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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Strange Physician Yi Chung
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Dang Mujin was decocting herbal decoctions behind the clinic as usual when a stranger appeared and began wandering around the clinic, peering this way and that.
He looked to be around fifty years old. His neatly trimmed sideburns, streaked with white, suited his dignified and imposing appearance well, though his face was filled with a mischievous glint that belied his age.
Judging by his light, comfortable clothing, he didn't seem to be an official. And since Dang Mujin had never seen him around the Qingcheng Sect, he wasn't one of their martial artists either.
Dang Mujin glanced at him occasionally but didn't pay much attention. There had been a lot of people like him lately.
Thanks to the recent influx of patients at the clinic, there were many waiting their turn.
All they could do without leaving the clinic premises was loiter around, looking for anything interesting.
Their behavior was all much the same. First, they would stand with arms crossed, cocking their heads to watch Dang Mujin decocting the decoctions. When they got bored, they would inspect the medicinal ingredients hanging from the eaves, then head toward the storeroom.
Of course, no one could just enter the storeroom filled with precious herbs. Dang Mujin had to block people from approaching it five or ten times a day.
Sure enough, this middle-aged newcomer headed for the storeroom too. Still seated, Dang Mujin called out to him.
"Sir! You can't go into the storeroom!"
When he shouted like this, people's reactions split into two types. Some would glance at Dang Mujin and turn back as if nothing had happened. Others would pretend not to hear and keep going. This man was the latter.
Dang Mujin sighed deeply and stood up to block the middle-aged man's path.
"Sir. You can't go into the storeroom."
When he said it like this, every single person would turn back. Regardless of status, no one wanted to wrestle with a young man like Dang Mujin just to peek inside.
But this middle-aged man was different. He didn't stop even upon seeing Dang Mujin. In an instant, his figure vanished like mist over water.
Dang Mujin startled and looked around, only to spot the man behind him.
'A martial artist!'
And not some novice learning swordplay at the Qingcheng Chengdu Branch. Those folks were just strong and quick; they didn't know any movement techniques that let them flicker like mist.
Dang Mujin didn't know much about martial artists. But he did know that mouthing off in front of a real one could mean vanishing without a trace.
He couldn't ignore the man, nor could he stop him. As Dang Mujin fidgeted anxiously, the middle-aged man peered into the storeroom and spoke leisurely.
"Deer antler velvet. Great white bark. Immortal crane grass. Thorowax root. Hmm... even tortoise plastron shell. They don't skimp on medicinal ingredients here. Good attitude."
The middle-aged man identified the rare and expensive herbs among those stacked around. He was a martial artist with considerable knowledge of medicine.
"Uh... yes."
"No rhinoceros horn, I take it?"
"We have it. Over there."
Dang Mujin pointed to the darkest corner of the storeroom, where a black, cylindrical herb sat. Unlike the others hanging or piled up, this one was in a small box.
But the middle-aged man shook his head.
"That's not real rhinoceros horn. It's water rhinoceros horn. Well, they must have gone to great lengths to obtain even that."
"Are rhinoceros horn and water rhinoceros horn different?"
"Yes. Water rhinoceros horn comes from the horn grown on the head of black cattle in the Tianzhu region. But true rhinoceroses don't have horns on their heads."
"Then?"
"True rhinoceros horns grow from the snout. That's what rhinoceros horn is."
It was the first time Dang Mujin had heard this. He showed curiosity, but the middle-aged man didn't elaborate on rhinoceros horn and changed the subject.
"You don't look like a servant. What's your connection to the Dang Clinic?"
"My father owns the clinic. I'm still just learning."
"Hmm."
The middle-aged man scanned Dang Mujin up and down, then looked at his hands.
"For a future physician, your hands are awfully rough. Learning Qingcheng swordsmanship, are you?"
Lately, Dang Mujin had been handling iron or wood blocks at Seok Jiseung's forge every five days or so.
It was fine when leisurely carving with a chisel, but his hands always ended up cut when working with iron.
"No, it's not that. Just from doing this and that."
"Is that so? With your sturdy build, I figured you were training in the sword. Straighten your posture once."
Dang Mujin straightened his back and squared his shoulders. The middle-aged man prodded his shoulders and waist.
"Your bones and muscles are decent."
"Really?"
If it had been anyone else, Dang Mujin might have brushed it off. But coming from a martial artist, it was different.
His voice noticeably brightened, drawing a smirk from the middle-aged man.
"It's not as impressive as you imagine. Just serviceable, that's all. Put you with ten ordinary people, and you'd rank first or second."
"Not particularly special, then."
"For a commoner, it is. Most physicians start hunching their backs and shoulders from a young age. You'd be quite outstanding among them."
Hours spent decocting decoctions with poor posture in one's youth lead to permanently stooped shoulders and backs. Once bent, the body doesn't straighten easily with age. It was an occupational hazard for physicians.
"How much medicine have you learned?"
