Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 672

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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 672
Because it was Yoo Ho, I threw everything I had at him, and Yoo Ho rose to meet my expectations.
He simply tilted his head to the side.
Pang!
My leg cut through the air with a thunderous boom.
Yoo Ho’s hair swayed gently.
“Tsk, that won’t reach?”
With those words, he immediately transitioned into his next attack.
Formidable output!
The remarkable thing wasn’t his fists, but his palm techniques.
Watching this, Sama-hye thought to herself.
‘Eun Gong prefers driving impact through palm techniques rather than striking with fists. When necessary, he can switch to flowing fists and employ the subtleties of the Dual Flower Grafting technique.’
However, doing so meant that in each fleeting moment, situational judgment determined the next move, raising the difficulty of the match.
If you use the Dual Flower Grafting subtlety when you should be using long-range strikes, and throw palms when you should be using the technique, you’ll end up with your palm sliced by a blind blade.
That’s why only those with exceptionally keen dynamic vision and sharp judgment could fight this way.
‘Many other sects tried to imitate this and ended up twisted.’
When the Jegallim Family was destroyed, many secret techniques scattered.
Naturally, many families developed further because of it, and they couldn’t help but covet the divine techniques and palm methods displayed by Cheonhailgwang.
Fundamentally, martial arts don’t exist in isolation.
Fighting requires palms meeting palms, and martial arts could be said to be the continuous mutual influence between opponents.
Sects with firmly rooted foundations were fine.
However, those sects that forgot even those roots wandered for quite a long time.
There were even cases where successors died.
‘Sword techniques are problematic, but that palm technique is the real trap.’
That movement with power released all the way to the fingertips looked full of openings at first glance, but once you actually engaged with it, you felt like you were fighting a quilt rather than a person.
And those martial artists who tried to imitate it realized that Ilgwang’s martial arts always operated on the principle of choice.
Deliberating between long-range strikes and flowing fists.
Then deliberating between body techniques, footwork, and stance changes.
‘And finally, you have to think all the way to combination techniques—it’s a dog’s life.’
By the time you came to your senses, the enemy was in a desperate position with joints dislocated—something only possible after mastering the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong of the Jegallim Family.
‘Eun Gong fragments time, divides it further, and then judges.’
But you couldn’t tell from the outside.
Especially seeing this figure fighting desperately with those blue eyes.
“Yoo Hoooooo!”
“You damn bastard, are you using me as a test subject for your new martial arts?”
In that instant, Yoo Ho’s fist drove into my cheek.
My jaw rippled and my cheek crumpled like a bun.
Boom–!
I flew away comically and rolled across the ground ten times.
Everyone held their breath, watching me and the Chief Manager brushing blood off me.
A scene like any other day.
No, actually a bit more violent than usual.
Isn’t it true that you see only what you know?
Several martial artists and Sama-hye froze in shock.
‘Just how strong is Chief Manager Yoo?’
I brushed myself off and stood up again.
“Hehe, as expected of Chief Manager Yoo. Petty tricks don’t work on you~”
‘I couldn’t even see Chief Manager Yoo’s fist.’
How was this even possible?
I spoke up.
“By the way, Chief Manager Yoo, you’ve gotten even stronger?”
As I said this, my blue eyes gleamed brilliantly.
For some reason, all the Medical Assistants watching felt a chill run down their spines.
* * *
Several months had passed since my visit to the imperial palace.
Time flew by in a blur.
At Baekrin Uiseon, I spent my days fulfilling my duties as a Doctor.
Meanwhile, Baek Hwan-hu continued to recruit quality personnel, drawing in talented scholars through osmotic pressure.
‘There are plenty of unemployed talented scholars in this industry.’
A mere local talented scholar would find it nearly impossible to pass the civil service examination, and even if they did, receiving an official appointment was far from guaranteed.
From this point on, factors like family prestige and connections came into play.
If an ancestor had committed crimes five generations back, or even eight generations back, that was considered when granting official positions.
