Chapter 308

“Go to Sichuan. If it’s the Divine Physician, there must surely be some way.”

The Luoyang Strange Physician was one of the ten greatest physicians under Heaven.

A physician of that caliber spoke with absolute certainty. Find the Divine Physician. His medical skills were the best under Heaven.

There’s hope.

If I found the Divine Physician, I could save Jeok Cheongang.

I looked down at Jeok Cheongang, lying there like a man sleeping peacefully, then bowed to the Luoyang Strange Physician.

“Thank you. Truly.”

The Divine Physician was an enigmatic figure whose identity no one knew.

Without the token of the Divine Physician that the Luoyang Strange Physician had given me, I would have felt as if I had been dropped into the middle of a vast ocean.

“Ahem. Just with words?”

“Would you like me to bring you a souvenir?”

The Luoyang Strange Physician gave a quiet laugh at my joking reply.

“You insolent brat. Instead of wasting time spouting nonsense, start packing your bags right now.”

“Oh, right.”

The journey from Henan to Sichuan was several thousand li even by a rough estimate. Even if I used my movement technique, it would surely take close to a month.

And there’s no guarantee I’ll find the Divine Physician quickly.

I looked at the Quest window, which I had not yet closed, and muttered inwardly.

System

Quest

Find Mr. Shin in Sichuan

You have acquired the only trace left behind by the Divine Physician.

The Divine Physician is the greatest physician under Heaven. At present, he is the only hope capable of waking Jeok Cheongang.

You must search every corner of the vast land of Sichuan and find him!

Grade: Supreme Peak

Restriction: Possession of Trace of the Divine Physician

Mission: Find the Divine Physician and receive treatment (Incomplete)

Reward: ???

Failure: Jeok Cheongang’s death

What the hell was with that Quest Grade?

I was looking for one person, and its Grade was Supreme Peak.

Fortunately, the trace he had left long ago allowed me to determine that he was in Sichuan. But the land was so vast that the search would still be damn hard.

Modern Sichuan Province was about twice the size of the Korean Peninsula, wasn’t it?

Murim and the modern world were completely separate worlds. But based on what I had experienced so far, the scale of the land and the way people lived were similar.

The thought of searching Sichuan for someone whose name and face I did not even know left me at a loss.

Damn it. It would be easier to find Mr. Kim in Seoul.

But what choice did I have? This was not a matter of choice. I had to find the Divine Physician by any means necessary if I wanted Jeok Cheongang to live.

Jeok Cheongang had six months left.

If I continued guiding qi through his acupoints, I might be able to buy another month or two. But that was all the time Jeok Cheongang had been given.

I’ll find him before the deadline.

To do that, I had to shorten the time required. I quickly turned the matter over in my head, then spoke.

“May I ask you for a favor?”

It might consume a huge amount of manpower and money.

But Sword Saint Mae Jonghak offered a solution without hesitation.

“I will write letters to the Sichuan Tang Clan, Emei, and Qingcheng.”

“Thank you.”

If I could obtain the cooperation of the Sichuan Tang Clan, one of the Five Great Families, as well as the Emei Sect and Qingcheng Sect, each one of the pillars of the Nine Sects and One Gang, the search would become much easier.

But that was not the end of my request.

“Since you’re helping me anyway, could you add a few more things?”

“Hm. The atmosphere is unsettled after the bloodbath at Shaolin. Everyone suspects that Dark Heaven and the Demonic Cult are stirring again, so I may not be able to offer you much help. For martial artists affiliated with a sect, their own sect comes first.”

“I don’t need that much help.”

“Tell me anything I—or Huashan—can help with.”

“Please assign me a few people. That will be enough.”

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and named several people.

A short while later, Mae Jonghak and the Luoyang Strange Physician left the pavilion and walked along slowly as they spoke.

“Will that be all right? I understand that meeting the Divine Physician has been your lifelong wish.”

“My lifelong wish…”

At Mae Jonghak’s words, the Luoyang Strange Physician gazed into the distance as he recalled the past.

“It was. I abandoned my official post and picked up acupuncture needles because of him.”

The Luoyang Strange Physician had once been a promising young scholar.

His grandfather had been the head of the Guozijian, the empire’s highest educational institution, and had served as the late Emperor’s tutor when he was still Crown Prince.

What else could one expect from a scholar’s bloodline? His father and two older brothers had also entered government service and made names for themselves at court.

If a plague had not broken out in the year the Luoyang Strange Physician placed first in the imperial examination, he likely would have followed the same path.

“Countless people died. Following my assigned duty, I classified the dead, the survivors, and those who were bound to die.”

