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“This place is just as strange as I thought it would be.”

I followed the Sword Demon’s lead to the Medical Hall of the Shadowless Gate. It seemed that because the Shadowless Gate was the premier branch of the Heretical Sect, it was flourishing enough to have its own Medical Hall. The Master of the Medical Hall, a grumpy old man, took one look at me and barked, “Sit!”

Without a word, I plopped down in front of him, and the Sword Demon didn’t seem to care one bit. The Medical Hall Master appeared to be quite an esteemed personage in Shadowless Gate. He slowly began to poke around my body, pressing three points on my acupuncture meridians.

“Does it hurt?”

“Yes, it does.”

“Well, that’s good, means the nerves are still intact. Didn’t cut as cleanly as I should have.”

As he said this, he sped up his acupuncture technique, and I could feel the vitality in my body kicking in rapidly, knitting my arm back together faster than expected. It was like he was using a secret acupuncture style that boosted life force and skin adhesion!

Once finished, he wrapped my shoulder and gave me a pat. “All done! Just sleep well for a day, and it should all stick back.”

“Thank you.”

He then shot an unfriendly look at the Sword Demon. “Sect Leader, what did you do to this kid to make him lose an arm like that?”

“Sorry, Doctor Kang. My mistake.”

“Hmm… wouldn’t blame you for it either.”

While the Medical Hall Master was awkwardly deflecting, I decided to take a shot in the dark. “Are you, by any chance, Doctor Kang Jeon-gil?”

Immediately, both their heads whipped around to look at me. The Sword Demon was genuinely surprised, and the Medical Hall Master had a wide-eyed expression.

“Why do you ask?”

“Well, there are five great physicians in the world, and the only one who could be a Kang at the Shadowless Gate is you, the First of Henan.”

A heavy silence filled the air. The Master was glancing nervously at the Sword Demon, who nodded, and then the Medical Hall Master sighed. “Yeah, that’s me. Kang Jeon-gil.”

The First of Henan, Kang Jeon-gil! He was one of the top five physicians in the world, renowned for saving even the highest monks of the Shaolin Temple. It made me wonder why a celebrated doctor like him ended up in the Heretical Sect, though I quickly figured the answer out myself.

‘It’s gotta be about the young master of the White Lotus Sect.’

He had previously been abducted to save the young master, but after a year of effort, they didn’t manage to cure her. Instead, he found himself smeared with the label of a spy for colluding with the White Lotus Sect. So, the Guangming Divine Doctor decided to switch his allegiance to Goryeo.

“Sect Leader, what on earth is this child? The extraordinary internal power and the calmness… I really can’t figure it out.”

“As you can see, this is an extraordinary talent. That’s why the debt of gratitude weighs so heavily on my heart.”

“Hmm.”

When he pondered for a moment, I looked him straight in the eye. “I am a distant relative of the Hua Clan and learned medicine from them. I also heard the truth about the White Lotus incident from the clan leader.”

There was another pregnant silence. The Medical Hall Master turned pale instantly, and the Sword Demon wore an even more shocked expression. They must have been sharing some major secrets, and it was no wonder my knowledge rattled them.

Doctor Kang hurriedly deflected. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Do you have any proof you learned medicine?”

I simply raised my intact right arm and brandished a needle. Focusing my internal power, I quickly performed Hua’s 108 Needles, whispering the locations of each meridian and bloodline as I did. Kang Jeon-gil dropped his jaw in awe, realizing my skills were at a top-tier level.

“So, that’s the Hua’s 108 Needles, huh?”

“Haha… are you really the disciple of Guangming Divine Doctor?”

“Yes, I am. Just a relative, but I got some lessons.”

Doctor Kang muttered, lost in thought. “A genius? At that age, mastering both martial arts and medicine to such a level?”

A moment later, he spoke again. “So what’s your endgame? Why reveal this to me?”

“I want to know more about what happened back then. Why the young master wasn’t cured, and what the White Lotus Sect was thinking…”

“…”

“If I was rude, I apologize.”

Doctor Kang took another sideways glance at the Sword Demon.

The Sword Demon nodded. “I want to know too.”

“What relationship do you have with this kid?”

“As you can see, I owe him a debt that I can’t repay. I’d like to give him what I can.”

