Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 684

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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 684
Splash—
The Yuzu Wine gleamed like the sunset, casting a nostalgic light.
At that divine fragrance, my vision blurred.
“Stop your crying already. Tsk, I gave you forty-nine days to put things in order, didn’t I?”
“Master, you truly have no conscience. Making people suffer like that.”
“Hahahaha, so now you can say such things. Yes. You’ve grown that much.”
I walked toward Master again. But the reed field seemed reluctant to narrow the distance.
Master remained ten paces away, simply sipping the Yuzu Wine.
“I am selfish and heartless, so there’s no need for you to grieve so.”
“…You speak so coldly.”
“This affection of yours is remarkably stubborn.”
Master grumbled irritably for a while, then finally set down the wine bottle.
Then he walked toward me.
It was strange.
When I tried to approach, I couldn’t move forward, yet when Master moved, he closed the distance in an instant.
Master embraced young me.
“Life is such that we are born alone and depart alone. There is no need to feel so lonely or sorrowful.”
“…”
“But I shall always watch over you.”
“Master.”
“Tell him too that there’s no need to grieve. Well, in a sense, he is more anxious than anyone, yet stronger than anyone.”
“I understand.”
Whoooosh—
The reeds rippled in golden waves. Master’s fragrance lingered.
What lay at the end of this reed field?
Not wanting to part from Master, I gripped his sleeve tightly.
Right now, holding Master like this, I felt as though I could see the end of this reed field.
“You cunning fox. Did you think I wouldn’t see through you?”
Smack!
In that instant, my eyes opened.
“Waaagh! Cheonwoo! Cheonwoo!”
The first thing I saw was my brother’s tear-streaked face.
“…Brother?”
“Why did your heart suddenly stop? Damn it!”
Ah, I nearly died.
That reed field was likely a place I could never cross while alive. That’s why Master had tried to simply bid farewell and leave.
‘Though he flicked my forehead.’
It seemed he had been worried that his disciple, so vulnerable to affection and yearning for it, might follow him even to the underworld.
But.
“Sigh, I’ve saved another life. Hah… barely managed it.”
My brother gripped Cheonwoo’s wrist, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
His pale, delicate hands trembled slightly, still shaken by what had just transpired.
Feeling that warmth, I finally grasped what I had nearly lost.
For some reason, Cheonwoo found himself laughing.
“Ha… haha…”
“Cheonwoo, don’t laugh. Let me check your pulse again…”
“Hahahaha!”
Why was he laughing?
Cheonwoo finally understood why it took forty-nine days to send off a single person.
‘Perhaps it was meant to wear away the attachment, so the sorrow wouldn’t be so heavy.’
He recalled Master Gwon Je while making an inference that no true hermit should dare entertain.
“Brother, I wish the forty-ninth day had been four hundred and ninety days instead.”
“What?”
Has this fool finally lost his mind? That was the look in my brother’s eyes.
“Forty-nine days isn’t enough. His affection still clings to me. I still miss him.”
Master was truly an unreasonable man.
Soon after, Jin Cheon-hee, who had been taking Cheonwoo’s pulse again, exhaled a sigh of relief.
“Yes. You’ll miss him your whole life. That’s why it becomes unbearable. Affection is a cruel thing.”
“Once I’m fully recovered, let’s share a cup of yujauju, brother.”
At those words laden with meaning, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“Yes. Let’s share a drink. One cup for you, one for me.”
The remaining cup would be poured into the reed field.
* * *
Two old masters gazed toward distant Wudang Mountain, sharing a cup of wine.
One was Tugoe, the other was Sulgye.
Tugoe.
The greatest thief in Gangho, the Wuying Touguai, had even stolen the secret treasures of the Wudang Sect, so she dared not set foot on Wudang Mountain.
Similarly, the other—Sulgye.
If he entered the Wudang Sect as the body of Sadoryeonju, the situation would become far too political.
The two old masters could only reminisce about the old days.
Everything else was of little consequence.
Tugoe raised her cup, befriending the moon. The moon reflected in the cup was already full.
She emptied the wine into her mouth in one gulp.
“Everyone’s departing on long journeys, one by one.”
“Indeed. Another old friend has gone.”
