The fluttering of the poisonous insect’s wings held in the hands of the loyal medic heightened the sense of danger.

The insect seemed ready to fly over and bite at any moment, but I calmly stared at her and spoke.

“I have a subordinate I cherish like my own heart. She was abandoned by her parents when she was young. Despite that, she grew up so bright and strong.”

The medic’s fingers tightened, and the insect’s wing beats grew faster.

“She must have had a turning point, too. If she had chosen a different path then, she would have lived a miserable life filled with resentment and desire for revenge against her parents.”

“Why are you telling me this story?”

“Because, Counselor, you serve as a signpost at that turning point.”

“!”

The medic was surprised.

“You knew?”

“Yes, I know about the things you quietly do for others, Counselor.”

I understood why she was so obsessed with money.

She had been sponsoring countless abandoned children—providing them food, sending them to schools, to military training. She paved a way for them to live and released them into the world. Despite being called a ‘money bug’ as a slur, she had lived her entire life as a godmother to orphans.

This fact was revealed only after her death. The five hundred thousand nyang I offered was the amount left after medical fees, donated for those children.

She squatted down in front of me, then tore off the wings of the poisonous insect, picking off its legs one by one to eat.

“I’ve developed immunity to the poison, so ordinary medicine can’t control my poisoning. I barely manage by using poison to counter poison.”

The pain from this seemed severe, as she massaged her shoulders, arms, and legs.

“How did you know about my situation?”

I sat down beside her.

“I am the second son of the Heavenly Demon Sect’s leader.”

There is an advantage to being a leader’s son. As a successor, knowing many secrets is just expected.

“Then why did you offer more money?”

She was not surprised when I revealed my identity, nor did she try to impress me. That kind of temperament must have been why she endured lifelong insults while steadfastly dedicating herself to the children.

“Yes, I added my heart to your good deeds. To me, you are not just loyal but a great divine doctor.”

At the word “divine doctor,” the medic’s eyes trembled slightly. It was the highest praise given to a medical practitioner.

“You hid your deeds to avoid such thanks.”

She bit the insect’s body whole. It was very bitter, and she grimaced, but swallowed it forcibly.

She did not seek praise, but I believed her true feelings were different.

Wouldn’t she want someone to recognize her good deeds at least once? Wouldn’t she want sincere respect and praise at least once? Just once.

From my previous life before regression, I learned that a single word can sometimes unravel deep wounds and feelings that have piled up for a very long time.

If only someone would say that one word, just once. But we rarely hear it.

Thank you, you worked hard, sorry, it’s because of you… just one word is enough.

Not hearing that one word festers into a mental illness. A wound that could be healed with one word remains for a lifetime.

I hoped that the words I just spoke to her would serve that role. To be the one word that would untie her exhausted life. You are admirable, your life is admirable.

The medic glanced at me sitting next to her.

I also looked intently at her and suddenly said,

“You’re holding my wrist.”

Before I knew it, she was holding my wrist. Of course, I could have pulled away, but I didn’t.

“Ah, sorry. I have a habit of checking pulse whenever I see a person.”

She said that, but she was examining me. She wanted to know if my words were true. Not from what I said, but by judging from my body’s response. Through small changes in my body, by feeling my pulse, she could tell whether I was telling truth or lies.

A martial artist never carelessly shows their pulse. That she didn’t stop me from checking means “I sincerely trust you.”

Then, the medic, who was examining my body, was startled and asked.

“Could it be? Have you achieved mastery of the Heavenly Pulse Strengthening Technique?”

Indeed, the divine doctor was a divine doctor. She recognized from that brief pulse check that I had mastered the Heavenly Pulse Strengthening Technique. It was thanks to the ghosts, minions of the Blood Heaven Butcher, that I had achieved mastery before.

“Yes, that’s right.”

For the first time since we met, I saw her eyes truly tremble with sincerity. I knew where her surprise came from.

Seo Daeryong dreamed.

Not about winning, but about dying pierced by a sword at the Fourth Strong Martial Arts competition.

