Chapter 112: The Mad Physician Gongsun Jeol (1)
“Adjutant Jang…”
To think that even in a near-death crisis, he would say it wasn’t his fault.
He was simply radiant…
“You mustn’t lose it again.”
When he also produced Black Silence from his waist and offered it, the reliability was overwhelming.
“Yeah… I’m so glad you’re here, Adjutant Jang. From now on I’ll do everything you say!”
That would be appreciated. Jang I-seo nodded without pretense, and Mao chimed in from the side.
“Hey, you promised. You’ll listen to me from now on, right?”
“Why would I listen to you, idiot?”
“Adjutant Jang is my man, so obviously you’re under me. Do I need to spell it out?”
“Ridiculous. By that logic, I’m your older brother.”
“So what.”
“Idiot.”
“What did you say, you crybaby?”
“Are you done talking?”
“Is that your last will? Well, I’m done. Uwahaha!”
“You’re dead!”
Those two start fighting the moment they’re together. So-o shook his head and approached Jang I-seo to speak.
“Hey, what’s the plan now? Looking at his condition, he won’t last long if we leave him like this.”
“Hm…”
Instead of answering, Jang I-seo quickly surveyed the surroundings. But no matter how he looked, the Mad Physician was nowhere to be seen.
He was certain the man was here.
“Was there anyone else in here by any chance?”
At his question, Maeng Hwi, who had been wrestling with Mao on the floor, kicked Mao away and answered.
“There was! Some old man… but he didn’t seem quite right in the head?”
“Where did he go?”
“I was the one who left. We were originally together, but someone named Gu-yu locked me up here separately.”
“Do you happen to know where that was?”
“I passed out and woke up partway through, so I remember. It wasn’t far. Definitely somewhere near here.”
That was enough. Jang I-seo nodded and hoisted Gwa-pyeong onto his back again.
“Wait, but who’s that old guy?”
“Let’s just say he’s a physician… for now.”
For the time being, anyway.
* * *
– Nine Dragon Fortress, Middle Tier.
Around the time Jang I-seo and his group set out to find the Mad Physician.
In the middle tier, a battle between two absolute masters was unfolding.
FWIIIISH!
Chilling eyes flashing through hair that fell forward over his face.
The crouching dragon hidden in the Sea of Death, the leader of the Iron Horse Bandits.
The Dragon of the Battlefield, Gu-yu.
“Not bad.”
And the Great Enemy General, former Mad Dragon Hall Master and current Third Young Lady’s adjutant, Narak.
PA-PA-PA-PAT!
Their clash was so magnificent that this crude arena felt wasted on it.
‘A phantom shift?’
Their figures were so fast that leaving afterimages was a given, and in the time it took to exhale a single breath, countless attacks were exchanged between them.
And as their afterimage trails multiplied.
As if by mutual agreement, they distanced themselves and stopped.
Were they calling a truce?
Not a chance.
They were about to get serious.
FWOOSH…
The weight of the air swirling between them grew heavier, and their sharp auras slanted enough to slice paper.
This was due to both men’s dispositions.
Some people carefully measured their opponent first and devised a strategy accordingly.
But Narak and Gu-yu were the type to clash first and think later. To determine whether the opponent was someone worth going all out against.
And usually, this was a trait found primarily in those who had been strong from birth.
The so-called innate top-tier powerhouses.
Having rarely met a proper match in their lives, they had no reason to overthink and strategize.
But precisely because they were such men, when they met a true opponent, there was no half-measures.
Why?
Because it was a rare opportunity.
A moment where they could grow stronger. A moment where they could feel truly alive.
And both of them thought that moment was now.
“…”
In the quiet silence, Narak readjusted his grip on his short daggers.
His normally drowsy eyes gleamed sharply.
He had already assessed his opponent.
‘No particularly special martial arts, but…’
Unshakable mental fortitude.
Strength harder than a wild horse.
Explosive speed.
Ghost-like reflexes.
‘Everything else is extraordinary.’
Such an existence was Gu-yu.
His movements were truly simple, yet nothing about him could be dismissed.
Even now, though he hadn’t learned any movement technique, the intensity of his charge was like watching the Green Forest Battle King.
That was how raw and unstoppable he was.
KWAANG!
Gu-yu’s fist slammed into the spot where Narak had been backed against the wall.
But the one who should have been there was gone, leaving only a fist-shaped crater in the iron wall.
Narak had slipped away in that fraction of a second. And Gu-yu had already known this. His two eyes had been tracking him the entire time. It was simply too late to stop.
Swish! Without hesitation, he launched his body sideways.
『Flash Net Six Swords, Strong』
A dangerous energy surged from behind.
And where Gu-yu had been, the silver-haired man appeared.
STAB STAB STAB STAB!
Driving his short daggers into the iron wall repeatedly.
Grind. He pulled out the deeply embedded daggers and shook them clean.
A level of mastery that pierced even iron like paper.
As he turned, his swirling, vortex-like pupils were revealed.
The Mad Frenzy Art.
He too was declaring his intent to give everything from the start.
PA-PA-PA-PAK!
And the two men’s fierce clash resumed.
Similar to before, but different.
SCHING!
The depth of a single blade stroke had changed.
BAM!
The weight behind each thrust fist had changed.
If earlier it had been nothing but minor scratches, now they were covered in wounds that made observers wince.
‘To think such a man was hiding in the Sea of Death.’
‘So this is the Demonic Cult’s depth…’
Both were inwardly shocked by each other’s skill.
But it was still too early to reveal it.
‘Incredible.’
Narak readjusted his grip on his short daggers once more.
