Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 488

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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 488
“Hyeong, you’re not carrying a pipe anymore these days.”
“I’ve recovered. To be honest, it’s strange that I managed to keep it for so long in the first place with my constitution.”
“To be honest, that’s what it means, right? Speaking frankly and openly.”
“Why do all the people around me end up copying my speech habits? This is ridiculous.”
I scratched my head vigorously.
But only for a moment—my hands moved ceaselessly, like the Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara.
At this point, it looked less like I had grown extra limbs and more like I resembled the three-headed, six-armed asuras of hell rather than any Buddha.
That was the truth.
I wasn’t treating patients—I was waging war against paperwork while sitting at a desk.
‘Ugh… I miss Yoo Ho and Muyue. If either of them were here, this would be finished in no time. But I have to do it all alone.’
I needed to hear their opinions on this matter too.
Regardless, my blue eyes gleamed consistently as if I were applying the martial arts insights I’d gained this time to bureaucratic work.
“Hyeong, if you work like that, you’ll die.”
“Send me either Yoo Ho or Muyue. Then I won’t die.”
This also required hearing their opinions.
That was right.
The newly created Medical Guild branch, the hastily constructed Baekwanhoo building and its personnel, plus the Baekrin convenience store.
Who was supposed to handle all the behind-the-scenes work for this business expansion?
‘That would be me. Argh!’
Acquiring Hangzhou was good, expanding the business was good, and successfully eliminating the plague was a bonus success.
But wasn’t it always like this in fantasy and martial arts stories?
Great power came with a price due to causality and such.
I couldn’t sacrifice my soul as the price for this Miracle Hangzhou Project.
My soul had already been worn away by overwork.
So as an adult, I had to abandon childish innocence and youthful dreams, drinking herbal remedies and bitter tea like water while working.
The tasks I—a soul-depleted version of myself—had to handle were as follows:
Resume verification before employee interviews, tax calculations, payroll calculations, food expense calculations, incident documentation and decisions, patient classification, personnel classification, revenue calculations, security calculations, vagrant employment fee calculations, business plan establishment, operation and comprehensive coordination, branch management executive appointments and medical research society establishment, Hangzhou development cooperation headquarters operations and local maintenance council establishment, government policy public institution policy cooperation council meetings, pharmaceutical management oversight, Baekwanhoo education planning and goal setting, Baekrin Medical Guild branch core value management general design, Baekrin Medical Guild promotional planning and strategy establishment, advertising plan establishment and implementation, promotional publication production and management.
And so on and so forth…
Of course, if other figures in Gangho saw this—especially someone like Namgung Un, a minor sect leader—they might wonder, ‘Why is the Patriarch doing this directly?’
Normally, a Patriarch’s role was simply to approve mid-level paperwork that the sect leader found too tedious to handle personally.
But I was doing all of it myself.
Moreover, there were definitely documents that made one think, ‘Why on earth am I doing this?’
[Baekrin Medical Guild Promotional Planning and Strategy Establishment]
Documents with peculiar titles that weren’t written in martial arts style, yet reading them made one’s mind spin and feel like riding a heart demon’s carousel after a three-hour meeting.
However, for a modern person like me, this was naturally one of the tasks that had to be done.
‘When a sect—I mean, a business—grows, reputation management becomes important too, doesn’t it?’
It was propaganda work to spread word of Baekrin Medical Guild’s excellence and win people’s favor!
“Uh… Hyeong. Don’t you think the reputation spreads well enough already without doing that, and the common people follow anyway?”
“True. But since we’re doing it anyway, shouldn’t we spread the word even better?”
Through this incident in Hangzhou, I came to understand how easily evil takes root and how sweetly it beckons.
The gold I obtained from eliminating a single Black Swordsman was truly staggering—it still dazzled my eyes.
Warriors who rose before dawn each day to train martial arts, enduring countless hardships to reach their station, fell into the darkness for one simple reason.
The blood of commoners converted to gold with remarkable efficiency.
The Black Swordsmen were masterful alchemists of the cruelest sort.
“So… we actually believed that righteousness would triumph, but it didn’t.”
Had righteousness truly prevailed in this world, the nights would not feel so terrifying.
‘We merely clung to symbolic ideals, nothing more.’
Reading fairy tales, believing they would actually come to pass.
Perhaps the truth was too cruel, so we chose to believe it as reality instead.
Reaching that conclusion, a bitter smile escaped me.
“I’m a realist. I’d like for things to end this way, but I also know the likelihood is otherwise. So… well…”
I pressed my seal onto the documents.
The weight of the heavy stamp made me feel the gravity of responsibility.
“Simply put, we’re taking advantage of the tide while it flows.”
I completed both commission letters and sent them to a warrior.
These letters would reach the Gaebang and Hao-mun.
Both would simultaneously announce Baekrin Medical Guild’s virtuous deeds.
We weren’t spreading lies from thin air—merely packaging existing truths more gently and spreading them widely. A mutually beneficial arrangement, wouldn’t you say?
Cheonwoo fell into contemplation.
What he learned from the Mudang and what I was doing were clearly different matters.
I spoke.
“Normally, rumors spread on their own and people praise without prompting, but let’s build a stronger foundation for it.”
Isn’t this the age of personal PR?
In Gangho, this might seem peculiar.
“I think the Youngest Brother would like this approach.”
“Hyeon would certainly. Perhaps he’d follow suit—perform some charitable acts through the Geumhyul Faction and deliberately spread word to improve their image?”
