Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 471

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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 471
After that, I pretended to leave Hangju and changed my appearance using the Reverse Transformation Art.
Noeji went to rest in the medicinal chamber.
Hwang-gu disguised himself as an alpaca.
I considered becoming Princess Seon-hee, but if the princess became a doctor at Baekrin Medical Guild, that would create its own problems, so I changed my face to someone completely different.
Crack, crackle—
‘Wow, listen to those bones twisting.’
With my skeletal structure rearranged, my once-radiant appearance was gone, replaced by that of an ordinary commoner seen anywhere.
‘This is oddly similar to my past life appearance, actually.’
Several days passed like that.
After sufficient time had elapsed, I returned to Hangju.
Though my commoner’s appearance and Hwang-gu’s alpaca form were certainly strange, surprisingly few people in Hangju paid us any attention.
I wondered why.
“Look here! A rare exotic goat from beyond the borders!”
Baaaa~
“Just three copper coins and you can pet it!”
Baa~ Baaaa~
Of course it’s Hangju. There’s nothing you can’t find here.
Sure enough, someone was staring intently, wondering if they could pet Hwang-gu too.
Growl—
When Hwang-gu tried to bare his teeth, I stopped him.
“Whoa, whoa~”
Sniff!
The fact that I secretly slipped him some jerky is a secret.
Beside me were Man Seon and three of the ten guards.
Both Man Seon and the guards wore face masks and dressed as ordinary Baekrin Medical Guild branch doctors.
We purchased buildings like that.
And watched as those buildings fell apart.
A total of four abandoned houses were acquired.
All of them were located in the slums.
However, the budget my Master provided had its limits.
‘Still, it’s better than where Hyeon lived.’
Whether you could call it a house or not, at least this place had beams and a roof.
By contrast, where Hyeon lived was more aptly described as an earthen dugout.
Sure enough, this alley also had an earthen dugout entrance similar to where Hyeon had lived.
Was someone living inside?
It appeared empty now, but I couldn’t be certain.
Still, there weren’t many decent houses to begin with.
The house I purchased was land that hadn’t been inhabited for some time, with an owner who neither maintained it nor rented it out.
‘Hmm… I’ve heard this is a tax evasion method used by local gentry, but I don’t fully understand it.’
Regardless, Hangzhou is where the wealth gap reaches its end.
I pondered this.
‘Land is cheap in the impoverished districts. If I secure a large plot here and establish the second Hangzhou branch of Baekrin Medical Guild, then proceed as usual, it should work.’
I would treat commoners affordably. However, martial artists from the Gangho or children of prestigious families would be charged dearly.
As for Master’s orders to beat the heads of the heterodox sects and the Black Blade organization to extort money from them, I preferred to think about that later.
‘It’s quite satisfying to watch it crumble. The demolition workers even show signs of having cultivated some internal energy.’
Each time the man wielding the massive hammer swung it with a loud crash, the walls collapsed in a cascade, and then workers swarmed in to clear away the debris.
They were people from the Namgung Family, renowned for mechanical engineering and construction.
Though Namgung Cheong-mo, the direct descendant of the Namgung Family I had met back at the Pae Cheon Musang Divine Art pavilion, had not come personally, the workers from the Wa Ho Gang—his trusted subordinates—were now assisting with the demolition.
‘I’m grateful for the help.’
Namgung Cheong-mo had a different relationship with Namgung Un, and we had exchanged several letters discussing mechanical engineering.
As the patriarch of the Wa Ho Gang, he had never harbored particular ambitions regarding martial arts.
Having been regarded as an eccentric since childhood, Namgung Cheong-mo was the type who cared little for others’ opinions.
That he would dispatch workers upon hearing that I was establishing the second branch of Baekrin Medical Guild’s Hangzhou division was only natural.
‘Hmm. It’s a good opportunity to learn the Jegallim Family’s mechanical engineering as well.’
After the Jegallim Family’s blood purge, wasn’t everything that could be revealed already revealed?
Rather, the construction methods I employed were closer to building techniques based on Earth knowledge than those of the Jegallim Family.
From my perspective, I was actually curious about the Namgung Family’s construction methods.
‘To construct a mid-sized four-story hospital within two months… With so many workers, it does seem possible.’
I became curious about how the Wa Ho Gang deployed their personnel and how they utilized these workers.
Just the demolition crew alone numbered nearly two hundred.
The moment they set down their hammers and picked up stones, they would become the construction workforce.
It was truly swarming with people like an ant colony.
‘But what should I do for those two months?’
It would be nice to follow Master’s instructions and beat the heterodox sects and Black Blade organization thoroughly, but I pushed the thought to the back of my mind once more.
No matter how evil the opponents were, entering their lairs, beating them, and leaving with their wealth… was that really acceptable?
‘Two months… two months…’
I suddenly looked around at my surroundings.
Children were watching with their thumbs in their mouths.
Watching buildings collapse was certainly entertaining.
Seeing the malnourished, bare children with protruding bellies reminded me of Sama Hyeon and Sama-hye.
Those children had been the same.
Sama Hyeon at least had learned martial arts and had relatively good physique for his age, but the children from the cave were no different from these children watching now.
“Hey, kids. Want to eat something delicious? Your older brother is really good at making tasty food.”
I should feed the workers and the children as well.
And while I’m at it, I could also give them medical examinations.
‘Perhaps I should open a relief station for the poor.’
* * *
The next day.
I could not lift my head.
-The Patriarch of Baekrin Medical Guild, Jin Cheon-hee, the White-Robed Divine Dragon of All Under Heaven, has arrived!
-Everyone, welcome the White-Robed Divine Dragon!
