Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 153

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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 153
The Acupuncture Guild Master Sama Byeong responded to my words.
“Indeed. There are many complicated interests intertwined in this matter.”
Imperial affairs were different from matters of the Gangho.
Success would bring honor and reward befitting such an achievement, but what would happen if I failed?
“What are the symptoms?”
“The imperial physician has documented them.”
My Master handed me a thin letter written on Korean paper this time.
The letter contained the imperial physician’s dense and detailed notes on the patient’s condition.
It was only natural.
The imperial palace was what it was, and the royal grandson held such a position.
Should the royal grandson die, the imperial physician would not escape responsibility either.
He had done his utmost to find a path to survival.
“There are various symptoms, but one thing troubles me.”
Cancer.
Colon cancer, specifically.
Cancer was a disease not to be taken lightly even in modern society.
In this world, it would be no exaggeration to call it a disease from which death could not be escaped.
Especially cancer was clearly an extremely hopeless disease to treat with the traditional medicine of this era.
Even in 21st century Earth, surgical intervention combined with chemotherapy was standard.
Yes, at this stage of symptoms, surgical removal to physically extract the cancer cells was the most critical point of treatment.
“You mean the inability to defecate due to the mass on the left side?”
I could not answer my Master’s question.
‘It’s difficult to diagnose whether it’s benign or malignant with just this information.’
Due to the nature of colon cancer, it was difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors based on symptoms alone.
Particularly, since the left and right colon had different thicknesses, the right side could have tumors exceeding 10 centimeters without the patient noticing, while the left side would show symptoms of blocked bowel movements even with small tumor growth.
‘If detected early, it would be almost 100% curable, but….’
The imperial physician couldn’t treat it, which was why they sought out Baekrin Uigak.
‘I can only hope it’s benign.’
I asked.
“There’s no right of refusal?”
“His Majesty has moved even the Ju Wang himself and personally desires this, and you’re saying you’d refuse? Haha. How amusing.”
‘Right. Even feigning illness won’t work here.’
That’s how people’s hearts were.
Even knowing a predictable answer would come, one still asks.
I scratched my head vigorously and fell into thought.
‘How am I supposed to handle this?’
The answer was already determined.
All I could do was hope it was benign and proceed.
Yet somehow, my surgeon’s intuition was telling me this matter would absolutely not proceed smoothly.
‘Compared to other cancers, colorectal cancer does have a better prognosis.’
But that’s only true up to stage two.
People who undergo regular endoscopy screenings after their forties and fifties can catch it early, but there’s no way such a thing exists in this place.
‘Please let it be benign. Or at least keep it within stage two.’
Just thinking about it made my stomach turn.
“Will you come with us, Master?”
“Yes, though you’ve been singled out, I intend to accompany you. There are many things that would be difficult to handle alone, after all.”
What my Master meant by “many things” was the scenario where, if the worst came to pass, he could tuck his disciple under his arm and flee.
The audacity only a supreme expert below the Three Celestial Sovereigns could afford.
Power made many things simple.
Baekrin Uigak might scatter to the winds, but we could slip away to Heukjeon Uiseon if needed, or hide away in the countryside.
My head was beginning to ache.
‘Let’s succeed. Yes… we have to make this work somehow.’
I had to treat the imperial family in this damned hierarchical society.
“Even if treatment fails, as long as they don’t pass away right before our eyes, we can manage to smooth things over somehow. Hwaju Yakson came and went, after all.”
“So he couldn’t treat it.”
“Right. Since it’s not a matter of medicine but of martial force, I suggested it would be better for Baekrin Uigak to take it on.”
Passing the buck.
Unable to contain herself any longer, Herb Guild Master Manpagok cried out.
“You introduced us thinking it was impossible, trying to make us take the fall! Hwaju Yakson, you’re unbelievable!”
The other Guild Masters’ expressions darkened as well.
“If it’s come to this, let’s go find him directly and settle this with our blades!”
“Please restrain yourself, Martial Arts Guild Master. There’s no greater dishonor than a Medical Guild starting a blood feud.”
Martial Arts Guild Master Dokgo Junghu snorted indignantly.
“I should crack that bastard’s skull… crack it wide open!”
Who was Hwaju Yakson?
A competitor who constantly tried to obstruct Baekrin Uigak.
He used to at least maintain some restraint, but after the incident with Ju Wang, he’d taken quite a blow and now gnashed his teeth at Baekrin Uigak.
I spoke up.
“For now, we won’t know until we try. And since this is a cup we can’t avoid anyway, we might as well enjoy it.”
I chose to think of the enormous rewards rather than the dangers of failure.
‘Hwaju Yakson, huh.’
My Master spoke.
“Hee, you’re quite composed, aren’t you?”
My Master seemed intrigued by how I differed from the four angry Guild Masters.
I reflected.
‘Whether in medicine or the martial world, humans are ultimately all the same.’
On Earth, there were often doctors who prioritized patients with easy-to-treat conditions that helped their papers while avoiding difficult patients with litigation risks.
My hospital didn’t have such people, but I’d still heard the gossip secondhand.
Hwaju Yakson seemed to be that type.
Thinking that way, I felt nothing at all.
I spoke.
“What else is there for a doctor to think about besides healing people?”
That was all there was to it.
* * *
Ma Jin-chu, the Chief Manager of Hwaju Uiseon, laughed for a long time upon hearing that people had departed from Baekrin Uigak.
“They will absolutely fail to treat him.”
“Is that so?”
The Senior Official of Hwaju Uiseon asked with a worried expression.
