The Divine Doctor's Diagnosis
The one known as the Divine Doctor (Divine Doctor) for his godlike medical skills was none other than Hong Seok-gu. His reputation for righteousness had spread even beyond the murim to the distant frontiers, making him a figure of universal admiration—one I had heard of long before my eyes were ruined. If the world learned that this paragon was in truth a doting grandfather, how would it react?
"...You're going to bore a hole through my face."
I was, to put it mildly, extremely flustered.
* * *
Somehow, the misunderstanding was cleared up. When I stated that I held no romantic feelings for Hong Ryeon-a, he snorted and sheathed his sword. It felt less like he had abandoned his suspicions and more like he simply wanted to move on to the main topic.
Settling into his chair, Hong Seok-gu asked, "Are you even human?"
"Did you perhaps take my pulse?"
"Well now, you figured that out quick."
"It's my own body, so I know it well. I simply assumed any physician would check the pulse."
"If you know so much, why the hell were you chewing raw Eunbaekcho and trying to circulate your qi?"
"...Is there a problem?"
"A problem? A problem??? Hah... You're out of your damn mind."
Hong Seok-gu approached my bed and began sealing my acupoints.
—Tap! Tap! Tap!...
"From the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian to the Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian—I've blocked all twelve principal meridians."
"Th-the Divine Doctor?!"
If a normal person had all twelve principal meridians sealed, there was only one outcome.
"Any human would die a hundred times out of a hundred. Yet you're still alive. Do you know why?"
According to Yi Yeon-baek, my entire body had effectively become a single dantian. If I could survive with my meridians sealed, the only conclusion was that my meridians had burst open and no longer existed.
"...Yes... I have no meridians—"
"You have far too many."
"....?"
I gaped at Hong Seok-gu's words. All twelve principal meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians had burst open, so how could it be "many" instead of "none"?
—Tsk.
"The way I see it, you're not human."
"What do you mean...?"
"I don't know what kind of bullshit happened to you, or if you were stupid enough to do it yourself, but your entire meridian system was destroyed before, wasn't it?"
"....."
I couldn't close my mouth. How could he know so precisely? It was impressive.
"Originally, meridians were divided into the Foot-Arm Eleven Meridians and the Yin-Yang Eleven Meridians. Over time, my predecessors revised that into the Huangdi Neijing, after which blood vessels and qi meridians came to be treated as separate things."
"Uh... That sounds incredibly complicated..."
"Doesn't it? Our ancestors must have thought so too. They racked their brains to simplify the mess and came up with a new system."
Hong Seok-gu pointed at his own solar plexus with his thumb.
"The twelve principal meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians."
As eras passed, the knowledge one had to master grew vast. Could later generations truly study it all in a single lifetime? The ancestors shook their heads. So they chose to simplify and focus.
"Even they found it hard to read, so they boldly cut everything away. Still, it wasn't a problem. The system worked perfectly for humans. But you know what? For you, it becomes a problem."
"For me...?"
"That's right. According to the Huangdi Neijing, if the twelve principal meridians, eight extraordinary meridians, and all the minor meridians burst open, death is certain. Yet you're alive. Is it because you're special? No. You're simply part of what they cut out."
The ancestors had laid hands on every living thing in their pursuit of deeper understanding of the human body. The Huangdi Neijing excised all "non-human" elements, narrowing the focus to the twelve principal meridians and eight extraordinary meridians for humans alone. Therefore, from a medical standpoint, my body did not qualify as human.
"You're no different from a spiritual beast."
"......."
I was speechless. Hong Seok-gu clicked his tongue and continued.
"Hey, spiritual beast, stop spacing out and keep listening."
At some point, my name had been changed to "spiritual beast." I was dumbfounded.
"According to the older Yin-Yang Eleven Meridians text, blood vessels and qi meridians were once considered the same. Not surprising, since blocking a meridian also stops the blood—hence hemostasis. But it turns out they're separate."
"Blood vessels and qi meridians are different?"
"Exactly. The proof is qi projection. Whether it's sword qi or divine qi, you're drawing qi outside the body. If blood vessels and qi meridians were the same, blood should come out with the qi. But it doesn't, does it?"
Projecting qi. If blood gushed out every time someone used qi, there would be no martial artists left in this world.
"The fundamental difference is form. Blood vessels exist visibly; qi meridians exist invisibly. So even if your qi meridians burst, they simply changed form—they still remain inside you."
"So my qi meridians were still there..."
"Correct."
"Which means I'm no longer human."
"Do you want to remain human? If you insist, I can tell you this much."
"...Yes?"
"You're not ordinary, but as a martial artist, you can still be recognized as one. In that sense, you've surpassed the legendary realm every martial artist dreams of."
All Meridians Permeated
"The twelve principal meridians and eight extraordinary meridians have all transformed into minor meridians, creating thousands—tens of thousands—of times more than a normal person, and every single one is open."
"......"
I didn't fully understand what that meant. So I recalled something I'd heard and asked, "Elder, do you know of an ancient text called the Murokjaesintanggi?"
"Ah, that one? I've read it a couple times at the Murim Alliance. It's a forbidden book, though—how do you know of it?"
"...I happened to hear about it."
I glossed over it, not wanting to cause trouble for Yi Yeon-baek.
"The first Heavenly Demon... Hmm. There might be similarities."
"Similarities?"
