Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 721

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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 721
Jin Cheon-hee and Sunyoung were guided to a magnificent palace-like building located in the city center, where they parted ways with Doje for the time being.
Upon entering, they were treated to a bath—a pleasant bonus.
After washing, grooming, and dressing in fresh clothes, they were escorted to the banquet hall.
There, they reunited with Doje, whom they had parted from earlier.
He now wore elaborate silk garments instead of his armor from before, and his attire was distinctly different from that of the Hwa Empire.
“Allow me to introduce myself once more. I am Doje, the Market Director of Sayok.”
“As I mentioned outside, I am Sunyoung, a Bianjun General.”
“So you hold the position of Market Director as well. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Jin Cheon-hee, Prefect of Baekrin County, and also a Doctor.”
“Haha. I am already aware. Your medical skills are renowned as unparalleled under heaven and the greatest in the empire. I’ve heard you are around thirty years old, and that you are nothing short of a divine being.”
‘Interesting? He knows about me? Perhaps information travels quickly in a trading city?’
The banquet hall was spacious yet crowded with people.
On one side, five performers played music, and beside each seat stood two attendants wielding fans.
‘How extravagant… A general who is also a market director. Can one hold both positions simultaneously? Or is he perhaps a local magnate of this region?’
Jin Cheon-hee pondered this as he took his seat.
Sunyoung sat across from him, while Doje took the seat of honor beside them both.
As he sat, Jin Cheon-hee replied.
“You are too kind. It is only thanks to my Master’s excellent guidance.”
Without Master Jegalling’s proper instruction, how could I have reached such heights?
Had Jegalling heard this, his lips would have curved skyward with pride.
“Then I am curious—what brings you as an envoy to our kingdom? Typically, it has been others who come and go…”
“So you’re wondering why someone from the Ministry of Rites didn’t come instead.”
Sunyoung spoke up.
At her deep, measured voice, Doje smiled broadly and nodded.
By day a soldier, but now he appeared every bit the seasoned merchant.
‘A capable man indeed…’
As Jin Cheon-hee made this assessment, Doje spoke with a smile.
“Precisely. Isn’t the empire’s diplomacy normally under the Ministry of Rites’ jurisdiction?”
He used formal speech with Jin Cheon-hee while employing a more casual tone with Sunyoung, the Bianjun General. This indicated he held Jin Cheon-hee in higher regard.
Why would he esteem Jin Cheon-hee so highly?
The position of Bianjun General was no trivial rank.
In the empire, a Bianjun General was equivalent to a commander of ten thousand, holding authority to command ten thousand soldiers and conduct independent operations.
Yet he showed Jin Cheon-hee even greater respect?
Did he know something?
Sunyoung pondered this and spoke again.
“This matter comes under the Emperor’s direct orders. It is to provide assistance to your nation.”
“Assistance… I wonder what we should offer in return for aid we never requested.”
‘Ah. This man is no mere local magnate. He handles matters between this region and the empire. He’s the gatekeeper protecting Damjin from the empire, isn’t he? Quite impressive.’
Before achieving mastery of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong.
I had completed the Shimmoo Jeolgi principles of benevolence and righteousness.
After that, I obtained the transcendent mental technique Life and Death Wisdom, and upon reaching the pinnacle of Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong to finally stand where my Master had stood, I gained another transcendent mental technique called Heavenly Governance of All Under Heaven.
To me, this Doje was a person of profound righteousness who genuinely cared for the welfare of Damjin Kingdom.
So I was pleased.
If there were more righteous people like this, the world would become a brighter place.
Tragedies like Cheonwoo, who might have lost his eyes and died from congenital syphilis, or Sama Hyeon, who had to strangle his own younger sister with his hands to ease her suffering due to poverty, would decrease.
Soon, Geumgang opened his mouth.
“May I inquire what business brings you to our kingdom?”
“I wish to conduct trade. Soda… or rather, natron. I’ve come to import it.”
Everyone looked surprised at those words.
“You’re saying a national envoy moved for business at the natron mines? And the Divine Physician of Walls and Eyes, the greatest divine healer of the Fire Empire, has come in person.”
‘They know of me?’
The Central Plains might be one thing, but this is beyond the realm. One of the very distant places beyond the realm.
‘Perhaps it’s because this is a trading city.’
Fame is credit, after all.
In this world where everything returns to academic connections, regional ties, and blood relations, fame creates the power to pierce through such barriers.
I should use everything I can.
“I’m grateful for your recognition. I’ve come because useful medicines can be made using natron.”
“May I ask what those medicines are?”
“Toothpaste and, as you know, digestive aids.”
“Ah yes… the healers have already made such things. Thanks to them, our Damjin Kingdom’s citizens are living longer than those in other kingdoms.”
Washing hands thoroughly extends lifespan, but simply having strong teeth can lengthen human life.
In this world, if one cannot eat due to poor teeth, one simply dies.
“However, why should Damjin help strengthen the Empire’s people?”
That was true. From Damjin’s perspective, if there’s no profit, they wouldn’t move a single coin.
“What if I offered payment?”
“I’m aware that Fire Empire currency is widely used, but frankly, it would be more convenient for us to receive silver. We trade with the Western Continent as well.”
In my mind, I was calculating whether selling to the Western Continent’s alchemists or trading with the Empire was more advantageous.
They were clearly running the numbers on an abacus.
‘If I’m not careful, I’ll get overcharged.’
If we simply exchanged for money alone, that would happen.
I revealed one card.
It was a card that Gold and Silver had prepared.
