Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Side by Side
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'Haewon... Haewon, huh...'
Well, that's only natural.
I'm the disciple of the world's greatest physician, after all.
Wi Sowol took her accomplishment in stride, as if it were nothing special.
Having heard the results announced, Wi Sowol clasped her hands behind her back and strolled toward the Medical Examination Bureau.
If she passed the provincial medical exam, she'd need to decide whether to apply for the metropolitan exam, swear the oath on the Physician's Five Precepts and Ten Essentials, and receive her official waist tablet as a nationally certified physician.
That's when Wi Sowol spotted a familiar face in front of the door to the examination hall.
Drawing on the subtle insights she'd gained from the Dark Fragrance Arrow, she wove them into her Star Lodge Divine Traces and silently positioned herself behind Bang Old Man.
"Old Man."
"Eek!"
Bang Old Man yelped in surprise as strong hands suddenly kneaded his back without warning.
He whirled around. Seeing Wi Sowol with her face veiled, he scooped her up before anyone could notice and hurried away.
With her arms tucked under his armpits, Wi Sowol dangled like a piece of luggage as he carried her off.
Once inside an alley, Bang Old Man set her down atop a chest, catching his breath.
"Hoo... Aso, make some noise when you walk, will you? This old man's not as spry as he used to be."
"There were too many people around."
"Fair point. Smart thinking."
Opting for a veil over her mask had been brilliant, too.
The rumor that the Weird Physician's disciple was the top written examinee had spread far and wide. Her beak mask alone would have given her away.
"Congratulations. You're an official physician now."
Bang Old Man beamed as if it were his own triumph.
Wi Sowol had remained unfazed upon hearing she'd placed Haewon.
But his heartfelt congratulations stirred something warm inside her.
This is the reward for a job well done.
Hearing it from her master, the Weird Physician, would probably feel even more exhilarating.
Which meant it was time.
"Old Man. I'm heading out right now."
"Already...?"
"If the Hwangbo Clan sends an invitation later, please accept it on my behalf. They'll keep you safe."
"Aso."
"Stay healthy."
As Wi Sowol exchanged final farewells with Bang Old Man...
Boom!
A sudden explosion drew the eyes of everyone in Nanju.
"What was that?"
"Oh... don't worry about it, Old Man. It's nothing."
Hwang Bo Yun must have been found out.
Just as expected.
She could afford to take it slow.
"Well then, off I go."
Wi Sowol had learned the art of concise goodbyes.
Leaving words of reunion unsaid, she stepped into the Medical Examination Bureau's offices.
"So the Haewon has arrived."
The head of the Medical Examination Bureau, the Director himself, came out in person to greet Wi Sowol.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Medical Examination Director held the rank of junior fifth grade.
This put him on par with a Hanlin Academy expositor and just below a chief minister of the Grand Secretariat, a senior fifth-grade post.
Of course, this was an era where official rank and actual power often diverged wildly. Still, junior fifth grade was no trifling position.
Yet the Director had emerged personally, all because Wi Sowol was the Haewon.
"Gansu's pride and joy! We've had flowers that speak, but never one that stops men's brushes in their tracks! You can't just let that fame echo in Gansu alone. You'll take the metropolitan exam, right? Right?"
Please!
You have to go!
If not you, our Gansu Medical Examination Bureau is done for!
Hiding his desperation, the Director tried to treat her sitting the metropolitan exam as a foregone conclusion.
"I'd like to get my provincial certification first."
"Of course, of course. Here's your waist tablet for our top written examinee."
Identity plaques weren't in common use in this era.
The only true proof of identity for officials was the waist tablet.
Wi Sowol accepted hers.
Yi Zi Hao Ya Pai.
The plaque certifying her success in the medical exams.
With it, she could travel freely between regions. In emergencies, she could seek aid from local offices for food, lodging, and necessities.
A small fee even allowed her to borrow a horse.
In exchange, she was obligated to heed emergency conscription orders from the authorities.
Medical exams were imperial exams, after all. Graduates enjoyed exemptions from corvée labor and corporal punishment.
This included the right to refuse conscription orders.
Refusal could spark messy conflicts with officials, though—and forced requisitions offered no such leeway.
"But the metropolitan exam—that's different. Passing that changes everything. You'll take it, won't you?"
As if on cue, another thunderous boom erupted outside.
"...It's noisy out there."
"Hah! The metropolitan exam? A top written examinee recognized by the Emperor himself in a provincial trial doesn't need to worry about that. The Hwangbo Clan will handle it. More importantly, to sit the capital exam, you'll need to head to the capital. I can lend you a fine horse. Shall I have someone escort you?"
"Yes. I suppose I should go take a look."
She'd stalled long enough. Time to make her move.
Wi Sowol passed the Director and opened the latticed window.
It wasn't large, but it suited her petite frame perfectly.
Donning her beak mask, which she'd removed for the meeting, she hooked a foot on the sill.
"Someone's waiting. See you."
"W-wait! H-hey! You're going for the metropolitan exam, right? You have to! It's essential!"
Nope. Not going.
"You're late!"
Emerging from the bureau's offices, Wi Sowol linked up with Hwang Bo Yun in no time.
The girl was rampaging through Nanju, drawing all eyes—and Wi Sowol's Star Lodge Divine Traces were second to none.
"This is fast."
"Fast? I've been watching the whole time! Everyone else came out ages ago!"
