Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 13

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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 13
Given her nature, she would have originally feigned checking on Gongseon Yeong, the family rival, while probing my true intentions.
What remains hidden from allies becomes visible to enemies, and she would have been the perfect person to test whether her younger brother might betray her in the future.
But it seemed she had realized that Gongseon Yeong had already spilled everything, making such probing pointless.
“I told you it was supposed to be a secret from others.”
“But he’s my benefactor, the little one. It’s fine.”
“And how would you know that?”
“Yeah, I know. He’s fine, I’m telling you.”
Utterly stubborn. Yet Gongseon Hyeon found herself regarding the boy Jin Cheon-hee anew at her sister’s response. Her younger brother had been born with an innate, formidable strength.
Abnormally powerful muscle strength, and stamina that was nothing short of remarkable.
A Martial Body.
Moreover, a rare Martial Body—the Solar Constitution. To be born with such a physique as a child of the Muga was truly a blessing.
That wasn’t all. An instinct for reading people that bordered on the uncanny.
Gongseon Yeong’s intuition about people was almost never wrong. Her older sister knew this well.
Gongseon Hyeon finally let out a sigh.
Her already pallid face grew even more ashen.
“Just have a sip for me, sister. Okay?”
More than anything, Gongseon Yeong was desperate to get something into her older sister’s mouth.
Gongseon Hyeon had refused everything the attendants offered. But she couldn’t resist what her beloved younger brother gave her.
Gongseon Hyeon reluctantly accepted and took a sip. Then she spoke with slightly widened eyes.
“It’s delicious.”
“Oh, you can manage this much?”
“Yes.”
“Great then. Let’s have some porridge too.”
“I can’t manage that much.”
“Understood. Then let’s finish this at least. Okay? I’m so happy that sister is eating something at all.”
If Gongseon Yeong had a tail, it would have been wagging furiously.
Gongseon Hyeon herself, embarrassed, felt a flush of red rise across her hollow cheekbones.
‘She’s so charming it’s unbearable.’
No matter how difficult a person might be, they inevitably crumble before Gongseon Yeong.
In the end, Gongseon Hyeon found herself eating the medicinal mushrooms, Korean ginseng, and jujubes that had been simmering in the teapot.
Everything had been simmered until soft, making it easy for a patient to consume.
Each time her older sister ate something, Gongseon Yeong broke into a beaming smile.
After what could hardly be called either a snack or a meal came to an end, Gongseon Hyeon spoke.
“I thanked you before as well, but I can only express my gratitude for the great kindness you’ve shown in saving my inadequate younger brother.”
“Oh, sister. Please speak comfortably.”
“How could I? If you hadn’t been there, I shudder to think what would have become of her by now.”
Jin Cheon-hee added his agreement.
“I would appreciate it if you would speak comfortably. Truthfully, it makes me uncomfortable.”
Saying so, he offered a charming smile.
At this, my younger sister Gongseon Yeong’s face lit up with delight, but my older sister Gongseon Hyeon’s expression turned rigid instead.
“We can do that another time, once we’ve grown more comfortable with each other.”
In other words, she would open up once we became closer.
“I heard that you employed a unique medical technique. And that you suffered a head injury resulting in amnesia.”
A low, husky voice emerged from her lips. I straightened my posture.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“And you discovered the Sanggongdok as well?”
I shook my head.
“My throat was simply itching. It was Baekrin Uiseon who figured it out. I had nothing to do with it.”
“….”
She fell silent and merely gazed at me. I could sense the meaning behind that gesture. She had seen through me.
Of course, she hadn’t uncovered everything. But she had certainly detected the inconsistencies in my behavior.
It would have been easy for her to expose each detail one by one and interrogate me. However, she was my benefactor.
After a moment, she spoke.
“The Sanggongdok used before the attack on the Pyohaeng and the one used in this assault on the Pyoguk appear to be the same poison at first glance, but the sources of their ingredients differ.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Do you know the primary ingredient of Sanggongdok?”
I recalled information from novels I had read.
I knew the answer, but whether to speak it before her was another matter entirely. Yet deceiving her would be quite dangerous.
It was better to acknowledge what I knew.
I opened my mouth.
“…Isn’t it the Cheongjeom-sa?”
Cheongjeom-sa—a small snake no larger than an adult’s index finger.
When bitten, the flesh swells lightly as if stung by a mosquito. When multiple Cheongjeom-sa are captured and their venom refined, it becomes the raw material for Sanggongdok.
“Indeed. It’s impressive that you know that much. As someone bearing the epithet ‘Dokryong,’ I possess some knowledge of serpent venoms. The venom came from the same Cheongjeom-sa, but one originated from Yunnan, while the other came from Seonju.”
“You can distinguish between the venom of the same Cheongjeom-sa?”
“It’s not particularly difficult. The Cheongjeom-sa of Yunnan feed on Yunnan frogs, making their venom rich, while those of Seonju feed on Seonju grasshoppers. Since even the same species of snake consumes such different prey depending on the region, isn’t it strange not to notice the difference?”
Most people go through life without knowing such things.
She continued speaking.
“In the end, even the same Sanggongdok reveals who wielded it, which I found quite fascinating. And Seonju—does anything come to mind?”
Yes, something did.
But I couldn’t be certain whether speaking of it would be wise. The woman before me was not a person—she was a blade.
A sword gleaming with cold light.
