Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 1015

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1015
After promoting the cooking competition and launching construction on the grand arena while I was at it, my workload increased significantly. But once the systems were in place, things settled down again.
Work has a peculiar nature—it’s hectic when you’re establishing it, but maintaining it is relatively manageable.
“Is my Master busy? He usually sends letters around this time. It’s been quiet.”
Shaolin, if we’re talking about it, is truly the core of the Righteous Faction—a massive orthodox sect.
How often would there be a situation where they couldn’t send a letter?
Yet, it’s been silent.
What could he be doing?
‘Well, never mind. Let me focus on my own matters.’
I now have many capable administrative warriors.
Especially as those reborn as modified humans gradually increased in number, both the volume and speed of task processing improved dramatically.
A month has already passed since I announced the cooking competition.
The arena is nearly complete, and the competition itself is now just ten days away.
With the remaining time,
I decided to take a long-overdue rest and left Baekrin Medical Guild to dine out.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been alone without Hwang-gu or Noeji.’
Baek Hwan-hu’s children came for a tour of Baekrin Medical Guild’s main headquarters.
Though it’s called a tour, it’s really the process of giving basic elixirs to children interested in martial arts and having them cultivate their inner energy.
It’s something that could be done at Bunta as well, but since there’s a symbolic aspect to it, I brought them here directly.
‘Regardless of where or what martial arts they learn, it means they’re all children of Baekrin Medical Guild.’
It may seem trivial, but in the martial world where roots matter, even this is quite an important ceremony.
And those children run straight to Hwang-gu.
Hwang-gu seems to like having many children to play with…but also dislikes it.
Noeji had already gone out to play with his own children, and after I looked at Hwang-gu with sympathy,
I bolted.
Woof woof woof woof!
I think I heard something like ‘You traitor!’ for a moment.
Well, but that must have been an auditory hallucination. How could a dog talk? Right!
Thus, Hwang-gu became a nanny to Baek Hwan-hu’s children who had just learned martial arts.
And this cunning adult found a shop and went inside.
“Let me see… Is it open today?”
It’s difficult because the owner opens and closes the place whenever he feels like it.
‘Especially lately, it seems like the place mysteriously closes exactly on the days I visit.’
But that couldn’t be.
Right. Surely he’s not closing the shop just to avoid me alone.
‘It’s just a hobby shop, so that’s how it is.’
His main business is being a landowner.
Someone who owned land even before becoming Baekrin County’s administrator.
I heard he expanded quite aggressively, and was on the verge of bankruptcy when I made him Baekrin County’s administrator.
Thanks to that, he got a second chance at life.
Thinking about it, when Baekrin Uiseon expanded back then, the surrounding commercial districts began to grow as well, so it wasn’t unpredictable, but actually diving in based on that alone is another matter entirely.
Yet he accomplished it and succeeded.
He owns three buildings on the most expensive land in Baekrin, and seven buildings on the second most expensive location.
In modern terms, I’d call him a tycoon with three buildings in Gangnam and seven in Hongdae.
In that position, he’s running this restaurant as a hobby, so he can close it whenever he pleases.
In the end, it’s I who should be grateful.
Ding—
As I opened the shop door, a bell shaped like Yoo Ho chimed.
“Welcome!”
‘Oh, it’s open today.’
The owner spotted Jin Cheon-hee and quickly averted his gaze.
‘Hmm, I like that the owner is taciturn.’
He seems particularly reserved toward me, but that’s fine.
After all, we’re meeting now as customer and proprietor—isn’t he like the sky itself, a magistrate of such stature?
It would be stranger if he were overly familiar.
“Owner, one butter soy sauce egg fried rice!”
“…Yes!”
Oh, now he understands perfectly even when I speak roughly.
Since there’s only one menu item anyway, what does it matter?
Jin Cheon-hee thought this and took a seat.
‘Coming here makes me think of home for some reason.’
The interior is different from Earth, everything written in Chinese characters without a single Korean letter, yet why?
There’s something mysteriously nostalgic about this place.
And the taste here too.
Jin Cheon-hee closed his eyes and savored the aroma of butter and eggs.