If you didn’t like that, you could always try buying your way into office.
Thanks to the Gold & Silver Royals, the major positions were difficult to obtain through bribery, but the minor local positions still operated on that system.
As a result, talented scholars from ordinary families, even if they passed the examination, remained unemployed, scrubbing floors with their backs.
“Can’t we just recruit anyone and everyone?”
“We already have ten Deputy Chief Managers in the inner office. The outer office Deputy Chief Managers that Muyue oversees number ten as well.”
I answered Yoo Ho’s grumbling this way.
“But it’s a waste to have talent languishing unemployed like this, isn’t it?”
“This is a matter of supply and demand. Fundamentally, the Hwa Empire has an oversupply relative to demand.”
“I see.”
As I furrowed one eyebrow, Yoo Ho spoke.
“The civil service examination is held once or twice a year, and if you include the minor local exams held throughout the year, it’s held six times annually. Those who pass and receive appointments serve until they reach sixty. Unless they request retirement and petition the Emperor, or unless health issues force them to step down.”
“Unless they’re dismissed for corruption, that’s how it goes.”
“Then how many positions are there in the first place? There aren’t enough places to assign all these talented scholars who pass the exam, and that’s why we’re in this mess.”
At those words, I let out a small sigh.
“There are so many uses for talented scholars, so why has it come to this?”
I couldn’t understand it.
Yoo Ho answered.
“You need to be a genius. Otherwise, you need to come from a powerful family.”
Perhaps it’s because the population is so large.
True enough—from the Emperor’s position, it would be impossible to personally uncover every individual’s circumstances.
And while the Hwa Empire would benefit from perfect centralized authority where all officials submit and obey without question…
The Imperial Eight Families and regional powers are watching with keen eyes, aren’t they?
“Hmm, then couldn’t we bring in more talented scholars? We’re expanding anyway, and it’s not as though we lack the budget to employ them, is it?”
At my words, Yoo Ho pressed his forehead repeatedly.
“By the way, how is the mass production of the new medicine coming along?”
“The disinfectant, you mean?”
“Yes. It’s cheaper than wound medicine.”
“Though its efficacy is inferior.”
“Still, it’s better than succumbing to inflammation. And it’s easy to obtain.”
What I’m currently developing is a household disinfectant.
While wound medicine already exists in Gangho, it’s too expensive for household use.
“Isn’t soap alone sufficient?”
“Hmm. Simply washing hands and feet with soap prevents many illnesses—it suppresses childbed fever and raises maternal survival rates, and the more soap is used, the lower infant mortality becomes. Even adults benefit from frequent handwashing.”
“Then isn’t that enough?”
At Yoo Ho’s words, I shook my head.
“We need disinfectant to prevent various inflammations and diseases like sepsis.”
That’s why commoners need disinfectant too.
In a sense, I felt commoners needed it even more.
When you’re tilling fields, spreading manure, feeding dogs, chasing away raccoons—it’s difficult to keep your hands and feet unharmed.
And when you get injured and it festers, you don’t have money to see a doctor.
Wound medicine? There’s no way they could afford something so expensive.
It’s surprisingly common in farming communities for people to lose limbs or their lives this way.
A single small wound—if luck isn’t on your side—and a person dies.
“We’re already stretched thin just with mass-producing Geumho Sindan?”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“And the new medicine we haven’t named yet has completed all verification, so we’ll begin mass production soon.”
Aspirin.
….
“Your ambitions exceed your grasp. Slow down a little.”
“But….”
“This isn’t something to exhaust yourself over alone. Young master.”
At Yoo Ho’s words, I fell silent.
He was right. No matter how hard I try to accomplish something alone, it’s ultimately just one person’s strength.
No matter how much I overwork or what I attempt, it’s still just the power of a single individual.
“…You’re right. I suppose I’ve become too impatient.”
Yoo Ho gazes at my retreating figure.
