Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 690

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

Chapter 690
Upon arriving at the guest chamber, I accepted the tea being served one cup at a time.
A soft sip.
The teacup bore delicate golden patterns of a rabbit and mountains.
Inlaying such intricate designs in gold required exceptional craftsmanship, naturally making it expensive.
Yet the servants’ hands setting it down moved with practiced ease.
That meant the Namgung Family possessed many teacups of this caliber.
Truly, one could sense the difference in wealth from the smallest details.
Hwang-gu and Noeji received large plates with thin slices of meat arranged upon them.
Even those plates bore golden patterns.
More precisely, the marks where broken pieces had been repaired and joined with gold.
They were using a dog’s food bowl that had been mended with precious metal.
‘Insane.’
Hwang-gu and Noeji simply ate with enthusiasm.
After all, how expensive or rare the bowls humans provided was none of their concern.
The taste seemed excellent.
The door creaked open.
Soon after, Namgung Un burst through the entrance.
“Jin, my friend! Thank you for coming.”
“Perhaps you could cough before entering next time.”
“Hm? Between men, is that really necessary?”
“Sigh… You’ll end up crossing blades with someone that way.”
There were no people as composed as those from the Gangho, yet none as sensitive either.
A doctor lives avoiding even the smallest sparks of conflict.
But Namgung Un, heir to the Namgung Family, lacked such caution.
Behind him always stood the great Namgung Family itself.
“Ha, if I were going to be cut down over this, it would’ve happened long ago. Anyway… I wanted to apologize first. I’m truly sorry.”
“…”
Instead of answering, I rested my chin in my hand and stared at him intently.
“Is this about the Hwaju Medical Institute?”
“That’s right. The Second Mother went ahead and summoned the Hwaju Medical Institute after all.”
Namgung Un would become the Family Head of the Namgung Family in time, but what of the current one?
In the past, he was known by the name Sword King.
However, he rarely took active roles in the Gangho anymore, and by now had quietly slipped from the ranks of the top ten masters under heaven.
Since the day Master Gwon Je passed away, the Gangho has undergone tremendous upheaval.
The Three Elites, First Sword, First Emperor, Second Demon, Second King, Ilgwang.
At least my Master Jegalling would surely earn a place among the top ten masters under heaven.
But he never flaunts his martial prowess, nor does he often accept blind martial arts challenge letters, so he’s excluded from such rankings.
‘Dorang’s name vanished after his defeat to me, and Master Gwon Je has passed from this world.’
Even in the original work, the presence of the Namgung Family Head was faint and indistinct.
At some point, he passed away, and transferred the position of Family Head to Namgung Un.
‘There wasn’t much mention of this in the novel.’
Perhaps it was because Jicheon Cheonma was primarily narrated from Yeo Ha-ryun’s perspective.
Based on the information I collected through Hao-mun and Gaebang, the Namgung Family Head was the type to focus on family management rather than Gangho affairs.
He had succeeded in various ventures, and currently, the Namgung Family’s wealth was at an all-time high, as one could see.
With those funds, he supported the bloodline members of the Namgung Family and cultivated martial artists, greatly expanding the Namgung Family’s power itself.
Of course, there was an aspect of overextending business ventures, which caused some turbulence in Gangho… though it existed.
For him, the most important thing was the family.
One could say he was similar to Ga Wan of the Ga Family.
Family-first ideology.
It was common here.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t it common on Earth too?’
Looking at conglomerates, they’d fight tooth and nail over wealth, but then pass the best positions around within the family.
He had three wives.
In a world with concubinage, Prince Ju-wang, who had only one prince consort and remained devoted to one wife, was the unusual one.
Typically, families like this had multiple spouses.
Ga Wan also had three.
Though two of them died from mysterious food poisoning.
In any case, Namgung Un and Namgung Yeon were born of the first wife, who gave birth to two children before passing away.
He then took a second and third wife, fathering three more children.
Two sons and one daughter.
