Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 642

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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 642
I completed the formation along the frequently traveled path and hid in the warehouse to wait.
Nothing extraordinary—just a formation designed to make someone lose their way slightly.
As long as it bought us time, it would be a success.
Sama Hyeon hid far away at the opposite diagonal end from me.
Whoever arrived first would be responsible for restraining their target.
In the darkness, I sat in seiza position and took deep breaths.
‘Demons are repelled by gunpowder.’
I calmed my mind, remembering the spirit of my ancestor K.
‘The answer is firepower, firepower. Firepower Joseon!’
I understood spirits, but demons were still an unknown entity, so I had no certainty about how to defeat one. And I was somewhat afraid.
Still, I moved forward because I knew what had to be done.
‘It’s just something that’s gotten in the way. A creature like this can waltz into Baek Rin County.’
From what the villagers said, at first small dogs had gone missing.
Small ones at that.
Then larger dogs disappeared, then pigs, cattle, and eventually young children and the elderly.
What it consumed gradually increased.
‘Did Yoo Ho go through something like that?’
Did spirits grow into beings like Yoo Ho through such a process?
I didn’t know.
It was better not to think too deeply about this.
After all, the relevant texts and legends all differed, and without Yoo Ho telling me, there was no way to know.
How much time had passed?
The moon caught on the window frame.
‘It should be getting hungry about now?’
That moment.
Woof, woof woof woof!
The sound of a dog rang out.
* * *
I sprang to my feet immediately.
Having prepared beforehand, my body was lighter than ever.
The young man’s movements through the darkness contained not a single wasted motion.
I had memorized this entire area.
My long hair traced an arc as I moved.
Like an ink line drawn by a master painter.
As I ran across the rooftop, not a single tile creaked beneath me.
The realm that martial artists spend their entire lives trying to reach.
And I wielded that technique with such ease.
And finally.
“Hyeong!”
The sound of metal clashing.
Clang!
Along with Sama Hyeon’s voice, the ferocious beast revealed itself!
“A tiger?”
It was difficult to call it simply a tiger, for it was a massive creature with a body length exceeding one zhang—roughly three meters—and a height that appeared to surpass eight chi.
In modern terms, it was the size of an automobile!
Moreover, its appearance was strangely grotesque.
Growwwl—
First, its limbs were longer and thicker than those of ordinary beasts.
Like the length of human arms and legs.
And its tail bore a striking resemblance to that of a cow.
My blue eyes instantly illuminated the opponent.
“Could it be… a Che?”
Sa Mi-hyeon asked.
“Che? Is there something like that in the Classic of Mountains and Seas?”
“Yes. We call it a Che.”
According to the records of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
That beast bore the appearance of a tiger yet made the barking sound of a dog, and possessed the tail of a cow.
A ferocious creature that delighted in devouring humans.
I spoke.
“It’s a spirit beast.”
“At least it’s not a demon.”
“If we follow the standards of the Central Plains for spirit beasts, that would be correct.”
The creature crept closer, then suddenly opened its maw wide at me.
I immediately drew my blade with a snap of my upper body, attacking.
The speed was nothing short of lightning-fast!
Boom!
It was struck by the Icy Frost Blade and recoiled.
“It twisted its body in the meantime. The strike was slightly off.”
“Wow, normally it would’ve been sliced clean through~ hyeong.”
“It’s incredibly tough. I don’t think sword energy will work on this.”
“But we can’t exactly overpower a spirit beast with raw strength either.”
Growwwl! Bark bark bark!
“It’s really strange hearing a tiger make dog sounds.”
“I told you, it’s a Che, not a beast.”
Chill gathered upon the Icy Frost Blade, and soon snowflakes began swirling, spinning around the blade’s edge.
At the sight, Sama Hyeon clicked his tongue.
“This is a formidable opponent. Are you going to fight it? Gaga?”
At those words, I chuckled softly.
“Of course. Let’s settle this with blade strength. Hyeon-a.”
“Can I kill it?”
Sama Hyeon’s eyes gleamed with golden light.
Instead of answering, Jin Cheon-hee addressed Che.
“Greetings, Che. I’ve come to ask that you refrain from any further killings.”
Woof, woof-woof-woof!
“Can you understand me? Is communication possible?”
Growwwl!
“Hmm, it seems not. Then perhaps… ending this peacefully…?”
Woof-woof-woof-woof!
“That… doesn’t seem possible either.”
Then it was time to deal with Heukgapoong.
Since Heukgapoong was an insect and couldn’t communicate, I’d captured it and fed it to Hwang-gu.
‘It’s killed far too many people.’
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Right. We need to eliminate this harmful creature. That’s also cooperation.”
“…Hyeong, you say the most amusing things sometimes~?”
Sama Hyeon carefully weighed each word his brother had just uttered, then assumed a defensive stance.
Woof-woof!
Suddenly Che let out a cheerful bark, but contrary to the bright sound, it lunged at Jin Cheon-hee like lightning.
The blade of the Bingjing Sword manifested with the formidable qi of Haneum Jigi to meet the assault.
The Bingjing Sword’s qi and Che’s front paw collided in midair.
Boom!
The moment the explosive sound erupted, Jin Cheon-hee gasped, focusing on the point where the sword qi and Che’s paw had collided.
‘Not even a scratch on the sword qi?!’
Even Yeon Won-wang had been wounded by sword qi.
No—withstanding qi itself was impossible without true Adamantine Body.
And yet.
Jin Cheon-hee immediately understood why Che bore not a single wound from the qi.
The creature called Che had qi dwelling within the claws between its pads.
That qi collided with the sword qi and diminished its force!
But it was equally clear that this wasn’t the kind of qi that martial artists used.
Whoosh!
