Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 527

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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 527
“Master, I’m a doctor, aren’t I?”
“That’s right. A doctor. And the successor of Baekrin Uiseon, the Sojakju. Besides, this whole situation arose because of your actions. The Emperor bestowed his grace precisely because you made it possible to prevent smallpox.”
“M-Master?”
“So you’ll take responsibility for it.”
My Master smiled brilliantly, his eyes shooting out lasers of pure determination.
I’m doomed. Completely doomed.
“Moreover, if you overhaul the administration, you can forcibly distribute soap and even mandate smallpox vaccinations for everyone, can’t you? A mandatory public health society. Isn’t that exactly what you wanted?”
True to the Jegallim Family style, he didn’t forget to dangle the bait either.
‘Ugh, but a mandatory public health society? If I order everyone to hold soap instead of sickles or plows, they’ll have to hold it. Sigh.’
There’s no whisper of the devil quite like this.
It wasn’t even this tempting when I was asked “Would you like sugar on top?” after deep-frying a potato hot dog stuffed with whole mozzarella.
“Besides, this Master must go on a journey for business, so I’m busy.”
I know my Master is up to something.
If he needs to leave on a journey at a time like this, it must be serious business indeed.
“Hope, what’s your answer?”
“Sigh… I understand, Master.”
“Good boy.”
My Master’s large hand covered my vision as he gently stroked my head.
Even though his disciple has grown so much, I’m still just a child in his eyes.
After I left the room.
Jegalling asked Yoo Ho.
“So the time has finally ripened?”
Yoo Ho gave a short nod.
“Of course.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
Having thrown a massive task and bait to keep my disciple occupied, the Master moves.
It’s a method to keep the appearance of Hyeolrin Gwangssal hidden from my disciple.
The blood calamity to come will be borne entirely by Jegalling.
“When I return, I’ll need to prepare a sachet to mask the scent of blood.”
Jegalling rose to his feet.
The disciple bestows grace, and the Master collects the debt.
* * *
Hmm, my Master has gone on his journey, and now I’m stuck and can’t move from Baekrin Uiseon’s headquarters.
It’s unavoidable—he’s put a golden fillet on Sun Wukong.
‘Before I meet with Hyeon-seung, let me do some investigating first.’
What is a Hyeon-seung?
Simply put, it’s an official who assists the Magistrate, a middle manager who oversees various miscellaneous duties on behalf of the Magistrate.
In martial arts terms, if the Magistrate is like a Mun-ju, then the Hyeon-seung is like a Chief Manager.
Yoo Ho was able to become a graduate student thanks to receiving grace from Gu Myeong-ji-eun and committing the crime of threatening a child, but I need to know what kind of person this Hyeon-seung is before I can do anything.
While the Baekrin Medical Guild does have its own intelligence network, I still sent inquiries to both Hao-mun and Gaebang to investigate further.
After several days passed, information began arriving in succession.
‘Ah, a corrupt official.’
The man belonging to the Baekrin Medical Guild’s administrative territory was a typical corrupt official—the sort who carelessly processed the commoners’ grain and falsified records before sending them up the chain, nothing more than a rice pest.
‘He lacks both refinement and knowledge to serve as a graduate student.’
Even when selecting slaves to pick cotton, one must judge their appearance.
How tall are they? What’s their muscle condition? Do they eat well? Could this wretch bear the marks of treason, leading him to seize a derringer rifle and stage a revolution while his master sleeps?
In that sense, this man simply wouldn’t do as a graduate student.
‘I wonder if there’s another bastard like Yoo Ho—cultured, skillful with his hands, diligent, and willing to threaten even children without hesitation.’
I know it well. Such talent never comes around twice.
Dwelling on my affection for Yoo Ho, I made my way to the Provincial Magistrate’s Office.
When I summoned Podoo, he suddenly performed a deep bow.
“Aren’t you the Sojakju of Baekrin Medical Guild! The Blue-Eyed Divine Physician!”
There was far too much genuine emotion in his flattery toward power, so I realized…
“You saved my son’s life, didn’t you, Sojakju? Every medical house turned him away as hopeless, but you were the exception.”
He was the father of a patient I had treated in the past.
“Of course I must receive a benefactor with proper courtesy.”
He wiped his eyes with a flushed face.
It seemed he was embarrassed by his overwhelming emotions in front of his subordinates.
“Your son appears to be doing well.”
“Yes, yes! Thanks to you, he’s thriving. These days, I’ve even seen a grandchild as chubby as a toad.”
Seeing grandchildren is the greatest happiness of this era.
“Now that you’ve become a magistrate, my joy knows no bounds.”
“Ah, I’m merely the acting magistrate. My Master received the official appointment as Medical Inspector.”
“Yes, yes! Of course, that’s right.”
Well, even so, since my disciple is handling it directly, there shouldn’t be much difference.
“I’d like to borrow a few guards.”
“Ah, how many would be sufficient? If you need more…”
“No, three or four will be enough.”
I firmly refused his repeated attempts to offer more and took the guards outside.
“Please guide me to Hyeon-seung’s residence.”
At those words, the guards’ ears turned red as they hurriedly spoke.
“Please lower your speech. There’s no need to be so courteous to lowly servants like us.”
They were incredibly honored.
Hmm, but as a modern person from the Republic of Korea, it’s not easy to speak casually to someone older.
“It’s fine. I’m merely an acting official, so I’d appreciate it if you’d feel at ease.”
Moved by those words, they murmured.
“Working under that cursed Hyeon-seung, and now such fortune comes our way.”
