Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 275

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 275
No matter how much I resembled a kite with a severed string, I had expected them to persistently search for the missing princess. Reality proved far more cruel.
The officials were far harsher than I anticipated.
The administrators sent soldiers to search for the princess’s body, but after two days, as if they had been waiting, they announced she had become beast feed and processed her as a casualty.
That was it. The nobility all wanted her to disappear.
Now, no matter how much Ilkana returned to the imperial palace and showed her identity tablet claiming to be the princess.
She would be a fake.
A corpse resembling Ilkana had already been shown before the Sultan once, and her funeral had concluded.
Though beasts had torn at her face making it difficult to recognize, she was Ilkana.
Anyone who objected to that claim was already dead.
The assassination cult simply gained one young girl with a grotesquely scarred face.
No one would dare suspect that girl could possibly be a princess of a nation.
A young orchid raised only in the royal palace mutilating her own face and swearing vengeance—such a tale didn’t even exist in fairy stories.
Yet the young orchid was different from others.
Instead of drinking the water the royal family provided, she chose to drink blood and harbor poison.
‘The culprit is the Minister of National Defense… that’s right.’
Choosing the assassination cult was quite a good move.
No information requirement was greater than that demanded by contracts to kill people.
She ultimately succeeded in finding the one who killed her mother.
But a star positioned impossibly high above.
Could a single assassin truly kill such a target?
‘Meeting like this now must surely be because of a contract received from the assassination cult.’
In the original work, during the confrontation with Yeo Ha-ryun, she gambles her future on his strength and becomes his comrade.
Of course, due to the Supreme Heavenly Demon trait where only the protagonist survives, she dies not long after.
She appears as a role brutally slaughtered instead of Yeo Ha-ryun, falling into a trap set by Hyeolseonggyo.
Yeo Ha-ryun, holding the corpses of his fallen comrades alongside her, loses his mind and becomes consumed by madness for a time.
In her stead, he kills the leadership of Seorim’s religious nation, consoling the spirits of the dead as the episode concludes.
‘Right. In that episode too, Yeo Ha-ryun was the only survivor.’
The path of the Heavenly Demon forged from rivers of blood and corpses!
Both enemies and allies flow through that blood river!
It was entertaining when I read it.
I enjoyed that flavor, so unlike modern martial arts novels.
Had I known I’d fall into such a world, my impressions would have been quite different.
‘Now that I think about it, that bastard Yeo Ha-ryun… what did he say back then while rampaging as the Supreme Heavenly Demon…’
Jin Cheon-hee’s pupils shift to a blue light.
‘Right. He said he would bury sins in blood because the world was full of hypocrisy and malice, lacking true justice and goodwill.’
A typical monologue recited when a martial arts protagonist walks the path of tyranny.
There’s a refreshing catharsis in hearing it.
‘Looking at it coldly, Yeo Ha-ryun isn’t particularly righteous or virtuous.’
He has killed many.
Of course, some among them deserved death, but there were also extras who simply got swept up in the chaos and perished.
Of course, that was the perspective I held after becoming a resident of this real martial arts world.
But as a reader who had only read the words on a page, it felt like pouring refreshing satisfaction.
‘Of course, that doesn’t make me evil or a hypocrite either.’
To begin with, such a person would struggle to be a protagonist in a martial arts novel.
Punishing a hypocritical sect elder is satisfying, but beating innocent grandparents and extorting their money would make readers want to drop the story.
If I had to define it precisely.
I see evil and grow angry.
I see hypocrisy and grow angry.
In other words, an Eradicator of Evil.
‘The talent of Cheon Sal-seong that heaven bestowed could be said to be a mechanism for that very purpose. After all, the Hyeolseonggyo disappears because of Yeo Ha-ryun. Of course, in that process many people die, and in the end only Yeo Ha-ryun survives… but.’
It was natural that Ilkana was drawn to such a Yeo Ha-ryun.
She responded to that drive to eradicate evil, became captivated by that mysterious strength, and became his companion.
Since Ilkana came from an assassination cult, she uses the unique martial art called ‘Chakratant’ of the assassination cult and spirit embodiment, one of the mysterious secret techniques of the assassination cult.
That technique which had passed through Jin Cheon-hee’s body just moments ago.
In spirit form, only passage is possible and attacking is impossible, so the incantation is only released and materialization occurs just before the attack.
‘Those who don’t know about this technique find it nearly impossible to counter.’
In spirit form, one would need to reach the Heart Void stage of martial arts to land a proper hit.
‘Of course, during that time the opponent can’t hit me either.’
Moreover, Chakratant, the unique martial art, operates on completely different principles from the Central Plains method of gathering inner force in the dantian.
There was mention that she primarily uses twin daggers and fights with two subtleties: swiftness and dazzlement.
In other words, incredibly fast and flashy.
‘Ilkana appearing… it certainly means war is approaching.’
She was a character who died so tragically in Supreme Heavenly Demon that I feel sympathy for her as a reader.
‘What should I do…’
Tap, tap.
Jin Cheon-hee, who had been tapping the table with his fingers, reached a conclusion.
‘First, I need to see how the situation unfolds.’
Then I heard the sound of someone running toward me.
“Patriarch! Are you alright?!”
The guards are finally rushing over.
That speaks to how terrifyingly discreet Ilkana’s work had been.
She would have already investigated the guard shift times.
* * *
The Third Prince was still sleeping deeply.
His body was exerting all its strength so that the Triple Yin Meridian could recover even slightly more.
Jin Cheon-hee periodically took his pulse and constantly monitored his condition.
