Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 624

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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 624
As I disembarked from the boat, other groups were already waiting for me.
“Everyone is waiting at the inn.”
Following the guide to the largest inn—one with private rooms—I found four representatives of the Five Rings Society seated there.
Gongseon Yeong, Namgung Un, the Abbot, and Sama Hyeon.
“Ah, younger brother has finally arrived.”
Gongseon Yeong swirled his cup.
“They’ve already started drinking without you, the benefactor’s little one.”
I gave Namgung Un a sharp look.
“I’ve told you repeatedly that you mustn’t drink alcohol.”
My gaze was so piercing that Namgung Un scratched his cheek nervously.
“Haha, what’s the harm? Isn’t it rare for such people to gather like this?”
The Abbot had also indulged in some grain alcohol and was thoroughly intoxicated.
Surprisingly, only Sama Hyeon remained composed.
“Gaga~ have you arrived?”
Crimson silk robes and ornate earrings jingled brightly.
The Golden King’s proxy and Hao-mun’s deputy chief.
He offered my older brother sweetmeats so delectable they would melt one’s tongue.
* * *
They had already begun drinking before I arrived, but now that I was here, there would be no mercy.
I swept away all the liquor bottles and personally brewed tea, handing a cup to each of these drunkards.
“This tea is excellent for hangovers and mental clarity. You must finish every drop.”
Namgung Un, who had experienced my pipa before, couldn’t even meet my eyes.
“Ugh… this time I only had one cup as an exception…”
“It’s no concern of mine. Whether the Great Hero Namgung dies from kidney stones or not is ultimately your own choice, isn’t it?”
If I had simply told him not to drink, he might have gotten angry, but this way was far more terrifying.
Only the Abbot chuckled softly.
“Ahahaha, it seems this old monk showed his shameful side after so long without grain alcohol.”
Grain alcohol is a euphemism used in Buddhist circles for alcohol.
With his middle-aged, wrinkled face smiling like that, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything more to Namgung Un.
He understood my nature well enough.
“You should be grateful the Abbot is looking out for you.”
After settling matters cleanly, Gongseon Yeong finally began discussing the case.
“Ahem. In any case, the matter begins with Dan Seok-san, one of Fujian Province’s great merchants. He entrusted a shipment to Unryongpyoguk—it was ginseng mushrooms, a specialty of Jilin Province. You’re well aware that Jilin Province’s ginseng mushrooms are more potent and popular than those from other regions, aren’t you?”
I responded to his words.
“Yes. We at Baekrin Medical Institute are always indebted to them.”
Particularly, many medicinal herb merchants from Jilin Province worked closely with Baekrin Medical Institute.
Maintaining loyalty despite the obstruction of Hwaju Medical Institute was no small feat.
Baekrin Medical Institute always paid careful attention to Jilin Province.
Pleased by my response, Gongseon Yeong gained confidence and continued speaking.
“Among them, premium lingzhi mushrooms are so rare that you need to pay twice their weight in gold just to obtain them, aren’t they? We had to transport a massive quantity of such mushrooms and deliver them to Dan Seok-san, yet bandits appeared along the way.”
“If the cargo is that valuable, the escort messengers wouldn’t be ordinary people, would they?”
When Namgung Un asked, Gongseon Yeong nodded.
“Of course. On top of that, we allocated a considerable number of escorts. Yet they were all annihilated. There were hardly any bandits who lost their will to fight and fled, so it was essentially a complete wipeout.”
Sama Hyeon hummed as he spoke.
“We caught a few who fled at our Hao-mun~ and they were all bandits.”
I spoke.
“Then it was quantity over quality.”
“Right, hyeong. They had overwhelming numbers. Any variables coming to mind here~?”
“….”
Sama Hyeon asked as if testing me. After a moment where my eyes blinked, I answered immediately.
“If that many people were mobilized, the messengers and the dam master couldn’t have failed to notice. An ambush would only be possible if they were already lying in wait. If this assumption is correct… it means the destination was exposed, and furthermore.”
I reached my conclusion.
Then I asked back.
“What if it was a trap orchestrated by Dan Seok-san and the Eighteen Bandit Clans working together?”
At those words, everyone except Sama Hyeon widened their eyes in surprise.
“You’re overturning an assumption that the strategists agonized over for three days in one go.”
Amid everyone’s admiration, I asked further.
“They would have demanded a substantial penalty clause from Pyo Guk, wouldn’t they?”
“That’s right. To prepare for any unforeseen accidents, they received additional payment before the shipment and had a penalty clause written into the contract. That’s standard procedure when transporting high-value cargo.”
I understood.
In the world I came from, this was so common that you’d see it in the news every time you opened a paper.
‘This is insurance fraud.’
Once dashcams became widespread, the frequency decreased, but back in the 90s, it wasn’t rare for the person who hit a car and the driver to conspire together targeting insurance payouts.
In fact, there were even comedy movies made about this sort of thing.
“To mobilize that many people, you’d need considerable funds and provisions. Since waiting for an extended period wouldn’t be easy, they must have known the shipping route in advance.”
To ambush a hundred people, you need shelter and food for a hundred. You need places to sleep too.
In doing so, traces are left behind, so hiding in the mountains for a long time while evading the eyes of messengers is an extremely arduous task.
If they were bandits numbering twenty or thirty, perhaps, but it’s not easy to set up an ambush with this many people.
“Each Pyo Guk uses slightly different routes, but for a shipment involving this much money, they would have informed the client in advance.”
