Chapter 166 - All It Takes Is a Word

The buzzing wings of the venomous insect in the Insect Physician’s hand heightened the sense of danger.

It looked ready to fly at me and sink its jaws into me at any moment, but I calmly met her gaze and spoke.

“I have a subordinate I cherish as dearly as my own heart. Her parents abandoned her when she was young. Even so, she grew up bright and spirited.”

Perhaps the Insect Physician’s fingers tightened, for the insect’s wings began beating even faster.

“She probably had a crossroads in her life, too. Had she taken another path then, she would have led an unhappy life, consumed by resentment toward her parents and a desire for revenge.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you serve as a signpost at those crossroads, Physician.”

“!”

The Insect Physician was startled.

“You knew?”

“Yes. I know about the kindness you offer in secret.”

I knew why she was so obsessed with money.

She supported countless abandoned children. She provided them with food and sent them to schools and martial academies. She gave them a way to make a living before sending them out into the world. Though people called her the derogatory nickname “Moneybug,” she was a mother to orphans who had devoted her entire life to children.

That fact would only come to light after her death. Of the five hundred thousand taels I had offered, everything beyond the treatment fee was a donation for those children.

After staring at me, she squatted down where she stood, tore off the insect’s wings, then plucked off its legs one by one and ate them.

“I’ve developed a resistance to poison, so ordinary medicine can no longer treat my poisoning. I’m barely holding on by fighting poison with poison.”

The resulting pain must have been severe, for she kneaded her shoulder, arm, and leg.

“How did you learn about what I do?”

I sat down beside her.

“I am the second son of the leader of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon.”

Being my father’s son had its advantages. When you were a prospective successor to the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, people took it in stride even if you knew most secrets.

“Then why did you give me extra money?”

She neither looked surprised by the revelation of my identity nor made any effort to win my favor. That disposition was probably what had allowed her to devote herself steadfastly to the children despite a lifetime of abuse.

“I wanted to add my own heartfelt contribution to your good deeds. To me, you are not the Insect Physician, but the Great Divine Physician.”

Her eyes trembled slightly at those words. Great Divine Physician was the highest praise one could offer a physician.

“I kept it hidden precisely to avoid thanks like this.”

She chewed up the rest of the insect, body and all. She grimaced at its bitter taste but forced herself to swallow.

She did not seek praise, but I believed her heart felt otherwise.

Wouldn’t she want someone to recognize her good deeds at least once? Wouldn’t she want to receive such heartfelt respect and praise just once? Only once.

There was something I had learned in my life before returning to the past: sometimes, a single remark could release deep wounds and emotions that had accumulated for years upon years.

Someone only needed to say those words. Just once would be enough. Yet we so rarely heard them.

Thank you. You’ve worked hard. I’m sorry. It’s all thanks to you... All it took was one little phrase.

When those words seemed about to come but never did, the heart grew sick. We carried wounds for a lifetime that a single remark could have healed.

I hoped what I had just said would do that for her. That it would be the one remark to ease the hardships of her life. You have lived a wonderful life.

The Insect Physician turned to look at me sitting beside her.

I stared back, then said abruptly,

“You’re holding my wrist.”

At some point, she had taken hold of it. Of course, I could have avoided her touch, but I hadn’t.

“Oh, forgive me. Taking people’s pulses has become a habit whenever I see them.”

That was what she said, but she was examining me. She wanted to know whether I meant what I said. She intended to judge not by my words, but by my body’s response. Through the slightest changes in a person’s body, she could tell from their pulse whether they were telling the truth or lying.

Martial artists did not casually let others take their pulse. Allowing her to examine mine now was no different from saying, “I trust you sincerely.”

Then, as she examined me, she asked in astonishment,

“Could it be? Have you achieved complete mastery of the Thousand-Meridian Strengthening Art?”

A divine physician truly was a divine physician. From that brief examination of my pulse, she had realized that I had completely mastered the Thousand-Meridian Strengthening Art. I had achieved it earlier thanks to the Saber Fiends serving the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

“I have.”

For the first time since we met, I saw genuine agitation in her eyes. I knew what had caused her surprise.

* * *

Seo Daeryong had a dream.

In it, he was stabbed to death in the semifinals, never even reaching the final.

Looking down at him as he lay dying of his fatal wound, Geom Mugeuk said,

“I spent five hundred thousand taels on you, and you die so pointlessly? Isn’t that a bit much?”

