Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Like a Son
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“The One-Needle Eccentric?”
Byeok Taesan frowned, looking at Soso who had just spoken.
“Yes. He’s coming to see you, Young Master.”
“The One-Needle Eccentric…”
“You know of him, right? He’s quite famous.”
“I know that much.”
The One-Needle Eccentric was one of the most renowned physicians in the world, so even the Heavenly Demon knew of him.
He had no particular connection to the Heavenly Demonic Cult, but he might have had some dealings with the Demonic Doctor or the Blood-Drinking Demon.
Of course, he didn’t care whether that was the case or not.
“Why would he come all this way?”
“It seems the Lord sought him out through various means.”
“But the Divine Doctor of the Ages is here.”
“I heard from Warrior Cheon before. The Lord is very concerned about your health, Young Master.”
Soso looked at Byeok Taesan with sparkling eyes.
“They say the physician known as the One-Needle Eccentric can cure any illness with a single needle. Don’t you think he could cure your illness in one go?”
Byeok Taesan scoffed.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Does that even make sense? What can you do with one needle?”
“It’s true! There are many rumors like that! He became famous for curing severed meridians with a single needle, you know.”
“I doubt it.”
“Huh?”
“The One-Needle Eccentric isn’t famous for his treatments.”
“Then what is he famous for?”
Soso was a little confused by this story, which was different from what she knew. At the same time, she couldn’t help but feel curious.
“He’s the kind of guy who can kill a person with a single needle. As far as I know, that’s how he became famous overnight.”
“Whaat? No way!”
“What, you don’t know about that?”
“I’ve never even heard such a thing!”
“You don’t know that he wiped out an entire sect with his needles? He killed over a hundred people, not just one or two, with a single needle each?”
Soso shook her head, still in disbelief.
Why on earth would a physician kill people?
“Well, they must have offended him somehow.”
“People don’t just kill someone because they’re offended. Especially not a physician.”
Byeok Taesan smiled gently at Soso’s naive words.
“Yes, this innocence is a good thing.”
“Could you please not talk to me like I’m a child? I’m all grown up now!”
“Yes, yes. You must be. Seeing the bit of grime gathering on your soul lately, you’ve definitely grown.”
“There you go again with that.”
Soso pouted, her expression sulky.
Watching her, Byeok Taesan found himself lost in a strange sentiment.
Who would have ever thought that he would be teasing a servant and bantering like this?
This was something even he had never imagined.
Yet, there was no sense of awkwardness. The whole situation felt perfectly natural.
‘Interesting.’
He had certainly changed. A great deal, at that.
* * *
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion sat demurely, a tense expression on her face as she looked at Byeok Taesan before her.
Today, Byeok Taesan had come to the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, caused no fewer than three courtesans to faint, and then came here.
He had spent two hours with each courtesan, and even after making three of them faint in a row without a break, Byeok Taesan was still full of energy.
In truth, she hadn’t expected him to visit her like this.
Until now, after finishing his business with the courtesans, he would stay in the room for about an hour before leaving.
But today, for some reason, he had come straight here as soon as he was done.
All sorts of thoughts ran through her mind.
The longer the silence stretched, the more complex and chaotic her thoughts became.
“Did you investigate well?”
“Pardon? I’ve already sent you everything I’ve investigated so far…”
Byeok Taesan scoffed.
“No, not that. You’ve been digging into my background. How’s that going?”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion’s face turned pale. Her heart pounded like crazy. A cold sweat broke out all over her body, and goosebumps prickled down her spine.
“I… that… that is…”
Byeok Taesan raised a hand, cutting her off.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion flinched, her body freezing, then quickly prostrated herself on the floor.
“I-I have committed a crime worthy of death. Please, forgive me just this once!”
Even as she begged for forgiveness, she suddenly couldn’t understand why she was going this far.
Honestly, she was too terrified of Byeok Taesan.
“That’s enough, get up. I’m not going to say anything. I was just asking if your investigation was finished.”
But hearing those words didn’t ease her tension. No, it made her even more nervous.
Powerful people usually spoke like that before secretly taking action.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion cautiously raised her body, slowly lifting her head to look at Byeok Taesan.
She had to check his expression and his eyes.
Byeok Taesan’s expression and gaze were perfectly calm.
“P-please wait a moment.”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion moved at once. She retrieved a document stored in a secret compartment and respectfully presented it to Byeok Taesan.
Byeok Taesan took it as if it were a matter of course and glanced through it.
“Rather than investigating me… you’ve investigated the Golden Jade Trading Company?”
“Yes. I suppose I was being cautious…”
The corner of Byeok Taesan’s mouth lifted slightly.
“Good instincts.”
As the atmosphere eased, the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion also began to relax a little.
But in that moment, Byeok Taesan’s expression suddenly turned cold.
“So, did you find out anything about me?”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion felt like a puppy before a tiger. She shuddered as her entire body seemed to shrink.
“N-nothing!”
Even if there was something, there had to be nothing. In truth, she really hadn’t found much.
“Nothing? That’s disappointing in its own way.”
“I truly know nothing, other than the fact that you possess secrets I cannot fathom.”
Byeok Taesan nodded.
“That’s enough. Do you happen to have any information on the One-Needle Eccentric?”
“I do.”
They constantly gathered basic information on famous figures in the martial world, so they had quite a bit on the One-Needle Eccentric.
Although most of it was about his activities.
Byeok Taesan beckoned with his finger as if to tell her to bring it, and the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion quickly went to the secret compartment, found the information on the One-Needle Eccentric, and brought it back.
After reviewing it, Byeok Taesan scoffed.
