Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 119

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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 119
My younger brother Muyue spoke with concern.
“I understand that you’re not the type to worry about petty people seeking you out, but you are an exceptionally important figure in Gangho. Perhaps you could be more careful with yourself….”
“Muyue.”
Muhua raised her hand to stop him.
“Your work is about saving lives. How could you practice medicine if you became cautious around people?”
“But….”
Muyue’s brow furrowed slightly.
His concern was valid, yet there was nothing to be done about it.
If saving people was a doctor’s destiny, then avoiding people would mean refusing to treat anyone at all.
I chuckled softly.
“That’s why I trained rigorously in martial arts. And I have this fellow too.”
Woof! – Trust me, human. My nose is faster than your eyes.
Hwang-gu asserted his presence from beneath my feet.
“I’ve already heard of Hwang-gu. They say he’s a famous spirit beast in Gaebang. He’s grown much larger than the reports suggested.”
“He eats medicinal herbs from the Medical Hall and grows, eats flesh from other spirit beasts and grows more. He’s sprouting up quite nicely.”
Little is known about spirit beast ecology even in Gangho.
After all, spirit beasts themselves don’t fit any biological classification like mammals or fish—they’re creatures that use qi and possess inner cores within their bodies, which made understanding them even more difficult.
“Since you’re here, why not have a bowl? Our Dongpa pork is the finest delicacy under heaven.”
At those words, the expressions of the two siblings became quite serious.
“Dongpa pork as the finest delicacy under heaven—how intriguing.”
“No, sister. Perhaps Seo Baek-ryong simply hasn’t tasted our Buntta’s true Dongpa pork.”
“What do you mean by that?”
In response to my question, Muyue spoke.
“The true finest Dongpa pork under heaven is our Buntta’s version. Since Seo Baek-ryong hasn’t yet tasted our Dongpa pork, it’s only natural he feels that way.”
“I see. So you’re saying I’m a frog in a well?”
Good. I’ll accept the challenge.
“Server! Two more servings of Dongpa pork!”
“Two plates of Dongpa pork here!”
In that moment, both Muhua and Muyue ordered Dongpa pork simultaneously.
“There’s nowhere with better taste than our Buntta, but let’s give it a try.”
“A fine idea. Muyue. Sampling the finest restaurants of Gangho is an important duty of the Hao-mun Buntta Master.”
The two siblings spoke without a hint of humor in their voices.
‘Was there ever such a duty among the Hao-mun Buntta Master’s responsibilities…?’
Even I, who had read countless martial arts novels, was hearing this for the first time.
In any case, the two siblings each received a plate of Dongpa pork and carefully placed it in their mouths.
* * *
The delicious meal continued.
The siblings Muhua and Muyue tasted the inn’s Dongpa pork and gave completely opposite reactions.
“Sister. This is not far behind our Buntta’s version!”
“Judging by the taste of this cuisine, this must be that head chef we tried to recruit from Buntta back then. How unfortunate that the Namgung clan succeeded in bringing her in.”
Even as he spoke, his chopsticks moved ceaselessly.
‘She eats well.’
Truly, a martial artist.
They ate heartily and with great appetite.
The two siblings finished the braised pork belly with gusto and ordered shrimp dumplings and three-ingredient dumplings as well.
The pleasant time continued.
The two of them each drank a cup of rose wine, while I sipped tea and engaged in conversation.
Eventually, the three of us began to speak more slowly.
The time to part was approaching.
Just as I was beginning to sense who might offer the first farewell, Muhua spoke.
“Benefactor, we’ve detected suspicious movements from an unusual group recently. It’s likely nothing serious, but I thought you should be cautious.”
‘So that’s why they came.’
I immediately understood.
They probably didn’t have concrete evidence.
They likely hadn’t precisely identified what kind of group this suspicious faction was.
If it was merely a guess, that would be fortunate, but if it was real, then delay could be dangerous.
Since such matters were common in the martial world, I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Thank you for the warning. By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“What might that be?”
“The child I recently operated on, and his family—it seems they’ll continue running their theatrical troupe on this street. Could you… watch over them?”
“Watch over them means…?”
I briefly mentioned the gang that had recently attacked Sama Hyeon.
The more popular Sama Hyeon’s troupe became, the more gangs would target him for money.
Sama Hyeon alone could easily repel such riffraff, but if they took the children hostage like last time, the situation would be entirely different.
“Ah… such people are always around.”
Muhua fell into thought.
Soon, she spoke.
“If it’s just street thugs causing trouble, I should be able to handle them at my level without much difficulty.”
I didn’t bother asking how she would handle it.
She was from the demonic faction.
She would handle it using demonic methods.
As long as the children remained safe because of it, that was what mattered.
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. Benefactor, I’m delighted to be able to help.”
Muhua smiled gently.
The scars from the plague had nearly vanished from her face.
Her presence had also become far more substantial and formidable.
‘She has grown stronger.’
The achievement of a martial artist.
I didn’t bother to speak first.
If she wanted congratulations, she would have brought it up herself—the fact that she didn’t meant there was a reason for her silence.
“You’re quite busy even at this very moment, aren’t you?”
I shook my head.
“I’m simply doing what comes to hand, nothing more.”
I said this with a smile.
Muhua and Muyue let out small sighs of admiration at my demeanor.
“If there’s anything else you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
I shook my head.
Ever since I treated his younger brother, Sama Hyeon had consistently refused my help.
It seemed he judged that association with me would bring no benefit.
All I could do for such a man was to quietly shield him from the wind and rain like this.
‘Perhaps I’m being overprotective….’
After all, he would become the future Hao Munzhu.
This much was sufficient.
