Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Meeting the Divine Physician
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Dang Ha-ryeong didn't back down easily despite that.
She wasn't naive enough to blindly trust the words of someone who had appeared out of nowhere.
The middle-aged man let a faint trace of killing intent slip out.
"Believe it or not, that's your freedom."
Dang Ha-ryeong's knees trembled against her will.
"Step aside."
"But—"
"I don't say things twice."
Exchanging words so cordially was already a significant show of goodwill from the middle-aged man's perspective.
The middle-aged man smacked his lips.
Normally, he would have ignored her and walked past, or simply silenced her.
'But after seeing that, well, damn.'
A face on the verge of bursting into tears.
He didn't dislike people who could cry for others.
He had no intention of treating her harshly.
But if she kept irritating him any further, he had no plans to go easy.
"Are you going to keep blocking my way?"
Realizing she could no longer stop him, Dang Ha-ryeong took a reluctant step back.
The middle-aged man kicked off into the air.
Lee Seon's condition looked dire at a glance.
But the middle-aged man snorted derisively.
If he were the sort to die from something like this, he never would have taken the boy in to begin with.
"Hm?"
The middle-aged man sensed a presence trailing him from behind.
The speed was hardly enough to call it pursuit, but the direction was spot on.
The middle-aged man glared at Lee Seon's pallid face.
"You told her the location of your abode."
It seemed she already knew about it.
Normally, formations were laid out here that misled intruders in all directions.
Those unaware of the formations merely circled the area endlessly, unable to approach the abode.
That was why no rumors had ever spread about the people living here, despite all the visitors to Blood Gate Mountain.
"Tch."
But now that she had realized there was an abode at the formation's center...
It wouldn't hold much meaning for her anymore.
Looks like he'd have to entertain a guest.
By the time Dang Ha-ryeong finally located the abode, the middle-aged man was sipping tea.
Sweat-drenched, she leaned against a tree.
"Where is he?"
The middle-aged man regarded her with keen interest.
"I've stabilized his breathing."
"May I see his face?"
"No."
At the curt refusal, Dang Ha-ryeong ground her teeth.
"Is he at least alive?"
"He's teetering on the edge of death."
Dang Ha-ryeong had caught a familiar scent in the blood Lee Seon had vomited.
She didn't know the exact poison, but he was undoubtedly poisoned.
Wi Yu-gi had been a formidable foe, yet he'd shown no sign of using poison.
Which meant Lee Seon must have ingested it himself.
Just like she had at first—for a momentary surge of internal energy.
It wasn't a condition that could be treated lightly.
She could tell, given her own knowledge of medicine.
This was a perilous state no one should meddle with lightly.
"For someone who forcibly opened his upper dantian with poison, he's holding up remarkably well."
"...Pardon?"
At the utterly unforeseen response, Dang Ha-ryeong's pupils quivered in shock.
Just as she knew, ingesting poison was always a last resort.
That was precisely why she was so frantic.
Yet this answer shattered her every expectation, leaving her stunned.
Forcing open the upper dantian with poison?
It was a miracle he hadn't died outright.
"Didn't you treat him?"
"I said I kept him breathing. That's all."
Same difference.
'Already detoxified and stabilized?'
Was that even possible?
Without medical skill at the divine realm, such a feat was impossible.
...No way?
Dang Ha-ryeong scrutinized the middle-aged man's features closely.
A gaze sharp enough to pierce souls.
Confidence so profound it bordered on hubris.
Come to think of it, Lee Seon had handled poisons adeptly.
He'd demonstrated profound medical knowledge by treating her own poisoning.
And then there was the man's exquisite footwork, his martial prowess beyond estimation.
Putting all the pieces together...
Only one man in the jianghu matched this profile.
Dang Ha-ryeong bowed deeply and respectfully.
"I greet the Divine Physician."
The middle-aged man sipped his tea with an impassive expression.
"Divine Physician, eh? Care to explain what flights of fancy in that little head of yours led to that conclusion?"
Dang Ha-ryeong replied with unwavering poise.
"Just a hunch."
His eyebrow twitched.
He didn't deny it.
"Sharp instincts."
The Divine Physician, Lee Jeong-gwang, nodded.
"So he's your senior disciple."
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
If Lee Seon was the Divine Physician's disciple, it explained all his feats so far.
"Not a formal disciple. Just a boy I took in during my later years to keep me company and run errands."
Not officially accepted as a disciple, then.
"He was a boy I truly cherished, and seeing him so gravely wounded tears at my heart."
