Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 353

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

Chapter 353
“Hahahaha! Today is the day of your memorial!”
I expanded my sword energy and shattered the fragments hurtling toward me.
At the same time, the Twin Elders leaped into the air and swung their blades.
The atmosphere trembled violently with a resonant hum, and the martial prowess of the two elders began to heat the very air itself.
Heavenly Wind Sword Technique.
One of the Namgung Family’s secret arts.
Though less renowned than the Unobstructed Palace Sword Technique or the Imperial Sword Form, this too belonged to the category of divine secret techniques—a superior martial art.
And this sword technique, true to its name, commanded the wind itself.
Whoooosh!
A vortex composed of sword energy rushed toward me with terrifying speed.
Though not classified as inner force, such a vast and intense vortex of sword energy possessed a quality that even inner force found difficult to defend against.
A martial technique that struck not at a single point, but across an expansive area!
That was the defining characteristic of the Heavenly Wind Sword Technique.
“I acknowledge that you are faster than us.”
“However, what will you do if you have no space to move!”
That was right.
These two had come this far, grinding their teeth with determination to capture Tugoe.
For Tugoe, cradling his granddaughter in his arms, the situation was truly desperate.
‘If I draw upon my innate qi here… will I have enough strength to endure the remaining journey?’
Despite the dire circumstances, Tugoe analyzed the situation with absolute composure.
Shaking off both of them was difficult, but not impossible.
The question was only how much inner energy I would expend and what injuries I would sustain.
Then, could I truly save my granddaughter?
She was my only blood relative.
‘My poor little one…’
In the past.
A plague had claimed the lives of my daughter and son-in-law.
I had not revealed to my daughter that I was the greatest divine warrior in the Gangho, instead hoping she would live an ordinary life, so I had established a residence for her in the Imperial Capital, far removed from the Gangho and blessed with good security.
However.
Even the Imperial Capital was not immune to plague.
My daughter and son-in-law, who contracted the plague that had emerged in the slums of the Imperial Capital, perished.
After that, I raised my granddaughter.
I even ceased my activities in the Gangho to raise her, and as a result, not a single soul in the Gangho had seen Tugoe in nearly ten years.
And this was the result.
‘Even if I must burn my very life… my little one alone…’
It was fine.
Even if I died after saving my granddaughter.
This body of mine could crumble like a cicada’s discarded shell after saving her.
That was atonement for my deceased daughter and son-in-law, and was this not the purpose for which I had cultivated the martial way?
As she made that vow and prepared to ignite the flame of life.
A young voice, low in pitch yet still bearing the softness of youth, echoed through the air.
“How contemptibly you hide behind the guise of righteousness.”
Simultaneously, a tiny black sphere fell from the empty space where the voice originated.
“Hypocrites though they are… do not kill them.”
The one who dropped the black sphere wore black martial robes and a white mask, with a massive azure hawk perched upon his shoulder.
Yet this grotesque appearance did not register in the eyes of the Twin Dragon Swords.
Their gazes were fixed upon the falling black sphere, trembling with recognition.
“Heavenly Demon Divine Art!”
“The cursed Heavenly Destruction Technique has appeared!”
These two had once crossed blades with demonic cultists of the Soegooju rank, and they recognized it instantly.
Kwaaaaaaaa!
“Damn!”
“Evade!”
The Heavenly Destruction Technique began devouring everything around it with ravenous hunger.
The massive vortex of sword energy created by the Heavenly Wind Sword Technique was sucked in without a trace.
Witnessing this, Tugoe’s Granddaughter did not hesitate—she immediately employed the Void Step technique and fled the battlefield.
She rushed through the void in an instant.
But the depletion of her inner energy was severe, so she descended rapidly toward the ground.
Once her feet touched solid earth, who could possibly catch her?
‘The Heavenly Demon Cult has come this far! I must escape quickly!’
The moment she thought this, a massive explosion erupted behind her.
Kwarrrrung!
The searing pressure felt against her back exceeded all imagination.
The shockwave from the explosion reminded her of when she had encountered the Cheonma before.
The Heavenly Destruction Technique.
The black sphere the Cheonma had playfully hurled was truly a terrifying force of utter annihilation.
A god of destruction incarnate.
Even for Tugoe’s Granddaughter, who had never heard of any Soegooju capable of wielding such power, this was a shocking revelation.
Her instincts reached their peak, driving her to flee desperately from danger.
And then, the moment her feet touched the ground.
She realized the landscape around her had transformed in an instant.
The harbor vanished, and she found herself standing upon jagged cliffs.
And she knew exactly what this was.
‘The Bewildering Soul-Return Formation! Those Namgung Family bastards, setting such a trap…’
As she thought this.
Someone appeared, walking through the void.
Though the sight was startling, knowing all of this was illusion, she focused on the person who had appeared.
A handsome young man of striking beauty.
Yet his eyes gleamed with a brilliant blue-green radiance.
A gentle smile graced her face, instilling reassurance in those who beheld it.
And the moment she laid eyes on this young man, she knew exactly who he was.
A figure whose reputation had reached her ears even while she was occupied stealing the Poison Antidote for her granddaughter.
