Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 829

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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 829
A massive annex building stood in the back courtyard.
It was so grand that even outsiders could immediately recognize it as a place where alcohol was produced.
Upon entering, I found large earthenware jars shattered across the courtyard, though several intact ones remained.
Jeong Gajangju sat in the center on a straw mat, drinking, then opened his mouth.
“I told you to let no one in! Chief Manager Jin! Do you mock my words!”
The drunken Jeong Gajangju spoke harshly.
The elderly man was preparing for his final moments, destroying and drinking the peach wines he had crafted his entire life.
Waaaaaah! Wooooooaaaaah!
At that voice, the child began to cry.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Only the child’s wailing filled the silence.
Jeong Gajangju’s angry expression gradually subsided.
“Who are you? By the Mudang sect robes, you appear to be a hermit of this sect, yet you are discourteous. You suddenly arrive with a child… Leave at once!”
“I am Cheonwoo of the Mudang sect. I pay my respects to you, Sasuk.”
Still holding the baby, Cheonwoo clasped his fist in salute.
“The Heavenly Messenger… I see. So the Mudang King has come. But what does that have to do with anything? This is my house. My family!”
At first, Jeong Gajangju’s eyes widened slightly.
It was natural.
The Mudang King was a direct disciple of Mudang Gwon-je and had completed forty-nine trials alone, bearing the ancestral tablet.
His confrontation with Geomhwang would surely ignite the hearts of countless Mudang sect disciples even at this very moment.
But then, irritation and anger returned to his eyes.
The Mudang King?
What does that have to do with anything!
Does being the Mudang King mean you can forcibly enter someone’s home and cause a disturbance!
“Leave! What would Gwon Je have said if he saw this! What would Jang Mun-in say seeing this! Get out! I don’t even want to look at you!”
The old man glared at Cheonwoo with hostile eyes.
He abandoned his formal speech entirely, shouting in crude language instead.
Yet Cheonwoo remained composed.
Without a word, he simply approached Jeong Gajangju while holding the baby.
Then suddenly, he thrust the crying baby forward to Jeong Gajangju.
He forcibly placed the child into the arms of the elderly man, from whom the sweet fragrance of peach wine wafted.
“Please hold the child for a moment.”
“What rudeness is this! Are you mocking this old man right now…”
The baby stopped crying.
At this, the old man’s face went blank.
“Fortunately, the child has stopped crying.”
Cheonwoo spoke while brushing his massive chest with his hand.
“It seems Great-grandfather’s embrace is indeed comforting.”
“What?”
“He is your great-grandson.”
“Great…grandson?”
Long explanations or persuasion were unnecessary.
Words about passion for the future held no value either.
“My grandson had a child?”
“Yes. I brought the baby on orders from the sect.”
“My grandson…had a…child?”
Jeong Gajangju’s voice trembled. The baby began crying again.
“What is this…. Speak sense. I cannot believe such….”
It was a strange situation.
Without offering a single explanation, merely presenting the child as his great-grandson, the old man could not bring himself to push the baby away.
Even as he harbored doubts in a corner of his mind—how could he trust such an absurd thing, handed to him so suddenly—his resistance crumbled.
Tears began to well up in Jeong Gajangju’s eyes.
“A great-grandson…. What is this…. Now, at this late hour, this little bundle of life…. Why….”
Cheonwoo smiled gently and carefully lifted the baby from Jeong Gajangju’s embrace.
As the child left his arms, the old man’s eyes wavered.
Though he had held the baby only moments before, the instant it was gone, a chill swept through the hollow of his arms.
A single gesture was enough to shake a person’s heart.
The baby returned to Cheonwoo’s embrace but continued to cry.
“It doesn’t seem to be the smell of alcohol that’s bothering him…. Ah, it appears the diaper needs changing.”
Jin Cheon-hee was somewhat surprised by this.
‘Cheonwoo…. He handles things far too well….’
I had not expected that bear of a man to be so adept at matters of the heart.
‘Or perhaps not? Maybe the baby is simply crying? I may be mistaken.’
It was so natural that even I found myself confused.
Sure enough, Jeong Gajangju immediately abandoned all dignity, repeating only “Oh dear, oh dear.”
But one thing was certain.
Life had returned to the old man’s eyes.
Love was the most potent poison that could kill a person, yet conversely, it was also the medicine that could make them live.
Cheonwoo understood this well.
Cheonwoo naturally placed the child back into the old man’s arms.
Jeong Gajangju held the baby with trembling hands.
“It seems Grandfather is quite fond of him. I am clumsy with such things.”
“Yes, that’s right. The sect leader has never raised a child before….”
Saying so, the grandfather cradled the child with practiced ease.
It was emotion.
Emotion dwelled there.
* * *
Cheonwoo addressed Jeong Gajangju as Sasuk and observed proper courtesy with meticulous care.
In martial arts novels, the methods and strictness with which sects establish hierarchical ranks vary somewhat depending on the author and world-building, sometimes even being set in unconventional ways.
Still, looking at the general trend, the upper sects tend to be loose with hierarchy, while the lower sects become increasingly rigid about ranks.
Even among lay disciples, hierarchy exists, but the original work’s Jicheon Cheonma worldview treats this in a somewhat old-fashioned manner.
In that sense, Jeong Gajangju is called Sasuk because he learned martial arts in the rank below Gwon Je.
‘Strictly speaking, that’s how the hierarchy is used, but it doesn’t mean the person is particularly more courteous. Usually lay disciples are disrespected as a matter of course.’
Nevertheless, Cheonwoo treated Jeong Gajangju with utmost respect.
As the Mudang King lowered himself to show courtesy, something inexplicably warm surged within Jeong Gajang.
