Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 873

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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 873
I asked Cheonwoo.
“By the way, Cheonwoo. Do you think Muyue’s business venture will succeed?”
“To be honest… at first I thought it was terrible. But after hearing what you and Hyeon said, it seems like it might work. Still, I’m a warrior, not a businessman.”
He took a deep breath and continued speaking while refining his external cultivation.
“But I understand a warrior’s heart. If someone could master that level of movement technique just through food delivery, there would be plenty of people willing to do it. Why would anyone refuse when they get to train and earn money at the same time?”
With that, he brought down a massive iron sphere onto the ground with a loud clang.
“You’re right. Cheonwoo understands a warrior’s heart best.”
I stroked my chin with my finger, lost in thought.
“Let me see… I know several divine art movement techniques at the highest level, and there are others I know that aren’t quite at that level… about thirty or so.”
“Phew~ that’s an incredible number.”
“Wow, but you know all of those, so why are you specifically practicing the Samjae Movement Method?”
Cheonwoo’s words struck right at my core.
“What do you mean! The Samjae Movement Method is excellent!”
Just as I was about to launch into a lengthy defense of the Samjae Movement Method’s superiority, Sama Hyeon quickly changed the subject.
“Why not just ask Elder Toegoe? He’s a master of movement techniques.”
“Elder Toegoe’s movement technique is truly unparalleled in the world… but he can’t explain it to others. He’s a natural genius type.”
A natural genius type?
Sama Hyeon asked.
“What do you mean by that?”
“He dotes on his granddaughter terribly… and well, he just doesn’t teach much. That’s why I arranged a professional instructor for her in the first place.”
“Ah…”
Exceptional warriors often don’t make exceptional masters.
Prestigious sects have history and tradition, so they can cover for mediocre teachers with established curricula, but self-made warriors usually lack such systems entirely.
Especially natural geniuses tend to frustrate their disciples with “Why can’t you do this?” attitudes.
“In that sense, Master Jegalling is truly a remarkable person. Yes indeed. He took in a tiny disciple and raised me to this point.”
I returned to praising my master.
My two younger brothers looked at me with cold eyes.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Anyway, hyeong. I’ll help you with this too.”
“Really? Thanks. With you, who learned the Toheungbo just by watching, you’ll be a huge help.”
Cheonwoo said.
“I can’t do anything like that. I’ll just tell you from a Gangho perspective whether it’s difficult or easy.”
“Ou! Cheonwoo too? You must be busy refining your external cultivation, but I really appreciate it.”
I didn’t refuse the help.
And so the three of us put our heads together right away.
* * *
A month passed, and my hair had grown even longer than before, not shorter.
I tied my fuller hair up tightly.
‘So much has happened in the meantime.’
My Master would tease me about my short hair, or gift me troublesome ornaments.
No matter how I looked at it, I sometimes missed how my hair used to be when I was younger.
Sama Hyeon had played every prank imaginable with my hair.
In the process, he’d tried everything—half-tied, twin braids, half-tied twin braids, you name it.
‘Those days are gone now.’
I thought this as I spun my long hair around like a top.
‘Heh. This weight. Look at it spinning like a propeller.’
I left the great bathhouse doing something a million miles away from dignified.
I made eye contact with a few of the Medical Assistants along the way.
“Ah, Soggakju. Um… today as well… good morning to you.”
They were all deliberately pretending not to see.
And for good reason.
Though my physique might be somewhat lacking compared to other martial artists, my face was nothing short of peerless, was it not?
A handsome young man called the most beautiful under heaven, judged by appearance and presence alone, walking around spinning his tied hair—it was not something to witness with a sound mind.
Still, my life at the Medical Guild with Cheonwoo had been going on for quite some time now.
‘Right. This is normal for Soggakju.’
‘…He’s healthy as always today.’
‘Spinning his tied hair is probably part of some new martial art research or something?’
Living with a madman had turned everyone into Buddhas.
We arrived at the training grounds.
Cheonwoo decided to hear the formula we two had created and try it himself.
“Hyeong, this is really strange, isn’t it?”
Cheonwoo was standing on top of bamboo.
And in each hand, he held a plate filled with soil.
Oddly enough, Cheonwoo’s massive body didn’t sway, nor did the bamboo break under the weight.
Cheonwoo spoke.
“It’s like… the flow of inner energy is balancing itself on its own.”
