Chapter 3

“Whoa!”

The horses pulled to a halt, and the riders dismounted. Jin Cheon-hee observed each of them carefully. Their martial uniforms were dyed a deep blue, and the name “Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency” was embroidered on the chest.

Leading them was a tall, muscular, middle-aged man who stood well over 180 centimeters. He appeared to be in his fifties, with a clean-shaven, handsome face. His body was so thick with muscle that he had the build of a bear. He habitually rested a hand on the sword at his waist—a thick blade without a scabbard.

That’s a Willow Leaf Saber[1]. Come to think of it, the weapon of the Cloud-Dragon Escort Chief in Supreme Heavenly Demon was also a Willow Leaf Saber…

A Willow Leaf Saber, was a heavy blade named for its shape. The tip of the blade resembled a willow leaf, and it tapered gracefully toward the hilt. It was a common weapon in martial arts novels and dramas, so he recognized it instantly. The only difference was that this man’s Willow Leaf Saber was larger and thicker than those carried by his subordinates.

So the escort agency even has uniforms. It’s strange to see this with my own eyes.

As he was thinking, the escort warriors finally spotted him. Jin Cheon-hee and his makeshift tent were situated slightly to the left of the main massacre site, so they hadn’t been noticed immediately.

“Chief! There’s a survivor!”

Huh… what? That’s a language I’ve never heard before… but I can understand it? Why?

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t noticed in his panic at the time, but he had also understood the bearded man’s dying mumbles.

With a confused expression, Cheon-hee looked at the warrior pointing at him, only to realize that every single person was now staring in his direction.

A lone survivor. A young boy, covered in blood.

“Check for any more wounded!” the muscular giant roared before striding toward Cheon-hee. His gait seemed ordinary, yet he covered three meters in a single step. The sight astonished Cheon-hee.

Whoa, what in the world?

Regardless of his shock, the giant of a man came to a halt directly in front of him. Cheon-hee swallowed hard, looking up.

He’s insanely huge… He’s not going to hit me or anything, is he?

As the thought crossed his mind, he heard the man mutter to himself. Though it wasn’t Korean, Cheon-hee understood every word.

“I don’t recall us ever hiring a child…”

Feeling instinctively intimidated, Cheon-hee craned his neck to look up at him. The man bent his knees, lowering himself to get closer. Even so, the sheer size of him was so overwhelming that Cheon-hee’s neck began to ache from the strain.

“My boy,” the giant said, his voice surprisingly gentle and paired with a soft smile. “My name is Woon Jin-sang, and I am the Chief of the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency.”

His courteous demeanor impressed Cheon-hee.

He’s a very polite person, completely unlike his appearance.

It seemed Woon Jin-sang was aware of his intimidating looks and was being as careful as possible not to frighten the boy.

“Would you mind telling me your name?”

Jin Cheon-hee answered calmly, “My name is Jin Cheon-hee.”

“That is a fine name. And for one so young to be so composed in this situation… you have a truly remarkable spirit. Did you build the tent behind you?”

“Yes. There are injured people…”

“Injured? You will stay right here. Let me take a look first.”

Cheon-hee simply nodded. Woon Jin-sang shot back to his feet and swept aside the cloth flap of the tent. Cheon-hee watched him quietly.

“We have critical patients! Bring Lord White Qilin Divine Physician, at once! Hurry!” he bellowed, his voice echoing through the clearing.

Cheon-hee’s mind reeled in shock.

White Qilin Divine Physician! Did he just say White Qilin? It can’t be…

In the distance, he saw someone alight from the strange carriage. The driver opened the door and gently helped the person down. The first thing he saw was hair that shimmered like starlight, a cascade of pure silver. A figure with skin as pale as a snowfield and features carved with the elegant lines of jade began to walk slowly in their direction. It was a man of such breathtaking beauty that anyone would have called him beautiful.

The moment Cheon-hee saw him, his heart felt like it would explode.

It’s… it’s exactly like the description from the novel…

He was utterly dumbfounded, not merely by the man’s beauty, but by the overwhelming confusion that flooded his mind at seeing a fictional character in the flesh.

Am I… really inside the world of a novel?

With a dazed expression, Jin Cheon-hee stared intently at the approaching Divine Physician. His gaze then darted back to the tent.

If that’s true… then the person I saved… is he the future Heavenly Demon?

***

Jin Cheon-hee slowly tried to organize his thoughts.

White Qilin Divine Physician. A nickname he earned because his silver hair was said to resemble the scales of a white dragon. One of the Three Great Physicians of the world. The novel explained that he was the last direct descendant of the now-fallen Zhuge Clan…

The makeshift tent was quickly dismantled.

White Qilin, or otherwise Zhuge Rin, knelt beside each patient, placing his delicate fingers on their wrists.

Pulse diagnosis… I always wanted to learn that.

Although he was a modern surgeon, Jin Cheon-hee’s fascination with martial arts novels had led him to study traditional medicine as well. However, since he had never studied at a formal institution or under a master, his knowledge was far from complete. Still, he had memorized all the major acupressure points and had a basic understanding of herbal medicine.

