21.
Cultivators have little interest in the world where mortals dwell.
All they desire is for the Mortal Realm, where they can practice their cultivation, to remain undisturbed.
While an abnormal catastrophe might pose a problem, they generally consider it outside their jurisdiction if mortals are simply dying off from an epidemic.
Of course, looking at Eun Hwi-gyeom, it seems not all cultivators are like that.
"Then what are you doing here?"
If he already knew how to make the cure, I wondered if there was any real need for him to be in the Azure Flower Library.
Eun Hwi-gyeom closed the book he had been reading and stood up.
"The cure is only a temporary measure. Strangely enough, the disease recurs after some time. I was searching to see if there might be some other reason for it."
"Did you find the reason?"
Eun Hwi-gyeom shook his head, saying he wasn't sure.
"No matter how much I think about it, I still don't know."
"I see. Then how about visiting the people who caught the disease again?"
"Again?"
"You said some of the people you treated had a recurrence. If you investigate how they lived after their treatment, wouldn't you be able to figure something out?"
Investigating one person might not yield much, but if it were several, it would be a different story.
It was what you might call an epidemiological investigation!
"It’s better than just flipping through books here, isn't it?"
"That is certainly true."
Eun Hwi-gyeom nodded, agreeing it wasn't a bad idea.
Just in case, I received a few extra doses of the cure he had prepared.
"Wasn't it possible to cure everyone?"
"That would be a panacea. Even I couldn't make something like that. It’s only effective for patients before the disease progresses to a critical stage."
"Then what about the critical patients?"
"The only way is to excise the affected area where the petrification began and have them take the medicine. And that only applies if it’s on their limbs."
"Then... does that mean some people have died?"
Eun Hwi-gyeom nodded as if it were obvious.
The area where the petrification disease begins varies from person to person.
If it’s a limb, amputation is possible, but if it starts in the head or deep within the body, there is nothing that can be done.
I fiddled with the medicine I received from Eun Hwi-gyeom and muttered.
"If it were Master, would he have been able to create a perfect cure?"
"Well... I’m not sure about that either."
Eun Hwi-gyeom shook his head, saying he still didn't know much about Baek Woon-jin.
They say the closer one is to being an immortal, the less they like to get entangled with mortals.
"Talking about someone who isn't here won't give us an immediate solution. For now, let’s do what we can ourselves."
"Um, by the way, Sister."
"Yes?"
"There are no contribution points for this, so why are you going to such lengths?"
"Well... it’s a matter of human lives, isn't it?"
As someone who knew the truth behind the scenes, I couldn't just stand by and let the Heaven-Breaking Sect run rampant.
'It’s earlier than in the original story, but if we stop the catastrophe early, the damage might be reduced.'
The Heaven-Breaking Sect hadn't revealed itself to the world yet.
Since I couldn't say it was because of them, I put forward a plausible excuse.
As I clenched my fist, burning with motivation, Eun Hwi-gyeom chuckled.
"You’re surprisingly human in that regard, Sister."
"Human? I am human."
"You’re not a mortal, though."
"..."
"I know it’s funny for me to say this, but I’ve felt that the more I cultivate, the further I drift from being a mortal."
"How long have you even been a cultivator to say such things?"
Even if one has a Spirit Root, there are those who cannot become cultivators due to a lack of destiny.
Eun Hwi-gyeom had lived like an ordinary mortal until he was saved by Baek Woon-jin.
"That may be, but..."
"I think it would be better to say things like that after you’ve lived for another hundred years."
"You haven't even lived for a hundred years yourself, Sister."
"Quiet. Anyway! You find the people among those you treated whose symptoms recurred, just as you remember."
"Then what about you, Sister?"
"I’m going to meet Kang Jin-heon first."
Since this wasn't a problem that could be solved by meeting one or two people, it would be better to have as many helpers as possible.
"Understood. And here is the medicine."
"Thank you."
After receiving the medicine from Eun Hwi-gyeom, I waited for Kang Jin-heon to return.
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn't gone far for his mission, as he returned quickly.
I briefly explained the situation to Kang Jin-heon and asked for his help.
"Can you help me?"
"Yes."
"Thank you. Oh, this is the medicine Hwi-gyeom left behind. If you find any patients with similar symptoms, use this to treat them."
After handing a portion of the medicine to Kang Jin-heon, I asked him to patrol a few of the holy districts.
After that, I went to meet the girl who had lost her cheese-colored cat, whom I had treated with my Dharma power.
"Fairy! We meet again!"
"Have you been well?"
"Yes, I’ve been well. My mother, though, not so much."
"What do you mean by that?"
"After you left, my mother started coughing just like I did."
"Is it only your mother?"
"No. My friend is like that, too."
I had suspected it since the girl first showed early symptoms of the petrification disease, and my fears were confirmed.
"Let’s go to the village."
"Are you going to help us?"
"Of course."
I had even received medicine from Eun Hwi-gyeom; I couldn't just walk away now.
The girl’s name was Ha Ye-rin.
I went to her house with Ye-rin.
"Cough, Ye-rin, where have you been again..."
"Mom! It’s the... the lady I told you about last time!"
Just in case, I had asked Ye-rin on the way not to call me a fairy.
"The one who found Cheese for me last time... Cough. Cough!"
"Please don't overexert yourself. I heard you were ill."
I laid her down on the bed and had Ye-rin bring some warm water.
Fortunately, her condition was not yet critical.
Thinking the medicine would work, I immediately took out what Eun Hwi-gyeom had prepared.
Since the woman couldn't swallow the medicine well, I crushed it finely so she could drink it.
"It’s a bit bitter, but you must drink it all. You might have a fever for a few days, but you will be fine after that."
"Cough, who are you..."
"I’m an apprentice physician passing through."
Just as Eun Hwi-gyeom had used a fake identity, I made up a suitable one as well.
Perhaps because I had transformed my Spirit Wing Garment into ordinary clothing, the woman didn't seem to doubt my identity much.
"I see. Um... Cough, there are a few others in the village besides me who have similar symptoms."
"I will take a look at them. So, for now, please get some rest."
"Ha, thank you."
Seeming exhausted, she drifted off to sleep the moment her head touched the pillow.
I told Ha Ye-rin to call me if her mother’s condition worsened, and then I examined the village.
Her village was on the outskirts of the holy district, a place rarely visited by physicians.
Thanks to that, even though I said I was an apprentice, the word "physician" caused the villagers to flock to me.
"My father is very sick!"
"My daughter hasn't been able to walk since yesterday!"
"W-wait...!"
With patients swarming like clouds, I was so overwhelmed I didn't know where to start.
They were even fighting among themselves, begging to be treated first.
'At this rate, there will be no end to it.'
I understood their anxiety because they were sick, but this would only worsen the situation.
"Calm down!"
I raised my voice, infusing it with a touch of my Dharma power.
My voice rippled through their ears, and the surroundings fell silent.
The people stared at me with blank expressions.
Noticing the commotion outside, Ye-rin came out to see what was happening.
I rolled up my sleeves and called out to her.
"Ye-rin, help me out."
"Yes? Oh, okay."
"We have enough medicine, so we will start by seeing the patients in critical condition!!"
I had learned the basics of how to assess a patient’s condition from Eun Hwi-gyeom, and I already knew how the petrification disease progressed from the original story.
I first categorized them into critical and non-critical patients.
And there was one patient who was the most critical of all.
"My goodness, when did it get like this?"
"The initial symptoms appeared about two months ago. At the time, I thought it was just a simple sprain..."
It was the village head’s son.
One of his legs had turned as hard as stone, and he was struggling to breathe; his condition looked critical to anyone’s eyes.
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