Martial Soul Pavilion, conference room.
There, Bu Eunseol sat facing Dam Yuyeon, the military strategist of the Martial Soul Society.
All the front-line corps leaders including Nae Bihon, Dae Guhwi, Bing Hanpung of the Martial Soul Society were currently devoted to training. The content of this meeting was effectively separate from their concerns, so they were not in attendance.
“…In the end, Zhongnan is pretending to be mad and charging straight at us.”
Dam Yuyeon explained the situation with a grave expression.
In the past, Bu Eunseol had seized Elder Chae Ju-heung’s weakness and ensured that the Mount Hua Sect could not intervene on the side of the Martial Soul Society.
Unaware of that fact, the Zhongnan Sect had been greatly flustered when Mount Hua simply stood by and watched.
When Mount Hua continued its steadfast silence, Zhongnan had no choice but to forcibly endure. Meanwhile, as the Martial Soul Society steadily grew in influence across Shaanxi… Zhongnan finally exploded.
—If Mount Hua won’t act, then our sect will!
Zhongnan began mobilizing the connections and forces they had built up over generations in Shaanxi, pressing the Martial Soul Society from every direction.
Of course, in terms of pure military strength, the Martial Soul Society could easily win.
However, the Martial Soul Society had long proclaimed itself as standing between righteous and demonic paths, using force solely for the safety and stability of the martial world.
That image was deeply rooted, so in factional struggles they could not help but remain passive.
Moreover, if a full-scale war broke out?
The Nine Great Sects or even the Martial Alliance might intervene.
From the Martial Soul Society’s perspective, they were caught in a position where they could neither respond aggressively nor ignore Zhongnan’s provocations.
“After much deliberation, we proposed one final negotiation ten days from now at the Bewitching Soul Platform, but…”
Dam Yuyeon spoke with a lack of confidence.
“They have no intention of negotiating. They will surely mobilize their connections to pressure our society, or deliberately pick a fight… creating a pretext for all-out war.”
Click.
At that moment the door opened, and Chief Steward Yoo Hwaryeong entered, wiping sweat from his brow.
“I was delayed handling a few matters. My apologies.”
Entering the conference room with hands repeatedly clasped in respect, Yoo Hwaryeong looked at Bu Eunseol with delighted eyes.
“My Lord.”
“Chief Steward Yoo.”
Bu Eunseol also gave a faint smile.
Chief Steward Yoo Hwaryeong had, before anyone realized, become the busiest person in the Martial Soul Society.
Not only did he manage the society’s internal affairs, he had taken on more than half of the workload that originally belonged to Dam Yuyeon. When it came to financial calculations and profit-sharing matters, he handled them far more skillfully than Dam Yuyeon ever could.
Thanks to that, Dam Yuyeon’s burden had lightened considerably, allowing her to spend much more time with Do Cheonlin… and in doing so, he had become the benefactor who firmly bound the two of them together.
“Once the Elder Hall is fully established, Zhongnan’s issue will probably resolve itself naturally.”
Muttering softly, Bu Eunseol asked Yoo Hwaryeong,
“How is the Elder Hall coming along?”
“It’s progressing steadily… but the real problem is that the one person we absolutely must recruit still refuses to join.”
Bu Eunseol had seized Mount Hua’s weakness to quell their complaints, but he knew full well that it was only a temporary measure.
It could never be a fundamental solution.
To completely escape pressure from both Mount Hua and Zhongnan, the Martial Soul Society needed to possess military power capable of standing against the entire Nine Great Sects.
Of course, that was impossible in the short term.
Thus, he had given the order to recruit elders who could appease their grievances and handle negotiations.
“Who exactly do you mean?”
“The Carefree White Immortal. Or rather, the one now called the Eccentric Physician—Jeung Pyeong.”
Carefree White Immortal, Jeung Pyeong.
Just as his nickname suggested, he was a man who possessed immortal-like medical skills.
But as he grew older, his personality became exceedingly eccentric and perverse.