The guards stood positioned to envelop the room entirely.
An arrangement like a human barrier.
An assassination attempt on the prince.
It could become their responsibility if they weren’t careful.
Since this couldn’t happen twice, everyone’s discipline was razor-sharp.
That’s when Eun Wang-ya entered.
“Eun Merchant Lord!”
“Yes.”
At the king’s gesture, the guards stepped back and reformed their perimeter around the room.
When Eun Wang-ya gestured from inside, the door closed.
With the door sealed, sound wouldn’t leak outside, which compromised security somewhat, but truthfully, the single Shadow accompanying Eun Wang-ya was far stronger than all the guards stationed here combined.
Seeing Eun Wang-ya like this made me sigh slightly.
‘It seems the king’s Shadows only protect the king.’
When I thought about it, it was only natural, but still—we’d nearly stumbled into war just moments ago, and I found it somewhat frustrating.
Eun Wang-ya, whose complexion gleamed brilliantly, sat in a chair with legs crossed, cast a glance at the broken window and chakram, then spoke.
“So an assassin came, you said?”
“Yes, a highly skilled one. From the weapons, they didn’t appear to be from the Central Plains.”
“Surely it was Seorim Gyoguk then. Hmm, seeing that the two spirits beside you left their posts suggests you sent them in pursuit.”
“Yes. The odds are fifty-fifty, but… it’s still worth attempting.”
A smile spread across Eun Wang-ya’s lips.
“Since the surgery went well, isn’t your work as a doctor finished? Why go this far?”
A sharp question.
In a way, it was a question that pierced through the very principle of my actions.
But I had no intention of hiding or speaking in roundabouts.
“I hate war.”
“Hmm…”
“I hate roofs burning. I hate seeing commoners dragged away by soldiers they don’t know and toyed with like playthings until they die. I hate children grasping swords. I hate wheat and rice and piles of seeds burning.”
Firmly, yet with absolute certainty.
But contrary to the voice coming from my lips, my vision tilted again.
I saw the floor sloping to one side.
This too was surely a hallucination, not reality.
Knowing this, I gazed at the king before me without showing surprise.
Eun Wang-ya asked suddenly.
“What if I desired war?”
I saw his eyes behind the mask curve gently.
Was it a jest? Or earnest?
My opponent was an emperor who had lived his entire life amid schemes and machinations.
Attempting psychological warfare against such a person would only result in being dragged along the board they had already laid out.
That’s why simplicity is strength.
I spoke.
“I would do anything to prevent war.”
“Anything? Even staining those white hands with blood?”
I looked down at my own hands.
The King was clearly probing for treason.
He was testing whether the doctor treating him harbored any ulterior motives.
Clearly, the correct answer here would be “I harbor no such thoughts whatsoever.”
But.
“If I could prevent such things by dirtying one of my own hands, then I would do so.”
I had already let go of myself once before.
When I entered the secret underground shrine of the Hyeolseonggyo with Samjeolchuho.
When I saw those abducted children. When I witnessed those vacant, lifeless eyes devoid of reason.
I let go of myself.
I abandoned my convictions.
I cast aside my pride.
I resolved that whatever I was, if breaking this one principle could stop such atrocities, then I would do it.
Having already discarded it once, why couldn’t I discard it a second time?
“Do you speak truthfully?”
“There is no falsehood in my words.”
In that moment, a cold blade pressed against my throat.
The Emperor’s shadow had already driven a blade beneath my Adam’s apple.
Yet I merely gazed upon the Emperor.
I uttered no plea for mercy, nor did I claim my words were insincere.
“….”
Within an eternity compressed into an instant, the Emperor raised his hand.
“Enough. Begone. Should you lay even a fingertip upon that child, I shall not forgive you.”
“….”
At the Emperor’s sharp command, the shadow slowly withdrew the blade and vanished into the wall like mist.
Seeing it completely disappear, I exhaled—a sigh escaping unbidden.
The Emperor himself seemed thoroughly delighted by this situation where I spoke of preventing treason even at the cost of my own death before him.
“Hahahaha, so you’re the first to discuss treason before me. Well, that’s true. Starting a war and then going to receive acupuncture from you would be madness indeed.”
The Emperor laughed heartily for a long while before speaking thus.
“Yes. This is what a true dragon should be. Holding the thread of my life and threatening me… yet for some reason, it brings me great joy.”
Outwardly, I listened to the Emperor’s laughter in silence, but cold sweat trickled beneath my clothes.
The ground still tilted beneath me.
“You are too kind.”
Observing my calm response, the Emperor spoke thus.
“It may sound mad… but I truly covet you. Yet you shall never become mine, will you?”
“I must treat my patients, Your Majesty.”
“Yes. That is the sort of man you are. Then go now. I shall speak well of you to the Third Prince when he awakens.”
“But….”
“The probability of his condition deteriorating at this point is not insignificant, is it? You yourself must rest now. This is a rare gesture of goodwill from me. Surely you don’t intend to refuse?”
At his chilling tone, I finally sighed and nodded.
“Then I shall rest my eyes for a moment. However, should his condition suddenly change….”
“Yes. I’ll make sure to tell you.”
I thought it would be best to rest after saying that much.
The fatigue was already making my chest feel slightly tight.
The floor still tilted beneath me.
‘A good sleep will fix this. Everything will be fine.’
Proper rest always restored my distorted perception.
Hadn’t I experienced this countless times already?
Jin Cheon-hee made an effort to walk exactly like a normal person, careful not to let this condition slip.
Then, without greeting anyone or looking back, he headed straight to his quarters.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————