Chapter 58: Chapter 58
Ma I-sin agreed with a grin. Sa Ho-jeong brightened.
“Now that’s more like it! This is the Big Brother I know. Alright. So I’m going to Wolha Village with you?”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“Great. First then… Hey. Slave. Go get me clothes that fit. And give me my axes.”
Sa Ho-jeong tossed orders at the Slave Lord casually. The Slave Lord remained motionless until Ma I-sin told him to comply, then handed over the axes and went to fetch clothes.
“Your man listens to orders like a damn dog. Anyway, Brother. I’m going to catch some shut-eye, so wake me when you’re ready. Oh, and our boys are down below. Take care of them too.”
Ma I-sin nodded generously. Sa Ho-jeong, claiming exhaustion, walked straight into the room full of women and disappeared.
No manners. No decorum.
Well, for Ma I-sin, the situation had become entertaining, so it didn’t matter.
“It’s been a while since I’ll see your face. Mao…”
* * *
– Mahe Mountain, Guardian Dragon Hall Headquarters.
GRAAAAH!
A thunderous tiger’s roar shook the Guardian Dragon Hall.
Not a real tiger. The roar of Ji Dae-ho, the Hall Master who was terrifying beyond measure when angered.
“Say it again.”
The tiger-pelt-floored Hall Master’s office. The adjutant standing before Ji Dae-ho couldn’t even raise his head properly, delivering his report in a miserable voice.
“Sa Ho-jeong escaped from our grasp…”
“Before that.”
“Five warriors… were martyred.”
GRAAAAH!
Another roar from the father tiger who’d lost his cubs. The death of his subordinates drove his fury to the extreme, far beyond the frustration of losing the target.
“Where did it happen?”
“A small inn in Songshan, Hampyeong Village, in the north.”
“…Order the outer perimeter placed under thorough surveillance. He must not leave the cult’s territory.”
“Yes, sir!”
The adjutant bowed and departed. Left alone, Ji Dae-ho clenched his massive fist, fury unresolved.
Catch him. Just catch him. He’d crush the bastard’s skull.
But before that.
“Ahem.”
Ji Dae-ho coughed awkwardly and walked to the corner window. There stood a short old man leaning on a cane carved with a snake’s head.
Ji Dae-ho bowed his head and spoke.
“My apologies. It seems we lost him.”
“Dismiss me as old and deaf? I have ears.”
“Please wait a little longer. The moment we find him, I’ll inform you first, Lord Physician.”
The Hall Master bowed again. Few in the Demonic Cult warranted such deference. Especially not someone called the Demon Physician.
In fact, only one.
The master of the Poison Pavilion, which handled all medicine in the cult. One of the Seven Elders.
The Poison-Born Demon Physician. Sixth Elder Sa Ma-gyun.
Only him.
“Who was it that brought in that Soul-Befuddling Powder?”
At the Demon Physician’s question, Ji Dae-ho clicked his tongue.
The elder had come to the Guardian Dragon Hall for one reason. The Soul-Befuddling Powder of unknown origin.
Ji Dae-ho had requested his cooperation for this very purpose.
But after tasting a sample, the elder had become more anxious than Ji Dae-ho himself, investigating with growing urgency.
“A man currently serving as the Seventh Young Master’s adjutant. Jang I-seo.”
“Hmm…”
At Ji Dae-ho’s answer, the Demon Physician let out a low murmur and fell into thought. Then he turned and began walking out.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to meet this man myself.”
“In person?”
“Tch. When you’re old, every moment is precious. If I wait for the Guardian Dragon Hall to catch him, I’ll be in a coffin first.”
“That’s a bit… Fine. If you wish.”
His pride was wounded, but what more could he say in this situation? The escape was a fact. And the elder wasn’t the type to listen to reason. A notorious eccentric.
Ji Dae-ho saw him to the door, then offered a final request before he left.
“Oh, since you’re going, could you also examine that man’s body?”
“That man?”
“Jang I-seo. The Seventh Young Master’s adjutant.”
The Demon Physician glanced back, eyeing Ji Dae-ho with a curious look. This was a man who never cared about anyone outside his own subordinates. What brought this on?
“How unusual. A Hall Master worrying about an adjutant. Don’t tell me… you’ve thrown in with the Seventh Young Master’s faction?”
“Nothing like that. He’s just… a man I’m personally interested in.”
“Hmph. Why ask me about the tiger’s curiosity? Nonsense. Until next time.”
“Yes. Take care.”
Ji Dae-ho clasped his hands in salute. The Demon Physician waved dismissively and departed.
Truly, not a single polite word from the man.
Jang I-seo smirked and muttered.
“But there’s no better physician in the world.”
May he be of some help to the man. Ji Dae-ho stared at the empty space where the elder had stood.
* * *
– Moonlight Lake, Chiseonru.
Early evening after sunset. Moonlight Lake, which should have been darkening, glowed brighter than ever, teeming with boisterous crowds.
It had been ten days since the battle with the Slaughterhouse in Wolha Village.
As Jang I-seo had promised, a grand feast was underway.
“Hahaha! When the Seventh Young Master suddenly appeared, we were so shocked!”
“That’s right, exactly! He even said this. Remember. This is the distance you need to keep from me. Hahaha! Someone peel this shrimp for me!”
“Shut up, you pests!”
“Hey, Mao. You really said that? Isn’t that insane?”
“Everyone shut up-!”
