Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 958
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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 958
“…I have no idea.”
“….”
That’s the end of it. He genuinely doesn’t know.
‘Normally, wouldn’t someone tremble with anxiety over what happened to them?’
He’s cool. Our protagonist.
Like eternal snow in the depths of winter.
Is this what experience as a martial arts protagonist looks like?
‘Even though Ha-ryun is also a protagonist, he feels different from modern novel protagonists.’
An old-school protagonist who lives and dies by the way of the martial world.
Perhaps that’s why my heart was drawn to him as a reader.
As I thought this, I spooned a fried egg into Ha-ryun’s rice porridge bowl.
Then I added a bit more seasoning and said this.
“Since it’s half-cooked, eat the yolk in one go. That’s better.”
Was it effective?
Ha-ryun swallowed two fried eggs without even needing to cut them, drinking them down whole.
Exquisite taste.
‘Are the unfertilized eggs of a spiritual creature this delicious?’
Or perhaps I did something to them.
What was certain was that I could feel the damaged meridians beginning to heal, starting from the dantian.
“I mixed in medicinal herb powder, spiritual pill powder, and some of my own true qi. It’s precious.”
“It certainly appears so.”
It was certain this was a taste he would never forget in his lifetime.
He wanted to eat it again.
It wasn’t because it was Cheonryeong’s unfertilized egg, nor because of the medicinal herb powder and spiritual pill powder.
It was the first food he’d eaten since dying and returning to life.
Even if what I’d given him wasn’t such a luxurious dish but rather a simple grass porridge found anywhere, he would never forget it.
“Setting aside where you fell from, what were you fighting?”
“…Things that weren’t human.”
“Beasts?”
“…They weren’t beasts either.”
“…?”
Ha-ryun fell into thought before speaking.
“They were alive, but I’m not sure if you could call that life. I have no words except to call them anomalies. Black, viscous, filled with malice, all of them carrying poison.”
“What about their size?”
“Some were large, some were small. Even the weeds beneath my feet could have killed me at any moment.”
“…A place like that exists?”
Was it ‘hell’?
Even in the Records of the Supreme Cheonma, such a place had never appeared.
“Hmm….”
Jin Cheon-hee pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“With the heavenly secrets shattered, all manner of things spill out.”
Right. Ha-ryun was correct.
Worrying about it endlessly served no purpose.
What I didn’t know, I simply didn’t know.
Once I accepted this, my mind cleared.
So Jin Cheon-hee and Yeo Ha-ryun conversed in hushed tones.
“Then why are you here?”
“I came to issue orders to our sect’s spies. That’s what caused the conflict.”
“Ah…! So that was it. Was it an order to spread demonic cultivation?”
I needed to determine whether this matter was connected to the Cheonma or if the Six Demon Clans were acting independently.
Yeo Ha-ryun readily provided the answer.
“No. The order was to return to the sect. But since that bastard kept running his mouth about you, I corrected his manners.”
‘The Six Demon Clans are more likely. This matches the Jicheon Cheonma’s pattern.’
Reaching a conclusion here would make things easier.
Both from surface appearances and from Ha-ryun’s testimony as the involved party.
‘Above all, the original Jicheon Cheonma followed this same flow.’
Any competent strategist would judge it this way.
Yet Jin Cheon-hee somehow didn’t fully believe it.
‘Who knows. The Cheonma might have used the Six Demon Clans’ spy to handle her own affairs simultaneously.’
Jin Cheon-hee didn’t trust the Cheonma.
Especially when recalling when she had once laid a heart demon trap against the entire Gangho.
Countless strategists had reportedly been overwhelmed, their tongues hanging out in awe at the cunning schemes she devised.
‘It might just be excessive caution, but….’
While Jin Cheon-hee was lost in thought, Yeo Ha-ryun slowly sipped the tea he’d been given.
Slurp—
“…This tastes good.”
