Moyong Baek had originally only been asked to prepare medicine, but he came to Heukmyobang with Cha Seong-tae in order to see the patient directly.

He thought that anyone saying he could just make medicine without seeing the patient clearly knew nothing about medicine.

As Moyong Baek and Cha Seong-tae looked around the clinic after returning, Cha Seong-tae asked,

"Where did the Sect Leader go?"

A man doing pull-ups like a monkey answered,

"He took the bandits for a stroll up the mountain."

Moyong Baek tilted his head.

"Bandits have been captured by Haomun as well?"

Cha Seong-tae explained on his behalf.

"Yes. They were caught while raiding and robbing."

"Ah, I see."

Immediately understanding, Moyong Baek glanced at the patient tied to a wooden bed under a plum tree and said,

"So the patients are outdoors. Let me take a look first."

"Yes, sir."

As Moyong Baek approached Yukhap Master lying on the bed, he spoke.

"Yukhap Master, I am a local physician. Are you able to speak?"

He had already heard the general situation from Cha Seong-tae.

Moyong Baek also knew of Yukhap Master from past rumors. Treating martial artists inevitably led to hearing news from the Jianghu.

Meanwhile, Yukhap Master, bound and lying under the blazing sun, sighed heavily, suspecting this too was some trick of the Haomun Lord.

‘What kind of quack is it this time?’

Moyong Baek grabbed Yukhap Master's wrist and began to take his pulse. After a moment, he studied Yukhap Master's eyes and asked,

"Yukhap Master, how did a man once famed in the Dark Path of the Southern Song end up captured and humiliated here?"

Yukhap Master responded,

"You know who I am?"

"I heard you're the last disciple of the Yukhap Sect. That you wiped out most of the Dark Path forces in the Southern Song to avenge yourself. But Haomun isn't part of the Dark Path—why did you attack here?"

Yukhap Master kept his mouth shut.

"......"

Moyong Baek smiled faintly and said,

"Yukhap Master, these wounds are treatable. The Sect Leader carefully avoided all vital points. If you have the will to recover, you’ll be back on your feet soon. However, your problem isn’t the injuries."

"Then what is it?"

Moyong Baek said,

"I often assist the Haomun Lord here. And he helps me too. If I treat you and you later seek revenge on Haomun, that would put me in a very awkward position. That’s the bigger problem."

Yukhap Master snorted.

"And what exactly are you telling me to do?"

"If you touch Haomun again, you'll be captured and have your limbs torn apart by the Sect Leader. Therefore, you must realize that saving you doesn’t just involve medicine."

Reading the killing intent flashing in Yukhap Master's eyes, Moyong Baek responded calmly.

"Rest for today. I’ll prepare a medicine and administer it before we begin treatment."

Sensing a sudden foreboding, Yukhap Master asked,

"What kind of medicine?"

Moyong Baek replied in a flat tone, speaking frightening words.

"If you don't regularly take the antidote, your internal energy will gradually scatter. Without it, your muscles will eventually soften into mush. I’ll entrust the antidote to the Haomun Lord. If you ever seek revenge against Haomun, you’ll simply disappear from Jianghu naturally. I’m sure any survivors of the Southern Song Dark Path would love to hear of your miserable end. Do you understand?"

Realizing that taking his pulse was for this very purpose, Yukhap Master immediately convulsed.

"How is that medicine?! That’s poison! Just kill me!"

"I can’t do that. The Sect Leader must have his reasons for keeping you alive. I’ll take responsibility and ensure you live."

"Kill me!"

Moyong Baek gently pressed a hand ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ against one of Yukhap Master's wounds.

"Sir."

"Keugh!"

"Does it hurt? If taking something allows you to live, that’s medicine, not poison. If I judge that you're no threat to Haomun anymore, and the Sect Leader agrees, I’ll personally detoxify you without issue later. For now, just rest. Stabilizing the patient comes first."

When Moyong Baek finally let go and looked around, the martial artists of Heukmyobang—still doing monkey pull-ups—greeted him.

"Doctor Moyong, that’s brilliant."

"Yes, that should do it."

Moyong Baek nodded slightly to the warriors.

"Then, I’ll take my leave."

As Moyong Baek prepared to leave immediately, Cha Seong-tae called out,

"Ah, sir. Are you leaving already?"

Moyong Baek answered,

"Chief Cha, the patient's internal energy is in decent condition. Even if I give him the medicine, there should be no problems. Also, keep this in mind."

"Yes, sir."

