Chapter 304: Medical Contest (1) |
"Very well. Demon Physician versus Tang Sowol. Let’s decide who the superior physician is—by the sword."
Meng Gyeom looked at him like he was a lunatic beyond comprehension.
It didn’t matter. Meng Gyeom was the kind of man who would try to kill even his own younger sister who had surrendered and left home long ago. It was only natural for someone like that to see a perfectly sane martial artist like him as a madman.
Still, it was slightly unsettling that even the others were giving him similar looks.
“What on earth did I just hear… Sister Tang?”
“Don’t try to understand, child. Brother Cheon’s way of thinking is just different from ours.”
“Hmm… I don’t even know where to begin correcting this. Medicine is a craft that saves lives—how can one judge its superiority through a martial duel...?”
His companions all had hollow, half-enlightened smiles on their faces.
“Y-You’re a physician, Miss Poison Phoenix?!”
Meng Yubaek asked Tang Sowol in a confused tone.
“My name is Meng Ugak. Might I ask if the White Moon Sword Lord is trying to suppress the Beast Palace by force?”
“Suppress? That’s an unpleasant word. Throughout history, dueling with swords has always been the most sincere form of expression for martial artists.”
“Ah… then it will be the Demon Physician and Poison Phoenix who participate?”
“They say a couple is of one body and one mind. Whether it’s the Demon Physician or myself, wouldn’t the outcome be more or less the same?”
Meng Ugak fell silent after a few exchanges.
And finally, it was the Beast Palace Lord, who had been watching with a dry chuckle, that spoke up.
“Haha. White Moon Sword Lord, you’re truly addicted to martial arts.”
“What a joke. Calling a martial artist addicted to martial arts... Let’s judge that, too—with swords.”
“What was that?!”
Now, he burst into boisterous laughter.
To think that someone’s sincerity had become a laughingstock in this world. Clearly, righteousness and morality had hit rock bottom.
How could they not understand his intent to cut down the Demon Physician as if by mistake?
No, maybe the problem was that they understood him too well?
As he shook his head inwardly, Meng Gyeom, who had been frozen stiff for a long time, finally began to protest.
“What kind of nonsense is this! You say it’s a friendly exchange, but it’s obvious you intend to seize control of the Beast Palace!”
“I’ve no interest in such tedious things. Even if I were to take over the Beast Palace during your weakened state, there’s nothing for me to gain.”
“The palace’s wealth, perhaps…”
“Tang Clan has more money. I can’t use it as I please, but I earned most of it myself anyway. So getting permission to spend some shouldn’t be hard.”
“Could it be that you're trying to build your own faction, to overcome the limits of being a son-in-law…”
“Oh? You have the same suspicions as the Beast Palace Lord. Then I’ll give you the same answer—if I were going to do that, I’d have swallowed up one of the Central Plains sects, not some distant Beast Palace.”
“Perhaps you’re targeting the Beast Palace’s unique martial arts, which are rare in the Central Plains.”
“But those techniques all assume you’ve got a spiritual beast as a partner. I don’t keep pets like that—”
He glanced briefly at Seo Mun-Hwarin. Seeing the tension ease slightly, Seol Lihyang had sneakily taken the seat next to her and was stealing bites of her food.
“My pet understands human speech even without the Beast Palace’s martial arts.”
“Excuse me? You just looked this way, didn’t you?”
He feigned ignorance to Seo Mun-Hwarin’s sharp question and continued.
“I’m more inclined to suspect your motive for avoiding a match with the Demon Physician.”
“So why on earth do you need a sword fight to judge medical skill?!”
“If someone can heal properly, what does it matter who does it? Ah, in this case, Tang Sowol would probably do better. When it comes to poisons, no one beats her.”
“Is that so…? I suppose it makes sense. The poison that infected the Palace Lord was originally concocted by the Tang Clan’s Poison Demon.”
“You know your stuff. So why take a long, roundabout route when there’s an easy, fast, and accurate one? Also, the Poison Demon isn’t a Tang Clan member. He received the Assassin’s Command before I was even born.”
“But he’s still blood-related! I can’t trust that!”
