Emotional Master-Disciple Reunion(?) Final Treatment Day
***
Thump, thump. Her heart ached with a sweet tremor. It was because she'd dreamed of her late master after so long—a vivid, lifelike dream at that. Tears welled up from the sheer longing.
The master who had taken in an orphan like her with nowhere to turn, teaching her everything from one to ten, giving her everything. He had felt like a towering mountain, so great and noble. Perhaps that's why she'd harbored that dreamlike fantasy of spending her life in his vast, ocean-like embrace, clinging to him like a child.
Yes, a dreamlike fantasy...
...Who could have imagined that such a great master would depart the world so futilely.
I want to see him again. So badly.
Emotions finally overwhelmed her, and she couldn't hold back the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Haa..."
Only after quite some time did her feelings settle. To think she was shedding tears over her late master even at her age... If he knew, he'd surely scold her as an immature disciple. But what could she do? Just thinking of her master turned her back into that soft-hearted little girl from back then.
Still, it was ridiculous that her senior brother had shown up in the dream too. Why on earth had that heartless bastard, who vanished without a word, appeared alongside him? It just ruined the emotional impact of the dream. The best way to preserve that feeling was to pretend he wasn’t there and ignore him.
"We've arrived again today."
Just then, the Golden Dragon Battlefield master's voice came from outside the door. Murim folk—people she would never normally let in. But these ones were an exception. All because of her master.
To obtain the secret elixir her master had left behind, something she hadn't even known about, she was willing to break her usual principles.
"Come in."
She steadied her emotions completely and put on a fabricated voice. Right now, she was the Cloud Middle Strange Doctor. An eccentric physician who lived freely, heedless of the world's gaze. The severity of the illness or injury didn't matter. She chose every treatment herself. That was her revenge against the world that had stolen her master. They might have taken him, but they wouldn't have his medical arts their way. She'd wield them solely as his disciple, on her own terms. That was the creed of the Cloud Middle Strange Doctor.
Of course, she knew the truth. It wasn't the world that took her master—it was that filthy bastard from the Murim world. She knew she should hate him and seek revenge. But that changed nothing. She had no intention of spreading her master's arts mercifully to others. She was already twisted beyond repair. Losing her master had been such a shock that it warped even her personality.
Creak.
The door opened. The Golden Dragon Battlefield master and his guard entered. Just seeing Murim folk soured her mood, but there was no choice. She'd endure until today.
"As I said before, today is the last."
"Haha, that's right. Such a shame. I wanted to feel more of the Strange Doctor's acupuncture."
"Enough useless talk. Lie down there."
She planned to finish quickly and get her master's secret elixir. But then.
"Before that, there's something I need to say."
What pointless thing now? She frowned.
"What is it?"
"Now, come to your senses, my disciple."
Bang So-un waited leisurely for her reaction.
And then.
"M-M-M-M-M-Master...?!"
Even with the black cat mask on, her shock was plain to see. Her exposed eyes looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"Yes, it's me, my disciple."
Bang So-un responded calmly.
"M-M-M-M-Master clearly d-d-d-died...?!"
Un Jung-seon raised her voice in a stammering, confused tone that betrayed utter disbelief. Her usual rationality would know this was impossible. How could the man who'd just been the Golden Dragon Battlefield master suddenly become her master? But the hypnosis had firmly implanted the suggestion that he was her master alone, making rational judgment impossible. In short, even if he said beans were rice cakes, she'd believe it.
"No, I didn't die."
Bang So-un said with a dignified expression. This was subtly fun. The problem was keeping a straight face amid the amusement.
"Whaaat?! Senior Brother and I definitely buried Master's body in a sunny spot...?!"
The middle-aged beauty, old enough to have several grown children, was flailing in confusion like a little girl, and it was quite adorable. Bang So-un let out a chuckle.
"I'll explain that, junior sister."
Jang Il finally chimed in.
"S-S-Senior Brother... After vanishing for so long, you show up with our supposedly dead master... Wh-What's going on? I don't understand any of this! I don't get it!"
Un Jung-seon seemed increasingly bewildered. Jang Il began the explanation—of course, Bang So-un had crafted the story's framework. Jang Il lacked the skill for that.
"Master wasn't dead back then. He was in a coma-like state."
"What? But we checked several times..."
"At Master's request, I handled it myself. That's why you didn't notice, junior sister."
From the hypnotized Strange Doctor, they already knew her senior brother was none other than the Sacred Hand Divine Doctor Jin Cheon. Though not quite on the level of her master, the Absolute Divine Doctor Yu Baek-gi, he was still called a divine doctor. His medical prowess truly reached the heavens.
"Th-That..."
Un Jung-seon's eyes wavered. No one knew her senior brother's skills better than she did. So she knew if he set his mind to faking death, he'd fool anyone completely.
But.
