Chapter 13: Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 13: Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments (3)
A bundle of sect tokens sat atop the table.
Looking at them, one thing became crystal clear.
If one had to pick the single most difficult person to provoke in the entire martial world, regardless of whether they belonged to the Orthodox or Evil factions, it would undoubtedly be the Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments.
His network of connections was truly terrifying.
"Hmph. You certainly hold a lot of cards."
Hae Ak-cheon had been momentarily startled by the sheer number of tokens, but he quickly feigned indifference, speaking as if it were nothing. He was likely forcing himself to act bold.
"As expected of one of the Four Venerables," the Divine Healer said with a thin smile as he tucked the bundle of tokens back into his robes.
The tokens had served their purpose well.
The Lesser Conversation Sword chimed in.
Hae Ak-cheon’s own sect token still sat on the table. To take it back now would be an admission of defeat. Would he actually retrieve it?
'That’s true.'
However, Hae Ak-cheon still believed I was practicing an incomplete version of the Innate Heart Method. Since I couldn't reveal that I had mastered a proper heart method and thus wasn't consuming my primordial energy, I had no choice but to let him continue his attempt to restore my dantian.
The Lesser Conversation Sword knew the truth because I had told it. There was a way to receive the Divine Healer’s treatment without making these kinds of demands. The problem was that I couldn't be the one to say it.
"You call yourself a physician. Can't you just help out in the spirit of saving a life?" Hae Ak-cheon asked, his tone significantly softened.
Since aggression hadn't worked, he seemed to be changing his tactics. Despite being eccentric and temperamental, the old man was shrewd enough to use any means necessary.
"A problem with one's dantian is not an immediately fatal illness. How can you speak of saving or losing a life in this context?"
The healer’s words flowed like water, perfectly logical. As expected of a man who had grown up 'eating ink'—well-educated and articulate—his eloquence was top-notch. I wondered how Hae Ak-cheon would try to persuade him next.
Thud!
Just as I was wondering, Hae Ak-cheon placed his hand on top of my head.
'Huh?'
His palm was so massive it practically covered my entire skull. The Divine Healer looked on, puzzled.
"What are you doing now?"
"I told you this was a matter of life and death. If you don't treat my disciple, I'll kill him right here and now."
"!?"
A chill ran down my spine. I never imagined he would threaten to kill me on the spot. The Divine Healer furrowed his brows.
"I like this boy's talent, but if he can't use internal energy, he's worthless as a disciple. In that case, I have no choice but to kill him here."
Grip!
"Urgh!"
As Hae Ak-cheon applied pressure, a groan escaped my lips involuntarily.
"Do you think I'm bluffing?"
He looked ready to pop my head like a melon if the healer refused.
Hae Ak-cheon was the type of man who could snap at any moment if things didn't go his way.
"Will you treat him? Or will you let him die?"
Hae Ak-cheon pressed the Divine Healer with a threatening tone. At this, the healer’s face—which hadn't even twitched when presented with the sect tokens—hardened with hesitation. Seeing that expression, I marveled at Hae Ak-cheon’s absurdly clever threat.
'Ha! So that's how he's playing it.'
It was dangerous for me, but Hae Ak-cheon had made a brilliant move. A physician’s calling is to save lives. If the Divine Healer refused to save me here, he would be abandoning his duty. As forced as it was, Hae Ak-cheon’s gambit was one that specifically targeted the healer’s principles.
"Must you really go this far?"
"Have you ever known this seat to speak empty words?"
"Sigh..."
However, it seemed both Hae Ak-cheon and I had underestimated the Divine Healer by judging him by the standards of an ordinary physician.
"How unfortunate, Venerable One. I heard this was your first disciple."
"What?"
"If you truly intend to kill him, please do it outside. I am busy tending to a patient."
He pushed back even harder. He was essentially telling Hae Ak-cheon to go ahead and kill me if he wanted to.
'...Damn it.'
I was actually going to die at this rate.
Grit!
Hae Ak-cheon gnashed his teeth, glaring at the Divine Healer with a terrifying expression. His eyes looked capable of killing the man a dozen times over.
