Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 15

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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 15
Not all Gongseon Sword Techniques were swift.
Some were even slower than ordinary swordplay. However, I had not studied them deeply, deeming them unsuitable for actual combat.
As her blade accelerated, it simultaneously began to decelerate.
A paradox. Yet it felt natural.
It was like pine needles stretching endlessly into infinity.
I stood motionless, observing her as she entered a state of selflessness.
‘Wow… is this the phenomenon of enlightenment? It was entertaining reading about it in novels, but seeing it in person is just as captivating. Well, I suppose my real intention was to establish a debt for the future rather than to repay the Black Pine Cloud Sword’s value.’
As I watched with these thoughts, I noticed someone approaching hurriedly.
A woman wearing a veil.
I knew that only Gongseon Hyeon could be such a person here.
I brought a finger to my lips and made a hushing gesture. Gongseon Hyeon then stood upright, clasped her hands in a respectful salute, and bowed her head.
I returned the salute and quietly departed from that place.
Gongseon Hyeon came to stand guard where I had been.
Leaving Gongseon Hyeon to protect Gongseon Yeong behind me, I walked on with a smile.
* * *
The long period of selflessness was drawing to an end.
Gongseon Yeong’s world slowly advanced from the past into the present.
She had forgotten herself and all that she had learned.
She had forgotten the birdsong and the scent of grass.
Beyond that forgetting, only a young man’s whisper had guided her.
Yet she could not remember his name.
Who was he?
It did not matter. She had already forgotten even her own name.
Only the profound silence of selflessness dominated her.
Her blade moved forward steadily, regardless of circumstance.
One second.
In that one second, slower than others, lay the answer.
Why was swiftness swiftness?
She had to cultivate swiftness so that one slow second could become the second that overturned everything.
‘I had been captivated by the tree, not the forest. The beauty lies in the forest…’
Her sword dance turned toward its finale.
At last, a single strike unfolded from her hands.
Gongseon Sword Technique
Green Pine Return Sword
Single Annihilation
A sword path that advanced ever stronger the stronger the opponent’s blade bloomed from her fingertips.
Her sword energy pierced through the massive Black Granite Rock in the open field.
It was not shattered. It was not broken.
To cleave through it like grass required a profound enlightenment of the blade.
Her sword did not merely slash—the condensed sword energy became a point, piercing through space itself.
The line became a point.
And the point became a line.
The form resembled pine needles swaying in the wind.
“Huuuh—”
As the state of no-self ended, she felt a lingering sense of incompleteness.
The state of no-self was a moment that a martial artist might achieve only once in a lifetime, if ever.
She had grasped it and achieved enlightenment. Yet she hungered for more.
It was the desire of a true martial artist.
‘More….’
In that instant, her sword transformed.
The sword energy finally became sword threads.
From the shimmering form, the energy began to extend like countless thin strands of silk, one after another. Then those threads snapped.
In that moment, the severed threads extended outward, drawing dozens of straight lines.
콰차차창—!
Had Jin Cheon-hee witnessed this, he would have been utterly astounded.
He would have cried out: ‘This goes beyond mere counterattack—it’s saying that touching it means instant death!’
The state of no-self had finally ended.
She pondered what name to give this sword technique.
Through two moments of enlightenment, she felt herself ascending into the ranks of the supreme masters.
“The crimson fortune of the Gongseon Family.”
At the voice, she lifted her head. Gongseon Hyeon stood there, surrounded by the martial artists of the Gongseon Family maintaining their protective formation.
“Sister.”
“Congratulations on becoming a supreme master.”
Mindful of others’ eyes, her voice was stiff and her face expressionless. Yet the rosy flush blooming on her sister’s cheeks could not be hidden.
Her cheeks burned with joy more than ever before.
Following her words, the martial artists of the Gongseon Family each spoke in turn.
“Our congratulations, Young Lady!”
“Goodness, our congratulations.”
“What an auspicious occasion. We must inform the main family at once.”
The people who had been chattering among themselves exchanged glances, then cried out in unison.
“We offer our heartfelt congratulations on your ascension to supreme mastery!”
Gongseon Yeong waved her hand.
“This is all thanks to Jin Cheon-hee, that child. I have incurred a debt that cannot be repaid with the Black Pine Cloud Sword alone. Where is that child?”
He had pestered her to demonstrate the Black Pine Cloud Sword technique, yet instead had given her a tremendous opportunity for enlightenment.
She had to repay this great kindness that no sword technique could match.
Whether silver or favor, to return what was received in kind.
Such was Gongseon Yeong’s code of honor. Yet in that moment, her body swayed and she collapsed.
It was no ordinary exhaustion—it was the toll of the state of no-self.
During her time in the state of no-self, she had expended every ounce of her vital energy in pursuit of enlightenment.
I wielded the sword continuously for half a day, pouring all my strength into each strike.
It was stamina that far surpassed that of ordinary martial artists.
Yet even that had its limits.
Gongseon Hyeon, startled, cried out.
“Support her! Quickly! No, wait. I’ll support my sister myself.”
Forgetting the gazes of those around her, Gongseon Yeong embraced her younger sibling directly and held her up.
‘I must go on, I must….’
Within a body pushed to its limits, Gongseon Yeong’s consciousness flickered slowly.
* * *
While the Gongseon Family was thrown into upheaval by Gongseon Yeong’s awakening, Jin Cheon-hee met Little Heavenly Demon, Yeo Ha-ryun.