Jin Cheon-hee, the Veiled Madman.
“It is an honor to meet the Shadowless Divine Thrust, whose name echoes throughout the Gangho. I am Jin Cheon-hee, the Patriarch of the Baekrin Medical Institute.”
Jin Cheon-hee performed a respectful fist salute and bowed deeply. Yet Tugoe only heightened her vigilance.
Wasn’t this very formation trap prepared by such a courteous fellow!
“Jin Cheon-hee, the Veiled Madman. I’ve heard tales of you as well. That Blood Crimson Slaughter… or rather, you’re the favored disciple of Baek Rin-ui-seon, aren’t you? Have you joined hands with the Namgung Family? That doesn’t seem like something Baek Rin would do. The Namgung Family still hasn’t fully repaid their blood debt to him.”
“Senior, there seems to be a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Indeed. The Namgung Family has withdrawn from this matter. I negotiated it myself.”
“What?”
Tugoe twisted her lips as she looked at the young man spouting such nonsense.
“Just because you have Blood Crimson backing you doesn’t mean you can make the Namgung Family withdraw! Those people…”
“The Grand Creation Palace Unbound Sword Formation. I wagered with that. And… I broke it magnificently.”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, Tugoe’s eyes widened greatly.
“All I ask of you, Senior Tugoe, is one thing. Simply return the Poison Antidote. In exchange, I will take responsibility and save your granddaughter.”
“Im-impossible. Are you some demon that suddenly appeared to bewitch me!”
“However, Senior Tugoe, your granddaughter’s life hangs by a thread. Even if you take her to Hwaju Yakson… it will be difficult to save her. I state this with certainty as a physician.”
Tugoe wavered for a moment as she met Jin Cheon-hee’s earnest gaze.
A man who suddenly deployed a formation to trap her, yet claimed he would save her granddaughter.
By any normal measure, he was utterly untrustworthy.
The situation was dire, and the circumstances around her were nothing short of hellish.
How could she trust someone who appeared like this?
And yet.
Her instincts told her this man was different.
Though he spoke of wanting the Poison Antidote, her intuition insisted otherwise.
This man had no real interest in the Poison Antidote at all.
He might gain some benefit from it, but his true purpose lay elsewhere.
Tugoe had wandered the Gangho long enough to perceive such things.
Decades had passed since she earned her reputation as one of the Ten Greatest Masters under Heaven.
And she had witnessed eyes like these before.
Eyes of those who offered their very lives for righteous causes.
Eyes of those who burned their existence in loyal service to the Emperor.
These were eyes of that same caliber.
In that moment, her granddaughter stirred faintly.
Still unconscious, it was merely the thrashing of life itself.
Tugoe squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
“Save my granddaughter… please… I beg of you.”
“Leave her to me.”
Jin Cheon-hee was smiling gently.
* * *
“H-hey! That bastard, that one! Isn’t he from the Demonic Cult?!”
“No. According to the records, he’s from the Heukgeommun, a single-lineage mysterious sect. It merely resembles the Cheonma Divine Art.”
“Cough! My blood pressure!”
“Uncles, are you alright?!”
“Let me go! Those bastards….”
“But the Deputy Patriarch said….”
“Ugh!”
The Twin Dragon Swords. The two of them ceased their assault after hearing the full account of events.
The one responsible for this matter was Deputy Patriarch Namgung Cheong.
They had heard that he had faced the Veiled Madman in the Great Spear Palace Swordless Technique and lost.
Though rumors had not spread throughout the Gangho, the Baekrin Medical Institute’s branch had already learned this fact.
And the Hao-mun and Gaebang would already know as well, and soon this rumor would spread further.
And according to rumor, Jin Cheon-hee and the Soegooju of the ‘Demonic Cult’ had sworn brotherhood.
However, it would remain merely a ‘rumor’ and would not become public discourse.
Why?
Because the Baekrin Medical Institute had not committed any conspicuous illicit acts, and to begin with, the Baekrin Medical Institute was not even a faction belonging to the Murim Alliance.
Moreover, the Baekrin Medical Institute had recently completely swallowed the entire Jiangsu Province and was expanding its power at an astonishingly rapid and formidable pace.
With the government backing them, the heterodox sects had to cease harassing commoners and conduct only legitimate businesses.
For example, gambling and loan sharking.
From the perspective of Jin Cheon-hee, a modern person, the conduct of the Murim world was distasteful, but it was fact.
Gambling is legal in the Empire, and loan sharking is also legal.
Of course, countless illegal and unlawful acts occur in between, and the heterodox sects have their hands in almost all of them.
But in Jiangsu Province, such things were disappearing one by one. It was clear that the Baekrin Medical Institute’s power had begun to wield tremendous strength.
Making such a Baekrin Medical Institute an enemy was currently impossible. Within the Murim Alliance itself, there were several factions intimate with the Baekrin Medical Institute.
The Sichuan Tang Family, the Wudang Sect, the Namgung Family.
In other words, the Namgung Family was also in a mutually beneficial relationship with the Baekrin Medical Institute—caught in such an awkward political entanglement that Jin Cheon-hee could not publicize his sworn brotherhood with a Demonic Cultist.
And so the current scene was unfolding.
The Twin Dragon Swords, clutching the back of their necks and pretending to collapse.
Yeo Ha-ryun sitting before them, calmly drinking tea.
Tugoe’s Granddaughter lying on one side of the bed and Tugoe standing guard beside her.
Jin Cheon-hee taking her pulse with a serious expression.
Namgung Un and Namgung Yeon sighing in the corner.
It was, in a sense, a chaotic scene.

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