Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 646

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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 646
I received a list of the families of the missing persons, along with the names of those they had last encountered and anyone who harbored grudges against them.
I had already seen what the magistrate’s office sent, but this was cross-verification.
If the magistrate’s office wanted to cover something up, they could easily fabricate evidence, and I knew all too well how terrifying that could be.
Sama Hyeon asked me a question.
“Hyeong, where did you learn to do this? It’s the method my classmates use, but you shouldn’t have had any reason to learn this while working as a doctor.”
“I just read various related texts. This is my first time actually doing it.”
“Ah, I see~”
I couldn’t tell if he genuinely believed me or was just pretending to.
‘I can’t exactly tell him I learned it from TV dramas, can I?’
I changed the subject.
“Anyway, Hyeon-a.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ll investigate to a certain extent, but if we hit a dead end….”
“Dead end?”
I spoke calmly with my blue eyes.
“I’m going to demolish Dan Seok-san’s household at night.”
A hint of madness could be felt.
“…Are you planning to raid them?”
“We already have all the evidence, but we just can’t make an on-site arrest.”
Upon verification, fortunately the contents investigated by the magistrate’s office were accurate.
There were gaps, but they seemed to stem from insufficient interrogation by the investigator or inaccurate testimony from witnesses.
I smiled brightly without blinking an eye.
Sama Hyeon asked me a question.
“What if nothing comes up and Dan Seok-san reports you to the magistrate’s office instead?”
“…Then the Kings would be greatly disappointed in me, and they’d never assign me such work again.”
So that was my true intention.
Sama Hyeon was inwardly shocked, then thought to himself.
‘Since commoners have gone missing, he’d do it anyway without being told. That’s Hyeong.’
His mouth keeps saying it’s troublesome, troublesome, but in the end, didn’t he even capture that tiger spirit that made dog sounds, the one called Che?
That’s the kind of person Hyeong is.
Hyeong continued to grumble.
“This is why they gave me the position of direct inspector of the Golden Guard. These people…. I hope that later, if things go wrong, they’ll think, ‘Ah, Ilgwang can’t handle such covert work,’ and just leave me alone.”
Grumble, grumble.
Watching Hyeong like this, Sama Hyeon thought to himself.
‘Will the Emperor really let Hyeong go…? A versatile schemer with no desire for power?’
Rather, if he were to be used for other purposes, he would be, but why would he do something so wasteful?
In any case, I don’t know what kind of relationship exists between Hyeong and the Emperor.
Considering Hyeong’s medical skills, it wouldn’t be strange no matter how the connection was formed.
And it would naturally be inevitable that Hyeong’s abilities would catch someone’s eye in the process.
Regardless, my mind was made up.
“Now then. Investigation. Let us conduct an investigation!”
* * *
I had confirmed that the evidence sent by the magistrate’s office was credible, but I couldn’t stop here.
It was time to gather additional evidence.
I was startled to discover an unexpected talent within myself.
I possessed the talent of a detective!
“So you are a special investigator, I see. Had you mentioned this sooner…”
“I already told you I came from Pocheoncheon’s office. Do you not think it a crime to obstruct my authority in the first place?”
In my childhood.
I had watched a drama about Pocheoncheon, a historical figure, on television.
I had admired the heroic judge’s commanding voice: “Bring forth the guillotine!”
Children of that era were absolutely captivated by Judge Pocheoncheon.
Particularly, whether the guillotine was a dog-headed one or a dragon-headed one was a matter of great importance. For some reason, when criminals were executed by the dragon-headed guillotine, they seemed grateful.
In any case, here was Pocheoncheon’s right hand, his guard, and an absolute master whom few in Gangho could match, conducting ordinary investigations.
Though it was a drama featuring a historical figure as the protagonist, martial arts were still involved.
Back then, everyone watched without much thought.
If you fire a laser in a vacuum of space and it goes “pew pew,” then surely a Song Dynasty master could run across water too? Maybe.
In any case.
In the world of Jicheon Cheonma, this was equivalent to being among the top ten masters of Gangho!
There were various reasons why such a person would serve under Pocheoncheon, and that too was a touching tale.
In any case, I myself was now playing the role of an absolute master!
A master of Gangho! Investigation and reconnaissance!
And… I possessed a talent even I hadn’t known about!
“If you habitually disrespected Pocheoncheon’s investigators and obstructed their authority, that too is a grave crime!”
“But sir, not all of Pocheoncheon’s investigators are paragons of integrity, are they? We too have our difficulties, so we hope for your understanding.”
‘Life and Death Wisdom combined with benevolence really comes in handy. This old man is a master of deception.’
That was right.
By applying Shimmoo’s technique, I could discern whether my opponent was lying.
Through subtle muscle movements and heart rate—without even touching them—I could determine whether they spoke truth or falsehood!
I was, in essence, a walking lie detector.
And.
This middle-aged man before me was lying.
[Hyeong~ this guy’s lying~?]
Sama Hyeon sent a languid transmission of thought.
[How did you know?]
[Huh? I’ve seen plenty of liars~? But did you catch on too, hyeong?]
[I’m a doctor, aren’t I? I can tell from muscle tension and heartbeat.]
[Hee~ I don’t think all doctors can do that though….]
Regardless, Sama Hyeon had crawled through the depths of Hao-mun’s organization long enough to pick up crude physiognomy and become versed in the study of villains.
“Then you’re saying you know nothing about the cook Mun-il and server Jeong-du who disappeared from the inn? If that’s the case, why didn’t you report it?”
“Well… people running away from inns aren’t exactly rare, are they? We can’t report every single case and bother Podoo and his men.”
