Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 1030

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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 1030
056. When Karma Clashes with Karma
A month had passed since the competition ended.
With that much time gone by, my Master had returned.
Upon hearing the news, Jin Cheon-hee rushed out to greet him.
It remains a secret that I had thoroughly swept the entrance of Baekrin Uiseon and even cleaned every step of the stairs to welcome my respected Master.
“Master, you’ve returned!”
“You fool, coming all the way out to greet me.”
Seeing the crisp, unwrinkled clothes without a single fold, it appeared I had even changed into fresh garments to receive my Master.
This was the kind of disciple I was.
On the surface, more upright and thorough than any successor of a prestigious righteous faction.
Serving my Master with utmost respect, striving desperately to protect the future of the place I belonged to.
But seeing the emblem of the Great Cooking Master of the Yellow Dragon on my arm gave my Master a slight headache.
‘Yes. This fool is exactly that kind of person.’
Certainly upright, but with his own peculiar standards.
What child of a prestigious faction would win a cooking competition hosted by the Emperor and obtain the qualification of Great Cooking Master of the Yellow Dragon?
And now I was literally the advisor to the Golden Blood Guest Cup.
No child of any faction lived like this.
Regardless, Jin Cheon-hee, more righteous than anyone and with impeccable taste, gazed brightly at my Master and someone standing behind him.
“But who is this person behind you?”
Jin Cheon-hee had spotted Green Force.
For some reason, I had instantly discerned that this was not a human being.
‘This fool has a peculiarly keen sense for such things….’
Jegalling spoke.
“This is Green Force, with whom I’ve made a lifetime contract. I brought her along as she seemed useful for your research hall, so make good use of her.”
“What?! A lifetime contract?”
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened slightly as I glanced toward the research hall of Baekrin Uiseon in the back. Then toward the Chief Manager’s quarters.
I must have been thinking of Yoo Ho.
“Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably similar anyway. Besides, she knows quite a lot, so she’ll be useful.”
“Ooooooooh!”
Stars sparkled in Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes.
Green Force quickly transformed into a beautiful form.
Not only are less intelligent beings weak to beauty, but intelligent ones are no exception either.
It was an instinct necessary for living creatures to survive.
“Green Force, you are a ‘person.'”
Suddenly my voice became calm as I grasped her hand.
Wrong. This fool was insane.
A fool with no thoughts regardless of what face he wore.
Behind him, a man with hair like sunlight watched them from beyond the distant doorway.
He recognized Green Force at a glance, looked at Jin Cheon-hee, and upon grasping the situation, shook his head regretfully.
Meanwhile, Green Force’s fur stood on end.
‘No, no, no, no, no!? Why is such a noble being here!?’
Then, suddenly, chills ran down her spine.
Her instincts as a demon were screaming.
Jin Cheon-hee before her eyes was far more terrifying than he appeared.
If caught by this one, something extraordinarily terrible would happen.
Though she couldn’t know what it was, it would surely be dreadfully, terribly bad.
“M-Master! I only wished to serve you….”
She called out to Jegalling in a desperate, trembling voice.
As everyone knew, humans were weak to beautiful beings.
Humanity had been that way before Green Force was imprisoned, and no matter how much they evolved, that instinct seemed unlikely to change.
Jegalling spoke calmly.
“This one is my disciple. From now on, follow your disciple’s orders.”
“…Y-yes….”
It wasn’t working. Why?
Did these creatures have so little interest in reproduction?
Their eyes held the same look as those Buddhist and Taoist monks like Malko.
It meant reason surpassed instinct.
Or perhaps age had allowed time to overcome instinct.
That could be possible with Baek Rin. His mental landscape far transcended that of ordinary humans, something no young person should possess.
But what of this one before her?
“Research, research, research, research!”
He was babbling strange sounds while looking delighted.
‘Could he have gone mad over research more than instinct?’
That couldn’t be.
