Chapter 21 – Blood Physician Butcher
* * *
The air in the underground prison was thick with the stench of rotting corpses.
The heavy, damp smell of decay pressed down on my nose so strongly that even breathing felt suffocating.
The sound of chains scraping against the floor, faint moans, and screams of agony intertwined and echoed from all directions.
“Kyaaaaaaaagh!”
“S-Save me! Aaaaaaaaagh!”
The metallic scent of blood mixed with the murky smell of medicinal herbs pierced deep into my lungs.
At that moment, I sensed someone’s presence.
When I lifted my head, I saw a man bound with thick ropes under the dim light. Covered in blood and gasping for breath, he was already half-dead.
“Please… just stop… I beg you…”
The dying man pleaded in a weak voice, but the man standing before him in pure white robes simply smiled.
He took out a jade bottle from within his robes, gently shook the black liquid that emitted faint dark smoke, and muttered softly.
“Today, I added Shadow Blood Grass to the Soul Dissolving Liquid. I wonder where it will start rotting first… The lungs? Or the liver?”
His voice was playful, yet his smile was drenched in sticky madness.
He forcefully lifted the man’s chin and tilted the jade bottle, pouring the black liquid into his mouth.
“Kyaaaaaaaagh!”
The man’s body arched like a drawn bow as he screamed. His limbs twisted, and a beast-like howl erupted from his throat.
The scream soon turned into the sound of boiling phlegm mixed with blood. The convulsing body eventually lost all strength. His eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, and dark red foam burst from his mouth.
And shortly after… the man stopped moving completely.
At that moment, the eyes of the man holding the jade bottle gleamed.
“Haa… How sublime. The fleeting beauty of life being extinguished…”
He gazed at the corpse with dreamy eyes before slowly turning his head toward me.
“You really are a strange one. No matter how much poison I feed you, no matter how many bones I break… you keep surviving. A man who refuses to die. How fascinating. Today, I’ll find out exactly how long you can last.”
[Blood Physician Butcher, Baek Cheong-woo]
The moment the corners of his mouth curled up again, a bone-chilling fear crawled up my spine.
***
The moment I blinked.
The bloodthirsty monster was no longer in front of me.
Only a gentle young man stood there, smiling kindly under the bright lantern light.
“I heard you will be participating in the Great Assembly of Elders as a proxy. It is an honor to meet you.”
[Baek Cheong-woo, the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman]
The representative of the Orthodox Alliance envoy delegation and a benevolent physician who had saved countless lives.
Everyone around him looked at him with favorable eyes.
But I alone knew the truth hidden behind that bright smile.
In my memory, Baek Cheong-woo was nothing more than the bloodthirsty Blood Physician Butcher.
‘…I want to tear him apart right this second.’
But I didn’t show it.
Instead, I smiled brightly and responded to the murderer.
“I am Han Mujin. It is truly an honor to meet the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman who has saved so many lives.”
“You flatter me. I merely did what any physician should do.”
I asked a question to the murderer who spoke like a saint of the world.
“By the way, what made you walk the path of medicine, White-Clothed Noble Gentleman?”
“When I see people suffering from illness or injury, I can’t help but feel their pain as my own. I simply wanted to save them from that suffering.”
I inwardly scoffed at the Blood Physician Butcher’s answer.
‘Bullshit. You didn’t feel their pain — you felt pleasure.’
I still vividly remembered the ecstatic smile on his face every time the test subjects screamed in agony in the Shadow Corps’ underground prison.
While brushing off the mad killer’s hypocritical words, I asked again with a calm expression.
“I’ve heard that those who stare too long at the dark side of illness and death can themselves be drawn toward darkness. Oh, now that I think about it… someone exceptionally skilled at saving lives would probably also be exceptionally skilled at striking vital points to take lives.”
“….”
“Ah, my apologies. I seem to have said something unnecessary in front of someone with such noble character as yourself, White-Clothed Noble Gentleman.”
For a brief moment, Baek Cheong-woo’s eyes shone with a strange light as he stared at me.
He looked at my face intently before opening his mouth again.
“You are a very interesting person, Mujin. Strangely enough, you feel familiar. I have this odd feeling that we’ve met somewhere before.”
“That can’t be. Since I came of age, I have never once left Kunlun. You must be mistaking me for someone else.”
“Is that so? Hmm…”
Baek Cheong-woo seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding as if convinced.
Then, with a smile on his lips, he continued.
“I understand. I don’t know why, but I have a strong feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the future, Han Mujin.”
Just hearing those words sent chills down my spine.
Without a doubt, that murderer’s mind was already painting all sorts of perverted, grotesque biological experiments involving me.
‘…Should I just kill him right now?’
The moment I felt his gaze, killing intent surged within me uncontrollably. A dangerous impulse to twist that murderer’s neck and end him on the spot writhed in my chest.
It was then—
“Hahaha. It is truly a pleasing sight to see the young talents of Kunlun and the Orthodox Alliance gathered together like this.”
Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon let out a hearty laugh as he stepped between me and Baek Cheong-woo.
Naturally, Baek Cheong-woo withdrew his gaze from me, allowing me to suppress my emotions.
‘Blood Physician Butcher… I will definitely take your head.’
Gritting my teeth, I forcefully pushed the boiling rage deep down inside.
It wasn’t the right time yet. I still had to wait.
“By the way, didn’t you say you had something important to tell us today?”
At the Sect Leader’s question, Baek Cheong-woo smiled.
“As a token of gratitude for accepting my difficult request, I have prepared a small gift.”
“A gift?”
Baek Cheong-woo took out a small box wrapped in fine silk from his robes.
He carefully unwrapped the silk and opened the lid.