‘Ah, if only I could top it with ketchup… would that be asking too much?’
While thinking such thoughts.
The butter soy sauce egg fried rice was completed before Jin Cheon-hee.
Thunk—
“Enjoy your meal.”
“Thank you.”
The owner rushed back inside, as if to avoid making eye contact with Jin Cheon-hee.
‘He’s quite shy after all.’
Thinking so, I took a bite.
‘Mmm, this is really delicious.’
Despite the simple ingredients, it’s delicious. Especially how well butter and eggs complement each other, and the fact that it’s not greasy at all is even more shocking.
‘This restaurant’s specialty is leaving the egg custard soft-boiled rather than fully cooked, preserving that moisture.’
As I was savoring the day’s happiness, the bell chimed again.
And familiar footsteps.
‘Huh? Those footsteps are…?’
I turned my head, and there was Sama Hyeon, smiling at me.
“Brother~ are you having lunch?”
With those words, he plopped down in front of me.
Today he wore no disguise and spoke without his characteristic theatrical tone.
But I knew.
For Sama Hyeon’s Thousand Transformations Sword Immortal Art, the core was more important than the changes themselves.
No matter how one transforms, one must never forget the essence.
Sama Hyeon faced me in his true form for the first time in a while, and I responded to him exactly as I always had.
It was only proper courtesy toward my younger brother who had mastered this martial art—one that was, strictly speaking, closer to demonic cultivation.
“It’s been a while, Hyeon. What brings you here?”
I was about to ask how he found me in this vast Baekrin territory, but I held back.
As long as Hao-mun existed, his eyes and ears would be everywhere.
Besides, such a question would sound like I was interrogating him like some stalker.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“I finished up some Hao-mun business and had some free time, so I came to play. I wanted to see Hye-a’s face too~”
“I see. Did you handle the Hao-mun matters well?”
“Well~ I sealed up the urgent ones, at least. There were some guys trying to join hands with the Demonic Sect~”
“The Demonic Sect… They’ve been quite active lately.”
I said this and took another bite.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“I heard that the former clan heads of the Six Demon Clans have appeared. If that’s true, it’s quite remarkable~ They must be well over two hundred years old, right?”
“Wow… That’s a grim story.”
As I said this, I recalled that strange man I had seen before.
The one who came to deliver the Cheonma’s message.
And at the same time, one more thing.
‘Previously, Ju Yeong-yeong, the deputy clan head of the Shimhon Ghost Spirit Clan, died at Namgung Un’s hands. So now, though the phrasing is a bit odd, the former clan head will become the new clan head.’
Sama Hyeon ordered food.
“Owner, I’ll have the butter soy sauce egg fried rice too!”
“Coming right up~”
Sama Hyeon called me by the same name as well.
I wondered when he had learned that.
The sound of the wok being stirred busily came from the kitchen.
Clang!
Soon a bowl was set down in front of Sama Hyeon.
Sama Hyeon hummed as he took a spoonful and put it in his mouth.
“Brother, I did something fun this time too.”
“Hmm?”
“I spread the Divine Skill Severing Method, and this time I also helped the Sichuan Tang Family spread their poison technique. I heard they were incredibly impressed~”
“Khehehe! It’s nothing to make such a fuss about.”
Saying this, I scratched the back of my neck sheepishly.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Really now, only you would get embarrassed over something like that, wouldn’t you?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to save a life.”
“That’s true of you. Hye-a lived because of that too, but… are you just going to leave the Sichuan Tang Family as they are?”
“They need to make a living too. And it wasn’t my proposal in the first place. Lord of the Tang Family has quite impressive business acumen.”
“That’s true. That’s why it was a bit difficult for us to squeeze them when we were dealing with Oh Dok-mun’s aftermath.”
Business matters.
When others think of Sama Hyeon, they always imagine him as someone who drains people’s souls with words mixed equally of truth and falsehood, savoring their suffering.
That’s why he earned the alias of fox, or Hori in the old tongue.
It was also the reason martial artists in Gangho were wary of him.
Sama Hyeon had the image of being as skilled in schemes as he was in his formidable martial prowess.
