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SERIES: Return of the Divine Thief
CHAPTER 12: Return of the Divine Thief
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Return of the Divine Thief - Chapter 12
Deep at night, the annex of Elder Heuk's residence was shrouded in perfect silence.
At an hour when all were asleep, Muryang lowered the lamp's wick by half, casting the room in shadow.
Then, he carefully took something from within his robes and spread it out on a soft cloth on the table.
It was the face of ‘Hwa Un, the Divine Doctor’.
A human-skin mask .
The name alone might conjure images of a grotesque object, but Muryang's human-skin mask was closer to a work of art.
Most of the crude skin masks out there were made of stiff materials, incapable of capturing the wearer's subtle changes in expression.
Because of this, masters with a keen eye could easily see through the mask's unnaturalness.
But Muryang's was different.
He had layered exquisitely thin, master-crafted silk with finely treated, soft leather, achieving a flexibility nearly identical to that of living human skin.
Thanks to this, natural expressions were possible even while wearing the mask.
‘But no matter how miraculous an object is, nothing lasts forever.’
Muryang dipped a small brush in oil and began to meticulously clean between the mask's fine wrinkles.
Even an extraordinary human-skin mask like this wasn't something you could make once and use forever.
The toll it took to live and breathe on a human face was harsher than one might imagine.
The wearer's sweat and oil, along with dust in the air, subtly altered the mask's color, and the process of stretching and contracting with each expression caused natural wear and tear.
Without being treated and maintained with a special oil, it would barely last a day.
‘If only I had the essence of Azurewood Herb….’
An image of the blue-glowing medicinal herb flashed through Muryang's mind.
With that alone, he could have preserved the mask's flexibility and color, allowing it to last for at least three days with ease.
But since he had no way of obtaining it now, he had no choice but to painstakingly repair it like this every night.
As he mended the mask with meticulous care, he looked less like a Doctor and more like a master artisan.
When the two hours of repairs were complete, the human-skin mask had returned to the perfect face of ‘Hwa Un’, as if it had never been worn.
Muryang carefully placed the mask over his face.
* * *
Over the next few days, the reputation of ‘Hwa Un’ continued to grow.
The annex of Elder Heuk's residence, where he was temporarily staying, was thronged day after day with patients hoping to place their last hope in his miraculous medical skills.
While dealing with them, Muryang earned a vast amount of money and sowed the seeds of his influence throughout the city.
While Muryang was busy moving in the light, Heuk Cheolsan was busy moving in the shadows.
By day, he handled his duties as an Elder of the Daewoong Faction; by night, he secretly met with his core subordinates, continuing his work behind the scenes.
Just as Hwa Un had instructed, he had begun to separate the wheat from the chaff for the ‘new game’.
Of course, he was not free from inner conflict.
Late at night, sitting alone in his study before a lamp, a doubt would invariably rear its head.
‘Is it truly appropriate to trust this Doctor, whose identity I don't even know, and bet everything I have?’
The man is called Hwa Un.
He was clearly a Doctor who performed miracles, and a powerful martial artist.
But his true goal was the unification of the city’s underworld.
This meant a confrontation with Wi Mugeuk, the Lodge Leader of the Daewoong Faction.
He was, in effect, preparing a rebellion.
‘If by some chance the plan fails….’
It was then.
From the garden outside his study, he heard the clear laughter of a child.
It was Aran, out for an evening stroll with her handmaiden.
A vibrant laugh, something unimaginable back when she could only lie in her sickbed.
Heuk Cheolsan's wavering gaze instantly hardened.
‘That's right. It's for Aran.’
He clenched his fists.
If he could protect that child's laughter, he was willing to walk into hell itself.
The path presented by the Doctor Hwa Un was the only lifeline that could pull his daughter out of this ‘gutter’.
Besides, this wasn't just for his daughter.
‘How long can I go on living this filthy life?’
He was the descendant of a family of generals who had served the nation for generations.
Although his family had fallen and he had immersed himself in the underworld, he was not rotten to the core.
The ‘new order with a minimum of discipline and honor’ that Hwa Un had proposed resonated with the ideals he had long cherished in a corner of his heart.
Moreover, there was the martial arts Hwa Un had displayed.
‘That was the real deal.’
He recalled the aura from Hwa Un that had overwhelmed him.
It was a level that not even Wi Mugeuk could hope to approach.
What he was contemplating now was not a gamble, but something closer to riding on the back of a dragon.
His mind made up, Heuk Cheolsan took out a scroll and two brushes from the depths of a drawer.
One he dipped in black ink, the other in red.
Unfurling the scroll revealed the densely packed names of the Daewoong Faction members who followed him.
He began to go down the list, name by name, cautiously yet without hesitation.
On the names of those who would join him, he drew a circle in black ink.
And over the names of those who had to be culled, he drew a merciless line in red.
That night, Heuk Cheolsan was putting both his past and his future in order.
* * *
While Heuk Cheolsan was putting his past and future in order, the master of the Daewoong Faction was also having a sleepless night.
The Lodge Leader of the Daewoong Faction, Wi Mugeuk.