He delivered the words bluntly, his face betraying no emotion.
Yet they carved deep into Dang Ha-ryeong's chest.
"This happened largely because of you. What nerve do you have to show your face here again?"
"......"
Gazing at her speechless form, the middle-aged man clicked his tongue.
"Doesn't look a bit like your father, but that stubborn streak? Identical."
Dang Ha-ryeong stared at him in astonishment.
Did the Divine Physician have ties to the Tang Family?
It was also shock at him recognizing her lineage.
Clasping her hands, Dang Ha-ryeong bowed politely once more.
"Allow me a proper introduction. I am Dang Ha-ryeong of the Sichuan Tang Family."
The middle-aged man waved it off dismissively.
"That face screaming 'how did you figure it out?'"
"Indeed."
Outwardly, she appeared merely a strikingly beautiful woman.
She wore nothing that could identify her as a Tang.
How on earth had he discerned her true identity? It was baffling.
"Ain't a corner of the martial world where your name isn't making waves right now."
"Pardon?"
"Dunno the reason, but word's spreading that you, the Poison Phoenix, died around these parts. Sichuan Tang Family's stonewalling on any statement. With the star of those rumors not showing her face, they're spiraling out of control. In this mess, running into some random outsider woman who wasn't you? That'd be the real shocker."
Lee Jeong-gwang drained his teacup in one gulp.
Dang Ha-ryeong's eyes shook violently.
Rumors of her death circulating in the martial world? Unbelievable.
Given how close she'd come to actual death, it couldn't be mere coincidence.
She had to return to her clan.
Without her appearing, the chaos wouldn't end.
She should leave right away.
Yet her feet refused to budge.
Her gaze locked firmly on the door standing shut before her.
"There's nothing for you to do here."
This was no ordinary man, but the Divine Physician himself.
A title that instilled faith he could save even the unsavable.
Lee Jeong-gwang—the physician hailed in the martial world for reaching the divine realm through medicine.
"Tend to your family. Don't care for those self-righteous orthodox faction pricks with their noses in the air, but I can't stand watching you get played by their schemes."
Dang Ha-ryeong bowed her head deeply, her expression grave.
"...Thank you for the guidance."
The Divine Physician had struck at the heart of the matter.
As a member of the Tang Family, quelling the turmoil was her duty.
Yet a heavy burden still weighed on one corner of her heart.
He had poisoned himself to aid her and now wandered the brink of death. How could she abandon him?
She desperately wanted to stay at least until he opened his eyes.
But with the order to leave guests issued, she couldn't force her stay.
"I'll take my leave now. But before I go..."
She drew a plaque from her bosom.
"If he regains consciousness, would you deliver this to him?"
It didn't look particularly valuable.
Just a simple iron plaque.
Yet those with discerning eyes would recognize its worth.
For it had been crafted by a master artisan of the Sichuan Tang Family's hidden weapons.
But it was no mere ornament.
Engraved upon it was the Tang Family crest.
Right now, Dang Ha-ryeong offered it as a token of the life debt he had saved.
Lee Jeong-gwang accepted the plaque.
"I'll give it to him along with your message."
Dang Ha-ryeong's retreating figure looked utterly forlorn, like a puppy soaked in the rain.
Unable to bear the sight, Lee Jeong-gwang let out a sigh.
"Hold on."
He fetched a bundle and tossed it to her.
"Now go."
She didn't know what was inside, but it felt quite heavy.
She bowed.
Lowering her head, Dang Ha-ryeong slowly made her way down the mountain.
Inside the bundle were medicines for internal injuries, provisions for the journey, and a simple map of the surrounding area.
Wonder whose peculiar temperament she inherited.
Dang Ha-ryeong turned her head toward the direction of the abode.
'I trust you.'
She trusted Lee Seon more than even the Divine Physician.
The Lee Seon she knew was the type to shake it off and bounce back like nothing had happened.
Even if he remained unconscious, it didn't matter.
As long as he was alive, she'd drag him back by any means necessary.
The Tang Family's centuries of accumulated knowledge rivaled any clan's.
She didn't need to visit until her family matters were settled.
She would go to him instead.
Even if he were in hell itself, she'd seize him by the scruff and haul him out.
"Just wait a little longer."
Dang Ha-ryeong's eyes gleamed with fierce resolve.
Inside the room lay a boy, still as death itself.
His ashen face and pallid lips made him look as if death could claim him any moment.
The middle-aged man sat beside him, eyes glinting oddly.
"Enough with the theatrics. Get up already."
Lee Seon's eyes snapped open.