Chapter 115
Chapter 115
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 115
>Chapter Title: Reform (1)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
Enduring the seizure, I took several hits from Jin Ha-yeon unleashing the Bare Hand Demon Art in the mental world.
A chill spread through my entire body, making me tremble uncontrollably, while the seizure gradually subsided in reverse.
“Sip. Hoo.”
The moment I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again.
Flash.
Instead of the empty wasteland, a strangely familiar ceiling came into view.
And on top of that.
Pop!
There was Jin Ha-yeon, her hands infused with the Bare Hand Demon Art, tapping away at my body.
“…Still a dream?”
I muttered to myself without realizing it, and Jin Ha-yeon—who had been performing the technique, her forehead beaded with sweat—turned her gaze toward me.
“!!!”
An extremely rare emotion called ‘relief’ flickered in Jin Ha-yeon’s eyes before vanishing.
“Damn. Still a dream, huh.”
There was no way Jin Ha-yeon would make that face. More than that, why was the Jin Ha-yeon who should be at the main headquarters here?
At that moment, as if what I’d seen was an illusion, Jin Ha-yeon reverted to her usual impassive expression and spoke.
“What nonsense is that, Young Master? This is the infirmary. Doesn’t it look familiar?”
As she said, it was a familiar ceiling.
It was the place I’d been brought to after being ambushed by my senior brother and again after the ambush by Jang Hoe.
“Then why have you been tapping my body like that?”
“…Your body kept heating up, so I was using Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians to calm it down.”
Only after hearing her answer could I piece together what had happened.
‘Did the state of my real body connect to the mental world?’
With the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword going berserk, my meridians and muscles had been pushed to the limit, so it must have kept aching all over even in the mental world.
On top of that, Jin Ha-yeon appearing at the end might have been because I was actually getting thumped in reality.
No, perhaps unlike other enemies, every time Jin Ha-yeon showed up, I was really receiving Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians from her.
“Urk.”
Was it because I’d recognized how bad my body’s condition was?
Just trying to move slightly made my whole body scream like it was dying.
“There’s not a single intact muscle or meridian, Young Master. You absolutely need to rest first. Ah, if the side effects surge and you feel like swinging a sword, just say the word.”
“??? You’ll let me swing it?”
“Like last time.”
“Last time…?”
Naturally, I recalled the incident with Jang Hoe’s ambush.
As the price for comprehending sword intent, the side effects had worsened.
Every time I woke up, Jin Ha-yeon had struck my meridians to put me back to sleep.
“Ahem. The side effects have subsided a bit now, so don’t worry.”
Remembering how awful it felt to be forcibly put to sleep, I quickly refused.
“Then I’ll finish up the Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians first.”
As she said that, Jin Ha-yeon’s hands kept busily kneading various spots on my body.
“Looks like your skills have improved quite a bit in the meantime.”
When she’d first been assigned as my maidservant, Jin Ha-yeon couldn’t perform Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians while talking.
She had to focus entirely on the Bare Hand Demon Art and the technique, or it would be dangerous.
But now, she was casually conversing while doing it without issue.
At my praise, Jin Ha-yeon simply remained impassive and focused solely on the Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians without responding.
‘Hoo… In the mental world, the chill made me shiver, but this feels pretty refreshing?’
The muscles overloaded from the rampage cooled down, bringing a strange sense of pleasure.
I enjoyed the cool Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians for a moment.
Ssslk.
Along with the soft sound of the door opening, someone entered the room.
“Oh ho. You’re awake. Vice Leader.”
It was a familiar voice.
“It’s been a while, Physician Elder. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly in this state.”
“Hahaha. If you’d tried to stand, I would’ve gotten angry instead.”
“But why is the Pavilion Master, who should be at the Pure Heart Pavilion, here?”
“Heh heh heh. Medical skills rust if you slack on training. Even now that we’ve moved the clinic to the Pure Heart Pavilion, I still handle critical patients myself from time to time.”
I asked back in a dubious tone.
“…Is my condition so serious that even you, Physician Elder, have to step in?”