"E-Even so, how did Master survive? That wound was impossible to live through. The internals were completely mangled..."
Recalling that moment, Un Jung-seon's face twisted in pain. The five viscera and six organs utterly destroyed, meridians and qi channels severed beyond repair. Even a great immortal couldn't save such a fatal injury. No matter who Master was, survival was impossible...
"Master used the supreme healing art he never taught even us— the Life-Death Infinite Rebirth Technique."
The name was just some plausible-sounding words thrown together. What mattered was that the Absolute Divine Doctor Yu Baek-gi had used it—a secret supreme healing art he hadn't even shared with his cherished disciples. That sealed it.
"L-Life-Death Infinite Rebirth Technique...?"
"Yes, that's how Master barely survived. But it was a long, perilous treatment lasting over months, so he asked me beforehand to put him in a coma-like state."
"S-Such a thing..."
Un Jung-seon was fully convinced. Seeing her master alive and well, with her long-vanished senior brother providing a plausible explanation, left her no choice. Of course, the hypnosis had already altered her perception from the start.
"Now that you've heard the full story, shouldn't you show Master proper respect?"
At Jang Il's words, Un Jung-seon startled and hurriedly bowed.
"Ah, y-yes. How could I dare be rude to Master..."
Un Jung-seon swiftly removed her black cat mask and shed her loose outer robe. In her blue uniform, she knelt politely before Bang So-un.
"Sob... M-Master... I-It's really... so good... th-that you're alive... so good... sob sob..."
Tears poured endlessly as she sobbed uncontrollably. How could she not? The master she'd thought dead for over twenty years had returned alive. The master she'd longed to see even in dreams.
"I'm sorry for hurting you, my disciple. I wanted to come to you sooner, but my condition was poor for so long. That's why I secluded myself under your senior brother's care."
Bang So-un said. Even while acting, his heart felt strangely moved. The Strange Doctor, whose personality had twisted completely from her master's tragic death. Had her master lived a full life, she'd surely have been hailed as a divine doctor, saving countless patients with grave illnesses. Now, her master had returned to her warped life. Even if it was a hypnotically fabricated reality. Her derailed path was somehow reconnecting to its original course.
"Sob... I-I see... S-Senior Brother vanished to care for Master... sob... I resented him without knowing... sob sob..."
Finally understanding her senior brother's situation, the resentment in her heart melted away, her tear-streaked face softening.
Bang So-un slowly approached the weeping Un Jung-seon and gently patted her shoulder.
"You've suffered alone all this time, my disciple. From now on, we're together."
At those kind, comforting words, Un Jung-seon's emotions erupted fully.
"Waaahhh... M-Masteeer!"
She collapsed into Bang So-un's arms, wailing loudly. Yes, this embrace. Warm and vast. The one she'd foolishly thought she could cling to forever. The master's embrace she'd believed she'd never see or feel again was now before her. It was overwhelming. Pure bliss upon bliss.
"...You."
Bang So-un softly stroked her back with his palm. Each time, Un Jung-seon burrowed deeper into his chest like a lost kitten finding its mother.
"Sniff."
Even Jang Il, the worldly Jang Il, felt moved by this reunion after decades(?), his eyes misting slightly. Bang So-un's immersive acting was pitch-perfect.
But.
...This feels kinda weird, young master.
A middle-aged beauty old enough for grandkids, calling a man young enough to be her nephew "Master" while sobbing in his arms. The fresh-faced young man looking at her like a cute disciple, calling her "you" and stroking her back. The situation was touching, but the visuals caused cognitive dissonance. It made his skin crawl.
"Young mas— Master, we can move on now..."
"Haha, isn't your junior sister adorable?"
Bang So-un chuckled warmly. Age wasn't everything. Behavior mattered. A middle-aged beauty acting spoiled toward her master was the epitome of a cute girl. He got it indirectly. This must be why masters raised disciples.
"Pardon?"
Jang Il's eyes widened at the sudden remark, though inwardly he muttered, She is kinda cute...
"Y-Yes...?"
Meanwhile, Un Jung-seon blushed in embarrassment. As a child, Master had indulged her childish antics, cooing "Aigo, so cute." But hearing it now, at her age, was mortifying. Yet, for some reason, it felt good. Like how parents see their child, she knew Master still saw her as that innocent little girl. And she was the same—before Master, she reverted to that child's heart without realizing.
That was when.
"Your butt's gotten quite big."
Bang So-un's hand slid from her back to fondle her plump rear.
"H-Huh?! M-Master...!"
Un Jung-seon jolted in surprise. This wasn't like him. But she accepted it soon enough. Master touching his disciple's butt wasn't odd.
However.
"Then, shall we take a look at our cute disciple's pussy after so long?"
"Puhaha!"
Jang Il burst into laughter, his face saying, Young master is young master, after all.