『Flash Net Six Swords, Swift』
And in that instant, he raised a faint dust trail and vanished.
The sick patients watching widened their eyes in alarm.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Judging by the sharp wind sounds, he was definitely still present. Yet his figure appeared nowhere.
That was how ghostishly fast he was.
But his opponent happened to be the possessor of the Ten Thousand Eyes, who could capture ten thousand movements at once.
Though everyone else lost track of Narak’s movements, Gu-yu chased him down with relentless speed.
Even as cuts appeared one by one on his body, he never let go.
And the moment his two eyes flashed.
FWIIIISH!
His fist, drawn back to its fullest, shot forward with devastating force.
Unstoppable speed, monstrous strength that seemed it would destroy everything, and a trajectory without a sliver of deviation.
Perfect.
KWAANG!
A roar erupted, and Narak finally revealed himself.
From where his two feet had skidded against the ground, hot smoke rose from the friction.
And Narak was staring in sheer disbelief.
‘To catch me before I’ve even exhaled a few breaths.’
It was a first.
Narak was also strong in every respect, but his specialty was speed.
Combined with the Mad Frenzy Art, his movements were something even most renowned masters couldn’t easily track.
However.
‘He targeted my opening with perfect precision.’
As a result, his left arm, which he had offered up, was shattered and rendered useless. That fist had probably destroyed whatever had tried to block it.
Regardless, the current situation was truly extraordinary.
The former Mad Dragon Hall Master, acknowledged even by the Elders, was fighting on equal terms with a mere bandit.
Of course.
“He’s right. He might be too valuable to kill, as Jang I-seo said.”
Narak let his left arm drop and flicked his short dagger with his right hand.
Crimson! Red blood droplets stained the floor.
When he looked ahead, five red puncture marks were visible on Gu-yu’s broad chest.
All stab wounds from Narak’s short daggers.
He too had seized the moment his arm was sacrificed, choosing flesh over bone.
Moreover.
“You haven’t gone all out.”
It was true. Narak could have driven his blades deeper, as the man said, but he had shown restraint.
Gu-yu being far stronger than expected was certainly true, but the opponent was the Great Enemy General Narak.
He was not someone who would break so easily.
Gu-yu glared fiercely. Even without translation, he understood what it meant. His pride was wounded. Narak replied as if it were nothing.
“Don’t misunderstand. I just remembered the words of a certain reckless bastard for a moment.”
Gu-yu fell silent. He knew Chinese as well. So he immediately recalled what the man’s words meant.
‘I’ll explain everything later! For now, hold these guys off. Don’t kill them!’
The man who had carried Gwa-pyeong on his back, raged through the fortress searching for a physician.
Gu-yu’s brow furrowed.
These uninvited guests who had appeared out of nowhere were thoroughly displeasing to him. To dare toy with the lives of the Xiongnu as they pleased.
“I won’t kill him.”
An overwhelming aura erupted from Gu-yu’s body, and Narak readjusted his grip on his short daggers once more.
And.
KWAANG!
The Nine Dragon Fortress echoed with thunderous collisions once again.
* * *
– Nine Dragon Fortress, Upper Tier.
Creeeak.
The moment Jang I-seo and his group opened the door and entered, they knew this was the place.
The distinctive scent emanating from old people pierced their nostrils.
And sure enough, once they ventured deeper and their eyes adjusted to the darkness, his figure came into view.
A white-haired old man hanging from the wall, his limbs sealed in shackles.
“The Mad Physician…”
The mad physician who had studied under the same master as the Poison-Born Demon Physician.
At Jang I-seo’s words, everyone startled and shifted their gazes.
Then the old man, who had been hanging limply as if dead, snapped his head up, revealing white eyes, and erupted into maniacal laughter.
“Kkkkk! Finally, someone who knows me has come!”
Perhaps because of the moniker Mad Physician, even his fractured and torn voice carried an overwhelming presence of madness.
Maeng Hwi muttered with an awkward voice.
“Adjutant Jang, I told you. That old man isn’t right in the head.”
“Wait, who is that old man? How long has he been here?”
When Mao interjected, Maeng Hwi shrugged.
“I don’t know exactly. But he’s definitely someone important.”
“You don’t know, so how do you know that?”
“The Iron Horse Bandits were more interested in that old man than in me, the Sixth Young Master. That’s enough.”
Did it ever occur to you that they might not have known who you were? Mao clicked his tongue and examined the old man again.
Then the Mad Physician giggled and spoke.
“Do you intend to just stand there? Come closer. Closer!”
Jang I-seo approached him without lowering his guard.
The group followed in step.
As he drew near, he could see the tattered clothing and the skeletal frame with nothing but bones.
His whitened eyes seemed to have lost most of their sight.
At this level, it bordered on torture.
“Yes, I knew you’d come. I knew you’d come to save me! Of course. You wouldn’t abandon me!”
Who had he been waiting for?
“Ehehehehe! Keck! Kehek! Water… Bring me water! Ehehehe!”
He definitely wasn’t in his right mind. Mao leaned in and whispered like someone who had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“That guy is really weird. Jang I-seo, is he really a physician? Forget saving anyone, he looks like he’s about to die himself.”
That might be true. Honestly, even Jang I-seo didn’t know much about him.
That he had been a martial sibling of the Poison-Born Demon Physician. That he had accepted limbs as payment for treatment. That he had stolen a secret manual from the Heavenly Demon Palace long ago and fled. That was about it.
Ah, and one more thing.
“The one who created the Soul-Befuddling Powder spreading through our cult is that man.”
“Wh-what?!”
For now, this was all he knew. Listing it out, the man was definitely no ordinary figure.
But the strange part was that this wasn’t all.