Third-rate Martial Family Becomes the Best Under Heaven - Chapter 180

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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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Third-rate Martial Arts Family, Greatest Under Heaven – Episode 180
As the commotion erupted, the Supervisor emerged into view.
He examined the faces of those present and nodded as if everything made sense.
“I knew it would come to this. Quite the entertaining situation, wouldn’t you say?”
From the Supervisor’s perspective, there was no other way to feel.
Two disciples of the so-called Greatest Divine Physician Under Heaven had appeared, and now they were stepping forward to treat his fallen father.
“Supervisor. This woman is here, yet why have you accepted that charlatan!”
So the Greatest Divine Physician’s surname was Seo, it seemed.
From what I could tell, he was pretending to be the son or grandson of Seong Su-sin-ui, the Greatest Divine Physician Seo.
There was no need to wonder if he might be genuine, or if there was some hidden history from my past life that I didn’t know about.
‘If that were true, there wouldn’t be someone appearing ten years later claiming to have inherited the Greatest Divine Physician’s secret techniques.’
The Greatest Divine Physician Seong had died alone, without anyone’s care.
Had it been otherwise, a complete stranger would never have found his secret methods.
In other words, even if this person truly were his son or grandson, he could not have inherited his medical lineage.
Absolutely not.
‘Regardless, where does this brat get off making accusations?’
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I met his accusation with an identical one.
“Supervisor! Cast out this fraud at once! How dare he impersonate a disciple of the Greatest Divine Physician Seong!”
-Brother, please!
-I was wrong. Whatever it is, I was wrong, so couldn’t we just stop and withdraw?
Ugh, my ears hurt. Why does he have to whine so much?
Well, from Seo and Chu Dal’s perspective, it would seem like mere bluffing.
‘You fools, you must always bluff before revealing your hand.’
Let’s assume the current situation is a gambling den.
My opponent and I are both insisting that we hold the winning card.
Chu Dal and Seo are anxious because they know my hand is worthless.
But the truth is, their hand is worthless too.
‘If both sides are holding blanks instead of winning cards, then our odds are better.’
The reason is simple. If I can make them fold before they go all the way and reveal their hand, that’s all that matters.
“Supervisor. As you know, the Greatest Divine Physician is vouched for by this Neung-o. He is the successor who has inherited everything from the Greatest Divine Physician Seo. But that Namgung Cheon-yeong…?”
I keep noticing that this Neung-o character speaks in an irritating way.
Listening to him, he doesn’t sound like a warrior at all, but rather like a smooth-talking schemer.
Even now, instead of saying something outright negative, he’s trailing off his words, amplifying negative imagination and expectations.
This one knows how to use rhetoric properly.
“I’ll say it once more. I am a disciple of the Greatest Divine Physician Seo, known as Baek.”
“You cannot speak your name?”
It’s better not to say it, considering what comes later.
And a convenient excuse for not saying it has just presented itself.
“I’m about to come into conflict with someone vouched for by Gu-pa. How could I speak my name? I have no desire to create future troubles.”
Gu-pa’s vouching. If this alone could make me out to be a liar…
Conversely, this very fact provides justification for concealing one’s identity.
“If one harbors not even a shred of shame, surely they can speak their name openly, can they not?”
Yes, naturally this objection had to come.
I would have been disappointed if it hadn’t.
“You’re standing here watching me vouch for a swindler. What more is there to say?”
I snorted dismissively, radiating an air of distrust toward them, then turned my gaze to the Supervisor.
“Supervisor! Mark my words—this charlatan is a fraud! I can prove myself at any moment!”
“…How would you prove it?”
“There is but one way to prove I am a disciple of Seong Su-sin-ui—through medicine itself! Grant me but a moment to take the Family Head’s pulse, and I shall demonstrate his cure at once!”
Sosineui cried out as though refusing to yield.
“I shall do the same! Let me display my medical prowess, and I will expose your deception!”
‘The atmosphere is sufficient now.’
What matters now is the Supervisor’s judgment.
By common sense, he should trust Sosineui, whom Jeomchang vouches for, and cast me out.
‘Three of the Gu-pa sent people. He cannot possibly be unaware of what this signifies.’
Those Gu-pa disciples truly lack masculine resolve.
Whenever they undertake anything, they seem unable to bear solitude and must seek companions to play with.
Speak kindly, and one might call it skillful alliance-building; speak harshly, and it is merely powerful men banding together to intimidate.
‘What’s even worse is that unlike the Five Great Families, the Gu-pa lack even this self-awareness.’
It appears only Jeomchang takes the initiative.
