Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Both Sides
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Wi Sowol's mind cooled sharply and began to spin rapidly.
'It has to be the Admiralty Medical Bureau. The only group capable of pulling off something like this in all of Wuchang is the Paeguk Sect.'
The kind of ruthless act that only unorthodox deviants, who cast aside all morality, would commit.
Yet even in Wuchang, where the Paeguk Sect held sway, no unorthodox group Wi Sowol knew of would dare such atrocities.
But if it wasn't the Paeguk Sect...
If they stripped away the assumption of it being a murim faction, then there was one other possibility.
'...The Imperial Court.'
If the Paeguk Sect were the masterminds, then the executors went without saying: the Admiralty Medical Bureau.
If the Imperial Court was behind it, then the executors would be...
'Hyemin Pharmacy.'
Which side was Jindam Seon on?
Paeguk Sect or Imperial Court?
Why had Jindam Seon summoned her?
Whoever he belonged to, there had to be some purpose in calling Wi Sowol specifically.
'To cover up this incident? Or to frame me for it?'
They could bring in a physician from outside, treat the victims in secret, and make it all disappear.
Or they could pin the blame entirely on Wi Sowol and cut off the tail.
Only those two possibilities surfaced in Wi Sowol's mind.
'The disciple of the Weird Physician, craving forbidden knowledge, commits inhuman deeds... How fitting that would be.'
If they'd targeted her from the start, then Jindam Seon's performance up to now would have even left the heavens in awe.
His displayed emotions had been that genuine and unfeigned.
Jindam Seon had treated them with true sincerity.
Jindam Seon was innocent.
With that assumption reset, a new hypothesis emerged in Wi Sowol's mind.
'The Paeguk Sect was formed from the merger of three factions. Rivalries between those old factions persist even now.'
Wi Sowol didn't know every internal detail of the Paeguk Sect.
In fact, she was relatively ignorant about the Paeguk Sect and the southern murim in general.
In her past life, she'd operated mainly in the northern regions rather than the south.
She'd never directly clashed with the Paeguk Sect either.
But she did know that before the merger, the three original factions had maintained their lineages, splitting the sect into three rival groups.
Admiralty Hall, Dark Flame Faction, Central Dark Gate.
Even now, they continued on as the Admiralty Medical Bureau, Dark Flame Pavilion, and Central Dark Hall.
The Paeguk Sect was little more than a fence encompassing them.
Within, fierce factional struggles raged over the helm of that massive ship called the Paeguk Sect.
In truth, it was less a single sect and more like a loose alliance.
'If it was the Admiralty Medical Bureau acting on their own...'
Assuming Jindam Seon belonged to one of the other two factions.
It fit rather neatly.
"Little Moon, what've you been thinking about for so long?"
"I was just realizing treatment won't be easy."
"Ho... What's this? You're actually saying something weak for once."
She was the one who'd overflowed with confidence, proclaiming herself the disciple of the world's greatest physician.
To Hwang Bo Yun, hearing Wi Sowol sound weak felt strangely unfamiliar.
"First, we need to head to Hyemin Pharmacy. They might be even more dangerous."
"What? Why?"
If the group behind this mess was Hyemin Pharmacy, then from their perspective, Jindam Seon was a traitor.
Whether he'd done it knowingly and deliberately, or out of ignorance.
"...No, it might not be that."
"Yeah, seems like it."
A beat slower than Wi Sowol, Hwang Bo Yun caught on to why she'd said it.
"Since you've been spotted, come on out. Hiding there won't help anyway."
Hwang Bo Yun declared boldly.
In an instant, the inner energy of his Sumi Cheonwang Divine Art swirled and transformed into thunder qi, coursing down his arms.
Sparks of lightning danced along his exposed forearms.
Realizing his words were no bluff, figures began emerging one by one.
A band of warriors, wrapped head to toe like assassins, surrounded Hwang Bo Yun and Wi Sowol, blocking the path.
Plain uniforms without any insignia, faces covered by masks leaving only eyes and nostrils exposed.
They intended to conceal their affiliation.
These weren't ragtag amateurs.
Seasoned fighters, every one.
Not a single sloppy stance among them—they were at least first-rate at minimum.
A few even appeared to be peak experts.
Yet Hwang Bo Yun's momentum didn't waver in the slightest under their oppressive presence.
"What, should we clear the way?"
[Is this a trap? Have we been set up?]
His mouth barked aggressively as if ready to fight at any moment, while via transmission, he asked Wi Sowol about the situation.
He might look like a brainless battle maniac, but in truth, Hwang Bo Yun was sharp too.
His exceptional physique included a fine brain.
His wild, lightning-struck colt antics were partly due to youth—and the fact he had an external processing unit in Wi Sowol to provide superior analysis and judgment.
'Brother Damsun doesn't seem the type.'
Of course, Hwang Bo Yun had his own judgment as well.
The Jindam Seon he'd seen and interacted with was a sincere man.
He didn't want to believe that he'd earnestly begged them just to lure them into a trap.
