Life-Death Divine Physician (1)
“The Life-Death Divine Physician wanted you killed, and that person was the Alliance Lord?”
Baek So-cheon was genuinely shocked. He had never dreamed that Ak So-gun's name would come up.
“That's right. The one he wanted dead was none other than Ak So-gun.”
What grudge could be so deep that he'd ask for the Alliance Lord to be assassinated?
“Do you know the reason?”
“No idea. I didn't pry. It was probably some trivial matter anyway. In any case, Ak So-gun was already on my list, so I was secretly thrilled.”
Baek So-cheon could sense that Yeom Hwa-sin was telling the truth.
“If you're that curious, why don't you ask him yourself while getting your treatment this time.”
“If he's got a vendetta against the Alliance Lord, why would he treat me?”
“But he's friends with me, the one who's supposed to kill him in return, isn't he?”
“You're not friends.”
“Then we'll just pretend to be. That's how you'll get treated.”
“To go that far...”
Yeom Hwa-sin cut Baek So-cheon off firmly.
“You'll get treated.”
Their gazes locked in the air between them.
“Fine. We've come this far—let's make it happen somehow.”
“Good. That's more like you.”
The two drained their cups and refilled each other's. With these unexpected secrets coming to light, Baek So-cheon found himself drinking freely.
“So how do we break their Absolute Ban Order?”
“Two ways. The easy one and the hard one.”
“What's the easy way?”
“Eliminate everyone who opposes lifting the ban. Send all those bound by the laws of the dead back to their beloved ancestors.”
“Now that's a method worthy of you. Why not use it?”
Baek So-cheon figured Yeom Hwa-sin could slaughter them all if he wanted. He couldn't mistake the man's affable demeanor for his true nature. If needed, he'd raze every blade of grass in the Ice Palace.
“Sadly, it only satisfies my mood—it won't lift the seal.”
“What do you mean?”
Instead of answering, Yeom Hwa-sin posed a new question.
“Do you know why the North Sea Ice Palace masters can't come to the Central Plains?”
When Baek So-cheon shook his head, another revelation emerged.
“Their internal energy is sealed so it only works properly in the cold.”
“Ah!”
It was the first time he'd heard this secret of the martial world.
“So how do we break the seal?”
“Bring out the manual from their forbidden grounds. With it, the seal can be permanently lifted, allowing their internal energy to function even outside the cold.”
“Sounds difficult, of course.”
“No one's ever succeeded.”
“What happens if you fail?”
“Who knows. No one who's failed has ever come out. Unless they're settling down there, they're probably all dead.”
“You want to go in and get it?”
Yeom Hwa-sin said nothing, just gave a sly smile as he eyed Baek So-cheon. The man saw through his intentions immediately.
“You're not seriously telling me to go in, are you?”
“Why not?”
“You...”
“Once your internal energy recovers, I believe you'll handle it better than I could. Honestly, at my age, breaking seals like that isn't easy anymore. My judgment's not as sharp, and my mind doesn't turn as quick.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“If there's another, I mentioned it before. If you gain some opportunity or enlightenment breaking the ban, you'll grow even stronger than now.”
“And you'll use that stronger me to reach the next realm?”
“Exactly.”
“What if I end up stronger than you?”
“Then I'll die.”
“And you're fine with that?”
“If I stay at this level forever, it'd be worse than death. Can you understand that feeling?”
“...I do.”
Baek So-cheon truly understood. If it were him in Yeom Hwa-sin's shoes, it'd be the same. Right now, his heart was set on leaving the Alliance for a free life. But if it were all poured into martial arts? If the next realm dangled just out of reach, forever unattainable?
“It'd be pure agony.”
“Ordinary folk say things like, 'Isn't that level of skill enough?' or 'Greed brings misery.' That's why you're my one true confidant.”
Yes, that was it. Why Yeom Hwa-sin spared him. No one understood that mindset better.
Baek So-cheon lifted his cup first.
“To that.”
Yeom Hwa-sin drank with him.
“Good. Assuming I go in. From what I saw earlier, there's fierce opposition to lifting the ban. That elder by the Palace Lord seemed especially furious.”
“That's Sim Na-hu. The Grand Elder here, gripping all the real power.”
“You think Sim Elder will just let me waltz in? Hell, I doubt he'll even treat my dantian first.”
Then Yeom Hwa-sin revealed yet another fact.
“I got treated right here in the Ice Palace. To stabilize my extreme yang energy, I needed their Yin Cold Ice Bed.”
The Yin Cold Ice Bed was a frigid bed radiating cold yin energy. Those cultivating extreme yin arts could meditate on it to gain more internal energy than usual. It was an artifact of the North Sea Ice Palace, akin to the Murim Alliance's secret Heavenly Dragon Repository.
“Ah, so that's how you knew the Palace Lord.”
“Correct.”
“Then why are they treating you like this?”
“Toward the end of my treatment, I accidentally shattered the Yin Cold Ice Bed.”
“Good lord! No wonder they're pissed.”
“But they couldn't hold me accountable. It wasn't on purpose.”
Probably some unconscious bodily transformation. Even if not, his ties to the Life-Death Divine Physician—who saved the previous Palace Lord's life—kept them at bay.
