Dokmaeuiseon - Chapter 177
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 177
Whoosh-! Whoooong!
From the darkness, along with a chilling wind, a massive piece of metal blocked his path.
A shadow perched on the wall.
Though his expression wasn’t visible with his back to the moonlight, there was no mistaking that bizarrely shaped weapon slung over his shoulder.
“Well, well, what do we have here? A blood-reeking dung fly has come buzzing in.”
A languid voice tinged with madness.
It was On Yang-ja.
“…Gyeom Gwang-ja. Your mouth is still as foul as ever.”
Ma Yuk’s eyes narrowed like a snake’s.
“It’s been a while. You kicked away your position as Black Point’s branch leader, only to become a dog licking some physician’s ass?”
Ma Yuk deliberately provoked him.
The On Yang-ja of the past would have reacted instantly to the word “dog” and gone berserk.
Then he planned to strike at his neck in that opening.
But On Yang-ja’s reaction was unexpected.
He chuckled and picked at his ear.
“A dog… Well, barking is your freedom. But a dung fly yapping is too noisy for me to listen to.”
“You bastard!”
Ma Yuk’s pride was wounded.
This wasn’t the hot-tempered madman he knew.
He seemed composed.
It was the disgusting composure that only an overwhelming powerhouse could possess.
“I don’t know what medicine you got from that physician to become so docile, but today is your death day! I’ll show you the power the Guild Master gave me!”
Swish-!
Ma Yuk drew two crimson daggers from his chest and released his energy.
The energy carried in both hands was ominous.
‘He’s definitely better than when he was at Black Point in the past.’
He had delved deeper into his martial realm.
“Die!”
Ma Yuk’s form became blurred.
Swish-
It was his killing blow, combining an assassin’s signature stealth technique with swift swordwork.
But On Yang-ja merely adjusted his grip on his halberd as if yawning.
“How boring.”
His eyes flashed.
“I can see everything. While you remained in place, I gazed upon higher realms.”
Whooom-!
The first swing was simple.
He merely swept the halberd horizontally once.
But that trajectory carried overwhelming weight and speed that Ma Yuk could never reach even if he devoted his entire life.
Mad Scythe: Judgment
Crack-!
Darkness split the flash of light.
In an instant, everything was torn apart.
Ma Yuk’s stealth technique and his killing twin daggers were useless.
Even the internal energy coating his body was ripped away like paper!
Then the tip of the halberd tore through Ma Yuk’s throat.
“Kuh, kek…”
Ma Yuk clutched his throat.
Gush-
Fresh blood poured out between his fingers.
He looked up at On Yang-ja with disbelieving eyes.
Gurgle… kek…
Though his torn throat prevented speech, his meaning was conveyed.
How, he would be asking.
It was just one exchange.
He had prided himself as Gyeom Gwang-ja’s nemesis.
Yet to be defeated by a single swing.
He found it impossible to accept that fact.
Even in his dying moment!
On Yang-ja looked down at the collapsing Ma Yuk and muttered coldly.
“Did you think you and I were nemeses? Heh. Don’t be mistaken. You were never once my match.”
“!!!!”
At those words, Ma Yuk felt his heart being crushed along with his body.
But nothing could change anything.
Thud.
His body lost strength and crashed onto the cold ground.
The rats who had been following Ma Yuk froze upon witnessing this scene.
Their trusted captain had become a lump of meat in an instant.
“Now, what shall I do with the remaining rats? I see they’re different from before. Heh. But dying will be the same.”
On Yang-ja shook the blood off his halberd and grinned at the rats.
That smile still glittered with madness, but its depth was incomparable to before.
“It’s cleaning time.”
The night in Hangzhou was long, and On Yang-ja’s scythe was hungry.
* * *
Someone said.
-Hasn’t this Hangzhou already fallen into the hands of the Poison Demon Physician?
-Not yet, right?
-No. It’s already fallen. Even that Geumho Guild can’t do anything anymore! Same goes for other places!
That this Hangzhou had already fallen into the grasp of the Poison Demon Physician.
In truth, it wasn’t even an exaggeration.
Song In during the day, Gyeom Gwang-ja at night – weren’t they protecting Hangzhou?
It was fair to say they were playing in his palm.
However, no matter how great one’s dominance, small cracks would inevitably appear somewhere.
* * *
A seemingly peaceful morning in Hangzhou.
The condition of the patient brought into Jeongjin Medical Clinic was enough to shatter that peace completely.
“Physician! An urgent patient! Their breath… they seem about to pass away!”
“Where?”
“Please come this way!”
At the urgent voice, Jung Myeong stopped what he was doing.
‘If they’re looking for me at this hour, it’s no ordinary patient, is it?’
He hurried to the treatment room.
The person lying on the bed wore clothing that a young woman might wear.
However, her appearance was withered and twisted like that of a seventy-year-old.
Her skin was dry and rough, and her black hair had turned white.
Most serious of all was her energy.
[Using Pulse Reading Skill.]
[Analysis Skill is activated simultaneously.]
Jung Myeong’s eyes narrowed sharply.
[Diagnosis Result: Yin depletion and vital energy loss detected.]
