Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 205

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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 205
Eon Jeong-mu, his face drenched in alcohol, furrowed his brow.
His shattered pride and the humiliation brought upon himself by his own scheme consumed him.
“What manner of sorcery was that…?”
In that moment, Namgung Un burst into loud, booming laughter.
“Sorcery? Come now, Brother Eon, you jest too much. All that happened was you took a proper drink.”
As he clapped his hands and laughed with exaggeration, Eon Jeong-mu found himself unable to speak further.
Namgung Un patted his back and spoke.
“Shouldn’t you be showing your true skills at the Yongbong Assembly? Hmm? Brother Eon.”
Eon Jeong-mu tried to say more, but the moment his eyes met Namgung Un’s, his body froze.
A chilling sensation gripped his heart.
Faced with the silent warning that no further transgression would be tolerated, Eon Jeong-mu swallowed hard.
“…You are right, Elder Brother. This younger brother has overstepped.”
“Indeed. Indeed. Hehehehe. The romance of a drinking gathering should end as romance, should it not?”
“….”
Namgung Un, the Sword of the Soaring Dragon.
Faced with the oppressive weight he emanated, Eon Jeong-mu could only nod.
“I have been discourteous to Sohyeop. I shall pay my respects another time.”
Jin Cheon-hee replied.
“Let us meet again at the Yongbong Assembly.”
The two cupped their fists and retreated hastily.
Namgung Un, as though the murderous intent from moments before had vanished, wore a carefree grin.
“Wherever you go, there are always martial artists who cause trouble. I do hope Sohyeop was not discomforted.”
Sama Hyeon, who had been watching, smiled wickedly with her crimson lips.
[That guy is quite amusing~]
[The Sword of the Soaring Dragon is someone you can never quite pin down.]
[Hahaha, no. That’s not why I said he was amusing, Brother.]
[What then?]
Sama Hyeon did not answer.
Instead, she simply placed meat onto Jin Cheon-hee’s plate.
[Brother, eat plenty~ This is the most delicious part.]
[You eat it.]
[I’m fine. I’m fine, but I’m worried about your social relationships, Brother. So eat more.]
It was strange for me to receive concern from someone who, in the original work, had flayed the skin from people’s faces.
* * *
Night.
I returned to my lodgings.
I parted with Sama Hyeon after agreeing to meet again tomorrow.
Sama Hyeon seemed to have much on her mind regarding today’s events.
“I think I’d like to become close friends with those two people I met today~”
“What?”
He was referring to Eon Jeong-mu and Peng Cheon-sik.
Sama Hyeon answered.
“They look like they lack intelligence, so they’ll probably rely heavily on the Black Dot in the future~ At this rate, they’d fall right into a scammer’s trap like me. Since they’re going to be swindled anyway, wouldn’t it be better if they got swindled by me instead?”
My younger brother spouted madness with a calm, rational tone.
I could tell this wasn’t something he was saying to seek my approval. There was no reason to stop him either.
‘If I could confirm the Hyeolseonggyo’s schemes through this, that would be ideal.’
I felt a conviction that perhaps Sama Hyeon could make it possible.
But how much should I tell him?
For now, I parted ways with Sama Hyeon like that.
When I returned to the lodging, my Master was waiting with a tired expression.
“Did you have a good time?”
“Well… quite a few things happened. And this.”
I set down the snacks I’d bought from the night market.
“I picked out things I thought you’d enjoy, but I’m not sure if they’ll suit your taste.”
“The aroma is pleasant.”
I was relieved that he seemed to like it.
“Oh, and I ran into that younger brother I helped out before.”
“You mean the Golden King’s disciple from Hao-mun?”
I was slightly surprised at those words.
“So you already knew.”
“Even though this Master seems to spend all his time at the Medical Guild, there are things I hear. Since it’s something you’ll find out anyway, I simply didn’t mention it.”
It was obvious that aside from Cheonwoo, no one else would satisfy me as a younger brother figure.
“Even if his insides seem dark, he’s still not comparable to Yeo Ha-ryun. He’s a useful connection, so it’s not a bad thing.”
Had my standards lowered thanks to Yeo Ha-ryun? Or was it simply that as long as it wasn’t that bastard Yeo Ha-ryun, anything was acceptable?
Either way, it seemed my Master had acknowledged Sama Hyeon as my (temporary) sworn brother.
My Master pressed his temples firmly as he spoke.
“By the way, the Gangho Alliance Leader seems to be taking an interest in you, Cheon-hee.”
“The Gangho Alliance Leader?”
The Gangho Alliance Leader.
The current Gangho Alliance Leader is from the Shandong Yak Family and is called Changwang, one of the Two Kings.
This man even survives throughout the process of Yeo Ha-ryun’s growth into the Heavenly Demon, but dies in battle against the Hyeolseonggyo through mutual destruction with one of the Hyeolseonggyo’s Ten Thousand Army executives.
While many martial arts novels typically depict the Gangho Alliance Leader as a hypocrite, according to this novel, this man is a great person.
He is described as a righteous gentleman and the embodiment of a great hero.
“The current Gangho Alliance Leader is truly someone who deserves to be called righteous. I myself hold him in high regard.”
“If you speak of him that way, Master, he must truly be a good person.”