“Ah, so you’re saying the Poison Demon’s sins are the Tang Clan’s sins as well.”
“Yes. Finally, you understand—”
“Then, the grudge of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild must be yours too, since you’re its master.”
“What…?”
Meng Gyeom flinched at the sudden mention of the Cheonghwa Merchant Guild. I grinned at the shaken man.
“The Cheonghwa Guild Master tried to kill me, so shouldn’t you share in that punishment too?”
“What are you—”
“Don’t worry. Since it wasn’t done with knowledge of who I was, I didn’t take their life—only shattered their energy center.”
Meng Gyeom finally fell silent.
Naturally, all eyes turned toward him—no, toward what he would say next. He shrugged his shoulders under the weight of their attention.
“Who treats you should not be decided by you or me, but by the Beast Palace Lord. What is your decision?”
“Hm.”
The Beast Palace Lord feigned hesitation. He clearly had already made up his mind, but seeing him act this way only confirmed his sly nature.
Perhaps he was hoping for a better offer.
“For reference, the Demon Physician was once affiliated with the Demonic Cult. One could say we’re half-enemies.”
“T-That’s all in the past! The Demon Physician has long fulfilled his revenge and now wanders the land, unaffiliated with the cult! His nickname came from his eccentric personality, not his reputation as a cultist!”
“Oh?”
If nothing else, Meng Gyeom’s boldness was commendable.
Though cornered, he dared to speak so arrogantly before a Flowering Stage martial artist. He must know that his supposed backing—the Beast Palace Lord—was in no shape to fight properly due to poisoning.
Meng Yubaek, the Palace Lord... Perhaps boldness was the greatest strength of the Beast Palace.
As he silently raised his internal evaluation of the Beast Palace, the Palace Lord gave a bitter smile and spoke.
“The answer was obvious from the start. If I choose the Tang Clan, the Demon Physician won’t resent me. But if I choose him, I’ll surely make enemies of you all.”
“We wouldn’t go that far. Our relationship would simply become… less intimate.”
“That’s the same thing.”
With a smirk, the Beast Palace Lord rose from his seat.
“Listen. While I admire my second son's sentiment, as previously agreed, I will receive treatment from the Tang Clan’s daughter. This matter is settled. Let there be no further discussion.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, sir.”
Meng Ugak nodded solemnly, and Meng Gyeom bowed gloomily, realizing he had no chance left.
Meng Yubaek, on the other hand, let out a sigh of relief, wrapping up the situation on a warm note.
Before the Palace Lord could sit back down, he spoke up.
“However, isn’t it a bit much to send the Demon Physician away after he’s come all this way?”
“White Moon Sword Lord, what are you getting at…?”
“It’s nothing major. We’re grateful you saved us from disgrace, but lives are at stake. Shouldn’t we examine the situation more carefully and choose the best method?”
The Palace Lord stared at him, curious to hear more. He then got to the point.
“As I said earlier—why don’t we see who the superior physician really is?”
“With swords?”
“Just a friendly exchange. Perhaps not even a competition—maybe a collaboration.”
“Weren’t you the one who just said you couldn’t trust him because he’s ex-Demonic Cult?”
“If he’s willing to destroy his energy center and abandon the Demonic Cult’s martial arts, that would certainly earn my trust.”
“So you won’t acknowledge him until he gives up his inner energy and martial arts?”
“I understand your concern. But it’ll be fine.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because this won’t be a duel to the death—it’ll just be a spar.”
“How reassuring…”
The Beast Palace Lord shook his head and added,
“Just remember—the Demon Physician may have left the Demonic Cult, and this is the Beast Palace. You are a guest.”
“Yes, I’ll bear that in mind.”
“Then I’ll speak to the Demon Physician myself. If he refuses—”
“—Then I’ll withdraw cleanly.”
Satisfied with that answer, the Palace Lord gave a faint smile.
Meng Ugak whispered to Meng Yubaek, who had been watching everything unfold.
“Youngest one… I’ve lived my whole life in the Southern Barbarians, so I’m not well-versed in the Central Plains… but the unorthodox sects are truly terrifying.”
