Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 109

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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 109
Woof!
And now Hwang-gu had insisted on coming along too.
When I mentioned I’d be traveling the Gangho, Hwang-gu stubbornly demanded to come with me.
“You really have no intention of returning to Gaebang, do you?”
Pant, pant, pant.
Hwang-gu’s tail wagged back and forth.
Then he approached Yoo Ho and flopped over on his back, belly exposed.
Yoo Ho scratched Hwang-gu’s belly vigorously.
“Safe travels to you, Master Hwang-gu.”
Yoo Ho and Hwang-gu had some kind of understanding between them. After the initial awkwardness, Yoo Ho sometimes acted as if he could actually understand what Hwang-gu was saying.
Hwang-gu, in turn, treated Yoo Ho like a friend, though differently than how he treated me.
Yoo Ho hung a medicine pouch around Hwang-gu’s neck.
It was clearly crafted to fit perfectly around Hwang-gu’s neck.
I asked.
“What is that, Chief Manager Yoo?”
“Baekrin Trauma Salve and Baekrin Divine Pellets. I’ve also packed some jerky inside. For emergencies, sir.”
I’d noticed it before, but Yoo Ho definitely preferred dogs to humans.
The quality was different from the medicine pack I was carrying on my back.
“Did you really carve a white kirin into a wooden medicine case?”
“I had spare time, so I made it. Master Hwang-gu also said Baekrin Uigak looks more impressive than Gaebang anyway.”
He does this every time.
It really does seem like he’s having a conversation with Hwang-gu.
Woof!
Hwang-gu barked in agreement.
And Hwang-gu was wearing white leather armor on his back.
“Could that be… Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor?”
Armor made from the skin of a silver serpent that lived a hundred years. It blocks blind arrows and swords.
“Young Master didn’t wear it, did he?”
“That’s because it would normally be cumbersome.”
“So I modified it for Master Hwang-gu’s use.”
Woof, woof!
Hwang-gu seemed better dressed than I was.
This mutt eats spiritual medicine like it’s his lifeblood, and he wears the Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor like it’s some kind of fashion statement.
And on all four legs, he wore Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor like bracelets.
Yoo Ho had even added decorations to his head.
‘Well, he is cute, I’ll admit.’
I finally understood why dog lovers dressed up their pets.
Besides, Hwang-gu treasured his own body like a diamond, so he wore the Hundred-Year Silver Snake Armor without any sign of discomfort, as if it were a perfect fit.
Woof!
Hwang-gu barked at Yoo Ho.
“Sigh… Must it really be this way?”
Woof, growl….
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Hwang-gu barked at Yoo Ho as if he were speaking words.
Yoo Ho clicked his tongue in displeasure, then unwound something that had been wrapped around his arm.
“Take this.”
Toss—
When I caught what Yoo Ho had thrown, it was a bracelet made by twisting threads of multiple colors: gold, silver, and pale orange.
“It’s clearly made from animal hair, not human hair, yet it’s woven so tightly it’s like golden thread. What kind of hair could this possibly be?”
I tested it by pulling gently, but it didn’t budge at all.
“It’s from a fox’s tail. It should prove helpful when you encounter spiritual beings.”
“A fox’s tail? Fox tail hair is this tough…?”
“It’s a spiritual being’s tail.”
I see. So such spiritual beings exist in this world too.
Indeed, there are many spiritual beings not written about in books. I put on the bracelet with that thought.
Woof!
—Master. I want jerky!
I gasped and looked down in surprise.
There was Hwang-gu, staring intently at me.
“What is this sound?”
“It’s a dharma treasure. You can understand the speech of spiritual beings. Regular animals won’t work, of course. Only spiritual beings with intelligence can communicate this way. If they lack intelligence, conversation is impossible. It’s similar to how humans communicate with each other.”
I found it remarkable that such a dharma treasure existed.
“Where on earth did Yoo Ho obtain something like this?”
“What does it matter?”
Yoo Ho spoke curtly.