The moment Che retreated from the explosion and touched ground.
Sama Hyeon rushed in from the side.
And two hands extended forth!
Crack!
Woof!
Che shrieked in fury, curled its body, and kicked at Sama Hyeon with its hind legs.
A strike powerful enough to kill an ox in one blow!
Yet Sama Hyeon’s hands moved gently, grasping the leg and dissipating the kick’s force through his body as he performed a handstand like a circus acrobat.
“Behave yourself, you mutt. If you keep acting up, you’ll be useless~”
With that, those massive hands tore clean through Che’s log-like legs.
‘Just how strong is that grip?’
Before I could even register my shock.
Screech! Screech!
Che thrashed about, his body wracked with agonized shrieks.
Sama Hyeon immediately leaped away to dodge, and in that opening.
I had already drawn close.
Taeul Danseonggeom—Flowing Clouds Piercing Heaven!
My blade, infused with inner force and carrying a singular intent, shot forward like lightning.
Before my elder brother could even react to my profound martial technique.
The sword pierced straight through Che’s crown and drove directly through his brain.
Clang….
Che’s massive body collapsed.
“Phew….”
“That went down easy~ For a demon, it was pretty weak, wasn’t it?”
“No. We’re just strong. Besides, if I’d been alone, it would’ve taken much longer.”
“True~ I was shocked when it blocked the inner force.”
“I’m more shocked that you tore off its front leg with nothing but grip strength against something like that.”
As I grumbled, Sama Hyeon laughed.
As we exchanged words like that.
Fwoooosh!
The corpse began to emit smoke and suddenly decomposed at an accelerated rate, melting away.
I startled greatly and grabbed Sama Hyeon by the back of the neck, pulling him back. Soon after, Che’s corpse vanished entirely, leaving only bones and blackened earth behind.
Among Che’s bones were scattered skulls and bone fragments that appeared to belong to dogs, cattle, and humans—making the sight all the more grotesque.
“This… what is it? Demons should leave behind spirit cores. Could it not be a demon?”
“That’s what I’m wondering too.”
In the Gangho, there exists an extreme poison created to dispose of corpses—Bone-Melting Powder.
When exposed to Bone-Melting Powder, corpses dissolve and disappear. Che’s corpse decomposing like this felt exactly like it had been touched by Bone-Melting Powder.
I sighed as I watched Che’s corpse vanish.
‘What is this? Could it be something created by the Demonic Sect or Hyeolseonggyo?’
Leaving behind an unsettling uncertainty, I gathered the villagers.
In any case, whatever had been killing people had been eliminated, and they needed to know.
* * *
“Thank you! Thank you, Great Master!”
“The great master of the Bota Clan has resolved our suffering!”
Receiving the villagers’ gratitude, I rose to my feet immediately.
“With that settled, I shall take my leave now.”
“No… we were hoping to hold a feast. If the great master would join us….”
I waved my hand in refusal.
“No, I have a long way to travel.”
“Then what about the raw chicken….”
“I’ll prepare it along the way.”
With those words, I placed it in a box and infused it with ice energy.
With this, it would remain as fresh as if freshly caught, even through a night of sleeping outdoors.
Just as I was about to mount the horse and depart.
“…Excuse me, Great Warrior.”
“Hmm?”
When I turned around, it was Seok-ssi, the one who had pressed me earlier about why I hadn’t acted faster.
“What is it?”
At my question, Seok-ssi bowed deeply.
“Thank you for avenging my child’s resentment… And… I apologize for my behavior back then.”
“My, how quick to apologize?”
Sama Hyeon crossed his arms and spoke mockingly.
Seok-ssi’s face flushed red.
I responded.
“I understand the heart of a parent who has lost a child, so think nothing of it.”
“Then… please accept this humble gift.”
When I opened the small pouch he offered, it contained silver coins inside.
“This is….”
At that moment, Seok-ssi deliberately fled.
He seemed to think I would refuse again.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“He must have felt sorry. For a commoner, this would be a fortune. What will you do, hyeong?”
“Since he gave so much, refusing would be discourteous.”
It was a complicated matter.
Especially since the dead child would not return.
“The commoners we help aren’t ‘good commoners.’ They’re just ordinary people, Hyeon-a.”
“They lose their child, direct their anger at the wrong place, then feel sorry and give away a fortune?”
“Yes. That’s how it is. Let’s use this for something delicious. Since we’ve received it, we should use it well so we feel good about it.”
What is humanity?
Why can’t the Doctor simply choose to help only ‘good commoners’?
For the first time, Sama Hyeon found himself contemplating such a question.
Normally, when someone committed rudeness, he would have already crushed their skull and killed them.
Though he didn’t attack people first, this was Sama Hyeon’s way—to make certain those who acted this way paid the price in blood.
‘But hyeong is different.’
It was because hyeong was such a person that he had saved Sama Hyeon and Sama-hye.
Meanwhile, I seemed lost in thought for a moment.
Soon after, I urged the horse toward a nearby villager.
I advised them that if they were to dig a new grave, they should fell trees and choose a burial site on the southwestern slope of the back mountain.
The villagers bowed deeply, expressing their gratitude.
It seemed bringing a new geomancer had been quite difficult for them.
[My brother’s advice seems more helpful than most geomancers anyway.]
With that, Jin Cheon-hee mounted his horse and set off down the road once more.
[Hyeon-a, what exactly was that thing?]
[A spirit that melts the moment it dies? I’ve never even heard of such information in Hao-mun.]
[For now, it seems beating it senseless will do the trick.]
Truly, K-style demon exorcism.
The wisdom of our ancestors.
[I see now. Brother. Whether it’s a demon, ghost, or spirit—you just beat it!]
Sama Hyeon learned yet another new lesson from his brother.

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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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