Chapter 341

A conversation I’d had with Mungyeong several days ago flashed through my mind.

Thank you for everything.

Forget the thanks. Just focus on becoming a great physician.

Like the Divine Physician?

Yes, like the Divine Physician.

And then there was the last thing he had said almost in passing.

It’s a shame we can’t go together this time. I have to return to my Master.

How had I not realized it?

Looking back, Mungyeong had been unusual from the very beginning. He had shown incredible resourcefulness when the river bandits threatened his life, composure far beyond his years, and remarkable medical skill.

That’s not all.

The boy had nearly sunk to the bottom of the Yangtze because of the river bandits, yet he had brazenly hitched a ride aboard the swift ship and then visited the Sichuan Tang Clan—infamous throughout Murim for their vicious tempers—just to get a prescription.

Mungyeong had casually done things that even martial artists with Botox injected into their livers might have shied away from.

And on top of that, the things he just said and did…

I had no idea what kind of martial art the Black Hand Seal was or how powerful it might be.

But I knew one thing for certain.

“The Divine Physician. You’re the Divine Physician’s Disciple.”

“……!”

“……!”

The others stared wide-eyed at Mungyeong after hearing the joy and deflation mingled in my words.

A suffocating silence descended over us, and Mungyeong shrank back.

“I-I’m sorry. But I couldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

I regretted asking the moment the words left my mouth. The Divine Physician had spent his entire life hiding his identity. Of course his Disciple had kept silent.

If Venerable Myoryeong’s life had not been hanging by a thread, Mungyeong almost certainly would never have revealed his Master’s identity.

“Where is the Divine Physician—or rather, where is your Master?”

Mungyeong hesitated, then bit his lip tightly.

“But before that, could you promise me one thing?”

“I’ll keep the secret. Absolutely.”

With that firm answer, I pulled something from inside my robe and held it out.

Lately, I had been taking it out of my Inventory and examining it whenever I had a spare moment.

The finest Chinese gallnuts come from Sichuan.

Mungyeong’s eyes widened when he saw the faint writing on the jade-colored porcelain shard.

“This is…”

“Do you recognize it?”

“Yes. It’s unmistakably my Master’s handwriting.”

Mungyeong examined the Divine Physician’s Token from every angle, apparently fascinated, then let out a small exclamation.

“Come to think of it, my Master once told me that a very long time ago, he left a token with a famous physician and told him to come to Sichuan. But how did you come to possess it, Young Master…?”

“The famous physician gave it to me directly. There’s a patient whom no one but the Divine Physician can treat.”

I continued emphatically.

“There’s someone I have to save.”

“I don’t know who that person is, but… you hold them very dear, Young Master.”

Someone dear to me.

Yes. I supposed that was true. Jeok Cheongang was precious to me. He had given me everything he had, and now it was my turn to protect him.

“Yes. That’s right.”

Mungyeong smiled faintly and nodded.

“Come with me. I’ll take you to my Master.”

Crunch. Crunch.

The snow crunched beneath our feet with every step.

I looked around. Bare branches covered in frost. Thick white snow blanketing everything in sight.

It doesn’t get any less incredible.

Outside, it was early spring, and new shoots were beginning to emerge. But the place we were walking through looked like the depths of winter after a heavy snowfall.

So this is a Mystic Gate Formation…

Mungyeong had led us to the very same mountain we had searched with the Qingcheng Sect. But when we reached a certain point, he strained to move several rocks, and an entirely new path and landscape unfolded before us.

It was unlike anything we had ever seen. Every last one of us had stood there with our mouths hanging open.

Mungyeong told us that the formation had been installed by the Master of Strange Illusions.

According to Gung Gibang, who had sprayed spit everywhere as he explained, the Master of Strange Illusions had been known as the greatest formation master under heaven in the distant past.

I had no idea what sort of connection he had shared with the Divine Physician, but he had installed something like this. We had nearly wandered around for ages despite being right on top of the place.

No wonder nobody could find him.

What good was it to deploy top-tier Murim artists and countless government troops?

If they had searched each mountain one by one using ordinary methods, even half a century would not have been enough, let alone six months.

“Wow! Woooow!”

Cheongpung, who had been running several steps ahead of us like a puppy let loose in a snowy field, cried out in delight. I was about to scold him when the scenery changed completely the very next moment, and my mouth fell open too.

“……Whoa. What the hell is this?”

The world had changed again in the space of a few steps.

The snow-white depths of winter had given way to spring in full bloom.

Everything around us was green, and nameless flowers were in full bloom. Hyuk Mujin approached with a dazed expression and asked,

“Captain. Am I seeing things?”

“I don’t know, Mujin.”

Even Gung Gibang, the most experienced in Murim among us, stood there with his mouth hanging open.

“Good heavens… Hk! Ptooey, ptooey! What is this?”

“Butterflies?”

Oh, they really were butterflies. And not just one or two.

Every color imaginable.

Hundreds of butterflies resting throughout the flower field took flight at once. It was a spectacular sight.

Whoooosh.

Where had the wind suddenly come from? And where was the bright sunlight pouring in from?

Every single thing I saw felt like one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The pyramids have nothing on this.

There was a place where the seasons changed after only a few steps, so what were the pyramids compared to that? Some Egyptian logistics officer probably just ran his workers ragged building them.

All the pharaoh had to do was put on a solemn face and say, “This pharaoh is disappointed in you,” a few times, and they would be hauling stones while getting whipped.

But this place…

This was on an entirely different level.

“Young Master Jin?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

“We’re almost there. We only have to cross that hill.”

We hurriedly came to our senses and followed Mungyeong again.

