Chapter 35: Life-Death Eccentric Doctor-5
Chapter 35: Life-Death Eccentric Doctor-5
The Heuksangbang bandits wandered for a long time before they finally discovered our trail and began chasing us again, and it was just when we, who had been taunting them by slipping away in every direction, were at last caught by them.
Go Ju-yong, who looked like he had aged ten years overnight, shouted at us.
"You dog-like bastards! I will absolutely not let you go this time!"
We glanced behind us.
Though we were surrounded, it didn't seem impossible to break through if we truly wanted to escape.
The enemies looked so utterly exhausted that they didn't appear capable of stopping us at all.
It was to the point where I wondered if it wouldn't be fine to just fight them as we were.
That was when it happened.
A young woman's voice rang out from somewhere.
"What?! You've already been rescued?! That can't be?!"
When I turned my head toward the voice, a beauty in red clothes was watching us from atop a tree, her hands on her hips.
Her age was early twenties at most? With large eyes, slightly indented dimples, and a girlish freshness that seemed to radiate from her entire body, she was a young lady whose posture, even with her hands on her hips, appeared charming.
Even her beauty seemed to rival that of Lady Dang Yeoeun.
She lightly launched herself through the air and landed beside us, speaking.
"Hey, you lot! Are you the ones who rescued the Life-and-Death Strange Physician? And you agreed to receive the elixir too? Ah, this won't do!"
I smiled knowingly upon seeing her.
The person I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
I clasped my fist in salute and answered her.
"I do not know who you might be, but we cannot yet say we have completely rescued Elder Saengsagwoe-ui. As long as those men remain, they will try to target the elder at any time."
Then the young lady, who had slightly furrowed her brow, scratched her chin charmingly and asked Saengsagwoe-ui.
"You're Saengsagwoe-ui, right? What do you think? Do you think so too? If I sweep them away, does that mean I rescued you?"
She was a young lady who looked young, not to say immature, so her words and actions could not help but seem rude to the middle-aged Saengsagwoe-ui.
However, Saengsagwoe-ui, who seemed to have sensed something while watching my actions, thought for a moment before answering.
"I do not think so. These young heroes have done their best and have already rescued me. However, if someone were to kill those men and eliminate future troubles, that person would also be one of those who saved me."
Then she smiled vibrantly and nodded her head.
"Good! I'll take even that much! Then wait a moment!"
And in an instant, her form vanished.
We could only be bewildered by that mysterious movement.
Even the three of us, who each had confidence in our own movement techniques, could not grasp her trail at all.
It was a tremendous movement technique.
Bi Sa-yeong muttered with a horrified face.
"Hyung... was that a phantom shift?"
At that moment, Saengsagwoe-ui, his expression as if entranced, asked me.
"Who on earth is that young lady? Young Hero Seon-woo, do you know her identity?"
For now, I did not answer that question and looked at Squad Leader Seolpung.
From the moment he first saw her, he had been turning pale.
I asked him.
"Squad Leader, do you know her?"
Then the squad leader gulped and answered.
"That young lady, that person... could it be..."
At that moment, Bi Sa-yeong, who was next to him, shouted with a horrified face.
"L-look over there! What is that?!"
As we absentmindedly turned our gazes following his pointing finger, we spotted her and could only open our eyes wide.
At some point, she had moved toward the Heuksangbang bandits... and was looking down at them while floating in midair.
We could only gape in shock.
She was standing stably in the air as if stepping on an invisible footboard.
Seeing that, Bi Sa-yeong screamed as if letting out a shriek.
"St-step-stepping on air and void?!"
I, who knew her identity, and Squad Leader Seolpung, who seemed to have roughly guessed, also could not close their mouths.
Stepping on air and void... I thought that was truly a realm that only appeared in legends...
No, honestly, I had thought it was nothing more than fantasy created by storytellers.
But to actually witness it.
However, the current surprise was only the beginning.
She looked down at the Heuksangbang bandits and spoke.
Although she murmured, her voice was clearly conveyed even to us.
