Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 578

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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 578
Regardless of what those around him said, I pressed my fingers against Han Jeong’s wrist and performed a diagnostic technique to assess his inner condition.
Since he had drawn upon his innate qi, he surely suffered internal injuries.
After administering emergency treatment, I rose abruptly from my seat.
“I have won.”
A doctor makes his principles clear—he does not kill.
“….”
In the eerie silence that followed, not a single warrior of the North Sea Ice Palace dared draw breath.
I said nothing more, only fixing my gaze upon the North Sea Ice Palace Master.
After a moment, the Palace Master spoke.
“Very well. Execute the loser, Han Jeong.”
‘Is this madman serious? He’s about to execute his own direct disciple simply because he lost?’
I spoke urgently.
“In a life-and-death duel, does this not grant me authority over this person’s life and death?”
“It does, but—”
“Then this person now belongs to me. His fate rests in my hands.”
“….”
The Palace Master did not answer.
He merely glared at me.
The air grew taut as a bowstring, threatening to snap.
Everyone held their breath, watching this moment unfold in silence.
At last, the Palace Master spoke.
“Very well. Jin Cheon-hee, Sub-Patriarch of Baekrin Medical Sect. Your reasoning is sound.”
“Thank you.”
“However, this contradicts our sect’s laws. Therefore, I will not implement your preventive measures.”
“This is what is right for both the North Sea Ice Palace and the commoners of White Tiger City.”
“That is merely your belief. I cannot know if your methods are correct, and the North Sea has its own laws. If you dislike them, you need only abide by our statutes.”
At this, Gongseon Yeong could no longer restrain himself.
“Then you’re asking Ilgwang to weigh one man’s life against the lives of White Tiger City—to choose between the two?”
“When did I grant you permission to speak, warrior of the Gongseon Family?”
Gongseon Yeong closed his mouth.
He merely clenched his fists tightly.
After a moment, he began to speak again.
“However, this is….”
[…Sister, it’s alright.]
I silenced Gongseon Yeong’s words through a sound transmission technique.
This was a chain of conflict that had begun with my Master, Jegalling, long before.
There was no need for the Gongseon Family to become entangled and suffer losses.
One life before my eyes against countless lives that might be endangered in the future.
‘Is there even a right answer to this?’
Why must I make such a choice?
And who bears responsibility for that life?
Because I was being forced into a cruel decision, I lowered my head deeply.
This was an answer where I would regret whatever I chose.
Suppressing the fury bubbling up inside me, I merely answered in a low, measured tone.
“I understand. Then.”
With those words, I lifted the collapsed warrior.
He spoke.
“You’ve made your choice.”
“Please reconsider the alliance with Sadoren.”
“Very well. Now withdraw! I shall give you my answer in ten days. Until then, you are free to do as you wish!”
I bowed respectfully and left with the unconscious warrior.
‘How dirty and cowardly of me to just give up….’
I simply decided to cause a scene.
* * *
I returned to my quarters.
The fallen warrior was laid in the guest room of the VIP quarters.
I spent considerable effort treating this patient.
Since I couldn’t use medicine in this place, I had to ensure the bone could be set through manual reduction.
‘Fortunately, it broke cleanly.’
Moreover, the moment my strike landed, the warrior had instinctively redirected their inner force to protect the brain and organs.
The fact that this was possible unconsciously meant this warrior had repeated the same fundamentals for so long that they had mastered them.
They had simply trained far beyond the level of effort other warriors spoke of, to the point where it manifested even unconsciously.
However, a sudden explosion of innate qi differs considerably from demonic possession, though they share similarities.
‘It’s fortunate I stopped this in its early stages.’
Yet the fact remained that they had tried to move with a mangled body, so the wounds were far from shallow.
They survived only because they were a master of martial arts whose body could endure and could be treated; a commoner would have died on the spot.
Thus I worked through the night, treating and treating again.
After finishing the treatment and returning to my quarters, Gongseon Yeong and Prince Han-bing were waiting.
“Certainly… Master’s temperament has changed quite drastically.”
Prince Han-bing spoke with a grim expression.
Especially since Prince Han-bing bore an exceptional sense of responsibility toward the people, the shock seemed greater.
“Is that so?”
“Certainly it is. No matter how badly you lost in the martial contest, to demand execution as a life-or-death match? You are not the Master of old.”
Gongseon Yeong crossed his arms.
“Even heterodox factions rarely execute someone just for losing a martial contest, unless they’re particularly brutal. Is the demonic path different?”
“…The demonic path.”
Suddenly, the Iron Martial Sect Leader came to mind.
He came as an envoy of Sadoren, but was actually affiliated with the demonic path.
‘What scheme has the demonic path employed to change my temperament? Or is it Hyeolseonggyo?’
I’m going to lose my mind dealing with these two fraudsters.
‘Hmm… but I’m ultimately an outsider, so there’s no way for me to tell them apart.’
I fell into deep thought.
“At least we have ten days left. The Palace Master said she’d give us an answer after ten days.”
Gongseon Yeong spoke.
“You’re going to cause trouble, aren’t you?”
“Ah… yes, yes.”
How could she tell?
“It’s written all over your face. Those eyes are screaming that you’re ready to stir up chaos.”
How does this older sister get swindled so easily in business yet have such sharp intuition about this?
I answered honestly.
“That’s right. I’m going to cause trouble.”
“How exactly?”
“I’ve already thought through a few plans.”
“Hmm… would you like me to teach you the method I usually use?”
At those words, I nodded readily.
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I usually use deception to mislead the people.”
“Pardon?”