“Heh heh. It was pretty bad when you first arrived. But the immediate crisis is over, so no need to worry. You’ll need some extended rest, but there won’t be any major issues. I’m just finishing up since I took the case.”
After saying that, the Physician Elder glanced back and forth between me and Jin Ha-yeon, then nodded.
“For now, thanks to little Miss Jin, the muscle heat has subsided somewhat, so we need to revive the qi in your meridians.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Jin Ha-yeon completed one round of Pushing Palaces and Passing Meridians and stepped aside, allowing the Physician Elder to take her place by my side.
The Physician Elder then pulled out a rolled cloth from his acupuncture kit, unrolled it, and extracted the needles wrapped inside.
“Gulp.”
As I turned my head slightly to watch his movements, a dry swallow escaped my throat without me realizing.
“Uh… Physician Elder?”
“Yes?”
“You’re not planning to stick those needles straight into my meridians, are you?”
“Why ask something so obvious?”
“…Without even disinfecting them?”
My pupils trembled uncontrollably.
The side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword, which I’d barely calmed, threatened to erupt alongside my hygiene obsession.
‘Damn. Have I already advanced to a higher realm?’
The hygiene obsession had definitely worsened.
In the past, washing with water and applying some salve would’ve satisfied me, but now that wasn’t enough.
‘Goddamn modern knowledge.’
If I didn’t know any better, I’d just accept the treatment, but knowing about germs and disinfection, I couldn’t get past it.
At my trembling question, the Physician Elder tilted his head.
“Hahaha. Disinfecting? What are you talking about, Vice Leader? Can’t you see? These are silver needles. If there’s poison, the color changes. No need to worry.”
I nearly cursed at the quack doctor’s nonsense.
‘Fuck. What does silver matter! If it’s not maintained!!’
I wasn’t a science major, so I wasn’t certain, but silver probably wasn’t completely free of germs or viruses.
“Liquor! Bring some liquor! The strongest kind!”
At my urgent shout, the momentarily paused quack doctor burst into roaring laughter.
“Hahaha. Don’t worry. It won’t hurt that much. Ah, if you really need anesthesia, how about a bit of ‘that stuff’ instead?”
The crazy quack thought I was asking for strong liquor as anesthetic.
And what was ‘that stuff’?
“That stuff… you don’t mean drugs, do you?”
“Didn’t you say so yourself, Vice Leader? It’s fine to use on patients who can’t endure the pain. If you’re scared it’ll hurt, I can give you a little.”
“…….”
This crazy quack was going to kill someone.
On top of my other damn alter ego starting to rear its head and wail, hearing the quack’s bullshit gave me a headache.
“Phew. Just bring the strong liquor first. I’ll explain the reason later.”
The Physician Elder paused mid-needle and stood up, leaving with a playful grin.
“Hahaha. Looks like even you can’t become a hall warden, Vice Leader. So fussy.”
Ignoring the quack’s nonsense, I waited a moment.
“Phew. I never thought I’d be giving this to the Vice Leader first.”
The Physician Elder returned with a wistful expression, carefully holding what looked like an aged bottle of liquor.
“Since it’s already open, I’ll finish the treatment and drink the rest myself. Heh heh heh.”
True to quack form, he seemed to love his booze.
As the Physician Elder broke the seal on the bottle, a potent alcohol scent wafted out.
“Mmm~”
The Physician Elder, nose buried in the aroma, looked every bit the drunkard.
After sufficiently savoring the scent, the drunkard quack poured some into a cup he’d brought and offered it to me.
“I didn’t ask for it to drink myself.”
“Then I’ll drink it?”
As he moved to bring the cup to his lips with an “alright then,” I hurriedly shouted.
“The needles! Put the needles in the cup!”
This liquor was so strong that just the smell made my head spin—yet he planned to drink it and then do acupuncture.
At my shout stopping the Physician Elder, he glared at me fiercely.
“Why put needles in liquor? Are you doubting me right now?”
I pondered his nonsense for a moment before grasping the situation belatedly.
“Ahem. It’s not that I suspect poison in the liquor. As I said earlier, it’s to disinfect the needles.”
At my explanation, the Physician Elder eyed me suspiciously and asked.
