Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 657

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

Chapter 657
After finishing my business, I headed straight to the establishment that Hao-mun had taken over, accompanied by Sama Hyeon.
There stood an ostentatiously massive building with a golden roof, gleaming in all its glory as expected.
Even the eaves were adorned with golden dragons, their forms coiled in an ascending posture of power.
Indeed.
‘This is it—the money house that the Heterodox Faction’s Dragon Gold Hall abandoned when they fled, once the greatest usurer in Fuzhou!’
It wasn’t comparable to the Golden Blood Hall, but it had certainly wielded considerable influence in this city.
Hao-mun and the Golden Blood Hall had taken it over.
“Since it was originally a money house, Hao-mun decided to continue operating it as one~ The money house will be run by the Golden Blood Hall, which belongs to Hao-mun~”
“Now that you’ve become the Hao-mun Rumor Master, the boundaries between them are becoming blurred anyway.”
At those words, Sama Hyeon laughed playfully with a hehe sound.
“It’s beneficial for both the Golden Blood Hall and Hao-mun~”
As expected, countless people were gathering in vast numbers beneath the massive Golden Blood Hall signboard.
“…There must be quite a few gambling addicts among them?”
“That thing you saw at the gambling den just now? Of course there are~ But we don’t lend money recklessly like before.”
“Back then, if they couldn’t repay, they’d be sold off to mines or salt fields?”
“Exactly. But now the inn franchises bring in far more profit~ Gambling addicts are difficult to employ anyway. The moment they get a single coin, they rush off to the gambling den first.”
It was cold logic.
“So you only lend to those who have the will to repay and the will to earn money?”
“Right. In exchange, we charge interest rates half that of other loan sharks, sometimes even less. If they can’t repay, we arrange employment for them~ and they become our precious eyes and ears~”
“Are there really that many inns throughout the Central Plains?”
At my question, Sama Hyeon shook his head.
“What do you mean, sir~ Of course there are inns scattered like grains of sand throughout the Central Plains, but we don’t employ all of them as staff or housekeepers~ Some of them butcher meat, others operate pig farms.”
“In other words, Hao-mun is expanding into distribution as well?”
“Exactly. That way it’s cleaner. I don’t want to see dirty ingredients anymore~”
Sama Hyeon has an extreme aversion to unsanitary food.
He answered calmly about that matter.
“When I was young, Hye-a and I nearly died after scavenging garbage to eat~ Especially Hye-a—she’s had frequent stomach troubles ever since.”
“I see.”
“You know what’s even more ironic?”
“What?”
“Sometimes you have to eat that garbage if you don’t want to starve to death.”
“Doesn’t Hangzhou have fairly abundant food supplies?”
“It does. But if you have no money, you can’t buy any.”
After saying that, he seemed to remember something and bought several bolts of silk for Sama-hye before entering the money house.
“Hye-a keeps trying to copy the casual clothes I wear.”
“Really?”
At my words, Sama Hyeon’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“Didn’t you notice? That’s how the Baek Hwan-hu children are. From a young age, they tend to imitate their older brother’s speech patterns and clothing. Since they’re all orphans with no parents, I’m the only one they can look up to, so it’s probably even more pronounced.”
“…Well, I suppose that could happen.”
“Bothering you?”
Jin Cheon-hee shook his head at those words.
“It does bother me a bit. But I don’t worry much about it. It’s all part of growing, after all.”
If I had entered a place like Baek Hwan-hu’s position and witnessed someone there I could call a role model, wouldn’t I have wanted to keep emulating them?
It’s the same psychology as wanting to wear the brand that a celebrity wears.
Admiration is ultimately like a bronze mirror—it reflects what you see.
Oddly enough, the two words sound similar in pronunciation.
‘I too once deeply admired someone.’
My manner of speech had even been influenced by that person.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Anyway, it’s about time Hye-a wore more elaborate casual clothes too. She’s already become a Bundata Master in Hangzhou—she might as well dress more finely, don’t you think?”
Saying so, she cheerfully purchased expensive silks in various colors.
And so we arrived at the training grounds.
Everyone bowed to Sama Hyeon at a ninety-degree angle.
“We greet the Rumor Master–!”
The unified sound rang out sharply.
I myself had received greetings at Bunta, but the medical staff and doctors attending to patients were absent, which was appropriate.
But this was a training ground.
In modern terms, a bank.
It was as if the vice-chairman of headquarters had descended upon our branch office.
Sama Hyeon received the greetings indifferently, then received several letters, processed them, issued orders, and repeated the cycle.
After several tea ceremonies had passed, we finally reached the rear quarters of the Fukuzhou training grounds.
We could arrive at the Training Ground.
‘Hyeon and I have both risen to positions of great responsibility now.’
Even a single action isn’t easy.
Still, Sama Hyeon finished all her work and came before me.
“Ah~ High positions are exhausting~”
“You’ll be even more exhausted having to handle the Golden Blood Hall and Hao-mun matters too.”
“True. Though I do earn quite well from it.”
“You’re probably the only one who would speak of that position that way.”
The two of us sat in formal seiza position in the center of the Training Ground.
“From now on, I’ll recite the incantations for you. If you don’t understand something while listening, ask.”
“Not memorize them?”
“You can’t memorize what you don’t understand.”
Saying so, I began to recite the incantations.
The Immortal Divine Art.
And the Heavenly Dragon Art!
As Sama Hyeon listened to divine techniques optimized for survival, she clicked her tongue.
“Where did you learn this, hyeong?”
“From the Imperial Palace’s secret archives.”
At this point, there’s no use in beating around the bush.
So I simply laid it all bare.
Sama Hyeon was startled and let out a soft whistle.
‘Heh… the Emperor’s favor is beyond imagination, isn’t it?’
