Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 555

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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 555
“….”
My Master gazed at me in silence for a long while.
I couldn’t fathom what that look meant, but I could at least sense that my Master had retreated into some world of his own.
A world forged from blood, steel, and strategy.
A realm that ordinary mortals could never dare to comprehend.
And perhaps, I thought, this was his way of settling the turbulent emotions of his past.
Whether my intuition was correct or not, my Master began to speak, his voice carrying the weight of memory.
“In the past, I once researched using the extreme yin qi of ice crystals to treat the Nine Yin Meridian Severing Poison, seeking to invoke the principle of extremes reversing into opposites.”
Those were the days when I wandered, desperately searching for any method to survive a little longer.
“By the principle of extremes reversing into opposites, you sought to utilize the law that all things, when pushed to their limit, must inevitably rebound to their opposite state.”
“Yes. That’s right. Back then, I still hadn’t abandoned hope. If one could call even desperation a form of hope, then all the more so. Of course, as you know, it ultimately failed.”
When I first met my Master, he was still suffering from the Nine Yin Meridian Severing Poison, deteriorating day by day.
Jegalling looked into my blue eyes.
He gazed into the memories of his childhood, wondering what reflection of himself appeared in that gaze.
Those days when he thrashed about, thinking that if he did nothing, death would come anyway, so he might as well do something.
“To conduct that research, I needed ice crystals, and to obtain them, I visited the North Sea Ice Palace. Of course, I harbored no expectations of a warm welcome. My hands were already stained with the debts and enmities of countless lives. Assassins were always at my heels.”
Even sleeping for two hours was difficult.
Back then, I would doze off while clutching my sword, sitting upright.
The cold seeped into my body, and those were unbearable days, but there was no alternative.
I couldn’t even afford the luxury of laying my head upon a pillow, let alone wrapping myself in blankets.
For some, life might be like a tasteless breakfast eaten out of obligation, but for others, it was something so precious that even throwing away everything wouldn’t be enough to obtain it.
I fought through each day just to live another day.
Even pondering why I was born was a luxury I couldn’t afford.
In my ears, I could hear the breath of death—cold and slow.
It was the sound of my own breathing.
Several faces I had cut down on my way to the North Sea Ice Palace flickered through my mind, but I didn’t mention those details to my disciple. I merely stated the conclusion.
“One might call it providence… The North Sea Ice Palace was in the midst of a plague outbreak.”
“What kind of plague was it?”
“A common affliction. Parasites. The northern regions are cold, and nutrients are scarce, so a culture developed of consuming raw animal livers. The parasites spread widely.”
“I see.”
“Of course, humans still survive despite such hardships. Now do you understand why the average lifespan in the north barely reaches twenty years?”
“Yes.”
“However, during that period, parasites that should have only existed in the remote western regions were discovered, and the plague grew even worse. Looking back now, I suspect it might have been the machinations of the Hyeolseonggyo or the Demonic Sect, but such things cannot be known for certain.”
My Master’s long silver hair swayed gently.
“The Ice Purity Divine Art of the North Sea Ice Palace is an extreme yin martial technique, so even with just ten years of internal energy, one could freeze parasites to death. Thus, it poses no real problem for the warriors of the North Sea Ice Palace. But what of the ordinary commoners who serve them?”
“Many must have perished.”
“Yes. At that time, I treated them. Of course, it wasn’t free. Instead, I received the Ice Crystal Sword in exchange. Back then, my disillusionment with humanity was profound, and I had no desire to treat anyone without compensation.”
I brushed my hand against the hilt of the sword hanging at my waist.
It was the hidden story behind the Ice Crystal Sword.
“The Icy Blade is a sacred treasure of the North Sea Ice Palace. I agreed to receive it as payment for treating their people, and they consented to give it to me. However, the Young Lord objected. By rights, that Icy Blade should have been his inheritance, but Hyeolrin took it without hesitation, so he was furious.”
My Master wiped the corners of his eyes with his hand.
I asked him.
“So it was decided by the blade.”
“Yes. In the end, we settled it through martial combat. And ultimately, he became nothing but a handful of blood in my hands. At that time, with my skill level, there was no way to subdue him without taking his life, but….”
Jegalling swallowed his tea once and continued.
“…At that moment, I felt disillusioned with humanity once more. So I planted the Icy Blade in the middle of the martial grounds and left.”
“And then, after time passed and you recovered, it was returned to you.”
“Yes. The North Sea Ice Palace Master’s heart underwent a change. I wondered if it was to avenge the Young Lord, but now it seems that wasn’t the case. It was his own way of settling his heart. Even so, I have no intention of wielding that blade again.”
‘That’s right. Once Master takes offense, he never looks back twice.’
Besides, he’s already strong enough without a sacred treasure, so there’s no reason to covet one anyway.
“That Icy Blade has saved your life many times over, so now I can say that saving those people back then was the right thing to do. That debt of gratitude circled back and saved my disciple, did it not?”
It was a strange tale of the Gangho.
“Yes. In the end, it was good that we saved all those commoners back then. Hope.”
Jegalling raised his blue eyes and stroked his disciple’s head.
“However, even so, he will not greet you with a welcoming face.”
“I understand.”
“And the blood I spilled from one person back then is calling to you once more.”
Gratitude circles back and saved my disciple, while resentment circles back and calls to my disciple.
