The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 95

The Great War (1)

Whatever was bothering him, Yeom Sain glared at Jang Sam with a displeased expression.

Then, his face brightened.

He spotted Cho Ak-ryang strolling towards Jang Sam from behind.

“Did you sleep well?”

Cho Ak-ryang nodded at Yeom Sain’s question.

“Thanks to you.”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled quietly.

“I haven’t slept so soundly in ages.”

“That’s why home is good.”

Yeom Sain said, pleased. “Don’t they say even an old dog turns its head towards home when it dies?”

Cho Ak-ryang chuckled and nodded.

Were people any different?

He hadn’t understood it in his youth, but as he aged, the meaning of ‘remembering one’s roots’ [a Chinese idiom about cherishing one’s origins] struck Cho Ak-ryang anew.

Then, a question popped into his head.

“By the way, about that scroll hanging in the bedroom…”

“……?”

“It didn’t have an artist’s seal. Did you paint it?”

“Who else would have? I just scribbled it out of boredom.”

“One tends to stagnate with age, but your painting skills are still improving.”

“Is your martial arts prowess standing still, then?”

“I suppose not.”

Cho Ak-ryang chuckled and looked at Yeom Sain with a hint of pity.

“To think that someone who paints such pictures is just doing dyeing…”

“Just? Are you looking down on my livelihood?”

Even as he said that, Yeom Sain was smiling pleasantly.

He didn’t dislike his friend’s compliment.

“Have you ever thought about selling your paintings seriously?”

Yeom Sain shook his head at Cho Ak-ryang’s question.

“No way. What could a guy like me, who hasn’t properly studied and has no connections, do? Earning a living is enough with what I’m doing now.”

Cho Ak-ryang smiled bitterly.

“But why haven’t you taken on any disciples yet? With your skills, there must be plenty who want to learn.”

“I’ll end this when I die. It’s not such a great job. There’s nothing more tiring than dealing with high-ranking nobles.”

Jang Sam spoke up on behalf of Yeom Sain, seeing Cho Ak-ryang’s puzzled expression.

“The dyed fabrics made by the Master are offered to the nearby government offices. Thanks to that, the village avoids harsh taxes.”

“So, it’s a bribe.”

“That’s how people live, I guess.”

Cho Ak-ryang stared silently at Yeom Sain, who let out a self-deprecating laugh. He felt sorry for bringing up unnecessary things and troubling his friend’s mind.

“Shall we take a walk?”

“Let’s do that.”

At Cho Ak-ryang’s words, Yeom Sain’s face lit up as if he had been waiting for them.

Jang Sam sighed deeply at the sight of Yeom Sain walking briskly ahead with a brightened face, as if nothing had happened.

“Don’t worry. I’ll finish it today.”

Jang Sam smiled wryly at Yeom Sain’s bold promise, who was already far ahead.

“Yes, I trust you.”

The deadline was approaching, and they were still far short of the amount requested by the officials. However, he didn’t want to ruin his master’s mood, who was smiling for the first time in a while, so he swallowed his words.

The two men left the estate and strolled around the neighborhood, going wherever their feet took them. As they walked and chatted, Yeom Sain suddenly stopped.

Seeing him staring intently at something, Cho Ak-ryang followed Yeom Sain’s gaze and turned his head.

In the distance, a small tributary wound around the village.

Rows of long poles stretched along the stream branching off from the Min River, with fabrics hanging and fluttering on them.

The vibrant patterns and colors, as if freshly dyed, naturally drew attention.

Belatedly, he saw men busily moving between them.

“Is that… resist dyeing [a dyeing technique where patterns are created by preventing dye from penetrating certain areas of the fabric]?”

Yeom Sain nodded at Cho Ak-ryang’s question.

“I can’t make ends meet doing it the way I do.”

Yeom Sain preferred the wax dyeing [a dyeing technique using wax to create patterns] method, which mainly used beeswax or white wax to create patterns. However, the materials were precious, and he had to draw the patterns himself, so the production volume was limited.

On the other hand, resist dyeing, which created patterns by tying the fabric with thread and then dyeing it, allowed for mass production, although the patterns were simple.

At that moment, some of the men working by the river bowed politely towards them.

“Hey, Gu-chil!”

Yeom Sain raised his voice and called out to someone.

Soon, one of the men by the river, a man in his mid-thirties, hurried over.

“Did you call, Master?”

Yeom Sain gave a gentle smile to the man, Gu-chil, who bowed respectfully.

“How long have you been here? Is it ten years this year?”

The man called Gu-chil lowered his head as if he were overwhelmed.

“Yes. It will be exactly ten years in a little over a month.”

“Then come find me in five days. I’ll give you the money I’ve been keeping for you.”

Gu-chil shook his head in surprise.

“Oh, no, you don’t have to. I’ll just keep working here…”

Yeom Sain cut off Gu-chil’s words.

“There’s no future in this village. You seem to have gotten the hang of the work, so go to a big city and open a fabric store or something. It’ll be easier on your body, and you’ll make more money. We’ll supply the goods, so don’t worry.”

“But if I leave…”

“The others will manage somehow. Haven’t they always?”

When Gu-chil still hesitated, Yeom Sain continued, as if to persuade him.

“You have to think about your family too. I heard your wife is pregnant with your third child?”

At those words, Gu-chil sighed.

“I understand, Master. I’ll do as you say.”

“You’ve made a good decision.”

Gu-chil bowed his head several times and repeated his thanks to Yeom Sain, who wore a pleased smile.

Cho Ak-ryang shook his head as he watched Gu-chil’s retreating figure as he returned to the river.

“You said you were going to rebuild the village, but it seems like you’re planning to get rid of it altogether.”

