Descent of the Demon Master

bucket of cold sweat, Kang Jin-Ho felt like he hadn't made much of a headway at all.
Still, he didn’t allow himself to get impatient.

'Her life is on the line here, after all.'

Kang Jin-Ho wouldn't have minded pushing a bit harder if his patient's body had been in better shape, but Sister Yi was extremely weak right now.
She wouldn't even be able to survive the aftershocks.

He had to be patient and do it slowly but surely.

Patiently and gradually…
Locate every single little toxic strand throughout her abdomen and eliminate them one by one.
This was his task.

Modern medical science could also do this, but no doctor would dare to try this method as the patient would definitely die from the burden of open abdominal surgery.
Not to forget, regular doctors simply didn't have the requisite level of concentration and stamina.
Only Kang Jin-Ho could attempt this method, as he didn't need to open up his patient's abdomen to perform the treatment.

'Focus…!'

Kang Jin-Ho swiftly discarded any and all distracting thoughts in his head.
Right now, he had to concentrate his entire being on eliminating the toxins in Sister Yi’s body.
Soon, Kang Jin-Ho entered a trance-like state and focused solely on burning away the toxic strands.

He found one, then eliminated it.
When he found another one, he also eliminated it.
This task was definitely not glamorous, just simple repetition.
Yet, it also required extreme concentration and a delicate touch.

And so…
how much time had passed by?

Drip…

Kang Jin-Ho's face was soaked in sweat as if he had splashed water on his face.
It wasn't only a few strands of sweat dripping down his face, either.
Rather, it was as if someone had forgotten to close the tap properly and, as a result, water was freely trickling down Kang Jin-Ho’s body.

“…Keu-heuk!” Kang Jin-Ho withdrew his qi and pulled it back.
Then, he removed his hand from Sister Yi's abdomen and put the patient gown back on her exposed skin.
Just as he silently took a step back, dizziness quickly overtook the relief of knowing he had pulled it off.
Unable to maintain his balance, Kang Jin-Ho plopped down on his butt.
“Fuu-huuuuuk…!”

His heavy panting echoed within the hospital room.
Kang Jin-Ho wasn't sure how much time had passed by.
It didn't matter, however, as he knew he was done for today.
He couldn't continue even if he wanted to as his dantian felt completely drained.
However, the mental exhaustion was far worse than his qi depletion.

He looked down and noticed how drenched his clothes were in sweat.
The total exhaustion was the only thing he felt, and a very strong desire to just lie down on the floor and rest tried to dominate his body.
He noticed his trembling hands next.
It seemed he wasn't imagining things about wanting to pass out right there and then.

“Haaa, huff…
Fuu-woo, fuu-woo…” Kang Jin-Ho stabilized his heavy panting through the breathing technique.
After wiping the sweat off his face with his sleeve, he pushed his tired body off the floor.

'This will take some time.'

Kang Jin-Ho managed to eliminate most of the toxic strands near the upper part of Sister Yi's abdomen.
However, there were still many more strands in her.

'Still, it can be done!'

Kang Jin-Ho clenched his fists tightly.
He had been worried if it was doable, but now, he had proof that his treatment method was effective.
He knew that eliminating all the toxic energy in Sister Yi was unrealistic.
However, if he could eliminate the tumorous cells in other parts of her body except the one in her stomach, then… Modern medical science should be able to take care of the rest.

Now that he knew tumorous cells could be burned away, this task had transformed into a battle against time.
A faint grin crept up on Kang Jin-Ho's lips without him being aware of it as the mental image of an insurmountable wall surrounding Sister Yi began to crumble.

Her complexion had gotten a little paler now, but she didn't seem to be in any particular discomfort.
The turbulent energy in her seemed to have greatly stabilized as well.
She might feel exhausted after waking up in a few hours, but her condition shouldn't deteriorate any further.

Beep, beep, beep!

Kang Jin-Ho's hearing suddenly caught the sound of someone typing in the passcode for the door.
He quickly melted into the shadows in the corner of the room.

The door slid open, and a nurse stepped inside.
Kang Jin-Ho's figure silently emerged from the darkness and slipped out in the blink of an eye before the door could close.

Before the door slid shut, Kang Jin-Ho heard the nurse's confused voice.
“Ng? What's wrong with her vitals? Ma'am! Can you hear me?”

The nurse seemed to be panicking from the momentary spike in Sister Yi's blood pressure.
However, the nurse's voice was silenced as the door slid shut behind Kang Jin-Ho.

“Whew…” A sigh leaked out of Kang Jin-Ho's lips all by itself.

Had he ever spent this much of his qi reserves after returning to the modern era? He didn't think so.
At least, not until he had utterly exhausted himself like this.
With a lethargic trudging gait, Kang Jin-Ho headed back to the stairwell.
He managed to slip in unnoticed and went to the rooftop.

The chilly night air did wonders in refreshing his tired mind.
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
The acrid and unhealthy cigarette smoke entered his lungs, causing a bout of slight lightheadedness to assault him.

Kang Jin-Ho searched for a suitable spot to sit down, then continued to smoke away as an unreadable smile formed on his lips.
“…Right.
We're still not out of the woods yet.”

He had only confirmed that treatment was possible.
Sister Yi's treatment was far from over.
From now on, Kang Jin-Ho had to work hard and persevere.
He should continue doing his absolute best to eliminate the tumorous cells in the surroundings of her abdominal area before his leave was up.
Then, he would let modern medical science take over from there.
By doing so, Sister Yi should make a full recovery.

It should be possible to treat the tumor in a person’s stomach that hadn’t metastasized just yet by severing the tumorous growth.
At least, that was what Kang Jin-Ho thought.
Sister Yi might never regain her prior level of stamina or health, but she should still be able to live out the rest of her natural lifespan as long as she paced herself.

Now that Kang Jin-Ho had found a ray of hope, a smile tried to break out on his lips despite his attempts to conceal it.

'Yes.
My past…
hadn’t been a waste of time.'

Kang Jin-Ho often thought about the time he had spent in Zhongyuan mastering martial arts to survive and what it had to do with his current life.
It seemed like it had been a waste of his time, but now? He felt relieved, gratified even, at the fact that all the things he had learned back then weren’t useless after all in the modern era.
He had found a way to be helpful to others without resorting to violence.

What a strange feeling this was.
He was definitely the person treating Sister Yi, and she was the patient in need, yet Kang Jin-Ho was the one at peace after all was said and done.

'Co-existing and helping each other, is it…'

Concepts that seemed so vague and distant, like floating clouds, suddenly seemed so relatable now.
Kang Jin-Ho flicked his finger to stub the cigarette out, then shoved it inside his pocket.
He got up and dragged his legs down the stairwell.

It had been a very tiring yet quite rewarding night.

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