, how’s the Son of Divine?”

Hongjeokmun shook his head with a nonchalant face.

“He seems to have read the atmosphere here and hasn’t shown himself easily. I haven’t even seen his face yet.”

“Are you sure?”

“Am I lying right now?”

“Then who’s that?”

“Huh?”

Bewilderment burst out from Hongjeokmun’s mouth as he turned his gaze to where Irip was pointing.

A boy walking through the market.

His face and characteristics matched exactly with the description of Dan Ahkseon that he had.

But…….

“Huh?”

“Gasp!”

Sounds of bewilderment and gasping for air escaped from the mouths of the two.

It was right after they discovered a woman silently following Dan Ahkseon.

Irip and Hongjeokmun’s gazes were fixed on her and wouldn’t let go.

“The Ice Jade Fairy was really alive.”

“Why don’t you go say hello?”

“Ugh! I’d rather just eat arsenic and die.”

“Do you have some bad memories?”

Irip retorted, smiling slyly at Hongjeokmun, who was teasing him.

“I don’t think you’re the one to talk, even if no one else is?”

Hongjeokmun smiled bitterly.

“I don’t particularly want to act like I know her either. I had to wash ten times just to say hello once.”

Since Han Seolhwa pathologically pursued cleanliness and neatness, she was completely incompatible with beggars like them.

Besides, there was no way to compete with her in terms of martial arts or reputation, so there was no other way.

Just quietly avoiding her.