Chapter 125

The Divine Physician of Life and Death (2)

Grand Elder Shim Nahu blocked Won Gyeongdan, the Divine Physician of Life and Death, as he was on his way to meet Baek So-cheon.

"Physician Won, I have something I wish to discuss with you."

"Please speak, Grand Elder."

Until now, the two had always treated each other with the utmost courtesy. One was the Ice Palace’s benefactor and honored guest, while the other was the true authority who held its power firmly in her grasp.

"I know you are busy, so I shall come straight to the point. What happened between you and the Murim Alliance Leader?"

Won Gyeongdan’s expression stiffened slightly at her question. Even coming from the Grand Elder, it was exceedingly rude to ask him something like that.

"It is a personal matter, so I cannot tell you."

"This concerns the safety of our palace."

"My personal affairs will not endanger your palace."

"You must make absolutely certain that they do not."

"I am busy, so I shall take my leave. We will speak again another time."

Neither of them looked pleased as they walked away.

Shim Nahu was displeased with Won Gyeongdan for appearing out of nowhere and causing trouble, while Won Gyeongdan could hardly have been pleased by her discourteous attitude.

Someone had been watching the exchange from afar.

It was the Ice Palace Lord, Seo Bingbing, accompanied by her bodyguard and most trusted subordinate, Lee Dan, also known as Chutae. Lee Dan was a remarkably handsome young man.

"We must find a way to lift the Absolute Golden Decree this time."

Lee Dan answered her.

"Everything depends on the meeting between Baek So-cheon and the Divine Physician."

Seo Bingbing turned to him.

"Make sure Elder Shim’s people cannot approach the place where those two meet. She may try to ruin this."

"Yes, understood."

Seo Bingbing looked up at the Ice Palace buildings, which glittered like jewels beneath the reflected sunlight.

"Yes, they’re beautiful. So beautiful that I’m utterly sick of them."

***

Baek So-cheon and Won Gyeongdan sat facing each other alone.

Yeom Hwasin had excused himself, claiming that he needed to grind some ink, though he was probably secretly eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Baek So-cheon."

"I am Won Gyeongdan."

"I have long heard of your great reputation, Divine Physician."

"What reputation could someone like me possibly have? You are the one known throughout the world."

After exchanging formal greetings, Won Gyeongdan got straight to the point.

"What exactly did Alliance Leader Ak ask you to tell me?"

"That was a lie."

"What?"

"I lied to lure you here. The Alliance Leader never said anything of the sort."

Won Gyeongdan rose from his seat with a displeased expression.

"Then we have nothing more to discuss. I have no intention of restoring your internal energy, either, so you would do well to leave the palace at once."

As he turned to leave, Baek So-cheon spoke.

"If you refuse to treat me, Alliance Leader Yeom will never grant your wish."

"What?"

Won Gyeongdan spun around in shock.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know what you demanded of Alliance Leader Yeom in exchange for treating him."

Won Gyeongdan’s face hardened. He had specifically asked Yeom Hwasin to keep it an absolute secret, yet the man had revealed it to Baek So-cheon.

"He promised me that he would kill him."

"If he intended to keep that promise, the Murim Alliance Leader would already be dead."

"We are talking about killing the Murim Alliance Leader. How could such a thing be easily accomplished?"

"Is that the excuse he gave you? With Alliance Leader Yeom’s current abilities, killing the Alliance Leader is far from impossible. He has simply chosen not to kill him."

"Why?"

"Because he still needs the Alliance Leader."

"Why does he need him?"

"Because he believes he can control me as long as the Alliance Leader remains alive."

"You?"

Baek So-cheon knew he would never change Won Gyeongdan’s mind without revealing at least part of the truth.

"Do you still not understand? To Alliance Leader Yeom, you are merely someone to be used. And not only you. That is how he sees everyone around him."

Won Gyeongdan stared at Baek So-cheon before asking suspiciously,

"Why are you telling me this? Do you think this will persuade me to treat you?"

"Would you tell me what happened between you and the Alliance Leader?"

"Why should I tell you such a thing?"

"For the sake of true revenge."

