Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 811

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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 811
“It is merely a rational deduction, King.”
Even under Pung Ha-eun’s piercing gaze, Jegalling remained composed.
That composure was precisely what infuriated Pung Ha-eun.
Jegalling spoke his mind despite knowing exactly who stood before him.
It would be no different if the Emperor were replaced by Cheonma or an immortal.
A man who speaks his truth even with a blade at his throat.
A madman.
Or perhaps, judging by his courteous manner of speech, he had already calculated exactly how far he could push.
Even Eun Wang-ya could not discern which.
He only sensed that this man and he were fundamentally incompatible.
“Yes. The second wager was indeed a prediction.”
He exhaled softly before continuing.
“I predicted that Ilgwang would tear through everything without restraint—after all, he loses his mind when commoners are harmed. I anticipated that my sister would request the密衛’s intervention upon witnessing this, and I even calculated the steps to eliminate the assassins through them. I had already prepared operational directives for several of the密衛.”
Everything up to that point had been accurate.
All events had unfolded in perfect alignment with his expectations.
Uiguk Baek Jegalling spoke.
“The problem was that Your Majesty assumed my disciple would obediently follow his master’s instructions, whereas I predicted the opposite—that before the密衛even arrived, he would drive them to an isolated location and capture them without casualties using formation arrays or poison.”
A headache descended upon him.
“This makes no sense. Isn’t your disciple one who unconditionally obeys Uiguk Baek’s commands? Once he realized you were involved, I thought he would passively surrender to the flow of events.”
“….”
In a sense, that was true.
Jegalling had arranged everything from the beginning with this very prediction in mind.
‘If Sama Hyeon had not existed, it would have gone exactly as planned.’
There was a corner in this scheme where it would have been perfectly convenient if Sama Hyeon died protecting Jin Cheon-hee.
Whether Sama Hyeon himself had sensed this was irrelevant.
He was less important than dust settling on his disciple’s shoulders.
At least Jin Cheon-hee himself would have been able to perceive it.
‘If he had detected his master’s scent, he could not have failed to sense it.’
However, Eun Wang-ya could not possibly know this.
It was the hidden foundation Jegalling had laid in secret.
A signal to guide Jin Cheon-hee down the next path without anyone’s knowledge.
The calculation had been complete the moment he received the brush and wrote the first character.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s corpse is buried in Jin Cheon-hee’s heart.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s severed head, buried in the snow of the North Sea Ice Palace, was something that could alter the course of his disciple’s entire life.
No matter how deeply it lay buried, it tormented him more relentlessly than even Kang Ho-in’s heart demon.
That child feared nothing more than watching someone precious die before his eyes.
‘To the point of not trusting me.’
If Sama Hyeon were to die, he would do anything to save him, so surely his master would never commit such an act….
Even if, at the end of this scheme, it appeared that his master was using Sama Hyeon as a shield to protect his disciple safely.
Perhaps it was also the Master’s deception… but I couldn’t read that far into the situation.
Certain fears dull one’s calculations.
The pain of merely imagining the possibility was so unbearable that the child simply held his younger sister tight.
The manipulation succeeded.
Because Jin Cheon-hee never wanted to witness that winter again.
Yeo Ha-ryun’s severed neck.
It was a mental illness that would torment the child for years, a brand, the ultimate terror.
‘Surprisingly, I didn’t have to worry about dying against the assassins.’
Jegalling hadn’t harbored that concern.
Though he himself probably would have.
Because the child was oddly prone to underestimating himself.
So perhaps he had made his greatest act of defiance to ensure Sama Hyeon wouldn’t be hurt because of him.
‘The phantom thief angel middle-aged Che.’
When I heard the news that he had scattered incomprehensible papers everywhere, I laughed.
Defiance is quite entertaining, isn’t it.
“Thanks to that, I won’t cause the Master undue distress.”
This scheme is something even Eun Wang-ya cannot fathom.
Only one who knows what Jin Cheon-hee’s true hell is could do this.
Only one who knows why that child cannot sleep could do it.
The Master, born with a broken heart, understood and cherished his disciple more deeply than anyone.
Though he had lost his humanity, he knew that child’s heart demon well.
Though his methods lacked humanity, he protected his disciple against the Emperor, did he not.
This was possible because Jegalling observed his disciple closely and calculated the shape of Jin Cheon-hee’s heart.
It was the Master’s own profound affection.
Toward Jin Cheon-hee as a work of art.
As a result, no one died or suffered grave injury, and they peacefully eliminated one of the Emperor’s schemes.
It was the most efficient method and undeniably something only Jegalling could accomplish, but had anyone heard of it, they would have nightmares from how chilling it was.
And the final key was Namgung Un.
The moment he saw Namgung Un, that fellow completed the last piece.
There were no more choices.
Only forward remained.
He might have thought he had turned aside, but from Jegalling’s perspective, it was still a straight path.
Stubbornly so.
‘Still, Eun Wang-ya is quite the strategist. And they haven’t even been together that long.’
I understood why he brought that wager.
Had he spent even one more month with Jin Cheon-hee, the match would have been a draw.
Then Pung Ha-eun spoke.
“Still, I worry that living long might be wrong. My own blood.”
“….”
Jegalling did not answer.
I simply recall my disciple’s severed finger.
After a moment, he answered in a low, measured voice.
“…We won’t know until we see it through to the end.”
“You won’t yield even at the last moment. Shall the stakes of this wager be the same as I mentioned before?”
“If you would grant that, it would be the greatest honor of my three lifetimes.”
“Very well. I grant Uiguk Baek the title of Bukok. The number shall be one thousand.”
Jegalling spoke.
“Long live, long live, ten thousand times long live.”
