Chapter 84
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: I'm the Patient, You're the Physician
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Shadowless pointed at the X with his brush and stopped.
A chill ran up his spine in an instant. He and Jegal Seo both pulled their hands away at the same time and stared at each other. Her face had gone completely pale.
After that, they stopped the game of Divination Brush as if by some unspoken agreement. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if the coachman was some peerless master with nothing but internal energy, manipulating the brush through the air—but no, that couldn't be. The man was an ordinary coachman without a scrap of internal energy.
A few more days passed as they headed toward the Orthodox Alliance.
"We'll reach Sichuan soon."
Jegal Seo, who had been sitting across from him gazing at the passing scenery outside the window, spoke up.
"Mm. Got it."
He replied without much thought. Jegal Seo tilted her head and added,
"Don't you want to go see your master?"
Ah.
The Healer Immortal Sect was in Sichuan.
As his expression made it clear he'd only just remembered, Jegal Seo's eyes widened.
"Whoa... talk about a deadbeat disciple...!"
She murmured in a small voice, like a sigh of exasperation.
"No, we're already pressed for time just heading to the Orthodox Alliance as it is."
"Do you think Father wouldn't have accounted for that?"
Jegal Seo shot back. Hm. His father-in-law. From personal experience, the man seemed a bit off-kilter somewhere, but judging by his position as the Martial Alliance's strategist and his background, he was definitely the brains type. He wouldn't have planned the journey without that kind of calculation.
"Then let's go."
He tapped on the carriage wall to signal the coachman.
"Take us to the Healer Immortal Sect."
And a few more days passed.
The main gate of the Healer Immortal Sect appeared before them. It had only been about a month since he'd left, but it felt strangely awkward for some reason.
As he stepped down from the carriage, one of the gatekeepers recognized him.
"Oh, aren't you Physician Shadowless?"
"Long time no see."
He nodded to the man, who greeted him warmly. The gatekeeper's gaze then shifted to Jegal Seo standing behind him.
"And the lady behind you...?"
"She's from the Alliance. She's traveling with me for a bit."
There was no need to mention that she was the Vermilion Bird Squad Leader. He was the acting squad leader of this diplomatic delegation right now.
"I'm here to see my master."
"Ah, yes! Please, come in."
The gatekeeper politely stepped aside. They passed through the gate and entered the familiar grounds of the Healer Immortal Sect. The outward scenery hadn't changed at all, but strangely, the physicians and disciples moving about inside seemed more lively than before.
Was it because he'd left?
The thought crossed his mind, but whatever. He headed straight for the room he'd used while staying at the sect.
Screech.
The door opened to reveal the familiar room. It was still sparse. There had never been much in it to begin with, but it looked like someone had been cleaning it regularly—there wasn't a speck of dust.
"Whoa... so this is the vice squad leader's room..."
Jegal Seo, who had followed him in, looked around in admiration. Then she started sniffing the air, taking in the room's scent.
"It won't smell like much. It's been over a month since I left."
"Ah, n-no... I wasn't smelling. I was just... breathing!"
"Sure, sure. I'll go see my master for a bit. Wait here."
"Y-Yes?! Already stepping out? Are you off to get a concubine or something?"
He lightly ruffled her hair.
"Be back soon."
He left the room and headed deep into the Herb Garden Pavilion, where his master's private quarters were. His steps felt heavy. It had been a while since he'd seen her; anything she said wouldn't surprise him.
He stood before his master's door. He could sense her presence inside.
Knock knock.
"It's your disciple Shadowless. May I come in?"
There was no reply from inside for a long moment. Just a brief silence. Then, at last, a voice as cold as frost seeped through the door crack.
"Enter."
Screech.
The heavy wooden door creaked open. As he stepped inside, the distinctive bitter scent of medicinal herbs from the Herb Garden Pavilion hit him, along with a humid warmth that was different from the usual chill. The room was dim, with little light filtering in. And in that darkness, a faint shadow lay atop the bed.
It was his master.
But she wasn't in her usual neat, impeccable state. She was covered up to her neck with a thick silk blanket, letting out faint groans.
"Haa... Ngh... Ngh."
