Chapter 318
Chapter 318
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 318
Chapter Title: Physicians
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Before they could even leave the village by following the bandit trail of the Jamsan stronghold, Hyun-gong appeared.
Hyun-gong did not demand an explanation from Dang Mujin about what had happened. Instead, he observed Dang Mujin's appearance.
A few drops of blood on Dang Mujin's clothes. And the withered old man standing in front of Dang Mujin, the fear etched on that man's face.
With just that much information, Hyun-gong could already guess at least eighty percent of what had transpired with Dang Mujin.
"You're heading out of the village, so it looks like the two physicians were taken somewhere?"
"Yeah."
"I'll come with you."
Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong followed the bandit's guidance deeper into the mountains.
The bandit kept glancing around, eyeing chances to escape, but naturally, he couldn't flee in front of Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong.
"It's best not to even try something foolish from the start. You don't have anyone to die in your place right now."
"Y-Yes..."
After walking quite a distance like that, a village hidden between low hills came into view.
In truth, it was too small to call a proper village. It was just a cluster of a few dilapidated houses on the verge of collapse, long neglected. It was surely one of the Jamsan stronghold's bases, perhaps among several.
Signs of life stirred within the village. Dang Mujin lightly draped an arm over the bandit's shoulder.
"I hope you weren't thinking of this as a lure."
"N-No... Of course not."
In fact, the bandit hadn't been entirely free of such thoughts.
But even just seeing Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong's relaxed demeanor made it clear that was a vain hope. Both were advancing without the slightest hesitation.
A few men sitting near a crumbling hut spotted Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong.
"What the hell? Who'd you bring? Who are you guys?"
Hearing that voice, bandits emerged from here and there.
Rather than answering their questions or reacting to their actions, Dang Mujin asked the bandit serving as their guide.
"Where are the two physicians?"
The bandit's finger pointed to one building. Among the structures, it was the shabbiest and smallest—less a building and more like a barn or shed. Not a space suited for holding several people.
Hyun-gong immediately grasped what he needed to do.
As he unleashed Jeunjong, the essence of the Wudang Sect's lightness skill, his form stretched out like molten sugar syrup.
In an instant, Hyun-gong blocked the front of the building where the two physicians were held, drawing his sword. It was to prevent the physicians from being taken hostage.
Seeing this, the Jamsan bandits flew into a great panic.
"Th-This... Shit!"
One didn't need to draw a sword to gauge an opponent's skill.
Hyun-gong's bizarre and swift lightness skill. Dang Mujin's utter lack of fear even before a far greater number of foes.
In contrast, their guide, wrapped in terror as he led the way. That alone was enough to surmise the opponents' prowess.
Some bandits exchanged wary glances. If even one fled, it would spiral out of control.
At that moment, a bandit with a fairly impressive beard pointed at Dang Mujin and shouted.
"We can take 'em! If we run, break through that guy!"
Like bursting a dam on the verge of collapse, the hesitating Jamsan bandits charged toward Dang Mujin.
It wasn't to rescue their comrade. Hyun-gong, who had displayed clear lightness skill, seemed far more formidable; Dang Mujin just looked relatively easier.
Dang Mujin watched the bandits charge while spinning two flying rings on each hand. The bandits who had already witnessed their power trembled.
Dang Mujin's hands blurred for a moment, and the flying rings looped on his fingers vanished.
After a brief delay, four men's heads flew through the air. The distance between them and Dang Mujin was still over fifty paces.
"Huh...?"
It was an utterly bewildering situation for the bandits. Heads detaching at a completely unexpected moment, blood fountains erupting.
Soon, the bandits' steps halted. They couldn't yet comprehend what had happened.
Unable to advance or flee. The flying rings returned to Dang Mujin's hands and vanished once more, and another four heads fell.
"Ah, aaaaah!"
The bandits finally grasped the situation and began scattering in all directions. They belatedly realized breaking through Dang Mujin offered no escape.
