Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 420

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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 420
“I’ve heard some things about it, at least.”
“I see. Then are you aware that the Heavenly Mechanism is currently heading in a completely wrong direction?”
“Hmm? I’m afraid I know nothing of the sort.”
Wang Gak-yeon and Gongseon Yeong exchanged glances with me, their eyes screaming: ‘What kind of heretical charlatan is this?’
Meanwhile, I remained composed as I faced him.
Cheon I-mun spoke toward me.
“It is you. You are the one who has completely twisted the Heavenly Mechanism. Surely you know this? Jin Sogakju, the Veiled Madman.”
In that instant, both the teacup and wine cup trembled simultaneously.
Intense formless energy began radiating outward from him as its center.
I too sipped my tea with unruffled composure.
Yet my sleeves billowed outward—a sign that I too was releasing formless energy to counter Cheon I-mun.
Grrrrack—
Both Gongseon Yeong and Wang Gak-yeon looked flustered.
I thought calmly to myself.
‘Cheon I-mun. He was certainly supreme during the Yongbong Assembly… but now he’s reached the Hwagyeong realm. Lately, I keep encountering these Hwagyeong masters…’
Was this too an effect of the disrupted Heavenly Mechanism he mentioned?
In that moment, our formless energies collided in midair.
Kwaboom!
The table split in half and dishes scattered everywhere.
Gongseon Yeong drew her blade and brought it to Cheon I-mun’s throat.
Shing—
“You’ve gone beyond the level of swinging a wine bottle around, haven’t you, Sohyeop?”
“Haha.”
“To threaten a guest of the main house right before my eyes… are you in your right mind?”
Gongseon Yeong pointed this out in a chilling voice.
“My apologies, Miss Gongseon. I came merely to offer a warning.”
Only then did Cheon I-mun release his formless energy. I too released mine in turn.
The air became noticeably lighter.
Gongseon Yeong sheathed her blade once more.
She sent a transmission to me.
[Jin Sogakju, the Heavenly Mechanism has been greatly disrupted. Simply restoring it places considerable burden upon us. So please, do not further disturb the Heavenly Mechanism.]
With that, she turned and began to leave with unhurried grace.
I sent a transmission toward her departing back.
[If Mun-ju Cheon were to see a young child wounded and collapsed before your eyes, what would you do?]
Cheon I-mun’s footsteps halted at those words.
I sent another transmission.
[The Medical Guild receives a constant stream of patients even at dawn. Among them are fathers desperate to save their ailing children. Illness is a curious thing—it strikes in an instant, yet curing it requires uprooting the very foundation of a household.]
[I see.]
[So the child’s mother sold her arm to the Black Spot. The Golden Blood Method has long ceased dealing in human flesh, yet there are still those who hunger for it. The child’s father sold himself to the Demonic Cult. He will offer his body for their twisted experiments. Even if the child recovers from illness, that family will never be as it once was.]
[….]
I gazed at him.
[The child arrived at the Medical Guild under escort in this manner. Will you save this child, or will you send them back?]
Cheon I-mun answered that question.
[Then I shall save them.]
[I feel the same way.]
[But this is strange. You are not the sort to overlook such matters, are you?]
I answered calmly to those words.
[Yes, I did what I could. However, merely avoiding the worst outcome is all I’ve accomplished. That is all. Even if I intervene, things cannot return to how they were before. Such is the nature of illness. I can only hope we do not descend into the abyss.]
[…So you intend to continue.]
Our gazes collided.
[I know you save people with good intentions. However, a righteous process does not guarantee a good outcome. Sometimes the correct path can bring about the worst calamity.]
I nodded at those words.
[That may be true. That could also be correct.]
[Then….]
I cut off his words.
[…But it is better than hoping for righteous results while committing wrongs.]
[That is arrogance.]
[I simply believe in possibility.]
[That too is arrogance.]
[If trusting one person in another is to be called arrogance, then I shall not deny it.]
[….]
Cheon I-mun did not answer.
We merely gazed at each other like two sides of a mirror.
Soon after, he seemed to have made his decision and turned away.
[We shall meet again.]
[Until then, stay well.]
* * *
I had to provide Wang Gak-yeon and Gongseon Yeong with a reasonable explanation.
If the conversation ventured into matters of heavenly secrets, they would inevitably become entangled in this affair.
Since this was a world where the Demonic Sect and Blood Sect held sway, both of them were wondering if some new heretical cult had emerged.
Cheon I-mun also harbored suspicions that I was attempting to deceive the masses.
Because of this, my vague deflections were sufficient to get past them.
‘It would have been difficult if the opponent had been the Black Ice Poison Dragon, Gongseon Hyeon.’
How fortunate that both were warriors focused on martial prowess.
As we searched for delicious things at the harbor and ate them, enjoying this unusual journey with the thought that ‘this situation is rather novel,’ a messenger from Gongseon Hyeon arrived.
Gongseon Hyeon sent word asking me to settle the Suro-chae.
Since we had captured the Elders of both the Hwangbo Sega and the Shandong Akga, both families would remain silent this time.
‘Fortunately, the situation I had worried about did not occur.’
Had the original Black Ice Poison Dragon been involved, it would have ended differently.
However, this is a world where my younger sister Gongseon Yeong still lives.
Perhaps I should think of the Gongseon Hyeon from back then and the Gongseon Hyeon of now as different people.
