Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 293

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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 293
‘Being a patriarch is such a hassle….’
In the past, I’d been too deferential to officials and received a slight scolding from my Master for it.
-Hope, such matters require proper pacing. The more responsible one is for the dignity of many, the more essential such calculations become.
I couldn’t master the worldly wisdom of my Master, but I’d at least learned enough to distinguish between authority on paper and actual power.
As a modern person—and merely a doctor at that—I’d made countless mistakes reaching this point.
Sure enough, when my words were cut short and I was about to snap with anger, the official on horseback’s expression shifted to one of shock.
It was because he’d heard the name Baek Rin Medical Guild.
“Ahem. So you’re the patriarch of Baek Rin Medical Guild. I am Jin Seung-bae, holding the position of Patrol Guard Commander. I rushed here upon receiving word of a bandit attack….”
“You fool! Why do you talk so much! You should simply discard your weapons and kneel! How dare you defy orders! Guards! Seize these wretches at once!”
Just as Jin Seung-bae, who had introduced himself as the Patrol Guard Commander, was about to speak.
Someone riding behind him approached and bellowed loudly.
What now? I wondered, and as I looked, the figure was so massive that those behind him were completely obscured.
‘Wow… quite severe obesity… His cholesterol levels must be astronomical. Could he have diabetes too? Given his age, his heart must be under considerable strain….’
Instinctively, I made a medical assessment.
Then I felt a sensation as though my mind was becoming slightly clearer.
The anger that had been churning in my chest moments ago began to settle.
It was strange that my mind would return to normal in such a situation.
But I figured that was simply how the world was, so there was nothing to be done about it.
“Magistrate, please calm yourself. This person is….”
“Commander Jin! Are you defying my orders? Seize them all at once!”
Commander Jin Seung-bae trying to stop the Magistrate. And that pig of a Magistrate shouting without even properly listening to him.
‘Hmm… This doesn’t feel right.’
As a pure-blooded Korean middle-aged man, I trusted my instincts fairly well.
Whenever I had a bad feeling, something unfortunate invariably happened.
‘But… I can’t afford to have a bad feeling right now… If this bad feeling is somehow connected to that Magistrate….’
My eyes grew cold and sharp in a different way than before.
‘A corrupt official colluding with bandits… That could be it.’
Let me test the waters.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Magistrate. I am Jin Cheon-hee, patriarch of Baek Rin Medical Guild. My Master is Baekrin Uiseon Jegallim, who has treated many distinguished figures in Hwang. And this is my sworn brother, Cheonwoo, a Taoist of the Wudang Sect… So, you intend to arrest us?”
I’m someone of this standing—do you really think you can detain me? Can you handle the consequences?
The Magistrate’s mouth snapped shut at the implication in my words.
Silence fell for a moment.
The Baek Rin Medical Guild was no force to be dismissed, but neither was the Wudang Sect.
While their connections to high officials were problematic, the Wudang Taoists, though not comparable to the Demonic Cult or the Seorim Sect, were still a religion with certain fanatical tendencies.
There had been instances in the past where the Wudang Sect, under the guise of justice, would don masks and visit at night to wield their blades.
Of course, that was during the age of chaos, and such things didn’t happen anymore.
“Khrmmm! I heard people were injured by bandits! How would I know if you are bandits or not! You claim to be from Baek Rin Medical Guild and the Wudang Sect, but it’s hard to believe….”
“Can the Magistrate take responsibility for those words? Setting aside myself and Baek Rin Medical Guild, if you speak such words after seeing the robes and swords of the Wudang Sect, isn’t that disrespecting the Wudang Sect, a Taoist temple recognized by the Emperor?”
The way I invoked the Wudang Sect’s name certainly carried weight.
The Magistrate broke into a cold sweat, his eyes darting about nervously.
Jin Seung-bae, the patrol captain, let out a heavy sigh. Watching this unfold, I began to think.
‘Jin Seung-bae doesn’t seem to understand how things really work here. So this Magistrate is suspicious… The inspection division… I shouldn’t reveal my hand just yet. I’ll wait and observe a bit longer. Once I find something concrete, then I’ll use it.’
The more frequently you deploy such leverage, the less effective it becomes.
Its impact is greatest when used at the decisive moment.
“Last night, this village was attacked by bandits, and the casualties were devastating. As a doctor, I couldn’t stand by and watch, so I’ve been saving lives. What bandit would treat people? I’ve never even heard of such a thing, have you?”
I dropped my usual gentle and courteous demeanor, instead showing a sharp and cold side as I responded to the Magistrate.
The Magistrate’s face on horseback flushed red and then pale.
His displeasure was written plainly across his features, but he didn’t shout—he merely swallowed hard, breathing heavily.
‘Just as I thought. Officials are weak to authority.’
Baek Rin Medical Guild. The Wudang Sect.
Their backing was formidable.
Though the Magistrate held a fairly high position with considerable power, it paled in comparison to these two forces.
Moreover, it wasn’t just me and Cheonwoo here.
The branch doctors of the Baek Rin Medical Guild and their escort warriors were present as well.
Though fewer in number than the patrol guards, these were masters capable of slaughtering hundreds of patrol soldiers in an instant.
‘No matter how much martial artists comply with official authority to some degree… ultimately, savagery is savagery.’
Being orthodox, they might cooperate somewhat more with the authorities, but the heterodox and demonic sects continue to break imperial law and live as they please even at this very moment.
