Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 728

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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 728
‘Should I locate the Hyeolpungsa’s main base and report it directly to the authorities?’
It would be different from the ‘government offices’ of the Central Plains, but this was still a kingdom—they should at least maintain some semblance of order.
More pressing than that was learning this shamanic ritual.
If I could master it, I could drastically reduce the time needed to create a vaccine.
‘It’s remarkable how normalized human sacrifice has become as a common practice here….’
It was certainly different from Wan Nong, who was also an outsider like me.
‘What defines good and evil in humanity?’
With that thought, I climbed onto Hwang-gu’s back.
Squawk!
Noeji settled onto my head as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
And so the three of us headed toward the village.
* * *
The village was holding a festival. They had suffered no casualties from the bandits’ attack, and had even acquired the bandits’ horses—reason enough for celebration.
During the fight, they had slaughtered a freshly killed horse and now the villagers feasted upon it at their festival.
The living horses and their former masters belonged to me, but the villagers knew I wouldn’t take all these horses away.
If the villagers pooled their money to pay me, they could acquire such valuable property at a bargain price—how could they not rejoice?
I had said I would turn the bandits over to the authorities, but after trial, some would certainly be returned to the village for disposal according to local customary law.
When that happened, the bandits would be branded as slaves and put to work for the village.
A festival was well-deserved.
As I had inwardly suspected, this region still maintained the institution of slavery.
With gaps in security, commoners had to ignore the law simply to survive.
From a modern person’s perspective, even the Hwa Empire seemed to operate strangely, but there existed places far worse in this world.
And I was now learning this reality firsthand.
Martial arts existed, shamanism existed.
A world where the supernatural breathed and lived as naturally as the ordinary.
In such a place, maintaining law and human decency would be a distant dream.
So I had to watch from beneath my bandages, my eyes downcast, as the Village Chief spoke with the Shaman.
“I made clear that my arts do not permit human sacrifice, did I not?”
“Then… would it be acceptable to bring in another shaman?”
“This is my domain. If you bring a shaman from another domain into this place… I will no longer involve myself in the affairs of this land and will consider it outside my domain. Is that what you wish?”
“Hmm… that requires some consideration.”
“And that blind musician who captured those bandits—he clearly wished them to be used only as slaves, not as sacrificial offerings.”
“Hmm, but he is an outsider, is he not?”
At those words, the Shaman clicked his tongue.
‘So even a lifesaver is merely someone who will eventually leave.’
In the end, an outsider remains an outsider. The villagers who remain must decide their own future.
“Rituals performed through human sacrifice are effective, but they inevitably leave behind a curse. That remains true regardless of how wicked the victim may be. You understand this, do you not?”
“I have lived as Village Chief for a long time, so I know well. I knew your Master too… of course I know. But is this not a difficult time? Calamity has already approached this village….”
This was the conversation I heard and witnessed when I came to the Shaman’s dwelling in the daylight.
The Village Chief spoke casually about human sacrifice without much resistance, and the Shaman dismissed it as simply outside his field of expertise—their conversation jabbed at my chest repeatedly.
Their exchange struck me in ways I couldn’t ignore.
Something sprouted in my heart. It was painful, cold, and sharp.
The scent of rotting roses filled the air.
As the two continued their conversation, that fragrance grew thicker, and listening to them made my heart pound so violently that sitting still became impossible.
So I deliberately made my presence known.
“The Village Chief arrived first, I see.”
“Oh! The hero has come! What brings you to this place?”
He pulled at his cheeks and forced a bright smile.
“I came to see the Shaman here. It seems you two were in conversation—should I wait?”
“Haha, no, no. We’ve already finished our discussion. Well then, I shall take my leave.”
The Village Chief bowed respectfully and withdrew.
I watched his receding figure intently, even with the blindfold covering my eyes.
“With the blindfold on, can you still see something?”
“It seems so. Even though my eyes are covered, there’s something visible. And it appears that after a human sacrifice, curses and such remain behind.”
“…I wouldn’t know about that.”
“Yes, I haven’t learned it.”
The Shaman pressed his forehead repeatedly as if exasperated.
“Right. I can tell you’re completely inexperienced in shamanism. Come inside.”
With that, he entered the hut.
I left Hwang-gu and Noeji to guard the entrance and followed him inside.
Upon entering, a cozy and serene fragrance flowed like waves.
A scent that cleared the mind and relaxed the body.
Moreover, the fragrance itself was so light that I found it delightful.
‘I wish I could present this to my Master. The fragrance itself is excellent.’
Knowing well that even if something worked well, my Master would never appreciate it if the scent was unpleasant, this fragrance was perfect!
“What is this fragrance?”
“It’s one of my secret techniques. I won’t teach you this one. If you wish to learn, you must offer something in return.”
“I’m not sure what price to offer, but I’d like to learn. We can settle accounts later.”
“That’s a matter for later. First, sit.”
The Shaman sat down.
