Jin Cheon-hee didn’t reply. He simply picked up the piece of fried lotus root he had dropped and quietly placed it in his mouth. As he chewed, the soy-based seasoning seeped out. It tasted sweet, savory, and crisp.

After he finished gathering his thoughts, Jin Cheon-hee finally spoke. “If I go there, can I become the greatest physician in the world and cure my Master?”

It was much like the question he had once asked Wangya Ju.

At his words, Bloodborne Elder Eccentric furrowed his brow. “Some time ago, the White Qilin child allowed me to check his pulse, though he would not let me treat him. From my diagnosis, even an old monster like me cannot cure him. The fact that he is still alive is nothing short of a miracle.”

Jin Cheon-hee gave a small nod.

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric sighed in wonder. “I offer him all the darkness in the world, yet he still thinks only of his Master. White Qilin, I truly envy you.”

Zhuge Rin gazed at Jin Cheon-hee with warmth in his expression. “This disciple is my entire world. I am just so grateful… so deeply grateful.”

‘So far, this is going according to plan,’ Jin Cheon-hee thought.

It’s a trait of Murim warriors: the stronger they are, the more they admire those who can’t be swayed by money or power. It was the same with Wangya Ju’s offer. If I had immediately accepted, they would have agreed, but inwardly, they would have been disappointed.

‘So, you too have fallen for my martial might, power, and wealth. Hmph, such is the way of the world.’

It was an emotional sensibility straight out of a 1990s conglomerate drama. The important thing here was not to give in. Whether the demanding mother-in-law throws money in your face, or the rich chaebol asks, “How much?”—you must never give in!

Of course, this mindset started to change in the 2000s, but back then, that’s how it was.

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric, finding Jin Cheon-hee more and more to her liking, was full of lingering desire. “It doesn’t have to be as my disciple. Then how about another way?”

“Another way…?”

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric was growing desperate. As a master who had achieved Reversion to Youth, she had lived far longer than ordinary martial artists. The title Elder Eccentric was not given to just anyone. It was a title bestowed with fear, loathing, and awe when the world finally gave up trying to understand these beings—beings who never died, no matter what the Orthodox or Unorthodox Factions threw at them; beings who remained consistently, bizarrely powerful.

Fifty years had passed for her title to change from Bloodborne Monster to Bloodborne-Elder Eccentric. And after achieving Reversion to Youth, she lived on.

In all that time, this was the single greatest talent she had ever met. He was also the only other being who could understand the obsession to cure, even if it meant cutting open a person’s body.

“Listen, child. This old monster has always believed that among all medical arts, surgery is supreme. If the body is sick from a problem in the body, is it not only natural to open the body and cure the disease?”

Of course, her philosophy didn’t include patient consent. If she targeted you, you were getting “treated.” She was a person whose priorities were completely jumbled, her sense of good and evil a muddy mess.

That was why she was a a Monster.

“…”

Instead of answering, Jin Cheon-hee sipped his bamboo-leaf tea.

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric continued, “You are the child who can prove it. In this Gangho, where even the descendants of Hua Tuo have abandoned surgery, you have already begun to prove its worth. That is why this old monster cannot give up on you.”

She let out a small sigh. Her light brown hair stirred in her breath. “I will grant you the privilege of viewing the secret archives of the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion.”

At those words, Zhuge Rin’s eyes widened. Jin Cheon-hee, too, felt his heart drop.

‘The secret archives? Did she just offer to show me her patient charts?’

For any medical pavilion, letting an outsider view its secret archives was the ultimate taboo. In this Gangho of secret transmissions, medical texts were treated like a sect’s sacred manuals. But putting that aside, the treatment logs… the patient charts… were also stored in those archives.

If you knew which patients had what symptoms, what medicines were prescribed, and how they were treated, you would know almost everything about that pavilion. You could even discern a martial artist’s unique characteristics by studying their past injuries. A left-handed swordsman would be injured differently than a right-handed one. If one practiced demonic arts, it would be evident in their internal wounds.

And if you knew that, you could know their weaknesses.

It was an outrageous offer.

“…” Jin Cheon-hee fell into thought. “And what must I give in return?”

“When the time is right… learn this old monster’s medical arts.”

Jin Cheon-hee shook his head. “I am already learning my Master’s medical arts.”

I know her surgical skills are great, but I’m working with 21st-century modern medicine. I’m not that interested.

“Aish! Then what about martial arts? Martial arts!”

Jin Cheon-hee glanced at his Master and said, “I am already learning the greatest martial art in the world. It seems meaningless to learn another.”

His Master, looking immensely proud, burst into clear laughter. “Ahaha, it cannot be helped, Bloodborne. My disciple refuses, as our sect’s art is already the… GREATEST… IN… THE… WORLD. What can be done? Hahahaha!”

Clang—

Hearing the White Qilin’s mocking laughter, Bloodborne felt her insides twist.

Jin Cheon-hee said, “In that case, how about this? When I use my surgical arts, I will share my treatment records with you—which patients I treated and how.”

“What?”

In the US, hospitals were just beginning to share patient medical data. It was a problem that patients had to be re-tested every time they moved hospitals. Plus, there were many situations where treatment was impossible without knowing a patient’s medical history. In emergencies, patients often died simply because their chronic conditions or allergies were unknown, when a glance at a past chart could have easily saved them.

The more Jin Cheon-hee learned about the medical pavilions, the more he lamented this gap. It was the same during Wangya Ju incident. If the Hwaju Medical Pavilion had known the patient’s medical history, perhaps the Gu could have been discovered sooner.

