Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 619

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 619
A celebration banquet was held to congratulate Baek Hwan-hu’s successful applicants.
‘Well, everyone was hired anyway.’
Once the positions were filled, the standards would likely be raised starting next year.
Using Medical Professionals when we’re already short-staffed would be putting the cart before the horse.
I had commissioned the inns around Baekrin County’s administrative center.
Since Baekrin County was so prosperous, the inns had grown quite substantial in scale.
The innkeepers brought in chefs to prepare food, and the servers mobilized entirely to deliver drinks and dishes.
“Master So Ui-seon!”
“Oh! We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
A commoner of noble descent I’d met during the Oh Dok-mun incident.
“Here, I go by Sawol Kang.”
“That’s a martial arts style name.”
“Yes. Everyone kept forgetting our tribal names, so I chose Sawol Kang instead.”
Jin Cheon-hee had also changed the name of penicillin for similar reasons.
For someone in business, a name would be especially important.
He continued speaking.
“And we won’t be returning to Oh Dok-mun anymore.”
“….”
I knew what kind of persecution the nobles of Oh Dok-mun had endured. That’s why Sama Hyeon had built the inn for them interest-free.
“You’ve come quite far to do business.”
“My family and I find it more comfortable here. Though our skin color and bone structure differ from those of the Middle Kingdom, it’s better than the discrimination we faced from our own people in Oh Dok-mun.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
It was a difficult matter.
He continued.
“And the Middle Kingdom truly runs on money. Here, people will respect you even if you have a pig’s head, as long as you have enough wealth.”
“Haha, that’s certainly true.”
Whether it was praise or insult, I couldn’t quite tell.
I burst out laughing.
Sawol Kang spoke.
“My entire family is grateful to you, Master So Ui-seon. That’s why we’ve settled in Baekrin County.”
“So you’re serving as Sama Hyeon’s eyes and ears?”
At my words, he answered.
“Of course. He is my second benefactor, after all.”
He answered without hesitation.
But I didn’t dislike it.
In fact, if someone hid something so obvious, that would be a sign of ulterior motives.
‘So he’s also running an information network. Well, quite a few of the nobles learned poison craft and assassination techniques, so they’re perfect for this kind of work.’
Sawol Kang spoke.
“Congratulations on the formation of the Orin Society. And please let me know if there’s anything inconvenient.”
I nodded in acknowledgment.
“Of course. Would you care for some tea?”
As I spoke, I reached for a teacup, flipping over the inverted cup. Suddenly, I felt something catch inside it.
‘A letter?’
A secret letter, no less.
Holding the cup naturally, I flicked my fingers and swiftly slipped it into my sleeve.
‘From the Mudang Sect?’
The seal on the secret letter was unmistakably from the Mudang Sect.
Cheonwoo.
Since Baekrin Medical Guild had withdrawn from the Martial Arts Alliance.
It seemed he’d sent it through Hao-mun rather than through Gaebang to avoid suspicion.
And it had come through Sawol Kang’s hands.
“Understood.”
“Then I shall have the music begin.”
“Please do.”
At Sawol Kang’s signal, music filled the air. Delicious meat and wine were brought out.
Among those carrying the food, I spotted members of the Mudang Sect.
All of them wore bright expressions.
Oh Dok-mun—smiles I had never seen from them before.
It was a good sight.
Once the banquet reached its height, I slipped away to a secluded spot.
To a pavilion distant from the festivities.
‘No one will pay attention here.’
Confirming I was alone, I quietly opened the letter.
Cheonwoo’s handwriting.
Still, there was nothing about himself.
Cheonwoo simply wrote calmly about the current situation of the Mudang Sect.
‘I see.’
From the beginning, the Mudang Sect had abstained from the Righteous Confrontation under Mudang Gwon-je’s orders.
The same was true when the Demonic Sect emerged.
When the Five Rings Assembly was first formed, Master Baek Rin-ui-seon.
In other words, Master had already made contact with Gwon-je.
Cheonwoo had been present at that time as well.
He detailed the exchange that had taken place then.
-You intend to pull out all those trained at Baekrin Medical Guild?
-It’s not a bad idea, but someone must remain in the Martial Arts Alliance. What you truly desire is ‘balance,’ is it not?
That was it.
If Jegalling truly wanted peace and balance, the Mudang Sect should remain in the Martial Arts Alliance, serving as a counterweight to the Alliance Master.
The Namgung Family, the Gongseon Family, the Bota Clan, and finally Baekrin Medical Guild had all withdrawn from the Alliance.
The Mudang Sect and the Sichuan Tang Family were positioning themselves to fill that void.
The influence of the two sects would now be incomparable to what it had been before.
‘I see. Master didn’t just lay down one move.’
He had already concluded negotiations with the Sichuan Tang Family and the Mudang Sect beneath the surface.
Chills ran down my spine.
At the same time.
‘Ah, I truly do become careless at reading situations when warfare is involved.’
There was nothing to be done about it.
When it came to matters of war, it was particularly difficult.
I was confident in administration, introducing new innovations, and research and development.
But for these matters of bloodshed, I could only rely on Master.
And on the other hand.
I remained worried about Cheonwoo, who had written his letter while almost entirely excluding his own feelings and well-being, mentioning only matters concerning those around him.
‘I should meet with Cheonwoo soon.’
Pondering how to write a reply, I burned the letter cleanly.
The banquet continued.
I sat in the pavilion with my eyes closed, enjoying the sounds of the banquet.
‘This distance is just right. No need for greetings. I can simply listen to the fine music.’
If the situation truly required it, I would have no choice but to go and exchange pleasantries, but since I had already greeted everyone once, my absence would be inconsequential.