‘The essence of the blade is ultimately savagery. As long as steel stands before me, he cannot ignore my words.’
My assessment proved correct.
“Ahem. Very well then, I understand. However, this is no ordinary matter, so an investigation must be conducted. First, we must determine what the bandits were after, so don’t interfere.”
“I request a fair and impartial investigation.”
“A mere doctor needn’t worry about such things! Listen here. First, secure the evidence. Since you say the bandits were after something, it’s suspicious—confiscate it at once!”
The Magistrate turned his horse and issued orders to the guards.
Watching this, I let out an inward laugh.
Glancing to the side, I could see the question mark forming on Cheonwoo’s face: ‘What evidence all of a sudden?’ But I thought I understood.
After the bandits vanished, the Magistrate appeared like the wind. I sensed what he wanted.
‘I had a bad feeling earlier… but how did he know about the evidence? I only caught wind of it in passing while treating people.’
I had been the one fighting off the black-clad bandits and treating people all through last night.
Among those I treated were not just villagers, but also couriers who had been staying in the village—something I learned during the night.
But then.
The Magistrate knew about the evidence before even arriving here?
My face wore a smile, but my eyes began to gleam with a chilling light.
‘I could snap his neck right now… No. I don’t know everything yet. Investigation comes first. And if he’s involved in this…’
My eyes turned glacially cold.
“You seem to be referring to the evidence belonging to the Bohaeng Courier Service staying in this village. We are currently treating the couriers from that service. Since the Baek Rin Medical Guild is conducting relief operations to the best of our ability, taking the evidence as is may cause problems later. To prevent such issues, we would need a receipt documenting the confiscation, or our cooperation would be somewhat difficult.”
“What!? How dare you question the legitimate actions of this office!”
The Magistrate’s jowls shook as his anger flared again.
“You wretch! No matter how much you rely on your backing, how dare you speak to me like this…!”
“Then I shall inform the Provincial Governor of this matter beforehand. We cannot allow potential issues to arise later, can we?”
I’ll report this to the Patriarch!
At those words, the Magistrate’s face twisted in displeasure once more, and he turned his head sharply away.
“Bah. First, gather the bandits and interrogate them! I’m exhausted from rushing here, so I’ll rest a bit. Jin, you handle it.”
The Magistrate walked off into the distance. I watched his retreating figure carefully.
* * *
So I’d managed to resolve the immediate problems—well, both of them, at least.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, and rain began to fall in drops.
As the thunder sounded, Noeji quickly flew into the clouds.
I still couldn’t understand how Cheonryeong consumed lightning, but since he was a spiritual creature and this was that kind of world, I decided to simply accept it as it was.
One raindrop, then another.
Soon the rain came down in streams.
The Medical Assistants had already moved the patients inside, and outside, the bereaved families were still collecting the remaining bodies.
‘By local custom, they’d be buried.’
When daylight came, the village cemetery appeared quite small, and it didn’t seem like a place that experienced such incidents frequently.
Still, with nearly a hundred people dead, the newly created burial mounds would only increase.
I leaned my head against a pillar and stared blankly at the rain for a long while.
I wished someone would call for me.
Perhaps because I’d finished all my tasks, no one called for the Patriarch.
‘I wish my hands were busier…’
Then I wouldn’t need to think about other things, and I could forget the pain in my chest a little.
Then a voice called out.
“Brother?”
“Ah, yes.”
Cheonwoo held bamboo rice balls in his hands.
They were what the Medical Guild used as meal substitutes—high-calorie, high-nutrition.
They were made like military rations.
‘I designed these.’
Stored in compact fist-sized portions inside bamboo, they only needed to be steamed in a pot to be ready to eat.
They couldn’t keep as long as modern military rations, but they lasted quite well by this era’s standards.
‘If I just extract the contents and boil them in water, they become porridge.’
If a patient was in critical condition from malnutrition, I could use them as porridge instead.
Conversely, if a Doctor was exhausted and had difficulty digesting food, I made them so he could eat them that way.
‘Though honestly, the taste is a bit lacking.’
Cheonwoo spoke.
“Ah, and I brought some boiled eggs. The villagers said to take a breeding hen if needed, but I thought you wouldn’t like that.”
“This isn’t a wealthy town, and breeding hens at that. I’ve always preferred eggs to chicken anyway.”
I sat down in front of Cheonwoo as I said this.
Cheonwoo set down each item for me one by one, and finally placed a spoon before me as well.
“I found out—it seems it was one of the Eighteen Bandit Gangs, the Crouching Tiger Band. They apparently launched the attack from there.”
Only then did I pick up my chopsticks.
Inside were not only bamboo rice balls, but also quite a few edible provisions.
They didn’t appear to have been prepared here, so this must be food the Wa Ho faction had stockpiled for their doctors.
Gulp—
The aroma was pleasant, but I couldn’t taste anything.
It seemed to be a psychological issue, but there was nothing I could do about it at this point.
I could only focus on the nutritional value and chew and swallow.
“Wa Ho faction provisions—you brought those?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t help you in that regard. I should at least help with something else.”
“Thank you.”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s smile, Cheonwoo shrugged his shoulders.
“Don’t mention it. By the way, I heard the Wa Ho faction didn’t actually come here to plunder.”
“They didn’t?”
“No, I spoke with the villagers, and from the circumstances, it seems the plundering was just a pretense. I suspect they came here for some other purpose.”

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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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