“I thought you’d ask more questions. How disappointing.”

If I asked, you’d just tease me and that would be the best outcome. Worst case, you’d spill state secrets and then drag me to the imperial family since I now know too much, causing trouble for both me and Master.

Besides, His Imperial Highness Eun was as unpredictable as Wangya Ju.

“What would a humble martial world physician like me do with such knowledge? Just being able to treat Your Highness brings me immense joy.”

“My… your words flow like a mountain stream. Well, no matter. You don’t need to go inside—this pavilion should be sufficient.”

“Well…”

“The Hwaju Medical Pavilion may try to hide it, but I’ve heard that when it comes to pulse diagnosis, no one can match you. Surely that much is possible?”

That was true.

Even among physicians, the amount of internal energy possessed and the delicacy of its application varied greatly.

Performing pulse diagnosis with knowledge of anatomy versus doing it vaguely based on sensations were worlds apart.

Moreover, modern anatomy versus anatomy from this era’s medical texts was like comparing heaven and earth.

“I’ll try my best.”

“Good.”

As if he’d expected this all along, His Imperial Highness Eun extended his wrist.

Jin Cheonhee took His Imperial Highness Eun’s wrist and slowly pushed in his diagnostic energy to attempt pulse diagnosis.

The diagnostic energy that began in Jin Cheonhee’s hand traveled through the prince’s wrist and circulated through the energy meridians.

After that, Jin Cheonhee tilted his head slightly, then said, “Your Highness, please excuse me,” and placed his hand on the prince’s abdomen.

“You’re putting your hands on me without even waiting for permission.”

“Ah, no… that’s not…”

“Hehehe, I’m just joking. I suppose your concern for your patient comes first.”

“…”

People may throw stones in jest, but the frog that gets hit still dies.

The prince seemed completely unaware that even his small joke made the physician’s heart skip a beat.

Jin Cheonhee slowly opened his eyes after completing the pulse diagnosis.

“Very good. The canc—I mean, the stomach ulcer hasn’t recurred. Your health has improved significantly. And it seems you’ve learned a new martial art, as the nature of your internal energy has changed.”

“That’s good news. No recurrence. However… even so, it would be best to perform the purification cleansing.”

The purification cleansing was a process where a child entering the path of martial arts expelled all impurities from their body at once.

It was something meant to be done only once in a lifetime.

It created a body conducive to cultivating internal energy, but performing repeated cleansings on a body that had already undergone one had absolutely no effect on improving internal energy.

It was nothing but pointless suffering.

However, His Imperial Highness Eun, who had suffered from colon cancer, was receiving it periodically.

And with quite expensive and potent medicinal ingredients at that.

“I’ve looked into various ways to reduce the pain, but if we do that, the effectiveness…”

“Don’t worry. Physical pain is nothing compared to mental anguish. The imperial physicians have already prepared the ingredients, so it can be done anytime.”

He smiled bitterly.

“I understand. Then I’ll prepare based on your condition as determined by pulse diagnosis. After the procedure, you’ll need to rest thoroughly for a day or two.”

At that moment, His Imperial Highness Eun grabbed Jin Cheonhee.

“Do you know why I called you here?”

It would be inappropriate to answer, “I’m guessing you called me here to give me some troublesome task~?” when speaking to an emperor.

Jin Cheonhee rolled his eyeballs around and gave the best answer he could think of.

“I know it’s not simply to enjoy a vacation spot.”

“It’s because there’s a patient I’d like you to examine.”

“Is the patient here?”

“Yes. More precisely, someone from the Dadu Kingdom has come to receive treatment from you.”

“Uh…”

“There you go rolling your eyes again. Anyone I introduce would be no ordinary person.”

If he had any desire for power, that might be appealing.

But aren’t such ambitions something only people like Chief Eunuch Admiral pursue?

“Tsk. Never mind. In any case, a rather significant problem has arisen in the Dadu Kingdom. You’re also involved in this matter.”

A blue light flashed across Jin Cheonhee’s retina.

It moved so quickly that it might have been mistaken for a reflection of sunlight.

“…”

But he didn’t respond hastily.

Noting his caution, so different from that of young martial artists, His Imperial Highness Eun clicked his tongue and continued:

“You’re really trying your hardest to avoid getting entangled with the imperial family, aren’t you?”

Jin Cheonhee broke out in a cold sweat internally.

If I don’t try this hard, you’ll scoop me up like the bag-carrying grandfather, won’t you…?

He had much he wanted to say, but what good would it do to run his mouth to the Emperor?

He only wished to complete the treatment and return quickly.

Plus, the Dadu Kingdom.

Though it shared a border with the Empire, its religion, culture, language, and writing were all quite different.

Though much smaller than the Hua Empire, it could be called the hegemon of the Southern Barbarians.

He had read translated medical texts from the Dadu Kingdom but couldn’t understand them well—whether due to the translator’s issues or because their medical arts followed a completely different path.

“The Dadu Kingdom is a place where civilization and barbarism coexist. Particularly, they rely on shamanism rather than medicinal or acupuncture treatments for healing.”

The mystery was solved.

No wonder I couldn’t understand what I was reading.

As a modern person, Jin Cheonhee asked a fundamental question.

“Does it… actually work?”

To a modern person, shamanic healing conjures images of an African shaman slaughtering a chicken while chanting, with tribespeople responding in chorus and dancing.

