The Divine Doctor's Judgment
"Next patient."
"Here!"
Every time the Divine Doctor shouted, the line of waiting patients shrank rapidly.
"Where's the affected area?"
"It's not me, it's the head of the Jo family..."
"If you're sick, crawl here yourself. Next."
"Wait a moment! Our Jo family head is from one of the most prestigious clans, how can you..."
Smack!
The man arguing with the Divine Doctor was sent flying after a slap to the face.
"Next."
The crowd that had gathered like clouds clicked their tongues in disdain at the sight. They had already witnessed this scene dozens of times in this very spot.
"Oh dear, Divine Doctor. I'm feeling dizzy and feverish."
"What, did you eat anything raw?"
"Not really, but..."
The man pondered the Divine Doctor's words, then suddenly clapped his palm as if remembering something.
"Ah! My wife has been giving me raw eggs every morning lately."
The Divine Doctor's hand reached toward the man, emitting a faint glow.
"You shouldn't eat raw food. Cook meat thoroughly and always boil your water."
"Thank you. My body feels better already."
"If it happens again, take two of these a day. It's an antibiotic called amoxicillin."
"Thank you, thank you."
The Divine Doctor handed over the medicine and pointed to the basket laid out in front of her.
"Fifteen coins."
"Oh my, you should charge more."
"It's fine. Put it in and go. Next patient."
At her words, a man dressed in silk stepped forward with his hands behind his back.
"Ahem. I am..."
"Five gold coins."
"What? I haven't even said what's wrong yet! And five gold coins? That's enough to buy a small manor!"
"If you don't like it, drop dead. Next!"
From a distance, Master Hyeneung watched and let out a dry laugh. Though patients' symptoms varied, even a simple scratch usually took half a month to a full month for the scab to fall off. Yet the Divine Doctor was treating them faster than drinking a cup of tea.
"Has she been practicing medicine like this all this time?"
"Yes, Master. It's no different from before."
"Indeed...! The title of Divine Doctor is well deserved. She is a blessing to the martial world."
Smack!
"The man who just flew off seemed similar."
"Haha... Amitabha."
From what Master Hyeneung had observed while keeping his distance, most of those sent flying wore silk robes or martial attire. As Jeon-ho said, she didn't touch the weak, but that didn't mean there were no commoners among those flying through the air.
Smack!
"There goes another one..."
Because her treatments were so fast, the turnover of patients was quick, and people being sent flying happened periodically.
"By the way, why does the Divine Doctor charge different amounts for each patient?"
"I asked her about it once. She said it's 'tax according to ability'—more from those who have, less from those who don't."
"Haha..."
Though Master Hyeneung found the Divine Doctor unpredictable from his brief observation, one thing was certain: she held extremely dangerous ideas.
'Standing on the side of the weak, showing no respect for the strong—instead despising them... How dangerous. Truly dangerous.'
No matter how he looked at it, the Divine Doctor didn't align with the ways of the Central Plains.
"Even a flaming thunderbolt would be less dangerous than her..."
At Master Hyeneung's mutter, Jeon-ho nodded.
"Then why does she charge that child from the shantytown even one coin? It can't mean much to the Divine Doctor."
"She said it's so that patients feel they received treatment with dignity by paying, no matter the amount. So she always takes at least one coin."
"Indeed...!"
Listening to Jeon-ho, Master Hyeneung felt a sense of enlightenment. Even after living so long, he had never thought that way.
"She also said that paying gives patients motivation to follow her treatment instructions, making them active participants in their own recovery. In the end, it's all for the patients."
"Oh! Whether she's a Divine Doctor or not, her thoughts run so deep..."
Smack!
Before Master Hyeneung could finish, a woman in silk robes was slapped and sent flying.
"Deep thoughts, yet her hands show no mercy to men or women..."
"I've heard her say something like 'feminism' or whatever it was. I don't know what it means, though..."
"Amitabha."
The Divine Doctor's medical practice continued until the sun set. However, because patients left so quickly compared to the crowd that gathered like clouds, the people forming the throng gradually thinned out noticeably.
Throughout it all, Master Hyeneung showed no signs of fatigue, nodding repeatedly as he listened to Jeon-ho's stories about the Divine Doctor.
"Haha, there's no end to learning."
"You're right. I've learned a lot just by staying by her side."
"By the way, didn't you say you needed to urgently bring the Divine Doctor to the Martial Alliance?"
"That is true, but..."
Even without hearing the rest of Jeon-ho's words, Master Hyeneung understood. The Divine Doctor had a fiery temperament. Forcing her to come would surely bring down a storm of fire.
Judging from how she treated Jeon-ho, she already seemed to hold a deep grudge against him.
"It's already deep into the night."
Master Hyeneung's words carried multiple meanings. One was a question of whether they could afford to spend day after day like this in such urgency, and the other implied that nights in the martial world were extremely dangerous.
In the martial world, only rats, assassins, and those filled with malice to settle grudges moved at night. That was the martial world.
—Chik, chik.
"Huu—"
As darkness settled and the surroundings seemed tidied up, the Divine Doctor lit her pipe. Jeon-ho and Master Hyeneung approached her.
"What do you plan to do now, Divine Doctor?"
"Haa— What do you mean, old man?"
The Divine Doctor blew smoke toward the sky as if she had no idea what Master Hyeneung meant.
"Amitabha. They are not at fault. They are merely following orders."
The rabbit nestled in the Divine Doctor's arms perked up its ears repeatedly. Yet it kept looking at its master, as if trying to say something.
"Baek Seol, Dan-pung, come inside."
The Divine Doctor slightly parted the black robe she wore—Hongik—and the white rabbit and squirrel slipped inside.
