Chapter 73
Chapter 73
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: That Can't Be Right
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The journey back from Yichang to Wuhan was perfectly peaceful.
Unlike the trip there, there was only a single boat, flying no particular banner, but no pirates attacked.
Whenever they stopped, the Divine Doctor of the Ages and Hwaok gathered all the local information. According to what they learned, pirate sightings had all but vanished recently.
As soon as Byeok Taesan heard this, his eyes gleamed.
"Something smells."
"Right? It's clear someone is using the pirates to plot something."
The "smell" Byeok Taesan mentioned wasn't one of conspiracy or schemes, but of spiritual herbs, though he didn't bother to clarify.
Hwaok looked at Byeok Taesan, her eyes sparkling.
Since becoming Byeok Taesan's handmaiden, she had regained a noticeable amount of composure and rarely trembled in fear anymore.
Looking at her, Byeok Taesan asked.
"By the way, what was it you saw in me?"
"Pardon?"
"At first, I thought you had seen something for certain, but after spending time together, it seems that wasn't the case."
Hwaok hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.
"I don't know why, but I can see a person's essence through a brief scene."
"A brief scene..."
Byeok Taesan was intrigued. The ability to see a person's essence was interesting, as was the fact that she saw it through a brief scene.
"Most people are quite ordinary. I usually see them eating, sleeping, fighting, bleeding, or screaming."
"And you can discern their essence from that?"
"Yes. I get a strong feeling from watching it."
Byeok Taesan continued to watch Hwaok with a look of interest.
"From you, Young Master... I saw a scene of a pitch-black monster devouring the world."
"Devouring the world?"
"To be precise, it was a scene of it devouring the living creatures that make up the world."
Byeok Taesan was slightly surprised.
*Isn't that more accurate than I thought? It's true that I extract and consume the souls of the living.*
"Do you still see it that way?"
"The feeling is strongest when I first meet someone. After that, the scene becomes too blurry to make out clearly."
"Is that so? Anyway, was it really that frightening?"
Hwaok gave a bitter smile.
"Actually, I was a bit mistaken. I had seen something similar before..."
"You saw something similar?"
"Yes. It happened when I was very young, so I must have been confused."
Hwaok shook her head with a faint, disbelieving smile.
"That can't be right, though."
"So, who did you mistake me for?"
"He was a very formidable man. Of course, I only learned who he was much later."
Hwaok paused for a moment, then continued, her eyes shining.
"He was the one they called the Heavenly Demon."
Byeok Taesan tilted his head and looked at Hwaok.
He had actually expected this. That Hwaok had seen his past self, before he was reborn.
But he had no memory of it.
"When was that?"
"I was six years old, so... about twenty-three years ago."
Byeok Taesan searched his memories.
Since his rebirth, his past memories were so vivid it was almost like reliving them.
He would pull out those memories whenever he needed them.
However, trying to recall a memory from such a vague timeframe took a little longer.
Moreover, while he could clearly remember situations, texts, and martial arts, his memories of the people involved were somewhat hazy.
The thought suddenly occurred to him that perhaps this vagueness was the price for his rebirth.
In any case, after searching his memory for a while, the situation from that time finally came to mind.
Of course, he had no memory of a little girl who might have watched him from afar.
He only recalled a situation where such an event was likely to have occurred.
"The Four Fiends of Guangdong. Now I remember."
The situation back then was connected to the Four Fiends of Guangdong.
"No wonder their title sounded familiar."
Hwaok stared at Byeok Taesan with surprised eyes.
"Do you have a connection with the Four Fiends of Guangdong?"
Byeok Taesan let out a short laugh.
"Connection? I just saw them once in passing."
"Then you must have seen a fragment of the twenty-something years of memories they lost."
Byeok Taesan didn't answer.
His encounter with the Four Fiends of Guangdong had indeed been over twenty years ago.
