Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 614

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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 614
Sama Hyeon decided to spend the night in Jin Cheon-hee’s guest quarters before departing.
As they exchanged tea and conversation, Sama Hyeon suddenly spoke.
“Come to think of it, brother. Won’t Jegalling also be coming here?”
“What? Master? Wait a moment… damn, I was so flustered I forgot—you’re from the Heterodox Faction. Are you even allowed to be at the Martial Arts Alliance headquarters right now?”
“Of course not. Gaga~ if I’m caught in this situation, I’m headed straight to the Brain Prison.”
‘This crazy bastard! You knew that and still infiltrated the heart of the Martial Arts Alliance in disguise?’
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“I heard you lost your fingers—how could I just sit still? Besides, it’s fine. I, Sama Hyeon, am a master of disguise and transformation, an expert in concealment and infiltration~”
“Is that even possible?”
“I’ve inherited Hao-mun’s techniques.”
“What?”
“I’m now the Deputy Leader of Hao-mun. Gaga~”
Watching this shameless fellow, I felt my mind spinning slightly.
“…You were the Deputy Leader of the Golden Blood Hall.”
“It’s a concurrent position. Originally, the position of Hao-mun Leader is traditionally held by one of the five founding sects that form the foundation of Hao-mun.”
“I see. Still, it’s rare for a Deputy Leader of Hao-mun to come from the Golden Blood Hall, isn’t it?”
Sama Hyeon nodded at the question.
“Our Golden Blood Hall prefers handling money to clashing blades and weapons. But I have a somewhat more… Gangho-like aspect to me, you know?”
Someone from the Golden Blood Hall who tears off people’s faces and is skilled in disguise like an assassin—I could understand why one might wonder what kind of person he was.
“I see. So that’s why.”
“Right. So the current Hao-mun Leader designated me as Deputy Leader. When I eventually inherit the Golden Blood Hall, I’ll also inherit Hao-mun. And when one becomes the Hao-mun Leader, they receive the martial techniques of the other five founding sects as well.”
“That’s better than the Martial Arts Alliance.”
In the Jicheon Cheonma, there was a scene where Sama Hyeon became the Hao-mun Leader and forcibly seized secret manuals.
Of course, the Golden King had disappeared, and since she controlled the purse strings, it was difficult to act recklessly, but the other sects either faced annihilation or had to surrender their secret manuals to Sama Hyeon.
‘It’s passing peacefully this time.’
For a moment, I worried whether becoming the Hao-mun Leader meant following the same path as Sama Hyeon in the Jicheon Cheonma, but I shook my head.
‘The process is different. If the process differs, the outcome will too.’
Regardless, Sama Hyeon was staring intently at my hand.
“I should have been there with you. Not the second brother—I should have been the one with you.”
“Even if you had gone, wouldn’t you have lost your fingers anyway?”
“I don’t know. I think I would have done better than the second brother?”
He seemed to be recalling the Oh Dok-mun incident.
What made Sama Hyeon terrifying wasn’t his martial prowess, but his cunning ability to probe people’s psychology.
Unbound by common sense or fixed ideas, he was quite a formidable opponent.
But would the situation change so easily when facing a different person?
I didn’t think so.
“Well… yes. You learned my fingers were severed and resolved to infiltrate the Brain Prison. That took courage.”
“Yes.”
Good grief, that madman.
But Sama Hyeon seemed utterly confident he wouldn’t be discovered.
“It’s fine, Hyeong. By tomorrow, rumors will probably spread that you spent the night holding some maid, but well, I’ll make sure to return safely anyway.”
“…Ugh….”
My reputation was already ruined by this bastard.
‘Fine. As long as you’re safe, that’s what matters.’
Jin Cheon-hee gave up.
“Anyway, Master is coming? Why?”
“….”
Instead of answering, Sama Hyeon stared at Jin Cheon-hee before speaking.
“That’s something you’ll have to figure out yourself, Hyeong. The biggest reason is that Master was worried about you, but since I’m here anyway, there’s some business to take care of.”
That meant Master’s visit here was somehow connected to Sama Hyeon—in other words, the Golden Blood Hall.
