Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 180

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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 180
I spoke up.
“Are you thinking about attending the Yongbong Assembly? You’ve received your Daoming and found your Master, so it would make sense for you to participate.”
“Ah, if you’re going, Brother, then I’ll apply too. Of course, just applying doesn’t guarantee attendance, but I think… it should be possible.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The Mudang Sect holds a martial tournament gathering the later-stage cultivators within the sect. If you place in the top three, you can participate in the Yongbong Assembly.”
His expression was full of confidence.
I had nothing to say to that either.
‘Right… if Gwon Je’s direct disciple can’t even place in the rankings, there’s no greater shame than that.’
With that grandfather’s temperament, he would subject Cheonwoo to hellish training.
By “subjecting,” I meant literally drowning him in physical hell training—failing to place in the top three might actually be worse than death.
“I’m planning to attend the next Yongbong Assembly as well, following my Master. At my age now, there probably aren’t many in Gangho who would dare provoke me.”
“Hmm… that’s only if this old man permits it. In reality, there are probably plenty of Gangho cultivators who would provoke you.”
“Wait, why would they provoke a doctor?”
“Because Baek Rin-ui-seon brags about his disciples so much that the later-stage cultivators in Gangho suffer internal injuries from it. Brother, you don’t know, do you? Right. You wouldn’t know. This is the kind of thing only the person involved remains ignorant of.”
Cheonwoo gazed at the sky with a distant expression.
His face contained both affliction and enlightenment at once, and I began to worry about just how much my Master had been boasting.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“Anyway, since Baek Rin-ui-seon doesn’t have ambitions for martial glory at this point, and you won’t be participating either, I think things will end up going reasonably well.”
“Right. I wanted to gain more experience treating various emergency trauma patients. More than anything, as manpower continues to grow scarce, the four great clan lords have requested that I be dispatched sooner.”
Treating fractures from trauma is my specialty.
If anything, Jegalling has been delaying my dispatch by putting it off.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“Somehow, Brother, your eyes light up more when talking about medicine than martial arts.”
“Is that so? Ha ha ha.”
Saving people is difficult but rewarding.
It’s also joyful to see patients recover and be happy.
When I discover better surgical techniques and can treat illnesses that would have been absolutely incurable in the old days, the joy is indescribable.
Whether on Earth or here, that joy has always been my driving force.
The two of us embraced in farewell.
“Take care of yourself.”
“See you at the Yongbong Assembly, Brother.”
“Right.”
* * *
I retrieved my weapons and descended the mountain.
‘Now, should I try to harvest more of those spirit herbs I couldn’t collect before?’
I was thinking of sending them to Cheonwoo and Sama Hyeon.
From the martial tournament, I realized what both of them lacked was inner energy.
‘As their senior, what else can I do to help them?’
Looking up, the sun was already high in the sky.
When I turned back, Cheonwoo was still waving at me from the entrance of the Mudang Sect.
“I hope it doesn’t burn down this time. Elder Gwon Je has gained enlightenment and now has a disciple, so he’ll have more reason to cling to this life.”
As I muttered softly to myself, Noeji and Hwang-gu responded without understanding what I was saying.
Squeak squeak! Woof woof!
With this, Elder Gwon Je could delay his natural death or ascension to immortality for a while longer.
I didn’t know how much longer I’d bought him, but in Gangho, the meaning of being a master to a disciple was profound.
On top of that, I had him take a quarter portion of internal injury medicine—not tonics—daily, so he’d hold on even longer.
I’d also used the guise of free treatment to advertise the efficacy of Baekrin Divine Pills and the medical techniques of Baekrin Uigak to the Mudang Sect people.
‘I really did accomplish a lot.’
In a short time, I had not only improved my skills but changed many things.
* * *
Woof! – Master, I’m hungry!
Squeak squeak – There’s a village nearby, let’s stop by, let’s stop by~ okay?
I stopped by the village below the Mudang Sect and began purchasing supplies for the journey one by one.
‘Dried rations and jerky are all gone, and I’m out of pepper too. I’ll need to get more goat’s milk to make butter.’
After buying so much, the sun set and darkness began to fall.
“Let’s stay here tonight.”
Woof woof woof!
Hwang-gu expressed his agreement with his tail. Noeji needed no words.
I found an inn, ate noodles, and fell asleep earlier than usual.
How long had I slept?
Woof! Growl! Woof woof! Bark!
Squeak, squeeeeak! Squeak, squeak!
The barking of Hwang-gu and Noeji woke me.
“Why… what’s wrong? What happened?”
I expanded my perception but felt nothing suspicious. Then Hwang-gu tugged at my sleeve.
Woof! – Master, something’s wrong outside.
As Hwang-gu pulled me toward the window, the world outside glowed red.
Flames. Red flames were consuming and engulfing Mount Mudang.
“What…?”
My thoughts froze for a moment.
‘The Mudang Sect shouldn’t burn for at least several more years… not until after Elder Gwon Je ascends to immortality. That’s when it was supposed to happen!’
The fire demon mercilessly devoured everything, growing stronger and stronger.
The Mudang Sect was burning. It was burning.
* * *
This time would be different.
The Mudang Sect now hadn’t rotted like in the original story, and Elder Gwon Je was still alive.
But my chest felt like it would burst, so I simply ran.
The distance from the village to the Mudang Sect was considerable, and even using lightness martial arts, it took some time to cover.
Though my lightness martial arts skills were second to none, right now my legs felt impossibly slow.
Woof! – Master, I smell something strange!
Hwang-gu quickly relayed the information to me.
Thanks to the warning, I was able to prepare to draw my sword even as I rushed forward.
The entrance to Mudang Mountain.
The first thing I saw was the Gatekeeper’s corpse.