"You are bad guys, so even if you die, you won't feel wronged. Right?"
Then Go Ju-yong, whose soul had already fled, asked back in alarm.
"Wh-wh-what is that supposed to...?"
But he could not hear her reply.
The moment she thrust her hand up toward the sky, a red sphere began to form above her palm.
The mass, likely energetic force, blazed and grew to a diameter larger than a human body in an instant.
And when she swung her hand down with all her might, it finally became a crimson meteor and fell upon them as they stared blankly.
Then a massive explosion erupted.
KWAAAAAAANG!
It was a tremendous roar, a tremendous explosion.
We had to desperately lower our stances to avoid falling over from the scorching wind that surged over us with the blast.
WHOOOOSH!
"Guuugh!"
"Wha-what in the world is this?!"
And a moment later, after the blast of hot wind had passed, the scene we witnessed upon opening our eyes was simply unbelievable.
The ground where they had stood was deeply gouged out in a circle about four jang in diameter, as if struck by a meteorite.
There was no trace of any human presence left near that circle.
It was total annihilation.
As we stood there with blank expressions, unable to close our mouths, she appeared before us once again and asked.
"It's a bit bothersome, so shall I take care of those small fry behind you too?"
The moment she pointed with her finger at the low-grade warriors surrounding our rear, the low-grade warriors, trembling as if struck by lightning, flopped down to the ground and began begging for their lives.
"Aigo, Fairy Maiden! Please spare my life!"
"We'll live virtuously! Please spare us!"
Then, frowning at their outcry, she muttered.
"Too noisy. I should just kill them after all."
At that moment, the surroundings became as silent as a lie.
No one among them so much as let out a breath.
Saengsagwoe-ui stammered as he asked her.
"Ju-just who... are you, young lady?"
Then she smiled brightly like a young girl and answered.
"Me? I'm Son Eun-sang."
At those words, Bi Sa-yeong, startled, tried to shout.
"Th-then you're the Lust...!"
I quickly covered his mouth to prevent him from saying the next words and hastily said.
"You are as beautiful as the rumors say, Senior."
Then she glanced sharply at Bi Sa-yeong for a moment before soon letting out a chuckle and speaking to me.
"You're quick-witted. You have a pretty way of speaking too. Your face is even more handsome. I like you. I'll spare your friend."
"Thank you, Senior!"
Her name was Son Eun-sang, and her alias was the Ageless Lust Demon.
Moreover, she was one of the absolute beings of this era, belonging to the Four Demons among the One Emperor, Two Kings, Three Sages, Four Demons, and Five Ghosts, alongside the Heavenly Demon, the master of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, the Blood Demon of the Blood Cult, our main enemy, and the Phantom Demon.
Though her outward appearance was merely that of a young lady who had just entered her twenties, her true age was that of an old demoness far surpassing sixty.
She spoke to Saengsagwoe-ui, who was gaping in shock.
"How about it? With this much, it counts as me rescuing you, right? Or should I sweep away those small fry too?"
Then Saengsagwoe-ui, finally regaining his senses, vehemently shook his head and answered.
"No, no. It's fine. It's fine. But, Senior Son, did you also travel all this way to obtain my Life-and-Death Pill?"
Then she scratched her head as if slightly embarrassed and answered.
"No, that's not it. It's just that I wanted to get some help from a physician who knows how to make elixir pills second only to the Small Reversion Pill."
"You said help? What kind...?"
"Yeah, well, that is, um... I want to stop being so young now. I've come to want to eat my age too. So that's why I wanted to get some help."
"...!"
At her unexpected words, everyone blinked in surprise.
Of course, I, who already knew, also pretended to be surprised outwardly.
True to her alias, the Ageless Lust Demon, she was a lust demon who had mastered the seduction art of absorbing yang to nourish yin.
Since she was in her twenties, she had seduced countless men and sucked out their yang energy, accumulating an unimaginable amount of internal energy through it.
But that did not mean her martial arts were weak—absolutely not.
