After that, he continued to perform surgeries one after another. It was no easy task to be both hurried and calm. But if he failed, the patient would die. Fortunately, he finished all the surgeries safely without any mistakes, but one patient ultimately had to pass on.

The joy of the families of the surviving patients mixed with the wailing of the deceased patient’s family like a pit of mud.

“Thank you. Thank you! White-Robed Divine Dragon! Little Divine Physician!”

“It’s nothing. It’s alright.”

“Please, allow us to repay you.”

“It’s alright.”

Jin Cheonhee pulled at his facial muscles to refuse as gently as possible. It was because the family of the deceased was right next to him, wailing as they clung to the body. Normally, he would have made sure they didn’t cross paths, but he didn’t have the capacity to separate the spaces right now.

“The body will have to be cremated.”

“Cremated?! Don’t tell me you intend to send my father to a fiery hell?!”

“You cannot perform a wind burial.”

Normally, one shouldn’t even touch this body. But right now, there was no way to stop them.

“Blue-Eyed Mad Doctor! Don’t tell me you’re asking me to commit an act of filial impiety…!”

Just then, Sama Hyeon approached. “Oh, brother? Good work. Why is that man so angry?”

“Didn’t you just tell him to cremate his father!”

“Mister~ let’s believe in Buddhism. Okay? You can just convert from now on.”

“How can you say such a thing…”

In that moment, Sama Hyeon gripped the stone wall.

Udeudeuk.

He hadn’t even imbued it with internal energy, but the wall caved in from his grip strength alone. As Sama Hyeon’s handprint was left on the stone wall, the man finally shut his mouth.

“Your father wouldn’t want his son to suffer a dog’s death like this. You know that, right? Hmm?”

“…”

Sama Hyeon then sent a telepathic message to Jin Cheonhee.

[Brother, don’t be too nice to them.]

[Hyeon-ah.]

[You’re at your limit, too. Leave the rest to me and go do your next task.]

Jin Cheonhee rubbed the corners of his eyes.

[Isn’t disease prevention about everyone enduring a little inconvenience in exchange for stopping the sickness?]

[That’s right. That’s what it is.]

[Then I can’t make an exception for that man. If even one person performs a wind burial, everyone else will do it too. Do you think this will be the only death? I’m sure it won’t be. Besides, honestly, if it weren’t for you, I would have killed all these bastards.]

At those words, Jin Cheonhee’s expression slowly grew cold. Sama Hyeon immediately sent the next telepathic message.

[Joking~]

[Don’t you ever make a joke like that.]

[Got it. Anyway, go do your next task or get some rest.]

Sama Hyeon thus chased his brother away.

‘He’s so precarious~ Honestly.’

When he was strong, he seemed like he could take on an army of a million, but at times like these, he made people worry. So it couldn’t be helped. Sama Hyeon decided to do what he did best.

“Yeah. Right, mister. Tell me. You’re going to believe in Buddhism with me, right? That’s why I’m not killing anyone right now~ Because of Buddha.”

“But even so…”

“Let’s do this. Then, mister, if you don’t believe, I won’t believe in Buddhism either. Then it’ll be okay for me to kill, right?”

Udeudeuk—

Sama Hyeon clenched his fists one by one. These were hands that could crush a stone wall into powder. It wasn’t the act of a martial artist to threaten a commoner, but who cared. I’m from the Unorthodox Faction. So what if someone from the Unorthodox Faction solves things in their own way?

“So, mister, what religion?”

“B-Buddhism…”

At those words, Sama Hyeon’s eyes curved into a thin smile. “Good. Right, you have to be reborn in paradise~”

Namu Amitabul Gwanseum-bosal.

***

‘Even if the surgeries are over, the infectious disease itself needs to be treated for at least ten to twenty more days. And if an outbreak occurs among our physicians…’

Thinking this, Jin Cheonhee went outside. Just then.

Piiiiiik—

Noe-jin cried out and landed squarely on Jin Cheonhee’s head. Then, it pointedly clacked its beak. This beak-clacking meant that people were approaching from at least half a day’s distance.

“Man-seoooooon!”

At Jin Cheonhee’s shout, Man Seon, who had been far away, rushed over in an instant. “Yes! Minor Pavilion Master!”

“It is time to set up the formation. We must prepare for battle.”

“Already?” Man Seon’s eyes widened with a hint of surprise.

“In the jungle, they are men who run faster than horses. It wouldn’t be strange if they had already finished gathering. But they must have seen our formation, so they’ll be drawing up a strategy.”

“I understand, Minor Pavilion Master!”

“Yes?”

“Please, even if it’s just for a moment, I would like you to rest. I have not once heard word that you have gone to sleep, Minor Pavilion Master. As for your meals…”

At her words, Jin Cheonhee nodded. “Do not worry. I am moving while properly pacing myself.”

She knew in her head that the young man before her would not make a mistake. But at the same time, she also knew that this young man’s body was wasting away. She was also aware of the situation, which made it difficult for him to take care of his health. Right now, this was a situation that could not function without Jin Cheonhee, and he was the only one who could protect this place.

‘Because he himself knows that… he’s doing this…’

Man Seon parted her lips with difficulty. “I receive your command.”

***

Jin Cheonhee entered the temporary quarters and took a short rest.

‘To end this with minimum damage, I need to cool my head.’

If an ally were to be injured, they would need to be treated. But as the Senior Physician had said, there wasn’t enough anesthetic, antibiotics, or blood for surgery. Jin Cheonhee rested while circulating his qi. It was a relief that due to the effect of the jewel, his body’s recovery speed was faster than anyone’s.

‘Hmm… the floor is tilting again.’

He was slowly starting to give up. No matter how many times he tried to turn his perception around with the Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique, it continued to tilt, and tilt again.

