Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 66
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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 66
“Hee, I’m truly grateful.”
“Please don’t say that. Master, the fact that you’ve made progress is what brings me joy.”
“Thank you for saying so. But then… if we continue with what we discussed earlier, what do you think we should do now?”
“First, we need to organize the fundamentals. And we’ll need research as well as education.”
“Things will get busy.”
“What choice do we have? We have to see it through.”
“True. Someone who memorized the entire Mancipium Codex in less than a month
shouldn’t have major problems. In that case… perhaps it’s time for you to begin learning it as well.”
“If you’ve memorized all of the Seo Man Cho Do Gam, then there shouldn’t be any major problems. In that case… it’s about time. You might be ready to learn it yourself.”
“Learning? Wait. Surely not.”
Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes widened in surprise.
Today we had arranged to discuss medical knowledge and future plans, but the conversation had taken an unexpected turn.
“Yes. I will formally transmit the Heavenly Origin Elixir Divine Skill to you.”
Jin Cheon-hee’s expression grew even more astonished.
“I look forward to working with you going forward.”
For both master and disciple, this was a momentous step.
* * *
Time passed as master and disciple committed to learning from one another.
Jin Cheon-hee threw himself into studying with fierce dedication.
I could devote even more time to my studies than before.
Thanks to the antibiotic production becoming fully established.
And because the quantity of instruments Yoo Ho had produced had become sufficient.
Thus I poured the time I gained into learning the medical arts of the Central Plains, while transmitting medical knowledge to my master Jegalling.
Of course, studying alone wasn’t enough to solve everything.
A doctor of the Martial Arts World had to cultivate martial prowess as well.
As a result, Jin Cheon-hee still spent each day in constant activity.
Martial training, medical studies, knowledge transmission.
Without the power of the Five Elements Divine Skill and the Heavenly Origin Elixir Divine Skill, I would have collapsed long ago under such a grueling schedule.
While my body endured through inner force, my mental fortitude was strengthened by the hardships I had faced in Korea.
It was the resilience of someone who had overcome the entrance examination system, graduated from medical school, and become a doctor beyond residency.
That wasn’t all.
Simply what was in books wasn’t enough. I brought medicinal herbs from the storage and learned their scents and textures firsthand.
I even tasted small portions of dried leaves and roots.
-Aren’t you being too impatient?
Little Gungwi Wang Gak-yeon spoke to Jin Cheon-hee as she watched him this way.
She worried he might collapse and earnestly recommended he rest, even mentioning there were nice swimming spots on the mountain these days.
But Jin Cheon-hee only smiled at Gak-yeon’s concern.
Gak-yeon would naturally reach her level by adulthood if she diligently followed the training her father Wang Chae-baek had transmitted to her, step by step in proper order.
With talent and an inherently sincere nature, she had nothing to worry about.
However, I had a time constraint.
I had no intention of doing something foolish like crying out “Master! I’ve finally memorized the entire Imperial Medical Records!” only after my Master had passed away.
I absorbed the medical knowledge of the Central Plains faster than anyone else.
Recently, I had succeeded in combining and decocting medicinal herbs presented as a test assignment right before my Master Jegalling’s eyes.
Normally, one would need to look at the name plaques attached to the herb containers to make the correct combination, but during my test, all the plaques had been removed.
It was something my Master had Yoo Ho do.
The principle was to teach the foremost disciple even more strictly, and I had succeeded in combining the medicinal herbs in half the allotted time.
All the Medical Assistants who had come to watch at that time clicked their tongues in amazement.
-Good heavens… he’s memorized what would normally take a year to learn.
-A year? Usually, wouldn’t one identify the herbs by looking at the name plaques beneath the herb containers? This requires perfectly linking the characteristics of each herb, their names, and their combinations in memory…
Everyone nodded at those words.
-Gungwi was so impressed that he volunteered to become a servant. He truly was a rare talent under heaven.
As the foremost disciple to inherit Jegalling’s legacy, I also possessed esoteric medical knowledge from sources unknown.
My young age contributed as well, offering boundless potential, and many had witnessed my mysterious medical techniques.
My Master distributed precious ganoderma mushroom wine that day to all the Medical Assistants.
He seemed unable to contain his overwhelming pride.
And while he was at it, he got to boast about his disciple a bit.
The next assignment was the Comprehensive Medicinal Compendium.
A book that covered types of medicine other than herbs.
It dealt with medicinal materials such as animal bones, livers, organs, and minerals.
Just like the Herbal Compendium, it contained over a thousand entries. But the problem came next.
‘If I combine these as well, there will be over ten thousand combinations.’
I didn’t ask any further questions.
I threw myself into studying with all my might.
This time, I memorized while carrying a bucket of water on my head and practicing footwork patterns.
Since the sequence of footwork patterns was now completely ingrained in my mind, I now needed to use inner energy to maintain an unwavering posture.
For that, I needed Earth Qi.
Unlike Wood Qi, which provided regeneration, or Metal Qi, which hardened parts of the body, Earth Qi allowed the physical form to endure for extended periods.
However, like all cultivation methods of this era, improper training could damage the spine. And no one would take responsibility for that.
That was the way of the Gangho.
I thought the probability of becoming half-paralyzed from training was higher than the probability of dying from venturing into the Gangho.
water
Wouldn’t the probability of that happening be higher? Jin Cheon-hee thought.
