The Genius Doctor of the Mount Hua Sect - Chapter 34

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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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Hwasan Sect Genius Physician – Episode 34

Gwak Hyeong despised the Hwasan Sect.
They were crumbling day by day, yet they still commanded respect as Shanxi’s preeminent Literary Faction — it made his blood boil.
And what of his own Baekgeommun by comparison?
Though young, the sect had already grown to nearly a hundred disciples, and what made him truly proud was their rising strength. He had no doubt whatsoever that once he himself crossed the barrier and became a Supreme Master, Baekgeommun would leap to an entirely new height.
In another ten or twenty years, they would easily surpass Hwasan as it stood now.
That was what he believed.
And yet.
‘I was humiliated at the Martial Tournament.’
Even in the matches between disciples under twenty — deliberately avoiding the Plum Blossom Sword Masters — his people were completely destroyed.
Gwak Hyeong’s pride had been shattered along with them.
He’d been certain that combining the Practical Martial Arts he’d taught with the power of vitality-enhancing medicines would naturally bring victory.
Don’t treat a human life like a disposable thing.
And the architect of the ruin was none other than Baek Hyeon, the Dragon of Hwasan.
After he defeated Seol Taejin, an inner disciple of Baekgeommun, the demoralized sect fell to Hwasan time and again.
The sight was so odious that Gwak Hyeong halted the Martial Tournament halfway through.
People spoke of him behind his back after that.
Saying Baekgeommun simply couldn’t measure up to Hwasan.
‘But that doesn’t mean I should play into the Evil Path’s scheme!’
Hating Hwasan and Baek Hyeon was one thing; becoming a puppet of the Evil Faction was another entirely.
He loathed them for peddling opium to commoners. He could acknowledge their martial prowess, yet he refused to entangle himself with people who would do anything for money — people of the Evil Path.
Much less to kill Baek Hyeon according to their proposal?
‘That would be foolish.’
The Dragon of Hwasan now commanded the attention of the entire Shanxi martial world, extending far beyond Hwaam County.
Whatever his feelings, he had to acknowledge merit where it existed.
But if he himself were to set a trap for Baek Hyeon, injure him — or worse, help orchestrate his death?
‘Baekgeommun would be finished that very day.’
All the foundation he’d painstakingly built would crumble to dust, and Hwaam County would turn its back on the sect.
If he were lucky, that would be the end of it. But Hwasan would certainly exact a blood vendetta.
Getting caught in that storm meant his own death. The Evil Path dogs who’d goaded him on would profit and slip away unscathed.
‘I won’t die tangled up in their schemes!’
But could he simply ignore this and let it pass?
‘Hmm.’
Gwak Hyeong fell into deliberation.
True, he’d be safe enough in the short term.
But there was every chance they’d later retaliate against Baekgeommun, or weave some other conspiracy — a trap he couldn’t escape without their help.
The Evil Path was full of such creatures, after all.
So then……
“Tsk.”
He didn’t like it, but he had no choice.
To prove he hadn’t sided with the Evil Path martial artists, he needed to take action himself.
Gwak Hyeong began writing a letter with a furrowed brow.
The recipient was obvious.
Baek Hyeon.

* * *

In the early morning hours, before the clinic had even opened, an unexpected visitor came to Baek Hyeon.
“Seol Taejin?”
He was indeed the Baekgeommun disciple.
Baek Hyeon looked at him with surprise.
“It’s been a while. Have you caught a cold or something?”
Seol Taejin was a first-class master, though not quite the perfectly refined kind.
So Baek Hyeon judged it entirely possible he might catch a common cold.
But Seol Taejin’s face flushed red as he cried out.
“It’s not that!”
“Then what is it? Did your knee act up again?”
Was he still training with incorrect posture?
Baek Hyeon regarded him with a face full of questions.
Then Seol Taejin withdrew a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Baek Hyeon.
“What is this?”
“The sect leader sent it.”
“Gwak Hyeong sent this… to me?”
Unexpected.
Ever since that beating, he’d seemed to want nothing to do with this business……
Could his heart have changed somehow?
Baek Hyeon pondered this as he read the letter’s contents.
“Interesting.”
And soon his mouth twisted into an amused smile.
“Is this letter truly written by the Baekgeommun leader himself?”
“It is. He ordered me to deliver it to you in secret. That’s why even the sect disciples don’t know I came here. What on earth does it say?”
“According to the letter, a proposal came to Baekgeommun. They’re asking whether he’d join forces to target my life.”
“What, what?!”
“But it seems the Baekgeommun leader has no intention of accepting their proposal. Judging by the fact that he’s given me this information, that much is clear.”
Of course, if one dug deeper, there was still a possibility this could be a trap.
A possibility that he’d been lulled into complacency before being struck from behind couldn’t be entirely ruled out.
But why would he do such a thing?
It would be easier to quietly ensnare him without all this pretense.
Which meant that Gwak Hyeong’s sincerity had been proven, at least to some degree.
Therefore.
“For now, it seems the Baekgeommun leader stands on my side.”
A rather unexpected development, but that’s what it had come to nonetheless.
“Give me a moment, please.”
Baek Hyeon asked Seol Taejin’s indulgence and began composing a letter.
“So what will you do now? Will you tell the Hwasan Sect and make this a public matter?”
Seol Taejin asked him curiously, as if probing his thoughts.
By his own reckoning, that seemed the most plausible course of action.
But Baek Hyeon shook his head.
“That has its merits, but if they deny it, the whole thing becomes meaningless. And we’ll only end up raising their guard.”
Eliminating these vermin required justification.
But now, his justification was thin.
A single anonymous letter wasn’t enough to brand them as criminals.
“So I’m going to pull them in deeper.”
“Deeper?”
Baek Hyeon’s mouth curved into a thin smile at Seol Taejin’s reaction.
“If they covet my head, shouldn’t they be willing to stake something themselves?”