I crossed my arms and fell into thought for a while before asking.
“They would have paid the penalty clause, wouldn’t they?”
“Even if Dan Seok-san and the Eighteen Bandit Clans were working together, if they didn’t pay the penalty, other major clients would have withdrawn. From their perspective, Dan Seok-san was struck by a bolt from the blue. To secure definitive evidence, they’d ultimately have to capture the Eighteen Bandit Clans and extract testimony.”
“Hmm.”
So first, they pay the penalty clause, and afterward, they hunt down the Eighteen Bandit Clans.
If they annihilate them and discover evidence, everything proceeds smoothly after that.
Then they recover the penalty clause from Dan Seok-san and can publicize this affair to the world.
The logic of Gangho-style blades would factor into that process, but with definitive evidence, there’s no choice but to accept it.
Even if they fail to find evidence that Dan Seok-san orchestrated it, it doesn’t matter.
They can simply use this as justification to completely wipe out the Eighteen Bandit Clans.
Without bandits, there are no merchant caravans to plunder.
Simple logic, is it not?
Of course, bandits are like cockroaches—kill them, and more keep appearing—but at least if we subjugate the Eighteen Green Forest Strongholds, things will be clean and quiet for a while.
“This decision came from Gaju Gongseon Hyeon’s will. My sister sent cooperation letters in all directions as the Gaju.”
Gongseon Yeong announced this fact to everyone with a carefree laugh.
Gaju Gongseon Hyeon, who dislikes people and has been frail since birth, rarely ventures outside, but she has Gongseon Yeong.
Everyone knew that Gongseon Yeong had become Gaju Gongseon Hyeon’s eyes, ears, and blade.
Namgung Un spoke.
“The Namgung Family is actively in favor of this. Fujian Province isn’t far from Anhui Province by land route. Isn’t this the perfect time to sweep out the Heterodox Factions and pursue new ventures?”
‘They’re doing this for business expansion.’
In the places where the Heterodox Factions are swept away, whoever takes root is uncertain, but those who contributed significantly to this endeavor will surely gain substantial stakes.
They’ve caught the scent of profit quite well.
Jin Cheon-hee nodded at this thought.
The Abbot continued speaking.
“The Bota Clan cannot refuse to save people in dire straits. Besides, our young novice monks have excess energy and cause trouble within the temple, so I brought them along to let them experience the Gangho.”
She spoke calmly, like a dog owner taking a leisurely walk on a spring day.
Namgung Un thought to himself.
‘Her tone is quite gentle.’
The Botatun Swordmasters may lack worldly knowledge, but knowing how sharp their blades were made his skin prickle.
Still, it was natural that they would become a great force.
‘I’ll need to feed them well.’
Since they didn’t come officially and the Abbot personally brought them, they were likely swordmasters in their late teens.
Though the temple encourages vegetarianism, the Bota Clan eats meat quite readily.
Dang-a was the same, but at that age, they would eat terrifyingly much.
Soon, Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Baekrin Medical Institute also supports this endeavor. We will do our utmost to stabilize the livelihood of Fujian Province’s people and promote regional health.”
He was spouting somewhat mad words that didn’t sound like a typical Gangho figure, but no one here paid attention to that.
Everyone knew what kind of person Ilgwang was.
‘I heard the newly appointed Magistrate of Baekrin County is developing at a terrifying pace, so he’s probably enforcing public health measures too.’
‘A life where you must wash your hands with soap the moment you come home.’
‘There’s no one who doesn’t know his administration surpasses most magistrates.’
‘Of course he’s Gaga—for his brother, cooperation means saving lives, so that makes sense.’
Now came the last, the Hao-mun Golden Blood Hall, which possessed the most capital.
In this mad organization where money held more say than any noble cause, Sama Hyeon grinned.
“The Hao-mun will receive multiple rights and privileges afterward. Besides, as the villages in the region grow, we need more inns catering to merchants. Naturally, the Hao-mun Golden Blood Hall will support this.”
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“A unanimous decision, then.”
Namgung Un spoke.
“We should use both land and sea routes for transport.”
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“So you’re weaving an encirclement net, I see.”
Namgung Un nodded in agreement.
“The Eighteen Bandits of the Green Forest may seem like mere mountain brigands at first glance, but they’re nothing more than a heterodox faction that preys on commoners. Wield a blade in the mountains and you’re a bandit; wield it on the rivers and you’re a river pirate. That’s precisely why suppression efforts have been so difficult.”
I spoke up.
“So while we’re sweeping out the bandits in the mountains, they simply come down and turn to piracy on the rivers?”
“Exactly.”
My Master had assigned such a massive force for precisely this reason.
If we were going to suppress them, we would do it once and for all.
Sama Hyeon raised his hand enthusiastically.
“Hao-mun will travel overland with Baekrin Uiseon!”
Namgung Un objected to this.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient for the Namgung Family to take the overland route instead?”
Gongseon Yeong spoke.
“Our Gongseon Family intends to move by sea alongside the Bota Clan. Since Baekrin Uiseon has so many people, it would be helpful if one group could join us by sea… Would the Great Hero Namgung be willing to assist?”
At those words, Namgung Un let out a small sigh.
“Hmm… I suppose there’s no helping it.”
Thus it was decided.
The Bota Clan, Gongseon Family, and Namgung Family would travel by sea.
These were places where maritime trade was the primary focus, so it would be more convenient anyway.
The remaining overland route would be taken by Hao-mun and Baekrin Uiseon.
These two groups would proceed accordingly.

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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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