In his youth, when he had only just entered government service, the Luoyang Strange Physician had believed without a doubt that the august Emperor would issue an order, release relief grain, and send imperial physicians to suppress the plague.

He had believed that every civil and military official would do their utmost to save the suffering people.

“I had been mistaken. While the people were dying from the plague, the Emperor expanded a detached palace for his new consort, and the powerful divided among themselves everything that should have gone to the people.”

“What did you do?”

“I wrote lies as facts. Under my brush, a hundred thousand seok of grain, wealth, and medicinal supplies became aid distributed to the sick. The imperial physicians who had been attending the scholar-officials became true physicians laboring to suppress the plague.”

“That must have been painful.”

“It was. When I returned to my family after leaving the palace, the imperial physicians sent by the Emperor were there. They had been sent for my grandfather, who had caught a mild cold.”

That was when he first learned that the world put a price even on human life.

The hand of the Luoyang Strange Physician, gripping the cloth bundle containing his acupuncture needles, turned white.

“Then I heard about the Divine Physician. A doctor who risked his life to treat patients at the source of the plague. One person who subdued the plague alone and saved thousands of lives.”

He immediately returned to the palace, destroyed every record he had written, and left the government.

He had to sever his ties with his family, but he did not care.

He took up acupuncture needles instead of a brush and studied medical texts instead of the Four Books and Three Classics.

“I was called a quack many times. There were patients sitting at death’s door whom I managed to save, but there were also many whom I ultimately failed to treat and had to send off.”

After becoming a physician, he witnessed countless cycles of life, aging, illness, and death.

Then, twenty years later, the promising young official began to be known as the Luoyang Strange Physician.

“None of it would have been possible without the Divine Physician. Without him, I would have become a puppet of the rotten court.”

Mae Jonghak smiled faintly at his words.

“So the Divine Physician gave rise to another Divine Physician.”

“What an absurd thing to say. I’m content to remain the Strange Physician. There is only one Divine Physician under Heaven.”

The eyes of the Luoyang Strange Physician, who was famous for his eccentricity, shone like a boy’s.

Mae Jonghak could not hold back his laughter at the sight.

“Good grief. Should I take back the Divine Physician’s token even now?”

“Since Heaven cannot be reached, it is Heaven. If I had wanted to find him, I would have left for Sichuan ten years ago, when I received the token. My place is here. And…”

The Luoyang Strange Physician added with a bitter smile:

“What face could a quack who cannot cure even one patient at this age possibly show the Divine Physician? This is enough for me.”

“Thank you. With hostile forces stirring everywhere, if Great Hero Jeok recovers, the entire Murim will owe you a great debt.”

“Come now, why are you acting like this? That doesn’t suit you.”

The Luoyang Strange Physician waved his hand as he spoke lightly, then suddenly wore a mischievous expression.

“Are you practicing in advance?”

“Practicing what?”

“The gravitas of an Alliance Leader, ha-ha.”

“Ah. That?”

Mae Jonghak scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

“I have no idea who keeps spreading such rumors. I have already turned it down several times…”

“At present, Great Hero Mae is the most qualified.”

“Don’t say that. Everyone is simply anxious and making the wrong choice.”

The bloodbath at Shaolin Temple had been a warning bell.

A hidden force known as Dark Heaven had appeared.

When an enemy whose existence had never previously come to light revealed itself, the leaders of orthodox Murim cautiously began bringing up one topic.

The re-formation of the Murim Alliance.

“There is someone else suited to that position. At the very least, it is not this old man.”

“Do you truly think so?”

The Luoyang Strange Physician raised a hand and pointed toward the sky.

It was still early dawn. The moon and stars remained in the sky, which had only just begun to brighten.

“One God has vanished, and the Ten Kings have grown old. From what I have seen with my own eyes, Great Hero Mae possesses formidable martial arts and an upright heart. You are the most suitable person to lead the Murim Alliance, the symbol of the orthodox faction.”

“Come now. I’ve already said that this old man absolutely cannot do it. With so many people in the world, why would they make me the Alliance Leader?”

“Then who do you believe is suitable?”

“Hm…”

Mae Jonghak thought for a moment before speaking.

“Right. Senior Peng, the Thunderbolt Saber King, is nearby.”

“He is far too…”

“What’s wrong with Senior Peng? I like his fiery personality. He’s a real man.”

“He would wreck the Murim Alliance with the same fire—with all the manliness in the world.”

“Then Senior Zhuge Gonghu is the obvious choice. He once served as the Murim Alliance’s Chief Strategist, and he rose to become one of the Ten Kings through his Supreme Peak immortal arts and outstanding formation techniques…”

“He died.”