‘All three of the later wives’ children are said to have exceptional talent. The world said dragons lived in the Namgung Family.’
But I knew that wasn’t entirely a good thing.
Gaju Ga Wan never had children in the first place, and even if she had, she would have killed them with her own hands, prepared to stain her hands with blood.
But humans as emotionally detached as Ga Wan were rare.
Usually, the current head of the Namgung Family lived thinking, ‘I’m blessed with many children.’
‘These three didn’t appear much in Jicheon Cheonma. They either died or had their dantians destroyed.’
Surprisingly, it was Iron-Blooded Sword Namgung Yeon who made them that way.
Now she spent her days happily like a flower in a greenhouse with her older brother, but after Namgung Un died at the hands of Cheonma Yeo Ha-ryun, she underwent a complete transformation.
To avenge her only brother’s death, she had to seize power, and the obstacles in her way were her half-siblings.
Though not described in detail, there must have been a bloodbath befitting the name “Iron-Blooded.”
‘Well, that’s as far as my understanding goes.’
“Hmm? Brother Jin, are you listening?”
It took me less than a second to think through all of this.
“Yes. Let me take his pulse first.”
I had heard everything Namgung Un was saying.
The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong at its peak was truly convenient.
When I went to examine him, the Namgung Family Head was already unconscious.
Around him were physicians from the Hwaju Medical Institute.
Guards and several relatives were seated nearby.
‘Ah, so that’s why the formation at the entrance changed.’
Still, with such formidable martial prowess, it was rare for someone to simply collapse from the strain.
First, I grasped the patient’s wrist and took their pulse multiple times over an extended period.
“Let me check the ankles as well.”
The servants stirred nervously when I announced I would examine the ankles too.
After taking the pulse, I inspected beneath the fingernails, then moved on to check the neck.
Next, I examined the hair and nails, then had them open their mouth to inspect the teeth, tongue, and the inner mucous membranes of the gums.
“Has the patient been frequently dropping things, or experienced any personality changes?”
“Before Father lost consciousness, he would often drop objects. I wouldn’t say his personality changed drastically, but he did become more irritable. His appetite changed too.”
“….”
“…We investigated whether it might be poison, but we found no trace of toxins.”
“These are symptoms of poisoning.”
In that instant, everyone in the room stirred.
“Poison? Poison, you say?”
“Someone made a move against the great Namgung Family!”
At that moment, the Hwajui-gak Physician spoke up.
“We examined him too, and found no poison! Hwajui-gak guarantees it!”
“That’s right. Poison? How absurd! Can the Soggakju of Baekrin Uiseon take responsibility for such a claim?”
As the room erupted in chaos, I sat motionless like a puppet, my eyelashes lowered.
Soon, Namgung Un asked.
“Who tried to harm Father?”
Only then did I open my eyes. The azure eyes of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong met those of the Hwajui-gak physicians.
A faint sound.
It was strange. This young man’s gaze felt as though it pierced right through a person.
“Ugh.”
Overwhelmed by the pressure, the Hwajui-gak physicians fell silent.
As the room quieted, I parted my lips and spoke the truth.
In the Gangho, there exist poisons not classified as such, yet undeniably toxic.
“No. It appears he ingested it himself.”
Mercury poisoning.
Surprisingly, it was one of those incidents that occasionally occurred in the Gangho, particularly among wealthy families.
Mercury itself was one of the materials used in alchemy of this era.
Baekrin Uiseon had prohibited the use of mercury, but other medical institutes and alchemical practitioners still employed it.
Yet paradoxically, deaths from mercury poisoning were rare.
The reason being….
Setting aside the expense of mercury, one could survive it by enduring with internal energy.
Mercury versus cultivation energy.
A thrilling clash between chemistry and martial arts.
When I questioned Namgung Un about various details, it turned out that the Namgung Family had such abundant wealth that they summoned every expert of repute and had them diligently practice alchemy.
They consumed the resulting medicinal broths and pills like water and snacks.