In other words, Ami and Cheongseng likely sent people purely out of concern for Jin Yeong-gil’s wellbeing.
They probably thought—since Jeomchang suggested it, why not look for a way to help another Sichuan native while we’re at it?
They never once considered that the very act of sending people would become pressure on the Jin Estate.
‘Living only in the mountains, they lack worldliness, unfamiliar with how the secular world operates.’
In any case, the Gu-pa are those who always believe themselves to be righteous and just.
Most of the time, they are indeed righteous and just.
Yet when they are not, the victims suffer all the more for it.
The Supervisor could not possibly be ignorant of this truth.
“….”
The Supervisor, who had been silent for a moment, finally spoke.
“I do not doubt that this Jin woman whom Jeomchang vouches for is indeed a disciple of Seong Su-sin-ui. However, now that matters have come to this, I wonder if we might make use of this charlatan as well.”
Beside Sosineui, whose brow furrowed, Neung-o regarded the Supervisor without the slightest change of expression.
The Supervisor continued.
“In a few days’ time, Seong Su-sin-ui was already scheduled to bestow great favor upon our estate. Thus, we of this house wish to repay that kindness, at least in part, by creating an opportunity for Seong Su-sin-ui to shine. A medical duel between a true disciple of Seong Su-sin-ui and one who merely claims the title—would not the people watch with great interest?”
Ah. I had sensed it before, but the Supervisor’s mind works quite cleverly indeed.
‘He cannot openly say he distrusts the Gu-pa’s guarantee, so he’s laid out the stage in a rather unique manner.’
This way, the Gu-pa cannot say things like “You don’t trust our guarantee?”
He is essentially saying: “We trust you so much we’re creating a stage to elevate your reputation—so take full advantage of it.”
“As for the method, I propose this: In a single moment, through a single pulse diagnosis, a prescription shall be written. Then both prescriptions shall be shown to one hundred physicians gathered from throughout Sichuan.”
I had made my move first.
“Excellent! I can now proclaim this woman’s integrity to all under heaven! And gain a reputation in the bargain, hahahaha!”
He was roundabout in saying that if one were truly upright, there was no reason whatsoever to refuse.
“…I shall accept as well.”
Sosineui gauged Neung-o’s reaction without anyone noticing, then gave his assent.
With this, the Supervisor and I had become allies.
To be precise, the Supervisor merely intended to use me—a clear fraud—as a pawn to check Gu-pa somewhat, but what of it.
Thus I had brilliantly transformed crisis into opportunity.
As a result, I could now examine the pulse immediately.
-See? Crisis is opportunity, I told you.
-How is this an opportunity!
-Elder brother… no matter what, I cannot side with you on this matter….
Sigh, such foolish creatures. I must demonstrate the results at their level of understanding.
“Then when should I prepare by, Supervisor?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
According to what he said, physicians would need to be gathered from all corners of Sichuan.
Yet he claimed it could be done in a single day?
‘Ah. I’m growing fond of this Supervisor fellow.’
He had been gathering physicians from the start.
“Since there’s nothing particular to prepare, even today would be possible, not just tomorrow!”
After finishing his words, he looked at Sosineui and grinned wickedly.
Neung-o beside him maintained the same expression throughout.
Not expressionless exactly, but something about it felt increasingly discordant.
‘That fellow would excel as a strategist.’
The way he grated on me bit by bit showed promise.
He seemed destined for great things in the future—this Neung-o.
Why could I not recall ever hearing of him?
Come to think of it, I had never heard of Adu either.
Perhaps their paths were cut short, or some other circumstance intervened.
After all, in my previous life, I had never once been entangled with Jeomchang.

* * *
Jin Yeong-gil, one of the three greatest merchants under heaven, suffered from what was commonly called the Wealth Affliction.
True to its name, it was a disease that only those possessing ten thousand gold—the wealthy—contracted.
No one cherished their body as much as the rich did.
For this reason, it was quite famous among physicians, yet Jin Yeong-gil ultimately died without curing his Wealth Affliction.
The reason was simple: it was an unusual case where standard treatments proved ineffective.
‘In truth, it wasn’t an illness at all—it was a curse.’
Then what is the difference between illness and curse? Simple.
An illness is when the body aches, while a curse is when malevolent qi enters the body.
This is why a curse, being something ordinary physicians ignorant of inner qi could not comprehend, was regarded as a strange and inexplicable affliction.
‘And to treat a Wealth Affliction that had become cursed like Jin Yeong-gil’s, one needed spiritual herbs possessing the properties of extreme yin and extreme yang respectively.’