* * *
The night before departing for Jusan County Road.
‘The next boat arrives tomorrow.’
At the very top of the sixth-floor pavilion.
I was eating a late-night meal in the most luxurious room.
This was the most expensive lodging—a single night’s stay cost more than an ordinary person’s monthly wages.
The room arranged by Gong-un Pyoguk was already excellent, but with Muhua and Muyue added, I had essentially ended up staying in what would be a first-class VIP suite in modern terms.
Against a backdrop of an ornate dragon scroll that a master painter had surely created, I was savoring Hangzhou’s cuisine on my final night.
“The Medical Hall is excellent in every way, but the food seasoning is a bit bland. I suppose it’s unavoidable since it’s patient food, but is there no room for improvement? What do you think, Hwang-gu?”
Woof woof! – Master, the food is so delicious! Please provide more supplies!
Thanks to me, Hwang-gu’s meals had become equally luxurious.
Though he was said to be a spiritual beast of Gaebang’s Bangju-disciple rank, he was still of Gaebang.
The best food available in Gaebang was simply rice.
By contrast, following me meant tasting rare delicacies and even the flesh of spiritual beasts.
Bark! – Master is truly a good master! I made the right choice serving you.
Hwang-gu reaffirmed today that his decision had been correct.
“You’re not lining up with me just for the food, are you?”
Whine. – No, Master. Food supplies are an important matter, but I genuinely care for you.
Bark! – So please give me that duck leg over there…!
Sigh, I doubted Hwang-gu’s loyalty for three seconds.
‘Damn it. Why do dogs have to be so adorable….’
I couldn’t resist that furry face.
This was a losing battle.
I reached out and stretched Hwang-gu’s cheeks, then tore off a large duck leg and placed it in his bowl.
Bark bark! – Master, loyalty loyalty!
That was true.
Whether he pissed in the master’s shoe rack or tore up the floorboards to drive him mad, there was no winning against that adorable furball.
Dog training programs ultimately came down to human error, not the dog’s fault, didn’t they?
‘The dog has done nothing wrong. The dog.’
Jin Cheon-hee said.
“Come to think of it, your metabolism is different from ordinary dogs. There’s nothing you can’t eat. You recover faster than humans too.”
Woof? – Does that mean I’m strong?
“Roughly speaking, yeah, that’s what it means.”
Even his resistance to poison was stronger than humans.
What was remarkable was that after eating spiritual pills and the meat of spiritual beasts, he kept growing larger and his physical abilities kept strengthening.
Pant pant pant. – Master’s great. So great.
“Want some chicken? I’ll tear it up for you too.”
Jin Cheon-hee stroked Hwang-gu’s head vigorously while feeding him.
Then he sensed a presence outside.
“Who is it?”
“Muhua sent word. It was urgent, so I came up here.”
From the voice, it was clearly a server from the inn.
Jin Cheon-hee looked down at Hwang-gu.
Woof! – That’s a familiar scent. Master! The person who gave me soft meat!
Jin Cheon-hee stroked Hwang-gu again and spoke.
“Come in.”
Creak-
The server prostrated before Jin Cheon-hee.
“Sama Hyeon, whom you treated before, has fallen into crisis. She says you should go at once. He asks you to know that he’s entangled with high-ranking officials, making it difficult for martial artists to act directly.”
“What?”
Woof!
As Jin Cheon-hee sprang to his feet, Hwang-gu also jumped up following him.
Jin Cheon-hee opened the window without further conversation and rushed outside.
Hwang-gu bounded out after Jin Cheon-hee.
The ability to use inner force was a trait of spiritual beasts.
Hwang-gu was one of the few spiritual beasts capable of keeping pace with Jin Cheon-hee’s movements.
Bark! – Following master.
“Track Sama Hyeon’s scent for me, not his new location.”
Arooooo! – Understood!
Hwang-gu’s most terrifying ability lay in his tracking skills using his dog’s nose.
Hwang-gu immediately began tracking Sama Hyeon’s scent.
Duck—the master who tore off the legs for him.
It was time to repay Hwang-gu’s sense of gratitude.
* * *
“Gasp, huff… Well, I knew there were many masters in Gangho, but I never expected them to come looking for a kid like me.”
Blood trickled viscously down Sama Hyeon’s forehead.
Even his vaunted hands bore countless shallow wounds.
Before the young man stood a towering figure exceeding two meters in height.
It was the Rough-Skinned Man.
Only his hands and face were exposed to the air, and their appearance was decidedly grotesque.
It created the illusion of watching a wooden carving move rather than a human being.
“Boy. Did I not tell you to come quietly? At my age, I have no desire to run such errands. But if you resist further, I shall sever a limb or two and drag you along regardless.”
Sama Hyeon exhaled deeply.
In the cold air, his breath condensed into visible clouds.
Assuming a fighting stance meant he possessed the will to battle.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. From the look of you, losing your limbs won’t make you obey. Very well. How would you like me to slit the throats of those younger siblings you hold so dear?”
At those words, Sama Hyeon’s handsome eyes curved beautifully.
“…Why don’t you try? Elder~ Just as cold water has its upper and lower reaches, so too does the day of death. Let me show you that. I’ll write a new chapter in Jang Yu Yuseo for you right now. How’s that~?”
“Kekeke. Do you truly believe you’re capable of such a thing?”
“Is Donggwi Eojin called Donggwi Eojin for nothing? If you die and I follow immediately after, that is righteousness. I’ll write a new history of Jang Yu Yuseo for you right here. What do you say~?”
“Hehehet, even now you boast? When you barely have the strength to maintain a standing posture.”
“…We’ll see. Won’t we.”

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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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