“I recruit one of those fraudulent charlatans and turn public sentiment into complete chaos.”
I understood then.
‘So that’s why everyone says the Black Ice Poison Dragon Gongseon Hyeon is so ruthless.’
I absolutely must never make an enemy of the Gongseon Family.
But separately, it was quite an effective method.
“And… I could use that method too, couldn’t I?”
At those words, Gongseon Yeong’s eyes widened.
“Oh, that’s right! That’s right! You’re an incredible doctor! You could go out into the streets, wave a flag, and announce that the Veiled Madman, founder of the ondol, has arrived!”
“…”
At those words, I curled up like a bear, my face flushing crimson.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s just… an old embarrassing memory came to mind.”
Do I really have to do this again after the Dragon Phoenix Assembly?
Gongseon Yeong spoke.
“You must have already thought of this. Are you hesitating because you’re embarrassed?”
“Give me a moment. I need to prepare myself mentally. Huff, huff!”
“A wandering charlatan doctor! Jin Cheon-hee!”
A wandering charlatan doctor.
It’s said that during the Song Dynasty, there were actually doctors called wandering physicians.
They are known to have originated with a doctor named Li Cikou, and they typically traveled around treating people while wearing bells and carrying boxes filled with medicinal herbs and medical instruments on their backs.
Because of those bells, they were also called bell doctors, and they were known as wandering physicians of the rivers and lakes.
In other words.
If history itself showed such patterns, what could be expected of this martial world star?
When people spoke of wandering doctors, they meant charlatans who’d picked up a smattering of qi cultivation or martial arts and peddled their services across the land.
Of course, among them were those who possessed both medical skill and martial prowess worthy of being called reclusive masters.
Two hundred years ago, there was one called Nangchung Shin-ui, who supposedly possessed martial arts strong enough to rank among the ten greatest masters under heaven, alongside medical skill unmatched in all the realm.
“Is there any better option than this?”
“That would be….”
“Setting aside my reluctance, that is.”
I gazed up at the ceiling.
“I did resolve to crash into the North Sea Ice Palace. But do I really have to go this far? I’m starting to feel a bit existential about life. Sister.”
“…What existential crisis at your age…?”
“…Well, that is….”
I couldn’t bring myself to speak the truth, so I hugged my knees and curled up for a moment.
If I added my previous life’s age to my current one, wasn’t I already at the age where I should be retired and gently watching over grandchildren?
‘Why must the shame fall on me….’
Gongseon Yeong, unaware of the truth, spoke.
“People tend to believe in mysterious things, don’t they? You just need to demonstrate your skill and expound on prevention methods. Then wouldn’t everyone come running?”
“That could very well be the case.”
And it absolutely will be. Besides, even if you act as a wandering doctor, the North Sea Ice Palace would find it difficult to interfere. They’d look strange trying to obstruct relief efforts for commoners, wouldn’t they?”
“That’s true.”
“You seemed so bottled up. The more rigid and extreme someone is about propriety, the less they’d be able to meddle in something like this.”
At those words, Prince Han-bing let out a bitter laugh.
“Shifu wasn’t like that in the past. How did you change so much as a person?”
He muttered that he wished it were an illness instead.
* * *
One day later.
I spent all my money preparing materials throughout the day.
First were fumigation charcoals—to kill or drive away insects with smoke.
Second was insecticide, made primitively using lye water.
Ash from burned straw is placed on cloth, straw hats, or steaming baskets, then water is poured over it.
Repeating this process about ten times produces a strong alkaline solution—that’s lye water.
It’s used for laundry and natural dyeing as well.
But when medicinal herbs are added and combined with it, it becomes insecticide material.
The necessary herbs could be found in this region.
To be precise….
“Hey…. Is this enough?”
“How on earth did you gather all of this, Sister?”
“When I mentioned your situation, everyone rolled up their sleeves and brought things. So Ui-seon’s reputation still holds strong here?”
“I’m grateful. But it’s probably more because Sister has such a bold personality than my reputation.”
That was true.
Gongseon Yeong had already stacked up local friends like laundry, neatly piling them up.
The people of Baekho City loved alcohol as much as those from King Aisha’s kingdom, and since Gongseon Yeong was also a tremendous drinker, he wagered a drinking contest at an inn for money, and suddenly friends came pouring in.
‘Wow, he really has a gift for making connections.’
I myself was skilled at social interactions, but that didn’t mean I had a natural gift for bonding with others.
So within the established system, I was good at maintaining distance and showing consideration so no one got hurt.
But to immediately become friends with strangers you’ve just met in a place like this?
That was the hidden strength Gongseon Yeong possessed.
Thus I was able to purchase an enormous quantity of medicinal herbs that people whose names I didn’t even know had gathered for me.
Once preparations were complete, I stepped out carrying a large flag.
A flag written in both the language of King Aisha’s kingdom and the Central Plains tongue.
[The Founder of Ondol, the Greatest Divine Physician Under Heaven, Jin Cheon-hee Descends!]
With a flushed face, I thought to myself.
‘The Greatest Divine Physician Under Heaven is my Master… Ugh… Sister…’
Hwang-gu and Noeji were both massive creatures.
Especially Hwang-gu—he was larger than an ox. Wasn’t he about the size of a buffalo from American movies?
Noeji was the same. Even without conscious effort, lightning crackled across his feathers.
As we walked down the street, people gasped with wide-open mouths, crying out, ‘Woooow!’
‘I’ll die. When this is over, I’ll die with honor.’
Steeling myself with the resolve to die from shame, I claimed a spot in the open plaza.

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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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