Chapter 64: Sichuan Is Different
It was a rather sudden topic.
To think that Master Heavenly Demon was making and selling items that allowed one to peek into the Meridian Mirror from the heavens… no, should I call it hell? Anyway, from that side.
Although there were numerous legends about Master Heavenly Demon, I did not think I had ever heard of one where he was a merchant…
“Master Heavenly Demon is selling such things?”
[It seems he poked around at everyone who looked like they had some karma to spare. Even so, if you count the greatest divine physicians of all time, it is only me and Bian Que. So, I have also accumulated quite a bit of karma.]
“Why would he do such a thing…?”
[There must be a reason. That man, Heavenly Demon, is not one to do useless things. Well, perhaps something happened recently that requires a large amount of karma?]
‘Karma…’
Recently, talk of karma had been brought up frequently. Thanks to that, I also realized that this thing called karma was heavier than I had thought.
At first, I had wondered if it was a concept like some kind of currency used in the afterlife, but hearing this, it felt like it had a meaning beyond that.
‘Indeed, thinking about it, it’s amazing. In Master Hua Tuo’s case, just by accumulating a large amount of karma, he holds a decent position in the underworld, and even though he isn’t an immortal, it’s possible for him to visit the heavens.’
I decided to look into it in detail when I had time later.
But for now, Master Heavenly Demon was the problem.
‘I did feel like he was plotting something… What is it?’
“Master Bodhidharma. What do you think Master Heavenly Demon is thinking?”
If I could not find out directly, utilizing my surroundings was also a good method.
[Hmm… I shall look into it.]
Master Bodhidharma’s voice, letting out a slight groan as if contemplating something, made me feel a bit uneasy as well.
‘If Master Heavenly Demon has such an item, and something to print out such items, he must be listening to this conversation right now.’
Actually, while I was asking Master Bodhidharma for help just now, on the other hand, it was no different from asking Master Heavenly Demon directly.
I did not know how effective it would be, but I hoped nothing unusual would happen.
Meanwhile.
“Is the owner here?”
Along with a shout looking for the physician, a line of people crossed the threshold, dragging their uncomfortable bodies.
Whether they had come after fighting to their heart’s content somewhere, they wrapped their foreheads tightly with pieces of cloth stained red with blood, while others wrapped their arms and legs.
“Where did the owner go?”
The one with his forehead wrapped asked me.
He frowned deeply as if his wound was painful.
“He is probably making medicine in the decoction room.”
“It looks like you were done in as well. Indeed, those Unorthodox bastards have been running wild lately. The current state of Sichuan is such that it wouldn’t be strange no matter what happens.”
They said they had also been badly beaten.
Their outward appearance alone made it plain enough to see.
‘But why does this feel so off?’
There was something bothering me that I couldn’t pinpoint. It felt like a certain part of my body was itchy, but I didn’t know exactly where to scratch to make it feel better.
Actually, I had felt it even before they entered the apothecary. That was why I had been watching them.
[Hehehehe.]
At that moment, Master Hua Tuo laughed somewhat frivolously.
[I am probably the person who knows best how an injured person moves.]
Along with that, he mentioned his own achievements and career.
At the same time, my body, which had been watching them consciously or unconsciously, also began to tense up.
I had not heard a direct answer, but it was as good as hearing one.
[Those guys aren’t injured.]
“Oof. Let’s sit and rest for a moment.”
The one who had his knee bound as if he had injured his leg tried to sit on the place where patients laid down with an awkward movement.
It went without saying, but the place he sat was where the Qingcheng Sect disciples were lying.
“By the way, where did these fellows get hurt that their complexions are so bluish?”
Speaking casually as if he was worried, he calmly reached his arm out past me to touch the Qingcheng Sect disciples.
I moved my hand without hesitation.
Crack!
As if sweeping with a broom, my fingertips drew a circle and wrapped around the opponent’s wrist.
The person’s hand was crushed like a lump of yellow clay dough.
Even as I acted, I did not have a single shred of doubt.
After all, who was the one who had said it?
“Aaargh!”
“You claim to worry about a sick person, so why are you holding a needle?”
A thin needle could be seen between the crushed hand and fingers.
These bastards had come targeting the incapacitated Qingcheng Sect disciples.
They might have recognized them as Qingcheng Sect disciples by their clothing, but it seemed to have been a mistake when Baek Mu-ho shouted at the top of his lungs while shaking that annoying jerk.
‘Did I view the situation in Sichuan too complacently?’
No matter how weakened they were, to try to kill disciples of the Nine Great Sects in this manner… It was something unimaginable elsewhere.
The situation in Sichuan seemed worse than I thought.
At least one thing they had said was certain.
It seemed that it wouldn’t be strange no matter what happened in Sichuan right now.
“Strike!”
Judging that their identity had been exposed, they did not hesitate either.
‘Five.’
I calmly counted the number of bastards disguised as patients.
Since one of them was subdued by me with his hand crushed, there were four left.
Just then, I felt something flying toward me.
‘Is it an Unorthodox trait, or a Sichuan trait? They sure love throwing things like hell.’
The Black and White Double Demons had been like that too, but these guys also threw something first before the battle even began.
By doing so, they would aim for the opening it created. Or perhaps they would target the fallen Qingcheng Sect disciples in the meantime.
In that case, I just shouldn’t dodge.
I lifted the wrist of the man I had subdued.
Naturally, his body became a shield to block the hidden weapons.
Papapat!
“Urgh! Argh!”
“You bastard! How despicable!”
“Despicable, my foot.”
What nonsense from bastards who threw hidden weapons right from the start.