Jegalling felt the weight of an inescapable fate.
It was something that even Jegalling, called a genius, could not escape—the very physiology of the Gangho itself.
“If you wish to persuade the North Sea Ice Palace, you will need to make considerable effort.”
“Understood, Master.”
“I will prepare a gift for you. Tell them you’ve brought a reciprocal gift in return for what I received back then. If you do that, the North Sea Ice Palace Master won’t be able to treat you carelessly. Wear the Icy Blade somewhere visible.”
When news spread through the Gangho that Jegalling had survived thanks to his disciple.
The Ice Palace Master, by sending the Icy Blade, had settled the accounts of gratitude and resentment.
“You must prepare thoroughly before you go. Hwang-gu will be of help. Horses have difficulty running through snowy plains, but spirit beasts—especially one like Hwang-gu—can carry their master and run if you simply change their shoes a bit.”
It was his way of saying to flee if danger arose.
“Yes. I will also request information in advance from the Gaebang and Hao-mun.”
“Good. Do so.”
The conversation ended there.
My Master issued an order for me to leave.
“I wish to be alone for a while.”
“Yes.”
I bowed respectfully to my Master and left the room.
My Master gazed at my departing figure for a long time.
“Everything that originates from me returns to me in the end.”
After finishing the old story he had not told his disciple, Jegalling fell into deep contemplation for a long while.
It was also a reminiscence sent to Hyeolrin in his younger days.
* * *
I first granted the medical assistants in the research building a vacation.
‘Now it will become clear who stays and who leaves.’
Many middle-ranked doctors would be promoted to senior positions.
They would agonize over whether to remain at Baekrin Medical Institute, transfer to the government offices, or descend to Bunta to pursue the Bundata Master.
In this era, returning to one’s hometown in Bunta had become quite a popular choice.
Demonstrating to one’s parents and relatives how much one had grown and achieved was genuinely fulfilling.
As a result, the number of those advancing into government service had unexpectedly declined.
‘I never anticipated this.’
Initially, many senior doctors had entered the bureaucratic path out of admiration for official positions, but they frequently suffered from political struggles and returned to Baekrin Medical Institute.
Of course, a handful of surviving seniors remained, but their path was not easy.
And the option of remaining in the research building as a senior doctor was increasingly growing.
Particularly among unmarried doctors, many made this decision.
Those without fond memories of their hometowns, those without hometowns at all, or those who found politics and human relationships burdensome preferred to avoid official service and continue as they were.
Though few in number, there were also budding mad scientists obsessed purely with research.
These individuals remained in the research building as senior doctors—people whose aptitude and passion lay in studying and conducting research.
They were also precious beings who reduced the workload of Yoo Ho and myself.
If they had independent research they wished to pursue, I allocated separate quarters for their work.
And I cleverly persuaded the junior and middle-ranked chicks into becoming research slaves.
‘Normally, during the years spent in the research building, people think extensively about what they should do next, but this period of decision-making still warrants rest. Everyone gets a vacation.’
Whether they descended to their hometowns or simply holed up in some dormitory of the Medical Guild fishing in the pond and idling away time, rest itself was meaningful, was it not?
And in the now-empty research building, I organized my papers.
“You’re not resting?”
At the familiar voice, I looked up to find Yoo Ho standing there.
“Why would I rest? I came back from playing around.”
At those words, Yoo Ho let out a soft laugh.
“I heard you conducted medical activities at villages the entire way back. And the moment you arrived, you’re already working—as a human being, shouldn’t you biologically require rest?”
“Oh, Chief Manager Yoo~ are you worried about me?”
At that, Yoo Ho replied with a cold expression.
“Fine then. Whether you die from overwork or not is none of my concern. You brat.”
Bang!
He shut the door with a loud sound.
“Yoo Ho, Yoo Ho!”
I hastily opened the door and spoke with lingering desperation in my voice.
“I’ve completed the Heavenly First Intoxication. Want to try some?”
“Well, well, you’ve even completed a liquor in the meantime?”
“Yeah. I’ll have the drinks brought. And I’ll be out. Enjoy yourself.”
With that said, I dashed off somewhere in a hurry.
Looking at the empty space where I had been, there were stacks of papers being organized—letters of recommendation and special compensation lists to be sent to each senior doctor.
‘I was practicing my handwriting.’
It was called the Four Pillars of Character—bearing, speech, calligraphy, and judgment.
Particularly among officials, people often judge one’s character by their calligraphy, so those who write recommendations must have proper and beautiful handwriting to be considered cultured and educated.
As a result, it seemed he had been repeatedly practicing the common phrases frequently used in recommendation letters.
I didn’t want the younger ones to lose heart.
‘He doesn’t have the kind of temperament to write brilliant prose in one stroke like the Master does. The young lord.’
He was compensating for his insufficient talent through effort.
That effort wasn’t anything particularly grand—just tedious repetition, and more repetition.
In the Central Plains, they call him a genius and a madman, but ultimately, his true nature is this.
A practice fiend stubbornly diligent to the point of foolishness.
Yoo Ho’s impression from watching him since childhood.
Yoo Ho roughly sorted and classified the papers scattered about as chaotically as a madman’s hair.
After some time had passed, a voice rang out from below: “Yoo Ho! It’s ready! Come to the annex!”

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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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