Jin Cheon-hee thought that far and then scratched his head vigorously.
‘I’m done for now.’
Muttering that, I stared at my pinky finger that no longer existed.
* * *
Only after sending Sama Hyeon off at dawn could Jin Cheon-hee finally rest my eyes.
I was sleeping fitfully, clutching the blanket, when suddenly I felt a cool sensation at the back of my neck.
‘Killing intent…?’
It was something different.
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Master Jegalling standing there.
He had brought a chair beside me and was looking down.
Behind me, Yoo Ho stood watching as well.
“Huh?!”
Reflexively hiding my hands behind my back, I spoke.
“M-Master, when did you arrive?”
I had no idea he could enter so silently.
“….”
Master said nothing.
He simply stared intently at his disciple.
I glanced sideways at Yoo Ho behind me, and he raised his thumb, then made a slitting motion across his throat.
You’re finished.
At such an unmistakably clear gesture, I felt no gratitude whatsoever….
I looked at Master, thinking that even a thriller movie wouldn’t be scarier than this.
Time seemed to freeze as the moment stretched heavy and long.
From within my pounding heart, Master finally opened his mouth.
“Hope.”
“Y-yes, yes, yes!”
“So you’re hiding something from your Master again. What a terrible habit.”
“Wh-what do you mean hiding, Master. What could your disciple possibly be hiding? Hahahaha!”
I pondered the situation.
If Sama Hyeon knew about my missing fingers, surely my Master would as well.
Yet I lacked the courage to boldly reveal my hand.
As expected, my Master spoke.
“Then why won’t you show me your hand?”
“Ah, w-well… I…”
My mind felt like it had short-circuited.
If it were anyone else, I could brazenly say “Well, that’s just how it turned out. Hehehehe!” and brush it off, but my opponent was my Master.
A frog meeting a snake would feel more at ease than this.
“Hope.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Your hand.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
In the end, I trembled as I extended my left hand.
My Master examined my hand for a long while, studying the place where my pinky finger once was.
Throughout, his expression remained utterly blank, like a doll’s.
I could only gaze at my Master with a trembling heart.
I feared the death sentence in Yoo Ho’s Sifu’s eyes.
My Master spoke.
“Whether cut by blade or pierced by spear, with the power of your precious vessel, you could have attempted reattachment. The fact that you abandoned even that means the piece is completely gone. This hand contains Hyeongyeong’s Poison, so it’s no ordinary matter—and this doesn’t seem like a typical combat situation either.”
If I lied, he would see through it instantly.
“Well… you see…”
Where should I even begin?
That I had rewound time?
If I did that, I’d have to explain time manipulation, and it would lead all the way to my own bloodline.
‘If I do that, I’ll have to explain that I’m of the Poong clan.’
I would have to acknowledge before my Master that I carry the blood of the Imperial House.
My lips would not move easily.
And I was also worried about how my Master would react when he learned that my disciple’s limbs disappeared each time someone died.
‘This is getting complicated. Let me keep it simple.’
I ultimately told my Master only that I had lost my finger to some inexplicable curse while fighting the Hyeolseonggyo.
In other words, I explained only the second cycle route.
“…”
My Master listened to my words for a long time before opening his mouth.
“Something is missing. So why didn’t you ascend Cheonbingsan?”
“I sensed the scent of a powerful trap. It felt as though everything had been manipulated from the start to lead me there.”
“That alone is insufficient.”
‘…Wow. He’s already sensing something is amiss with just that.’
I felt a chill run through me.
Yet I still thought no one would dare suspect that I had overturned the board with the power to rewind time.
Even I couldn’t believe the situation I found myself in.
My Master spoke.
“Have you perhaps experienced something similar to future foresight? That ability you mentioned before—when you said you could roughly perceive the future?”
My hair stood on end.
“…Yes.”
“And you lost your fingers in connection with that?”
‘Damn it.’
When a person becomes superhuman, they can deduce this much from mere scattered crumbs of evidence, like fragments of a cookie.
I spoke.
“It’s a curse, Master.”
“So you’re refusing to answer further.”
“That….”
