I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 16

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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She had become a healer for Divine Beasts.
#16
I stared blankly at the golden badge clutched in my hand as my vision grew increasingly blurred, like a television screen filled with static.
Beep—.
The deafening roar from moments before had left my ears ringing with a sharp, tearing pain.
After the stone’s power depleted, that familiar, suffocating helplessness descended upon me like a stone slab.
It was similar to the exhaustion I’d felt after purifying Baek Ho-joong, but far, far deeper.
‘No. If I lose consciousness here, it’s over.’
I shook my head violently.
I’d managed to dodge their attack just now, but they wouldn’t squander a second chance.
I bit my lip hard, and the metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth.
That pain barely tethered my fading consciousness.
“Joong! Are you all right?”
“I’m fine. Stop making noise. Hmm, this is rather fascinating. So you can reflect Dark Magic?”
Shadows moved restlessly beyond the veil of dust.
Then I heard a snake-like voice barking orders.
“That woman needs to be captured. What are you doing? Go and seize her!”
“Yes!”
Harsh shouts and curses mingled together, and then heavy footfalls thundered down the alley.
Black-clad men rushed toward me in unison.
‘I have to… resist to the end…….’
But my body wouldn’t obey.
A crushing drowsiness descended like a wave, threatening to drag me into unconsciousness at any moment.
“Ugh.”
I couldn’t breathe. Not even my fingertips would respond.
The foremost man in the group lunged at me like lightning.
‘Is this how I die… so pathetically?’
My eyes burned hot.
My will to live and hollow rage mixed together, my chest aching—when—.
“Go Yeon-hee!”
A familiar voice struck like thunder.
A figure emerged from the dust.
‘……Baek Eun-ho?’
I blinked slowly.
The man who always wore a perfectly composed, cold expression and radiated ease and confidence.
He couldn’t hide the shock and fear in his eyes now.
“Yeon-hee! Hold on!”
He rushed to my side in a single breath.
He swept me up in both arms as I lay collapsed on the cold ground, shouting something urgent.
At the same moment, the black shadows beyond the dust scattered like ash.
The Ho Clan guards had instantly erected a barrier and driven them back.
“Yeon-hee, can you hear me?”
…….
His voice sounded distant, as though heard from far away.
Yet the warmth and breath he offered me felt impossibly vivid.
‘I’m alive…….’
Relief flooded through me like a wave, and the tension drained away.
Strength left my entire body.
I surrendered to his embrace and sank into a deep sleep.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, I was wrapped snugly in thick blankets.
Turning my head to the side, I saw the elegant furniture typical of a guest room in the Ho Clan Main House.
‘What happened?’
I’d been attacked in the alley…….
Suddenly the Fallen Beings’ attack had been reflected, and Baek Eun-ho’s group came to help.
I was piecing together fragments of what had transpired.
“Oh! You’ve awakened!”
A woman’s delighted cry reached me.
Looking around, I saw Baek Eun-ho and several female servants keeping watch at my bedside.
“Teacher Go, are you conscious?”
Eun-ho’s face still bore that shocked expression I’d seen in the alley.
The usual dry coldness was nowhere to be found—urgency came through in his voice without filter.
My head throbbed, but I gritted my teeth and pushed myself up on my elbows.
“What on earth happened?”
At my question, Baek Eun-ho closed his eyes for a moment, then exhaled deeply and bit his lip.
Unexpectedly, he stammered out words tinged with self-reproach.
“……It was my carelessness. Because of me, you were… again…….”
Again?
I frowned in confusion, then quickly stopped him.
“This isn’t your fault. I’m the one who fell for the Dark Magic.”
“I should have finished the bracelet sooner……. And I was foolish enough to let my eyes and ears be clouded by the Dark Magic, so I lost track of you…….”
“Let’s stop this pointless argument—.”
Then an important fact came rushing back.
I tried to sit up abruptly and struck my elbow on the edge of the bed.
“Ah! This is no time for that. Alfred! Alfred—is he safe? I thought he’d been captured by them, so I……. He’s okay, right?”
Speaking frantically, I tried to kick off the blankets, but my body wouldn’t obey.
