Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 409

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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 409
“It’s true that the Patriarch’s standing is unparalleled even in the current Gangho. Among the ten greatest masters under heaven, his martial prowess is exceptional, and his influence over the common people is considerable. Moreover, the spiritual creatures who follow him of their own accord, moved by his benevolent nature, hold immense value.”
Yelp!
Hwang-gu demanded more jerky from beneath Jin Cheon-hee’s feet.
Jin Cheon-hee discreetly retrieved a piece of homemade venison jerky from his sleeve and fed it to Hwang-gu.
Munch, munch, munch, munch—
‘It wasn’t really moved by my benevolent nature… it’s just… food…’
This was a truth the world knew nothing of.
Hwang-gu had no interest in human nature.
It was simply that Jin Cheon-hee’s culinary skills had improved day by day, and he no longer found satisfaction in the ordinary scraps provided by Gaebang.
Especially lately, he’d begun creating dishes that were nothing short of extraordinary.
A dog’s appetite for treats never diminished.
“You flatter me.”
Jin Cheon-hee maintained his composure while slipping jerky to Hwang-gu beneath the table.
Muyue spoke.
“Considering that value, it’s far better than spending manpower and time hunting down scattered individuals one by one. Especially since the support of the common people is paramount. Whether conducting legitimate business or illicit operations, the difference between having the people’s hearts and not having them is substantial.”
My Master’s brow furrowed slightly.
“I see. But is it truly necessary for Hope, the successor of our Medical Guild, to step forward personally for mere profits of that degree?”
…Muyue finally grasped his superior’s true feelings.
‘Ah, should I have opposed it? Was I lacking in perception?’
His mind caught fire.
Based on the keen instincts he’d developed over years at Hao-mun, his role here should have been to desperately oppose: ‘It would be such a waste for the Patriarch to leave! He cannot abandon the Baekrin Medical Guild!’
Then, finally, Patriarch Jegalling would reluctantly say, ‘Very well, Hope. If the Chief Manager of External Affairs thinks so,’ and block my escape route—that was the plan.
‘I… I was so focused on passing the test as Chief Manager of External Affairs that I failed to read the Patriarch’s heart!’
Middle management was suffering.
Leaving Muyue, whose pupils trembled, behind, I spoke.
“The profits matter, but I believe I must accept this task for another reason.”
“Another reason?”
“Yes.”
Snap—
Jegalling folded his fan.
A clear sign his mood was displeased.
Muyue’s pupils continued to quiver.
The middle manager felt helpless, unsure how to salvage words already spilled.
Yet, for the sake of the Baekrin Medical Guild, offering such remonstrance was indeed the right thing to do.
“We must expand the Medical Guild’s commercial territory. Now that soap sales are increasing, this is the opportune moment. If we hesitate here, we’ll fall behind instead.”
That cursed soap.
What had initially been a useless burden, once fragrance was added, saw sales creep upward gradually, and lately had begun skyrocketing.
Since the production cost wasn’t particularly high, it was a fine product that served both health and profit.
I continued speaking.
“Moreover, to lower the price of Geumho Divine Elixir, we need to develop trade routes on our end as well.”
Geumho Divine Elixir.
Streptomycin.
I named it after Yoo Ho.
The first character, gold (金), came to mind when I saw his golden hair in his true form.
“Is the Wannon trade route insufficient?”
“Yes. The thing is… mass production simply won’t be possible with just that. We need diverse materials. Currently, it costs nine times more than Baekrin Divine Elixir. At this rate, only a handful of prestigious families could afford treatment. Even if we can’t match it exactly, we need to bring it down to at least double the price.”
Jegalling pressed his forehead repeatedly.
I continued speaking.
“Besides, we’re going to expand the medicinal workshop.”
The medicinal workshop.
A place to manufacture penicillin, streptomycin, and aspirin.
Since this is a world of martial artists without electric motors, we have to rely on human labor.
With penicillin alone already straining our resources, I decided it was better to establish a proper medicinal workshop and systematically cultivate a workforce.
‘I’ve been gradually recruiting and training people through Yeonmu City, but it’s still far from enough.’
So I devised a special measure.
Mass recruitment of orphans.
I would create a simplified version of the Five Elements Divine Art, modified to be ideal for pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Specifically, the Five Elements Pharmaceutical Cultivation Art.
…I named it myself.
I would teach this to orphans and cultivate them.
Simply by learning the Five Elements Pharmaceutical Cultivation Art, they would gain partial compatibility with the Five Elements Divine Art and could even live as doctors at Baekrin Medical Guild branches, but the primary purpose was pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Typically, the Nine Great Sects have many orphans among their ranks.
Since most are religion-based sects that forbid marriage, they have no descendants to carry on their lines.
Thus, disciples are often either children of prominent families or orphans with nowhere else to go.
This naturally results in a high proportion of orphans.
This is why protagonists from sects like the Huashan School or Wudang School in martial arts novels are often orphans.
However, sects like the Nine Great Sects rigorously evaluate the aptitude of orphans before accepting them as disciples.
But Baekrin Medical Guild’s goal is not to cultivate warriors.
Character and virtue.
Since these children would become doctors, I prioritize their innate disposition above all else.
Martial talent is irrelevant.
Can they walk this long and arduous path with quiet determination?
Being a doctor is ultimately like being a modern physician—a profession requiring lifelong study.
Character and virtue are what support that commitment.
No matter how skilled a doctor becomes, if their fundamental character is lacking, patients are endangered.
Even in modern times, doctors perform substitute surgeries, reuse intravenous lines, and become addicted to narcotic painkillers themselves.
The will to do right, the wisdom to discern at crossroads, and finally, the perseverance to reach that goal.
