Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 380

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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 380
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Because Oh Dok-mun’s guardian spirit is a serpent. A Six-Horned Venomous Snake, with six horns like a crown. Its body stretches fifteen zhang—forty-five meters—and its girth alone reaches one zhang, three meters. Outsiders who see it mistake it for a dragon.”
“That outsider managed to survive…?”
“He did. The man came to lend money—how could we kill him? He hadn’t committed any real offense either. Besides, Oh Dok-mun needs funds. Even a closed clan society requires this to function, you know.”
Sama Hyeon pressed his thumb and index finger together, forming the shape of money.
‘A Six-Horned Venomous Snake—a creature that never appeared in the novels.’
Such are the pitfalls of fiction.
With Yeo Ha-ryun, the Cheonma, busy slaughtering his way through the central regions of the Middle Kingdom, I had no time to journey to Oh Dok-mun’s headquarters and hack apart their guardian spirit.
Information unnecessary to the protagonist is simply omitted—isn’t that what a novel is?
“According to Geumhyeolbang’s intelligence, there are reports that it devoured a Hwakyeong Master.”
“It devoured someone?!”
“Yes. Apparently, a Martial Arts Master who accompanied them committed some offense. Swallowed in one gulp, they say.”
He must have been quite a formidable guard, yet how terrifying.
Sama Hyeon spoke with a sorrowful expression.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t provide the success bonus. We tried to deliver condolences to his family instead… but it turned out he had no family. My Shifu lamented this greatly.”
Thus, Geumhyeolbang saved money once again today.
“The Geumhyeolbang member who received the escort managed to return safely?”
“Yes. The warrior apologized and escorted him all the way back to the Middle Kingdom instead. They’re people of courtesy. They repay debts well too.”
Sama Hyeon gazed out the window with a distant expression.
“I’m so grateful for establishing a society of trust.”
Even though it had swallowed the guard whole.
Sama Hyeon observed three seconds of silent tribute, then immediately changed his expression.
“Anyway.”
“U-uh, yes!”
“It sounds mad, but the merchant who accompanied them claimed that serpent is Hyeongyeong-level.”
“Hyeongyeong means it’s as strong as the Three Elites?”
“We don’t take it at face value either. Honestly, when a person is hanging upside down from a snake, anything looks strong by comparison, doesn’t it?”
“Hanging upside down, then.”
“The guard committed an offense, so there was some… emotional friction. Ha ha ha. At least he survived.”
What exactly constitutes emotional friction between a serpent and a human?
Jin Cheon-hee gradually gave up thinking about it.
“Regardless, it’s true that a Hwakyeong Master would struggle against it, so let’s both be careful not to offend that serpent’s sensibilities. And if Yo Cheon-gun really does hail from there… it would genuinely be formidable.”
I recalled the serpents Yo Cheon-gun kept with him.
They were terrifyingly powerful.
Beyond merely being strong, their venom was the kind that, even if one survived, would cause such severe aftereffects as to ensure an early death.
‘But none of them were as massive as the Six-Horned Venomous Snake. Not even half its size.’
I absolutely must not offend its temperament.
Jin Cheon-hee stroked Hwang-gu’s head.
Woof!
‘Hwang-gu’s sociable nature is one thing, but will it work on a snake…?’
I scratched Hwang-gu’s head vigorously.
Hwang-gu seemed pleased, squinting his eyes and panting happily.
“Isn’t it far to Ailao Mountain in Yunnan?”
“We took a carriage from Kunming in Chengdu, so we’ll need at least ten days of travel.”
“That’s really far.”
“The terrain is treacherous, so there’s no helping it. If the Martial Alliance is right that this is Yo Cheon-gun’s hometown, it must be a place that’s difficult to reach.”
I nodded in agreement.
* * *
The group continued traveling by carriage.
Half of Baekrin Uiseon’s four divisions of martial force—two hundred people.
With dozens of doctors added to that, along with Hao-mun’s people and porters for transporting supplies, the procession had grown to nearly one hundred and fifty people moving along narrow paths.
Given the treacherous terrain and risk of ambush, Man Seon took the reins himself as a driver.
There were occasionally larger villages along the way.
Thanks to this, we could rest intermittently and resupply at those places, but even entering smaller villages proved difficult.
Whoosh!
“Outsiders, get out!”
Poisoned arrows flew toward the carriage.
The carriage was reinforced with steel, so poisoned arrows could never pierce it, but Man Seon’s fishing line had already seized the attacker’s throat.
“Gaaaahhh!”
The fishing hook had pierced deeply through the collarbone—one more pull and the neck would tear away with bone.
I spoke urgently.
“Man Seon! Stop!”
“Soggakju.”
“We can simply avoid this.”
“But they attempted to harm Soggakju. We cannot set a precedent.”
She did not back down either.
Then Sama Hyeon stepped forward.
“How about this~”
Whoosh!
Sama Hyeon flicked a silver coin.
The coin struck the village resident’s forehead and fell away.
“Hey, in your village~ there should be someone named Manoek. Take this to him~”
“What do you…”
The silver coin bore the deep imprint of the Geumhyeolbang’s symbol.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Take it and go. Next time, you’ll be catching the silver coin in your throat instead of your forehead.”
The village resident hurried away.
Sama Hyeon crossed his arms and leaned against the carriage.
“We should be able to get fresh water at least. Hyeong.”
