Chapter 158. Life Has Traps.

After telling Gang Leader Huang to bring the money, I waited for his reaction, wondering, “What is this bastard going to say to piss me off?”

Gang Leader Huang cautiously opened his mouth.

“……It is not easy to prepare such a large sum all of a sudden. If you give me time for now, I will make arrangements.”

I pointed at Gang Leader Huang with my finger, but sent my gaze to Murong Bai.

“Master Murong, did you see that?”

“Yes.”

“Look at that bastard’s expression. Most of them come out like this. Not a single inch outside my expectations.”

I left Gang Leader Huang with a warning.

“You shut up for now.”

“…….”

I looked at Murong Bai.

Coming to the Daeo Gang, taking their money, and harassing Gang Leader Huang were important matters, but right now, I was focused on Murong Bai. I treated Gang Leader Huang beside me as if he did not exist and spoke to Murong Bai.

“There is something I need to convey to you seriously, Master.”

Murong Bai nodded.

“Please speak.”

“What do you think it means when a bastard like this asks for time?”

Murong Bai replied as if it were not difficult.

“After sending us away for now, he will gather the experts he can mobilize, investigate Haomun, and prepare all sorts of ways to avoid paying the money somehow.”

“Correct.”

When Gang Leader Huang tried to open his mouth, I pointed at him.

“I told you to shut up. Don’t open your mouth. You just stare at the dagger stuck in the table. It’s the one most likely to become intimate with your body.”

I swept my hair back and spoke to Murong Bai.

“Life has traps, Master Murong.”

“…….”

“In my case, that trap came far too early. The only thing left to me was a single inn, and that went up in flames. By whom?”

I pointed at Gang Leader Huang with my finger.

“By bastards like this…… all because I couldn’t pay tribute on time. It burned merrily, as if my property belonged to them.”

Murong Bai nodded as if he was listening closely.

“Master Murong, is there any logic in something like this?”

“There is not.”

“There isn’t. That’s why I was beating bastards like this to death without much logic either. While often swept up in that madness you tried to cure.”

“That is true.”

I continued speaking while thinking about how to convey my sincerity to Murong Bai.

“The way I see you, Master…… you feel fulfillment and pride in treating and saving people. You have maintained a pure heart toward the profession of being a physician. But as I keep saying, everyone falls into a trap at least once. What would be the greatest trap someone like you, a physician, might face?”

Murong Bai thought for a moment before answering.

“I am not sure.”

“I think of it this way. Since you often treat people of the martial world, one day, a martial artist whose life you saved will betray you.”

Murong Bai replied with a faint smile.

“Could such a thing truly happen? I would have saved his life.”

I smiled as well and said,

“Look at a son of a bitch like this Gang Leader Huang. Someday, Gang Leader Huang suffers a grave injury and comes looking for you. Let’s say he was a stranger. You would naturally treat him. Would you not?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s say the bastard who barely survived because you treated him, for instance, harbored lecherous thoughts toward some female physician, or caused an incident because of those lecherous thoughts. Or he stole a martial arts secret manual from your study and ran away. Or he ate a precious elixir you had painstakingly obtained to treat another patient and fled…… let’s say something like that happened.”

“…….”

“Master Murong, look at Gang Leader Huang.”

As soon as he heard my words, Murong Bai glared at Gang Leader Huang.

“He is a bastard who ate the hundred-year-old fleeceflower root the escort agency was transporting and still comes out this brazenly. If this bastard had been stronger than us in martial arts, what do you think would have happened to you and me?”

Murong Bai answered while glaring at Gang Leader Huang.

“We would have died here.”

“Can you be certain that, while working as a physician, you will not suffer an incident similar to what happened to the Hwayang Escort Agency? Look closely into your own heart. You treated a patient with pure intentions, but if that bastard of a patient repays that goodwill with betrayal, could you endure it? Imagine you even went to confront him, only to be beaten because your martial arts were insufficient. Would you be able to live the rest of your life properly, feeling such injustice?”

I suddenly spoke to Junpyeong, who was standing there watching our reactions.

“Stay on your knees. This is an extremely dangerous situation right now, Junpyeong.”