“This guy is quite a character.”
“There’s a reason ‘Eccentric’ is in his title. It’s because he’s that unpredictable.”
“Less unpredictable… and more just selfish, isn’t he?”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion didn’t answer. One could see it that way, but in the martial world, power held great significance.
The One-Needle Eccentric’s selfish actions were framed as unpredictable eccentricity because of the immense power he possessed.
“I have a knack for dealing with guys like this.”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion felt as if a storm was about to brew, and her body trembled once more.
“Don’t just stand there. Take this.”
Byeok Taesan took a piece of paper from his robes and tossed it.
The paper fluttered through the air and landed precisely in front of the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
She couldn’t tell if it was a coincidence or if Byeok Taesan had controlled its path.
Not that it mattered.
However, if the person in this room were not the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion but a martial artist of a much higher realm—say, someone like the leader of the Martial Alliance—they would have been able to see through the subtlety contained in the move Byeok Taesan had just shown.
For infusing an object with such naturalness was a truly incredible feat.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion focused on the contents of the paper that had landed on the floor. She couldn’t take her eyes off it.
Because it was the Shadow Step technique.
“You can tell just by looking that it’s not the complete version, right?”
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion carefully picked it up and tucked it into her robes. She felt as if she had gained the entire world.
Of course, she would have to analyze it to verify its authenticity, but her intuition, honed from years of handling information in the Underworld Sect, gave her the conviction that it was real.
“Thank you.”
“If you’re thankful, then do a good job from now on. It wouldn’t be bad for you to use that to become the leader of the Underworld Sect.”
At Byeok Taesan’s casual remark, the heart of the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion began to pound like mad.
‘Me… the leader of the Underworld Sect…!’
Byeok Taesan watched her, grinned, then rose from his seat and quietly left.
The Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion, unaware that Byeok Taesan had even left, remained lost in her thoughts—no, in her desires.
* * *
The Divine Doctor of the Ages was sitting across from the head of the East Lake Escort Agency.
He had come here today to discuss future plans.
In truth, it was forbidden for the secret organizations and forces established by the Heavenly Demonic Cult to interfere with one another like this.
Working for the Heavenly Demonic Cult through such connections made it easy for secrets to be exposed.
Using them only when absolutely necessary was the best way to maintain secrecy.
But this was a very special situation.
At least, that’s what the Divine Doctor of the Ages thought.
“For us to meet like this is against the rules. We weren’t even supposed to know we belonged to the same organization in the first place.”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency said coldly.
His attitude was completely different from the one he had shown Byeok Taesan.
“It’s not entirely against the rules. Isn’t this a very special situation?”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency frowned at the Divine Doctor’s sly demeanor.
“The Heaven-Sealing Formation will eventually be released. A new supreme leader will appear.”
“That’s the problem. I’ve heard it will take quite a while this time.”
“A long time? Who said so?”
“Who else? Our Young Master. He’s expecting at least ten years.”
“Ten years…!”
“And that’s the minimum estimate, so it will probably take a few years longer than that.”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency looked at the Divine Doctor.
“How on earth does he know that? I did some digging, and he seems to be the second young master of the Golden Jade Trading Company… No matter how I look at it, I can’t find any connection to our Heavenly Demonic Cult.”
“Honestly, I don’t know either. But seeing as he knows much more than we think… there is one identity I can guess at.”
The eyes of the East Lake Escort Agency’s head gleamed.
“What is it?”
He judged that the Divine Doctor, having been with Byeok Taesan for a long time, would have been able to figure out some of his true identity.
Besides, wasn’t he someone who dealt with information?
“You know that the activation of the Heaven-Sealing Formation means the supreme leader has passed away, right?”
“Of course. I also suspect that… there must have been losses among the cult’s upper echelons in the process. Taking a long time must mean the damage was severe.”
“I think so too. That’s why our Young Master is important.”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency looked at the Divine Doctor with expectant eyes.
The Divine Doctor savored the gaze and slowly opened his mouth.
“It seems… he is the hidden son of the late supreme leader.”
The eyes of the East Lake Escort Agency’s head widened as if they would tear.
“Is… is that, is that really true!”
The Divine Doctor brought a finger to his lips.
“Shh! Shh! Be quiet. Someone might hear.”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency closed his mouth. But he couldn’t hide his excitement, his eyes trembling as he stared at the Divine Doctor.
“Lately, flies have started swarming around our Young Master. So I need some help.”
“What can I do to help?”
“I need two things.”
“Just say the word.”
“First, please mobilize your warriors when we need military force in an emergency.”
“Isn’t that obvious! It’s for our Young Master; of course I won’t spare any force!”
Before he knew it, the head of the East Lake Escort Agency had also started calling Byeok Taesan “our Young Master.”
“The second is to find the other secret organizations.”
“Indeed… that is an important task.”
The future was uncertain. They needed to build a solid support base for Byeok Taesan so that he could rise up in a critical moment.
“For your information, we might not receive any reward for what we’re doing. You’re aware of that, right?”
“Of course.”
This was something they were doing just in case. It was a gamble of sorts.
But it was a safe gamble. Even if it didn’t work out, they had nothing to lose. As long as they were careful.
“So, please begin preparations, step by step.”
“Leave it all to me. The matter with the Jongli Family is mostly wrapped up, so I have plenty of time to prepare.”
The Divine Doctor of the Ages politely clasped his fist.
“Then I’ll be counting on you.”
The head of the East Lake Escort Agency clasped his fist in return and replied.
“I’ll be counting on you as well.”
A flicker of ambition shimmered in both their eyes.