Spiritual herbs need not be anything grandiose—for extreme yang, something like a thousand-year mountain ginseng would suffice as a spiritual plant.
The crucial point was that a warrior had to burn away the curse’s malevolent qi through a Daoist using extreme yin and extreme yang qi.
In other words, for the wealthy, it was a disease curable with mere pocket change, yet they died unjustly simply because they knew not the cure.
‘When this truth later became known, I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.’
They spent fortunes on spiritual herbs and such to treat their illness, only to discover that a mere pittance would have sufficed.
How could one bear such a thing?
Certainly, that was how it was.
The Wealth Affliction was such a disease, and even when cursed, it was not difficult to treat at all.
In my past life, I had even accepted commissions from wealthy households and treated it myself out of boredom, so I was certain.
Certainly, and yet….
‘The Wealth Affliction. It was not merely a simple curse.’
I gazed down at the gaunt middle-aged man’s body.
Because I had not revealed my identity, numerous guards of the Jinjang were sending sharp, blade-like pressure toward me, and a sword was even pointed at my throat.
Ignoring them, I grasped his wrist and began taking his pulse.
‘I sensed it through qi perception, but now that I touch it directly, I understand clearly. This is… hahaha.’
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.
It was said that physicians of old would harbor one particular doubt each time they treated the Wealth Affliction.
The Wealth Affliction had only existed for roughly twenty years.
Then how did it come to be?
What was the cause of its onset that only the wealthy contracted it?
‘It was natural they couldn’t find the cause. From the beginning, it wasn’t an illness—it was a fabrication.’
“Young Master Baek. Your pulse-taking time has ended. Now write the prescription.”
Instead of taking brush and ink, I folded my arms and fell into thought.
From outside, I could hear the assembled physicians murmuring amongst themselves.
Moreover, there were spectators aplenty, so the outer courtyard of the Jinjang was like a marketplace today.
‘What would be the best course of action?’
As I did not write the prescription, I began to sense subtle mockery in the air.
Sosineui, who was impersonating the Daoist’s disciple, wore an expression of vindication. The nun Ami and the Daoist Cheongseng also began to show disappointment on their faces.
Among them all, only Neung-o’s expression remained utterly unchanged.
“Your time is up.”
The Supervisor snatched away the blank prescription before my eyes.
Since Sosineui had taken the pulse before me, it was now time to compare the two prescriptions and determine the victor.
“With one side submitting a blank prescription, the outcome is obvious.”
That was the moment.
I shot to my feet and called out loudly to the gathered crowd.
“My name is Baek Yang-hwi!”
-Brother?! Why are you revealing your name?!
-No, we’re already in a shameful situation—what are you thinking?!
I ignored Chu Dal and Baek Heon-so and continued.
“I am the Young Master of the Baek Family of Gangseong, and having encountered Sosineui and Yeon-yeon by chance in my youth, I have presumed to take him as my teacher!”
Neung-o, maintaining his usual expressionless face, stepped forward.
“So I finally learn the identity of this guest. But what is your reason for stepping forward after submitting a blank prescription?”
“The reason I submitted a blank prescription is because Jin Yeong-gil’s condition is not the sort that medicine can treat!”
The reaction was lukewarm. Well, having submitted a blank prescription, whatever I said would sound like an excuse.
Then it was time for my trump card.
‘Whether it’s a bust or a hit, my hand is unconditionally higher. In that case, I must raise the stakes to the maximum.’
“Everything I have said is absolute truth! The Dang Family will vouch for it!”
“The Dang Family?”
“Why would the Dang Family suddenly…?”
“Isn’t the Dang Family the clan with the finest medical arts in Sichuan?”
The Dang Family’s poison-curing techniques are counted among the finest in the realm.
It was strange that the Jinjang had not yet sent a request to the Dang Family.
Well, there must have been political reasons preventing it.
‘The Jinjang’s circumstances are none of my concern.’
They might even prefer it this way.
“Send someone to the Dang Family! Once you relay my name, the Soga-joonim will come forth personally, and we shall speak further after that.”
The Supervisor immediately sent someone.
Dang-gun arrived at the Jinjang in just two hours, having clearly rushed with great urgency.
-Hwi’s Younger Brother. Did you truly encounter Sosineui and Yeon-yeon?
He asked through sound transmission with an urgent expression, and I answered.
-No? It was a lie.
“….”
Dang-gun muttered without thinking.
“We’re screwed.”
Elder Dang, I didn’t know you spoke like that.
Hmm. Such crude language from the Soga-joonim.
I’ll have to teach Elder Dang as well.
How to turn crisis into opportunity.

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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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