Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 370

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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 370
The next day, six members from Hao-mun joined our group.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Hyeong, my current position is the Silver Blood Leader of the Golden Blood Sect in Hao-mun.”
The Golden Blood Sect’s hierarchy was structured as: Sect Leader, Vice Leader, and then the Four Blood Leaders in order.
The Four Blood were divided into Gold Blood, Silver Blood, Iron Blood, and Bronze Blood respectively.
What Sama Hyeon held was the Silver Blood position.
‘Silver Blood Leader means fourth in rank… That’s higher than I expected?’
Fourth in rank at such a young age was an extraordinary promotion.
I had automatically ascended to Patriarch of Baekrin Medical Institute because there was no existing successor, but the Golden Blood Sect was different.
It was a place that controlled half of the Central Plains through the dark business.
‘Living’ successors were always in abundance.
Enough that a few could die without issue.
To break through the framework and rise this far in a sword-wielding Confucian society required three things to be satisfied.
First was the talent to make money.
Sama Hyeon had invented a unique form of ‘lending business.’
In modern times, it’s also called ‘franchise,’ and through this forward-thinking lending business, there were rumors that the Golden Blood Sect’s revenue had increased by at least thirty percent or more.
Second was martial prowess.
Sama Hyeon was a Hwagyeong.
In the Golden Blood Sect, it was known that the Sect Leader, Vice Leader, Gold Blood Leader, and the separate Medical Division Leader were all Hwagyeong.
The Medical Division was a supplementary organization without power hierarchy—essentially medics within the Golden Blood Sect.
Their skills couldn’t compare to formal medical institutes like Baekrin Medical Institute, Hwaju Medical Institute, or Heukjeon Medical Institute.
Yet the Medical Division Leader themselves was said to be at the level of the top ten physicians in the world.
And that person was also a Hwagyeong.
Sama Hyeon had broken through the Hwagyeong barrier through my bizarre training and jealousy and irritation toward his brothers.
The martial aspect was thus fulfilled.
Last was politics.
The Golden Blood Sect operated on money.
Individuals each possessed enough martial strength to protect themselves, but fundamentally they were financiers.
It all depended on how one persuaded the opposing faction.
Sama Hyeon would persuade them, give them money…
-Hyeong, I don’t just make proposals to anyone. If I felt they weren’t colleagues worthy of discussing a bright future with, I ‘retired’ them.
Saying so, he pressed his palms together and spoke with sparkling eyes.
-They had to retire. For the future of the Golden Blood Sect. Sigh… I’m sad to part with such beloved colleagues.
Certainly, none of those who were ‘retired’ would still be alive.
And I had the sinking feeling that the facial skins of some of them were probably well-stored in Sama Hyeon’s personal collection.
‘Well… Still, to survive, I’ve gone to the extent of bloodying my hands.’
Fighting to survive was an unavoidable natural order in this Gangho.
There was nothing to be done about that.
“Faster than expected. As always.”
“You look happy~”
“Of course. I’ve become Hwagyeong. By the way, who is that person next to you?”
A woman with drooping eyes stood beside Sama Hyeon.
The sword strapped to her back marked her unmistakably as a Gangho martial artist.
She spoke.
“I am Lim Un-hyeon, Vice Leader of the Silver Blood Party. It is an honor to meet the Patriarch of Baekrin Medical Institute in this manner.”
“Personally, I am his disciple… but in terms of rank, I stand above her.”
[A disciple? So she’s a disciple of the Golden King—the Golden Blood Sect Leader?]
Sama Hyeon responded to Jin Cheon-hee’s transmitted voice, telling him to speak freely, then said aloud.
“Master has many disciples. Of course, there are more undisclosed disciples than disclosed ones. Altogether, there would be about twelve including me?”
“With so many direct disciples, how will the succession be decided?”
Twelve direct disciples!
This could only result in a bloodbath, and it was being done with that expectation.
Wasn’t the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Sect doing the same?
