Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 138
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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 138
‘The new moon is approaching soon.’
Typically, rituals begin on one of two lunar phases.
One is the full moon. The other is the new moon.
Rituals performed during the full moon often involve seeking blessings under the bright moonlight.
The new moon is the opposite—when the moon sets and stars become abundant. During this period, there are many bizarre offerings.
‘In the original work, the Hyeolseonggyo’s rituals are usually performed during the new moon.’
By tomorrow, the kidnapped children would be killed and offered as sacrifices. And the Hyeolseonggyo would gain power once more.
They don’t perform their sacrifices in peaceful ways.
What the Yoseon prefer are organs.
They extract organs from living bodies and use them in their rituals.
Having captured boys and girls this way, what kind of power would the Hyeolseonggyo gain?
And the souls of those children….
Jin Cheon-hee pressed his forehead repeatedly.
‘Ha-ryun, come quickly. Your brother is really struggling. You don’t want to be falsely accused of being part of the Demonic Sect either.’
In the original work, Yeo Ha-ryun becomes the Heavenly Demon and is left cleaning up the mess the Hyeolseonggyo created like some dog.
Each time he’d cry out, ‘The Demonic Sect didn’t do this, we did commit atrocities as boys and girls in the past, but that was under a previous generation’s Heavenly Demon, and we’ve now returned to a new body through internal reform!’ but who would believe him?
On top of that, at that point Yeo Ha-ryun becomes a human butcher due to the Heavenly Killing Star, and the people he kills form mountains regardless of good or evil.
Though he’s called the protagonist, Yeo Ha-ryun himself is not a righteous person.
The Demonic Sect either maintains the proper path, but they’re not a virtuous organization either.
Eventually the righteous sects come to eliminate the Demonic Sect, and the Demonic Sect eliminates the Hyeolseonggyo while having to prove it wasn’t them—an endless chain of awkward situations follows.
As a mere reader of the novel, I’d give Yeo Ha-ryun a thumbs up while he struggles, thinking ‘Kuu, this too is the path of the Heavenly Demon.’
But now it’s true. Reality has become this.
Professor Jin felt melancholy.
‘Even if I try to explain the importance of communication to those in the Gangho, they won’t listen to a word…?’
When that day comes, Jin Cheon-hee will definitely struggle alongside him.
* * *
At the same time.
Yeo Ha-ryun was preparing to set out on horseback.
On the surface, it looked like an ordinary merchant caravan.
The carriage was loaded with silk, fragrant oils, and various ceramics.
To all appearances, a merchant conducting distant trade and his entourage.
In reality, they were members of the Ilwol Divine Sect.
‘We’re about to depart soon.’
A simple mission. Escorting one of the sect’s members to Buntta.
There had been several battles, but he handled them without much difficulty.
‘As my brother said, I have endured twice now.’
Those he didn’t kill became subordinates under Yeo Ha-ryun, and having subordinates allowed him to invest more time in cultivation.
Moreover, his brother personally removed even the blood poison from Yeo Ha-ryun’s body.
Now he could selectively disobey some of the sect’s orders when necessary.
Several of the Demonic Sect’s cadres had already noticed that Yeo Ha-ryun had escaped the blood prison, but by then they too had been silenced by him.
“Tsk….”
Yeo Ha-ryun clicked his tongue habitually.
With his teeth clenched, only a faint breath escaped—a rather peculiar sight.
“I need to get my brother out of here.”
Throughout his time in the Demonic Sect, Yeo Ha-ryun’s mind had been consumed with worry for Jin Cheon-hee.
He was meddlesome and righteous to a fault.
Particularly soft-hearted toward young children, and with his striking appearance, he drew attention easily.
Add to that his sense of responsibility as a Doctor, and the very existence of such a person in this world was astounding.
Had Yeo Ha-ryun not actually met Jin Cheon-hee, he would have judged him to be scheming something sinister.
There was a limit to how perfectly one’s inner and outer selves could align—it defied reason.
That his brother had survived this long with such a nature was remarkable.
Yeo Ha-ryun loaded the final bundle and rose to his feet.
His tall frame and hair black as swallowed darkness captured the eye.
He was undoubtedly handsome, yet not with the beauty of a crane or flower, but rather the savage beauty of a tiger or lion.
That was when it happened.
Woof!
A dog came bounding out.
Yeo Ha-ryun recognized at once that it was a spiritual beast.
He disliked people, but animals even more.
Had it come to attack him, he would kill it. Even if it approached with different intentions, he would have killed it regardless.
Normally, the moment he saw a spiritual beast, it would be cleaved in two, but Yeo Ha-ryun clicked his tongue.
“Tsk….”
He had promised his brother to show restraint twice.
He had exercised it once just now, so one remained.
Woof, woof!
The large dog bounded forward and thrust its neck toward Yeo Ha-ryun, revealing the mark carved there—the symbol of that bastard Baek Rin-ui-seon.
The urge to kill surged again.
‘One more time.’
Next time, this spiritual beast would die.
‘I’ve heard rumors that my brother travels with a large dog. This might very well be Hwang-gu.’
The blood of the Heavenly Slayer continued to whisper death, yet Yeo Ha-ryun’s thoughts persisted.
Yeo Ha-ryun reached out and withdrew a letter from the collar pouch.
His brother’s handwriting.
The moment certainty that this was his brother’s dog took hold, Yeo Ha-ryun stroked Hwang-gu’s head.
‘If I fall out with this one, my brother will be displeased.’
His affection for his brother suppressed the instincts of the Heavenly Slayer.
Yeo Ha-ryun smoothly tossed some traveler’s jerky.
Hwang-gu leaped and caught it, then immediately began chewing.