When younger, even consuming that might allow the unscientific to triumph over science, but now with age, and especially after losing to the Abbot who became the Geomhwang, something seems to have broken in his spiritual foundation.
Martial artists are steadfast yet sensitive.
They are those who split mountains and tear rivers asunder, yet even a single heart demon can begin to destroy their bodies—such is the nature of martial artists.
“Excessive mercury consumption damages the body, it seems.”
“Ah… it’s better not to consume it at all.”
“Hmm.”
Namgung Un’s expression showed reluctance to accept this.
The others felt the same way.
Well, that made sense—they had likely been consuming it since childhood.
‘I offer my respects to the lungs, kidneys, and brains of those who continue to triumph in the battle of science versus non-science today.’
Truly, martial prowess is supreme~
In any case, there are three methods.
“First, there is bone-replacement rebirth. This is the universal panacea of martial artists.”
“If that were possible, it would have been done long ago.”
“Yes, that’s true. The second method is forced purification. It involves forcibly extracting waste from the body—similar to the punishment cleansing you received in your youth. It would need to be performed multiple times, and the pain would be indescribable. Though you’re unconscious now, you would need to continue receiving it after waking, so it would be quite agonizing.”
“What is the third?”
“Using penicillamine to perform chelation therapy.”
This is a heavy metal poisoning treatment used in modern medicine.
EDTA—or more simply, a substance that reacts with heavy metals—is introduced into the bloodstream and expelled from the body, a method used for heavy metal poisoning patients.
Chelation.
The word comes from Greek, meaning a crab’s claw (Chela), because it grasps heavy metals like a blue crab—hence the term chelation.
During World War II, American workers who developed lead poisoning while painting naval ships were treated with this method, and it has been widely used for heavy metal treatment ever since.
In a sense, it is a treatment that has accompanied those workers sacrificed by industrialization.
Nowadays, American pseudo-alternative medicine practitioners also use it like some miracle cure, for some reason.
‘Alternative medicine chelation is entering our country as well, but please only receive medical treatment verified by professional medical staff.’
It was originally created for heavy metal treatment.
Mercury, lead, cadmium.
Fortunately, the penicillamine used in chelation is an amino acid substance derived from penicillin.
It’s used in treating rheumatoid arthritis and Wilson’s disease.
“Haha, Baekrin Uiseon has already produced it long ago and completed the verification process. We finished it last year.”
After all, even Emperor Qin died of mercury poisoning, so I suspected martial artists might also suffer from it.
I never imagined the Namgung Family Head would be the first to initiate this.
If we could produce penicillin but couldn’t extract penicillamine, that would be a sin in itself.
But penicillin was made relatively quickly—penicillamine only completed its clinical trials last year.
The derivative drug took longer to develop than penicillin itself.
Even knowing it from Earth knowledge, the actual production process involved considerable trial and error.
“Then… are you recommending the third method?”
“Yes. Considering the patient’s internal energy and physical condition, I believe it would be better than forced purification.”
Jin Cheon-hee provided a detailed explanation of penicillamine.
Jin Cheon-hee explained penicillamine in detail.
And what came out of his mouth was.
“Perform the Gaejung Great Method for me.”
“Pardon? Did I not explain how safe this procedure is….”
“Perform the Gaejung Great Method.”
…No, this is insane. Why?
Could it be because of the Hwaju Medical Institute?
* * *
“You must perform the Gaejung Great Method!”
“Penicillamine? What…? How can you possibly inject such a strange substance into the bloodstream!”
In response to the Hwaju Medical Institute physicians’ words, I spoke.
“Baekrin Uiseon has provided medical support to the Yong Bong Ji Hoe on multiple occasions, and countless martial artists have survived thanks to our medical techniques. It seems petty to raise such objections now.”
“Isn’t the name itself strange for a medicine?”
“What problem could there be with our institute’s Baekrin Cheongsu?”
“That wasn’t the name before!”
But I remained composed. My expression conveyed this message.
‘So what? I’m going to call it that from now on. What are you going to do about it?’

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