He finally realized why the village, which used to have over two hundred households, now had only about fifty.

“You don’t know because you haven’t experienced it. There are tons of guys who try to take whatever they can if you’re even a little bit well-off. What kind of future is there in a place like this?”

“Guys?”

Cho Ak-ryang tilted his head, pondering Yeom Sain’s words.

“Wasn’t it just the government offices?”

“There are many.”

Yeom Sain let out a soft sigh.

“The merchants who have pre-emptively contracted for the goods come every half month.”

They were buying the dyed fabrics at a low price in exchange for lending money.

The dyers, who didn’t know much about the world, were easy targets for them to exploit.

“Recently, even a martial arts sect approached us, saying they would protect this place.”

“A martial arts sect?”

“They said they were disciples of the Qingcheng Sect’s lay family. They’re expanding their martial arts school this time, and they’re going to build it near here? Apparently, he’s quite famous among the Qingcheng Sect’s lay families.”

“…….”

Yeom Sain smiled bitterly at Cho Ak-ryang’s sudden silence.

“Isn’t it all so tiresome? That river that we fear will flood again, the government offices that ignored the starving people, and the Qingcheng Sect that made you an evil man.”

Yeom Sain revealed his thoughts to Cho Ak-ryang, who was still lost in his own thoughts.

“I’m just waiting for the day I die, but what sin have they committed to protect this place? We should send them away when we can. So, you should let go of your greed now.”

“…….”

“The hometown we thought of is gone. It’s been gone since that day.”

“I suppose so. The river will flood again someday.”

“That’s why I built this estate, isn’t it? To keep us from creating people like us.”

Cho Ak-ryang raised his eyes to the sky.

Old memories resurfaced.

But even though decades had passed, they were as vivid as if they had happened yesterday.

Around the age of seven.

Unlike other years, the Min River suddenly flooded.

The sudden disaster turned the fields and villages into ruins.

The officials who had to deal with the aftermath were afraid of being reprimanded by their superiors, so they downplayed the damage, and there was no support whatsoever.

But that was just the beginning. An epidemic began to spread.

Then, belatedly, the government offices dispatched soldiers.

At first, they thought they had come to save them.

But they were wrong.

They sealed off the village with spears and swords.

It was to prevent the starving victims from becoming refugees and flowing into other cities.

When young children began to starve to death, some of the village elders couldn’t stand it and raided the soldiers’ outposts to steal military rations.

And soon, they were all beheaded.

After that, they couldn’t even resist.

Extreme hunger and the fear of death.

Everyone was quietly dying inside.

In the order of the weak elderly, children, and women….

When all hope was lost, an old man came into the village.

He drove out the soldiers surrounding the village and opened the way for the villagers to leave.

The person who took him out of the village, crying and guarding his father’s body, was also that old man.

As a result of the refugees, the government offices belatedly invited martial artists from the Qingcheng Sect [a famous martial arts sect] in a hurry.

“Why did the Qingcheng Sect respond to the government’s invitation?”

Even now, that point was questionable.

That’s because the government and the martial world had long avoided each other for many years.

Of course, the Qingcheng Sect had its own justification.

Eliminating heretical demons (邪魔外道).

In fact, the old man was a descendant of the Maoshan Sect (茅山派), which had been destroyed long ago.

The reason why he had lived a life of seclusion without getting involved in the affairs of the martial world was also because of that.

It was undeniable that the Maoshan Sect had prospered by relying on the power of foreign tribes. The label of being a descendant of a traitor (漢奸) who cooperated with foreign invaders could not be erased.

But he couldn’t possibly think that the Qingcheng Sect had stepped in for this reason alone.

In any case, even the Qingcheng Sect martial artists could not stop the old man.

The injured Qingcheng Sect martial artists turned away, grinding their teeth.

He thought everything would end with them retreating in defeat.

After that day, the old man and Cho Ak-ryang formed a master-disciple relationship.

And five years later.

Misfortune suddenly struck.

The Qingcheng Sect’s top masters searched for and found the master.

But the timing was too bad.

The thugs came when he was in his weakest state.

At the time, the master had just finished pushing the palace and passing the acupoints (推宮過穴), consuming even his primordial essence (元精) for his disciple’s marrow washing (伐毛洗髓) [advanced martial arts techniques].

It was a forced march that lasted a full seven days and nights.

As a result, Cho Ak-ryang was able to open his Ren and Du channels [key meridians in martial arts] and lay the foundation for becoming a master.

On the other hand, the master’s inner strength was almost exhausted.

To buy Cho Ak-ryang time to escape, the master opened the gate of slaughter (殺戒) for the first time.

Cho Ak-ryang let out a heavy sigh.

“In the end, I couldn’t even be there to see him pass away.”

It was ten years later that he recovered his master’s remains, after completing the martial arts he had inherited from him.

And he went straight to the Qingcheng Sect.

Since that day, his hands had never been dry of blood.

That’s because the resentment that was deeply ingrained in his bones was so deep.

He didn’t want to repeat the same mistakes as his master, so he didn’t leave even a trace of mercy in his actions.

He was entangled in the grudges of the martial world, and after that, he couldn’t get out.

Constantly fighting, killing and killing again.

It was only natural that he gained the ominous title of Blood Demon Venerable and was named one of the Ten Great Evils.

The Qingcheng Sect, which was once one of the top three of the Nine Great Sects in terms of size alone, also declined greatly due to the bloodbath at that time.

Now, it is barely holding its name as the last of the Nine Great Sects.

That’s how many masters lost their lives.

A murderous glint flickered in Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes.

“I don’t regret it.”

Yeom Sain nodded at Cho Ak-ryang’s words.

“I know. You may have lived a terrible life, but you didn’t live a shameful one.”