Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Eastward
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Dang Mujin wanted to examine the symptoms of those suffering from the plague, and Chu Sam couldn't get the image of the people who hadn't been able to hold proper funerals out of his mind.
But as long as the patients didn't leave Guangdong, the plague would likely return even if the symptoms subsided temporarily for a while. That was the most terrifying thing about a plague.
To make matters worse, if they lingered in Guangdong examining patients leisurely, not only Chu Sam but even Dan Seoryeong could catch the plague. Dang Mujin let go of his regrets and decided to leave Guangdong.
The four headed north.
When they arrived at the edge of a refugee camp on the outskirts of Guangdong, quite a few people glared at Chu Sam. They saw him as a grave robber or a thief.
Chu Sam hadn't committed any crimes, so he put on a deliberately confident demeanor. But the people seemed to resent even that attitude of his.
"Look at that bastard, holding his head high so shamelessly."
"He's the kind who deserves heaven's punishment. Who's that group traveling with him?"
"Must be his gang."
In the end, it wasn't long before Chu Sam whispered to Dang Mujin.
"It might be better if we walk a bit apart."
Chu Sam had decided to take Dang Mujin as his master, so despite the large age difference, he treated him as his senior.
"If it's because of people's stares, don't worry about it."
"It bothers me to cause you trouble."
"If you're in the right, that's all that matters."
Dang Mujin showed an even more confident attitude.
What could they do besides glare, after all?
However, among those glaring at Chu Sam were some whose connections ran to shady characters.
*
Once they left Guangdong Province, hardly anyone recognized Chu Sam anymore, and only then could the four move at a more relaxed pace.
And just as the Strange Beggar had taught Dang Mujin medicine, Dang Mujin now began teaching it to Chu Sam.
Dang Mujin quoted a simple passage from the Treatise on Damage.
"'Those with dryness in the throat cannot be made to sweat.' What does this mean?"
"It means that those with a dry throat cannot sweat."
Chu Sam answered confidently.
Chu Sam hadn't fully comprehended the medical texts, but he had them memorized perfectly. This passage was short, with no difficult characters.
"You can read the words like that. But what about the meaning behind them? Why can't someone with a dry throat sweat?"
"That's not written there, is it?"
"It's not written directly. But that doesn't mean there's no deeper meaning."
"Then what is the meaning?"
"Dryness in the throat means that pathogenic factors have directly invaded, causing heat, or the stomach's functions have clashed, generating heat that congeals and damages the body's fluids. Forcing sweat here would further injure those fluids, so the body prevents it."
Hearing that explanation, Chu Sam looked quite flustered. The gap between what he understood and Dang Mujin's explanation was too vast.
Dang Mujin continued.
"Medical texts are interconnected with other medical books or texts like a spider's web. You can't understand them just by reading the words literally."
"...I'll have a lot to learn ahead."
"You'll even dream of studying."
Dang Mujin had resolved to honor the Strange Beggar's legacy by spreading medical knowledge throughout the world.
Simply copying and distributing medical texts might seem like the best way at first glance, but it wasn't a great method.
Unlike other books, medical texts carry far too much meaning between the lines.
Without sufficient knowledge, examining patients after learning just one or two texts could lead to arbitrary interpretations that worsen illnesses. There's a reason they say shamans kill people.
That was why the method Dang Mujin came up with was to increase the number of people versed in medicine, one by one.
He would pass on his medical knowledge to Chu Sam, and Chu Sam would take disciples to teach it in turn.
By the time those disciples began teaching others, the number of people suffering from diseases in the Central Plains would be greatly reduced.
Chu Sam agreed with Dang Mujin's intent, but his expression was one of bewilderment. He felt that even receiving Dang Mujin's medical knowledge himself, let alone teaching others, wouldn't be easy.
*
Five days passed since the four entered Hunan.
Unlike the hurried lightness skill they had used coming to Guangdong, their return journey was quite leisurely.
Chu Sam learned medicine while walking, and Dan Seoryeong taught Nangong Myeong simple self-defense martial arts and lightness skills. He had no talent, but once learned, they would serve him well for life.
Their pace wasn't fast, and villages weren't dense in southern Hunan, so they had no choice but to camp outdoors sometimes. Today was one such day.
The four lay down in a spot with soft soil and moderately grown grass and fell asleep.
Just before dawn, three people watched Dang Mujin's group from a hill a short distance away. Black butterfly tattoos faintly visible under the moonlight. Assassins from Salmak.
It had been nearly a year since Salmak lost track of the Strange Physician.
Salmak couldn't crouch in hiding forever; they needed to resume activities soon. They had simply been unable to stretch properly, fearing the Strange Physician might pop up unexpectedly.
Then, reports came in that the Strange Physician had appeared. Not just one report, but several, even specifying the direction of movement. In the end, three assassins were dispatched.
The three assassins' goal wasn't to kill the Strange Physician. Even five peak assassins would be massacred; how could three first-rate ones target him?
Their mission was to verify if the reports of the Strange Physician's appearance were true.
Whether Salmak would avoid the Strange Physician or target him again wasn't decided, nor was it their call.
It was just a confirmation mission, so only one of the three needed to approach the Strange Physician. The other two would observe from afar.
The leader assassin, tasked with approaching, spoke.
"Stay as far back as possible. Far enough that even if you're spotted by some chance, you can survive."
"Understood."
Finally, the three assassins exchanged glances. As all high-level first-rate assassins, no more words were needed.
The leader assassin observed the group from a distance. The night was too dark to make out faces clearly. He slowly approached the group.
At about two zhang away, relying on the faint moonlight, he examined their faces. Three young men and women. And one fairly old man. Gray hair around the ears resembling the Strange Physician.