“You and Gwon Je always call each other old friends.”
“An old friend is an old friend. Because of that bastard, my joints still ache whenever it rains.”
At those words, she burst into hearty laughter.
That’s how it was in their younger days.
Tugoe asked Sulgye such a question.
“When will you go?”
Sulgye looked down at his own body.
His manner of speech was that of a seasoned elder, yet his physique belonged to a young man.
“If nothing goes wrong, won’t I live a hundred years? At least I must survive until we rebuild our Gwireong Faction.”
“A hundred years won’t be enough, it seems.”
“What?!”
“No, that cursed Gwireong Faction—if it were going to be rebuilt, it would have been done long ago. So why hasn’t it happened yet?”
“You really do have a loose tongue, don’t you.”
Sulgye grumbled and tilted his cup to his lips.
“Tugoe. You live alone, so you wouldn’t understand, but a sect can only truly prosper when a proper successor emerges.”
“Or is it that your standards are too high to choose a successor?”
At Tugoe’s words, Sulgye set his cup down with a sharp clink and poured more wine from the bottle with a splash.
“No. All the decent ones want to learn martial arts, not sorcery.”
“I’d be the same.”
“Exactly.”
“Still, there’s one person interested in sorcery, isn’t there? That one?”
Tugoe pointed his chin toward Mudang Mountain.
That one is on Mudang Mountain right now.
A madman treated as an eccentric even in the Gangho.
“Hyeolrin is trying to kill him, and at my age, should I really be trading blows with that brat…”
“True, Gwon Je also helped Hyeolrin when she was struggling, so he just vented his frustrations and called it even.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Besides, that one won’t use sorcery the way I envision it. In the end, I’m not sure if the true essence of the Gwireong Faction will be properly transmitted. It’s obvious he’ll transform it into medical arts. In a sense, he’s the worst possible successor.”
That was true.
This Ilgwang is predictable yet unpredictable.
You can’t know what he’ll transform into medical arts.
Even if he doesn’t transform it into medical arts, that’s a problem too.
That dark energy Ilgwang learned from somewhere.
It’s certainly a profound and exquisite dark energy, but look at how he’s using it.
-Please disband the gathering! Warriors of Gangho, cast down your blades and disband the gathering! Kiiiieeeeee~~~~ Kiiiieeeeee~~~~ Piyung! Piyung! Ppeyung! Piyung! Ppiiippa! Ppiiippaaaaaa!
If Gae Pa Josa saw that, he’d leap right out of his grave.
“Anyway, you have no interest in the sect—how much longer will you live, Tugoe?”
“Who knows. At least I want to see my granddaughter get married and have children.”
“And then you’ll carry that granddaughter’s child on your back and raise them bouncing up and down.”
“What, is that wrong?”
“That’s how a family line begins. Just as I’m obsessed with the sect, you’re obsessed with your bloodline, Tugoe.”
“…Says the one who can’t even manage his own household.”
Clang!
Tugoe also set down his empty cup and poured wine into his own cup himself.
Self-service.
The two old eccentrics simply sat facing each other in silence.
In a way, it seemed to symbolize the relationship between the two of them—or perhaps three, if one counted Gwon Je.
Sulgye answered.
“…I’ll do it soon. You bastard.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. With the times changing, I should do some cleaning beforehand.”
“Isn’t that the one thing you’re worst at? Cleaning your own house.”
Tugoe’s words made Sulgye laugh.
True to those words, Sulgye’s dwelling was always in disarray.
The cluttered interior with barely a spot to set foot in resembled the current state of Sadoren itself.
“Well, I don’t have high expectations, but I’m planning to move the larger items.”
“Let’s see if this old codger can actually clean properly this time.”
The two of them drained their cups in one go, as if that concluded their conversation.
Then they poured for each other and clinked their cups together.
“To an old friend.”
“To a departing friend.”
Ching!
A clear night, a clear sound.
The last of the forty-nine days.
The two old eccentrics saw off their ancient rival in this manner.
It was their own way of farewell, and could also be called preparation to greet a new era.
“Speaking of which, I heard the Demonic Sect is trying to move again lately.”
“The Daoists’ great mountain has crumbled—Cheonma won’t sit idle.”
