Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 114

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

Chapter 114
‘How did someone like this even show up?’
Sama County.
There had been a time when he lived taking responsibility for orphans.
The young man before me would have lost all those orphans just now if not for Jin Cheon-hee.
The young man had made the decision to die back then.
That became one of the reasons for his madness.
‘He killed his own kin with his own hands.’
Hao Munzhu often wore the masks of young men and girls.
Of course, it was possible he killed them himself and wore their masks.
But seeing how he cherished those masks, weren’t they the faces of his own dead family members?
‘Everything is just speculation in my head. But….’
I couldn’t let him leave like this.
Moreover, that kin he killed with his own hands because he suffered so much.
‘Can I save him…?’
I grabbed Sama Hyeon’s wrist.
Thud—
His wrist was thicker than it appeared.
When Sama Hyeon’s hand was grasped by me, his strength surged for a moment before draining away.
Despite appearances, he possessed tremendous grip strength and speed that was difficult to follow with the eyes.
Fortunately, his inner energy was weak, so if we fought head-on, I would win, but at this distance he could easily tear flesh from a person’s body.
‘He’s still just a pup. I don’t need to be afraid of him.’
The novel’s descriptions were so terrifying that I found myself unnecessarily frightened.
‘Unless he’s consumed some elixir, things should be fine for now.’
Sama Hyeon asked.
“Why, brother~?”
Sama Hyeon was still in his right mind.
And I had changed his future today.
But if I let him go like this, the same future would repeat itself.
Thanks to the Hyeonwon Jeondan Divine Art, my thinking speed accelerated. I recalled the novel’s passages one by one and compared them.
Then I analyzed countermeasures.
‘This won’t do.’
“Wait a moment.”
I wanted to do what I could.
“Why don’t you get your injuries treated before you go?”
“Huh?”
The young man’s eyes widened. I pointed to the medicine pouch on my back with my thumb.
“Aren’t you curious who I am?”
“What good would knowing do? Tsk, did you boil some sticky rice or something? Getting involved with people like us won’t bring you anything good, yet you do this….”
“I’m a Doctor.”
“That appears to be the case. But why?”
Do I really have to say this myself? Jin Cheon-hee felt his earlobes burning as he actively promoted himself.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but in the Gangho, I’m called Seo Baek-ryong. My master is Jegalling, the Master of Baekrin Uigak.”
Sama Hyeon’s eyes widened at those words.
“Doctor Seo Baek-ryong!?”
No, if it’s Doctor, it’s Doctor—why add the character for “small” and make such a fuss?
Jin Cheon-hee grumbled inwardly.
In any case, it seemed I’d gained another title through all this cooperation.
Sama Hyeon’s expression grew complicated.
“Why did such a big shot suddenly fall from the sky? Brother, you really are good at treating people?”
“Wounds like yours are no problem at all.”
“No, that’s not it… Could you look at our kids? But brother… it’s awkward to say this, but we’re really broke~”
If Jin Cheon-hee had answered here with “Sure, yeah. When you get some money later, come find me~,” it was clear that Hao Munzhu would awaken in his original mode, saying “The world is hell~! Let’s burn to death. And collect some facial skin while we’re at it. Man, killing like this makes all humans look like maggots~”
The modern Jin Cheon-hee had no intention whatsoever of contributing to this man’s awakening.
‘In ten or twenty years, he’ll probably set fire to the front yard of Baekrin Uigak. No, before that, the patients he directly or indirectly created will cause a medical crisis.’
Gulp.
Jin Cheon-hee swallowed hard.
Since I’d already entered the tiger’s den, I’d decided to see it through to the end.
“I’m fine. If it really bothers you, just become a great person when you grow up and repay me then.”
“Ha, there really are all kinds of rare people in this world~ Treating someone like us for free. Not a fellow disciple, not blood relatives, just someone we met for the first time today….”
Sama Hyeon let out a hollow laugh.
Soon after, as if he’d made a decision, he grabbed Jin Cheon-hee’s sleeve tightly.
“Alright. Since it’s come to this, I’ll ask you properly. Please help us, brother.”
“Of course.”
“Brother, I think I’ve caught some good luck today~ I’m sticking to you and won’t let go.”
“That’s fine.”
“You’re really a strange person….”
Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
‘It’s fortunate. At least we met when he was young.’
If this had happened any later, we wouldn’t have been able to have this conversation.
The awakened Hao Munzhu was someone who didn’t trust people and for whom such a conversation would be impossible.
* * *
As we passed through the spider-web-like alleyways of Hangzhou, I spotted a path leading underground.
It was a hut connected to the basement of an abandoned house.
Following him inside, I saw many children sitting there.
“Brother! It’s brother!”
“Wow!”
“It’s Hyeon’s brother!”
Not a single child was dressed properly.
Their skin showed signs of inflammation in various places, and some children even had large tumors protruding like growths on their faces.
Her poor nutritional state was evident—her body was skeletal except for her swollen abdomen, which protruded unnaturally.
But there was an even greater problem: the acrid stench of opium smoke.
‘First… I need to address where they’re living.’
In the farthest corner lay a small girl.
“Big brother… you came?”
The child tried to sit up but fell back down due to pain.
“I did. I brought a doctor too.”
He hadn’t mentioned being called Seo Baek-ryong, or being the prized disciple of Baek Rin-ui-seon—probably because he feared disappointing his sister.
‘This kid’s acting is an art form. Or maybe… that’s his true self.’
The young man who sneered at the world wore a bright, spirited expression only in front of his sister.