No matter how secretive this Gangho is, it’s an undeniable fact that this closed-off nature is killing patients.

He knew he couldn’t easily change an atmosphere that had been entrenched for so long. But he wanted to save as many people as he could, within the limits of what was possible.

“Are you telling me… that I should learn your techniques? Hahaha.”

“Since you are showing me your archives, it means I will be learning a great deal from the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion as well.”

It could be seen as a medical exchange, breaking free from the rigid mold of a master-disciple relationship.

Jin Cheon-hee added, “And, if it’s alright… I would like to receive some medicinal ingredients.”

“Ingredients?”

“There is a limit to the ingredients one can obtain from the Orthodox Factions. And… if needed, we could send ingredients that the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion lacks.”

It was, in a sense, an alliance.

The two Pavilion Masters, realizing what Jin Cheon-hee was suggesting, were stunned. This was an idea that shattered the existing framework. Something no one had ever dared to think.

Zhuge Rin said, “Hee-ya. You are painting a very large picture.”

Jin Cheon-hee shook his head. “I don’t really know if it’s large or small. I just… I just think that if I can save even one more person, within the bounds of what I can do, then that’s enough.”

“Hahahahahaha!”

At Jin Cheon-hee’s answer, Bloodborne Elder Eccentric finally burst out laughing.

“This old monster is merely coveting a single disciple, but you… you are coveting the entire world.”

Jin Cheon-hee waved his hands, flustered. “No, I’m not! I just…”

“…’Just’? There’s no need to feign humility, child. The advancement of medicine is the fastest way to change the world… That is a fact all of us Pavilion Masters know, but the Gangho does not, not yet.”

She laughed, long and refreshingly.

“White Qilin, I truly envy you.” Her laughter subsided. “Then let’s do this. You must at least learn the things the White Qilin Medical Pavilion will not teach you. The Muscle-Shrinking Art and hidden weapon arts should be fine, yes?”

Jin Cheon-hee looked at Zhuge Rin.

Zhuge Rin said, “Bloodborne Elder Eccentric’s Muscle-Shrinking Art and hidden weapon arts are the pinnacle of the world. This is a good opportunity. Learn from her, Hee-ya.”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded. “Since my Master permits it, I will learn.”

“The more I hear, the more jealous I become, White Qilin. How did you ever get such a disciple?”

“It seems our founder is watching over us from the heavens.”

Bloodborne Elder Eccentric sighed. “For people like us, the greatest fate is to meet a true disciple, and you, White Qilin… you have achieved it. You, who could not even achieve Reversion to Youth… Keuk. Child, because of that body of his, that man will never be able to achieve Reversion to Youth, no matter what enlightenment he attains. As a master, this old monster would be far better.”

Her lingering desire for Jin Cheon-hee was palpable. To her, he was just that coveted.

“I will be the one to cure my Master.”

“Hmm?”

“As long as he regains his health, I believe my Master will smoothly reach Reversion to Youth. Considering his martial talent and our sect’s arts, he will likely achieve even more than that.”

It was a bold retort. She had attacked him for having a weak, sick master who couldn’t even reach Reversion to Youth, and he had countered that once he cured his Master, he would reach a realm similar to, or perhaps even greater than, her own.

It was not an answer a child should be able to give. No… in the entire Gangho, there was no one who could have answered her that way. Her opponent was, after all, Bloodborne Elder Eccentric of the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion, whom no one dared to cross.

Zhuge Rin, on the other hand, looked moved. He stared at Jin Cheon-hee for a long, quiet moment. In the short time he had left, he had never thought he would meet someone who supported him so completely.

“Hee-ya. It is alright, even if my life ends. I… I truly have no regrets now.”

Zhuge Rin stroked his disciple’s head. This disciple was his everything. “Your words… they are enough for me. They are more than enough.”

At that, Jin Cheon-hee grumbled, “Don’t say things like that.”

But Zhuge Rin had firmed up a secret resolve he had long harbored.

***

Arc 9: The Corner of Time

Jin Cheon-hee successfully completed the Prince Consort’s second surgery. Thanks to the patient’s rapid recovery and Jin Cheon-hee’s own skill, the operation was finished without any major incidents. All that remained was for him to visit the White Qilin Medical Pavilion from time to time to have his recovery monitored.

Wangya Ju was overjoyed.

A short time later, the promised, massive donation arrived at the White Qilin Medical Pavilion.

Simultaneously, the Hao Sect and the Hwaju Medical Pavilion were struck with disaster.

The Hwaju Medical Pavilion not only suffered a simple financial loss, but now bore the disgrace of having medical arts inferior to those of the White Qilin Medical Pavilion. A shift began, starting with the great merchant guilds that were close to the Ju Palace.

***

In a certain region, at a local clinic of the Hwaju Medical Pavilion.

“This only happened because our fields are different! When it comes to medicine, the Hwaju Medical Pavilion is still the greatest in the world! To leave us so coldly…”

A Hwaju physician clung to the trousers of a merchant. “For the sake of our long relationship, can’t you please stay?”

“Hmm…”

Some merchants stayed, but many others left immediately. This was especially true for the large merchant caravans that engaged in large-scale trade.

“By the nature of our work, many of our martial artists suffer external trauma. If they had the same injury as the Prince Consort, the Hwaju Medical Pavilion would have cut off their legs. We cannot betray the martial artists who have risked their lives to protect our goods. My apologies.”