Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 79

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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 79
“No, Elder Brother, you would have done well enough with your own methods even without that person. But…”
Yeo Ha-ryun released Jin Cheon-hee’s arm.
“…But if Elder Brother says so, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Deep handprints from Yeo Ha-ryun’s grip marked Jin Cheon-hee’s arm.
The handprints of the Heavenly Killer on my disciple’s arm. My Master’s expression stiffened subtly.
Baek Rin-ui-seon spoke.
“Hee. I cannot understand why you became sworn siblings with that thing.”
Suppressing the murderous intent rising within him, my Master spat out one more word.
“What can I do? It’s all because you’re too kind…”
Even as he spoke, Baek Rin-ui-seon scratched at Yeo Ha-ryun with a smiling face.
* * *
“Lady Wang, that was reckless. If Gungwi learns of this matter, he will certainly not let it pass.”
My Master scolded Wang Gak-yeon.
As the endless nagging flew at her, Wang Gak-yeon’s expression grew weary. Yet that expression held no apology or remorse toward her father.
It was worry directed at Jin Cheon-hee.
‘Cheon-hee. If I go further, you’ll die now. What will you do?’
Was she not looking at Jin Cheon-hee with such eyes?
Even if she listened to the scolding, Wang Gak-yeon was ultimately someone else. She could listen for a while and then return to her father.
Her father would scold her too, but she had earned her worth by consuming the elixir, so she harbored not a single regret in her life.
The problem was how Jin Cheon-hee would conduct himself after Wang Gak-yeon left.
“Well then, I shall take my leave. This matter will be addressed once more later.”
Wang Gak-yeon bowed deeply and gave Jin Cheon-hee a meaningful glance.
‘I’m going. Stay strong.’
Jin Cheon-hee nodded slightly.
After Wang Gak-yeon left, only my Master, Little Cheonma Yeo Ha-ryun, and I remained in the room.
Silence pressed down. I spoke urgently.
“This disciple shall brew some tea!”
Before my Master and Yeo Ha-ryun could even answer, I hurried toward the kitchen.
‘I’m going mad. How did we end up in this kind of relationship?’
In the original novel, their relationship was that of a benefactor who saved a life and the protagonist—a typical martial arts novel dynamic.
‘Of course, even then it was somewhat transactional.’
As a benefactor who had saved his life, I simply did what was necessary, and Baek Rin-ui-seon would ask Yeo Ha-ryun for favors or help when needed.
But Yeo Ha-ryun had never sought a way to save Baek Rin-ui-seon’s life or worried about his well-being.
‘Now that I think about it, it was really a barren relationship.’
Yeo Ha-ryun had certainly been indebted as befitted a martial arts novel protagonist, but they never shared emotions.
As for my Master, he was merely a minor character who died early in the story, so he appeared only briefly and never became deeply entangled in Yeo Ha-ryun’s life.
‘When I think about it, their personalities were never compatible to begin with.’
Now that the relationship of life-saving benefactor and passing acquaintance no longer existed, they radiated killing intent at the mere sight of each other.
I thought to myself.
‘I… I have to make this relationship better somehow, even if just a little.’
I fell into thought.
‘In the original work, my Master who passed away—I’ll save him. And Yeo Ha-ryun… I hope he makes fewer enemies than in the original, and that he lived more happily than back then.’
Yeo Ha-ryun, the Supreme Heavenly Demon, was not lacking as a protagonist, but his life as a person had many empty spaces.
True to his role as protagonist, Yeo Ha-ryun lived through what was essentially a hellish existence.
Those who lost their families because of Yeo Ha-ryun were dragged into that hell alongside him.
Readers of the novel knew the protagonist was not a bad person.
Even though he was the Heavenly Demon, he moved according to his own principles.
But that was only because of the omniscient third-person perspective—it meant nothing to those who became enemies with the protagonist, nor to the Orthodox and Heterodox Factions, nor to the Demon Sect members.
‘But this time, things have diverged greatly from the original novel.’
During the short time spent with me, Yeo Ha-ryun at least had the opportunity to contemplate the value of human life. And thanks to the promise made with his brother, he held back twice.
He had significantly reduced the number of enemies he would make.
The Yeo Ha-ryun of the original work had power, but not virtue.
This time, thanks to the principle of holding back twice, he was able to interact with people who would have otherwise become his enemies.
The proof of this was the bracelet wrapped around my wrist—the Heukcheon Hyeolsa.
I improved my Master’s health and dampened Yeo Ha-ryun’s murderous intent, but nothing in this world comes free.
‘The two of them have truly become strangers.’
I thought that far and then slapped my own cheek with a sharp sound.
‘It’s fine! I just need to do well!’
After encouraging myself that way, I brewed tea and went back inside.
“Master! I’ve brought the tea!”
Creak—
* * *
I poured tea for both of them and eagerly told Yeo Ha-ryun stories about my life.
I also didn’t forget to praise how great my Master was and how well he treated me.
Conversely, to my Master, I spoke of how kind Yeo Ha-ryun was, how he held back twice, and how he was my sworn brother.
I didn’t forget to mention that he had gifted me with a precious bracelet.
“….”
The two of them glared coldly at each other before each spoke a word.
“Hee, you don’t need to protect ‘that one’ to such an extent.”
“Your Master is quite an important existence to you, brother.”
There was even a hint of jealousy in Yeo Ha-ryun’s voice.
It seemed he felt as though he was struggling between life and death in his limbs, while all the pleasant memories were being made with this man called Baek Rin-ui-seon.