The bodies of Hermits and Masked Persons scattered about.
A hellscape unfolding before me….
In that moment, I felt a wave of nausea rise in my throat. I clenched my teeth.
‘This isn’t the battlefield where I died in my past life. This is Gangho. I can fight… anyway, I’m fine…no!’
That terror from when I died in my previous life struck me like a thunderbolt. Yet even such emotions felt like a luxury before the tragedy unfolding before my eyes.
I quickly steeled my mind.
‘I cannot break down. Whether in Gangho or on Earth, humans killing humans is the same, isn’t it? What was I hoping for? Dreams and romance?’
In that instant, a Black-Clothed Person unleashed a wild slash toward me.
Clang!
With the first exchange, I blocked the blade and counterattacked on the second.
The Black-Clothed Person’s sword shattered as their arm twisted in an unnatural direction.
Crack—
That arm would never be of use to them again.
‘An assault on the Mudang Sect? They certainly have audacity.’
Yet throughout the martial world, blood feuds between renowned orthodox sects occurred with surprising frequency.
Two villainous forces came to mind as capable of such an act.
One seemed to fit my suspicions, but I withheld judgment.
Instead, I twisted my thoughts in a different direction.
‘First, Elder Gwon Je is here—the fact that someone dared breach the Mudang Sect means they must have a countermeasure against Elder Gwon Je, right?’
It made no sense that a force capable of orchestrating something of this scale hadn’t made such basic calculations.
‘Can I help the Mudang Sect? No, I must. Saving people—isn’t that my purpose?’
Looking at this inferno, memories of the battlefield flood back.
The sensation from when I died then is vivid. Memories I want to scream and flee from, to forget—yet reality is cruel.
My hands tremble.
‘It’s fine. I can do this. I can save them.’
As I steeled myself again and again, a voice suddenly rang out.
“Ugh… are you… Seo Baek-ryong?”
A human voice called from beneath the rubble. As I cleared away the debris, a familiar Hermit emerged, their expression brightening at the sight of me.
“My goodness. I thought you’d left long ago… I cannot express my gratitude.”
“Ha Jeong Jin-in.”
Though the Mudang Sect was called rotten, there were many good people among them.
Ha Jeong Jin-in was especially one of them.
Ha was one generation above Cheonwoo.
When Cheonwoo first arrived here as a rolling stone, Ha Jeong Jin-in had willingly shared his own snacks with him.
It was thanks to such genuine Hermits that Cheonwoo could endure, no matter how petty the territorial harassment became.
Ha Jeong Jin-in gazed at me and let out a helpless laugh.
“Welcome. How wonderful to see you. I’m so glad Seo Baek-ryong came… I can’t tell you how much. Please… please save the Mudang Sect… I beg you… Aaaagh! What, what are you doing?”
“I’m performing acupuncture to stop the bleeding.”
“No… what is this….”
“A doctor doesn’t listen to last words like that.”
I quickly staunched Ha Jeong Jin-in’s bleeding and retrieved an emergency medicine.
“Why does acupuncture hurt so much?”
“When bleeding is this severe, it hurts. And your injuries are severe too.”
I spoke calmly.
“I’ve kept your life hanging on until this matter is resolved. I’d like to treat you more, but there’s no time. For now, you must survive.”
“….”
I gripped Ha Jeong Jin-in’s hand firmly. Then, with eyes blazing with intensity, I spoke again.
“…You must survive.”
“In all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen a warrior of Gangho jam acupuncture into someone before they even finish their last words… Hehe… I understand. If I don’t want to hear it from Seo Baek-ryong, I’d better cling to life desperately.”
“The medicine will help maintain your consciousness. I’ve arranged your legs so you can move—hide somewhere if you must. You won’t be able to move for long. I’ve only prepared you to escape.”
“Will it hurt if I move?”
“The emergency medicine contains painkillers, but it will still hurt quite a bit. But… you have to run to survive.”
Ha Jeong Jin-in, leaning on my support, forced himself to his feet.
Groans of pain escaped him. But he could move. He had enough mobility to evade for a time.
Having saved one hermit, I immediately issued orders.
“Noeji. You watch the approaching enemies from the sky! Don’t worry about the small fry. Tell me about the strong ones first. And if you have time after that, strike with lightning to provide cover.”
Screech!
Noeji immediately climbed higher into the sky.
“And Hwang-gu, you come with me. Search for the wounded. And while we’re at it, let’s put the combat techniques my master taught me to use.”
Growl!
Hwang-gu’s fur bristled sharply.
He sensed his master’s rage.
Sure enough, five masked persons rushed in immediately after.
They didn’t bother with words—who are you, what do you do—and simply launched their attacks.
At that moment, Noeji moved first.
Boom!
Noeji’s blue flash immediately roasted one of the masked persons.
Lightning descending through the pitch-black sky, splitting it open, was worthy of being called divine punishment.
The four remaining masked persons’ movements faltered momentarily at the unexpected attack from an unexpected direction.
In that gap, Hwang-gu moved.
Crack!
This time, not the groin, but the leg.
Against masters of sufficient skill, crushing the groin isn’t easy, so this time I aimed elsewhere.
A dog attacks lower than humans, burrowing into the blind spots of human vision.
With a spiritual creature that also knew how to use inner energy, one leg was lost in an instant.
Crack—
Hwang-gu’s bite shattered the opponent’s femur with pure jaw strength.
“Gaaahhh—!”
“…Yes. It must hurt. Even Heukjeon Uigak can’t save that, so amputate it later.”
Finally, my afterimage moved slowly, yet paradoxically fast enough to escape the eye.
Wherever my hand appeared and vanished, one of their limbs bent backward without fail.
They scattered throwing blades trying to catch me, but none of them even grazed my afterimage.

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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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