The Heavenly Demon Wants a Quiet Life - Chapter 78
Chapter 78: Unless It’s the Medicine King
The injuries on his shoulder were treated in an instant once the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master joined forces.
Geok Yangdu’s condition was more severe, but keeping him alive posed no major issues.
However, restoring his martial arts was impossible.
The extent of the damage inflicted by Byeok Taesan had severed his internal Qi pathways in numerous places, and his dantian had sustained significant cracks.
Even now, his energy was leaking out continuously.
Though his life was saved, he didn’t have much time left.
At most, even with proper care and rest, he might survive a few years.
If he were to live longer, someone like the Heavenly Divine Healer or the Needle Master would need to provide constant and meticulous treatment.
After hearing the full report, Byeok Taesan merely nodded indifferently.
The reason for keeping Geok Yangdu alive was simply to extract any valuable information he might hold. It wasn’t to cure him and make use of him for something else.
Having finished their treatment and getting ample rest, the group followed Byeok Taesan toward the location of the half-Jiangshi.
In truth, they hadn’t yet found where the half-Jiangshi was, so a search was required.
They thought they’d have to comb through every nook and cranny.
But that wasn’t necessary.
“Young Master, shall we spread out to search?”
At Hwaryeong’s question, Byeok Taesan shook his head.
“No need.”
“Pardon? The waterways are quite vast. Wouldn’t it be better to split up rather than move together?”
“I already know where it is, so there’s no need for that.”
“What? You already know?”
Hwaryeong instinctively glanced at Geok Yangdu.
Geok Yangdu, still unconscious, was slumped over Cheon Kyungwan’s shoulder.
Hwaryeong guessed that Byeok Taesan might have learned the location of the half-Jiangshi during his fight with Geok Yangdu.
Of course, that wasn’t the case.
From the moment Byeok Taesan entered the waterway, he could sense the location of the half-Jiangshi.
The peculiar sensation that emanated from the half-Jiangshi was incredibly distinct.
The others silently followed Byeok Taesan.
He entered a building within the waterways and pointed to the floor with his chin.
“Tear it up.”
At Byeok Taesan’s command, Cheon Kyungwan and Yoo Seoyeon immediately moved.
Cheon Kyungwan laid Geok Yangdu down nearby and began tearing up the floor.
Not to be outdone, Yoo Seoyeon also began ripping up the floor enthusiastically.
The floor was made of tightly woven bamboo. Once it was torn apart, a massive space underneath was revealed.
“Oh, there’s an underground level? I thought this was just a building built over water.”
The waterways were half on land and half over water.
The buildings were situated over the water, so it was natural to assume that water flowed directly underneath them.
But when the floor was removed, a vast stone-walled space beneath was uncovered, shocking everyone.
And within that space, countless half-Jiangshi stood stiffly in rows.
The half-Jiangshi were utterly motionless, standing in orderly formation with narrow spacing between them. When the floor was torn apart, creating a view from above, they all simultaneously raised their heads to look upward.
It was chilling.
“Damn, that scared me.”
The Needle Master flinched in shock and took a step back.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Divine Healer burst into laughter.
“Good heavens, what’s got you so scared?”
“How can you not be startled when they all suddenly look at you at once?”
The Heavenly Divine Healer puffed out his chest and patted it with his hands.
“I wasn’t startled. Hehehe.”
The Needle Master’s face flushed red as he gave the Heavenly Divine Healer a playful shove.
“Urk!”
At that moment, the Heavenly Divine Healer nearly fell forward, drawing the gaze of all the half-Jiangshi toward him.
The Needle Master immediately grabbed the Heavenly Divine Healer by the back of his neck, preventing him from falling.
The Heavenly Divine Healer dangled precariously, with only his toes barely touching the edge, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
Just as he was about to shout something, the half-Jiangshi all twitched slightly.
“Aaaagh!”
The Heavenly Divine Healer let out a terrified scream.
The Needle Master quickly pulled him back up.
The half-Jiangshi returned to their original positions.
The Needle Master laughed as he looked at the Heavenly Divine Healer, who had collapsed onto the floor, trembling.
“What’s got you so scared? And that high-pitched scream—don’t you have any dignity?”
The Heavenly Divine Healer turned his head sharply to glare at the Needle Master with a frustrated expression.
“Are you really going to do this?”
“What did I do?”
“I almost fell!”
“Almost, but you didn’t. I caught you just fine.”