‘I’ll rest when this is over.’

In the end, it looked like he was fated to suffer until this was all over. In the first place, it was wrong to expect to be comfortable by himself in the middle of a battlefield. So it couldn’t be helped.

After finishing his qi circulation, Jin Cheonhee put the simple preserved food before him into his mouth.

‘It’s a good thing I made this in advance.’

The bamboo-tube preserved food he had made and distributed before. He hadn’t known that making it in anticipation of such an event would be this helpful. He had also devised a simple recipe, so all you had to do was put it in boiling water. If it was a Senior Physician skilled in the Five-Elemental Divine Technique, they could even heat it with just Fire Qi. It was good for nutritional supply, but the taste… was not great.

Chewing on it, Jin Cheonhee had a crazy thought.

‘I will definitely add MSG to this bamboo-tube rice.’

The shittiest thing about being at war is that there’s nothing to eat. A good restaurant? No way it would be open. Snacks? A brick-like military biscuit awaits you. Stress relief? There’s only alcohol. And a bottle of alcohol is more expensive than a gun.

‘No, damn it… there’s nothing to eat in the Murim either.’

He couldn’t just grab and eat fruits in a typhoid situation. And being forced to eat only what was designated was a taste of death. He would definitely add MSG to the bamboo-tube lunch box. He had heard there was a miraculous chef in the Golden Blood Chamber who had recreated the taste of MSG and still managed to run his inn into the ground, so he would definitely collaborate with him. Jin Cheonhee ground his teeth.

Piiik—

Noe-jin let out another long cry from outside.

‘The enemy has approached.’

Surgery by day, war by night. A bitter smile appeared on his face.

***

The number of martial artists sent from the Five Poisons Sect was about a hundred. The man called the Divine Person was not in sight.

“The village is visible.”

“The Zhuge Clan is known to be the most cunning among the bastards of the martial world. We must be careful.”

At the elder’s words, they tried to enter, but for some reason, they kept getting lost. “It seems to be an application of the Stone Sentinel Maze…”

“We departed as quickly as possible, yet they have constructed a formation this fast.”

For now, he had the martial artists stop. Finally, a man who appeared to be the representative of the martial artists came forward and shouted loudly. “I am Aricho, the Insect Poison Hall Head of the Five Poisons Sect–! Blue-Eyed Mad Doctor! Do you dare cause a disturbance by constructing a formation in the territory of our sect–!”

At his shout, Jin Cheonhee finally showed himself. “Hall Head of the Insect Poison, a pleasure to meet you.” He made a fist-and-palm salute from a rather close distance. But even if it looked close to the eye, as long as the Zhuge Clan’s formation was established, it was difficult to attack recklessly.

Even in this situation, Jin Cheonhee continued to speak nonchalantly, without a hint of tension. “To say I am causing a disturbance is a gross mischaracterization. I am merely treating a plague. The Five Poisons Sect gave up on the treatment, so the White Dragon Medical Pavilion has simply stepped forward.”

From the words alone, it seemed like a normal relief effort. If not for the martial artists holding swords and sabers, it would have looked even more so.

“Nonsense! Do you not know that the wrath of the gods cannot be cured! It seems you are temporarily treating it with some kind of evil art, but that must be a falsehood.”

At those words, Jin Cheonhee narrowed his eyes.

‘Evil arts, he says. Right. I thought he might say that.’

Finally, Aricho imbued his voice with internal energy and shouted loudly. It was the local dialect, but by now, Jin Cheonhee could understand most of it.

“All of the Snake Clan in the village, listen! If you kill those who have received the wrath of the gods right now, I will forgive you!! But if you resist, I will never let you live, even if I have to stake my name on it–!!”

At those words, Jin Cheonhee’s expression turned cold.

‘Is the Five Poisons Sect finally crossing a line that should not be crossed?’

It wasn’t just Jin Cheonhee; the martial artists of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion’s 4th Martial Force Battalion also ground their teeth with angry expressions.

‘Are those people human? To those who are desperate…’

Sure enough. One of the villagers shouted. “Th-that’s right! We shouldn’t listen to the words of an outsider! Didn’t the Divine Person also say that the wrath of the gods can only be resolved with a sacrifice!”

It could be simple fanaticism. But another person chimed in as if in agreement. “Even if we drive out the martial artists of the Five Poisons Sect now, the people of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion are ones who will leave someday!”

“What will happen to us after they leave?”

Amidst the stirring atmosphere, someone shouted as if to incite them. “Outsiders, back off!”

“Outsiders, get lost!”

Watching them come running out with farming tools as if they had been waiting, Jin Cheonhee thought calmly.

‘Hmm, it seems there are moles among the residents.’

Well, he knew that the story of ‘everyone is having a hard time, so let’s all get along and solve it~’ was something out of a fairy tale. It was an ironic story. There were people who trusted the Five Poisons Sect, which had ruled over them for a long time, more than the White Dragon Medical Pavilion, which had just decided to protect them. And their number was larger than he had thought. It had reached the point where they could agitate the wavering people.

‘What is a human being? Those people are probably doing that to live just a little longer.’

What had the Five Poisons Sect promised those who were inciting the crowd? Jin Cheonhee knew that freedom was definitely not among them. But is freedom truly more precious than tomorrow’s life? To just live as they had lived, being beaten as they had been beaten, to live miserably but securely might also be a way.

For some reason, it felt like his solar plexus was burning black.

Gugeugeugeu—

The ground of his mind tilted. This sound must be tinnitus.

Does it interfere with combat? Does it interfere with saving people? Is my functionality intact?

His blue eyes just analyzed himself like a machine. But there was one question that even his vaunted Profound Origin Heaven and Earth Divine Technique could not answer.

‘Why must I save people, anyway?’