“Indeed. Such fortune coming to us.”
…Hmm, my premonition was already going wrong from the start.
* * *
When I arrived at Hyeon-seung’s residence, I found a man dressed in fine clothes beating a commoner in ragged garb.
“I’m, I’m sorry. I’ll repay the money, I swear….”
“Damn bastard! I’ll get tired of beating you long before you ever repay me!”
“Kugh, ughhhh!”
As if the whip wasn’t enough, he was now kicking the man as well.
“That man… or rather, that is Hyeon-seung.”
I’d expected him to be enjoying leisurely pursuits in some grand mansion, like when I visited the Governor of Hangzhou before, but I never imagined I’d witness him beating commoners in real time.
This was quite… intense.
A guard spoke up.
“Those who borrowed money and failed to repay are beaten. The taxes are so heavy that many farmers borrowed money during the poor harvest.”
“I see. But why….”
My look—’Why aren’t you stopping this?’—made the guards exchange glances before they reluctantly confessed.
“We’ve also borrowed money from that Hyeon-seung ourselves.”
Ah, so corruption had taken root here as well.
But the fact that he didn’t keep his word and twisted things meant Hyeon-seung had no reputation among those around him either.
‘This won’t work.’
I’d harbored hope that he might become a second Yoo Ho or a second Muyue.
It seemed such talent was indeed rare.
“What are you gawking at? Why are you guards…. Huh?”
Hyeon-seung stared intently at me, then tilted his head in confusion.
The stench of alcohol from his mouth was so overwhelming that it was clear he’d been drinking since morning, his nose already crooked from it.
A drunkard, no less.
“Seize Hyeon-seung!”
“Sir?”
Hmm, speaking politely seemed to make them uncomfortable.
In the end, I tensed my lower abdomen and shouted in the tone I’d seen in historical dramas.
“Listen well, seize that Hyeon-seung at once!”
“Yes, sir!”
With the familiar command, the guards rushed forward and grabbed both of Hyeon-seung’s arms.
“S-Seo Baek-ryong? Seo Baek-ryong!”
“Are you sobering up a bit now?”
Deputy or not, I needed to deal with this one bastard first.
* * *
I knew that the Magistrate typically conducted trials in this era, but I only now realized how utterly chaotic they were.
How could there be no law books in the Magistrate’s residence?
Absolutely amazing. No, what was the previous Magistrate doing?
In the end, I had to lock Hyeon-seung away and personally fetch the law books, then read through them carefully—at least they were mercifully thinner than the legal codes from Earth.
If it weren’t for the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, I wouldn’t have been able to conduct a proper trial even with these books.
It took three days just to complete the preparations.
And so I opened a trial.
A public one at that!
According to the legal code of the Hwa Empire, the Daewharyul, a magistrate could conduct trials either in private or public as he saw fit.
That’s all it said, with no explanation, so I looked into it separately.
Apparently, this was all part of a propaganda strategy?
Through public trials, there was a deeper intention to create a persuasive effect on the common people.
That part was rather impressive.
With that thought in mind, people flooded into the open trial. The magistrate’s office was so packed that there were even commoners climbing onto the walls to watch.
Just how much had this man squeezed from them?
Seeing how everyone had rushed here even skipping lunch, it seemed there had never been a corrupt official quite like this one.
“The trial begins! By authority of the Daewharyul, I shall judge the criminal, former magistrate Wang Hu-pil. He deceived the Emperor above and exploited the people below—his crimes are grave. Wang Hu-pil, do you acknowledge your guilt?”
“I-I am innocent! It was all done at the command of the previous magistrate, Jin Gwang-seung!”
Oho! To invoke the previous magistrate so textbook-perfectly and shake him like that!
Blaming one’s predecessor seemed to be the same in any corrupt organization.
At this point, wasn’t humanity the same whether in a world governed by yin-yang and five elements or one ruled by Newton’s law of universal gravitation?
“Your words hold some truth. We did find ledgers embezzled by the former magistrate Jin Gwang-seung in your residence. But does that absolve you of guilt? There is a document showing you lent commoner Do-il one sack of rice and collected three sacks or more in interest over three years! What of the document stating you lent commoner Jang-sam half a sack of rice, and when he couldn’t repay, you sold his younger sister into slavery?”
Normally, it should be the magistrate who shouts like this.
Yet here I was, judging that magistrate.
There was no helping it.
Since I was already doing this, I’d mastered the inner energy technique anyway—I amplified my voice and shouted loudly.
The magistrate’s face turned a sickly shade of blue, and the faces of those watching the trial filled with rage.
“….”
Yet strangely enough.
Despite their eyes bloodshot with anger, no one cried out—the silence was chilling.
Once I finished speaking, I looked around and saw everyone glaring at the magistrate with hatred in their silence.
Especially one elderly grandmother, who clutched her young grandchild and bit her lip until blood flowed.
Tears dripped from her bloodshot eyes.
The young grandchild slept in the swaddling cloth, unaware that her grandmother was weeping.
The tension made even breathing difficult.
Faced with spectators so quiet and so eerie, I, Jin Cheon-hee, had no choice but to continue.
“By authority of the Daewharyul, I hereby dismiss Wang Hu-pil from his position as magistrate, confiscate all his property, and banish his entire family from Baekrin County. Furthermore, Wang Hu-pil shall receive one hundred strokes of the cane—administer ten strokes at a time with treatment in between to ensure he does not die. After the caning is complete, he shall become a government slave and be sent to the mines for lifetime labor. This concludes the judgment.”

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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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