The Heavenly Divine Healer clenched his fists, his whole body trembling.
“What’s with those fists? Are you thinking of punching me?”
“Who said I’d punch? I’m just gathering strength, that’s all.”
The Needle Master smirked at his response.
“Go ahead and punch, if you think you can handle the consequences.”
“Just wait and see.”
“Oh, I’m terrified.”
As the two bickered, Byeok Taesan stepped forward.
The moment he did, both the Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master flinched and quickly stepped back.
Byeok Taesan peered down.
Unlike when the Heavenly Divine Healer or the Needle Master looked down, the half-Jiangshi remained completely still, showing no reaction.
The others approached and also looked down.
“There are so many. Do you think this is all the half-Jiangshi they have?”
At Hwaryeong’s question, Yeon Harin, standing beside her, nodded.
“Seems like it. There are more than three hundred of them.”
Byeok Taesan could perceive more detail. Among them, two hundred and fifty were ordinary half-Jiangshi made from civilians, while the rest were skilled in martial arts.
“A feast indeed.”
With that remark, Byeok Taesan leapt down.
As he landed, the half-Jiangshi collapsed like puppets with their strings cut.
Byeok Taesan slowly walked toward the ones still standing. As he drew closer, they also fell one by one.
The area was soon saturated with refined soul essence.
The space where the half-Jiangshi were housed was like a deep pit.
Thus, the soul essence didn’t disperse easily and only became denser with time.
While it would eventually dissipate, it would linger far longer here than in other places where half-Jiangshi had been defeated before.
After collapsing all the half-Jiangshi, Byeok Taesan stood in the center and closed his eyes.
Last time, he had merely absorbed passing spiritual energy that suited him, but this time, he went a step further.
Byeok Taesan actively drew the spiritual energy into his body.
While not forceful, the gentle suction created a vortex, pulling the spiritual energy toward him.
He didn’t absorb it all but allowed it to flow through him.
As a result, only the spiritual enenry perfectly attuned to his body remained, while the rest passed through.
After circulating the spiritual energy dozens of times, there was no longer any energy that matched him left in the space.
Only then did Byeok Taesan open his eyes.
“Impressive.”
Today’s spiritual feast was overwhelming.
Both in quantity and quality, it was unparalleled.
The spiritual energy he had just absorbed far exceeded all the energy he had previously gathered from the other half-Jiangshi combined.
Moreover, its quality was leagues above what he had experienced before.
Byeok Taesan directed the absorbed spiritual energy to his severed and damaged Qi pathways.
This high-quality energy would now naturally heal them.
Looking around, he saw the collapsed half-Jiangshi scattered everywhere.
At the far end of the space, there was a staircase leading upward.
Though he could have leapt up effortlessly, there was no need, nor did he feel like doing so.
Ascending the stairs, he was met with the awestruck gazes of his group.
In particular, the two physicians from the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion stared at him with shining eyes, their expressions almost reverent.
As if entranced, the two approached Byeok Taesan.
“Um…”
One of them cautiously spoke.
“Young Master, may I take your pulse?”
Byeok Taesan glanced at the physician and chuckled.
“Take my pulse?”
The physician’s face lit up as he eagerly began to explain.
“I want to know more about what I just witnessed. I believe it has something to do with your unique constitution, Young Master, and to confirm it, I absolutely must take your pulse.”
“Can you truly figure it out by taking my pulse?”
At Byeok Taesan’s question, a slight smirk played at the corners of his lips.
The physician nodded emphatically.
“Of course! When it comes to constitutions, our Heavenly Medicine Pavilion is unmatched. Understanding one’s constitution is crucial for prescribing the proper medicine, so we’ve dedicated an extensive amount of time to its study.”
The physician looked at Byeok Taesan with a confident expression, utterly convinced that he would receive permission.
“Well, that may be true.”
At Byeok Taesan’s somewhat positive response, the physicians’ faces brightened.
“But it won’t be you.”
“What?”
Byeok Taesan turned his gaze to Heavenly Divine Healer and the Needle Master, who were standing nearby.
“Do you believe you’re more skilled than those two?”
“Ah…”
It was only then that the two physicians realized they had overstepped. However, their eagerness was understandable. After all, how could anyone witness such an extraordinary scene and simply let it pass?
Byeok Taesan addressed the physicians, whose faces were now pale.
“You want to take my pulse? You dare?”
The physicians’ complexions turned ashen.
“Unless it’s the Medicine King.”
