Chapter 59 - Sometimes the Outside Matters More

As far as I knew, there were two ways to conceal the fact that I had put Blood-Eye Purifying Water in my eyes.

The first was complete bodily rebirth. With my body transformed entirely, no one would be able to detect that I had used the water. But that was as difficult as attaining complete mastery of the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, so it was not worth considering for now.

The second was to change only my eyes, rather than my entire body.

Was it possible to change my eyes?

It was. There was exactly one person alive who could do it for me. He was even here in the Cult. The question was whether he would grant my request.

The man in question greeted me reeking of blood.

"Welcome, Second Young Master."

"Have you been well, honored Demon Physician?"

He was none other than the Demon Physician. The blood on his clothes belonged to a patient.

"The same as always."

"Please take breaks as you work. You look tired."

"Thank you for your concern."

I had had little contact with the Demon Physician, but after becoming Pavilion Master of Yellow Springs Pavilion, I had encountered him several times on business and grown acquainted with him.

"I happened to come into some medicinal herbs, so I came to offer them to you."

I handed him the gift I had prepared. These were not herbs ordinarily supplied to the infirmary; I had specially purchased them outside the Cult at considerable expense.

"Oh, such precious herbs. Thank you."

"You're most welcome."

"Come, have some tea."

"Thank you."

I drank tea with the Demon Physician. After we exchanged a few pleasantries, he asked casually,

"I gather you came because you need something from me?"

"Yes. In fact, I came to ask a favor."

"Go ahead."

"You're a busy man, so I won't beat around the bush. Please perform the New Eye Procedure on me."

The Demon Physician was startled.

The New Eye Procedure.

It was a procedure that strengthened a martial artist's eyes, dramatically improving not only ordinary eyesight but the ability to track moving objects. It also made the eyes resistant to outside influences. Light or darkness, being underwater or surrounded by smoke—none of those external conditions affected them.

Just as its name implied, the eyes were reborn anew. Its effects were so remarkable that it was also called the Divine Eye Procedure.

If I underwent the New Eye Procedure, the Wind Heaven Cult Leader would not discover that I had used Blood-Eye Purifying Water even if he examined my eyes. Unfortunately, however, the procedure was believed to be a secret art that had been lost long ago.

The Demon Physician's expression grew utterly grave.

"How did you know I can perform the New Eye Procedure?"

This was not something I could have mentioned by chance, so he did not try to deny knowing it. What he wanted to know was how I had learned of it.

I would learn that the Demon Physician had mastered the New Eye Procedure far in the future.

When I returned to the Cult to obtain materials for the great art, he was already dead. His chief disciple, Ho Baek, held the position of Divine Physician, and I learned everything through him.

Ho Baek had offered the New Eye Procedure to Ju Baekdo, the cult leader at the time.

That was how it came to light that the Demon Physician had passed down the procedure and the medicines it required to his disciple.

I did not say who had told me. If I kept silent, there was one person the Demon Physician would think of.

"Ah!"

His expression grew cautious. He would assume Father had told me. There was a reason he could hardly think otherwise.

According to his chief disciple Ho Baek's recollections, Father had declined the Demon Physician's offer to perform the New Eye Procedure. Thanks to that, the materials had been passed down to Ho Baek, allowing him to perform it on the cult leader of his day. He had recalled that he owed it all to his master.

That was why the Demon Physician would grant my request.

Although Father had refused the procedure, telling me about it could be interpreted as an indication that he wanted the Demon Physician to perform it on me.

"Do you know that the fruit of the Paradise Guanyin Herb, one of the required ingredients, is so exceedingly rare that the New Eye Procedure can be performed only once in a generation?"

"Yes, I do."

"And knowing that, you still want it?"

"I do."

The Demon Physician fell into thought. I gave him time to consider, waiting quietly as I drank my tea. At last, he spoke.

"If I perform the New Eye Procedure, what will you do for me, Second Young Master?"

"I have nothing to offer you now. Instead..."

I looked at him, my gaze full of conviction.

"I will become cult leader."

"!"

"Once I do, I will be able to grant whatever you wish."

The Demon Physician's gaze wavered. I knew what he wanted.

He had wished for it until the day he died, but Father had never consented. That was also why Father had declined the New Eye Procedure. Accepting it would have obliged him to grant the Demon Physician's request.

Unlike Father, however, I had no intention of refusing. I intended to grant his wish.

"Will you grant it, whatever it may be?"

"Yes. But only one request."

"One is enough."

"You have my word."

Now there was one last thing the Demon Physician had to judge.

"Are you confident you can become the successor?"

"I am."

This time, I asked a question.

"What do you think, sir? Do you believe I will become the successor?"

Surely the Demon Physician had been taking notice of my recent actions.

"I believe you have sufficient ability. More than sufficient, in fact. But... you are too clear-hearted. I cannot be certain you are suited to the position of cult leader."

"Then this works out perfectly."

"What do you mean?"

"Use the New Eye Procedure to hide these clear eyes of mine. Make them new."

I spoke as though joking, but the Demon Physician did not laugh. He stood on the brink of the greatest decision of his life, and he knew his choice would determine his fate.

"This is an important decision. Please consider it carefully and send word."

I rose from my seat.

"Second Young Master, let me ask one final question."

"Of course."

"If you become cult leader, how do you intend to deal with the Orthodox Martial Alliance?"

"That will depend on the circumstances at the time. But one thing is certain. Whether they belong to the orthodox or unorthodox factions, whether they are individuals or organizations, men or women—if I judge them to be absolute evil, I will destroy them without fail."

