Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 9

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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 9
Thud.
Whoosh—!
Fire caught on the finest silk bedding.
Hm.
The young Yeo Ha-ryun froze for a moment.
“Fire?”
His gaze shifted to the flames consuming the blanket.
If I released my hold, Jin Cheon-hee would escape. But if I maintained this position, I would be the one caught in the fire.
As that realization struck him, Yeo Ha-ryun’s pupils slowly began returning to their original dark hue.
The madness receding, his mind growing calm.
That was it. Until moments ago, Yeo Ha-ryun had spoken in cold, blunt tones and appeared to be acting normally—but that wasn’t the case at all.
The madness of the Heavenly Demon was what moved him.
‘Just like in the novel, his eyes really do change color. That was dangerous…’
“Where… am I? I was clearly…”
It was surprisingly common for soldiers returning from battlefields to attack those nearby.
The moment Yeo Ha-ryun regained awareness while surveying his surroundings, his grip loosened, and Jin Cheon-hee immediately drove his foot into the man’s abdomen.
Crack!
“Ugh!”
A blow delivered in the chaos of confusion.
In that brief window, Jin Cheon-hee wrenched himself free from the man’s grasp.
‘Phew. I think I’ll actually survive this.’
The bedding burned on. He still lay on the bed, the flaming blanket draped over him.
He yanked the blanket away and rolled off the side of the bed, rising to his feet.
But perhaps because he was enraged, Yeo Ha-ryun’s retinas began taking on an even deeper crimson hue than before.
‘When blood runs hot, the urge to destroy intensifies—just like in the novel.’
Whenever he lost consciousness or his life hung in danger, he would be consumed by this blood.
It would take the Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryun considerable time to master this bloodlust.
The Demonic Sect of the Unorthodox Path would save his life many times over, but the price would be the loss of precious things.
‘Mysterious origins and uncontrollable madness—the staple ingredients of martial arts novels.’
But having such a man standing right before me was another matter entirely.
In a book, he was entertainment you’d pay a hundred won per chapter to enjoy, but in reality, he was an uncontrollable murderer.
And on top of that, his eye color changed every time this blood manifested.
‘What kind of middle school syndrome is this…’
And of all colors, it had to be red.
The only saving grace was that this murderer was handsome, befitting a martial arts novel protagonist—or so the setting claimed.
First priority: calm this murderer down.
Indeed, Yeo Ha-ryun had lowered his body into a stance resembling that of a tiger.
The posture of someone about to unleash a martial technique in attack!
‘Damn it. To calm this bastard down… yes. That’s it!’
In just a brief moment.
Jin Cheon-hee was surprised at himself. An idea to calm Yeo Ha-ryun had come to him instantly.
‘Stay composed. Compose yourself.’
Controlling one’s emotions is a surgeon’s fundamental skill.
I had always felt this sense on the operating table.
This time, the one I was operating on was none other than my own life. In a way, it felt even lighter than someone else’s life.
Perhaps because of that.
“The debts and grudges of Gangho are like the two sides of a blade.”
The still-young Yeo Ha-ryun hesitated.
“…?”
‘Good. He took the bait!’
I didn’t miss the moment his eyes paused slightly. And this reaction was exactly what Jin Cheon-hee had intended.
The words Jin Cheon-hee had just spoken—they were the very last words left by Yeo Ha-ryun’s Mother as her dying wish.
-My son. The debts and grudges of Gangho are like the two sides of a blade. Whether debt or grudge, they inevitably call forth blood, so please do not become entangled in them. Live a life different from mine.
To Yeo Ha-ryun, his mother was his only blood relative.
Because of this, she had kept the secret of his birth from her son until the very end.
She wished for him to live an ordinary life, untangled by either debt or grudge.
But her wish would not come true.
After her death, Yeo Ha-ryun would learn that he was born under the Heavenly Killing Star.
And to suppress it, and for several other reasons, he would turn toward the Demon Sect.
‘So, what will you do?’
Jin Cheon-hee recalled the contents of the novel as he watched Yeo Ha-ryun.
When his blood relative’s dying words left his lips, Yeo Ha-ryun’s eyes widened.
Jin Cheon-hee added one more thing.
“Do you think you’ll be safe if you go to the Demon Sect? Once you harbor the Blood Gu, no matter who you are, you’ll become nothing but their puppet. Come to your senses. Yeo Ha-ryun.”
The moment the words “Demon Sect” left his mouth, Yeo Ha-ryun’s pupils began to return to a clearer, deeper black.
And his expression changed from before.
Wariness. Confusion.
Such emotions colored his face.
“How do you know that…?”
The Demon Sect.
An ordinary person should flee in fear at that name. Yet here was a child who walked toward the Demon Sect of his own volition.
Where the child went, a trail of blood followed.
Unless one were kidnapped, there was no one who knocked on the Demon Sect’s door of their own accord without a tragic tale to tell.
And if that someone was a child, all the more so.
That was the current Yeo Ha-ryun. And if he had to guess, the original owner of Jin Cheon-hee’s body was likely the same.
“How I know is not what matters. What do you even know about the Demon Sect?”
Watching the confused Yeo Ha-ryun, Jin Cheon-hee continued speaking.
“Shall I tell you? To join the Demon Sect, there’s only one way—you must consume the Blood Gu. There are no exceptions for anyone.”
Blood Gu.
A parasite that inhabits the body and devours it from within.