“Ah, yes.”

Junpyeong knelt with a startled expression.

Murong Bai said to me,

“If such a thing truly happened, I would not have the confidence to live properly. Sect Leader.”

In fact, this bastard had been exactly like that in his previous life.

I nodded.

“Master, believe me. I am not telling you to help me, nor am I telling you to actively help Haomun. For your own sake, train in martial arts.”

“…….”

“So that when you fall into one of life’s traps, you can climb out of it on your own. If you cannot escape that trap, even if you live, you will not truly be alive. Even if your life continues, you will not feel happiness at all. Even if, later on, you beat bastards like this to death whenever you see them, what fills your chest will be emptiness. Because you can never return to the days when you were pure.”

Murong Bai nodded.

I continued speaking in a calm tone.

“I knew you wanted to return quickly to the Murong Medical Family after treating Elder Heo. But I deliberately dragged you to a place like this.”

“That is all right.”

“Even if one day you grow tired of my madness and leave me, or drift away from Haomun, I do not mind. For your own sake, while treating and saving people, I hope you will also diligently train in martial arts. I am not saying this for Haomun’s sake. For the sake of the Murong Medical Family and for your own sake, you need to train. Murong Bai, this is my small wish.”

When I suddenly looked at Gang Leader Huang.

Gang Leader Huang quietly climbed down from the grand tutor’s chair and knelt without a word.

“…….”

Following the flow of my thoughts, I spoke to Gang Leader Huang.

“You’ve got some tact. I was just about to throw the dagger. Good timing.”

Gang Leader Huang replied.

“Sect Leader, please spare me.”

Whenever Gang Leader Huang showed such a servile side, Murong Bai’s complexion, if anything, grew worse and worse.

I tapped the Flash Dagger with my finger and said to Murong Bai,

“Look at this ugly sight. What bastards like this have in common is that they are always strong against the weak.”

“That is true.”

“What those who are always strong against the weak have in common is that they are always servile before the strong. Murong Bai.”

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“I’m saying most of the bastards I’ve killed until now were men like this. Understand?”

Murong Bai nodded.

“I understand.”

“The ones who charged at me with their faces flushed red were actually lucky enough to survive from time to time.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Gang Leader Hwang, whose face had gone pale, said,

“Sect Leader…”

“Don’t cut in. I’m still talking.”

“Yes.”

Today was a day when I was truly talking a lot, but it was that important a moment, so I did not spare my words.

“This is exactly why you and I must become stronger, Master. Because among those stronger than us, there are also pieces of trash like this mixed in. Of course, there are probably far more masters stronger than you, Master Murong, than there are masters stronger than me. Which means you’re far more likely than I am to have some damnable thing happen to you.”

Suddenly, Gang Leader Hwang, who was kneeling, slammed his head into the floor.

A thud echoed through the main hall.

Gang Leader Hwang’s voice came out as though squeezed from his throat.

“Sect Leader, Master Murong. Please spare me. This insignificant Hwang has committed a discourtesy.”

I asked Murong Bai about Gang Leader Hwang’s life and death.

“Master, do you think you can trust this one?”

Murong Bai said,

“I cannot trust him.”

For a moment, I observed Murong Bai’s expression. After swallowing once, Murong Bai asked me,

“Shall I kill him?”

I looked at Murong Bai’s resolute expression, then said,

“Master…”

“Yes.”

“I told you, didn’t I? If possible, I’ll be the one to do the killing. But let’s handle this matter like this. There is a way.”

“What kind of…”

I looked at Murong Bai and grinned broadly.

“This time, you make a proper poison.”

“……”

“A poison that only Master Murong can cure. He is someone who ought to have been killed originally, but thanks to your outstanding skill, we keep him alive and use him. You save a person with poison. If he betrays us and we don’t give him the antidote, he’ll die on his own.”

Murong Bai’s expression brightened.

“Ah.”

“I know your strengths and weaknesses. Like the poison you gave Master Liuhe. By researching poison, you can decide the life and death of men like this without committing slaughter. If that happens, your poison will sometimes become medicine. You are not a Divine Physician who earns fame only by saving people. Nor does a title like Poison Demon, who kills people indiscriminately, suit you. A man who can decide life and death with poison and medicine—how does a title like Life-and-Death Divine Physician sound for Murong Bai?”

