Chapter 145
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: A Bitter Past
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Just as the bone-chilling cold began to subside.
The days grew longer, and most of the knee-deep snow melted away, revealing the hidden rocks beneath.
New moss, beginning to sprout all around, painted the Kunlun Mountains in a color completely different from the pure white of winter.
Spring had arrived.
Standing at the entrance of the Three Stars Cave, Dan Ak-seon bowed politely to the members of the Kunlun Sect who had come to see them off.
From Daoist Master Gwangjin, the Sect Leader of Kunlun, to the elders and even the young Daoists of Dan Ak-seon’s age.
Every one of them wished him a safe journey.
Among them, a few young children sniffled as they bid Dan Ak-seon farewell.
They had grown quite fond of him during their time together.
“I’ll come again. So don’t cry.”
Turning away from the children his age, who were trying hard to hide their tears and nodding, Dan Ak-seon offered a smile to Goengseongja.
“See you again, brother.”
“Of course, we will. If you don’t come, I’ll come find you.”
“But if Muwi is declared a forbidden zone, people from the orthodox factions can’t come, can they?”
“You said they can if they’re sick, right?”
“Even so, we shouldn’t meet under those circumstances.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled and took Goengseongja’s hand.
“Let me know in advance, and I’ll come out to meet you. So please don’t get sick.”
Goengseongja smiled and squeezed the hand holding his.
“Alright. In any case, let’s definitely meet again.”
While Dan Ak-seon was saying his goodbyes to Goengseongja, Cho Ak-ryang also faced Daoist Master Gwangjin.
“We have been in your care.”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s words, Daoist Master Gwangjin waved his hand.
“In our care? Not at all. It is said that all within the four seas are brothers. Though it was a short time, it was an honor to be with you three heroes.”
“Then, until we meet again.”
Daoist Master Gwangjin nodded and then bowed his head toward Beom Gye-wi and Han Seol-hwa.
“May you have a safe journey.”
Looking utterly awkward in such situations, Beom Gye-wi fidgeted and nodded.
A faint smile appeared and vanished on Han Seol-hwa's usually cold face.
Having thus bid farewell to Kunlun, Dan Ak-seon's party set off on a new journey toward their next destination.
On the way down the Kunlun Mountains.
“Only one of the Nine Great Sects remains.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded at Cho Ak-ryang’s words.
The only one left among the Nine Sects, One Union.
It was the Kongtong Sect.
“But Gansu Province is the closest to the Divine Demon Valley. Is there a reason you’re going there last?”
Cho Ak-ryang was curious.
At first, he had assumed Dan Ak-seon had his reasons, but by this point, he couldn't help but ask.
“If we had visited the Kongtong Sect first, we wouldn’t have gotten the joint petition.”
A look of confusion crossed Cho Ak-ryang’s face.
“What do you mean by that?”
“They have an ill-fated history with my mother.”
“Ill-fated? The Kongtong Sect?”
Dan Ak-seon gave a bitter smile and nodded at Cho Ak-ryang's question.
“Yes. That’s why I needed the petitions from the other eight sects first. I thought they would only agree then.”
It was a form of pressure.
It would look strange for them to be the only ones to oppose a matter agreed upon by all the other major sects.
Walking side by side, Dan Ak-seon spoke.
“The Kongtong Sect is the reason Mom came to be called the Demonic Physician, and why she started treating only people from the unorthodox factions.”
“Was the Demonic Physician originally from Gansu Province?”
“Yes.”
She was born and raised in Gansu. But as her medical skills became known, she roamed the Central Plains like the wind.
Patients in need of a physician could be found anywhere.
That was also why she had returned to her hometown to live in seclusion.
Weariness and disillusionment with people.
Combined with a certain other reason, she had to hide her existence.
While searching for a suitable place to retreat, she realized that the Divine Demon Valley, which she had frequented as if it were her own front yard, met all the conditions.
In the end, she had come full circle, back to her homeland.
Dan Ak-seon began to recount an old story.
