Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 296

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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 296
As the Magistrate and Village Chief were dragged away by ropes simultaneously, the villagers rubbed their eyes and rose to their feet.
“An Imperial Inspector…? We have an Imperial Inspector in our village?”
“No… The Magistrate, I suppose… but the Village Chief? He’s not the sort to commit such acts?”
The confusion awakened them and only grew more intense.
I spoke.
“First, we need to locate the opium warehouse. A search… no, that won’t do.”
Clang!
Go! Hwang-gu!
My cheat code for this era, Hwang-gu, dashed off and began digging at the floor near the storage shed.
“Dig over there.”
The guards rushed over and dug into the floor, and before long, a crudely constructed wooden door came into view.
Creak.
“We found it! And… Inspector, you must come see this!”
Descending, I found dried opium materials and treasures of unknown origin… and finally….
“Mmph, mmmph!”
Children with their mouths bound emerged.
“Hwang-gu!”
They’d kidnapped children to use as slaves, taking advantage of the chaos from the blood sorcery incident.
‘Well, moving children around is quite the undertaking.’
Even witnessing such petty evil pursuing efficiency left me astounded.
“There’s a passage open!”
The Chief of Constables shouted.
“Investigate it!”
The village descended into chaos.
* * *
‘I can leave the rest to the Chief of Constables.’
As the children were rescued and physical evidence began emerging, the confused village gradually began to settle.
There were still a few who insisted on the Village Chief’s innocence, but they fell silent as more evidence continued to surface.
Rather than that.
“So the Baek-ui Sinryong is the Imperial Inspector?”
“Isn’t the Chief of Constables serving as the Imperial Inspector?”
The villagers debated whether the Emperor’s direct Imperial Inspector was the Chief of Constables or the Baek-ui Sinryong.
I subtly guided the rumors toward the Chief of Constables being the Inspector.
‘I can use it again later, after all.’
In truth, that version made more sense.
I, a doctor at the Baek Rin Medical Guild, and an administrator serving as Chief of Constables under imperial decree.
To anyone’s eyes, it would seem more fitting for the Chief of Constables to be the Inspector.
Besides, I’d already controlled the Chief of Constables’ tongue beforehand.
“Still, the Baek-ui Sinryong helped us!”
“You’ve accomplished something great!”
“You saved my husband’s life and exposed the corruption!”
“…But… could the Village Chief really have been in league with the blood bandits…?”
“….”
The shock among the villagers who had lived shoulder to shoulder with one another was undoubtedly far greater than what a complete stranger like me could inspire.
“Since Baek-ui Sinryong said he would find evidence… I… believe him.”
“This person! The Village Chief has spent thirty years with us in this village! How can you trust someone you just met, Baek-ui Sinryong!”
“The Village Chief, what! You’d sing a different tune if your own son were kidnapped!”
“Enough talk! That Village Chief just conducted my daughter’s funeral!”
The chaos subsiding was merely a sign that things were improving, nothing more.
As the truth was being revealed, discord between individuals continued to fester.
Just as it’s rare for a virtuous person to do only good deeds throughout their life, it’s difficult for a wicked person to do only evil.
So many things were tangled together.
Watching the scene unfold, I let out a sigh.
‘I need to complete the evidence trinity set quickly.’
Nothing calms things down better than evidence.
Once everything is revealed and the world people believed in crumbles,
only then will they stop fighting.
* * *
It’s best to end these matters as quickly as possible.
I set out immediately for the mountain fortress with Cheonwoo.
“There’s no one who can match you in searching, brother.”
Piiiiik-
Noeji answered from the sky on my behalf.
Normally, a martial artist investigator would spend an additional day or two just on a search like this,
and during that time, the fortress bandits would have time to decide whether to defend or flee in the dead of night.
Being a martial artist investigator is no easy task.
But thanks to my two spiritual creatures, I’m reaping the benefits.
“I’m eating well thanks to you both.”
Clang!
“That’s right. That’s right. It’s all thanks to you two.”
Even as I performed lightness martial art, I gently stroked Hwang-gu’s head, and he wagged his tail happily, panting with joy.
‘You truly must rank first in dog-life satisfaction.’
You’re attached to your master twenty-four hours a day, and you get walked every single day.
On top of that, you get these companion running sessions together, so life couldn’t be more satisfying.
‘We’re almost there.’
Beyond the dimly brightening dawn light, I could see firelight.
‘They didn’t flee in the night… or rather, they couldn’t have. The information wouldn’t have reached them yet.’
This is what makes a surprise attack so effective.
Sure enough, they had piled up the plunder from this raid and were having a feast with a whole roasted pig.
The atmosphere of the bandit raid lacked the usual excitement, likely because so many had suffered at Jin Cheon-hee’s hands before.
In truth, they’d retreated without achieving their objective.
Nevertheless, such festivities were essential for maintaining group cohesion.
No matter how wicked one might be, after taking a life, one must wash the blade with alcohol—such was the way.
Thud!
Jin Cheon-hee leaped up nimbly and descended into the heart of the gathering.
“Insane… Baekui Gwangryong! How did you chase us all the way here?”
This time they recognized me immediately.
Behind me, Cheonwoo’s massive frame descended.
“A master of the heterodox sects!”
The Mudang Faction, though Cheonwoo made no effort to correct them.
Clang clang clang clang!
Everyone drew their blades.
‘Hmm, Cheonwoo still hasn’t earned a sobriquet.’
Perhaps a single display at the Yongbong Assembly wasn’t enough.
But that was fine.
Now that he’d begun building his reputation as a rising talent in the martial world, it was only a matter of time before he earned a fitting title.
The man who appeared to be their leader spoke.
“We won’t go down without a fight! A master of the Demonic Cult just arrived!”