But Dang Mujin's flying rings pursued the fleeing bandits like they had eyes. There had been no path for them from the start.
Hyun-gong watched the scene from a short distance away.
Flying rings glinted in the light here and there, blood spurting forth.
Screams filled the surroundings in an instant, soon overtaken by the slow rise of a blood stench.
Hyun-gong thought to himself.
'As expected. Completely different.'
A martial artist's skills were for one-on-one duels against the strong. Fist techniques, leg techniques, sword arts, spear arts—all martial arts were thus.
The final dream of every martial artist was to stand unrivaled as the world's best.
Yet Dang Mujin's martial arts had a different direction.
The skills Dang Mujin had mastered numbered three: swordsmanship, poison arts, and assassination techniques.
Of these, only the swordsmanship—taught by his master—was suited for facing a single opponent.
Comparing an assassin's hidden techniques to Dang Mujin's made the difference even clearer.
An assassin's hidden arts quietly and secretly claim one life. But Dang Mujin's flying rings even seemed flashy at first glance.
The greatest difference lay not in the flashiness itself, but beneath it. Dang Mujin's flying rings were specialized for facing multiple foes.
'Martial arts for crowds...'
It didn't seem to be Dang Mujin's intent, but the path he was forging differed from any martial art that had existed before.
While Hyun-gong pondered briefly, the situation resolved.
Only one bandit survived among them: the old one who had guided Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong here.
Hyun-gong hadn't even swung his drawn sword before sheathing it. Dang Mujin roughly wiped the blood from his flying rings on a corpse's clothes.
Creak—
Only then did Hyun-gong open the shed door and peer inside.
A familiar figure lay unconscious. Even from the back of the head, it was clear it was Yeom Physician.
And behind Yeom Physician, like stacked firewood, bundles of wooden slips bound with leather straps were piled neatly.
Hyun-gong approached Yeom Physician, checked his face, and frowned. The bandits' method of knocking him out hadn't been gentle.
Dang Mujin, who had come up beside him, showed a similar reaction.
"Doesn't look like pressure points."
"With those guys' skills? They probably don't even know how."
Bruises covered Yeom Physician's body.
His lips were split open, blood trickling from his nose.
Hoo—
Dang Mujin let out a deep sigh.
He turned to the bandit who had been their guide.
"Why'd you beat him to a pulp like that? With Yeom Physician's temperament, he couldn't have done anything wrong."
The bandit mumbled in response.
"...He only talks straight after a good beating."
As Dang Mujin's expression twisted, the bandit hurriedly added an explanation.
"It wasn't my idea—it was something the stronghold leader always said! He claimed no one stays stubborn once you beat them until they beg right after waking up!"
"Is that so? Where's your stronghold leader?"
The bandit pointed outside the shed. A corpse lay there.
It was the one who had shouted to break through toward Dang Mujin. Dang Mujin considered kicking the body but changed his mind.
"Why bring Yeom Physician here?"
"...There were rumors the new physician in the village was skilled."
The answer was too straightforward to argue with.
"You seemed to trade with outsiders too. No need to drag him off like this."
"...This way's simpler. No cost either. And that wasn't my— the stronghold leader's—"
The bandit hastily made excuses, but Dang Mujin couldn't hold back and kicked his shin.
Dang Mujin felt the bandit's shin snap through his toes.
"Aaaah!"
The bandit collapsed, clutching his shin, gasping in agony.
Yet Dang Mujin felt no small satisfaction. An ominous fact lingered.
Two physicians kidnapped. But only Yeom Physician in the shed.
Right. Yang Physician was missing.
Dang Mujin asked.
"Where's the other one?"
"Huh, huh!"
Even amid the pain clouding his mind, the bandit reacted to Dang Mujin's words. He knew pandering might give him a chance to survive.
But the bandit's response strayed from the question.
"P-Please. I said. Don't do it!"
Dang Mujin pressed down on the bandit's good shin and spoke.
"That's not what I asked."
"Th-There!"
