Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 168

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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 168
The Mudang Sect under the Supremely Celestial Demon was moderately corrupt.
Of course, it wasn’t completely rotten, and while it maintained the facade of an orthodox faction, there were rumors of severe internal strife.
This meant that decent hermits were mixed in among them.
Moreover, since the Celestial Demon hadn’t yet personally intervened, it wasn’t at its most decayed state yet—a manageable level.
All things considered, it was the perfect time for Cheonwoo to learn martial arts adequately and, if necessary, fly away like a bird from a mountain.
“I’ve come to return the remains of the deceased to the Mudang Sect.”
I answered as respectfully as possible and provided a general account of the deceased’s name, their martial techniques, and the location where they were discovered.
They hadn’t anticipated this response—their eyes went wide with surprise.
“Ah, I understand. Please rest here for now!”
With those words, they guided me to the largest and finest tea room.
The name of Seo Baek-ryong, the Soggakju of Baekrin Uigak, and this situation meant something significant.
I entered the tea room quietly and accepted the tea they offered.
I warmed both my hands with the warm Dragon Well tea and reflected.
‘How much has Cheonwoo grown?’
We had always exchanged letters and gifts, but seeing him in person would be the first time since then.
‘I wonder if he’s been using the Pifeng silk scarf I gave him. I also sent gloves I made by estimation and a jade pendant I carved.’
I was already curious about how that little one had grown.
‘He said most of the scars have faded…’
But the human body is truly cruel—once an eye is lost, it never returns.
Normally, in Cheonwoo’s situation, the eyeball would be extracted and a glass prosthetic eye inserted, but this isn’t the modern era. If I were to craft a glass prosthetic eye using this era’s methods, it would need to be replaced every one to two years.
And that’s not even the end of it.
In this era, if a sword fight breaks out, it could become truly dangerous.
It was better to preserve what could be preserved rather than extract it, and the Mudang Sect’s divine techniques, being orthodox, were optimized for nurturing life.
Considering everything, I concluded it was better to preserve the eyeball and use an eye patch.
So I made an eye patch and sent it to him.
‘In his letters, he said he’s been using the eye patch well.’
I continued sending items as he grew.
Each time, Cheonwoo responded with great joy.
*Sip*
‘I’m looking forward to it.’
It was the same in the modern era.
When I heard that a child I had treated had grown up healthy and well, there was no greater reward as a doctor.
Whenever I happened to meet them by chance and we recognized each other, I’d be in a good mood for a whole week.
‘How much he must have grown since then.’
I was meeting a child I had once treated in this way.
I was already filled with anticipation.
* * *
The remains of the Mudang Sect’s elder from two generations prior, who had vanished in Bulgwi Valley, had finally returned to the sect after a long passage of time.
The Mudang Sect was thrown into upheaval by this fact.
“Is it true? Myeongdeok has returned! Our Master has returned!”
Martial artists aged more slowly than ordinary people. The deeper one’s enlightenment, the more pronounced this effect became.
Though the Sect Leader had passed eighty winters, his appearance suggested nothing more than middle age.
Yet his eyes held the weight of an old man’s gaze.
And to the Sect Leader with those ancient eyes, the departed remained forever his junior brother.
“So you’ve finally come…”
As tears gathered at the corners of the Sect Leader’s eyes, the elders held their breath.
Myeongdeok.
The departed’s Dharma name.
A name bestowed with the hope that he would always shine brightly and embody virtue.
Myeongdeok had walked the path of the Mudang Sect alongside the Sect Leader until one day he became a wanderer who would never return.
A junior brother who had caused trouble together with him, and occasionally played the fool.
The Sect Leader had searched for his junior brother’s remains as desperately as one hunts for rats, yet ultimately found nothing.
“This Seo Baek-ryong—I must meet him myself.”
At those words, Elder Jeong Gwang hastily intervened.
“There is no need for you to act personally, Sect Leader. We can meet with him in your stead.”
“No…!”
Jeong Gwang was effectively the true power of the Mudang Sect.
Ever since he had stepped forward to block an enemy’s blade meant for Elder Jeong Hyeong, the Sect Leader, he had lost the use of his left arm.
Burdened by guilt, the Sect Leader had generally acquiesced to Jeong Gwang’s words, and Jeong Gwang had gradually expanded his influence within the Mudang Sect.
But this matter was different—even the Sect Leader would not yield.
“I will receive my junior brother myself.”
“I understand your desire to welcome him, Elder Brother. Yet surely the transfer of remains requires proper procedure. As the Sect Leader, you are the cornerstone—you must maintain your dignity and entrust such matters to us.”
“Ahem!”
Several elders coughed awkwardly at Jeong Gwang’s words.
The remains were irrelevant; the true problem was the secret manual of the Dual Thought Technique that Jin Cheon-hee had brought.
The Dual Thought Technique was originally a divine art that only a select few hermits within the Mudang Sect were permitted to learn.
The issue was that an unauthorized hermit of the Mudang Sect would now possess its secret manual.
And Jeong Gwang was precisely that unauthorized person.
The previous Sect Leader had never granted him this permission.
Even after Jeong Gwang became an elder and established his position within the Mudang Sect, the Dual Thought Technique remained sealed by the previous Sect Leader’s will.
It was the decree of the previous Sect Leader, who had discerned Jeong Gwang’s nature long ago.
And now Jeong Gwang intended to go receive the Dual Thought Technique manual himself?
The implication was obvious.
