Chapter 149. To Be Honest
Murong Bai had been asked to prepare medicine, but he arrived at the Black Cat Gang with Cha Seongtae in order to see the patient in person.
Murong Bai thought that saying he only needed to prepare medicine was something one would say out of ignorance of medicine.
After returning with him, Cha Seongtae looked around the inner courtyard and asked,
“Where did the Sect Leader go?”
A man doing monkey pull-ups replied,
“He took the bandits for a brief stroll in the mountains.”
Murong Bai tilted his head.
“Bandits were captured by the Hao Clan as well?”
Cha Seongtae explained in his stead.
“Yes. They were caught while banditing.”
“Ah, I see.”
Understanding at once, Murong Bai looked at the patient tied to the wooden cot beneath the plum tree and said,
“So the patients were outdoors. I’ll examine him first.”
“Yes.”
Murong Bai approached Master Liuhe, who was lying on the cot, and said,
“Master Liuhe, I am a local physician. Are you able to speak?”
He had already heard the general story from Cha Seongtae.
Murong Bai had heard rumors about Master Liuhe before. When treating martial artists, he often heard of events happening in the jianghu.
On the other hand, Master Liuhe, who had been lying tied up under the blazing sun, could only sigh, thinking this was yet another scheme by the Hao Clan Leader.
‘What kind of quack is this now?’
Murong Bai took hold of Master Liuhe’s wrist as he lay there and began checking his pulse. After a moment, Murong Bai studied Master Liuhe’s eyes and asked,
“Master Liuhe, you were once rather renowned in the Southern Song underworld. How did you come all the way here and suffer such an indignity?”
Master Liuhe replied,
“You know me?”
“I heard you were the last disciple of the Liuhe Sect. They say you killed most of the Southern Song underworld and completed your revenge. But the Hao Clan is not part of the underworld, so why did you attack it?”
Master Liuhe closed his mouth.
“……”
Murong Bai smiled faintly and said,
“Master Liuhe, injuries of this degree are something I can treat. The Sect Leader avoided all your vital points when he stabbed you. If you have even the will to recover, I can have you on your feet soon. However, Master Liuhe, your problem is not treatment.”
“Then what is it?”
Murong Bai said,
“I am a local physician who often assists the Hao Clan Leader. The Sect Leader also helps me in return. If I go to the trouble of healing you, only for Master Liuhe to take revenge on the Hao Clan, my position becomes awkward. That is the greater problem.”
Master Liuhe snorted.
“What exactly are you telling me to do?”
“If you touch the Hao Clan again, you will be caught by the Sect Leader and have your limbs torn apart anyway. So you must understand that what will save you is not medicine or treatment.”
The moment Murong Bai read the killing intent in Master Liuhe’s eyes, he replied like this.
“Please rest for today. I will prepare one medicine, administer it to you, and then begin treatment.”
Master Liuhe, suddenly feeling something ominous, replied,
“What medicine?”
In an indifferent tone, Murong Bai uttered frightening words.
“If you do not take the antidote regularly, Master Liuhe, your internal energy will gradually disperse. If you fail to take it on time, your muscles will also grow soft and limp. I will give the antidote to the Hao Clan Leader. From now on, if Master Liuhe harms the Hao Clan, you will naturally be forced to leave the jianghu. If the survivors of the Southern Song underworld hear this news, they will come looking for you. Do you understand what I am saying?”
The moment Master Liuhe, lying there, realized that this had been the reason for checking his pulse, he suddenly flew into a fit.
“How is that medicine! It’s poison! Just kill me!”
“I cannot do that. The Sect Leader must have a reason for keeping you alive. I will take responsibility and save you.”
“Kill me!”
Murong Bai lightly pressed Master Liuhe’s wound with his hand.
“Listen here, Master Liuhe.”
“Gghk!”
“Does it hurt? If eating something allows Master Liuhe to live, then that is medicine. How could it be poison? If I determine that Master Liuhe is someone who will not harm the Hao Clan, and if the Sect Leader also permits it, I will cleanly detoxify you later without issue. Please rest comfortably. Stability is most important for a patient.”
Only then did Murong Bai remove his hand and look around. The martial artists of the Black Cat Gang, who had been doing monkey pull-ups, offered their greetings.
“Physician Murong, that is a brilliant idea.”
“That should work.”
Murong Bai gave the martial artists a slight bow of his head.
“Then, I shall see you again.”
When Murong Bai said he was going straight back, Cha Seongtae replied,
“Ah, Physician. You’re leaving already?”
Murong Bai replied,
“Chief Cha, the patient’s internal energy is in fairly good condition, so I do not think there will be any problem even if he takes the medicine I prepare. And keep this in mind.”
“Yes.”