‘Goodness. He’s still just a child.’
Still, my Master’s expression had softened compared to before.
“Holding back twice… I’ve never read in any historical records of the Heavenly Slaughter Star possessing such patience. Truly remarkable.”
My Master stroked his chin in thought. After a moment, he added one more thing.
“Hee.”
“Yes, Master.”
“As I have said countless times before, there is nothing in this world more precious to me than you. Therefore, originally, ‘that one’ would already be dead the moment it caught my eye.”
“….”
“But since you call that one your younger brother, and he calls you his older brother, it won’t be easy for me to do as I please.”
Jin Cheon-hee detected a trap in his Master’s words.
He said it wouldn’t be easy to do as he pleased—not that he wouldn’t do it.
My Master sighed softly.
“Hee.”
“Yes… Master.”
“If that one harms even a single hair on your head, I will do whatever it takes.”
My Master said this while looking down at Yeo Ha-ryun.
It was certainly the same smile as always, but there was a sharp aftertaste to it. Killing intent.
“Master, such a thing won’t happen.”
“I see. Since you say so, I’ll choose to believe you once. Of course, after conducting a small investigation. This Master has friends even in the Demon Sect.”
…Of course you do. You’re the renowned Baek Rin-ui-seon, after all.
My Master left with those words.
Yeo Ha-ryun stared at the spot where Baek Rin-ui-seon had departed for quite some time.
* * *
Several days passed like that. I helped Yeo Ha-ryun with his recovery, and my Master came and went occasionally.
The two of them didn’t speak to each other.
They communicated only through me.
“Still, it’s thanks to you that they didn’t fight. Hold your head high.”
Wang Gak-yeon said this.
As expected, she had gone back and received some nagging from her father. But that was all.
Everyone knew that her temperament had nowhere else to go—her father knew it, and Wang Gak-yeon herself knew it. His daughter resembled Gungwi the most.
It was truly unfortunate for both of them.
I fanned the simmering medicinal broth with a fan and spoke.
“If I hadn’t been in the middle, there would have been nothing to fight about.”
“Is it good to live life so pessimistically?”
At Wang Gak-yeon’s words, I laughed bitterly.
‘The original work didn’t go like this.’
As an avid reader of the Supreme Heavenly Demon, my feelings were quite complicated.
Wang Gak-yeon spoke.
“Cheon-hee.”
“Hmm?”
“I’ve felt this for a while, but you try too hard to make everything perfect. You’ve already cared for your Master, saved your friend—you’ve already done enough. On top of that, you even saved the Bangju of the Gaebang with all his limbs intact. You’re asking for even more perfection on top of that.”
“….”
This was advice from one perfectionist to another.
Wang Gak-yeon understood me because she possessed the same trait.
“Even biological parents can’t do that. Look at my father. He’s a remarkable father who even saved his daughter, but he suffers because of an unfilial daughter who only causes trouble.”
“I mean, where else in this world would you find someone like you?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Anyway, just handle what’s in front of you for now. Let everything else flow as it will. Even the Jade Emperor couldn’t do more than that.”
“….”
I couldn’t find the words to respond. Gak-yeon patted my back a couple of times.
“Have some confidence. Walk with your head held high. I’m heading out.”
“Already leaving?”
“Father imposed a grueling training regimen as punishment. I need to finish before sunset.”
She shouldered her bow and stood up.
Perhaps it was because I’d witnessed her fighting with genuine conviction.
She looked remarkably impressive.
‘That’s right. Even though things have diverged from the original story, I’m genuinely grateful I saved you.’
I thought I would have made the same choice even if I could return to the past.
After sending Wang Gak-yeon off, I extinguished the lamp and picked up the medicinal bowl.
When I returned to the Annex, Yeo Ha-ryun was sitting in lotus position, circulating his energy.
His body had recovered considerably—he’d reached the stage where he could practice cultivation again.
I carefully placed the herbal decoction beside him without disrupting his practice, then began my own cultivation.
The wind whistled through the Bamboo Forest. In the Annex where no travelers passed, only the sound of bamboo leaves brushing against each other echoed.
The scent of snow and rain drifted in together.
I completed my circulation and slowly opened my eyes.
‘Ah, the seasons are changing again.’
It meant I was growing older once more.
“Brother, are you finished?”
“You finished your cultivation first, it seems.”
“Yes. I drank the herbal decoction too. And I peeled an apple.”
With that, he set a plate of apple slices before me.
“You’re giving this to me?”
“You’ve been working hard treating me all this time. It’s just an apple, but still.”
The apple Yeo Ha-ryun handed me was oddly peculiar.
Rather than “peeled,” the surface was so smooth it would be more accurate to say the skin had been removed without a trace.
‘I can’t see any knife marks—how on earth did he peel it like this?’
It was a level of mastery difficult to fathom, achieved at such a young age.
And he was using it merely to peel an apple.
There was no extravagance quite like this.
‘I’ll pretend I didn’t notice.’
I took his pulse while chewing the apple.
“You’re almost fully recovered. You should be able to return now.”
“The Gu worm?”
He meant the blood Gu worm.
The Demon Sect implants a blood Gu worm in the body upon initial entry. It’s the most vicious blood Gu worm known throughout the Central Plains.
I explained to him the method to escape this Gu worm.
“It’s been completely removed.”
“So you actually extracted it. If anyone else had heard, they would have called it madness.”
That was the truth.
There was one fact that neither Wang Gak-yeon nor my Master knew.

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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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