Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 649

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

Chapter 649
[Right. I struggled to grasp the essence of the formation. Since I couldn’t use the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, it was genuinely difficult.]
Still, what you see from outside differs from what you see within.
Entering and leaving.
After passing through twice, I came to understand how the formation here was constructed.
Upon returning, I had to rack my brains and repeatedly recall all the formation techniques I’d learned thus far.
And the conclusion I reached was this.
[These people construct their formations in reverse.]
[Is it similar to setting up a tomb entrance backwards?]
[Yes. Doyuan Cave is said to be where immortals dwell, and the geomancy there is excellent. But Dan Gajang alone has an unusual characteristic—the earth vein surges upward from below.]
[That’s truly strange.]
[Places like that exist occasionally. Here, in terms of terrain, it’s located midway up a mountain, yet the water vein flows in reverse. That’s why the geomancer set the formation’s orientation backwards.]
From here on, it becomes difficult territory.
Thinking it would be hard for Sama Hyeon to understand, I cut to the chase and stated only the essential point.
[It’s a formation technique used by geomancers of the Demonic Cult… or rather, recently, the Hyeolseonggyo.]
[Not surprising. Then would the residents helping them also be part of the Hyeolseonggyo?]
At those words, I shook my head.
[If that were the case, someone would have revealed their identity during the Four Faction War.]
At my calm words, Sama Hyeon grins, baring his fangs.
[Wow, so ordinary commoners are colluding with the Hyeolseonggyo~?]
At that, I nodded.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
[The word ‘ordinary’ in what you said contains both the meaning of virtuous and wicked.]
[They probably don’t know exactly what’s happening. The Hyeolseonggyo wouldn’t have revealed it to ordinary commoners. It’s just… yes.]
Thunk.
I plant a yellow flag from the Five Elements flags.
The location is beneath the withering zelkova tree.
Then I move and plant a red flag near the outhouse.
[…In the process of making a stranger disappear, they probably offered some benefit to those who kept quiet and held their tongues.]
Thunk—
The flag is planted and I move again. Sama Hyeon stays by my side.
[It’s simple. Keeping a secret.]
[Right. It’s something you can do for someone close to you. In fact, they might not even recognize it as something wrong.]
Justice is always relative.
Outsiders are those who come here for sightseeing and spend money, but simultaneously, they could be a nuisance that disturbs their peace.
Or they could be competitors trying to steal their livelihood.
I don’t know how they rationalized it.
[I heard somewhere that people listen more to what close friends say than to what righteous people say. I don’t even remember who said it, but now that I’m older, that saying seems true.]
[You sometimes speak like an old man, Hyeong.]
[Anyway, that’s how it is, Hyeon-a.]
Clang—
I planted the final flag.
[I don’t know what compensation they received… but this is what evil truly is. Evil isn’t something grand or extraordinary.]
People were being dragged away and disappearing.
I suspected this had been happening for some time, and many had likely already perished.
With Hyeolseonggyo involved, they wouldn’t have died peacefully.
This was happening in Doyeon-dong, such a beautiful and vibrant tourist destination.
Souvenirs were being sold at the entrance, and the peach blossom fans were truly exquisite.
The duck meat was delicious too, and there were shops with reasonable prices.
[Evil usually looks like this. Not some demon lord building a castle and waiting for a hero.]
I planted the final flag.
[So what now?]
[Nothing much. You said the geomancer reversed the feng shui directions here, right?]
[Right. That’s what I said.]
[And I mentioned the geomancer must have had quite the headache.]
[Exactly~]
Jin Cheon-hee grinned wickedly.
[So I’ve restored it to its original state.]
In that instant, the direction of the wind changed.
Humid air surged up from the ground, and mist slowly began to rise.
Sure enough, lights flickered on in the Dan Gajang corridor.
[Oh, they noticed right away. How did they figure it out? What are you going to do now?]
[What else? They did a good job with the mist. I’ll have to smash up Dan Gajang a bit.]
In that moment.
Frost crystallized at the tip of Jin Cheon-hee’s blade.
The Bing Jeong Sword with its grip changed appeared like an ordinary sword at first glance, but the cold emanating from it was no ordinary thing.
Snowflakes gathered, spinning and glittering along the blade’s edge.
Like cherry blossom petals flowing against the spring.
And then.
Shatter completely.
KWAAAAAANG—!
A blade devoid of any sword technique began to tear violently through all directions.
The massive walls of Dan Gajang shattered in an instant, exposing what lay within.
[This is usually similar to how you eat crab. Steam it first. Once it’s cooked through, you tear off the legs one by one.]
Through the mist, I transmitted my voice to Sama Hyeon.
“Intruders! Intruders!”
Dong dong dong dong dong dong—
Bells rang out from all directions.
[Hyeon knows how to use concealment techniques, right?]
Jin Cheon-hee’s gaze turned toward Sama Hyeon.
Surprisingly, his eyes were their usual color—not the blue they had been before.
‘Even without the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, my brother is still my brother~’
Though exasperated, Sama Hyeon whispered toward his brother.
“Lead the way~ This humble one shall follow closely~”
At the playful tone, Jin Cheon-hee chuckled softly before his afterimage scattered into the distance.
* * *
‘At least when I disguised myself as Podoo, I didn’t alter my body frame.’
Using martial arts while wearing a human-skin mask was manageable, but the real problem was bone-shifting technique.
No matter how I looked at it, vigorous movement would be obvious, so fortunately I only used it minimally.
In Gangho, even female martial artists with bone-shifting technique have tall frames and robust builds.
