Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: A Proven Training Method
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Far away, in the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
Byeok Taesan stopped abruptly and slowly turned.
Seeing this, the Divine Doctor of the Ages swallowed hard.
The atmosphere was so menacing it sent a chill down his spine.
Sensing the mood, Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon subtly moved to surround the Divine Doctor of the Ages, as if cornering him.
“Ha, haha, hahaha. Wh-why are you all acting like this? I was just commenting on how poor the Young Master’s condition is. M-my words may have been a bit harsh, but, uh… I-I’m sorry.”
Byeok Taesan looked at the Divine Doctor with cold eyes and said,
“So, after checking my pulse, you think it’s a miracle I’m alive?”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages, as if suddenly emboldened, launched into a passionate speech.
“It’s more than that. It’s a miracle you’re alive. No, it’s an impossible situation. There are degrees to severed meridians, but to have every single minor channel cut off like this… it means you’re dead.”
“So, do I look like a dead man to you?”
“Uh… w-well?”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages darted his eyes around, trying to read the room.
“Or were you thinking I’m a jiangshi, or something of that sort?”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages waved his hands frantically.
“No! Absolutely not. A-a jiangshi! I would never think such a thing!”
It was a lie.
Honestly, when he had checked Byeok Taesan’s pulse, the first thing that had come to mind was indeed a jiangshi.
“In any case, the Young Master’s condition is extremely serious. Something terrible could happen at this rate. We must begin treatment immediately. If you collapse now, it’s all over.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am certain.”
“Can you bet your life on it?”
“I cannot.”
His response was so brazenly confident that everyone stared at him, bewildered.
What kind of person was this?
“How can you be so certain if you won’t even bet your life on it?”
“I am certain of my diagnosis, but I cannot bet my life on it because you, Young Master, are still alive.”
Byeok Taesan scoffed.
“If you’re not going to bet your life, then shut up and follow. Or go home and wait quietly.”
“What am I supposed to do if you collapse?”
If Byeok Taesan died just like that, who would release the restriction placed on him?
Byeok Taesan didn’t bother replying and started walking again.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages quickly followed.
“I’ll follow you. I will never leave your side, Young Master.”
Byeok Taesan let out a smirk.
“You don’t trust me? Think I’m just going to kick the bucket?”
“How can I trust you? You placed a restriction on me the first time we met.”
“If you don’t like it, just say so. You have plenty of options.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages subtly turned his head and grumbled.
“All those options lead to death and ruin, and you want me to choose one? You might as well not have offered them at all. What a pointless deception…”
“I can hear you.”
“Oh dear. My apologies. I assumed that with your poor health, your hearing might be affected as well… I’ll be more careful from now on.”
Byeok Taesan stopped walking again and turned to look at the Divine Doctor.
The Divine Doctor’s face suddenly turned pale.
He wanted to say something but couldn’t even open his mouth. Cold sweat poured down his body like rain.
“I’m really trying to live a quiet life, you see. So please, cooperate. Stop testing my patience.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages nodded vigorously.
He felt a sense of crisis, as if death itself were tapping him on the nose.
Byeok Taesan turned away again and resumed walking.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages let out a long breath and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
“Phew. I almost died.”
Despite what just happened, the Divine Doctor scurried to catch up and walk beside Byeok Taesan.
He glanced back to check where Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon were. They were a fair distance away.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages lowered his voice as much as possible and asked in a whisper,
“Young Master, how did you know my identity?”
“I don’t know who you are.”
“Oh, you have a fine sense of humor. Were you perhaps also a member of the Cult? Ah, so the Golden Jade Trading Company was a secret branch of the Cult? Then are those two behind us members as well?”
“I told you, I don’t know what this ‘Cult’ you’re talking about is. And I wonder if this ‘Cult’ of yours knows that you go around blabbing about it to anyone and everyone.”
“Hup!”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages gasped in shock and clapped both hands over his mouth.
Byeok Taesan stared at him quietly.
“Keep going. Let’s see how far you take this. I’m truly curious what lies at the end of the path you’re on.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages’s face fell.
He had only meant to test the waters, but had ended up in serious trouble.
***
After everything was over, on the way back home from the courtesan house, the Divine Doctor of the Ages followed quietly behind Byeok Taesan.
His expression was a mixture of wonder, respect, fear, curiosity, and doubt.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages channeled all these emotions into his gaze as he stared at Byeok Taesan’s back.
Last night, he had witnessed something truly unbelievable.
‘It really was three shichen.’
For nearly three shichen, moans that were practically screams had erupted from the pavilion Byeok Taesan had entered with the courtesan.
When he had first gathered rumors and information about Byeok Taesan and listened to what people said, he had honestly thought it was a gross exaggeration.
But it was all true. He still couldn’t understand how it was possible.
The courtesan’s throat was probably torn.
But what truly surprised the Divine Doctor of the Ages wasn’t the bedroom prowess of Byeok Taesan, who had earned the moniker ‘King of the Night.’
It was the courtesans there.
‘How can there be a Pure Body everywhere I look?’
Of course, they were far inferior to Byeok Taesan’s handmaidens, like Danyeong, whom he had seen at the Golden Jade Villa.
Judging objectively, they weren’t true Pure Bodies, but rather individuals whose constitutions had been improved to mimic one.
But that alone was astonishing enough.
Moreover, the fact that all these women were courtesans who had slept with Byeok Taesan gave the Divine Doctor one firm conviction.
‘The Young Master definitely knows a grand technique that can change a person’s constitution into a Pure Body.’
Perhaps spending three shichen at it was a way to buy the necessary time for the technique.
