Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 261

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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 261
“This time, let’s roast lamb. If we add corn and sweet potatoes together, the flavor will be excellent. Oh, and cactus fruit too.”
“Ohhh! I brought plenty of those anyway.”
“And if we make a stew—no, a broth using goat’s milk, the desert flavors will be doubled.”
“Just hearing about it makes my mouth water!”
After digging into the ground, I place large stones inside and build a fire to heat them until they’re scorching hot.
Pouring water over these hot stones and cooking meat with the resulting steam—that’s what we call “samgut-gui.”
I also place mugwort over the hot stones to infuse the aroma.
When I was young, the elders in my old neighborhood used to make this occasionally, but nowadays it’s rare to find places that cook this way.
I’m planning to prepare samgut-gui using cloth and leaves.
Instead of pork or chicken, I’ll use well-seasoned lamb.
I’ll wrap sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, and various fruits that I bought at the trading post and place them inside.
In modern times, we’d use cooking foil for wrapping, but this method tastes better.
‘The key is making sure the steam doesn’t escape. That’s what matters.’
Also important is wrapping it well so sand doesn’t get into the food.
I’ll use a small trick, like how I once preserved Mannyeonhwari’s inner core—I’ll use vital energy to bake clay.
A slight shortcut, so to speak.
Most importantly, layering and covering the food, then having a campfire beside it—there’s a certain appeal to watching it cook.
‘Yes. The desert calls for samgut-gui.’
Professor Jin thus brought forth the traditional cooking method of Gangwon Province from the Republic of Korea to this desert in another world.
Dam Pyodo spoke with excitement in his voice.
“Oh, I remember a merchant guild from the western regions cooking something similar before, and it was absolutely delicious.”
I’ve heard that South America has similar camping food, though not quite the same as samgut-gui.
It seems this world has something similar too.
I prepared the samgut-gui and lit the firewood.
Whoooosh!
Fire, geothermal heat, and steam—a magic born from their union.
“Ohhhhh!”
The desert night grew warm and toasty.
That’s when it happened.
“Master Pyodo, someone’s approaching!”
In the middle of the night when the sun had nearly set, who could possibly be coming to this desert?
Sure enough, torches began appearing in the distance.
“Bandits, bandits! The bandits are coming!”
I alternated my gaze between the approaching torches and the Gangwon-style samgut-gui cooking.
‘These bastards dare interrupt my meal preparation?’
The aroma of lamb, potatoes and corn soaked in lamb broth, and sweet potatoes was already wafting up from the underground fire.
All the Pyoguk martial arts disciples gripped their weapons and prepared to fight the bandit horde.
Watching them, I maintained my composure even in my anger and shouted.
“I’ll handle them and be right back!”
Prevention has always taken precedence over treatment.
Given the circumstances, wouldn’t it be my duty as a physician to end this conflict before someone loses their life?
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes blazed with the resolve of a healer.
* * *
The Crimson Wind Bandits.
That was the name of the bandit gang.
This bandit organization, whose name meant “the bloody storm of the desert sands,” was composed of a mixture of nomadic peoples from the Kingdom of Dadu and Han Chinese.
In this era, one might call it a maddening cross-border collaboration.
What made it even more infuriating was that they raided between the Hua Empire and the Kingdom of Dadu, giving administrators endless headaches.
If the Hua Empire were to lead an army and invade the Kingdom of Dadu, it would become a show of force.
Yet if the Kingdom of Dadu were to lead an army and strike back, it would equally amount to picking a quarrel with the Empire, creating administrative nightmares.
Without modern international joint investigations, such a nightmarish hybrid had been born.
The victims came from both the Kingdom of Dadu and the Hua Empire.
Within this tangled administrative void, the Crimson Wind Bandits grew stronger with each passing day.
Mixed into the Kingdom of Dadu’s unique martial arts were also the techniques of the Empire.
Though naturally, heterodox martial arts and banditry-suited techniques.
It was only natural that the Crimson Wind Bandits had earned such a fearsome reputation that no match could be found for them in the region.
And what was even more vicious was that they always killed more than half of any merchant caravan they attacked, enslaving the survivors and selling them beyond the borders.
No matter how much the Emperor had banned slavery, that was only within the Empire’s borders.
Once sold beyond the borders, there was no way to find them.
And so, the fifth strike team of the Crimson Wind Bandits had found their prey this night.
“Master! The shape of the tents and the way the cargo is stacked—it looks like a merchant caravan from Pyoguk.”
“How many people?”
“It’s night, so I can’t be certain, but judging by the number of torches, they seem to have fewer people than a typical caravan.”
“Small fry, then? What a shame!”
At those words, everyone burst into raucous laughter.
“Kill half and enslave the rest! Everything is ours!”
Crimson Wind Bandits, Fifth Strike Team.
At their master’s command, they all spurred their horses forward simultaneously.
“Hyah!”
* * *
“This is not a matter for Baek-ui Sinryong to handle! We shall deal with them!”