These three are the basic conditions of character.
Additionally, to prevent the leakage of the Five Elements Pharmaceutical Cultivation Art, I made it so it could only be practiced within specific formations—that’s another distinctive feature.
Using several such safety measures, I cultivated specialized personnel.
Remarkably, on the very first day of recruitment, many children from Baekwanhoo applied, along with orphans from elsewhere.
In a way, it was inevitable.
For an orphan to survive in the Doshan Swordforest of Gangho, one needed fortune.
Without fortune, even lacking martial talent, one had to catch a sect’s eye.
For most, an impossible task.
Meanwhile, Baekrin Medical Guild presented a unique condition—they would evaluate character and take responsibility for education and meals, everything.
Moreover, depending on one’s studies, one could earn a living as a doctor for life, which played no small part.
The competition was fierce enough.
Time passed thus, and now the foundation of this medicinal workshop was complete.
To reduce the cost of Geumho Divine Elixir and properly operate the workshop, I needed to open a sea route.
I explained this entire sequence of events coherently to my Master.
Muyue had an exclamation—”Truly, you are the Patriarch!”—rising to his throat, but he was holding it back.
‘Patriarch. This must be done!’
Muyue, abandoned by his parents and living in Hao-mun like an orphan, understood this.
Therefore, he knew the life of orphans in Gangho better than anyone.
He selected the orphans who would be taught directly alongside others.
Though the final decision was made by the Patriarch and Soggakju, not a single child escaped Muyue’s hands.
Those children were now waiting, with only one final step remaining.
I spoke.
“Master. This time, I will take all the people you mentioned. None of this taking only half like last time! And it’s the thousand-year clan, the Gongseon Family!”
“Hope.”
“It’s incomparably closer than Yunnan!”
“Hope.”
“Now you know I understand the value of my own life.”
That was true.
Ever since hearing my Master’s true thoughts in Yunnan, I had changed.
I had finally begun to care for myself.
Jegalling looked at Muyue.
“What does the Chief Manager think?”
Gulp.
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting between me and Jegalling.
It had come.
‘If I think of Baekrin Medical Guild, I should go, but if I say that, I’m dead.’
The middle manager felt his body being torn apart as two superiors pulled from either side.
“Well… What would I know? This lowly one will follow the opinions of those above.”
“Haha, the Chief Manager is being overly modest. Haven’t you given wise counsel, good opinions, all this time?”
Though Baek Rin-ui-seon was smiling, his eyes looked ready to tear Muyue’s mouth apart.
“Don’t burden yourself—speak honestly. Isn’t offering such counsel part of the Chief Manager’s duties?”
Behind Baek Rin-ui-seon, I looked at him with eyes like a puppy caught in the rain.
“That’s exactly right. Chief Manager, I’d also appreciate your expert opinion!”
Gulp…glug.
* * *
Clatter, clatter—
The vibration of the carriage felt pleasant.
I plucked the pipa while practicing my inner energy cultivation.
It was the Dark Fragrance Pipa I received from Yeo Ha-ryun, following the Seven Silver Gold.
I received it as a birthday gift, a pipa made of jet-black gems like obsidian, and curiously, it had no strings.
—Use the strings on your wrist instead.
I immediately understood what that meant.
The Black Heaven Blood Threads.
Long ago, Yeo Ha-ryun had gifted me a protective weapon that Heukjeon Amgoe possessed.
It took the form of a black dragon bracelet, but its tensile strength matched that of an elephant’s sinew, and its sharpness could cut diamond.
‘Of course, I need to infuse special martial energy for the sharpness to manifest….’
I could manage it by combining the Five Elements Divine Art, though normally the tensile strength alone was sufficient.
I wrapped the Black Heaven Blood Threads around the Dark Fragrance Pipa’s strings.
Ding—
‘This is essentially a weapon, isn’t it?’
If the Seven Silver Gold that Sama Hyeon gifted was specialized for sound cultivation, the Dark Fragrance Pipa was made for striking, hitting, and using its strings to cut enemies.
Especially this body with its obsidian-like black luster was harder than ordinary steel, making it excellent for crushing a person’s skull.
‘Hmm…. A heterodox sect that enchants people and a demonic sect that crushes skulls.’
I wondered how the same instrument could have such different uses.
“Good. Play that more for us.”
Ding-ling—
At Wang Gak-yeon’s words, I played the melody I’d just performed.
Ding ding~ Ding~ Didi-ding-ding-ding~
My delicate fingers plucked the pipa strings, creating tones.
Meanwhile, I hummed the lyrics in my mind.
‘Tell me~ Tell me~ Te-te-te-te-tell me~’
Playing an old Earth pop song from ages past on the pipa somehow evoked the spirit of the Central Plains.
Gongseon Yeong spoke.
“This must surely be a tale of romance between man and woman.”
“Yes. It’s a song filled with sorrow and resentment.”
“On a moonlit night, tilting a cup of wine while recalling a deceased beloved and composing verses.”
Hearing those words, I thought.
‘Did I get the key wrong?’
I’d intended it to be cheerful, but somehow it wasn’t working.
I desperately tried to salvage this sorrowful Tell Me.
‘How can’t I make that hook song EDM feel work on the pipa?’
That song where from 47 seconds into the start, “Tell me” is shouted a full 50 times.
‘120 beats, cha-ga-cha-ga-chang-chang~ cha-ga-cha-ga-chang~’
Roughly a 4/4 time signature, I’d say?
I mentally rehearse the desired rhythm while wrestling with the melody.
Jin Cheon-hee was also a member of a people who loved music and joy.
Wasn’t it the Eastern way to dance hip-hop steps even in a raging inferno, to spin the sangmo crown to the beat of jajinmori rhythm?

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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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