In Search of the Divine Physician (1)
And that was... alt accounts.
'Right, right. This is the normal reaction to a gallery newbie.'
But what if I do this?
I change my handle to Anon and comment on my own post.
I change my handle back to PeachBlossomFairy and reply.
And then...
The gallery was in an uproar once again.
'Hehehe. Hehehehe...!'
The absolute masters of the Murim are being played like fiddles by my alt accounts.
'I'm probably the only one who can do this, right?'
Even if other martial artists changed their titles, they couldn't pull off alt-accounting like this.
Because titles were given by others.
Even if a person had multiple titles, that fact would quickly spread.
For example, the Sword Empress had another title: Moon-Slicing Sword Maiden.
It was the title she was called when she was less famous and less powerful.
So, if a post by "Moon-Slicing Sword Maiden" suddenly went up, would people fail to realize she was the Sword Empress?
Absolutely not.
They'd say, 'Sword Empress, why did you suddenly change your title to post?'
It was the same for other martial artists.
This was something only possible for me. In this entire world, only I could utilize multiple accounts in the Jin Moorim Gallery.
"Pfft, cough cough...!"
Hyeonsongcheonnyeo looked at me.
"What is so amusing?"
"I-I just suddenly remembered a funny joke I read a while ago."
Come to think of it, why wasn't Hyeonsongcheonnyeo on the Jin Moorim Gallery? As an elder of the prestigious Bongrae Sect, she must have cleared the entry requirements for the gallery.
"...Do you use the internet too, Hyeonsongcheonnyeo?"
"This poor Taoist? ...Why do you ask so suddenly?"
Was it just my imagination? Hyeonsongcheonnyeo seemed to suddenly tense up.
"Uh... I was just curious."
"I see. And no. This poor Taoist does not know much about things like internet communities."
I had only asked if she used the internet, but she specifically answered that she didn't do communities?
'Uh-oh? This is 100% the reaction of someone who is active on some community.'
What kind of community did Hyeonsongcheonnyeo even use? Or was it social media?
Come to think of it, the public internet Moorim Gallery. That place caught my attention again.
In the exclusive Jin Moorim Gallery, martial artists tended to open up and talk quite honestly.
Like an elite group chat, or a minor subreddit.
But would people who tasted the joy of posting on the exclusive gallery stay away from the public internet gallery? Especially when they could hide their identities behind fixed handles or anonymous IPs over there?
'Maybe...'
If I went onto the public internet Moorim Gallery now, couldn't I unmask those hiding behind anonymous masks?
'What if Hyeonsongcheonnyeo is actually a beloved power-poster on the public Moorim Gallery?'
Pfft. No way, there's no way that's true.
"Then this poor Taoist shall go with them for a moment."
"Huh? Ah, ah. Yes!"
While I was busy playing with my alt accounts on the Jin Moorim Gallery, Hyeonsongcheonnyeo and Sect Leader Jongin had been discussing clearing a Gate together.
A high-risk Gate had appeared nearby, and it was too much for the Dobong Sect to handle. They had asked for help.
'I guess they've officially become a subsidiary.'
Since they had paid me 100 million won and been forgiven.
They would pay regular tribute, but in times of crisis, they could receive help from the martial artists of the parent sect.
"Wait inside until this poor Taoist returns. I shall be back shortly."
"Yeees~"
"Do not even think about touching the spiritual medicine until I return."
"Yeees~"
"If you are sleepy, do not worry about anything and rest well."
"Yeees~"
Hyeonsongcheonnyeo, Sect Leader Jongin, and six of the Dobong Sect's strongest disciples departed past the mountain gate.
Surprisingly, Juyeon was among them.
'Ah... but I need to visit my house at least once.'
The only thing of value there was my dusty old PC, but leaving it abandoned felt wrong.
I lay down alone on the futon spread across the floor of the Hoseon Pavilion.
I hugged the box stuffed with 100,000-won bills.
"Hehehe...!"
100 million won. A whopping 100 million won!
Before the Gate Outbreak, 100 million won could buy... about 1/20th or 1/30th of a Gangnam apartment.
Still, 100 million won was a massive sum!
Even if I just put it in a savings account at 2% annual interest... that's 2 million won a year.
"...Ugh."
That felt strangely small... like hell it was!
Hey, Cheon Doyeon, get a grip! Are you looking down on 100 million won now?!
Even if you buy a 10,000-won meal every single time, 100 million won lets you eat ten thousand meals!
At three meals a day, 365 days a year, that's enough to never worry about food for nearly ten years!
'She said we'd head to Gaeseong once she returns, right?'
The distance from Seoul to Gaeseong wasn't far. About 60 kilometers.
Before the Gate Outbreak, it would have taken an hour or two to get there.
'I heard Paju is a bit unstable lately... will it be okay?'
Well, with Hyeonsongcheonnyeo around, it should be fine.
'...I need to pee.'
Now that the tension had bled away, nature called. Where was the bathroom here?
'...Huh?'
Wait. The bathroom? In a female body?
"..."
Shhhhhh...
Rustle... flinch. Dab, dab...
Flushhhhh.
Clack.
Thud, thud.
Flop.
"..."
I didn't feel any sense of loss over becoming a woman. I was sure of it.
But why did I suddenly feel so weird after going to the bathroom?
Human psychology is truly a bizarre thing.
'At least it's a proper bathroom...'
Since we were in the middle of a mountain, I was worried there wouldn't be running water or electricity.
Then again, martial artists were modern people too.
They'd sooner give up electricity than plumbing.
Soap and sewage systems were truly humanity's greatest inventions. I was sure countless people had realized this bone-deep truth after the Gate Outbreak.
"All hail the flush toilet..."
Saying "all hail the toilet" with a girl's mouth felt a bit weird. Am I tired? I keep spouting nonsense.
"Yaaawn..."
I really was sleepy.
Come to think of it, I had been dealing with one extreme situation after another since this morning.
'I should get some sleep now.'
One of the most important rules of survival was to eat when you can, drink when you can, and sleep when you can.
Conveniently, a cool breeze was blowing, and the Hoseon Pavilion was cast in deep shade.
The throbbing pain in my eye that had plagued me since my injury had also subsided after Hyeonsongcheonnyeo cleared my qi blockages.
I'll just play with my alts a bit more to get a hit of dopamine... and then... close my eyes... for a... bit... *Zzz...*
"Zzz..."
I had a dream. I was inside a dream.
"Child."
A woman clad entirely in pure white was reaching her hand out to me.
Even though I knew it was a dream, looking at her filled me with an uncontrollable sorrow.
"Hurry and rescue this lady."
But you are. I am.
In this dream—
"Fairy!! Peach Blossom Fairy!!"
"Huh!?"
I jerked my head up, almost colliding with Juyeon.
Juyeon was frantically shaking me awake as I slept on the futon spread across the floor of the Hoseon Pavilion.
"U-uhhh...? What's going on all of a sud—"
The scent of blood. In an instant, my mind snapped wide awake.
"Now is not the time for this!!"
Juyeon's body was covered in bloodstains. Blood was seeping from her open wounds.
"Hyeonsongcheonnyeo has been gravely wounded and is hovering between life and death!!"