His cold response filled Seo Daeryong with hurt.

“You’re the one being unreasonable, Pavilion Master. I’m dying. Dying!”

“Everyone dies. Though not usually right after receiving treatment worth five hundred thousand taels.”

Feeling bitterly wronged, Seo Daeryong shouted,

“That’s why I told you I wouldn’t do it!”

He woke with that shout and flinched at the sight before him. Just as in the dream, Geom Mugeuk was looking down at him.

“I told you not to do it, too.”

Unlike in the dream, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes were gentle, and Seo Daeryong sighed with relief.

“I dreamed I died in the semifinals.”

“Dreams mean the opposite. You’ll be fine.”

“You watched me dying and said those five hundred thousand taels were a waste!”

“Then it wasn’t the opposite after all. Looks like you’ll lose in the semifinals.”

“Please don’t say things that bring bad luck.”

Seo Daeryong tried to get up, but his body would not move.

“Huh? I can’t move.”

He lifted his head to look at his body and was shocked. Needles were packed densely all over him.

“She must have put the needles in wrong and paralyzed me. I can’t budge!”

“The Insect Physician said this acupuncture was important, so she sealed your paralysis points.”

Only then did he relax.

“I’m sorry. For getting injured and making you spend so much money.”

“Listen, Investigator Seo. This is what you should say at a time like this: ‘Really, Pavilion Master! You made me enter that martial tournament for no reason, and now I’m injured. How could you? I don’t care if it costs five million taels instead of five hundred thousand—get me healed!’”

“Oh, please leave instead of making me feel even guiltier.”

Geom Mugeuk turned to leave, but Seo Daeryong spoke from behind him.

“To be honest, I wanted the treatment. I said it cost too much, but in my heart, I hoped I could get treated and return to the tournament platform. That’s why I only pretended to give in. Would I have gotten the treatment if it had been my own money?”

“You would have.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because someone who spends other people’s money but refuses to spend his own wouldn’t agonize over this in the first place.”

“It could be a disguise, couldn’t it? Trying to look nice right to the end.”

“What would you gain by pretending to be nice to me? Give me one reason.”

“...”

“See? That isn’t it.”

“I suppose not.”

I left him and went outside.

The Insect Physician was sitting in the sunlight beneath the window of the room I had just left. I sat beside her. Perhaps she had heard our conversation, for she asked me,

“Then why are you pretending to be nice to me? Are you telling me a successor to the Demonic Cult cares about the orphans of the Central Plains?”

As she asked, she took my wrist to check my pulse again.

At that moment, which would become another crossroads in my life, I revealed my honest feelings.

“As you said, I am a prospective successor to the Demonic Cult, so I walk a path where I could die at any moment. Isn’t it only natural to want to win the favor of someone whose medical skill is said to revive even the dead?”

“Is that all?”

“What else could there be?”

She released my wrist.

After studying me for a moment, she abruptly held something out. It was the same kind of venomous insect she had eaten earlier.

“Would you like to try one? They’re delicious.”

“I’ll eat it, provided it won’t kill me.”

“Shall I make sure it won’t?”

In that moment, I knew I stood before another crossroads in my life.

“There’s something I’ve wanted to accomplish all my life as a physician. But I cannot even attempt it without someone whose meridians are as strong as yours. It could be dangerous, but if it succeeds, this trial will be of great benefit to you.”

After a moment’s consideration, I nodded.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“Why don’t you ask what the trial is?”

Because I already knew what it was, and what its outcome would be.

While bringing Seo Daeryong here, I had wondered whether this fortuitous opportunity would come my way. It was not something I could obtain by force. I had decided that if it came to me, I would accept it, and if not, I would simply let it pass. Now it was coming to me. In that sense, Seo Daeryong was the one who had led me to it.

“Because I believe that a trial offered by someone who has devoted her whole life to orphans would at least not be intended to harm me.”

“Are you a fool? It could be a scheme to kill a successor to the Demonic Cult.”

“That’s all right. There’s someone besides me who can inherit the position. And others are lined up behind him.”

The Insect Physician chewed up the insect in her hand and patted her shoulder.

“It hurts like hell. Give it a rub.”

I massaged her shoulders.

“You seem to have a great deal of work. Why not take a disciple? You could have them massage your shoulders, too.”

“What young person likes venomous insects these days? They all run away after a month or two.”

