Chapter 50. Though I Will Become the Mad Demon Again

Geumhae had always considered himself as clever as anyone, but he could not understand what was happening now.

He could not understand how the smelly servant bastard from the Black Cat Gang could possess such powerful martial arts. Nor could he understand why Hongsin, who had suddenly appeared, was calling the servant bastard Senior Brother and fearing him to such an extreme degree.

After all, Hongsin’s personality had always been extremely arrogant, so much so that she would not have been this afraid even before the Four Divine Generals. Hongsin was a woman who would say what needed to be said even in front of Master Great Rakshasa.

And yet that Hongsin was terribly afraid of the servant bastard.

‘Who on earth is this bastard?’

No matter how hard Geumhae racked his brain, he could not figure out the identity of the smelly servant bastard.

* * *

On the way to meet the physician Geumhae knew, I recalled memories from my previous life.

There was a high chance he was the physician I knew.

Suddenly, I looked at Geumhae, whose expression had grown complicated inside the rattling carriage.

“Pig.”

Geumhae answered in polite speech without realizing it.

“Yes?”

“The sound of you turning your brain is too noisy. Empty your mind for a moment. Put aside your greed and accept the situation. Just because you’re clever doesn’t mean you can figure out everything in the world.”

Just as Geumhae was about to answer, Hongsin beside him raised one hand with an expressionless face.

‘A slap……!’

Geumhae’s mind went faint for an instant, and he barely managed to answer.

“U-understood. I will empty my mind.”

In that moment, Geumhae’s breathing quickened, and it looked as though his qi and blood were about to overturn.

As soon as I checked Geumhae’s condition, I clicked my tongue.

“Steady your breathing. Keep that up and you’ll suffer qi deviation.”

“Yes.”

“Your house has that much money, but if you fall into qi deviation, you’ll ascend to heaven before spending all that precious coin. Pull yourself together.”

Geumhae hurriedly closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.

Hearing those words made him feel even more like he was going mad.

Whether the bastard was a servant, a madman, or Senior Brother Nok, if he did not calmly regulate his breathing now, it truly seemed as though qi deviation would befall him.

* * *

After taking the White Flame Herb and the money, I got off the carriage first with Hongsin.

The coachman supported the pale-faced Geumhae.

Somehow, we really had ended up bringing in a critically ill patient.

In truth, a heart demon is nothing special.

When one loses what is most important to oneself, a heart demon is bound to come in some form.

What mattered most to Geumhae was money, and the internal energy he had steadily accumulated with the spiritual medicines bought with that money.

Since both had been taken from him by me, and on top of that, Junior Sister Hongsin had suddenly appeared and slapped him again and again, it was a situation where his heart demon could easily develop into qi deviation.

In short, he was on the verge of going insane.

“Go in first.”

I sent Hongsin, Geumhae, and the coachman inside first, then stood outside and stared at the sign for a long while.

「Murong Medical House」

If it was a medical house run by someone with the uncommon surname Murong, it seemed I had come to the right place.

To me, this reunion was truly meaningful.

Even I did not know how my fate with this fellow would continue from now on.

When I entered, the young master of the Murong Medical House was personally receiving the patient.

“Escort the young master inside at once.”

The medical women supported Geumhae and went inside.

Without approaching for a moment, I stared quietly at the young man wearing a white band around his head.

His neat attire, clean face, even the way he smiled from time to time—everything was so unfamiliar to me.

A thought came to mind.

‘So this bastard had a time when he was truly happy and perfectly fine…….’

When the coachman’s explanation had more or less ended, Hongsin spoke.

“Physician, you should first listen to what our Senior Brother has to say as well.”

I called Hongsin.

“Junior Sister Hong.”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

“Always speak politely to Master Murong.”

Hongsin answered with a tense expression.

“Understood, Senior Brother.”

Our dear physician glanced at me, then sorted out the situation.

“The young master of Geumsan has suffered internal injuries, so begin with circulating qi and regulating his breathing.”

One of the medical women answered.

“Yes.”

“Do not speak to him, and block anyone from approaching him. And as for the Divine General I am meeting for the first time, where are you feeling unwell?”

Only after receiving the question did I take off my mask and meet the bastard’s eyes for the first time in quite a long while.

“…….”

Of course, we were meeting for the first time in this life, so there was no way this bastard would recognize me.

