Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 38

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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 38
Of course, I was human. There were people I disliked.
But before results, I killed my emotions thoroughly and lived.
I had to perform better surgeries. I had to write better papers.
Results never lied.
Until my dying breath, I despised golf, yet I possessed enough cold rationality to fend for myself and an audaciously shameless sociability.
Getting along adequately with anyone produced quite favorable outcomes when paired with decent skill.
My former professor cherished me like his own son.
I slowly opened my mouth.
‘A smile is good. Indeed, after smiling, the trembling lessens.’
Even before the specter of death, a smile was truly wonderful.
I unleashed words upon Yoo Ho that I had once spoken to my rivals in the past.
“Ultimately, I must save my Master.”
“Pardon?”
“No matter how hard I wrack my brain, there’s no hand better than yours.”
Words laden with sincerity echoed through the cage.
At words devoid of even a shred of falsehood, Yoo Ho’s body stiffened.
“I attempted to kill you.”
“Yes. You tried to.”
“I have not yet made a final decision.”
“Yes. For my Master’s sake. By any means necessary.”
“…”
“That’s the same as me. I too have wagered my life by any means necessary.”
Why was it? Yoo Ho realized he was being overwhelmed by this young man.
I continued speaking.
“First, become a nurse. Chief Yoo Ho. And keep me alive until I save my Master. If I can’t save him, then kill me then.”
“What sophistry is this?”
The young man answered with brazen nonchalance.
“Ah, yes. After this passes, there won’t be many opportunities to kill me. My loyal follower Gungwi has ascended to the Hwajing after all.”
The young man suppressed his trembling inner turmoil and smiled with composure. Then he approached him without hesitation.
“Either become a nurse willingly, or kill me here.”
As the young man’s face drew near, Yoo Ho repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists.
It was strange. Almost refreshing. The young man’s sincerity was terrifying.
The young man was simply pursuing the life of a single patient to the very end. It was less obsession than madness.
Yoo Ho sensed that this small young man held his lifeline in his grasp.
A pigeon fluttered and landed on the perch on Yoo Ho’s side.
Yoo Ho now realized that not a trace of murderous intent emanated from him anymore. And because of that…
“I concede. Young Master.”
…He had no choice but to admit defeat.
“You ask me to become a hundred-man warrior for someone trying to kill me, and yet…”
“It’s not some soft sentiment like compassion or forgiveness. I do it simply because it’s the best choice.”
“That’s far more terrifying.”
Yoo Ho laughed bitterly.
He had wagered his own life against Jin Cheon-hee.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheon-hee had brought everything he possessed and burrowed into Yoo Ho’s defenses without fear, as though it were nothing. A battle he could only lose.
It was a fight destined for defeat.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“I’ll treat you properly in front of others. Within the Medical Hall, the cute Jin Cheon-hee position is more convenient anyway.”
“Are you saying you’ll work me to the bone when we’re alone?”
“Did you forget? You’re the one who said you’d kill me. Why should I go easy on you?”
‘I’ll show you something that surpasses the workload of nurses in South Korea.’
Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
He would make this man a true warrior in white.
“I’ll keep you alive, and I’ll continue to do so. From today on, you’ll have much to learn at my side.”
With that, Jin Cheon-hee left the Dovecote.
Leaving one final remark without emotion.
“If you have complaints, kill me now. Before it’s too late.”
Yoo Ho watched Jin Cheon-hee’s retreating figure for a long time.
‘I’m beginning to understand. Why Gungwi even swore his loyalty.’
He had thought it was simply a matter of being deceived. But seeing it now, that wasn’t it at all.
There was a vessel that approached fearfully yet cunningly, even recruiting enemies.
In the space where Jin Cheon-hee had departed, Yoo Ho stood in the empty cage for a long while, unable to leave.
The young man was a strange rival unlike any Yoo Ho had ever encountered.
* * *
It didn’t take long for word of Jin Cheon-hee’s treatment to spread.
Rumors travel faster than words. And since it spread through the Medical Records, there was no one in Gangho who hadn’t heard of Baekrin Uigak.
“What? They treated severe internal injuries?”
“I heard the liver and spleen were completely crushed.”
The Medical Records published the new treatment techniques developed at the Medical Hall.
True to Gangho’s secretive nature, the specific treatment methods weren’t fully disclosed, but the patient’s condition and the general flow of treatment were described in considerable detail.
It was information somewhere between an academic journal and a magazine.
“While the patient isn’t named, it appears to be Wang Gak-yeon, Gungwi’s daughter.”
She had already visited countless medical clinics begging for treatment. Few doctors remained unaware.
“I heard the Hwaju Medical Sect’s clinics took the case?”
“After ten days of treatment with no progress, they abandoned the patient, it’s said.”
“What was their justification?”
“Apparently, since she wasn’t affiliated with Jeongpa, the Medical Hall refused to accept her.”
“Hmm….”
The information passed swiftly from mouth to mouth among the countless doctors of Gangho.
This edition of the Baekrin Medical Records carried considerable impact.
“Now I understand why Baekrin Uiseon cherishes his disciple so dearly.”
“They say he’s just a child, not even past his twenties.”