“One day, a group of patients came to see Mom.”
They were all seriously injured.
“But Mom couldn’t help them. She was already treating another patient.”
Dan Ak-seon continued with a bitter expression.
“Mom told them she had already accepted a patient. Moreover, that patient was also in a very critical state and could die at any moment if the treatment was delayed.”
She couldn't stop treating the first patient, so she couldn't take on the ones who came later.
Besides, their conditions were not as immediately life-threatening as the first patient's.
“But they insisted on waiting, saying they had to be treated by Mom.”
The problem was that as time passed, the injured people’s conditions began to worsen.
When their situations became critical, they could no longer be stubborn and hastily sought out another physician.
However, three of the patients whose conditions had worsened ended up dying during treatment.
Among them was a rising star who had been designated as the next sect leader.
“Enraged, they stormed into the clinic and killed the patient Mom had treated.”
She was furious, having witnessed the patient she had painstakingly saved being murdered right before her eyes.
She later found out that the patient she had been treating was a famous master from the unorthodox factions.
And his injuries were the result of a life-or-death battle with the very patients who had arrived later.
Cho Ak-ryang finally understood the situation.
“Don’t tell me the patients who came later were…?”
Dan Ak-seon nodded with a bitter look.
“Yes, they were from the Kongtong Sect.”
Because of that incident, she vowed never to treat anyone from the Kongtong Sect again.
“Dad, who had ties with the Kongtong Sect, later tried to mediate, but the resentment still lingered.”
Though she was famous for her stubbornness, she would at least listen to one person’s words.
Despite her arrogant and dogmatic personality, she secretly acknowledged the skills of her husband, the only one who could compete with her.
“But in the end, even Dad couldn’t persuade Mom.”
Once she became enemies with the Kongtong Sect, all sorts of nasty rumors about her began to spread.
The other major sects, who were on par with Kongtong, also ostracized her.
“Furious, Mom initially limited her refusal to the Kongtong Sect, but eventually, she declared she would not treat anyone from the orthodox factions.”
From then on, unorthodox martial artists who heard the rumor began to seek her out.
“It was around that time that Mom started being called the Demonic Physician.”
As a result, the Kongtong Sect had to endure an unexpected ordeal.
They couldn't just stand by and watch unorthodox martial artists run rampant in their territory.
But then, a pattern began to emerge where unorthodox martial artists on the brink of death would suddenly reappear, fully recovered, to exact their revenge.
As similar cases repeated, the damage they suffered grew exponentially.
“That must have been a headache for the Kongtong Sect.”
“Yes. I heard that because of it, the fighting in the Gansu area didn't cease for a while. So the Kongtong Sect’s grudge against Mom must be very deep.”
While Cho Ak-ryang nodded with a complicated expression, Dan Ak-seon let out a long sigh.
“Mom wasn’t wrong.”
Beom Gye-wi nodded.
“That’s right. The Demonic Physician wasn’t wrong. It was all the Kongtong Sect’s own doing.”
They were the ones who started the trouble, and they were the ones who let it escalate.
Beom Gye-wi’s eyes glinted menacingly.
“Shameless bastards, then and now.”
He radiated a killing intent so palpable it seemed he would strike down a Kongtong Daoist on the spot if one appeared before him.
Cho Ak-ryang, on the other hand, carefully observed Dan Ak-seon’s expression.
“It seems you don’t have good feelings toward the Kongtong Sect either.”
Dan Ak-seon did not deny it.
“No. I don’t like them. To kill someone a physician just finished treating… and in front of the very physician who saved him.”
His gaze had turned cold.
“How could I possibly like people like that?”
It was an animosity uncharacteristic of Dan Ak-seon.
But the three of them could fully empathize with his feelings, so they nodded silently.
“In that case, how about we just don’t get their signature on the petition?”
At Cho Ak-ryang’s words, Dan Ak-seon’s eyes flickered for a moment. But he soon shook his head with a resolute expression.