As he looked down on his dying self with a fatal wound, Sword Dance Master said,

“You spent five hundred thousand nyang, and you die so futilely? That’s too much.”

At the cold reaction, Seo Daeryong felt hurt.

“You’re the one who’s too much, Master. I’m dying. I’m dying.”

“Everyone dies. But no one dies right after spending five hundred thousand nyang on treatment.”

Feeling frustrated, Seo Daeryong shouted.

“That’s why I said I wouldn’t do it!”

He woke up shouting. He was startled by the scene before his eyes. Just like in the dream, Sword Dance Master was looking down at him.

“I told you not to.”

Unlike in the dream, Sword Dance Master’s eyes were gentle, and Seo Daeryong sighed with relief.

“I dreamed of dying at the Fourth Strong competition.”

“Dreams are the opposite, so it’s okay.”

“You said the Master called the five hundred thousand nyang a waste while watching me die!”

“Then it’s not opposite, is it? Maybe you’ll lose at the Fourth Strong.”

“Please don’t say such unlucky things.”

Seo Daeryong tried to get up but couldn’t move his body.

“Huh? My body won’t move.”

He looked up at his body. He was shocked. His entire body was stuck with acupuncture needles.

“I guess the needles were placed wrong and paralyzed me. I can’t move!”

“These are important needles. The medic suppressed the blood poison.”

Only then did Seo Daeryong feel relieved.

“I’m sorry for getting hurt and making you spend such a large amount.”

“Hey, Investigator Seo, you should say it like this at times like this. No, Master. It’s your fault for making him participate in the martial competition and get hurt like this. It’s too much. Fix him even if it costs five million nyang!”

“Ah, don’t make me feel worse and leave.”

Sword Dance Master was about to leave, but Seo Daeryong said from behind,

“Honestly, I wanted to get treatment. I said it was too expensive, but in my heart, I hoped I could get better and enter the martial competition. So I pretended not to want it and just got treated. If it were my money, would I have gotten treated?”

“You would have.”

“Why are you so sure?”

“People who spend others’ money but not their own don’t even have such worries.”

“That could be camouflage, right? Pretending to be good until the end.”

“What good would it do to pretend to be good to me? Give me one reason.”

“……”

“See, it’s not true.”

“Seems so.”

I left him and went outside.

Under the window of the room we just left, the medic was sitting in the sunlight. I sat beside her. Hearing our conversation, she asked me,

“Then why are you pretending to be good to me? Does the successor of the sect worry about orphans in the Central Plains?”

While asking, she took my wrist again.

At this turning point of my life, I confessed honestly.

“As you said, being the sect’s successor, I walk a path where I don’t know when I’ll die. So naturally, I want to be in good favor with the one who has the medical art to bring the dead back to life.”

“Is that all?”

“What else could there be?”

She released my wrist.

After staring at me for a moment, she suddenly offered something. It was the poisonous insect she had eaten earlier.

“Want to try some? It tastes good.”

“I’ll eat it as long as I don’t die.”

“Shall I make sure you don’t die?”

At that moment, I knew I stood before another turning point in my life.

“There is one thing I have wanted to do my whole life as a doctor. But it is an attempt only possible for someone with strong blood veins like you. It might be dangerous, but if successful, it will greatly help you.”

After a moment’s thought, I nodded.

“I’ll try it once.”

“Why don’t you ask what kind of test it is?”

Because I already knew what the test was and its result.

I wondered if this fate would reach me while bringing Seo Daeryong. It was ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ a fate that couldn’t be forced. So I decided to take it if it came and let it pass if it didn’t. That fate was now reaching me. In that sense, Seo Daeryong was the one who led me to this fate.

“If it’s a test given by someone who has lived for orphans her whole life, at least I trust it won’t harm me.”

“Are you stupid? It might be a plot to kill the sect’s successor.”

“It’s fine. There are others lined up after me to inherit the position.”

The medic bit the poisonous insect she was holding, patting her shoulder.

“It hurts so much. Massage it a bit.”

I massaged the medic’s shoulders.

“You seem very busy. Why not take a disciple? Let someone massage your shoulders.”