Sama Hyeon sent a telepathic message.
[That’s true~ There’s no shortage of people who skip out on their bills at inns, and honestly, inn owners don’t want to see the magistrate’s office too often either.]
[Why is that?]
[If you keep reporting things, they get annoyed. Eventually they start conducting inspections under the guise of hygiene checks, getting into every little detail.]
[Hygiene checks? The magistrate’s office does that?]
I widened my eyes in surprise.
That was right.
This era hadn’t established food safety laws like those of my previous world.
Just a hundred years ago, people were dying from drinking milk regularly.
An age when chalk powder mixed with water was sold as milk.
A mafia boss fought a long war against food contamination and drew his holy sword Excalibur—no wait, his holy sword Thompson submachine gun to end it all, and his name was Al Capone.
He killed competitors, shot anyone adulterating milk with chalk, and while establishing milk distribution laws, he also engaged in prostitution, drugs, bribery, and tax evasion.
While forcing fresh milk under the protection of the holy Thompson upon merchants.
In any case, before food safety laws became universal, humanity had to strengthen itself.
If you got diarrhea from eating, it was because your stomach was weak.
Found a hair in your food? Then spread gossip around the neighborhood.
As if a mere passing traveler could actually damage a local establishment’s reputation.
‘Right. That’s how it is. That’s why Sama Hyeon despises dirty food so much.’
Martial artists at least pay some attention because garbage food means grabbing the head chef by the collar and burying them somewhere won’t help, but commoner travelers don’t have that luxury.
They’re just told to pick out the bad parts and eat the rest.
The sin of not being a local in this town.
Even safe food in this era comes down to connections.
If someone says they’re the son of a nobleman who just returned from the king’s residence, it’s natural for the innkeeper to quickly pull out different meat and cut it fresh.
So the magistrate’s office only shows up if someone actually dies from food poisoning.
[Food hygiene should be the magistrate’s responsibility. Hyeon-a.]
[Hyeong. I understand your point, but from the inn’s perspective, that’s the issue.]
I see.
‘Distribution networks really need to improve, and refrigeration needs to be invented.’
Clean and hygienic food ultimately comes down to technological advancement.
Pushing too hard here would just make me sound like an otherworldly idealist. Hmm? Why does the back of my head feel itchy?
[Your inn must get plenty of customers since it’s clean, right?]
[Of course, sir! People only seek out inns affiliated with the Golden Blood Hall. Even if the taste is a bit ordinary, the location is good and it’s clean, so people keep coming~ The food doesn’t stand out much either, just consistent.]
‘Isn’t this just McDonald’s?’
Truly, the father of Central Plains franchises.
Learning the behind-the-scenes stories of inns that only insiders would know.
I went on to question an additional twelve people connected to the missing persons.
[Hyeon-a. Still, everyone answered quite sincerely.]
[You’re annoyed by the magistrate’s questions? Want to taste the wooden cudgel?]
That’s right. This is an era where we don’t need to bring warrants to get people talking.
[People do lie quite a bit, though.]
[You’re surprisingly calm about it, Hyeong?]
[Patients lie to doctors all the time too. Some do it intentionally, others just happen to. It’s all the same.]
Jin Cheon-hee grew lost in thought as he meticulously jotted down notes with a Central Plains-style pencil.
[Among the people connected to the disappearances, seven of them are lying. Especially when I asked if they knew the reason for the disappearances—they all lied about that.]
[Why would they lie about that?]
Jin Cheon-hee answered.
[If you think about it the other way around, it means they know something.]
Crack—
Sama Hyeon cracked his knuckles.
[Hyeong, should we torture them?]
Sama Hyeon’s eyes gleamed gold.
They were merely commoners. A single touch of Sama Hyeon’s qi would make them confess everything.
But I had no desire to resort to torture against someone who couldn’t even use martial arts.
[…Calm yourself, Hyeon-a.]
I stopped him for now.
‘If I really can’t get answers, I could always strike the pressure point that cures constipation and extract information that way. But there’s no need to go that far yet.’
No matter how powerful a martial artist was, striking that point would reduce them to nothing but whimpering ‘ugh, ugh, ugh’ until about an hour later when nature called in the bathroom.
It would cure any constipation without fail.
[And I think it’s better to save that for later anyway. It would only interfere with the investigation.]
[Why?]
By questioning the locals of this area—not just passing travelers or tourists—I had discovered something.
Jin Cheon-hee explained it to Sama Hyeon.
[First, the missing people were mostly newcomers to this area. Not tourists, but people who had only recently settled here when they disappeared.]
[The problem is, with tourists, you can’t even tell if they’ve gone missing in the first place.]
Sama Hyeon grasped the point correctly.
Without phones, when someone vanishes in this vast Central Plains, finding where they disappeared is nearly impossible.
Unless you employ powerful trackers like Samjeolchuho, families can only wait endlessly at home.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
[This is serious. The entire city has become implicit accomplices to one another.]
In that moment, goosebumps erupted across Sama Hyeon’s back.
And at the same time, for some reason, he felt delighted, and a bright red smile spread across Sama Hyeon’s lips.
[But if everyone’s an accomplice, why was a missing persons report filed in the first place, Hyeong?]
[The families of the missing filed the reports. It would be impossible to make all of them disappear too. Besides, the public authority itself hasn’t been compromised.]
[Why do you think that?]
[If it had been, Pocheoncheon wouldn’t have reported the missing persons investigation up the chain, and the investigation records wouldn’t have reached me unaltered.]
[So you’re trying to figure out how far this situation is connected right now.]
[Yeah. I came to settle one insurance fraud case, but I have no idea what this is anymore.]

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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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