The Genius Doctor of the Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 25
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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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Huashan Sect Prodigy Physician — Episode 25
“What are you talking about?”
Baek Hyeon shot to his feet, his eyes sharper than before.
“My brother was trying to protect the rice you gave us…….”
Song Yeon wept softly. It was a brief story—just a few words—but Baek Hyeon could piece together most of what had happened.
“Someone must have had their eye on the rice we gave you. When they tried to take it, Song Ha resisted.”
“Yes. So my brother took a terrible beating…….”
The boy was already weak from hunger. If he’d been beaten on top of that, his life could truly be in danger.
“Cho Woo-jin.”
“Yes.”
Baek Hyeon called for Cho Woo-jin just to be safe. He bowed to Baek Ya.
“Elder, I need to step away for a while. Would you mind looking after the other patients?”
“Of course. With Cho Woo-jin here, we’ll manage—but do be careful out there.”
Baek Ya spoke with concern. Baek Hyeon nodded and headed straight for the Slum District.
“Song Ha!”
Thanks to Cho Woo-jin carrying Song Yeon on his back as they ran, they reached the siblings’ home in the Slum District without wasting time.
“Ugh…… Physician?”
Song Ha sat slumped against a half-collapsed pillar, his breathing ragged.
Baek Hyeon immediately checked both of Song Ha’s pupils and consciousness. Fortunately, there were no signs of injury there.
He gently pressed around the chest and abdomen. The bruising near the ribs was severe, but his breathing came evenly from both sides, and his belly hadn’t gone rigid.
‘Thank the heavens—no signs of internal rupture or bleeding.’
It was an enormous relief. Any more blows and this could have turned truly grave.
The thought kindled a fury that rose in his chest like fire.
“Who was it?”
“That is…….”
“You can tell me. I won’t let you suffer any consequences because of this.”
Baek Hyeon’s eyes blazed as he looked at Song Ha. Then Cho Woo-jin placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.
“Benefactor.”
“…….”
“The child has already been frightened enough.”
He was right. Song Ha was now shrinking from Baek Hyeon’s explosive reaction.
Baek Hyeon exhaled slowly. Since his previous life, he’d never tolerated anyone harming his patients. Now, in this smaller body, that rage seemed to show on his face all the more clearly.
“I’m sorry. I lost my temper.”
“N-no, you didn’t.”
“Let me start with a basic examination.”
Baek Hyeon checked Song Ha’s pulse reading once more, then carefully assessed the full extent of his injuries. He confirmed the head, neck, and internal organs were intact, then applied wound healing medicine to the cuts.
“Ugh!”
Song Ha gasped at the sting of the open wounds. But his expression soon eased. The cool sensation of the medicine brought some relief to the injured skin.
“If there had been internal bleeding, this would be far worse by now. We’re fortunate that isn’t the case.”
“Hehe. I’ve always been fairly sturdy, I suppose.”
“Still, you should be cautious. Keep watching for symptoms over the next while—delayed bleeding does happen. For now, rest as much as you can, and tell me immediately if anything feels wrong.”
“Yes, Physician.”
“Now, will you tell me what happened?”
“That is…….”
Song Ha’s expression darkened again.
“A beggar came by this morning.”
“A beggar?”
“Yes. I don’t know how he found out, but he demanded I hand over the medicinal herbs and rice you’d given us. I refused, and…….”
“He beat you and took them anyway.”
“Yes. I tried to stop him, but he must have known some martial arts—he overpowered me.”
Baek Hyeon quickly grasped the shape of what had transpired.
A beggar, of all things…….
‘This sort of thing does happen from time to time.’
Some beggars behaved with deference toward those who had money and strength, but toward the destitute and weak they ruled like tyrants.
That was why the Beggar Clan, the martial organization of beggars, had established codes to prevent such abuses…….
‘Though in practice, it rarely works.’
Even if the Beggar Clan numbered many, most of them were merely rabble using the clan’s name for cover.
Those who’d actually trained in martial arts were few; the rest were just padding the ranks.
In particular, there were those who exploited others using the power of the Beggar Clan, and it was hardly uncommon. This seemed to be one of those cases.
The problem was…….
‘That bastard dared to lay hands on my patient.’
Fire ignited in Baek Hyeon’s eyes. He had always despised anyone who touched his patients—so much so that he would strike them down regardless of who they were.
“Cho Woo-jin.”
“Right.”
Baek Hyeon and Cho Woo-jin rose from their seats together.
“Let’s go.”
To the Beggar’s Den.
* * *
“Hahahah!”
Wang Wu, a member of the Beggar Clan, was in excellent spirits.
After all, he had managed to get his hands on precious white rice that very morning.
‘The amount’s small, but how long has it been since I tasted real rice?’
He thought himself fortunate and set about cooking the rice with enthusiasm.
The fact that he had beaten a child in the Slum District to obtain it had already slipped from his mind.
Just as he was about to begin his meal.
“This seems to be the place.”
An unfamiliar voice reached his ears.
Wang Wu instinctively turned his head toward the voice’s source. A boy who looked barely more than a youth was stepping into his den.
“What? Who are you!”
Wang Wu shouted irritably.
His meal was just about to begin, and he resented the interruption.
The boy responded with a frown.
“Huashan Sect, second-generation disciple. Baek Hyeon.”
“H-Huashan Sect?”
Wang Wu was left bewildered. What business did a Huashan disciple have in a place like this?
“Did you come to purchase information?”
He could think of no other reason. But Baek Hyeon shook his head. He asked in a measured voice.