I spoke in a calmer tone than ever before.

“I am Lee Jaha, of Ilyang County. I am the sect master of a small organization called the Hao Sect.”

Master Murong answered with a flustered expression.

“You are not one of the Twelve Divine Generals?”

I looked at the mask once, then answered.

“Our small Hao Sect is currently at war with the Great Rakshasa. The original owner of this mask was killed by Hongsin.”

At the words that we were at war with the Great Rakshasa, Master Murong blinked repeatedly.

“Ah, I see. In any case, I will sort things out. Divine General Hongsin, please go inside and lie down. And Sect Master, is there anywhere you are feeling unwell?”

“I simply came to settle the bill. There isn’t anywhere particularly uncomfortable. I was curious, though, because I heard your medical skills were outstanding.”

The bastard smiled awkwardly, then introduced himself.

“Ah, I see. My introduction is late. I am called Murong Bai.”

When Murong Bai instructed the medical women to do this and that, they guided Hongsin and the coachman away. Even as Hongsin was being led away by a medical woman, she did not forget to report to me.

“Senior Brother, I will go receive treatment.”

“Go on.”

After the others disappeared, I was left alone with Murong Bai for a moment.

Murong Bai asked.

“Is it true that you are fighting the Great Rakshasa?”

I nodded, then called Murong Bai over to the table where I had placed the box containing the White Flame Herb.

“Master, come here for a moment.”

When I opened the box, Murong Bai’s eyes grew round.

“Why is this here?”

“Did you appraise it, Master?”

Murong Bai sat across from me and answered.

“Yes. It is genuine.”

“How many years old would you say it is?”

“Usually, we judge by the thickness of the root and the number of rootlets. At the very least, it is over a hundred years old.”

“Not three or four hundred?”

“That would be rather far-fetched. Because this is so expensive, even those growing in dangerous terrain are somehow dug up and brought into the Central Plains. Even hundred-year-old specimens are rare these days.”

In other words, Jin Hai had lied even in the midst of all that.

“I have already eaten three roots.”

And I had sucked Jin Hai’s internal energy dry, too.

Murong Bai looked at me in surprise.

“Ah, congratulations.”

I asked what I was curious about.

“Doctor, are you training as well?”

“Since I treat martial artists, I have to study it myself as well. I am also accumulating internal energy and training in other ways alongside it. The injuries of martial artists are different from those of ordinary patients, so they are harder to treat. Sometimes they are struck by strange poisons, which makes things complicated.”

I swallowed a sigh inwardly.

‘To think this fellow was this normal…….’

Suddenly, I looked around the inside of the clinic. It was a clean, well-organized place. I pressed my forehead for a moment against my clasped hands, then fell into thought.

I remembered what Dokgo Saeng had said: if there was a debt, repay it; if there was a grudge, repay it twofold.

In truth, I am not much different.

“Sect Master, are you unwell somewhere?”

When I shook my head, Murong Bai pointed at the White Flame Grass and said,

“As you know, White Flame Grass strengthens extreme yang energy, so after taking it, you must be especially careful of fire affliction.”

I raised my head and replied,

“I have always had a lot of fire, so it is fine.”

“Sect Master, if you have a lot of fire, then you must be even more careful.”

“I am relieving that fire appropriately, so it is fine.”

Murong Bai asked as if curious.

“How do you relieve it?”

“Now that you ask, how did I relieve it again? May I speak frankly?”

“Those who practice medicine must not carelessly divulge a patient’s secrets. Please speak freely.”

I tapped the table with my finger and said,

“Some time ago, my house burned down completely. It was a house that also served as an inn. Rage welled up in me. So I killed the bastard who set the fire. It felt so refreshing…….”

Murong Bai, who had not expected this sort of confession, was flustered.

“Ah, yes.”

“As it turned out, the men I killed were bastards trying to establish a black path faction with the Black Cat Gang’s permission. So the people of the Black Cat Gang came to find me and demanded an explanation. They summoned me, insulted me, and even told me to kneel like a dog. So I killed them. It felt so refreshing…….”

Murong Bai suddenly straightened his posture without realizing it.

“Ah, yes. I see.”

“Then they sent an assassin.”

“The Black Cat Gang did?”

“That assassin bastard had grit, so I spared him. After sharing pork bones with him, I stormed the Black Cat Gang. To be honest, I was excited.”

