Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 308

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

Chapter 308
‘I’m… making a stir-fry here.’
It’s called a stir-fry, but it’s proper Central Plains cuisine.
The only difference is that I’m preparing an enormous quantity all at once so far more people can eat than when we were camping.
“Truly… truly remarkable, Great Hero! Normally three people would need to work together to wield such a massive wok, yet you handle it with a single hand.”
Sizzle, sizzle!
What Jin Cheon-hee is making is seafood curry fried rice.
Curry originally comes from India.
The spices from Seoe are the closest substitute.
I gave a thumbs up to the military official who gathered plenty of them.
Now I’m preparing curry fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and mapo chow mein.
Befitting a military kitchen that feeds so many soldiers, the wok—what one might call a Chinese chef’s pan—was exceptionally large.
Normally, one person would handle the wok while another continuously stirred with a ladle.
But Jin Cheon-hee is doing it with just one hand.
And normally this would only be done when a ship was docked and the crew was camping.
Yet Jin Cheon-hee…
‘The first thing I’m doing upon entering Hwagyeong is making curry fried rice. Insane…’
That was it.
The inner energy I gained upon entering Hwagyeong, following my strengthened dantian and qi and blood, was now erupting with tremendous force as vital flame energy.
And I was using it to stir-fry the rice with the intensity of a Chinese restaurant’s wok fire.
‘Hehehehe… what is this…’
Most Gangho masters, upon entering Hwagyeong,
‘Tsk, I tried to hide my realm, but there’s no helping it.’ would reluctantly draw their sword with a flourish and prioritize attacking enemies, wouldn’t they?
There’s no such romantic fantasy for the Doctor.
‘Right. Feeding people is far more profitable than stabbing them with Hwagyeong.’
The Doctor had abandoned all romance.
Soon, the curry fried rice began releasing a pleasantly spicy yet sweet aroma that spread throughout the area.
The cooks watching from the side began swallowing their saliva repeatedly.
Thud!
“This should be about right. Add some sweet and sour pork made with a bit of spice, and it’ll be perfect.”
I’d also made mapo chow mein.
Combined, it was spicy and numbing all at once.
“Wooooow!!!! Truly the White Divine Dragon! There’s nothing you cannot do!”
“They say few in the world can match your cooking, and it’s true!”
“I now understand that the rumors of tasting dishes unheard of anywhere else were no exaggeration!”
Their synchronized praise seemed rather suspicious.
‘It doesn’t seem to be a lie though…’
As Jin Cheon-hee narrowed his eyes and looked at them, the head cook grinned widely.
“Would it be possible for me to have just a taste first…?”
So that was their real objective, these fellows.
Everyone’s eyes remained fixed on the dishes I had prepared, each person eagerly watching for their chance to take the first bite—their expressions were quite amusing.
I smiled with a slight grin.
“It’s only natural for a head chef to taste the cooking before it’s finished.”
“Of c-course it is!”
Gulp.
Before the words even left his mouth, he swallowed hard—he looked ready to cry if he didn’t get food soon.
I drizzled sauce over the sweet and sour pork.
‘Whether to coat it or dip it is usually a choice made during delivery.’
When you pour sauce over freshly fried sweet and sour pork, it maintains its crispness while absorbing the flavor. This region typically preferred the coating method.
Since there was no delivery here.
Crunch.
The moment he took a bite, everyone’s eyes widened.
Then came a second bite, a third—the juices and sauce were exquisite.
Combined with the seafood and pork soup broth.
“Ahhh, I can’t stop.”
‘He said just one bite, but it looks like he’ll finish it all.’
The kitchen staff lost all restraint and began eating. I asked them.
“Shouldn’t we distribute this to everyone?”
“Ah, yes, yes we should. We should. The boat has docked anyway, so we can serve dinner.”
* * *
The boat stopped briefly at a midway port to transfer necessary supplies, and during that time everyone enjoyed a lavish dinner.