The other children were problematic, but the girl seemed particularly immobilized.
She was using opium smoke to dull the intense pain, though that was merely another form of poison.
I retrieved my medical kit.
“First, I’ll provide emergency treatment for the injured children. After that, I’ll examine everyone’s pulse, so don’t worry.”
The children whispered among themselves.
“Brother, he’s so young—is he really a doctor?”
“He looks younger than Hyeon hyung.”
That was true. Properly completing medical training required at least the mid-to-late twenties, and even then, one would be a junior physician fresh out of apprenticeship.
By comparison, I was in my late teens.
Without the alias of Seo Baek-ryong and the reputation attached to it, I would have looked like a charlatan.
Sama Hyeon spoke up.
“Worry is just fate. Trust this hyung and get treated well.”
“If you say so…”
The children nodded.
‘They’re certainly cautious.’
I proceeded to treat the most urgent cases first.
* * *
Fortunately, most of the children had no serious illnesses beyond malnutrition.
But given these conditions, there were no guarantees for the future.
Some limped from the effects of polio, having progressed to permanent disability with no cure available.
Still, at their young age, braces combined with physical therapy offered statistical hope for improvement.
From here on, it would be a battle of time, willpower, and luck.
“I’ll do my best.”
A sharp glint appeared in the children’s eyes.
Good eyes.
Perhaps because they had to stake their lives each day.
The children of Gangho were different from those in the modern world I’d known. They surrendered their innocence early but possessed remarkable resilience.
In this world of survival of the fittest, there was nothing to protect them.
I gently stroked her head.
The last one was the girl said to be Sama Hyeon’s blood relative.
Sama-hye.
At a glance, her severely hunched back appeared to be extreme scoliosis.
The girl winced softly with each movement, clearly in pain.
She had already reached the stage of chronic pain.
‘The treatment method varies depending on what caused the spine to curve.’
I grasped the girl’s wrist and infused my inner energy into her.
The girl kept her mouth closed as she had been taught beforehand, waiting for my pulse diagnosis to finish.
Sama Hyeon stared intently at me.
“….”
The other children waited as quietly as possible, trying not to interfere.
After some time had passed, I released her wrist.
‘There’s a tumor on her spine….’
It wasn’t merely a matter of poor posture causing spinal curvature—sometimes from birth, various causes could lead to such conditions.
Scoliosis.
In most cases, the cause remains unknown.
Even modern science often fails to identify the root cause of this disease, and scoliosis is particularly notorious for this.
Still, there are a few identified typical causes and corresponding treatments.
First, cases where a child is born with an extra bone or skeletal deformities.
In such cases, treatment is attempted through spinal braces resembling corsets, physical therapy, or surgical intervention.
As the child grows, careful monthly management must be maintained, requiring the combined effort of guardians, doctors, and the patient.
Second, there are cases caused by muscular dystrophy.
When muscle cells malfunction and cannot support the spine, modern medicine offers few solutions.
An incurable disease.
Yet if the curved spine is left untreated, as the child grows, the compression on the lungs and organs worsens, making breathing and eating increasingly difficult until the patient’s life ends in suffering.
Even if surgical correction is attempted, without supporting muscles, time will inevitably require another surgery.
Is that not also suffering?
Because there is no answer, guardians, doctors, and patients alike are trapped in endless questioning.
Third.
Cases where a tumor grows and compresses the spine.
A tumor develops within the body for some reason and pushes the spine sideways.
Sama-hye falls into this third category.
‘The fundamental cause is the tumor. Removing it will be the key.’
Fortunately, it wasn’t the second type—muscular dystrophy—but this was also not a simple matter, so I exhaled quietly.
The girl’s spine was already severely twisted, affecting her entire body.
The compression on her internal organs was particularly severe, making it difficult to eat and breathe normally.
Her rib cage had already become deformed.
With chronic pain setting in, living a normal life was impossible.
‘Was it Sama-hye that Sama Hyeon should have killed?’
I looked at Sama Hyeon.
Though cynical about the world, he was a child who had endured because of Sama-hye.
What must have been going through my mind as I took this child’s life with my own hands?
It was undeniable that this was a situation sufficient to shatter a person’s humanity.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Don’t get your hopes up, brother. Everyone already said it was impossible.”
With the medical techniques of this era, it was impossible.
Tuina massage alone was not a cure-all. Without extracting this tumor, proper treatment remained fundamentally impossible.
“But couldn’t my sister Hye at least suffer less than she does now?”
It was then that Sama-hye spoke in a dejected voice.
“Is there a way to die without pain? Doctor…?”
“Hye!”
….
Sama-hye said nothing more and turned away.
In the mire of despair, Sama-hye’s will to live had been worn down to nothing.
I suddenly recalled the scenes from the pediatric ward.
Children were no different from adults.
Children did not possess any special will to overcome illness, nor were they incapable of feeling despair and sorrow.
Children despaired too.
Human will erodes easily, and after such erosion, what remains?
I spoke.
“Surgery—or rather, excision will be necessary. But statistically…”
“What?”
Sama Hyeon’s and Sama-hye’s eyes widened.

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