The End of the Clinic
Within the Clinic of Medicine.
So my life as a physician ends today, does it?
A strange sense of emotion stirred in Sama Ryang’s hands as he packed his belongings. They said a man never knew where his path would lead, and the situation he found himself in now felt terribly unfamiliar.
When he had fled his clan and entered the Clinic of Medicine, he had thought he would have no further ties to the Military Council.
Then, at last—
“Sama Ryang! You’re leaving already?”
Sama Ryang turned his gaze aside.
A woman approached with her hands clasped behind her back. Her eyes curved like a crescent moon, and her hair, falling all the way to her waist, fluttered in the wind.
It was Shin Yeonhwa, the current head of the Clinic of Medicine.
“I was just about to come greet you, but you came out first.”
Shin Yeonhwa’s lips curled smoothly upward.
“Oh? You were making such a fuss I thought you were trying to announce you were leaving. What, are you not even going to show your face? ‘He’s already being treated like an outsider? Just how insignificant is he?’ Is that what you were thinking?”
Sama Ryang smiled faintly.
“I thought I was being careful, but it seems I made too much noise. My apologies.”
“No need to apologize. Maybe I’m more sensitive because I’m tired. How troublesome. Get sharpened any further than this and I’ll only ruin my temper. Then I’ll start taking my frustration out on the underlings and get cursed at for it, won’t I?”
Sama Ryang gave a small laugh.
“The physicians are going to have a hard time of it.”
Shin Yeonhwa glanced around and said quietly, “Not really. Those bastards are so quick to read the room they already ran off. I ought to cut their wages or something. I finished refining the Demon Return Pill while wearing out my skin, and they can’t even be bothered to congratulate me.”
Sama Ryang’s eyes widened.
“The Demon Return Pill? So someone who has rendered great service to the cult has appeared?”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“Pardon?”
Shin Yeonhwa snorted.
“Forget it. What’s the use of saying more to a stubborn fool with no sense? It’s a disgrace just looking at you, so get lost already. Ah, and there’s no severance pay. You know that, right?”
Sama Ryang bowed his head awkwardly.
“What I learned here is more than enough. On the contrary, I’m grateful that you generously accepted a request that was little different from a notice of dismissal. Head of the Clinic, though I am transferring to the Military Council, I—”
Shin Yeonhwa gently cut him off.
“Sama Ryang.”
“Yes.”
“I always expected a day like this would come. I’ve spoken about you with the Chief Strategist more than once whenever we met. I didn’t expect you to leave of your own accord, but I did think he’d drag you there by whatever means he had to.”
“I see.”
Shin Yeonhwa nodded.
“And yet I still taught you the Clinic’s secret arts. Acupuncture, finger techniques, Cheonryeong Jiseul, and every other medicine art I know. I even handed over and taught you martial methods I created myself without the slightest hesitation.”
Her lips stretched into a long, knowing smile. In a voice full of confidence, Shin Yeonhwa asked, “And why do you think that was?”
Sama Ryang paused before answering.
“...You were certain I would return.”
“Exactly. Your stubbornness, your talent, your disposition. All of it still points toward this place, and yet you speak of retirement? Nonsense.”
Shin Yeonhwa gave a low laugh.
“I’m a greedy woman. Otherwise, why would I be dissatisfied with what already exists and cast my eyes toward new martial arts? The way I’ve always lived, I have no intention of giving away what’s mine.”
“...”
Her sharp gaze seemed to pierce straight through him.
“Is there anything wrong with what I said? Your heart still seems to be circling here.”
“I can’t deny it. But I also can’t say that with certainty...”
“That’s enough.”
Shin Yeonhwa smiled softly.
“Let’s say I sent you on leave. A very long leave, one that will make you sturdier. Damn it, I have to think of it that way or I’ll catch a real illness from frustration. We’re already short on hands as it is.”
“I’m sorry, Head of the Clinic.”
“Enough. Don’t get all mushy.”
“Please stay in good health.”
“Of course I’ll stay healthy. Now then, one last piece of advice.”
“Advice?”
“Since it’s true you’ve suffered a great deal. It means you’d better remember this kindness as if it were as vast as the sea and hurry back to lend a hand.”
Sama Ryang smiled faintly and bowed.
“Yes. I’ll take it to heart.”
Shin Yeonhwa lowered her voice.
“That business about advancing into the Central Plains.”
At the unexpected subject, Sama Ryang’s brows drew slightly together.
“Advancing into the Central Plains?”
“Right. I don’t know whether to call it suspicious or unsettling, but something about it just leaves a bad aftertaste. I don’t know how many people noticed, but my instincts say as much.”
“What exactly about it seems suspicious?”