The person sitting in the middle might speak in tongues, consume chicken blood, or swallow scientifically unproven herbs.

In Korea, such treatment methods would violate medical laws.

He had once witnessed a cancer patient who would have had a good prognosis with immediate surgery, but came back worse after visiting some pseudo-treatment center.

Whether it was Christian-based, Buddhist-based, or some third category was unclear, but they sold water of unknown origin to the patient for 3 million won, and the patient drank it.

Analysis of its components revealed nothing unusual.

It was just barley tea.

That was actually fortunate.

He couldn’t describe how exasperated he’d felt about the 3 million won barley tea.

The real problem arises when dubious treatments have strange side effects.

Occasionally, patients would consume strange substances from such quack establishments and suffer liver or kidney damage, which made it extremely difficult to proceed with the cancer treatment they actually needed.

For a modern doctor like him, “shamanic treatment” evoked highly suspicious images.

“I’ve heard they’re somewhat effective in their own way.”

“Hmm…”

In a world where qi constitutes all things, shamanic treatments could certainly have effects.

However.

I have too many bad memories of this sort of thing…

Right. That was merely prejudice. They could genuinely be effective.

And if they’re effective, I could learn from them.

Jin Cheonhee struggled to force open the locks in his mind.

He had been so happy to learn martial arts, yet for some reason, he hesitated at the thought of shamanic healing.

Right! If it’s about saving lives, I should learn whatever I can! In this world without radiation or modern equipment, can I afford to be picky?

And yet, he wanted to be picky.

“The person I want you to examine is the third son of the Dadu Kingdom.”

“The third son…?”

“Yes. The one who will marry Chief Eunuch Admiral’s second granddaughter in place of the deceased second prince.”

The second prince… he’s already dead…?

Wasn’t he supposed to die suddenly after the wedding ceremony?

It seemed Han Yi-jeong didn’t want her sister to become the subject of gossip as a “three-second widow.”

His Imperial Highness Eun said:

“On the day the marriage was confirmed and the date was set, sadly, after a night of heavy drinking, he was found dead when his doors were opened in the morning.”

“What about the guards?”

“The guards were firmly securing the prince’s mansion, and the prince’s room was essentially a sealed chamber.”

A completely sealed room! A corpse discovered in the morning!

I see. Even without Grandfather’s reputation at stake, I can tell this is suspicious.

Wait, was the sister so intolerant that she couldn’t allow a thug who beats people to even make eye contact with her younger sister?

Well, I did learn the backstory later—they say he had more than five illegitimate children in the capital…

Not only did he become like a dog when drunk, but he also frequently beat those around him.

Though people said it was a mistake born of youthful passion, rumors suggested he had killed quite a few commoners.

Violence isn’t just about raising fists, especially in this era.

“Were there any signs of assassination or murder?”

“All the windows were locked, and there was no evidence of someone breaking in from outside or someone letting them in. The servants also hadn’t entered after the prince said he wanted to be alone. Seeing no signs of poisoning, some commoners even thought it was divine punishment.”

“Divine punishment?”

“He had destroyed sacred altars multiple times while intoxicated.”

No… it probably wasn’t divine retribution.

This clearly seemed more like a sister’s retribution because she couldn’t allow her younger sister to be given to such a thug.

Though a detective manga was already playing in his head, Jin Cheonhee’s face remained calm.

“How unfortunate.”

“Life and death are determined by heaven, so what can we do?”

Coming from His Majesty, who had ascended to the throne after executing all his brothers and sisters along with Wangya Ju, this statement seemed rather inappropriate.

His Imperial Highness Eun continued:

“I don’t know if you’re interested, but from here on, we enter the realm of politics. Beyond the Dadu Kingdom lies a nation called the Selim Theocratic State. Heh, they arrogantly call themselves an ’empire.'”

The Selim Theocratic State[1].

Ah, I remember. It appeared in “Supreme Heavenly Demon.” An empire ruled by a sultan. It had a vibe like an ancient Islamic empire.

In “Supreme Heavenly Demon,” there was an episode where Yeo Ha-ryoon fought assassins from the Selim Theocratic State.

It involved him crushing some conspiracy unfolding in the Dadu Kingdom.

But the Dadu royal family itself didn’t feature prominently.

In “Supreme Heavenly Demon,” those who had been beheaded by Yeo Ha-ryoon or were scheduled to be beheaded were the only ones who got significant screen time.

This episode stood out in memory because, unusually, the Blood Immortal Sect wasn’t the antagonist.

The Selim Theocratic State was the enemy.

The Selim Theocratic State was a self-proclaimed empire that believed in a religion called “Selim.”

The story involved them trying to dominate the Dadu Kingdom and attack the Empire.

That’s right. A problem arises.

The Sun Moon Divine Cult is also a religious organization.

The Selim Theocratic State is also a religious nation.

For some reason, these bastards were preaching in areas where Sun Moon Divine Cult believers lived, telling them not to believe in cults like unorthodox sects but to believe in Selim and go to heaven—and the unorthodox sects wouldn’t just sit quietly and take that.

The Heavenly Demon herself is the leader of an evil cult.

From the moment these guys planned to proselytize at Great Shiwan Mountain[2] without permission, Yeo Ha-ryoon was destined to crack their skulls.