Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 836

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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 836
“Hee-u. When you come to Mount Mudang, you’ll see Cheonwoo.”
Cheonwoo lifted the child with his massive hands.
His hands were so enormous that when he held the baby with both of them, the child’s entire body seemed to disappear from view.
Cheonwoo spoke to the little one.
“I’ll be waiting at Mount Mudang, so grow up healthy and strong.”
“Bwaaaa!”
I suddenly considered performing the Reformation Grand Technique on the baby, but decided against it.
Jeong Gajangju had said the child’s path was their own choice, but I understood what a parent’s heart truly desired.
‘Just grow up healthy. As for martial arts, learning basic body conditioning exercises would be more than enough.’
At the very least, my great-grandchild should live long enough to see their grandfather pass on.
“Let me check your health by taking your pulse for a moment.”
Curiosity got the better of me, so I took the baby’s wrist and felt their pulse.
Unlike last time when I merely checked for health, I expanded my qi perception to examine the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
After examining for a while, I withdrew my hand from the wrist.
“Well? Do you think our child will become a master of Gangho?”
To Jeong Gajangju, who spoke without conviction, I replied thus:
“Ah, this is quite something. Both the mother and father were exceptional martial artists, but this child’s constitution resembles their great-grandfather’s.”
“Oh my, oh dear… oh my!”
Jeong Gajangju spoke as if troubled, yet the corners of his mouth were already turning upward.
That was the truth.
There was no need for the Eight Extraordinary Meridians to be open from birth or to have talent with the sword.
Happiness, after all, lies in the places closest to us.
“Is the child healthy?”
“The constitution resembles the great-grandfather’s, so they have a robust body. I’ll send tonics occasionally, and if you give them those, they likely won’t even catch a cold even in the depths of winter.”
“Excellent. Yes. Health is what matters most. Indeed.”
“Bwaa!”
That was when the baby grabbed my knee and straightened their legs.
“Wow, standing! Standing! Is this the right developmental stage for an infant? Ah, it seems about right?”
“This is quite something. Jin Nonya. We’ll need to put away anything breakable.”
“Don’t worry. The villagers have already cleared everything away.”
“Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness.”
Eating, sleeping, drinking, crawling, crying.
The child grows.
Cheonwoo held the child’s hand and spoke.
“I’ll be waiting for you at Mount Mudang, so grow up healthy and strong.”
“Bwaa!”
* * *
Cheonwoo learned the art of making alcohol directly from Jeong Gajangju.
And the last thing he received was something that looked like a white brick.
“Ah, so it’s nuruk.”
Cheonwoo spoke, and Jeong Gajangju responded.
“Indeed, nuruk. It has been passed down through our family for generations.”
“I’m aware that nuruk ingredients vary by region. The renowned daegogjus, in particular, are quite particular about their nuruk materials.”
I’m not sure if Earth is similar, but here in Gangho, alcohol is divided into daegogjus and sogogjus.
This peach wine is a daegonju.
Those made with rice are sogogjus.
Compared to daegogjus, fermentation takes less time and requires less rice, so the price is relatively cheaper.
It’s easy to find anywhere, and even small inns in mountainous regions stock sogogjus.
However, most of the renowned alcohols in Gangho tend to be daegogjus.
In the end, it’s natural that those who spare neither time nor materials have a higher probability of creating a famous brew.
“Which nuruk does Mudang Mountain use? I understand you don’t brew it directly.”
“We use nuruk made from barley. What do you use here?”
“Peas. And specifically, we steam peas from the second harvest to make our nuruk. It must be from the second harvest. The first peas are too hard to work with for nuruk-making, and they leave a bitter aftertaste.”
Cheonwoo let out a bitter laugh.
“It would be difficult for Mudang Mountain to make it directly.”
“I’ll send you our nuruk through my connections. If it’s not our family’s nuruk, no matter how well you learn the secret method, you won’t achieve that flavor.”
Such is the mystery of alcohol.
He looked at Jin Cheon-hee and spoke.
“I’ve heard in passing that the Doctor can brew the legendary Cheonil Brew, that most famous of all wines. If you give me one bottle of Cheonil Brew, I’ll give you my nuruk.”
“Ah, just a moment.”
Jin Cheon-hee quickly rushed to the carriage and returned with a bottle of Cheonil Brew.
“You carry alcohol around even though you don’t drink it?”
Jeong Gajangju asked as if bewildered, and Jin Cheon-hee laughed.
“It turns out to be surprisingly useful. Sometimes alcohol exchanges better than money.”
“…With Cheonil Brew, that’s certainly possible. Well, I believe our family’s peach wine is no inferior to that.”
Pride seeped through the old man’s words.
“I’ll be honored to learn from you.”
“Well, since I’ve already received such kindness, I’ll pass on my knowledge to the Doctor as well. The condition is that you don’t teach the secret method to anyone else.”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee quickly clasped his fists in gratitude.
“My goodness, what an honor!”
Watching this, Cheonwoo and Sama Hyeon thought simultaneously.
Only our hyeong would be more delighted to receive instruction in brewing than in martial arts.
* * *
Having received all the teachings, it was now time to leave this village.
‘In fact, I have nothing left to give.’
After achieving the miracle of the Reverse Flow Returning Movement and practicing the teachings of Mudang every morning, what more could I offer?
Rather, Cheonwoo had observed the old man’s form.
-For the Mudang Kwon Wang to personally observe me… what fortune has blessed my twilight years to experience such a dream-like occurrence.
-Not at all. There is much I have to learn from Taiji Quan. Please consider this merely the presumptuous interference of a junior and feel at ease.
That was true.