Because of that, people in the rivers and lakes had gradually stopped calling him Carefree White Immortal and instead referred to him as the Eccentric Physician.
“The most important figure is missing.”
“Is it truly necessary to recruit the Eccentric Physician?” Yoo Hwaryeong shook his head repeatedly. “That man’s temperament is far too foul and bizarre. Bringing someone like him into our society would bring endless calamity rather than any benefit.”
“Even though his personality grew perverse in his later years and lost him the people’s favor, in the past he treated countless righteous and demonic experts without hesitation or discrimination.” Bu Eunseol explained calmly. “Moreover, recruiting him would significantly alleviate the pressure coming from the orthodox side toward our society.”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Hwaryeong shook his head.
“I’ve tried everything possible, but he remains immovable. Far from joining, toward the end he focused solely on provoking my anger or mocking me.”
To recruit the Eccentric Physician—who was key to the Elder Hall—Yoo Hwaryeong had spared no effort.
He had visited in person, offered enormous sums of money, and even mobilized every connection he knew to try to persuade him.
Yet the Eccentric Physician rejected every proposal, spread rumors slandering the Martial Soul Society, and sent multiple letters deliberately intended to infuriate him.
“For your information, not only our society but many other factions have tried to recruit him. All of them failed.”
“Hm.”
Bu Eunseol stroked his chin with an expression of incomprehension.
There was only one reason someone would refuse even the most extravagant offers: they simply hated appearing in public or revealing themselves to the world.
Yet the Eccentric Physician lived in the bustling, noisy streets of Chengdu, mingling with crowds every day.
So why did he keep rejecting recruitment?
“Hm.”
After swallowing a low hum, Bu Eunseol nodded and said, “I will handle this matter personally.”
For the Martial Soul Society to take root stably, a proper Elder Hall needed to be organized as soon as possible.
In the end, Bu Eunseol resolved to recruit the Eccentric Physician himself.
***
Normally, when a martial artist—especially one who had been a physician—chose seclusion, most would leave the noisy city and build a small house in a quiet deep mountain valley.
After spending years treating endless streams of patients while grumbling about it, they sought peace.
But the Eccentric Physician was different.
His residence was located right in the middle of the market district—in the most prosperous area, where brothels and inns lined every alley.
However, because no servant could endure his perverse temperament, they all fled.
Thus he repeatedly hired new servants and quarrelsome helpers, only to live alone again after they inevitably left.
‘This is the place.’
Disguised as Seolso, Bu Eunseol arrived at the manor where the Eccentric Physician lived.
‘He leaves the gate wide open?’
The gate of the manor was flung open as though welcoming any outsider who might visit.
“Excuse me.”
Stepping inside, he saw the desolate sight of the empty manor.
Weeds grew thick in the courtyard, and the buildings were long neglected, exposing their broken parts grotesquely.
“Who is it?”
With a creak, an old man in faded clothes emerged from the innermost hall.
He wore luxurious silk robes, yet he was short in stature with poor skin. His eyebrows were unkempt, nose hairs protruded, and his wild hair was tied back roughly.
This was Jeung Pyeong, once known as Carefree White Immortal, now the Eccentric Physician.
“Greetings, Elder.”
Yet Bu Eunseol bowed politely with a friendly expression.
“I am…”
“I have no interest in some swarthy fellow.”
Cutting him off curtly, the Eccentric Physician turned and went back inside.
‘Hm.’
Bu Eunseol stared blankly at the hall the Eccentric Physician had disappeared into.
Not because he was offended, but because in that brief exchange he had instantly grasped what kind of person the Eccentric Physician truly was.
‘So that’s how it is.’
A peculiar smile formed on Bu Eunseol’s lips.
‘This might resolve faster than expected.’
Thud. Thud.
Shaking his head, Bu Eunseol stepped back out of the manor.
[…Deliver it exactly like this.]
After conveying a few matters to Soyo, he stopped by a general store in the market and purchased several items.