“No. I still want to get it. That way, at least I won’t have to run into them inside the forbidden zone.”
They wouldn't dare do anything rash because of their reputation, but one could never be sure what people might do.
There was a slight possibility that they might try to come and go from Muwi, using the excuse that they had not agreed to the terms.
He did not want to give them the sole right to enter the forbidden zone.
“I have to do it even if I don’t want to. It can’t be helped, for the sake of protecting everyone.”
The three of them looked at Dan Ak-seon with pity, seeing him grapple with such concerns at such a young age.
A week later.
Dan Ak-seon’s party entered Gansu Province.
They were far ahead of schedule.
The training in Kunlun had been quite helpful; Dan Ak-seon could now use his lightness art for a considerable amount of time.
The three of them were simply proud of Dan Ak-seon, who had improved by leaps and bounds compared to just a year ago.
Mount Kongtong, where the Kongtong Sect was located, was south of Lanzhou, the provincial capital.
They decided to stop in Lanzhou first before visiting the Kongtong Sect.
Their appearances were a mess from the long journey.
Having rushed, they had often slept out in the open.
Their clothes were shabby, and their appearances were grimy.
Even so, Han Seol-hwa remained as neat as ever.
Dan Ak-seon’s clothes were dirty, but his face was clean.
Thanks to Han Seol-hwa’s martial arts, he could wash his face even in places without water.
Han Seol-hwa would freeze the surrounding air to create condensed water droplets to wash her face, and she would occasionally wash Dan Ak-seon’s face as well.
However, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi could not enjoy such a luxury.
As the two of them entered Lanzhou looking like beggars, passersby frowned and moved away to either side.
Looking at the path that had formed through the crowd parting like the tide, Beom Gye-wi nodded.
“Now I see why the guys from the Beggar’s Sect don’t wash. This must be the feeling they’re after.”
Cho Ak-ryang, who had been giving him a pathetic look, sighed as he realized his own appearance was not much different.
But on the other hand, just entering Lanzhou brought him a sense of ease.
They were just a stone’s throw away from the Divine Demon Valley.
How long had they been walking?
They had an unexpected and welcome encounter.
“Valley Lord!”
A man with a bright smile approached them with quick steps.
It was Pung Jin-seong.
Having heard news of Dan Ak-seon's party returning through the eyes and ears of the Beggar’s Sect scattered across the martial world, he had been waiting for them here for several days.
“Mister!”
Dan Ak-seon also started running toward Pung Jin-seong.
But as they got closer, Dan Ak-seon’s eyes widened in surprise.
Pung Jin-seong wasn’t the only welcome face.
“Welcome.”
Standing behind Pung Jin-seong, Sa Mu-sim politely clasped his fist in greeting to Dan Ak-seon and the others.
“I missed you, Chief Steward. Have you been well?”
At Dan Ak-seon’s greeting, Sa Mu-sim broke into an incredibly gentle smile.
“I have been well. I believe it is all thanks to the Valley Lord’s concern.”
“What about Mister Neung? Didn’t he come with you?”
Dan Ak-seon looked around with a puzzled expression.
Neung So-mil, who was always with them like a needle and thread, was nowhere to be seen.
“Brother Neung couldn’t come because he’s busy managing the Divine Demon Valley and Muwi. You’ll be able to see him soon, so don’t worry.”
Pung Jin-seong ushered the group along.
“Come, come. Let’s not stand here in the middle of the road. Let’s find a place to sit first.”
The inn they arrived at under Pung Jin-seong’s guidance.
It seemed he had rented the entire place again, as there were no other customers despite its considerable size.
“Huh?”
Dan Ak-seon, who had casually glanced at the sign hanging over the entrance, was startled.
“Divine Demon Inn?”
Sa Mu-sim smiled warmly and nodded.
“Yes. We acquired and began operating it a short while ago.”
“We?”
“The Divine Demon Trading Company.”
The smile on Sa Mu-sim’s face deepened.
“You, Valley Lord, are the owner of that trading company.”