At the time, the Four Fiends had assaulted and killed a female martial artist from the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
Of course, they hadn't known she was a member of the cult, but they had crossed the Heavenly Demonic Cult all the same.
The Heavenly Demon himself had stepped in to handle the matter.
He had been away from the cult on important business, and what the Four Fiends had done truly displeased him.
Although the Four Fiends were quite powerful, they couldn't escape the pursuit of the Heavenly Demonic Cult.
And in the end, they came face to face with the Heavenly Demon.
During that process, he had received cooperation from a village, and Hwaok must have been a little girl in that village.
At the time, the Heavenly Demon had crushed their manhood, made them feel the agony for a long time, and then smashed their heads, killing them.
*'But they came back to life? In younger bodies.'*
Byeok Taesan stroked his chin with a peculiar expression.
"What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Hwaok asked cautiously.
"Did that fiend say anything else? Come to think of it, I remember him saying something about a 'Big Brother'."
Hwaok looked puzzled.
"'Big Brother'? There was nothing like that. I checked from various angles for any other connections, just in case, but they didn't remember anyone at all."
"Is that so? That's strange. It didn't sound like nonsense."
Hwaok's expression turned serious.
"It seems we'll have to investigate further."
It was as if someone had intervened to distort or erase the information in the Four Fiends' minds.
"For now, let's mull over that problem later. By the way, how are the physicians who joined us? Did you see anything from them?"
"They were ordinary. I saw medicine and a sword."
"Medicine and a sword?"
"It seems they've lived with medicine and swords since they were young. It's a scene I've often seen from the people of the Heavenly Medicine Hall."
"The Heavenly Medicine Hall... They shouldn't be part of the Martial Alliance, should they?"
"Perhaps things have changed. I'll look into that as well."
"Interesting. That's a rather useful ability for the Underworld Sect. It doesn't seem like you only see their essence."
Hwaok gave an awkward laugh. She hadn't actually intended to explain her ability in such detail.
But she couldn't help it. It was incredibly difficult to go against his words when she was in his presence.
Hwaok looked at Byeok Taesan as if she had suddenly remembered something.
"Come to think of it, your handmaidens were a bit peculiar, Young Master."
"Who? Don't tell me all three of them?"
Hwaok nodded in response.
"Yes. I saw the same thing from all three of them."
"The same thing?"
Hwaok quietly looked at Byeok Taesan.
"I saw you, Young Master."
"Me?"
"Yes. It was the same for all three."
Byeok Taesan sank into thought for a moment. If it was the same for the six handmaidens remaining at the Golden Jade Trading Company, it meant he must have had some kind of influence on them.
"Interesting."
"And it was the same for Lady Yeon Harin as well."
"Yeon Harin too?"
It was becoming more and more certain. Byeok Taesan looked at Hwaok with interest.
But Hwaok seemed to be hesitating about something.
"Why? Is there something else you want to say?"
"No. I was just thinking about how to find the pirates."
Hwaok deftly changed the subject. She couldn't bring herself to say that the scene she saw from the Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric was also of Byeok Taesan, smiling.
"Well, I trust you'll handle it."
With that, Byeok Taesan left the cabin.
Hwaok sighed in relief inwardly and began to think of ways to contact the Underworld Sect from this area.
***
The Divine Doctor of the Ages and the One-Needle Eccentric were in a cabin in the ship's hold with the two physicians from the Martial Alliance, examining the corpses.
Wanting to gauge the skills of the two physicians, they had them examine the bodies first.
There were three corpses in total: one of the Four Fiends of Guangdong, and the other two were Half-Jiangshi.
Of the Half-Jiangshi, one was a regular one, while the other had learned martial arts.
They had prepared one of each type.
Watching the two physicians meticulously examine the corpses, the Divine Doctor of the Ages nodded and spoke to the One-Needle Eccentric.
"Their technique seems rather decent, don't you think?"
"That's because your standards have dropped. You haven't seen a proper physician in too long. They're just ordinary physicians who've studied properly."
