Chapter 26
“Head of the medical hall…… Huh!”
At my suggestion, Master Yi Si-jin’s expression was one of speechlessness, as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
Why wouldn’t he be?
Master Yi is one of the three greatest physicians in the world, and if he wanted to, he could immediately become the Head of the Medical Hall at any of the Nine Great Sects with a hefty salary.
Inviting such a great figure to a rootless sect like Dawn Heaven Sect seemed like a shameless act, even to me, the Sect Leader.
But I didn’t stop my persuasion.
Why?
Because in life, you have to try even if you fail, and if it doesn’t work out, you can just quit.
“Elder.”
“Speak.”
“I don’t know if you remember, but when you asked if I was a martial artist, I denied it.”
“I remember. Of course, I didn’t believe it.”
“Do you remember what you said after that?”
“What did I say?”
“A needle in a bag. You said that someone like me would inevitably end up living as a martial artist someday.”
“Hmm……”
“As you said, Elder, I’ve stepped into the world of martial arts, and I’m planning to embark on a full-fledged journey through it.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Become my strength.”
“You’ve become shameless since I last saw you. You weren’t like this before, were you? You were someone who would refuse even a Hundred-Year Lotus Seed because you hated being indebted to others.”
Of course.
I’m a man who hates being indebted to others, both then and now, a man with strong self-reliance who tries to solve everything with my own strength, a man with sky-high pride and self-esteem, a useful human being who is more suited to helping others than receiving help.
But the reason I’m trying to invite Master Yi is because I believe that the beneficiary of my proposal will be Master Yi himself.
Although it was only for a short time……
Master Yi, reunited with So-yun, had a happier expression than ever before when I was staying at the mountain villa.
I know Master Yi well.
He pretends to be cold on the outside, but inside, he’s a warm person like a heated floor in winter.
Master Yi treats So-yun like his granddaughter, so my calculation is that he’ll want to settle down here.
“I’ve become shameless because of you, Elder.”
“What?”
“What did you say when you gave me the Hundred-Year Lotus Seed? You said that when I receive help, I should just be grateful and repay the favor later. Thanks to that, my thinking has become more flexible.”
“Huh!”
“So take responsibility.”
For a moment, Master Yi stared at me blankly with a dumbfounded look, but So-yun stepped in at the right time and urged him.
“Hmph! Grandpa. Don’t be like that and let’s live together~. Please? So-yun really likes Grandpa.”
Good!
Is it because she’s a genius? Her timing is perfect, and the composition of her aegyo is flawless. No matter how I think about it, So-yun is not just the best genius in Chang’an, but the best in all of Central Plains.
“So-yun. Do you really want to stay with Grandpa?”
“Yes, of course. It goes without saying, doesn’t it?”
“Kekeke. Where did you learn to talk like that?”
“I learned it from Grandpa, didn’t I?”
“Hahaha. Alright. Let’s do this then.”
“How?”
“First, I’ll stay for a few months and help your father and teach you as well. However, as you know, I’m a man of study, am I not? When I feel my studies are lacking, I’ll go back to Mount Zhongnan at any time. In other words, I’ll come and go. Do you understand what I mean?”
“Hehe. So-yun understands. Then let’s do that, Grandpa.”
Master Yi strokes So-yun’s head with a satisfied expression.
Finally, he asked me in a sharp voice.
“I’ll ask.”
“Please speak.”
“Did you offer me the position of Head of the Medical Hall? Does Dawn Heaven Sect have a space to use as a medical hall? I’m not talking about a simple storage space for medicinal herbs. I’m sensitive when I’m compiling medical texts, so I need a place facing south where the sun shines well and I can see the scenery outside the window, and I need servants who can do my bidding. And no one in Dawn Heaven Sect should give me orders. In other words, I don’t intend to be bound by a superior-subordinate relationship with you, the Sect Leader.”
“Who would dare treat you like a subordinate, Elder? Even if you were the Head of the Medical Hall at Shaolin, the abbot would treat you with respect.”