“This Master Liuhe is a man who, alone, killed every underworld figure throughout the Southern Song region over the course of several years. He is said to possess considerable vengeance and persistence. However, I will prepare medicine so that there will be no problems later. You may inform the Sect Leader of it in that way.”
Cha Seongtae, who understood about half of Physician Murong’s words, nodded first.
“Ah, understood.”
Cha Seongtae looked at the bound Master Liuhe and said,
“Wow, Master Liu-crap. You were a scary guy. You beat down the whole Southern Song underworld? Since you got completely stripped bare by the Sect Leader, I thought you were a crippled fool, but I guess you weren’t just a fool?”
When the lying Master Liuhe glared at him, Cha Seongtae raised his hand.
“You wanna die...? Watch those eyes. I swear. Before I process it as an accidental death.”
At that moment, the Gold-Silver Seven Insects, hanging upside down, spoke in limp voices.
“……Please give us some water.”
Cha Seongtae replied,
“Water? I gave you some yesterday. Do you think the Hao Clan is some neighborhood martial hall that gives water just because you ask?”
Cha Seongtae approached the Gold-Silver Seven Insects and earnestly tormented the bugs, then glanced at Master Liuhe lying down. For some reason, the prone Master Liuhe felt more frightening than these fellows, so he ended up continuing to torment only the ones below.
After needlessly kicking one of the hanging fellows, he said to Murong Bai,
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
* * *
After training stamina with the bandits in the mountains, I returned and entered the inner courtyard. I was greeted by the resounding welcome of the monkeys doing pull-ups.
“You’ve returned!”
I looked at Master Liuhe lying down and the bugs hanging upside down.
“Any dead ones?”
“……”
“Guess not.”
I walked over to the cot and looked down at Master Liuhe. Master Liuhe glared at me, then closed his eyes.
Cha Seongtae, who had come out of the main hall, reported.
“Gate Lord, Master Murong just stopped by.”
“Why would he trouble himself?”
“He examined Master Liujia and said he would prepare a medicine that disperses internal energy if the antidote is not taken by tomorrow. It seems he will treat him after that. He said he would deliver the antidote to you, Gate Lord.”
“Why would he trouble himself with such a medicine?”
“I believe it is because he is afraid that after treating him, Master Liujia might take revenge on Hao Gate. According to the physician, this bastard annihilated the Southern Song underworld.”
“Ah, is that so?”
I glared at Master Liujia, who stood with his hands behind his back and his eyes closed. After Murong Bai had left, his complexion had worsened.
“Hey, Liujia.”
“What is it?”
“You’re trembling. Seongtae.”
“Yes.”
“Let the bandits rest for a moment, then put them right back to training. Run them ragged. Keep at it until they die.”
“Understood. Where are you going?”
“I need to catch up to Master Murong. He’s come all this way; I should at least see his face before he goes.”
As I passed by the hanging Gold and Silver Seven Insects without paying much attention, I stopped in front of one of them.
“This bastard… still grinning. What are you?”
Judging by the hanging order, it was Third Insect.
“It is not that, sir.”
“You got a screw loose? You still find this funny?”
Third Insect surprisingly replied thus:
“…My teeth protrude, so my mouth simply stays open like this. It is not that I am laughing. I apologize.”
“Ah….”
Startled, I scratched the back of my head. So he was just a bastard with an ugly mug. I cleared my throat and spoke to Cha Seongtae.
“Let these bastards down now.”
Cha Seongtae replied with a surprised expression.
“Huh?”
“Let them down. And give them some water.”
“Ah, understood.”
I spoke with a disgruntled expression.
“…Shit, they were just ugly bastards. Anyway, I’m off.”
“Yes, please go and return safely.”
* * *
I unleashed my lightness skill and instantly caught up to Murong Bai, who was returning to the medical hall.
“Master.”
Murong Bai turned around with a startled expression.
“Gate Lord? You came.”
I slowed to a stroll and extended my hand forward.
“Let us go.”
“My, you are busy. I heard you went for a walk with the bandits.”
“That is how it turned out. Did you see the patient? There is no particular need to trouble yourself treating him. How was his condition?”
Murong Bai, who pondered briefly, replied.
“He is stubborn. His killing intent is thick as well. You will have a hard time if you try to take him in.”
“Is that so.”
“Is there a reason you insist on keeping him alive and using him?”
“Hmm.”
I walked with Murong Bai for a moment and pondered the reason carefully.
‘Poison Demon, Ghost Demon, Mad Demon, Lust Demon.’
If we were to compare their wickedness from my days as a public enemy of the martial arts world, it was six of one, half a dozen of the other. All four were crazy bastards. But I had not kept him alive because of such a connection. I told Murong Bai my honest feelings.
“I am simply trying something. Killing is something I can do anytime. If I end up killing him because I could not save him, then my capacity is only that much.”
“Hmm.”
