NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
The past three years.
During my stay at the Mo Yong Family, I welcomed various patients.
I came to the Mo Yong Family to heal Mo Yongseol’s illness, but that doesn’t mean I only focused on her care, except for the time spent eating and sleeping all day.
In fact, as much as I wanted to do that, I also needed to dedicate time to the Mo Yong Family.
After all, both my master and I have the reputation of being ‘excellent physicians’, so while residing in the Medical Hall of the Mo Yong Family, I treated many patients.
We managed to heal most ailments known as untreatable, except for the Sickness of Absolute Meridians, and it’s not an exaggeration to say that one in five people within the Mo Yong Family had passed through my hands.
From simple stomachaches to headaches, toothaches, and even menstrual pain.
Simply prescribing medicine eased their suffering, and for ailments that could be treated, I helped them recover by ensuring they took their medications properly.
In fact, even before the death of Mo Yongseol drew near, many came to me, holding my hand and encouraging me not to be disheartened.
Currently, they might not be able to visit me due to the circumstances, but if we were to meet again, I believe they would rejoice as if it were their own doing that I saved Mo Yongseol.
Among such people, someone once jokingly asked me.
“Physician, is baldness a disease?”
I replied.
“It’s not a disease.”
Just as people experience wrinkles on their skin, weakness in their muscles, and bending of their backs as they age, losing hair is a natural phenomenon.
It’s simply that the aging process has approached the scalp more rapidly, and while it is possible to ‘delay’ hair loss by taking proper medication, this can lead to various side effects that some people are willing to endure for the sake of keeping their hair.
In Confucianism, it’s said that damaging one’s hair is akin to disrespecting the body inherited from one’s parents.
So, is a bald person unfilial?
If someone shaved their head and set their scalp on fire to prevent hair from growing, one could say they were unfilial, but can we really label someone as unfilial merely for losing their hair while trying their best to live?
It’s not a disease, yet society regarded it as one.
And most people gave up on restoring their hair to its original state.
Instead, they hid their heads under hats or tried to attach other people’s hair to theirs in hopes that the hair would take root.
However, even if they did that, more often than not, the wind would blow, and their hair would fly away.
Even if they attached someone else’s hair, the truth would eventually be revealed, and it became rare for hair to regrow once it was lost.
Therefore, those who had lost their hair, despite their high social standing and renown, often tried to conceal their baldness or avoided revealing their heads.
Some few proudly displayed their baldness, yet they too had their share of struggles.
What would it be like if the great master, among the top ten experts in the world, were bald?
When many reduce the mighty to ridicule, they’d likely laugh at his hair before his martial prowess or character.
After years of secluded training, it turns out he polished his smooth scalp rather than honing his martial arts.
Though he’s anonymous now, he couldn’t stroll around with the title of the head of the Taesang Family and the foremost of the Hebei Paeng Family as a bald man.
Isn’t honor what martial artists consider more precious than life?
“Would you rather become a top expert or be bald?”
Some contemplated this serious dilemma, showing that baldness was a significant issue born from the perceptions of people and society.
And now.
Here, a miracle unfolded.
“……Hehe.”
The Daoist laughed.
“I have never been so joyous since I broke through the walls of the realm. Today, I am greeted by my second, or perhaps even my third life.”
After consuming the Extreme Yang Reversal refined with my blood and applying a mixture of herbs and oil to my scalp, I witnessed it.
Roots sprouting anew.
Even dead roots revived with powerful vitality, long strands of hair began to grow.
And not just hair, but also beards began to thicken and sprout in other places.
“Mm.”
It resembled clouds covering the peaks of high mountains.
The fluffy clouds appeared to hang on the mountain, taking their place.
Why do I compare it to clouds? Because the color of the hair was closer to grayish-white than black.
“This is…!”
The Daoist was taken aback when he looked in the mirror.
Not only had the miracle of ‘hair growth’ occurred.
“Why, Lord Daoist?”
“…Physician Seok.”
My title changed to ‘Physician.’
“Have you ever seen anyone in such a state?”
“I’ve never encountered someone like this.”
“That makes sense. This visage resembles the most esteemed figure I deeply respect… the Sword Mistress from a generation past who unified the Central Plains.”
Long hair like a lion’s mane.
Beautiful as silk yet wavy in form.
Dark eyebrows that extended far to the sides.
A thick beard that dominated around his mouth.
“This, to this extent, resembles the form of my father, [Pang Sunfeng], when he was alive.”
Most notably, the beard that flowed from below the chin extended down to the chest.
“Furthermore, this beard mirrors that of the renowned warrior, [Guan Yu] from the Three Kingdoms era.”
The Daoist stroked his silky beard and hair with his hand, then suddenly tugged on it strongly.
But there was no sound of it breaking.
Yet some grayish-white hair was caught in his hand.
