Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 72
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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 72
The two young ones arrived at Gaebang Buntta before dawn broke.
Along with a landslide.
Fortunately, thanks to the gorge running through the center, the misfortune of an entire village being buried in snow did not occur.
“W-what in the world is happening?”
The startled Gae-bang Bun-ta-ju rushed outside.
Two young children and one dog.
All three were deathly pale, and there wasn’t a single unblemished spot on their bodies.
Grrrrr–!
The moment Hwang-gu saw the Bun-ta-ju, he bared his fangs with a menacing growl.
“W-Hwang-gu… sir?”
Indeed, this was Gaebang—a sect that traveled with a dog. I never expected them to address the dog with an honorific.
“Hwang-gu sir! What is the meaning of this!”
Woof! Woof! Arooooo!
It was an angry bark—what had this Bun-ta-ju been doing while this disaster unfolded?
Perhaps because we had faced life and death together?
Both Jin Cheon-hee and Wang Gak-yeon found themselves somehow understanding what Hwang-gu was barking.
“Oh my, Hwang-gu sir!”
Kwang!
“Hwang-gu is angry.”
“Yeah. He seems pretty upset.”
Jin Cheon-hee stroked Hwang-gu gently.
“Hwang-gu. You mustn’t get worked up. You’re a patient who needs treatment too.”
Whimper–
Hwang-gu closed his eyes in contentment at my touch and wagged his tail.
The Bun-ta-ju was left speechless at the sight.
“Who exactly are you, young master, to be petting our Hwang-gu sir like that?”
“Just a passing doctor.”
Jin Cheon-hee produced the credential tablet symbolizing Baekrin Uigak from his robes.
Clack–
The moment the Bun-ta-ju saw that tablet, Gaebang was turned upside down.
* * *
Gaebang. True to their nature as a sect dealing in information, everything that followed proceeded with lightning speed.
The Bun-ta-ju recognized at a glance that the tablet was issued by Baekrin Uigak, and seeing it was made of metal—specifically silver, not wood—he understood this child was at minimum a
fourth-generation patriarch of Baekrin Uigak.
Having already memorized the appearance of the four patriarchs, he realized the child before his eyes could only be one person.
“Could it be that you are the direct disciple of Master Baek Rin-ui-seon, the Young White Dragon Doctor?”
His words became extremely careful. Jin Cheon-hee answered.
“I’m hearing for the first time that I’m called the Young White Dragon Doctor in common parlance.”
“…!”
The Gae-bang Bun-ta-ju and all the beggars under him murmured in excitement. Wang Gak-yeon, watching from the side, was also somewhat surprised.
‘So he’s called the Little White Dragon Doctor?’
They say the area beneath the lamp is the darkest.
Being inside the Baekrin Medical Hall, it hadn’t felt real to her.
Now that she thought about it, the patients Jin Cheon-hee had treated upon arrival were no ordinary folk. If she had been outside, she would have learned of his reputation far more easily.
Little White Dragon. The character for “little” was attached to his name in youth, but as he matured, he would become the White Dragon. In the Gangho, the dragon meant many things.
Her only friend possessed such a prestigious epithet. Wang Gak-yeon felt her shoulders swell with pride.
‘Hehehehe, I protected the White Dragon Doctor. And I protected Hwang-gu too.’
Her first real battle was a failure by her own standards. But in the second engagement, she had rescued them brilliantly.
It was unfortunate that she ran out of arrows at the end, but thanks to Jin Cheon-hee’s quick thinking, they managed through it well.
She clenched her fist inwardly, resolving to reach the realm of the Heart Bow—the same level as her father—as quickly as possible.
Once his identity was confirmed, everything proceeded at lightning speed.
Jin Cheon-hee immediately made a request to the Gae-bang Bun-ta-ju.
“Please bring me all the doctors affiliated with the Baekrin Medical Hall in the vicinity. And gather all the medicinal ingredients I request from now on.”