“Who would like poisonous insects these days? They all run away after a month or two.”

Apparently, disciples had fled like that.

“Shall I become your disciple?”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Is the doctor okay?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you pass the test, the sect’s successor will become stronger, right?”

“I’ve lived a life of being cursed anyway, what is there to worry about? Harder. Over there. Ah, that feels good.”

When Seo Daeryong woke again, all the needles stuck in his body had been removed. He felt refreshed as if he had just slept well.

He raised himself and moved his arms without pain. It felt as if he wasn’t injured at all. No, he felt even better than before he was hurt.

‘How is this possible?’

When Seo Daeryong went outside, the medic was sitting in the yard, massaging her arms and legs.

He hesitated, then sat down at a distance from her.

“Thank you for the treatment, didn’t I say so?”

“You paid five hundred thousand nyang.”

“You stingy bastard. If I pay, shouldn’t you at least say thank you?”

“I’ll say it in a little while.”

“You look like a kind guy. Why so grumpy?”

“People say you look like a crybaby.”

“Crying, grumpy, and narrow-minded, is that why you’re so bitter?”

She massaged his arms and legs while speaking.

“How did you get hurt?”

“While catching bugs.”

“Why didn’t you get treated?”

“This is treatment.”

“What kind of bug got you hurt like this?”

“Stop complaining and come massage my shoulder.”

“You paid five hundred thousand nyang, and now you want shoulder massages?”

Though grumbling, Seo Daeryong massaged her shoulders.

“Ah! That feels good. You’re better than your master.”

“I’ve been told since I was young that I have strong hands. I used to massage my grandmother’s shoulders a lot.”

“How’s your shoulder?”

“How did the wound heal so perfectly? Amazing.”

“My internal energy probably increased.”

“Huh?”

Seo Daeryong checked his internal energy, which had risen significantly. Compared to others at the same stage, his biggest weakness had been his internal energy. Now, with internal energy comparable to theirs, his greatest weakness was gone.

Grateful, Seo Daeryong bowed deeply.

“You’re my benefactor!”

“Not a quack?”

“Not at all. You’re a divine doctor!”

“Thank your master who paid.”

“Since money came up, can you cut the price a bit?”

“Worried your master will go broke?”

“Our master has plenty of money, no worries.”

“Then?”

“I want to pay it all back, but it’s too much.”

“You want to pay all this money back?”

“Yes.”

A slight smile appeared at the corner of the medic’s mouth as she looked at Seo Daeryong.

“If you massage my shoulder well, I might give you ten thousand nyang off.”

“Yes, Divine Doctor! I’ll even massage your arms.”

Seo Daeryong again massaged her shoulders and arms diligently.

“Where is the Master?”

“He’s in that barrel.”

Seo Daeryong was startled. The medic pointed at a strange barrel filled with a foul-smelling liquid in the middle of the yard. He had barely tolerated the smell from it since he first came out.

“You don’t seem worried.”

“Who worries about whom? Even if the whole world worries, our Master doesn’t. If you worry for no reason, you’ll be the strange one. He must have gone in because he thought it was safe.”

“So that’s why you wanted to spend five hundred thousand nyang.”

Seo Daeryong felt good about the compliment.

“Go get that purple barrel.”

“Yes.”

Frowning, Seo Daeryong brought the barrel. It was filled with a liquid that emitted a terrible smell.

“You block your nose for something so precious?”

“This body is worn out catching those things.”

The medic took it and poured it into the barrel where Sword Dance Master was locked. The liquid mixed and bubbled.

“How can he breathe in there?”

“If you’re so worried, go in yourself.”

“I refuse.”

Seo Daeryong backed away.

“What kind of experiment is this?”

“There has been a wish I wanted to fulfill after researching poisonous insects all my life. Your master willingly became the subject of that experiment. He will either come out dead or transformed.”

Sword Dance Master’s death was unimaginable to Seo Daeryong.

“Transform into what?”

Then, from the medic’s mouth came an unexpected, astonishing phrase.

“The Body Impervious to All Poisons Mandok Bulchim Ji Che.”