“He absolutely would. The Second Brother probably wouldn’t care much.”
“He’s from the Demonic Sect, after all.”
“Yes. Because he’s from the Demonic Sect.”
I asked.
“Have you met the Abbot? I caught a glimpse of him during the martial competition. That’s why he gave you the challenge letter.”
“Yes. He said he’d visit by today. He just said to do it casually behind the Bunta.”
“Hmm… usually someone of the Abbot’s stature would be particular about the venue…”
“Yes. He seemed like a very unpretentious person.”
That’s just how he is.
“Since he’s coming today, I should make time for it.”
“You’ll observe the martial competition?”
“Of course. My younger brother is competing—how could I, as his hyeong, not watch?”
Pap pap pap!
Simultaneously reading, approving, and processing documents was a marvel in itself.
Despite maintaining such speed, my older brother would click his tongue in frustration, muttering strange complaints: “Why is there no spreadsheet? Why doesn’t this world have Excel? How many years has it been since I did math? Ugh, someone definitely miscalculated this. Have them redo it.”
I asked Cheonwoo a question.
“So exactly when will they… ah, they’ve arrived.”
“I see.”
My document work came to an abrupt halt.
Cheonwoo’s gaze also shifted from me toward the window.
We were in the office on the fourth floor.
The presence felt through the window below was gentle yet formidable.
And above all else.
Woof, woof!
Hwang-gu was dashing toward something.
Seeing his tail wag so violently it was barely visible, this was certainly a greeting for someone he knew well.
“Shall we go down then? Are you ready?”
At those words, Cheonwoo’s mouth tightened with tension.
“Yes.”
* * *
“Amitabha Buddha.”
The Abbot greeted me with a half-bow as always.
I responded to her with a fist salute.
“It has been a long time, Abbot.”
“When you defeated the Black Swordsman last time, this humble nun inadvertently witnessed the affair.”
“Yes. I saw your face.”
“Indeed, you had the presence of mind to observe your surroundings amid such circumstances, benefactor. As expected of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong of the Jegallga clan.”
A smile graced her benevolent face.
Behind the Abbot, two young women peeked out their heads and looked at us.
The Abbot spoke.
“What are you doing?”
“Ah, Amitabha Buddha. We pay respects to the Minor Sect Leader of Baekrin Medical Guild.”
“We also pay respects to the Minor Sect Leader of Baekrin Medical Guild!”
They were clearly unfamiliar with Gangho etiquette and visibly nervous at the mention of meeting the Veiled Madman.
The Abbot sighed.
“Both of them have left the island for the first time, so they are still quite lacking.”
“They are novices to Gangho, then.”
“Indeed. You could say that. They are mere fledglings, but I wished to have them witness this martial tournament nonetheless.”
Both young nuns had swords slung diagonally at their waists.
However, their shoulders were tense and their entire bodies rigid with nervousness…
‘They would die if ambushed.’
Their forms were full of openings.
Especially when they exclaimed at every passing thing—”Sister, look at that! It looks delicious!”, “Wow! The colors are so pretty!”—they looked less like disciples of the Bota Clan and more like ordinary country folk sightseeing in a harbor town.
“I have always told you to conduct yourselves with gravitas.”
“Ugh!”
The two young swordswomen finally felt the sting of rebuke, lowering their gazes and deliberately composing their expressions.
The Abbot sighed.
“Despite appearances, these children possess considerable martial talent.”
“Indeed. One can see at a glance their exceptional bone structure and well-developed Taiyang acupoints.”
“Precisely. What they lack is merely spiritual cultivation.”
“Experience would be essential to remedy that, then.”
“That would be the case.”
I extended my hand and gently guided the two nuns inside.
“Please, come in. Baekrin Medical Guild welcomes the Bota Clan.”
Woof! Woof!
Hwang-gu was the most welcoming of all.
The two young swordswomen, their faces flushed, eagerly stroked Hwang-gu’s forehead.
‘Ah, the perfect age to adore dogs. I remember being the same.’
Woof!
The Abbot himself paused mid-step and turned back to knead Hwang-gu’s cheeks affectionately.
‘The Abbot is certainly at an age where one still adores dogs.’
There was nothing to be done about it.
Escaping the charm of a dog eager for affection was no simple matter.
* * *
Though Baekrin Medical Guild was a medical institution, it naturally maintained a training ground to accommodate martial artists from Gangho.
Ordinarily, resident warriors like those of Baekrin’s ranks used it.
This time, the Abbot and Cheonwoo stood facing each other in the training ground.
“This humble monk intends to use a sword. What weapon will you employ, Master Cheonwoo?”
The sword hanging at his waist was old and scarred, yet bore the marks of meticulous care.
Surely he had cherished it throughout his entire life.
Cheonwoo answered without hesitation.
“Would it be acceptable to face you with my fists?”
“Hmm, I expected you to use a sword, but this is unexpected.”
“Yes. However, I have recently gained new insights and wish to test my fists this time.”
“Excellent. Since you are a disciple personally raised by Mudang Gwon-je, you surely have your reasons. Then I shall yield the first three forms.”
The Abbot treated Cheonwoo as his junior without the slightest hesitation despite his massive frame.
Cheonwoo accepted graciously without protest.
“I gratefully accept your concession, Senior.”
With those words, Cheonwoo stepped back several paces and assumed a martial stance.

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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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