Sichuan's Mad Dragon (Novel) - Chapter 9 - The Ritual of Bowing

Chapter 9 – The Ritual of Bowing

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Translated by Heavenly Cat

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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The Divine Physician sipped the tea his disciple had brought and said.

“In medicine and pharmacy, he is a fellow who has surpassed me. In terms of martial arts, he could easily be called a Grandmaster.”

The Divine Physician’s disciple bowed slightly to the party and said.

“My name is Seo-baek. Pleased to meet you.”

“Pleased to meet you, Physician Seo-baek.”

The sisters greeted him first, and Ju-seong followed.

“Pleased to meet you, Senior Brother.”

At the title of Senior Brother, Seo-baek tilted his head briefly, then sent a questioning look at the Divine Physician.

The Divine Physician cleared his throat softly and nodded.

“This fellow is a disciple I will teach martial arts to. I will also teach him medicine as far as he can go, but I will focus more on the martial arts side.”

“Did you not say you would never pass on your martial arts to anyone, Master?”

Seo-baek asked in a doubtful tone.

At his question, the Divine Physician closed his eyes for a moment and said.

“Let us just say there were circumstances that made me break that vow.”

Seo-baek nodded and turned to the sisters.

“And who are these women?”

“Please take them in and train them as medical women. They are women who lost their family overnight.”

“Understood.”

Seo-baek called some medical women and asked them to prepare clothing and lodging for the sisters.

Then he sat back down, sipped his tea, and spoke.

“Since I have taken in those women, may I also make a request of you, Master?”

“What is it?”

“Hmm…”

Seo-baek glanced at Ju-seong with a slightly uncertain look.

Feeling like an unwelcome guest, he immediately started to rise.

‘I am a man who knows how to read the room.’

Just as Ju-seong was thinking that and about to get up, the Divine Physician grabbed him by the scruff and sat him back down.

“This fellow cannot get out of my sight anyway. Feel free to speak.”

Seo-baek cleared his throat and continued.

“I have a guest from far away. She says she came because she heard of my reputation, but as I am not a master, it is a hard case to treat…”

“How far is far?”

Seo-baek leaned in and whispered.

“She came from beyond the frontier.”

Ju-seong raised an eyebrow at the words “beyond the frontier.” Beyond the frontier meant the foreign peoples beyond the Great Wall.

For someone to come seeking him from beyond the frontier after hearing of his reputation, this Seo-baek must have made quite a name for himself as a physician.

Yet among those coming and going from this clinic, there were quite a few commoners in shabby clothes.

He seemed detached from material things, as befitting the Divine Physician’s disciple. The Divine Physician rose from his seat at Seo-baek’s words.

“Show me. I need to examine the condition and make a diagnosis.”

Seo-baek and the Divine Physician proceeded through a long, winding corridor. Medical women in neat attire passed by, carrying wet towels or medicinal decoctions.

Occasionally, suppressed groans or pained sounds leaked from the patient rooms lining the corridor.

At one point, blood was even pooled on the floor, and a young medical woman was wiping it up, sweating profusely.

All of this was happening under a solemn stillness. Ju-seong did not feel frightened or strange. Rather, it felt like visiting a temple on a high mountain.

‘This is truly a place that saves lives.’

He murmured to himself as he proceeded down the corridor. Seo-baek exited through a back door at the end of the corridor and headed toward a detached building deep within the compound.

In front of the building, the Divine Physician turned to Ju-seong and said.

“You must not disturb the patient’s rest, so wait here.”

“Understood.”

Seo-baek and the Divine Physician opened the door. Through the gap, Ju-seong could see a figure lying on a bed.

The figure was that of a woman, slender and delicate, clearly the daughter of some noble house. But her movements were frail, showing obvious signs of illness.

Soon the door closed.

“This will take quite a while.”

Sensing this, Ju-seong sat down right there in the courtyard to wait.

One quarter-hour passed.

He wandered around the courtyard, carefully observing the garden stones and shrubs.

