Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 347

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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 347
The Namgung Family.
A renowned clan of swordsmen.
And a household that distinguished itself even in the mechanisms of the martial world.
Surprisingly, the Namgung Family’s primary business ventures were silk fabrics and tea.
They produced and sold everything from the finest silks to mid-grade varieties.
Beyond that, they also owned numerous tea plantations where premium tea was cultivated.
Of course, they operated inns and escort services as well, but silk and tea remained their true pillars of commerce.
They had attempted various other ventures, but none had proven particularly profitable, though they hadn’t failed outright either.
“The problem is Cheong-yeon and Heukun. Both must depart from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, so they’ll arrive later than us. However, I find it difficult to believe they’ll simply sit idle with their hands folded.”
“So, what sort of move do you think they’ll make?”
“I’m still deliberating, but no clear answer presents itself.”
“Hmm….”
Heukun and Cheong-yeon. Both were Soegooju with ambition and leadership befitting their station.
Moreover, they were backed by the Six Great Families of the sect.
The family from which Heukun was born and the family from which Cheong-yeon was born.
And there was one family that had straddled both sides after another Soegooju candidate had perished.
“In other words, Heukun and Cheong-yeon would be receiving support from one and a half of the Six Great Families….”
“Brother, you’re speaking strangely again.”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee let out a soft laugh.
“It seems you’ve grown accustomed to my peculiar way of speaking?”
Instead of answering, Yeo Ha-ryun simply nodded once.
Following the Yangtze River, the ship docked at Wuhu Port.
The largest harbor in Anhui Province, from here one could travel upriver along the Yangtze all the way to Jiangsu Province.
‘But this wasn’t according to plan?’
Docking at Wuhu Port was not part of the original itinerary.
A sailor spoke urgently.
“Military vessels are stationed at Wuhu Port, blocking passage both ahead and behind. As a result, several ships are currently moored here.”
“Military vessels? Why are they blocking the passage?”
“I cannot speak to the affairs of those in high positions, but judging by the fact that they’re inspecting cargo one by one, it seems this will take considerable time.”
At those words, Yeo Ha-ryun sent a transmission to Jin Cheon-hee.
[It appears they’ve made their move after all.]
[To bind the feet of their competitors…?]
[Precisely.]
Heukun and Cheong-yeon, then.
Jin Cheon-hee pondered before sending another transmission.
[Most likely, they’ve also informed the Namgung Family.]
[The Namgung Family?]
At Yeo Ha-ryun’s question, Jin Cheon-hee gave a slight nod.
[The Tugoe may not be a martial criminal of Hyeolsaeng Nogoe’s caliber, but she has earned the enmity of many. Everything she has stolen is precious, and some are even the supreme treasures of their respective sects.]
[Things more precious than life itself, it seems.]
[Besides, Wuying Touguai doesn’t go around killing people like Hyeolsaeng Nogoe does. Since she avoids direct confrontation whenever possible, many underestimate her martial prowess.]
[The Namgung Family might be among those who do.]
[The Namgung Family wouldn’t underestimate martial strength, but since they’ve suffered at her hands, they’ll understand it’s time to settle the debt. That’s simply how favors work in Gangho. Besides, the Namgung Family has enough influence to move the imperial forces.]
Yeo Ha-ryun fell into thought.
[You think Heukun and Cheong-yeon have set up the Borrowed Knife Stratagem, hyeong?]
Borrowed Knife Stratagem.
A strategy meaning to borrow another’s blade to kill, it’s one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems from Sun Tzu’s Art of War.
He was asking whether Cheong-yeon and Heukun were trying to use the Namgung Family to dispose of Tugoe in their stead.
‘Indeed, Yeo Ha-ryun. Your mind works quickly.’
However, conversely, Yeo Ha-ryun wore an expression of having been outmaneuvered—Jin Cheon-hee had deduced all the way to that point in a single logical flow.
[Do strategists always think this way?]
[Hmm, the Jegallga is certainly famous as a house of strategists, but… anyone could think this far. If you had a capable aide, you’d be able to grasp it even faster. And it’s not quite the Borrowed Knife Stratagem.]
Jin Cheon-hee refuted Yeo Ha-ryun’s deduction.
[That strategist probably didn’t calculate that the Namgung Family could actually kill Tugoe. What they laid down was merely a light gambit. But most strategists’ gambits carry multiple layers of meaning.]
If the Namgung Family and Tugoe were to fight, they’d gain two moves from that.
And if they could also restrain Yeo Ha-ryun’s movements, that would be three moves.
A gambit laid merely to buy time ended up blocking three different lines of action simultaneously.
“What will you do, hyeong?”
Ching!
Jin Cheon-hee smiled and stroked Hwang-gu.
“I suspected their strategist would set things up exactly like this. So it’s fine.”
Only then did Yeo Ha-ryun realize why Jin Cheon-hee had taken so long to prepare.
The baggage he carried was certainly light.
Yet his hyeong had delayed considerably before departure.
Even knowing the situation was urgent, there must have been a reason for such a delay.
Ching, ching!
Hwang-gu continued barking toward the harbor.
Only then did Yeo Ha-ryun look in the direction Hwang-gu was barking.
Two martial artists from the Namgung Family stood there.
Namgung Un and Namgung Yeon.
These two had been waiting for someone at the harbor.
When Jin Cheon-hee waved his hand, Namgung Un finally recognized him and waved back.
“Well! You seem to be doing well, Jin aou.”
‘His calculations run deep. Did hyeong send a letter after making his predictions from the start?’
Yeo Ha-ryun was left speechless.