“Where did that rice come from?”
“Why would you…….”
“Answer me.”
At the probing tone, Wang Wu’s brow darkened. He rolled up his sleeves threateningly and seized his cudgel.
“I begged for it. So what? You got a problem with that? You little punk…….”
Wang Wu looked over the boy’s young face and let out a derisive snort. For all his talk of the Huashan Sect, he thought, a brat like this couldn’t possibly have learned any real martial arts.
“Yes, there is.”
But Baek Hyeon remained unmoved by Wang Wu’s threatening display. He fixed the man with a cold gaze and spoke.
“You didn’t beg for it. You beat a defenseless child and stole it from him by force.”
“……!”
“That rice was the only means that child had to treat his sick sibling. No matter how good the medicine is, it’s worthless if he can’t eat and regain his strength.”
“S-so what? I was starving too! I had no choice!”
“But you’re an adult, aren’t you? You could have found food some other way. Without taking from a sick child.”
“Shut up! So what, you’re going to punish me or something?”
Wang Wu bellowed and rushed forward with his cudgel. He twisted his hand in Baek Hyeon’s collar, threatening him.
“If you don’t get out of here right now, I’ll smash that pretty face of yours…….”
Thud!
The moment it happened.
Wang Wu’s eyes went wide and his body went rigid. Baek Hyeon had struck his Numbing Acupoint with Acupressure Point Striking.
“Rather than reflect on your actions, you threaten me instead.”
“W-wait just a moment……!”
Wang Wu forced words out through gritted teeth. Realizing the gravity of his situation, he broke into a cold sweat.
“I-I’m a member of the Beggar Clan! If anything happens to me—even a hair on my head—the Beggar Clan won’t let you off easy!”
A threadbare threat.
Yet it was a threat that worked to some degree. Few people actually wanted trouble with the Beggar Clan.
However.
“And what of it?”
Baek Hyeon threaded Long Needle Acupuncture needles between his fingers.
“If the Beggar Clan stands behind you, the Huashan Sect stands behind me.”
“…!”
“And Huashan does not forgive the wicked.”
As he spoke, he began inserting needles one by one into Wang Wu’s acupoints.
“Wait, just a moment. What are you doing!”
“You looked unwell, so I thought I’d treat you. I’m a physician, after all.”
Baek Hyeon said this with a low chuckle.
“Your liver is clogged with alcohol, and your lower back is severely stiffened. It seems there’s plenty to treat.”
At that chilling laugh, Wang Wu felt his face drain of color.
“This treatment will hurt a bit.”
Shuck!
“Aaaaaahhhhh!”
Wang Wu screamed.
That scream continued until the treatment ended.
* * *
Moments later.
Pat, pat.
Baek Hyeon retrieved all the needles lodged in Wang Wu’s half-unconscious body and brushed off his hands. His entire frame ached from putting in such effort after so long.
“I never knew a physician from the Huashan Sect would learn torture techniques.”
Cho Woo-jin, who had been watching from afar, appeared with a swift step and posed the question. But Baek Hyeon shook his head.
“Torture? But I told you earlier—I was treating him because he was unwell. The treatment process simply happened to be a bit painful, that’s all.”
“Do people who receive that kind of treatment usually faint like that?”
“Normally, treatment is administered slowly according to the patient’s condition, so it wouldn’t hurt that much.”
“Then why did you do it that way to this beggar?”
“He seemed like a man of hasty temperament, so I opened up all his blockages at once for him.”
“My benefactor has a frightening side I hadn’t expected.”
Cho Woo-jin said this and let out a soft laugh.
“To be honest, I thought you’d ask me to just give him a beating instead.”
“That would be simpler, but in some ways it becomes troublesome. It would look like a Heterodox Sect martial artist had a hand in beating up a Beggar Clan member, wouldn’t it?”
“Isn’t that still a problem either way?”
“At least I didn’t leave any visible marks on his body. I bet when he wakes up, he’ll feel wonderfully refreshed. I cured his alcohol poisoning and straightened his back for him. If anything, he should be grateful.”
Even if the Beggar Clan took issue with this matter, it was of no concern.
The justification lay on his side, and it was that beggar who had violated the Beggar Clan’s rule against laying hands on commoners.
‘Even if they ignore that and come at us, so what.’
By then, he could always deploy another strategy.
There were plenty of moves he could use anyway. Let them come if they dared.
“I can’t tell if you lack fear or overflow with confidence.”
Cho Woo-jin chuckled softly and tousled Baek Hyeon’s hair.
“But I like it. A man should be that way.”
“Cho, would you help me even if the Beggar Clan becomes hostile toward me?”
“Of course. I am the escort of the Huashan Sect’s physician, am I not?”
Mere words, yet they were reassuring. Baek Hyeon gathered the remaining rice and left the Beggar’s Den to return it to the Song siblings.
But they had barely taken a few steps out of the Beggar’s Den.
“Benefactor, stop a moment.”
Cho Woo-jin halted Baek Hyeon. Instead of explaining, he placed his hand on his sword hilt and fixed his gaze on the figure that had suddenly appeared.
“Who are you.”
“Hah, this one’s name is O Seong. Just a beggar passing through, that’s all.”
The one who appeared was a middle-aged beggar carrying a calabash bottle. But Baek Hyeon could make out six knots tied at the man’s waist.
‘Six knots?’
Baek Hyeon’s expression hardened.
That meant—!
‘An elder of the Beggar Clan!’
A Beggar Clan elder had suddenly appeared and blocked their path.
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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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