Chapter 34
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: A Different Kind of House Call
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“My, my, Physician Dan, you have quite the unusual taste. Innocent eyes and a voluptuous figure! Excellent! You have a good eye.”
The woman Dan Ak-seon had pointed to looked genuinely surprised.
She never imagined the guest she would be serving would be a child. When Beom Gye-wi beckoned her over, the courtesan looked at the manager, her expression bewildered.
The manager frowned but nodded.
The courtesan approached Dan Ak-seon, a radiant smile gracing her lips.
“It is an honor to serve such a gallant and dignified young master. This humble one is called Yang-hwa. Allow me to offer you a cup as a token of my heart...”
The courtesan, who had introduced herself as Yang-hwa, could not finish her sentence.
The boy had snatched her wrist as she was pouring the drink.
*This little brat is quite forward...*
Contrary to her inner thoughts, Yang-hwa acted coy, covering her face with her sleeve as if embarrassed.
“Oh, my. What's the rush? The night is still young.”
As she tried to pull her hand away, Yang-hwa suddenly felt something was off. The boy's gaze, fixed intently on her, held no trace of ulterior motive.
“Just as I thought.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded once and asked Yang-hwa.
“Have you been having severe headaches recently? Especially before you fall asleep.”
“What?”
“Right here, like a needle pricking you...”
“Yes, I have, but...”
“And your hands are numb when you wake up in the morning?”
Yang-hwa's eyes widened like teacups.
“How did you know!”
It was uncanny. She had been experiencing those symptoms, but she had never told a soul.
Dan Ak-seon sighed.
“If we had waited any longer, it would have become serious.”
Then he said to Yang-hwa.
“Is there a quiet room here? We need to start treatment immediately.”
“What? Treatment?”
Dan Ak-seon reassured the startled Yang-hwa.
“Don't worry. It's an illness that can be easily cured with treatment. It's fortunate we found it before it worsened.”
“There are many rooms, but...”
Yang-hwa trailed off.
Understandably so, as none of the rooms on the second floor of the brothel were meant for medical treatment.
Beom Gye-wi was just as flustered.
“Physician Dan, a brothel isn't a place for this. It's for... other things.”
“Other things? What's that?”
“Uh? Um... A place to share one's feelings?”
“But I just met her today.”
“No, not that kind of sharing. I mean, like a conversation with your bodies.”
“I've never learned sign language.”
“No! It's when a man and a woman take off their clothes and get into one bed and...”
Frustrated, Beom Gye-wi was about to give a more detailed explanation when Dan Ak-seon cut him off.
“Treatment first. You have to be alive to share any feelings, don't you?”
* * *
Martial Alliance, Xi'an Branch.
Pung Hyeon-ja, a second-generation disciple of the Huashan Sect who had been coordinating matters with the Martial Alliance late into the night, couldn't help but feel puzzled by the sudden visit from the Plum Blossom Sword Unit.
Pung Hyeon-ja excused himself from the Martial Alliance officials and moved to a quieter place.
“What brings you here so suddenly at this hour?”
At Pung Hyeon-ja's question, the third-generation disciple, Myeong Hak, revealed a troubled expression.
“It is a message from Myeong Geom.”
“Myeong Geom? Has something happened?”
“Well...”
Seeing Myeong Hak trail off, Pung Hyeon-ja couldn't hide his confusion. Myeong Hak was known for his cautious nature and articulate speech, which had earned him the respect of many elders.
“Please, read this first.”
As Pung Hyeon-ja read the letter Myeong Hak handed him, he let out a scoff, his expression one of disbelief.
“That I intended to betray Huashan?”
It was so absurd it was baffling.
He had now passed the position down to his disciple, Myeong Geom, but before that, the Plum Blossom Sword Commander had been none other than Pung Hyeon-ja himself.
“Whoever it is, they're digging their own grave.”
Pung Hyeon-ja shot up from his seat.
“Take me there.”
“If you would just confirm the truth of the matter, your disciple can...”
“No. When one dog barks at a shadow, a hundred dogs follow. These kinds of rumors must be nipped in the bud.”
Even feathers, if loaded in great numbers, can sink a ship.
Rumors are no different. More than anything, he wanted to see the face of the person who had fabricated such a preposterous lie.
He intended to see if they could still spew such nonsense after seeing him in person.
