Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 285

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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 285
The long journey was not as tedious as I had feared.
I taught her the fundamentals of external martial arts and verses to make them easier to memorize.
Using the principle of spreading gathered energy throughout the entire body via the Chakra Tantra, I helped her master the application of external martial arts.
Ilkana seemed astonished by this new sensation.
“So this is the martial art of Gangho. It’s a fascinating feeling, Brother.”
“What surprises me more is how quickly you’re grasping it.”
At my words, Ilkana shook her head.
“No. If anything, I wonder if you’re teaching it too easily.”
“That’s only possible because it’s external martial arts. Once we move into actual sword techniques and archery, it won’t be this straightforward.”
The theory of external martial arts is naturally simple. The theory is…
“So now that I’ve grasped it completely, I need to refine my external martial arts through pressure point strikes and acupuncture strikes, correct, Brother?”
“Yes. Just as one must swing a sword tens of thousands of times to master swordsmanship, one must take tens of thousands of strikes to cultivate external martial arts.”
I spoke calmly about this insane proposition.
But then again, it was far more hygienic and safer than plunging one’s hands into scorching hot sand and having one’s meridian points pricked with needles daily from childhood to develop weapon-proof skin.
“In any case, external martial arts that aren’t cultivated will forever remain stagnant.”
At my words, Ilkana seemed somewhat enlightened.
‘I see. Truly a warrior of Gangho. I’m not entirely sure what pressure point strikes and acupuncture strikes feel like just from hearing about them, but I must work hard! For my revenge!’
Watching her eyes gleam with such firm resolve, I thought to myself.
‘Yoo Ho. I’m sending you a new recruit, so please take good care of her.’
And so night fell once more.
I finally realized the sound of the horse’s hooves was changing.
The traces of weeds began growing increasingly distinct.
The desert was coming to an end.
“Hm?”
In that moment, a single tear suddenly fell.
“It seems sand got in my eye.”
I wiped it away with the back of my hand.
“It appears the journey has worn you down, Brother.”
At those words, I let out a small laugh.
“I’ve never been fond of deserts. It seems the tension has finally eased.”
“How could that be? You’ve been doing so well.”
“Hehe.”
I deliberately laughed in a foolish manner.
As we left the desert, thoughts of war finally began to fade somewhat.
‘In my past life, I also died in a place where water was scarce.’
It was originally a place with dry and rainy seasons, but they say water supply itself was manageable.
However, with abnormal climate patterns now occurring, severe famine and plague ravaged the land.
And on top of that, civil war broke out.
There had been signs that something was going wrong. I could have turned back if I had wanted to.
Yet what prevented me from turning back until the very end
was the thought of what would become of the remaining patients if I too were to leave.
I had never been a clever person.
I deceived myself aimlessly, wasting time aimlessly,
and poison accumulated in my solar plexus.
Later, I realized it could not be undone, but could only think it was inevitable.
“Shall we camp?”
“….”
At my words, Ilkana fell into thought before speaking.
“Brother. I too dislike the desert.”
“What?”
“It is my homeland, but I have seen it so much that I am sick of it. Now I intend to travel to new places. So brother, let us not sleep under the stars tonight.”
Did she read my heart?
Ilkana deliberately emphasized the word “sick of it.”
“Understood.”
I spoke in the most composed tone I could manage and deliberately tried to look ahead.
Fortunately, Noeji created light with his feathers, so there was no need to worry about darkness.
“Let us push ourselves today instead, and rest for the entire day at an inn.”
“I think that is a good idea as well, brother.”
Tap, tap.
I tried not to look back.
Having left the desert, breathing became somewhat easier now.
That was a good thing.
* * *
Originally, I had planned to separate midway and head straight to the imperial palace, but I changed my schedule according to Master’s letter.
-Hope, come back first.
A letter of just one short sentence.
Yet as a disciple, I could not ignore its weight.
Upon receiving Master’s reply through Pyoguk, I immediately turned my horse’s head toward Baekrin Uigak together with Ilkana.
When I arrived at Baekrin Uigak, Master was standing at the entrance.
“Ah, Master? How did you know I would arrive just now?”
“The rumors of the people you treated spread faster than your feet.”
During my travels, I had occasionally treated people who were too poor to afford a visit to the medical hall despite their ailments.
I had contacted Buntta to urgently distribute rice for relief in the slums, or supplied affordable provisions to prioritize nutritional needs.
Somehow, word of this had spread.
Master glanced at me and then at Ilkana behind me.
“My disciple still has quite the meddlesome nature.”
“Haha….”
“Stop laughing.”
Master sighed. Ilkana immediately prepared to perform a Central Plains salute.
“So you’re Ilkana…”
“…Let’s head inside.”
My Master didn’t even exchange greetings with Ilkana and spoke only with me.
As my Master stepped inside first, I quickly sent a transmission.
[My Master can be a bit reserved with strangers sometimes.]
Ilkana, unable to use transmission, thought to herself.
‘He just seems like a rude bastard, brother.’
Still, I was her benefactor, and my Master was my Master, so it was right for her to endure it.
