Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Dark Clouds
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"Weird Physician? You mean that Weird Physician from the Six Great Physicians?"
Bang Old Man's rear end started fidgeting again on his seat only after Wi Sowol's strong persuasion that the herbs were fine.
Weird Physician, of all people.
How many in the world wouldn't know of the Six Great Physicians?
Unless it was some remote village completely cut off from the outside world, living in isolation with their own little society, there was no way anyone could be ignorant of them.
Even the people from Wi Sowol's mountain village hometown would have heard the names of the Six Great Physicians at least.
And naturally, as a herb merchant, Bang Old Man knew all about them in detail.
"Heavens... Not even the Medical Ancestor or the Divine Physician, but the Weird Physician of all people..."
Among the Six Great Physicians, the easiest one to learn from was undoubtedly the Medical Ancestor.
He ran the Wu Medical Academy, a school of medicine, and focused on training successors.
These days, he devoted himself entirely to nurturing students, so there were opinions that he should be excluded from the Six Great Physicians since his activities as a physician had dwindled, but his reputation built over long years was simply too immense.
The Divine Physician, also from the Wu Medical Academy, was designated as the Medical Ancestor's successor and the next academy lord, so entering the Wu Medical Academy meant one could learn from both.
'Not that the Wu Medical Academy is easy to get into...'
Still, it would be a million times easier than becoming the Weird Physician's disciple.
"Well, that explains his appearance now."
If he was the Weird Physician's disciple, that outfit was actually on the decent side.
There were so many gruesome and vicious rumors about the Weird Physician that Bang Old Man's first reaction was worry rather than congratulations.
But judging by Wi Sowol's expression and the tone she used when mentioning him, those were just rumors after all.
"Still, that's good. I... no, never mind."
How could he tell a girl who had taken up the sword for her family's vengeance that he worried she might become a bloodthirsty killer?
But no one could blame Bang Old Man's concerns.
What he had witnessed that day was a girl who had massacred an entire sect, including numerous martial artists, with her own hands.
"So, what about lodging?"
Wi Sowol let it slide, sensing he was trying to gloss over his words.
"I've booked a room at the Jingqing Inn."
"Hmm, Jingqing Inn. It's a fine place, but if you're planning to practice with herbs, wouldn't it be better to stay here?"
Bang Old Man's house was just two alleys past the apothecary he ran.
If the main street was the trunk, the alleys were the branches; those with shops on the street usually built their homes in the alleys behind. These houses often doubled as warehouses, and Bang Old Man stored herbs at his place too.
But Wi Sowol lightly declined Bang Old Man's offer.
"I'm fine. I'm only taking the provincial exam anyway."
"What? Why!"
Was his compatibility with the chair that bad?
Bang Old Man's rear, which had been fidgeting nonstop, finally declared war on the chair and stood up.
"I know you're clever, girl. And now you're the Weird Physician's disciple to boot. So why stop at the provincial exam?"
Wi Sowol clearly had the talent and ability to pass even the metropolitan and palace exams.
If asked who had the makings of the second female court physician since Lady Dam Yunhyeon, known as the Medical Empress, Bang Old Man would unhesitatingly say Wi Sowol.
"I have no intention of entering government service. Taking the spring exam is just my master's test."
"Ah..."
Right.
Wi Sowol was the Weird Physician's disciple.
Not the Divine Physician or Medical Ancestor.
'If she aimed for an official physician post, she'd have gone to the Wu Medical Academy.'
Though the Weird Physician was from the Wu Medical Academy too...
"Aso. This is an old man's nagging, so please don't take offense. I just think you should use this chance to enter officialdom. No matter how bold Rampaging Demon Heaven is, they couldn't touch you if you're in government service. And as an official physician, you'd get a salary—stable life, right?"
He couldn't quite bring himself to say she wouldn't have to kill anymore, but his reluctance was plain.
Wi Sowol felt grateful yet a bit bittersweet toward Bang Old Man.
She had read the fear toward her, deeply buried in his heart.
Her exceptionally sharp intuition revealed even things she wasn't meant to know.
Just like when it told her how much lifespan he had left.
"Old Man."
"Yes."
"I'm going to find my mother."
"Ah..."
"So I can't stay in one place."
Knowing her days were numbered, unlike the old man bound to the past, the girl's eyes looked to tomorrow.
Bang Old Man tried no further to persuade Wi Sowol.
Instead, he simply prayed for her future.
"...I see. So you'll head back to that village after the spring exam."
"Once it's over."
"Be careful. Rampaging Demon Heaven is on the move. They're clashing with the Huangbo Clan. That place could become a battlefield."
"It's fine."
Wi Sowol smiled faintly.
"As long as they don't act rashly."
That was meant as worry that they might do something reckless.
Yet Wi Sowol's words carried a different nuance.
As if... they'd be safe if they just stayed put...
Leaving her joyful reunion with Bang Old Man behind, Wi Sowol returned to the inn.
He had urged her to stay the night, but she had business too.
Business that could only be done after sunset, when the moon rose.
The place Wi Sowol headed wasn't the street with Jingqing Inn, but a somewhat distant one.
A place that lit the darkness with unusually red lanterns, unlike anywhere else.
The red-light district.
'I owe Bang Old Man my thanks.'
Instead of her usual beak mask, Wi Sowol had wrapped her face in thicker cotton cloth.
He had advised that the beak mask drew too much attention, so cloth was better unless absolutely necessary.
And it had worked a bit too well.