Come to think of it, that guy named Sang-something, the spy of the Demonic Cult I fought in the Mount Hua Sect, had also started by throwing hidden weapons.
If they called this a practical response, I had no intention of arguing, but it was a meaningless method to me, who possessed Master Zhang Sanfeng’s Listening Force and Master Heavenly Demon’s synesthesia.
‘At least it isn’t a poison mist, so that’s a relief.’
It would be troublesome if something like that went off in a closed space.
I didn’t care, but the Qingcheng Sect disciples would be in danger.
Well, since they would also risk poisoning themselves if they used such a thing, they probably couldn’t use it even if they had it.
“If he’s such a precious companion, try catching him well.”
Let me also try one of those practical responses.
Although what I throw will be different in size from what you guys threw.
I threw the guy who was foaming at the mouth, perhaps because the hidden weapons were coated with lethal poison, with all my might.
Whoosh!
Along with the sound of slicing through the wind, a human body flew fiercely, but not one of them caught him.
While they reflexively dodged, my body surged forward.
“A-Are you a ghost?!”
‘Master Bodhidharma said it.’
The Cloud-Soaring Golden Light Step was a footwork and body-lightening method created by extracting only the strengths of the Cloud Ladder Stride and the Vajra Immovable Body Method. He said that if one’s realm became high, they could move ten zhang like a single step, making the enemies feel like they were facing a phantom.
Although my realm was not yet that high, it seemed my instantaneous movement appeared that way to them.
The way their pupils dilated to their limits was as good as a clear answer.
Crack!
A fist that extended out cleanly crushed a face.
[Oh my! This is fun.]
Master Hua Tuo was extremely amused. For some reason, I wondered if this man had some kind of fantasy about beating up patients.
A physician who longed to beat patients to a pulp. Was that really okay?
“You bastard!”
Perhaps because they had experienced real combat in their own right, a counterattack aiming for my flank came in as one of them fell, but the moves of the Supreme Ultimate Fist naturally responded.
Pushing away with the back of the hand, and grabbing the wrist like catching a monkey’s tail.
Crack!
“Argh!”
“Sorry. My strength control isn’t perfect yet.”
The power of the third stage of the Heavy Earth Divine Art was immense. If the divine power of the earth flowed naturally on top of it, a force that could only be described as monstrous would unfold.
Normally, it should have ended at the level of gently snapping the joint, but I ended up snapping the forearm like a stalk of sorghum.
Well, since it was a force that could crush a person’s hand like kneading yellow clay dough, it was only natural.
“Crazy…!”
“Monster!”
Though it seemed those guys thought otherwise.
They looked at me with eyes full of terror, then looked around.
Anyone could see they were looking for an escape route.
“It’s no use. First, run—!”
Thrust!
“…Keup… Keureureok!”
The guy who suggested the retreat collapsed while coughing up blood.
It was because his neck had been pierced by a sword that broke through the wall.
Slice!
The next guy was the same.
Because it was a sudden situation, their response was a beat slow. Against Baek Mu-ho’s sword strikes, that difference of a single beat was more than enough time for a head to fly off.
“I can’t even wash in peace.”
Baek Mu-ho, who had sliced off two necks even as he entered grumbling, swung his sword once more. He slashed the necks of the enemy whose hand I had crushed and the assailant I had thrown as a bait, finishing them off.
“W-What in the… Eek!!”
It seemed that physician would have to suffer for a while, though.
The physician, who had come out of the decoction room, was frightened out of his wits, then crept out and read Baek Mu-ho’s expression.
When he made eye contact with Baek Mu-ho, who was shaking the blood off his blade, he looked as if he was about to have a fit.
“By the way.”
“Yeah?”
“That decoction you prescribed. Setting the efficacy aside, can’t you make a separate bowl of it that tastes absolutely terrible?”
Seeing him emphasize the part about “a separate bowl,” it was not difficult to guess whose mouth it would go into.
[Bwahahaha! That is a very idiotic idea.]
Master Hua Tuo also liked it very much.
[Great. Let’s do it.]
***
“Oof! The t-taste…!”
“Don’t complain. And don’t throw up. If you throw up one more time, I might just make you empty out everything in your stomach before forcing it down your throat.”
“Gueeegh!”
These were the sounds heard after the Qingcheng Sect disciples regained consciousness.
To be more precise, it was the sound made as something unknown and terrifying flowed into the annoying jerk’s mouth.
The smell alone was incredibly terrible.
[Bwahahahaha! Nice. I should try using that sometime too. Bwahahahaha!]
Although someone seemed to like it quite a bit.
Since there was no need to make them suffer together, I brought out the other two Qingcheng Sect disciples, who were still pale, and shared a light conversation with them to explain the situation.
Needless to say, the explanation of the suffering the annoying jerk was going through could not be left out.
“Since that fellow over there was close to where the poison mist exploded, he needs a stronger medicine.”
“Ah…”
Even though they had just regained consciousness and were still dazed, they seemed to understand the situation.
As we were talking about general things like that, Yi Do-cheon said as if perplexed.
“You are going to find Teacher Emerald Bamboo?”
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“Of course I know of him, as he is a man of high renown… Mmm!”
Yi Do-cheon’s expression became troubled.
“From what I know, the region where he is stationed is under the territory of the Unorthodox Faction… I wonder if it is alright for a young hero who is famous as a rising star of the Orthodox Faction to go there…”
“The Unorthodox… territory?”
Is it because the terrible smell going into someone’s mouth was lingering in the apothecary?
Suddenly, a headache washed over me.
Excuse me? Grandfather? What kind of task did you throw at your grandson?