‘Still, I mustn’t let my guard down.’
After all, there’s no way to predict where things might go.
And right now.
Noeji was soaring through the sky.
Of course, in the form of a seagull.
Using Chuggeungong to reshape the bones and a professional had dyed the feathers.
Up close, one might spot something amiss, but from a distance, it was flawless.
How much time had passed.
Noeji, who had flown far away, returned to the ship.
What Noeji held in its beak was a torn piece of flag.
“We found Suro-chae!”
Gongseon Yeong’s face brightened considerably.
Noeji fluttered off again, and it was only briefly before the ship followed the direction Noeji was heading.
A water stronghold situated in a place thick with reefs and shrouded in mist came into view.
‘Wow. These bastards, how did they manage to choose such a place.’
Moreover, the terrain bore artificial traces, as if they’d employed a geomancer, however crudely.
Of course, it was far too crude to be called a true Jeoljin formation—they’d likely forced it through with either money or the blade.
Wang Gak-yeon maintained her bow and then slung it across her back, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“I’m coming too.”
“Hm? Weren’t you supposed to stay hidden?”
“I needed another identity anyway. Might as well create one now.”
“…?”
After venturing out a few times, I understood.
Too many eyes were now turning toward me.
It would be better to abandon concealment and travel with hundreds of warriors as my Master suggested.
Rather, acquiring one solid alternate identity seemed far more prudent.
‘Both Hwang-gu and Noeji draw too much attention.’
Better to gain obscurity as another warrior than to hide awkwardly for a while and then disappear.
‘Leaving an impression of trying to hide is even more suspicious.’
In times like these, it’s best to move about boldly.
Jin Cheon-hee fell silent in thought for a moment, then spoke.
“I’ll use Princess Seon-hee as my alias.”
“…You’re going to be even more conspicuous? When you should be hiding?”
“Then wouldn’t I get caught more easily?”
“No, why would that be?”
Wang Gak-yeon widened her eyes and tilted her head in confusion for a long while.
She had always been taught that the best strategy was to hide what needed hiding and never reveal it before others.
Yet here she was, brazenly pretending to be someone else in front of others?
“Ugh… Well, fine. I don’t know what’s going on, but Gongseon Hyeon will probably agree with you anyway.”
Wang Gak-yeon stopped thinking about it.
After all, she was a warrior, not a strategist.
I spoke up.
“I only need to display martial prowess somewhere between the Hwagyeong stage and its early levels.”
I quickly improvised a few more details on the spot.
“What’s my primary martial technique?”
I raised my arm.
“Poison technique.”
Then I fastened a scimitar at my waist.
A weapon once wielded by assassins in Wanong.
I deliberately wore it conspicuously so they would be sure to notice and investigate.
With a white stone pipa slung across my back and a veil wrapped around my head, I looked like a suspicious female wanderer.
“Can you speak the foreign tongue?”
At that moment, fluent foreign language poured from my lips.
It was something I had learned during my time in Wanong.
Wang Gak-yeon nodded.
“Yeah. I have no idea what you’re saying! Do your best. Even if you mess up, people will just think the Veiled Madman has developed an eccentric habit of cross-dressing.”
“It’s fine. People will accept it even if they find out.”
“…Yeah… They really will accept it.”
Especially when considering everything I had done.
There was a reason the character for “madness” was attached to my epithet.
“Shall we depart then, Princess Seon-hee?”
At Wang Gak-yeon’s words, I nodded.
“Let us go.”
My voice was the same as before—the very embodiment of an imagined princess.
Dong-dong-dong-dong—
The water bandits, noticing the Gongseon Company’s ship, hurriedly rang the alarm bell.
Everyone began gripping their weapons and preparing for battle.
The smell of combat.
Ding-ling—
I plucked the pipa, then slowly drew the strings across. A violet poison liquid seeped into the pipa strings.
A potent paralysis toxin.
Then I stepped forward alongside Gongseon Yeong and Wang Gak-yeon.
* * *
Suro-chae fell easily.
Perhaps because the Channel Chiefs had already been defeated, they had lost their will to fight, and half of them fled.
I spoke calmly.
“No need to capture every single lackey. We’ve already taken the leadership, so burn down all their bases instead.”
At Princess Seon-hee’s command, flames engulfed the Suro-chae.
I continued speaking.
“Since we’ve already secured the valuable items, leaving this place intact would be a waste. What we truly need is the symbolic gesture of the Gongseon Family crushing the water bandits.”
“Is that why you set the fire?”
“Yes. The wood was damp, so it wasn’t easy to ignite, but burning it down makes a better impression on everyone.”
As I watched the Suro-chae burn, I added one more thing.
“From now on, whenever the Gongseon Family captures water bandits, confiscate their vessels and lease them cheaply to the common people. Burn down all their bases. I’m sure you’ll handle this well without my instructions.”
“Why go to such lengths?”
I retrieved my seven-string zither and began to play.
The pipa wasn’t bad, but after the recent battle, blood and poison had seeped into it, requiring maintenance. Besides, the seven-string zither was more comfortable to play.
As I played the opening passage, I continued.
“What the Gongseon Family seeks is to push out the local sects and expand their influence. To do that, we need the hearts of the local people. Without the goodwill of the residents, even purchasing a single warehouse becomes difficult.”
“What does fire have to do with it?”

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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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