The Emperor within the nine-layered palace was nothing short of a monster.
How much blood had stained his hands in the past?
Now that it had been revealed his twin—whom everyone thought dead—was still alive, he had become an even greater object of terror.
Another Emperor.
The fact that he, who manipulates people through imperial edicts, was alive was certainly frightening.
What was more terrifying was that this had been hidden all along.
Thanks to this revelation, everyone dealing with the Golden Blood Hall and the powerful families already knew the Emperor Brothers were mad, but now they realized they were even more insane, and they all clicked their tongues in disbelief.
Was it sane to hide something that could have been revealed and used to establish dominance, only to reveal it when the Suksin Tribe came rushing in?
And yet, having finally ascended to the throne, they didn’t even enjoy the power.
They worked like oxen.
Such Emperors were using my brother as their tool to command.
Given my brother’s administrative ability and temperament, he was the perfect target—or rather, slave.
Those two wouldn’t let such a prize slip away.
They seemed to be diligently coaxing him with carrots.
“In any case, these two things will further enhance your survival capabilities. And what external martial arts have you learned?”
“The Golden Heart Technique also functions as external martial arts.”
When Sama Hyeon’s hands were tinged with golden light, he could block even the sharpest blade infused with sword energy with his bare hands.
‘The Heavenly Silkworm gloves are practically just decoration now. My hands are stronger than those gloves.’
But he had to wear them regardless. This fellow did.
In any case, it seemed the technique didn’t just strengthen his hands but enhanced other parts of his body as well.
“Hmm, then there’s no need to teach you separate external martial arts. In that case, I’ll teach you the Beast Sense Blade, and I’ll also teach you how to apply it practically and fluidly.”
“Fluidly?”
“Ah, I misspoke. Well, I mean to make it usable, flexible, adaptable—something like that. If I had to put it in formal terms, I carved up the martial technique?”
This was the problem when conversing with Sama Hyeon.
He absorbed modern language so quickly and spoke so casually that my mind would naturally relax.
“Brother, you really… it’s no wonder you’re from the Jegallim Family. You know such fascinating words.”
Hearing this, I felt somewhat reassured and patted my chest.
“First, I’ll teach you the incantation, so you need to memorize it. Understood?”
“Memorizing? I’m confident in that. You need good memory to memorize opera scripts.”
“I see. Then….”
The Beast Sense Blade.
It was one of the divine martial techniques, but in terms of destructive power alone, it was somewhat inferior to other martial arts.
Yet the reason it was classified as a divine technique was singular.
It dramatically enhanced one’s senses.
It made it possible to possess senses akin to those of a beast.
A dog’s sense of smell is said to reach ten thousand times that of humans, and a dolphin’s hearing is said to reach thousands of times that of humans.
It wasn’t quite at the level where one’s senses reached that extreme, but at minimum, one would develop perceptions that transcended those of ordinary humans.
In fact, one of the secrets behind my strength was this very beast sense technique.
I recited all the incantations for him and also explained the training methods for the beast sense technique.
Of course, Sama Hyeon’s expression became peculiar upon hearing such training methods.
It must have been because old memories surfaced.
Could it be that he recalled the image of his brother shouting, “You can do it! One more time! That’s right! Well done!”?
“Good. You’ve memorized the incantations?”
“Yes~”
“And you’ve grasped the training methods?”
“Yes~”
“Excellent. Then I’ll teach you the practical application now—give me your hand.”
Sama Hyeon extended his right hand.
I grasped his wrist firmly and continued speaking.
“I’m going to channel my inner energy into you now, so don’t resist and stay still. Understood? And you need to remember how that inner energy moves.”
“So you’re doing inner energy guidance~”
“Exactly. Close your eyes and concentrate. Here we go.”
I close my eyes. The inner energy within my body flows into Sama Hyeon’s body.
It travels through the meridians, then up the neck toward the eyes.
Sama Hyeon could sense the inner energy moving within his eyes according to some pattern. He focused his mind to commit that method to memory.
A slight tingling sensation at the corners of his eyes.
“That’s enough. Open your eyes.”
My hand releases his wrist.
The moment he opens his eyes, the world becomes incomparably clearer than before.
“This is….”
“Of course, all martial artists can concentrate their inner energy in their eyes to enhance their vision to some degree. But the beast sense technique surpasses that. What I just did is a secret method for rapidly strengthening vision—if we’re talking techniques, it’s something like Eye Fortification.”
There are plenty of impressive martial arts names out there, yet I always name them so plainly.
It’s easy to understand, at least.
The problem is the lack of romance.
I stand three paces away from Sama Hyeon.
“Now. Attack me.”
“Huh?”
“Attack me. With your fist. Strike me here. Infuse it with inner energy—about the level of a fist strike.”
I point to my chest.
“Is this also that practical application thing?”
“Yes. So go ahead.”
“Okay~ I got it~”
He strikes with inner energy infused. Normally one would recoil at such madness, but Sama Hyeon trusted his brother.
Therefore, he obediently did as instructed.
Energy gathers at his fist, and the materialized energy swirls around it.
In that state, Sama Hyeon assumes his stance.
Whoosh!
A piercing sound of wind followed as the fist shot toward my chest.
In that instant.
I extended my hand to meet the attack.
The thought of ‘He’s attacking too? What do I do?’ flashed briefly through my mind. I poured more force into my fist, driving it forward with greater intensity.
And the moment our fists made contact, a subtle yet astonishing transformation occurred.
Boom!
My body trembled ever so slightly, and I felt the force of his striking fist dissipate and scatter like mist.
Simultaneously, my hand found its way to Sama Hyeon’s throat.

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