Episode 168: Interlude

Wei Huan was at least twenty years older than Tang Mujin, yet he approached him with a noticeable caution.

To Wei Huan, Tang Mujin and his companions were invaluable benefactors to the Zhenchang Sect. It wasn’t just a personal debt; the entire sect owed them a great deal.

This was largely true. Without Tang Mujin and his group, the Zhenchang Sect would still be quietly earning money, only to squander it away on gambling and false hopes.

However, Tang Mujin also felt a significant debt towards Wei Huan. Contrary to what they believed, he hadn’t done much for them.

Yoo Jin-gwang’s winnings at the gambling den were due to his own luck and skill. All Tang Mujin had done was use a few tricks to help them win at the subsequent cockfights.

Sure, they had multiplied their money several times over with those cockfights, but still.

It was just a small trick.

Yet, the warriors of the Zhenchang Sect had risked their lives without hesitation to protect Tang Mujin and his friends. Even Wei Huan’s brother, Wei Young, had lost his life at the hands of the Three-Eyed Buddha.

In the past, Tang Mujin would have accepted Wei Huan’s request without a second thought. But now, things were different.

‘I’ve got a family now.’

Just three days ago, Tang Young had successfully rolled over for the first time in front of the Tang family members.

Dan Seol-young beamed with pride as if she had done it herself, while Mok Wan-ah and Tang Je-seon clapped with delight.

Hyeon-gong and Namgung Myung seriously discussed the infant’s potential, while Tang Mujin and Hong Geol-gae listened quietly.

Not long ago, Tang Mujin hadn’t been particularly fond of children. He thought it was only natural when a neighbor’s baby rolled over, toddled around, or learned to speak clumsily.

But after Tang Young was born, his perspective changed. There was something more to that simple act of rolling over.

Every day felt like a dream.

Yet, accepting Wei Huan’s request would mean leaving these dreamlike days behind.

Tang Mujin pondered how long it would take if he accepted the request.

The time it would take to travel beyond Shaanxi, the time to find Yoo Jin-gwang, who might be anywhere, and the time to assess and treat his condition.

‘If I can return before the year is out, I’ll be lucky.’

Even if it takes a long time, that would be fortunate.

The uncertainty of finding Yoo Jin-gwang weighed on his mind. Despite Hong Geol-gae’s luck, the odds of finding Yoo Jin-gwang seemed slim.

By the time he returned, Tang Young would have grown significantly. He might even miss her first steps.

Tang Mujin thought to himself.

‘Do I really have to go? It’s not like someone kidnapped Yoo Jin-gwang. He must have had his reasons for going to Shaanxi.’

The desire to refuse Wei Huan’s request filled his heart.

But Tang Mujin couldn’t bring himself to say it. Memories of the Zhenchang Sect warriors who had thrown themselves into danger flashed through his mind.

Just then, the sound of Tang Young crying came from the next room, followed by the soft voices of Dan Seol-young and Mok Wan-ah soothing the baby.

Wei Huan looked startled and glanced at Tang Mujin’s face.

The sound of a crying baby. Dan Seol-young’s voice from the next room. A young Tang Mujin.

That was enough to understand the situation.

Wei Huan asked Tang Mujin, “Is that your child, Tang So-hyeop?”

“Yes, it is.”

Wei Huan gave a sheepish smile.

“Oh dear, I didn’t even know you got married.”

“With the distance between Chengdu and Yunnan, it’s no surprise the news didn’t reach you.”

“No, I should have guessed when you and Miss Dan were traveling together. I was too focused on my own thoughts to realize. I spoke out of turn.”

Wei Huan’s deep regret made Tang Mujin feel awkward.

And guilt washed over him. What was I thinking, worrying about my own troubles in front of someone who lost a brother because of me?

Tang Mujin spoke firmly.

“There’s no need to worry. I’ll go with you.”

But Wei Huan shook his head.

“No, let’s pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

As always, the warriors of the Zhenchang Sect never spoke empty words.

“There’s a proper order to things. I was too narrow-minded, only thinking of my own situation. I should have known better, knowing how hard it is to be away from family. I was short-sighted.”

Wei Huan thought of his own family and the day his child was born.

He remembered leaving his wife and three children behind in his hometown to earn money in a distant land.

It was only a couple of years ago that he chased after fortune with the thought of returning to his family.

Wei Huan realized he shouldn’t ask Tang Mujin to leave his family to help the Zhenchang Sect. If anyone should understand, it was him.

“No, I can go,” Tang Mujin insisted again, but Wei Huan stood up with a stern expression.

“Stay put. Do you want to see me get scolded by Miss Dan?”

”…”

“My request was too much. Don’t feel burdened. I’ll bring Yoo Jin-gwang back to Chengdu before the year is out, and you can check on his condition then. You’re a doctor, after all.”

Wei Huan’s expression softened into a gentle smile.

The next day, before Wei Huan left the Tang family clinic, Hong Geol-gae came to see Tang Mujin.

“Mujin, I’m heading out for a bit.”

Hong Geol-gae was always wandering around, even on normal days.

But he never mentioned where he was going to Tang Mujin.

Which meant he was going somewhere quite far this time.

There was only one place Hong Geol-gae could be going.

“Are you going with Elder Wei Huan?”

“Yes.”

Hong Geol-gae readily accepted Wei Huan’s request.

Unlike Tang Mujin, Hong Geol-gae wasn’t married or had children, and he wasn’t the type to back down from such matters.