What Cheonma loved most was blood.
Especially the blood of the faithless.
“She must be watching this moon too.”
She’s probably thinking of filling this moon with blood.
041. Differentiation
The forty-nine days ended safely.
‘I’ll probably never forget this for the rest of my life.’
In Gangho, resentment is no less fearsome than gratitude.
Cheonwoo’s arms were nearly healed now, and the alcohol… I apologize to Cheonwoo, but we shared non-alcoholic persimmon punch instead.
Yuzu persimmon punch.
“You can’t drink alcohol until the fractures are completely healed. That’s why I specially obtained this.”
“Brother, this is what children drink.”
“Master will probably like it too.”
“Master only ever drank strong spirits, brother.”
“You’re getting older. You should cut back on drinking.”
I offered non-alcoholic yuzu punch at the altar, worrying over the liver of a man already dead.
“Once you’re fully healed, we’ll switch to the strong stuff then. Okay?”
After that, I enjoyed a pleasant drinking session with Cheonwoo.
Though there was no intoxication, the atmosphere itself seemed to intoxicate.
The forty-ninth day memorial—I had expected it to be filled with wailing and sorrow.
Yet somehow, this forty-ninth day memorial felt bright.
It was because a successor had emerged who could match Geomhwang’s strength.
Thanks to this, what had been a gloomy ceremony took on quite the festive atmosphere.
‘This is what Gwon Je must have wished for.’
If I had lost to the Abbot, my fighting spirit would have ignited, and that too would have distanced us from sorrow in its own way.
‘Truly, a remarkable elder.’
Death is the end, is it not? How many people think to arrange even what comes after?
Thus I let out a hollow laugh and whispered softly toward the memorial tablet.
‘Now the Wudang Sect will have no worries for some time.’
Cheonwoo had secured his position.
There was nothing left to scheme about or manipulate.
Who would dare disrespect someone who fought Geomhwang to a draw?
Fear of Cheonwoo had always existed; now it only needed respect to fill the gap.
And Cheonwoo had earned it with his own fists.
‘Though “earned” isn’t quite the right word. He simply displayed his strength. His true strength.’
After resting well the next day.
I immediately packed my belongings.
“Well then, I should be heading back.”
“Already?”
“My Master is waiting.”
I had thought it would end with just the funeral, but it had taken longer than expected.
Though I had sent a letter to my Master, it was still my duty as a disciple to visit him as soon as possible.
As I prepared to descend Wudang Mountain, the sect members were already gathered at the entrance to see me off.
“Thank you for your hard work, Soggakju!”
“We shall not forget the kindness of So Ui-seon!”
Watching the Wudang Sect members send me off so warmly, my chest swelled with emotion for some reason.
‘This is something I’ve seen often in martial arts novels… but actually receiving it is embarrassing.’
There were people even more embarrassed than I was.
They were the Daoists who had disrespected Cheonwoo.
Every one of them couldn’t meet my eyes.
‘Right. The reason Gwon Je had such a strong voice in the Wudang Sect was simply because his fists were terrifyingly powerful.’
Why else could he live so freely without anyone daring to object?
‘Now Cheonwoo has become the same.’
Cheonwoo is the sword and shield that protects Wudang.
And everyone knew exactly who he followed most.
‘Well, I don’t really mind it much.’
The Patriarch of the Gonggong Faction and everyone else kept misunderstanding my nature.
‘Well, what can you do? Life isn’t easy for anyone.’
I myself had always made mistakes or two while living.
And there was Hacheong Jinin, smiling brightly amidst it all.
“I’ve prepared a lunch box for you.”
The lunch box Hacheong Jinin handed over was heavy, like gold itself.
“Is the seasoning mild again this time?”
“Since forty-nine days have passed, the seasoning will be quite strong this time instead.”
“It’s Mudang-style, then.”
“Yes. It’s the taste of a mudang.”
I bowed deeply to Hacheong Jinin.
Now, then… there was only one thing left.
“Let’s head back!”
Yelp!
Hwang-gu barks with Noeji perched on his head.
The sky was blue. It was a perfect day to return home.
“Oh, that’s right! Master! Master’s gift!”

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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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