Since my brother doesn’t have bone-shifting technique to begin with, his smaller stature drew no suspicion.
But Sama Hyeon, who does have it, couldn’t manage the same.
So I simply thought of Gongseon Yeong and only minimally altered my frame, covering the rest with makeup.
Thanks to that, I could follow my brother without losing him when he used concealment technique—a fortunate trade-off.
‘Still, my brother is fast.’
Even with her hair pinned up with a hairpin, it was so thick and voluminous that it cascaded well past her shoulders.
It should have hindered her movements, yet it didn’t sway at all as she moved with precision.
And yet.
‘Brother… you didn’t even remove your hair ornaments when putting on the concealment outfit….’
Did this earnest fellow consider that part of the ‘disguise’ as well?
The ornate hair decorations glimmered brilliantly.
My brother rushed toward the warehouse.
[Hyeon-a.]
In that moment.
My brother pulled out a hairpin and threw it.
Thunk!
It pierced a rice sack, yet strangely, no rice spilled out.
Rather.
Click-click-click—
The sound of a mechanical mechanism grinding echoed through the floor as the entire ground began to descend.
[How did you know?]
[Ultrasound… no, wait. Sound technique.]
Was this another of my brother’s mysterious martial arts?
Come to think of it, my brother had an uncanny ability to discern mechanical mechanisms simply by tapping them.
The floor continued descending, lower and lower.
Finally, we arrived in complete darkness.
Rumble—
Jin Cheon-hee reached out and pulled something.
Whoosh—
A hairpin with an impossibly thin steel thread attached was retrieved and recovered.
Tap.
As the hairpin was withdrawn from the rice sack, the floor rose again and returned seamlessly to its original state.
Whoosh—
Hyeong retrieved the hairpin and tucked the thin steel wire back into his sleeve.
[That. Yeo Ha-ryun gave it to you, didn’t he?]
[Second brother.]
[Right. Second brother gave it to you?]
[That’s right. It’s the Black Heaven Blood Thread, a treasure of the Demonic Sect.]
The bracelet Yeo Ha-ryun had once given to Jin Cheon-hee—hidden within it was precisely the Black Heaven Blood Thread.
One of the Demonic Sect’s treasures, possessing tensile strength capable of withstanding an elephant’s weight, and when infused with special inner energy, it could even cut diamond with its sharp qi.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
[This is really convenient… Don’t tell me you’re jealous of a thread?]
[…Wait. Hyeong. I’ll find something even better than that.]
[Stop it! You madman!]
* * *
We walked for quite some time along the secret passage that appeared in the darkness.
How long had we been walking?
[How could they have created such a space?]
It was deeper and wider than expected.
Jin Cheon-hee added a remark.
[The magistrate’s office just sat idle while such illegal renovations were being done?]
[…Hyeong, your sense of surprise is strange.]
[Or perhaps this kind of space was hidden in Doyeondong from the beginning, and Dan Gajang was built on top of it.]
Though difficult to see in the darkness, traces of ancient carving were visible in the stone materials used.
[Your second hypothesis seems right~ Dan Gajang was built later than this stone chamber. That’s it.]
Though deeper and wider than expected, as we walked, Jin Cheon-hee used Chilma Geum’s yin energy to examine traces of mechanical traps.
[I thought there would be traps set up, but surprisingly…]
Moreover, carved into the walls were figures of creatures with animal heads wearing human clothing.
Judging by the garments, they likely represented Yoseon.
In any case, it was certain that this ruin was ancient.
How far down had we descended?
Thump, thump—
The sound of a group of people ascending echoed.
[Hide.]
Jin Cheon-hee concealed himself behind a carved statue, while Sama Hyeon clung to the ceiling, hanging by arm strength alone.
“This is tough.”
The voice belonged to four warriors.
They were carrying a box on a stretcher.
The box was sealed shut, making its contents unknowable, though it appeared quite heavy.
The two of us focused on the warriors’ conversation, but it was merely talk of late-night snacks and weather.
Once those people passed by, I sent a message through sound transmission.
[We need to be more careful from here on.]
[I’ll move along the ceiling. Hyeong~]
Meanwhile, I began walking through a small passage that opened behind the stone statues.
I had never made a sound or dropped anything while walking, but navigating through the narrow gaps behind the statues made my movements even more invisible.
Then even that stone-paved path came to an end.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
[Hyeong, there are support beams on the ceiling. This should make movement easier.]
At those words, I quickly scaled the wall and planted my feet on the pillars above the ceiling.
Just as he said, support beams spanning between pillars about two stories high came into view.
‘In modern times, this looks like some kind of convention hall. Why would they build the ceiling this high?’
How was this place even constructed?
Continuing forward with these questions, a much larger space finally revealed itself.
And a strange, pungent medicinal scent began to emanate.
I immediately activated the Five Elements Mutual Destruction Poison to purify the medicinal energy entering my body.
[Hyeon-a. Have you mastered poison cultivation?]
[Of course! Gaga~ Please call me Sama Hyeon, the master of poison cultivation~]
Are the wounds from the Oh Dok-mun incident still affecting him? This brat.
I felt a slight suspicion but nodded anyway.
[Yes, yes. Good. You need to keep detoxifying the medicinal energy entering your body. If it becomes too much, you head back immediately. Understood?]
[That won’t happen~ Hyeong. I’ve built up quite the resistance to poison now~ I’ve been eating nothing but poison pills for one meal a day, you know?]
This poison-soaked fool.
Does he really want to come along like this?
Everything ahead is nothing but danger.
I clicked my tongue and ventured deeper.

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