"Is that so? Well, let's watch a little longer."
After examining the bodies for a while, the two physicians finally stepped back.
"Are you saying all three of these are Half-Jiangshi?"
One of the physicians asked, causing the Divine Doctor of the Ages to frown.
"Just tell us what you saw. What do you think we're doing with you right now? We're assessing your skills."
The two physicians' expressions stiffened slightly.
"We are well aware of the Divine Doctor's reputation, but our skills are not to be disdained either."
"That's why we're trying to confirm it, aren't we?"
"We don't have much experience examining the bodies of the dead."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages scoffed.
"Why take so long to say you saw nothing? You could have just said you don't know."
The two physicians bristled. However, they didn't raise their voices or scowl noticeably.
The Divine Doctor of the Ages looked at the One-Needle Eccentric.
"I suppose you were right, brother. My judgment seems to have rotted away during my time in Yichang. At this rate, I wonder if they'll even be able to properly relay what we teach them."
"We are not that incompetent."
Just as the Divine Doctor was about to scoff again, Byeok Taesan came down.
"What are you all doing in this gloomy place?"
"Ah, Young Master, you're here. We were just... assessing their skills."
"Oh? Are they any good?"
"Completely useless."
Byeok Taesan tilted his head and looked at the two physicians.
"Weren't you from the Heavenly Medicine Hall?"
The two physicians' eyes widened.
"H-How did you...!"
"Oh, so it was true?"
Byeok Taesan thought that Hwaok's ability might be more interesting and useful than he had anticipated.
The expressions of the two physicians, who had been tricked, crumpled completely.
They thought they had fallen for a trick when he had only made a guess.
But they had no time to protest. The Divine Doctor of the Ages immediately stepped in.
"Didn't you say you were from the Martial Alliance? I wasn't aware the Heavenly Medicine Hall had joined them."
"That's not it."
"Not it? Are you saying the Hubei Martial Alliance's director was lying? And you just stood by and let him?"
At the Divine Doctor's words, the two physicians hastily waved their hands in denial.
"Absolutely not. We have merely decided to cooperate with the Martial Alliance for this matter only."
"This matter?"
"The Half-Jiangshi. The Heavenly Medicine Hall has stepped in because the Poison Demon is said to be involved."
"Ah, now that you mention it, the Heavenly Medicine Hall and the Poison Demon were bitter enemies, weren't they?"
"Bitter enemies is an understatement. They're mortal foes."
The One-Needle Eccentric chimed in from the side.
And Byeok Taesan, who was completely unaware of this fact, widened his eyes slightly.
"What, the Heavenly Medicine Hall and the Poison Demon didn't get along? Why? Did something happen?"
"Well... there were many incidents, but it all started when the Poison Demon, in an attempt to prove his superiority, released poison near the Heavenly Medicine Hall."
"He's not just any madman, that one."
"He is the Poison Demon, after all."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages said, chuckling.
But his laughter was brief; he quickly wiped the expression from his face and glared at the two physicians.
"That's how it starts... but eventually, won't you end up under the Martial Alliance's thumb?"
"Absolutely not."
The two physicians were firm. They seemed to genuinely believe that the Heavenly Medicine Hall would never come under the Martial Alliance.
"We'll see about that."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages looked at Byeok Taesan and asked.
"But what brings you here, Young Master? Is there some trouble on deck?"
Byeok Taesan shook his head.
"Not that. I'm about to take a look around."
"Around here, you mean?"
"Yes. I heard there are many traces nearby."
"What kind of traces?"
"Of the spirit... I mean, the pirates."
The Divine Doctor of the Ages' eyes widened.
"You've already found traces of the pirates? It hasn't been long since you said something was strange. The Underworld Sect is certainly quick on its feet."
Byeok Taesan nodded.
It was definitely a good decision to bring the Underworld Sect under his command.
And he thought he should give more support to the Master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. At least until she became the next leader of the Underworld Sect and firmly established her position.