Slide.
The hand gripping my head finally loosened.
'Phew.'
I had been terrified that he might actually kill me since his plan failed, but thankfully, it didn't come to that.
Just then, Gu Sang-ung, the Raging Blood Unit Leader, cautiously intervened.
"Venerable Elder... Since the Divine Healer is busy right now, perhaps it would be better to come back later..."
"Is that so? Then if that child behind the bamboo screen weren't there, the Divine Healer wouldn't be so busy, would he?"
"What?"
Hae Ak-cheon’s gaze shifted toward the bamboo screen. Since things hadn't gone his way, it seemed he was looking for a new target to vent his frustration on.
"Venerable One!"
Step!
As Hae Ak-cheon stood up and moved toward the screen, Han Baek-ha, the Blood Hand Witch, hurriedly blocked his path. The two faced each other.
"This is the second time. You dare block my path again?"
Hae Ak-cheon’s thick eyebrows arched upward.
"Please, step back."
She looked ready to fight then and there. Who on earth was behind that screen that a member of the Seven Blood Stars like her would protect them so desperately? No matter how strong she was, Hae Ak-cheon, as one of the Four Venerables, held a higher rank.
"Blood Hand Witch. Since you're acting like this, I'm even more curious to see who is behind that screen."
The air in the room grew heavy, saturated with the internal energy of the two masters. It was suffocating. The situation was on a hair-trigger.
Then, I noticed Han Baek-ha’s throat vibrating slightly.
'Secret Sound Transmission?'
Even if the sound couldn't be heard, the sender's throat often trembles because they are still technically speaking. It seemed the message was directed at Hae Ak-cheon. His expression, which had been ready for a fight just a moment ago, suddenly shifted.
Shortly after, Hae Ak-cheon turned to me.
"You, go wait outside."
It wasn't just me. Han Baek-ha also ordered the four veiled women guarding the screen to wait outside. Consequently, we were all practically ushered out of the room.
'I don't know.'
I couldn't be sure of the reason. One thing I could guess was that the person behind the screen was likely someone so important that even Hae Ak-cheon couldn't afford to be reckless.
The Blood Cult Leader had died during the Great Orthodox-Evil War long ago, so the Cult should be under the dominion of the Four Venerables. Who could possibly fit that description...?
Just then, a dull ache started in my lower abdomen.
'Ah...'
'It's not that.'
'I think I drank too much yesterday.'
The three of us had shared that massive jar of liquor.
'Give me a break. It's a natural physiological phenomenon.'
Anyone who drank that much through the night would get an urgent signal in the morning. Then again, how would a dagger like you know? For six months, I had to do my business while hanging off a cliff; it would be nice to use a proper outhouse for once.
"Where is the outhouse?"
After asking for the location, I dashed toward the back of the main hall. I tried to pull open the wooden door of the outhouse, but it wouldn't budge. It felt as if someone was holding it shut from the inside.
'What the?'
Thump, thump!
"Is someone in there?"
No answer.
'Oh, come on!'
I didn't want to resort to this, but I circulated my Innate True Qi and yanked the door. The door that had been resisting suddenly flew open.
"!?"
I thought it was empty, but there was someone inside.
The person inside was one of the veiled women who had been guarding the bamboo screen. My eyes naturally drifted to her hand. I had wondered what she was doing in there while hiding her presence and holding the door shut; she was holding a half-eaten piece of beef jerky.
"..."
'You're not the only one.'
It was amazing that she had the stomach to eat jerky in a place that smelled this bad. Was her appetite really that voracious? But I had more pressing matters.
"Are you... using the facilities?"
"A-Ah, no. That is..."
The veiled woman was flustered, clearly at a loss for what to do. I would have been embarrassed too if I were caught eating jerky in an outhouse, but I was in too much of a hurry to care about her feelings.
"Then please eat your jerky somewhere else and let me use the room."
"W-Wait a moment."
"I'm sorry, but this is a dire emergency. Please, come out."
At my serious tone, she was practically forced out of the outhouse. As soon as she left, I slammed the door and did my business. It felt as if the toxins from the alcohol were being purged from my body.