“Yes. Even Yakson shook his head immediately after taking the pulse. If the King, who cherishes his younger brother dearly, could have treated him, he would have done so long ago. But such is the way of human affairs—it is never so simple.”
At those words, all the senior officials nodded in agreement.
Who was Hwaju Yakson?
He was the one praised as having reached the ranks of immortals through medicine.
For such a man to declare it impossible immediately after taking the pulse meant it truly was impossible.
“Moreover, if the King were to die during treatment, who would bear that responsibility?”
“Ah, so that is why he only took the pulse and returned.”
“How could that be? He said that surgery was necessary and that Baekrin Uigak was the appropriate choice for it. Yakson is not one to stumble alone. Hehehehe.”
Greed gleamed in Ma Jin-chu’s eyes.
“Surgery differs from medicine. Medicine is a slow process of treatment, but surgery is the kind where the patient’s life or death is determined instantly. Do you know? It is possible that the King might die during the surgery itself.”
“…Then it would be difficult to escape responsibility.”
Ma Jin-chu rubbed his hands together.
“Exactly. Yakson said that using medicine is impossible. Following his words, the probability of Baekrin Uigak resorting to medicine is nearly zero, so they will inevitably resort to surgery. If Baekrin Uigak does not use surgery? Then the Imperial Physician would remonstrate. They would say it is an attempt to evade responsibility.”
A dead end.
Baekrin Uigak must use surgery. But if the King does not survive the operation, who will bear that responsibility?
“A favorable situation indeed. Hehehehe.”
The Senior Official listening asked.
“However, Chief Manager. What if the treatment succeeds?”
“Why do you dwell on the impossible? Yakson said it is impossible.”
At the Chief Manager’s declaration, all the senior officials nodded their heads.
None among them could match Yakson’s abilities, which made them all the more convinced.
“Kekeke. Heaven aids us—we must prepare for a celebration.”
* * *
My party headed toward the Prince’s residence where Ju Wang resided.
Since the patient was resting there, we naturally headed in that direction.
It was the King’s command.
We changed horses and, if necessary, used lightness of body to rush forward.
We arrived at the Prince’s residence a week later.
Though we had traveled quite a distance, we arrived faster than most express couriers would have.
Following the attendants’ guidance inside, the Prince’s residence was remarkably quiet.
This was only natural—with a member of the royal family, as precious as heaven itself, lying as a patient, even falling leaves had to be treated with care.
“You’ve arrived.”
Ju Wang was dressed in a dark cotton robe today instead of the crimson silk he usually favored.
When I attempted to bow in respect, Ju Wang waved his hand dismissively.
“I didn’t summon you to see that. Everyone except Seo Baek-ryong, leave us. I have urgent matters to discuss.”
“Master, I—”
“Hmm…! There’s no help for it. I’d prefer to speak with you alone, but your master is rather a difficult man.”
At those words, Jegalling smiled gently and bowed respectfully.
“You honor us with your consideration.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment. In any case… how did you end up catching the eye of someone like Baek Rin?”
As he spoke, Ju Wang looked at me with a sympathetic gaze.
“My Master simply worries deeply for his disciples.”
“Yes, let’s say that’s the case.”
With that, everyone except the two of them withdrew.
The empty throne hall of Ju Wang.
Ju Wang, his face clouded with concern, tapped the low table before him repeatedly.
“You’ve certainly opened yourselves to trouble.”
Jegalling replied.
“Is not the fame of Gangho like a blade that can wound its wielder?”
“…You’re still holding a grudge. You haven’t let go of the matter when I tried to take your disciple away.”
“How could I forget?”
“In any case, you’re a grudge-holder. Having such a man as your master will ruin you, Seo Baek-ryong.”
I couldn’t understand this.
‘Why does everyone speak of my Master that way?’
Though he occasionally vanishes and returns, he stays by his disciples’ side twenty-four hours—feeding us, putting us through hellish training, conducting research together.
Where in this world could one find a master who sacrifices himself so completely for his disciples?
On Earth, we would call such a person a “true professor.”
Ju Wang spoke.
“To get to the point—do not let them die on the sickbed.”
“Pardon?”
“The prognosis is irrelevant. Simply prevent death during treatment. I will handle the rest myself.”
What Ju Wang meant was unmistakable.
He was asking me to pretend to treat rather than actually treat.
“The patient is…?”
“…Surely not someone dying of an incurable illness. However, as they are a puppet incapable of fulfilling their role, there is no helping it.”
What could that mean?
Ju Wang continued.
“Though Hwaju Yakson took their pulse, he did not reveal what manner of king this king is. Hwaju Yakson did not ask either. In the Hwa Empire, even a weak body becomes a liability for the imperial family. We, as descendants of Taiho Fuxi, must demonstrate strength.”
It was the shackle of being born into the imperial family.
In their veins flows not merely symbolic but genuine blood of the Three Sovereigns—Fuxi.
Regardless of age or gender, they receive these abilities, and the weak have no right to be imperial family—a true realm of the strong.
It was truly an empire befitting the world of martial arts.
Because of this, merely being ill became a weakness and a flaw.
There were cases where a doctor wouldn’t even know a patient’s name while taking their pulse.
Jegalling spoke.
“However, I’ve heard that in the current state of stabilized imperial authority, such concealment is quite rare.”
“That’s true as well. But what if that very stability were to be shaken?”
I couldn’t grasp the meaning.
Ju Wang laughed bitterly.
“That’s all there is to it. There are difficulties that come with knowing. So go ahead and take the pulse. However, you must never remove the patient’s mask. This is advice for Seo Baek-ryong. You are such a righteous person, after all.”
Ju Wang rose to his feet at that point.
“Follow 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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