“Right? In deliveries, the food can’t spill. That’s the important part. How’s your inner energy consumption?”
“It’s fine. Consumption is low… and the speed seems quite decent.”
Saying so, he began running quickly up the bamboo.
Of course, it was far slower than my Threefold Disaster Footwork, but even this alone was a realm that second and third-rate martial artists had dreamed of.
Sama Hyeon evaluated it.
“With the Third Prince’s build, that level of lightness? Wow, it’s actually usable as a lightness technique?”
Lightness technique.
Using the character for light (輕), it means the body becomes lighter.
Here, speed technique means running fast.
And lightness technique means making the body light.
So they’re sometimes called together as lightness and speed technique.
‘Simply put, it means moving with a light and quick step.’
I asked.
“How is the practice coming along?”
“Memorizing the incantations initially is simple, but I suspect there will need to be some trial and error. The incantations alone aren’t sufficient—it requires a skilled warrior to demonstrate it first, I’d say.”
“I see. Anything else?”
“It seems acceptable otherwise.”
“Good. This should be sufficient to pass.”
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Gaga~ we must test this with other warriors as well. Humans are far more ignorant than one might imagine~”
Hmm. I suppose that’s true.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“From teaching at the inn, I’ve learned never to overestimate human intellect. You must assume the lowest capacity. Think of it as teaching a five-year-old child~ and explain things at that level of understanding~”
His distrust of humanity was truly profound.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“Once you see what I’ve witnessed while teaching, you’ll all understand.”
…I see.
I scratched my head vigorously.
“Alright. Then let’s simplify it further and demonstrate it to other warriors as well.”
The more samples, the better.
“Ah, this really is excellent, isn’t it?”
Cheonwoo seemed pleased and continued using the Gyeongsin Preservation Technique that I had created.
He appeared quite satisfied.
* * *
There was a fellow named Jang O.
The fifth son of the Jang family, hence Jang O.
The eldest brother was Jang Il, the second was Jang I, the third was Jang Sam, and the fourth was Jang Sa.
This Jang O disliked farm work in his youth and ran away from home on a whim.
After running away, he worked as a courier for the Unryongpyoguk, learning martial arts by observation, and with money saved penny by penny, he studied martial arts at a martial school.
In truth, there are limits to what martial arts one can learn at his age, and the martial schools he could afford with a courier’s wages were predictable.
Geonshin Martial School.
A school that could hardly be called famous, even charitably.
Specializing in external techniques, using the spear as their weapon.
It was close to a military martial school, but given Jang O’s circumstances, he had no choice but to select it.
That was how he trained.
The Geonshin Technique—an internal cultivation method, external technique, and the Geonshin Spear Form.
The Geonshin Technique had the characteristic of greatly increasing muscular strength.
Thanks to this, Jang O’s strength was not inferior to other warriors, and with his naturally good physique, his muscles were as thick and solid as steel cables.
‘But that’s where it ends.’
How many like me trained for a year at a martial school and then came to Gangho to work as drifters or couriers?
People like me are scattered throughout Gangho like grains of sand.
In the end, I’m limited to being a second-rate warrior.
Of course, that might be considered impressive in its own way.
But my inner strength remained meager at best.
Recently, I’ve spent money to train in Yeonmu City and improved somewhat compared to before, but…
‘That doesn’t mean I’ll ever become a first-rate warrior.’
Of course, even becoming a second-rate warrior would mean no worries about putting food on the table.
And that’s not all.
My family could even live comfortably with luxuries.
But a major problem had emerged for me.
‘There’s no work in Gangso Province.’
For someone like me who had already put down roots here, it was unbearably painful.
My hungry children were waiting at home with their mouths open, and my wife had even started taking in sewing work.
The money I’d saved was running out.
‘I came out looking for work, but what am I supposed to do?’
If only there were a major clash between martial artists somewhere, I could at least get hired as a ronin warrior.
It’s one of the most common jobs for ronins.
But Gangso Province…
‘It’s peaceful.’
The Righteous Faction and Heterodox Faction don’t clash on the streets.
In fact, there’s little reason for them to clash.
The Righteous Faction had become far too powerful, and the Heterodox Faction had hidden away in gambling dens and loan-sharking operations.
In short, when a Heterodox Faction thug refused to pay protection money to a market merchant and flipped his stall, the Righteous Faction would step in and fight instead.
