Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 637

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

Chapter 637
The next day.
“Ugh… ugh…”
I forced myself to sit up.
‘I’m completely drained.’
That was the truth.
Not a natural socialite, but a false one—merely meeting people sapped my energy completely.
If I threw myself into something like a party, I’d feel like I’d collapse the moment I got home.
Back then, I’d recharge by petting robot figurines—though I couldn’t play with them freely since they were expensive discontinued models—but this time, after such an exhausting evening of socializing, my stamina had simply vanished.
The false socialite returned to the inn and collapsed into sleep immediately.
And that’s when the mental interrogation began…
-Was that behavior appropriate?
-Wasn’t your language a bit harsh?
-Was that attitude correct? Wasn’t it a slip of the tongue?
-Did you greet everyone equally?
-Why did you dress like that?
That was it.
The moment I closed my eyes, my brain held a hearing.
Countless versions of myself held a post-party reflection session, criticizing every misstep I’d made.
Another version of me defended those actions as legitimate social behavior, creating absolute chaos.
It was because I was a false socialite.
Slips of the tongue happen to everyone in life, and worrying about such things was a waste of existence—a torment entirely different from Gongseon Yeong’s carefree philosophy.
Because I wasn’t a genuine socialite, I suffered.
‘I hate how timid I am!’
What good was self-reflection over something already past? Useless.
I scolded myself until sleep finally took me.
Then came dawn.
Sensing a presence, I opened my eyes to find Sama Hyeon staring directly at me.
“Oh, hyeong. You’re awake?”
“…Ugh… aren’t you sleeping?”
“We came back early anyway. This much sleep is plenty.”
‘I see. Hyeon is young. Well, I’m young too.’
My body may be young, but my mind felt middle-aged as I creaked myself upright.
Thanks to the jade stone, strangely enough, my body felt energized. Only my spirit was exhausted.
“What is it?”
“Now seems like the perfect time to slip away.”
“Slip away? Why?”
“To investigate Dan Seok-san.”
“Ah, the insurance fraud…”
So that’s why Sama Hyeon had subtly asked me for time earlier.
“Huh? ‘Insurance fraud’? What’s that, Hyeong?”
“It’s a thing.”
I gathered my hair and tied it back.
Sama Hyeon continued speaking to me.
“From what you said, we dealt with the mountain bandits, but Dan Seok-san still bothers me. So I think it’d be good to investigate. Since the banquet will be held over the next ten days, today is the perfect time for just the two of us to slip away.”
I considered this.
‘Is he trying to catch an insurance fraudster? Did this guy bury some money somewhere in the Unryongpyoguk?’
Sama Hyeon said.
“Besides, you were only planning to show your face on the first day anyway.”
“…That’s… true. I can’t do this twice.”
Cooking is fine. That labor is surprisingly enjoyable. But meeting people is the problem.
Even if beaten to death, I have no more social energy left.
Sama Hyeon said.
“Especially since I’m a master of disguise, if we both disguise ourselves and leave, no one will know.”
Saying so, he laid down two sets of clothes.
“Hyeon-a. Is it because I’m still half asleep? Both of those look like women’s clothes…?”
They were martial robes of the Bota Clan.
At those words, Sama Hyeon nodded.
“You’re too well-known now. Even with decent male disguise, you stand out easily.”
I see.
Now that I think about it, didn’t I milk the Princess Seon-hee disguise before?
To this day, I’ve never seen anyone connect Princess Seon-hee with Ilgwang Jin Cheon-hee.
Thinking back to how easily I got caught when I used only reverse roles without cross-dressing in the past, his logic seemed quite sound.
“Then why do you have to cross-dress too?”
“Because Gwang Myeon-hori is also too well-known, not just you~”
“…Where did you put that alias Cheonmyeon Hori?”
“What are you saying? I also have the character ‘gwang’ in my alias. It’s not just Cheonwoo hyeong, who’s called Mudang Gwang-ryong or Mudang Gwang-gwon, or Ha-ryun hyeong, who’s called Heuk-gwang Ma-ryong or Heuk-gwang Ma-hyeop, who have ‘gwang’ in their names.”
Living and living, and now he’s jealous over the very characters in his alias. This guy.
‘Come to think of it, Ha-ryun also started getting aliases after the North Sea Ice Palace incident.’
It’s hard to recognize him while wearing a mask, but his strange speech pattern and aura still spread his reputation.
‘And he’s too strong to hide anyway. Truly the protagonist. Ugh, ‘hyeop’ got into his alias.’
The old martial arts enthusiasm is welling up again.
I nodded.
“Understood. Gwang Myeon-hori. You cross-dress too.”
Cheonmyeon Hori sounds like a much cooler alias, but if I must include ‘gwang,’ there’s nothing to be done.
‘But people still call him Cheonmyeon Hori anyway.’
I figured he’d handle that on his own.
Sama Hyeon said.
“I won’t disguise myself as a strikingly beautiful woman. Just a plain, modest beauty would do. Since you don’t like mask-face makeup, we can just use regular cosmetics.”
“You’re good at this sort of thing too.”
“Of course. Gaga~ watashi purodеsu kara.”
‘…Did I really teach him that word too? Is it even correct Japanese grammar?’
I had taught him the word “pro” at some point.
‘Did you follow the same Icy Frost Pill route as me or something?’
Where exactly were this creature’s limits?
* * *
After changing into women’s clothes and altering my hair.
I carefully manipulated the facial bones to obscure my features.
“This looks a bit different from the body-shifting techniques the Heterodox Factions usually employ. Did you learn this in the Imperial Palace’s Secret Archives?”
At Sama Hyeon’s question, I let out a soft laugh.
“Yeah. My guess is it’s probably used for infiltration missions involving the Eastern Palace.”
“That makes sense. If you used the commonly known muscle and bone-shifting technique, people would notice from your ears and temples. So you use something completely unknown instead?”
“Exactly.”
The Imperial Palace’s Secret Archives contained many things.
In particular, the martial arts used by the Eastern Palace members were stored separately, but I couldn’t fathom why the Kings had permitted me access to them.