The Twenty-Four Forms of Tai Chi that the elderly man had revealed after his late-life enlightenment were truly peculiar.
A method that couldn’t break someone’s wrist or pierce their eyes—something that, in a way, resembled a very slow dance.
With my dull talent, I had performed those movements hundreds of thousands of times, and at last they had touched upon the realm of Half-Step Returning Movement.
Surely the form alone would be worth learning.
‘One cannot call martial arts legitimate only if someone dies from them.’
Even Jang Sambon, the master who created Tai Chi, would nod in agreement.
I etched that magnificent Tai Chi into my eyes again and again.
‘Perhaps it might help me once when I face a mortal crisis someday.’
In the end, I received so much.
Upon receiving word that the luggage was all packed, I finally rose to my feet.
A bottle of alcohol hung from my waist.
It was peach wine.
Fortunately, our Jeong Gajangju had one bottle left that he hadn’t consumed.
I don’t particularly enjoy drinking, but still, for the journey back.
I packed it to share with my siblings.
After exchanging farewells with Jeong Gajangju and stepping outside.
Jin the Elder was waiting.
“I was waiting to express my gratitude. And here is alcohol made by Jeong Gajang.”
With those words, he handed over three more bottles.
“Wow, that’s quite a lot?”
“It pains me that I have little to offer my benefactor.”
“Benefactor? That is already in the past.”
I wondered if he was referring to when I had treated Jin Nonya before, but Jin Nonya shook his head.
“Jangju is my benefactor. In the past, he willingly paid a substantial medical fee for my wife, who was dying of lung disease. Though I was unworthy and had to let my wife go, he said to me, ‘You need not suffer the same fate,’ did he not?”
“…I see. Your wife is…?”
“Yes. She overcame that crisis then and is doing well even now. In repayment, I have served Jangju all my life. When brewing alcohol, I sometimes help in this manner.”
“…”
“Jangju’s benefactor is also my benefactor. So please, do not refuse and accept this. It is merely what Jangju gave to me, which I now give to my benefactor.”
If I were to sell it, I could have earned a considerable sum.
Yet the fact that Jin Nonya kept this alcohol instead of selling it spoke to the depth of his heart.
“I am grateful beyond words.”
I bowed deeply.
Jin Nonya returned the bow with an expression of relief.
As I stepped out, the villagers who had heard the news were gathered at the village entrance, waiting.
Hadn’t I already received potatoes as thanks for the treatment? Thoroughly boiled potatoes were worthy of such gratitude.
‘Still, parting is always bittersweet.’
As I thought this, the people said something unexpected.
“Thank you for treating our Jangju.”
“We are all those who have received grace from Jangju. When his grandson’s fate took such a turn and he lost his strength, you cannot imagine how worried we all were.”
“Now that I think about it, I was so worried I might have hanged myself from the main beam.”
“Wahahahaha!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
They all knew it wasn’t a joke but the truth.
What he had endured was a despair beyond words.
But now that it had passed, it was something that could be said.
“Our village will never forget Baekrin Uiseon for the rest of our lives.”
“We won’t forget either.”
After receiving thanks from so many people, someone suddenly asked a question.
“Is it true that the Patriarch achieved Reverse Aging Circulation?”
At those words, Jin Cheon-hee, Sama Hyeon, and Cheonwoo exchanged glances with one another.
[If word spreads that Reverse Aging Circulation is real, Black Dao Cultivators might come seeking martial fame. There are plenty of madmen among them, hyeong.]
Those drifters who would rush to anyone with even a shred of reputation, hoping to spill blood and make a name for themselves in the Gangho.
[Even if I claim to be nothing but a rustic making alcohol in the mountains, they won’t believe it. They won’t give me time. For them, enlightenment is something only martial artists achieve.]
I knew there were more than a few such vagrants.
So I answered like this.
“The Reformation Grand Technique worked well, so I was surprised myself.”
“Ah! So that’s why you look so young—it’s because of the Reformation Grand Technique.”
Even though I had achieved Reverse Aging Circulation, my appearance had only returned to middle age, which I had thought a waste. But now I realized that too was fortune.
A treasure that cannot be protected is better left nonexistent.
Even if that treasure is youth.
I hadn’t returned to my twenties, and middle age could be concealed one way or another.
“Yes. Originally I wouldn’t appear this young, but fortune simply favored me.”
I hoped he would live in peace until his final years.
And so I left, carrying the secret with me.
That year, peach blossoms bloomed abundantly on the old tree.
Everyone rejoiced, saying it was an auspicious sign and that this year’s alcohol would be the most delicious.
True to their words, the most delicious alcohol was completed.
Alcohol infused with Jeong Gajangju’s entire being.
The name of that alcohol was Hee-u.
Joy that brings aid.
It was also the name of his great-grandchild.
And it would also be alcohol that aided the joy of his younger sister Hye-a, just as Sama Hyeon had hoped.
The young researchers at the Researcher Doctor’s quarters who drank that alcohol finally decided on a name for insulin.
Heavenly Peach Stone Oil.
Heavenly Peach.
The character for heaven from Soggakju Jin Cheon-hee’s name and the character for peach were combined.
Hadn’t the patient achieved the legendary Reverse Aging Circulation?
Though they couldn’t speak of it outside, it held great meaning for the Researcher Doctor’s physicians.
Since ancient times, diabetes—especially in the elderly—was a heavenly punishment, and one could only wait for death.
Yet if human effort could postpone that moment, even by a breath.
That alone would be the highest praise and courage for a Researcher Doctor.
It is the way of heaven that all humans must die someday.
But at least we can win once against that inevitability.
Good Day, Good Alcohol.
A good connection it was.

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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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