“Wow! This is the best!”
“Truly worthy of the White Dragon! Using Serkhang spices for fried rice… ah, it pairs so well with eggs!”
“Each grain of rice is perfectly distinct. To be able to eat something like this.”
“Shall we have a drink?”
As military officers, excessive drinking was forbidden, but a cup or two was overlooked. With such delicious food, everyone naturally became more relaxed.
Everyone drank just enough to feel pleasant and enjoyed their meal cheerfully.
Cheonwoo and I also ate dinner together, savoring a leisurely moment after a long time.
“Brother, where did you really learn to cook like this?”
“I just picked it up somehow. You’re quite good at cooking too.”
“Only the basics, really. And honestly, I’m better at washing dishes than cooking.”
Cheonwoo laughed while devouring a portion of curry fried rice and sweet and sour pork with soup that was easily twice what I had.
‘With such a large frame, he certainly eats a lot.’
Despite the enormous quantity, his eating pace matched mine, and by the time we finished, our bowls were equally empty.
“Phew, that was good. You don’t like alcohol, do you, brother?”
“No. I prefer tea. Go have a drink if you’d like.”
Cheonwoo shook his head.
“Nah, I prefer tea too.”
With that, he playfully clinked his teacup against mine.
Ching—
“Good night, brother.”
“Yeah, it’s a good night. By the way, Hwang-gu… oh, he’s asleep.”
Hwang-gu slept deeply, his round belly exposed to the air.
Suddenly, in that moment, Hwang-gu’s ear twitched once.
“Huh?”
The instant Hwang-gu flipped his body, Jin Cheon-hee’s form shot up as well.
CRAAAAAASH–!
A violent tremor echoed from the bottom of the boat.
‘Did we hit something?’ Cheonwoo thought so, but seeing his brother’s azure eyes, he realized it was something else.
“The boat is sinking–!”
Turning his head, he saw about twenty small rowboats emerging from the reeds on all sides, oars cutting through the water as they approached.
“Enemies! Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
At the military official’s shout, everyone scrambled to their feet, but those who had been pleasantly drunk mere moments ago could hardly transition to combat readiness instantly.
Naturally, their response was sluggish.
‘The boat seems to be tilting slightly…?’
So it really is sinking… this must be the sign.
In that moment, torches flickered to life one by one in the darkness of the Yellow River’s center. Dozens of small rowboats appeared, each carrying people. Their clothing varied, their weapons lacked uniformity. And they all shouted in unison.
“Capture the Baekui Gwangryong! Take him and negotiate with that bastard Baek Rin!”
An ambush.
In the Martial Arts World, ambushes were hardly extraordinary, but this time both Cheonwoo and Jin Cheon-hee had to be shocked.
The boat they had boarded belonged to the Gwana’s military fleet.
Cheonwoo muttered in surprise.
“Have they lost their minds? Even for the Black Sect, would they dare touch the Gwana’s forces?”
Jin Cheon-hee answered calmly to that.
“They bribe the Gwana’s officials anyway, so why wouldn’t they touch them? Besides, the Eight Treasures of Heaven… possess enough power to drive even a seventy-year-old hermit mad. The Black Sect wouldn’t sit idle here.”
“…But…”
Jin Cheon-hee chuckled softly.
“The saying goes that the Gwana and the Martial Arts World don’t interfere with each other. What do you think, Cheonwoo?”
“Brother.”
“I think it’s more like something people say when they need to do something but want to avoid doing it. Humans are capable of anything when faced with desire, after all.”
The military official shouted.
“How dare these heretic bastards! Fire!”
At the military official’s cry, the soldiers whose drunkenness had worn off all fired their arrows.
WHOOOOSH!
Hundreds of arrows tore through the air.
“They’re insane, brother. Once the Gwana hears of this, they’ll be suppressed soon enough.”
“Yes, they will be. But tell me, Cheonwoo—have you ever heard of a time when there were no water bandits on the Yellow River?”