I awoke to find enormous banners fluttering in the wind.
In the temporary large tent, I hunched my body like a bear while preparing breakfast.
“Manseondaejoo, is this really necessary?”
“I don’t want to do it either. However… it was sent from the First Division of Baekrin Medical Guild’s branch headquarters.”
I see.
Is this… excessive ceremony?
When I treated Sama-hye, I formed a deep connection with the branch headquarters division.
At that time, the medical staff under the branch headquarters division grew to become doctors responsible for the division’s operations, the middle-ranked doctors became senior doctors, and the junior doctors became middle-ranked doctors.
The emergency trauma treatment techniques I taught back then have been passed down through doctor to doctor.
And since such a patriarch as myself has returned, people naturally want to do something for me.
That desire manifested as excessive ceremony.
Manseondaejoo spoke.
“Since it’s come to this, let’s embrace it cleanly.”
“Pardon?”
She spoke with an expression almost like that of a Buddha.
“Your reputation as Patriarch has been spreading lately, so we should promote it properly. And let those ruffians in Gangho know a bit about it too. The construction project is already underway, so what. Isn’t it not too late to hide your identity for the sake of public attention?”
Fluttering—!
Watching the enormous banner, I answered with a flustered expression.
“Yes… it’s too late.”
“That’s how fishing works. If you’re caught, you’re caught. If you’re not, you’ve just fed the fish. Since it’s come to this, let those Gangho ruffians wrap their heads around it.”
“Wrap their heads around it?”
At those words, Manseondaejoo shrugged her shoulders.
“You seem to underestimate yourself too much, Patriarch. One of the ten greatest masters under heaven, Ilgwang, the Patriarch of Baekrin Medical Guild—such a person suddenly appears in the provincial capital of Zhejiang, opens a medical clinic, launches a construction project, and builds a relief station in front of it to feed children?”
“…Even I can see this is a move toward great virtue.”
“Great virtue?”
As Manseondaejoo asked as if confused, I answered calmly.
“In any case, it’s an unusual move. They’ll think you’re backing yourself with popular support to further expand Baekrin’s convenience and create justification against nearby martial sects to cut off their heads.”
“Yes, that’s right. The fact that the Namgung Family sent workers is, in a way, quite a shrewd move. You won’t beat them up and drive them out, will you?”
“Well… I never intended to do that from the start.”
“But you have to beat up the Black Sect, don’t you?”
“That is Master’s command.”
I pushed that order to the back of my mind and thought it over again.
“And if the Orthodox Sect seems strange, I have to beat them up too.”
“Master does wish for that.”
“…”
Manseondaejoo looked at me with sharp eyes asking if I wouldn’t do it.
Under her piercing gaze, I gritted my teeth and answered.
“Well… if I really must, I suppose I’ll go cause some trouble.”
“Why is it that Soggakju seems so composed for his age?”
Man Seon had rephrased his question—where had the young warrior’s hot blood gone?
It was indeed strange when he thought about it.
Typically, a young martial artist from Gangho, especially one with righteousness in his heart, would clench his fists and pursue chivalrous action whenever he judged that orthodox and heterodox sects alike were treading the dark path.
‘Soggakju is indeed a chivalrous hero, but….’
He wasn’t someone who refused to draw his blade against injustice.
If he couldn’t do that, the younger brothers wouldn’t have voluntarily chosen to serve under him as they do now.
‘Ah… So he simply won’t act unless he strikes first.’
He simply found it bothersome to go seeking trouble.
* * *
And so, amidst the great expectations and attention of many, the Baekrin Medical Guild’s Hangju Free Clinic for the Poor opened its doors.
“Come now, form a line~!”
I called out a line that had become a meme long ago, organizing the people into an orderly queue.
‘I never thought I’d say something like this again after Heo Jun.’
These young people nowadays probably don’t know who Heo Jun was.
No, in Gangho, there wouldn’t be anyone who knew at all.
With such frivolous thoughts, I organized the people into lines, and later Man Seon took over the task of arranging them.
“You treat people for free?”
“If someone’s mobility is severely impaired, they receive free treatment, but otherwise, they’re asked to bring medicinal herbs as payment for treatment.”
“Medicinal herbs?”
“Things like mugwort or goji berries—herbal medicines.”
“Aren’t those free to gather?”
“At that level, it’s practically free.”
It was natural that the poor of Hangju would gather here.
“Can’t we get opium for free?”
“I heard they provide something else instead, saying it’s highly addictive….”
Of course, opium addicts from Hangju were also coming.
They were those who couldn’t afford treatment medicine and had relied on opium instead, remaining trapped in opium addiction even after their bodies recovered.
Because of this, they would do anything for half a dose of opium, and they too gathered here.
“I heard they treat children first.”
“My Dali can’t hear… I hope somehow he can be treated….”
The line stretched long.
But three things had to be strictly maintained.
First, they had to bring medicinal herbs.
Those with intact limbs who could earn money themselves were not treated for free.
This was the minimum mechanism necessary for mutual prosperity with the local medical practitioners.
Second, they had to be residents of the poor district.
Surprisingly, wealthy merchant grandfathers would often come seeking free treatment.
The rich always want more when they have enough.
The third rule was this.
Violence is prohibited under any circumstances.
Surprisingly, this is the rule most frequently broken.
“Give me my money! Mother! Hand over the money!”
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. Mother will earn it by tomorrow. I’m sorry.”
From worthless bastards grabbing their mother’s collar—the very mother who needed treatment at the relief center—demanding money.
To those caught fleeing gambling dens without repaying their debts.
All manner of tragic circumstances flooded into the poor relief center.

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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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