Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 643

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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 643
After riding for what felt like an eternity, I finally arrived at Doyeon-dong.
The area surrounding Doyeon-dong was a bustling place where quite a few people lived.
According to Sama Hyeon’s prior investigation, this place attracted more travelers and villa owners than permanent residents—wealthy lords who visited seasonally, along with the servants who accompanied them on their journeys.
“It truly is a scenic masterpiece.”
Hair fell softly along Jin Cheon-hee’s jawline.
Following the river before my eyes, a landscape of towering rock formations, cliffs, forests, and mountains unfolded in majestic succession.
And nestled among these scenic vistas stood grand estates that appeared to belong to wealthy merchants.
Massive Buddha statues and pavilions erected to flaunt their wealth also caught the eye.
By modern standards, this would be considered haphazard tourist development.
Yet given the vast size of the area and considering the technological capabilities and population of this era, it possessed a certain charm.
‘For the surroundings to be truly marred, we’d need better roads to increase the flow of travelers, wouldn’t we?’
People had to commit considerable time and effort to visit for leisure—a journey of half a month to a full month.
And once they arrived, they stayed for at least a month, which only reinforced this pattern.
‘Perhaps neon signs need to be invented first.’
After all, since the pavilions and Buddha statues were constructed from wood and stone, they harmonized beautifully with their surroundings.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“The central riverside area of Doyeon-dong has grand estates and high-class inns, with smaller dwellings clustered around the periphery~”
“So the workers for the estates and high-class inns live on the outskirts of the area?”
“You really do have an administrative mind~ That’s exactly right, brother. Of course, there are inns and taverns on the outskirts too. But those aren’t for the central area’s elite—they’re for the common folk who serve them.”
“The real delicious restaurants would be there then?”
“Only you would think of food first, truly befitting a great hero~ You’re right. Those are the genuinely excellent establishments. They know exactly what ingredients the expensive inns use, so they source similar materials cheaply and sell them at lower prices.”
“So the price-to-taste ratio is perfectly balanced?”
Value for money.
“Exactly. These common folk inns receive three to four times as many customers as the high-class establishments.”
Delicious, cheap, and generous portions.
Places like that cannot survive without maintaining these three qualities.
Jin Cheon-hee was already growing hungry.
“Many martial artists from the Gangho must visit a scenic place like this?”
“Of course. Martial artists can use lightness kung fu whenever needed, and the horses they ride are semi-legendary beasts. Well, that’s only for major families. Even clans below the Namgung Family’s level have more than enough resources.”
“Everyone knows the Namgung Family is wealthy.”
As I said this, I recalled Namgung Un.
Namgung Un had entrusted me with his family’s secret techniques.
Since then, I’ve been making an effort not to act ostentatiously.
But the natural confidence of someone born without wanting for anything was difficult to suppress.
Sama Hyeon pulled the reins and walked slowly forward.
“This is my first time here too~ I heard even novice martial artists fresh to the Gangho come here for leisure.”
“Hmm, isn’t Fujian Province controlled by the Heterodox Faction~?”
“Well, even though it’s called Heterodox Faction territory, there’s no massive sect with complete control over the region, right? The Green Forest Bandits operate mainly from mountain strongholds.”
Before long, we arrived at the entrance of Doyeon-dong.
I showed my identification tablet and entered, revealing the shops within.
Fans inscribed with verses praising the beauty of Dowon District, hanging scrolls, and for some reason, a portrait of Dang-a hung on the walls.
‘Oh, in modern terms, this is a tourist souvenir shop.’
There were rows of shops just like this at the entrance to E-Baland.
People are the same everywhere.
Jin Cheon-hee asked.
“So since there’s no bandit stronghold, there’s really no reason to clash with the heterodox sects, and since many wealthy merchants live here, the magistrate’s office would pay some attention.”
“Right. The heterodox sects don’t make a big show of force against the wealthy merchants either. There are quite a few of these rich folks here who’ve slipped money to the officials.”
Money truly is supreme.
No matter how much that magistrate claims officials cannot interfere, slip some gold into his throat and he won’t make a peep—the garrison soldiers will mobilize immediately.
‘Only the poor are truly protected by the non-interference doctrine.’
This is why in martial arts tales, wealthy merchants can live comfortably without learning a single martial technique, just patting their bellies.
If the rich had actually been bound by the non-interference doctrine, Hwagyeong’s revolutionaries would have already smashed every pot and been hanging from bamboo trees.
In any case, the Yangtze River hasn’t turned red because that non-interference doctrine operates according to their convenience.
Capitalism is magnificent.
Isn’t the ‘invisible hand of bribes’ superior to the ‘invisible hand’ itself?
It’s time that Scottish hermit Adam Smith took notice.
“So now these fresh-faced righteous faction members with clear heads are wandering around such places.”
“Exactly. They don’t realize this place is clean not because the heterodox sect here is kinder than others, but simply because it’s a locally-rooted wealthy district heterodox faction. They don’t understand that each heterodox sect has different business models. They’re not at an age to comprehend such things, brother.”
I think I understand this.
The smell of European backpacking.
There was once a time when backpacking across Europe after graduation became an established cultural phenomenon.
Back then, people said you could only truly understand people’s lives and culture through backpacking, and develop yourself.
‘But honestly, it just felt like tourism?’
From Jin Cheon-hee’s perspective, having been swept up in the self-help book boom and read various works, they were just tourist NPCs with backpacks.
