‘Hmm, he’s just putting a nice spin on “I’ll be back later with a large force of skilled martial artists.”‘

Jin Cheonhee looked back at the villagers.

‘Are they really going to execute them just because of a plague?’

Why? His intuition told him there was something more to this.

Jin Cheonhee said, “I understand.”

Just then, one of the martial artists from the Five Poisons Sect spoke. “I don’t know why a Great Hero like you would care about the likes of the Snake Clan.”

The Snake Clan? It was one of the clans that made up the Five Poisons Sect. Suddenly, Jin Cheonhee realized that he had seen almost no members of the Snake Clan at the Five Poisons Medical Pavilion. And that the appearance of the servant who had been whipped was similar to that of the people of this village.

“I do not know much about the relationships between the clans.”

“The Snake Clan is cursed!” he spat on the ground.

The Divine Person said, “Let’s stop this. Although they have incurred the wrath of our ancestors, the people of the Snake Clan also have a right to live, do they not? If they do good deeds, they will not be born as the Snake Clan in their next life.”

…Discrimination. For some reason, extremely reclusive societies often fostered group cohesion by tormenting one group. If this were a caste system, the people of the Snake Clan were the Sudras. The untouchables.

Only then did one piece of the puzzle fall into place.

After the members of the Five Poisons Sect had left, the old woman who had been prostrated on the ground finally took a deep breath. Then, she let out a series of coughs mixed with blood.

“Are you alright?”

“$%&^.”

The Vice Leader of the Silver Blood Hall, Lim Woon-hyeon, who was next to him, said, “She’s telling everyone to run away quickly. That the young people should all take this chance to flee.”

Behind the old woman, others shouted something. Lim Woon-hyeon continued to translate. “They’re saying, how can people who haven’t even learned internal energy possibly escape? And that they can’t abandon the sick.”

‘An infectious disease has broken out among the discriminated Snake Clan, so they’re just going to kill them without mercy.’

Jin Cheonhee pressed his temples. “First, I will perform a pulse diagnosis. Is there anyone here who knows the language of the Central Plains?”

No one from the Snake Clan raised their hand. Just then, someone crawled out from a shabby house. “Benefactor… I do.”

“Hmm?”

It was the servant who had been whipped at the welcoming banquet on the first day. Jin Cheonhee had saved him then.

“You came here.”

“Yes. I ran away and have been hiding. Benefactor!”

What Jin Cheonhee had saved was a single day of his life. And for a person to find a way to live, that one day was enough. He made a fist-and-palm salute to Jin Cheonhee and then shouted something loudly in the clan’s language to the villagers.

“@#%##–!!!”

“Q#$?”

“^@%@&!”

Hearing it, Lim Woon-hyeon immediately translated. “He’s telling them to be at ease, for the benefactor who helped him before has come.”

“Ah, it seems he’s already told them about me.”

“While he was on the run and in hiding, he would have naturally told them about you, Minor Pavilion Master.”

A look of relief washed over the villagers’ faces. But conversely, Jin Cheonhee’s expression hardened.

‘Now comes the problem.’

He had now crossed a river with the Five Poisons Sect that he could not uncross. He had to treat these people, and he had to protect this village.

‘Moving the patients is out of the question.’

The road was already rough. Moving the patients would likely just spread the infectious disease further.

‘Can I do this?’

A physician is also human, and for a moment, a wave of regret washed over him. Then, his eyes met those of the old woman, who was curled up in a ball. It seemed her ribs had been broken from the recent beating.

‘I have to. Somehow…’

That was the same, whether on Earth or here. If the doctor can’t do it, people will die. All he could do was his best in everything he could do.

***

First, Jin Cheonhee had all the White Dragon Medical Pavilion martial artists fall back. If there was an infectious disease, there was a risk of transmission. Until a definite diagnosis was made, they had to be careful not to make contact, and even be careful about the water they drank.

Only a few Senior Physicians, including Jin Cheonhee, prepared for the examination. As they changed their clothes, covered their mouths and noses with cloth, and put on gloves, he noticed one of the Senior Physicians’ hands was trembling.

“Are you scared?”

At Jin Cheonhee’s question, the Senior Physician replied, “No, sir. It is a physician’s duty, so of course, I must do it.” But the trembling in his hands did not easily stop.

‘This is a natural reaction.’

By the time one becomes a Senior Physician, they have seen countless deaths. There is a fear that comes from ignorance, but conversely, there is also a fear that comes from knowing. What lay ahead was a sea of fire. A firefighter doesn’t feel at peace jumping into a fire. It was the same for a physician.

“It is alright for you to step back. No one will blame you.”

“…Pavilion Master.”

“If you make a mistake out of fear, it will only be a disaster. So, for a moment, rest with the martial artists, and when the diagnosis is complete…”

“Minor Pavilion Master!”

The Senior Physician had called out to Jin Cheonhee loudly without realizing it. Jin Cheonhee stopped speaking and looked at him. “Please speak.”

“Are you not scared, Minor Pavilion Master? We still do not know what that disease is. It could really be a curse, it could be a disease that we know of but cannot do anything about, and it could be contagious. If so, we will not be able to return to our hometowns, and we will not be able to see our families.”

He knew how infectious diseases spread, and so he thought that if he were to get infected, he would rather take his own life than pass it on to his family. Also, in a world like this, he vaguely knew how strange and mysterious curses could be.

Jin Cheonhee looked at him calmly with his blue eyes. “…I am fine.”