Though he often acted foolishly, Hong Geol-gae valued loyalty and never hesitated to help those in need. Unlike Namgung Myung or Hyeon-gong, Hong Geol-gae was the epitome of a righteous martial artist.

Wei Huan wouldn’t have been able to negotiate with Hong Geol-gae as he did with Tang Mujin. He couldn’t rely on Hong Geol-gae’s luck to guide him.

Tang Mujin asked awkwardly.

“Crossing Shaanxi is quite a distance, isn’t it?”

“It’s actually a good thing. I’ve been itching to move after staying in Chengdu for over a year.”

Indeed, Hong Geol-gae loved to travel. It was almost as if he had a wanderlust.

Tang Mujin grumbled for no reason.

“You’re the deputy chief of the Central Branch. Can you just leave like that?”

“If I cared about that, I’d be in Chongqing, not Chengdu.”

His shameless attitude was typical of Hong Geol-gae.

Around noon that day, Hong Geol-gae left for the north with Wei Huan.

Months passed after Hong Geol-gae’s departure. It was a period that could be considered long or short, depending on perspective.

While Tang Mujin himself hadn’t changed, the perception of the Tang family clinic and Tang Mujin had shifted significantly.

The death of the Divine Doctor was widely known, but the other two of the Three Great Doctors, the Demon Doctor and the Ghost Doctor, had also disappeared from the public eye for years.

This period was long enough for people to start thinking, ‘Has the era of the Three Great Doctors ended, and the era of the Greatest Doctor begun?’

When the second rumor spread across the martial world, physicians everywhere reacted explosively. The rumor was that the Greatest Doctor, who might be the Dragon of Medicine, was teaching medicine to anyone willing to learn.

For physicians who valued the art of medicine over personal gain, this was an opportunity they couldn’t ignore.

Many physicians traveled to Chengdu themselves, and even more sent their children there.

As a result, the area around the Tang family clinic became bustling with people, almost like a small village had sprung up within Chengdu.

Tang Mujin, Tang Je-seon, and Chu Sam did not disappoint the physicians’ expectations and taught medicine with sincerity and dedication.

The physicians who learned the art were so eager to test their skills that they scoured Chengdu for patients. The competition among them was so fierce that patients in Chengdu didn’t even need to pay to show their symptoms to a physician.

Besides the physicians, many others gathered. Blacksmiths subtly increased their numbers, and people who had left the Demonic Cult settled around the Tang family clinic, particularly near the house of the Three-Eyed Buddha.

To top it off, recently, people researching poisons began to appear, seeking advice from Tang Mujin and Mok Wan-ah.

Amidst all this, Tang Mujin also had to keep an eye on Tang Young’s antics, making his days so busy that his head spun.

Tang Mujin stepped out into the yard and looked around. The wicker fence that once surrounded the Tang family clinic had vanished without a trace, replaced by a makeshift stone wall.

‘It’s a mess.’

The influx of people to the Tang family clinic had caused the wicker fence to collapse dozens of times.

Eventually, Hyeon-gong, who was in charge of maintaining the fence, couldn’t take it anymore and threatened the people. In response, they tore down the fence and started building a stone wall instead. That was the result of their handiwork.

Tang Mujin thought of the Wall of Ten Thousand People he had seen at the Jeweonbaekga.

‘I wonder if the Tang family clinic will end up with its own Wall of Ten Thousand People.’

The timing was uncanny.

The area around the Tang family clinic was so crowded that people jokingly referred to it as the Tang family estate.

What started as a joke was now taking a strangely realistic turn. More and more people gathered, and the stone wall surrounding the clinic expanded, making it look like a grand estate. It was becoming something anyone would call a manor.

Not long ago, Mok Wana had quietly approached Dang Mujin and asked if his previous talk about the Sacheon Dang family was not a joke but a prophecy.

Dang Mujin had laughed it off, waving his hand dismissively, but given the current trend, while the Sacheon Dang family might be a stretch, becoming the head of the Dang family seemed quite plausible.

It was a future he secretly found appealing. Being the head of a family sounded far more impressive in front of his daughter than just being a mere doctor.

One day, when the makeshift stone wall nearly encircled the clinic and Dangyoung had progressed from babbling to taking her first steps, Hong Geolge returned without any warning. He looked utterly exhausted and disheveled, likely from traveling a long distance.

When he left, his clothes were a bit worn, but he didn’t look like a vagabond. Now, he was unmistakably in rags.

Dang Mujin greeted him warmly, asking, “Did everything go well?”

“No.”

A clear denial. Dang Mujin adopted a more serious tone. “Did you meet Yu Daehyeop?”

“No. We kept missing each other. He never stayed in one place.”

“What about Wi Daehyeop, who went with you?”

“He’s dead.”

Dang Mujin stared at Hong Geolge, hoping he had misheard.

But Hong Geolge wasn’t one to joke about such matters.

The unexpected news made Dang Mujin feel dizzy. He recalled the backs of the martial artists from the Jeomchang sect who risked their lives so easily. His breath quickened.

What have I done to Wi Daehyeop?

Dang Mujin looked at Hong Geolge again, trying to read his inscrutable expression.

He didn’t know why Wi Hwan had died, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

Dang Mujin asked, “Have you given up?”

“No.”

This time, Hong Geolge asked, “Are you going or not?”

The arrow that had been poised for over a year answered.

“I have to go.”