Just before departure.
How far ahead had his hyeong been looking when he moved?
Do all the people of the Jegallga think and act this far ahead?
If he gained a strategist of his own, would he be able to understand such things?
No one answered.
Only one thing was certain.
My older brother had won the battle of wits against the Mazong Clan’s strategists.
Then what would be the next move?
That was when Jin Cheon-hee sent a transmission.
[Ah, just in case you’re wondering—I never formed a sworn brotherhood with Changyong Sword. He just calls me “Brother Jin” on his own. Got it?]
Seeing my younger brother clench his fists, I wondered what misunderstanding he had.
‘Does he think I’m some crazed murderer trying to kill all my sworn brothers?’
I was simply conducting a life-or-death qualification test.
Either way, it didn’t matter if we weren’t sworn brothers.
* * *
“Well, well! Aren’t you the Veiled Madman! One of the Gangho’s Eleven Great Masters!”
Namgung Un waved his hand cheerfully toward Jin Cheon-hee.
Jin Cheon-hee’s face flushed as he spoke.
“P-please… stop that.”
Namgung Yeon, standing beside her brother, merely glanced at him with eyes full of contempt.
“…”
Compared to when I saw her before, Namgung Yeon’s aura had become far more confident and composed.
Yet her taciturn nature remained unchanged; she expressed everything through her expression.
‘Well, even in the original story, she wasn’t very talkative when she became the Iron-Blooded Sword Master.’
In a way, taciturnity was a virtue among martial artists.
Namgung Un’s aura had also intensified, suggesting his realm had advanced a level, though whether he had entered the Hwagyeong stage was difficult to discern due to his distinctive atmosphere.
“By the way, who is this person beside you?”
Namgung Un gestured with his chin toward the masked Yeo Ha-ryun.
“He is my sworn brother.”
At those words, Yeo Ha-ryun’s shoulders twitched slightly.
Namgung Un spoke with exaggerated theatricality.
“Goodness! A sworn brother?! Now that I think about it… isn’t it said that you also formed sworn brotherhoods with Cheonwoo of the Wudang Sect and the youngest disciple of the Golden Blood Sect Leader from Hao-mun?”
“Haha…”
“It’s quite remarkable how you move between the righteous and demonic paths. Surely this person isn’t from the Demonic Cult, are they?”
There was still a barb hidden within his laughter.
Jin Cheon-hee neither confirmed nor denied it.
Watching Jin Cheon-hee, I wondered if the light that flickered in Namgung Un’s eyes was just my imagination.
He continued speaking in his usual dissolute manner.
“Haha. My joke was too harsh. Besides, our family has no particular grudge against the Demonic Cult anyway. I asked something unnecessary.”
He scratched his head and changed the subject.
“Anyway, to hear that the one called Seo Baek-ryong has become one of the Gangho’s Eleven Great Masters—what a sea change. Thanks to that, the elders are hounding me to death. What am I to do about this?”
He deliberately pouted his lips in an exaggerated, grumbling manner before adding this:
“However, the debts of the Gangho run deep and sticky, so be careful.”
“Have you heard something?”
“Well, it just felt that way to me.”
Was it farming or bones?
Namgung Un remained unchanged.
“Anyway, what business prompted you to send a letter so far in advance? Thanks to that, my sister and I had to drag our heavy selves all the way here.”
“What could a doctor possibly ask for? I simply came to save a life.”
“You’re always consistent. Who did you come to save? There’s a patient, I take it?”
Jin Cheon-hee lowered his eyelashes like feathers and smiled softly.
Then, instead of using sound transmission, he spoke aloud.
“Yes, naturally I came because there is a patient. Tougoe Gongyageon’s granddaughter.”
In that instant, Yeo Ha-ryun saw several passersby’s bodies stiffen in shock.
They were martial artists eavesdropping.
Namgung Un’s laughing eyes hardened.
“Little brother, you’re making quite an astounding statement…”
In that moment, martial artists from the Namgung Family approached around Namgung Un.
‘So there were guards nearby after all.’
Yeo Ha-ryun placed his hand on his sword hilt.
However, Jin Cheon-hee showed no sign of tension, maintaining his smile as he gazed at him gently.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
The Namgung Family martial artists surrounded Jin Cheon-hee and Yeo Ha-ryun.
Yet my brother remained unafraid.
Namgung Un continued speaking.
“It was about twenty years ago. Tougoe Gongyageon invaded our family’s ancestral hall. She destroyed the memorial tablets and disappeared. Of course, there were reasons for her to go that far…”
His smiling lips soon shifted to a different expression.
“…but the family believes it wasn’t enough to insult our ancestors. What do you think?”
Jin Cheon-hee listened to his question while petting Hwang-gu’s head.
“I believe the living matter more than the dead.”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. Right now, with the Namgung Family’s power, I could make this story disappear completely.”
Yeo Ha-ryun finally understood.
There had been no real passersby in this area from the beginning.
Even those who hadn’t learned martial arts were members of the Namgung Family.
When Namgung Un moved, it was no different from the Namgung Family moving.
In Muho Port, the Namgung Family held a position equal to the Emperor itself!
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“It seems my notoriety has indeed grown.”
“Rather than notoriety, it’s closer to a peculiar reputation. However, since the elders of the main family remember Baek Rin-ui-seon’s past, they worry even about his disciple, who is like a son to him.”
“Hmm.”
“Baek Rin-ui-seon has become very healthy, and you’re doing things that simply shouldn’t exist by the standards of the Gangho.”
“Haha, well, that’s true.”

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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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