‘Either way, it doesn’t matter.’
Sama Hyeon stared at my eyelids without the double fold for a long moment before speaking.
“You’re still remarkably beautiful. We should keep makeup to a minimum and accessories simple.”
Even though I’d changed through body-shifting, my fundamental aura remained largely unchanged.
‘Especially Hyeong—he has a certain presence, you could say. There’s an atmosphere about him that differs from others.’
Among the children of scholarly families, only a rare few who grew up refined possessed such an aura.
A certain air of wealth and cultivation.
The problem was that while calmly committing mad acts, the epithet “Ilgwang”—the Singular Madness—became all the more pronounced.
Like a single orchid crushing someone’s skull with a lute, that was his atmosphere.
Of course, throughout the entire process, one must remain composed and logical.
That was the aura he emanated.
Thus, Ilgwang.
“Understood.”
This single orchid, Jin Cheon-hee, answered with bright eyes.
Then I calmly pressed my neck and applied pressure.
*Crack*
My shoulders hunched slightly and my Adam’s apple receded.
This was the limit of what I could manage.
“Well, how does it look?”
“Not bad.”
But Sama Hyeon made a series of cracking sounds as his entire height seemed to shrink below mine.
“I’ve always wondered—doesn’t it hurt?”
Seeing him alter his body structure so drastically made me curious.
Surely he looked like a completely different person.
“Adjusting height is a bit uncomfortable, but I’m used to it. It’s like compressing my body slightly as I move. Besides, you’re close with Hyeolsaeng Nogoe anyway. That person is a master of Suojin Gong—muscle and bone-shifting technique—in the Central Plains.”
That person is the most anomalous existence in Gangho—one who could abandon age, gender, and even the very form of a human being itself.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Even if I reach great mastery, it would be difficult to match him. And using martial arts in this state is challenging.”
“Challenging means you can still do it, though. Both of you already look incredible to me. Even when you explain the principles, I can’t understand them, so.”
At those words, Sama Hyeon let out a soft laugh.
‘My brother never calls the reverse techniques used by the Heterodox Faction sorcery.’
Unless they sacrifice people as offerings like the Hyeolseonggyo does.
All martial arts are fundamentally equal before my brother.
Whether learning them causes permanent physical and mental damage, and if so, how severe.
He only judges by such criteria.
Everything else is the same to him.
‘That’s my brother for you. Using a sword aura to slice flour dough.’
Who in their right mind would use a precious sword aura, not even sword energy, to cut flour dough?
Yet my brother insisted on doing it, claiming it made the noodles taste even better.
And true to his word, the noodles sliced with sword aura like a plane were incredibly delicious.
‘This is my brother. That’s why he has no prejudices either.’
A person for whom the words “strange and remarkable” fall short.
Sama Hyeon changed into martial robes commonly worn by female warriors.
Jin Cheon-hee also changed into the clothes Sama Hyeon provided.
“Just a moment, brother.”
Once Sama Hyeon had tidied even Jin Cheon-hee’s hair, an ordinary Gangho bounty hunter was complete.
Jin Cheon-hee stared intently at the mirror and asked.
“With this appearance, I should be able to investigate Dan Seok-san properly, right? Mm.”
“…Brother, why are you being so serious about this?”
“Hm?”
“No, never mind.”
Sama Hyeon had intended to tease him a little, but was surprised to find his brother so genuinely committed to investigating Dan Seok-san, causing him to click his tongue inwardly.
‘Of course, this is my brother.’
Unlike ordinary warriors who would feel embarrassed or self-conscious about their unfamiliar appearance.
I can do this. I can act well.
Watching him approach it while even applying self-hypnosis made Sama Hyeon involuntarily smile.
“Alright then, brother. Let’s slip out secretly!”
Clang!
Squeak!
When Hwang-gu, Noeji, and even Cheonjin and Nanman tried to follow along, Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Ah, you all stay here for now.”
Even with a perfect disguise, traveling with four spiritual creatures would be pointless and counterproductive.
“I should leave a letter for Master Manseong.”
Jin Cheon-hee hastily wrote a letter and headed downstairs.
* * *
The dawn air was bitterly cold.
Gazing at the indigo sky, the two of us rode our horses and slipped away quietly.
There were few people in the village, but even fewer beyond its borders.
Yet I could still see commoners carrying simple bundles as they traveled.
“It seems they’re taking to the roads now that the mountain bandits have been dealt with.”
“Is that so?”
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“You can tell if a road is safe by observing the children.”
“Hmm?”
“Ordinarily, commoners don’t warm to outsiders. And if the stranger is a martial artist, they fear misspoken words might cost them their lives, so common folk are naturally wary of unfamiliar warriors—they won’t show us a pleasant face.”
At those words, I nodded in agreement.
“That’s true. We were able to gather more information than ordinary sects precisely because we’re the Medical Guild.”
“Doctors are essential, so they’ll at least open their mouths. But they won’t speak of important village matters. That’s because we’re outsiders.”
At that, I nodded again.
Even without considering the martial world or the times, remote regions in Korea naturally harbor territorial prejudices.
They are extremely reluctant to share village affairs with outsiders.
Sama Hyeon continued.
“Then you simply observe the children—or more precisely, the parents. Especially parents with nursing infants are most sensitive. If you see commoners carrying children on their backs or placing them in carts as they travel, that road is safe. The mountain soldiers and bandits have been eliminated—such places offer genuine peace of mind.”
“Interesting indeed.”

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