The Golden Blood Sect was ultimately employing the same method.
Sama Hyeon burst into laughter, noticing my concern.
“Haha… Master will remain vigorous for at least fifty more years? The kind of situation you’re imagining won’t happen.”
‘Though I’ve become one of the top ten masters under heaven, I realize there are far more unknown masters in Gangho than known ones.’
There’s no need to even mention the Heavenly Realm Beyond Heaven.
Even Master alone doesn’t engage in combat with the top ten masters under heaven.
As a result, Master’s name isn’t widely known among gossip-mongers.
Only the elderly martial artists of Master’s generation know the truth.
Exactly how strong he is, what weapons he primarily uses.
He has shown almost nothing to Gangho.
We can only infer his strength from the fact that he defeated Sip Cheon-gun of the Hyeolseonggyo single-handedly.
But even how he defeated him remains unknown.
That must have been Master’s deliberate guidance.
Master has no interest whatsoever in the reputation of Gangho people.
Only whether this action is advantageous for the future balance of power—that alone matters.
‘The Golden King seems similar to Master.’
What she desires is money.
Moreover, earning money through fighting was not the Golden Blood Sect’s business.
Lending money to those who fight and collecting interest.
Selling goods to those who fight and receiving payment.
‘In a way, it’s as unusual a position as the Baekrin Medical Institute.’
I conversed with Vice Leader Lim Un-hyeon while thinking this.
She spoke in a calm voice about various matters.
Mostly about money.
After boarding the ship, I learned information about which location in this area would see land prices rise first.
“I see. A new port is being developed. So if one has money, they should build an inn first, right?”
“You have to choose one of two paths. Either run a cheap inn catering to laborers, or operate a moderately-priced inn for the martial artists and scholars who’ll arrive by boat.”
“What about a high-end inn?”
“Not happening.”
Sama Hyeon shook his head and continued.
“There’s nowhere near the docks worth taking a pleasure cruise, and anyone with that kind of money would rest at their own villa—they have no reason to stay at an inn. Besides, it’s not even a scenic spot. At best, you’d be serving scholars heading to the capital for the civil service exams and the escort warriors protecting them.”
“I see.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
Lim Un-hyeon, the deputy sect leader listening beside them, spoke up.
“If laborers are your target, dishes using mountain pepper work well. Since you’ll be using cheap meat, it’s good to mask the flavor with strong spices. The heat also helps relieve the fatigue of labor.”
A matter of cost efficiency.
This was quite practical.
Sama Hyeon continued.
“For scholars, lily bulb soup or lotus root porridge work best. Those aristocrats have weak digestion, so they avoid greasy food while traveling.”
“What about escort warriors?”
“Alcohol. And fried meat.”
Straightforward.
Truly, a chain restaurant owner of the martial world.
Sama Hyeon chatted with Jin Cheon-hee about how inns sourced their ingredients and how to manage unit costs.
Remarkably, even while chatting away, the pipa in his hands never rested, its strings constantly plucked.
River wind and pipa music.
A surprisingly fitting combination.
Except for the faint scent of blood qi emanating from Sama Hyeon’s hands.
Clang—
Hwang-gu seemed to be in good spirits too.
Noeji even climbed onto Sama Hyeon’s head and dozed off.
“The most important thing is stocking preserved foods. Brother.”
“Like jerky?”
“Not just any jerky. The kind that becomes porridge the moment you put it in water with rice. I borrowed the preservation method from Baekrin Medical Institute.”
“How does it taste?”
“Salty and oily. Kekeke. Honestly, it’s not good for your health. But it fills your belly, so that’s enough.”
“Hyeon-a.”
“Brother~ I’m from the Golden Blood Sect, not a medical institute, right? Once the business is running, that’s all that matters~ And the ingredients aren’t bad either, right? They provide enough calories to reach the next inn~”
Right, right. That’s business.
“Still, I can at least advise on medicinal herbs to add, can’t I?”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, Sama Hyeon’s eyes lit up.