Creak.
A long while after Bu Eunseol had left, the hall door opened again and the Eccentric Physician poked his head out.
“Hmph. That brat has no persistence.”
While he was tsk-tsking and shaking his head,
Swoosh.
Bu Eunseol, who had gone outside, suddenly stepped back into the manor.
‘This bastard… he came without a trace of presence.’
The Eccentric Physician hurriedly tried to close the door, but when their eyes met he gave an awkward cough.
“What now? Why did you come back?”
“The manor is far too filthy…”
In Bu Eunseol’s hands were piles of tools and supplies bought from the general store—everything needed to clean and repair the manor.
“Such an obvious ploy.”
Realizing Bu Eunseol intended to clean and repair the manor, the Eccentric Physician curled his lip.
“Do you think there’s anyone who’s come here and not tried that trick?”
“…”
Ignoring the Eccentric Physician’s sneer, Bu Eunseol began cleaning the manor and repairing the halls.
Thanks to his grandfather Bu Zhanyang, he was not only a master of disguise but also thoroughly versed in all manner of menial labor.
He repaired the halls more skillfully than any seasoned carpenter and cleaned more thoroughly than any lifelong household servant. Every place Bu Eunseol touched quickly became spotless and tidy.
‘What the hell is this guy?’
The Eccentric Physician gaped at the sight.
‘He didn’t come to serve me—he was sent by someone to do chores and win favor?’
Bu Eunseol worked so efficiently that the Eccentric Physician concluded he must be a capable servant dispatched by some faction hoping to curry favor.
“Even so, ten days at most. A month if he lasts long.”
Watching Bu Eunseol, the Eccentric Physician sneered coldly.
His personality was so perverse that no matter how patient or good-natured a servant was, none lasted more than half a month before fleeing.
—Aren’t there plenty of servants out there?
Knowing this in advance, various factions had once sent endless waves of capable helpers to win the Eccentric Physician’s favor and recruit him.
But it was useless.
No matter how much money they promised, the servants could not endure and always ran away.
Swoosh. Swoosh.
Before long Bu Eunseol had cleared all the overgrown weeds in the garden and begun repairing the collapsed sections of the halls.
With deep inner energy, swift and precise movements, he filled in the broken parts in no time.
Tap tap tap.
He fetched planks from the storage shed and began fitting them together one by one.
Finally completing a rectangular box shape, Bu Eunseol brought out a bronze mirror from inside and extended his hand toward the Eccentric Physician.
“Lie down here.”
“What? Lie down?” The Eccentric Physician gaped in disbelief. “Are you speaking to this old man?”
“In this rotting manor, who else is there besides you, Elder?”
When Bu Eunseol replied with calm absurdity, the Eccentric Physician opened his mouth in astonishment.
“Have you gone mad all of a sudden? Do you even know who this old man is?”
When the Eccentric Physician shouted, Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
“Then do as you please.”
Shaking the dust from his hands, Bu Eunseol shrugged.
“If you want to grow old alone in this manor and die in loneliness.”
In that instant the Eccentric Physician’s eyes flashed with killing intent.
“What did you just say?”
“If you have the energy to get so angry, then lie down here.”
The Eccentric Physician stared strangely at the rectangular box.
Why did this man keep telling him to lie on a crude wooden plank instead of a proper bed?
“Fine.”
The Eccentric Physician strode over boldly and lay down on the planks.
“There. I’m lying down. Now what?”
Sring.
Bu Eunseol drew a sharp dagger from his sleeve.
Then he placed it against the Eccentric Physician’s throat.
“What- Is this some pathetic trick-”
“Shut your mouth and don’t speak.”
Pressing the Eccentric Physician’s lips firmly closed, Bu Eunseol began trimming the man’s wildly protruding beard with the dagger.
Then he calmly tidied the bushy eyebrows that sprouted like weeds.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Making a person.”
“What! You bastard-!”
When the Eccentric Physician tried to leap up in outrage,
Clack.