“Your words ring hollow. Furthermore, I shall cease my efforts to change Jin Cheon-hee’s surname to Pung and draw him into the imperial court. That is what you desire, after all. Now that I’ve seen that handsome face of yours, be gone.”
Jegalling answered with cold eyes.
“Preserve your health, Wang-ya.”
As Eun Wang-ya issued the order to dismiss guests, Jegalling bowed respectfully and withdrew, as if there was nothing more to discuss.
Having won the wager, he did not look back.
Pung Ha-eun knew that at the end of the path where Uiguk Baek was heading, there awaited his one and only disciple.
Uiguk Baek was a man who showed no fear, no matter how powerful his opponent might be.
That was precisely why so many power holders had coveted the Jegallim Family.
Pung Ha-eun turned his gaze to Mi Jik’s corpse.
“Hmph. Toppling one of the Imperial Eight Families—that’s satisfying. But taking a hit still irritates me. I must repay this debt.”
Soon, a voice was heard.
“I told you not to provoke trouble so carelessly.”
A man with an identical face entered.
Pung Ha-geum.
He touched the corners of his eyes with a tired expression, as if he had just finished administrative duties.
Pung Ha-eun asked.
“What? You said you weren’t interested.”
“I wasn’t interested. But I had to see the results, didn’t I?”
Saying so, Pung Ha-geum approached the corpse and gazed down at it quietly.
Pung Ha-eun walked over and stood beside him.
“Uiguk Baek and that child have given us a magnificent gift. We would have dealt with this ourselves eventually, but I never expected it to happen so soon.”
“Indeed. He expanded the board far beyond what we anticipated and smashed it thoroughly.”
“The original plan was merely to crush a few of the Namgyeong power families—enough to drain the rot from Namgyeong and provide emergency treatment. Beyond that, we only needed to gather a few cards to strike at the Imperial Eight Families. Originally, it would have taken at least three to five years of careful preparation….”
The original plan had not been so grand or ostentatious.
If we sent Jin Cheon-hee the Prefect to Namgyeong to oversee public works…what would happen?
He would clash with corrupt officials.
That was inevitable.
But the Prefect Jin, favored by the twin emperors, knew how to compromise appropriately.
Without any political backing, he would merely purge a few embezzlers and be done with it.
That’s why I goaded my sister into becoming the Governor of Gangso.
With my sister…she could grant the Prefect Jin greater authority and shake things more violently.
In the meantime, Uiguk Baek arrived.
After our intimate conversation ended.
I made a wager with Uiguk Baek.
At that time, I never imagined the situation would spiral into something this massive simply because of a bet.
And in the end, the incident grew beyond all measure.
My suspicion at that moment must have stemmed from my fate as Emperor.
What was the Last Head of the Jegal Family truly after?
Suspicion breeds demons.
I witnessed him even weaponize the very authority of an Emperor as a tactical maneuver.
After that, the entire incident unfolded and resolved exactly as Uiguk Baek had envisioned.
Down to the very last detail.
The Emperor’s secret swords, the ‘Milwi,’ confirmed everything Uiguk Baek had prepared in advance.
When on earth did he begin stockpiling all those paralytic and sleeping poisons?
From what point did he foresee events unfolding this way?
Was it from the moment Jin the Prefect obtained the water and sewage construction rights? Or from when we departed for the distant Damjin Kingdom?
When exactly did he begin planning all of this?
Uiguk Baek.
Jegalling, Head of the Jegal Family.
Did you manipulate even the Emperor himself? Or perhaps….
“Uiguk Baek was right. He charged in without hesitation and resolved everything in one stroke. My disciple not only built the framework his master had designed perfectly, but exceeded it.”
Mountains of evidence came pouring forth.
This was neither the method of the bureaucracy nor the way of the martial world—it was a bizarre rampage.
A rampage only possible for the strong who fear neither power, nor wealth, nor reputation itself.
Geum Wang-ya gazed at the peach slice for a long while.
“Indeed. A magnificent gift this is…. I should give that child something other than mere territory. Court Attendant.”
Another eunuch rushed forward at his words.
“Yes, Your Majesty. What are your orders?”
“Dismember that corpse and feed it to the dogs. And hang his head from the city gates.”
“I shall carry out Your Majesty’s command.”
Having said that, Geum Wang-ya suddenly asked.
“But why did you only strike him down? Shouldn’t we bring his children too for fairness?”
A chill ran down my spine.
It was the same thing I had just heard from Jegalling.
Eun Wang-ya spoke.
“…I am living among demons.”
I had always thought myself rather ruthless, but watching these men, I realized I still had far to go.
“In any case, will you concede since you lost the wager?”
At Pung Ha-geum’s question, Pung Ha-eun replied.
“This time I must concede as agreed. But surely wagers like this typically require a best-of-three, don’t they?”
Pung Ha-geum fell into thought before nodding.
“He’s certainly a tempting prospect. Whether in administration or medicine.”
“Ha, I thought this time would finally work out.”
Pung Ha-geum tapped my shoulder.
“Next time, I’ll lend you a hand.”
To face that blue-eyed qilin, a twin-headed dragon would serve better than a single dragon.
Two pairs of golden eyes gleamed in the darkness.
* * *
The spark ignited from Namgyeong began to set the entire empire ablaze.
The evidence Jin Cheon-hee sent through Ju Wang was all grave matters, and the Emperor grew so incensed that he personally declared he would dispatch the Geumwi Guard to investigate.
‘Did the Emperor truly become enraged? Or was this merely another performance?’
I, a human from Earth versed in democracy, thought as much, but regardless, the Emperor’s wrath held great significance for the people of this era.
Thus, countless heads rolled.

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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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