It carried the fragrance of medicinal herbs.
It seemed to use herbal remedies for treating internal injuries.
What had this hyeong been doing while I was unconscious?
Not wasting a single moment, he’d prepared everything for his younger brother.
Suppressing Cheon Sal-seong and whether that was even possible remained unknown… yet this hyeong had done it.
Warmth bloomed in my chest.
“Then what did you come here for, hyeong?”
“Demonic cultivation is spreading indiscriminately throughout the demonic sect. The main culprit appears to be the Six Demon Clans, but the Cheonma might also be involved as an accomplice…?”
“…?”
“Ah, you didn’t know about the demonic cultivation spreading around?”
“I’ve seen people learning demonic cultivation recently, but I thought they were our sect’s spies or part of some operation.”
So he hadn’t suspected that far either.
“I’ll need to return to the sect and investigate. Hyeong… will you stop the sect’s plans?”
Jin Cheon-hee responded to his words.
“I’ll stop it.”
“I see. Then I’ll also exert the sect’s influence.”
“Don’t overextend yourself. Understood?”
“I understand.”
Yeo Ha-ryun spoke with his older brother for a long time.
Then he dozed off again without warning.
‘Though the wounds were treated by Cheon Sal-seong’s unique regenerative ability, internal injuries still remained….’
Moreover, rest was necessary to recover his inner power.
“Ha-ryun. I think it would be best to rest here in Hwagyeong for now.”
“Mm.”
Yeo Ha-ryun gave a small nod, drowsy with sleep.
It seemed he hadn’t been sleeping properly all this time.
While fighting the Soegooju, sleeping outdoors had become routine, but this wasn’t normal.
‘And there aren’t even subordinates around him.’
People like Ilkana, who should have been his hands and feet.
It didn’t seem like they were completely annihilated, so for some reason they were moving separately for now.
‘In the end, we never discuss the most important things with each other.’
But the scars remaining on Ha-ryun’s body told me how difficult a time he had been through.
‘And Cheon Sal-seong’s rampage as well….’
Yeo Ha-ryun himself had tried to prevent it, but as a result, he was gradually losing his humanity bit by bit.
I had suspected it somewhat since his handwriting became angular at some point, but seeing it with my own eyes felt different.
‘Ha-ryun is gradually losing his humanity.’
No matter how hard he tries.
Even if he tells himself he is human, he gradually loses sensation, loses the joy of eating, and cannot even sleep properly.
There’s nothing to be done about a heart that continues to wear away.
‘What lies at the end of this. Ascension?’
Jin Cheon-hee recalled the end of the Jicheon Cheonma.
Soon after, I took out a signal flare from my pocket and fired it into the sky.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, blue light embroidered the night.
In the distance, a shadow appeared on the horizon between the stars.
The garrison soldiers’ ship had received the signal and was approaching.
* * *
Two days had passed since meeting Ha-ryun.
Heukseolmyo appeared again from somewhere, sniffed Yeo Ha-ryun’s scent, and circled around him.
Whine—
This creature stays by his side when it feels like it, but disappears like a ghost whenever Yeo Ha-ryun fights.
Then when it becomes safe again, it returns.
According to Yeo Ha-ryun, Heukseolmyo is quite a spiritual creature, so it could fight if it wanted to.
It seems Hwang-gu still hasn’t acknowledged Yeo Ha-ryun as a worthy master.
‘Hmm, Hwang-gu is different. Or maybe if Ha-ryun keeps cooking three meals a day and feeding him, his heart might change?’
I tossed some dried meat to Heukseolmyo.
‘The breeze feels wonderful.’
I gazed up at the night sky.
The stars were dimmer than before, but the surroundings were bright.
After all, I’d rented the private annex of the most expensive inn in Hwagyeong.
For the past two days, all I’d done was feed my younger brother well and help him recover.
For a person to become human again, their five senses must return.
