Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 888

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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 888
“Moreover, it’s a form that can traverse both land and water. Though it seems to swim far more proficiently in the water.”
My Master spoke thus, then dipped his fingertip in food and immediately sketched its form.
Though he merely mimicked its appearance simply, the sketch was so intricate it rivaled the work of a master painter.
“There are considerable rumors of them throughout Gangho. These creatures don’t merely attack ships—they’re also assaulting fishing villages along the coastline. However, the further inland one travels, the more these accounts are dismissed as mere ghost stories.”
In an era without photographs or video recordings, such tales inevitably spread in this manner.
Fish-headed humans attacking people.
Even I found it difficult to believe.
‘I can understand the Government Office’s skepticism.’
They would naturally suspect mass opium use followed by collective hallucinations.
My Master continued.
“For now, they’re managing to contain it adequately. However, when the casualties might increase further remains unknown. Moreover….”
“…The fact that they continue to appear suggests the possibility that someone is ‘cultivating’ them, much like the Rakshasa and Dragon Scale People I encountered.”
“….”
My disciple’s eyes gleamed with a sharp, piercing blue light.
“To grasp it so immediately. You’re quick.”
Jegalling expressed genuine admiration.
I recalled the Rakshasa’s spawning pond.
Jegalling continued.
“The Gongseon Family is requesting assistance from the entire Olyunghoe. And naturally, we must respond.”
The Olyunghoe was a massive organization comprising Baekrin Medical Guild, the Gongseon Family, the Namgung Family, the Bota Clan, and Hao-mun, with the Jin Ju-eonga Family also included.
Beyond these, twenty-five smaller sects had joined the Olyunghoe. It was a force that even the Martial Arts Alliance could not easily challenge.
Of course, the Martial Arts Alliance’s scale still exceeded the Olyunghoe’s, though that was before the Righteous-Heterodox War ended inconclusively.
I seized upon my Master’s words.
Tap.
“The Gongseon Family’s maritime trade and the Unryongpyoguk’s business are currently connected to the interests of all other sects within the Olyunghoe.”
As my Master placed a white stone, a black stone followed in response.
Stone by stone interlocked, and immediately the strategy began to unfold.
“Precisely. In other words, regardless of political reasons, economic necessity compels us to assist. Do you understand what that means?”
Tap-tap-
The next question.
My disciple answered immediately.
“The fastest maritime route from Liaoning to Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian is by sea. Land routes are slow and costly. Conversely, the same applies when traveling from Jiangsu to Liaoning. For smooth trade, the sea route is absolutely essential.”
“Correct. You’ve grasped it precisely.”
“Then how far have investigations progressed?”
Now that I understood our situation, I needed to understand the enemy’s.
An emphasis found in Sun Tzu’s Art of War.
Every military treatise mentions it, making it fundamental among fundamentals, yet most strategists often overlook it.
However, the small genius of the Jegallim Family never abandoned basics when undertaking a task.
A subtle smile graced my Master’s lips.
“First of all… those connected to the Goe-eo-in call themselves the Sea Dragon Hall.”
“Sea Dragon Hall. Quite the grandiose name.”
Anger lingered in the young man’s voice.
It was because of the letters and bamboo slips my master had casually spread across the desk.
The traces of the commoners’ massacre committed by the Sea Dragon Hall—the characters in those reports had entered his field of vision.
The moment he saw them, even the fleeting dream of something soft like love and peace evaporated.
What remained was only the survival of the fittest in Gangho.
“You will go to Qingdao Port in Shandong Province and begin your investigation. Since the Goe-eo-in have been frequently spotted there, you should be able to probe for their base of operations.”
Qingdao.
One of the port cities in Shandong Province. And also a famous tourist destination.
“What will the other elite members of the Olyun Society do?”
Moving the ‘other elite’.
Right then, the disciple predicted exactly what my master would do next.
Jegalling thought to himself.
‘He’s grown well.’
He had reached a level where he could anticipate his master’s next move.
“Starting from Zhushan County in Zhejiang Province, we’ll search every island there is. We’ll have to bribe the garrison soldiers to get them moving.”