Because without enlightenment, she would not have been able to accumulate such high internal energy in the first place.
Thus, the Murim Alliance, which absolutely does not tolerate lust demons, had declared her a public enemy of the martial world.
Thanks to that, her life had become stained with countless bloodshed.
However, even now, nearly forty years later, she was still alive.
No one had been able to kill her.
Even walking around boldly revealing her identity, no one dared approach her—the Lust Demon who had achieved a feat that few in the history of the martial world had ever accomplished was none other than she, the Ageless Lust Demon Son Eun-sang.
Her beauty had been famous since ancient times.
It was to the point that there were even men who desired to have relations with her, even knowing they might have their yang energy drained and die.
On top of that, she did not age.
Whether due to her profound internal energy or the nature of her martial arts, she did not age as time passed, so her alias even became the Ageless Lust Demon. And from some point, rumors even began circulating that she was actually getting younger.
And seeing her now, those rumors seemed to be true.
Just how strong could her martial arts possibly be? I couldn't even begin to imagine.
But now, she had said she wanted to eat her age.
Those were words that would drive every woman in the martial world into a frenzy.
Saengsagwoe-ui asked with a confused expression.
"So, you mean, Senior Son, that you want to age more? No, why on earth would you want to do that?"
Then she let out a deep sigh and answered.
"Well, you probably won't understand. But I'm sick of living young now. My heart isn't young, but only my appearance is. So from now on, I want to live a life that suits my age, at least a little."
Having heard that much, we couldn't find anything to say. It was a story from a realm we could not fathom at all, so we could only try to understand, thinking it might be so.
She spoke again.
"So I'd like you, Life-Death Strange Doctor, to help me a little. Do you think you could do that?"
The Life-Death Strange Doctor, who had been pondering with a serious expression for a moment, then asked.
"If what you desire, senior, is to age, that may be a matter of martial arts rather than medicine. Are you not aware of this?"
Son Eun-sang nodded.
"That's right. It's an issue concerning the nature of my martial arts and internal energy. I've been clinging to it and researching it for over ten years already. But I found there are limits with only martial arts knowledge. So the conclusion I've reached lately is that I need an understanding of human beings, not just martial arts. Something like the medical arts, I mean."
The Life-Death Strange Doctor nodded as if he now understood.
But his expression was not bright.
"What you wish to ask of me, Senior Son, is to conduct research together then. Research that would require a long time at that."
At this, Son Eun-sang hastily spoke.
"Just one year will do! I won't bother you any longer than that. Besides, I'm a person cursed with a wandering star anyway, so I have no reason to stop you from living as a wandering doctor of the jianghu. You can comfortably travel wherever you wish. I'll simply follow along beside you."
But even as she said that, the Life-Death Strange Doctor's expression did not brighten.
At that moment, I abruptly interjected and spoke to the Life-Death Strange Doctor.
"I believe it would be good for you, Elder Strange Doctor, to grant Senior Son's request."
He then asked with a puzzled face.
"Hm? Why do you say that?"
"Firstly, because it is the right thing to do. You, Elder, have received a favor from Senior Son. Annihilating the Black Pine Chamber and severing future troubles was something we could never have done for you. Secondly, because being with Senior Son would also aid your safety, Elder. By now, the rumor that the life-death pills are in your possession and that you can make them will have spread throughout the martial world. Can you guarantee, Elder, that the attempt to kidnap Maeng Un and Yong Ji to threaten you will be the only one?"
At my words, he let out a low groan.
He had probably only thought of the Black Pine Chamber and had not considered what would come after.
I continued speaking.
"Lastly, thirdly, it is because Senior Son is a person you can fully trust. Though she is not of the orthodox faction, Senior Son has never once broken her own word, nor has she ever harmed the innocent."
It was true.
Although she was the Lust Demon, she had never stolen yang energy or harmed anyone unless they were people she deemed deserving of death by her own standards.
That was precisely why there were so many men who wanted to have relations with her.
