After Jin Cheon-hee left, Yoo Ho entered the room with a nonchalant expression.
"Shall I leave the window open for a while?"
"It's fine. The servant just did it."
Even though they had made a sealed stove, they still needed to ventilate occasionally.
But it was nothing like before.
Jegal Rin lay on the bed.
"It feels like I'm in a hot spring. Thanks to my disciple, I can sleep comfortably for the first time in a while."
"Is your qi flow alright?"
"Hmm."
Qi flow.
It refers to the pathways through which qi flows within the body.
People grow and live through these qi pathways.
Being born with blocked qi pathways is known as a severed meridian.
Among them, he fought against the most vicious, the Nine Yin Severed Meridian.
Originally, he was someone who shouldn't have been able to use martial arts.
The fact that he reached a level of martial arts that was among the best in the martial world was a miracle.
He succeeded by fiercely researching the Nine Yin Severed Meridian to live a little longer.
People revered him and called him the 'Divine Doctor,' a being beyond a doctor, known as an immortal.
"I only knew how to make elixirs, never thought about home matters. I really studied in vain. It's so warm."
"It wasn't a doctor's job. Besides, the blueprint Jin Cheon-hee drew was quite sophisticated. It wasn't a technique used here."
"I heard it's close to something from the Western Continent."
"It just feels like the Western Continent, but strictly speaking, it's not from there. It's a more advanced form."
Jegal Rin nodded.
"Of course, it's my disciple."
"Indeed. A disciple of the master who boasts in every letter."
The medical association often receives letters.
But Jegal Rin started boasting about his disciple there.
Jegal Rin cleared his throat at those words.
"Ahem..."
"Do you think I don't know you wrote about your disciple in the regular letter to be sent next week? Soon, the martial world will be in an uproar asking who Jin Cheon-hee is."
Before that, the rumor that the Divine Doctor Baek Rin took a disciple and became a fool would spread first.
Yoo Ho decided to leave that part out of the story.
Jegal Rin said, "I didn't boast that much."
- The disciple of the Divine Doctor, Jin Cheon-hee, developed a new stove manufacturing method.
It was for his master, and it is expected that his heart will reach the heavens and he will recover soon!
'Oh dear, recovery is far off, it's just the beginning.'
Even Yoo Ho, watching his master's foolishness, blushed.
The regular communication from the medical association is like an academic journal in modern times.
Its purpose is to reveal and convey new treatments or diseases.
What will the local doctors think when they receive this letter?
'Well, everyone has been having a hard time.'
The atmosphere, where even breathing was difficult, had changed, which was a very good thing.
"Still, isn't it too much for a person to change like this?"
"Enough, close the door and leave! I'm going to sleep."
"I'm leaving."
Yoo Ho extinguished the incense and went outside.
"Have a good night."
"Yes, you too. Oh, by the way, bring some dried persimmons tomorrow. Our Hee seems tired of eating the same sweets."
"..."
At those words, Yoo Ho decided to cancel his thoughts.
This wasn't just foolishness.
It was grand foolishness.
"Why don't you just carry him around in your pocket?"
"Are you jealous of the child?"
"Who's jealous!"
Yoo Ho grumbled and said, "Then sleep well."
"Indeed. Today, there's no pain, and it feels really good."
Before long, his breathing became regular.
A deep sleep for the first time in a while.
It was a treasure that couldn't be bought even with a thousand gold.
Yoo Ho closed the door very carefully.
Then he instructed the other attendants to move even more quietly tonight.
The next day.
"The ancestor of our family is Jegal Liang, also known as Master Kongming in later generations. Master Kongming compiled the Art of War, Mechanical Techniques, and Medical Methods, which have been further developed by later generations to reach the present."
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
Jegal Rin continued, "Originally, I should have taken you as an adopted son to continue the lineage, but changing the surname given by your parents is not an easy thing. At this point, I thought it wasn't that important, so I took you as a disciple."
Master Jegal Rin and Jin Cheon-hee were sitting alone in a building located in a secluded corner of the medical association.
There was no furniture, and the floor was covered with wooden flooring.
There was only a small window and a brazier in the corner.
Master Jegal Rin called this place the meditation room.
It was a space isolated from the outside for the martial artists of the medical association to practice internal energy.
While listening to the explanation in such a place, Jin Cheon-hee had a random thought. 'Well, my Jin surname is from the orphanage...'
It wouldn't matter if he became Jegal Cheon-hee instead of Jin Cheon-hee. 'And having Jegal in front makes it seem more impressive?'
The master added a word.
"And Yoo Ho was making a fuss about how much more terrible it would be if you came in as an adopted son when I'm already foolish. In the future, if you want, you can use the name 'Jegal.' Yoo Ho and the family members of the medical association will all be witnesses, so don't worry."
Jin Cheon-hee realized that the 'future' mentioned here did not simply mean after he had grown up.
It referred to after Jegal Rin's own death.
The weight of those words seemed to crush Jin Cheon-hee. 'It's heavy.'
The master had postponed death but was not thinking of a complete cure.
To show complete hope, he would need to have the necessary skills.
Jin Cheon-hee clenched his fist slightly with determination.
The master continued to speak.
"The foundation of our family is a mental technique that activates the brain. It enhances memory and speeds up thinking. An activated brain liberates the senses of the body. This is possible."