At those words, their faces froze completely.
The two physicians remained silent for a moment before one of them carefully spoke.
“We’ll pretend we didn’t hear your last comment.”
With that, they retreated quietly, their earlier enthusiasm entirely gone.
Byeok Taesan frowned slightly as he turned his gaze to Heavenly Divine Healer.
“What’s wrong with them?”
Heavenly Divine Healer grinned as he answered.
“I’m not sure if you were aware when you said it, but the current Medicine King is a woman.”
“Hm?”
“Not just any woman—she’s reputed to be extraordinarily beautiful. In fact, she’s one of the Three Blossoms of Murim.”
“I didn’t know that. But what about it?”
What connection was there between the Medicine King being a woman and those physicians acting the way they did?
“Well, there are probably countless people who are after her. Many use excuses like taking her pulse just to get close to her.”
Byeok Taesan chuckled at the absurdity of it all.
“Those two need a good beating.”
Encouraged by the opportunity, Heavenly Divine Healer enthusiastically continued his explanation.
“The current Medicine King took over the leadership of the Heavenly Medicine Pavilion at a young age. She’s known for being relentless when it comes to honing her skills.”
Seeing Byeok Taesan’s quiet stare, Heavenly Divine Healer assumed he had piqued his interest and began explaining with even more vigor.
“If your words about her taking your pulse reach her ears, she’ll undoubtedly come to see you. She wouldn’t miss a chance like this. That’s why those two were so rattled.”
He chuckled as he finished speaking.
“Seems you’re enjoying this.”
Realizing that Byeok Taesan’s comment carried no emotion, Heavenly Divine Healer immediately erased his smile and fell silent. He cautiously gauged Byeok Taesan’s mood.
“N-no, Young Master. I’m not enjoying it. I swear. I’ll personally make sure to punish those insolent fools for speaking that way to you. Leave it to me.”
Byeok Taesan nodded and walked past Heavenly Divine Healer.
“Seems like you were enjoying yourself.”
Heavenly Divine Healer’s face fell into a grimace as he quickly followed after Byeok Taesan.
“I wasn’t! I really wasn’t!”
The Needle Master sidled up to him, smirking.
“You weren’t? Earlier, you were laughing so hard it looked like your face might split in half.”
“Agh! Hyungnim! First you pushed me into the middle of those half-Jiangshi, and now you’re trying to drag me into hell? Are you really doing this?”
“Oh, did you just call it ‘hell’? Are you saying being with our Young Master feels like hell? Your thoughts are duly noted.”
“Ugh! That’s what you said yesterday! You said being with the Young Master felt like being in hell!”
The Needle Master jumped, startled.
“This crazy bastard! When did I ever say that? If you want to die, die alone—don’t drag me into it!”
“Oh, now you’re saying the Young Master is going to kill you? What are you even thinking about our Young Master?”
“You insane fool!”
At this, Heavenly Divine Healer hurriedly rushed to Byeok Taesan’s side, distancing himself from the Needle Master.
“Young Master, please pay no attention to those idiots. I’ll personally ensure the Medicine King comes to see you.”
Byeok Taesan gave no response and continued walking.
However, someone else reacted.
It was Yeon Harin, who had quietly approached at some point.
“Why?”
“Hm?”
“Why are you trying to make the Medicine King come here?”
“Uh… well…”
Caught off guard, Heavenly Divine Healer stammered. He couldn’t possibly say it was because the Medicine King was one of the Three Blossoms of Murim and he thought Byeok Taesan might like her.
Especially not in front of Byeok Taesan’s fiancée.
The Needle Master, who had come closer, clicked his tongue and shook his head in disapproval.
“Really now. Do you ever think? Did you really have to say that here, of all places?”
Feeling cornered, Heavenly Divine Healer was about to retort but froze when his eyes met Yeon Harin’s.
Her gaze trembled with unspilled tears, making it impossible for him to speak further.
“Ah… Oh, right! That Geok Yangdu fellow must be waking up around now. I should go check on him!”
Hurriedly coming up with an excuse, Heavenly Divine Healer bolted toward the place where Geok Yangdu had been left.
As he ran, a chill ran down his spine, prompting him to glance to the side.
Somehow, Yeon Harin had followed him closely, her tear-filled gaze fixed on him.
Startled, Heavenly Divine Healer quickened his pace, nearly tripping over himself to escape.
Watching this, the Needle Master burst into laughter.