Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 589

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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 589
As I ran, my thoughts raced ahead.
‘First, subduing all of them and rendering them immobile is simply not realistic.’
Cheon Sal-seong could kill them all, but subduing them without killing was impossible.
Without killing, his inner energy would inevitably deplete, leaving him exhausted.
A Cheon Sal-seong that refused to kill was, in a sense, no different from an ordinary warrior.
‘Of course, his talent is far from ordinary, but the inability to replenish inner energy remains the same.’
The same applied to me, and to Gongseon Yeong and Prince Han-bing as well.
Subduing thousands of madmen who had undergone human experimentation without killing them was impossible.
Therefore.
According to military strategy, binding their feet in place came first.
Just as in Go, one must identify the flow of the opponent’s moves and continuously pressure their vital points.
Whoosh!
‘I need to confine these people within this cave to buy time, and devise a treatment method.’
That’s why I ordered them to run.
If I could escape this place quickly and block the only passage, I could buy precious time.
‘Explaining the detailed strategy ahead is risky with the Demonic Sect members following behind.’
Even without reaching the Jicheon Cheonma, everyone in the Demonic Sect knew about the Hyeolseonggyo spies embedded within it.
Could Yeo Ha-ryun of Cheon Sal-seong possibly have no spies attached to him?
Of course, Yeo Ha-ryun might filter them out through instinctive perception.
‘But humans are such multifaceted beings—even those who begin with loyalty can betray for family, friends, or something else. That’s what makes us human.’
I knew the Demonic Sect operated differently from ordinary people.
But as long as they remained ‘human,’ they could change for anything.
Suddenly, I recalled Sama Hyeon.
‘Right. Humans can change for anything.’
Whoosh!
My body rose in a graceful arc through the air.
Prince Han-bing was momentarily mesmerized by that fluid afterimage.
‘I heard So Ui-seon’s specialty wasn’t the sword but actually movement technique, and it’s true.’
As we emerged outside, the Scaled People rushed toward us with roars.
Their heads resembled reptiles or fish no matter how you looked at them, and their bodies were covered entirely in scales.
Their eyes were a horrifying monstrosity, hardly resembling human eyes at all!
“Can humans be transformed like this!?”
“Kwaaaaagh!”
Those who had lost their reason came charging.
I swiftly evaded their claws.
Crash!
The ground where their claws scraped was gouged deeply.
“Wait, weren’t these just commoners? What kind of destructive power is this, destroying everything without even sword energy!?”
I answered.
“Everyone, jump to the roofs!”
With that command, I scaled to the highest point.
My vision expanded, revealing the surroundings clearly.
The eerie village that had resembled a dollhouse and showed no signs of habitation was crumbling under the onslaught of the transformed beings’ power.
The moment my companions leaped onto the roofs, the transformed entities followed suit, launching themselves upward as well.
Thud!
‘They jumped that high in one bound? That’s possible?!’
Even among jiangshi, their strength varies depending on the deceased’s inner power level and cultivation stage.
But this—weren’t they creating blood jiangshi from commoners?!
“They seem to be learning as well. We can escape now! Yikes! That’s truly terrifying~!”
I repeated how frightening this was while evading all their attacks.
‘It’s like an upgraded zombie movie.’
At that moment, Prince Han-bing also spoke while running at full speed.
“They’re like the Dragon Scale People from legends.”
“Such a legend exists?”
“Humans covered entirely in scales, capable of shattering glaciers with their bare fists!”
“Are they heroes?”
“Well, neither righteous nor villainous. It depends on the circumstances.”
“That works then. Let’s call them Dragon Scale People for convenience, following the legend.”
“Must we even call these things ‘people’?”
I nodded at that remark.
“In the ways of Gangho, if we don’t establish a name now, they’ll be branded as ‘Demonic’ later.”
The power of a name is terrifying.
The moment the word “Demonic” attached itself to these beings, everyone in Gangho would slaughter them without hearing any explanation.
‘First, I need to verify whether their intelligence can return.’
My companions and I all reached the path leading out of the cave—toward that opening high above where the cave exit lay.
Unless we were to scale the cliff face directly, we had to follow this winding, spiraling path upward.
“Go ahead.”
With those words, the moment everyone began climbing the sloped and winding path, I struck the wall with my fist.
Wudang School Secret Technique, Ten-Stage Shattering Strike!
Crash!
Soil and rock cascaded from the walls and ceiling, beginning to block the passage.
Then I heard a tremendous roar echoing from far away.
“Benefactor’s brat, what are you doing? If you’ve blocked the path, hurry up and come!”
At Gongseon Yeong’s shout, I startled and climbed up with them.
Then suddenly.
I saw the palace ceiling shatter in the distance as an enormous monstrous being wreathed in crimson light burst forth.
With blood-red scales protruding across its entire body below the neck, it appeared utterly alien compared to the Dragon Scale People, which still retained traces of humanity.
The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong at its peak and the herbal smoke from the pipe forced my thoughts to advance involuntarily.
Cho Cheon-gun spoke thus.
Of course, Gungju. Your son will awaken soon. All preparations for creating the Blood Dragon Body are complete. We are not far from the Grand Technique now.
‘So Blood Dragon Body refers to such a physical form.’
Ah, they were creating something that had completely transcended humanity.
And those people down there, thrashing about with their minds shattered, were likely nothing more than experimental subjects or fertilizer for creating this Blood Dragon Body—nothing more, nothing less.
The Son of the Northern Ice Palace Lord, now transformed into a Blood Dragon Body, stared in my direction.