“He is one of the few truly good people in Gangho. However, he is equally ruthless. You could say he’s an interesting person.”
“Ruthless?”
“Like us doctors. If ten patients who need immediate treatment appear before you, and you can only save five, by what criteria would you choose which people to save?”
“Uh…”
I recalled the fundamentals of emergency medicine.
My master spoke.
“All are critically wounded and of similar age. Let’s say they suffered the same injuries.”
In that case, an immediate decision was difficult.
“….”
A question with no right answer.
The reason I found myself troubled despite knowing this was because I often faced such situations.
My master observed my slightly crumpled expression and spoke.
“The Alliance Leader calculates and saves. His calculation method is ruthlessly rational, tailored to his own standards.”
How much benefit will the person he saves bring to the world in the future? Or will they be useful to the Alliance that benefits the world?
At my master’s continued words, I fell silent.
“While it may seem like he only pursues profit, ultimately what he prioritizes above all is justice. That takes precedence.”
The realization of justice through the greatest number.
‘Is the Alliance Leader like a Utilitarian-like Figure?’
Utilitarianism.
It even resembled Jeremy Bentham’s quantitative utilitarianism from the nineteenth century.
Though a great hero, he is a being who pursues the greatest happiness for the greatest number, always weighing and measuring.
Yet his fundamental nature is ultimately driven by justice.
“For the happiness of the majority throughout Gangho, he would willingly stain his hands with blood. A contradictory man. In your eyes, does he appear righteous?”
Utility.
Can human happiness be measured on a scale?
I know little of philosophy, so I cannot say who judges such things or how.
Yet it is true that this utilitarianism became the foundation of welfare philosophy.
“I’m uncertain. In some respects, I believe he is righteous… but at the same time, I think he must become a sage.”
As an extreme example, if one could save a hundred people by sacrificing one innocent person, what would one do?
He would choose the one without hesitation.
Is that righteous? Yet conversely, if one were to kill a hundred to protect one, could that truly be called righteous?
“Yes. That is what contradiction is.”
Not debating with scholars on campus, but advocating for utility in the midst of the Dosan Sword Forest.
In the end, amid chaos, he sacrificed himself without hesitation.
Yet did that sacrifice truly bring happiness to the many?
One person, merely one person ground away—there are too many blades in this vast land to change Gangho.
“In that sense, the Alliance Leader has flaws as a leader. He is the Alliance Leader, yet he does not trust the Alliance. More precisely, he is always wary of the selfish human nature hidden beneath the guise of orthodoxy.”
At those words, I smiled bitterly.
“It cannot be helped.”
“Yes. And so he showed interest in Hyeolseonggyo. The faction that appeared within the Mudang Sect. The faction that Samjeolchuho ultimately uncovered. And the faction you once fought.”
“….”
“How much do you know about them?”
My master did not simply ask whether I knew or didn’t know.
How much I knew.
It was the conclusion Jegalling had reached.
A moment of choice.
It was difficult to tell him everything.
One wrong word and I’d sound like some charlatan fortune teller.
How much should I reveal, and how much should I keep hidden?
A brief moment. Yet the deliberation weighed heavily upon me.
“Still, it seems you know a considerable portion of it.”
“I see. I suspected as much. Your actions resembled preparations for the future itself… Yes. What manner of people are the Hyeolseonggyo?”
Where should I even begin?
“Master, do you believe in the existence of immortals?”
“Immortals?”
“Yes.”
“Who in Gangho would not believe in them? Records exist of those who awakened to the ultimate truth of the Way and ascended as immortals to the celestial realm. Demons and sorcery exist as well, so denying immortals would be meaningless.”
My master fell into thought before adding a remark.
“Yet conversely, affirming it is equally meaningless. We cannot know what comes after one becomes an immortal. It is much like the afterlife.”
That too was a valid point.
“Most immortals have no interest in worldly affairs.”
One awakens to the ultimate truth of the Way.
Only an infinitesimal few among humans could achieve such a thing.
Such beings would have no reason to influence the mortal realm for wealth or fame.
Had they desired such things, they could have indulged themselves fully.
My master asked.
“You said ‘most,’ which implies that a small number are different?”
“Correct. Some do take interest. It is the fundamental faith of the Hyeolseon.”
“In a sense, Daoism shares common ground with the Mudang Sect that was attacked.”
“Haha, one could say their roots are the same.”
Truly, my master was remarkable. With merely a few words, he had grasped the very essence of the Hyeolseonggyo.
“It begins from the Golden Immortal Path. When a non-human being cultivates and becomes an immortal, we call it a demon immortal. Most demon immortals also have no interest in the mortal world.”
“And a small number among them do take interest?”
“Yes. The Way of humans differs from the Way of beasts. And some among them, to continue their own beast Way, desire mortal blood. In exchange, they influence the Hyeolseonggyo by offering cultivation methods and secret arts that grant immortality and eternal life.”
“In a sense, that shares common ground with the Demonic Sect, so it is natural they are confused with one another.”
I nodded in agreement.
“Still, they cannot exercise power directly. They merely lend knowledge or strength to some degree. And even that requires appropriate compensation.”
….
My master absorbed every word I spoke.
What did those five senses, having reached the ultimate truth of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, perceive?
A chill ran through me, but there was no point in stopping now.
I continued speaking.

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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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