Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 912

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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 912
War.
Whether victory or defeat, what follows war is inevitably more war.
The war of administration.
After achieving such a great victory, I couldn’t let people say, “We have nothing to eat tomorrow.”
‘Still, it’s not something I can’t do.’
I mobilized the Magistrate, the garrison soldiers, and even the commoners of Qingdao rolled up their sleeves to help.
“Clear the main roads first. We need to remove the debris so carts can pass through!”
“Oh my, another body has been found here!”
“Call anyone from the Jin Ju-eon family!”
The martial artists also stepped forward to help together.
Among them, the Jin Ju-eon family stood out the most.
Funeral rites played a crucial role in reuniting the group.
Those who died fighting for Qingdao, regardless of their origins.
If we were to treat them poorly, no one would fight for Qingdao next time.
The Jin Ju-eon family began respectfully collecting the bodies.
Of course, since it was a blood debt, they would hold a joint funeral rather than individual ones.
Martial artists from other regions were transformed into preserved corpses and sent on their long journey home to be buried in their hometowns.
Those born in Qingdao, instead of being preserved, had their bodies gathered in one place to prevent decay.
“Ugh…! Is anyone… is anyone there?”
“There’s a person trapped here!”
“Don’t touch them and call a Baekrin Medical Guild doctor!”
Those still clinging to life were treated by Baekrin Medical Guild.
Every superior, middle, and lower-ranked doctor from the nearby Bunta rushed over to treat the patients.
The temporary clinic resembled a battlefield itself.
A calamity-like battle.
Yet there was not only tragedy.
“It’s quite strange—the Goe-eo-in armor never dents in this battle.”
“That’s not all. Their weapons are so durable that even when they blocked a martial artist’s sword energy, they didn’t sustain a single scratch.”
That was true.
The weapons used by the Goe-eo-in were excessively high in
qual
ity.
Local blacksmiths shook their heads, unable to discern what weapon this was.
A martial artist from the Sichuan Tang Family suddenly identified what this metal was.
“It’s called black demon iron.”
Black demon iron?
Everyone listened intently to his words.
The martial artist tapped a sword made of black demon iron with his fingers, weighed it, examined it in sunlight repeatedly, then continued speaking.
“Though it’s a type of iron, it never rusts. Black demon iron is particularly resistant to sea spray. While it cannot compare to eternal cold iron, it’s far harder than steel, and it never loses its edge or develops rust, making it a precious treasure.”
“Where would something like that come from?”
“There were mines in the past, but after we created a few treasures and the seam ran dry… It seems the Goe-eo-in know of mines somewhere. Is there any way to discover their location?”
Everyone shook their heads.
“Even if they exist, wouldn’t they be beneath the sea? If they were on land, we would have found them long ago.”
The Sichuan Tang Family martial artist wore a regretful expression before nodding.
“Even this alone is an enormous fortune. If we sell it, we’ll have wealth to pass on to the bereaved families.”
Hearing this, I promised to purchase the black-ore weapons at a premium price.
From Baekrin Uiseon’s perspective, we would need to face more Goe-eo-in in the future, so such weapons were especially necessary.
And the bereaved families.
The bereaved families needed money.
The dead do not return, but the hellish hunger returns every day.
With tax exemptions granted as well, there would be no obstacle to rebuilding their households.
A very practical silver lining to misfortune.
Losing family is painful and sorrowful, yet humans must continue living nonetheless.
After spending considerable time handling these matters in such a hectic manner.
At last, the situation allowed me to return to Baekrin Uiseon.
However, before that.
‘I need to meet with the Eunuch General and discuss matters.’
I sent word to a fellow disciple to arrange a meeting for returning the Black Tablet.
And shortly after, a letter arrived.
A simple cipher.
I deciphered it easily and read the contents, which stated:
-This humble one waits at the place where we last met.
I could almost hear his sly voice from here.
Had he been watching nearby all along?
‘No matter how much I think about it, that seems to be the case.’
That’s why I tested those fellow disciples.
Even if I told them to leave, they weren’t the type to obey.
Yet at the time, didn’t they pretend to listen obediently?
The moment I called, he sent a reply immediately—a truly ancient fox indeed.
And these fellow disciples knew where the Eunuch General was, yet taught me nothing and only spouted respectful words?
‘They say you can lose your nose even with your eyes open in the imperial palace.’
I suspected as much.
Still, thanks to it all, I was able to protect Qingdao, so that’s good enough.
Following the letter’s directions to the tent behind the military camp, I found a table with two chairs.
One of them belonged to the Eunuch General.
He greeted me warmly while sipping tea.
“You’ve come.”
“Jin Taesu greets the Eunuch General.”
I offered a deliberately formal greeting.
“Oh my, showing such courtesy makes me not know where to put myself. Then this humble one shall greet you, Prefect Jin.”
I sensed a hint of sadness in that forced smile.
He wished the two of us wouldn’t maintain such formality.
Understanding this, I spoke accordingly.
“The tea from Qingdao is truly delicious, isn’t it?”