“However, the sight of me, the Head of the Medical Hall, not following your orders as the Sect Leader could be perceived negatively by the disciples. The most important thing when running a sect is the authority of the Sect Leader.”
“Then let’s do this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Instead of Head of the Medical Hall, become the Supreme Elder.”
“……”
“Are you perhaps dumbfounded that a small sect with only fifteen disciples, no background, and a Sect Leader with no reputation has the position of Supreme Elder?”
“……Do you perhaps use the Mind’s Eye?”
“I don’t know about the Mind’s Eye.”
“……”
“I’m just good at guessing.”
◈ ◈ ◈
Around the end of Hai Hour (9 PM ━ 11 PM).
So-yun, who had showered Yeon-u and Master Yi with an abundance of aegyo, finally exhausted her energy and went to the main room with Ye-rin to sleep.
Afterwards, Master Yi Si-jin, Yeon-u, and I went out to the pavilion and had another drink before clearing the table. Master Yi seemed tired and went to his quarters quickly, leaving Yeon-u and me alone in the yard, gazing at the full moon.
“It’s been a complicated day in many ways, hasn’t it, Older Brother?”
“It has. As you’ve seen, we’ve only imitated the founding of a sect, and it’s not a proper sect yet, so there’s a mountain of things to do.”
“Still, it’s a huge improvement. Just a few months ago, you were selling herbs on the street with your daughter. Now you’ve become the Sect Leader of a sect. You won’t find a case like this even if you search the entire Central Plains.”
Well……
Even I’m still in a daze, so how much more so would Yeon-u be, who bought herbs from me a few months ago?
“Yeon-u, there are all sorts of strange things in the world of martial arts. So-yun’s father beat up some ruffians one morning, took them in, met with the provincial governor for drinks, and eventually even created a sect. You should keep this in mind too. No one knows what will happen in the world of martial arts. Of course, you never know when you might get stabbed in the back and die, but…… that’s the fate of those who live by the sword, so just accept it.”
Upon hearing my words, Yeon-u smiled and stared at me intently……
No matter how handsome he is, I’m not interested in men, so I found his gaze disgusting and ended up flicking his forehead without realizing it.
Thwack━.
“Ouch! Older Brother! What was that for?”
“Refrain from such a greasy gaze.”
“Wow…… I can’t believe it, really.”
“If you don’t like it, fight me.”
“Forget it. Do I want to get beaten to death by Older Brother?”
“Good self-awareness. That’s a good quality, so keep honing it.”
“Whatever. Older Brother. By the way, I have something important to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Suddenly, Yeon-u looked around as if he had committed a crime.
I was so frustrated that I was about to flick his forehead again, but I held back because I thought he would really get upset, and asked.
“What is it?”
“Well…… No matter how much I think about it, I’m confused.”
“Well, what is it?”
“About Master Yi Si-jin. I don’t know what the story is, but seeing someone like Older Brother bowing to him, he must be an extraordinary person…… Besides, the fact that you tried to invite him as the Head of the Medical Hall and that his name is Yi Si-jin……”
“So?”
“By any chance…… He’s not Dongbyeok (Eastern Wall) Yi Si-jin, the one who compiled ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’, is he?”
“He is.”
“What?”
“He is.”
“So…… the old man who shared drinks with me today…… So the one who’s now the Supreme Elder of Dawn Heaven Sect is the greatest physician of Central Plains, Master Dongbyeok Yi Si-jin?!”
“What’s the greatest physician of Central Plains? That’s a grand title. I don’t know about that. I just know that Master Yi is called one of the three greatest physicians in the world. Of course, apart from that, the medical skills I’ve seen from Master Yi are extraordinary.”
“Oh my god! Why are you telling me this now!”
“……???”
“Ah! If I had known, I would have offered him a fortune to invite him as the chief physician of Seokga Estate.”
“Forget it. That old man can’t be bought with money. He’s a guy who can even perform miracles like plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery. If he really wanted to make money, he could open a clinic in a big city and just do procedures. He could buy the entire Seokga Estate in a year.”