It would be easier to understand if he’d devoted himself to Buddhism or Taoism and gone mad over some religious pursuit.
“Are you interested in the future of humanity?”
Blue eyes sparkled.
A question as if asking whether she understood the Way. For some reason, chills ran down Green Force’s spine and cold sweat dripped. If she followed this one, something would go terribly wrong, yet there was no way to escape.
If she followed this one, something would go terribly wrong, yet there was no way to escape.
Then Jegalling spoke.
“Anyway, I’ve traveled so long that I’m exhausted. I should wash up. Come bathe with me.”
“Yes~”
“Yoo Ho, please educate our new recruit Green Force well.”
Ah, so that was the purpose.
The noble being descended the stairs with heavy footsteps.
Though wearing a human form, the difference in status was crystal clear to Green Force’s eyes.
‘Is this noble being being spoken to so rudely?’
Did these human bastards have no fear?
* * *
The hot spring at Baekrin Uiseon had become a remarkable attraction.
However, since entry was forbidden to anyone other than patients or their families, countless wealthy merchants and officials had begun scheming desperately about how to be admitted to the main branch.
“Ahhh… so refreshing~”
“You say it’s refreshing every time you enter the hot water.”
“It’s a different kind of refreshing. Not like the cool refreshment from cold water, but something else.”
“?”
As I tried to explain in detail, I felt somewhat like a child trying to act old. Or perhaps I was already acting old.
As I sat there, my Master took a pomelo from the basket and floated it on the water with a graceful gesture.
The pomelo’s fragrance enveloped the open-air hot spring.
The mountains were verdant and clear, the breeze cool, yet the water was pleasantly warm.
Most people say winter is the best season to enjoy a hot spring.
They say it feels wonderful to soak in an open-air hot spring while snow falls, embracing the cold.
However, from a doctor’s perspective, it’s somewhat different.
Going from the cold directly into hot water causes blood vessels to expand rapidly, which could lead to collapse.
Patients with underlying conditions or the elderly must always be accompanied by a guardian or Medical Assistant.
In contrast, the current temperature presented fewer such concerns, making this season preferable from a doctor’s standpoint.
‘For healthy people, winter hot springs would be the best.’
I hummed a tune while picking up a pomelo floating like a cornflake and inhaled its fragrance.
“The matter of Shaolin has been resolved well. More precisely, it concerns the Shaolin Temple’s Chamber of Repentance.”
My Master first recounted what had transpired at Shaolin Temple.
I listened intently, my blue eyes gleaming with interest.
From tales of the malevolent entities confined there to accounts of the true method left behind by Gae Pa Josa.
When I heard that the abbot of Shaolin Temple was actually Hyeongyeong, I was not particularly surprised.
‘So there was a reason why Hyeolseonggyo plotted to poison the abbess nun in the Jicheon Cheonma.’
By the time Yeo Ha-ryun arrived at Shaolin, she had already passed away.
Had she become Hyeongyeong, she would not have died from ordinary poison, so perhaps they assassinated her knowing she would become Hyeongyeong in the future.
Now that I think about it, there are surprisingly many things that fit into place.
“How have you been faring?”
Now it was my turn to speak.
“I… have been working to promote the Bing Ho Bing Go.”
“The Yoo Ho refrigerator certainly went through many names.”
“Yes, yes. Once people started calling it different things, I found myself being influenced too.”
“That’s simply the nature of names.”
We shared stories about the competition, the participants, and how Namgung Un had visited and left.
Jegalling spoke.
“Since he came without any business with you, it must have been to handle matters with some notable figure who arrived in Baekrin Province.”
“Yes. From Bangju of Gaebang to Prince Ju-wang, there were so many suspicious individuals that it became quite troublesome.”
“Either way, it’s a good thing. It means the importance of Baekrin is rising accordingly.”
My Master nodded as he spoke.
His long silver hair, dampened by the water, swayed softly.
“Yes. I was fortunate enough to win the championship, and if it’s acceptable, I’d like to treat you to a meal, Master.”