“What exactly are you—”
“We need to treat Hwang-gu. Take the carrier pigeon from his neck. It will take some time to decode the cipher, won’t it?”
The carrier pigeons used by martial sects that handled such information were typically recorded in cipher.
This was necessary to prepare for situations where the pigeon might be intercepted in transit.
Yelp!
Hwang-gu wagged his tail eagerly.
Having crossed the threshold between life and death together, he now completely trusted Jin Cheon-hee.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke.
“Quickly now!”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s shout, all the beggars of the Gae-bang began moving in unison.
They found a clean shelter, prepared it in advance, and readied disinfectant.
Doctors from the Medical Hall affiliated with Baekrin arrived one after another.
“Is that
the
Little White Dragon Doctor?”
Among them were doctors seeing Jin Cheon-hee for the first time.
They seemed startled by how much younger he appeared than expected. Regardless, Jin Cheon-hee immediately began preparations for treatment.
Meanwhile, Jin Cheon-hee disinfected and sutured Wang Gak-yeon’s wound.
“Fortunately, the wound isn’t deep. Did you expel the poison using your inner energy?”
She nodded.
“Yes. The Fa-sa Divine Technique is resistant to poison.”
“I see. I’ve heard about it from Master Gungwi. Still, that’s impressive. It must have hurt.”
At those words, Wang Gak-yeon felt tears threatening to spill.
As Jin Cheon-hee dressed her wound, he said this:
“Thank you. I’m alive because of you. You’re truly strong.”
“What about you?”
“Hm?”
“You need treatment too. You’re only looking after Hwang-gu and me.”
“Haha, that’s nothing. I’m an adult, so I’m fine.”
“What?”
Jin Cheon-hee realized he’d misspoken.
In this world, he was also a young child.
Just like Wang Gak-yeon.
Jin Cheon-hee searched for words to recover and said this instead:
“The Five Elements Divine Art naturally enhances regenerative capacity anyway. My treatment can wait a bit.”
Given the situation, it sounded like an excuse, hollow and unconvincing. Wang Gak-yeon bit her lip.
“Cheon-hee. Don’t push yourself.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve never pushed myself.”
With that, Jin Cheon-hee rose to his feet.
A frame no different from Wang Gak-yeon’s, a voice just as youthful and innocent.
Yet his eyes alone were unusually deep, making it difficult to look at them.
Wang Gak-yeon herself knew her close friend was different from ordinary village companions.
She had always heard that even she was more mature and thoughtful than her peers.
But Jin Cheon-hee was different from that.
She couldn’t identify what it was, but whenever he revealed such moments, she found herself hesitating on how to treat him.
“Cheon-hee.”
“Yes?”
“Today you saved a dog, and because of that, you probably saved someone important to Gaebang.”
“That’s partly thanks to you too, Gak-yeon. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to protect Hwang-gu.”
Wang Gak-yeon started to shake her head, then paused briefly before nodding softly.
“I will protect you.”
“Because I saved your life?”
Wang Gak-yeon shook her head.
“No, it’s not like that. Of course, you have the debt of Gumyeong Jieun’s grace, but this is different. What I do best is shoot a bow, and what you do best is save people, so let’s each do what we’re best at.”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee laughed for a long time.
“I really like that.”
Then he laughed again,
“I really do like it, don’t I?”
He repeated it twice. Jin Cheon-hee rose to his feet.
“I should go check if everything’s ready. Rest well. Oh, eat this.”
He casually tossed a medicinal pill wrapped in yellow paper to Wang Gak-yeon.
As Jin Cheon-hee turned away, untreated wounds still remained on his back.
Wang Gak-yeon unwrapped the bundle of yellow paper.
Inside was a Baekrin Divine Pill.
‘Something this precious….’
It was too much for a gift of friendship.
At that moment, Jin Cheon-hee’s voice came from outside the shelter.