The Sword Demon seemed like he was ready to repay his debt to me with this exchange.

“And you too, sharing secrets along the way.”

“Can’t argue with you there.”

Doctor Kang let out a long sigh. “First, tell me what you learned from Guangming Divine Doctor.”

I briefly explained the treatment of the young master and the false spy allegations aimed at the Five Great Physicians. He went silent for a moment, then finally replied, “So that’s how it was. Guangming Divine Doctor thought that way, huh? He left for Goryeo, I see.”

While Guangming Divine Doctor took a course in Goryeo, Doctor Kang seemed to have taken refuge in the Shadowless Gate of the Heretical Sect, ensuring that no one from Jianghu dared provoke him.

“What do you think?”

“Think? I went through the same thing. The Five Great Physicians spent a year trying to help, but to no avail. The only difference is that I had a Dharma Guardian in a black tiger mask visiting me.”

It was the Dharma Guardian of the Wind Spirit Sect. I replied, “Not a silver fox mask?”

“Nope.”

Doctor Kang continued, “But I see it differently. Perhaps Guangming Divine Doctor thought the young master was suffering from some kind of untreatable illness, but I suspect it might not have been an illness at all.”

“Not an illness?”

“Exactly,” he replied gravely. “With the full cooperation of the influential White Lotus Sect and all Five Great Physicians gathered, I honestly believed I could resurrect someone if they died within a food course. Yet, we couldn’t even figure out what symptoms the young master had. There’s no doubt; it wasn’t some ordinary ailment.”

“If it’s not an illness, then…”

“It might be a curse,” he concluded.

A curse! That’s among the most sinister and cruel kinds of magic out there. It involves planting malice into someone with a powerful grudge, made entirely for the purpose of an enemy’s demise.

I paused, considering. “Then, wouldn’t there be no need to summon a physician? A sorcerer would be needed to lift the curse.”

“I don’t know. But unlike Guangming Divine Doctor, who was a healer through and through, I considered the possibility of sorcery involved. The same goes for Dongbang Mu-gyeol. His abilities eclipsed ours slightly, yet he couldn’t find a solution either.”

Humming thoughtfully, I pondered my next words. “That’s all I know.”

With a wry smile, he added, “Dongbang Mu-gyeol might know a bit more. Before leaving that last day, he had a one-on-one with the leader of the White Lotus Sect.”

“Could they not use the Sacred Lotus to heal the young master?”

“That’s the thing…” Doctor Kang hesitated before an idea struck him. “Oh, right! They did seem unnerved whenever Sacred Lotus came up, almost as if it was a taboo subject. I couldn’t say why, but it seems that some secret is hidden in the Sacred Lotus.”

“Hmm.”

I felt strangely fortunate to have met Doctor Kang, despite the inconvenience of losing an arm. A hypothesis took shape in my mind. ‘Perhaps the Black and White Lotus can heal curses.’

In my tenth life, the young master of the White Lotus Sect had been saved by the Black and White Lotus. Therefore, the difference between Sacred Lotus and Black and White Lotus could boil down to [ability to heal curses]. The Sacred Lotus indeed had the power to exponentially increase internal strength, but was lacking that particular ability. This knowledge would likely come in handy in the future.

Once the conversation wrapped up, I turned to the Sword Demon. “I’m sorry, but I can’t stay for long.”

“Why?”

“I have urgent matters to attend to, I must leave now.”

“Hmm.”

The Sword Demon pondered. Indeed, even if I pryed a little secret out of Doctor Kang, it didn’t truly count as repaying the debt of my arm. Plus, he still hadn’t even repaid me for rescuing his daughter from pirates!

Finally making up his mind, the Sword Demon said, “Make sure to visit me again. I’ll prepare a gift for you next time.”

“Thank you.”

“It’s a promise. Make sure to return.”

“Yes. Farewell.”

I bowed to the Sword Demon and exited the Shadowless Gate.

‘Sure, I could keep collecting debt from the Sword Demon, but not today.’

It had been quite some time since I placed the pirate prisoners in the wooden armor. Sending them back to their hometown was my immediate priority. I used the Golden Lamp technique to escape to Shandong, dawn just starting to break.

Ow!