Without the joy of living, humans quickly abandon their humanity.
So I made sure he ate delicious food, saw beautiful things, smelled pleasant scents, and heard lovely sounds.
Of course, that required a well-secured private annex.
Especially considering Yeo Ha-ryun’s position.
Ding—
I stopped playing the strings and began packing my things simply.
“What about the dark fragrance pipa I gave you?”
“Oh, I left that behind. I brought this one because it’s optimal for using internal martial power.”
Somehow the gifts from Hyeon and Ha-ryun overlapped.
As a result, my brother seemed bothered that I’d brought the one Sama Hyeon gave me, not the one he’d given.
‘Ah, if only I’d known I’d meet you, I would’ve brought a pipa too, you rascal!’
Yeo Ha-ryun asked.
“Are you leaving now, brother?”
“I have to.”
It had been a brief meeting.
I hoped our parting would be equally brief.
I spoke with that thought in mind.
“Things have gotten bigger this time, so I have much to do. From now on, I’ll have to face the Demonic Cult too, so I need to prepare a lot. And I’ve come to understand some things.”
“What kind of understanding?”
“That beating the hell out of those who fight in front of me is faster than talking to them.”
“Is that the way of the fist for peace?”
“Yeah. It’s a common understanding in this Gangho, isn’t it?”
At that, Yeo Ha-ryun chuckled.
“No, it’s just a different way of conversing. Ordinary people talk with their mouths, but those in Gangho talk with their blades, so in a way, that ‘conversation’ is actually the more fitting one.”
I sighed.
“My patience wore thin, so I decided to just act on instinct.”
“Isn’t managing your Heart Demon a good thing? And if you’re going to keep fighting anyway, why not just kill them?”
“Good grief… There’s nothing you won’t say to a doctor. This younger brother of mine.”
“You’re still soft, brother.”
Yeo Ha-ryun closed his crimson eyes and continued.
“…Which is precisely why you remain strong.”
What could it mean?
I couldn’t know for certain, but somehow I felt I understood a little.
I asked him.
“What are you planning to do?”
“I still have several tasks remaining, so I need to finish those first. Sending a recall order to the spy was actually a trivial matter, but….”
“Now that I think about it, wouldn’t you normally send a subordinate for such minor work? This isn’t something you should have come for personally.”
“…That’s true. But everyone is busy right now.”
“Impressive. You’re looking after people too. My, my younger brother has grown quite a bit!”
“You really are….”
As the two of us exchanged our parting words pleasantly, Hwang-gu suddenly perked up his ears from where he lay.
Rather than barking at empty air, Hwang-gu lifted his head and stared toward one direction.
“Enemies?”
“Yes. Ha-ryun, prepare yourself.”
The killing intent of the enemies grew stronger.
After continuously waiting for the moment when my skin prickled with danger, Ha-ryun suddenly burst through the ceiling and leaped upward.
It was truly the bearing of a martial arts protagonist, but this ordinary citizen that I am thought:
‘Oh no. I’ll have to pay for the ceiling damage at this inn.’
As I leaped up alongside Ha-ryun, masked figures came rushing from all directions.
It seemed Ha-ryun’s unexpected destruction of the ceiling had caught them off guard, so their attacks came half a beat too late.
That was rather fortunate.
Without even coordinating with each other, Ha-ryun and I simultaneously deflected the projectiles.
Tat-tat-tat-tang!
The cold energy created by the Icy Frost Sword and the pitch-black demonic energy bloomed through the air, bursting forth in an instant.
Watching the seven eye-flowers created by my technique, Ha-ryun spoke with admiration.
“Your realm has grown even higher.”
“You too. You’re not deflecting the projectiles—you’re absorbing them.”
Dozens of projectiles were drawn into Ha-ryun’s black energy ring.
Like stars orbiting the sun, the projectiles rotated around Ha-ryun’s energy ring at its center.
