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I was deliberately running my internal energy at a level that wouldn't even pass for second-rate.
'Hiding your internal energy is a killer's basic skill.'
The fundamentals of an elite assassin begin with concealing internal energy. The mark of a supreme assassin is leaking just enough energy to make the target drop their guard.
I wasn't drawing on the Dark King's power to kill Dokgo Ja-yeong, but to kill the blood-pumping Saek-bung.
'Keep playing dead like that, Color-Extinguishing Demon.'
"Haha! Mubung, I never imagined you'd actually practice martial arts!"
"Just a humble self-defense technique."
Even with me right in front of him, the Alliance Leader couldn't discern my true martial level. He didn't suspect a thing, not even while I was actively using my internal energy.
It's hardly strange for a 'Murim physician' to possess some martial skill.
Especially since the story that I'd taken up martial arts after my master, the Divine Doctor, was kidnapped by the Demonic Cult gave me the perfect cover. A suitable level of martial prowess was the ideal shield to keep my true identity hidden.
"I was surprised when you vanished after the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. I heard you've been in Sichuan since then. Did you happen to witness the Emperor Shaolie twin sword uproar?"
From the moment I declared I would treat his daughter, the Alliance Leader was already using honorifics, as if I were a benefactor of his family. If I'd been an old man with a beard like the Illusion Demon, he'd probably have been carrying my palanquin himself and addressing me like royalty.
"No, I stopped by the Emei Sect around that time and then went straight to Xi'an, so I missed it. The Sword Pavilion Canyon collapsed the day after I passed through."
"Hmm... I see."
A flicker of suspicion tinged his tone. I smoothly continued.
"If it had collapsed sooner, I likely wouldn't have made it to Xuchang on time. A very fortunate escape."
"Hoho, truly fortunate! You didn't happen to see any suspicious figures as you passed through the area, did you?"
"Regrettably, no. I was in a hurry to reach patients in Xi'an and Luoyang. My apologies."
"No need for apologies! Haha, Physician Mubung, your reputation for practicing medicine in both cities precedes you."
"Incurable diseases are my specialty."
The Alliance Leader had clearly tracked my movements in detail. Fortunately, the suspicious glint in his eye that seemed to ask, 'Did you perhaps treat the Sword Demon?' vanished as quickly as it appeared.
"Indeed, hoho! Who else but the Divine Doctor could cure all the world's ills!"
"Not all ills. I can only treat what I know."
"Haha, ha... yes. Let us hope, Physician, that my daughter's illness is something you know."
He had the instinctive paranoia of an Alliance Leader, but a father's love for his terminally ill daughter clouded his judgment.
"My daughter is at the far end of this bridge. Just follow it straight across."
"I just need to cross this bridge? It's a bit... long."
The bridge wasn't just a few dozen paces. The pond surrounding the estate was so vast it was more accurately a lake.
"I hope I don't take a wrong step and fall in."
"Haha, don't worry. The manor is at the end. You can go inside and settle in."
"...Settle in? I've arranged lodgings outside."
I was deeply flustered. It sounded exactly like he wanted me to stay inside that villa.
"Hoho. Now that people know Mubung has come to the Alliance, many will seek you out. It's to prevent any outside riffraff... ahem, figures of unknown origin from causing a disturbance."
"...You're telling me to stay inside there?"
The Alliance Leader's expression hardened at my lukewarm response. He seemed displeased that things weren't going his way, but I needed to put up as much resistance as possible.
"I must respectfully decline."
That's how you drive up your own value.
"I am a physician for all. I must go wherever there is a patient. If I'm confined to this place..."
"Physician Mubung."
Thud! I feigned shock at the Murim Alliance Leader's actions, but inwardly, I felt genuine admiration. So this was the power of a father's love?
"I beseech you, not as the Alliance Leader, but as a father with a daughter. Please, cure my daughter's illness. You are the only one left."
The Alliance Leader dropped to one knee. It was a miracle no one else saw it; if they had, my head would be on the line.
"P-please, stand up!"
"I know this is a rude request. But I beg of you. Please, stay by my daughter's side and treat her. Whatever spirit medicine, whatever herbs are needed, I will sell my entire fortune to procure them."
"Alliance Leader!"
"Please! Cure my daughter!!"
He looked ready to drop the other knee too, so I had no choice but to concede to his stubborn demand.
"Fine, I understand."