Though the nerves were patched together, I still felt sudden pangs of pain. With the way things were, it would be impossible to use my left arm until I stabilized. I decided to avoid combat entirely and find a deserted area to retrieve them from the wooden armor.

One by one, the pure Central Plains men — excluding the women — emerged from the Shadowless Gate. Inspecting each of the injured, I found they hadn’t worsened too badly. I treated their wounds again and asked, “Are you hungry or need to relieve yourselves?”

Unexpectedly, one spoke up. “What are you talking about? We just got out, it’s nighttime!”

“…?”

“It feels like time just flipped upside down.”

I was stunned by their reply. ‘Could it be that time hardly flows inside the wooden armor?’ Considering their accounts, a significant amount of time had passed since I placed them in the armor, yet they felt like they just came out in the blink of an eye! Clearly, time inside the armor runs much more slowly than outside.

I managed to calm myself and led them to an inn. “Innkeeper, come out!”

Having just awakened at dawn, I placed a hefty sum of gold bars I received from Mangnyang in front of the innkeeper and said, “We’ll be renting this inn today.”

“No way! Are you joking?”

“If this gold looks like a joke to you, then so be it.”

As I subtly moved to take my money back, the innkeeper grabbed my hand in a panic. When I looked at him with a blank stare, he chuckled nervously. “Of course not! Use it as you please!”

I ensured they had food, washed up, and caught up on sleep. It was raucous for an inn at dawn. The innkeeper, along with his wife and Jeom So-i, came to serve. I checked on the injured again and waited for the sun to rise.

When the sun was high and everyone had rested enough, I gathered them together and said, “It’s time to part ways. I’ll distribute a little travel money to help you get home.”

One elderly man exclaimed, “Oh, my lord…”

“Thank you so much…”

As I handed out silver coins and bid them goodbye, tears of joy streamed down their faces. Though a common sight, it filled my heart with warmth to help others. I’d given them enough that they weren’t likely to run short on their travels.

Then I ran into the one-eyed old prisoner again. “Benefactor… I can’t let this immense favor go without a return… so I’d like to offer you a secret Request Token. If there’s anyone you want to kill… if you take this wooden token to the Seven Kills Village on Mount Tai… just one person… anyone at all…”

I received the black wooden token.

Listening till the end, I finally asked, “You don’t seem to be from Jianghu, but will taking this token guarantee that a warrior from Seven Kills Village will accept my request?”

The one-eyed old man trembled with joy and beamed widely, “You’re interested… I see…”

“Not that I don’t have my curiosity.”

“No, no! It’s not about martial arts… it’s about how the gods will grant the request!”

“God?”

I felt baffled. “Why would the gods agree to a murder request?”

The old man coughed before saying, “All I know is that they grant wishes when I take this token… however, that wish can only be to kill one specific being… that’s all.”

“Hmm…”

“Come visit any time… we villagers… can offer just that wooden token to one benevolent person for their entire lifetimes…”

“I see.”

Feeling like I had gleaned all I could, I reluctantly sent the one-eyed old man on his way. My curiosity piqued, I glanced at the black token. ‘A request for murder to the gods?’

It felt like an exciting event was brewing.

As I released the pirates, it finally felt like I’d checked off many tasks on my list. The next order of business was to bring the Thunder God Lineage into the Bancheon Alliance, but the Mangnyang side said it wasn’t necessary. The Sword Demon thought it better to coax General Hwang Yeon properly before entering, rather than risking suspicion in the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School.

So, for now, I was free. There wasn’t a pressing urge to rush to the Azure Dragon Martial Arts School either. I moved past the awakening stage of martial arts training and had stepped into scoring levels, thus regular practice became more crucial than hasty promotions.

Returning to the Sword Demon for the ‘gift’ didn’t really appeal to me. I still hadn’t shaken off the anger of losing my arm and needed a change of pace.

With some time on my hands, I wanted to create a bit of chaos. New information meant new opportunities. I needed to carve out a good environment for using the Golden Lamp technique, so I stood pondering my next move.

“Should I check out the Seven Kills Village on Mount Tai?”

After a restful two days until my arm healed properly, I made that conclusion. Here I had a place where they promised to kill anyone for the right price.

I was curious about what would happen if I asked them to kill the [Emperor].

 

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