Chapter 55
“The time of prophecy is approaching.”
The old physician slapped his knee.
“All of Luoyang will come to see that person’s true face!”
Part 5: Physician
In the place everyone had vacated, the two elders were facing one another.
“Did you hear that, old man?”
“Of course I heard it, old woman.”
The two of them laughed loudly.
The old physician raised a trembling hand and clenched it into a fist.
“There is no doubt that he is finally about to move.”
“He clearly said that from now on, he would become even busier. My ears are growing dull, but I heard those words perfectly.”
The old woman, the shaman of the Fairy Cult, smiled meaningfully.
One of Fourth Young Master’s warriors standing guard clicked his tongue.
“Impressive.”
The comrade paired with him also shook his head.
“For the First Young Master’s maids, I mean.”
Their gazes were directed at the triplet maids.
Without the slightest hesitation, they disinfected the affected areas of patients with broken bones, applied splints, and wrapped bandages.
They squeezed out pus, carefully checked wounds, and applied ointment.
Even when blood splattered onto their faces and pus stained their clothes, they did not so much as blink.
Even the female healers who had grown experienced in this place could not help admiring their accurate and swift treatment.
“Seeing as they carry swords, they must be warriors.”
“Probably. They have been moving without even resting for almost an hour. Their basic stamina is excellent.”
“And…”
The warrior’s face turned slightly red.
“They are incredibly pretty young ladies too…”
Had they known what the triplet maids were thinking inwardly, their assessment might have changed somewhat.
‘Hehe, we are attracting attention.’
‘I happen to be someone who even received a commendation in emergency field-treatment training from the Class-A Special Class.’
‘I completed basic training together with the apprentice female healers of the main estate, you know.’
His comrade jabbed him in the side with his elbow.
“No, my friend. If we are talking about beauty, is that maid chief not even more remarkable?”
Where his gaze turned, Jeong-ah was there.
She precisely located a blood vessel in a wound bursting with blood, so obscured that it could barely be seen, and stopped the bleeding.
Then, in an instant, she picked out the tiny bone fragments that could cause inflammation.
Even the physicians participating in the treatment alongside her were admiring her skill.
“No, I cannot dare look directly at that lady…”
At his innocent comrade’s reaction, the warrior laughed heartily and stroked his chin.
“But that maid chief also carries a sword. Are all of the First Young Master’s maids warriors?”
“…Do the young ladies not look even more beautiful because they carry swords?”
“This fellow is completely smitten.”
The warrior looked in another direction.
His expression worsened slightly.
“In contrast, our people…”
His comrade followed his gaze, then scratched his head.
There, Fourth Young Master’s scholars were rolling around after failing to hold down a patient who was thrashing in pain.
They were among the better ones.
A few with weak stomachs were merely vomiting in a corner, their faces yellow as they looked up at the sky.
Fourth Young Master’s maids, surrounded on all sides by blood, pus, and screams, were dedicating themselves to running small errands with pale faces.
At least Fourth Young Master’s maid chief alone was working together with the female healers with skilled hands.
“Mm…”
“Mm…”
The two warriors shook their heads at the same time.
“No, even so, that must be the normal reaction.”
“That is true.”
It was certainly true that the First Young Master’s maids were the unusual ones.
“Even so…”
The warrior pointed in one direction.
“The most impressive one is still over there.”
Their gazes turned toward the place where the critically ill patients were gathered.
On a bed set up outdoors, a patient whose condition looked grave at a glance was lying unconscious.
He had been carried in with his leg twisted and half-torn off, his entire body covered in blood.
When that patient had first passed through the main gate on someone’s back, they had shaken their heads.
Unless he was a martial artist who possessed inner energy and whose body had stepped into the realm of the superhuman, he had looked beyond saving.
The three physicians who first rushed over seemed to have shared the same opinion.
But now, they stood around the bed and did not even dare to interfere.
“I had heard before that the First Young Master was skilled in medicine, but…”
Each time Yeon Sang-hyeon’s hands moved dazzlingly, the patient’s condition improved so rapidly that even they could see it.
The golden needles in his hands flashed whenever they caught the sunlight, and the seamless glimmering was enough to dazzle the eyes.
“…Have we ever seen skill like that even in the Medical Arts Institute of the main estate?”
Because warriors were injured constantly, most of them were practically regulars at the Medical Arts Institute.
“No. It is not that I have never seen it before…”
The warrior shook his head.
“That is divine skill.”
Every physician with even the slightest room to spare was gathering around Yeon Sang-hyeon.
Some were marveling in admiration, others were busily recording something, and none of them took their eyes off Yeon Sang-hyeon’s movements.
Their ears were focused on the words flowing from Yeon Sang-hyeon’s mouth.
He was now giving a lecture while, at the same time, perfectly completing a procedure where every second mattered, without the slightest disorder.
“As Master always says, he truly is not someone who deserves to be slandered behind his back.”
“That is right. Now that we have seen him directly today, is he not completely different from what we had only heard through rumors until now?”
“As expected, rumors are…”
Just then, cheers erupted.
Fourth Young Master’s cheer, as he stood guarding his honored elder brother’s side, rang out the loudest.
It seemed the patient who had looked impossible to save had regained stability.
“…Impressive.”
The blood washed from his hands mixed with water and flowed along the drain.
“Phew…”
A sigh flowed from his mouth.
Though he had gained a superhuman body through The Ruler Of Darkness, the drain on his concentration could not be ignored.
