"To think that a question I've held for so long would be answered so easily."
No matter how perfectly one is treated, martial artists always come back injured.
It's because of their grudges, favors, and chivalry.
If they at least arrive alive, there's something that can be done, but often they die before even reaching here.
To the physician, martial artists seemed like moths drawn to a flame of death.
Even if they are treated this time, will there be a next time? If so, does this act hold any meaning?
"You pierced through my long-standing inner demon so easily. It feels so refreshing that it's almost empty."
When I first saw that child's suturing, I felt destiny.
It was completely different from the usual suturing methods used in the martial world.
Normally, suturing involves temporarily stopping the bleeding by pressing acupoints and then attempting further treatment.
To do this, even a physician needs some internal energy.
That's why physicians capable of treating martial artists are rare.
But the boy was different.
It was a suturing method that didn't require martial arts.
"When did you become so infatuated?"
"Fell in love at first sight. Isn't that why I marked him? And now, the child has grown on me even more. I must make him my disciple. And perhaps there are things I need to learn from him. I might even become the disciple instead."
"Would you still do it even if advised against it? Well, if you say that even failing in treatment would be a fertilizer, then you've said it all as a master."
Yuho sighed, looking at the ceiling, and then spoke the words he had held inside.
"Do you think there's potential in that treatment method?"
"…There are parts to improve, but theoretically, it's not impossible."
'Theoretically, it's not impossible.' That alone was a great achievement.
Until now, I couldn't even find the theory, so I had given up.
It was an entirely opposite approach.
Among what the boy said, there were things Baekrin's Line had never heard before.
"It will take a long time."
"Then isn't that a good thing? It means you can live long."
"It will be very painful."
"If he said he wouldn't let me die peacefully, then it will be so."
At those words, Yuho clicked his tongue.
"I really don't like that kid."
"I didn't expect you to praise someone to that extent."
"Please stop teasing me. Saying you'll take him as a disciple means you'll treat him just like you, doesn't it? Please consider my situation."
"Hahaha."
Baekrin's Line, Jegalrin, laughed heartily.
Yuho grumbled.
"Saying he won't let his master die peacefully, where in the world is such a rude fellow? If he said that in another sect, his head would have flown off."
Jegalrin spoke as if wondering what he was talking about.
"If he's to be my disciple, he should have that much spirit. If he didn't have even that, I wouldn't have taken him in the first place."
Once, I wanted to win.
Just this once.
For that one time, the physician always stakes everything.
Yuho grumbled, saying that physicians are such hopeless people.
"I still don't like him. That brat."
Yuho called Jincheonhee.
Jincheonhee followed Yuho.
'What decision will Baekrin's Line make?'
It was unknown.
In the past, I believed I could predict what decision a patient would make.
They called it a 'sense.' But as time passed, I realized how foolish that illusion was.
Humans are unpredictable because they are human.
That decision is something you can only know by living that person's life.
People want to live for countless reasons, but conversely, they also decide to die for countless reasons.
Jincheonhee had seen people decide to die for insurance money.
Conversely, he had seen people decide to die because they couldn't afford the treatment costs and didn't want to be a burden to their children.
Some purely decided to die because the treatment process seemed scary and painful, and some even decided to die because they didn't want to live anymore as they aged.
The more you know, the more you realize how unknowable the human heart is.
At the end of the path Yuho led him to, Baekrin's Line was standing.
He stood straight, facing the wind without the cane he usually held.
His long silver hair fluttered in the wind.
'He's taller than I thought.'
Was it because of the illness that weighed him down? Until now, I hadn't noticed at all.
"Would you like to walk with me?"
Jincheonhee replied bluntly without realizing it.
"Is that an order?"
"No, it's a request."
"Alright."
Yuho bowed deeply and retreated.
Baekrin's Line walked forward slowly.
Perhaps because of his considerable height, he looked like a large, white bird.
A bird walking quietly on clear water.
He spoke as he stepped on the white stones of the garden.
"I said I wouldn't let you die peacefully."
"Yes."
"I also have a promise to make. Becoming my disciple means you won't learn peacefully. To become a physician in the martial world, especially to reach the level of a divine physician, means quite a lot."
"It means I have to study a lot, right?"
In this world, there is something called qi.
It's not like the pseudo far-infrared anion treatments on Earth.
It truly exists.
It enters through breathing and circulates within the body.
It affects people, animals, and even plants, turning them into poisonous herbs or miraculous medicines.
"I know there's a lot to study."
At those words, Baekrin's Line burst into laughter.
"It's not just about studying."
He lightly flicked his fingers.
Tong—Tanzigong.
A technique of flicking qi with the fingers.
