Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 630

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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 630
That was true.
Island life seemed romantic at first glance, but its foundation was self-sufficiency and a constant struggle against nature itself.
The Botatun Swordmasters who grew up there had awakened to find themselves spearing fish from the water and rowing boats through ten-foot waves with a single oar—they had become something wild.
As for refining their temperament through the teachings of the Bota Clan? Not a chance.
Add adolescent hormones to the mix, and they had transformed into human weapons that endlessly destroyed and demolished everything.
The Abbot had received stern orders from the Head Monk and had to find some way to exhaust these crazy dogs’ youthful vigor.
If they couldn’t hunt bandits, then rocks would have to do.
Fortunately, the task Jin Cheon-hee had given them seemed entertaining—they were pouring their inner energy into the rocks like madwomen.
‘At least the Namgung Family is providing food expenses. These girls eat three heaping bowls a day….’
And they were gaining practical combat experience through their coordinated efforts.
The Abbot felt deep gratitude toward Jin Cheon-hee for creating this opportunity.
Namgung Un understood.
‘The Abbot would applaud and do anything Jin Younger Brother asks of her.’
After all, she had the duty to feed these vigorous Bota Swordmasters and exhaust their strength.
“Sama! Is it okay if we break the stone into triangles?”
“Hehe, I’m not sure either. It seems like it should be square, but I keep putting too much force into it and it shatters into triangles instead, ugh.”
And they were doing this with iron clubs.
Not bladed swords. Iron clubs.
They’d destroyed so many blades that the Abbot had given them these as a form of reflection, yet they were using them for construction work.
The Namgung Family’s martial artists watched in shock.
“We heard there was a Buddhist temple on the island with only women serving Avalokiteshvara… we had illusions about it.”
“Do people still have those fantasies? One job with the Bota Trading Guild and you learn the truth.”
“Right. Didn’t the Botatun Swordmasters split a pirate’s head in half the moment they saw one?”
The Abbot refused to serve meals on the boat, telling them to think of Avalokiteshvara’s compassion before killing people.
“And then somehow they took a single oar and smashed a bluefin tuna’s head to pieces, dragging it out of the water. We all saw it.”
“The look in their eyes at that moment….”
“Was terrifying. They’re frightening people when they’re hungry.”
That was the truth.
Humans, regardless of gender, were equally wild during their growth years.
Eating, destroying, running, raging, crying, eating again, destroying again!
And that youthful vigor was something even Avalokiteshvara could not suppress.
Namgung Un thought to herself.
‘Does no one, absolutely no one, support me? Wait, who does construction work while suppressing bandits?’
This was different from the cooperative efforts she had witnessed and participated in until now.
Namgung Un finally grabbed Sama Hyeon.
“Sama Mun-ju. Am I the only one who thinks this is strange? Are they really doing that?”
At those words, Sama Hyeon laughed brightly.
“Minor Sect Leader Namgung. My brother told me this story before—in a world of two-eyed people, the one-eyed are considered abnormal.”
“Aren’t one-eyed people originally abnormal?”
“That’s because the world is a world of the one-eyed, after all~”
A peculiar Zen dialogue.
In any case, it seemed everyone except Namgung Un was in favor of this insane construction project.
Namgung Un felt a strange sense of helplessness.
‘No… They’re conducting bandit suppression like this?’
Because of that man’s scheme?
What in the world was this scheme anyway?
Namgung Un pressed his forehead.
“Sigh, a headache is coming on.”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee in the yellow hat approached.
“Does your head hurt? Would you like me to take your pulse?”
“No, never mind. Do you think they’ll actually come? With a fortress set up like this, I don’t think they’ll come no matter what.”
At that, Jin Cheon-hee grinned.
“No, they will. I’ve made it so they have no choice but to come.”
“You’ve made it so?”
“Yes. That’s because…”
And then Jin Cheon-hee said this instead:
“Oh, tonight’s dinner is mix katsu, everyone!”
Nobody understood what that meant.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke again.
“I’ll fry fish, pork, chicken, and beef tenderloin all together, and serve it with rice and miso soup—!”
At that moment.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
A tremendous sound erupted from where the Bota Clan swordmasters were doing construction work.
“You fools! It’s not mealtime yet! That’s what tonight’s menu means, you idiots!”
Along with the Abbot’s voice.
“Food! Kyaaaaaaah! Riiiiice!”
The earth itself began to shake.
Watching this, Namgung Un spoke.
‘Abbot… How on earth have you been teaching these children all this time?’
Perhaps the reason she rose from Sword Guardian to Sword Emperor was because she had been solely responsible for these mad dogs.
Namgung Un shuddered.
“Fryyyyyying! Meeeeeeat!”
“I said it’s not mealtime! What will Goddess Avalokiteshvara say when she sees you all like this!”
Only the Abbot’s cries echoed hollowly.
Enlightenment was not far away.
* * *
While Jin Cheon-hee was doing construction work, the Gangho was once again filled with new rumors.
The three scholars who had gathered before shared drinks once more.
Man Haksa, Sim Haksa, Jang Haksa.
These three scholars were connoisseurs who loved hearing and spreading rumors about the Gangho.
After abandoning the civil service examination, they now had even more time to indulge themselves.
Unemployed gentlemen of leisure.
Of course, fortunately they had plenty of money at home.
Wealthy unemployed gentlemen.
But lately, they had begun to be sought after from various places as connoisseurs of note.
Especially since I gave Ilgwang his epithet, my fame has been growing day by day.
Man Haksa spoke.
“Those bandits are worthless scoundrels who should be wiped out, I hear.”
“Hmm? Bandits are bandits, but aren’t they worthy of such talk? They were ones who took pride in being mountain heroes, weren’t they?”
At those words, Sim Haksa shook his head.
