BAG 5

BAG

Posted by Mona, Released on October 12, 2025

Chapter 5

Hyukho smiled in satisfaction before speaking politely.

“We’d like to stay for about three days. To avoid disturbing the clinic’s work, I’ll send most of my men outside during the day and keep only a few on guard.”

“Understood.”

Mugang called for Physician Geum and instructed him to prepare guest rooms.
As expected, Geum bowed and hurried off, his expression filled with sycophantic delight.

“A rather pleasant physician, that one.”
“I think so too. By the way, the bound woman’s condition looked rather serious. Is she perhaps a criminal of your sect?”

“No. She fell into heart demons during cultivation and is being escorted back for treatment.”

At that, Hyukho closed his mouth, clearly not wishing to discuss it further.
Mugang nodded, told him to rest, and withdrew.

As the sun set and the day’s treatments concluded, Mugang sat reviewing prescriptions in his office—but his mind kept drifting to the woman he’d seen earlier.

It wasn’t her beauty that haunted him—her hair was disheveled, her face hidden by a gag, barely recognizable as a woman at all.
What disturbed him was one word.

“Heart demons (心魔).”

In the martial world, heart demons were usually described as either the consequence of failing a breakthrough or manifestations of one’s inner darkness.
But Mugang viewed them differently—as a kind of mental illness triggered by psychological trauma.

Its symptoms resembled modern mental disorders—mood instability, anxiety, schizophrenia—and the woman escorted by the Moonlight Unit seemed to suffer from psychosis, a state of violent madness.

“Have I ever treated a similar case in my past life?”

He searched his memories.

In his previous life, Mugang hadn’t been an ordinary doctor—
He was a physician for Awakeners.

While not as well-versed in common diseases as hospital specialists, he had treated many cases involving mental collapse among Awakeners.

Some tore out their hair in agony, some caused chaos under delusions—but under his care,

“They smiled again. They apologized. They healed.”

And all of them had been Awakeners—beings similar to martial artists, wielding mana instead of inner energy.
Both were prone to mental breakdowns during intense cultivation or combat.

“Perhaps I’ve always instinctively seen martial artists and Awakeners as the same kind of beings.”

That thought made sense.
Otherwise, how could he have been so certain he could save Cheolbu earlier?

So—heart demons were, in truth, a form of mental disorder unique to martial artists.
And among modern equivalents, the closest was schizophrenia—a condition often found in trauma-stricken Awakeners who had witnessed comrades die in battle.

“……Maybe it can be treated.”

A spark of curiosity gleamed in Mugang’s eyes.

That night, he requested a private audience with Hyukho.
Once permission was granted, Mugang went straight to the point.

“I wish to attempt treatment of the woman afflicted by heart demons.”

“Denied.”

Hyukho’s refusal was immediate and cold.
But Mugang wasn’t discouraged—it was expected.
If the woman had been a criminal, he might have been granted permission instantly.
So Mugang decided to persuade him—by explaining his reasoning.

“You see, heart demons are an illness of the mind. By stabilizing cerebral energy pathways, it may be possible to—”

“Wait.”

Hyukho suddenly raised a hand to stop him. His expression hardened.
A moment later, a crash echoed from outside.

Crack—!

“Captain…?”

Before Mugang could finish, Hyukho had already vanished outside.

When Mugang followed, he saw the man’s body blur and stretch like a shadow—
the mark of a high-level movement technique.

“……Form the formation! Do not allow her to escape the clinic!”

By the time Mugang arrived, chaos had erupted.
The Moonlight Unit surrounded the courtyard, dodging and regrouping in perfect rhythm as they fought to contain the woman possessed by madness.

Every time her rage flared, Hyukho himself stepped forward to suppress her.

At one point, their gazes met—

“Those eyes… like the devils of hell itself.”

He finally understood what heart demons looked like in a martial artist’s eyes.

Gradually, the Moonlight Unit began to subdue her.
As the situation stabilized, Mugang exhaled in relief—until a strange thought struck him.

“She wasn’t this far gone earlier today… why did the symptoms worsen so suddenly?”

Indeed, when he had first examined her, her eyes had only been dull, unfocused.
But now—she was feral, her mind completely shattered.

“This is progressing too fast. If it continues, she’ll never recover.”

He had to treat her immediately—but how to convince Hyukho?

While he pondered, Hyukho struck the woman’s back with his palm.

Thwack—!