“Tsk. I envy you, Older Brother.”
“Then you lost.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sam-dong said that these days, if you’re envious, you lose.”
“Is Older Brother old or something? Sometimes you talk like your brain is empty.”
“Do you want to get hit again?”
“No.”
Thwack━.
I flicked Yeon-u’s forehead one more time, even though he said he wouldn’t get hit.
I didn’t put any internal energy into it, so he wouldn’t be injured, but I flicked it with the principle of the Praying Mantis Fist, with my middle finger slightly sticking out, so it would hurt.
“Ouch! Ah, really! Are you crazy, Older Brother? Why do you keep hitting me? I said I wouldn’t get hit.”
“I thought about it and got pissed off.”
“About what?”
“Master Dongbyeok has become a member of Dawn Heaven Sect, so what’s the big deal? You’d offer him a fortune to take him to Seokga Estate as a physician?”
“Ah…… I just said that because I was so surprised.”
“I hit you because I was so surprised too!”
Sigh……
I chuckled for a moment, amused by my own words.
Then, Yeon-u stared at me silently for a while as if he was looking at a piece of s*it, and shook his head.
“Oh, well! Forget it. You’ve become even more eccentric since I last saw you.”
“I think so too. I keep doing impulsive things. I think I might be a little crazy……”
“Anyway! Ah! I really, really had something important to say, but you kept interrupting, hitting me, and annoying me, so I lost my train of thought!”
“What is it?”
“Older Brother……”
What is it?
This time, Yeon-u’s voice and eyes turned serious.
To see him calmly change his attitude like this even after getting flicked twice with the Praying Mantis Fist, he must be quite thick-skinned and simple-minded……
Anyway, Yeon-u’s seriousness piqued my curiosity, so I asked seriously as well.
“Why are you being so serious? What’s going on?”
“Don’t be surprised.”
“……”
“Older Brother. You know that I’ve been monitoring the security of Shaanxi and investigating the rising forces for quite some time, right?”
“No?”
“No, you didn’t know that either? I told you before.”
“I have the ability to erase useless information from my mind. I don’t need to remember what you’re doing unless it concerns me.”
“Wow! Look at the way you talk. You’re really too much.”
“Let’s just get to the point. If you keep doing this, I might have to hit you again……”
“There’s a force targeting Older Brother.”
“A force targeting me?”
“Yes. The Black Society that Older Brother dealt with before, remember? I think they’re targeting Older Brother.”
I was momentarily bewildered.
However, considering what I had done, I could understand to some extent.
“When I beat up those Black Society bastards, they didn’t know my identity. But how?”
“Hey! Older Brother has been stirring up the whole of Chang’an for the past few months. Rumors about the ‘Bounty Hunter’ have spread even to the Dongcheon area. The Black Society’s information network is formidable. They probably already know Older Brother’s identity.”
My identity……
He doesn’t know what my identity is, but just by roughly guessing the situation, my heart sank.
“So you’re saying they also know that I’m a widower raising So-yun?”
“Not exactly. We’re not even sure if they know that Older Brother dealt with them that day. However, they’re keeping an eye on Older Brother, who’s been hunting down members of the Black Path and villains. So it’s only a matter of time before they figure out everything about Older Brother. They’re probably watching Dawn Heaven Sect by now.”
“Ah……”
I’ve lived my life without fear.
But at this moment, I was scared.
Why?
Because the Black Society is a group of thugs, it’s obvious that they’re scum who don’t care about justice or cause, and if those bastards are targeting me, I’ll be fine, but I don’t know what they might do to So-yun.
“But don’t worry, Older Brother. Our Seokga Estate has planted many people throughout Chang’an. We’ll monitor their movements and wipe them out all at once when the time is right. When that time comes, please lend us the strength of Dawn Heaven Sect……”
“Yeon-u.”
“Yes?”
“This won’t do.”
“What?”
“Black Society. We need to crush them right now.”
“Older Brother. First……”
“Forget it.”
“……”
“Where are those bastards?”