Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 616
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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 616
At the same time, in the Demonic Sect.
Cheonma burst into laughter at the absurdity of it all.
“Ahahaha! Yes, that’s right.”
Beneath her, all the patriarchs of the Six Demonic Houses had gathered.
But that wasn’t all.
Even the high-ranking officials of the Demonic Sect—those bearing the titles of Fiend, King, and Tyrant—had assembled and now prostrated themselves at her feet.
“I permitted you all to attempt this, yet you have all failed. Ahahaha!”
At Cheonma’s wild laughter, everyone braced themselves for death.
Yet something was peculiar. Cheonma did not seem to dislike this situation at all.
“So in the end, you were all defeated by that boy Jin Cheon-hee. How delightful. How utterly delightful.”
With her laughter, her black hair swayed as if swimming through water.
Without any murderous intent, without any inner force infused, yet with merely her laughter, the very air transformed and the landscape shifted.
Everyone understood.
The current Cheonma could crush them all with mere willpower, as easily as squashing an insect beneath her thumb.
“So then, will the Great Righteous-Heterodox War proceed?”
Why did Cheonma not achieve enlightenment and ascend?
In this moment where everyone yearned only for her ascension, there was nothing but the sound of someone swallowing hard.
Soon, with a trembling voice, Wol-eum Dangju—
that is, the head of the Demonic Sect’s intelligence organization—spoke.
“Hao-mun of Sadoren has defected, and Sadoren has decided to withdraw from the Great Righteous-Heterodox War. Having suffered great losses, they will exercise restraint for now and consolidate their foundation.”
“I see. So the work that boy Jin Cheon-hee has been doing, traveling in all directions for years, has ultimately created a tripartite division of the realm. Like the foolish old man who moved the mountain, he has succeeded in changing the world.”
The foolish old man.
A fool who ultimately moved the mountain.
What Jin Cheon-hee repeated was, in a sense, just that.
In this Gangho where human lives were no different from weeds, he had simply persisted in his repetitive work.
No matter how many lives he saved, could not a single wave of her power erase it all?
To one who made rivers flow with blood with every step, Jin Cheon-hee’s efforts seemed futile.
Yet seeing him reshape the realm itself, she laughed for a long while with genuine pleasure.
“Good. I see. It is unfortunate. I wished to witness chaos in the Gangho, but this arrangement is not without merit either.”
Everyone exhaled in relief. Thank goodness.
Cheonma spoke.
“Should an opportunity arise, inform me again.”
Everyone bowed their heads once more.
“As you command.”
All answered thus, their minds consumed with dread.
‘When will Cheonma finally ascend?’
The living Demon still remained, wielding the Demonic Sect.
Beneath her feet, none could even draw breath.
* * *
It had been quite some time since Sulgye brought wine himself.
The gentleman who always drank others’ wine had summoned a soldier and poured drinks together for the first time in ages.
Though he had a somewhat petty nature, the wine he brought was always precious vintage.
When asked where he obtained such wine, he would offer no answer.
“These young fools are driving me mad, absolutely mad. What possessed Hyeolrin to overturn everything in such a fit of rage?”
“…Indeed, sir.”
“So that brat Hyeolrin’s wanderings all this time were for this diagram? A scheme to prevent the Great Righteous Confrontation through the Tripartite Division of All Under Heaven?”
The soldier fell into contemplation.
“The Jegallim Family members consider even ten-year plans trivial, so it’s quite likely they would attempt such a thing.”
“Arrogant bastards. The Jegallim Family has never changed, neither in the past nor now.”
Sulgye gazed into the distant past.
The once-prosperous Jegallim Family of old.
He remembered their arrogance before the Blood Lineage emerged.
Those who artificially created geniuses through the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong once believed they could dominate all under heaven.
Though the Sega claimed to be righteous, their methods resembled the Heterodox Faction.
“What do you intend to do, Sulgye?”
“Are you asking as the Sadoryeonju? Or as a mere warrior?”
“…”
Sano Bukgung Sansan.
She was evaluated as possessing an evil mind.
Yet she considered herself merely an ordinary salary-seeker.
To such a Bukgung Sansan, Sulgye had always been a difficult presence.
“Well, wasn’t this game always going to involve the Cheonma? Originally, it would have been wise to fold. But everyone’s desire to crush the head of the Righteous Faction burned so fiercely that they wouldn’t listen to me.”
“It seems fortune has favored you instead, Sulgye.”
“These young ones don’t know how terrifying the Cheonma is. They don’t understand why she stands at the pinnacle of the Demonic Way. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such blockheads, bloated with nothing but greed.”
Glug, glug, glug—
He poured again and immediately drained it.
Sulgye remembered.
Though he had achieved complete rebirth and his body was young, his mind had grown old long ago.
“They all want to tear everything down. Should I abandon my position as Sadoryeonju so they might regain their senses? What do you think, Bukgung Sansan?”
“How would I know? What’s certain is that things won’t improve—they’ll only get worse.”
“True. Originally, I planned to pass everything to Sama Hyeon once that child matured. Sharp mind, excellent at eliminating obstacles—isn’t that the finest quality for the Heterodox Faction?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t expect the Hao Munzhu to snatch her first. Ah, well. What can be done? At least we prevented the Great Righteous Confrontation from occurring with the Cheonma involved.”
“The Imperial Palace was also involved, sir.”
At those words, Sulgye nodded.