"This Yukhap Master is a man who personally exterminated all the Dark Path groups across the Southern Song over several years. He’s known for extreme persistence and a terrifying thirst for revenge. I’ll make sure to prepare the medicine properly to avoid future problems. Please inform the Sect Leader accordingly."

Cha Seong-tae, only half understanding Moyong Baek’s explanation, nodded.

"Ah, understood."

Cha Seong-tae glanced at the tied-up Yukhap Master and muttered,

"Man, Yukgap Master... you’re a scary guy. You wiped out the whole Southern Song Dark Path? Here I thought you were just some cripple who got wrecked by the Sect Leader."

When Yukhap Master glared at him, Cha Seong-tae raised his hand threateningly.

"Watch those eyes before I gouge them out. You wanna be listed as a casualty?"

At that moment, Geum Eun-chil-chung, still hanging upside down, spoke weakly,

"...Water, please."

Cha Seong-tae replied,

"Water? You got some yesterday. What, you think Haomun’s a charity handing out drinks?"

He approached Geum Eun-chil-chung, harassed the bugs a bit more, then glanced over at Yukhap Master. For some reason, Yukhap Master lying there seemed even scarier than the bugs hanging upside down, so Cha Seong-tae just kept pestering the ones below instead.

After giving one a kick for no real reason, Cha Seong-tae turned to Moyong Baek.

"Let's go."

"Alright."

***

After finishing physical training with the bandits in the mountains, I returned to the clinic. The monkeys doing pull-ups greeted me loudly.

"Welcome back, sir!"

I looked over at the tied-up Yukhap Master and the upside-down bugs.

"Anyone dead?"

"......"

"Nope."

I walked over to the bed and looked down at Yukhap Master. He glared at me, then closed his eyes.

Cha Seong-tae came out of the hall to report.

"Sect Leader, Doctor Moyong just left."

"Why did he bother coming?"

"He checked on Yukgap Master and said he’ll bring a medicine tomorrow. If Yukgap Master doesn’t take the antidote regularly, his internal energy will disperse. Then he’ll start treatment. The antidote will be entrusted to you, sir."

"Why bother with all that trouble?"

"Seems he’s worried Yukhap Master might seek revenge on Haomun after he recovers. According to the doctor, this guy wiped out the entire Southern Song Dark Path."

"Oh yeah?"

I folded my arms behind my back and stared down at Yukhap Master, who looked even worse after Moyong Baek’s visit.

"Hey, Yukgap."

"...What?"

"Trembling, are we? Seong-tae."

"Yes, sir."

"Let the bandits rest a little, then resume training. Grind them until they're dead."

"Understood. Are you going somewhere?"

"Gotta catch up with Doctor Moyong. Came all this way, should at least say goodbye."

As I casually passed by the hanging bugs, I stopped in front of one of them.

"This little shit... still smiling? What’s your problem?"

Looking at the order they were strung up, it seemed to be the Third Bug (Samchung).

"N-no, sir."

"You got a screw loose? Still smiling in this situation?"

Samchung surprisingly responded,

"...My teeth stick out a bit, sir. My mouth just naturally stays open. I’m not smiling. I apologize."

"Ah..."

I flinched and scratched the back of my head.

Turns out, the guy just had an ugly mouth.

After a dry cough, I spoke to Cha Seong-tae.

"Let these guys down."

Cha Seong-tae replied with a startled expression.

"Sir?"

"Let them down. And, give them some water."

"Ah, understood."

I said with a reluctant look.

"...Shit, they were just ugly bastards after all. Anyway, I'm heading out."

"Yes, safe travels."

***

I unfurled my light footwork and quickly caught up to Moyong Baek, who was returning to Uiga Street.

"Doctor."

Moyong Baek turned around with a surprised expression.

"Sect Leader? You’re here."

I slowed down to a walking pace and held out my hand forward.

"Let’s walk."

"Busy as always. I heard you were out strolling with the bandits?"

"Something like that. You checked on the patient? No need to go out of your way to treat him. How was he?"

After a brief hesitation, Moyong Baek answered.

"Stubborn. Filled with killing intent too. If you intend to put him to use, you’ll have some trouble."

"I see."

"Is there a particular reason you’re keeping him alive?"

"Hmm."

I walked alongside Moyong Baek for a moment, reflecting on the reason.

‘Poison Demon, Ghost Demon, Crazy Demon, Lust Demon.’

Back in the days when I was an enemy of the martial world, comparing who was more twisted between us would’ve been splitting hairs. All four were madmen anyway. But it wasn’t because of that old connection that I chose to keep him alive.

I spoke my honest feelings to Moyong Baek.