Moreover, trying to do everything at once made my training somewhat more intense than others’.
Heavenly Origin Elixir Divine Skill.
One of the secret martial arts of the Jegal Family that stimulates the brain to dramatically increase memory capacity.
‘If I taught this to modern-day test-takers, I’d make a fortune.’
I practiced footwork patterns while utilizing Earth Qi to maintain my posture, and simultaneously circulated the Heavenly Origin Elixir Divine Skill to awaken my mind.
Those were truly days of mad cultivation.
* * *
Beneath a sky stained gray, I continued my training in the Training Ground as I did every day.
“I’ve never seen anyone quite as stubborn as you, young master.”
“Is that so?”
Yoo Ho tucked his hands into his sleeves and regarded me.
Time passed, yet I never missed a single day, pushing myself harder with each session.
“And on top of that, you spend your nights in private sessions with the Master?”
‘I had to teach him the foundations of modern medicine, after all.’
My learning couldn’t be resolved in a day or two, and my Master was no different. Besides, he proved to be quite an ideal student.
When I explained the concept of cells, my Master said this:
-Then cells could transform according to one’s inner energy, couldn’t they?
It was a perspective I hadn’t considered.
‘This world truly is different from Earth. Very different indeed.’
It was only possible because qi existed as a tangible force in this world.
My Master would frequently bring up questions I hadn’t even thought of.
He not only grasped concepts quickly but offered alternative directions I myself hadn’t considered.
‘If I were a professor, I would have dragged him straight into graduate school. We would have spent years together until he became a poor lab rat.’
I entertained this casually cruel thought without hesitation.
Then I felt something cold on my shoulder.
It was rain.
Yoo Ho opened his mouth with an expressionless face.
“Cold rain, it seems. Thanks to you, young master, the Master has had quite an easy season. I’m grateful for that.”
“You don’t look very grateful.”
“Expressions aren’t what matter.”
“You certainly have a way with words.”
“By the thickness of these drops, it looks like quite a downpour is coming. Won’t you go inside, young master?”
I let out a small sigh.
“Getting a little rain is fine. Time is running short. I need to prepare as much as I can.”
“I see… then I’ll take my leave. My workload has increased considerably thanks to someone.”
I was carving out time to train Yoo Ho as well.
Yoo Ho asked me.
“Are you actually human, young master?”
“Why? Don’t I seem like it?”
At my question, Yoo Ho nodded.
“Sometimes, I wonder.”
“Getting the urge to kill me again?”
Yoo Ho answered to that.
“I have no hobby of toppling towers built with care.”
He meant he would watch until completion.
After treating the patients of Gungwi and Ju Wang and witnessing me cure incurable diseases, I felt that Yoo Ho had finally made up his mind completely.
I let out a quiet laugh.
“Good boy.”
He spoke to me as if I were a pet, and Yoo Ho felt offended.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
It was I who was building the tower, not him.
“I’m sometimes curious what Young Master’s liver looks like.”
“Of course it’s a healthy crimson color. I don’t drink, smoke, or eat greasy foods. So, my friend, the question is—what complications can arise after liver resection?”
“Liver failure, ascites, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, peritoneal infection… Why do you keep doing this?”
Yoo Ho grumbled mid-answer.
I laughed at him like a demon while moving my feet according to the Samjaebo Technique’s form.
Training had to continue, after all.
* * *
This world maintains itself through the harmony of yin and yang.
As summer grew long and hot, winter naturally became long and cold as well.
This year’s winter was like that, and so naturally this year’s summer became the same.
When such summers arrived, my Master Jegalling’s condition improved.
Because summer’s heat suppressed the Nine Yin Meridian Pulse.
And until such summers came, Jegalling’s life had been sustained through internal energy and the furnace technique.
But this winter, he had managed quite healthily.
Though he had collapsed once from overusing his internal energy to treat patients, otherwise he had been fine.
Even more so because he had gained small insights while I transmitted my medical knowledge to him. Yet this didn’t mean he could let his guard down.
Because my Master Jegalling’s condition still showed no signs of improving.
I, who regularly diagnosed his pulse with true energy, knew this best.
Today was no exception.
My Master Jegalling’s Ondol Room.
A place filled with warmth thanks to its excellent natural light.
There, I finally withdrew my hand from my Master’s wrist. The pulse diagnosis was complete.
I closed my eyes and organized what I had diagnosed.
‘Diagnosing with true energy is certainly effective. It substitutes for modern imaging to a considerable degree.’
It was almost cheating, really.
I thought about my Master’s body I had just examined.
‘How are you even alive, Master? Does this make biological sense?’
When I first diagnosed my Master back then, it felt like an ultrasound with noise.
Now, thanks to the Jegal Pulse Diagnosis Secret Transmission, I could feel it far more clearly and accurately.
‘How on earth did
this
body come to be? Does this make any common sense?’
Come to think of it, my reincarnation into a novel, and the existence of qi itself, both deviated far too much from common sense.
My Master observed the deep furrow forming between my brows.
Soon, I spoke.
“It remains unchanged, Master. Just as before, your body continues to generate cold energy.”
The cold energy within my body was draining my warmth as if I were yearning to freeze to death.
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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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