My limbs felt as heavy as water-soaked cotton.
Then a familiar cat’s cry echoed from the foot of the bed.
“Meow—.”
“Alfred!”
A white-furred cat leaped gracefully over and settled onto my lap.
Alfred’s odd eyes gleamed in the lamplight.
I held the cat in a tight embrace, scarcely breathing. My nose tingled, and tears welled up.
‘If even Alfred had disappeared…….’
I would have been left utterly alone in this world.
The thought terrified me. My whole body trembled at the mere imagination.
As we held each other like that for some time, Eun-ho spoke softly beside me.
“That Spiritual Creature cat you keep never left White Cat Hall in the first place.”
“Ah……. So that’s what it was. Dark Magic that preys on your deepest fears—I must have fallen into a fantasy where Alfred was being taken.”
At my murmur, something sorrowful flickered in Eun-ho’s eyes.
Then it happened.
Slide—.
The sliding door opened, and Chairman Baek Ho-joong entered with measured steps.
His expression seemed calm at first glance, but worry shadowed his eyes.
He pulled a chair beside my bed lightly and spoke quietly.
“Teacher Go. I’m relieved to see you safe.”
“Oh, Chairman! My necklace and your badge——!”
“I already examined both while you were asleep.”
Alfred clung tightly to me still, purring contentedly.
His warmth and soft fur eased my racing mind. I stroked Alfred’s back ceaselessly while listening to what the Chairman had to say.
“So far, your abilities as a Purifier have been Divine Sight, Purification, and Past Detection, yes? It appears that in crisis, a fourth ability awakened.”
“A fourth ability……?”
I caught my breath.
Chairman Baek explained calmly.
“Magic Reflection. It’s quite possible you can do more than simply purify the Corruption of the Fallen Beings—you can actually reflect their Dark Magic. In that moment, you drew upon the Spiritual Energy in your necklace and the Spiritual Energy in my badge to use it.”
I was quite bewildered.
“So… I drew on your Spiritual Energy as well and reflected the Fallen Beings’ Dark Magic back at them?”
“Precisely. It seems your Spiritual Energy alone was insufficient, so you drew upon mine to deflect the attack. Without that badge, it would have been impossible. It’s quite fortunate indeed.”
Relief and amazement both lay beneath the Chairman’s gaze.
I managed a smile, though I couldn’t quite hide the trembling in my voice.
“Ah……. I meant to return that badge. How lucky it turned out the way it did.”
The day I’d saved the Chairman in the alley flashed through my mind.
That deed had just saved my life in return.
The Chairman gazed out the window for a moment, then turned his attention back to me.
“Remarkable. The Purification ability alone is rare, but to reflect Dark Magic—those people will surely be cautious for some time after this.”
The Chairman’s words eased the tense atmosphere in the room somewhat.
I held Alfred tighter and asked a question.
“Alfred. Is this one of the techniques you mentioned before—the ones the Divine Beast Clan Leader used?”
Alfred meowed in response, “Mrrrow—.”
Eun-ho tilted his head slightly beside me, curious.
“What did he say?”
“Apparently something like that.”
I suppressed a smile as I spoke.
Alfred seemed too preoccupied to speak human language—or perhaps he was just being affectionate.
Alfred still clung stubbornly to my lap, refusing to leave.
I stroked his chin and neck ceaselessly, and I could feel a faint tremor running through my own fingertips.
“Teacher Go, are you certain you’re all right?”
The Chairman’s quiet question seemed to indicate he’d already noticed my anxious trembling.
I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head.
“No……. To be honest, I’m frightened and confused.”
Once the words left my mouth, emotion surged up inside me.
All of this felt overwhelming.
Why was I being targeted? Why did my abilities grow stronger with each passing day? And how long would I have to bear this burden?
…….
As I hung my head, the atmosphere in the room darkened suddenly.
The Chairman drew a heavy breath.
In the next moment, an offer I could hardly believe came from his lips.
“If it’s too difficult for you to accept… I can remove you from Divine Beast affairs altogether.”
“Pardon?”
I lifted my head in surprise, and the Chairman’s grave gaze met mine.
“If you wish, I can forge a false identity and have you spirited away overseas.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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