I felt as though I were being drawn into an abyss.
“Isn’t Seonju the destination of the Pyohaeng that was attacked this time?”
“It is. That’s what made me curious. ‘Why would the bandits in the first attack use Cheongjeom-sa venom from the distant Yunnan?'”
A faint smile played at her lips. A brief silence followed, and then she voiced what she truly wished to say.
“Doesn’t it seem as though those commissioned from afar lay in ambush and launched their attack?”
A chilling coldness filled the room.
She continued speaking in a languid tone.
“And why would the second attack come from Seonju, our destination? It’s the Buntta branch of the Yunlong Courier Bureau. While it may differ from headquarters, it still has walls and a roof. Surely you can see it would be far more difficult to assault than the first location?”
She smiled coldly.
She would kill them.
Whoever touched her younger brother Gongseon Yeong would be hunted down and slain.
Jin Cheon-hee sensed what she was thinking. The vivid intensity was different from anything he’d read in novels, and for a moment his body trembled.
He also realized that this process would unfold far more quickly than he’d anticipated.
She spoke.
“I believe we can uncover the identities of the different attackers later. But rather than that… isn’t it amusing to imagine? What could be in Seonju?”
Jin Cheon-hee knew. The shadow of the Demonic Sect lurked there.
It was information he possessed from reading the novel. Yet she had deduced this from mere fragments.
‘It won’t be long before these two sisters are called the Twin Dragons of Gongseon.’
Gongseon Hyeon continued.
“Time is scarce, and tracking both simultaneously is extraordinarily difficult. In the end, we cannot afford to lose even the rabbit we’ve caught while chasing the fleeing deer. We must secure at least one with certainty.”
“Seize one, release one.”
“Yes. Your intellect is truly extraordinary.”
To catch one, you must release the other.
It comes from a tale of Sima Guang, where a child floundered in a large water jar. Sima Guang picked up a stone and smashed the jar to rescue him.
Though the jar was lost, his swift judgment saved the child’s precious life, and people praised him for this principle of seize one, release one.
This was such a situation. Obtaining both was impossible.
A time when one must be sacrificed for what matters most.
She had grasped this perfectly.
“Which will you pursue, sir?”
“I’m not certain.”
I understand you suffer from memory loss. However, those who have lost their memories often possess keen instincts regarding matters concerning themselves. Please, choose based on intuition alone.”
She was telling him to guess, and she would accept whatever he chose.
‘Seonju? No, not the Demonic Sect.’
No matter how formidable Gongseon Yeong might be, she was still an inexperienced martial artist, no match for the Sanggongdok.
If they dug too deep, it would be the Gongseon Family that perished.
‘Yunnan? But then she would inevitably stain her hands with irreversible blood.’
The principal culprit in this incident was the Demonic Sect; the accomplices were the elders of the Gongseon Family.
Unaware of each other, the two factions had become bizarrely entangled by a single purpose.
Jin Cheon-hee, lost in thought, suddenly came to his senses.
‘Come to think of it, didn’t she head to Yunnan in the original story?’
Only then did Jin Cheon-hee realize that her question itself was a test.
She had already grasped the general direction through circumstantial evidence.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“If it were me, I’d look for the motive first.”
“The motive?”
Jin Cheon-hee chose a third option.
“Yes. If a force of that magnitude came, there must be a reason, right? Wouldn’t you cross-reference that first and head to the most plausible location?”
At his words, she fell silent for a moment before laughing. She reflected inwardly.
‘I didn’t expect him to voice what I was thinking first.’
If I were to score it, that would be 120 points out of 100.
I told him to guess blindly, yet he brought back the correct answer.
She instinctively sensed that the boy before her had seen through her.
He had shed the mask of childish affection and was revealing his true nature.
What was remarkable was that even if he had heard the rumors about her—or even the gossip the people of the Yunlong Courier Bureau spread—one would expect him to show wariness, yet he seemed entirely unconcerned by such things.
That meant either he completely trusted Gongseon Yeong’s words, or he had already made his own judgment.
Judging by his character, he didn’t seem like the type to trust someone completely, which meant he had already made his decision.
‘I should draw him into the Gongseon Family.
woman
I should do it.’
And under my brother Gongseon Yeong’s faction at that.
Despite his young age, his brilliance was such that she found herself anticipating how he would grow in the future.
* * *
They shared many conversations.
This time, it was trivial small talk rather than a test.
Mainly, her younger brother Gongseon Yeong spoke while Gongseon Hyeon listened with a faint smile and nodded.
She was not one to speak much with her younger brother.
She was primarily a listener.
In between, Jin Cheon-hee occasionally added a bit of enthusiasm.
After finishing their conversation, Jin Cheon-hee stepped outside.
Her younger brother Gongseon Yeong came along to escort him to the guest quarters.
“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my sister have such an enjoyable conversation with someone other than me.”
“Enjoyable? She never smiled once in front of me.”
“My sister doesn’t smile much anyway. It’s only because it’s you that she even managed that small smile.”
“That wasn’t a smile at you—that was her smiling at my sister.”
“Normally, she wouldn’t even do that.”
What was Gongseon Hyeon really like in her normal state? It was both similar to and different from what was mentioned in the novel.
The description of a supporting character written in just a few lines in a martial arts novel could only provide a fragmented understanding.
Gongseon Yeong spoke.
“I thought you might help her open her heart a little.”

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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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