“To think it’s possible to treat severe internal injuries and damaged organs… I wish I could return to Baekrin Uigak and learn this technique directly….”
It was only natural that curiosity about Jin Cheon-hee grew.
The clinic directors who had already left Baekrin Uigak to establish their own practices began sending messenger pigeons, wondering if they could return to the Medical Hall to learn this technique.
Even sects that had entrusted their medical needs to other medical halls were now exploring the possibility of switching their contracts to Baekrin Uigak.
The reason was simple.
“Though Gungwi has handled many heterodox matters, he also takes orthodox cases, does he not? If Hwaju Medical Sect had requested it, they wouldn’t have been unable to receive treatment.”
“Isn’t it because Hwaju Yakson lacked the skill to treat such a case that he made such an excuse?”
The doctors fell silent at those words. It was shocking. Yet they had no way to refute it.
To keep a patient for ten days and then refuse treatment was a grave violation of medical ethics.
The clinic directors of Hwaju Medical Sect felt their insides burning.
“What nonsense! Are you saying Hwaju Medical Sect is inferior to Baekrin Uigak in skill? Would Gungwi be Gungwi for nothing? Yes, we accepted orthodox cases, but that was only for the money! Besides, accepting the patient for ten days was purely Hwaju Yakson’s goodwill, nothing more!”
At the fierce anger of the Hwaju Medical Sect clinic directors, several prominent martial sect warriors shrugged their shoulders.
“That’s what people are saying these days. Regardless, everyone knows it wasn’t proper medical conduct to keep a severely injured patient for ten days, don’t they?”
Other martial artists nodded in agreement.
“If Gungwi was heterodox and Hwaju Medical Sect couldn’t treat him, they should have informed the patient of this fact promptly.”
“What are you talking about! I rather suspect this whole affair might be a scheme concocted by Baekrin Uigak. Medicine isn’t competition, yet it’s written in the medical records as if it were!”
There was nothing in the medical records about Hwaju Medical Sect.
From the start, there was no mention of the patient’s personal details anywhere.
Only the minimum patient information necessary for information sharing had been recorded.
“I will report all of this to Hwaju Yakson!”
The enraged clinic directors of Hwaju Medical Sect snorted and huffed indignantly.
* * *
“You treated that?”
Baekrin Uigak’s medical records arrived at Hwaju Medical Sect before the news spread, when the first messenger pigeon arrived. It wasn’t espionage or anything of the sort.
It was simply an ancient custom for medical halls to share medical records with one another.
Sharing and competing through each other’s medical techniques had become quite an important motivation for medical assistants.
“Through discreet investigation via the underworld, we’ve confirmed it’s definitely Gungwi’s daughter, Wang Gak-yeon.”
Ma Jin-chu, the administrator of Hwaju Medical Sect, suppressed the rising irritation welling up inside him.
“Why would they take such a risk with a patient who had a high probability of failure? Does the sect leader know of this?”
“Yes. He approved it, it seems. Many clinic directors are in turmoil over this incident, and several sects are showing interest in Baekrin Uigak’s new treatment methods.”
Administrator Ma Jin-chu lacked the courage to go meet the sect leader, Hwaju Yakson.
‘If I go up there in this state… sigh.’
The administrator tapped his fingers on the table.
A beating was inevitable either way. But there was a difference between receiving a beating while making some attempt at damage control and simply receiving a beating.
The medical assistant continued speaking.
“Also, Baekrin Uigak has been weak in healing techniques, so it’s strange how they treated this case. The medical records praised the disciple Jin Cheon-hee highly, but some suspect he used unverified healing methods.”
At those words, Ma Jin-chu’s eyes gleamed.
“So they gambled with an unverified healing technique on the patient’s body?”
“He didn’t go quite that far in his words, but….”
The Medical Assistant’s voice trailed off, and from his tone, the director discerned Hwaju Yakson’s true intentions.
“Send some of our Medical Assistants to Baekrin Uigak. Make sure they’re people who won’t lose in a battle of words.”
“On what pretext should we send them, then?”
“Couldn’t it be that we endangered a patient who could have been treated in twenty days by using an unverified medicinal formula?”
Hwaju Yakson’s techniques had been incapable of treatment. Yet the director brazenly wagged his tongue, claiming that ten more days would have made recovery possible.
The Medical Assistant grasped the implication immediately.
“Yes, the patient was someone who could have been treated even at a Medical Clinic level without entering the Medical Hall. It seems Gungwi simply couldn’t contain himself.”
“Good, well spoken. Say that you’ve grown concerned about the patient’s condition. Then they won’t be able to turn you away.”
“And if they do turn us away?”
“Isn’t that perfect grounds for spreading rumors? Either way, if we can tarnish their reputation, the affiliated sects won’t abandon us further.”
The director smiled wickedly as he spoke.
“You must lay the groundwork thoroughly.”
The Medical Assistant bowed deeply and departed.
* * *
At the same time, I was refining myself.
My master’s condition was worse than I had anticipated. I needed to grow stronger, and quickly.
I still lacked the inner strength to maintain surgery alone, and my understanding of formations was insufficient.
I operated the fire, water, and wood energies according to the incantation formula.
Wind began to stir around me as I sat in lotus position.

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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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