Meanwhile, Yeo Ha-ryun read the letter attached to Hwang-gu’s collar.
“….”
Some time passed.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s expression hardened like stone.
Then Cheonryeong and her two chicks flew down together.
A letter was tied to the chick’s leg.
Yeo Ha-ryun immediately took the letter.
After reading it, his impression was this.
“He’s insane. My brother is still insane.”
As Yeo Ha-ryun reached out his hand, the long sword hanging from the horse flew into his grasp.
Seizing from empty air.
Yeo Ha-ryun retrieved the blade without even looking at it, simply by extending his hand.
Little Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryun’s hair flared up like flames with fury.
“Guide me. I’m going to save my brother.”
Clang!
Hwang-gu barked sharply and rushed ahead.
The members of the Demonic Sect cried out seeing Yeo Ha-ryun like this.
“Young Master, shall we go too?”
“No need. You all prioritize the sect’s affairs.”
With those words, Yeo Ha-ryun’s afterimage scattered as he vanished swiftly.
* * *
A few hours before I pressed the big red button named Yeo Ha-ryun.
“So the idea is to first identify which child will be kidnapped and then tail them… It’s a good thought, but I’ve already tried it several times.”
I was meeting with Samjeolchuho Do Baek-ha.
Do Baek-ha was deeply grateful for Seo Baek-ryong’s help like this, but some things simply couldn’t be done.
She shook her head.
“How many children do you think have gone missing in this region? Even so, there are still many children left. How could I possibly know which one will be kidnapped?”
“If the children are being used as sacrifices, it should be possible to identify them through their birth dates and times.”
“Why do you think so, younger brother Seo?”
“As I mentioned before, if the kidnappings were simply for assassination purposes, there would be no need to kidnap children from the great families. They could just kidnap poor children or begging orphans without drawing attention and finish the job easily.”
At my words, Samjeolchuho’s eyes narrowed.
“The answer lies in birth dates and times?”
“When learning the Jegal Family’s formation techniques, one also learns some of the Book of Changes. The problem is the birth dates and times of children who haven’t been kidnapped yet.”
The moment my words ended, Samjeolchuho pulled out an enormous stack of documents from her sleeve.
“Information on the children obtained from the government office. Thanks to the help of Junggeommun, it was easy to obtain.”
“This neighborhood has proper household registration management.”
“The government office here is surprisingly well-organized, which is precisely why it seemed even more suspicious. Why would they specifically kidnap children from such a place? If it truly is for conducting a ritual, then it makes sense.”
“Yes. I also examined the earth veins.”
I quickly identified the birth dates and times of the children.
“The ones you’ve folded are the kidnapped children?”
“Yes. You grasped it quickly. I’ve been noticing this since earlier—do all people from the Jegal Family think this fast? You’re flipping through things so rapidly….”
“Haha. I’m only at this level, but Master is far more terrifying, isn’t he?”
I laughed awkwardly and searched for the children’s birth dates and times.
‘The I Ching was originally created by Fuxi, or so they say.’
When people think of the I Ching, they first imagine divination. But the Jegal Family uses it to determine the directions and timing of formations.
Built on the foundation of the Eight Trigrams, the principles of yin-yang and the Five Elements were essential when learning the Five Element Formation.
‘By comparing the birth dates and times of the kidnapped children one by one, I can predict which child will be taken next. Even I have to admit it’s a crude method.’
The sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching had something in common with a base-64 system, in a way.
“Qian, Kun, Zhen, Sun….”
Samjeolchuho watched me intently as I muttered and calculated.
“If you don’t mind, could you check if an acquaintance of mine was kidnapped using the same pattern if I give you their birth date and time?”
Even while concentrating on my calculations, thanks to the Dual Thought Technique, my other mind could answer sufficiently.
“Who do you mean?”
At my question, Samjeolchuho smiled bitterly.
“I have a younger sister. She disappeared in a similar manner a long time ago.”
My eyes widened slightly.
“A younger sister?”
Perhaps because Samjeolchuho was a supporting character.
There wasn’t much information about her.
Her role was limited to receiving compensation from the protagonist Yeo Ha-ryun and finding someone for him.
Short lines and a bold manner of speech.
I never knew someone like that carried such a burden.
Samjeolchuho spoke.
“It’s a common tale in Gangho. One day I returned home to find my parents murdered and my sister gone.”
She deliberately brushed her bangs aside as if it were nothing and continued.
“What can a wanderer do? All I could do was grip my sword and search for whoever kidnapped my sister. I became Samjeolchuho, but I still haven’t found a single clue. Haha.”
There was even a hint of drunkenness in her voice.
“When did your sister disappear?”
“It’s been nearly twenty years. Ah, don’t tell me she’s dead. Even if that were true, I’m determined to find her body at least.”
She looked down at her own withered wrist.
“Since that day, I haven’t been able to eat properly… Who knows, maybe if I find her body, I’ll be able to eat something other than alcohol.”
“….”
“That’s how it is. I wasn’t born with any special constitution, and unlike Hyeolpyeon-wang who won the Yongbong Assembly, I didn’t have outstanding talent from childhood. People like us are scattered like sand throughout Gangho, yet misfortune comes to us all the same.”
So it seems Dang-a won the Yongbong Assembly this time.
‘She’s remarkable, Dang-a.’
She was a child who deserved the title of genius.
The fact that something like the Dang Family’s unique heart demon struck her so severely was proof of that.
Dang-a would come to lead the Sichuan Dang Family in the future.
By now, no one in this martial world would doubt that fact.
Samjeolchuho spoke.
“Though I’ve reached the pinnacle as a swordmaster, I know that talented children climb far higher than I ever will by my age. Perhaps that’s why this foolish sister has wasted twenty years searching for her.”
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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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