Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 373

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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 373
Last time, I assisted my brother, but this time, my brother would be assisted by me.
In the center of the banquet hall.
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the two brothers.
Sama Hyeon’s pipa was the first to strike Hyeon.
Ding— ding—
Low notes repeated in steady rhythm.
Over it, the seven-string zither began to pour forth notes like droplets, slowly cascading.
The sound was heavy and crystalline.
The tone flowing slowly like water resembled the Yangtze River, and suddenly several elders with high martial cultivation sensed something unusual.
‘Strange. Surely everyone in this banquet hall can hear these notes, yet why does my ear feel so at ease?’
It was certainly not a quiet sound.
It would be difficult for a mere seven-string zither to reach everyone in this vast banquet hall.
Yet even the elders at the very back were listening with expressions touched by melancholy.
Suddenly, one elder glanced down at his wine cup.
Following my notes, the wine in the cup rippled in concentric circles.
‘Sound technique…?’
It was a note infused with inner energy.
Yet the wine cup resonated without ever shattering.
The essence of this performance was simply to listen in comfort.
Nothing more, nothing less.
I could have ruptured eardrums to cause confusion or cast bewitching techniques, yet I chose only purity.
Feeling something amiss, one elder stepped outside the banquet hall.
Yet the sound still reached him in the same tone.
‘How strange. If distance increases, the sound should naturally fade.’
The tone that had fallen like spring rain now began to pour like a summer downpour.
The elder saw the water pooled on the stone ornament.
That water too was creating thin ripples in time with the zither’s notes.
‘Does the sound technique extend this far…?’
What enlightenment had the Veiled Madman obtained?
The melody likening the Yangtze River continued, breaking and resuming, then pouring forth to reach everyone in the Dang household.
A lone sail’s distant shadow fades into the azure sky,
All I see is the Yangtze River flowing to the horizon.
A song composed from Li Bai’s poem.
It was a fairly famous melody in the region, and the elders knew it well.
It captured the poignancy of sending a friend far away, and everyone sighed as they listened until I finished plucking the final string of the zither.
However, those who understood martial arts found it difficult to focus on the melody.
‘How can one possibly comprehend sound technique to this degree?’
I plucked the final string.
As I set down the zither and rose, the entire banquet hall erupted in cheers, yet only the elders and the Gaju maintained stern expressions.
‘If he’s mastered the sword, he should demonstrate it through sword forms. Why resort to sound-based martial arts instead?’
‘The Jegallga clan hardly has many techniques related to sound-based martial arts in the first place.’
‘To reach that level of mastery, he would need to study sound-based arts as intensively as swordplay. Why would he pursue such madness?’
In that time, he should have been deepening his own martial path instead.
I couldn’t fathom why he’d abandoned what he excelled at to pursue sound-based martial arts.
And the fact that he’d achieved mastery in it made it even more incomprehensible.
A warrior who defied all conventional wisdom.
‘The Radiant Dragon… or rather, the Veiled Madman?’
The Veiled Madman.
Only then did the masters of the Dang family understand the Gangho’s epithet for him.
* * *
Sama Hyeon had come to understand what martial enlightenment his hyeong had achieved yesterday while playing the seven-stringed zither on the boat.
‘This is absurd… absolutely absurd.’
This hyeong was that kind of person.
He had no intention of specializing in a single martial discipline as a warrior.
To be precise, he lacked even the self-awareness of being a warrior.
He simply learned whatever would aid his healing methods as a doctor.
I couldn’t say how to regard such an eccentric hyeong, but one thing was certain.
‘All the Dang family elders must be secretly astounded.’
And there was another thing.
‘Hyeong understands his own value far too well.’
That hyeong deliberately played the seven-stringed zither rather than demonstrating sword forms here was precisely to showcase his worth.
‘He wanted to prove that he alone is valuable enough without needing to rely on Baekrin Uiseon. That must be the first step of negotiation.’
The common folk speak of him thus.
Simply mad, they say.
But Jang Mun-in and the elders who have faced hyeong speak differently.
They say his scheming runs deeper than befits a young martial artist.
When he has a goal, his methods of achieving it differ from Gangho’s conventions, making him appear mad. Yet ultimately, it is merely the process of obtaining what he seeks.
And ordinarily, what hyeong desires is human life itself.
Salvation.
But because he extends his hand not only to ordinary commoners and warriors, but even to Tugoe whom everyone sought to kill, he merely appears mad.
In Sama Hyeon’s eyes, hyeong is a perfectly sane person.
And watching hyeong’s back as he plays the seven-stringed zither, I can only marvel at such enlightenment.
It’s difficult even to guess through what reasoning or perception he reached such heights.
But because he is hyeong, I simply accept it as inevitable.
That is the nature of hyeong to me.
‘That performance was delightful.’
Someday, in a distant future when an era of peace arrives.
If the day comes when hyeong and I both retire, I hope we can spend time like this in a pavilion, leisurely and at ease.
Hyeong would drink tea, and I would drink wine.
Money would be no issue.
‘Now that I think about it, Dang-a didn’t attend this banquet.’
She might have personal matters to attend to, or perhaps her nature—that demonic heart that despises light—yearned to retreat into darkness’s embrace.
“The Gaju wishes to speak with you privately.”
At Gasol’s words, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“Go rest first, Hyeon-a.”