After taking their pulses, White Qilin tore open the patients’ clothes and, without hesitation, began inserting acupuncture needles.

Wow, he’s incredibly fast. He must be the real White Qilin from the novel…

As Cheon-hee watched, White Qilin began to closely examine the sutures he had made. A look of pure admiration blossomed on his handsome face. He had been focused solely on the patients with a grave intensity until now, and the sudden shift in his expression made some of the escort warriors blush.

He produced a wooden box from his robes and opened it. A sharp, medicinal aroma wafted through the air. Dipping his fingers inside, he scooped out a thick, ointment-like substance and began to pat it onto the wounds. It was a peculiar technique; he seemed to be applying the salve by tapping along the body’s meridians. The tapping was loud, yet the patients showed no signs of pain.

So that’s a healing salve? Amazing… If this really is the novel, then that must be White Qilin’s White Qilin Salve. The book said a single jar of that is worth ten gold nyang. And he’s not just applying it; he’s using his internal energy to infuse the medicine into the wounds.

I want to learn that. More than his duty as a doctor, a pure, academic curiosity surged within him. Just then, the Escort Chief cried out anxiously.

“How are they? Can you save Escort Head Dam and Escort Agent Gongsun?”

So the middle-aged man is Escort Head Dam, and the woman is Escort Agent Gongsun… Does that mean the kid really is the Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryoon?

As Cheon-hee watched with growing fascination, White Qilin turned his head and asked a question of his own.

“Who performed this treatment?”

Every head in the clearing turned, every pair of eyes fixing on Jin Cheon-hee. White Qilin’s gaze met his. The air grew thick with unspoken anticipation.

***

There is no trace of martial training. His body is perfectly ordinary. He appears to be between ten and twelve years of age. How curious.

White Qilin, Zhuge Rin, one of the Three Great Physicians of the world, assessed the boy, Jin Cheon-hee.

Stitching a wound closed with thread. It is a form of ‘Art of Cutting Flesh’, but it is not a medical art commonly seen in the Gangho. For a wound like this, the standard treatment is to use ‘Striking the Vital Points’ to stop the bleeding, align the edges of the wound, apply a healing salve, and bind it tightly with bandages, is it not?

He thought it resembled a form of ‘Art of Cutting Flesh’ from the Beyond Gangho’s Realm; the world outside the martial arts society, practiced by those who had not learned martial arts. He could even sense traces of refinement, as if the technique had been modified so that it could be learned by the many who didn’t know martial arts, not just a select few healers.

Hmm… How truly strange.

The Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency was one of the most prominent in the world. White Qilin had maintained a close relationship with them for many years; there was even a branch of the service near his own White Qilin Medical Pavilion. The Escort Chief himself had come from that branch to urgently request his aid.

This had clearly been a well-planned ambush. And in this place of death, Zhuge Rin had found something that piqued his interest. As one of the Three Great Physicians, he was well-versed in the art of ‘Art of Cutting Flesh’. Yet even he could not perform such a clean and precise suture. Or rather, he had never even attempted it. In this era, wound closure was primarily done using ‘Striking the Vital Points’ or by cauterizing the flesh with a hot iron.

To stitch a wound as one would stitch cloth was a simple, yet revolutionary, idea.

Could this child be connected to Bloodborne Elder Eccentric… to that individual?

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric. Another of the Three Great Physicians, an individual far older than Zhuge Rin, and a master of the Gangho. They had achieved Reversion to Youth, and their skill in ‘Art of Cutting Flesh’ was said to be unmatched in the world. But this technique was different. He had seen Bloodborne Elder Eccentric treat external injuries several times, and it was nothing like this.

Furthermore, the stitches are perfectly uniform. This is the work of a seasoned hand. Could I have treated this wound myself?

Using ‘Striking the Vital Points’ to stop the bleeding, yes, that would have been possible. But to do this, in an emergency, with only a needle and thread? That would have been impossible.

Zhuge Rin continued to study the boy, his mind racing. No matter how he looked at it, this was a display of truly remarkable medical skill.

***

Jin Cheon-hee found his voice, though it was a struggle.

“That… was me.”

“Truly splendid medical arts,” White Qilin said, his voice calm but his eyes filled with genuine admiration. “Young Warrior, if not for you, this patient would no longer be of this world.”

Gasps of astonishment rippled through the onlookers.

Has the Divine Physician ever praised someone so highly?

And the object of his praise was a mere child. White Qilin was known to be stricter than anyone when it came to the medical arts. To earn a compliment from him about one’s skills was next to impossible.

The boy, Jin Cheon-hee, however, seemed unfazed by the praise. He was, in fact, preoccupied with a different problem entirely. But to the others, his quiet composure seemed extraordinary.

Ugh, if he asks who I am, I don’t have an answer. What do I do? And ‘‘Art of Cutting Flesh’’… that’s the word for something like surgery, right? It feels so strange to hear it.

While his mind raced, Cheon-hee simply waved a small, dismissive hand.

“I only did my best to save a life.”

At his response, White Qilin offered a soft, gentle smile.