“Please speak comfortably. Sasuk.”
Jeong Gajang changed into fresh clothes and washed away the smell of alcohol before greeting the child.
Though traces of intoxication still lingered, he seemed to have returned with a much clearer mind than before.
“There’s no need for that. Though this old man may have a high rank, I am merely a lay disciple. Just call me Jangju.”
Cheonwoo didn’t answer immediately but pondered, then eventually nodded.
“…If that’s more comfortable for you, then I shall do so. Jangju.”
“Yes…. This child I’m holding now is my great-grandson…is that what you said?”
“That is correct.”
….
Suddenly tears began to form in the old man’s eyes again.
Embarrassed, he turned his gaze away.
Somehow understanding his feelings, I wait for the old man’s heart to settle.
“How could anyone believe such a sudden claim? I must hear the details.”
“Baa!”
The skeptical old man tightened his grip on the great-grandson he held.
Cheonwoo glanced at the old man’s wrinkled hands, then continued naturally.
“It’s only natural that you don’t believe. First, I would like to share what the Mudang sect knows.”
Saying so, Cheonwoo explained how his grandson had become intimate with a certain woman and fathered a child.
He also spoke of how the woman came to the Mudang sect, entrusted the child to them, and passed away from illness not long after.
Of course, he also mentioned that the Mudang sect had investigated this matter and confirmed its truth.
“…However, even though we confirmed that the woman’s account held some truth, the Mudang sect knows nothing about the woman’s background.”
“Yes, that is so. Had we known, we would have searched for her maternal relatives as well. But judging from the traces of long martial training, it is certain that the mother is also a Gangho person. She didn’t entrust the child to family or relatives. The fact that she climbed Mudang Mountain grasping at straws suggests that the mother likely has her own circumstances as well.”
“…Gangho, the Gangho world indeed.”
….
The old man closes his eyes.
“Is that so…. My grandson’s child….”
Jeong Jin.
His grandson’s name.
The old man lifts the child with his thin arms and meets his gaze.
The child smiles brightly at the old man.
A gentle baby.
A single tear rolled down from the old man’s eyes once more.
“That rascal Jeong Jin…. Without a word to this old grandfather…. And yet…. Hehehehe….”
After laughing for a long while, the old man spoke.
“Would you give me some time alone?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll leave the child in your care.”
With those words, I returned the baby to Cheonwoo.
Cheonwoo awkwardly received the baby and then left the room with everyone else.
From within the room came the sound of weeping that echoed for a long time.
It was a requiem for his grandson—lamenting and accepting his own cruel fate, and giving thanks for this final gift received.
An emotion that could never be expressed in human language.
‘So that’s it. Karma.’
It was the sound of a profound karmic connection.
Medicine that saves lives.
‘No doctor could have done what this child accomplished.’
“Bu, abubupu.”
The baby waved its hand.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“He’s already calling for Grandfather.”
“Hm? Not Father?”
“Grandfather. Haha. He seems to like it already.”
Cheonwoo stroked the child’s head. Watching this, Sama Hyeon thought to himself.
‘My brother is definitely going to leave this child in good hands.’
Wasn’t the game already over when he handed over that chubby great-grandchild?
He was going to wrap everything up thoroughly before leaving.
From the moment he deliberately held the child awkwardly in front of Jeong Gajangju, I sensed something criminal, but I never expected he’d use even the baby’s babbling to send him off.
‘Ruthless. Truly ruthless.’
Even my brother Cheon Hee wasn’t immune to it.
“Ah… could it really be ‘abubu’? Now that you mention it, it does sound like that. Hey.”
My brother had already fallen for it.
* * *
The next day.
Jeong Gajangju requested a private audience with Jin Cheon-hee.
The disheveled appearance from before had vanished, and with his robes properly arranged, he sat as the very embodiment of a seasoned veteran, the great pillar upon whom the villagers had relied.
His eyes, which had been clouded with sorrow, had regained their brilliance.
I could well understand the reason why.
“Abubu…”
The great-grandchild was struggling to crawl away from Grandfather’s lap.
Soon he would be walking about, and even with servants to help, he would need to keep his wits about him to manage it.
“I have heard much of Baekrin Medical Guild’s reputation. But I wish to know how the treatment can be performed.”
“First, I will excise and treat the necrotic areas. After that, I will treat the root cause of Xiao Ke through a combination of medicine and martial cultivation. To be honest, rather than a complete cure, it’s more about managing it throughout life.”
Jin Cheon-hee gave a detailed explanation regarding Xiao Ke—diabetes.
About glucose. About blood sugar. About the various complications that result from it.
At least Jeong Gajangju had maintained reasonably healthy blood vessels in his upper body thanks to his martial arts training in his youth.
Without that, he would have suffered from arteriosclerosis and stroke long ago.
However, the problem was severe in his lower body. That’s why his feet had begun to rot.
“The most important thing is, after all, blood sugar management. Xiao Ke may be incurable, but with proper management, there’s no problem. And the best way to manage blood sugar is through martial arts training.”
“Is that so…. Heh heh…. Indeed. So Xiao Ke is incurable and requires management….”
Jeong Gajangju fell silent in thought for a moment before speaking again.
“I doubt this old body could easily resume martial arts training. I fear I might pass away before I can do it properly. How could I close my eyes leaving this child behind?”
Jin Cheon-hee smiled instead of answering.
It was strange. Why did standing before this man fill him with such a peculiar sense of reassurance, as if everything would turn out well?
“But no matter how skilled a Divine Physician one is, overcoming age is not an easy task. That is something heaven has determined.”
Only then did Jin Cheon-hee open his mouth.
“Whatever heaven may determine, humans need not necessarily follow it.”
What exactly was he planning to do?

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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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