“Let's go.”
Grabbing his sword, Pung Hyeon-ja headed with Myeong Hak to the inn where Myeong Geom was staying. Myeong Geom, who was drinking tea at a table on the first floor, jumped to his feet in surprise when Pung Hyeon-ja entered.
“Disciple Myeong Geom greets Master!”
Pung Hyeon-ja asked Myeong Geom as he bowed.
“Who is the one who insulted me?”
Pung Hyeon-ja's gaze swept the room, then froze.
Besides Myeong Geom, there was only one other person on the first floor. A woman in her early twenties, whose beauty was so striking it was startling.
But he was sure he had seen her somewhere before.
As Pung Hyeon-ja searched his memory, he suddenly froze in place like a stone statue.
“You... could it be...?”
Han Seol-hwa tilted her head, studying Pung Hyeon-ja's face, then nodded.
“You're that little kid from back then.”
Then she met Pung Hyeon-ja's eyes.
“But what did you just say? 'You'?”
“...!”
Belatedly grasping the situation, Pung Hyeon-ja performed a formal fist-and-palm salute toward Han Seol-hwa.
“This junior of the martial world, Pung Hyeon, second-generation disciple of Huashan, greets the Fairy.”
Myeong Geom and Myeong Hak were utterly shocked.
He was the former Plum Blossom Sword Commander and one of the top ten masters in all of Huashan. Considering his seniority and status in the martial world, he would never call himself a junior.
“Master...”
Despite Myeong Geom's voice, Pung Hyeon-ja remained bowed, unable to raise his head. A bitter emotion flickered in Han Seol-hwa's eyes as she watched him.
“I see.”
“...?”
“So that cute little boy who used to rub his face on my skirt is gone now?”
Pung Hyeon-ja's face turned beet red.
“S-Senior. My disciples are present. Please, watch your words...”
“Time is a fearsome thing indeed. To think that boy has become such an adult.”
Letting out a soft sigh, Han Seol-hwa spoke to Pung Hyeon-ja again.
“Your disciple and I made a bet.”
“A bet, you say?”
To the bewildered Pung Hyeon-ja, Han Seol-hwa recounted the details of her conversation with Myeong Geom.
Finally understanding the full context, Pung Hyeon-ja let out a sigh.
“Did I lie?”
At Han Seol-hwa's question, Pung Hyeon-ja wore a troubled expression for a moment before slowly answering.
“There was not a single lie in what the Fairy said.”
Han Seol-hwa turned her head and asked Myeong Geom.
“Well? I won the bet, didn't I?”
“What?”
Myeong Geom hesitated, not understanding for a moment, then hastily replied.
“Y-Yes, you did.”
“Then what about the escorts?”
“I will dismiss them at once.”
As if there was nothing more to say, Han Seol-hwa rose from her seat.
As she headed for the stairs to the second floor, she spoke while passing Pung Hyeon-ja.
“To think the little boy who used to swim with his pepper out has grown up so much.”
“S-Senior!”
Once she had completely disappeared from sight, Pung Hyeon-ja collapsed into a chair.
“Master, who in the world is she...?”
To Myeong Geom's cautious question, Pung Hyeon-ja replied with a dazed expression.
“The Ice Jade Fairy. A reclusive master from two generations ago who occasionally appears in the martial world.”
“Two generations ago?”
“Perhaps even earlier...”
Pung Hyeon-ja picked up a teacup from the table and gulped it down.
“To not have aged at all. Has she achieved rejuvenation?”
Seeing Pung Hyeon-ja muttering to himself, Myeong Geom hesitated before asking a question.
“Then is it true? Did you really try to abandon Huashan for that woman, Master...?”
“No.”
“What? Then why did you say it was true earlier...?”
“It wasn't me.”
“What?”
Confused, Myeong Geom soon gasped, his eyes widening in shock.
“Then, don't tell me?”
If it was the Plum Blossom Sword Commander from two generations ago...
Pung Hyeon-ja sighed and nodded.
“Yes. It was my master.”
“The Sect Leader...”
Pung Hyeon-ja cut Myeong Geom off with a stern gaze.
“What you heard today is a secret you must take to your grave. Do you understand?”
Myeong Geom was so shocked he couldn't speak for a while.
* * *
Cho Ak-ryang took in the long line of brothels lining the alley. It was obvious where the kid would have gone.