Government offices are useless, but garrison soldiers are useful.
Of course, only when it comes to ‘searching’.
Direct combat must be handled by those of Gangho.
“It’s amusing that we must bribe them to achieve righteousness.”
“The Non-Interference of Officials symbolizes the laziness of government, and that too is part of Gangho.”
“That’s the convention.”
“Yes. Whether the emperor changes, the nation’s name changes, or it’s torn into the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians, ‘convention’ always remains. For them, what is closer—tradition or the imperial palace?”
Amusingly, in this Gangho world, the Non-Interference of Officials was something like a law that even an absolute being could not arbitrarily twist.
As long as ‘martial arts’—that household tomahawk, household tank, household chemical weapon—existed in this world, it would continue.
Baekrin was originally within the domain of Baekrin Uiseon anyway, and even then it was barely within reach, so it was somehow possible.
When considering all under heaven, the very essence of Gangho never changed.
My master continued.
“Also, it’s my intuition, but I believe the clue is likely to emerge from Qingdao.”
Was it merely intuition?
Or was it a conclusion reached through some calculation that I didn’t know about?
However, the disciple does not ask.
Rather than that.
“I will go and return.”
I simply move forward.
Without a single lingering doubt.
* * *
At the moment Jin Cheon-hee was leaving Baekrin Uiseon.
A woman gazed down at a letter in the secret chamber of the Martial Arts Alliance.
Dokgo Seon, General of the Martial Arts Alliance.
He began reading through a letter that had arrived from the intelligence organization.
‘The entire Olyunhoe is in turmoil. Is it to suppress the pirates?’
The letter stated that the Hyeolseonggyo was included among the pirates.
Having read that far, Dokgo Seon let out a small sigh.
‘The Olyunhoe is making a serious move? Is the purpose merely suppression? It’s natural that they also intend to control the seas and expand their influence further.’
That was probably the second objective.
But he had a feeling there was one more thing.
‘What exactly is Jegalling thinking?’
To discern his true intentions, Dokgo Seon toyed with his fan for a long time, a very long time.
Then he picked up the bell beside him and shook it.
A well-trained servant entered carrying a bowl filled with a warm, sweet-smelling liquid.
Golden soy milk.
A special blend with plenty of honey added.
Slurp.
She drank the soy milk from the bowl as if it were fine wine, then turned her gaze back to the letter.
‘The Jeong-Sa Great War… that was also within your calculations, wasn’t it, Olyunhoe Lord?’
It was a war where no one profited and everyone suffered losses. The only one who gained from that war was the Olyunhoe.
It wouldn’t be strange to think that the Olyunhoe had orchestrated the Jeong-Sa Great War itself from behind the scenes.
‘What are you scheming?’
A beautiful yet fearsome man like a white qilin. Thinking of him, General Dokgo Seon fell into contemplation.
The night deepened for the strategist.
* * *
At the same time, Bukgung Sansan.
An evil brain.
She, who bore the alias Sano, was tearing at her hair.
“Damn it, that cursed Hyeolrin Gwangssal… Is he finally making his real move? We haven’t even recovered from the damages of the last Jeong-Sa Great War…”
The loss of the Golden Blood Hall breaking away had been too great a blow.
‘Even if we call it Sadoren now… one-third of the people are from the Heterodox Faction…’
That the Heterodox Faction had spies flooding into the sect was something Bukgung Sansan had already discovered through her own investigation.
After all, she hadn’t won the position of strategist through playing cards.
Yet the reason she hadn’t driven them all out was something else.
‘The vacancy left by the Golden Blood Hall is too large. In human terms.’
If she expelled all of them in this situation, the already dwindling funds would dry up even further.
Though the Gangho is said to operate by the logic of the sword, such organizations ultimately run on the logic of money, don’t they?
Moreover, those Heterodox Faction bastards were cooperating with Sadoren for some reason.
It was a strange honeymoon relationship where they were turning a blind eye while not providing information.
She buried her head in the desk, lost in thought, banging it repeatedly.
The complete opposite of Dokgo Seon, the strategist of the Martial Arts Alliance.
There was no elegance in gracefully toying with a fan.
Soon after, she spoke.
