044
044
With the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering underway, my life as a physician came to an end.
To be precise, the female-only clinic ended. I had come as the Divine Doctor's disciple, but since no other disciples appeared, I was stuck shouldering the endless flood of patients from the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering alone.
"Still, there are plenty of other physicians."
The pinnacle of the medical world was undoubtedly the Divine Doctor. Even the Imperial Palace had tried to secure him as the Emperor's personal physician, such was his extraordinary skill. But a disciple of the Divine Doctor is not necessarily the Divine Doctor's equal.
"Listen up, physicians! Now's your chance to prove you're better than the Divine Doctor's disciple. You handle the patients. Specifically, only the men."
I'd decided I would only step in for fatal conditions. Once the Divine Doctor's disciple closed his clinic, the other physicians naturally began flexing their skills and seeing patients.
"Oh dear, young hero! Over here! We need to apply medicinal herbs to that wound!"
"Huh, this is nothing a little internal qi can't—"
"And that is precisely the problem with you murim warriors! Do you not realize that leaving a wound alone will make it fester?!"
"Fine, I understand."
The physicians were completely absorbed in treating the injured. I encouraged the many physicians working hard to surpass the Divine Doctor's legacy, and waited for guests in my now closed clinic.
"Physician Mubung! Emergency patient!"
"Oh dear, where from this time?!"
"A young hero from the Mount Hua Sect!"
"......."
Even if I claimed androphobia, turning away someone seriously injured from the tournament would be a disgrace for any physician. Especially since I had actively offered my services for the tournament, I could no longer refuse men.
"It's done. Apply the ointment and rest for a day, and you'll recover."
"What? My qi meridians are twisted and my arm is broken...."
"Are you doubting the Divine Doctor's disciple right now?"
"N-no!"
Whenever a male patient arrived, I treated his wounds fast and sent him on his way. I disliked touching their bodies, and they—even though I was a physician—didn't want a man's hands on them either.
My turnover was the fastest.
Treat the wound and leave. With twisted qi meridians and a fractured arm, the male patients left the clinic with a mix of doubt and uncertainty.
They just couldn't trust it.
The Divine Doctor could cure all ailments with just a few acupuncture needles.
The principle is simple. By applying a tiny amount of Heavenly Rejuvenation Pill powder to the tip of the needle and piercing near the wound, the Heavenly Rejuvenation Pill's efficacy begins to manifest and heal the injury. Since it was only powder, the wound's recovery was somewhat slow, so claiming it needed about a day to stabilize the twisted qi meridians didn't sound strange at all.
"Physician, an emergency patient!"
"Where from now?"
"The Emei Sect!"
"......!!"
I tidied the bed.
"Heavens...! How could a wound be this deep...! Please, come this way!"
I went to the entrance to receive the patient. Supported directly by Emei's Lust-Exorcising Abbess, she limped painfully into the ward.
"What in the world...!"
The woman's leg was twisted. It looked as if she'd been struck by a sword, but the area around her knee was deeply gashed and covered in blood.
"My apologies, Physician. Can you treat her?"
"Of course. Come inside."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess personally laid the woman on the bed. I applied herbs to her leg and inserted needles to calm the twisted qi meridians.
"Who was her opponent?"
"A female warrior from the Wudang Sect. I've never heard her name before... but she wielded the Taiji Sword better than anyone I've seen."
Well done, Sagong Hee!
Just as I'd hoped, the first patient Sagong Hee sent my way had arrived. I cheered inwardly while wearing an expression of sympathy, placing needles all the way up her thigh.
"Abbess, to stabilize the qi meridian, I need to place needles up to here."
"Th-that is—"
I pointed to the area around the woman's private parts. The Lust-Exorcising Abbess—uncharacteristically for a sect leader—rolled her eyes nervously, flustered.
"It's alright... Master."
The sect leader's disciple!
The woman held the Lust-Exorcising Abbess's hand and smiled. Data about the somewhat older-looking woman flashed through my mind.
Emei Sect's rising star, Abbess Jeongjo. Age 24.
While she was a little older than many participants, she wasn't considered too old for the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Moreover, her physique and appearance made her look much younger than her years; she could easily pass for a woman just past twenty.
"I gave it my all. My opponent was simply stronger."
