The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 98

Divine Doctor of Demonic Arts (98)

Ga Doo-dal, having released Dan Ahk-seon’s blood seal, quickly stepped back.

“In a situation where life and death are decided in a fleeting moment, the most important thing is composure.”

Ga Doo-dal continued, his face somewhat serious.

“If your mind wavers with just this much provocation, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough in a real life-or-death struggle.”

Dan Ahk-seon, who had been lying blankly, slowly rose.

Dan Ahk-seon’s face was flushed red.

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

Dan Ahk-seon, who had been staring at Ga Doo-dal silently, nodded.

“Ga Uncle is really sneaky.”

“That’s the best compliment.”

“And…”

“…?”

“Cho Uncle isn’t like that.”

At Dan Ahk-seon’s sharp voice, Ga Doo-dal smiled bitterly and nodded.

‘What should I do?’

His mouth felt very bitter.

He had earned her dislike before even gaining her favor.

Ga Doo-dal’s mind became complicated.

If he won just two more times, he would complete all ten promised spars.

If that happened, he would no longer have a reason to stay by Dan Ahk-seon’s side.

Conversely, if he deliberately lost to Dan Ahk-seon, that would also be a difficult situation.

If he was deemed useless, it was obvious that Beom Gye-wi would immediately kick him out.

He couldn’t go forward or backward…

It was truly a dilemma.

After racking his brain, Ga Doo-dal finally reached a conclusion.

‘I have to buy as much time as possible.’

There was no other way.

Ga Doo-dal suddenly felt a gaze piercing him from behind and turned his head.

“Heh heh.”

Beom Gye-wi smiled and nodded as their eyes met.

“Well done. Keep doing that.”

He was inwardly pleased that Ga Doo-dal had thoroughly insulted Cho Ahk-ryang on his behalf.

On the other hand, Han Seol-hwa glared at Ga Doo-dal.

“Why are you doing… this?”

At Ga Doo-dal’s cautious question, Han Seol-hwa cast a cold gaze.

“Sparring is forbidden in places where I am not present.”

“Yes?”

At Ga Doo-dal’s question, Han Seol-hwa’s gaze became even colder.

Belatedly realizing the reason, Ga Doo-dal hurriedly nodded.

“I will not speak ill of Seonja-nim [Young Miss] no matter what happens!”

Only then did Han Seol-hwa’s gaze soften.

It was also then that Beom Gye-wi let out a cryptic laugh.

“Heh heh. You’ve opened the door to hardship.”

“The door to hardship?”

Ga Doo-dal asked with a puzzled expression, but Beom Gye-wi only wore a strange smile.

He would soon find out even without an explanation.

How long Dan Ahk-seon’s sulking would last.

* * *

Cho Ahk-ryang, leaning against a pavilion pillar, leisurely picked his ear with his little finger.

“Why is it so itchy?”

He wondered if someone was badmouthing him and looked around, but there was no one nearby.

At that moment, the door of the workshop located opposite the pavilion opened.

Yum Sa-in, who had been staying up all night inside for two full days, staggered out with a haggard look.

“Living the good life.”

Yum Sa-in grumbled, spotting Cho Ahk-ryang sprawled out in the pavilion.

“Some people are up all night for days, tasting death.”

Cho Ahk-ryang smiled and accepted the words.

“I have a good friend.”

“…?”

“A friend who tells me not to do anything, not to worry about anything, and just rest.”

Yum Sa-in, having his words from a few days ago returned to him, chuckled.

Cho Ahk-ryang asked.

“Did you finish what you were doing?”

Jang Sam, walking out from inside the workshop, answered instead.

“Barely, by the skin of our teeth.”

Yum Sa-in frowned and shouted.

“Don’t take any more orders from today! I’m retiring now!”

Jang Sam smiled gently.

“I will brew and serve you restorative medicine this evening.”

“No need. How much more am I supposed to be exploited after eating that?”

Cho Ahk-ryang, watching the two bickering for a while, smiled and opened his mouth.

“Go and rest. You both look very tired.”

Yum Sa-in sighed with a weary face.

“I can’t do this anymore. My body can’t keep up.”

Yum Sa-in, staggering towards his residence, turned his head towards Cho Ahk-ryang.

“If you leave without a word like last time, you’re on your own. I won’t see your face again.”

Cho Ahk-ryang smiled and nodded.

As the two figures completely disappeared, Cho Ahk-ryang slowly rose.

“Shall I start moving too?”

Cho Ahk-ryang’s eyes turned cold in an instant.

* * *

That night.

Under the cloak of the deep night, figures approached the manor.

Masked and clad in jet-black night clothes, there were ten men in total.

The one leading them was one-eyed, and his demeanor suggested he was the leader.

The one-eyed man asked the followers behind him in a low voice.

“Have you confirmed Yum Dae-ya’s residence?”

At the sight of his subordinates nodding silently, the one-eyed man, who had brought all the elites of the Dark Dragon Squad, revealed a satisfied look.

“You, and you, cut off the retreat route. And me and those two over there will secure Yum Dae-ya, and the rest will stand by. We’ll be very busy tonight, so we need to move quickly. After securing Yum Dae-ya, the remaining personnel will head to the houses and bring back only five children. Do you understand?”

The vice-chief had already planned sufficiently in advance, yet he confirmed the plan once more.

It was then.

“Is ten all of you here?”

The martial artists of the Dark Dragon Squad were startled by the voice that emerged from the darkness.

It was also then that a person walked out from the darkness.

‘A master!’

The one-eyed man’s only eye trembled.

A master whose level was incomparable to his own… truly on a different dimension.

The martial artists of the Dark Dragon Squad felt suffocated.

The opponent was simply standing still, casting a chilling gaze.