“If you don’t eat all of that, I’m giving it to Hwang-gu? Chew it up properly and eat it.”
* * *
Fortunately, because the initial emergency treatment had been handled well, Hwang-gu’s recovery didn’t take long.
‘I’m getting more accustomed to this.’
I thought this as I finished the surgery.
In my previous life, I was quite a capable surgeon. One of the important abilities for a surgeon is precise and swift hand movements.
Though my original specialty was general surgery, I had suddenly found myself doing orthopedic surgery and veterinary medicine as well.
‘If only there were another way….’
In the end, it came down to one of two choices.
Either let him die, or struggle with whatever means I had.
This wasn’t a modern comprehensive hospital, so ultimately all the burden fell squarely on my shoulders.
Comminuted fracture.
For such emergency trauma, time was especially critical. Moreover, without the facilities and support of the Medical Hall, once I opened the flesh, I had to finish quickly.
Time was always a precious resource.
However, through the Five Elements Divine Art, I could move at least three times faster than an ordinary person, and just as I had done when treating Yurang-hu before, I could use the Five Elements Divine Art’s fire technique to quickly locate areas of inflammation.
That wasn’t all.
The qi-sense I had gained through my martial arts cultivation turned me into a living ultrasound machine and CT scanner.
I could probe through the human body using qi and perceive it through sensation!
With just this alone, my abilities had increased tremendously.
The reason I could treat Hwang-gu despite having almost no knowledge as a veterinarian was thanks to this.
‘I’m just grateful he endured it.’
A spiritual beast is a spiritual beast. If this had been an ordinary dog, there would have been nothing I could do.
Moreover, the penicillin I had created—the Baekrin Divine Elixir—had greatly prevented complications in the patient.
‘This is cheating. Pure cheating.’
Once Hwang-gu’s surgery was complete, I collapsed from exhaustion without even hearing the thanks from the Gaebang disciples.
I felt like I was dying.
When I opened my eyes, bandages were wrapped around my wounds. It wasn’t the bandaging method used in the existing Medical Hall.
It was the latest technique distributed by the Baekrin Medical Hall.
‘Everyone here is quite skilled.’
The eyes of the doctors looking at me were shining with enthusiasm.
I thought at least one of them would look down on me for being young. My surprise was brief, but I hadn’t expected them to burn with such scholarly passion instead.
‘
My Master
has a good eye for people. Hmm… anyway, for a beggar’s hovel, the sanitary conditions aren’t that bad.’
I had expected it to be filthy and smell terrible, but the inside of the shelter was surprisingly clean.
‘That’s right. Martial artists all have different personalities, so beggars must all be different too. If there are beggars who like filth, there must be beggars who prefer cleanliness.’
I suddenly became curious.
‘But if he likes cleanliness, why is he a beggar?’
On the other hand, such a thought occurred to me.
‘Information brokering is one of the few professions where money flows in so readily. Could Gaebang truly be without funds?’
‘Beggar’—the term no longer merely described a profession, but had become a colloquialism for anyone without money.
‘Haowen rakes in money hand over fist, yet Gaebang’s maintenance costs for Buntta should be far less than his. Could they really be destitute?’
A beggar doesn’t remain a beggar for no reason. The sky is their roof, the earth their blanket.
Whenever word spreads of a feast at some household, beggars swarm like a pack of dogs to eat their fill.
It meant the expenses for training disciples had to be drastically reduced.
I pondered the matter.
‘How much should I charge for treatment?’
This was no ordinary patient—a dog, and moreover, a spiritual creature.
I had also conducted house calls and patient transport.
I tallied the figures carefully in my mind.
Just then, the hut door opened.
“Oh, you’re awake.”
A young beggar stood in the doorway. The knot tied at his waist marked him as a newly initiated disciple of Gaebang.
The young beggar spoke.
“The Buntta Master called for you urgently.”
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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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