“A fine sentiment. I’d like to taste it.”
Jin Cheon-hee smiled brightly.
“Yes, Master! I shall serve you with all my heart and devotion.”
A filial son is a filial son.
Look at those eyes—aren’t they brimming with devotion to serve the Master?
As long as he doesn’t occasionally go mad and collapse dead in some foreign land, or force his Master into construction site labor, he’s the perfect filial son.
Right now, a ‘blazing’ filial son.
“By the way, there’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“What is it, Master?”
“It’s about expanding the formation technique.”
“…Expanding it?”
My disciple straightened his posture with a splash at those words.
Sitting naked in the bath wasn’t particularly dignified, but he was doing his best regardless.
“Yes, expanding it.”
Jegalling nodded and continued.
“Formation techniques have many uses. We use them to operate the Refinement Furnace, but in our Medical Guild, they’re also used for treating patients.”
I suddenly recalled the formation techniques used in the operating room.
Jegalling continued speaking.
“And they’re also used as barrier formations.”
The Moshan Sect’s barriers are an example. And the formation technique I installed there to summon spiritual force is the same.
From a broader perspective, they fall under the category of barrier-type formations.
“As my disciple, you know this best—with the Heavenly Mechanism breaking down, it’s certain that demons and monsters will appear and rampage.”
“…That’s… certainly true.”
“So shouldn’t we establish protection beforehand? While protecting all of Gangso Province is difficult, Baekrin is your land, so you must protect it.”
At those words, a blue light flashed in Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes.
“You’re saying we should create large-scale formation techniques to protect the people? But my land? Master, this is your land…”
“I have no interest in such territories. So it’s yours. It belongs to you.”
My Master spoke as if driving a nail.
“…”
Jin Cheon-hee couldn’t bring himself to answer his Master’s words.
And for good reason—hadn’t his Master never been interested in territory from the start?
Even if all under heaven envied and coveted the Uiguk Baek, this Gangso Province was never within his Master’s concern.
His Master’s only concern was his disciple’s wellbeing.
‘In a way, it feels like the Emperor forcibly dumped it on me.’
The Emperor seemed less like he was granting land and more like he was throwing me at him to be worked like livestock.
“So, let’s install barrier-type formations throughout Baekrin. This will keep us quite busy for a while.”
Formation techniques to prepare for the apocalypse, as it were.
Certainly, unlike that ‘woman’ of Jin Ju-eonga’s who would physically kill everyone and resurrect them as corpses, we should make our own preparations too.
“Yes, Master! Oh, but what if Prince Ju-wang orders us to install them throughout all of Gangso Province?”
“I’ll do it if I’m paid. The other regions are the Emperor’s responsibility to handle.”
Ah, so that’s how it works.
Indeed, I’ll simply do what lies within my reach, and that’s enough.
Anything beyond that is the Emperor’s choice and duty.
‘That’s right. My Master is correct. Realistically, just managing Baek Rin alone is already overwhelming.’
You are not a god.
My Master drew the line clearly.
The Disciple nodded in agreement.
“Understood!”
The conversation ended there.
The two priests walked out after that.
After washing in the pomelo bath, the scent of pomelo clung to their bodies.
Jin Cheon-hee went off to attend to his duties, while Jegalling headed toward his office.
Upon arriving at the office, Yoo Ho emerged from Jegalling’s shadow.
“I didn’t expect you to bring Green Force, Master.”
“Because he’s one of the famous minor demons from Journey to the West?”
At Jegalling’s question, Yoo Ho let out a small sigh.
“That as well. But Green Force is known for having wide connections. He has many friends.”
“Friends? I didn’t know that.”
Jegalling said so while stroking his chin with his hand.
Yoo Ho spoke.
“Perhaps. I believe he’s also acquainted with the ‘monkey’ that the Young Master was searching for previously.”
Could it be Yeon Won-wang?

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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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