Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 130

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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 130
Woof! – Master, I’m hungry!
I scratched Hwang-gu’s head vigorously and pulled out some dried pollack from my pouch.
The dried fish I’d bought on Bota Island still remained.
Munch munch. – Delicious! So good!
“You managed to avoid that well.”
Hwang-gu is a dog.
Though he’s a spiritual creature, he’s not as massive as Mannyeonhwari, nor does he breathe lightning like Cheonryeong.
Yet this Hwang-gu’s survival in the harsh Gangho was surely thanks to his legs faster than any martial artist, his ghostly sense of smell, and his keen intuition.
“You’re better than people. Better than me.”
Whine? – I don’t understand, Master.
“It means eat more.”
I pulled out several more pieces of dried fish and handed them to Hwang-gu.
Hwang-gu wagged his tail happily, already having forgotten the battle from moments before.
* * *
I sat down nearby and rested for quite some time.
“I won, but I can barely move.”
It was fortunate enough that I wasn’t coughing blood and losing consciousness like when facing the Gokgol Hyeolma.
‘Have my martial skills truly improved that much?’
No matter how much martial technique one learns, actual combat is necessary to draw it out.
Thanks to these life-or-death battles, I was gradually mastering the true essence of martial arts.
Pant pant. – Master! I’ll protect you!
The fortunate thing was that I wasn’t alone.
While I recovered, Hwang-gu would bark to alert me whenever danger approached.
‘Traveling alongside Hwang-gu was truly a stroke of divine fortune.’
I’d lost count of how many crises we’d overcome.
The Gangho wasn’t a place resolved by mere collision of martial force.
Finding people, avoiding threats, detecting contaminated water, and even standing guard while I recovered my energy—he did it all.
He was no ordinary spiritual creature of the Gaebang.
‘When we return, I need to treat our Hwang-gu with proper respect. I should prepare plenty of delicious food for him.’
I grabbed Hwang-gu’s chubby cheeks and kissed him.
Yelp! – I like you too. I like our master.
Hwang-gu’s tail wagged like a propeller.
Then Hwang-gu barked loudly.
At the same moment, Cheonryeong flew overhead.
Chirp chirp!
I couldn’t hear what he was saying—only vibrations from the dharma artifact.
Hwang-gu also barked toward Cheonryeong.
Shortly after, Cheonryeong’s voice came through clearly.
Chirp, chirp chirp. – Thank you. Martial artist! Big dog, thank you too! Thanks to you, I was able to save my chicks.
I fidgeted with the dharma tool Yoo Ho had given me as I answered.
“Yeah. Thank goodness. Now you should escape too. Since Hyeolseonggyo knows, you’ll need to flee far beyond Zhoushan County.”
At my words, Cheonryeong seemed to be contemplating something.
Just then, Hwang-gu barked at Cheonryeong as if trying to speak with him.
Woof, woof woof!
Chirp, chirp chirp!
The two of them whispered back and forth about something for quite a while in words the dharma tool couldn’t pick up.
Eventually, Cheonryeong let out a long cry and flew off into the distance.
Watching Cheonryeong disappear beyond the distant mountain ridge, I let out a small sigh.
“Finally leaving, it seems. Thank goodness. I need to rest a bit more before heading down. I’m so exhausted I can’t do anything.”
Lick, lick lick—
Hwang-gu licked my face.
I stroked Hwang-gu gently.
Not even a quarter hour had passed before Cheonryeong came flying back.
Chirp. – Human, eat this!
Wondering what that sound was, I looked up to see Cheonryeong dropping a massive mushroom toward me.
Startled, I reached out and caught the mushroom.
At first glance, it looked no different from a ganoderma mushroom. But its rich fragrance was so intense it nearly numbed my nose.
“This is… wait a moment….”
Chirp chirp! – Something good for the body that I’ve been saving. Eat it.
I stared at the mushroom for a long time.
I had learned about this mushroom before.
But it was relegated to the margins of the text, with no actual specimens, and only oral accounts of people who had consumed it.
“Is this… Heavenly Earth Stone Fungus? Surely not?”
Heavenly Earth Stone Fungus.
A type of spiritual medicine that grows only where the energies of heaven and earth meet, living for a thousand years, or so I’d heard.
If human footsteps touched it, the mushroom would wither immediately, and its value as a spiritual medicine would plummet.
To harvest it properly, one had to use animals like dogs or pigs instead of humans.
‘But I’ve never seen one this large before…’
Spiritual medicines created by nature surpass those made by humans.
Humans cannot overcome nature.
Moreover, since it was the type of spiritual medicine containing the energies of heaven and earth, I could absorb it harmoniously with my Five Elements Divine Art.
“I’m truly grateful.”
Chirp! – Repayment for saving our chicks.
‘In Gangho, not only humans but spiritual beings understand righteousness.’
A hollow laugh escaped me.
I never expected that my decision not to kill Cheonryeong, merely to protect him, would return such a reward.
I sat in meditation and tore the Heavenly Earth Stone Fungus into strips, consuming them all at once.
As the fungus entered my mouth and I circulated my energy, it transformed into qi and began seeping into my body like liquid.
Uuuuung—
Earth Qi and Wind Qi.
Two currents of energy entered me.
I welcomed them with the Five Elements Divine Art, repeatedly dispersing and gathering my inner force.
Earth and wind naturally decomposed, beginning to seep into my dantian.
Two of the Five Elements had grown considerably, and my substantially strengthened inner power accepted them.
‘Fortunately, thanks to Mannyeonhwari, Fire and Water have grown—this is perfect.’