“What? When?”

“More than ten years ago.”

“Good heavens…”

Mae Jonghak had been away for so long that he did not even know who was alive and who was dead.

After groaning for a while, he asked:

“Do you happen to know what became of the other two members of the Three Saints?”

“The Bow Saint’s whereabouts have been unknown for more than twenty years, and the other one… honestly, he should not even be considered.”

“Hm? Why not?”

The Luoyang Strange Physician looked at Mae Jonghak with an incredulous expression.

“Who in their right mind would try to elevate the Slaughter Saint to Alliance Leader?”

“What’s wrong with him? His martial arts go without saying, and he is thorough by nature. He would be perfect as Alliance Leader.”

“That is precisely the problem. He uses those martial arts and that thorough personality to work as an assassin. The greatest assassin under Heaven as the Alliance Leader? Is that even remotely possible?”

“Is that so? Now that you mention it, you may be right.”

As Mae Jonghak scratched the back of his head, the Luoyang Strange Physician thought:

Is orthodox Murim really going to be all right like this?

Meanwhile, preparations for Jin Taekyung’s departure were proceeding swiftly.

The first person to rush over after hearing that I was leaving was Jin Wikyung.

“Youngest.”

I was stuffing everything I needed into my traveling bag when I answered:

“Yes?”

“This eldest brother just heard some unbelievable news.”

“Believe it. It’s true.”

“W-where did you say you were going?”

“Sichuan.”

“H-how long will you be gone?”

“Six months. Maybe another month or two if it takes longer.”

“No!”

Jin Wikyung shouted as if he were crying out in grief.

“Where are you going at a dangerous time like this?”

“Sichuan.”

“I know! That is why I cannot send you!”

“I’m going.”

Jin Wikyung declared it with a grim expression I had never seen before.

“I forbid it.”

“Oh. Then I’ll veto your veto.”

“With Father away, you cannot defy my order as the Lesser Family Head and acting Family Head!”

“What happens if I defy it?”

“I will have no choice but to punish you according to the family law.”

“Then strike me from the family register.”

“How can you say such a thing!”

Judging by his expression, the world was going to end in ten minutes.

I left Jin Wikyung, who was reeling from the shock, and rose to my feet.

Jeok Cheongang, still unconscious, was strapped to a wooden back carrier on my back with silk.

It might be too late by the time I bring the Divine Physician back with me.

That was why I had chosen this method.

I would take Jeok Cheongang to Sichuan with me.

“Heave-ho.”

With this much, I would have no problem using my movement technique to some extent.

I let out a deep sigh as I looked at Jin Wikyung, who was staring at me with pleading eyes.

“Don’t worry so much. Nothing like what you’re imagining will happen.”

“Take the Jin Dragon Squad. At least take the Jin Dragon Squad.”

No matter how elite the Jin Dragon Squad was within the Jin Family of Taiyuan, under the circumstances, they would only be deadweight that slowed me down.

I threw a fully packed traveling bag toward one of the men and said:

“That’s why the Vice Squad Leader is coming with me.”

Hyuk Mujin caught the bag and thumped his chest confidently.

“Leave it to me, Lesser Family Head!”

“…”

“…Lesser Family Head?”

“Oh, no. Please take good care of the youngest.”

Jin Wikyung patted Hyuk Mujin on the shoulder with an expression that clearly said he did not trust him at all.

That was when—

“Benefactor! When are we leaving? Huh? Benefactor?”

“…”

“We’re leaving now, so please shut your mouth.”

Was taking that guy with us really the right choice?

I briefly regretted it, but Cheongpung was the perfect person for this trip, which required us to move as a small elite group.

His strength is undeniable.

If anything went wrong during the journey, Cheongpung was practically an entire army by himself.

“Sichuan! The Divine Physician! This is so exciting!”

“…”

It still wasn’t too late. Should I just leave him behind?

I left the pavilion while locked in an intense internal struggle.

The final member of our party was waiting at the entrance.

“Long time no see, you.”

At my words, he spoke with a gloomy expression.

“Requesting me was a poor choice.”

“No. You have to come with us.”

“My Myriad-Li Chasing Wind Movement Technique…”

“You only learned it up to the fifth stage.”

“H-how do you know that?”

“…Have you learned anything past the fifth stage?”

The Oseong-and-Haneum villain.¹

No, the final member was Gung Gibang, the Successor Beggar of the Beggars’ Sect.

Hyuk Mujin, Cheongpung, and Gung Gibang. Looking at the three of them together, this lineup was no joke.

I sighed and said:

“Come on, let’s go, you three Bermuda Triangle bastards.”