Shin Yeonhwa shrugged.
“I said it’s a feeling, didn’t I? You’re the one who needs to look into that. Isn’t that why you’re going to the Military Council?”
“...”
Sama Ryang pressed his lips together. It was only advice born of intuition, so he could have dismissed it—but he decided to carve it into his heart.
After all, it had been spoken by none other than the Head of the Clinic.
There was a saying in Jianghu: a highly refined upper dantian could house a god. Deep insight that could not be clearly explained might appear as something akin to divine perception.
That was not something to dismiss as idle gossip from the curious and the idle. The Head of the Clinic had created martial arts on the strength of such qualities and was revered as a grand master because of it.
Sama Ryang bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Head of the Clinic. I’ll remember it well.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
By the time half a day had passed and the sun had begun sinking beyond the western mountains, Sama Ryang was rubbing the pressure point beside his ear with reddened eyes.
After leaving the Clinic of Medicine, he had stopped by the Military Council to unpack his things and gather information, which had taken up quite a bit of time.
Then, on the way to Third Young Master’s residence, Sama Ryang suddenly let out a bitter, exhausted laugh.
“How blatant...”
-“Well, well, look who it is! How have you been? I haven’t seen you since you graduated, have I? You’re working in the Military Council now? That’s great! If the Qilin joins us, everything will be a lot easier. Hah hah!”
-“It’s been a while, Senior. I heard you became a physician—what brings you here? Oh, really? Then we’ll be seeing each other often from now on. A lot of people have been looking for you all this time. Myself included. Please take care of me.”
It was certainly something to be welcomed for people to greet him now, after so much time had passed since he passed the state examination and entered public service. And yet he could not shake the unpleasant feeling crawling up his spine.
These were the same people who had ignored him completely whenever they happened to cross paths, and even when he had tried to arrange a meeting with the Military Council.
The reason their attitude had flipped as easily as turning over one’s palm could only be that they had realized the Chief Strategist had appointed him.
Sama Ryang drew a steady breath and shook his head.
Just because a favor is obviously driven by ulterior motives doesn’t mean you should avoid it.
He had already decided to stand with the Young Master. After seeing that unshakable will up close, he had hardened his own resolve as well.
In fact, he had started to think he should use it.
His gaze fell to the scroll in his hand.
It contained everything from the place he believed Imaje would be found, to the man’s real name, appearance, and even the characteristics and name of the martial art he used. Without the Military Council’s intelligence network and the help of the scholars, there was no way he could have learned any of it.
The look in Sama Ryang’s eyes deepened as he tightened his grip on the scroll.
What exactly did the Head of the Clinic mean by “suspicious”? And what comes after this...
The situation felt suffocating. He could formulate a broad strategy, but he could not yet settle every fine detail.
Who was the kind of person who would accept resistance? And who was the kind of person one must not approach too hastily?
It was a situation where not a single thing was easy to judge, and where he could not afford even a clumsy approach.
For now, focus on Imaje.
When Sama Ryang entered Cheon Sohyeon’s quarters, he swept his gaze around the area.
Where did he go?
It was about the time he would normally be training, yet he could sense no presence in the estate.
Then—
“You’re just getting here? A little late, aren’t you?”
Cheon Sohyeon walked out from the main hall.
“Yes, I just arrived—”
Sama Ryang, who had reflexively begun to greet him, suddenly froze. His pupils widened at once.
W-what is this?
For some reason, Third Young Master’s appearance had changed dramatically from before. His wrists and ankles, visible beneath his black martial robes, looked far more solid than they had, and his skin seemed to glow with healthy vitality.
That wasn’t all. Even his already tall frame seemed to have grown slightly more.
Sama Ryang asked with a flustered expression, “Y-Young Master, you seem... no, you seem a lot different. Did something happen?”
Cheon Sohyeon snorted.
“Nothing much. Gwangmyeong Jwasa brought me some medicinal elixir, so I took it. The effect was astonishing.”
Sama Ryang jumped in alarm.
“What? Gwangmyeong Jwasa? What kind of medicinal elixir did he give you?”
“He showed up out of nowhere and handed me something called the Demon Return Pill. It was obviously a rare treasure, so I swallowed it before I could hear any more nonsense.”
“...The Demon Return Pill?”
“That’s what I said.”
Sama Ryang could only stare in bewilderment.
Then the one who rendered great service was none other than the Young Master?
At the same time, he finally understood what the Head of the Clinic had meant when she called him clueless.
Because it concerned the Demon Return Pill, it was indeed a matter worth one’s full attention. But Sama Ryang forced himself to calm down.
This isn’t all that surprising.