Though we met, we did nothing extraordinary.
Like children our age, we shared delicious food and passed the time with idle conversation.
Yeo Ha-ryun seemed eager to learn my secret method regarding blood vessels, but there was nothing to be done about it.
Even if he asked, I would simply smile evasively and say there was no need to rush.
We both slipped out of the Pyoguk and headed toward the marketplace.
At the brazier, they were selling sparrow skewers.
The sparrows were caught, their entrails removed, and roasted.
While roasting, they brushed on soy sauce seasoning, and the meat was not only chewy but absolutely delicious.
“These taste better than the sparrows I ate when I was younger.”
“How much younger could you have been than now?”
At my words, Yeo Ha-ryun gave me a look suggesting I was talking nonsense and posed the question.
I chuckled at that question.
“Right. How much younger could it have been… I thought I’d never eat them again.”
I reflected that it was strange to eat in death what I couldn’t eat in life—truly, one never knows what life will bring.
“You don’t have money, do you? I’ll pay.”
At those words, Yeo Ha-ryun’s young cheeks flushed with shame.
He had spent all his silver coins to follow along to the Pyoguk.
I handed the sparrow skewer to Yeo Ha-ryun without hesitation.
“I received plenty of spending money. These days, the elders at the Pyoguk seem frustrated that they can’t give me something whenever they see me. Since your older brother is treating, just eat.”
It was not merely because I was acting as a polite and cute young man.
The fact that I could save people who would have died without me.
I had saved someone even the great Baek Rin-ui-seon could not.
A debt of life-saving grace.
I knew well that saving a human life was a terribly heavy obligation to those in Gangho.
It was only natural that the families of the saved, the individuals themselves, and their friends and colleagues at the Yunlong Courier Bureau would view me favorably.
While thinking such thoughts, I realized that Yeo Ha-ryun’s expression was strange.
“Older brother…?”
Yeo Ha-ryun responded as if he had heard something he shouldn’t have.
Looking at that handsome young face, still a child but with a promising future, I felt oddly irritated.
“I decided to be your older brother. And this is what an older brother does.”
“Ugh, but…”
He still didn’t seem entirely convinced.
Yeo Ha-ryun stared at the sparrow skewer Jin Cheon-hee offered him, then finally took a bite.
His eyes widened, and then he began eating eagerly—another bite, another bite, devouring it with gusto.
‘That’s right. Being an orphan is truly a difficult thing.’
It was something I had longed for at least once in my life.
To have a family like other children.
Whenever I saw older siblings buying delicious food for their younger brothers and sisters, I felt a deep sense of envy.
Jin Cheon-hee patted Yeo Ha-ryun’s back lightly.
“Live well. Kid. Don’t lose heart. I’m here for you.”
“Even without inner energy?”
“What’s that got to do with anything? Look at these people here. They all live fine without inner energy. That’s the problem with martial artists. They don’t treat you as human if you lack inner energy. Can you live without eating if you have martial arts? Don’t you need a house? Do you walk around naked?”
Jin Cheon-hee answered brazenly.
At first, I thought it was nonsense, but listening to Jin Cheon-hee speak, there was something oddly convincing about it.
“Ah, candied hawthorn berries. I’ll buy some for you, so wait here a moment.”
Jin Cheon-hee bought several candied hawthorn berries for Yeo Ha-ryun.
Hawthorn fruit coated in honey syrup—
There
My mouth watered involuntarily.
“Here’s the money.”
Though I hadn’t been in this world for long, I was skilled at handling transactions.
Perhaps it was thanks to my experience volunteering abroad? Before the street vendor could even state the price, I quickly handed over the coins.
That’s when I heard a sharp cry from behind.
“You little brat!”
Hearing the commotion, I rushed over with the candied berries in hand, and sure enough, a crowd had gathered.
In the center of the crowd, Yeo Ha-ryun was engaged with several burly men. It was clear some kind of dispute had broken out.
‘Fighting with a child? These bastards are truly pathetic.’
Trash exists everywhere. This world was no exception.
Still, the fact that they hadn’t drawn their swords suggested they retained some shred of conscience.
One of the men threw a punch at Yeo Ha-ryun.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s afterimage vanished.
Whoosh—
He appeared directly behind the man.
Crack!
A light kick without inner energy behind it, yet the man’s waist bent sharply.
“What the—!”
Without another word, Yeo Ha-ryun swiftly knocked all three men down.
Victory.
It wasn’t even a fight worth calling a battle—utterly one-sided.
The crowd murmured in astonishment.
“To think you’d knock down those Three Dogs thugs—are you perhaps a young master from a prestigious clan?”
As expected, the nickname had “dog” attached to it.
“That bastard was already the type to overturn market stalls and beat up old women, so it feels damn satisfying.”
‘Hehe, he’s my younger brother.’
My shoulders rose with pride of their own accord.
Now I just needed to share the candied fruit skewers one by one and head back. Jin Cheon-hee thought.
That was when it happened.
Yeo Ha-ryun grabbed the arm of one of the Three Dogs lying on the ground. Then he bent that arm backward.
Crack—
“Aaaahhhhh!”
A scream tore through the air in anguish.
Yeo Ha-ryun paid no mind and snapped the thug’s other leg as well.
Crack—
“Ahhh! Ahhhhh!”
Then he mounted the man and began pummeling his face with his fists.
The sound of a skull fracturing echoed out.
The cruelty of his relentless assault froze the passersby in place.
Jin Cheon-hee rushed forward.

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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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