Chapter 1
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Boy in the Valley
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The Divine and Demonic Physician (1)
In the deep of a night-fallen dawn.
A figure walked a rugged mountain path, parting the thick fog.
He appeared to be in his mid-fifties.
He was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes that matched his chiseled features.
But his complexion was deathly pale.
His martial arts uniform was torn and slashed to rags, and blood trickled ceaselessly from the corner of his mouth.
The wounds that were visible were all horrific.
In particular, a stab wound that began near his right collarbone stretched across his chest to his opposite side.
A large chunk of flesh was also torn from his thigh.
A heavy arrow embedded deep in his shoulder rose and fell with every breath he took.
He was, in a word, a wreck.
It was a miracle he was still alive with such grave injuries, yet he did not fall.
He simply gritted his teeth and forced one foot in front of the other.
How long had he walked like that?
“Kugh…”
Before long, a groan escaped the man’s lips.
‘Is this it?’
The thin thread of internal energy that sustained him had finally snapped.
Blood began to well up and flow from the wounds all over his body.
He could no longer suppress the bleeding he had barely held in check with his internal energy.
A hollow laugh surfaced on his face.
Then, he collapsed on the spot as if crumbling.
A dizzying despair washed over him.
As he drew what might be his final breath, a faint fragrance brushed the tip of his nose.
Cho Ak-ryang laboriously lifted his eyelids.
A riot of blooming flowers entered his vision.
He squeezed out his last ounce of strength and managed to turn his body over.
Wouldn't dying while looking up at a sky full of stars be a rather tasteful death?
But…
‘Damn it.’
He couldn't see a thing through the thick fog.
Everything was just a hazy, inky black.
‘Just like my own state.’
It was then that he felt the strength draining from his entire body.
At the same time, his consciousness began to fade. He tried to force his heavy eyelids open, but even that was not easy.
‘This is really the end… huh?’
Cho Ak-ryang couldn’t finish his final thought.
It was because of the face that had suddenly appeared before him.
A boy of twelve, at most?
A cute face that was a pleasure just to look at.
His clear, vivid eyes stood out most of all.
Without a chance to examine the boy’s face further, Cho Ak-ryang lost consciousness.
A considerable amount of time had passed before Cho Ak-ryang regained consciousness.
Upon opening his eyes, Cho Ak-ryang couldn't hide his bewilderment.
He, who should have been dead, was still alive.
‘Where is this?’
Come to think of it, the surrounding scenery had changed as well.
He was in an unfamiliar room, lying on a clean bed.
He looked around.
It was a simple room with only a bed, some furniture, and a single table. A scroll hung on one of the walls.
Even to his untrained eye, the calligraphy was so elegant that it naturally drew admiration.
As he unconsciously tried to sit up, a groan escaped his lips.
“Kugh!”
The moment he moved, the pain that had settled throughout his body awakened all at once.
It was a torment so excruciating it made him shudder.
But he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand.
“Hah… Hah…”
Leaning against the wall with both hands, Cho Ak-ryang gasped for breath.
Just getting out of bed had drenched his entire body in a sweat like rain.
‘Damn it all!’
Forcing his disobedient limbs to move, he staggered outside.
“...!”
In that instant, Cho Ak-ryang’s eyes flew wide open.
He was speechless at the sight that unfolded before him.
A basin encircled by sheer cliffs that stood like a folding screen.
A waterfall cascading down the cliff, creating a misty spray, was a truly magnificent sight.
A pond lay at the bottom of the waterfall.
It was a pond so clear that just looking at it felt refreshing.
A stream originating from it flowed across one side of the basin.
Next to the pond stood a two-story pavilion, looking as picturesque as a painting.
As his gaze swept the surroundings, it stopped at one spot.
Crimson flowers, so vivid it seemed they would stain his hand red if he touched them. A wave of floral red, blooming across the field, had captured his eyes.
It was then that a breeze blew through.
A profound fragrance, carried on the gentle wind, quickly filled the valley.
‘So this is where I collapsed.’
Cho Ak-ryang was wearing a bitter smile at the memory.
“Oh? You shouldn’t be up yet…”
Cho Ak-ryang turned his head toward the voice.
Not far away.
The boy he had seen just before losing consciousness was approaching.
“You need to be resting right now.”
Instead of answering, Cho Ak-ryang stared at the boy for a moment before cautiously opening his mouth.
“Who are you?”
“Me? I’m Dan Ak-seon.”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
“I’m not asking for your name.”
The boy, who had introduced himself as Dan Ak-seon, tilted his head for a moment. Then he nodded.
“I’m the one who saved you.”
“Saved me? You?”
“Yes. I’m a physician.”
Cho Ak-ryang was taken aback.