Until now, Baek So-cheon had been cooking with truth as his main ingredient. It was time to add a little falsehood as seasoning.

"True revenge?"

"The fact that you wanted the Divine Physician to kill the Alliance Leader must mean your grudge against him runs extremely deep."

"And?"

"There is a way to make him suffer even more than killing him would."

"What way?"

"By letting me learn the truth. You know that the Alliance Leader treasures me more than anyone else."

Baek So-cheon explained how Ak Sogun had still refused to kill him even after being struck by the Heaven-Beyond Origin Drum.

"That is the kind of relationship the Alliance Leader and I share. But if a shameful secret that left him unable to hold his head high were exposed to me, nothing could cause him greater anguish. He might even take his own life."

After saying this, Baek So-cheon apologized inwardly.

’Alliance Leader, I’m sorry. Given the circumstances, I hope you will understand.’

But what he truly needed to apologize for was what came next.

Still deeply suspicious, Won Gyeongdan asked,

"If the two of you are so close, why would you do this to your Alliance Leader?"

"Because we are not as close as the world believes."

"What do you mean?"

"I discovered that the Alliance Leader has two faces."

Won Gyeongdan’s eyes gleamed.

"You discovered it too? How?"

As expected.

It was exactly as Baek So-cheon had predicted. Won Gyeongdan clearly saw Ak Sogun that way.

Baek So-cheon was taking a gamble. Part of him feared that Ak Sogun truly might have committed some unforgivable act.

Yet deep in his heart, he trusted Ak Sogun. Without that trust, he could never have attempted something like this.

"After spending so many years with the Alliance Leader, I discovered his duplicitous nature. He is a cowardly man whose outward appearance is completely different from what lies within."

"He is a thoroughly despicable bastard!"

"He even took back the sword he had bestowed upon me."

"Exactly! That is how petty the bastard is."

When considered calmly, the story did not add up. Ak Sogun had only reclaimed the sword because he was trying to avoid taking Baek So-cheon’s life. Moreover, Baek So-cheon was currently wearing that very Ghost Shadow Sword at his waist.

However, Won Gyeongdan’s heart was already overflowing with resentment toward Ak Sogun, so he focused only on what appeared on the surface.

"Very well. I will tell you the truth."

The suspicion in Won Gyeongdan’s eyes was replaced by hatred.

"Ak Sogun stole the woman I loved. He even denied me the position of Divine Physician of the Murim Alliance so that he could take her away from me."

Baek So-cheon was so shocked and bewildered that he could not speak for a moment. It was a reason he had never imagined.

Won Gyeongdan glared at him venomously.

"Why? You do not believe me?"

"That is not it. Would you explain exactly what happened?"

"There was a woman I loved. We shared a profound emotional bond. But then Ak Sogun stole her from me."

"Who was she?"

"Someone you know."

"Could you be referring to Senior On Byeokhwa, the former Secret Pavilion Lord?"

"Yes. It was her."

"Ak Sogun truly committed a shameless act!"

Until now, Baek So-cheon had referred to him as the Alliance Leader, but this time, he deliberately called him Ak Sogun.

Inside, however, he was relieved.

Had it been another woman, he might have remained uncertain. But Baek So-cheon knew On Byeokhwa well. He knew how deeply she and Ak Sogun loved each other and, more importantly, he knew her personality. She was absolutely not the kind of woman who would fall for another man without first properly ending things with the man she already loved.

"How did you first meet Senior On?"

"I treated her father."

Perhaps remembering that time, Won Gyeongdan’s expression brightened.

"You must have grown close to her because of that."

"That is right."

"Which of you confessed first?"

"Neither of us ever confessed. No, there was no need. We both knew how deeply we loved each other."

The moment he heard this, Baek So-cheon understood.

This old, pitiful physician had mistaken her gratitude toward the physician who saved her father for romantic affection.

"Was she your first love?"

"She was also my last. I still love her even now."

Won Gyeongdan had never told anyone this before, and speaking it aloud left him feeling as though ten years of pent-up frustration had finally been washed away.

"That bastard intended to ruin me completely. Is that not obvious from how he appointed that incompetent Ban Wollyang as the Murim Alliance’s Divine Physician instead of me?"

