Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Merciless Killer Physician (1)
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Pa-aa-ah!
With Yang Hui-gun slung over his shoulder, the Heavenly Demon leaped into the air and shot straight toward Ghost Sword Manor.
Even though he had exited through the main gate of the Moyong Clan of all places, not a single person dared to block his path or give chase.
"Wh-what?!"
"No way!"
"It's the War God! The War God has descended!"
How could any mere human dare obstruct the path of a god?
All these frail, sinful humans could do was prostrate themselves flat on the ground, not even daring to make eye contact.
That was the extent of it.
'Just you wait, Moyong Clan. Judging you comes after... saving Hui-gun first. I will punish you properly, without fail.'
The Heavenly Demon put off their reckoning for later as he left the Moyong Clan behind.
Had Yang Hui-gun—who bore such an uncanny resemblance to the Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang—not been in critical condition, the Moyong Clan might have suffered the same fate as the North Sea Ice Palace today.
"Hui-gun! You have to live!"
In a desperate frenzy, the Heavenly Demon flew toward Dome Green Mountain, where Ghost Sword Manor lay, arriving in what felt like no time at all.
The moment he arrived, he bellowed in a thunderous voice!
"Physician! Get the physician ready!"
He summoned the doctor.
He had no choice; Yang Hui-gun's condition was so dire that even the Heavenly Demon—who could heal all but the gravest wounds and internal injuries—expressed dismay at the difficulty.
The instant the physician was called, the Heavenly Demon placed his hand on Yang Hui-gun's dantian.
Shwaaaaa!
He poured an immense amount of inner energy into Yang Hui-gun, desperately hoping to fan the flickering flame of his life into a roaring blaze.
That judgment had been crucial.
Without that acupoint sealing technique, Yang Hui-gun could have died at any moment.
"Hui-gun! Is it really... you, Hui-gun?"
"Brother!"
Meanwhile, unbelievably, the sight of the Heavenly Demon actually bringing Yang Hui-gun back brought tears to Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa's eyes, filling them with ecstatic joy.
"This isn't the time for that. We have to save Hui-gun somehow."
The Heavenly Demon said as much while waiting for Dome Green Mountain's sole physician to arrive.
Thanks to Yang Dae-un's efforts, the physician finally appeared and examined Yang Hui-gun's entire body with a gravely serious expression, checking his pulse.
"Hmmm."
The Dome Green Mountain physician grew more troubled the more he examined, facing Yang Hui-gun's dire state.
'Sorry to say it about Ghost Sword Manor... but he's no different from a corpse on the verge of death.'
The physician's skills were barely second-rate—decent enough for this rural backwater.
"Is there no way?"
The Heavenly Demon asked in an urgent voice.
Fortune smiled amid misfortune: he had recovered a hidden storehouse stocked with all manner of elixirs and herbs.
'If we use every elixir available, maybe we can revive Yang Hui-gun?'
That was the Heavenly Demon's plan, but unfortunately...
"Forgive my impertinence... but even if I came back from the dead, it would be impossible with my skills. I'm sorry."
The Dome Green Mountain physician bowed his head and spoke honestly.
There were superb elixirs and herbs aplenty, but the physician meant to administer them lacked the skill. That was the problem.
"Even with all these elixirs, it's no use?"
The Heavenly Demon's anger flared at the word "impossible," raising his voice.
"Medicine and poison share the same root. Prescribe an elixir without fully understanding it, and it becomes a deadly toxin."
At least on that point, the Dome Green Mountain physician was correct.
Misusing elixirs could make them far more terrifying than any poison.
"Then who's the best physician in Yoneung Province? We need to bring him here."
The Heavenly Demon fidgeted, clinging to a sliver of hope.
With his superior lightness skill and mobility, it seemed feasible.
But the Dome Green Mountain physician shook his head.
"I know Jin Gyeong-mu, the top physician in Yoneung—he's my master. Even with his skill... it's impossible."
The Heavenly Demon's menacing aura made speaking freely difficult, but as a physician, he fulfilled his duty.
"To save him, we need at least a renowned physician. To revive him without side effects, allowing him to cultivate martial arts again—that requires a divine healer."
A renowned physician was an exceptional healer.
p>Like a peak transcendent martial artist, in terms of analogy.
A divine healer was a superhuman who had reached divine mastery—rarer even than divine realm experts, let alone transcendent ones. High officials and sect leaders struggled to meet one in a lifetime.
Moreover, their schedules were booked years in advance, making summons or house calls as likely as plucking stars from the sky.
"Urgh!"
"Hui-gun!"
As Yang Yeon-hwa and Yang Dae-un broke down in despair at the grim diagnosis and harsh reality, the Heavenly Demon refused to give up.
"Is there a divine healer closest to Yoneung Province?"
The Heavenly Demon asked urgently.
He owed Yang U-ryang far too much.
Thus, he desperately wanted to fully revive Yang Hui-gun, who inherited his blood so thickly it felt like reincarnation.
'No, not just revival—I want him to share the dream of conquering the Central Plains that I couldn't achieve!'
For that reason, the Heavenly Demon yearned for Yang Hui-gun's perfect revival above all.
If that proved impossible, saving his life alone would suffice.