Knowing his personality, he would have sought out the most extravagant and largest one.
Just then, one place caught his eye. A four-story building with a sign that read 'Yihwaru'. But something about the atmosphere was strange.
The lights were brightly lit, but the wide-open entrance was completely empty.
Entering the brothel with a puzzled look, Cho Ak-ryang soon understood why.
He discovered a long line of courtesans on the stairs leading to the second floor, as if waiting for their turn.
Just as Cho Ak-ryang tilted his head in confusion and was about to climb the stairs.
A sharp voice stopped him in his tracks.
“Get in line!”
Cho Ak-ryang frowned.
“What kind of disrespectful attitude is this toward a guest of the establishment?”
“We're not open for business today. So if you want to go up, get in line.”
“What?”
His bewilderment was brief.
Soon, his curiosity piqued. A brothel, a place that lived and died by money, wasn't open for business? He was extremely curious about the reason.
Cho Ak-ryang stepped onto the stair railing and vaulted to the second floor.
But there was a long line on the second floor as well.
The line led to a room at the end of the hall. After pushing through the dense crowd to finally peek inside, Cho Ak-ryang let out a dry laugh.
It was because of the sight of Dan Ak-seon at the very front, treating someone, with a line of courtesans waiting for their turn.
It was then that he spotted Beom Gye-wi yawning languidly next to Dan Ak-seon.
“Oh? Brother Cho, you're here?”
When their eyes met, Beom Gye-wi greeted him.
Realizing he was with Dan Ak-seon, the courtesans made way for Cho Ak-ryang to enter.
“What are you doing here?”
At Cho Ak-ryang's words, Beom Gye-wi sighed with a sullen look.
“Brother Cho, you know what?”
“What?”
“Being handsome and rich is useless. Medical skill is the best. If I'm reborn, I'm ditching martial arts and learning medicine first.”
Beom Gye-wi's face was filled with indignation as he looked at the courtesans lined up before Dan Ak-seon.
“They must be losing a lot of money by missing a day's business. Does the owner of this place just let this happen?”
In response, Beom Gye-wi jutted his chin toward a corner.
Turning his head, Cho Ak-ryang saw an elderly man lying on a bed in the corner of the room, his shirt lifted.
Dozens of needles were stuck in his body.
Next to him sat a man with a gloomy expression in a cross-legged position, also with needles stuck all over his body.
“I see.”
Cho Ak-ryang understood the situation at once.
* * *
Six hours later.
It was early morning, just as dawn was breaking, when Beom Gye-wi, carrying Dan Ak-seon on his back, and Cho Ak-ryang were finally able to leave the brothel.
Dan Ak-seon muttered in an exhausted voice.
“I'm sleepy.”
And with that, he buried his face in Beom Gye-wi's back and fell asleep. He was completely drained from treating so many people consecutively without a break.
When they returned to the inn, Han Seol-hwa was waiting for them, emanating a frosty aura.
She had already heard from Pung Jin-seong that Beom Gye-wi had taken Dan Ak-seon to a brothel.
“Did you give the child alcohol?”
Beom Gye-wi jumped and waved his hands frantically.
“No! I didn't! I didn't even get to drink!”
“Then why is he like that?”
“From overexerting his body?”
“What?”
A chilling blue light flickered in Han Seol-hwa's eyes.
“Don't tell me you made a child do... *that*?”
*Crack...*
A vicious chill frosted the floor beneath Han Seol-hwa's feet, and in an instant, ice spread out, covering the inn.
“This bastard and his mouth!”
Cho Ak-ryang quickly stepped forward.
He needed to clear up the misunderstanding before it grew any worse.
Cho Ak-ryang explained the situation he had witnessed at the brothel. Han Seol-hwa looked back and forth between Beom Gye-wi and Dan Ak-seon with an expression of disbelief.
After a moment.
A look of confusion appeared on Cho Ak-ryang's face as he glanced around.
He couldn't sense the presence of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen who had been staying with them as escorts.
“How did you deal with those prigs?”
“I reasoned with them and sent them on their way.”
“The great Huashan Sect would just meekly listen to you?”
“They had to. It was me talking, after all.”
Cho Ak-ryang was still suspicious, but he didn't press the matter. In any case, they had gotten rid of a nuisance, so he welcomed the outcome, regardless of the process.