SERIES: Return Of The Divine Thief
CHAPTER: 18
Despite Hwa Un's apology, Baekun didn’t let down his guard.
My internal injuries… he saw them at a glance?
Such an accurate diagnosis, and such a benevolent demeanor.
Baekun’s mind grew even more suspicious.
As he hesitated, Hwa Un continued.
“From the looks of it, you’ve twisted your energy meridians by forcefully circulating your internal energy… If you leave it be, it will become a serious problem. If you don’t wish to live the rest of your life in agony, you should receive proper treatment at once.”
He produced a small needle case from his robes.
“……”
“Don’t worry, I won’t charge you. It’s just a shame to see a talented young man ruin his body.”
There was not a single suspicious thing about his words or actions.
On the contrary, all that could be felt was the pure goodwill of a physician seeking to practice the art of healing.
But Baekun had dealt with too many wicked people to readily accept another’s goodwill.
“I appreciate the thought, but I must decline.”
Baekun refused firmly and stood up from his seat.
But Hwa Un blocked his path.
“I can’t allow that.”
“……What do you mean?”
“My master used to say that a physician who sees a patient before him and simply walks by is no different from a murderer.”
The physician’s eyes shone with a light so intense it seemed to fill the entire inn.
“I understand your sentiment, Physician, but I have urgent matters to attend to.”
Ignoring Baekun’s words, Hwa Un continued with his own.
“I have no intention of standing by and watching a young man destroy his own body right before my eyes. If the patient refuses treatment….”
He rolled up his sleeves.
“Then healing him, even by force, is the path of a true physician!”
“You, you crazy…!”
Baekun immediately tried to draw the dagger from his sleeve.
But the physician’s hand was much faster.
Fwip!
Baekun couldn’t believe his eyes.
Ten needles flew toward the acupoints all over his body.
He dodged three by turning his body and deflected three with his dagger, but four needles struck their marks.
“!!”
Unable to move a muscle, Baekun collapsed back into his chair with a thud.
His entire body was paralyzed; he couldn’t even lift a finger.
He stared at the physician with eyes full of shock and terror. The physician clicked his tongue and sat down beside him.
“Tsk, tsk. It’s difficult to administer treatment when the patient thrashes about like this.”
The physician calmly opened his needle case. He then pulled out a single long, thin silver needle.
It was at that very moment.
“Sir! Your noodle soup and dumplings are here!”
A waiter came running from the kitchen, carrying steaming dishes.
But upon seeing the bizarre scene in the room, he stopped dead in his tracks.
One man was frozen stiff in a chair with needles sticking out of his body, while another middle-aged man was about to stick a ghastly silver needle into him.
A flurry of emotions crossed Baekun’s eyes.
Should I ask for help? But what if the waiter gets caught up in this….
But the waiter spoke in a voice that suggested this was nothing out of the ordinary.
“Oh my, you were a patient too, sir. Physician Hwa here treated everyone in this inn for free this morning. At first, they all reacted just like you, but they left completely satisfied.”
The waiter chattered on for a few more moments about how incredible the physician’s skills were as he placed the food on the table.
“So don’t you worry too much, sir, just relax and let him take care of you. An opportunity like this comes once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky.”
The waiter looked at Baekun as if he were a ‘lucky man’ and returned to the kitchen, even humming a little tune.
Baekun was completely isolated.
Seeing his despairing expression, Hwa Un spoke with a benevolent smile.
“There, you see? Everyone trusts my medical skills. Now, you can relax and receive your treatment.”
The moment he finished speaking, Hwa Un plunged a large needle into Baekun’s chest.
‘……!’
Baekun gasped.
It wasn’t from pain.
He could feel a warm, clear energy flowing from the needle into his body.
Hwa Un’s needling didn’t stop.
With the second and third needles that pierced different parts of his body, his energy meridians, which had been rampaging like wild horses, settled down as if they had met a skilled rider.
He’s no quack…
Baekun’s mind grew even more tangled.
Why would someone with such divine medical skills resort to such forceful methods…?
While he was lost in confusion, Hwa Un spoke nonchalantly.
“What’s your name, young brother?”
“It’s… Baekun.”
“Un… you have the same character in your name as I do.”
“Y-yes, I do.”
“And what of your school?”
“I’m sorry, but I cannot reveal my school.”
It was not uncommon for people to keep their martial school a secret.
And it was considered rude to press further when someone refused to answer.
But Hwa Un, as if he couldn’t care less for such martial world etiquette, continued speaking as he inserted the next needle.
“Is that so? Are you perhaps involved in the underworld, or is your master a public enemy of the martial world?”
At that question, Baekun’s face flushed with anger.
“Absolutely not!”
Even in his paralyzed state, he spoke with as much force as he could muster.
“My master is the most righteous man in the world. And I, too, follow his will and pursue the path of chivalry!”
“Hoh, chivalry, you say.”
Hwa Un nodded his head as if intrigued.
He picked up a needle and, slowly bringing it toward an acupoint on Baekun’s shoulder, asked like an innocent child.
“But tell me, young brother.”