However, from what Ilkana could see with her experience as an assassin, Baek Rin-ui-seon seemed to treat everyone except his disciples with complete disregard.
If you didn’t like it, you could draw your blade and come at him.
Especially Ilkana herself—she was someone who had taken away her disciple’s time.
Her favorability rating had clearly plummeted.
[I didn’t mean any harm, so please don’t worry too much.]
It didn’t seem like he meant well either, that bastard.
In the first place, wasn’t Baek Rin-ui-seon simply someone with a terrible personality, a brilliant mind, and monstrous strength?
She’d heard many praises for the virtue of the White Dragon Brothers throughout Gangho, but she rarely heard anyone extol Baek Rin-ui-seon’s virtue.
Rather, the information she’d gathered was…
‘That monster bastard came back alive.’
‘No way… The one who was supposed to die young from the Nine Yin Meridian! He actually survived!’
…reactions like that were common.
If the Jegalling clan had originally been perceived as a weak but intellectually developed family of strategists,
then Baek Rin-ui-seon was perceived as a monster who gave the middle finger while saying, ‘What are you going to do about it? Come at me if you’re upset.’
And he was intelligent too, so he didn’t even die.
The Nine Yin Meridian’s restraints had been broken, and he lived life exactly as he pleased—that was the common assessment she’d obtained.
The only saving grace was that his beloved disciple had a virtuous character, so naturally the Master had become somewhat more temperate as well.
‘Is this what they call temperate…?’
He still lived exactly as he pleased, didn’t he?
It seemed like my Master would have had a similar reaction even if I’d brought a rock that looked like Ilkana instead of Ilkana herself.
“Well, since we have a guest, it would be good for you to rest and recover.”
My Master was now preparing to dismiss her.
Only then did Ilkana perform a respectful bow.
“I am Ilkana, from beyond the world. Thanks to the grace of the White Dragon Brothers, I was able to preserve my life and come this far.”
“A fine connection indeed. That is what heavenly fortune is.”
Now that it was time to part, he finally accepted her greeting.
It was surely because of my disciple, Jegalling.
Before she could say more, Jegalling quickly cut off the atmosphere.
“Yoo Ho, prepare an appropriate room for our guest.”
“Understood!”
“She is my beloved disciple’s guest, so we must treat her with special care.”
On the surface, it was the right thing to say. She was the beloved disciple’s guest, after all. It was proper to treat her well.
But why does it always seem like a process of hastily clearing things away?
‘Brother Jin Cheon-hee. You are being deceived… Baek Rin-ui-seon’s character is fundamentally flawed.’
After crossing the desert and arriving in the Central Plains, heading once more toward Baekrin Uigak, I occasionally spoke of my Master.
How extraordinary and worthy of respect he was.
It was the natural reverence a disciple holds for his Master.
Ilkana thought that the information obtained from the organization might differ from reality.
Yet there was no falsehood.
It was a truth as genuine as the fear those who knew Baek Rin-ui-seon harbored in their hearts.
* * *
“So I’ve finally gained access to the Imperial Palace Archives….”
My Master’s study, which I hadn’t entered in some time.
Far more books than before, ancient texts from unknown sources, and gifts piled neatly in one corner—whether sent by allies or enemies, I couldn’t tell.
While I threw myself into the outside world, my Master had been pursuing his own endeavors.
“The chair has changed.”
“Do you like it?”
I sat in the new chair.
Like the previous one, it was a restrained chair without unnecessary ornamentation, but the wood was older than before.
What could that mean?
At a glance, it was clear there was some story behind it.
Yet the fact that my Master had brought it in suggested there was a reason he wouldn’t tell his disciple.
“Yes. The feel of it is quite pleasant.”
My Master smiled gently and personally poured tea for me.
I tried to do it instead, but my Master wouldn’t hear of putting his weary disciple to work, so he brewed the tea himself and brought out refreshments.
‘Sigh, this is troublesome.’
My Master’s affection for his disciple is always terribly excessive.
“Choosing the Imperial Palace Archives was a good decision. The rest we can manage with our own strength.”
My heart eased a little at those words.
“That’s a relief.”
“You doubted your own choice?”
“…Well, I was wondering what conclusion you would reach, Master.”
“Haha. Isn’t it about time you learned to trust yourself? For some reason, you don’t seem like a warrior of the Gangho your age.”
“….”
Instead of answering, I stabbed a pastry and popped it into my mouth.
The sweet’s distinctive dense texture and the fragrance of honey were exquisite.
‘Delicious.’
It seemed my Master had made this himself. There was a faint herbal taste to it.
My Master spoke.
“Thanks to this matter, I was able to receive quite a bit more vacant land in the surrounding regions.”
“That’s excellent.”
“Indeed. Eun Wang-ya is not the sort to stop at merely giving the Imperial Palace Archives. She is one who dispenses both rewards and punishments with certainty.”
Rewards given fairly, punishments dealt fairly.
He had always despised half-hearted actions.
“I’d like to ask you to train Ilkana.”
At those words, my Master asked me directly.
“Is she an important figure in the future you’ve foreseen?”

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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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