I Possessed a Cultivator Destined to Die at the Hands of the Protagonist - Chapter 21

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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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21.
The monastery disciples held little interest in the world inhabited by ordinary people.
Their sole concern was the safety of the Beomjin Realm, where cultivation could be pursued.
Abnormal calamities were problematic, but ordinary people dying from plague was deemed outside their jurisdiction.
Of course, looking at Eun Hui-gyeom, not all monastery disciples seemed to share that view.
“So what are we doing here?”
If he already knew how to make a cure, there seemed little reason to remain in the Cheonghua Library.
Eun Hui-gyeom closed the book he’d been reading and rose to his feet.
“The cure is only temporary, you see. Strangely enough, it recurs after some time passes. I’ve been searching to see if there might be some other underlying reason.”
“Did you find the reason?”
Eun Hui-gyeom shook his head, indicating he wasn’t certain.
“No matter how much I’ve thought about it, I still can’t figure it out.”
“I see. Then what if we went back to find the people who contracted the illness again?”
“Again?”
“You said some of the people you treated have had recurrences. If we investigate how they’ve lived since the treatment, wouldn’t we discover something?”
Investigating a single person wouldn’t yield much, but multiple cases would tell a different story.
This was what one might call an epidemiological investigation!
“Isn’t that better than flipping through books here?”
“You’re certainly right about that.”
Eun Hui-gyeom nodded, acknowledging it wasn’t a bad idea.
I took several extra doses of the cure Eun Hui-gyeom had made, just in case.
“Can’t it cure everyone completely?”
“That would be a panacea, and even I can’t create something like that. It only works on patients before the condition becomes severe.”
“Then what about severe cases?”
“We have no choice but to excise the affected area where petrification begins and take medicine. Even that only applies to cases involving limbs.”
“So… there are people who’ve died?”
Eun Hui-gyeom nodded as if it were obvious.
The location where petrification disease begins varies from person to person.
For areas like limbs, amputation is possible, but for severe cases starting in the head or deep within the body, there’s nothing that can be done.
I fingered the cure I’d received from Eun Hui-gyeom and murmured to myself.
“If my master had made it, could he have created a perfect cure?”
“I’m not entirely sure about that either.”
Eun Hui-gyeom shook his head, saying he still didn’t know much about Baek Un-jin.
The closer one drew to immortality, the less they seemed to enjoy entanglement with ordinary people, or so it was said.
“There’s no point discussing someone who isn’t here—it won’t produce immediate solutions. For now, let’s do what we can manage between ourselves.”
“Um, actually, sister.”
“Yes?”
“This doesn’t even come with points, so why are you going this far?”
“Because… human lives are at stake.”
Knowing the truth behind the matter, I couldn’t simply allow Paecheonmun to run rampant unchecked.
‘It’s earlier than in the original story, but if we prevent the calamity sooner, we might be able to reduce the damage.’
Paecheonmun hadn’t yet revealed itself openly.
Since I couldn’t mention Paecheonmun, I presented a reasonably plausible justification instead.
As I clenched my fists and burned with determination, Eun Hui-gyeom let out a soft chuckle.
“You’re quite human in that respect, aren’t you?”
“Human? I am human.”
“You’re not an ordinary human, though.”
….
“I know it’s ridiculous for me to say this, but the more I cultivate the monastic path, the more I feel myself drifting away from my human nature.”
“How long have you even been a monastery disciple to say such things?”
Even those with spiritual aptitude sometimes fail to become monastery disciples due to lack of karmic connection.
Eun Hui-gyeom had lived like an ordinary human until Baek Un-jin saved him.
“Well, that’s true, but….”
“I think you should wait at least another hundred years before saying things like that.”
“You haven’t even lived a hundred years yourself.”
“Quiet. Anyway! Search through the people you’ve treated before and find anyone whose symptoms have relapsed.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to meet Kang Jin-heon first.”
This wasn’t something that could be resolved by meeting just one or two people, so having even one more person to help would be beneficial.
“Understood. And this is a healing medicine.”