Singing “O Sole Mio” on a gondola in Venice with a backpack on is a different matter entirely from marrying someone there, paying taxes, and tearing your hair out worrying whether your tourist destination might be submerged by global warming.
And I’d never actually seen anyone in reality whose practical abilities improved from deeply contemplating their culture, or who received great enlightenment about stocks.
‘Rested well. Had fun. That’s all.’
There was one person who abandoned the path of medicine and opened a Spanish restaurant, but she just came from a wealthy family.
‘Well, I might be cynical because I haven’t gone myself.’
Without a scholarship, my life would be worthless in Paris.
Honestly, it would be a lie to say I don’t envy that kind of leisure.
‘I wish many travelers like these would come to my Baek Rin District.’
Regardless, the money from wealthy young sect disciples’ noses—how sweet it must be.
Jin Cheon-hee surveyed this place (?) while contemplating tourist products for Baek Rin District.
‘Unlike the modern era, here it’s long-term stays. I need to earn money through long-term accommodations.’
I wonder if something like a “live in Jeju for a month” plan would help.
Thinking this way, Jin Cheon-hee looked around at the nearby inns.
Sama Hyeon pulled out a letter from his pocket, looked around, and pointed to an inn positioned roughly between the commoner district on the left and the wealthy merchant tourist district.
[Brother, this place is a great restaurant.]
[You investigated this too?]
As more people gathered, I began using sound transmission.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
[I came here in disguise and kept my arrival at Hao-mun a secret, so even our Heterodox Faction people won’t know I’m here.]
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee asked.
[So you didn’t come here just to deal with Dan Seok-san?]
[I told you. The person managing this place sadly died~ So we need to select the next one.]
…The one who killed him wore a sorrowful expression.
[Right. I understand. You’re conducting an inspection while you’re at it.]
[By the way, Gae-bang-do doesn’t know about this. Well, eventually he’ll find out later as time passes.]
‘If I’m not careful, there could be a bloodbath when I return.’
Though Sama Hyeon spoke in a gentle manner, I wasn’t someone who couldn’t understand the meaning beneath his words.
Now that I’d become the successor to the Golden Blood Hall and the successor to Hao-mun, I had no choice but to walk the path of blood.
That was the Heterodox Faction.
I’d killed countless people just to become the successor, and now I would have to kill many more to solidify that power.
‘That’s why I can’t tell my younger siblings to live virtuously.’
In a world like this.
If I simply demanded that my younger siblings refrain from killing or forced them to live righteously out of my own meager self-satisfaction, both Yeo Ha-ryun and Sama Hyeon would be corpses by now.
Cheonwoo couldn’t escape unscathed either.
The Wudang Sect wasn’t clean either.
[However you wander through the Gangho, that’s your freedom. But don’t abandon the way of humanity.]
That was all the advice I could give as an older brother.
At those words, Sama Hyeon’s eyes curved into crescents.
[Why speak of something so obvious~]
Yes. That was enough.
Anything more would be hypocrisy and greed.
The moment we entered the place Sama Hyeon guided us to, the scents of star anise and pepper filled the air abundantly.
In the kitchen area, ducks hung upside down with considerable confidence.
Sama Hyeon casually tossed silver coins to the server and reserved a room for rest and bathwater.
And roasted duck in mud as well.
“This place’s specialty, I hear. They stuff the duck’s belly with rice, spices, and all sorts of precious medicinal ingredients, coat it with seasoning, wrap it in leaves, then cover it again with mud. After that, they bury it in firewood and set it ablaze. Once it’s cooked that way, the aroma is incredible. Plus, the duck’s juices seep into the glutinous rice, so it’s absolutely….”
My mouth was already watering.
Rich duck juices!
And I could even eat the glutinous rice cooked in those juices from inside the duck’s belly as a bonus!
Sama Hyeon added a remark.
“Ah, and the duck eggs are used for cold dishes. The neck is cooked with the bones and served over noodles.”
“Two ducks. One duck per person. Hyeon-a.”
“You certainly know how to eat. Gaga~”
And so we unpacked our belongings and waited for the food to arrive.
‘Duck! Duck!’
I lit up with excitement, gripping a spoon in one hand and chopsticks in the other.
‘Duck cuisine is my greatest weakness!’
Chicken is comparatively easier.
But duck has so much fat that if you’re not careful, it develops a gamey smell.
I had a strong premonition that I could find the solution here in this establishment.
‘Duckkkkkk!’
Sama Hyeon clicked his tongue as he watched my eyes turn bright blue, gleaming with intensity.
[If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve brought duck to every meal.]
[No, Hyeon-a. Hunger is the best seasoning—besides, I was quite famished anyway.]
While I waited in anticipation, the door suddenly opened and three warriors entered.
If they were merely ordinary warriors, I wouldn’t have noticed them.
All three were masters at the peak or transcendent level.
Three such formidable experts moving together as a group—they were impossible to overlook.
When I mentioned this, Sama Hyeon responded.
[Who knows where they’re from… At least one of them is… from the Jongri Sega…]
[That martial robe belongs to the Jongri Sega?]
Sama Hyeon chuckled at my words.
[That’s right. You probably won’t have much reason to know them. The Jongri Sega has had long-standing connections with Hwaju Yakson, but they haven’t made it into the Eight Great Families.]
[I see.]
Truthfully, I wasn’t interested.
I knew the Jongri Sega existed, but they were like distant clouds—not the Patriarch, not the patients, not even particularly troublesome individuals.
‘But the duck… when will it arrive?’

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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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