The bandit pointed to a well a short distance away. It had a lid.
Dang Mujin's breath caught. He could guess what happened.
But he had to confirm. Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong approached the well and opened the lid.
Yang Physician lay dead at the bottom of the dry well. He wasn't the first; quite a few bones were piled beneath.
"Haa..."
Hyun-gong sighed with deep regret and climbed down into the well.
He hoisted Yang Physician's corpse—rotting enough for pus to ooze—and crawled back up, gently laying it on the ground.
Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong gazed at Yang Physician's body.
A large hole gored his abdomen. Drained of blood, Yang Physician's rugged face—striking for a physician—was deathly pale.
The corpse's rotting stench filled the air. It was mild only because of the cool seasonal winds. In summer, it would have been hellish.
Hyun-gong started to dig a grave but shook his head. Burying Yang Physician here felt like the wrong choice.
Hyun-gong asked Dang Mujin.
"Should I wake Yeom Physician?"
One could force wake someone by striking acupoints, much like knocking them out. But Dang Mujin thought it unwise.
"No. Let's wait until he wakes naturally."
People fainted in unbearable situations. From experience, Dang Mujin knew letting them recover on their own was far better.
Dang Mujin stared quietly at the sole surviving bandit.
Sensing his fate, the old bandit crawled to Dang Mujin and clutched his pant leg.
"Please, I'll do anything you say! Just spare my life!"
Dang Mujin nearly snapped his neck but lightly shook him off.
He headed to the shed. Earlier, when he found Yeom Physician, he had spotted a pile of wooden slips behind him.
"Why are these wooden slips here?"
The bandit answered Dang Mujin's question.
"We brought them when we grabbed a physician before, thinking they might help!"
"From that lower village?"
"Yes."
Dang Mujin unbundled and examined the slips. They were densely packed with medical knowledge.
But Dang Mujin's interest lay on the backs. As expected, several had the Demon Physician's diary.
[Shim Physician told me to learn martial arts. Seems he plans to pair me with Lady Yeohye.]
[The master's skill didn't satisfy. I didn't aim for a famed expert, but my teacher was old man Jeong, who bakes earthenware. Folks said he was second-rate in his youth.]
[I tried learning diligently, but he seemed displeased with me. After half a month, he told Shim Physician I lacked talent. It fizzled out. No great loss. What's a physician need with killing techniques?]
Dang Mujin examined the slips. The story ended there. Not much new information.
As he prepared to deal with the surviving bandit and leave, the bandit shouted again.
"The diary! You're interested in the diary?"
Dang Mujin paused and replied.
"Do you know something?"
"The guy we grabbed before said it was his diary! He was about my age back then, so we talked a bit."
"Tell me what you know after the diary."
"...When Jamsan first settled nearby, the leader planned to grab Shim Physician."
The old bandit dredged his memory, explaining as slowly as possible.
He figured he'd live while talking. Dang Mujin didn't rush him.
"We nearly had Shim Physician, but he resisted fiercely and we accidentally killed him. His daughter was already half-mad from rough handling."
No need to ask what "rough" meant. The bandit seemed unwilling to detail his own sins.
"So they grabbed that diary writer instead. Kept him locked in this shed nearly a month. These slips were gathered then too. Needed medical skill to make proper use..."
"Did you kill all the villagers back then?"
The bandit shook his head.
"No. They didn't resist, so no need. All cowards—they hid indoors trembling whenever they saw us. Even when disaster struck neighbors."
"...Then how'd the captive escape?"
"The one who taught him martial arts briefly... old man Jeong called Do-gong snuck in, killed the then-leader and two underlings, and freed him. The Jamsan leader you killed today was that leader's cousin."
"So Jeong Do-gong was a hidden master?"
"Not first-rate, but top among second-rates. Damn good with a blade. Not quite your level..."
Thinking back, when he and Hong Geolgae slew the Jangshang leader in old Zhongjing, that leader was at first-rate entry. A small stronghold head wouldn't be mere second-rate.