"Huu—"
Just as the Divine Doctor continued blowing smoke without answering, the sound of at least dozens of footsteps echoed, and a group rushed in, surrounding her party in an instant.
"Are you the Divine Doctor?!"
One of the group stepped forward holding a trident and shouted accusingly.
Master Hyeneung instinctively felt that something terrible was about to happen.
"Everyone, listen..."
"This is official business. Stay out of it, monk!"
Jeon-ho's face twisted at the words, and he stepped in front of Master Hyeneung.
"You bastard! Do you know who this person is, speaking so rudely?!"
When Jeon-ho released a heavy aura, the gathered men faltered and stepped back.
"D-Do you martial artists intend to lay hands on the magistrate's constables? We only need to arrest those who have committed crimes, so stand aside!"
"How dare you!"
The man representing the constables raised his voice despite trembling under Jeon-ho's aura.
"I'll say it again! Martial artists must not interfere with official authority. Hand over the criminal!"
"You lot won't come to your senses until you see blood! Shrrring—!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Jeon-ho drew the sword at his waist.
"That's enough."
"What? But..."
"It's fine. Put the sword away."
At the Divine Doctor's repeated command, Jeon-ho sheathed his blade and obediently stepped back, as if his role was done.
"What crime did I commit? Hurting your feelings?"
Perhaps because Jeon-ho had put away his sword, the constable grew even bolder and raised his chin.
"You practiced medicine without official permission!"
Surely they hadn't gathered in the dead of night just because permission hadn't been granted. No one present believed that. Many of the Divine Doctor's patients since morning had been sent by the authorities. They simply needed a justification to capture the Divine Doctor.
"The magistrate will interrogate you personally! Bind the criminal!"
"Huu—"
As the Divine Doctor removed her lips from the pipe, white smoke rose into the sky. Then her right hand slowly lifted.
"D-Divine Doctor! Please calm down!"
Thwack!
Despite Master Hyeneung's plea, the Divine Doctor flicked her fingers, and a sound echoed through the silent darkness.
〈Rotation〉
Crack!
At the same time, the sound of eyeballs being severed rang out simultaneously from the constables who had been standing there clueless.
"Aaaaargh!!"
Dozens of constables clutched their eyes without exception. Thick blood seeped between their fingers.
"A-Amitabha. Amitabha. How could someone's eyeballs..."
Jeon-ho turned around, his face pale at the sight, and saw the Divine Doctor smiling. Amid the rising beauty, Jeon-ho felt a chilling cruelty.
"Let's go."
"W-Where are you going?"
The Divine Doctor walked away without answering Jeon-ho's question. Jeon-ho had no choice but to follow, wanting to cover his ears.
'H-How can a human laugh while listening to such screams of pain...'
The Divine Doctor strolled leisurely as if taking a walk under the brilliant moon. She arrived at the place the people who had clung to her, claiming they had no way to survive, had told her about.
"Huu—"
There, guards stood watch at the entrance, relying on a burning bonfire.
"W-Who..."
Crack!
"Aaaaargh!!"
Once again, screams of pain and agony echoed.
"D-Divine Doctor. No, Miss Han. Are you really planning to go in?"
The Divine Doctor clenched her hand in the air, and the familiar black space opened and closed, something clutched in her hand.
Click.
"You and the old man stay here. I'll be right back."
"Hurk!"
When the Divine Doctor glanced back, a mask that instilled terror at a single glance was on her face.
"Come along."
The Divine Doctor forced the door open, and the thick bolt locking the massive wooden door broke as it swung open. She stepped toward it, and the door closed behind her from the rebound, her figure disappearing.
"M-Master. What should we do...?"
"Amitabha. May the benefactor awaken to compassion..."
As Master Hyeneung chanted outside the door where the Divine Doctor had vanished, another chilling sound reached his ears.
Crunch! Crunch! Clatter!
'Is that the sinister thing I saw during the day...?'
Aaaah—!!
Hearing the wet screams echoing from inside, Master Hyeneung flinched.
"Amitabha. May the benefactor awaken to mercy..."
Kraaaah—!!
"Amitabha..."
***
Flutter!
The Sichuan Tang Clan, the ruler of Sichuan and Sichuan itself. A pigeon landed on the window of the clan head's office.
"Hmm?"
Tang Jeong-mun, the head of the Tang Clan, couldn't help but feel something was amiss. There were few messengers that could reach him directly within the Tang Clan. Moreover, a red knot was tied to the pigeon's leg.
"Red-level urgency?"
Confirming the color of the knot, Tang Jeong-mun hurriedly untied the message and read it. The more he read, the deeper the venomous green in his eyes became.
"Is anyone outside?!"
"Yes, Clan Head. Did you call?"
A maid waiting outside the door answered immediately.
"Prepare to depart for the Martial Alliance at once and issue a summons to the Council of Elders!"
"Yes, Clan Head. I will carry out your orders."
"Also, send red-level urgent messages to the Peng Clan, the Zhuge Clan, and the Nangong Clan!"
"Yes."
After the maid left, the letter in Poison King Tang Jeong-mun's hand crumbled to dust, soaked in venom.
"How dare they...!"
***
"Let's go!"
"You Poison Demon bastard! Did you really eat something wrong? Why are you acting so eager at your age?!"
Despite Changma's scolding, the Poison Demon climbed into the carriage with a wide grin.
"Didn't our Ga-eul say she's studying poison?"
Changma, resting her chin on her hand, asked indifferently.
"So?"
"So I brought the White Bone Soul-Snatching Poison and the Ten Thousand Emperor Divine Poison that I personally made. How happy our little one will be. Hahaha!"
Changma recoiled in shock, shoving herself into the corner of the carriage.
"Are you out of your mind?! Why bring that into the carriage?! If even a little leaks out, we're all dead, you idiot."
"I don't know about that either. Let's just go!"