Then, as I took my seat, he produced something like powder from beside him and threw it into the fire.
The flames roared up, and the fragrance grew even more intense.
“My name is Jasi. I am the harmonizer of five lands and a white wolf walking the path of shamanism. You who carry the bloodline of divine blood from the Hwa Empire—what is your name, and how do you define yourself?”
It was a solemn resonance, almost like part of some ritual.
“My name is Jin Cheon-hee. I learned martial arts to save lives, and I walk the path of medicine as a Doctor.”
“A Doctor! I have heard that beyond birds, there are those who heal people in various ways. I’ve heard your methods differ from the Healing Sorcerers of this region. Are you such a Doctor?”
Patter, patter.
The scenery around me seemed to shift into something dreamlike.
Everything expanded endlessly, and I felt myself sinking into a world made of fragrant smoke.
Is this an illusion?
The Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong activated at its supreme level, and true energy surged through my entire body, forming the Grand Circulation.
Yet I sensed myself within a peculiar space.
As my eyes opened between the bandages, the landscape before me had somehow shifted.
At some point.
Even the figure of the pale-skinned Shaman Jasi sitting before me appeared hazy.
However, even within this strange circumstance, I felt no sense of danger.
So I answered.
“Indeed, it is so.”
Upon my response, Jasi’s voice echoed as if coming from a great distance.
“I see. Then how many people have you saved?”
“I have not counted, so I cannot say.”
“Is it because there are too few to bother counting? Or too many?”
“I simply save people every day.”
“Truly, this is the truth. That Hyeolseon has accumulated such great merit, yet that very merit scatters the heavenly fortune! You, child of Hyeolseon. You are worthy to learn our arts.”
Whoooosh.
The smoke dispersed. And the landscape around me returned entirely to normal.
I could sense that I had escaped from that strange, dreamlike world.
“The ancestral spirits and the spirits have acknowledged you. Now you may learn my arts.”
“It was a test, then.”
“Indeed. My arts cannot be taught simply because I wish to teach them.”
‘The world of shamanism is filled with wonders.’
I thought this to myself. And simultaneously.
‘If the ancestors had not approved, would he have actually made me eat Hwang-gu’s fur and Noeji’s feathers?’
Jasi continued speaking without shame.
“Anyway, human sacrifice inevitably leaves behind a curse. You asked what that was, did you not?”
“Yes.”
“What do you think human sacrifice is?”
“Offering a person as a sacrifice and… gaining benefit through it, is it not a ritual?”
“Kh… kha ha ha! For such a greenhorn to possess such tremendous power!”
Jasi laughed loudly.
I wondered if I had answered something incorrectly.
Jasi stopped laughing and spoke.
“Shamanism requires a price to be paid. That is the most important foundation and cardinal principle of shamanism. If you learn shamanism properly, you must understand that you cannot be ignorant of this, yes?”
“A price must be paid?”
“Indeed. In the case of trivial shamanism, it can be performed with only the shaman’s own power, but most shamanism cannot exert its full strength without paying a price. Human sacrifice is the same. One offers a human as a sacrifice, and in exchange, the shaman performs the shamanism they desire. At the center of this lies intention.”
“Intention….”
“Weave intention together, pay the price, and shamanism activates. Therefore, shamanism must follow proper procedures and formalities. Otherwise, proper shamanism cannot be used, and instead, it harms the shaman themselves.”
It was mysterious. And strange.
“Human sacrifice is problematic for this reason. Because humans are offered as sacrifices, the efficacy is necessarily great, but those humans offered as sacrifices invariably leave hatred, rage, and malice in that ritual. This inevitably becomes a curse, and it brings great calamity upon those who performed the ritual.”
“Ah! What about the animals?”
“Beasts lack the tenacity of human will. Offering a dozen animals is far preferable to sacrificing a single human.”
The difference was that stark!
Wait.
Then.
How exactly are the Hyeolseonggyo handling this problem?
“Now, let us set that matter aside. I have granted you five days, so you must use them wisely. Are you prepared to learn shamanism?”
“Yes. Please teach me.”
“Good. First, I shall instruct you in the fundamentals….”
Jasi began explaining the shamanic arts he had learned.
* * *
Jasi’s shamanism.
In my assessment, his shamanic arts resembled summoning magic from a game.
He paid a price to the spirits he communed with, and those spirits would step forth to wield their power.
Of course, since Jasi possessed direct shamanic arts he could use himself, I was able to primarily learn shamanic techniques that exerted direct influence rather than those involving spirits.
This was because his spirit summoning required contracts with the spirits and consistent ritual offerings to them!
Most spirits, as entities, possessed territorial domains.
‘Just as a district chief must remain in their district!’
A modern person grasps this truth precisely.
Even if one contracts with them, venturing into regions where they do not dwell means one cannot borrow their power.
That is why Jasi had said, “This region is my domain.”
Should he leave his territory, his shamanic strength would diminish by half.

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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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