‘No, if I wait, I won’t get to eat this while it’s hot?’
The food kept cooking, but my patience was wearing thin.
Besides, someone would definitely get seriously injured fighting the bandits, and the thought of having to perform emergency treatment before eating made my chest feel tight.
I decided that a Korean wouldn’t stand for this.
“No, I’ll handle it myself.”
“That’s not neces—what?”
Before Dam Pyodo could finish speaking, Jin Cheon-hee’s afterimage scattered and vanished.
Clang!
Hwang-gu and Noeji’s fur stood on end more than usual.
The fury of having their meal interrupted moved the two spiritual creatures.
I stood before the bandits.
The bandits were in the middle of the desert.
When the warrior rushed toward them and stopped, they let out laughter.
“#@%#$^&~!!”
Since they weren’t from the Central Plains, I couldn’t understand a word they were saying, but their expressions told me enough.
Something about having guts, how laughable, that sort of thing.
Sure enough, the bandits circled around me, surrounding and enclosing me in a ring.
“@#!#$!!”
Horse hooves struck the sand with a deafening sound.
‘Now that I’ve stepped beyond the boundaries, even my reputation is useless.’
I couldn’t understand why Eun Wang-ya insisted on coming all this way for a routine checkup.
At that moment, a whip flew toward my neck.
It was a technique commonly used by bandits in this region—wrapping the whip around an enemy’s neck and dragging them behind a horse.
If done that way, even the strongest martial artist wouldn’t survive a hundred meters before their neck broke, and after three hundred meters, only the lower half of the corpse remained.
“Be careful, Great Hero!”
Whoosh!
Even as the whip approached my throat, I didn’t move.
A bloodthirsty smile crossed the bandit’s lips.
That instant.
Snap!
I caught the whip.
The whip wrapped around my arm several times, yet strangely, not a single wound appeared.
As I let the whip coil around my arm, I thought.
‘Are they manipulating qi? It feels different from Central Plains martial arts.’
Either way, it didn’t matter.
I simply pulled the whip toward me.
Boom!
In that instant, the bandit holding the whip was yanked into the air.
At the same time, my hand seized his shoulder and twisted it in a direction it shouldn’t bend.
Crack!
“Aaaahhhhh!”
As the scream erupted, I spoke.
“Let’s eat. You bandits! Hwang-gu, Noeji. Tear them apart!”
Awooooo!
As Hwang-gu unleashed a long, wolf-like howl, the horses instantly panicked and reared up on their hind legs.
They couldn’t withstand the killing intent of the spiritual creatures.
At the same time, lightning struck down from the desert sky.
Crackle!
Two bandits were electrocuted in that single instant.
The one who appeared to be the leader spouted something in an incomprehensible language, but regardless, my kick sent his jaw spinning.
“Kugh-hck!”
Pabababak!
Thirty-some men.
The number no longer mattered.
An overwhelmingly superior force was sweeping through them like a storm.
It was not a level of martial prowess that mere bandits could contend with.
Even the Pyoguk escorts who had rushed to aid Baek-ui Sinryong stood transfixed.
“Huh….”
There’s a saying in my homeland: even a dog shouldn’t be disturbed while eating.
I could not forgive these bandits for attacking at such a moment.
Yet another part of my mind maintained a cold calculation: the faster I defeated them, the sooner I could return and roast the meat.
“…Truly… remarkable… Baek-ui Sinryong….”
“So the rumors were not exaggerated.”
“I had doubted the tales of the Doctor’s strength….”
Their praise did not reach my ears.
‘My skewered meat!’
Only one thought consumed me: finish quickly and return.
* * *
Bandit Yamta could not comprehend the sight before him.
The target of the raid was clearly a small merchant caravan with only a few tents.
Though small, the quality of the tents and the arrangement of goods suggested considerable wealth.
As they rushed toward the caravan, a handsome young man stood in the middle of the desert.
Though the moon was dim, his skin was pale enough to be clearly visible, and his features were refined and beautiful.
His eyes were gentle, his lips curved upward softly, giving him a warm impression.
The Master, upon seeing such a youth, spoke.
“Capture that one alive. We shall sell him dearly to the nobility.”
The man in blue robes did not seem to understand these words, but he appeared to sense their ill intent.
At his side stood a wolf the size of an ox.
Its fur color was peculiar for a wolf, but at such a size, it could only be one.
‘Could it be one from the Southern Wilderness Beast Palace?’
If so, it might become somewhat troublesome—but the Master was not the type to concern himself with such matters.
The Master’s right hand laughed wickedly and lashed a whip toward the youth in mockery.
The moment the whip coiled around the youth’s neck, he wrapped his arm around the whip instead and hurled the man through the air.
Whoosh!
“A person… flew?”
And then lightning struck the sky. As the wolf howled deeply, the horses all reared up on their hind legs.
“Aaaahhh!”
“Come on, seize him!”
Amidst the chaos, the young man maintained a serene expression as he sent people flying skyward with casual strikes.

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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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