Whether because it was already the second feast, or because fighting together had forged camaraderie, Mao and the people of Wolha Village now conversed without barriers. Maeng Hwi and the Black Dragon Faction mingled among them, beaming.
From the second-floor railing, Jang I-seo watched them all with a warm smile.
“You seem to be in good spirits.”
Chwi Hong-ran, seated beside him, poured drink and asked. Jang I-seo nodded without removing his gaze.
“I am. If those kids keep growing like this, this place will become livable.”
“You cherish them.”
“Cherish. It’s just the satisfaction of rehabilitating good-for-nothings. They may not become saints, but at least they shouldn’t become slaughter demons.”
At Jang I-seo’s meaningful words, Chwi Hong-ran smiled brightly. Jang I-seo looked at her and raised his cup with a matching smile.
But why did worry linger in that smile? Chwi Hong-ran, who saw it instantly, asked softly.
“You still haven’t found the answer?”
She meant the homework the Cult Leader had assigned. Find the answer within a month, or go mad or die. A future with only two outcomes.
Jang I-seo tossed back his drink, blew away the burning heat, and answered casually.
“It’s not easy.”
Literally. Maeng Hwi and Mao were improving by leaps and bounds with each day of training, yet he himself had made zero progress in the past ten days.
His blood vessels darkened steadily. Killing intent pushed into his thoughts unbidden.
The demonic aura’s poisoning was worsening.
“A little over ten days remain.”
At Chwi Hong-ran’s words, Jang I-seo nodded with a darker expression.
After ten more days, his entire body would likely be discolored black. By then, even finding the answer would be too late.
But no clue was in sight…
Idle thoughts crept in as the drink kept flowing. How much had he consumed? Footstep, footstep. Someone climbed the stairs.
Light, quick steps.
“Jin-san?”
As Jang I-seo brightened at Sa Hae-ryeong’s other name, a complete stranger appeared instead.
“You are…”
A short figure, barely over five cheok, holding a cane carved with a snake’s head. A cantankerous-looking old man.
“You’re the one called Jang I-seo?”
“The Poison-Born Demon Physician…?!”
One of the foremost poison masters under heaven. The sole master of the Poison Pavilion, the cult’s only pharmacy.
Sixth Elder, Second Grade Ghost. Sa Ma-gyun.
*
Sixth Elder Sa Ma-gyun.
Better known as the Poison-Born Demon Physician, he was, true to his disagreeable appearance, also renowned as an eccentric.
If a dying patient failed to please him, he’d inject poison instead of medicine, extinguishing their hope. If someone utterly insignificant caught his fancy for whatever reason, he’d procure even an Eternal Snow Ginseng to save them.
The problem was that no one could discern his criteria.
That was why they called him the Demon Physician.
And this man had appeared suddenly at Chiseonru, on a feast day no less.
Naming Jang I-seo specifically.
“Hmph. They say you’re from the gutter, but at least you have eyes. Seeing as you recognized me. Kids these days have eyes they don’t even need.”
The grumbling Demon Physician planted his cane under his chin with both hands, glaring at Jang I-seo, then at the empty chair beside him.
A silent demand to pull out a chair.
Jang I-seo swallowed a sigh, stood, and pulled out the chair. The old man dropped into it with a thud.
What kind of old man was this? Utterly exasperating.
Jang I-seo signaled Chwi Hong-ran to withdraw, sat back down, poured himself a fresh cup, and asked.
“Surely you didn’t come to see me?”
“Why would I. What are you to me?”
Rude, but accurate. First meeting, no prior connection.
Glancing at the first floor, Maeng Hwi and Mao were dancing and carousing, oblivious to the Elder’s arrival. He clearly hadn’t come for them either.
He asked directly.
“Then why here…”
“I came all this way for that adorable thing you took from the Slaughterhouse. The Soul-Befuddling Powder.”
Was that… adorable? Jang I-seo’s brow furrowed slightly. He nodded as if he understood and replied.
“If that’s the case, you’re too late. I handed it all to the Guardian Dragon Hall Master. You should try there.”
A Sixth Elder. Genuinely a heavyweight figure difficult to handle as a spy.
But he’d already met the Heavenly Demon himself, and he was now a Third Grade Ghost high-ranking official. There was no need to waste mental energy groveling before this ill-tempered old man.
Jang I-seo poured himself another drink and tossed it back. The Demon Physician watched him steadily and spoke.
“I already saw what Ji Dae-ho had. That’s why I’m here.”
Hmm? Jang I-seo regarded him over his empty cup.
“Then you had even less reason to come here.”
“Do you know what the Soul-Befuddling Powder you obtained actually is?”
“It’s… a hallucinogen, isn’t it? A highly addictive poison that induces hallucinations upon exposure. That’s the extent of my knowledge.”
“Tsk tsk tsk.”
“Am I wrong?”
“No. Spot on.”
What was wrong with this old man? Then why the tongue-clicking? Eccentric was right. He wasn’t in his right mind. Though finding a sane person in the Demonic Cult would be the harder task.
As Jang I-seo stared in disbelief, the Demon Physician gazed straight ahead and spoke as if reciting.
“Soul-Befuddling Powder is a hallucinogen. But the formula varies by maker, and so do the ingredients. Therefore, while it’s collectively called Soul-Befuddling Powder, in reality it comprises hundreds of distinct poisons.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. And the Soul-Befuddling Powder you obtained is a particularly unusual one.”
“What’s unusual about it? It looked like ordinary white powder.”
“The one who made it is unusual.”
The creator?
Who could the Poison-Born Demon Physician consider unusual?