“Urghhh—!”

She convulsed, vomited blood, and collapsed.
The rage in her eyes faded to a dim, flickering haze before she lost consciousness.

“Bring the restraints and gag! Quickly—before she wakes!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Then Hyukho turned to Mugang.

“Physician Mu, I ask for your diagnosis.”

Mugang stepped forward, took her pulse—and his face darkened.

“Physician Mu, what is it?”

“……We must treat the heart demons immediately.”

Hyukho’s eyes blazed, his aura flaring so fiercely that Mugang’s skin prickled—
but Mugang didn’t back down.

“Her condition is critical. If we delay, her twelve meridians and eight extraordinary vessels may be permanently damaged. In the worst case—she’ll become a cripple.”

“What nonsense—!”

“If you don’t believe me, check for yourself.”

After a tense pause, Hyukho obeyed.
The moment his inner energy touched her pulse, he felt it—the chaotic storm of qi.

He tried to calm it, but her body convulsed violently and blood frothed from her lips.

“……!”

Too late.
Her veins bulged, trembling on the verge of rupture—the sign of deviation.

“Prepare to transport her to the main sect at once—!”

“No! She won’t last half an hour. Her meridians are already rupturing. If you move her now, she’ll be crippled with absolute certainty. Decide quickly—there’s no time.”

Mugang’s voice was sharp, commanding.
Hyukho’s fists clenched—he knew the man was right. There was no time.

“……I entrust you with her treatment, Physician Mu. She is our Seventh Young Mistress.”

“Understood. I will save the Young Mis—what?”

Mugang froze, replaying the words in his head. Young Mistress?

“……Who exactly is this woman?”

“She is Seol Danah, the Seventh Young Mistress of the Ilwol Divine Cult.”

At that revelation, Mugang turned to the unconscious woman with a conflicted expression.

Seol Danah—the seventh heir, one of the nine stars said to shape the cult’s future.
Renowned for her beauty and kindness—yet here she was, broken, bleeding, raving like a beast.

“That gentle saint… this is her?”

He forced the thought away.
Right now, she wasn’t the cult’s heir—she was simply his patient.

“Then I’ll begin surgery immediately.”

Hyukho nodded gravely.

While Mugang prepared, he asked one of the Moonlight Unit to fetch Physician Geum.
Soon, the man appeared—hair disheveled, face pale.

“At this hour, what’s the matter, Chief?”

“We have a critical patient. I’ll need your assistance.”

“To assist you, sir? What an honor!”

“You can decline if you wish.”

“Decline? Never! Tell me what to do, and I’ll obey!”

“Nothing for now. I’ve already prepared everything.”

“As expected of you, sir—truly admirable!”

Geum grinned, thrilled at the chance to witness Mugang’s legendary surgical skill once more.
At least—until he heard who the patient was.

Mugang inserted fine silver needles into Seol Danah’s body.
Each one pulsed faintly with inner energy as it pierced the skin, stimulating the twelve meridians and eight extraordinary vessels.
Gradually, her swollen veins subsided—the raging qi forcibly suppressed.

He turned to Hyukho and nodded once.

“Understood.”

Hyukho placed his hand on her wrist and gently infused inner energy.
This time, her body didn’t react violently, though her back arched as if it might snap.

“Nghhh—!”

“……!”

Hyukho flinched at her cry, instinctively pulling back.
But Mugang’s voice cut through sharply.

“If you stop now, it would be better never to have begun.”

This was only the preliminary stage—merely calming her mind to prevent complete deviation.
The true procedure hadn’t even started yet.

Resolute once more, Hyukho continued.
Mugang swiftly inserted needles into crucial points—Pungji, Taeyang, Shinjeong—and finally prepared for the most dangerous.

“The last one… Baekhoe (百會).”

A single slip could leave her mind destroyed, her body an empty shell.
Yet Mugang’s hand did not tremble.
The needle sank precisely into Beakhoe.

With every needle in place, he exhaled slowly.

“Now… we begin the true treatment of heart demons.”

“Chief, did you say… heart demons?”

“Yes.”

“That can be treated?”

Mugang glared, then kicked Geum squarely in the ribs.

The man toppled with a loud crash, scrambled up, and bowed low.

“Stay focused.”

“Apologies!”

“Impossible, you say? Tch. We’re physicians. If something seems impossible, it only means we haven’t yet found the way. Think and act like a doctor. If you can’t, then quit.”