Waiting for Wi Sowol's reply with a somewhat uneasy heart.
[We have to check.]
Her response lightened Hwang Bo Yun's steps.
Chiiiik-!
The sound of his foot scraping the ground echoed unusually loudly.
"Just need to break through, right?"
Hwang Bo Yun's fists finished preparing to thrust toward the enemies.
Wi Sowol answered his question.
"Yeah. Kill every one who gets in the way."
They were scum who'd experimented with poisons and plagues on human lives.
Wi Sowol's eyes gleamed red.
"You mean we should recheck the herbs?"
"Yes. If anything's short, let me know ahead of time so we can stock up on the next supply run."
"Understood. We'll do that."
The chief steward managing Hyemin Pharmacy readily accepted Jindam Seon's request.
He knew exactly who Jindam Seon was.
"And if Wi Sowol or Hwang Bo Yun come asking for herbs later, just give them..."
"Young Master."
Mid-instruction to the steward, Jindam Seon froze at the sudden voice.
Jindam Seon slowly, forcibly turned his stiffened body—tense with alarm—to look behind him.
"You've come to Wuchang, yet instead of heading to the main hall, you linger here. Why is that?"
There stood the last person he wanted to see.
Jindam Seon felt cold sweat trickling down his spine.
His instincts screamed in warning, every hair standing on end.
"Admiralty Bureau Chief..."
The words slipped out almost as a groan, twisting the face of the man who'd called him: Gong Ya Tak, Chief of the Admiralty Medical Bureau.
His lips curved into a smile, but his eyes were ice-cold.
It felt like facing a serpent.
Gong Ya Tak was a viper harboring instantly fatal venom.
"With the Sect Leader away, you should have been guarding Wuchang. Care to explain to this Gong why you've ventured outside?"
Gong Ya Tak's tone was gentle, but unmistakably threatening.
The pressure radiating from him bore down on Jindam Seon fiercely.
"How insolent!"
Baek Pa could hold back no longer.
Revealing herself, she stepped between Jindam Seon and Gong Ya Tak, blocking with her body.
Her fierce aura withstood and deflected Gong Ya Tak's energy.
But it had no effect on him.
"White Ghost Child. You're a problem too. How could you let the Young Master leave Wuchang without informing anyone?"
Reciting Baek Pa's name like a stern judge, Gong Ya Tak rebuked her in turn.
The Admiralty Bureau Chief was one of the Three Tyrant Chiefs, equal to the Sect Leader in status.
Officially, second in the sect's hierarchy.
Though an unspoken ranking among the Three Tyrant Chiefs made him effectively fourth, he was still far beyond a mere messenger guard like White Ghost Child.
"The Young Master...!"
"Baek Pa. It's fine. I'll explain."
Even under Gong Ya Tak's pressure, Jindam Seon didn't break.
His conviction that he was in the right sustained him.
"It's for Wuchang."
"...Which sounds like you're saying the main hall isn't managing Wuchang properly."
"Exactly. Lately, Wuchang's poor have been multiplying at an alarming rate. Even accounting for commerce shifting to the lower districts, the speed is unnaturally fast. And those poor aren't even getting proper prescriptions—they're dying. This is wrong."
His words further provoked Gong Ya Tak.
Managing medical care not just for the Paeguk Sect, but all of Wuchang County, fell to none other than the Admiralty Medical Bureau.
Jindam Seon was openly declaring he didn't trust them and that they were mishandling it.
Gong Ya Tak's aura turned hostile, crushing down on Jindam Seon.
Jindam Seon's body swayed.
"Young Master!"
Baek Pa cried out in alarm, catching his collapsing form.
Her venomous glare shot toward Gong Ya Tak.
"Admiralty Bureau Chief! How dare you treat the Young Master like...!"
As Baek Pa tried to continue, Gong Ya Tak's gesture silenced her.
It was the presence of a transcendent master.
Even though Baek Pa herself stood at the pinnacle of peak experts, on the cusp of transcendence.
The gulf between those who'd crossed that line and those who hadn't was vast beyond imagination.
"Even for the Young Master, this oversteps. Surely you're aware of sect rules?"
"...Of course."
"I'll formally petition the Sect Leader about this matter."
Jindam Seon nodded with effort.
As Gong Ya Tak turned to leave, Jindam Seon exhaled the breath he'd been holding.
"Ah, Young Master."
"...Is there more?"
"About the physician you brought."
Gong Ya Tak kept his body facing forward, twisting only his head back to look down at Jindam Seon.
An eerie posture.
He smiled chillingly.
"For interfering in sect affairs, we've decided to handle it at the Admiralty Bureau level. Just so you know."
Jindam Seon's face drained of color, his pupils dilating in an instant.
"Bureau Chief! They are my guests!"
"We're simply following sect rules..."
That was when it happened.
Kwarururung!!!
Pajijijijik!!
A colossal thunder barrier shook all of Wuchang, swallowing Gong Ya Tak's voice.
Jindam Seon and Gong Ya Tak simultaneously whipped their heads toward the origin.
It was the east.