‘As expected, he recognizes my worth. Already so eager that he’s requesting a private audience.’
My brother must have anticipated this moment from the instant he began playing the seven-stringed zither.
The handsome young man with his gentle smile then entrusted the seven-stringed zither he had just performed to Sama Hyeon.
“This is nice.”
“Next time I’ll prepare something even better. One that can be used for martial cultivation too.”
With money, anything was possible.
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee’s expression grew serious.
“Don’t get anything too expensive.”
“Understood.”
Too expensive, he said. Perhaps I should search for something priceless instead.
Sama Hyeon pondered what seven-stringed zithers might be available through the Golden Blood faction.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Gaju’s office, he was swiftly handling several matters.
‘Whether it’s the Baekrin Medical Guild, the Dang family, or the Gaju—they’re always busy.’
Without money, there could be no faction.
The Gaju had little time to cultivate martial arts.
Yet he had to remain strong regardless, making the position of Gaju an extreme occupation in its own right.
“That was excellent playing. It’s been a long time since I heard such refined melodies.”
“You honor me too much. I merely displayed a few minor techniques, yet to receive such praise is truly embarrassing.”
Jin Cheon-hee performed a respectful bow and took his seat.
“I’ve always been grateful to Sohyeop Jin for looking after Dang-a in the past. It brings me joy to see you like this.”
“Not at all. I’m constantly indebted to the Dang family, so this is only natural.”
After exchanging the customary pleasantries, I decided to ask something that had been on my mind.
“From what I understand, in the Dang family, the demonic heart typically disappears upon reaching adulthood and returns to normal. However….”
“…Yes. Our Dang-a remains unchanged. Or rather, one might say she has evolved even further.”
The Gaju pressed his forehead repeatedly as if a headache was overwhelming him.
“The unique cultivation method of the Sichuan Dang family, by nature of dealing with poison, inevitably affects one’s mental state in various ways. However, normally upon reaching enlightenment, the mind and spirit stabilize, allowing one to view their surroundings ‘objectively.'”
He expressed the idea of emerging from youthful delusion into sanity in the driest manner possible.
The slight change in his expression suggested that the Gaju himself had accumulated quite the dark history during his turbulent youth.
“The problem is… when one reaches too high a level at too young an age, that mental state becomes fixed or even intensifies.”
“Ah… such a problem exists….”
“Of course, this has only been passed down as theory within our sect. After all, producing even one genius of an era is no simple matter. However.”
He closed his eyes briefly and swallowed hard. Then, as if having made a decision, he spoke again.
“Given your level of cultivation, you’ve likely already sensed it. Dang-a has already entered the Hwagyeong realm.”
“Ah. So the demonic affliction has actually worsened instead.”
“It seemed to improve midway through, but we’ve also prepared the Dang Yeoreui Buldo, one of our sect’s secret techniques, for Dang-a. No matter how hard one kicks it, it remains unharmed, and it contains sleep-inducing fragrance that guides the master into deep slumber.”
It appeared they had made thorough preparations for Dang-a’s return.
“I see.”
“Dadi-dan pastries, gyeongdan, rice cakes—there’s nothing we haven’t prepared. During that period, she endures by eating sweets.”
“Ah….”
The Gaju’s expression alternated between melancholy and flushing red.
He recalled his own past while thinking of Dang-a, then returned to thinking of Dang-a again.
That was it. Inside the Gaju’s mind, his duty as head of the clan, his heart as a father, and his dark history all wrestled with each other, spinning round and round.
The fact that demonic affliction hadn’t taken hold was likely because the Gaju’s spiritual cultivation had deepened so much.
“Dang-a suffered while recalling her own past, but she awakened to the Way of Martial Arts there. She kicked away the blanket and entered the state of Buong Sammai, saying that too was her duty bestowed by darkness….”
“Congratulations on entering Hwagyeong.”
“Yes, it’s auspicious. Truly auspicious. It must be auspicious….”
Objectively speaking, there was no greater fortune for the Dang Sect.
As the Gaju, it was truly a joyous occasion!
However, not knowing how much of this dark history would be exposed in the future, a father’s heart grew uneasy.
“It’s rare even in the main family’s history. But… at this rate, will she even be able to marry? If her personality becomes like that, who would come as a son-in-law….”
Wait a moment here.
While martial arts novels vary slightly by version, the Sichuan Dang Clan is typically such a closed place that descriptions of taking in sons-in-law are common.
A woman who marries doesn’t become a stranger to her birth family.
Rather, a man comes to the Dang family as a son-in-law.
In such cases, children often took the mother’s surname rather than the father’s, becoming Dang.
The Dang family operated as the Dang bloodline, and the strong bonds between those of the same blood connected both sons and daughters equally.
“Even if they arranged a political marriage, it would be problematic. If her personality becomes that severe, the in-laws would certainly object—that’s another major concern.”
Like the Jegallga, the Dang family too was a place where descendants were precious.
‘But still, would Dang-a even be capable of marriage given her personality?’
In the current situation where she’s being consumed by darkness and all that, I couldn’t even imagine her considering marriage and romance.
Still, in a Confucian society, continuing the line was an extremely important matter.
It seemed certain that Dang-a would become the Gaju of the Dang family, so naturally such worries would arise.
But still, it was someone else’s concern.
“I see. But what’s the reason you called me separately?”

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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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