“Truly, you are worthy of being the master of a trading city. Indeed. That is precisely why I’ve come in person to negotiate. What if I could suppress the divine curse?”
At that moment.
Thud!
Geumgang’s eyes widened as he straightened his posture.
“Did I just hear correctly in the Central Plains language? Is it possible to suppress the divine curse?!”
‘As expected, the alchemists of the Western lands don’t know the method.’
If that were the case, I could either solve it with the power of science that I possessed, or if unlucky, it might actually be a real curse.
I prayed for the victory of science.
‘Damn this unscientific fantasy world. Please, let’s try to be logical about this!’
It was a prayer I had recited ten thousand times as a Doctor of Gangho.
“I cannot give you a definitive answer. However, I believe it is worth attempting.”
At my words, Sunyoung immediately spoke.
“The Provincial Governor Jin has already subdued smallpox as a divine physician.”
“Ah! I have heard of it. They say that cases of smallpox have greatly decreased throughout the Empire, and whenever an epidemic breaks out, if it is smallpox, it quickly subsides. So it was true!”
Geumgang’s expression changed.
“By the way, how are you handling the cattle plague in Sawok?”
“All external merchants wait outside the city and are allowed to enter only after ritual purification.”
Sawok was fortunate to have abundant water due to a massive lake in its center.
It was a traditional quarantine method.
“That alone is insufficient. If possible, it would be better if merchants could change their clothes before entering. Especially their shoes.”
That is how cattle plague works.
The basic transmission is through the saliva and feces of infected cattle, but it also spreads through contaminated clothing and shoes.
‘And it also spreads through wild animals.’
No matter how much people try to prevent it, a certain degree of spread is inevitable.
Still, one cannot neglect quarantine measures.
‘According to old records from my country, Korean cattle showed nearly 100% mortality rates. I wonder what it is like here.’
In Africa, it was nearly 90%.
I had an ominous feeling that the statistics here would not be much different.
“Then… I, Geumgang, am receiving great favor from the divine physician.”
Watching this, Sunyoung thought to herself.
‘Indeed, Geumgang’s attitude changed immediately.’
He transformed from a merchant into the bearing of an administrator.
The moment I mentioned there was a possibility of treatment, he began treating me with utmost respect. Though it was somewhat irritating to witness, I was still grateful that things were progressing this way.
‘If they can eliminate the cattle plague, they would do anything. The Hwa Empire is incurring a great debt to the divine physician.’
I understood why His Majesty had sent five hundred elite cavalry along with me.
* * *
Night had fallen.
I was sleeping in a luxurious guest room.
I had been curled up, clutching the blanket tightly, when suddenly I sensed a strange energy and my eyes snapped open.
“Hmm?”
Remarkably, my gaze went directly to the window without hesitation.
After achieving enlightenment, my energy perception had become remarkably acute.
“Who are you?”
“My, my, I did not expect you to notice so quickly.”
Hwang-gu was sleeping.
I asked again.
“…Who are you?”
Only then did Hwang-gu’s eyes flutter open. I wiped my forehead to calm him.
Grrrowl—
Hwang-gu glared with the ferocity of a beast ready to tear into his enemy at any moment.
“It is an honor to meet you, Seed of Banson.”
Seed of Banson.
Only two groups referred to me by that name. One was the wicked side, the other ambiguous.
Pondering which it might be, I drew the Bing Jeong Sword through the void with a light gesture of ethereal grasping.
Thud—
“My, my, I am Baekcheon-gun, one who holds the position of left seat among the Blood Immortal Ten Thousand Soldiers.”
In that instant, my blade cleaved through the air.
Screech!
The sword energy that erupted swiftly merged with the yin qi of the Bing Jeong Sword, becoming a Han Bing sword strike meant to sever my opponent.
A power that cut while freezing.
Yet.
That formidable sword energy vanished like a mirage in the empty air.
‘It is not martial prowess. Something else… a form of sorcery? Or perhaps…’
“My, my. How your sworn brother’s temperament mirrors your own—so quick to anger. With such a hasty disposition, you’ll never truly savor life’s pleasures, will you?”
A snow-white figure.
A being with an androgynous voice of indeterminate gender.
While their strange demeanor troubled me, the mention of sworn brother equally captured my attention.
“Sworn brother?”
Then.
He answered graciously.
“Your first sworn brother, Yeo Ha-ryun. A great being destined to become the Cheonma and set the world ablaze. Hehehehe. Though still but a young flame for now.”
I contemplated this.
It seemed that villains in martial arts novels were indeed characterized by their verbosity.
For which I was grateful.
‘He knows considerable details about Ha-ryun and employs strange sorcery? Though he claims to be among the Blood Immortal Ten Thousand Soldiers, he hardly seems to be of lower rank.’
Having reasoned thus far, I soothed Hwang-gu and spoke.
“You seem to be no ordinary officer.”
“You recognize this? How delightful! I heard you had encountered Jang Cheon-gun. Yes, that is correct. I am one who has long assisted the Hyeolseon alongside Jang Cheon-gun. What you might call an Elder.”
Elder.
One who has devoted an exceptionally long time to a single field, accumulated great merit, and held high position.
Mere age alone does not grant one the title of Elder.
“Do Elders receive pensions or the like?”
I uttered a flippant remark. And simultaneously, I drew upon my inner power.
Swift!
Uuuuuung!
The air trembled. My eyes blazed an icy blue as I moved at tremendous speed.
Taeul Danseonseobeop!
The Singongjeolhakui Geomgong that had accompanied me for so long unleashed ten sword strikes in a single breath.

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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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