"I'm simply trying it out. Killing can be done anytime. If I fail to save him and end up killing him, it would just mean my capacity is only that small."

"Hmm."

"This time, down in Namak, I killed a lot of bandits with my own hands. Got tangled with Haomun, and since the Martial Alliance was conducting a subjugation campaign, I naturally joined."

"How many did you kill?"

"Over a hundred."

"My goodness... by yourself?"

I kept my eyes forward, walking alongside Moyong Baek. Regardless, the man walking beside me wasn’t Poison Demon, but Doctor Moyong. So I chose to reveal my inner thoughts as they were.

"Since returning, I keep thinking about it. I have no regrets fighting and killing strong enemies. But no matter how wicked they were, beating a hundred weaker ones to death... They sometimes appear in my dreams."

"And when they show up in your dreams?"

"I kill them all in one strike. While wishing they’d stop appearing."

"But since it's a dream, you can't completely erase them."

"Seems so."

Moyong Baek nodded quietly beside me.

"So that's why you chose not to kill Yukhap Master."

"Not just him. Even the servants he brought with him—I’ve kept them alive for now."

Truthfully, I don't think that much about Yukhap Master.

If I had killed Geum Eun-chil-chung again with my own hands—those whom I had killed already in my previous life— I felt like something inside me would break, tangled up with the guilt of massacring a hundred bandits.

That was my honest feeling.

Moyong Baek said,

"Sect Leader, you made the right choice. Killing is easy. Saving is hard. It’s the same for me, as a physician. Saving a life is the hardest thing."

I stopped walking for a moment and looked at Moyong Baek.

"Both of us were struggling with the act of saving."

Moyong Baek nodded.

"Yes.
Do you remember this finger?"

He flipped his finger upside down and mimicked a walking motion.

When I nodded, Moyong Baek said,

"You said that if you kill every person you meet along the way, you'd become a Demon of the Martial World."

"I remember."

Moyong Baek nodded, gazing into my eyes.

"With your madness and inner rage, if you also walk down the demonic path, you'll surely earn the nickname Crazy Demon."

"...That’s not such a bad nickname."

Moyong Baek smiled and said,

"Sect Leader, if you become even stronger, your choices will broaden. If you had been stronger down in Namak, you wouldn’t have needed to carry out the massacre so directly. Forgive me for speaking of the end result."

"You're right. Part of the reason I acted was to protect the Martial Alliance forces there."

Moyong Baek held his hand forward.

"Shall we?"

I resumed walking beside him. Suddenly, Moyong Baek sighed and said,

"There sure are a lot of masters in the world. The standard for 'being strong' has gotten very high. Frankly, even someone at your level, Sect Leader, should be able to live comfortably, but reality isn't so easy."

It didn’t seem like he expected an answer, so I just nodded.

Moyong Baek asked as if curious.

"What did you think of the Martial Alliance Leader’s strength?"

"He’s a strong man."

"Stronger than you, Sect Leader?"

"Of course... For now."

Even back in my Crazy Demon days, Lim Sobaek would’ve been stronger than me.

Watching Moyong Baek's expression, I suddenly asked,

"Doctor, do you have worries these days?"

Moyong Baek replied lightly, as if it was nothing serious.

"These days, I spend more time looking into martial arts books than medical texts. I’m researching poison more than medicine."

It wasn’t much, but it made me chuckle through my nose.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing much. If you prefer poison, you can research it. What's the problem? There's no law that says a physician must have weak martial arts. Even if you get stronger, so what? If I run into serious trouble, I might even come asking you for help. Even today—when I was worrying about how to deal with Yukhap Master— your offer to prepare a poison-based solution instantly put my mind at ease. Poison is medicine too. Study it well."

"Yes, sir."

Looking at each other again, we both seemed burdened with worries.

I spoke with a rare warmth.

"Doctor, you’re doing well."

The two former Martial World enemies comforted each other.

"You’re doing well too, Sect Leader. As you become even stronger, your madness will ease little by little."

I nodded, and Moyong Baek offered his hand nearby.

"Then, I’ll be on my way."

Moyong Baek nodded in return and said,

"I’ll prepare the poison soon and return. Better to keep Yukhap Master alive and usable than simply kill him."

I nodded.

"You're right. See you again soon."

Moyong Baek turned with a bright expression and headed toward Uiga Street.

I watched his back for a moment.

For some reason, he looked like the Poison Demon from my past life walking away.

Well, Doctor Moyong or Poison Demon— they were originally the same person anyway, so it wasn't that strange.