Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: First Journey
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Wi Sowol felt uncomfortable.
That was why.
She kept fiddling with the mask covering her face.
"Is it that fascinating?"
The Weird Physician seemed to have slightly misunderstood her intent.
He might be well-versed in pulse diagnosis, but apparently not so much in the analysis of child(?) behavior.
He began explaining unasked, as if proudly showing off a favorite toy.
"That mask is the latest medical beak mask I acquired from the Western Regions. It's only been developed for a dozen or so years. I hear a plague similar to this one swept through the Western Regions too. That's why it was invented—they believe over there that this plague spreads through smells."
To block the odors, they crafted masks shaped like beaks and stuffed the tips with fragrances and herbs to create a pleasant aroma.
"If that's true, then why does the plague spread in temples that burn incense?"
Did that mean the incense in temples lacked the right medicinal effect?
"Not at all. This plague doesn't spread through smells."
As the Weird Physician said that much...
Wi Sowol subtly shifted her position relative to him using the steps of Star Lodge Divine Traces.
With a single step, she positioned herself to guard him.
And then a voice rang out.
"Physician."
"Ah, it's you. I told you to make some noise when you approach me."
"There was an unfamiliar person."
Someone the Weird Physician knew emerged from behind Wi Sowol.
"An assassin."
Those footsteps.
The faint presence.
Even the extremely subdued breathing.
It was the perfect mark of an assassin.
But the Weird Physician said calmly,
"Don't worry. She's my guard."
Her?
'Using the martial arts of the Assassins' Gate?'
Beneath the beak mask, Wi Sowol's eyes narrowed suspiciously.
In the meantime, the Weird Physician approached his guard and introduced Wi Sowol this time.
"Jang Rok, this is the disciple I took in this time. No need to be on guard."
"Understood, Physician."
"You too, Sowol. Jang Rok has been my guard for several years now. He's trustworthy."
It had already been over a decade since the Weird Physician began wandering the jianghu.
In the stormy world of blades and forests of swords.
Surviving meant he was strong.
And the Weird Physician had roamed the world, calling it narrow, and lived to tell the tale.
If he said so, then it must be true.
Trusting his judgment, Wi Sowol relaxed her guard.
Jang Rok faithfully fulfilled his role as a guard.
Even yesterday, he had shadowed the Weird Physician's every move.
Even though a mysterious new disciple had appeared overnight while the Weird Physician had briefly returned to his safe house for supplies, Jang Rok hadn't pried.
Instead, he first bowed his head to Wi Sowol.
"I'm Jang Rok. I owe the physician a debt of gratitude, so despite my meager skills, I follow him."
"Wi Sowol."
"Mm. Forgive her. I haven't taught her manners yet."
"No, it's fine. Then I'll guide you."
He had separated from the Weird Physician heading to the safe house to scout the next destination.
Now joining the group, Jang Rok took the lead to show the way.
As the Weird Physician resumed his lecture to Wi Sowol on Western medicine and his own insights, Jang Rok harbored his own concerns.
'Who is she?'
Just as Wi Sowol had been wary of him, Jang Rok was observing her closely too.
Of course, seeing that she also wore a beak mask like the Weird Physician eased his worries about his master's safety.
But that didn't mean Jang Rok let his guard down or slacked on his stealth.
Yet she had seen through it.
His stealth technique.
Not vaguely, but precisely pinpointing his location.
Proof of that was her step just now—perfectly positioned to protect the Weird Physician while aiming at Jang Rok.
Could that really be chalked up to just good instincts?
By her voice and build, she was still a child.
'No way she's like me... Nah.'
Jang Rok shook off the stray thought.
He was free now anyway.
From here on, his life would be solely dedicated to protecting the Weird Physician until the end—so if his master had chosen her, he would follow.
"Physician, can we pick up the pace a bit?"
As the lecture wrapped up, Jang Rok asked.
Their current speed was only half of usual.
The Weird Physician turned to Wi Sowol, who naturally nodded vigorously.
"Go at your normal speed."
"Alright, then."
Jang Rok led, and the Weird Physician followed with Nine Palaces Rescue Step.
'This much, huh.'
Wi Sowol gauged their speed for a moment, then circulated Great White Light True Qi through her legs, wrapping herself in starlight.
Her short legs—thanks to her small frame—might have seemed disproportionate, but the subtlety of Star Lodge Divine Traces caught up to them in an instant.
The place Jang Rok guided them to was Hongjo County, not far from the Weird Physician's safe house.
Nestled between Mount Huo and the Fen River, it was a fine spot backed by mountains and facing water. Indeed, Hongjo County was a key hub linking north and south Shanxi Province.
That was the problem.
There were too many people coming and going here.
"Conflicts never cease in this place."
As they entered the county...