“Of course! How much should I pay you?”
No matter how I looked at it, this guy had developed a taste for doing business with his brother.
‘If he enjoys making money more than killing people, that’s a relief.’
Yeo Ha-ryun, the Cheon Sal-seong, couldn’t help his heavenly nature.
But this one was a villain-to-be from a novel.
Fortunately, I had saved him before he went completely mad, but the fact remained that blood was on my hands.
“Do you have any preserved food? Let’s try cooking it and see what it tastes like.”
“Sure, sure! Let’s do it!”
At those words, Lim Un-hyeon pulled out the preserved food.
The three of us amicably divided a portion each and tasted it.
‘Huh…? This? It tastes like thin ramen broth? How did they recreate MSG?’
There was a faint taste of seasoning powder.
Of course, that seasoning powder was also mimicking beef broth flavor, but it had that distinct taste different from real beef broth. That taste was present here.
Jin Cheon-hee turned to Sama Hyeon in disbelief.
“Why, brother? Why?”
“Did the Golden Blood Sect’s chef make this?”
“No. I bought the technique from an innkeeper who had run his establishment into the ground, in exchange for forgiving his debts.”
“Teach me this.”
“I’d like to, but this wasn’t something I bought—my Master purchased it, so I don’t know either. I just receive supplies of this jerky.”
With this, I needed to make ramen, actual ramen.
‘How in the world did they capture the taste of seasoning powder in the Central Plains?’
And the inn still went bankrupt despite this?
What could possibly go wrong to make that happen?
“First, I’ll grind this jerky into powder. Then I’ll compress it.”
“Hmm?”
“Then I’ll add spice, and boil it with fried and dried noodles!”
The unit cost wouldn’t be as cheap as on Earth.
But… this was research for my own consumption.
‘…Ramen… it has to be ramen.’
Spicy ramen was good, and mild ramen was good too.
If I just cracked an egg into it, I’d have nothing left to wish for.
The homesickness of my homeland that I had essentially given up on, unable to recreate no matter what I tried.
In a way, ramen was the taste of home for me.
As a Korean, I strangely missed ramen as much as I missed kimchi.
‘Let’s do this. Let’s try.’
If successful, the next research would be pasta!
* * *
-Ah, what a waste. We couldn’t get involved.
-He’s in hiding. Can’t be helped.
-Still, I wanted to have Tugoe’s corpse.
Hyeolseonggyo meeting.
The conversation continued even in the darkness.
Hyeolseonggyo had not directly intervened in this Tugoe incident.
The groundwork of poisoning Tugoe’s granddaughter had already begun years ago, and we were finally seeing the fruits of that labor.
However, due to the Leader’s strict orders not to directly intervene, it had essentially become mere observation.
-It’s all because that bastard disrupted the heavenly mandate.
-What a waste, what a waste. If things had gone according to destiny, the corpse and the poison master would have been ours.
-So Sacheon Dang and Oh Dok-mun are supposed to just sit idle?
-Leave them be. The Demonic Sect already has its hands in that place.
-A storm of blood will blow.
-Yes. Those Demonic Sect bastards love blood just as much as we do. Let’s simply observe.
-While observing, we prepare. We need to capture young Baek Ryong and color him with our hue~ At least this poison master incident has created a crack in his faith in humanity, hasn’t it~?
-A small fracture in his spirit. Even that took a long time.
-Yes. But once distrust takes root, it’s difficult to mend.
-So you favor the Demonic Sect?
-Hmm. When the Hyeolseon Sect goes and causes chaos, people will blame the Hyeolseon Sect. So let’s show him the true nature of humanity itself—that this is not a problem of Gangho, but a problem of mankind.
-Strange fellow. With a mind like that, you still believe in humanity.
-Pray for him to go mad soon.
-Good accompanies evil.
-Good is always accompanied by distrust.
-Good intentions always bring hell.
That’s humanity.
Laughter echoed through the darkness.

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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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