‘I want to ask him. I want to hear everything, from beginning to end, right now!’
The thirst for knowledge and the desire for survival began to clash.
The thought he’d had on the way to the courtesan house last night—wondering when he could finally escape this place—had already vanished.
In its place was a new obsession: how to get on Byeok Taesan’s good side and extract information about the grand technique.
From that moment on, the Divine Doctor of the Ages grew restless.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages carefully tried to read Byeok Taesan’s mood. He seemed to be in good spirits.
But he couldn’t be too hasty in his judgment.
Perhaps his desire for knowledge was making him see what he wanted to see.
He recalled the experience from yesterday on the way to the courtesan house.
Who else had ever experienced death tapping them on the nose? Goosebumps rose all over his body, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
Just then, Byeok Taesan stopped and turned around.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages didn’t dare meet his eyes and subtly looked away.
“You said you’re decent with medicine, right?”
At the mention of medicine, the Divine Doctor’s face lit up, all his earlier anxiety forgotten.
“Of course. I may not look it, but I pride myself on my medical skills being among the best. There are only five physicians in the world more skilled than I am.”
“As many as five?”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages looked aggrieved.
“No matter how great I am, I can’t surpass the likes of the Poison Demon, the Medicine Saint, or the One-Needle Eccentric. They were forged by experience and the passage of time. If I were given that much time, I could easily become the best in the world.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages said this with an expression full of pride.
“Is that so?”
Byeok Taesan glanced at Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon, who had just heard this.
Catching Byeok Taesan’s gaze, Yu Seoyeon quickly spoke.
“Everyone acknowledges it to be true.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages’s reputation was widespread and quite formidable.
As long as he wasn’t compared to the celestial figures like the Medicine Saint, the Poison Demon, or the One-Needle Eccentric, the general consensus was that the Divine Doctor of the Ages was the best.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages puffed out his chest and looked at Byeok Taesan, as if to say, ‘See?’
“And I believe when you mentioned five, you were likely including someone from the Demonic Cult.”
She looked at the Divine Doctor of the Ages, asking for confirmation, and he nodded with surprised eyes.
“That’s right. The Demonic Doctor is undoubtedly above the Medicine Saint or the Poison Demon.”
Yu Seoyeon had heard stories about the Demonic Doctor, so she nodded. But she had no idea who the remaining person could be.
It was understandable, as the Blood-Drinking Demon lived a life of near-seclusion and was almost unknown to the outside world.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Demonic Cult thoroughly concealed the Blood-Drinking Demon’s existence, making him even more obscure.
Yu Seoyeon was curious but didn’t press to ask who the last person was. She simply assumed it was information known only among physicians.
Seeing that Byeok Taesan’s mood seemed good, the Divine Doctor of the Ages thought it might be a good time to ask about the grand technique.
While he was contemplating this, Byeok Taesan suddenly asked,
“Then can you treat limbs that have been severed or torn off?”
“That… depends on the condition. If it’s a clean cut, I can reattach it perfectly. However, if it’s torn off… reattachment is possible, but it might not move as it did before.”
“I see. So what are your limits? You can’t save someone with a crushed heart, I assume… but what about a pierced liver or stomach?”
“I can mend most organs. The same goes for limbs and flesh. As long as it’s not an instant death, you can assume I can save them.”
As the Divine Doctor of the Ages said this with a nonchalant expression, Yu Seoyeon and Cheon Gyeongwan stared at him with admiration.
Hearing this, the significance of having the Divine Doctor of the Ages on their side hit them much harder.
They could now begin to understand what it meant to have a spare life.
“Good. Then you can oversee those two’s training.”
“Pardon?”
The Divine Doctor stared blankly at Byeok Taesan. Then he turned his head to look at Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
“You mean these two?”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages was flustered.
By his estimation, Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon were considerable experts.
While he had learned martial arts, his main focus was medicine.
Naturally, his martial skills were inferior to theirs.
The same was true for the subordinates the Divine Doctor had brought with him. They were not people who gained anything through combat.
So, as he was wondering what to do, Byeok Taesan spoke to Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon.
“You heard him. Don’t worry about losing a limb. Wear good heart-protecting armor. Just don’t cut off their heads.”
“Pardon?”
The two of them stared at Byeok Taesan, shocked by his sudden words.
“Real combat is the best way to improve your skills.”
“Pardon?”
“There’s no point in dragging this out, so start today. You’ll gain a lot if you fight with the intent to kill each other.”
“Pardon?”
“Pain makes you stronger. Just make sure they don’t die.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages replied, a wide grin spreading across his face.
“As you wish.”
Cheon Gyeongwan spoke up urgently.
“If we start such training today, it could create a problem with protecting you, Young Master.”
“It’s fine. I won’t be going out for the next month or so anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“So use that month to improve your skills. To a level befitting my guards.”
Cheon Gyeongwan and Yu Seoyeon stared blankly at Byeok Taesan with pale faces, then snapped to their senses and turned to the Divine Doctor of the Ages.
Hoping he would tell them that this training was absurd and shouldn’t be done.
But the Divine Doctor of the Ages looked at the two with a somewhat distant gaze and said,
“As long as you don’t die instantly, I’ll fix you up no matter what, so you can fight without a care in the world. This is a more proven training method than you might think, so trust the Young Master. Your skills will probably skyrocket.”
“Pardon? A proven training method? Who in the world trained like this, and where?”
Instead of answering, the Divine Doctor of the Ages just smiled.
It was no lie. This training method had indeed been thoroughly proven.
Far away, in the Heavenly Demonic Cult.