“You’ve worked hard.”
At that moment, Seo An finished the laundry in the yard and stepped into Taepyeong Hall.
“Now let me take over. You should rest a bit too.”
“It’s fine.” Bu Eunseol spoke firmly. “If I get tired, I’ll let you know. So please rest for now.”
“These are all patients who passed away while fighting serious illness.” Seo An shook his head. “Unlike those who died alone, among those who succumbed to grave sickness, there are surprisingly some from respectable families.”
Then, with a worried expression, he added, “If you make even the slightest mistake in embalming, you’ll end up shouldering all the blame.”
Some patients carried valuables with them until the very end and sometimes, relatives who failed to find those items would come looking for the embalmer and make endless trouble.
“It’s all right. I’ve lived as an embalmer for a long time.” Bu Eunseol replied calmly. “The burden of proof for theft lies with the family. If they keep causing a scene, we can simply report them to the authorities.”
He continued, “Besides, the bereaved instinctively know—whether the embalmer stole anything or not. At times like this, their intuition becomes extremely sharp.”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Having worked as an embalmer for many years, Seo An knew that fact well. Still, he had been worried that Bu Eunseol might face harsh treatment.
But seeing how confidently and clearly he spoke, there was clearly no need for such concern.
“Still, don’t overdo it.” Seo An let out a sigh. “For the sake of the already dead, there’s no point in a living person ruining their own body.”
Warm words.
Just like the things Grandfather used to say.
When Bu Eunseol looked at him with a smile, showing no sign of hardship, Seo An shook his head with an apologetic expression.
“I’m worried I’ve pushed you onto a path of needless suffering just for one steamed bun.”
“How could that be? I really don’t mind at all.”
Looking into Bu Eunseol’s bright, clear eyes, Seo An gave a deep sigh and nodded.
“All right.”
Once Seo An left Taepyeong Hall, Bu Eunseol immediately began examining the bodies.
Splash. Swipe, swipe.
Even as he embalmed them swiftly without pause, on the other side he started analyzing the causes of death.
It wasn’t for any particular reason—it was simply a habit he had carried his whole life.
‘Hm?’
But as he examined the corpses, Bu Eunseol’s expression grew grave.
He had been told these were all patients who had died after battling serious illness.
‘They definitely suffered from grave illness. But…’
Even without performing an autopsy, the extreme emaciation of most bodies clearly showed they had been ill for a long time.
Despite that, their bodies did not feel like those of people who had finally succumbed after a prolonged fight against disease.
‘This is not the physical condition one would expect at the moment when vitality fades.’
Patients who die after long battles with illness invariably have poor complexion. Moreover, because they were bedridden for extended periods, their backs or genital areas are often ulcerated and decayed.
But several of these bodies looked as though they had suffered only a mild illness—or were not even in a state of immobility—yet their vitality had suddenly extinguished, leading to immediate death.
Since Bu Eunseol had mastered the Seven Blood Tear Forms, which dealt with death, he could sense the vital energy—the root force that sustains human life—more clearly than anyone.
‘Of course, people can die suddenly. But…’
There are rare cases where a robust, healthy young man dies abruptly without any prior illness but such incidents are exceedingly uncommon.
For so many patients to die from sudden loss of vitality in such numbers was anything but ordinary.
‘I need to confirm this.’
Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
The wandering physician was suspicious after all.
He intended to personally verify what kind of person this Yeon Wol was and how exactly he was treating the patients.
At the gloomy entrance to the abandoned manor, a crowd had gathered like clouds.
The reason was simple: inside this derelict place lived a near-divine physician who wandered the world treating the sick for free.
He accepted no treatment fees.
He bought medicinal herbs out of his own pocket to treat patients, and when that wasn’t enough, he climbed mountains himself to gather them.
He barely slept at night for the endless stream of patients, and for those with serious illnesses who had nowhere else to go, he had prepared living spaces inside the abandoned buildings.
―What a pointless endeavor. Does he really think this changes anything?
Most of the patients were vagrants or the destitute with nowhere else to turn.
While some praised his charity, others mocked it as futile.
Regardless, for more than six months the physician had quietly remained in this abandoned manor, steadily treating the sick.
Step, step.
Eventually the line gradually shortened.
Among the long queue, it became the turn of a tall man in gray robes to enter.
It was Bu Eunseol.
“Come in.”
When his turn finally came, a middle-aged man emerged from inside and guided him.
“Follow me.”
Following the middle-aged man inside, Bu Eunseol saw that contrary to the dilapidated exterior, the various buildings had been neatly repaired.
Entering a building in the front yard, he found a very young man seated properly, dressed in shabby traveling physician’s robes.
His frame was slender like a woman’s, his nose sharp and high, his skin pale as snow.
This was Yeon Wol—the wandering physician said to heal people across the Central Plains.
“This gentleman—”
Bu Eunseol feigned surprise.