Yet, they couldn’t even twitch a finger.

“Lead me to your leader.”

Cho Ahk-ryang, having uttered those words, began to move as if he were taking a night stroll.

The gazes of the men in black became complicated as Cho Ahk-ryang walked leisurely through their midst.

Then, in a flash.

Several daggers, drawn silently, gleamed in the darkness.

“Cough!”

“Ugh!”

At the same time, stifled groans echoed.

The one-eyed man was chilled to the bone at the sight of his subordinates lying on the floor, foaming at the mouth and trembling. It had happened right before his eyes, yet he couldn’t figure out how the opponent had taken down his subordinates.

Cho Ahk-ryang looked at the one-eyed man silently.

“…!”

At that moment, the one-eyed man felt as if lightning had struck his head.

The sharp gaze, like a blade, seemed to pierce his eyes and stir his brain.

“Are you hard of hearing?”

“Ah, I will guide you!”

An eerie voice like a messenger from the underworld.

In the face of the overwhelming presence contained within, no will was of any use.

The one-eyed man, sizing up Cho Ahk-ryang, began to walk ahead.

The martial artists of the Dark Dragon Squad also drooped their shoulders and silently followed behind, carrying the bodies of their dead comrades.

Shortly after.

Kwak Eon, the leader of the Dark Dragon Squad, was dumbfounded.

The subordinates he had sent to kidnap Noh Dae-ya and the children had guided him to an unexpected person.

“This is our leader.”

Kwak Eon glared at the one-eyed man with a bewildered look.

Just who was this person that he was treating with such respect in front of him, the leader?

Kwak Eon, glaring at the one-eyed man with burning eyes, turned his head towards the old man before him.

‘Not good.’

That was the thought that immediately came to mind as soon as he met the opponent’s gaze. But as time passed, his thoughts changed.

‘What is this?’

Suddenly, his entire life, from starting as a salt porter to becoming the leader of the Dark Dragon Squad, flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

Until now, he had endured and overcome all sorts of perilous events.

But he could say with certainty that this moment was closer to death than any other.

It was then.

“There’s a saying that seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times.”

Kwak Eon hurriedly tried to dodge as the opponent suddenly reached out. But Cho Ahk-ryang’s hand was not something that could be avoided by trying to dodge.

Thud.

In an instant, Cho Ahk-ryang snatched Kwak Eon’s wrist, seized his pulse point, and soared away.

Kwak Eon, dragged away powerlessly, regained his senses on top of a tall tree overlooking the entire village.

“Do you see it?”

“Yes? See what?”

Cho Ahk-ryang frowned at Kwak Eon’s dumbfounded expression.

“The shrine you use as a hideout. The ones hiding in the direction of the corner of that main building.”

Still unable to understand, Cho Ahk-ryang sighed.

Cho Ahk-ryang’s figure swayed lightly.

Belatedly realizing that he was standing in an alley next to the shrine, Kwak Eon was speechless with surprise.

He had simply closed and opened his eyes, and the distance of over ten yards had simply vanished.

He was marveling at the incredible movement technique when suddenly.

—This isn’t the time to be spacing out like that.

Kwak Eon snapped back to his senses at the sudden telepathic message.

At that moment.

“…!”

Kwak Eon’s eyes widened.

In the dark alley where shadows overlapped.

A cold glint of a sword flashed, and a sword suddenly sprang out, flying towards his chest.

Instinctively leaning back, Kwak Eon dodged the sword and swung his hand, wrapping the sword with his sleeve. And after immediately knocking the opponent’s sword away, he unleashed a fist.

Crack!

A chilling sound echoed in the night sky.

Thud.

The man who had ambushed and attacked Kwak Eon collapsed to the ground.

Kwak Eon frowned as he confirmed the man clutching his chest and vomiting blood.

“Cheongseong’s First Gate [a martial arts sect]? Why are these guys here?”

Kwak Eon, blinking and assessing the situation, gritted his teeth.

“Those bastards?”

Cho Ahk-ryang nodded.

“You were being played by those guys from the start.”

“…!”

“They deliberately spread rumors and waited for you to move.”

After hearing Cho Ahk-ryang’s words, Kwak Eon’s questions were answered.

He had been inwardly puzzled by the fact that the ambushing men were wearing outfits that openly revealed their identities.

“If you hadn’t ambushed, you would have met these guys. You would have won Yum Dae-ya’s heart in exchange for protecting the village.”

Cho Ahk-ryang smiled quietly at Kwak Eon, who was exuding a thick murderous aura.

“You guys are lucky.”

“…?”

“I really hate those Cheongseong bastards.”

“Then perhaps…”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I have no intention of helping the likes of you.”

Kwak Eon felt as if the blood in his entire body was chilling.

“Then…”

Kwak Eon cautiously opened his mouth towards Cho Ahk-ryang.

“You don’t intend to stop us… right?”

Cho Ahk-ryang nodded silently.

At this, Kwak Eon curled up a murderous smile.

Crack.

Kwak Eon raised his foot and stomped on the neck of the man who had fallen to the ground and was groaning.

After confirming that the opponent had stopped breathing, Kwak Eon whistled loudly into the air.

The sharp whistling sound shook the night sky.

Was that the signal?

Shortly after, groups of people began to pour out from all over the village.

And in moments.

“Kuaaak!”

“Cough!”

“Sa, save me… Uaaak!”

Death throes of screams erupted from everywhere.

How much time had passed like that?

The men covered in blood dragged the corpses and lined up in front of Kwak Eon.

Kwak Eon, glaring at the already dead disciples of Cheongseong’s First Gate, suddenly opened his mouth.

“Let’s go, guys.”

Kwak Eon smiled slyly, turning to his subordinates.

“It’s time to sell salt.”