Wi Sowol keenly sensed the thick aura of death permeating the village.
"A lot of people have died."
"Yes. As I said before, the Western Regions blame smells for this plague's cause, but it spreads from person to person. Contact—that's the source of transmission."
But the real issue with this land was something else.
"Be careful. This is a disputed territory."
"Nether Luo Sect and Mount Hua Sect's conflict."
"Exactly."
Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi and geographically central.
It was also where the Nether Luo Sect was based.
Shanxi is divided geographically into north, central, and south: the north held by Heng Mountain Sect, the center firmly by Nether Luo Sect.
The south had been under Nether Luo Sect influence too, but with the recent plague weakening them, Mount Hua Sect from the southwest was encroaching on their territory.
From Mount Hua Sect's perspective, west had Zhongnan and Kongtong Sects, east had Shaolin Temple, south had Wudang Sect—no room to expand except north into here.
For that reason, southern Shanxi had long been a place where Mount Hua Sect wielded considerable influence.
A borderland between orthodox and unorthodox sects.
Southern Shanxi, pulled between Mount Hua Sect and Nether Luo Sect, had seesawed between them, maintaining a rough balance depending on the era.
But decades ago, a massive earthquake in Shaanxi devastated Mount Hua Sect, allowing Nether Luo Sect to fully incorporate it into their sphere.
Mount Hua Sect, on the brink of collapse from their home base in Shaanxi crumbling, could only watch helplessly.
And now the time had come.
Just as Nether Luo Sect had done before, Mount Hua Sect raised the banner of eradicating the plague and aiding the people, stealthily extending their reach into southern Shanxi—and now up to Hongjo County.
In summary, southern Shanxi was land over which Mount Hua Sect and Nether Luo Sect had fought for ages to claim as their own.
"It's places like this that need my medicine the most."
The Weird Physician smiled meaningfully.
Unable to smell the outside air through the herbs stuffed in his beak mask, yet he sniffed the faint bloody scent on the wind.
"Let's go."
Wi Sowol trailed after him like a baby bird.
And watched as he treated people.
The Weird Physician didn't treat just anyone.
He ignored minor injuries like sprains or bruises, even coldly brushing off a frantic mother clinging to him because her child was ill.
Yet for wounds so slight they'd heal on their own if left alone, he took the initiative to treat them.
The injured patient protested—what kind of doctor visit was this for something so trivial?—but the Weird Physician was firm.
"Leave it like this, and you'll die."
Even faced with his resolute diagnosis, the patient looked skeptical.
Die from this tiny scratch? That was the vibe.
"Ever had a cramp?"
"O-of course."
"Then you know. Excruciating pain, right?"
Of course it hurt.
The muscle-tearing technique of severing tendons was inspired by artificially inducing such cramps.
Some experts even used it as torture—the agony was beyond words.
"That cramp will seize your whole body until you die. You won't even be able to breathe, writhing in pain until the end."
"W-what? R-really?"
"Don't believe me? Fine by me. I don't treat those who refuse anyway."
"P-please save me, elder!"
Was it because of his bizarre appearance?
No one doubted he was the Weird Physician.
His fame as one of the Six Great Physicians was known even to the common folk with a bit of knowledge, lending weight to his words.
The masses shunned his unorthodox medicine diverging from traditional practices, yet if they could receive treatment from him, they willingly offered themselves.
But this time, the visiting physician wasn't just the Weird Physician alone.
"Sowol."
"Yes."
"Examine him."
"Alright."
Practical training already?
Wi Sowol grabbed the wrist of the man terrified by the Weird Physician's "you're going to die" declaration, as instructed.
The man shuddered at the cold touch of her small, delicate hand—barely half the size of his—wrapping around his wrist.
The fear of impending death momentarily vanished under that gentle chill.
"Hold still."
"Ah, yes."
Though her words were curt, he inexplicably felt compelled to obey.
The Weird Physician's disciple?
Such questions arose, but he dared not voice them.
Wi Sowol sent the pure yin energy of Great White Light True Qi into the man's body.
He shivered again at the sudden chill, but she simply tightened her grip on his wrist slightly to immobilize him effortlessly.
"Got it?"
"This is... wind pathogen?"
Wind referred to sudden-onset paralyses or impairments, like stroke.
Wi Sowol had detected it through the bizarre muscle contractions and meridian atrophy.
The Weird Physician smiled in satisfaction at her answer.
"Correct. But you don't know what kind, do you?"
"I can guess the treatment."
"It's tetanus. The Taiping Holy Beneficence Prescriptions from the Song Dynasty details it. If left alone, cramps seize the whole body, eventually crushing the lungs until you suffocate."
Toward the pitiful patient gasping in terror, unable to even scream...
"Watch closely, disciple."
The Weird Physician permitted cutting-edge medicine.
"Time for surgery."