“Are you really not scared?”

“…”

At those words, Jin Cheonhee swallowed. ‘If I were to say I’m not scared, that would be a lie. But if I’m honest, people will only become more agitated.’

He himself was human. If someone else could do this instead, he would gladly entrust it to them. Or perhaps even if he did ask someone else to do it, he would feel sorry and end up doing it with them anyway. But right now, his heart felt that way.

‘Honestly, I don’t want to jump into the fire.’

He was even more scared because he couldn’t know how painful this fire would be. It would be a relief if it were a known disease, but if it were a disease that only existed in the Murim world, or a disease that existed in the modern world but was difficult to diagnose without a kit, or…

‘Even if I know what it is, I might not be able to treat it.’

If it were truly a form of curse that only existed in this world, he could get infected due to bad luck, no matter what precautions he took.

‘Smile. I have to smile.’

Fear is contagious.

‘At the Putuo Temple, I was alone. But now, there are many people.’

All these people were waiting for his orders, and depending on those orders, they could become good people or evil people. He tried to smile, but his facial muscles would not easily pull up.

The fire is hot. How much further must I run into it? When will someone come to take my place? If no one ever comes, must I keep jumping in forever?

Jin Cheonhee suddenly saw the floor tilt.

“…”

He had shed his old skin and his realm had advanced further, so he thought he would never see this sight again, but he was facing it once more.

‘Ah, is this my world?’

First, he naturally reached out his hand and grabbed the wall of the carriage. Even to his own eyes, it was a rather leisurely action. He accurately perceived the center of his body with the carriage as a reference point, found his composure so as not to fall into a hallucination, and after repeating to himself several times that he was still okay…

‘Smile.’

“What’s there to be scared of? It’s just bacteria, after all. We just need to check if we can cure it or not.”

“Minor Pavilion Master… Keuk… I…”

“Don’t push yourself and rest. This is an order as the Minor Pavilion Master. It’s natural to be scared. On the contrary, someone needs to provide rear support, so this works out well.”

“Will it be alright if I step back?”

“I told you to rely on me when things are tough, didn’t I? Who am I? Am I not the Blue-Eyed Mad Doctor?”

Did I manage to smile shamelessly enough? ‘There’s no mirror, so it’s hard to check…’

In that moment, he saw his own face reflected in the Senior Physician’s pupils.

‘Ah, I smiled okay.’

In them was the Mad Physician, who feared nothing in the world.

“On the contrary, isn’t it fascinating? What kind of disease exists in the Yunnan region. In the end, even the Five Poisons Medical Pavilion couldn’t treat it, right? If we research it well, a new path might open up.”

“Hahaha. I am no match for you, Minor Pavilion Master.”

The Senior Physician’s trembling hands finally stopped. That was a relief. Jin Cheonhee said in the brightest voice he could manage, “Those who are scared, please fall back to the rear. I will make the diagnosis, so don’t you worry.”

“As expected of the Minor Pavilion Master…”

“We believe only in you, Minor Pavilion Master.”

The Senior Physicians looked at Jin Cheonhee with eyes of respect. Sama Hyeon was watching this from a distance.

***

[Why did you follow me?]

[We might need some muscle, right? Or maybe… hmm… I might have other special skills that my brother doesn’t?]

Sama Hyeon, despite not being a physician, had insisted on coming in.

[What special skills? You’ll be in the way.]

[I’m devilishly good with kids~]

Sama Hyeon sent the telepathic message with a shameless expression.

‘Honestly, what is this guy thinking.’

Did he smell a whiff of money? But these were the sick people of the poor Snake Clan. He couldn’t imagine what there was to be gained.

[I don’t know. I’ve taught you the basics. I can’t look after you this time. You take care of yourself.]

[Okay~]

Honestly, it was as if he had memorized every word Jin Cheonhee said and was using them at the most opportune moments.

As they entered the wooden house where the sick were gathered, a foul smell rushed out. But it was a different smell from the one at the Putuo Temple.

‘First, the symptoms are headache, fever, loss of appetite, and constipation, I see.’

He had heard there was some diarrhea, but the fact that constipation was common made it definitively different from cholera. He had heard some were also bleeding, but it was difficult to diagnose with that alone.

“Let’s each spread out and perform a pulse diagnosis. Let’s gather after that.”

“Yes, Minor Pavilion Master.”

The Senior Physicians spread out and began to perform a pulse diagnosis on the patients one by one.

‘It’s definitely better than diagnosing alone.’

Thinking that, he continued to examine the patients. And so, for half a day.

‘Wow… this is insane.’

He felt like his head was going to spin. First, there was a patient with an intestinal perforation. This patient’s pulse was so faint that they could die during surgery, even if he wanted to perform an emergency operation. Another patient had an enlarged spleen. There was also a patient suffering from an intestinal obstruction. There was also a patient suffering from extreme fever due to inflammation in their bone and surrounding soft tissues.

Osteomyelitis[1]. Long-term antibiotic treatment was necessary, and the necrotic bone and nearby tissues had to be removed. This required surgery and strong antibiotic treatment, and treating it here, not at the Pavilion…

‘This patient could also die.’

In the modern era, one would have to do a bacterial culture test. That was the only way to make a definite diagnosis. But here, where there were no such facilities, a rough guess through a True Qi Pulse Diagnosis was all he had.

The fact that hearing loss was considered a mild symptom in this situation was insane.