The master turned his body and flicked his fingers.
Then, a sound of impact was heard from the acupoint of a wooden dummy far away.
"Geomyohyeol."
Thud.
"Cheonung-hyeol."
Thud.
"Okdang-hyeol."
It was amazing.
Even though he couldn't see it, he was hitting the acupoints of the human body with just a flick of his fingers.
What was even more amazing was that this time, he didn't penetrate but precisely hit only the surface of the wooden dummy.
Last time, he penetrated rocks and trees, but this time he touched only the surface without leaving any marks.
It was an incredibly difficult task.
It's possible to increase the power of a gun, but controlling the power of a gun precisely is impossible.
'Can that be done?'
Seeing the surprised Jin Cheon-hee, Jegal Rin said, "It's amazing. Usually, kids would ask why it doesn't penetrate the dummy like last time, why it's so weak."
"Because it means the control of power is perfect. You didn't leave a single mark on the dye drawn on the wooden dummy."
"Hahaha, you're sharp."
Jegal Rin continued, "Our family achieved more accomplishments than ordinary martial artists by using the brain like this. That's why arrogance was the root of our family's downfall. You won't learn that way, so don't worry. You will learn something better than any previous generation of the Jegal family."
He glossed over the downfall of the Jegal family, feeling the pain within, so Jin Cheon-hee pretended not to know and asked, "Is the core of Jegal family's martial arts the flicking technique?"
"Hahaha, this is just a play. To explain it simply, the strongest martial art is the sword, and then there's martial arts using a fan."
"A fan?"
Come to think of it, in dramas, Jegal Kongming always used a feather fan.
"Of course, this is just the surface. If you go deeper, you can handle ten thousand weapons and formations. That's the scary part of our family."
It was fascinating. 'Can you handle even weapons you've never seen before? Is that possible?'
But it seemed more than possible with the master in front of him.
Jin Cheon-hee innocently asked, "Can I become the best in the world too?"
"Yes. If you learn the martial arts of our family to the end, you can become the best in the world."
The master spoke calmly, as if asking something obvious.
Then he asked, "Do you want to be the best in the world?"
'If I become the best in the world, Little Heavenly Demon might come to kill me...'
To become the leader of the Demonic Cult, one must prove that their martial arts are the best in the world.
As a result, from the time they are a young master, they go around the martial world picking fights and cutting off heads.
It's the same in this novel.
'Yeo Ha-ryun goes to cut off the head of the best in the world.
If I become the best in the world, that guy will come to cut off my head.
The protagonist buffed guy in the Heavenly Killing Star...'
Jin Cheon-hee asked, "Master, what's good about being the best in the world?"
"Hmm. Well."
When asked like that, even the master was at a loss for words.
What's good about being the best in the world? It's asking the reason why countless martial artists have trained until their bones broke.
"It's not like you get a certificate or a trophy."
"You'll get honor and admiration."
"Isn't the master's honor high too?"
That's true.
No matter how noble the reason, the essence of the sword doesn't change.
To reach that point, one inevitably creates a sea of blood and mountains of corpses.
Martial arts are like two sides of the same coin.
That's why it's rare for a martial artist to live peacefully until old age and quietly wash their hands of the world.
In contrast, the other side is the best doctor in the world.
Saving people is their main job.
In the martial world, having an average lifespan of 70 years is a remarkable thing.
Although rejuvenation is almost nonexistent, they train just enough martial arts necessary for a doctor, so they have fewer minor illnesses and are healthy even in old age.
When it's time to die, family, grandchildren, disciples, and friends gather to watch over the passing, which is a typical scene.
Given the nature of martial world doctors, they are not lacking in money, so they are not rich but not impoverished either.
"If you become the best in the world, you'll have power that no one else can enjoy."
"People try to get on the master's good side because if they get on your bad side, they'll be gone sooner or later."
That's also true.
Jegal Rin asked, "So what do you want to be, Hee?"
"I don't need to be the best in the world."
"Then?"
"I want to be the best doctor in the world. Like you, master."
Boom—
It was a shocking thing even for the Divine Doctor Baek Rin of the world.
Jegal Rin ruffled Jin Cheon-hee's hair vigorously like someone who had lost their mind.
"Oh, you lovely thing! How can there be such a lovely thing! There's not a single thing you say that's not lovely."
In the Jegal family, he had seen countless people who wanted to be the best in the world, but Jin Cheon-hee was the first to say he wanted to be the best doctor in the world.
Jegal Rin thought this was fate.
'This child is a doctor sent by the heavens!'
On the other hand, Jin Cheon-hee thought, 'Yes.
To live long, I have to be a doctor.
Even if Little Heavenly Demon is the leader of the Demonic Cult, I've never seen a novel where the protagonist kills a doctor.
They might kidnap or brainwash, but still.
And...'
What if the best in the world is also the best doctor in the world? It's a distant story, but just imagining it made his heart race.
'Yes, let's do it.'
It wouldn't be easy.
But it was his second life.
He wanted to see where his limits were.
He wanted to try everything he could.
'And master, I will definitely cure you.'
It was the first warmth he had received.
He never thought a day would come when he would receive such warmth from someone without any purpose.
He couldn't let him go in vain.
He wanted to repay the kindness.
That was the chivalry of Jin Cheon-hee, the human.