“Indeed. Thanks to you, it seems I shall be able to continue drinking Qingdao tea in the future, and this humble one is overjoyed beyond measure.”
I took a seat following his guidance.
Then I set down the Black Tablet he had handed me, followed by placing several other documents in sequence.
“What are these…?”
“These are reports on the handling of the Goe-eo-in. They have not been completely eradicated, and the sea is their domain after all.”
The Eunuch General read through the first few pages before asking.
“It says here that the Goe-eo-in do not age—is this true?”
“Yes. Remarkably, they are a race that lives nearly eternally by human standards. However, according to the diary, they reproduce slowly on their own, producing few offspring, so labor is scarce among them. It seems they bestow ‘blessings’ upon humans to increase their numbers.”
“Now that I think about it, the fact that no young Goe-eo-in appear among the corpses suggests their growth rate is extraordinary.”
So the imperial palace had grasped matters to that extent.
“Yes. According to the diary, they begin walking and speaking merely a month after birth, and by one year old, they already resemble adults. Of course, this applies only to offspring born between Goe-eo-in themselves. Moreover, the ‘blessing’ is typically granted to fully grown adult humans, so they would be put to use immediately at full capacity.”
“….”
The Eunuch General fell into contemplation.
Soon after, he spoke thus.
“It seems terribly unfair somehow. Why are humans so weak?”
“In exchange, they are vulnerable to poison.”
“Are humans not also vulnerable to poison?”
“Well…yes. Unless one cultivates poison techniques separately.”
“Then if the Goe-eo-in cultivate poison techniques, wouldn’t they develop even greater resistance than humans?”
“I cannot deny that.”
Taha-pa was certainly one with poison resistance.
Even when struck by Hyeongyeong’s Poison, his regeneration was merely somewhat hindered.
Against truly powerful opponents, poison techniques prove ineffective.
But fortunately, there was only one opponent like Taha-pa in that entire city.
At my words, the Eunuch General sighed.
“Why must such creatures emerge during His Majesty’s reign?”
Because it is the final age.
Gold & Silver became pitiable as an ant’s fingernail.
Considering how much I had worked them outside the city, I could hardly sympathize more than an ant’s fingernail warranted.
Gold & Silver’s crime was thus.
The crime of drawing the wrong lot.
Their sin was drawing the final age when they could have drawn anything else.
That is worse than drawing a blank.
‘For the people’s sake, it is fortunate.’
Had the Previous Emperor ascended during this period, would the world not have already ended?
First, I won’t be able to stop the Suksin Tribe.
As for administration, considering how much data was lost during the Previous Emperor’s reign, it’s questionable whether proper administrative functions were even being performed.
On top of that, the Bota Clan’s cholera and Oh Dok-mun’s typhoid fever will be spreading around.
Smallpox will be raging as well.
And with plague flooding in on top of everything else, livestock will be dying en masse.
Official corruption will be absolutely spectacular.
If drought or flooding piles on top of all this…?
‘Hmm, it seems like I’ve managed to stop at least half of these things by either being manipulated or rolling forward on my own?’
Let me correct that.
Gold & Silver did bungle the lottery draw like dogs, but they did manage to pull ‘Jin Cheon-hee’ from the bonus draw.
That’s why I hold the Eunuch General on my left and Jin Cheon-hee on my right, achieving victory against the Empire’s Eight Great Families and barely surviving in this apocalyptic age.
Well, even an Emperor like that can’t do anything about the big red button of destruction sitting in that underwater city, which is absolutely infuriating.
In this kind of world, we continue to live.
Jin Cheon-hee continued speaking.
“As I wrote in the report, one approach could be to mass-produce martial artists who have mastered water and poison techniques. Furthermore, since the Goe-eo-in have multiple factions, if we could win over even some of them….”
“Has humanity ever made diplomatic relations with chickens and then fought ducks?”
“No, sir.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
The Eunuch General spoke.
“You seem hesitant.”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“If it comes down to human or Goe-eo-in, I would side with humanity a thousand times, ten thousand times over. However, I don’t enjoy killing.”
I destroyed the Goe-eo-in’s city and defeated their leader, Taha-pa.
I led the army and protected Qingdo.
‘It was a difficult problem.’
I am not a philosopher.
Rather, those who desire to eat humans of their own will and make no attempt to resist that desire—that is what I face.
‘It was a different situation from the Rakshasa case.’
Baekcheon-gun is a fraud.
He claims otherwise, but that bastard is definitely a fraud.
He never explained what happens to reason when one becomes a monster, or how to capture and eat people.
This situation, on the other hand, was closer to a medal than a transaction.
A medal for devotion.
After all, to receive a blessing, one must devote themselves to them for a long time.
Devotion means continuously sacrificing humans.
Of course, those who desire the blessing will have their own excuses.
Because of incurable disease, fear of aging, protecting family.
And so they sell other people’s children, sell other people’s families, and yearn to become monsters.
Once they enter that circle, they eat that flesh together.
‘A difficult problem indeed.’
Yet the Doctor picked up his sword.
In doing so, he wounded himself.
For even in protecting and striking down, there was no escaping the taking of life.