[Traces of forced essence absorption found.]
This wasn’t a simple illness.
There were traces of someone artificially extracting the woman’s yin energy and life force from the roots.
As far as he knew, there was only one case where such traces would remain.
“This is… sexual cultivation technique.”
“Se-sexual cultivation technique? What do you mean by that?”
One of the physicians watching from the side asked in surprise.
Jung Myeong answered in a coldly sunken voice.
“This is not a simple illness.”
“You mean it’s not a simple age-related condition?”
“Yes. Someone who learned martial arts used evil techniques to steal this woman’s essence.”
“My goodness…”
“Look carefully. The pulse is racing close to tachycardia, and her skin condition is poor… but it wasn’t originally like this.”
“Hmm…”
“What a vicious bastard. To absorb enough to devour a life in one go…”
Even ordinary sexual cultivation techniques were taboo.
But techniques that turned people into cripples to this extent belonged to the lowest of the demonic path.
“Then what do we do? Is there a way to treat someone afflicted by sexual cultivation techniques…”
“Fortunately, there is an answer. Whew… just a moment.”
Jung Myeong quickly took out needles and pressed the woman’s major acupoints.
[Casting Ki Healing.]
[Replenishing lost vital energy, albeit slightly.]
As Jung Myeong’s pure internal energy of over sixty years flowed in, the woman’s breathing barely regained stability.
“Huu…”
However, the lost youth and years couldn’t be restored instantly.
She would need to recuperate for quite a long time.
And even after that, there would be lasting aftereffects.
Even alive, she might not feel truly living.
‘Whoever it is, that damned bastard…!’
To think there was someone who had learned such demonic arts.
Even for Jung Myeong, who was rarely shaken, rage erupted from within.
That’s when it happened.
“Physician, another… another patient has arrived! This time it’s a girl from the Southern Market!”
A worker from the medical clinic came running with a pale face.
The symptoms were the same.
Her life force had been completely drained.
* * *
By afternoon, the situation had become more serious.
News came through the Shadow Squad that victims complaining of similar symptoms had appeared throughout Hangzhou.
They were all daughters from powerless and poor families, or powerless courtesans from pleasure houses.
“Ha. My lord, it seems other bastards infiltrated while we were blocking those rat bastards.”
“It looks like horny sons of bitches have come.”
“Yes. Those sons of bitches seem to be practicing cannibalism without knowing their place.”
“Ha…”
Jung Myeong ground his teeth.
He could tolerate territorial disputes or grabbing interests to some extent.
‘As long as they don’t cross the line.’
Because that was the nature of Jianghu.
But to hunt powerless common people, especially women, as prey to enhance their martial arts.
This had crossed the line by far.
“My lord. What shall we do?”
On Yang-ja, Leader of the Shadow Squad, spoke with a dark expression.
He too had experienced all sorts of hardships while staying at Black Point.
But he had never touched sexual practices. It didn’t suit his temperament either.
Even for him, the current situation was clearly displeasing.
“Has the investigation been completed?”
“Upon investigation, their methods are cunning. They leave no traces and only hunt in shadows where the government’s reach doesn’t extend.”
“Does it seem natural to commit such acts at a time like this?”
“Not at all. It seems murderers obsessed with pleasure and martial arts are mixed among those sent by the Guild Master. This method isn’t commonly used in Lotus either.”
“How many victims have been identified so far?”
“More than ten confirmed cases.”
“Ten…!”
“If we include undiscovered corpses… it’s hard to estimate.”
“Ha…”
There were far too many victims.
Jung Myeong closed his eyes for a moment.
‘How chaotic.’
The ugliness he felt from this incident made him feel nauseous.
It felt like his head was burning hot.
He had been practicing medical arts to save lives since his days as a Gangho Physician.
To him, the existence of those who used lives as kindling.
Their appearance was no different from touching his reverse scale.
“Find them.”
Jung Myeong opened his eyes.
Those eyes gleamed not with a physician’s compassion, but with the Poison Demon’s killing intent.
“If those bastards think of Hangzhou as their hunting ground, I’ll have to show them how terrifying prey can be. No, I should move personally.”
He stood up abruptly from his seat.
“Manager Jang.”
“Yes, Physician.”
“I won’t be taking general patients for a while. Additionally, please set up a treatment room for victims of sexual practices. Give them the Restoration Pills I made for free. We must save even one more person.”
“I’ll arrange it immediately!”
“And Leader.”
Jung Myeong looked at On Yang-ja.
“Deploy the entire Shadow Squad again. Search every rat hole where those bastards might be hiding.”
“We’re already proceeding with that.”
“Then that means it’s still not enough. We need to add more hands.”
“How so?”
“We need to seek cooperation. No. I should go personally for this.”
“You’re going to step out directly?”
“Yes.”
Jung Myeong firmly adjusted his sleeves and immediately left the medical clinic.
Before long, dozens of poison needles and daggers were hidden at his waist. And beneath that, his breathing will was also firmly honed.
For him, it was an outing after a long time.
However, there was not a single point of joy about the outing.
There was only the coldness of his determination to punish those who had caused this trouble.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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