What an audacious little child.
A kid who still had his baby fat, calling himself a physician.
“Let’s talk more inside.”
Dan Ak-seon urged him again.
“You’re in a state where you could die at any moment, so it would be best for you to go inside and lie down.”
Dan Ak-seon walked past Cho Ak-ryang, entered the hut, and pointed to the bed.
But Cho Ak-ryang didn’t follow right away.
He couldn't make sense of the current situation.
“Are you really saying you treated me?”
Seeing his wary expression, Dan Ak-seon smiled quietly.
“There’s no one else here but me. If it wasn’t me, there’s no one else to treat you or attack you. So please, come in and lie down.”
Cho Ak-ryang’s eyebrow twitched.
“Do you know who I am?”
Dan Ak-seon thought for a moment before answering.
“A sick person.”
“…”
Cho Ak-ryang was at a loss for words. Just then, Dan Ak-seon urged him once more.
“Hurry. If we don’t continue the treatment soon, it will be hard to reverse the damage. Do you have any idea how hard I worked to save you?”
Cho Ak-ryang fell silent.
‘It’s true…’
The boy was right.
Before he lost consciousness, wasn't he as good as dead anyway? Besides, Dan Ak-seon’s face held no ulterior motives, only a look of pure innocence.
In the end, Cho Ak-ryang lay back down on the bed.
Dan Ak-seon handed him a cloth soaked in water.
“First, wet your throat. You just woke up after three days.”
As Cho Ak-ryang looked on with confusion, Dan Ak-seon continued to explain.
“You’ve lost too much blood. Drinking water normally in your current state could strain your body. Just hold this in your mouth and suck on it slowly.”
Cho Ak-ryang silently followed Dan Ak-seon’s instructions.
“Then, I’ll begin.”
Dan Ak-seon took out a small wooden box from his robes. From inside, he took out needles of various sizes.
Even at a glance, the needles were made of no ordinary material.
The handles of the bluish needles were uniquely crafted from ivory. And the intricate carvings on the needle heads…
A memory of something he had once heard surfaced.
“The Immortal Reverence Needles?”
“Oh? You know them?”
Dan Ak-seon’s question only served to surprise Cho Ak-ryang even more.
“How do you have the sacred treasure of the Divine Physician of Sacred Hands…”
“He’s my father. Now, I’ll start targeting the pressure points.”
Before he finished speaking, Dan Ak-seon’s hands moved. In the blink of an eye, needles were embedded in various points on Cho Ak-ryang’s body.
“...!”
Cho Ak-ryang was horrified as he felt his entire body stiffen in an instant.
‘The Ma and Ah points, simultaneously?’
It was truly a masterful pressure point technique.
But that was nothing compared to the surprise that followed.
‘The pain is disappearing!’
His turbulent qi and blood settled, and his body rapidly began to feel at ease.
‘Perhaps…’
Cho Ak-ryang’s heart began to pound.
If the boy before him was truly the son of the Divine Physician of Sacred Hands…
And if he had inherited his medical skills?
‘I can live!’
The Divine Physician of Sacred Hands was a physician said to be able to save anyone, as long as they were still breathing.
‘Wait a minute.’
But there was a problem.
The Divine Physician had only ever treated members of the righteous sects.
‘Has it already been twenty years since he disappeared from the martial world?’
At one time, all sorts of information brokers in the martial world had scoured the lands to find him. The Heavenly Ear Corps, the Beggar's Sect, the Underworld, and even the government's Six Fan School.
But none had been able to find a trace of him.
As he was lost in these thoughts.
*Swoosh.*
A cool sensation spread from his shoulder, and all of Cho Ak-ryang’s pressure points were released.
Cho Ak-ryang let out a gasp of awe.
“So it was true that you saved me.”
He could no longer doubt it. How could he, after seeing and experiencing it for himself?
But soon, another doubt arose.
“Why did you save me?”
Dan Ak-seon’s eyes widened as he asked back.
“Does a physician need a reason to save a patient?”
“Is that… all there is to it?”
Cho Ak-ryang sighed and said.
“I am not of the righteous sects.”
“Is that so?”
“As I understand it…”
Cho Ak-ryang continued cautiously.
“The Divine Physician of Sacred Hands is known to have only treated people of the righteous sects his entire life.”
“Ah! So you’re from the unorthodox sects?”
“That’s right.”
“I see.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled as if he found it amusing.
In contrast, Cho Ak-ryang’s gaze turned cold.
“An answer to my question?”
“Sorry for laughing. It’s just hard to explain.”
His smile fading, Dan Ak-seon looked at Cho Ak-ryang.
“I’m not my father.”