A burden of anguish to carry for a lifetime.
‘This is the very essence of chivalry.’
Whether protecting or striking down, one must ultimately draw the blade.
Walking the path of chivalry traced in blood—what awaits us at its end?
The Eunuch General gazed upon Jin Cheon-hee.
‘An adversary one can reason with… how rare a thing that is.’
Men like himself simply carried out orders as they came, but this Doctor moved by a different principle—of that much he was certain.
The Eunuch General let that anguish pass without comment.
“From this point forward, this is classified. Not merely the Goe-eo-in, but strange phenomena have begun appearing throughout the empire.”
“The garrison soldiers are ignoring it, then.”
“Yes. As is customary, many dismiss it as commoners seeing illusions. Most do not even report it to the imperial court. Of course, the Qingdao incident may change some attitudes… but they have not witnessed it themselves.”
“His Majesty must be deeply concerned.”
“Indeed. Much is being prepared in the shadows.”
Including those tremendous fire bombs, no doubt.
The Eunuch General spoke.
“When you have a moment, I would ask you to visit the imperial palace for a consultation.”
“Is this an imperial command?”
“No. His Majesty has made no such statement. It is merely the anxious concern of an old man.”
As the end times approached, two emperors fought desperately against it.
Perhaps it was futile resistance.
The Hae-seon I had encountered.
‘Yes. She said she would submerge the world beneath the sea.’
What meaning could good governance hold in such a world?
No matter how prosperous an age one cultivated, all heaven and earth would be drowned beneath the waters.
And yet. Still.
‘They press forward, both of them.’
Was I not the same?
And the commoners gathering remains in Qingdao.
The Jin Ju-eon family sending the dead home to their native lands.
The martial artists bearing internal injuries from this battle.
The doctors treating those wounds.
As I sipped my tea, I suddenly noticed a procession of ants beneath my feet.
They had rushed over, drawn by the scent of sugar, hoping to scavenge crumbs.
It was only natural, given that we had pitched tents on bare earth.
Their behavior seemed so human that I shared some of the sugar and crumbs with them.
Life is finite.
Every doctor learns this truth with brutal clarity.
Death is closer than one might think.
No matter how hard I strive, no matter how much wealth or power I possess.
In the end, death comes whenever it wishes.
Yet, despite that.
‘We live on.’
* * *
After parting ways with the Eunuch General, I returned to Baekrin Uiseon with my siblings.
Upon arriving at Baekrin Uiseon, my Master was away.
‘Well, at least Yoo Ho is still here.’
Since I had made good use of the Tuyong hourglass, I went to meet him first.
“What is this? When you see the master, you bathe first, but I’m just fine to see as is?”
Jin Cheon-hee bowed deeply to Yoo Ho, who spoke in a blunt manner.
“I came to say thank you first.”
“If you’re grateful, then prepare a feast.”
Arms, legs, eyes, organs, blood, flesh.
I rewound time without taking anything away from him.
To brush that aside with merely a single feast was truly an absurd price.
“Is that really all it takes?”
The Doctor asked again, his face expressionless as steel.
“And alcohol.”
“…Understood.”
After answering that much, as Jin Cheon-hee turned to leave, Yoo Ho asked in return.
“So, having encountered those who devour humans, do you think coexistence is possible?”
…
Jin Cheon-hee fell into thought.
It occurred to me that this might not simply be a question about the Goe-eo-in, but rather a question about Yoo Ho himself.
I knew that Yoo Ho was not human.
Had he not once hinted that he, like the Goe-eo-in, had consumed people?
‘I also know that wasn’t a lie.’
Would Yoo Ho devour people in the future?
I didn’t know.
For now, Yoo Ho was not consuming people.
‘If Yoo Ho were to eat people, then our relationship would….’
For some reason, I had a premonition that my answer now would determine my relationship with Yoo Ho going forward.
A peculiar intuition, honed by one who had died many times.
Yet I could not lie, nor could I be false.
To answer such a question with deception would surely return as a boomerang.
A brief silence.
At last, Jin Cheon-hee spoke the answer I had gained in Qingdao.
“…That isn’t for humans to decide. It’s for them.”
“As long as I’m eating, I’ll fight.”
“Yes. Surprisingly simple criteria. Predator and prey cannot be friends. Either the predator must abandon hunting, or the prey must grow stronger still. But humans…”
“Right. We don’t even live a hundred years.”
In a way, those words defined the relationship between the two.
Predator and prey.
The Doctor said there could be no compromise between them.
“What about killing?”
“In Gangho, humans kill humans too. From there, it’s for law and grace to judge.”
A cold answer—or rather, one that was almost brutally principled.
“…I understand.”
The fox closed her eyes.
“…”
Taking that as a signal, I offered nothing more.
Had it been an answer?
I couldn’t say.
Yet it had been enough to define the relationship between us.
A strange silence hung in the air.
Soon after, the Doctor stepped outside.
Beyond the threshold, the sky was staining itself indigo.
I watched the darkness spreading like ink bleeding across rice paper, then resumed my steps.
“Cough.”
The night air was cold.
Like the depths of the abyss.

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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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