“Officials are all cunning creatures. They speak honeyed words about impartiality, but it’s obvious they view us as thorns in their sides. Not that they’re wrong. What emperor would favor bandits and thieves?”
Glug, glug, glug, glug—
The wine cup filled again with golden liquid.
Sulgye suddenly gazed upward at the sky.
“Ah, a moonless night. What a shame—I can’t see the moon reflected in my cup. These foolish young brats have given me such troubles in my twilight years. Sigh.”
Sulgye took a sip of his drink before speaking.
“Regardless, this ends the Great Righteous-Heterodox War. Send envoys to the Soroe Eumsa, Hwanhui Secret Sect, and the Sun God Palace.”
“I shall do so at once.”
“And tell them to curb their greed. Young men may rush forward with their hot blood, but the old should be satisfied with what they’ve earned. After all, aren’t the elders just making money off the corpses of the young?”
Sadoryeonju spat out a curse.
Though his plans had gone awry, Sulgye’s mood was not sour.
“And stop tormenting me as well. My whole body aches. I’m done with this position as Sadoryeonju. Next time, I’d prefer to sit this one out.”
At those words, Sano nodded his head.
This time, they had prevented the Great Righteous-Heterodox War through the strategy of dividing the world into three powers.
But both Sulgye and Sano knew that bloodshed would not disappear because of this.
‘It’s not some matter of fate or natural law. It’s what people desire.’
If it were merely fate, it might be easier to handle.
What they had to fight was the human will that craved war.
That was the most difficult thing to change.
A moonless, pitch-black sky.
Tonight was a moonless night.
Sulgye spoke.
“Pear blossoms bloom even on moonless nights. Yet this cup of mine is already full as the full moon.”
Sulgye raised his cup in greeting to the black sky, then drank it down in one gulp.
A night without the moon.
Many things were changing.
038. Not In My Backyard
Baekrin Uiseon.
Quite some time had passed since I arrived.
I sat quietly in my office, attending to my duties.
“Ah, I wish I could go see the flowers bloom.”
If my Master heard that, he’d abandon everything and drag me out to play. So I’m being careful with my words, but here alone, it should be fine.
Spring sunlight has a way of making even someone like me drowsy and eager to go outside.
“I should make some pear blossom wine.”
It’s not actually made from real pear blossoms.
It’s a drink prepared in April when pear blossoms bloom, and curiously, it’s not a liquid.
A spoonable drink.
With a texture like pudding or yogurt, eaten with a small spoon, it has quite an exquisite taste.
I recalled reading that during my time on Earth, this drink’s lineage was cut off during the Japanese occupation, but it was recently restored. I happened to taste it then, and now I’m recreating it in this distant martial world.
I’ve been making and eating it here in this distant martial world.
“If I layer it with the fruit syrup I made before and present it like a parfait, wouldn’t Yoo Ho enjoy it?”
Yoo Ho doesn’t just like raw meat—he also enjoys fruit and alcohol.
But it has to be well-made liquor, and the fruit must be carefully selected.
“I need to figure out how to sweet-talk him into making me some fingers.”
If I go through my Master, I’ll do it, but these are my fingers, aren’t they?
Since it’s my own work, I wanted to ask for help on my own without relying on my Master.
Jin Cheon-hee cleared his head while contemplating late spring and early summer dishes that could tempt Yoo Ho.
That was all in a day’s work. He pulled out the report again.
A report from the Research Division.
‘The anthelmintic succeeded! Oh yes!’
He nearly jumped up and spun around five times without thinking, but he restrained himself out of consideration for his dignity as Soggakju.
This was cause for such joy.
Now that the project was properly established, the doctors of the Research Division could conduct their investigations independently and smoothly.
In fact, the Research Division’s anthelmintic had already been completed by the time Jin Cheon-hee arrived in King Aisha’s kingdom.
The doctors of the Research Division had finished their research by the time of departure from King Aisha’s kingdom to the North Sea Ice Palace, and they were now setting their own next objectives and proceeding with them.
And that report contained something so extraordinary that Jin Cheon-hee could hardly believe his eyes.
‘Development of medicine to treat diabetes’.
The title was quite impressive.
‘The doctors of the Research Division focused on the fact that something derived from a pig’s pancreas could treat diabetes….’
Pancreas?
“Could this possibly be insulin…?”
He wasn’t certain.
He remembered the research had started the year before last, but seeing the intermediate research process made him think of insulin.
1921.
Canadian physician Frederick Banting and medical student Charles Best discovered it from a dog’s pancreas.
This disease, named diabetes because of the sweet taste in urine, was incurable at that time.
Of course, it’s still incurable on modern Earth, but the mortality rate has dropped significantly.
This substance, which dramatically lowers blood sugar, played a crucial role in sustaining the lives of diabetic patients.
‘Come to think of it, this could have been discovered from pig pancreases too.’
Pig insulin differs from human insulin by only one amino acid.
Considering that insulin was initially extracted from cattle and pig pancreases, this was quite a standard approach to research.
The name for this component hadn’t been decided yet.
If experiments continued, cost became an issue.
To keep one patient alive for a year, there would be individual variation, but roughly speaking, about seventy pigs would be needed.
‘Hmm…. Those from powerful families and officials drawing government salaries would have more than enough money to afford it.’
Seongdon.
So it would be more efficient to extract insulin from fully grown pigs.
Extract the injectable component from the pancreas, and couldn’t the remaining parts be butchered for additional profit?
Jin Cheon-hee fell into contemplation.
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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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