Of course, since she never forgave those who tried to kill her and punished them thoroughly, she had walked a path stained with blood, yet there were not many even among the orthodox faction who had lived so long adhering to their convictions.
No, rather, they would be exceedingly rare.
Hearing my words, her face brightened as she spoke to me.
"You, kid, are a remarkably open-minded child, aren't you? You seem like an orthodox faction brat, but you're unusual."
Kid...
No matter how much I knew she was old, it was a strange feeling being called 'kid' by her, who looked to be in her early twenties at most.
I smiled wryly to myself and answered.
"Among my close comrades, quite a few are from the unorthodox faction. On the other hand, I've seen many orthodox faction members who are less than human. I don't believe that orthodox or unorthodox is what determines whether a person is right or wrong. Right now, even my squad leader beside me is not of orthodox faction origin."
At that, she smiled a pleased smile and patted my shoulder.
"I like you. A brat I really, really like. A kid with such a handsome face and such decent thoughts too."
Then she glanced at the squad leader and continued speaking.
"Now that I look, you're handsome too, aren't you? Do you two happen to have any thoughts of sleeping with me? If it's you two, I'll show you a really hot time."
"Wha, what?!"
I was utterly startled by her completely unexpected proposal. Moreover, as she said that, the earlier youthful innocence vanished somewhere, and she was now exuding a breathtakingly suffocating allure.
With just a single change of expression, she had transformed from a girl-like liveliness into a seductive bewitching woman in an instant. Truly, she could be nothing other than a woman who naturally brought the word 'enchantress' to mind.
At her overwhelming allure, my blood rushed uncontrollably. My face had also instantly turned red.
Of course I had to refuse, but my lips could not bear to part.
It was far too seductive.
At that moment, Squad Leader Seol Pung's face suddenly came into my view.
And then I inadvertently burst into a soft laugh.
The squad leader had frozen up even more stiffly than when he had first seen her martial prowess earlier.
His mind had likely frozen solid at her unbearable allure.
Thanks to that, I was able to smile and decline her offer with a full bow.
"I am truly grateful for you saying so. However, knowing your true depths, Senior, we could not dare to do such a thing."
At that, a glint of interest rose in her eyes.
This time, it was an expression of genuine admiration.
"Truly a remarkable brat. A steadfast heart that is utterly unbelievable for someone in his early twenties. Anyway, I understand. The offer stands anytime, so if your heart desires it later, be sure to tell me."
The allure she exuded as she said that was truly unbearable. I gulped audibly.
But regrettably, it didn't seem there would be a next opportunity.
Because the next time I saw her, she would probably have a husband.
In my past life, after she rescued the Life-Death Strange Doctor, she had annihilated the Black Pine Chamber so thoroughly at his request that not a speck of dust remained, and eventually ended up traveling with him.
Then, a few years later, the Life-Death Strange Doctor and Son Eun-sang had become husband and wife.
It was a story so famous that the martial world had become incredibly noisy for a while.
Of course, there was no guarantee it would turn out exactly the same in this life.
But still, how could one say they want to sleep with the wife in front of the man who might become her future husband?
In any case, with this, the Life-Death Strange Doctor incident, which had consumed most of this leave, was cleanly resolved.
Together, we visited the inn where Bae Jong-gwan and the Life-Death Strange Doctor's children were staying, and there we were able to witness a deeply moving family reunion.
The Life-Death Strange Doctor gave us seven life-death pills, more than he had promised, and then departed, repeatedly emphasizing that he would never forget this kindness.
Son Eun-sang, at his side, also did not forget to mention that if we ever changed our minds, she would sleep with us whenever we wished.
It was awkward.
However, the Life-Death Strange Doctor's children could not leave as cleanly.
His first son, Ma Maeng-un, who had a pretty and neat appearance, seemed to have become quite close with Bae Jong-gwan during their time together.
Like old acquaintances, he found it hard to part with Bae Jong-gwan, his eyes reddening, while the second child and daughter, Ma Yong-ji, revealed her heart to an unexpected person.