“I promised you when I took you as my disciple that I wouldn’t ask about such things.”
My Master pressed his forehead repeatedly, as if a headache was overwhelming him.
“I shouldn’t have made that promise back then.”
Jegalling had been regretting the words he’d spoken in the past lately.
“In any case, listen to me, Hope.”
“Yes, yes!”
“This Master’s heart is being torn apart with worry for his disciple. At this rate, the inner core of Mannyeonhwari in my heart might melt, and the Nine Yin Meridian Reversal might relapse.”
“Ah, no! Master! Why would you say such things!”
I was startled and made a fuss, but regardless, my Master’s gaze remained fixed on my lost fingers.
“So this Master intends to keep his disciple from wandering about.”
“Pardon?”
I suddenly thought.
‘Surely… he’s not going to confine me with the Eternal Iron Shackles like last time, is he?’
My eyes widened.
My Master covered my eyes with his large hand and forcibly laid me back down.
“Sleep more for now. It seems you haven’t properly rested since leaving the North Sea Ice Palace to come here.”
“Master, but….”
“We’ll talk tomorrow.”
Thus, Jegalling forcibly put his disciple to sleep.
Only after I had completely regulated my breathing did he rise and leave the room.
The expression on Jegalling’s face as he left the room was strangely ominous.
* * *
The next day.
‘Hmm…. I suppose my Master has figured out roughly what happened.’
-Have you perhaps experienced something similar to future foresight? That ability you mentioned before—when you said you could roughly perceive the future?
-And you lost your fingers in connection with that?
My head was spinning.
Though I haven’t reached the point of reversing time itself, is there really such a great difference?
In essence, it’s not wrong. If we return to the past, that timeline simply ceases to exist.
It’s no different from “knowing” the future.
‘Aaaaaahhhhh–!’
My Master didn’t ask further, but this was essentially the same as pretending not to know.
As I moved like a broken robot, my Master sent a transmission.
[Hope, you’re being quite restless.]
[Yes, Master.]
Calm down. Just calm down.
I’m currently in the Martial Arts Alliance’s conference room.
Jegalling, the Patriarch, and representatives from various sects are gathered here.
I stand behind Jegalling, serving as a silent backdrop.
There’s only one job for a backdrop here.
To remain still with a solemn expression.
It’s one of the typical duties of most sect representatives.
After all, the important matters are handled by the sect leader, and we subordinates come to learn.
‘Still, with my Master present, everyone in the Martial Arts Alliance has tensed up.’
Someone like me is still young enough to handle relatively easily, but Baek Rin-ui-seon before us has decades of experience rolling through the martial world.
The old masters especially would remember when Baek Rin-ui-seon was Hyeolrin Gwangssal, and their expressions were quite a sight.
Meanwhile, my Master leisurely fanned himself with his fan, enjoying the spring sunlight with ease.
If my Master were truly a tiger, he would have grabbed one of those old masters standing there like a log and scratched his claws across him.
Akjin, the Martial Arts Alliance Leader, finally couldn’t hold back and spoke.
“For the Patriarch to come in person—what brings you here?”
“Ho, straight to business then? On such a fine day, do relax your expressions. Why are you all so tense? Hehehehe.”
My Master leisurely waved his fan again.
‘My disciple went to a place of death and returned safely, so he’s simply overjoyed. That damned Baek Rin.’
‘There’s no way he just came without reason… that cunning bastard….’
The seasoned old masters of the martial world exchanged glances.
Yet Jegalling continued fanning himself, knowing full well.
Akjin spoke.
“You didn’t summon us just to play, did you.”
“Of course not. Hehehehe.”
Snap.
Jegalling closed his fan with exaggerated flair and spoke thus.
“I, Jegalling, have come to believe that the currents of the martial world are suspicious and threatening, and have therefore reached a decision. I’ve come to inform you of this matter.”
“Inform us?”
Crackle.
Still with legs crossed, he comfortably opened his fan and continued fanning himself.
The composure displayed by the large man carried a subtle oppressiveness that gradually chilled the atmosphere in the hall.
Jegalling spoke.
“But first, I have someone to introduce to you. Do come in.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”

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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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