Murong Bai gulped once.

“If possible, I did have at least this much intention of sparing the Black Cat Gang Leader too, but what was it he said? The black path licks when told to lick, barks when told to bark, something along those lines. After I sent him flying into a wall, I asked him whether he could lick if told to lick, and he ascended to heaven right away.”

“Ah, the Black Cat Gang Leader died?”

“Officially, he is not dead yet. I am pretending to be the Black Cat Gang Leader.”

I tapped Lü Shu’s mask and said,

“Like this. Right now, I am both Black Cat and Lü Shu. Do you understand?”

Murong Bai said as if amazed,

“You truly have relieved your fire properly each time.”

“I relieved it well enough that no pent-up fire illness developed.”

Murong Bai lowered his voice with a serious expression.

“I am not sure if I may ask this.”

“Ask freely, Doctor Murong.”

Murong Bai whispered,

“You are an enemy of the Great Rakshasa, yet you have come to treat their disciple?”

“You have grasped the heart of it well.”

I looked at Murong Bai with a serious expression, then placed two fingers on the table and mimicked them walking step by step.

“There is a martial artist. He walks along like this, step by step. If he kills everyone he meets, kills and kills again, kills someone for having diarrhea, kills someone for letting out a little fart, kills even people he could have spared, kills strangers too, kills them all—do you know what happens?”

“I will listen.”

“He becomes the Demonic Path.”

My fingers returned to the start and walked toward Murong Bai again.

“I killed the ones who burned my house, and I killed the vicious ones too, but if I thought they might be worth keeping alive and using, I let them go. A woman who spoke wickedly, an assassin who paid for his meal, a man who had been kidnapped as a child and found it hard to understand the world—I kept them alive.”

There had been nonsense mixed in, but Murong Bai understood the thread of my words well.

“What is that? Is that the Black Path?”

“No. This is an attitude toward dealing with the Black Path. It is treating people while holding on to the hope that at least a few of them may be reformed. Even if I am betrayed again later, it is the attitude that I will shoulder even that.”

Murong Bai stared at me silently.

“Then are you of the White Path, Sect Master? A chivalrous hero, as people commonly say?”

“I am not of the White Path. It would be difficult for me to become so right now.”

“Why is that?”

“Because I have no virtue.”

“Not everyone in the White Path has virtue, though.”

I agreed with that.

“However, their founding patriarchs, their first sect leaders, were mostly men of great virtue. Their skills were also outstanding. They are of the White Path because they are the disciples of such men, and the disciples of those disciples. It is the power of tradition. I, on the other hand, am not like that. My house that burned down was an inn, and I was a waiter. I am a man with no foundation, so if I am to become White Path, I need time and effort.”

“Then Haomun is…….”

“I made it.”

The patient’s psychological counseling proceeded in this fashion. Murong Bai, who had been deeply absorbed in my story for quite some time, only managed to lift himself from his chair when the female healers called for him to come to a patient.

“Sect Master, let us speak again later. My apologies.”

“Attend to your work at ease.”

There was a reason I explained the Demonic Path, the Black Path, and the White Path to him. It was because I wanted Murong Bai to understand the differences between them early on.

The Murong Bai of my previous life was the man who had saved me from qi deviation with the medical arts he had mastered.

To repay that grace, in truth, it would not be enough even if I handed him the entire chest I had brought, with its four roots of White Flame Grass and gold pieces.

I could not rashly predict how Murong Bai’s fate would change from now on.

Because I was changing each person’s fate right now.

In my previous life, it had been like this.

Murong Bai, who had risen so swiftly that he came to be called the Divine Physician, entered into a dispute with the Great Rakshasa and suffered the calamity of his entire house being wiped out.

But the Divine Physician Murong Bai survived, and……

He becomes the Poison Demon Murong Bai.

And as I said earlier, the Great Rakshasa dies at the Poison Demon’s hands.

The jianghu, after all, is that kind of place.

The waiter became the Mad Demon.

The Divine Physician became the Poison Demon.

This is why I set everything else aside and came looking for this man.

If I can prevent the misfortune of someone who once helped me,

then the days I spent with the man known as the Poison Demon can remain nothing more than memories.

I may become the Mad Demon again,

but there is no need for this bastard to become the Poison Demon again as well.

One madman is enough.