Only after I raised the white flag did the Alliance Leader rise.
"However, treating her alone is a bit problematic. She is a lady, after all. I'll need an assistant. Could I possibly receive the help of a female martial artist or a member of your household?"
At my indirect protest that I couldn't just handle her myself, the Alliance Leader nodded vigorously.
They say boys and girls shouldn't sit together after age seven—so a physician spending time alone with a lady? Heavens, how scandalous.
"Ah, regarding that... there are only three people inside the manor right now. My daughter is there, and the Taiji Flower of Wudang is here as well. Fortunately, Lady Taiji Flower has agreed to assist."
"What?"
What was this? Only three people in a manor so vast it looked like a dragon's palace cloaked in mist? The Alliance Leader gave a bitter smile and looked out over the lake.
"From the day the Formless Poison took hold, I dismissed all household members and servants. Until the arrival of our two guests, Yeon-i was living here entirely alone."
- Do you know who the sexiest woman in the world is? A woman who lives alone.
Twitch.
I forcibly suppressed the blood rushing to my lower half. I already knew the information, but hearing it in person made my blood boil with a mind of its own.
"...So you're saying the young lady handles all the housework herself?"
"Yes. Fortunately, Yeon-i knows her way around household tasks. She manages this vast manor all alone. She's effectively the mistress of my family."
Twitch, twitch. If I heard any more, I felt my control over my internal energy might actually slip. I stepped right into the Alliance Leader's final trap.
"But Alliance Leader, who is the third person? What I overheard outside was definitely—"
"That would be me. It's been a while."
From the far side of the bridge, a black-haired beauty appeared, dressed in an elegant hanbok. Seeing her, my expression stiffened, and I involuntarily took a step back.
"We met at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. I am the Little Princess of the Demonic Cult."
"...As expected, the Little Princess."
"Physician, she could also become a problem in many ways if she stays outside. I'm sorry to impose on you, but please, stay here together."
"Ugh..."
So, to treat Dokgo Yeon, I had to stay in a manor with the Black-and-White First Flowers? What exactly did the Alliance Leader think I was?
"......Alliance Leader, are you aware of the relationship between my master and the Demonic Cult?"
"I am. But do not worry. No demon will be able to infiltrate this place. I swear it on my position as Alliance Leader."
"Physician, you have nothing to worry about. The Young Heavenly Demon doesn't commit petty acts like kidnapping someone without prior notice."
"Ugh..."
As the Divine Doctor's disciple, being wary of being kidnapped by a Demonic Cult figure was just common sense. I navigated the final trap without incident, having carefully walked through every step. Just one last line to finish.
"I trust you, Alliance Leader."
"Ohh...!! Thank you, truly thank you! Mubung."
"I will guide you from here. Alliance Leader, you are a busy man, so you should be off."
"My thanks for your kindness, Little Princess. Then... please, take good care of Yeon-i."
Thud. The Alliance Leader clasped his fist in salute and bowed deeply. I returned the courtesy with a matching salute.
We turned our backs on each other, both hiding our true intentions.
- Just as planned.
I couldn't stop one corner of my mouth from twitching upward. The Alliance Leader was likely in the same state. At a glance, it looked like a fair exchange...
'I'm the one who benefits more.'
Because I was going to have Dokgo Yeon.
* * *
Caw, caw.
A crow, massive as an eagle, folded its wings and landed on the windowsill. The man inside, who had been thrusting his hips against a woman, pulled out his member the instant the crow arrived and walked toward it.
"Ahh, darling. I was almost there... Gasp, an ea-eagle?!"
"Shut up."
The man reached out toward the courtesan. She jolted at the crimson glare shining in the darkness and tried to scream, but a brutal, unseen force clamped over her mouth.
"Mmph, mmmph!!"
Her mouth was sealed by a massive, dark-red hand formed from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. The woman trembled and struggled in agony.
"Let's see... The Forbidden Restraint I planted in Dokgo Yeon should be about ready to activate."
Ignoring the woman's suffering, the man untied the letter bound to the crow's ankle with one hand and unfolded it.
"Hmm... Lee Si-a appeared at the Two Phoenixes Decisive Battle? Without the Flying Heaven Three Demons?"
The man, the Eldest Prince, crumpled the paper in his fist.
"Showing up where the Flame Demon was, and now coming to where the Ice Demon is? This bitch has made up her mind to ruin my plans."