“Brother, the Sichuan Tang Clan is Orthodox…”
For some reason, Meng Ugak shuddered slightly—but it wasn’t really important.
***
After the meal, Tang Sowol grabbed him by the collar—well, she couldn’t quite reach, so she grabbed his shoulder instead and began to shake him furiously.
"Young Lord Cheon! Why on earth did you say something like that?!"
"There was a reason."
"You always have a reason! But the Demon Physician has nothing to do with the Demonic Cult anymore! Are you really trying to become an unorthodox martial artist?!"
"Come on, calm down. And listen for a moment."
He stretched out his arm and gently pulled her by the slender waist.
After a moment of resistance, Tang Sowol slid into his embrace. Using the sensation of her squirming in his arms as a cue, he began to slowly pat her back.
He could understand why she was reacting so strongly today, even though she usually let things go.
Bringing up a resolved issue again and dragging it into a spar—it must have felt like crossing the line.
Anyone would’ve thought the same. But—
"There’s one thing we’re all getting wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"In truth, the Demon Physician never succeeded in taking revenge, contrary to what the world believes. Naturally, he hasn’t left the Demonic Cult either."
"...Huh?"
Tang Sowol blinked in confusion. The other women had similar expressions, so he decided to explain in more detail.
Perhaps the mental restriction didn't trigger as long as the other party found the explanation plausible.
Since showing memories through technique and directly mentioning regression or future events were restricted, the now-loosened restriction allowed him to explain more than before.
At first, the women just listened quietly. But as his story grew longer, they became more focused—and soon, they asked again with serious expressions.
"If that’s true, then there’s no way we can entrust the Palace Lord’s body to the Demon Physician."
"I think the same. That doesn’t sound like temporary fits of madness, but a constant state of insanity."
"This one is more worried about the people he’s treated until now. If things are really like that, there’s no way he could have offered purely medical care. At the very least, if it were this one, I would have prepared some trick in case things went south."
The three of them accurately guessed the one future incident he hadn’t been able to speak of—the one that shook the Orthodox and Unorthodox Alliance from within.
Despite the mental restriction, seeing how well they followed his reasoning made him feel a bit proud.
"So what will you do now, Young Lord Cheon? No matter what, killing someone in a spar feels a bit..."
"What do you take me for...? Just coat my sword with a mild numbing poison like Chuhyang. A shallow cut in a spar is common, so it should be fine."
"So you plan to visit him later after things are settled here at the Beast Palace?"
"Yes."
If he thought about what the Demon Physician would eventually do, the man had to die now. But on the flip side—if he didn’t go on to drive his patients into madness en masse... then there was no need to cut him down.
He hadn’t always acted purely as a physician, but neither had he indiscriminately killed people in a fit of revenge.
The reason he killed demonic practitioners without hesitation—even while feeling sorry for them—was simple.
They were victims who had become perpetrators.
In that sense, the Demon Physician was still a victim who hadn’t yet crossed the line.
He may not have lived an entirely righteous life, but he wasn’t at the level to be called a "Demonic Head" either.
Killing someone just because it seems like they’ll harm others in the future—was no different from the Orthodox sects’ purge of the Green Forest bandits.
Even if experimenting on terminally ill patients felt repulsive... there were far more horrific things that often happened in the unorthodox side of the martial world.
When he’d half-joked that he’d trust the Demon Physician if the man gave up his martial arts by destroying his energy center—he had meant it halfway.
If the man could no longer trigger the berserk state in his former patients, then there was no need to take his life.
“After secretly visiting him later… what then?”
“Well, he’s still a physician. We talk first.”
No matter what was said, the Demon Physician had saved far more lives than he had taken. At least so far.
***
“A pleasure to meet you. So, you’re the White Moon Sword Lord that everyone’s talking about these days?”
"...?"
The moment he met the Demon Physician, under the Beast Palace Lord’s mediation, he realized—
Though he had always been described as a hunchbacked old man, someone called a master of the previous generation...
The Demon Physician standing before him now looked nothing like the one in his memories.
It was as if he were a completely different person.
Or as if he had undergone some miraculous transformation.