Only then did a smile spread across Murong Bai’s face, and he replied to me like this.

“How about the Life-and-Death Divine Physician of the Hao Sect?”

I nodded.

“That would be an honor to me. However, poison and medicine are not enough. Do not forget your martial arts training.”

Murong Bai nodded.

“Sect Leader, from now on, I will never treat martial arts lightly.”

I extended my hand toward Murong Bai, as if telling him to deal with Gang Leader Hwang as he saw fit. Then Murong Bai said to Gang Leader Hwang,

“Gang Leader Hwang, stand up.”

“Yes.”

“The funds the Sect Leader mentioned. Prepare them perfectly, without a single tael missing.”

“Yes, I will prepare them without fail.”

Murong Bai gazed steadily at Gang Leader Hwang and said,

“While you are preparing the funds, I intend to gather ingredients nearby and prepare both the poison and the antidote. Of course, whether it is poison or medicine no longer has much meaning. In any case, this will be the reason you remain alive. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Master.”

This time, I laid into Gang Leader Hwang.

“Well now, Gang Leader Hwang. You’ve got quite the long lifeline, don’t you? A moment ago, you were pacing back and forth at the entrance to the underworld.”

Gang Leader Hwang replied with both hands politely gathered in front of him.

“Thank you for sparing me, Sect Leader.”

“Seeing you suddenly act so humble makes me feel like I’m watching a Peking opera actor. Master Murong, don’t you think?”

“Indeed.”

Gang Leader Hwang hurriedly replied,

“N-no. It is because something occurred to me.”

I asked,

“What occurred to you?”

“That… I heard that when the Murim Alliance attacked the Namak Alliance, someone called the Hao Sect Leader accompanied them. I assumed the Sect Leader who traveled with the Alliance would naturally be much older, so I never imagined you might be the same person. After listening to the conversation, it seems that Hao Sect Leader is… the Sect Leader before me now.”

I nodded.

“That was me.”

“Yes.”

As soon as I said, “That was me,” Murong Bai let out a nasal chuckle.

I asked,

“Why are you laughing?”

“It is nothing. It seemed like something you say from time to time, so I suddenly laughed.”

When the atmosphere suddenly turned warm, Gang Leader Hwang also quietly smiled.

The moment I saw Gang Leader Hwang’s expression, I asked in a stern tone,

“Are you laughing?”

“N-no.”

“Is it funny?”

“I apologize.”

“A bastard who just barely escaped death is already grinning. What a funny bastard. I’m dumbfounded.”

I pulled the Flash Dagger from the table, then waved the tip of the blade toward Gang Leader Hwang.

“If you had kept interrupting me earlier, you’d be dead.”

“Yes.”

“Crazy bastard. And you seem to think I’m going to give you plenty of time to prepare the funds, but no. Bring every bit of money the Daeo Gang currently possesses and pile it up in the main hall at once. Execute.”

Gang Leader Hwang repeated the order.

“Execute.”

“Give the order yourself and have it moved here. And Junpyeong.”

Junpyeong, who was kneeling, answered at once.

“Yes, Sect Leader.”

“Lay out some wine and food on the table. I’ll drink while I wait.”

“I will prepare it.”

I put both feet up on the table, then leaned my chair back. As the chair rocked precariously, as if it might tip over backward at any moment, I glared sidelong at Gang Leader Hwang.

“But I wonder what the Daeo Gang has been living off all this time. Seems you’ve made quite a bit of money. It couldn’t have been by legitimate means, could it? What do you think, Master Murong?”

Murong Bai replied while gauging the atmosphere in the main hall.

“They must have earned money through wicked deeds, no? Do you think these bastards farmed? Or perhaps sold dumplings?”

I prodded Murong Bai until the end. In a half-muttering tone, as if tossing a small pebble into a river, I said,

“There are plenty of bastards like this in the jianghu. Every last one of them is an enemy of Haomun.”

I leaned back in the rocking chair and closed my eyes for a moment.