Once his heart had become twisted, it caused him to see everything in a distorted light.

Ak Sogun and On Byeokhwa probably had no idea that Won Gyeongdan harbored such hatred. Most acts of vengeance born from hatred were like that. On Byeokhwa would likely be astonished to learn that he believed himself to be in love with her.

Won Gyeongdan’s sudden disappearance from the murim must also have coincided with the time Ak Sogun and On Byeokhwa fell in love.

"Ah!"

A sigh escaped Baek So-cheon.

When he had asked Yeom Hwasin why the Divine Physician of Life and Death bore such a grudge, the man had answered,

"I don’t know. I saw no reason to pry. It would surely be something trivial anyway."

If Yeom Hwasin heard this reason, he would undoubtedly burst out laughing and declare that he had been right.

But Baek So-cheon did not think it was trivial.

To this old physician, who had never experienced love even once in his life, On Byeokhwa’s smile must have represented the love of a lifetime.

It had nothing to do with the intelligence that had allowed him to master the greatest medical arts under heaven.

Even the supreme masters of martial arts had gaping holes in their hearts. Yeom Hwasin, who kept a woman resembling his first love at his side, was the same. So was Baek So-cheon himself, who sought to complete his life by leaving everyone behind.

Won Gyeongdan smiled happily at Baek So-cheon’s sigh, mistaking it for disappointment in Ak Sogun.

"Did he say that Alliance Leader Yeom would keep his promise only if I healed you?"

"He will."

"Why does he want you healed?"

At times like this, Won Gyeongdan displayed perfectly sound judgment. It was only when it came to that love affair that his mind became abnormal and warped by hatred.

"He intends to make me his successor."

Just then, Yeom Hwasin’s voice transmission reached him.

—Hahahaha! Isn’t that what you truly want? Become my successor from now on! Hahahaha!

Baek So-cheon pretended not to hear and continued.

"Otherwise, why would Alliance Leader Yeom spare the man who drove a sword through his chest? You treated him, so you should know better than anyone."

"If I restore your martial arts, will you kill that Ak bastard?"

Baek So-cheon knew that this was the most crucial moment.

His answer blended truth and lies.

"Because of the affection we once shared, I cannot do that. But I will ensure that Alliance Leader Yeom keeps his promise to you."

"Truly?"

"I mean it."

Won Gyeongdan smiled brightly.

"Good. I will repair your dantian. Hahaha!"

He was a man willing to do anything if killing Ak Sogun meant he could reclaim On Byeokhwa.

After Won Gyeongdan left, Yeom Hwasin entered the room.

"Hahaha! Congratulations, my lying successor!"

"Stop joking. I’m not in the mood."

"Why? Do you feel guilty for deceiving that old man so thoroughly?"

"That too. But more than anything, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. What exactly is affection between a man and a woman? Can it truly leave behind hatred this deep?"

"That is not affection. It is obsession. Obsession is like a snowball. Once it starts rolling, it grows without end."

Baek So-cheon nodded.

The snowball in Won Gyeongdan’s heart had probably grown so large that it could grow no further.

Had Baek So-cheon still been in his twenties, he would have been furious with Won Gyeongdan. He would have wanted to shout, You stupid old fool! If you’re going to lose your mind, at least do it quietly! What the hell do you think you’re doing?

But now, at the age of thirty-nine, he felt more pity than anger toward the man.

Then again, traveling together with Yeom Hwasin like this would have been unthinkable for his younger self.

"You have broken through one obstacle, but another remains."

"You mean Elder Shim?"

"You truly are clever. That’s right. That old woman will never permit the treatment. How do you intend to deal with Shim Nahu? No, don’t spoil the fun by telling me in advance. I’ll watch it myself."

Yeom Hwasin looked positively thrilled, as though he were about to watch a troupe perform in the marketplace.

"This is the most important moment of your life. If you cannot overcome this hurdle, you will never recover your dantian. You will have to do everything within your power."

Baek So-cheon recalled how he had lied without the slightest change in expression and murmured,

"Sometimes, even I wonder how far I am capable of going to achieve my goals..."

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