When it escalated into faction versus faction warfare, there was no work for us ronin warriors to be hired.
‘Let me check the job broker’s office.’
The job broker’s office.
The employment agency for ronins.
I wondered if there was any work today, and there was exactly one posting.
[Baekrin Inn Delivery Service Recruitment]
‘What’s this?’
Then a ronin I knew spoke up.
“You know that business we all said would fail before?”
“Oh, you mean that dumpling delivery thing where they hire martial artists?”
“That’s the one. Everyone said it wouldn’t work. Looks like they’re actually going ahead with it.”
With those words, the other warriors burst out laughing.
“Even the great Baekrin Medical Guild is attempting such a foolish venture. Everyone said it wouldn’t work, yet they’re really starting it.”
It’ll fail anyway.
Still, it seemed worth checking out.
“If it’s Baekrin Medical Guild, they’ll pay properly even if the business flops, right?”
No one could match Baekrin Medical Guild when it came to credibility.
Then another warrior spoke.
“The pay itself is tight. But everyone’s making a fuss because they say they’ll teach a lightness technique suitable for delivery. The condition is that you only practice that technique while delivering.”
“Ooh…? That’s an interesting condition. But it’s not bad, is it? While it’s easy to learn external techniques or spear arts at martial schools, places that teach lightness techniques are rare.”
“Right. Places like that are famous and expensive anyway. So we’re applying right away. What about you, Jang Sohyeop?”
At those words, Jang O made his decision.
“There aren’t many commissions these days anyway. Getting paid and learning the Divine Art of Delivery—there’s no reason to refuse. Besides, all I know about the Divine Art of Delivery is the Third-Rate Delivery Method that drifts around the streets. That’s nowhere near enough.”
“Exactly. Yes. Then Jang Sohyeop, apply with us too!”
I’d heard that the meditation techniques and archery taught at Baekrin Medical Guild were on a completely different level.
Even what was transmitted in Yeonmu City was said to be a tier below, yet it showed remarkable results.
Then what would the Divine Art of Delivery be like?
My heart raced with anticipation.
* * *
Many wealthy people lived in Baekrin County.
Especially the rich who had been incorporated from new territories as it expanded from a prefecture to a province.
And on top of that, the wealthy from Namgyeong.
Many of them began building villas near Baekrin Medical Guild’s main compound, coming for leisure and recuperation.
With such circumstances, a sort of wealthy district began forming near Baekrin Medical Guild’s main compound.
Shops filled with all manner of luxury goods began opening.
Among them was a man named Gwak Jangja.
In this era, Jangja was a term used to refer to the wealthy.
In Korean, it would be close to expressions like “multimillionaire” or “billionaire.”
In Gangho, one typically addresses someone by their surname followed by Jangja.
In any case, this Gwak Jangja had recently built a villa in the wealthy district near Baekrin Medical Guild’s main compound.
Gwak Jangja was famous for loving food immensely.
Baekrin Inn was always crowded, and even when he tried to reserve a private room for a large sum, it was always fully booked—which annoyed him greatly.
“Ugh, this is maddening. I have money but can’t eat what I want!”
Then delivery came into existence.
“Usually it’s Pyosa and carpenters who order it, right?”
His servant answered.
“Yes. Since it’s expensive for one person to order alone, when several people order delivery together, the price comes down, so that’s what they do.”
But Gwak Jangja had no such need.
“Just order it.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Hmm, no wait. Order a few more. The servants below should indulge themselves once in a while too.”
At those words, the servant’s voice brightened dramatically.
“Oh! Truly a magnanimous lord! This humble one shall apply right away!”
Saying so, he rushed out before Gwak Jangja could change his mind.
“I wonder if the taste will remain the same.”
Gwak Jangja had considerable standing among the wealthy.
Especially regarding restaurants, everyone considered Gwak Jangja’s critique the highest authority.
Dumpling delivery is all about speed.
Once they cool, they puff up and lose their flavor.
Even when steamed again, most of the time the taste doesn’t return.
‘The succulent small dragon pork buns with their juices sloshing about are especially so.’
Even if it were the renowned Baekrin Medical Guild, it would be no different.
Could they truly accomplish this with merely a third-rate warrior?
Gwak Jangja spoke with firm resolve.
“Just wait and taste it. If it’s not delicious after receiving this payment, I’ll spread the word far and wide about it.”

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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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