Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 482

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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 482
“Hye-a, listen. You must choose lunch carefully. The same goes for dinner. After a day like today where everything went wrong, don’t I deserve at least one proper meal? I hunted all day long, and you’re going to throw me a single dried rice cake? Even slaves aren’t treated that way.”
“Choose lunch carefully, and dinner…”
“Dinner should be lavish. You must eat well. When you eat well, your mood improves. It’s a daily reward I’m giving you.”
“…”
“That’s the wisdom of an adult.”
Jin Cheon-hee sat in the tent and received his meal from Hye-a.
Fried rice topped with braised pork and a soft-boiled egg.
The soup was a refreshing clam broth.
The side dishes featured seasonal vegetables.
A wonderful aroma wafted through the air.
Sama-hye stared at it for a long moment before finally letting out a soft laugh.
“I see. Master Eun, I think I may have been pushing myself too hard.”
“See? Now that you see something delicious, you realize how exhausting today was, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s eat. Tomorrow I’ll buy fresh fish from Hangzhou’s fish market and prepare something special, so start looking forward to it from the morning.”
“Is breakfast important too?”
“Of course. A day only starts properly when your brain is activated by something delicious. The only reason we skip breakfast is lack of energy to prepare it, but if we can eat, we should enjoy it to the fullest. It’s precious, isn’t it? The human stomach has its limits.”
It was quite novel logic.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke seriously.
“Hye-a, listen well. Martial prowess has no limits, but the stomach does. Therefore, the stomach is more precious.”
Peculiar logic indeed.
Perhaps this was why he was the Veiled Madman.
That’s what Hye-a thought.
Jin Cheon-hee continued.
“You must treasure each meal, each bite. Deliberate carefully about what to eat. Especially for us doctors, eating on schedule isn’t easy. And you, being a Jeong Hyeong, will often have to leave in the middle of meals. So you must be especially careful to eat well.”
“Yes. I’ll remember that.”
In a way, it was the meddling of a senior.
Knowing this, his words naturally became lengthy.
“When you grow old, your teeth weaken and digestion becomes difficult, so the things you can eat will continuously decrease. Eat plenty of delicious food now. That’s the first way to cherish yourself.”
Then he pointed his chin toward Cheonwoo.
“Like that one.”
“Hyeong, this is really delicious.”
Just then, Cheonwoo was approaching with a mountain of braised pork piled high.
“I prepared dessert too. Would you like some after you finish?”
“What is it?”
“Fermented fruit yogurt that’s been solidified.”
In modern terms, it’s Greek yogurt.
I plan to add honeycomb, pine nuts, walnuts, and sunflower seeds to create an unforgettable taste.
* * *
The cheerful evening meal concluded, and the doctors all returned to their quarters.
Sama-hye seemed quite satisfied with tonight’s dinner as well, unconsciously repeating how delicious everything was while eating.
She particularly seemed to crave more of the Greek yogurt, so I promised to make it again later.
Hye-a was delighted.
‘It’s strange—a doctor heals others, yet it’s surprisingly easy for oneself to lose both physical and mental health.’
There are many temptations.
I’d once heard of doctors I knew distantly engaging in gambling.
It wasn’t surprising.
They started with small stakes, but the amounts grew larger over time.
I heard one of them even went to Gangwon Land.
That person apparently made it into the news later.
When I asked why, he said life was boring, so he did it for that reason.
That’s how this profession is.
Whether then or now, it’s the same—many people study well without seriously considering what they actually want to do, think they should become doctors, and their parents send them off to medical school.
Sometimes parents who are doctors themselves push their children into medicine too, saying “you should be a doctor as well.”
Of course, getting into medical school is difficult.
Some families start from elementary school saying they’ll send their child to medical school, others start from kindergarten,
and I’ve even heard that nowadays, children from families wealthy enough to afford medical school have already mastered English conversation by elementary school.
But children’s dreams always change.
Parents say being a doctor is good, so a child writes it as their future aspiration in kindergarten, but when they come to their senses, they realize how much they hate seeing blood and touching flesh.
By then, it’s already too late to turn back.
At the very least, it’s fortunate if someone knows what they want to do.
They don’t have to make it their main profession—they can just pursue it as a hobby.
I’m a doctor, but I can compose music; I’m a doctor, but I can write novels; I’m a doctor, but I can draw comics.
There’s no need to abandon being a doctor.
If people just know what they like, they can find happiness.
It doesn’t need to be grand. A hobby can be gardening or cooking.
But surprisingly, most people discover what they like only when they don’t know what they want to do or what they enjoy.
Even knowing what they dislike would be fortunate, but sometimes they don’t even know that.
‘So when I meet the chicks, I buy them delicious food.’
Of course, since Jin Cheon-hee is in such a difficult place, it might feel like I’m trying to kidnap the children…though I won’t deny having some such thoughts…but still, if I feed them lots of delicious things, they’ll develop preferences.
I don’t know much about psychology or education, but from my life experience,
if a person wants to know what they like, it’s best to start by discovering what foods they enjoy.
And as they learn that, they naturally gain insight into themselves too. If they’re lucky, they might even come under Jin Cheon-hee’s care.
‘The children I raised back then said they didn’t remember my thoughts, but they remembered the meals I gave them.’
It’s the same here.