His voice was utterly serene.
“If you are so righteous and pursue chivalry, why were you climbing over someone else’s wall last night?”
“……?!”
In that instant, Baekun’s mind went completely blank.
Someone else’s wall. Last night.
That was when he was in Muihyeon, when he had snuck into the bedroom of a boy named ‘Cho Muryang.’
How could this physician possibly know about that…?
Baekun’s pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
He slowly raised his head to look at the physician before him.
Hwa Un whispered slowly to him.
“Did you think you could get away?”
Superimposed over the kindly smiling face of the middle-aged physician, he saw the chilling smile of the boy who had overwhelmed and toyed with him the night before.
‘No way… It can’t be…!’
Baekun’s mind turned white.
The shock collided head-on with Hwa Un’s energy, which had been flowing through his twisted meridians.
“Keoheok…!”
With a short cry, Baekun lost consciousness and slumped forward.
Hwa Un, no, Muryang, lightly caught Baekun’s falling body and set him upright in the chair.
He inserted the final needle into Baekun’s acupoint and clicked his tongue as if looking at something pathetic.
For a senior brother, he sure is spineless.
* * *
Baekun's consciousness, which had blacked out, slowly rose to the surface.
‘…Where am I?’
Wary, Baekun slowly opened his eyes.
He saw the room of an ordinary inn.
He cautiously inspected his body.
‘My body….’
To his surprise, there were no restraints on him at all.
Even more astonished, he checked his physical condition.
The burning pain in his chest from overexerting his internal energy was gone.
‘Just… what kind of person is he?’
Baekun fell into deep thought.
The man could have easily killed him, yet he had spared him and even treated his wounds with care.
What could his objective possibly be?
‘Don't tell me!’
In that instant, the face of the inn attendant he had met flashed through his mind.
The way he had praised the man as a ‘divine physician’ and insisted on treatment.
‘He’s deceiving the people to orchestrate some grand scheme!’
It was the worst-case scenario Baekun could imagine.
A hypocrite who used his medical skills to win the people's favor, using them as a shield while committing all sorts of evil deeds behind their backs.
He probably couldn't kill him openly in front of everyone, so he must have kept him alive to dispose of him later in secret.
‘I have to escape.’
He had to get out of here, no matter what, and reveal that villain’s true nature to the world.
He was racking his brain, contemplating an escape route, when a voice, far too carefree, came from the darkness in a corner of the room.
There, Muryang was sitting on a chair, chin propped on his hand, watching him with an amused expression.
“Leaving without so much as a greeting? After I went to all the trouble of healing you.”
“!!”
“Then again, I suppose that’s too much courtesy to expect from a thief.”
Muryang, who had at some point removed Hwa Un’s mask, had returned to his original teenage face.
“You, what in the world are you? And, and more importantly, how did you track me?”
From the circumstances, it was clear that Cho Muryang and Hwa Un were the same person.
He wasn't sure which was the real face, but the man had definitely been at the inn before him.
Muryang replied with a sly smile.
“I should be the one asking the questions. You’re the thief. I’m the homeowner. Am I wrong?”
“……”
Having gone through a series of unbelievable events, he had been too disoriented to remember, but now that he mentioned it, that was true.
“I have no intention of answering the questions of a villain like you,” Baekun said firmly.
At that, Muryang tilted his head as if he found it genuinely amusing.
“Now that’s an interesting answer. I was just acting as a physician, but I’ve somehow become a villain?”
“Lies! Do you think I don’t know your true intentions?”
Believing he had perfectly grasped the situation, Baekun raised his voice.
“You’re winning the favor of the good people at the inn by treating them, then using them as a shield to pursue your own interests, aren’t you!”
Only after hearing him out completely did Muryang slowly open his mouth.
“When did I do that?”
“……What?”
“I was simply sleeping in my room when I was attacked by an intruder. I pursued him, and in the process, I treated some sick people I came across. That’s all.”
Muryang’s voice was incredibly calm and serene.
“Of course, that attendant didn't intend it, but he ended up helping me catch a thief. I was simply repaid for the good I did.”
Faced with Muryang’s logic, Baekun was momentarily at a loss for words.
But he didn't give up and pressed on.
“Nonsense! What do you gain by performing such good deeds! And if you truly had nothing to hide, you would have no reason to disguise yourself with a child’s face like you are now!”
“What are you talking about? This is my real face.”
Muryang pulled at his own cheek to prove his point.
“Wh-What….”
No mask could withstand such a forceful motion.
This meant that despite displaying such martial skill, Muryang truly had the face of a boy.
“The face of the middle-aged physician, Hwa Un, was the mask I created out of necessity. When you’re too young, close-minded fools like you tend to doubt your skills from the get-go.”
“……”
“And as for the ‘reward’ you asked about, of course there is one.”
For the first time, Muryang’s eyes glinted coldly, filled with genuine killing intent.
“S-See, I knew it! What is it you want?”
“Revenge.”
“Revenge…?”
“Yes. People living without a worry in the world. That is the beginning of my revenge.”
Baekun simply could not comprehend his words.