Still, Cho Ak-ryang couldn't erase his suspicion. At this, Dan Ak-seon pouted.
“And I was never taught that saving a life is a bad thing.”
Then he continued bluntly.
“It’s the only life you have. You should cherish it. If you die, there must be someone who will be sad for you.”
“There is no one who would grieve for me.”
Cho Ak-ryang said firmly.
“Really?”
Dan Ak-seon added with a hint of bitterness.
“I would be sad. If you died.”
This time, Dan Ak-seon took out another wooden box.
When he opened it, needles of a reddish hue were revealed. The handles were made of jet-black ebony. Noticing the demonic faces carved into the handles, Cho Ak-ryang cried out in shock.
“The Demonic Spirit Needles!”
Dan Ak-seon asked, looking newly surprised.
“You know these too?”
“How could I not recognize the sacred treasure of the Life and Death Demonic Physician?”
A physician who stood at the pinnacle of unorthodox medical arts, alongside the Divine Physician of Sacred Hands.
She too had vanished around the same time as the Divine Physician. Treating only members of the unorthodox sects, she was as famous for her eccentric personality as for her sublime medical skills.
The words she left behind when she disappeared were still spoken of to this day.
—Ungrateful bastards, may you all become eunuchs.
“Could it be?”
The boy nodded in response to Cho Ak-ryang’s question.
“Yes. She’s my mother.”
“The Divine Physician and the Demonic Physician were married?”
“That’s why I’m here now, isn’t it?”
He looked slightly miffed. That suspicion soon became a certainty.
“This is going to hurt a little.”
The moment Dan Ak-seon inserted the Demonic Spirit Needle.
“Keoheok!”
A scream-like groan erupted from Cho Ak-ryang’s mouth.
“Ah, sorry. I forgot to block the pressure points.”
In that instant, Cho Ak-ryang felt his entire body become paralyzed once again. But the pain remained just as intense.
He had been stoic even on the verge of death.
But the pain he felt now was so horrific that nothing from that time could compare.
The problem was that there was nothing he could do about it.
Nothing but swallow his screams.
* * *
Three days later.
Waking up in the morning, Cho Ak-ryang looked down at himself and muttered.
“I am…”
His physical condition had clearly changed.
“Alive.”
He had passed the critical point.
“The son of the Divine Physician and the Demonic Physician…”
Cho Ak-ryang slowly moved and stepped out of the hut. It was still difficult and painful, but it was nothing compared to three days ago.
Was there any other kind of fateful encounter?
Meeting Dan Ak-seon just before he died was already a miracle in itself.
Cho Ak-ryang was basking in the rare sunlight.
In the distance.
A figure was entering the Divine Demon Valley.
It was Dan Ak-seon.
“Oh? You’re awake?”
Spotting Cho Ak-ryang, Dan Ak-seon came running over.
His face was much brighter than usual.
“Look at this, mister!”
Dan Ak-seon pulled something from a pouch at his waist and held it out. It was a plant with a pure white flower and nine leaves.
“Hehe. I finally found it!”
“Is that why you’re in such a good mood?”
Dan Ak-seon beamed and nodded.
“Yes! This is Spirit Guiding Herb, it’s great for internal injuries. It’s usually hard to find, but I got lucky.”
“Don’t tell me… you were looking for it for my sake?”
“Of course! Wait just a little bit. I’ll prepare it for you right away!”
As Dan Ak-seon turned to leave, Cho Ak-ryang reached out and grabbed his arm.
“How did this happen?”
Cho Ak-ryang asked, staring at Dan Ak-seon’s hands, which were scraped and covered in blood.
‘Come to think of it…?’
It wasn't just his hands.
His whole body was covered in dirt, and his neck and cheeks were full of scratches. Judging by the fresh blood, the wounds were recent.
Dan Ak-seon laughed it off as if it were nothing.
“The Spirit Guiding Herb grows in some rough places.”
“...!”
Cho Ak-ryang was at a loss for words.
The child before him was only twelve years old.
This young boy had braved dangerous mountain paths alone for a complete stranger.
A pang resonated deep in his chest.
For decades, he had navigated a world of blades and swords.
It was an emotion he hadn't felt in a very long time.
“Come to think of it, there’s something I should have said to you.”
“What is it?”
Cho Ak-ryang bowed his head respectfully to Dan Ak-seon.
“I apologize for my rudeness until now.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled brightly.
“It’s okay. It’s natural for patients to be sensitive. Especially someone like you, who was on the brink of death.”
Dan Ak-seon readily accepted his apology.
“And…”
“...?”
Looking at the puzzled Dan Ak-seon, Cho Ak-ryang spoke with all his heart.
“Thank you. I will never forget this debt of saving my life.”