“No, wait. Thank you.”
“Ever since the Mannyeonhwari incident, I’ve disliked this spiritual being hunting. But there’s no helping it.”
My master nodded to Yoo Ho.
“You’ve made a firm resolve, Yoo Ho.”
“….”
Yoo Ho didn’t answer.
He only gestured toward the outside with his chin, as if telling me to leave quickly.
“Yoo Ho, thank you! I’ll be back soon! Master, I’ll return safely!”
I rubbed Hwang-gu’s back vigorously.
Woof! —I. I eat jerky well! Supply provisions quickly!
I pulled jerky from my sleeve and tossed it to Hwang-gu.
Snap—
Hwang-gu caught it in mid-air and ate it with smacking sounds.
* * *
On the deck of the ship.
I had secured a merchant vessel and crossed the Yangtze River.
In my hands were the intelligence reports sent by Hao-mun, Muhua, and Muyue, along with information gathered by Gaebang and Samsalchuseo as they took on commissions across various regions.
The Gangho intelligence I obtained through my master at Baekrin Uigak was certainly high-quality information, but ultimately it was intelligence for Baekrin Uigak’s purposes.
Information necessary to manage the Medical Hall.
What I needed was far more granular and intimate intelligence.
Hyeolseonggyo.
I had to understand how those bastards were operating so brazenly.
Of course, I couldn’t openly reveal the name Hyeolseonggyo itself.
If they discovered that, Samsalchuseo would already be dead.
They were meticulous opponents after all.
‘There’s a rumor that near Bota Mountain, a man-eating mountain lord has appeared…’
A mountain lord.
A tiger—specifically, one large enough to be the master of the mountains.
After villagers went missing, they were found hanging from trees, completely disemboweled.
The sight was so grotesque that people suspected it was the work of a beast rather than a human.
Skilled hunters searched for the mountain lord but couldn’t find it, as if it were a ghost, and lamented their failure.
A commission had come to Samsalchuseo as well, but he couldn’t go because he was occupied with Yunlong Courier Bureau matters.
‘Has Hyeolseonggyo already passed through here once?’
Corpses torn apart as if by beasts. Displaying bodies on trees or rooftops for all to see was a characteristic of Hyeolseonggyo.
The complete absence of martial arts traces was equally telling.
Most critically, the missing organs were significant.
When making offerings to Yoseon, human organs were considered the most precious sacrifice.
The problem was that tigers also ate the most nutritious organs first when hunting humans, making it difficult to distinguish.
This was exactly the kind of information I wanted.
Unverified rumors.
Strange stories worthy of being called ghost tales.
Such information was classified as low-grade and would never reach Baekrin Uigak.
‘Samsalchuseo did well. Now I just need to cross-analyze this with information from Hao-mun and Gaebang.’
Information from Hao-mun and Gaebang was difficult to obtain frequently.
My goal was to intercept what Hyeolseonggyo wanted first or scatter obstacles in their path.
If I gathered information by directly targeting Hyeolseonggyo, there was a high chance of catching the attention of their spies.
So I paid for low-grade information randomly, as if I were just interested in Gangho rumors and oddities.
The kind of information that curiosity-seekers frequently commissioned.
Low-quality information with nothing confidential about it.
After cross-analyzing, I reached my conclusion.
‘Hyeolseonggyo searched near Bota Mountain and then moved on.’
They were moving about searching for Cheonryeong.
After exhausting all possibilities, they would return to Bota Mountain to search again, but there was still time.
‘They definitely haven’t found Cheonryeong yet.’
It was the same with Ju Wang-ya, but I couldn’t help feeling anxious that some butterfly effect might have caused these bastards to find Cheonryeong first.
Fortunately, this part was proceeding exactly as the novel described.
I burned the letters with the fire qi of the Five Elements Divine Art.
When flames suddenly erupted from my hand, I heard a boatman mutter in surprise, “Samadhi True Fire!”
Another person had been deceived.