Wasn’t this the very man who had changed even him, after being told his own stubbornness was as tough as iron rope while his nature was too soft?
If the Heavenly Demon had observed the martial talent, peculiar wit, and way of thinking that he had come to feel with his own skin over the years, then there was nothing strange about it at all.
He would have examined him in even finer detail with an insight far beyond Sama Ryang’s own. That was why the next problem mattered more.
“Did Gwangmyeong Jwasa say anything else?”
“Well, he asked why I had met the Chief Strategist. Seems like the meeting’s been noticed by now.”
“Then... did you express an opinion on the grand plan?”
Cheon Sohyeon shook his head.
“I brushed it off. I told him to ask the Chief Strategist if he was that curious. Now that I think about it, I wonder if I should’ve pushed the issue a little and seen what he’d say. It felt weird, though.”
A flicker of relief passed through Sama Ryang’s eyes.
“I see. That was the right choice.”
“The right choice?”
“Yes. From what I’ve heard at the family house, Gwangmyeong Jwasa often takes part in eliminating intruders who trespass into the Hundred Thousand Mountains.”
“Hm? Gwangmyeong Jwasa does?”
“Yes. Normally it would be handled by the Law Enforcement Hall, but the Left Guardian himself reportedly takes the initiative and goes out.”
Cheon Sohyeon tilted his head.
“So he’s got some kind of grudge against Central Plains people?”
“Exactly. That, in fact, was the consensus in the family: he harbors an intense hostility toward the Central Plains, on par with his faith. If you had spoken according to your earlier line of reasoning, there would certainly have been danger.”
The argument he had given the Chief Strategist—that a campaign into the Central Plains would be no different from harming the preparatory cultists. And even setting that aside, he would surely have been enraged by any discussion of the Heavenly Demon’s realm.
Cheon Sohyeon nodded.
“I thought it was bad luck, and I guess I was right. So basically, the Left Guardian is the head of the faction that wants to advance into the Central Plains.”
At the raw phrasing, Sama Ryang repeated, “...The h-head?”
“Yeah. If someone in that position still harbors hostility, that’s a fair way to put it, isn’t it?”
Who else in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult would dare describe Gwangmyeong Jwasa that way? Sama Ryang coughed lightly and replied, “Ahem. That is certainly true. In fact, considering the circumstances so far, there’s no doubt...”
Then Sama Ryang, who had been chattering away, abruptly shut his mouth.
“...!”
“No doubt what? Why’d you stop mid-sentence?”
Sama Ryang continued with an excited look, “I think it’s natural to assume that because the Left Guardian himself personally delivered the Demon Return Pill, he must have taken an interest in the Young Master, or at least felt some curiosity. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I figured it was something like that, but so what?”
“If so, then it won’t be long before we learn what the purpose of that earlier meeting was. He’ll be curious since he hasn’t found the answer yet. Given the intelligence capabilities of the Guardian’s Office, they may already have figured it out.”
Cheon Sohyeon furrowed his brow. What on earth was this crazy physician trying to say now?
“And so what?”
Sama Ryang’s eyes shone.
“Then not only the Left Guardian, but others around him will begin to voice their intentions. No, they’ll likely react in some fashion, since they’d naturally dislike anything that runs counter to the grand plan.”
As though the frustration that had been weighing on him was being washed away, Sama Ryang continued in an increasingly animated voice.
“From now on, simply watching the movements of the Guardian’s Office will let us infer the opinions of the central leadership! If that’s the case, then the path after Imaje will also come into view.”
With an emotional expression, Sama Ryang looked up at him.
“Could it be... when you called the Left Guardian the head, you had already thought that far ahead?”
Cheon Sohyeon wiped spittle from his cheek with a sullen face.
What in the world is this fool babbling about?
With the dark circles under his eyes, he looked as if he hadn’t slept, and his mind was clearly wandering. Or perhaps quitting the Clinic of Medicine had finally rattled him.
Cheon Sohyeon looked him up and down and asked, “You did find the place where Imaje is supposed to be, right?”
“Pardon? Yes! I’ve identified five possible places on Unambong.”
Cheon Sohyeon took the scroll Sama Ryang handed over and unfolded it.
“Unambong... So I should head west from here?”
“That is correct. Shall we depart now?”
“We should.”
“I’ll escort you.”
Cheon Sohyeon grabbed Sama Ryang by the shoulder as he tried to move ahead.
“Where do you think you’re going? I’m going alone, so you go inside and rest.”
“Pardon? Still, it would be best if I accompanied you...”
“Enough. You look awful right now. If the hermit Imaje sees you, he’ll probably think some demon has come to visit and run away, so stop talking nonsense and go in and get some rest.”