'The Strange Physician Yi Chung? No, it's not him. Someone else.'
The leader assassin quickly realized the man wasn't the Strange Physician. The Strange Physician was famous, and the leader had seen him before.
'There must have been confusion in the reports. But with multiple people giving similar reports at the same time, this guy seems to have been actively impersonating the Strange Physician.'
Once he knew it wasn't the target, the assassin had two choices.
Slip away quietly, or eliminate the fake target.
Most would choose the former, but the situation was different now.
The Strange Physician's movements were Salmak's top priority, and this man was impersonating him.
Leaving him be could lead to more false reports, muddling their intelligence.
'He dies for flapping his lips, so no injustice there.'
The assassin moved toward Chu Sam. His steps were so stealthy not even the grass rustled.
As he crouched to drive his dagger into Chu Sam's throat, a young man's voice rang in his ear.
"I wondered why the smell got so thick. We had a night visitor."
The assassin startled and turned. The young man who had been sleeping moments ago now stood behind him.
Even living among stealth experts, he never missed another's presence—but this time, he hadn't sensed a thing before being caught. Goosebumps rose all over.
The assassin blurted out.
"How did you notice?"
"I said it was the smell."
"What smell?"
"The unique milky stench of first-rates."
Nangong Myeong slowly extended his arm. In his hand was an oddly familiar dagger.
The assassin immediately rummaged through his clothes, checked both forearms, waist, and thighs—all his dagger hiding spots. But not a single dagger was there.
'Where did all the daggers go?'
A dagger plunged into the flustered assassin's brow. In his falling eyes, he saw five daggers gripped in Nangong Myeong's left hand.
'...When the hell...?'
The assassin died with a new question in mind.
Thud. Hearing the faint sound of the body falling, Dang Mujin woke.
"Sleeping well and now this commotion... Huh?"
Dang Mujin saw a black-clad man collapsing with a sword in his brow.
Nangong Myeong didn't know, but the sight resembled the Strange Physician's end. Dang Mujin's heart dropped for a moment, followed by rage hot enough to burn everything.
Dang Mujin barely clung to reason and turned his head.
He knew what to prioritize first when facing Salmak assassins: the scouts.
Dang Mujin sprang up like a弹 and scanned the surroundings. Far off, in the dim light, two faint scout silhouettes. Two of them.
The scouts were far apart from each other, and even farther from the group.
Dang Mujin shot forward like an arrow, shouting to Nangong Myeong.
"Take the left one!"
Dan Seoryeong and Chu Sam woke at the shout.
What they saw was Dang Mujin charging like an enraged bull, and Nangong Myeong melting into the darkness.
*
By the time faint dawn broke, Dang Mujin returned to the group, trudging wearily.
The corpses before the group now numbered two. Nangong Myeong had caught and killed his fleeing scout, but Dang Mujin's hands were empty. Not even bloodstained. He had let his scout escape.
Nangong Myeong nodded calmly.
"That can happen. You're only first-rate."
Dang Mujin bristled slightly, but thought Nangong Myeong had earned the right to boast by catching his assassin.
Dang Mujin took deep breaths to quell his anger and spoke.
"My lightness skill was faster than the assassin's. If he hadn't fled into the woods, I could've caught him easily."
"I get it. Not bad for a first-rate."
Dang Mujin shot Nangong Myeong a sharp glare. But Nangong Myeong deflected it smoothly with Golden Hand.
His chest still felt tight, but Nangong Myeong's nonsense oddly eased his mood.
Serious faces wouldn't solve anything, he thought.
Dang Mujin spat and gathered his thoughts.
With Salmak assassins on them, they needed to decide and act quickly.
And only Dang Mujin and Nangong Myeong knew the Strange Physician had been killed by Salmak assassins. The decision was theirs.
Nangong Myeong suggested.
"With assassins on us, let's hurry back to Sichuan Province."
But Dang Mujin shook his head. The frustration hadn't fully faded, but it helped him view the situation objectively.
"No. Going to Sichuan now isn't a good choice."
"Why?"
"We've never encountered those guys in Sichuan until now. I thought they didn't know my face exactly or my whereabouts and identity."
"So there was another reason?"
"Yeah. I wasn't the target from the start."
Then who? Nangong Myeong thought briefly and understood immediately.
The recent addition to the group, the one drawing stares, the one the assassin tried to kill. Chu Sam.
'Did Chu Sam commit a crime bad enough to draw assassins?'
Possible. Plenty hated him.
But enough for three first-rate assassins?
No.
As that thought connected, Nangong Myeong grasped Dang Mujin's point. Something more important than rumors around Chu Sam: Chu Sam impersonating the Strange Physician.
Nangong Myeong muttered.
"So Salmak's grudge with the Strange Physician still hasn't ended."
"Looks that way. I've been misreading the situation until now."
Chu Sam didn't know the full story, but he understood the assassins had targeted him.
His hands trembled. He was the most vulnerable here, and the easiest way for Dang Mujin's group to escape trouble was to abandon him.
Until now, Chu Sam had thought he'd done enough and death would be fine. But a few days ago, he'd gained a dream. To become a proper physician and care for people. To make a name as a physician.
He'd even grasped the rope to pursue that dream. He didn't want to die.
Dang Mujin glanced at Chu Sam and said casually.
"We won't abandon you, so no need to tense up."
Nangong Myeong asked Dang Mujin.
"What now?"
"Sichuan's far, and others could get dragged in. Let's turn toward people who can help."
"Where to?"
Dang Mujin stood and said.
"East."
Nangong Myeong looked uneasy. His family, the Nangong Clan, was to the east too.
Somehow, he had a bad feeling.