Rumors about ‘Hwa Un, the Divine Doctor’ had been flowing into his ears until he was sick of them.
At first, he had dismissed it as just another skilled Doctor arriving in town.
But the news that Elder Heuk's daughter had survived was something he could not ignore.
Elder Heuk's daughter had been a walking corpse, given up on by every Doctor in the city.
To have saved such a child was proof that his skills were anything but ordinary.
Moreover, the recent rumors were all bizarre.
Diagnosing karma instead of illness, healing the body by treating the mind.
‘A useful talent.’
Wi Mugeuk was a greedy man.
Power, money, women. And even talented individuals who could expand his influence.
He coveted anything and everything he could get his hands on.
If he kept such a miraculous Doctor by his side, he could solidify the loyalty of his subordinates and protect himself from unforeseen dangers.
Crucially, he had anxieties about his own body.
The internal injuries he had sustained from recklessly training his martial arts constantly plagued him.
“Someone, attend me!”
At Wi Mugeuk's call, a subordinate emerged from the shadows.
“Tomorrow night, I will hold a banquet. Summon the high command and the core executives.”
“Should I summon the executives from the outer branches as well?”
“This isn't a war council, so that won't be necessary. And bring me ‘Hwa Un, the Divine Doctor.’ Treat him with the utmost respect. I must meet him myself.”
He intended to show Hwa Un the might of the Daewoong Faction.
* * *
The next evening, elite members of the Daewoong Faction arrived at the annex of Elder Heuk's residence.
They exuded an intimidating aura, far too menacing for men simply escorting a Doctor, as they ushered Hwa Un into a top-of-the-line carriage as if he were a dignitary.
The carriage arrived at the Daewoong Faction's main building, which was like a massive fortress.
From the entrance to the banquet hall, lines of lodge members bowed to Hwa Un.
Their eyes held a mixture of awe, curiosity, and suspicion.
In the banquet hall, the Elders and key executives leading the Daewoong Faction were gathered, enjoying a lavish feast.
When Hwa Un entered, the noisy hall fell silent for a moment before erupting with sounds of welcome.
“Oh, so that’s the famous divine Doctor, Hwa Un?”
“Indeed, he has an extraordinary air about him.”
At the head of the table sat a burly man with eyes like a tiger's.
It was Wi Mugeuk, the Lodge Leader of Daewung.
He rose from his seat and greeted Hwa Un with a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha! I’ve heard the rumors that a distinguished guest has come to Uiju. It seems I, Wi Mugeuk, am late with my greetings. Please, come and sit here, Doctor Hwa.”
At Wi Mugeuk’s invitation, Hwa Un took the seat directly beside him.
All manner of rare delicacies and fine liquors were laid out before him.
“I have heard much of your reputation, Doctor. They say you saved Elder Heuk’s dying daughter and can cure illnesses by seeing into a person’s heart. Truly, the title of divine Doctor is well-deserved.”
“You flatter me, Lodge Leader. I simply cannot turn a blind eye to those who are suffering.”
Wi Mugeuk smiled in satisfaction at Hwa Un’s humble reply.
After a few rounds of drinks, when the atmosphere had mellowed, Wi Mugeuk finally got to the point.
“I have a request for you, Doctor.”
“Please, speak.”
Wi Mugeuk drained the wine in his cup in one gulp and looked at Hwa Un with eyes full of ambition.
“How would you like to accomplish great things with me?”
It was not a simple question. It was an undeniable offer to come under his command.
“It is a great waste for someone with your divine talents to languish in a remote place like this. Look, this Uiju is a place of great wealth. With the vast funds generated here, I will expand my power and soon take control of the entire Guangxi province. If you join me, you too will enjoy wealth and glory beyond your imagination.”
His voice was filled with conviction in his own plans.
But Hwa Un, seemingly unimpressed by his grand ambitions, instead asked a naive question.
“But for an underworld faction, isn’t the Lodge Leader’s personal martial strength the most important thing, no matter how many subordinates he has? I’ve heard that’s how the martial world works.”
At those words, Wi Mugeuk laughed heartily, as if listening to the childish outburst of a boy.
“Puhaha! That’s what greenhorns who only know the world through rumors say, Doctor. Reality is different. I have hundreds of men under me who can move at a moment’s notice.”
His eyes flashed.
“No matter what bastard dares to come for my head, it would be impossible for them to even stand before me after breaking through those hundreds of shields. And even if, by some miracle, they managed to survive and reach me, they’d be so exhausted they could barely stand. How hard could it be to kill an opponent on the verge of collapse?”
That was his way.
To use his subordinates as disposable shields, while he seized the easiest victories from the safest position.
Hearing his explanation, Hwa Un nodded as if genuinely impressed.
“So you’re saying that to fight you, Lodge Leader, one must first defeat all those hundreds of men?”
“Of course. That is the privilege of the strong. And soon, my men will number in the thousands.”
Wi Mugeuk replied, triumphant.
However, Hwa Un’s next words froze the smile on his face.
“But that’s strange.”
Hwa Un continued, his voice laced with a faint killing intent.
“I don’t recall going through that troublesome process, so how is it that I’m sitting face-to-face with you like this?”
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