“Who is Manoek?”
“Oh, that guy. Bad debts~”
Sure enough, a man named Manoek arrived with clean drinking water and provisions, just as Sama Hyeon had said.
“Young Master Hyeon!”
“You’re alive~ Well, you need to live long if you want to gamble.”
An elderly man trembling and bowing his head to a young man was somewhat unsettling to witness.
But the underworld had its own rules.
“I’ll deduct this from your debt. Let’s see each other again next time~ Ah, and my friend’s hands are a bit rough, so I’ll give you a slap.”
Crack!
When Sama Hyeon struck the jaw of the man who had shot the poison needle, he spun away with a tremendous sound.
“The village chief of that village is a quack, but he knows how to do bone-setting. Do it right.”
“Thank you. Thank you!”
The man who had shot the poison needle bowed his head while blood streamed from his nose and mouth, having heard something from Manoek.
Considering Sama Hyeon’s grip strength, getting away with just some bleeding was something to be grateful for.
“What are you doing? We need to go.”
Sama Hyeon spoke to the martial artists who were watching him.
* * *
“The guards are more vigilant than I expected.”
“Anyone who would shoot poison needles at this many people wouldn’t be in their right mind. But there are villages with that much hatred for Middle Kingdom people. The previous emperor forcibly conscripted people more than once when expanding the empire’s territory.”
Usually they would have come back as corpses.
“Your brother was right to stop Man Seon. If we’re going to do business here, we can’t go around killing people carelessly. Ah, except for those who’ve trained in martial arts~”
“That child hasn’t trained in martial arts.”
There was no trace of martial arts training on the one who had shot the poison needle.
Sama Hyeon spoke flatly.
“And he was young. Your brother goes soft for children.”
“Haha.”
“Honestly, I know you didn’t like the slap either. But no matter how young he is, using poison means he intended to kill someone.”
“Against a carriage made of steel.”
“Yes. Stupid, but that doesn’t make him not a murderer, brother.”
“….”
“Someday you’ll have to choose. Between your own life and that of a murderous child.”
“If I become stronger….”
“That’s not an answer. You know that.”
Sama Hyeon said no more and gazed out of the carriage.
I furrowed my brow.
I wanted to escape from this thought.
Without realizing it, I touched my chest. It was where the rebel’s bullet had struck.
Since this was a different body, there was no pain, but somehow I felt suffocated.
‘It’s always harder when the opponent is a child.’
Suddenly, child soldiers from my previous world came to mind.
Children who learned to shoot guns instead of playing with toys.
A mad reality where adults got children addicted to drugs to desensitize them to killing, then held competitions to see who could murder more people while intoxicated.
‘The withdrawal symptoms are the hardest part to manage.’
Even young children experience drug withdrawal.
It’s far more agonizing than what adults endure.
‘They raise assassins the same way here too.’
I postponed the decision once more.
* * *
I was truly grateful that Sama Hyeon had provided us with supplies.
For the second day, we hadn’t encountered a single inhabited village.
From this point onward, both Sama Hyeon and I ventured outside and began riding horses.
“No one lives here, but at least the path is clear.”
“Within a hundred li of Aenoe Mountain where Oh Dok-mun resides, there are supposedly no settlements or cities at all~ There are so many ferocious beasts and venomous creatures, and when it rains, the rivers overflow easily.”
“That makes sense. Even in the Middle Kingdom, deep mountains are filled with wild beasts.”
That was indeed the case. Tigers roamed every mountain and occasionally attacked settlements.
Wolves were said to be more terrifying than bandits.
Even wild boars possessed formidable combat power. They would often charge at children or the elderly without hesitation, and many died before their families could even carry them to a medical clinic.
If this happened even in the well-developed roads of the Middle Kingdom, how much worse must it be here?
“Remarkably, the path is still maintained. Looking at the ground, I can see traces of weeds being pulled.”
“Oh Dok-mun keeps managing it. They need to eat and survive too. About five connecting paths are always maintained! Well… that’s about the limit in a jungle like this.”
Even if they laid blue stone, floods would wash it all away.
It was nothing but dirt roads. At best, they’d cleared away some trees and rocks.
The path was so uneven that I nearly got motion sickness inside the carriage.
‘Horses really are the better choice.’
This was why the two of us were riding horses.
“Anyway, we should arrive soon if we go a bit further… Hmm?”
Hwang-gu was gazing at something.
At the same moment, the wind shifted and a peculiar smell wafted toward us.
With my heightened senses from the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, I immediately recognized what this smell was.
“Hyeong, what’s wrong?”
“There’s a bad smell. Man Seon, Master!”
“Yes, Soggakju.”
Man Seon responded immediately.
“I’ll venture into the forest for a moment. Please wait here.”
“I cannot leave you alone, Soggakju.”
“It’s fine. There’s no enemy. And I’ll go with Sama Hyeon.”
Man Seon’s gaze turned toward Sama Hyeon beside me.
‘Hwagyeong… that’s what Soggakju called him.’
The fact that I and my sworn siblings had captured Yo Cheon-gun together was fairly well-known.
Besides, I usually let Man Seon do as he pleased, but when I spoke with such firmness occasionally, it was somehow difficult for him to resist.
I speak with a smile, yet an enigmatic dignity and grace command those around me to stillness.
In the end, Man Seon cupped his fist in salute and bowed his head.
“I accept your command.”

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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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