“This cannot be. Jeong Gwang…”
Using the name from before he became an elder or Sect Leader, Elder Jeong Hyeong, the Sect Leader of the Mudang Sect, addressed him thus.
And so Jeong Gwang too used the title from his youth in response.
“Elder Brother. Will you deny me to the very end?”
“The Dual Thought Technique is indeed a divine art of the highest order, but you know well how perilous it becomes if learned incorrectly. The previous Sect Leader did not grant it to you and sealed it by will for good reason.”
“….”
Jeong Gwang clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm until blood welled up.
‘Even after gathering this much power… why hasn’t the Dual Thought Technique come to me?’
I had prepared everything flawlessly.
Originally, he took the blade meant for the Sect Leader only because the Sect Leader felt the situation was urgent in that moment.
Jeong Gwang had merely been injured while targeting an opening in his opponent’s defense.
I cannot describe the despair I felt when one arm became immobilized.
That was why I exploited his guilt, drawing numerous elders and the children under them to my side.
To obtain the Dual Thought Technique!
I grasped at the slim possibility that it might heal my arm.
Yet Jeong Hyeong remained unmoved.
With guilt written across his face, he stood firm and refused.
‘I cannot miss this opportunity.’
If I let this chance slip away, the opportunity to learn the Dual Thought Technique might never come again.
All I needed was for him to close his eyes for just a moment.
While I received the secret manual and delivered it to Jeong Hyeong, all he had to do was trust in my integrity.
Or at least pretend to trust me.
For that, I could do anything.
When Jeong Gwang cleared his throat, the elders began speaking one by one.
“You don’t trust Elder Jeong Gwang?”
“If you insist, I and the other children will observe while you receive the remains.”
A prolonged struggle began.
Normally, there would be no room for such dispute.
It was a battle between a desperate, corrupted hermit and a Sect Leader weakened by guilt.
* * *
While the Mudang Sect held their meeting, Jin Cheon-hee sat idly eating refreshments.
‘Hmm, the Mudang’s refreshments… they use quite a bit of cinnamon. It’s an acquired taste. Certainly this is an adult’s palate. Still, the cook’s skill isn’t lacking. These are refreshments pretending to be Taoist simplicity with an X flavor.’
Strictly speaking, calling these Taoist refreshments was a stretch.
The reason I said they were pretending was that every ingredient in these refreshments was expensive.
‘Isn’t that beef fat in this rice cake? At least it’s clear the Mudang Sect eats meat.’
On the surface, they appeared to be modest vegetarian refreshments, but the frying was done in beef fat, and traces of pork lard were visible.
‘This doesn’t seem like Master’s taste.’
I had thought of learning a technique or two and serving it on Master’s refreshment table if it was good, but this is something Jegalling would spit out after three bites.
‘Master definitely likes things that are sweet when sweet, and bitter when bitter. He doesn’t care for this pretentious hermit-like palate.’
But that didn’t mean these refreshments weren’t to my taste.
Jin Cheon-hee quickly emptied the refreshments, called for more, and emptied them again.
Each movement of eating carried grace, yet the speed was formidable.
That was when it happened.
“Brother…!”
Creak—
The tea room door opened and a man with a build as massive as a mountain entered.
‘Who…?’
A man with muscular build, wearing a white tiger-patterned robe and black leather gloves. A black blindfold covered his face.
Though his voice was gentle, the menacing impression he gave caused my thoughts to freeze for three seconds.
Around his neck hung a black and white rabbit scarf.
It was small and adorable for a man of his stature to wear.
“Could it be… Cheonwoo…?”
“Brother, you haven’t changed at all!”
His face had matured into that of a handsome young man, but the synergy created by the blindfold and his physique was terrifying.
Rather than a Mudang Sect hermit, he looked like a seasoned master of heterodox sects who had weathered countless trials.
Yet his etiquette and bearing were those of an orthodox righteous sect.
“You’ve grown so much.”
“Brother, can I hug you just once?”
“Of course. Come here.”
The moment I gave permission, Cheonwoo pulled me into a tight embrace and patted my back with his large hands.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you, brother. I’m so happy to see you like this.”
Cheonwoo had once been on the brink of death from malnutrition and congenital syphilis.
He had been a child so frail that the word “stunted” hardly captured my concern.
“The Mudang Sect’s internal energy cultivation is truly remarkable.”
“Ha ha ha. My joints ached terribly, but at some point I just grew tall like bamboo.”
“That’s wonderful. Truly wonderful. It’s good to see you healthy.”
As a physician, I felt a deep sense of fulfillment.
“You’re still wearing that rabbit scarf.”
“You gave it to me, so of course I do.”
“…I’ll make you a new one and send it.”
A rabbit scarf made no sense for someone of his size.
“Oh, that’s right. Brother, I received my Daoming.”
My eyes widened at those words.
Becoming a lay disciple and eventually leaving was different from receiving a Daoming and putting down roots.
“Then marriage would be impossible for life. Are you truly content with that?”
Becoming a hermit of the Mudang Sect was not merely a matter of mindset.
Though the rules varied slightly depending on the sect, the fundamental requirement was to live a celibate life without ever taking a companion.
In an age where cultivating oneself, ordering one’s family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world were treated as sacred principles, not continuing one’s lineage was a tremendous sacrifice.
“I’m content. I never had any intention of marrying anyway.”
“…”
Cheonwoo said nothing, but it was clear he had made a great resolution.
His voice carried a note of relief.
“Yes. A life devoted solely to the martial way has its own meaning.”
I felt genuinely moved.

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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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