Half an hour passed, and he began doing somersaults in the courtyard, showing off his acrobatic skills from his troupe days.

Meanwhile, a medical woman came walking toward the building, then jumped in surprise upon seeing his bizarre behavior.

Ju-seong liked to think of himself as bold and shameless in everything, but for some reason, right now he felt like making an excuse.

He quickly stood on both feet and twisted his waist this way and that, murmuring.

“Hmm, the exercises Physician Seo-baek taught me are indeed effective. My joints are loosening and my blood stasis is clearing up.”

The medical woman covered her mouth and laughed at him, then took the wet cloth and medicinal decoction into the building.

Ju-seong could see the Divine Physician inside. He had his palm pressed against the woman’s back, concentrating intently.

The medical woman quickly closed the door and came back out. She made eye contact with Ju-seong and smiled gently.

“Please continue your exercises.”

“Yes! They really are effective!”

Ju-seong had no choice but to do a few more somersaults.

“Wow! Well done!”

The medical woman clapped in delight at his skill. He felt proud and even showed her a handstand walk.

“Are those exercises Physician Seo-baek taught you?”

“Ah, yes. They are really good.”

“If you made patients at the clinic do those, their entire bodies would be wrecked…”

She giggled and walked away after a nod. Ju-seong consoled himself.

‘I am not embarrassed at all.’

* * *

Two and a half hours passed.

-Scrape. Scrape.

Ju-seong began dragging his foot to smooth the dirt of the courtyard in one direction. The sun was setting beyond the western mountains, and his mind had already been ground down by boredom into a state of no thought or desire.

By now, he was also getting hungry, and since he had waited so long, he had run out of things to do.

He simply set his goal on drawing a line to the opposite end of the courtyard with his dragging foot.

Finally, as dusk fell, the Divine Physician and Seo-baek emerged from the building.

“Her condition is serious. It is truly a terrible poison. Such a young age, it is pitiful.”

“Is there no way?”

“I will try to treat her over time.”

While they exchanged worried words, they caught sight of the courtyard and started.

The Divine Physician stroked his beard, looking bewildered. His gaze was examining the neat lines Ju-seong had drawn.

“It is creepy how well this is organized.”

Seo-baek nodded beside him.

“I feel bad stepping on it, Master.”

Was it that impressive? Ju-seong tilted his head. Looking at it now, it did seem a bit excessive.

The Divine Physician studied his work carefully and said.

“To draw lines this perfectly without a single deviation is only possible in a state of extreme focus. Only a considerably mad person could do this.”

“Master, there is also the nicer term ‘good concentration.'”

Seo-baek objected, but the Divine Physician was unyielding.

“A commoner without physical control like a martial artist doing this, does that make sense? Anyway, I have picked up an odd fellow in many ways.”

Saying this, the Divine Physician deliberately walked across the courtyard, scuffing his feet.

“Ah…”

Ju-seong watched blankly as his creation was mercilessly ruined. Seo-baek approached carefully and patted his shoulder.

“I think it is really impressive. Master just has a dry personality.”

Seo-baek was truly a person of character. How did such a disciple come from that master?

The Divine Physician said he would have to stay at the All-Living Clinic for a while to treat the patient. In other words, going to his residence would have to be postponed.

Seo-baek led the Divine Physician and Ju-seong to another building right next to that one. He said the clinic compound had as many as five separate buildings.

The scale of the All-Living Clinic was beyond imagination.

The number of young physicians studying under Seo-baek alone was twelve. The number of medical women was three or four times that. A simple calculation meant at least thirty permanent staff.

This was a compound and workforce that easily exceeded that of most wealthy families.

‘He must be quite a physician after all.’

Ju-seong murmured to himself as he entered the room of the building. Unfortunately, the building only had one bedroom, so he had to share a room with the Divine Physician. The beds were even pushed together.

‘Hmm, this is quite…’

As Ju-seong was grumbling internally, the Divine Physician came barging in.

“I am also displeased, so stop having impious thoughts.”