It's easier said than done, as it's usually weaker than using a spear or sword, ending at the level of pressing acupoints.
However, as Baekrin's Line flicked his fingers, a hole was pierced through a massive granite.
As if a bullet had been fired, the space disappeared.
"You need the power to protect yourself. And at the same time, to apply it to medicine, it must be precise."
He fired a few more Tanzigong shots at the small hole.
The Tanzigong passed through the hole and pierced the large tree behind it.
The next Tanzigong pierced through the granite, the tree, and another granite behind it.
It wasn't as easy as it seemed.
It required mechanical precision and delicacy, not just destructive power, without any preparatory stance.
Baekrin's Line, who created such skill with just a finger, spoke gently.
"Learning martial arts won't be easy."
'No, it's better than a sniper rifle.
If this pierces a person's skull, they wouldn't even know why they died.'
Jincheonhee realized anew the absurdity of martial artists.
Baekrin's Line continued to speak.
"It will be different from the usual martial arts learning. Following in my footsteps means inheriting the secret techniques of the Jegal family."
"I'll try."
Jincheonhee, being human, couldn't help but be afraid.
But more than that, he had the desire to make this ability his own.
"You don't hesitate. Yes, you need to have ambition. Only then can you gain a lot."
Baekrin's Line looked at the child who would become his disciple.
From the first time he saw him, there was nothing he didn't like from head to toe.
It felt as if the heavens had conspired to make him take this disciple.
"One last thing. I already see you as a physician. There are many things I might learn from you."
"That is…"
"There's no point in hiding it now, is there?"
"Hahaha."
Jincheonhee just laughed.
"I won't ask about what you don't want to say. I won't search for your origins either. Just one thing."
"What is it?"
The wind blew.
The flowers swayed.
Dandelion seeds in the flowerbed flew far away.
It symbolized the death of one flower and the beginning of another.
Baekrin spoke.
"Don't let me die peacefully."
"Yes."
"Can you promise?"
"Yes. I promise. I'll do everything I can."
"Good. Then it's settled. Bow nine times."
Jincheonhee looked at Baekrin's Line.
'Was this man always this big?'
A mountain feels larger the closer you get to it.
Jincheonhee couldn't fully grasp the size of Baekrin's Line.
And the boy bowed nine times.
The next day, Gongsonyeong woke up.
The two sisters came to see Jincheonhee.
Master Baekrin had left to request various things from the escort agency.
Since he had taken a disciple, he needed to prepare accordingly.
And also for the long battle with his illness.
"You're leaving soon?"
"Yes. Master said we should leave as soon as the preparations are done. The schedule has already been delayed a lot."
Baekrin's Line is someone sought after by all martial artists.
It's rare for him to stay in one place for so long.
Gongsonhyeon thought.
'It's a pity.
The divine physician has already marked him as his disciple.
But… that's not bad either.
The divine physician won't live long due to his chronic illness, and without Jincheonhee, precious knowledge would be lost.'
In a way, you could say he's the future Baekrin's Line.
An opportunity to make contact with such a child before other families is a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
It was an opportunity that couldn't be missed.
However, Gongsonhyeon wasn't the only one thinking this.
Gongsonyeong asked.
"There's a lot behind you?"
There were many boxes wrapped in silk.
Each had the mark of the Unryong Escort Agency.
"The head of the agency seemed regretful and gave me a lot of things."
"Is the ornament in your hair something they gave you?"
"Yes. They said it's made from iceberg coral from the North Sea."
"Oh my… That alone is worth several estates."
At those words, Jincheonhee's eyes widened in surprise.
"Is it really that amazing?"
"Of course, it's amazing!"
If someone saw this, they'd wonder if it was necessary to give such a precious thing to a child.
But the head of the agency's judgment was correct.
Gongsonhyeon thought.
'Yes.
You have to treat them well when they're young so they don't forget when they grow up.
What's the point of treating them well after other families have already flocked to them?'
Moreover, judging by Jincheonhee's expression, he didn't seem to have any intention of returning the expensive gift even after knowing its value.
'He plans to take everything given to him.'
Behind that innocent and bright expression, he seemed to have already calculated everything.
With things as they were, the Gongson family had to do something too.
And she had already prepared during the time Gongsonyeong was unconscious.
"Young hero, would you accept what we've prepared?"
Jincheonhee waved his hands.
"Oh, Gongsonhyeon noona, please speak casually!"
"If I speak casually, will you accept it?"
"Umm, I'll think about it."
'Even though I'm a middle-aged man, I'm sticking to the child concept!'
As expected, he didn't say he wouldn't accept it.
How many schemes were hidden behind that innocent face?
"Alright. Accept it."
She placed a small wooden box down.