She had approached Bi Sa-yeong with a face flushed bright red and said.
"When I turn twenty, I will come find you, Bi orabeoni. So... please take care of yourself until then."
And as he watched her run away as if fleeing, Bi Sa-yeong wore a blank expression.
The squad leader and I burst into laughter and began teasing him.
"Whoa! Mr. Popular! This is no joke!"
"Hahahaha! Sa-yeong, turns out you're a thief."
Bi Sa-yeong, bristling at our teasing, yelled back in protest.
"Tch! Making something out of a young girl's immature feelings!"
But on the face of Bi Sa-yeong, who was pretending to be angry, a pleased smile had somehow appeared.
This leave would probably remain a great gift for him.
Not only because of the Strange Doctor's daughter, but also because I had told him I would send half of the wealth I had swept up from the Black Pine Chamber to the Bi Sect.
It was because I had remembered him saying last time that the Bi Sect's circumstances were difficult.
He shed tears with a moved face and thanked me, and the squad leader and Bae Jong-gwan also willingly offered their shares, joining in and saying they would send it to the Bi Sect.
Even after that, I decided to entrust and manage the remaining wealth at the frontline.
And so, through this leave, Bi Sa-yeong had stepped into the first-rate stage, filled a jiazi worth of internal energy, obtained an excellent weapon, and was even able to support the junior disciples of his sect who had remained as burdens in his heart.
On top of that, he had even received a confession from a pretty girl. It must have felt like heaven to him.
But until this moment, we did not know.
The thief who had stolen a woman's heart was not Bi Sa-yeong alone.
***
Though it was probably the same everywhere in the world that rumors traveled faster than words, the martial world was undoubtedly a place that vied for the top spot in that regard.
The incident that had happened to the Life-Death Strange Doctor spread like an arrow to the martial artists of Guizhou and the surrounding regions in an instant.
Hearing that he, capable of making life-death pills, had begun traveling with the Seductive Ghost Lust Demon Son Eun-sang, some martial artists felt regret, some found it marvelous, and some smiled.
In particular, the sects and factions of southwestern Guizhou Castle, which had been suppressed by the Black Pine Chamber, rose up all at once.
They had begun to unleash their long-suppressed resentment upon the remaining remnants.
The hegemony of southwestern Guizhou Castle was now in upheaval.
Furthermore, alongside this incident, the names of three men newly surfaced among the martial artists.
As the rumor spread that warriors of the Flying Dragon Squad who were on leave had stood against the Black Pine Chamber and rescued the Life-Death Strange Doctor and his children, all the hyeopgaek in the vicinity of Guizhou Castle cast praise upon their outstanding chivalrous spirit and martial arts.
In particular, Seol Pung, the squad leader of the Flying Dragon Thirteen Squads' 7th Squad, who, though still a young man in his twenties, had instantly struck down the peak-level master of the Black Pine Chamber, the Black Light Wheel Gak Gi-hyo, newly earned the alias Gale Flying Dragon and rose as a divine dragon of the martial world.
Though people would have no way of knowing, it was the exact same alias as in Seonwoo Jin's past life.
Also, Seonwoo Jin, who had rescued the Life-Death Strange Doctor not only with martial prowess and movement techniques but with outstanding resourcefulness and had also slain another peak-level master, the Black Killing Dart Dong Paegyeong, earned the alias Flying Sky Black Wolf, while Bi Sa-yeong, the eldest disciple of the Bi Sect who had shocked the Black Pine Chamber thugs with the movement technique he had displayed in but a single instant, earned the alias Swift Wind Flying Falcon.
And at a desolate inn near the ruined Black Pine Chamber, there was a woman who, upon hearing their rumors, repeated the name of one among them to herself.
"Gale Flying Dragon... Seol Pung, is it?"
The one who spoke thus was a woman of dreamy atmosphere with a pale face and languid expression, the Bloody Fan Scholar of the Flame Sparrow, Ya Woon-hyang, who had now once again lost her affiliation.