It was the Five Elements Divine Art masquerading as Samadhi True Fire.
The Anshuol Shadowless Technique was actually also the ice technique of the Five Elements Divine Art.
In Gangho, the Jegal Family had the image of both wise strategists and swindlers—perhaps they had brought it upon themselves, I thought.
The martial arts themselves, when viewed superficially, were perfectly suited for deceiving people.
I was too embarrassed to go find them and explain “This isn’t Samadhi True Fire,” so I decided to leave it alone.
I simply gazed at the rippling river and organized my thoughts about what lay ahead.
‘My target is Zhoushan Archipelago where Cheonryeong lives. There’s Putuo Mountain there, and Putuo Sword Sect is located there, right?’
The Sword Empress.
That title had been held by the Putuo Sect, traditionally called the South Sea Sword Sect.
Along with the Emei Sect, the South Sea Putuo Sect was called the holy land of the second-generation female masters and was famous for producing masters generation after generation.
The Sword Empress was so powerful that even later, one of the Three Great Swordsmen of the realm was the Sword Empress of Putuo Sect. However, it was located in the Zhoushan Archipelago, a region dense with islands.
It was a sect that didn’t involve itself heavily in Gangho affairs.
The Sword Emperor—a title even higher than the Sword King and Sword Empress.
The Changrong Sword King and the Putuo Sword Empress would compete for this position.
The Putuo Sect had produced two Sword Emperors throughout history, and at that time, they were aiming for the third.
‘Come to think of it, those Hyeolseonggyo bastards are quite bold. To capture Cheonryeong right under the Putuo Sect’s surveillance in Zhoushan Archipelago.’
According to the book, the Putuo Sect had known of Cheonryeong’s existence from the beginning. However, they hadn’t even attempted to capture him.
As a Buddhist sect, how could they commit killing? That was their reasoning, or so the account went.
Moreover, since Cheonryeong wasn’t an evil spirit, there was even less reason for them to act.
‘First, I’ll cross the Yangtze River and go to Zhejiang, then arrive at Hangzhou, the provincial capital. From there, I just need to find a boat heading to Zhoushan Archipelago.’
Woof woof! – Master! Jerky supplies, quickly!
“Yeah, I got it.”
Now that we could communicate, Hwang-gu pestered me even more for jerky.
‘At this point, I’m not the master but a jerky shuttle. I’m starting to have doubts.’
Woof! Munch munch. – Loyalty! Loyalty!
‘What a cute little guy.’
I scratched Hwang-gu’s head vigorously.
Hwang-gu swallowed both pieces of jerky in one gulp, seemingly pleased, then licked my hand.
‘Ever since we could communicate, he’s become even cuter somehow.’
I thought it would become annoying, but it was only endearing.
I blew a warm breath onto Hwang-gu’s forehead.
Puff—
Sensing something strange, Hwang-gu shook his head side to side.
* * *
It had been quite some time since Hao-mun’s wanted notice had ended, and I crossed the Yangtze River without incident.
I headed straight toward Zhejiang Province.
While riding a horse would have been faster, the roads to Zhejiang were treacherous, and more importantly, I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to cultivate my inner energy while traveling.
In my early days of training, I had cultivated my movement technique while carrying water buckets.
The Five Elements Divine Art was both a foundation technique and a movement technique.
It was possible to accumulate energy while walking.
By continuously pushing my body to its limits and expending inner force in the process, I kept stimulating my meridians.
Thud! – Master, fast.
“Perhaps because my master’s life isn’t hanging in the balance this time, the pressure feels lighter.”
The horse was walking, yet it maintained a speed comparable to decent lightness martial arts.
Still, with one leg always touching the ground, it remained a steady pace.
As I traveled deeper along the mountain path, the sound of weapons clashing and urgent shouts echoed from somewhere ahead.
Clang, clang clang clang!
“Someone help…!”
At the cry for help, I switched fully to lightness martial arts and bounded forward in a single leap.
Hwang-gu quickly chased after me.

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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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