Even across this vast distance, our gazes collided.
“What are you doing! Get out of here!”
At Gongseon Yeong’s shout, I sprinted toward the cave entrance.
As I fled, I didn’t forget to hurl a talisman and collapse the cave mouth behind me.
Crash, crash, crash, boom!
The cave sealed shut.
Even in that moment, I found myself wondering if the oxygen supply inside the cave would be adequate.
It might sound ridiculous to others, but I was quite serious about it.
‘The ventilation shaft that was open in the ceiling functioned quite well.’
After all, proper ventilation was essential for conducting experiments on so many people and for construction.
Such a device existed at the unreachably high peak of the cave.
Then breathing should pose no problem.
I had only sealed the entrance, returning it to its original state from before I arrived.
“Hyeong.”
“Yeah.”
I answered briefly and collapsed to the ground.
Night was already falling.
Inside the cave, it had been difficult to sense the passage of time.
I had entered the cave and fallen into that absolute formation—quite a considerable amount of time must have passed.
‘Especially that formation was optimal if their goal was to capture me alive.’
What would have happened if I had spent more time there?
‘But for now….’
* * *
When I returned to the inn, the Holy Maiden was waiting.
However, one of her sleeves hung oddly loose.
“Welcome back.”
She greeted me with a pallid complexion.
Before I could say anything, she collapsed with those words.
“What in the….”
In that instant, I barely caught the Holy Maiden.
Blood flowed from within her loose sleeve.
“Pressure point strike? No, ice technique?”
I had to treat the Holy Maiden immediately upon my return.
‘I’m not sure where in this town they draw the line at what constitutes destruction…. But it seems they overlook things as long as you don’t open bodies.’
As I grew accustomed to this region, I began to understand the subtle social awareness around me.
The Holy Maiden’s bodyguards spoke with urgent voices.
“The Gungju attacked the Holy Maiden.”
“The nearest warrior threw himself in front of her to save her life, but… he has already perished… and the Holy Maiden…!”
“She managed to hold on until I arrived.”
“…For some reason, she refused treatment from anyone else until the very end.”
In the end, it proved to be the right decision.
Since it was revealed that Saint Germain belonged to the Hyeolseonggyo, not only he but his disciples became untrustworthy.
‘When she saw me suspecting Saint Germain back then…. It seems she conducted her own investigation afterward.’
That thoroughness had saved her.
However.
‘How vicious. To unleash such a devastating ice technique on his own daughter. This was truly an attack meant to kill.’
It was not an attack meant to subdue.
He had used his full power to annihilate his daughter in a single strike.
I spent an entire day treating her.
When the Holy Maiden finally regained consciousness, the first things she saw were my devastated expression and Prince Han-bing.
“Ugh, ugh… My body…?”
I sighed.
“A bodyguard threw himself in front of her to save her, they said. That was true. To unleash such an ice technique on his own daughter.”
“….”
She tried to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. Or rather, she tried to.
But one arm did not respond.
“Ah….”
She realized that nothing existed below her right elbow.
I spoke.
“I wanted to save your life… and this is what happened.”
Everyone in the room swallowed hard.
Yet surprisingly, the Holy Maiden remained calm.
“…It’s alright. When Father unleashed the lethal poison on me, I had already foreseen my death. And… what does it mean that my brother has returned alive?”
Was that even a question to ask?
In any case, I recounted everything that had happened in the mine without omission.
Her eyes widened.
“…Father went that far.”
‘It seems meaningless to gauge how far his madness has progressed when he’s already unleashed lethal poison on his own daughter.’
I asked.
“What will you do now?”
“….”
The Holy Maiden looked down at her severed arm. Then she gazed toward the mine where thunderous sounds continued to echo.
And she looked at her arm again.
The place where it should naturally have been was now empty.
Soon after, she examined one by one the faces of her subordinates who had embraced her and rushed all the way here.
Soon, my gaze drifted to a place very far away.
“…What are your thoughts on this matter, Doctor?”
Jin Cheon-hee responded with calm composure.
“I will stop this. Even if it means opposing the Holy Maiden’s father.”
At those cold words, the Holy Maiden closed her eyes.
Ugh, ugh…
A sob rising from her chest made the air ache.
The air was painful.
Within it, she spoke.
“Doctor, between righteousness and filial piety, which do you believe holds greater weight?”
“…”
Jin Cheon-hee answered without hesitation.
“The moment the Gungju attempted to murder his own kin, he forfeited the right to be called a father. And when he used commoners who trusted and followed him as experimental subjects, he also lost the right to be a ruler.”
“So he is neither father nor Gungju?”
“That is correct.”
Cold.
Yet no matter how one frames this truth, its essence remains unchanged.
She stared at her severed arm for a long time.
And then she spoke.
“The bodyguard who sacrificed herself for me was actually my wet nurse.”
“…!”
Prince Han-bing’s eyes widened in shock.
“She had been with me since before I learned to speak, watched me grow, and in fact, since last year, she had been asking me to let her retire, saying she had grown old and weak.”
“I see.”
She curled her body inward.
“I should have accepted her retirement then… If I had, she would still be alive… If I had, I wouldn’t have to see her like this… I deliberately kept putting it off, asking her to tie my hair every day.”
She gazed down at her severed arm.
Strangely, it still felt as though her hand was attached.
“If only then, I could have tied my own hair with both hands… What was so important about that hair… what was so important…”
Jin Cheon-hee drew a deep breath.
Because the dead do not return.
“I will give you some time.”
“Yes. Just a moment… just a moment.”

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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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