Her pale face was flushed bright red, and her half-lidded eyes wandered the air without focus. The sounds escaping now and then from between her tightly pressed lips weren't exactly pained, nor comfortable—they carried a strange hue.
"Master. Are you unwell?"
He approached cautiously and asked. At the sound of his voice, her hazy eyes barely turned toward him.
"...You're asking me that now."
Her voice was low and cracked.
"Aren't you the physician? Is that how I taught you?"
Classic master. Even on the verge of dying from illness, she wouldn't forget to reprimand her disciple.
"Ah."
He let out a short sigh and approached his master, who lay covered by the blanket. He needed to take her pulse. But...
"Just... about to check your pulse..."
He trailed off. Grabbing his master's wrist? She was someone whose sleeve not even a hair's breadth should touch—a figure perched high on the clouds. Deadbeat disciple. Yes. For a disciple to dare touch his master's sacred body was borderline treason.
As he hesitated, a faint crease formed between her brows.
"Aren't you a physician?"
With that icy reprimand, a slender white arm poked out from under the blanket.
"...Hurry and take my pulse. Now."
"Ah. Yes."
He couldn't refuse any longer. He swallowed dryly and reached for the proffered wrist. The moment his fingertips touched the soft, warm skin, he finally realized.
His master was... naked.
As she extended her arm, the blanket lifted slightly. Through the gap, her snow-white skin and the gentle curve of her side breast were fully revealed. Her nipple was just barely out of sight, but even that partial view of her fullness made his head spin.
He nearly tilted his head to peek at the hidden nipple without thinking.
Am I insane?
Whew. He barely clung to his senses and straightened his head. He placed his trembling fingers on her wrist. It was hot. Like a burning coal. But something was off.
"Uh... It seems normal."
Aside from being a bit quick, the pulse was perfectly steady and strong. It didn't feel like someone with a fever at all.
At his words, her eyebrow twitched.
"My body hurts like this... How could that be normal?"
"Pardon? Ah. Let me check again."
As he flusteredly reached for her wrist again, she yanked her arm away roughly, clutched the blanket, and sat up.
"Enough."
Ah.
In that moment, he stopped breathing. As she raised her upper body, she only pulled the blanket up to her chest. The outlines of her two perky breasts bulged clearly atop the blanket. Below that, the smooth curve of her bare waist flowed down, and the silhouette of her beautifully plump hips—slightly obscured by the blanket where it met the bed—was laid bare.
Perfect peach bottom.
An unholy term floated into his mind.
Gulp.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed involuntarily. He hurriedly turned his head. He couldn't keep looking.
"Should a physician avert his eyes from his patient?"
An icy voice stabbed into his back.
"Can't you do it properly?"
Ah.
He turned his head back slowly, very slowly. His master had already turned her back to him, sitting there. Under the dim lantern light, her sweat-slicked white back gleamed faintly, filling his vision along with her narrow waist and the wide flare of her hips.
"...Wipe the sweat."
It was an order he couldn't refuse.
"Ah. Yes."
He mechanically replied and picked up the dry cloth beside her. He drew close to her back. A scorching heat washed over him, mingled with her master's unique inky fragrance and the sweet bodily scent mixed in her sweat, brushing his nose.
His hand holding the cloth trembled.
He cautiously pressed the cloth to her back. It was thin. So thin that through it, he could feel the hot temperature of her bare skin, its softness, and even the faint tremors of muscle rippling down her spine as he wiped.
Ah.
He wanted to touch her directly with his hand.
It felt like having sex separated by the thinnest membrane. He'd never used a condom, but it was probably like this. The thought made his lower body heat up wildly.
In the end, his dick sprang up hard, tenting his pants taut. Cursing inwardly with a kieeek, he hurriedly covered his front with his other hand and shoved it back down inside.
She had her back turned, so she wouldn't notice. She was in pain; she wouldn't sense his presence or changes in his body. Yeah, it's fine.
But the sensations from his fingertips grew increasingly blatant. His wiping hand had somehow wandered to the tight curve of her waist. Just a little lower from here...
Big peach bottom.
Mm.
Smack!
He swung his hand toward his own cheek.
He'd nearly slapped that plump ass.