He felt renewed fear of the Divine Physician’s mind-reading abilities. The two unpacked their things and washed away the fatigue of their journey in the outdoor hot spring at the clinic.

He had wondered why the clinic was located at the very outskirts of Chengdu, but it seemed to be because of this hot spring water.

The Divine Physician relaxed in the water and said.

“This medicinal bath we are soaking in was originally prepared for patients with skin conditions. It is water infused with that fellow Seo-baek’s secret medicine. It is an excellent thing, so soak deeply.”

“Indeed, it is wonderfully smooth.”

Ju-seong scooped water onto his arms and face frantically.

‘So it is that good?’

To absorb as much of the medicinal properties through his skin as possible, he held his breath and dived under.

-Bloop.

Blowing air bubbles, he was immediately grabbed by the scruff of the neck by the Divine Physician’s pot-lid-sized hand and pulled up.

“You damn fool, you do not dunk your head in the bath.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Only then did Ju-seong raise his head and look around.

On the other side of the spacious bath, a pot-bellied man who looked like someone of high status was glaring at him. He had boils all over, evidently suffering from a skin condition.

‘As if a street clown ever had a chance to soak his body in hot water.’

For him, this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

His body was relaxing into a drowsy state. All sorts of thoughts flowed out leisurely, like color seeping out from tea leaves soaking in water. Ju-seong let out a strange groan and went limp.

“Ohhhhh…”

A peculiar medicinal fragrance tickled his nose, and the bright full moon was like a pond pooled on dark earth.

Crickets and night birds chirped as they pleased. For Ju-seong, this was the best night in months.

After washing and changing into fresh clothes, the Divine Physician had Ju-seong sit before him in the room and said.

“Whether you and I wanted it or not, you have become my disciple. This is a fate ordained by heaven, and both master and disciple must hold it precious.”

“Yes.”

Unlike his usual chatter, Ju-seong answered briefly. This was not the time for wordplay.

The Divine Physician spoke solemnly.

“Perform the ritual bow.”

The ritual bow meant a deep bow. Ju-seong was preparing to bow nine times, then hesitated.

‘Wait, the ritual bow? I thought martial artists performed nine bows?’

“Is it not the Nine Bows?”

The Divine Physician picked his ear in annoyance and answered.

“How many street serials have you read? Even when greeting His Majesty the Emperor, you only bow five times. Am I the Jade Emperor or something? Are you trying to make me a traitor and exterminate nine generations of my family?”

“Ah, I see.”

“Do not make a fuss about bowing nine times until your back aches. Just do one deep bow.”

“Ah, yes.”

Whether nine times or once, for a man to kneel and touch his head to the ground was no ordinary matter.

It meant to revere the other person with all one’s heart.

Ju-seong was not sure whether he felt reverence for the Divine Physician. In any case, he owed this old man a debt that could not be repaid even with three or four lives.

Also, though the man called Divine Physician spoke and acted somewhat like a madman, everything was aimed at saving lives. This was an extraordinary and firm conviction that most people dared not emulate.

In that sense, he was a man worthy of receiving one man’s bow. So Ju-seong knelt without a moment’s hesitation.

“The disciple pays respects to the Master.”

Being a street clown, he did not know what words to say when bowing. He simply spoke briefly, clasped his hands together, and bowed deeply.

As he placed his forehead on his clasped hands, the Divine Physician’s voice came.

“Rise.”

He raised his head and, still kneeling, looked at the Divine Physician. The Divine Physician met Ju-seong’s eyes with his sunken gaze and spoke.

“Now I am your master, and you are my disciple. A connection made by heaven is now firmly bound by human hands. If you do not sever it, I will never sever it either. Even with a blade at my neck, this will not change. This is the duty of a master.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, looking straight at Ju-seong.

“I am the one who shows you the path. You must follow me like a blind man clutching a rope. The mindset of reverence and following must never waver. This is the duty of a disciple.”

“I will keep it in my heart.”

The Divine Physician smiled slightly.

“Welcome, disciple.”

Ju-seong also grinned, showing his teeth.

“Yes, Master.”