"Oh, a new little courtesan? That cloth's too thick, girl."
"This one's got a unique scent. Not musk? Let me see your sachet?"
"Courtesan? Doesn't seem like it..."
"Idiot, what else would a girl be doing in a place like this if not a courtesan?"
"But can courtesans even come here?"
"Must be running errands."
Entering the brothel, Wi Sowol immediately became the center of attention.
No matter that she wore less conspicuous cloth instead of the beak mask—this space itself made her stand out like a sore thumb.
Wi Sowol stood still as the courtesans approached, scanning them with her eyes alone.
'That woman there.'
Target selected, her steps advanced boldly and confidently.
"You got business with me?"
"Looking for something faster than words, slower than a turtle."
"...This way."
The courtesan's expression changed, and she quickly led Wi Sowol somewhere.
The other courtesans who had crowded around soon backed off, acting as if nothing happened.
Wi Sowol thought as she followed.
'Small scale for a Haomen branch.'
Inevitable, really.
Even as a neutral sect between righteous and evil, Haomen's nature leaned them toward the unorthodox, inevitably.
The Huangbo Clan permitted their base in Nanju since they were useful, but any sign of expansion would bring swift destruction.
"Here we are."
While Wi Sowol pondered Nanju's layout, they arrived at a small room.
A seat was set before a small hole in what looked like a window.
As Wi Sowol sat, a dry voice devoid of coquetry came from the other side.
"What are you looking for?"
Her answer was immediate.
"The situation around the village near Baek Eun County where the Silver Sword Sect was. And the current level of confrontation between the Huangbo Clan and Rampaging Demon Heaven."
"The former is two taels of silver. The latter, twenty taels."
The pocket money the Weird Physician had given Wi Sowol as an allowance was three geun of gold.
Roughly three hundred taels in silver.
Not all cash; it was backed by Thousand Gold Merchant Guild guarantees, drawable from their escort agencies, money changers, and trading companies as needed.
Still, steep price for info on some nameless hamlet.
Yet Wi Sowol promptly pulled silver from her pouch.
Ching.
The silver scattered before the window, seeming to roll haphazardly before stacking neatly into a tower among themselves.
Impressive sleight of hand.
A clear show that they didn't resort to tricks.
"...We wouldn't cheat the Weird Physician's disciple."
"Answer."
"In a hurry, eh. Understood. That mountain village is currently under Rampaging Demon Heaven's management. The Huangbo Clan and Beggars' Sect have sent people to Baek Eun County to keep watch. As for Huangbo Clan and Rampaging Demon Heaven relations..."
The Haomen sect member paused, then continued cautiously.
"No direct clashes yet, but Shaanxi's situation might be the turning point."
"Not worth twenty taels."
"Shall I substitute with Shaanxi details then?"
"...Fine."
Music to her ears.
"Skirmishes have already broken out in Shaanxi. First contact was in Yenan, between Mount Hua Sect vanguard and Holy Cult vanguard. Mount Hua lost two disciples and retreated."
"Radiant Dispute Cult."
"My apologies."
The Haomen member quickly apologized, not wanting to irk her.
But Wi Sowol's mood was already soured.
"Full war is imminent. With a prolonged conflict expected, Huangbo Clan can't sit idle. And Rampaging Demon Heaven is a wild horse ready to bolt the moment Huangbo's gates slacken."
Rampaging Demon Heaven.
A band of fiends lying in wait for the moment to burst forth.
Held in check by Huangbo Clan in the west, Kongtong Sect in the east, and Jeon-gal Clan in the south.
If two were entangled in the fight with Radiant Dispute Cult, Rampaging Demon Heaven would seize the chance to claim the Silk Road outright.
"Payment received?"
"Yes."
Wi Sowol answered coldly and stood.
As she turned to leave, the Haomen member called to her back.
"Honored guest. Off to the Beggars' Sect next?"
"No reason to answer that."
Yet it was spot on.
Not today, but tomorrow, she planned to visit the Beggars' Sect anyway.
Cross-verification was key.
Experience from her past life, and Jang Rok's teachings.
"You'd hear the same from Beggars' Sect. Why not save that time for us?"
Rattle—
Suddenly, the partition over the window lifted.
Wi Sowol didn't turn.
From the moment she entered, her senses had already identified the person opposite.
Haomen Nanju Branch Leader Baek Ranhyang, Yo Hye, spoke.
"We know spring has brought an honored guest. The Weird Physician's tutelage surely didn't cover gynecology. Care to treat? We have girls here awaiting your hands."
As promised.
Of all things, women's medicine was one even the Weird Physician could only teach Wi Sowol through texts.
A man handling women's bodies had too many limitations.
"...Terms?"
"We'll share all news from Gansu and Shaanxi conflicts."
Practice medicine, gain intelligence.
A pure win for Wi Sowol.
"Deal."
After agreeing, a moment later, Wi Sowol thought:
'But I don't know women's bodies that well either.'
This life went without saying, but even in her past life, she'd never done it.
Gansu Province, before the Medical Directorate offices in Nanju.
"The Gansu provincial medical examination under the Medical Directorate now commences!"
The spring exam began.
Yet the examinees, who should have been tense and focused on the announcement, couldn't concentrate at all.
Instead, they kept stealing glances at one particular spot.
The Medical Directorate chief overseeing from above, who had prepared this exam, intuited the examinees' fate at the sight.
'They're done for.'
There might be only one passer this time.
The lone girl seated in the center of the front row.
Naturally, past exams didn't allow face coverings.