* * *

The next day.
A letter arrived at Jeokdokmun.
Though the letter itself was unsigned, the Jeokdokmun Leader could tell it had come from the Baekgeommun leader.
The contents revealed knowledge only he would possess.
“The arrogant bastard. Dares he test me?”
The Jeokdokmun Leader muttered with displeasure etched across his face.
Then the young man beside him asked with curiosity.
“What does it say?”
“He’s asking what he’ll gain if we accept the proposal. Saying he doesn’t want to shoulder the risk.”
“A natural response, certainly. Even with grievance burning in one’s heart, carelessly striking at the Dragon of Hwasan could bring ruin upon us.”
“What do you think, then?”
“Perhaps promise him a substantial sum as compensation?”
“Hmm, money? But I’ve no desire to give that arrogant dog a single coin.”
“For now, we simply make the promise. And once the deed is done, we simply refuse to pay and ignore him. What can he do then? If he so much as protests, he’ll be admitting his own involvement in the assassination of the Dragon of Hwasan. Hardly a position from which to bargain.”
“Ho! There’s wisdom in that. Such a method exists, does it?”
The Jeokdokmun Leader laughed with evident pleasure.
Then the young man continued.
“As for the assassination method itself…… I believe we need to give it some thought.”
“What sort of thought?”
“As the Baekgeommun Leader says, the Dragon of Hwasan always has an escort at his side. This man is no easy opponent, no matter who faces him.”
“Tsk. And here I thought the so-called master of the Evil Faction was reduced to nursemaiding a brat…….”
“In such circumstances, it would be difficult for Baekgeommun to assassinate him directly. To be frank, even if we stepped in ourselves, we could offer no guarantees.”
“So you’re saying we should simply watch and wait?”
The Jeokdokmun Leader’s face twisted. But the young man shook his head.
“There’s no question of that. I’m merely suggesting we change our approach. A direct clash of force would be less effective than an alternative method.”
“What method are you proposing?”
“Poison.”
A smile played at the young man’s lips.
“No matter how renowned he is as a physician, if we employ poison, there are means. He will die without so much as a struggle.”
“Hmm… but I wonder if the Baekgeommun Leader can manage it. The man has no knowledge of toxins—I fear he’ll make a mistake.”
“That won’t be a problem. Administering the poison isn’t the Baekgeommun Leader’s task.”
“Then whose?”
“Mine. I’ll handle it personally.”
“……!”

* * *

Days later.
A request for a house call arrived at the Hwasan Medical Clinic. The Baekgeommun Leader, Gwak Hyeong, had fallen gravely ill and required examination.
Naturally, it was Baek Hyeon who set out to make the call.
In theory, another physician could have been sent, but if the patient truly was gravely ill, only he had the skill to treat it.
And so Baek Hyeon visited Baekgeommun with Cho Ujin, the clinic’s escort.
“Welcome, sir.”
Han Akson—the young man the Jeokdokmun Leader called “Lord Scholar”—was already embedded within Baekgeommun.
He had coordinated with Gwak Hyeong and disguised himself as one of the sect’s disciples.
“Where is the sect leader at the moment?”
Baek Hyeon asked, seemingly unaware of anything amiss.
Han Akson smiled pleasantly and replied.
“The sect leader is resting in his quarters. However, his cough only began recently, so he’s preparing to receive guests. Please wait just a moment.”
“Is his condition quite severe?”
“His fever has been raging—he hasn’t been able to move for some time. That’s why we sought you out.”
“I hope I can be of help.”
“I’ve heard that despite your youth, you possess extraordinary medical skill—treating ruptured internal organs, removing demonic qi, even reviving a patient bitten by a rabid dog. The stories are well known.”
“Thank you for the praise. I’ll do my best with this examination as well.”
“We rely on you entirely. Ah, please, have some tea while you wait—to ease your nerves.”
Han Akson said this and placed tea and refreshments before both men.
Baek Hyeon drank the tea without hesitation, as though his throat were parched.
Cho Ujin also took a sip, savoring it, and his eyes widened suddenly.
“Master, this is……!”
Thud!
It happened in an instant.
Baek Hyeon and Cho Ujin both slumped forward, their heads striking the table as though they’d rehearsed it. Seeing this, Han Akson burst into raucous laughter.
“Hahahaha! So easy! Incredibly easy!”
He had even prepared backup methods—a second and third plan—in case they refused the refreshments.
But he never expected them to fall for it so readily.
“Why would anyone ask you to sabotage someone else’s establishment?”
Han Akson scoffed to himself and felt for Baek Hyeon’s pulse.
Once he confirmed the heart had stopped beating entirely, all he needed to do was frame it as Baekgeommun’s doing, and the mission would be complete.
And yet.
Thump, thump, thump!
A pulse beating far too strongly.
“Wha……?”
Han Akson froze, staring at Baek Hyeon’s face.
He’d used Extreme Toxin—poison that stops the heart the moment it reaches the throat—yet the man hadn’t died?
“What the……!”
That was when it happened.
Crack!
“……!”
Someone seized Han Akson by the throat and lifted him upward.
Han Akson stared at his opponent, his breathing shallow and ragged, terror flooding his eyes.
“That’s… that’s impossible…!”
Standing before him was Cho Ujin, who had just crashed headlong to the ground moments ago.
And it wasn’t only him—Baek Hyeon was already brushing dust from his shoulders as he rose to his feet.
“That tea was quite refreshing.”
Baek Hyeon spoke as he spat out the Poison Antidote he’d been holding in his mouth.
“Though it had a rather bitter taste, didn’t it?”
“…!”

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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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