Ha-ryun scanned the masked figures briefly, then spoke.
“Judging by their martial skills, they’re disciples from the main sect.”
“…Yes… Looking at it any way, they don’t seem to be coming without purpose.”
“They must be subordinates under a different Soegooju.”
So I’ve been caught up in this after all.
‘Perhaps it’s for the better?’
In the struggle for the position of Soegooju, ambushes were as indispensable as ginger in herbal medicine.
The Six Demon Clans sent assassination squads against each other constantly just to take the lives of rival Soegoonjus.
Ha-ryun, who wasn’t even of the Six Demon Clans’ bloodline, would be all the more of a target for death.
“I’m sorry, older brother. Because of me, we’ve had to postpone our parting.”
Why was it?
Though his tone suggested the situation was becoming troublesome, a small smile played at Ha-ryun’s lips.
“Right. Can’t be helped. We’ll have to move together for a while.”
I spoke with resignation, yet a faint smile played at the corners of my mouth.
‘So the sorrow of parting was mutual.’
They say that where there is meeting, there must be parting, but in this vast Gangho, who knew when we would encounter each other again.
Jin Cheon-hee.
My blue eyes fixed upon each of the enemies in turn.
‘It’s remarkable that all these dozens are supreme masters.’
Though not Hwagyeong, it was shocking that they would employ such talent as mere disposable assassins.
‘The Demon Sect truly does harvest assassins from fields.’
With the Emperor still alive and well in the Central Plains, to become someone capable of brushing that aside and establishing something like an autonomous state in the Ten Thousand Mountains, one would need to be at this level.
“Hyeong. And I should probably apologize in advance that many commoners will likely be killed or injured if we fight here.”
That was true.
Fighting opponents of this caliber meant the surroundings would inevitably become a disaster.
“Well, no need for apologies. Hwang-gu!”
Woof! Woof!
At my signal, Hwang-gu swelled to enormous size in an instant.
I nimbly leaped onto Hwang-gu’s back. And at that same moment….
Snatch!
“Huh?”
I grabbed the back of Yeo Ha-ryun’s neck.
“Run! Now!”
Woof, woof-woof!
Hwang-gu began racing across the rooftops.
I thought Heukseolmyo would flee as well, but instead she burrowed into Hwang-gu’s fur?
She wouldn’t lend her strength, but it seemed she would travel with us.
“Ha-ryun. Fire!”
Without even saying what to fire, Yeo Ha-ryun naturally unleashed the hidden weapons he’d just gathered toward the front.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
“Hyeong?”
“I know you’re strong, but there’s no need to shed blood here if we can help it.”
Before those words even finished, the assassins began whistling.
Wheeee-eee-eek!
A signal to pursue.
I spoke to Yeo Ha-ryun.
“This hyeong has been beating warriors to stop them every time his blood demon erupts, but that doesn’t mean you need to kill everyone you see.”
“I count to two.”
Moreover, if I had killed Ju Yeong-yeong, I would have counted to three out of concern for the repercussions on the Namgung Family.
The current Head of the Namgung Family is quite close with hyeong, after all.
“Right. That’s true, but. It’s better to at least choose your location.”
That’s the problem with being strong.
What need is there for tactics and strategy against someone I’m going to kill anyway?
I just punch straight through and charge forward.
‘But if I do that, the commoners will get caught up in it.’
“And one more thing.”
In that moment, a wyvern’s cry erupted from my mouth.
“끼에에에에에에에에에에—-엑!!”
A few of the pursuing assassins clapped their hands over their ears and spat blood foam.
“You see, running away isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you run away well enough, even perfectly fine people will lose their minds. Kehehehe!”
I began taunting the assassins from atop Hwang-gu.
“…Hyeong?”
Yeo Ha-ryun watched the assassins collapse, their tongues bitten by their own heart demons, and his eyes widened in shock.
No matter how he looked at it, this was worse than simply killing them.
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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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