“Heh, hehe…”
Is he feeling disappointed because of hair loss?
Yes.
But it’s not a disappointment caused by ‘alopecia.’
“To have such vitality. Overflowing with it… and still, some weaker strands might fall out.”
Everyone experiences hair loss, and the hair that danced in the wind from the Daoist’s hand was relatively weaker hair that came out from his head.
By the ways of nature.
Or perhaps ‘having so much hair that it simply fell out.’
“Physician Seok.”
The Daoist approached me.
“I know you are a spy for the Demon Cult.”
“…….”
“However, I also know why you entered the Demon Cult.”
The Daoist stopped about ten paces away, folded his arms behind his back, and looked up at the sky.
“What a pity. Children across the central plains are being kidnapped, yet because they are without parents or connections, no one has stepped forward.”
“As a result, I believe it turned out for the best.”
I clearly addressed the Daoist and the Sword Saint who was listening from afar.
“Although my origins and background may be tainted, thanks to that, I ended up in the Mo Yong Family and was able to heal the pains that many endured.”
“Hehe….”
Such a turn of events is indeed unfortunate, but for now, I can only feel happiness. Until I came to the Mo Yong Family, I had lived in a pitch-black darkness simply to avoid death, but after meeting her, I live not just to not die but to find hope and live passionately.
Until the miracle occurred.
“And now, I will do my utmost to ensure I do not lose this happiness I possess.”
“What kind of life do you wish to lead? Do you have any desires?”
“If there is anything I wish for as a physician, it’s to treat those suffering from the same incurable disease as Mo Yong so that they too can find hope. As a man, my desire is…”
I cleared my voice and took a confident step forward.
“To live a hundred years with my beloved and to give everything for each other and our family until death.”
“……How truly unfortunate.”
The Daoist lamented with a voice full of grievance as he gazed at the sky.
“A man destined to be a major player in the White Path, no, a hero in the Martial World, is questioned by the Heavenly Demon.”
“…….”
Though it sounded quite embarrassing, I can affirm that at least the remark ‘Heavenly Demon questioned’ wasn’t incorrect.
“Very well. Then what do you wish for from me or from the Hebei Paeng Family right now?”
“As a member of the Mo Yong Family, if there is something I wish for from the Hebei Paeng Family…”
I prepared to make my request.
“May the Daoist…”
* * *
[Some moments later, in front of the main gate of the Mo Yong Family.]
“Let us in!”
Here, a group of men appeared, knocking on the front gate of the Mo Yong Family.
“We of the [Yodong Seven Heroes] have arrived, how can we be treated this way?!”
“…….”
No matter how loud the representative among the seven men of the Yodong Seven Heroes shouted, the warriors standing at the gate of the Mo Yong Family remained unmoved.
“Go back. The Mo Yong Family is not receiving guests.”
“I saw the Hebei Paeng Family enter just an hour ago, and you’re telling me they don’t accept guests?! Is the Mo Yong Family discriminating against people?!”
The warriors of the Mo Yong Family immediately glared at him.
This man in front of them, one of the Yodong Seven Heroes—
“I, Jin Sangin, am also a supreme master. Even the leader of our seven heroes, [Daetaido] Sun Il-ho, is a renowned master of the Wujing!”
“…….”
“I know the head of the Hebei Paeng Family is a supreme master. Why is it that you accept such figures but dismiss us?!”
“So… it’s because we are of the Hebei Paeng Family.”
Whoosh.
As the wind blew, a deep, resounding voice of a middle-aged man dominated the area.
“How can mere vagabonds create such a commotion?”
“W-what?!”
The road split to the sides as a man in white robes wearing a death hat stepped forward.
The abundant hair visible beneath the death hat was akin to something descending from the mountains holding clouds.
“If you think you can knock on the doors of the great five families just because you are supreme masters—”
“Arrogant!”
Jin Sangin lunged at the man in the death hat.
In the blink of an eye, the sword at his waist glimmered, and those around him began to flee to the sides in fright.
“Huh.”
The man quietly raised a finger.
Then, as if wielding a ‘sword’, he flicked his finger from below to above, causing Jin Sangin’s sword energy to soar into the sky.
Boom!
The sword energy of the supreme master shot skyward.
With the clash of energy and air, the middle-aged man’s death hat fluttered backward.
“……What?!”
“!!!”
The death hat rolled on the ground, and the once vigorous hair of the middle-aged man fluttered in the wind.
And everyone saw it.
“D-do…!”
“Daoist Pang Wol!!”
The Daoist Pang Wol, who had not shown his face for years while in seclusion.
“Shh.”
The Daoist flicked his finger lightly, as if he were playfully striking a cheek.
“Quiet.”
Crash.
Jin Sangin’s sword shattered into countless pieces, scattering like dust toward the ground.
“Do not raise your voice in front of my friend’s house.”