"Se-woo..."
Her name is Se-woo?
I mentally repeated the name, which hadn't even appeared in the Flower Directory, as I inserted the needles near her private area. Abbess Jeongjo nodded heavily and closed her eyes.
"I will have another chance. Next time... next time...."
Abbess Jeongjo was a martial artist above being a woman. She was a warrior who accepted her defeat by a stronger opponent coolly, yet still felt the bitterness of not having won.
"Please take good care of Abbess Jeongjo, Physician."
"Of course. I swear on the Divine Doctor's name, I will definitely treat her."
The Lust-Exorcising Abbess left the clinic. With an impassive face, I cut and removed Abbess Jeongjo's undergarments.
"Hic?!"
"Stay still."
Squelch. I pushed two fingers between her petals. Abbess Jeongjo momentarily failed to comprehend my actions and fell into confusion. I reached my other hand to her lower abdomen to confirm the presence of a thick membrane inside her.
"The twisted flow of qi has invaded this area. I'll breathe my internal qi into you, so begin a Microcosmic Circulation from your dantian."
"Ah, no, wait, that place—"
"If you don't do it now, the twisted blood qi will reach your dantian!"
"Ah... ah...?"
Confusion. Abbess Jeongjo was thrown into utter confusion. I pressed firmly on her lower dantian and blew my internal qi into her to calm the blood meridians. I stabilized the qi meridians centered around the wounded, twisted leg, and recited the Blue Bag Heart Method's formula to breathe vitality into her body.
"......."
Even though I had thrust my fingers into a woman's flower petals without permission, Abbess Jeongjo only gauged my reaction, still unsure. She couldn't label me a lecherous villain because I had merely inserted my fingers and taken no further action. She simply swallowed her saliva as I focused internal qi on her treatment.
"Ph-Physician. Is this a medical procedure...?"
"Shh. We're going to regulate your energy circulation for half a watch. Breathe with me. Hip, hip, hoo—"
"Hi, hip-hip-hoo—."
Lucky she's so innocent.
Abbess Jeongjo quietly began to steady her breathing. The raging qi meridians caused by the aftermath of the duel gradually began to stabilize.
The wound is almost fully healed.
Her leg would recover—after a day. I'd only sealed her pressure points with needles so she couldn't move easily. I continued reciting the Blue Bag Heart Method's formula to aid her energy circulation.
Squelch.
About a quarter-hour had passed. Dampness began to form around the fingers lodged inside her. I had only inserted them without moving, but slowly, her insides began to tighten around my fingers.
"Hia... hyaa... hooo...."
Abbess Jeongjo's face slowly flushed red. The Emei Sect's signature cool-headed, intellectual look vanished, replaced by her licking her lips in thirst, seemingly craving something.
"H-how long do you intend to keep your fingers still inside me...?"
I knew it the moment I put them in. You're a woman who knows masturbation.
She wasn't a woman I had taken in my past life. But the moment I inserted my fingers, I instantly grasped her true nature—that Abbess Jeongjo used masturbation to relieve her own private afflictions.
I stared down at Abbess Jeongjo for a long moment, my face still firm. Then I directed blood energy to my face and turned my head.
"...Sa, Abbess, we are in the middle of treatment."
My fingers began to tremble. I started avoiding Abbess Jeongjo's gaze. And my member steadily rose, straining against my pants.
Gulp.
Even through the fabric, it was almost touching her fair thigh, and Abbess Jeongjo audibly swallowed. Perhaps out of nervousness, the cave that had been trying so hard to ignore this moments ago tightened fiercely around my fingers, refusing to let them escape.
"Physician...."
Abbess Jeongjo seemed to be yearning for something with a bewitching voice. I inwardly sneered at her hidden desires.
You came to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering to find one of the Six Phoenixes!
I could feel it. The look she gave me was unusual, and I could even sense desperation in her twitching body.
No man will embrace a woman eliminated in the first round.
Even if she lost to a woman who would reach the finals, Sagong Hee had not yet secured her place there. Abbess Jeongjo was just one of a countless number of losers, and no mudfish would bother to embrace a sparrow with a broken leg.
"Um... Physician...?"
The only place a sparrow seeking a man's warmth could nuzzle her head was with me. Especially for a sect like Emei, made up of only women, the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering—held once every four years—was practically the only chance they even had to exchange intimacy with a man.