'Thank goodness.'
If the "accident" had happened while I was waiting, it would have been a disaster. After finishing, I opened the door and stepped out.
'Huh?'
The plump, veiled woman was waiting by a pillar a short distance away. Why was she still here? It was a bit awkward, considering the sounds that must have come from the outhouse. Regardless, she hurried over to me as if she had been waiting.
"You're the disciple of the Venerable Elder, right?"
"...I am."
This was confusing. Very confusing.
"Sigh."
She carefully pulled something from her robes, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and pressed it into my hand like she was conducting a secret deal. I opened my palm to find a silver coin.
"...What is this for?"
"Please forget what you saw earlier."
"How can I forget that?"
It was burned into my memory; there was no way I could forget it. At my words, she began to fidget anxiously.
"I'm supposed to be on a diet right now, so I haven't been able to eat anything."
"And the jerky?"
"That... I held out as long as I could, but I felt like I was going to collapse if I didn't eat something. So I only had a little, just a tiny bit! I mean it!"
"You'd already eaten half of it."
And she probably would have finished it if I hadn't opened the door. The skin visible through the gaps in her veil turned bright red.
"Haaa."
She let out a long sigh and pulled out another silver coin.
"Fine, fine. You're quite the negotiator."
This woman was strange. I would have kept the secret if she had just asked, but for some reason, she felt the need to secure my silence with silver.
The Lesser Conversation Sword was right. Two silver coins just for keeping my mouth shut was a total windfall. But before I could even take the coins, someone appeared.
"I told you to wait patiently in front of the hall. What are you doing here?"
It was Hae Ak-cheon. He must have been looking for me. Startled by his sudden appearance, the woman scrambled to shove the coins back into her robes, gave a quick fist-and-palm salute, and bolted away.
Hae Ak-cheon muttered as he watched her retreating figure.
"What's with that fatty?"
*
Hae Ak-cheon tucked me under his arm and didn't set me down until we reached a secluded part of the forest away from the main hall. He spoke with a disgruntled face.
"This has become a nuisance."
"Did something happen, Master?"
"We have to find something called 'Descending Immortal Spreading Snow'."
'That’s it!'
I hadn't been able to remember the full name because it had been so long, but that was the herb the Divine Healer had been looking for.
Descending Immortal Spreading Snow.
I had heard it was a unique spirit herb that only grew in winter. I recalled that the Divine Healer had brought his 'important guest' here specifically because it only grew in this region.
'Did he get persuaded?'
Seeing as the rampaging Hae Ak-cheon was now talking about finding the herb, it seemed he had finally come to an agreement with the Divine Healer.
Hae Ak-cheon spoke irritably.
"We have to find it first. Only then can we restore your dantian."
"What do you mean by 'first'?"
"That damn physician said he would give his sect token to whoever finds the herb first, granting them treatment whenever they wish."
Hae Ak-cheon shook his head. Even for someone of his caliber, finding a specific herb in the dead of winter when everything was covered in snow was no easy task. It wasn't a matter of martial prowess; rather, the side that could mobilize more people would have a better chance.
But that didn't apply to me.
I already knew exactly where the Descending Immortal Spreading Snow was located. Unaware of this, Hae Ak-cheon was in a foul mood, thinking the task would be a massive headache.
"Damn it, of all things, the Young Lady had to be involved."
"Pardon?"
'Young Lady?'
Hae Ak-cheon stared at me as I questioned him, then stroked his beard.
"Hmph. Keep this to yourself. If you breathe a word of this, disciple or not, I'll kill you."
'If it's that big of a secret, you don't have to tell me.'
Was he actually treating me like a proper disciple now? Regardless, Hae Ak-cheon continued.
"Do you remember that there was someone behind the bamboo screen in the room with that damn physician?"
"...I remember."
It had been a faint silhouette, but it was definitely a woman. Then, Hae Ak-cheon dropped a bombshell I never expected.
"She is the granddaughter of the late Cult Leader."
"!!!"
My god.
The bloodline of the Blood Demon was still alive.
This was top-tier information that I hadn't even known in my past life.