“Over ten thousand bandits gathered in Fujian Province, yet they run away in fear of merely three thousand members of the Orin Society? What kind of mountain heroes are they? They’re mountain cats.”
“Haha. That’s harsh. If that’s the case, we really should wipe them out.”
“Isn’t that what bandits are?”
Then Jang Haksa spoke.
“Three thousand? No, I heard it was a thousand?”
“A thousand? Then that’s only one-tenth. They run away in fear of that?”
At those words, those sitting nearby with cups of wine gathered one by one.
“Is it true that the bandits really do that?”
“My goodness. If even those with such numbers were such a rabble…”
And so the rumors began to spread gradually.
“Besides, the so-called Bandit King doesn’t even rank among the top ten masters under heaven, and he’s never shown his face at any major event where great bloodshed might occur.”
At those words, everyone in the tavern nodded.
“Right, that’s true. Has anyone actually seen the Bandit King’s face?”
“Even masters find it hard to see that fellow’s face.”
At those words, Sim Haksa deliberately raised his voice.
“I heard that despite his name as the Bandit King, he’s actually a coward with the courage of a rabbit.”
“My goodness, what a disgrace.”
* * *
Yellow journalism is quite profitable.
I used it sweetly before when luring in those Hyeolseonggyo bastards, so wouldn’t it be wasteful to use such a honey pot once and discard it?
Moreover, in this Gangho world, people care about prestige and face, worrying about their reputation.
Amusingly, even the bad guys like Hyeolseonggyo, the Demonic Cult, and heterodox factions want to appear impressive.
It’s like how after the movie The Godfather came out, mafiosi suddenly started wearing suits and listening to classical or jazz music while sipping wine—that’s recent history.
I don’t understand why those who exploit commoners and sell drugs are so obsessed with appearances.
Right now on Earth too, yakuza, gangsters, and mafia all wear suits, don’t they?
Honestly, tracksuits are much more comfortable, but these people don’t seem to know that.
According to my Master’s words.
-Since they lack both chivalry and charisma, they inflate themselves that way. Hope.
That’s what he said, but you see.
‘I don’t quite understand it myself, but since the kids say they’re struggling, I should make things difficult for them.’
That’s how I used Hao-mun.
The reputation manipulation regarding the Nokrim Bandits was already being implemented when we discussed strategy back in Bokju.
Sama Hyeon and eighty bill-posters were spreading it in all directions.
Gossip-mongers were also beginning to spread this yellow propaganda everywhere.
‘The longer we drag this out, the worse their supplies will become, and rumors will spiral into chaos~’
But if I were to attack nearby villages, wouldn’t the governors from various regions be glaring daggers and issuing final ultimatums?
As someone from a K-nation where even a single bullet casing going missing causes chaos, I didn’t quite understand it.
In any case, if we attacked villages near the fortress just to feed ten thousand people, the magistrate’s office would mobilize.
Until then, they’re just glaring.
I explained this calmly to Namgung Un.
Namgung Un asked, bewildered.
“But Ilgwang, younger brother.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t care about the perspectives of martial artists in Gangho, which is why you’re called Ilgwang, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then is it acceptable for others to use Gangho’s reputation to apply pressure?”
“If we can use yellow flyers, we should use them. Does using them kill anyone? Besides, while reputation matters, the supply problem is significant too.”
“No… but still… what is this….”
“There’s an old story about a monkey who can’t pull its fist out of a jar because of greed. If it had held less food, it could have pulled its hand out, but it keeps holding on because of greed. That’s exactly it. Why gather ten thousand people in the first place?”
“….”
Namgung Un seemed like his mind was about to drift away somewhere.
That was it.
When you step forward to suppress bandits, you typically go to some mountain stronghold.
‘You scoundrel! I know your crimes!’ and let them taste some martial prowess, and the bandit leader trembles while pleading, ‘I didn’t recognize your greatness! I’ll live righteously from now on!’ or something like that.
Then you just bind those groveling fellows tightly like dried pollack and hand them over to the magistrate’s office, and it’s done, isn’t it?
“No… what is this… what…?”
I gazed at the bewildered Namgung Un with sympathy and asked this.
“Lord Namgung. Gyukkatsu…. Ah, no. Would you like another beef cutlet?”
“…It’s surprising there’s any left without it spoiling.”
“The Abbot grabbed the earlobes of the two Bota Swordmasters who eat the most and dragged them out.”
“How much did they eat?”
“One of them finished ten bowls by himself. He ate five bowls of rice alone.”
“Martial artists do eat a lot, but at that age… no, even accounting for that, he ate an enormous amount.”
“Yes. And he started stealing the rice of the Sama sitting next to him, so he received quite a scolding.”
“The Bota Clan’s swordmasters have excellent discipline in protecting provisions.”
I suspected it was all trained through competing for side dishes and defending them.
‘Does the island really not have much food?’
I pondered this.
That’s when it happened.
A distant boom echoed across the land, followed by the resonant clanging of bells.
Its meaning was singular and unmistakable.
I rose to my feet.
“At last, our long-awaited guests have arrived.”
It seemed the bandits of the Green Forest could no longer restrain themselves and were charging forward.
As expected.
Yeon Won-wang laughed with resounding force, his internal energy amplifying his voice.
“Kehehehe! I never thought I’d witness something from the Spring and Autumn period! Krakakaka! Full charge, everyone! Come on, you bastards!”
Sama Hyeon arrived.
“Brother. Ah, you’re already prepared.”
He spoke upon seeing me set down the fruit and fasten the Bing Jeong Sword at my waist.
“It seems our guests are coming. How is the formation?”
“Huh? They’re just charging straight at us.”
“No formation? No inspection?”
“Right. They’re just charging blindly.”
Ah, I see.
These are just bandits after all.

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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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