The Eldest Prince giggled as he clenched his fist. The gasping woman's limbs trembled violently before she went still with a soft thud.
"What martial art would work... Ah, yes. Emei Sect would be good."
Having just killed the courtesan he'd been entangled with moments ago, the Eldest Prince pulled a blank book from a bundle and picked up a brush. His brush flew across the page, and in an instant, a complete, densely written manual was finished. He wrapped the book in cloth and tied it to the crow's ankle.
"Deliver this to the Ice Demon. It's the secret manual of the Cold Soaring Jade Woman Sword. Tell her it belonged to a master of the Emei Sect who died in Gansu Province ten years ago, and that I inherited the true transmission from the Exterminating Treasure Grandmaster. Don't worry about loose ends; I'm the one who disposed of the bitch."
The crow nodded and took flight again.
"Once the restriction on Dokgo Yeon is complete... Heh, I won't have to settle for trash like this anymore."
The man reached out toward the dead courtesan, and the corpse suddenly convulsed with a shudder.
"Gha, hah, hah...!"
"S-sorry, are you okay?"
The young man's expression completely flipped, and he soothed the woman with eyes full of concern. Blinking for a while, the courtesan swallowed hard with a terrified face before asking him,
"I... what happened?"
"Well, you told me to choke you like we talked about, so I did... I think I went too hard. I'm sorry."
"N-no, it's my fault... for passing out."
The woman laughed as she pulled the young man into an embrace. She looked as if the world could end and it wouldn't matter as long as she was with him.
"I love you, Ju-ji."
"Me too."
The young man, Grand Duke Ju-ji, held the woman in his arms with a voice dripping with sincerity.
* * *
A moment later.
As soon as the Alliance Leader had hurried back across the bridge and departed, I walked across with a suitable distance between myself and the Little Princess, Lee Si-a.
"The Alliance Leader is certainly going to great lengths. He spent all that time on me when he must be incredibly busy."
"You're the only way to cure his daughter's illness. Still, you're something else, you know. Running a con on the Alliance Leader."
"A con? It's not like I came here without knowing Dokgo Yeon's condition. I know the cure, too."
The very day I finished preparations to leave Anhui, the reason I deliberately posed as the Divine Doctor's disciple was precisely to secure a way to contact Dokgo Yeon.
"So how are you going to do it? Planning to use the Bewildering Incense again?"
"Ugh, so you knew about that. But this time is different. If you want to catch a tiger, you have to enter the tiger's den."
A lie won't work on Dokgo Yeon. Even if I did lie, she would tell Dokgo Ja-yeong every last detail, so I have no choice but to reveal the real cure.
"Good medicine tastes bitter, after all."
"So how are you going to cure her?"
"A frontal assault."
There's only one cure. Right on cue, the patient appeared before my eyes.
"You've arrived...!"
On the opposite side of the bridge, Dokgo Yeon had come out to greet me. She beamed upon seeing me, and the moment I saw her, I made my declaration.
"Eighteen Yin Torment Severed Meridian."
"Excuse me...?"
"That's the name of the disease you're suffering from. It causes twice the pain of the Nine Yin Severed Meridian. If left untreated, death comes between eight and ten years from the onset. That's why it's called the Eighteen Yin Torment Severed Meridian."
"......."
Hearing me name her disease the instant we met, Dokgo Yeon stiffened and grew alert. But the very fact that I could enter the Dokgo Clan's private manor within the Murim Alliance grounds was all the proof of my identity needed.
"Are you truly... the disciple of the Divine Doctor?"
"A physician, called Mubung. These two young ladies can attest to my identity."
Sagong Hee and Lee Si-a naturally nodded. With the Black-and-White First Flowers, of all people, vouching for my identity, Dokgo Yeon had no choice but to accept me.
"I see... Then, can you cure me?"
"Of course. There's just one thing. I'm going to state the unvarnished truth."
I lowered myself to my knees to meet the gaze of Dokgo Yeon, who was much shorter than me.
"There is only one way to cure this disease."
I said it so she could slap my cheek.
There's also only one way to fight someone who's mastered the Dugu Nine Swords. Half-baked defense and illusion swords won't work. To counter the relentless offense of the Dugu Nine Swords, you have to meet force with force.
So I went straight for the finishing blow.
"Engaging in dual cultivation with me."
A frontal assault.