Once we crossed the low hill covered in green grass, a small thatched hut came into view, standing alone on a flat stretch of land.

And…

He was there.

“Master!”

At Mungyeong’s shout, an old man planting something in the vegetable garden before the hut straightened his bent back. His beard was as white as the snow we had seen along the way. His eyes were clear and framed by deep wrinkles.

When he noticed us, the corners of his eyes curved gently.

“Some honored guests have arrived.”

We had finally found him.

The Divine Physician.

It was a long while before we properly spoke with the Divine Physician.

After examining Venerable Myoryeong, the Divine Physician had Mungyeong carry her into the hut. The two of them did not emerge again until a shichen¹ later.

“It has been a long time since anyone came to visit.”

The Divine Physician’s sudden voice was like a cool spring breeze. I had been pacing around the hut and hurriedly bowed.

“Jin Taekyung of the Jin Family of Taiyuan pays his respects to the Divine Physician.”

“Dong Feng.”

“Pardon?”

“That is my name. The title Divine Physician is too grand for me, so please call me Old Man Dong.”

How could I call the greatest physician under heaven Old Man Dong, as if he were some old man Kim at a neighborhood real estate office?

I was young enough to be his grandson, too.

But when I met the Divine Physician’s benevolent gaze, I had no choice but to quietly comply.

“Yes. I will, Old Man Dong.”

“Thank you, Young Master Jin.”

The Divine Physician smiled gently, then exchanged greetings with everyone else, one by one.

He remained courteous even toward those of us who were far younger than him, and he never once seemed hurried.

“Hello! I’m Cheongpung!”

He did not even lose his smile in front of the local lunatic.

“Heh heh. You’re a very energetic person. My name is Dong Feng. You may call me Old Man Dong, just like the others.”

“But my grandfather told me I have to show respect to my elders.”

“Your grandfather gave you an excellent lesson. But if our hearts are at ease with each other, what harm is there? Just think of me as a friend who happens to be a little older than you.”

“A friend?”

“That’s right. A friend.”

Cheongpung smiled brightly.

“Then let’s get along, Old Man Dong!”

“Heh heh. Heh heh heh!”

He’s laughing?

Was he some kind of Murim Joker? The type who laughed when he was angry and laughed when he was dumbfounded?

“Old Man Dong, have you ever tried candy?”

“I like sweets. I used to enjoy candied hawthorn skewers,² too.”

“Hey, me too!”

The setting looked like a healing movie, but the conversation was pure horror thriller. In the end, Gung Gibang’s face went deathly pale. He clamped both hands over Cheongpung’s mouth and slowly backed away.

The Divine Physician laughed heartily at the sight, then turned to Mungyeong.

“You have brought some interesting people.”

Mungyeong bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry, Master. I brought them without your permission.”

“No, no. Heaven brings people together through fate. This, too, must be the natural order. Wouldn’t you agree?”

His last question was directed at me. I nodded and held out the Divine Physician’s Token I had prepared in advance.

“This is…”

“This is a token you left behind long ago, Divine Physician—or rather, Old Man Dong. The Luoyang Strange Physician gave it to me and told me to seek you out.”

“I did?”

“Pardon?”

No way. Had he forgotten about it?

The Divine Physician tilted his head. Only after Mungyeong reminded him again did he let out a small exclamation.

“Ah, yes. I remember now. It happened so long ago that it had slipped my mind.”

“Whew. For a moment, I thought you’d forgotten completely.”

“In any case, if you possess this token… that must mean something has happened that requires this old man’s aid.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Is it about the nun you brought here? If so, there is no need to worry too much. She has already made it past the immediate crisis.”

The Divine Physician looked toward the hut where Venerable Myoryeong lay and continued.

“It will not be an easy road, but… once the rest of her treatment is complete, sufficient rest should allow her to make a full recovery.”

It was the best news I had heard in a long time. Not only had Venerable Myoryeong escaped the brink of death, but the Divine Physician truly possessed medical skill worthy of his reputation.

I took a deep breath before speaking.

“There’s another patient.”

“Another patient?”

“The person who gave me the token said that there was only one person under heaven who could treat him. You.”

“Only I can treat him…”

The Divine Physician repeated the words quietly, then spoke.

“Birth, aging, sickness, and death are not things a mere human can decide. But if there is even the slightest possibility, I will do my best as a physician.”

“That’s enough… That’s all I need.”

There had been a time when my mother was sick.

The doctor in charge of her surgery had said the same thing.

I’ll do my best.

For Hayeon and me, those words had been our only hope, and the surgery had been a success.

Just as I had done with that doctor in the past, I tightly gripped the Divine Physician’s wrinkled hand.

“Please. Old Man Dong.”

The Divine Physician smiled benevolently, as though he understood everything.

“Let us see the patient first.”

After that came nothing but waiting and anxiety.

Once Jeok Cheongang, who had been lying on the pack frame, was carried into the hut, I paced back and forth, waiting for the Divine Physician and Mungyeong to emerge.

Butterflies and honeybees flitted through the flower field, and fresh green leaves sprouted from the trees, but I felt nothing.

It went well, right? It must have gone well.

I could not even bring myself to approach the hut, afraid that I might hear something negative.

I walked for a long time, endlessly repeating that single thought.

Only after the sunlight had faded and a pale darkness settled over the land did I return to the hut.

There, the exhausted Divine Physician and Mungyeong were waiting for me with faint smiles.

“I believe I can treat him.”

The instant I heard those words, all the strength drained from my legs, and a familiar alert pierced my ears.

Ding.

System

• Quest condition, Get Examined by the Divine Physician, completed!

• Quest, Find Mr. Shin in Sichuan, successfully completed!