As I sat there in the dark, empty space listening to the music.
Footsteps echoed.
Thump—
The sound of someone tall with considerable muscle mass.
And deliberately made at that.
“Yoo Ho?”
“What are you doing here?”
“My younger sister received a letter, so I was reading it.”
“Won’t you return to the banquet?”
“Things are fine without me at this point.”
So saying, I hummed along with the music.
It was a love song currently in fashion.
I asked Yoo Ho.
“What about you?”
“I was attending to matters and stopped by on my way past.”
“I see. Our Chief Manager Yoo….”
So saying, I answered thus.
“…Then please, go on your way.”
“Have you already drunk too much?”
Normally, he was the type to cling to me like a leech, insisting we use spare time for research.
Hadn’t he been the same when I made those gloves for him not long ago?
But for some reason, I was different now.
Like someone drained of all warmth within their body, I merely hummed along to the distant music.
“I’m just in a good mood. That’s why. Chief Manager Yoo, you don’t like me anyway. I shouldn’t torment you today.”
“Good grief.”
With those words, Yoo Ho left.
In the darkness, I sparkled my azure eyes while humming.
I hadn’t taken a single sip of alcohol, yet somehow I felt intoxicated by the atmosphere.
And shortly after.
“Oh, Chief Manager Yoo. Why have you returned?”
“Please accept this.”
With that, he tossed—not gently—a precious bottle of Thousand-Day Wine.
I caught it deftly.
“Have you ever tried the pear blossom wine I brewed, Chief Manager Yoo?”
“We can discuss that later.”
With those words, he retrieved a cup.
“Pour it.”
“Well then.”
Glug, glug, glug—
I poured the wine accordingly.
“Please accept this.”
“Mm, this is for me?”
“You’re irritating, so just drink this.”
He spoke with murderous intent, as if about to strike.
I let out a quiet laugh at his demeanor.
And so I ended up pouring the Thousand-Day Wine I had brewed myself and drinking it myself.
“Thank you, Chief Manager Yoo. Still, the distribution was done by you.”
The deep fragrance of the Thousand-Day Wine wafted forth.
“Ah, I feel a bit better now.”
And indeed I did.
After all, this was wine bestowed upon the sole Divine Priest in this world by something precious.
Though Yoo Ho hadn’t poured it directly, he had handled the distribution, just as I said.
But the one who created the Golden Fox Divine Sect, transformed the Research Hall into a sacred ground, and had people craft fox earthenware simply felt good drinking alcohol and thought nothing more of it.
A mortal who couldn’t even live a hundred years could never comprehend such things.
“You said you were in a good mood earlier, yet your expression is quite the sight.”
“I am in a good mood. That’s why I’ve been humming since earlier.”
“Strange person.”
“My mood is just strange. It’s good, but it’s just… peculiar somehow.”
I chuckled and swallowed the Thousand-Day Wine in one sip, then another.
“Life is something good.”
I gazed at my glove.
The pinky finger that appears to be a glove seems so real that I often forget it was severed.
“Thank you, Yoo Ho.”
The liquor carried a flavor I wouldn’t forget for a thousand days.
“Next time, I should try brewing it with citron. I’ll serve that at the table too.”
It would surely taste of sunlight.
* * *
After the banquet ended.
Now it was time to begin the real work in earnest.
If I said something like this, Yoo Ho would surely rebuke me with “Then what have you been doing all this time?” but what I’d done so far was more preparatory groundwork than actual work, you might say.
I began operating the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong with full vigor.
‘Can I handle all of this within six months?’
It didn’t seem impossible.
Hadn’t I already resolved the most critical personnel issues?
‘But what must I do first to accomplish that?’
The answer came immediately.
Administrative personnel restructuring.
First priority: dividing the vast Baekrin County into East Baekrin and West Baekrin.
‘East Baekrin is where the current county office is located. West Baekrin was originally a separate county that was incorporated this time.’
In the end, they were lumped together as one district, but they were essentially different territories.
So the foundation of administration was dividing jurisdiction.
‘For now, West Baekrin should hang a sign reading “West Baekrin County Office” and keep the personnel working there as they are.’
I’ll execute them all and bring in fresh blood!
It’s a cathartic conclusion, but since the Emperor had already purged them once, the survivors hadn’t done anything too outrageous.
They may have pocketed some bribes as was customary in this area, but at least not enough to shake the foundations of taxation.
So first, I needed to verify whether they were usable.
‘Next.’
I began drafting the next orders.
While starting construction on the East Baekrin County Office, I would push all of Baek Hwan-hu’s children who passed the examination into East Baekrin!
Those already in East Baekrin were seasoned veterans who had been through everything.
They were even the sort who had done civil engineering work while maintaining their scholarly bearing.
‘They’re perfect for working Baek Hwan-hu’s chicks mercilessly. Kekekeke.’
And these Baek Hwan-hu appointees wouldn’t end here.
‘Once they’re fully trained, they’ll be transferred to West Baekrin.’
While the children underwent their training period in East Baekrin, what should I do?
I began leading Podoo and the guards to thoroughly comb through West Baekrin.
‘The process of verifying whether the remaining officials were usable!’
The place where the Emperor had swept through once.
I had to verify whether those who survived were corrupt or not.
If the chicks arrived in West Baekrin after their training only to find all the senior officials were corrupt, these chicks would have no choice but to engage in misconduct themselves.
That’s the nature of bureaucrats.
‘Administrative normalization #let’s go!’
The anticipated timeframe for reaching this point was one month.
Jin Cheon-hee began to move.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————