The bandit noticed Dang Mujin's interest lay more on the captured Demon Physician than Jeong or the old leader.
"That guy we dragged... surname Hwang, I think. Anyway, the Hwang kid suffered more after rescue than before. Heard he wailed three days and nights."
The situation was clear.
Jeong Do-gong, slated to teach the Demon Physician martial arts, wasn't highly skilled. But conversely, that level was enough to fend off bandits.
Yet the Demon Physician lacked even that, losing his father-in-law and fiancée. Losing family to a monumental expert might have been less crushing than to such mediocrity.
"What next?"
"He vanished. Months later, someone poisoned a nearby well, killing the villagers. Amid the chaos, most Jamsan bandits died too, only a few survived. Rumors said the Hwang guy did it."
That rumor was surely true.
A pathetic tale, frustrating and tragic.
Villains of meager skill, and a youth unable even to repel them.
Now Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong understood why the Demon Physician fled west. He couldn't forgive neighbors who turned away from calamity.
*
"Ungh..."
As sunset approached, Yeom Physician stirred and awoke.
He jolted in alarm, looking around confused why he was outside the shed.
Soon, he spotted Yang Physician's rotting corpse and paled in horror.
Dang Mujin approached and bowed his head. He knew it wasn't his fault, yet guilt lingered.
After a long silence, Dang Mujin asked Yeom Physician.
"What happened?"
"We stayed in the village a few days, then bandits suddenly appeared and dragged us off..."
Yeom Physician panted, speaking slowly.
"Yang kid was sharp. Figured only one could live, so he stood first and picked a fight with the bandits."
The outcome was obvious without seeing. He and Yang Physician had trained in martial arts, but at best third-rate thug level.
Hard to shine amid hordes of bandits.
Yeom Physician stared at Yang Physician's corpse for a long while, then surveyed the surroundings.
Bandit corpses littered the area, blood pooling from them, soaking the ground. A headache-inducing blood reek enveloped everything.
Then Yeom Physician looked at Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong. Not a drop of blood on Hyun-gong's clothes. A few splatters on Dang Mujin's, but no wounds. Not even a scratch.
"Huh, heuk..."
Yeom Physician wept endlessly.
His friend who died in his stead was so pitiable, so sorry.
He loathed himself for devising no counter against rabble Dang Mujin slew unscathed. His own powerlessness tormented him.
It hurt more because he didn't need Dang Mujin-level might.
Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong sat silently before Yeom Physician, watching over him.
"..."
Dang Mujin watched Yeom Physician, but other memories flashed in his mind.
First, the tale of the healing master whose son was slain by a martial artist, who then sealed his arts.
Then, during the Orthodox Alliance War, physicians fleeing martial artists.
Next, the old woman murdered by Twin Extremity Blood Elder. Developer of golden sore salve, saver of countless lives—yet met a vain end.
Finally, the Demon Physician, broken after losing all.
Why must physicians live like this?
Why must those of goodwill, extending aid, fear malice, flee, die at hands of those they healed or strangers?
Dang Mujin looked at Yeom Physician again.
After prolonged weeping, Yeom Physician slowly stopped.
He said to Dang Mujin.
"Dang family head."
His voice carried watery resolve. Dang Mujin nodded.
"Speak."
"Teach me the sword. Even if I abandon medicine, I must learn martial arts."
Dang Mujin shook his head.
"It won't mean much. You're too old, and lack special talent."
"Ah..."
Yeom Physician slumped in despair. But Dang Mujin sat before him, meeting his eyes.
"But it's not impossible. I'll teach you something other than the sword."
"What?"
"Poison. Even without martial talent, poison can be handled to a degree."
It wasn't Dang Mujin's discovery.
A young man decades ago had found it. The youth who lost all and became a villain.
For powerless physicians, was there a better path?
Dang Mujin snapped the last bandit's neck, concluding.
"From now on, every physician coming to the Dang family will learn to wield poison alongside medicine."