One must consume the pills provided by the Demon Sect—one pill every ten days. But if you fail to take it within that timeframe, the Blood Poison will lay eggs inside your body and explode.
Death itself is secondary; the agony is indescribable. The book described the pain of burning fire as a ten, but the suffering from the Blood Poison bursting was rated at eighty to one hundred.
This would be the first trial he would face before becoming a Minor Sect Leader of the Demon Sect and killing another Minor Sect Leader.
“What if I told you I know a way to remove the Blood Poison?”
“Who are you? How do you know such a thing?”
“Well, how I know and who I am—those aren’t the important questions, are they? What matters is that I know what you need. Isn’t that what counts?”
Jin Cheon-hee and Yeo Ha-ryun.
On the surface, both were merely children. But Yeo Ha-ryun’s mind had to mature rapidly due to the genius granted by his Heavenly Star Fate and his tragic destiny, while Jin Cheon-hee retained memories of being an adult in his past life—so their conversation carried no awkwardness whatsoever.
Yet to any third party, the sight would have been utterly bizarre, even grotesque.
The blanket burned ever brighter, now consuming the bed itself in a massive blaze.
Between the flames, the two boys stood in stark contrast to their surroundings.
‘This bastard… he’s deliberating, isn’t he? But here, I should wait until he speaks first.’
Jin Cheon-hee waited. After a moment of silence, Yeo Ha-ryun finally spoke.
“…Are you also after the Divine Sect? Which family do you belong to?”
‘Ah, so he’s mistaking me for one of the Eight Great Families of the Demon Sect? That makes sense. Children of those families typically travel the Gangho performing cultivation and espionage in their youth. So… there’s no need to correct this misunderstanding here.’
“If a child traveled alone on that carriage without any adults, wouldn’t that be suspicious?”
Whoooosh—
Even as they spoke, the flames spread wider and wider.
Wide enough that the guards outside would soon notice.
But Jin Cheon-hee barred the door instead, blocking their entry.
Bang, bang, bang!
The guards pounded on the door.
Yeo Ha-ryun asked.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you make a choice.”
“What?”
‘Damn it. I have to go all in here. All or nothing!’
Jin Cheon-hee felt his heart might burst.
No matter how many years of unwavering composure he’d lived through, fear was still fear.
But he knew that if he didn’t solidify his relationship with this bastard now, the opportunity would never come again.
“Will you join hands with me? Or will you die?”
“I could just beat you down and walk out of here.”
“Then I’ll scream that you’re a spy for the Demon Sect. That you tried to kill me. I’ll have bruises to show for it. Who will people believe—me or you? Even if they only half-believe me, won’t an investigation turn up something?”
“…You bastard…”
A rusty voice scraped through the flames.
As the guard shouted, the sound of servants rushing over echoed. Soon the door would open.
But before that.
“Choose.”
At Jin Cheon-hee’s commanding voice, Yeo Ha-ryun let out a small laugh.
“…I remember now.”
What did I remember?
“When I collapsed, you were the one who moved me and treated my wounds. My consciousness was flickering in and out, so I thought it was a dream…but it seems it was real. And it looks like you had other ulterior motives too.”
Jin Cheon-hee thought to himself.
He didn’t know that this bastard was the protagonist, and there was no way he’d believe it if he just claimed it was goodwill as a physician.
It would be better to offer up a plausible purpose that he could actually accept.
“Might as well. What are you going to do?”
The smoke was acrid. The decorative cabinet that had held the incense candles caught fire as well.
Crash!
A sword strike whistled past Jin Cheon-hee’s back.
Since this was the Guest Room, the door seemed quite sturdy. Judging by how it didn’t break from the first strike.
Yeo Ha-ryun twisted his lips into a smile.
“Let’s join hands.”
That smile didn’t look like a child’s at all.
It was as if something from the depths of an abyss was smiling in his stead.
‘This is what Yeo Ha-ryun looks like before he’s ever killed anyone, after all.’
This could be called Yeo Ha-ryun’s most innocent(?) smile from that era.
Jin Cheon-hee’s expression was the complete opposite of Yeo Ha-ryun’s.
“Save me! Waaahhhhh! Mommy! Mommmmmyyyy~~!!!”
It was the most pure and innocent voice of a frightened child that could move anyone’s heart.
With a child trapped in a burning room screaming like that, the effect was doubled.
“You…?”
Yeo Ha-ryun’s face went blank as it changed 180 degrees, and he muttered in confusion.
The door opens. Jin Cheon-hee, regardless of what Yeo Ha-ryun thought, threw his arms around the warrior who looked most like a bandit, his eyes glistening with tears as he pretended to sob.
“You did well locking the door, but I guess you forgot how to open it.”
“Did you really forget to teach the child how to open the door?”
At those words, the bandit-like guard’s face turned crimson.
He had taught him how to lock it well since there might be scary things outside, but it was true that he had forgotten to teach him how to open it.
The guard quickly changed the subject with a loud voice.
“R-right! Let’s put out the fire first! The poor child must be so scared!”
The Gasols shot piercing glares at the guard as they extinguished the flames.
Jin Cheon-hee had only done good and cute things the entire time he’d been here.
Such a child had nearly come to harm because of that bastard.
“Do better from now on!”
“Right. You’re someone we can’t trust!”
It was then that Yeo Ha-ryun caught it.
Jin Cheon-hee smiling faintly from behind the guard.
It was unmistakably the face of a con artist.

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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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