‘Killing was so easy, yet saving lives is still so difficult…’
Each time the Dark Heaven Venerable One waved his hand, flesh was torn apart and bones were crushed.
The words of power he uttered had dragged more than a hundred people into death in an instant.
But what about Yeon Sang-hyeon?
He looked down at his hands.
***
Yeon Sang-hyeon was washing his hands by the well prepared behind Jamae-won.
Suddenly sensing a presence, his gaze turned behind him.
There were two human figures there, their entire bodies covered beneath old, oversized cloaks.
Receiving Yeon Sang-hyeon’s gaze, they approached him without the slightest hesitation.
“Your reputation is well deserved. It was truly splendid skill.”
The one who lifted a hand and revealed her face was a beauty whose appearance was not diminished even by the eyepatch covering one eye.
“My lord.”
She knelt down.
“It was merely a trivial skill.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon smiled.
“It has been a long time since I saw your face in person rather than through a report, Hyeonwol Pavilion Master.”
She was none other than Se-ah.
The one deeply bowing beside her to show respect was Gyu, Se-ah’s bodyguard.
After they moved to a deserted place, Se-ah spoke first.
“As you ordered, I informed the person in charge here in advance that the First Young Master would be coming.”
For a while now, Hyeonwol Pavilion had been investigating everything related to Fourth Young Master’s business under Yeon Sang-hyeon’s orders.
“Well done. Though the performance was a little excessive.”
At Yeon Sang-hyeon’s words, Se-ah waved her hand.
“A performance? Even I was surprised by the residents’ reaction. When the two elders informed them that my lord would be coming, the residents poured out into the alleys all at once…”
Gyu received her words with a sour expression.
“Even I found it a little frightening.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
“That is the power of faith.”
Se-ah shook her head firmly.
“I knew that my lord was operating Jamae-won, and I knew that you were securing donations from notable figures you were acquainted with. But seeing it in person was still incredible. I was impressed.”
It was not merely empty praise.
It was hard to imagine that this had been something he had silently accomplished during the days when he was Swordless, a man who spent every day sitting in a corner of his room reading books.
“What about the expert on the Underworld?”
Se-ah nodded.
“We succeeded in making contact. It was difficult. She is an elusive person, and she is always being pursued by the Underworld…”
“She is not merely being chased, is she?”
“Of course not. The number of Underworld bosses she has hunted until now cannot even be counted on two hands. And every one of them was someone who held their head high with some degree of power.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon nodded.
“Good. Bring her here.”
“I will make sure she can come to see you as soon as possible.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon turned around.
“Then I shall see you then.”
“Ah, one piece of information classified as urgent just came in.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon’s steps halted.
“It is said that Elder Yeom of the Sword Clan has left the main gate of the Luoyang Sword Clan. His exact destination is unknown, but the direction is clearly this way.”
He turned back.
“Elder Yeom? With his subordinates?”
Se-ah shook her head.
“It is difficult to observe a master who has reached that level without being detected. We are currently questioning witnesses along his path, but for now, that is all.”
Yeon Sang-hyeon stroked his chin.
“Elder Yeom…”
What could he be thinking, coming here?
After being lost in thought for a moment, he said to Se-ah,
“He will arrive soon anyway, so we will know then.”
Would he appear with a host of subordinates for a hostile purpose, or else…
“Yes. That concludes the report.”
“Then I will see you later—”
At that moment, Gyu hurriedly cut in.
“I also have business with you.”
“What is it?”
Gyu opened her mouth with a serious expression.
“Regarding the scouting offer you mentioned to me last time, is it still valid—”
Se-ah grabbed her by the back of the neck and dragged her away.
“Then we will see you later, my lord.”
“Please let go of me! This is tyranny by an employer!”
“Be quiet! You are seriously embarrassing me…”
Yeon Sang-hyeon shrugged.
The two of them were still on very good terms.
**
The first to discover him were Fourth Young Master’s warriors standing guard at the main gate.
Even while startled, they showed respect with precise and courteous posture.
“We greet an elder of the main estate!”
At their booming voices, everyone’s attention turned toward the gate.
One of Fourth Young Master’s scholars who spotted him hurriedly ran forward.
“We greet an elder of the main estate.”
A man who stood at least two heads taller than most grown men, making the word giant suit him perfectly, looked down at him.
Was the reason he seemed even larger because he held the position of elder in the Luoyang Sword Clan?
“Elder. May I dare ask what brings you here?”
Elder Yeom’s eyebrows rose.
“Do you think I came here to beg for a meal?”
Cold sweat flowed down the young scholar’s face.
“Ah, no, that was not what I meant…”
Elder Yeom said,
“Is the First Young Master here?”
At his question, the scholar hurriedly nodded.
“Yes, he is. The First Young Master is currently seeing patients over there.”
Just then, his eyes met those of Yeon Sang-hyeon, who had looked in that direction.
“I will guide you to the First Young Master.”
“No need.”
He cut him off firmly.
He stood at the very end of the line of patients leading to the First Young Master.
“I, too, came for the purpose of having a patient examined. Therefore, I will stand in line with them.”
“E-Elder?”
A strange light appeared in Yeon Sang-hyeon’s eyes as he looked at him.
On Elder Yeom’s enormous back, a girl who looked to be around her mid-teens was quietly being carried.
Her sickly appearance was clear, and her gaze was directed at Yeon Sang-hyeon.