The harder things are, the better they should eat. With delicious food.
Sama-hye will be the same.
‘And for that to happen, I need to organize the surroundings too.’
The children need to be able to eat safely.
That’s when you can truly taste your food.
But Hangzhou right now isn’t a place where that’s possible.
“Well then, shall we get moving?”
At my words, Cheonwoo rose to his feet.
“I’m ready, Hyeong.”
“Good. What about Man Seon?”
“You’re leaving the fish I caught behind and heading to the fish market? That’s too much, Patriarch.”
At that, I let out a short laugh.
“But night fishing is impossible today anyway.”
“True enough. Instead of fish, we’ll probably end up catching some thugs.”
She slung her fishing rod across her back and followed behind me.
“Wow, the moon is so bright.”
“At this rate, our position will be completely exposed, Patriarch.”
“It doesn’t matter. For this sort of thing, having more spectators is actually better.”
I picked up the axe that had been wedged in the corner.
It was the one Cheonwoo had been splitting firewood with all morning, its handle well-worn from use.
“Hyeong, aren’t you using the Icy Frost Blade?”
“You can’t use a cattle-slaughtering knife to kill a chicken. Let me see…”
Next, what I picked up was none other than a fire poker.
Its end was blunt, used only for turning logs so they’d burn better—in other words, just a common poker.
I grasped one in each hand and turned back to look at them.
“Maybe beating them with this will knock some sense into them.”
Man Seon sighed.
“They’ll certainly feel the humiliation. And now I understand why the nickname ‘Veiled Madman’ came about.”
“Oh, I like that. I’m pleased.”
Then I swung the axe and poker through the air, flailing about.
Typically, dual blades are wielded as a matching pair.
That’s because it allows the left and right hands to flow harmoniously through the techniques. However, I moved while wielding two things that weren’t even weapons, completely mismatched.
Since I was using both hands, the movements were clumsy at first.
“….”
“Man Seon, what do you think?”
“…Can I be honest?”
“Yes. Please do. That’s my direct order.”
“It looks like a madman’s dance.”
“I see.”
The poker required thrusting motions while the axe required slashing motions, so they weren’t harmonious at all.
I’d completed the diagnosis of this ‘madman’s dance.’
But how would I treat it?
‘Actually, do I even need to treat it? Wouldn’t the ones facing the madman’s dance be even more frustrated?’
If done right, I might even be able to drive them mad with rage.
In a way, it’s a fortunate situation.
‘It would be unfair if only I ended up frustrated.’
* * *
In Hangzhou, there were no fewer than fifteen martial sects classified as dark path organizations.
The Hongzhu Faction was counted among the five strongest of them.
To actually lead such a faction, one had to be at least a supreme master, and the patriarch of Hongzhu was indeed that caliber.
‘According to rumors, Hwagyeong isn’t one of them, though.’
That’s how the dark path works.
When they call themselves a supreme master, they’re actually just a master, and when they claim to be a supreme master, they’re likely just a peak master.
But when someone calls themselves Hwagyeong, they’re truly supreme.
How did I come to know this? Working as a doctor naturally teaches you these things.
Their words change before and after taking their pulse—you can’t help but notice.
I understand it well enough.
It’s similar to how a wild beast puffs itself up when facing an enemy.
The dark path must appear as strong as possible.
A dark path that isn’t strong is no longer the dark path. They lack the support of the common people.
And if they’re weak on top of that, the martial world won’t leave them alone.
“Since he referred to himself as Hwagyeong, the rumors that he’s truly supreme are likely true.”
Man Seon seemed to share the same thought.
The Hongzhu Faction was housed in a pavilion with an attractive bright red roof, and wine bottles wrapped with red cloth were their symbol.
“I’ve heard that there are rows of large wine vessels at the entrance, quite a spectacular sight.”
“Then why don’t they devote all their efforts to making wine instead of exploiting money from children?”
“Perhaps they started with good intentions. But as they continued selling wine, they’ve become corrupted over generations, as most dark path organizations do.”
At Man Seon’s words, Cheonwoo nodded.
“Even the righteous path becomes corrupt when holding power for too long.”
This was also the story of the Wudang Sect at one time.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely—the Wudang had once become corrupted.
Though it had since been set right again, Cheonwoo had witnessed that process. So the Hongzhu Faction didn’t seem like someone else’s problem to him.
‘Warriors are no different.’
With just a little strength, one could reduce a commoner’s head to powder.
Living that way one’s entire life, even righteous path hermits develop a sense of being chosen, let alone the dark path.
“By the way, the moon is quite bright tonight, hyeong.”
“Yeah. The children’s faces will be very visible.”
I shouldered the axe and deliberately walked with a pigeon-toed gait.
I intended to look like a street ruffian, but my excessively handsome features made the roughness seem diminished instead.
“Oh, right. I didn’t change clothes.”
These were the loose hemp garments I’d worn at the relief center. I’d come out wearing them as is.
“Well, thinking about it, it’s probably better than changing after the job is done.”
That’s when Cheonwoo spoke.
“There are people gathered over there.”
“How many?”
Cheonwoo gazed intently with his single eye before speaking.
“Approximately a thousand or so?”
Wow, quite the gathering.
They’re truly the Black Path disciples—drawn together by the mirror of past suffering and beatings.

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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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