Yeon Wol’s eyes were firmly closed.
“Physician Yeon has difficulty with his sight.”
The middle-aged man who had been standing behind whispered to Bu Eunseol.
“Approach and tell him where it hurts.”
Nodding, Bu Eunseol sat across from Yeon Wol.
Yeon Wol smiled faintly and spoke.
“Your name?”
“Seolso.”
“I see.”
Yeon Wol gave a gentle smile and continued,
“You may go back.”
“I haven’t even told you where it hurts yet.”
The corners of Yeon Wol’s mouth rose.
“Your steps are slow but carry the weight of a lion. Your voice is soft and low, yet clear and resonant. You possess an absolutely healthy body that no illness could possibly cling to… so there is no need for a physician’s touch.”
Bu Eunseol’s eyes sparkled.
To assess someone’s physical condition from footsteps and voice alone—without even taking the pulse?
That spoke either of unfathomably advanced medical skill, or of martial prowess so exceptional that he could glean vast information through hearing alone.
“It is not a physical illness, but a sickness of the heart.”
At Bu Eunseol’s words, Yeon Wol tilted his head.
“A sickness of the heart?”
“Yes.” Bu Eunseol spoke calmly. “Every night I see illusions and suffer nightmares. The resentment pent up in my heart refuses to dissipate.”
Though Bu Eunseol had never formally studied medicine, to alleviate his loneliness he had read countless poison scriptures and medical classics.
For someone harboring vengeance in his heart like Bu Eunseol, the symptoms of heart fire were very real.
If Yeon Wol was truly a physician, he would naturally be able to diagnose them.
“Let me take a look.”
In the end, Yeon Wol grasped Bu Eunseol’s wrist pulse.
Even having reached the realm of Perfect Stillness, he could not completely conceal his internal energy.
However, because Bu Eunseol had mastered the secret art of forming and storing an inner core, he had hidden his internal force so perfectly that even an expert at the Limitless Realm level could not detect it.
“Hm. Indeed.” The young physician nodded. “You must have suffered a great injustice in the past. If heart fire is not properly managed for a long time, it leads to disharmony between heart and kidney, damaging kidney water.”
The physician nodded again.
“You are still young and healthy, so you should be able to earn money. I will prescribe the Heart-Dividing Qi Decoction.”
With swift strokes of the brush, the physician wrote a prescription and handed it to Bu Eunseol.
“Decoct one dose of this medicine and drink it; your symptoms should improve greatly.”
“Thank you.”
When Bu Eunseol politely accepted the prescription, Yeon Wol showed a picture-perfect smile.
“People with a body as healthy as yours are rare. I sincerely hope you recover fully.”
“Thank you.”
As he stepped outside, the middle-aged man once again guided the waiting patients inward.
Instead of leaving immediately, Bu Eunseol slowly surveyed the interior of the abandoned manor.
He soon discovered an area where patients appeared to be living together.
After observing them for a long while, a sharp glint passed through his eyes.
‘They are not separated according to severity.’
In ordinary clinics, patients are strictly divided by the gravity of their condition but the classification of patients staying in this abandoned manor was somewhat strange.
Next to an elderly patient on the verge of death lay a young man with a broken leg.
Beside a man groaning in pain sat a boy who looked no older than ten, blinking his eyes.
“Aaaahhh!”
At that moment, an old patient let out a tremendous scream.
The middle-aged man who had been guiding people came running in a hurry.
Lingering here unnecessarily would only arouse suspicion.
After glancing around, Bu Eunseol had no choice but to turn and leave the manor.
Returning to Seo An’s funeral parlor, Bu Eunseol entered Taepyeong Hall and carefully examined the bodies said to have died from illness.
‘As expected, nothing.’
If Yeon Wol had killed the patients?
If he were a formidable martial expert who murdered them without leaving external wounds?
Even if other embalmers could not find it, there was no way Bu Eunseol himself would miss it.
Click.
At that moment the door opened, and an old man whose eyes seemed closed entered.
It was Seo An.
“You said you were going to the village for a bit. Did something happen?”
“I had some complicated thoughts, so I took a walk.”
“Is something troubling you? Your face doesn’t look good.”
At Seo An’s words, Bu Eunseol hesitated for a moment before speaking carefully.
“Elder. There is one thing I’d like to ask.”
“Go ahead.”
“Is there a method of killing that leaves absolutely no trace even upon autopsy?”
“A killing method that leaves no trace even on autopsy?”
“Yes.”
“Why would someone who embalms bodies entertain such grim thoughts?”
When Seo An looked shocked, Bu Eunseol answered honestly.
“Because I’ve done embalming for a long time, I can instantly determine the cause of death just by looking at a corpse.”
“But…”
“Yet even when it is clearly murder by another person, is it possible for no trace of homicide to remain? That question arose in my mind.”