“You’ve been going on about disinfecting—what does liquor have to do with that?”
At that question, I inwardly sighed in relief.
People of this era wouldn’t understand viruses or germs. While the Physician Elder was fetching the liquor, I’d prepared a story to convince him.
“Physician Elder. Do you remember me telling you I was an errand boy at an inn before becoming Master’s disciple?”
“Of course. That Black Bean Tea or whatever, wasn’t it taught by the innkeeper?”
“Yes. He was the innkeeper and also the chef. He often prepared meals at the inn, and one day, this question occurred to him: why do foods spoil faster on hot summer days?”
The Physician Elder nodded as if to continue.
“And there was another question. Even outside summer, sometimes guests who ate the food got stomachaches. Reviewing his daily cooking process, Elder Tae-hyeon realized it happened more often with certain dishes, especially in summer.”
“Hmm. So, what was the cause?”
“According to Elder Tae-hyeon, after trying different processes a few times: it often happened when using the same knife that had cut other meats or vegetables, especially in summer.”
“Hmm. Come to think of it, wounds from dirty knives that had already killed many on the battlefield often didn’t heal easily and festered or rotted.”
As expected of a physician, he recalled patient-related examples.
“Yes. So at first, Elder Tae-hyeon washed the knife with water after each cut and continued. But even then, stomachaches occurred in summer guests. Pondering this, a sudden idea struck him.”
“What idea?”
The Physician Elder, who had seemed indifferent at first, now showed growing interest.
“There’s a saying stagnant water rots. Water left in jars or plates spoils. But what about liquor? If sealed well, doesn’t aged liquor become more valuable? So Elder Tae-hyeon washed off blood with water after each cut, then wiped the surface with strong liquor before continuing.”
“Oh ho. And the result?”
“After that, stomachache cases dropped noticeably. But questions remained: why does liquor work but water doesn’t? Why does unsealed liquor spoil too?”
Though framed with ingredients, sensing its link to medicine, the Physician Elder eyed me with sparkling curiosity, urging the answer.
“Elder Tae-hyeon’s hypothesis was simple. Liquor cheers people in small amounts but is clearly poison in large. Water, meanwhile, is essential for humans and all life. Right?”
“Correct.”
“From that, Elder Tae-hyeon hypothesized: perhaps tiny creatures invisible to the human eye exist, some called germs (細菌) that cause illness.”
“Germs?”
“The name Elder Tae-hyeon gave them. In stagnant water, they multiply, poisoning people. But liquor poisons them too, killing them. So small they’re invisible, even tiny amounts of liquor kill them. Unsealed liquor lets new germs in via air, spoiling it.”
I didn’t know if this was scientifically accurate. I hadn’t majored in biology, not even science.
But that didn’t matter. The key was whether it would hook an ancient-era person.
“Oh ho. Germs. An intriguing theory. So these germs really exist?”
My fabricated tale seemed to have worked.
“As you know, Elder Tae-hyeon was a chef and innkeeper, not a physician. No time for experiments. But circumstantially, isn’t it worth suspecting?”
“Hahaha. Though our Divine Cult walks a different path, even a sage called it: when three walk together, one is sure to be my teacher (Three-person walk, must have my teacher). Who’d think this old man could learn from a chef too? Hahaha.”
With a convinced laugh, the Physician Elder dunked his silver needles into the liquor cup and began disinfecting.
He even dabbed a bit of liquor on the insertion points, and I felt the familiar chill of evaporating disinfectant alcohol.
‘Phew.’
Feeling that chill eased my hygiene obsession, calming my mind somewhat.
Then, as he applied the liquor, the Physician Elder smiled warmly and said.
“It’s a real shame what happened to that innkeeper Tae-hyeon. If he’d lived and come to the Divine Cult with you, Vice Leader, he could’ve done great things. Hahaha.”
“Y-Yes, truly. Ha. Hahaha.”
From Black Bean Tea to germs and disinfection.
Elder Tae-hyeon’s name might leave a mark in the Demonic Cult’s history books.
‘H-He’d be happy, right?’
Making a cultist’s history with my doing felt oddly apologetic.