A faint, elegant fragrance spread out, and the jade-colored pills inside instantly captured everyone’s attention.
“These are pills I poured my heart and soul into creating. They have the effect of invigorating one’s energy while also increasing inner energy. If you don’t mind, I would like to present them as gifts to everyone here.”
Admiration and praise erupted from those around us.
“Hoo, pills personally refined by the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman, one of the Ten Great Physicians!”
“Just the scent alone tells me how extraordinary their effects must be.”
Everyone’s faces lit up with joy.
Pills that boosted inner energy were extremely rare and valuable even in Kunlun.
However, my expression as I stared at those pills was ice-cold.
‘That damned bastard dares to bring those out here!’
The familiar color. The familiar scent.
At that moment, my body instinctively recalled the memory.
The underground prison of the Shadow Corps. The pills that test subjects like me were forced to swallow every single day.
The sight of countless people turning into empty puppets after consuming them flashed before my eyes.
‘…Soul-Scattering Pill.’
A cursed pill that devoured the consumer’s mind and soul, eventually turning them into a mindless marionette that lost all sense of self.
The experimental subjects who had walked into the crimson hell of the Myriad Calamity Flame on the battlefield against the Heavenly Demon Cult were all victims of these Soul-Scattering Pills.
And now, that demonic pill was being casually presented before the Sect Leader.
***
After briefly examining the pills inside the box, Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon asked Baek Cheong-woo.
“There are ten pills in total. It seems nine are meant for those present here… who is the remaining one for?”
Baek Cheong-woo smiled and answered.
“Since these are precious pills to be offered to such esteemed individuals, I was afraid you might doubt something made by my own hands. So I left one pill to consume myself first.”
After speaking, Baek Cheong-woo immediately picked up one pill and swallowed it without the slightest hesitation.
After steadying his breath for a moment, he smiled calmly and said.
“As you can see, there are no side effects. You can all take them with peace of mind.”
His attitude was neither arrogant nor exaggerated — simply calm and natural.
Ironically, that very calmness swayed the hearts of the people present.
“He is one of the Ten Great Physicians, the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman, who refined them personally.”
“It would be rude to doubt such a person.”
“He even took one himself. What more needs to be said?”
The people exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
Soon, Sect Leader Cheon Gwang-cheon carefully picked up one of the pills.
He swallowed it, closed his eyes, and steadied his breathing. Then he slowly opened his eyes and spoke.
“Hmm… My dantian feels noticeably clearer. The flow of inner energy has become smoother, and the impure qi feels refined. This is truly an excellent pill.”
After confirming the Sect Leader’s positive reaction, the others began picking up the pills one by one.
Soft exclamations soon filled the room.
“Amazing. I can feel my inner energy flow becoming much more stable.”
“How can a single pill show this kind of effect…? It’s truly marvelous.”
Watching their reactions, I could only smile bitterly inside.
‘The first pill is harmless. In the short term, it clearly boosts vitality and inner energy. But… if taken two times, three times, continuously…’
The end result was becoming a puppet.
A hollow shell that lost both soul and will, moving only according to someone else’s desires.
“Would you like to try one as well, Mujin?”
Baek Cheong-woo offered me a pill with a polite smile.
On the surface, he looked like a caring, benevolent physician.
But to my eyes, it was the smile of a devil tempting me toward hell by calling it heaven.
I slowly smiled back and reached out my hand.
As if willingly accepting a poisoned cup from the devil himself.
“I am grateful for the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman’s kindness.”
I took the pill and swallowed it without the slightest hesitation.
The moment the bitter taste spread through my mouth, I saw the corners of Baek Cheong-woo’s eyes curve into a smile.
I smiled back at him.
On the outside, we exchanged warm, friendly smiles.
But the true meaning behind them was completely opposite.
That mad murderer was smiling with dark pleasure as he imagined my downfall.
And I returned his smile while engraving his destruction deep in my heart.
‘You will die by my hand. Without fail.’
While everyone else enjoyed the harmonious atmosphere, Baek Cheong-woo spoke again.
“I am truly grateful that everyone likes them so much. I have one more gift prepared for the Sect Leader. I hope it satisfies you as much as the pills.”
“You prepared another gift for this old man?”
“Yes. I heard that the Sect Leader is a well-known connoisseur of fine liquor in the Murim. So I prepared a special medicinal wine.”
“Haha, you’ve gone through so much trouble for me. So, what kind of medicinal wine is it?”
Seeing the Sect Leader’s interest, Baek Cheong-woo smiled.
“Please wait just a little longer. The wine needs time to mature properly. I plan to present it at the banquet during the Great Assembly of Elders in one week.”
“Haha, now I’m really curious. For the White-Clothed Noble Gentleman to show such confidence.”
“Please don’t expect too much. It’s merely a bottle of wine containing my humble skills.”
“Hahaha. Humble skills? I already know how famous your winemaking ability is throughout the Murim. I look forward to it.”
The warm conversation between the two brought satisfied smiles to everyone in the room.
I was smiling too.
But the meaning behind my smile was entirely different.
‘Now I understand completely. How you poisoned the Sect Leader, Blood Physician Butcher.’
I had roughly guessed it the moment he brought out the Soul-Scattering Pills, but the mention of “medicinal wine” made it certain.
I now saw the full outline of how Baek Cheong-woo would assassinate the Sect Leader and how he would escape suspicion.
And I also saw the perfect way to completely destroy his plan.
‘Blood Physician Butcher. I will thoroughly rip off that hypocritical mask of yours.’
My heart pounded fiercely.
The special banquet one week from now was already something I looked forward to.
From this moment on, the future would change.
In this life, the Sect Leader will not die.
‘I will make sure of it.’