I repeated the cycle of harmonizing and dispersing my circulating inner force, falling into a state of complete absorption.
‘If the spiritual medicine is this pure, perhaps….’
* * *
How much time had passed?
I opened my eyes halfway.
Moonlight filtered through my long, feather-like eyelashes.
“One jiapzi…is it?”
At last, my inner power had reached one jiapzi—sixty years’ worth of cultivation.
And it was no ordinary jiapzi.
I had condensed only the purest energy to create one jiapzi in my dantian.
“Wow….”
I reached out toward my Icy Crystal Sword, which I had released before me as a test.
The Icy Crystal Sword flew into my hand as if drawn in by me.
Tap.
Void Grasping.
True void grasping, not achieved through Wind Qi.
While fine control was still beyond me, I had certainly reached a level where I could summon a sword or object before my eyes.
As I rose to my feet, all the wounds I had suffered from the Black Lightning Blood Demon had healed completely.
Looking at skin as clean as a snowy field, I couldn’t help but be astonished.
“Wow, it’s all healed.”
Woof woof! – Master, you’ve become incredibly strong! You smell amazing too!
Hwang-gu bounded toward me with his whole body.
I embraced the large dog as if he were a baby.
“Haha! Thank you. Thank you, Hwang-gu.”
Gruff. – I didn’t do anything. I just asked Cheonryeong for good food since our master was suffering.
Chirp chirp chirp! – It’s only natural to reward you for protecting my chicks!
With that, Cheonryeong fluttered down onto my head.
Chirp! – Little ones!
Chirp! Chirp! – Yes, Mother!
Cheonryeong’s chicks flew from somewhere and perched on both my shoulders.
Cheonryeong on my head.
The chicks on both shoulders.
I blinked, wondering what on earth was happening.
Cheonryeong spoke.
Chirp! Chirp! – The Big Dog told me you eat lots of delicious things when you’re with him!
Chirp! Chirp chirp! – He said they’re the most delicious things in the world!
Chirp, chirp chirp chirp! – I’m tired of moving nests because of all these martial artists.
Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp! – If you give us delicious food, we’ll earn our keep.
“What do you mean…?”
Chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp! – We’re going with this human!!
Chirp chirp! – Yes, Mother!
Woof, woof woof! – Master, I’m hungry. Bring provisions quickly!
I realized something.
I had become a food delivery service for the spirits.
The martial artists of Gangho, unaware of the truth, would surely marvel at how the spirits willingly became servants due to Seo Baek-ryong’s virtue.
Thus I acquired a mother Cheonryeong and two baby Cheonryeong chicks.
Three Cheonryeong in total.
I pulled out dried meat from my pouch.
“I brought plenty, but this is already the last of the dried meat…?”
This was a problem.
* * *
Fortunately, the Fishermen’s Hut had some dried fish remaining.
I hastily distributed it to these creatures and hunted and roasted my own food.
It was fortunate that basic provisions remained—seasonings, a hearth, utensils, and rice.
The animals of this world were larger and stronger than those on Earth.
I caught something like a water bird, plucked its feathers, split its belly and boiled it—it was larger than a chicken.
I collected the organs separately, made them into skewers and roasted them. With just salt seasoning, they tasted exquisite.
Woof woof! – Master, me too!
Chirp chirp, chirp chirp. – That looks delicious. We’ll catch more water birds, so cook them for us.
These creatures immediately went out and brought back several more water birds.
I had become a cooking servant.
‘Still, this is far better than going out and wasting energy wielding a blade.’
Through feeding these creatures, I discovered that the tastes of spirits and humans were surprisingly not that different.
When humans find something delicious, the spirits enjoy it too. When humans find something tasteless, they eat it reluctantly.
They tolerated the gamey smell of raw meat better than humans, but given the choice, they preferred cooked food.
What they especially preferred was.
Woof! – Master, make that. That one!
“Just a moment.”
When I cooked meat using the fire element of the Five Elements Divine Art, the spirits found it incredibly delicious.
I couldn’t explain why, but since they enjoyed it so much, it was worth doing.
That’s what I thought.
When the fisherman arrived the next morning, a feast had already been laid out.
“Did Seo Baek-ryong prepare all of this?”
“Would you like some? There’s still some broth left.”
I prepared a simple porridge with the remaining ingredients to serve the fisherman. At his first spoonful, his eyes widened in astonishment.
“Incredible! Your medical skills are unmatched in all the land, yet your cooking is equally exceptional!”
“You’re too kind. I have nothing more to offer, so please eat your fill. Fishing work is grueling—let this replenish your strength.”
The fisherman devoured the bowl of porridge in moments, his expression already scheming how to boast about this encounter to the villagers.
“And, um… what is that enormous hawk?”
“That is Cheonryeong.”
“I’ve only ever seen it from a distance, but up close it’s truly massive and fierce-looking. You must indeed be Seo Baek-ryong. Have you completely tamed a spiritual creature…?”
“Yes. Even if someone were to kill Cheonryeong now, they would never obtain its spirit core.”
It was a simple technique.
By absorbing the spirit core within the creature into my own body, I rendered it impossible for anyone to harvest the core even if they slew the beast.
However, this method requires the spiritual creature itself to willingly cooperate with humans, so I only employed it on creatures fully domesticated by people, like Hwang-gu of Gaebang.
This way, anyone targeting Hwang-gu would gain nothing while incurring Gaebang’s wrath—making such an attempt pointless.
Since the solidified spirit core now circulated within the creature’s body, it could operate its inner energy far more efficiently.
Taming spiritual creatures was no simple task, so this technique had limited applications, but it was one of the representative methods employed by the Medical Hall.

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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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