"The circumstances differ, but the result is the same. He could no longer condense internal energy in his dantian, so body and qi eventually merged into one—the state of Divine Qi Unity. That monster's entire body must have had all meridians permeated as well."
I nodded as I listened.
"Eating Eunbaekcho and trying to circulate qi was still insane, though."
"Is Eunbaekcho... such a dangerous poisonous herb?"
"Poisonous herb? What nonsense. It's just rich in fire energy—it's clearly a medicinal herb."
"Then why..."
"Because its fire energy alone is comparable to the internal energy contained in a Small Return Pill."
"Then it is a poisonous herb, isn't it?"
"Well, for martial artists it's on par with the Tang Clan's Five Venoms—extreme poison among extreme poisons. So you're not wrong."
Hong Seok-gu scratched his nose.
"Anyway, consider yourself lucky. Your qi is currently in a pure state. If I hadn't intervened, the fire energy from the Eunbaekcho would've burned you to death. Tsk... If you're going to eat it, at least wait until your constitution changes."
"My constitution... changes?"
"That's right."
"Who changes it?"
"You do."
"Why...?"
"You little bastard, have you been shitting out everything you've eaten so far?"
Hong Seok-gu pounded his chest in frustration.
"How many times do I have to say it? You're not human. You're a spiritual beast. What comes to mind when you hear 'spiritual beast'?"
"Um... A ten-thousand-year fire fox?"
"That's all you can think of? Pathetic."
"....."
"Right, that ten-thousand-year fire fox. As long as it's alive and breathing, it has meridians. So why is it called a spiritual beast?"
"Because it's a mystical creature that can manipulate qi?"
"Exactly. Since it manipulates qi, it naturally has qi meridians. And what's the ten-thousand-year fire fox most famous for?"
"Well..."
Inner Core
Qi originally has no form.
"Do humans have inner cores? If you rip out the dantian—the storage for qi—would it come out as a golden bead? Of course not. So why has no one ever wondered how a ten-thousand-year fire fox can manipulate qi and possess an inner core in the form of a bead?"
"Now that you mention it..."
"To explain it properly we'd have to touch on the Five Elements, but that would take too long and I don't feel like it. Simply put, it's because of a metal constitution."
The reason a ten-thousand-year fire fox can possess an inner core while manipulating qi is because it can give qi form.
"And since you're a spiritual beast as well, the same principle applies to you."
"What?"
"There are plenty of strange people in this world, but at eighty years old, I'm still seeing new things. An inner core in a human body? Even the Murim Alliance Leader wouldn't believe it."
"W-wait, what do you mean?"
"The more qi you accumulate, the more it will eventually coalesce."
"No, I understand that part, but..."
"What, you don't like being treated like a fish?"
"That's not it...!"
—Heh.
"Don't worry. She doesn't like you either."
"......."
I was at a loss for words. What shocked me wasn't my physical condition or the truth about my meridians.
'He really is eighty...?'
His way of speaking made him sound like a teenager. Fifteen years old, even.
'This is what a true eccentric is...!'
A remarkable oddball. Hong Seok-gu continued without noticing my assessment.
"Calling it an 'inner core' is odd to begin with. It means 'a pill that increases internal energy,' but since the consumer is the one ingesting it, the ten-thousand-year fire fox would be furious. Originally, from the eater's perspective it's just a miraculous pill that boosts internal energy. For the fox, it's like having its heart ripped out—it would die."
It wasn't as if the fox circulated qi like a human. The qi had simply accumulated over a long life and hardened into something solid—metal.
"To the ten-thousand-year fire fox that possesses it, that isn't an inner core. It's a Golden Core."
"I see..."
I let out a breath. Hong Seok-gu stood up as if he'd said everything he needed to.
'His speech is rough, but the knowledge in his head is extraordinary.'
I'd been half-skeptical, but this man truly was the Divine Doctor.
"Then I'll give you ten days. After that, get lost."
Though his tone suggested otherwise...
* * *
Exactly ten days passed, and I could move again.
Ten days.
I knelt before Hong Seok-gu.
"What are you doing?"
His speech was still coarse, but there was much I could learn from this man. The existence of Eunbaekcho was also something I couldn't ignore. I'd tried everything at Yeonun Peak to form a mental art and failed—now a path had opened. I couldn't let this opportunity slip.
"I don't know what kind of bullshit you're pulling, but get lost."
"....."
Hong Seok-gu waved his hand as if shooing away a fly. Beside him stood Hong Ryeon-a. If he was a doting grandfather, then I just needed to offer an irresistible condition.
"Recently, the young lady was attacked by a tiger. The mountains are dangerous enough that having a capable young man to protect her would be beneficial, wouldn't it?"
"You? Why should I trust you?"
"I'm quite strong. I also have considerable physical power—I once worked as a porter for Geumho Express."
I had relevant experience.
"Hmm... What do you want?"
"Knowledge of herbology, not medicine, plus three meals a day. Of course, I'll procure the ingredients myself."
"....."
How about that, Divine Doctor? You can't refuse—!
"Refused."
"....Two meals a day."
"Still refused."
—Grind.
"....One meal a day..."
"And?"
"What else is there...?"
"Laundry? Cleaning? Plus fetching water?"
"....."
"Then I'll accept."
"......"
"Will you do it or not?"
"Huuuph..."
"Good!"
Hong Seok-gu grinned and extended his hand to me.
"Let's get along, Simmani!"