But the Sama Hyeon that I see is surprisingly honest and upright for a young man.
Though he commits cruel acts at times, most are only when demonstrating his position as part of the Heterodox Faction.
‘He doesn’t privately torment commoners, and in fact, these days he’s actually helping them instead.’
And another reason I think of Sama Hyeon as an upright young man…
“He reeks of money~”
Contrary to what martial artists think, Sama Hyeon actually simply loves talking about money in the most ordinary way.
He just sees a bit further ahead than most people and speaks with a keen sense of things.
I wonder how many more enterprises this young owner of Gangho will devour and grow stronger from.
Considering what he’s accomplished at his age, he’ll accumulate far more gold in the future.
I smile contentedly watching Sama Hyeon like this.
“Hmm?”
“Nothing. Just… you’ve grown well. Hyeon-a.”
“!”
At those words, Sama Hyeon’s ears turned bright red.
“Oh my~ Gaga, you’re quite good at giving compliments~”
An exaggerated tone of voice.
Whether he’s the center of the Cheonbyeon Sword Technique or whatever, surprisingly he has no immunity to praise like this.
‘I wish I could show this side to those who swarm to kill Sama Hyeon—that he’s unexpectedly such a tender-hearted young man.’
Of course, he wouldn’t react this way to just any praise.
Probably only to compliments from his younger sister or me.
Anyone else who tried would find themselves dead without even a chance to die gracefully.
Having finished eating first, I swallowed my tea while watching Sama Hyeon eat.
“So how long are you planning to rest?”
“Well, the tournament is in ten days now, isn’t it?”
Sama Hyeon’s violet eyes gleamed.
I answered.
“That’s right.”
The number of people mobilized at the construction site was nearly ten thousand.
In fact, hundreds of martial artists have been deployed as well.
That’s why construction on the arena is progressing rapidly.
Sama Hyeon continued speaking.
“I want to watch the tournament before leaving. In the meantime, I need to take Hye-a around and try all sorts of food. You know how it was, right? When she was young, Hye-a was so frail that even when I brought her things she wanted to eat, she could only manage a little. Sometimes she couldn’t eat anything at all.”
“That would make sense. When someone’s weak, that’s how it goes.”
“These days she seems to eat well, but… I’m worried she might eat hastily because she’s so busy with work.”
At that moment, another customer entered.
Ding.
The customer accidentally bumped into Sama Hyeon’s chair, and he dropped his spoon.
“Oh dear.”
Just as I was about to pick it up.
Golden light flickered in Sama Hyeon’s eyes.
The spoon froze in mid-air.
‘Seizing objects from empty space…? No, it’s more like an invisible hand is gripping the spoon.’
This was a martial technique I had never encountered before.
That was deeply strange.
I was someone who had examined the Imperial Palace Secret Records.
If there existed a martial technique even I couldn’t recognize, it meant I couldn’t even guess at its origins.
“Wow, that was close.”
Sama Hyeon smiled languidly and turned around.
“…Gua… Guangmian… Hu… KYAAAAAAAH!”
The muscular warriors screamed and rushed back out, closing the door behind them.
I spoke.
“Hyeon, you’ve grown stronger without me knowing. And how can you ruin someone’s business like this?”
“No, brother. I only smiled~ How am I supposed to stop them from getting scared and running away?”
“If you keep driving customers away like this, this restaurant will go out of business.”
“But I didn’t do anything~”
Sama Hyeon protested his innocence and then placed a single gold tael on the table with a sharp sound.
More than enough for a single meal.
“Perhaps I did something wrong, sir?”
“Oh, no! I run this as a hobby anyway, so please don’t worry about it.”
It seemed the owner’s speech pattern had even changed, as if he was overly tense.
‘Oh no… are we starting to look like troublemakers?’
I could almost hear the restaurant owner sighing.
I spoke.
“Your complexion suggests you have some frustration built up in your chest. If you don’t mind, would you like me to take your pulse?”
“?!”
An offer from the greatest healer under heaven.
Normally, one would rush over with joy. But the owner’s reaction was strange.
As the owner became flustered, Sama Hyeon’s eyes gleamed suspiciously.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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