“Why don’t we just openly join forces now that things have come to this?”
In the Gangho, it wasn’t uncommon for the Heterodox Faction and the Demonic Cult to collude and strike at the Righteous Faction.
Previously, they weren’t striking at the Righteous Faction, but in any case, the preservation of Sadoren was necessary.
However, the final decision rested with the Sadoryeonju.
Sulgye. That stubborn old geezer.
‘Ugh… he’ll probably beat me again for calling this a strategy…’
Still, offering an opinion was part of my duty as a strategist.
Sano pondered for a moment, then began quickly transcribing onto paper.
* * *
While the strategists and advisors of two massive factions were racking their brains,
Jegalling had sent his disciple, Jin Cheon-hee, away and was in an unnamed mountain.
“I didn’t know you’d go this far.”
Jegalling stood atop the peak of a mountain.
His arrogant, cold eyes gazed down at the earth below with a steady intensity.
Where his gaze fell.
There, flames burned like the corona of a sun.
Bizarrely, the fire burned in a perfect circular shape, yet the heat didn’t spread beyond that circle at all.
Only the circular space within burned fiercely, rejecting everything.
Jegalling gazed down calmly at this strange space, as if drawn by a blade.
Kieeeeeek–!
An incomprehensible scream echoed from within the circle.
That grotesque sound, which could never come from human vocal cords, reverberated in all directions.
“There’s no choice. I’ve become a Divine Envoy.”
“And the only one at that. Since you despise humans, you wouldn’t think of creating more here. Besides, there probably aren’t many beings qualified for such a thing anyway.”
“….”
Yoo Ho didn’t answer.
The two watched the flames within the circle for a long time, listening to the screams.
Eventually, it was Yoo Ho who broke the silence and spoke first.
“Is it alright to send him like this? There could be an accident, like what happened with the Jin Ju-eonga family.”
“I’ve recently begun to observe the celestial patterns.”
“Pardon?”
To Yoo Ho’s bewildered response, Jegalling continued calmly.
“The Jegallim Family has always been versed in astronomy and geography. Didn’t Jegal Ryang, who was no different from Gae Pa Josa, even summon the southeastern wind?”
Was it nonsense? Was it true?
Perhaps it was a joke.
This man could say anything if necessary, and could use anything.
“That may be so.”
Yoo Ho decided to play along.
“Though the celestial patterns are scattered… there are still things I can discern from those scattered fragments.”
“Can you see such things?”
“I can no longer see the future, but if I observe the present world, I can predict how those bastards will move. And… that brat Hee is bound to go to the sea eventually anyway. It would be better to entrust that to him.”
He was serious.
Yoo Ho thought to himself.
Normally it would be impossible for a mortal, but perhaps this man might actually be capable of it.
And perhaps deceiving the heavens itself was possible because of that very thing.
“Why is that?”
“Weighing the scales.”
“Weighing the scales?”
Jegalling stared at the flames for a long while.
The brightness was intense enough to blind an ordinary person, yet he didn’t blink once.
Because of that, sometimes Yoo Ho wondered if he was truly the same kind of being as himself.
Jegalling continued speaking.
“Yes. Weighing which causes him more pain—losing those Medical Assistants he cherishes so dearly and having his heart wounded, or losing a small part of his own body. That’s the scale he’s balancing.”
“…Master, you really are quite mad, aren’t you?”
Had anyone else said such a thing, he would have severed their neck on the spot.
But Jegalling laughed and replied.
“Hahaha. That’s a compliment, then. In any case, the real act is about to begin now. Those bastards have seen me, and they’ve been beaten down quite thoroughly… so they’ll start making their big moves soon.”
“I see.”
The screams began to fade.
Jegalling, watching it, spoke.
“It seems everything inside there is dead by now.”
Yoo Ho stared for a long moment before speaking.
“Let’s wait just a bit longer. Life is proving more tenacious than expected.”
“Hmm? Is that so? Then that means ‘they’ have taken countermeasures we don’t know about.”
Facing a formidable enemy.
Strangely, Jegalling appeared delighted.
A monster.
That was what countless Kang Ho-in called him.

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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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