Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 146

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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 146
“You’re saying you’ll settle this using the ways of Gangho?”
“Yes. I’m not asking you to defeat me. I’ll concede three exchanges—if you can even tear my sleeve, I’ll allow myself to become your shield of benevolence.”
A shield of benevolence.
A barrier made of human flesh. In modern terms, it’s what we’d call a meat shield.
It was arrogant.
And Jin Cheon-hee found himself in quite the predicament.
‘Is my younger brother-to-be really saying the Heavenly Demon himself will draw his blade and test my durability? What is this, some kind of vehicle crash test? Stab me and see if I survive? Is that what this is?!’
It sounded magnificent when you only heard the words.
You could say it carried the unique elegance of Gangho. But as a physician, I found myself contemplating the aftermath.
“Let’s just not become sworn siblings. Ha-ryun.”
“Brother. No. Those people wouldn’t have proposed sworn brotherhood to you with shallow resolve either. Even if they had, such a transgression must be repaid with their lives.”
Yeo Ha-ryun’s eyes gleamed coldly.
Even the distinctive crimson radiance of the Heavenly Killing Star began to shine brilliantly.
“Let’s see this through properly.”
Watching him like that, my mind soared into the cosmos.
‘They won’t accept the proposal, right? I hope they don’t. But if they do… I’d prefer somewhere close to Baekrin Uigak. No, actually, let’s do it inside Baekrin Uigak itself.’
Still, I thought these were sensible people and wouldn’t accept.
‘Come on, even if it’s Gangho style, they have brains. Why would they accept? They won’t.’
With that thought, my heart felt a bit lighter.
* * *
Time passed.
I monitored Yeo Ha-ryun’s condition and treated patients from the Demonic Sect whenever I had the chance.
Hyeolsaeng Nogoe spent pleasant time exchanging medical knowledge with me.
“The medicinal herbs used in corpse techniques seem to help with anesthesia as well?”
“Used properly, they can induce prolonged sedation in patients. The metabolism slows considerably—though the elderly might end up crossing the final threshold as a result.”
“Interesting. What about patients whose bodies have been transformed by demonic arts?”
“It varies by technique. I generally categorize them into four types: hardening, hypertrophy, liquefaction, and special properties.”
Surprisingly, we got along well.
I learned dark techniques from Hyeolsaeng Nogoe in turn, and shared the knowledge I possessed.
“So that’s how you handle corpses. A decent method. But do you not realize I’ll devise a counter to that counter?”
At those words, I laughed.
“Even if you devise one, I trust you’re not the type to share it with other Daoists.”
“Haha, having heard such words, I cannot speak of it to others. Now I understand why Baek Rin is so utterly smitten with you.”
She swept her reddish-brown hair back and laughed heartily.
Before me, Hyeolsaeng Nogoe appeared in the form of a young woman my age.
It was a considerate choice, lest I fear her.
But to me, regardless of what form Hyeolsaeng Nogoe took, she was simply a monstrous person and a fellow scholar with whom I exchanged research.
Hyeolsaeng Nogoe found herself increasingly charmed by such an attitude of mine, to her own bewilderment.
“By the way, I recently created a corpse that hardens its body like dead wood on its own.”
Gokgol Hyeolma.
I recognized the name immediately.
“I see.”
“He made a wager with that creature. If he won the bet, he would gain greater power, but if he lost, he would become my jiangshi and be enslaved even after death. Wanting to defeat you, he accepted the wager, and that fool became a jiangshi.”
I simply nodded without speaking.
“I’m telling you this beforehand in case you’re startled upon seeing Gokgol Hyeolma as a jiangshi, so don’t take it too much to heart. That fool brought his own destruction upon himself through his greed.”
“I understand.”
I offered a prayer for Gokgol Hyeolma’s peace.
The wagers that Hyeolsaeng Nogoe presented could never be easy.
Even a five-year-old child walking down the street would know that.
And yet humans are blinded by the allure of greater power.
‘I’ve inadvertently become an accessory to murder.’
Had he instead trained honestly and challenged me only to be defeated, it would have ended with a sealed dantian or perhaps some damaged meridians.
Now he would live eternally as Hyeolsaeng Nogoe’s servant, never knowing rest.
Such is the natural order of the Gangho.
I decided not to dwell on it further.
* * *
The day of departure drew near.
I examined Yeo Ha-ryun’s hands one final time.
“This should be ready to begin physical therapy.”
After teaching him some light therapeutic techniques, Yeo Ha-ryun smiled softly and summoned a distant sword through the air, grasping it in his hand.
Thwack—
“This is my training, brother.”
“Still, keep at it consistently.”
“Understood.”
“You’re recovering so well that there shouldn’t be any major issues.”
Yeo Ha-ryun nodded toward me.
“Oh, and I’ve taught Cheonryeong the location of the Makyeo Buntta. If you ever wish to send a letter, you can give it to any of the three Cheonryeong, and they’ll deliver it to me immediately.”
“…How did you manage that?”
“I bribed them with food, and they learned.”
‘Am I raising spiritual creatures or pigs?’
As expected.
Hwang-gu, Noeji, Cheonjin, and Nanman, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, had grown plump and well-fed.
Woof woof, chirp chirp! Squeak squeak!
All three rushed toward me at once. Even without using the dharma technique, I could tell what they were trying to say.