“Thank you.”
After receiving the healing medicine from Eun Hui-gyeom, I waited for Kang Jin-heon to return.
Fortunately, it seemed he had been sent on a mission nearby, for he returned shortly.
I briefly explained the situation to Kang Jin-heon and asked for his help.
“Can you help?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you. Oh, this is medicine that Hui-gyeom gave me. If you encounter similar patients, you can treat them with this.”
I handed over some of the healing medicine I’d received from Eun Hui-gyeom to Kang Jin-heon and asked him to visit several areas of the Holy City.
After that, I went to meet the young girl again—the one who had lost her cat that I’d healed with my dharmic power.
“Celestial Maiden! We meet again!”
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, I’ve been fine. But my mother hasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“After you left, my mother started coughing like I did.”
“Only your mother?”
“No. My friend too.”
I’d suspected this might happen since the girl had shown early symptoms of petrification disease, and my suspicions were confirmed.
“Let’s go to the village.”
“Are you going to help?”
“Of course.”
I had already received medicine from Eun Hui-gyeom, but I couldn’t simply overlook this situation.
The girl’s name was Ha Ye-rin.
I went to her home together with Ha Ye-rin.
“*Cough cough*, Ha Ye-rin, where have you been again…?”
“Mother! That person I mentioned last time…! No, it’s my older sister!”
Just to be safe, I had asked Ha Ye-rin not to mention anything about being a celestial maiden on the way here.
“The one who found the cheese for us last time…! *Cough, cough*!”
“Please don’t strain yourself. I heard you’re unwell.”
I laid her down on the bed and had Ha Ye-rin bring warm water.
Fortunately, her condition wasn’t severe.
Thinking the medicine would help, I immediately retrieved the remedy Eun Hui-gyeom had prepared.
Since the woman had difficulty swallowing, I ground it finely and had her drink it.
“It’s a bit bitter, but you must finish it all. Your fever will likely rise for a few days, but after that you should recover.”
“*Cough*, who are you…?”
“Just a passing apprentice physician.”
Just as Eun Hui-gyeom had given a false identity, I offered a vague explanation as well.
Perhaps because I had altered my feathered robe into ordinary clothing, the woman didn’t seem to doubt my identity greatly.
“I see. Well… *cough*, there are actually several other patients in the village besides me with similar ailments.”
“I’ll take a look at them. For now, please rest.”
“Ah, thank you.”
The moment her head touched the pillow, exhaustion claimed her and she drifted into sleep.
I told Ha Ye-rin to call me if her mother’s condition worsened, then surveyed the village.
Her village lay on the outskirts of the Holy City, a place physicians rarely visited.
As a result, despite my claim of being merely an apprentice, the moment people heard the word “physician,” they came flooding toward me.
“My father is very ill!”
“My daughter hasn’t been able to walk since yesterday!”
“Wait, please…!”
Faced with patients pouring in like clouds, I had no idea where to begin.
Everyone was arguing with each other, demanding to be treated first.
‘This will never end at this rate.’
I understood their anxiety—they were suffering—but this chaos would only make matters worse.
“Calm yourselves!”
I raised my voice while infusing a trace of spiritual power into my words.
My voice rippled outward to everyone’s ears in an instant, and the surroundings fell silent.
The people stared at me with bewildered expressions.
Ha Ye-rin, noticing the commotion outside, came out to see what was happening.
I rolled up my sleeves and called to her.
“Ha Ye-rin, help me out.”
“Yes? Ah, understood.”
“We have enough medicine, so I’ll examine the most critical patients first!!”
I had learned the basics of assessing a patient’s condition from Eun Hui-gyeom, and from the original work, I already knew how petrification sickness progressed.
I first divided the patients into those in critical condition and those who were not.
And there was one patient whose condition was the most dire.
“How long has it been like this?”
“The initial symptoms began appearing about two months ago. At first, we thought he had simply twisted his leg and injured it….”
It was the Village Chief’s Son.
One of his legs had hardened into stone, and his breathing was labored—his condition looked grave to anyone’s eyes.

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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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