It was a request to become a true friend—not the hollow pretense of an alliance between one great family and another, but a genuine one.

The weight of the request silenced Jin Cheon-hee. A small crease appeared between his elegant brows before his expression smoothed out again.

“In a few years, I would like to witness your martial arts, Young Hero Namgung. Let’s call that the payment for this treatment.”

“A few years, you say. And what is it you wish to witness, Little Brother Jin?”

“I would like to witness your foundational lightness skill, the Foundational Lightness Art.”

“…A lightness skill? As you know, the Namgung Clan is renowned for its sword arts, not its movement techniques. It pains me to admit it, but when it comes to lightness skills, the Zhuge Clan’s Bewildering Footwork is at least two steps above ours.”

“That’s fine. I still wish to see it.”

Jin Cheon-hee was insistent. Namgung Woon let out a small groan, then relented. “Very well. It’s a skill I already know, but for your sake, Little Brother Jin, I suppose I’ll have to train it a bit more. I wouldn’t want to be embarrassed, after all.”

“Hahaha. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The reason Namgung Woon died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryoon… Namgung Yeon discovered it later. It was because of his lightness skill.

‘If the worst happens, this should at least allow him to escape with his life.’

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t know a way to defeat Yeo Ha-ryoon. The man was, quite literally, the protagonist, a monster, the Heavenly Demon. But he might just be able to help him survive.

“Seeing as you’re making this request, I take it I wasn’t rejected?”

Jin Cheon-hee scratched his cheek. ‘This jealousy is a pain.’ He was always so brazen, but he couldn’t help the envy he felt. He lifted the wine bottle and poured a drink into Namgung Woon’s cup.

“To your health. When you return, you will reduce your drinking…”

“…And drink lots of water?”

“Yes. This condition has a high rate of recurrence.”

“Hahaha, I will certainly do that.”

Jin Cheon-hee had no hope he actually would. But his duty as a physician compelled him to nag.

***

Tang Ah, in high spirits, returned with the Namgung siblings.

“In any case, a win is a win! This body is victorious!”

The person who had been practically dead from exhaustion yesterday was gone, replaced by a fully recharged girl, raring to go first thing in the morning. Watching her shake off her physical, mental, and qi-based fatigue in one go, Jin Cheon-hee gave her a thumbs-up.

‘Truly, the power of youth. The age where you can chew steel.’

He found it deeply satisfying that she could go all-out in a duel to the death and wake up the next day without a single hitch. It was almost wondrous from a medical perspective.

Tang Ah struck a pose, covering one eye with her hand as she cackled at the sky. Namgung Woon watched her with a look of profound pity. He was genuinely worried for her future self—the adult Tang Ah who would one day look back on this ‘storm and stress’ period with a clear mind.

“Due to the nature of the Tang Clan’s arts, it’s easy for their personalities to be affected during this time. Still, she’s not running around swinging her sword at commoners, so don’t you worry.”

“I thought for a moment it was like being influenced by a demonic art, but our duel showed me that’s not the case. I’m not worried.”

“Good. I’m glad you don’t misunderstand.”

As the sole adult in the group, Namgung Woon’s shoulders felt heavy. “My only remaining mission is to escort these two predators—I mean, two young ladies—home. Feeding them as much as I did on the way here should be enough, right?” he muttered.

Jin Cheon-hee shook his head. “You’ll have to feed them more.”

“Why is that?”

“At this age, they grow by the day. That includes Lady Namgung, too.”

Namgung Woon glanced at his sister. “She doesn’t look like she’s grown much.”

“You’ll look away, and when you look back, she’ll have shot up.” It’s always harder to notice when you see them every day. You only see the growth after being away for a while. “Besides, the amount of energy a martial artist burns is enormous. You don’t have to worry about overfeeding them.”

Even as children, they had an athletic output that far surpassed that of modern sports players. As a result, martial artists naturally ate well, and ate a lot. It was the time in life when one ate the most.

With a look of solemn purpose, Jin Cheon-hee handed Namgung Woon a large bundle of traditional confectionaries .

“Little Brother Jin. I will never forget this kindness.”

Namgung Woon accepted the bundle as if it were a precious artifact.

“I’m just worried they might be an acquired taste. They were made in the pavilion, so they have a lot of herbs in them.”

“These two aren’t picky. It pains me to say it, but… they eat anything. Genuinely, anything.”

“That’s impressive.”

“And, just between you and me, they also break everything. Between Tang Ah and Yeon-ah, I think they’ve broken ten teacups. They’ll just… spill them. Spill teacups, spill wine cups. They even knock over food baskets. They knock them over with their elbows, with the backs of their hands… What’s amazing is that there’s no malice in it.”

Namgung Woon’s face grew paler as he spoke. Jin Cheon-hee clapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck.”

“I will… I will make sure they are well-fed.”