After our emotional reunion, I shouldered my pack.
And I left the same way I had come.
“Brother.”
“Hm…?”
Yeo Ha-ryun waved his hand toward me.
“You need to stay healthy. Otherwise, next time I’ll do the same to your other fingers.”
“Ahahaha.”
Faced with a threat delivered with complete sincerity, I broke out in cold sweat.
When I stepped outside, my Master was waiting for me with cotton cloth wrapped around his face.
“The black hair suits you well, Master.”
At my words, my Master’s eyes narrowed slightly with amusement.
“When you’re out in the world, troublesome matters abound. It can’t be helped. But looking at your appearance, I can see troublesome matters are inevitable,”
Not a wolf—just one pig. Three massive birds.
Even if I shrunk my body using something like the Shrinking Art, the animals following me were too numerous to avoid drawing attention.
My Master led me out of the inn. After handing coins to the server, he brought out two horses we had left behind.
Two magnificent steeds.
“One of them looks familiar.”
“The Namgung clan’s prized black horse. And that one’s offspring. It’s grown into a fine steed.”
“Did you borrow it from the Namgung clan?”
“…Yes. Fortunately, when I said I was going to find my disciple, the Gaju kindly lent them to me.”
It definitely didn’t seem like a normal loan. But I pretended not to notice and mounted the horse.
“We’ll have a comfortable journey home.”
“Indeed.”
I patted the horse’s neck as I spoke.
At last, the path home.
I endured an endless barrage of nagging from my Master about all the reckless things I had done, until my ears nearly bled.
* * *
“My Hee truly has remarkable fortune. I should have praised your luck rather than your medical skills. This Master failed to recognize that.”
Reading between the lines, this meant I should have died long ago but survived through sheer luck.
“It’s only because I happened to be good at tracking that we found you. If I’d gone the wrong way, what would have become of you? But isn’t that also fortune? Truly, my disciple is blessed with luck.”
This was his way of saying I should praise him for discovering and pursuing me.
Though my ears were bleeding, I spared no effort in appeasing my Master’s anger.
“Everything I survived was thanks to your teachings, Master. I can’t express how fortunate I am that you were nearby. Isn’t that right, Hwang-gu?”
Woof woof! – From the hand signal, ah, he’s telling me to do a somersault. Got it!
Hwang-gu stopped running and performed a somersault.
I clapped my hands desperately.
“Wow, Hwang-gu thinks you’re the best, Master!”
“You’re playing tricks with the dog again, Hee.”
This time I had actually made the dog perform tricks, so it was indeed dog trickery.
But watching my disciple’s desperate efforts, it was inevitable that the Master’s anger would gradually soften.
Jegalling sighed.
“It’s remarkable enough to gain one opportunity in a lifetime, yet you’ve obtained several. You truly are…”
The end of the nagging.
My Master exhaled a long sigh and spoke.
“Hehe, it would be nice if you learned the Yang Medicine Divine Art too, Master. You don’t even need to use it for medicine—you could circulate two medical thoughts through your meridians, which would be that much better for your health. Ah, I’ve also modified the method to work stably with the Five Elements Divine Art.”
“The Mudang Sect won’t be pleased with this.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded at those words.
“If we don’t tell them, that’s the end of it.”
“Hahaha, as I’ve said before, you truly don’t fit the mold of the Gangho. Sometimes you seem more like a scholar or someone outside the world than a martial artist.”
Jegalling fell silent, lost in thought.
“You are indeed an eccentric who exists outside the laws of the Gangho, yet you are undoubtedly a virtuous person. And despite that, you’re not the type to be particular about the means and methods to achieve your goals. I find that I don’t dislike you for it.”
“….”
My Master fell into contemplation before speaking.
“Very well. Let us try.”
I had Hwang-gu and Noeji search for a secluded cave with few people.
And I had all the spiritual creatures withdraw to the rear.
My Master’s expression remained as usual, but I could tell.
He seemed to be enjoying this slightly, like a child playing a mischievous prank.
My Master sat in lotus position and circulated his inner energy according to the incantations I recited.
And when the final incantation ended, I saw my Master’s brow twitch slightly.
A flash of enlightenment.
Uuuuoong—
Waves of energy began to emanate from my Master as the center.
My Master’s hair and martial robes billowed upward.
Five-colored clouds and mist began to swirl in accordance with the energy waves.
‘Has he broken through the wall of enlightenment?’
I immediately began to stand guard.
The moment a martial artist breaks through the wall of enlightenment is the most dangerous time.
How much time had passed?
Jegalling opened his eyes an hour later.
‘So complete rebirth was too much to ask for.’
There was regret, yet my Master’s eyes now gleamed with a profundity I had never witnessed before.
“My Cheon-hee is truly a blessing.”
“Master, have you achieved the Great Accomplishment?”
“Hahaha, not quite the Great Accomplishment. If I had, I would have shattered the wall and reached the legendary Mysterious Realm. Still, that wall seems quite fractured now. It feels as though I’ve arrived at the very edge of the Flame Realm.”
Those words meant that reaching the Mysterious Realm was now truly not far away.
I clenched my fists with joy.
“That’s remarkable. At that level, you would become the greatest martial artist under heaven, wouldn’t you?”
“Would I? Even though I stand at the edge of the Flame Realm, there are still at least three in the martial world stronger than me.”

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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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