Why does this man pour all his strength into saving people with such desperation?
He couldn’t comprehend it.
* * *
‘Right. I need to come up with a name for aspirin.’
While development had been completed some time ago, cross-validation and mass production had taken so long that I was only now preparing for its official launch.
‘Mass production, though—it’s not like some factory on Earth. It’s just the apothecaries working hard to produce it.’
Initially, it would be distributed through the major Segas, followed by the smaller and mid-sized ones.
Finally, it would reach even the Pyo Guk’s Pyo Sa.
Aspirin still had a lower unit cost than Baekrin Sindan.
That was probably because Baekrin Sindan required infusing inner energy, whereas aspirin could be made from willow bark and predetermined reagents.
‘The process for aspirin is actually more complex, though.’
Or is it?
From the perspective of the Uigak-won making it, one might as well be the same as the other.
Jin Cheon-hee thought about it that far, then entered the pavilion and gazed blankly up at the sky.
It had been a long time since I’d allowed myself to slump like this, lost in thought.
Until now, hadn’t I been living each day in a rush, as if someone were chasing me?
I lay there blankly, watching the rain fall.
“Spring has already arrived.”
Watching the pouring spring rain blankly, I thought that I’d gotten through this winter without any particular troubles.
That’s when Yoo Ho approached the pavilion again.
“Oh, Chief Manager Yoo, what’s the matter? Did you miss me again~?”
Yoo Ho paused in his steps.
He looked like he was considering whether to hit that smug face of mine.
Jin Cheon-hee was about to tease him further but decided to hold back.
“A letter from the Wudang Sect, sir.”
“Hmm?”
When I opened the letter, it read as follows:
-Gwon Je’s condition critical.
Just a brief line.
The moment Jin Cheon-hee read it, he rushed toward his Master.
* * *
“It is old age. You already know this, don’t you?”
“What illness is it, exactly…?”
“It is old age. Haven’t you already diagnosed him and understood this?”
My Master answered curtly.
Aging was the natural order that no physician could prevent.
The last time I’d taken his pulse, Gwon Je’s health was already not particularly good.
Of course, for his age it was relatively good, but he didn’t have the stamina to overcome the passage of time.
“Master, you understand this well.”
“How do you think I obtained your pomelo?”
At those words, the corners of Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes twitched slightly.
When I had returned from a long journey, my Master had given me pomelo as a gift.
He had her eat it right then and there as a way to vent his frustration.
“So you had already heard about the illness at that time.”
“Yes. I heard that even maintaining his position had become difficult.”
Cheonwoo had not written this in his letter.
Perhaps it was because it was such a difficult matter for Cheonwoo himself as well.
My Master tapped the furrowed brow of my troubled disciple with his index finger.
“Ugh. Master!”
“Go and pay your final respects.”
His voice was calm.
“What if there’s a method like rebirth or shedding one’s old self? Wouldn’t that work?”
“You mean artificially inducing it? That thing you did in the Aisha Kingdom.”
I nodded.
At those words, Jegalling laughed softly.
“The Prince was young, but Gwon Je is not. And… unless an enlightenment about the martial arts happens to occur by chance, it seems he would not wish to prolong his life in such a manner.”
He was not usually a man of such stubborn conviction.
I spoke.
“Still, I will go. If there is anything I can do, I will try.”
“Yes. You are that kind of child.”
I bowed deeply to my Master and immediately gathered my belongings to depart.
‘Even as my disciple has grown so powerful in martial arts, and possesses wealth, power, and renown, he remains unchanged.’
He was frighteningly consistent.
‘But this time, even you will find it difficult.’
It was not simply because of the fact that Gwon Je would die of old age.
Surprisingly, such matters were familiar to physicians, and that fellow was not one to collapse from such things.
Rather, it was who would fill the void left behind after the giant of the martial world disappeared.
It was clear that turmoil would arise in Gangho.
Knowing this, my Master still sends me off.
‘Go well and return safely.’

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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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