Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Heavenly Punishment
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Trait [Immunity to All Poisons].
The highest-tier trait above Immunity to 100 Poisons and Immunity to 1000 Poisons.
Immunity to 100 Poisons grants immunity to one hundred types of poison.
Immunity to 1000 Poisons grants immunity to one thousand types of poison.
So what does Immunity to All Poisons grant?
‘It’s not ten thousand types of poison. There was a simple explanation when I first selected the trait.’
The answer is ‘immunity to all poisons.’
It might be because there aren’t more than ten thousand types of poison in existence, or it could just be a commonly used term.
What matters is this.
Even though it’s named Immunity to All Poisons, in theory, Yuseong is immune to every poison.
In other words.
‘I have a body that poisons can’t touch. It’s not Dantian-Shattering Poison. The Divine Physician was mistaken. There must be some other reason.’
The Divine Physician didn’t know about Yuseong’s Immunity to All Poisons, so he suspected the Sichuan Tang Clan.
“Thank you for letting me know. I can’t be certain, but I’ll keep that possibility in mind.”
“No need. I hope it helps even a little.”
Yuseong said not to worry, but the words that a martial artist could never recover his dantian.
And the mention that one of the Five Great Families might be involved naturally made the atmosphere heavy.
Everyone was watching Yuseong’s expression.
Even Im Yeonhwa had stopped chewing the snack in her mouth.
“The mood has gotten a bit strange. I’m truly fine, so now I’d like to hear what the Divine Physician wanted to ask of me.”
He hadn’t gained much, but since the other party had shown goodwill, Yuseong needed to reciprocate.
That was the way of the world.
“…Thank you. Then, shamelessly, I’ll make my request. Could you possibly examine Yeonhwa? I can’t tell you her condition, but if you check her and let me know if you can treat her, that would be wonderful.”
Here it comes.
Yuseong nodded.
“Of course. If it’s an issue with her eyes, could you remove the eyepatch? I’ll take a look.”
Unlike Nangong Yuhyeon, whose eyes were said to have been slashed by a blade, Im Yeonhwa’s eyes might be treatable with the Healing skill.
He’d have to see for himself to judge.
However.
“Yeonhwa’s eyes aren’t hurting. She’s just covering them due to other circumstances.”
“Ah, I see. My apologies.”
He was inwardly curious about those circumstances but didn’t ask.
If it was just to hide her face from Yuseong, there were other ways.
Yuseong looked at Im Yeonhwa.
She gently set down the snack in her hand,
Gulp.
Swallowed what was in her mouth, and knelt gracefully.
“Miss Im, if I may examine you.”
“…Yes.”
He took her cautiously extended wrist.
She’d lived with the Divine Physician in the mountains, so her skin was pale, as if it hadn’t seen much sun.
He checked her pulse, but there were no abnormalities.
It was no different from a normal person’s.
‘Nothing unusual from pulse diagnosis. I’ll try flowing in some Divine Power.’
He carefully infused Divine Power.
What the Divine Physician wanted was whether he could treat Im Yeonhwa with the Divine Arts he’d passed off as such.
Otherwise, there’d be no need for the Divine Physician to ask.
“…”
Yuseong carefully examined Im Yeonhwa’s body in various places.
There was clearly some problem for him to make such a request, but her body showed no major issues.
Just the minor ailments everyone has a bit of.
The only place left was her head.
He sent Divine Power upward.
As the Divine Physician said, there was nothing wrong with her eyes.
A bit higher.
‘This is…’
Her brain was enveloped in a faint red aura.
This sensation he’d felt once before…
‘Mental contamination?’
Even in the Virtual Fantasy world, there were entities whose brains were shrouded in red aura, their minds contaminated.
Beings dominated by otherworldly existences, acting strangely.
To sense that same mental contamination aura in Im Yeonhwa’s brain.
Yuseong’s expression grew serious.
Those with contaminated minds were rarely benevolent, nine times out of ten.
Just in case, he tried activating the Healing skill, but.
‘As expected, it doesn’t budge.’
He couldn’t resolve it now.
He withdrew his hand.
“Whew…”
The Divine Physician, unable to hide his tension, asked Yuseong once the pulse diagnosis was done.
“Do you know what illness it is?”
In Virtual Fantasy, he could explain, but here, there was no clear way.
“I don’t know.”
“…I see.”
The Divine Physician looked greatly disappointed.
He must have truly pinned his hopes on Yuseong’s medical skills.
Im Yeonhwa’s shoulders slumped as well.
Seeing her kneeling and dejected made her look pitiful.
But Yuseong’s words weren’t finished.
“However, it seems like something affecting her mind. Is that correct?”
“Y-Yes! You can even tell that? Can it be treated?”