Hearing Bu Eunseol speak with such gravity, Seo An finally seemed to understand and nodded.
“So that’s why you quit embalming?”
“No, that’s not it. But…”
When Bu Eunseol trailed off, Seo An folded his arms with a serious expression.
“Clearly murdered, yet no method remains… hm.”
After pondering for a while, he narrowed his already thin eyes even further.
“In this world, there is only one method of killing that leaves no trace of homicide.”
Seo An looked straight into Bu Eunseol’s eyes and said,
“Making the other person choose suicide.”
It was somewhat of a non-answer.
Frowning, Bu Eunseol asked again.
“Then is there no method—whether suicide or homicide—that leaves absolutely no trace at all?”
“Absolutely no trace remaining… hm.”
After stroking his chin for a long time, Seo An suddenly gave a peculiar smile and said,
“There is. It’s killing slowly over time.”
Seo An opened his narrow eyes a little wider.
“In the past, there was a woman who could no longer endure her husband’s violence and decided to kill him. But she feared punishment if the murder was discovered, so she sought out a skilled fortune-teller.”
He continued in an excited tone.
“She paid a large sum and learned a curse spell from the fortune-teller that could kill her husband.”
Seo An smiled faintly.
“And every night while he slept, she cast the curse. Begging for him to die.”
He twitched his lips as though holding back laughter.
“Fortunately, the curse worked, and eventually her husband died. Overjoyed, the woman looked up at the sky and shouted,”
‘Thank you! After fifty long years, you’ve finally granted my wish!’
In the end, Seo An could no longer hold back and burst into hearty laughter.
“How about that? Isn’t it a truly splendid murder method? And it left absolutely no trace.”
In the end, instead of an answer, Seo An had simply told an amusing story.
Hearing it, Bu Eunseol gave a small chuckle.
It was the laugh of a child.
For a moment, it felt as though he had returned to the days when Grandfather would tell him all sorts of old tales.
‘Ah.’
But at that instant, something flashed through Bu Eunseol’s mind.
‘Delay.’
Only after hearing Seo An’s jest did he realize why he could find no trace of murder.
“Elder.”
“Hm?”
“Where are the graves of those who died of illness recently?”
Bu Eunseol used qinggong to ascend the back mountain of the village.
The place he finally reached was a communal cemetery where countless people were buried.
Raising the Void Heart Command, Bu Eunseol searched the area for a long time until he located the grave of someone who had died six months earlier.
“I wish to reveal this unjust death to the world. Please forgive me for disturbing your rest.”
With palms joined, Bu Eunseol took a deep breath.
Crack, crack.
The earth of the grave split open, and the coffin inside floated wholly into the air.
Click.
Carefully opening the coffin and observing the body within, Bu Eunseol’s eyes narrowed.
‘As expected.’
The corpse of the old man lying in the coffin.
By this time it should have been gradually turning to bone, yet it remained completely undecayed as though the person were still alive.
Bu Eunseol cautiously opened the corpse’s mouth and examined beneath the tongue.
The area under the tongue was pitch black.
Death by poisoning.
This old man had been killed by an extreme poison, and because of the virulent toxin still lingering, the corpse had not begun to decay even now.
Thud.
After carefully reburying the coffin, Bu Eunseol moved to another grave and examined its interior.
Those who had died long ago showed clear signs of poisoning, while those who died more recently showed little to no such traces.
“Delayed poison.”
Bu Eunseol murmured quietly.
“That’s how he left no traces.”
Poisons come in countless varieties, each with distinct characteristics.
Some do not react immediately but manifest symptoms only after a certain period.
Moreover, poisons with delayed toxicity do not cause immediate fatal damage to the body.
They require prolonged or repeated exposure above a certain threshold, and at the moment of death, no obvious traces may remain.
In such cases, even a trained eye might mistake it for natural death or disease.
“Everyone who died in the past six months was poisoned with a delayed-effect toxin… and to use poison to this degree means he is not only an expert in poisons but deeply versed in human physiology.”
In the end, there was only one answer.
In this area, there was only one person profoundly knowledgeable about the human body and he had arrived in this village six months ago.
Yeon Wol.
The reason patients had been dying one after another was because Yeon Wol had been using a poison that killed without leaving traces.
Oooong.
While tidying the graveside again, Bu Eunseol happened to notice an old iron sword half-buried nearby.
It was heavily rusted, the blade reeking of blood.
Judging by how badly damaged the edge was, it had probably belonged to a third-rate martial artist.
‘Is this what I’m meant to use?’
He had been considering retrieving the Silent Tiger Soul Sword he had buried in the forest.
But an iron sword buried at the graveside seemed the better choice.
Because it would carry the resentment of those unjustly killed.
Srrr.
Raising his internal energy, Bu Eunseol grasped the rusted iron sword.
Now, he would execute the murderer disguised as a physician who had been slaughtering pitiful patients without reason.