“What kind of sophistry is that! How can revenge and happiness…!”
“If people are not hungry, not sick, and live with hope for tomorrow,” Muryang said, cutting Baekun off, his voice as cold as ice, “they will have no reason to fall for things like cults. To cut off the greatest source of their power at its very roots. That is the completion of my revenge.”
The biggest reason the Demonic Cult had been able to conquer the world so easily in his past life.
It was the despairing masses.
To those whose lives were harsh and without hope, the Demonic Cult promised salvation, showering them with wealth and power.
The followers gathered in this way became the cult’s powerful foundation.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Whether you understand or not is your problem. In any case, that’s my answer. So I’ll ask again. Who are you?”
Although he already knew Baekun’s identity, he needed to hear it from the man himself.
Despite Muryang’s persistent questioning, Baekun’s lips remained sealed.
Muryang had no intention of waiting for Baekun’s answer any longer.
“If you won’t talk, I’ll take a guess.”
Muryang pulled over the chair next to Baekun and sat down.
He crossed his arms and looked Baekun up and down, as if he were an appraiser.
“You heard that a regional underworld faction had turned over a new leaf. And you thought, ‘That can’t be right,’ ‘Cho Muryang, who’s backing them, must be a villain,’ and ‘So I’ll just break into his house and ambush him while he’s sleeping.’ Wow, what a meticulous and righteous plan. I’m truly impressed.”
Though the process was severely condensed, he wasn't wrong.
“Judging by that arrogant sense of justice that’s bound to get innocent people hurt, your identity must be some brat obsessed with playing the hero. I wonder just how many people have suffered unjustly because of that refreshing decisiveness of yours.”
“Ugh……”
Muryang’s mocking words struck Baekun’s heart like daggers.
When Baekun had first entered the martial world, he hadn't acted so recklessly.
But as he spent years in the Jianghu, he learned how dangerous it was to ‘trust in the goodwill of others.’
That was why he had acted on the assumption that Cho Muryang would be the same.
‘But it’s true that I acted without any proof that he was a villain.’
Baekun’s face flushed red with shame.
He let out a long sigh and finally admitted his fault.
“…Yes, you’re right. I… was rash.”
The moment he acknowledged his mistake.
Flick!
“Ack!”
With a sharp sound, a considerable pain shot through his forehead.
When he looked up, Muryang, who had somehow closed the distance, was holding his hand in the position of having just flicked a finger.
He had just flicked him on the forehead.
“Wrong again.”
“Wh-What did you say?”
Baekun asked back with a dumbfounded expression.
Muryang looked at him and clicked his tongue as if he were pathetic.
“First, you jump to conclusions and brand me a villain. Then, you’re completely swayed by a few words and let down your guard. You have no conviction, none at all. That’s why you still have a long way to go.”
“Then what the hell am I supposed to do!” Baekun finally shouted, as if exploding.
If this was wrong, and that was wrong, then what was the right answer?
Looking at him, Muryang spoke for the first time with complete seriousness.
“Watch.”
“…Watch?”
“Yes. If you want to grasp a person’s good or evil, their true nature, then you watch them from the side until you are certain. You don’t jump to conclusions.”
Muryang’s gaze locked onto Baekun.
“Because I’ll be watching you, too.”
“……!”
“Whether you are truly a righteous thief who punishes villains for the sake of the common people, or a hypocrite hiding behind a plausible cause.”
A cold smile spread across Muryang’s lips.
“And if I determine that you are a fake who approached me with other intentions… then I will hold you accountable for today’s crime.”
Baekun’s mind raced.
But his thoughts were not about ‘whether to accept the proposal or not.’
The answer was already decided.
What filled his mind was only a question about the boy before him.
‘Cho Muryang. What are you?’
His martial arts and skills were not just overwhelming for his age, but transcendent.
And he possessed an insight that seemed to pierce through a person’s heart.
He couldn't be explained away as a simple prodigy.
‘I’m curious.’
It was an instinctive thirst for knowledge, befitting a disciple of the Divine Thief, that went beyond the instinct for survival.
The most difficult riddle in the world was laid out before him.
And to solve that riddle, there was no better way than to stay by its side.
Having made his decision, Baekun opened his mouth.
“Fine. But if what you intend to do is evil… I’ll stop you by any means necessary. If it’s the opposite, I’ll help you with all my might.”
In contrast to Baekun’s determined voice, Muryang replied in a flippant tone.
“Suit yourself.”
In truth, he wanted to keep Baekun by his side for Baekun’s own sake.
In his past life, this bumbling senior brother of his would soon die a lonely death.
Even their master didn't know who had done it or where.
There was only a final letter he had sent to their master before he infiltrated some organization, prepared for death.
After that letter, all contact with him was lost forever.
I can’t let that happen in this life.
So, in this life, he planned to prevent this foolish senior brother from driving a nail into their master’s heart.
His master had not permitted Muryang to seek revenge.
But the path Muryang now walked was itself a grand path of vengeance that broke his promise to his master.
Protecting this foolish senior brother.
It was a small atonement offered by a worthless disciple who had broken his promise to his master.
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