Fueled by his sense of duty as a guardian, Namgung Woon turned to leave. Looking down from the pavilion, he saw the two girls were already a good distance away.

“Namgung-hyung! Aren’t you coming?”

“Did I also mention they are incredibly impatient?”

At that, Jin Cheon-hee finally burst out laughing. “It might be strange to say, but you seem to have a real talent for looking after kids, Young Hero Namgung.”

“What a horrible thing to say.”

With that, Namgung Woon hurried after them. Jin Cheon-hee waved until all three had disappeared from sight.

It was a beautiful day. And a good connection. He was sad to see them go, but at the same time, he was relieved. He pondered how to describe this relationship, then muttered to himself.

“Bad Friend. He’s a bad friend.”

But even a bad friend was a friend, so Namgung Woon had gotten his wish. Jin Cheon-hee let out an amused snort.

***

Arc 17: Five-Elemental Poison Art

Jin Cheon-hee returned to his routine. He trained his martial arts and studied the medical arts of the Central Plains. At the same time, he passed his own medical knowledge on to his Master and the pavilion members.

He saved many patients. A few died. He would listen silently to the wails of the grieving families, reviewing each case to understand what had gone wrong. There were things he couldn’t fix because he didn’t know the cure, and there were things he couldn’t fix even though he did know the cure. Jin Cheon-hee walked the tightrope between those two truths, moving forward.

Time flowed on.

As Jin Cheon-hee grew stronger, Yoo Ho’s wooden dummies became more vicious. Thanks to that, his external arts continued to improve.

Then, one morning, a cold wind blew, and the last leaves of autumn fell. Another season had come to an end. Jin Cheon-hee caught a falling leaf in his hand. It was dry, yet it hadn’t crumbled.

“The first surgery.”

It was his Master’s first time as lead surgeon. The day he would operate himself, with Jin Cheon-hee as his assistant, had arrived.

Gulp—

In his old life, he used to fill a huge tumbler with coffee. A doctor’s work required focus. To avoid making mistakes during the endless stream of tasks, he had needed the power of caffeine. If a doctor made a mistake, a patient died.

That habit remained, and now he was walking around drinking bitter tea from a massive teacup. Even now, while practicing the Profound Primordial Complete Foundation Divine Art, his habits were the same.

‘Still, it’s nice to be able to keep my coffee at the perfect temperature 24/7.’

On Earth and now, Jin Cheon-hee was strictly a “hot Americano” man. He’d liked cold canned coffee and iced Americanos when he was younger, but from 40 onward, he found he preferred hot drinks. That hadn’t changed, even after being reincarnated.

He used the Fire Qi of the Five-Elemental Cultivation Art to heat his tea.

In the distance, he heard the pavilion members calling that preparations for his Master’s surgery were complete. He quickened his pace.

His Master was handling a simple appendectomy. As a first surgery, there was nothing better. Jin Cheon-hee stood beside him as his assistant.

‘He moves with incredible efficiency.’

It had been the same when they practiced on cadavers, or when they sutured pig intestines and blood vessels. His Master was the type to move with an absolute minimum of wasted motion.

‘Fast, and with little bleeding. That’s a good thing.’

Without a single mistake, his Master completed the surgery. As he was taking off his surgical gown, he remarked, “Having assisted you so many times, it felt a little… anticlimactic.”

“That’s just because you’re fast, Master. Normally, plenty of people are so nervous before their first surgery they can’t sleep the night before.”

Being an assistant and being the lead surgeon were similar, yet completely different. It was a position of responsibility. The feeling of being responsible for a human life was a fundamentally different weight.

His Master just smiled calmly. “If it is a matter of responsibility, I feel I have been bearing that for a long time, so it seems fine.”

‘That’s true. He has already been approaching this as a physician.’

When they exited, the other Department Heads were waiting to greet them.

“Congratulations on your first surgery.”

“Pavilion Master, congratulations!”

“This is a great step forward for the medicine of the Central Plains!”

His Master waved his hand dismissively. “You all go too far. Are you trying to make this Zhuge out to be a fool?”

At that, Jin Cheon-hee couldn’t help but laugh. “With what you’ve learned as a starting point, other physicians will now begin to learn. That means we can save many more people who come to the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. I think that’s more than enough reason to celebrate.”

“Hee-ya. You, too, are too much.”

“It’s true, Master. If I were the only one who could perform these techniques, there’s a limit to how many people I could save.”

Now, starting with his Master, the physicians who had joined the Surgical Arts Department [6] would begin performing their own first surgeries. Jin Cheon-hee was truly looking forward to it.

His Master sighed. “Did you really think I’d be pleased just because my disciple praised me?”

“Oh, you’re not?”

“That’s the problem. It’s foolish, but because it’s you saying it… I do feel pleased.”

Zhuge Rin said this as he affectionately ruffled Jin Cheon-hee’s hair.

“This is why they all call me a doting fool.”

“Hehehe.”