At that moment, a thought struck Baek So-cheon.
“Did you... achieve the Diamond Indestructible Body here?”
“Spot on. By the time treatment ended, the clash of extreme yin and yang energies transformed my body. That's when the Yin Cold Ice Bed broke.”
“Ah!”
While he'd wandered lost after losing his internal energy, unimaginable events had unfolded here.
“Anyway, during treatment, I had a few talks with Palace Lord Seo. That's when I learned how desperately she wants the ban lifted. The old fogeys like Sim Na-hu cling to it, while the young masters want it gone. Her initial coldness was just playing to their eyes—she's praying I'll break it for her.”
“Can an outsider even do it?”
“I asked her the same. She said if they couldn't lift it after all this time, maybe it needs an outsider. Clinging to the idea that only Ice Palace folk can do it is outdated thinking. I told her she was sharp.”
Baek So-cheon chuckled. In a way, Seo Bing-bing had fallen into Yeom Hwa-sin's web too.
“Up till now, the elders blocked outsiders. No one could even enter.”
“But you shattered that.”
“Change is needed for progress.”
Now he had a rough grasp of the internal dynamics.
What if the seal-broken North Sea Ice Palace entered the Central Plains? What role would they play?
Baek So-cheon asked bluntly.
“If they break the seal and come out, won't that disadvantage you?”
“Why do you think that?”
“The Ice Palace is close to the righteous sects, isn't it?”
“That's your misconception. Don't assume white robes and smiles mean good. They look out only for themselves.”
It rang true. Especially after years under the ban—they wouldn't trade one shackle for another.
“The martial world's already complicated. This'll make it worse.”
Yeom Hwa-sin grinned and drained his cup.
“Suits us fine. You lot always screw up when things get messy, don't you?”
“Prejudice.”
He denied it firmly, but couldn't fully refute. 'Chaos' favored the Black Heaven Alliance, at least.
“Even if the Palace Lord wants it, she didn't seem able to show it openly.”
“Even she's got to watch Sim Na-hu and his faction.”
“What's your plan?”
“No idea.”
“No idea?”
“From here on, you're handling it.”
“You're serious?”
“Of course. All I know is smashing things.”
“You dragged me here with no plan?”
“You're the plan. Haha!”
Yeom Hwa-sin drank heartily, and Baek So-cheon followed suit.
Yes, now it was time for his methods, not Yeom Hwa-sin's.
“Just one thing to confirm.”
“What?”
“The Life-Death Divine Physician is definitely here?”
“Absolutely!”
Then he had one idea to try. No guarantee it'd work, but...
The next day, Baek So-cheon and Yeom Hwa-sin were summoned back to the Palace Lord's hall.
By Seo Bing-bing's side stood the aged Sim Na-hu and other elders; the farther back, the younger masters. Knowing the internal politics now, Baek So-cheon realized the seating was less protection than surveillance.
Sim Na-hu stepped forward instead of Seo Bing-bing.
“You two, leave at once.”
Her tone was ice-cold.
Yeom Hwa-sin glanced at Baek So-cheon with a 'now what?' look.
Baek So-cheon addressed Seo Bing-bing.
“Before we go, I have a message to deliver.”
“What is it?”
“The Murim Alliance Lord has words for the Life-Death Divine Physician.”
Mention of the Alliance Lord startled everyone present. Meanwhile, a smile tugged at Yeom Hwa-sin's lips—he'd guessed the ploy.
“Tell me. I'll pass it on later.”
“It must be direct.”
Silence fell.
Baek So-cheon shrugged indifferently.
“Understood. If the Divine Physician isn't here, we'll relay it next time. Let's go.”
“Indeed.”
Baek So-cheon clasped his hands in salute, then turned without hesitation. Yeom Hwa-sin followed.
After a dozen steps, a voice called from behind.
“Wait.”
Baek So-cheon turned. A secret door in the rear wall had opened, revealing an elder standing there.
It was Won Gyeong-dan, the Life-Death Divine Physician. He'd been listening from behind the hidden door.
Won Gyeong-dan bellowed at Baek So-cheon.
“What did Ak say to tell me?”
He'd slipped, calling him 'Ak' instead of 'Alliance Lord' in his haste.
“Here?”
Startled, Won Gyeong-dan realized his rashness.
“Let's talk alone for a moment.”
Before Sim Na-hu could object, Seo Bing-bing spoke first.
“I'll arrange a private meeting with Hero Baek right away.”
“Much obliged.”
To Baek So-cheon and Yeom Hwa-sin, she said,
“Go wait in the guest hall. The Divine Physician will come shortly.”
“Got it.”
They followed the attendant out.
Once alone in the guest hall, Yeom Hwa-sin burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Brilliant move.”
“Just a cheap trick.”
If you hated someone enough to kill, how could you not wonder what your foe wanted said? Baek So-cheon had banked on that human nature.
“You didn't even blink telling that lie.”
“Traveling with you's rubbed off on me—near ink, turn black.”
“Hope it stains you good and black.”
Yes, Yeom Hwa-sin started it, but this was his fight now too.
“I'll handle it from here. You just watch and learn.”