Knowing that this was the ideal answer, at least for him, I left with an easy mind.

* * *

Three days later, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon visited the infirmary.

The Demon Physician sat motionless in his consultation room, several days of agonizing over his decision etched into his face as fatigue.

As the Blood Heaven Saber Demon entered, he said,

"Are you about to die? Why are you doing something so out of character?"

The Demon Physician had sent someone with a discreet request to meet. That was why the Saber Demon had come quietly at this late hour.

"Neither of us has long left before death."

"Cut out that ill-omened talk. Or at least leave me out of it."

"Why are you so attached to this world?"

"The bastards who claim they have no attachment to the world are living in an even worse hell inside."

Few people knew that the two men were such close, informal friends.

"What is it? Since you've called me here, are you finally sick of saving people? Shall we go kill a few together?"

The Demon Physician smiled faintly. He got along surprisingly well with the Blood Heaven Saber Demon, who blurted out whatever came to mind without a filter. Their relationship made it easy to understand how people could be close because their personalities were different.

He had sometimes wished he could live like the Saber Demon, saying anything he pleased.

"I called you because I wanted to ask something."

"What?"

"Why did you choose the Second Young Master?"

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon stared at him for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter.

"That brat really does have a hand in everything. He's even dragging the infirmary's bookish gentleman onto the battlefield. Why on earth are you asking?"

After a pause, the Demon Physician answered.

"Perhaps, as you say, I've grown tired of saving people."

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon laughed with delight, but the Demon Physician remained serious.

"Why the Second Young Master?"

"Why else? I chose him because I think he'll become cult leader."

The Demon Physician nodded. He mistakenly believed that the Cult Leader had told Geom Mugeuk about his New Eye Procedure.

On that basis, the Second Young Master was highly likely to become the successor.

But the Demon Physician needed more than that. He stood at a crossroads, deciding whether to use the one opportunity he would have in his lifetime. The fulfillment of his lifelong wish also hung in the balance.

"I'm asking what makes you think that."

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon's honest answer would have been this:

Somehow, the brat had drawn him in. By the time he came to his senses, he was putting a Divine Pill Beyond Heaven into the boy's mouth.

But he could hardly say that.

"The Second Young Master told me that on his Demonic Path, he doesn't smash tavern tables. That's why I chose him."

The Demon Physician stared blankly at him for a moment. He had not expected such an absurd answer, yet strangely, he felt he understood the sentiments behind it. Both Geom Mugeuk's and the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's.

"Well, it is about time you stopped smashing things."

The Demon Physician rose.

"Where are you going after calling me here? We should have a drink."

"Next time. I'll pay then."

"What next time do old men have? Pay today!"

But the Demon Physician had already left.

Watching him go, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon gave a wry chuckle.

"Too industrious to die easily."

He was speaking of Geom Mugeuk, of course, not the Demon Physician.

* * *

I woke from sleep.

The Heavenly Demon's Body-Protection Art had alerted me to a visitor's presence.

I got out of bed, strapped on my sword, and went outside to find the Demon Physician standing in the courtyard.

"Welcome, sir."

"I emitted no demonic qi at all. How did you know I was here?"

"I simply opened my eyes in my sleep. As though it were fate."

I had deliberately added that trite word, fate, because it worked so well on older people. At their age, there were many things difficult to make peace with unless they told themselves it had all been fate.

"I have spent my whole life saving people."

"That is a noble thing."

The Demon Physician shook his head.

"I am not a selfless man. I saved people because I wanted to kill one person."

"What do you mean?"

I asked as though I did not know, but I already knew. It was also the reason the Demon Physician had committed himself to the Cult.

"For a physician to kill someone is to defy the will of Heaven. That is why. I strove to save even one more person, to wash away some small part of that sin."

The Demon Physician let out a long sigh and asked,

"When you become cult leader, will you kill that man for me?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you ask who he is?"

"If he is someone you wish to kill, he must be an evil man. I trust you, sir."

"How can you know what lies inside me?"

"I believe there are times when the outside matters more than what lies within. The outer mantle of Demon Physician is not easily earned. I trust the effort you put into earning that name."

Of course, that was not the only basis for my trust. I trusted him because I knew everything about him—his life, his death, even the man he wanted to kill. Otherwise, I would never entrust my eyes to him.

"Killing him will not be easy. If things go wrong, others will be caught up in it and die. That is why I wish for him alone to be killed, with no other lives lost. Can you promise me that?"

This was probably why Father had refused as well. To grant the request, Father would have to act personally, but the position of Heavenly Demon carried far too much weight for him to act on one individual's grudge.

"I will grow stronger and kill him alone, without any unnecessary loss of life."

"Will you promise me?"

"Yes."

"Will you keep that promise even if I die first?"

"I promise. When I drive my sword into his heart, I will whisper to him that the Demon Physician sent that blade."

A smile touched the Demon Physician's lips, as though the thought alone pleased him.

At last, he made his decision.

"Very well. I will perform the New Eye Procedure on you."

"Thank you so much."

I bowed at the waist in respect.

"Thank me after the procedure is finished. Come, let's go."

"You're going to do it now?"

"Once I've made up my mind, I should act at once. Who knows how I'll feel tomorrow? Why? Do you object?"

"Not at all. Let's go."

I followed the Demon Physician as he strode away.

As I did, I looked carefully around me. This was my last look at the world through these eyes.