Apparently, she had indeed had disciples who ran away like that.

“Shall I become your disciple?”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Will you be all right with this, Medical Sage?”

“With what?”

“If the trial succeeds, won’t someone who might become the Demonic Cult’s successor grow stronger?”

“I’ve spent my whole life being cursed anyway. What is there to worry about? Harder. Over to the side there. Ah, that feels good.”

* * *

When Seo Daeryong woke again, all the needles had been removed from his body. He felt refreshed, as though he had enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

Sitting up, he tried moving his arm. It did not hurt at all. It was as though he had never been injured. No, his body felt even better than it had before the injury.

‘How is this possible?’

When he went outside, the Insect Physician was sitting in the courtyard, kneading her arms and legs.

He approached hesitantly, then sat down a good distance from her.

“Aren’t you going to say, ‘Thank you for treating me’?”

“You received five hundred thousand taels.”

“You impudent brat. Does paying mean you don’t have to thank me?”

“I will in a little while.”

“You look like a nice boy. Why are you being so spiteful?”

“Didn’t you say I looked like a crybaby?”

“A crybaby, spiteful, and petty, too. What am I to do with you?”

As she spoke, she rubbed her arms and legs.

“How did you get injured?”

“Catching insects.”

“Why haven’t you treated yourself?”

“This is what I look like after treatment.”

“What kind of insects were you catching, and how, to end up like this?”

“Stop grumbling and come massage my shoulders.”

“We paid you five hundred thousand taels. Why do I have to massage your shoulders, too?”

Despite his complaints, Seo Daeryong went over and massaged her shoulders.

“Ah! That feels good. You’re better than that master of yours.”

“Ever since I was little, people have told me I have strong hands. I used to massage my grandmother’s shoulders a lot, too.”

“Is your shoulder all right?”

“How did you heal that wound so completely? You’re incredible.”

“Your internal energy should have increased a little, too.”

“What?”

Startled, Seo Daeryong checked his internal energy. It had increased considerably. Compared with other promising young martial artists, his internal energy had been relatively lacking. Now, with reserves no smaller than theirs, his greatest weakness had vanished.

Overcome with emotion, he prostrated himself.

“You are my benefactor!”

“Not a quack?”

“Of course not! You’re a divine physician!”

“Save your thanks for the master who paid for you.”

“Speaking of money, please give us a discount.”

“Worried your master will end up a beggar?”

“My master has plenty of money. I’m not worried about that.”

“Then?”

“It’s an enormous sum for me to repay.”

“You intend to repay all of it?”

“I have to.”

A faint smile appeared on the Insect Physician’s lips as she looked at him.

“If you massage my shoulders well, I might knock off ten thousand taels.”

“Yes, Divine Physician! I’ll massage your arms, too.”

Seo Daeryong diligently resumed massaging her shoulders and arms.

“By the way, where is the Pavilion Master?”

“In that vat over there.”

Seo Daeryong flinched. She was pointing to a vat in the center of the courtyard filled with a strange liquid. Ever since coming outside, he had been barely enduring the nauseating stench rising from it.

“You don’t seem worried.”

“Who am I to worry about him? Even if I worried about everyone else in the world, I wouldn’t need to worry about our Pavilion Master. If I worry for no reason, I’m the one who ends up looking strange. He must have gone in because he knew he could handle it.”

“So there was a reason he was willing to spend five hundred thousand taels on you.”

Since it was praise for him, Seo Daeryong felt pleased.

“Go fetch that purple container over there.”

“Yes.”

Grimacing, he brought it over. It, too, was full of a foul-smelling liquid.

“You brat, do you know how precious that is? Why are you holding your nose?”

“What is all this?”

“Catching those creatures is what left my body in tatters.”

She took it and poured it into the vat in which Geom Mugeuk was submerged. As the liquids mixed, they bubbled and foamed.

“How does he breathe in there?”

“If you’re so worried, take his place.”

“I’ll have to decline.”

Seo Daeryong backed well away.

“What is this experiment, anyway?”

“Throughout my lifetime of studying venomous insects, there’s been one wish I’ve longed to fulfill. Your master willingly became the subject of that research. He’ll emerge either dead or transformed.”

Geom Mugeuk’s death was not a possibility Seo Daeryong considered.

“Transformed into what?”

Then the Insect Physician uttered something astonishing that he had never expected.

“A body impervious to all poisons.”