...And Hwang Bo Yun had been lurking nearby.
"Let's get out of here."
"My clan's warriors are probably waiting at the gates already."
"Then we'll climb the walls."
With her Physician-ranked waist tablet, scaling walls was fair game.
Wi Sowol proudly flashed the plaque etched with the yi character and added triumphantly.
Hwang Bo Yun's face lit up.
"As expected of Sowol! So clever!"
"You're on your own if you're caught, though. Just drop the Hwangbo name and figure it out."
"...Never mind."
The two girls bickered as they moved, swiftly scaling the city walls in a flash.
Clatter-clatter!
Hwang Bo Yun bounded upward, stepping on protruding stones.
Wi Sowol scaled the wall like it was flat ground.
"Your Inhalation and Adhesion Formulas need work?"
"I'm just going faster!"
The walls were cleared. Success!
Time to escape!
At the Hwangbo Clan's sprawling manor, far from the walls, two men gazed toward the distant battlements from the roof of the main house.
One sat casually.
The other stood ramrod straight.
Lounging haphazardly on the tiles was Hwang Bo Gyeok, lord of the Hwangbo Clan—Gansu's foremost master.
The Grand Elder, Hwang Bo Ryang—Hwang Bo Gyeok's seventh cousin once removed—showed respect toward the patriarch even as he voiced his unease.
"Will you truly let Yun-er go like this?"
"If she wants out that badly, we should let her."
"But her Heavenly King Physique's obstructed meridians..."
"That Heavenly King Physique."
Hwang Bo Gyeok cut him off firmly.
"Do you think a raw gem shines just sitting at home?"
A gem remained mere stone until polished.
To gleam and earn its worth, it had to be cleaved, melted, forged, cut, and shaped into beauty.
Martial artists weren't born through training alone.
They had to rebirth themselves in agony.
Battered by the world's trials—shattered, broken, bent, twisted—only those who endured and held onto their light stood atop the jianghu.
And as Hwangbo Clan head, Hwang Bo Yun was duty-bound to do the same.
"She's made a good friend, too. The Weird Physician's disciple won't let her die anywhere."
Hwang Bo Gyeok himself had never been treated by the man, but he respected his skill.
How could he not? He'd heard it straight from the source.
—Yu Seung's skills surpass my own.
The Divine Physician's own words.
"You can already see her growth."
Hwang Bo Gyeok's keen eyes had clearly watched the girls scale the walls.
Hwang Bo Yun's Heavenly King Shackles had advanced far beyond her manor days, delighting him.
"Look at her, brimming with excitement. She looks so carefree and fun."
Could one raise an eagle in a cage?
Hwang Bo Gyeok had never intended to shelter his daughter like a greenhouse flower.
Once she came of age and underwent her rites, he'd send her into the jianghu—willing or not.
But heaven's will outstrips mortal schemes.
The storm to launch the eaglet skyward had arrived unexpectedly.
"Tail them a bit, pretend to catch her, then let go. Let her play her fill with the Weird Physician's disciple. Just keep an eye on those Rampaging Demon Heaven bastards."
It was bittersweet.
Watching a child grow was joy itself—yet it left an ache.
The house would feel empty for a while.
Teaching his daughter had distracted him from Rampaging Demon Heaven affairs.
With their power struggle looming, he'd be too busy to notice anyway. Better this way.
Still, the lingering regret proved even one beyond mortal limits was, at heart, just a father.
"Enjoy yourself to the fullest, Yun-ah."
This father would pave her path ahead.
After leaping the walls...
Nearer to Zhengxi County than Nanju, the two girls finally shook their Hwangbo pursuers.
Or so it seemed.
'Feels like they let us go.'
Hwang Bo Yun boasted about her sharp eyes, but Wi Sowol sensed something off in the loose encirclement.
She'd shredded the orthodox sects' heavenly net like paper.
No way the Hwangbo Clan's half-hearted chase, predicated on letting her slip away, could hold her.
That said, the pursuers lacked any real intent to capture.
"So, off to Xi'an now?"
"For starters."
"Ooh... finally..."
Xi'an had been Hwang Bo Yun's goal from the start.
At the words, she stomped excitedly.
Did she even remember they'd just been fugitives?
"Since we're doing this, let me lay it out upfront."
Wi Sowol broached the topic.
They'd agreed to travel together, but set no end date. Time for coordination.
She stated her plans first.
"Once in Xi'an, I'm joining the fight against the Guangzheng Sect."
"Huh?"
"My master's there."
"Right... Sowol's the Weird Physician's disciple."
Hwang Bo Yun crossed her arms, eyes closed in thought, humming.
"Hmm..."
"You don't have to come."
"...How about we decide once we're in Xi'an?"
"Sure."
"Settled!"
Relieved of the dilemma, Hwang Bo Yun grinned broadly.
So refreshingly simple.
Wi Sowol shook her head with a wry smile and resumed walking.
Hwang Bo Yun hurried to catch up.
Two pairs of footprints marked the earth.
Their voices mingled above.
"So, what'll we do in Xi'an?"
"Obviously!"
"Know anyone there?"
"Hehehe. Don't freak out. You know Xiangtang Candy Shop? Their sweets are legendary. I swore I'd try them after hearing they've expanded from Kaifeng to Xi'an."
Ah.
That's why she ran away?
'Out of her mind?'