"According to my father, I've learned almost everything there is to learn, but I'm not ready to treat patients yet. He's still hale and hearty, after all."
"Hmm."
The clinic owner said this and nodded, then vanished toward the front of the clinic. He must have reached his turn or given up waiting and left.
Dang Mujin sat back down at the decoction stove. But before he could blink a few times, a commotion erupted out front.
"Hey, can't you see people are waiting?"
Dang Mujin dashed to the front.
What happened inside the consultation room was his father Dang Jesun's domain. What happened outside was Dang Mujin's. Managing the order of patients and mediating disputes was one of his roles.
The scene before him was the middle-aged man from earlier trying to barge into the consultation room, ignoring the line.
A goateed official shouted.
"Don't cut in line—go to the back! You think everyone has time to waste?"
Not just the official, but two Qingcheng inner sect disciples waiting their turn also eyed the man suspiciously. But he opened the consultation room door with the look of someone ignoring a barking dog.
"Hey. Doesn't that sound unreasonable?"
The official strode forward as if to grab the man's collar, but just then, someone emerged from the room, adjusting their clothes. The treatment had apparently ended.
Dang Mujin recognized the patient well. Jin Song, chief instructor of the Qingcheng Chengdu Branch. The official seemed acquainted with him and appealed for help.
"Chief Instructor Jin Song! This guy's cutting in line—chase him off for me!"
Contrary to the official's expectation that Jin Song would drive the man away, the chief instructor stiffened upon seeing his face. He then bowed at the waist, clasping his hands together.
"Sir. It's been a long time."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Jin Song, disciple of the Yellow Spirit Master."
"Yellow Spirit Master. Ah, now I know."
The official was speechless.
Jin Song, chief instructor of the Qingcheng Chengdu Branch, was second-in-command there. He had been first-rate for years, and there were rumors he might break through to peak realm with some luck.
Naturally, Jin Song carried considerable influence locally.
For even him to bow like that, the middle-aged man had to be someone greater. And he seemed acquainted with the Yellow Spirit Master too.
The official asked Jin Song with a sullen expression.
"Who is he, exactly?"
The answer came from the middle-aged man, not Jin Song.
"Ask me yourself. I'm Yi Chung, the physician."
The official's eyes bulged like goggle eyes.
Even a non-martial artist official like him had heard the name.
"Strange Physician Yi Chung!"
Dang Mujin was just as shocked. He had thought the man was merely a martial artist versed in medicine, but an unexpectedly famous name had emerged.
As his moniker suggested, Yi Chung was peculiar in many ways.
A self-proclaimed physician who had surpassed the peak realm wall. His medical skills were no slouch either, earning him a spot among the world's three great physicians.
He could live a life of wealth and glory just sitting still, yet the Strange Physician roamed the world ceaselessly, never staying in one place.
But his fame stemmed not from his wanderlust, but from the rumors surrounding him.
There were plenty of heartwarming tales, like how Strange Physician Yi Chung had cured patients abandoned by other doctors. But the sinister rumors outnumbered them.
The most horrific was that he had wandered the Central Plains, killing dozens of physicians. And after slaying them, he stole family secret medical texts and fled—hence one of his nicknames, Bandit Physician.
The official lowered his stance and backed away slowly. The Strange Physician paid him no mind.
The problem was Dang Mujin. For the infamous killer of physicians to appear here meant he was after his father Dang Jesun's head, didn't it?
Moreover, Jin Song—the strongest martial artist present—treated the Strange Physician as a superior. Even if they were enemies, Jin Song, who hadn't surpassed peak realm, couldn't handle a peak expert like the Strange Physician.
'Who could stop the Strange Physician?'
The first person who came to mind was Jin Song's master and leader of the Qingcheng Chengdu Branch, the Yellow Spirit Master.
There were rumors the Yellow Spirit Master had also surpassed peak realm, so he might stand a chance.
But Dang Mujin couldn't go fetch him. Not only did he lack any connection, but the Strange Physician had already entered the consultation room.
In the blink of an eye, his father Dang Jesun's head could roll. There was no time to leisurely run to the Qingcheng Sect, and no one present to stop him right now.
In desperation, Dang Mujin grabbed Chief Instructor Jin Song's sleeve.
"Chief Instructor!"
But Jin Song shook his head.
"I have no means either."
"Then the Branch Leader!"
"No. Even my master wouldn't oppose the Strange Physician."
"Why not? Isn't he a villain who goes around killing physicians?"
"Because my master himself was saved by the Strange Physician not long ago."
Dang Mujin slumped to the ground. No way out at all?
Yet Jin Song patted his shoulder and spoke softly.
"No need to worry too much. From what I've seen, the Strange Physician is eccentric, but not the villain the rumors paint him as."
Dang Mujin waited anxiously.
After about half an hour, the Strange Physician emerged from the consultation room. Fortunately, there were no bloodstains on his clothes.
As Dang Mujin moved to enter and check on his father, the Strange Physician grabbed his shoulder.
"You there. Come see me."