“That’s right, leader! If the master had arrived just a bit sooner, it would be Baekui Gwangryong and the Mudang Faction taking the loss!”
Roooaarrr!
The bandits roared with all their might to bolster their spirits.
Alcohol was a painkiller for the mind.
With fear numbed, the bandits chanted the name of the Demonic Cult master.
“Heukgang Hyeolma! Heukgang Hyeolma!”
“Heukgang Hyeolma shall judge you!”
Following the chant, a middle-aged man in black robes parted through the bandits and emerged.
“Isn’t it rather early to be moving about, Seo Baek-ryong?”
The middle-aged man bearing the sobriquet Heukgang Hyeolma held a chain scythe and stood before me with deliberate slowness.
Blood still dripped from the chain scythe—evidence of a fresh kill.
The black energy flowing across his body was unmistakably demonic qi.
‘Hmm. Living up to the Hyeolma sobriquet—a mid-tier boss.’
Heukgang Hyeolma was a name I recognized.
He’d appeared as a minor villain, supporting another cult leader and participating in the Heavenly Demon Blood Path incident.
‘If someone from the Demonic Cult is personally intervening in a bandit gang like this, they must be orchestrating something grand.’
Either way, it wasn’t part of Yeo Ha-ryun’s faction’s plans, and this man would never align with him.
I’d simply need to beat him soundly.
At that moment, Cheonwoo stepped forward first.
“Brother, would it be alright if I exchanged a few moves with him?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t think Elder Brother will need to draw his sword.”
In the darkness just before dawn, Cheonwoo’s eyes gleamed with light.
‘He makes for a worthy sparring partner.’
I was curious to see how much my younger brother had grown.
“Very well. Go ahead.”
“Yes.”
Cheonwoo offered me a gentle smile before stepping forward.
Then, with an expressionless face, he drew his blade.
Shing—
“Ha! So the rumors are true—the Baek-ui Sinryong has been colluding with a demonic sect leader and traveling together.”
“….”
The Mudang Faction.
I couldn’t understand why everyone ignored the yin-yang symbol emblazoned on my chest.
Did the eye patch really carry that much presence?
Regardless, Cheonwoo seemed accustomed to such misunderstandings and cupped his fist toward the demonic sect master.
“I am Cheonwoo, a Taoist of the Mudang Faction. I humbly seek to learn from the Heukgang Hyeolma of the demonic sect.”
“Your face is brimming with killing intent, yet your manners are impeccable.”
How unfair. I sensed no killing intent whatsoever from Cheonwoo’s face.
There was no anger, only composure. Merely an expressionless countenance.
‘Is this also because of the eye patch?’
The Heukgang Hyeolma gripped his chain scythe and took his stance.
“So you wish to learn from the Leader? You understand the tuition is your life, yes? Krkrkrkk.”
Cheonwoo’s eyes crinkled with laughter.
“Of course.”
“Your eyes are filled with cold, merciless killing intent. To think the Mudang Faction harbors a Taoist like you….”
…Cheonwoo simply laughed.
Accustomed to such misunderstandings, he made no effort to correct them.
Instead, he said this.
“Allow me to offer you a handicap.”
“Ho. You came to learn, yet speak of handicaps? Such arrogance from a young Taoist. Krkk! Very well. The Leader doesn’t refuse what’s offered! Hah!”
In that instant, the dark-haired Hyeolma launched himself into the air, closing the distance to Cheonwoo in a single breath.
Clang!
Simultaneously, Cheonwoo raised his blade to block the Heukgang Hyeolma’s attack.
‘Oh, his Taiji Steps have grown quite refined.’
Most people think footwork techniques are merely used to close the distance with an opponent.
In actual combat, however, defending against the enemy’s attacks and securing advantageous positioning takes precedence over closing distance.
The Taiji Steps lag about half a level behind the Jegallga’s Cheongi Miribu, yet it too is a divine technique of the highest order.
Moreover, since the Jegallga’s Cheongi Miribu is selective about its practitioners, the Taiji Steps are better suited for mastery, and their applications after mastery are equally superior.
‘In other words, even among divine techniques, there’s a matter of cost-effectiveness.’
I entertained this thought without concern—a notion that would have scandalized the Elders of the Mudang Faction had they heard it.
What I, Jin Cheon-hee, wish to accomplish these days is precisely that.
Is there such a thing as cost-effectiveness in divine martial techniques?
Suppose mastering divine martial technique A requires approximately 2,000 hours.
And suppose mastering divine martial technique B takes only 1,000 hours.
Couldn’t a warrior who masters B use the remaining 1,000 hours to learn other martial arts?
‘Then, in conclusion, wouldn’t a warrior who masters divine martial technique A—even if their martial prowess increases more after mastery than a warrior who masters B—ultimately be at a disadvantage compared to a rival warrior who invested those remaining 1,000 hours in learning other martial arts?’
For technique A to be considered efficient, it would need to be at least twice as powerful.
Yet when it comes to actual combat, the difference in internal energy and experience means it’s only marginally superior.
So I began to think it would be more advantageous to master technique B first, then invest the remaining time in movement techniques or mental cultivation methods.
‘Though this is merely a hypothesis, of course.’
It’s a mad notion.
Any warrior in the martial world would invest 2,000 hours and prefer the stronger divine martial technique A.
That’s precisely why warriors in the martial world stake their lives on secret manuals left by the greatest master under heaven.
Bloodshed erupts around such treasures.
Orthodox sects, unorthodox sects, the Demonic Cult—each faction invests centuries and capital in their pursuit, eyes blazing with obsession.
However, this line of thinking was only possible because I am a modern person grounded entirely in pragmatism.
‘The only person who might agree would be my Master.’
Even my Master would likely mutter first, ‘What a mad notion.’

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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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