"No! A renowned physician will do! Who cares about martial arts? I'll crush anyone who stands in his way—just stay by my side!"
Unlike the Yang family, the Heavenly Demon shed no tears; instead, he grew more obsessive, his eyes gleaming with madness.
"Gunryong."
Sogang couldn't bear the heartbreaking sight, his heart aching with sorrow.
"Even I, a mere physician, couldn't presume to know divine healers' whereabouts... The nearest renowned physician is in Shandong Province."
"Shandong Province?"
Shandong lay just south of Hebei Province.
Quite distant from Yoneung—even by carriage, it would take ordinary folk one or two months. But for the Heavenly Demon, it was plausible.
Strictly speaking, the odds were fifty-fifty.
Proof of how precarious it was.
"Then I'll go..."
The Heavenly Demon inwardly wept, thrashing about in desperation to save Yang Hui-gun.
He was one step away from departing for Shandong that instant.
"Ah!"
Sogang, who had watched the Heavenly Demon anxiously, suddenly reacted.
He, who had wandered the Central Plains as a natural storyteller, sharing and hearing legends, tales, and rumors galore.
Something faintly surfaced in his mind.
"Gunryong! Wait a moment!"
Sogang stopped the Heavenly Demon, who was about to bolt for Shandong.
"What is it? I'm in a hurry!"
The Heavenly Demon knew Sogang had a sharp mind for trivia and common knowledge he lacked, so he listened intently despite his urgency.
"There's no renowned or divine healer nearby in Yoneung Province... but there is a Killer Physician."
Sogang's revelation was shocking.
A healer who saved lives—with "kill" attached to the title? Was that fitting?
"Killer Physician?!"
"Surely... you're not talking about the Merciless Killer Physician, Yu Cheon-baek?"
The Merciless Killer Physician Yu Cheon-baek.
His moniker fit perfectly.
Heartless and killing people—a physician dubbed the terrifying Merciless Killer Physician just from the name.
So why did people seek out this fearsome Merciless Killer Physician?
The reason was simple.
His medical prowess surpassed renowned physicians and even most divine healers.
"That's right! From what I recall, Merciless Killer Physician Yu Cheon-baek resides at the border where Yoneung and Hebei meet!"
Sogang successfully dredged up a long-forgotten, faint memory.
Information he'd heard near Hebei while traveling from Hebei to Yoneung, then to the North Sea.
"See that mountain over there?
The fearsome Merciless Killer Physician Yu Cheon-baek has secluded himself there, living quietly.
He denies being the Merciless Killer Physician, but I know better.
Because... my father once begged him for treatment!"
It came from a fellow storyteller in Hebei.
That storyteller never lied, and the chilling glint in his eyes as he spoke had sent shivers down Sogang's spine.
He had even pointed out the mountain and added:
"Suppose you have family or a lover you must save at any cost?
Even then, never seek the Merciless Killer Physician.
To save one life, he demands another in return.
My father sacrificed his life to save my sick self.
So I'm alive, but not truly living."
The words had given him goosebumps.
That's why the memory lingered so vividly.
"Merciless Killer Physician! How can you call that a true physician?! Taking the life of a patient's family or the one who came begging for treatment in exchange—he's no healer, he's a villain!"
The Dome Green Mountain physician shouted excitedly.
The noble profession of saving lives.
He took pride and reverence in it, yet the Merciless Killer Physician shook its very foundations.
"Sacrifice your life to save the patient's."
Who could agree to that?
The reason Yu Cheon-baek was called the heartless Merciless Killer Physician.
He forced a brutally merciless choice: one life for another.
He cornered the family, lover, or friend who traveled far to save their loved one, compelling the decision.
Thus, the once-renowned physician Yu Cheon-baek became the Merciless Killer Physician, forever tied to the phrase "one life to save another."
Surprisingly, people always sought him out regardless.
"I'll... I'll go!"
At the news of the Merciless Killer Physician's relative proximity, Manor Lord Yang Dae-un stood.
Anyone who's seen a child suffer knows: to heal the apple of your eye, you'd meet even the devil, let alone a killer physician.
Yang Dae-un was willing to offer his life to save his son.
But the Heavenly Demon forbade it.
"What are you saying? I'll go."
The Heavenly Demon gestured for Yang Dae-un to step back, then showed curiosity.
"Heh heh heh. A physician who kills to heal? No need to deliberate."
No such eccentric healer existed in the Heavenly Demon's active era.
"I must meet this Merciless Killer Physician. Lead the way, Sogang."
The Heavenly Demon commanded Sogang and prepared to depart together.
"Y-yes? Gunryong!"
"No! We can't sacrifice you to save Brother Hui-gun!"
As Yang Dae-un, Yang Yeon-hwa, and every Ghost Sword Manor member who cherished and revered Gunryong leaped in protest...
"Hm? What? Who said anything about sacrifice?"
They still didn't truly understand the Heavenly Demon.
This First Heavenly Demon Gunryong was no martyr.
"Pardon?"
Even Sogang, who had planned to accompany him, looked stunned.
"After coming back to life, you think I'll die so soon? I'm living until I ascend to immortality. So..."
The Heavenly Demon flashed a roguish grin once more and continued.
"I'll beat that Merciless Killer Physician senseless until he heals him first."