“This time, I went to Southern Peak and killed many bandits with my own hands. I also got entangled with Hao Gate, and as it happened, the Martial Alliance had set out on a punitive expedition as well, so our paths overlapped.”
“How many did you kill?”
“It must have been over a hundred.”
“Goodness… By yourself?”
I kept my eyes fixed ahead as I walked with Murong Bai. In any case, since the man walking beside me was a divine physician rather than a Poison Demon, I revealed my innermost thoughts as openly as possible.
“Since returning, I have been thinking of it often. I do not regret killing strong opponents in the slightest, but no matter how wicked they were, I beat over a hundred weaklings to death, so bandits have been appearing in my dreams.”
“How do you react when the bandits appear in your dreams?”
“I keep killing them all in one blow. Wishing they would not appear.”
“But since it is a dream, it seems you cannot eradicate them completely.”
“So it seems.”
Murong Bai nodded beside me.
“So that is why you have not killed Master Liujia and have kept him alive for now.”
“Master Liujia is one thing, but I have also kept the servants he had with him alive for the time being.”
Truth be told, I thought little of Master Liujia.
If I had killed the Gold and Silver Seven Insects, whom I had killed in my previous life, with my own hands once again this time, I felt as though something would happen to my heart, overlapping with the incident where I had beaten over a hundred bandits to death.
This was my honest feeling.
Murong Bai spoke.
“Gate Lord, you did well to keep him alive. Killing is easy; saving is difficult. It is the same for me, as a physician. Saving people is the most difficult thing.”
I stopped for a moment and looked at Murong Bai.
“We were both worrying over saving them, then.”
Murong Bai nodded.
“Yes. Do you remember this finger from some time ago?”
Murong Bai turned his finger upside down and imitated the motion of trudging heavily. When I nodded, Murong Bai spoke.
“You said that if you kill everyone you meet as you walk, it is the demonic path.”
“I remember.”
Murong Bai nodded and looked into my eyes.
“You already have mania and fire disease; if you walk the demonic path as well, you will earn the epithet of Mad Demon.”
“…Well, that is not such a bad epithet.”
Murong Bai spoke with a smile.
“Gate Lord, if you become far stronger than you are now, will not your range of choices broaden? Had you been far stronger, what happened at Southern Peak would not have required you to carry out such a direct massacre. I apologize for speaking with hindsight, but….”
“That is how it would have been. For I had acted partly to protect the Martial Alliance’s forces to some extent.”
Murong Bai extended his hand forward.
“Let us go.”
I walked with Murong Bai again. Suddenly, Murong Bai spoke with a sigh.
“There seem to be so many experts in the world. The standard for what it means to be strong has risen greatly. Truthfully, one would think that affairs of the world would become easier with skill at your level, but reality is not so.”
It did not seem like words spoken expecting an answer, so I simply nodded.
Murong Bai asked as if curious.
“What did you think of the Murim Alliance Leader’s skills?”
“He is a strong man.”
“Is he stronger than you, Sect Leader?”
“Need you ask…? For now, he is.”
Of course, even in my days as the Mad Demon, Im Sobaek would likely have been stronger than me. Suddenly, as I was studying Moyong Baek’s expression, I said,
“Doctor, have you had something on your mind lately?”
Moyong Baek spoke as though it were nothing.
“These days, I spend more time looking through martial arts texts than medical books. I also find myself studying poison more than medicine.”
It was nothing particularly remarkable, but I suddenly burst into laughter and snorted through my nose.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, well, if poison appeals to you more, you can study it. What problem is there in that? It’s not as if a physician’s martial arts must necessarily be weak. What’s wrong with becoming a bit stronger? And if some great problem befalls me from time to time, I can receive help from you, Doctor Moyong… Even today, I was troubled over how to deal with Master Six Harmonies, but when you said you would make a power-dispersing poison for me, my mind was instantly put at ease. Poison is medicine too, so please study it well.”
“Yes.”
Looking at each other anew, it seemed we both had many worries. Presumptuously, I comforted Moyong Baek.
“You are doing well, Doctor.”
Two public enemies of the Murim from a previous life comforted each other.
“You are doing well too, Sect Leader. If you become stronger than you are now, your madness will gradually improve as well.”
I nodded, then, near the Moyong Medical House, extended my hand.
“Then take care on your way.”
Moyong Baek nodded and replied,
“I will quickly make the power-dispersing poison and visit again. Rather than killing Master Six Harmonies, it would be better to keep him alive and make use of him like this.”
I nodded.
“Quite right. Let us meet again.”
Moyong Baek turned around with a bright expression and headed toward the Moyong Medical House. I watched his back for a moment, and for some reason, it looked as though the Poison Demon from my previous life were walking away.
Well, since the Divine Physician and the Poison Demon had originally been the same person, it was not all that strange.