He looked frantic, unworthy of his reputation.
Yuseong did have experience resolving mental contamination.
The skill he’d acquire in the future was the answer.
“Yes, it’s difficult now, but if my skills improve further, treatment is possible.”
“Is that true?”
Both the Divine Physician and Im Yeonhwa lost their composure.
That’s how shocked they were.
“Yes, so could you wait a little?”
“Of course. Thank you so much! Truly!”
The Divine Physician expressed his gratitude repeatedly.
Unable to even hire help due to circumstances, he’d cared for his granddaughter until his body wasted away, but he’d felt she had no future.
In such a situation, just the possibility of treatment was immensely empowering.
‘From what Geohun said, the White-Clothed Physician isn’t one to speak nonsense. He even noticed the mental issue, so he must see some real potential. It’s a blessing such a talent has appeared.’
Practicing medicine on murim folk was far more dangerous than one might think.
The complex web of enmities and favors among murim people, like a spider’s web.
Treating one and earning their favor could earn another’s grudge.
Unlike the cautious Divine Physician, his son and daughter-in-law had been too naive about murim’s debts and grudges, and lost their lives treating someone.
Leaving only his granddaughter Im Yeonhwa in the world.
He wanted to leap up and dance at the possibility of freeing this pitiful granddaughter from Heavenly Punishment.
And.
“Th-Thank you, White-Clothed Physician…”
The gratitude from Im Yeonhwa herself was even greater.
Because of her Heavenly Punishment, her grandfather had isolated himself from the world at some point.
Even the disciples of the Divine Physician School had been sent out into the world, barely keeping the school’s lineage alive.
Yeonhwa had to avoid people’s eyes and receive daily treatments.
Even treatments only delayed symptoms temporarily, never curing her.
Life with inevitable doom approaching had been hard to endure.
In such a situation.
Just the word “possibility” gave her the strength to hold on.
‘Grandfather and I were growing exhausted, not knowing how long we could stay sane… Now, maybe I can live normally too?’
She had so many desires.
She wanted to go out into the world, mingle with people, eat what she craved, do what she wanted.
But reality was only sadly watching her grandfather waste away day by day in a remote mountain devoid of people; there was nothing she could do.
Her grandfather and the White-Clothed Physician were talking.
“At longest, one year. I’ll help within that time.”
“One year—I’ll remember. I have to return to my residence due to circumstances, so can we communicate through Geohun?”
“Yes, that would be best.”
Im Yeonhwa clutched her eyepatch.
Seizing the moment while Yuseong talked with the Divine Physician, she slightly lowered it.
The face of Baek Yuseong, in conversation, came into view.
‘That’s the White-Clothed Physician. The one who’ll treat me…!’
She etched Baek Yuseong’s face firmly in her memory.
‘If my body is cured…’
Im Yeonhwa now had one more thing she wanted to do.
***
On the way back with Yang Physician.
Yuseong’s modest small bundle had swollen greatly and become heavy.
Because of the medical texts the Divine Physician had given him.
-These may not be necessary for you who uses Divine Arts, but I heard you’ve diligently studied medicine too. These are prescriptions hard to find on the market, so I hope they help even a little.
-Can I accept these precious things? I haven’t even treated your granddaughter yet.
-I haven’t given everything, so it’s fine. Besides, I no longer have the capacity to treat people, so use them well somewhere good.
Of course, they were a huge help to Yuseong.
Even at Luoyang Medical Hall, prescriptions differed for patients needing Divine Power and those who didn’t.
Lacking Divine Power, he relied on regular medicine for those not absolutely needing it.
In that context, the Divine Physician School’s secrets would be very useful to Yuseong.
He worried Yang Physician, a formal disciple, might be jealous, but he was truly magnanimous.
No need to worry at all, he said.
“Truly thankful, White-Clothed Physician.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
“No. It’s the first time I’ve seen my master so joyful. For that alone, I’m deeply grateful to you. And you’re not one to speak idly, so I believe you can help with my master’s issue.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“If you need to contact my master, tell me anytime.”
“Understood. By the way, if the Medical Pavilion recruits more physicians, are you interested, Yang Physician?”
Yang Physician nodded.
“Actually, after losing to you before, I wandered the world considering more study. But now, I think staying by your side will help my master.”
He seemed willing to act as liaison between his master and Yuseong.
His respect for his master was truly profound.
Yuseong thought of the Purification skill that could treat all mental contamination.
‘At this rate, I’ll acquire it within a year. The Divine Physician said she could hold out that long. Of course, sooner would be better.’
He looked forward to life at the Murim Alliance’s Medical Pavilion, where he could gain far more Divine Power than at Luoyang Medical Hall.
That evening at dusk.
Yuseong awakened his next skill.