Bu Eunseol picked up the nearby bronze mirror and held it in front of him.
“This is…”
Astonishingly, just by trimming the beard and eyebrows, his skin looked cleaner and the features appeared far more refined.
“How in the world did you do that?”
The Eccentric Physician’s voice trembled.
Because of his grotesque and repulsive appearance, he had received contemptuous looks his entire life.
Though his exceptional medical skills eventually earned him universal respect, nothing could be done about his hideous features.
—Couldn’t he just use disguise techniques?
In the end he had learned bone-shrinking and face-altering arts to increase his height.
He even met a good woman and became engaged… but he could not live that way forever.
Especially since bone-shrinking moved not only bones but ligaments, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels as well.
Prolonged use could cause inflammation or severe nerve damage.
Eventually the bone-shrinking and disguise wore off abruptly, and when the woman saw his true appearance she fled in horror, breaking the engagement.
After that he gave up on his appearance entirely and never touched his face again.
Yet now, merely by grooming his beard and eyebrows, his features had transformed?
“What exactly are you?”
“A disguise master.”
“What?”
Without another word, Bu Eunseol now used women’s face powder and honey to gently work on his face.
“So this nonsense-”
Just as the Eccentric Physician was about to fly into another rage, he saw his gradually changing face reflected in the mirror and his eyes widened.
“What is this? Are you altering my appearance?”
“Alteration? Hardly. I’m just lightly covering the filthy skin.”
“What? Are you telling this old man to wear makeup like some woman!”
Instead of answering, Bu Eunseol held up the mirror again.
There, the half of the Eccentric Physician’s face that once fully displayed his perverse nature remained, while the other half had become the visage of a leisurely immortal-like old man drifting through the world.
“It takes less than an hour.”
Bu Eunseol sighed and said, “Are you going to keep jumping up and interrupting?”
Strange.
The Eccentric Physician had spent his entire life ignoring kind advice and treating other people’s goodwill like dog shit.
So why?
Why did looking into this bare-faced young man’s eyes make him shrink back, unable to move?
Why did those ordinary pupils feel like the piercing gaze of a phoenix that saw through everything in the world?
Why did an intense, majestic aura like a dragon soaring emanate from his entire body?
Why did every single movement carry the overwhelming pressure of Mount Tai itself?
“Time is wasting. Lie down quickly.”
When Bu Eunseol pressed him back down, the Eccentric Physician grumbled but lay back down as though he had no choice.
“Does it have to be on this plank?”
“Don’t like the plank?”
“It’s not that… but looking at all these holes, it feels exactly like a seven-star coffin board.”
Habits are frightening.
In trying to make a bed for him to lie on, Bu Eunseol had unconsciously crafted something that resembled a coffin.
“So what?”
Avoiding the blunt stare, Bu Eunseol diligently continued working on the Eccentric Physician’s face.
Then, an hour later, he dusted off his hands and said,
“Done.”
He held up the mirror again.
The Eccentric Physician gazed into it with a dazed, enchanted expression.
There stood not an eighty-year-old perverse old man, but a dignified elderly man whose eyes carried solemn authority.
“This… is my face?”
“A person’s appearance changes depending on how it is groomed.” Bu Eunseol spoke calmly. “Your natural features, Elder, are actually not bad at all. You simply neglected them so badly that you looked like the world’s worst beggar.”
The Eccentric Physician was irked by Bu Eunseol’s blunt words but could not muster anger.
It was simply too astonishing.
“Invest just one hour a day.”
“What about this expensive honey? Do I have to keep using it?”
“For now, yield to your skin.”
Bu Eunseol continued calmly.
“There are very few people in the world who possess flawless beauty or striking features without any effort.”
Before the Eccentric Physician could reply, he added, “Most ordinary people live by grooming and maintaining themselves like this. You were the only one letting your nose hairs grow like brooms.”
With nothing to say, the Eccentric Physician changed the subject.
“Why on earth did you do this to my face?”