"A-hem!"
I played the shy youth while stealing glances at the woman's naked body. Just moments ago I had openly stared under the pretense of medical focus, but the moment my composure cracked, I began acting like a bashful "pretty boy" youth.
- Do you know who the older women of the Martial World like the most? Pretty boys. Especially if they carry a ferocious cock that contradicts their delicate face, they like them even more. Some girls say young ones are better with just fingers... but even those girls lose their minds once they're pounded by a massive root. Heh heh heh.
Blood, Reverse, Rest, Yes.
"Physician, with me—"
"Physician Mubung! An emergency patient!!"
I hastily pulled my fingers out. Then I neatly tidied Abbess Jeongjo's martial arts uniform, wiped my fingers with silk, and went outside.
"Ah...!!"
A lament mixed with regret and rage echoed from behind. I was just as regretful.
I could have done it without even having to put her to sleep!!
I had just lost the chance for a nice, light consensual sex session. I walked to the front of the clinic with my face still flushed red.
"What in the world... Heavens."
Before my eyes, a woman beaten into a bloody mess was carried in. The attacker's hand had been so brutal that her entire body was covered in bruises, and her swollen face made it hard to even recognize her.
I know this scent. I know this blood scent.
But I immediately identified her. I also knew the face of the man who brought her, but there was no way I'd forget the blood scent I had caught just two weeks ago.
Namgung Yurin.
Her body was covered in the traces of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
* * *
"Little Princess, weren't you just telling me that my hand is too heavy?"
"Hmph. I can tolerate the first time, but not the second."
The Little Princess returned to the waiting room and calmed her raging demonic energy.
"If she saw blood and got a warning once, she should have come to her senses. Hmph."
The Flying Heaven Three Demons felt awe at the manifestation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, which fed on fury and bloodlust.
"To be a peak expert at your age... Khuh. The Six Phoenixes is already in the bag."
Bandit Demon spared no praise for the Little Princess's martial prowess. After all, the Little Princess's martial arts had long since surpassed the level of the Eldest Son when he was her age.
"How could I be satisfied with just that? I must become the greatest among the Six Phoenixes."
"The First Peak?"
"The Flower Among Flowers. I will claim victory in this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."
The Little Princess was confident in her power. Among the numerous rising stars, she saw only two women who could dare contend with her for the title of World's Greatest Phoenix.
"What about Dokgo Yeon? Did you find out why she isn't participating?"
"Her age is part of it... but it seems certain her chronic illness has relapsed. Her body contains the peerless Dugu Nine Swords, but that doesn't mean her sickly body grows stronger overnight."
The legitimate daughter of the Murim Alliance Leader, Dokgo Yeon. She wasn't quite old enough to participate in the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering yet, but she had already made a name for herself by defeating first-class experts. If only she didn't have her chronic illness, she would have definitely appeared in the tournament. The Little Princess smacked her lips, regretting the absence of a worthy rival.
"Ultimately, that leaves...."
"Yes. The disciple of Taoist Hyeonja."
The Flying Heaven Three Demons gulped. The Hyeonja rank was the most powerful martial artist of his youth when he was actively making a name for himself, and at the same time, he was an opponent the Flying Heaven Three Demons had clashed with many times in their younger days.
"I can't believe that monster didn't die and took on a disciple."
"She might become even stronger than the master. Ghrrk."
"That old monster, is he really certain to be a sage? It would be terrible if it's someone other than a sage."
The Flying Heaven Three Demons were tense at the appearance of an unexpected strong figure. Fortunately, he didn't seem particularly interested in secular life, but before his ascension, he had raised an incredible disciple and sent her to the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.
"...Grrk. Her figure was quite something, though. Her face wasn't bad either."
"Blade Demon, don't even think about touching her. That Taoist who's quietly about to ascend might give up on ascension and come beat you to death."
"Ha. You elders are completely ignoring me."
The Little Princess displayed strong confidence.
"The Heavenly Demon is mightier than the sage, so if the disciples fight, naturally I would be stronger, wouldn't I?"
The Little Princess twisted the corner of her lips as she looked at the tournament bracket assigned to her.
"Unless her martial arts increase dramatically before the final match."