WHOOOOOOSH!
Amid the relentless rain of arrows, Jin Cheon-hee asked calmly.
Cheonwoo alternated his gaze between the arrow storm, his brother’s azure eyes, and Hwang-gu standing beside his brother with fur bristling and a low growl.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“Was Shifu trying to show me this?”
“At the very least, he expected you to witness the true face of the Gangho, Cheonwoo. Your Shifu is not one to raise disciples gently, after all.”
A torrential volley of arrows rained down, yet the water bandits were defending themselves quite skillfully.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Wielding enormous spears and shields to block the arrows—it appeared that genuine masters had joined this operation.
However, they merely circled around the boat without making the first move to attack.
Finding this strange, Cheonwoo asked his brother, and Jin Cheon-hee answered thus.
“Why bother climbing aboard? We simply wait for the boat to sink slowly.”
The moment he answered with those jade-green eyes so calmly, chills ran down Cheonwoo’s spine.
“Brother, that means….”
“Some things are accomplished merely by waiting. This is one of them.”
The water bandits cried out.
“Hahahaha! Baek-ui Gwangryong! No matter who you are, we are supreme on this Yellow River! We are the Fishing Dragon Stronghold, one of the Eighteen Waterway Fortresses of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers…! Gack!”
In that instant, the one who had shouted collapsed, spewing blood.
Cheonwoo turned to look at his brother, only to find he had already drawn a horn bow from his back.
“It’s fine. I didn’t kill him. He’s merely unconscious.”
When had he fired?
I felt neither his stance, nor his killing intent, nor even the slightest disturbance of air from his movements.
Jin Cheon-hee simply stood there in silence.
In a way, he seemed almost inhuman.
“Don’t worry, Cheonwoo. I have no intention of remaining idle.”
In that moment, Jin Cheon-hee began rapidly drawing the bowstring. Each time the arrowless bow twanged, it unfailingly felled another person.
“Heart Archery! Heart Archery! Baek-ui Sinryong has reached the realm of Heart Archery!”
Even amid the gasps of those around him, Jin Cheon-hee continued to draw the bow.
Wind God’s Bow.
Jin Cheon-hee’s variation.
White Dragon Flurry—!
The Wind God’s Bow, one of the supreme techniques obtained from the imperial archives, combined with the Zenith Sect’s Finger Flick Heaven’s Connection.
Countless arrows of qi flew forth like a hundred dragons taking flight, embedding themselves everywhere.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
What was remarkable was that not a single arrow missed, striking the Black Sect members with perfect accuracy, and among those struck, not one died—merely something shattered, rendering them unable to wield their blades further.
“I shall block this!”
A Black Sect Master quickly stepped forward to counter Jin Cheon-hee’s Wind God’s Bow.
He was one of the masters who had previously blocked the government soldiers’ arrow barrage.
“Hngh!”
He succeeded in raising his spear to block the formless arrows.
Boom!
However, he had not accounted for the impact itself.
‘What in the world…?!’
The heavy impact felt like a master’s fist hurtling toward me. Unable to block it fully, I was sent flying backward and plunged into the river.
Splash–!
Someone from the Black Sect shouted upon witnessing this.
“Don’t block it! Dodge instead. Everyone, hide below deck!”
My martial prowess lifted the morale of the government soldiers.
“I’ve heard the Baek-ui Sinryong’s culinary skills are unparalleled, but I never knew his martial arts were too!”
“So the rumors that his martial prowess matches his cooking mastery were true!”
…Cheonwoo realized the rumors about his older brother were spreading in a rather peculiar direction.
With three and a half decades of inner energy, the dishes I created using Hwagyeong were indeed exquisite.
Normally, wouldn’t martial prowess be discussed first, with cooking relegated to a mere hobby?
‘It’s like watching Su Dongpo’s poetry become less famous than Dongpo pork….’

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