“Because you wanted it.”
“Wanted what?”
Bu Eunseol let out a sigh.
“You spent your whole life honing your medical skills and used them to help others, earning the name Carefree White Immortal.”
He glanced around the manor.
“But as time passed… all that remained was an ugly appearance and an aged, worn-out body. No one to care for you, no one to nag at your side.”
Bu Eunseol shook his head.
“Now that you’re in your later years, don’t you need someone to watch over your final days… and aren’t you angry because you can’t find such a person?”
Had he struck the vital point?
The Eccentric Physician opened his mouth but could say nothing.
‘How does this bastard know?’
How could a complete stranger of a young man speak as though he had looked into his life for decades?
“Are you a fortune-teller?”
“Of course not.”
“Then how do you know? Did you investigate this old man?”
With another sigh, Bu Eunseol pointed toward the main gate.
“You’re not short on wealth, yet you deliberately bought a manor right in the bustling market streets where crowds pass every day and you keep the gate wide open at all times.”
“…”
“Because here you can see people to your heart’s content, whenever you want. That’s why you chose this place, isn’t it?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes sharpened.
“You left the gate open so visitors could enter easily, didn’t you? Because you’re lonely. Every single day you hope someone will come looking for you.”
Having his innermost feelings exposed, the Eccentric Physician felt an indescribable shame.
“Fine… I admit I missed people.”
He spoke as though making an excuse.
“But you’re wrong about one thing.”
“What is it?”
“At my age, why would I need a woman around to nag me?”
Patting the money pouch at his waist, the Eccentric Physician laughed confidently and pointed toward the brothel district.
“As long as I have money, I can have plenty of fun for a day whenever I want.”
“Don’t force yourself to rationalize it.”
“What?”
“Maybe in the past you lived that way. When meeting people became difficult, you went to brothels to meet women.”
Bu Eunseol continued indifferently.
“At one point you probably even paid a courtesan to live here in the manor. You tried to live like husband and wife.”
‘Is this bastard really a fortune-teller?’
Whether the Eccentric Physician was shocked or not, Bu Eunseol kept speaking.
“But courtesans can only drink and forget worries—they don’t know how to run a household. So you fought and fought until you finally sent her away. Isn’t that right?”
“How in the world-”
“There are traces everywhere of women who half-heartedly tried to manage the household before giving up.”
The Eccentric Physician’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
“So what are you saying I should do?”
He pounded his chest in frustration.
“Yes! What this old man truly wants isn’t a luxurious life—it’s just a warm, simple meal on the table, and a wise woman by my side. A true companion in life.”
He bit his lip.
“But no such person ever appeared in my life. So what else was there to do but meet courtesans?”
“You’re quite greedy.”
“What?”
“Expecting to meet a young and beautiful woman at your age.”
Bu Eunseol spoke calmly.
“If you lowered your standards you could easily find a good woman—but you don’t want someone your own age, do you?”
It felt as though his innermost organs had been laid bare; even the corners of the Eccentric Physician’s eyes trembled.
‘Can this demon-like bastard really see straight into my heart?’
Just as Bu Eunseol said, even now the Eccentric Physician still longed to meet a young and beautiful woman.
He had money and fame, after all.
But things had not gone as planned, and after remaining single until seventy, his personality had become so perverse that no one could approach him.
“So what are you suggesting? You looked into this old man’s life like some fortune-teller—should I thank you or what?”
“I’ve seen plenty.”
“Seen what?”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes grew profound.
“When they were young, rakes who drowned in debauchery with courtesans and indulged in every pleasure… when they grow old, they suddenly want to meet a normal, pure woman.”
“Isn’t that only natural? After playing enough, shouldn’t they settle down with a pure woman and start a family?”
“Are you insane?”
Had Bu Eunseol already given up on recruiting him?
He spoke with merciless, tear-inducing sharpness.
“If a decrepit old man wants to fall into the gutter, let him fall alone—why ruin the lives of perfectly good women?”
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