Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 989

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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 989
“….”
My Master gazed intently at me, his disciple.
Without blinking once.
With eyes so penetrating, as if seeing through my very thoughts, I felt a chill run down my spine.
“!?”
Startled, I stumbled backward, and only then did my Master release that peculiar gaze of his.
“I was merely observing you while lost in thought.”
“Ah, yes. I suppose I was being overly sensitive.”
“It’s fine. When I look at people like that, even the Clan Elders are said to have nightmares that night—but you’re not quite at that level.”
‘…I see. That’s a relief.’
I nodded in agreement with my Master’s words.
If a disciple like myself couldn’t withstand my Master’s gaze and ended up having nightmares, that would be shameful indeed.
“Keep what you witnessed to yourself for now. I need to investigate this matter further on my own.”
“Did I perhaps accidentally damage something?”
“That doesn’t seem to be the case.”
‘Phew, what a relief.’
My chest eased naturally.
I had been so worried that I’d broken the Jegallim Family’s priceless heirloom with my own hands.
I spoke up.
“Then should I take this spirit elixir to the imperial capital and report the matter….”
“…There’s no need for that. I’ll handle it ‘personally.'”
“You’ll go to the imperial capital yourself, Master?”
I opened my eyes wide in surprise.
“Yes. It’s not unusual for a master to personally deliver his disciple’s tribute to the emperor.”
…Something feels off about this, doesn’t it?
I paused mid-thought and shook my head.
‘No, that’s not it. I’m sure I’ve seen a scene like this in the martial arts novels I read.’
…I hadn’t.
Then Jegalling spoke.
“Before presenting this spirit elixir to the Emperor, I should analyze it first. And besides, something has come up with the Sichuan Tang Family that requires your attention.”
“Ah!”
Right. Since my disciple is busy, the Master goes to handle matters in his stead.
There have been cases like that before.
I quickly understood my Master’s logic and asked.
“The Sichuan Tang Family?”
“The medical exchange conference is coming up again.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
The medical exchange conference?
An event held with the Sichuan Tang Family, who are affiliated with Baekrin Medical Guild. I’ve attended before.
‘And back then, there was also a commotion at Oh Dok-mun’s place.’
Moreover.
“I heard that a contagious disease has started spreading there again recently.”
A contagious disease?!!!
“Wait, what kind of contagious disease is it!”
“Malaria.”
Jegalling dangled the carrot of a contagious disease before his colt-like disciple.
Malaria.
疾).
In modern terms, it’s malaria.
The homepage of the South Korean Embassy in Sudan describes it this way.
Tracing the etymology, the term “malaria” comes from combining “mal,” meaning “bad,” with “aria,” meaning “air.”
‘Though “mal” also carries the meaning of “mad” or “crazed” alongside “bad.”‘
Tropical malaria can sometimes cause neurological symptoms like seizures or paralysis, which ancient people might have perceived that way.
A disease that has tormented humanity for an extraordinarily long time.
Records of malaria date back 5,000 years to ancient China, clay tablets discovered in Assyrian libraries, and even records in ancient India and Egypt.
In ancient Rome during the first century BCE, people contracted a “strange plague” because of mosquitoes.
Since it spread particularly well near marshes, records surviving to modern times indicate that all such wetlands should be drained.
However.
‘Science doesn’t always progress upward, does it.’
As humanity’s knowledge rolled back during the Medieval period, people believed it was simply airborne transmission until the nineteenth century.
Later humanity essentially forgot all those observational findings from back then.
At best, they believed the cause was the foul stench emanating from marshes.
But now, as everyone knows, the primary vector for malaria is mosquitoes.
They flourish mainly in tropical regions, and these mosquitoes transmit a kind of parasite that causes infection.
The moment a mosquito pierces and draws blood, thread-like parasites slip right into the body, and when they parasitize the liver, they multiply and multiply.
Eventually forming cysts.
And when these pouches rupture, what happens?
The baby parasites inside now begin reproducing in the red blood cells.
Now as these travel through red blood cells and reach the organs—
They damage the kidneys, cause inflammation in the lungs, and naturally destroy red blood cells, leading to anemia and a sharp drop in blood sugar.
When these reach the brain, it’s called cerebral malaria, which causes seizures and coma-like states.
Without early treatment, it can even cause permanent disabilities like deafness and blindness.
What’s even more wretched is that even if humans somehow survive through sheer tenacity—
Protozoa remain in the liver, so cysts form later, rupture again, and it starts all over.
It sounds insane, but viewing it through the lens of Gangho, it’s essentially a persistent parasitic toxin that keeps relapsing once contracted!
‘Kids these days don’t know how scary malaria is.’
Fortunately, our country is nearly eradicated of it.
Moreover, our country’s endemic malaria is easier to treat and has a better prognosis than expected.
So people don’t really understand how terrifying it is.
However, malaria in tropical regions without winter remains terrifying, and it is the sincere wish of the medical staff that anyone traveling to malaria-endemic countries would prepare thoroughly in advance and exercise caution.
This is partly due to the mosquitoes that inhabit those tropical regions.
If someone contracts such a dangerous disease while traveling abroad, it becomes a major incident.
“Malaria in Sichuan Province…? No, but that place… it’s definitely the kind of region where malaria spreads easily.”
Even in ancient China on Earth, many people suffered trying to eliminate this malaria.
Back then, malaria frequently spread in regions like Sichuan, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Yunnan.
I’ve read that Tu Youyou, the Chinese medical scholar who developed a malaria treatment and won the Nobel Prize, was motivated to develop that new drug because malaria was rampant throughout China during the 1950s-60s.
Necessity breeds invention.
Even now, at this very moment, humanity has people burning their lives to create technologies to pass on to the next generation.
“Isn’t there already a treatment for malaria?”
Just as I realized from the ruins of the Jin Ju-eon Family last time.
‘This world also has the Immortal Gal Hong.’
A true immortal at that.
So in a world where humans can achieve immortality by comprehending the Way, a genuine Immortal.
His written work, the Baopuzi, also exists here.
Particularly with the Baopuzi, the secret teachings are transmitted to the Naobu Sect founded by Gal Hong, but the general methods of elixir-making and medicine-crafting are widely spread among the common people.
And in that Baopuzi, there is a treatment for malaria.
“There is a widely known treatment, but it doesn’t work with complete effectiveness.”
‘Actually, even with malaria treatment, the survival rate is said to be fifty-fifty. This is partly because it’s made using traditional methods.’
Fifty-fifty is just a subjective feeling; they don’t compile statistics the way modern medicine does, so the actual rate could be much lower.
On top of that.
‘The medicine is expensive, and inconsistent quality is perhaps the biggest problem.’
Since each pharmacy makes it according to methods passed down since ancient times, the quality varies from pharmacy to pharmacy.
Some might ask this.
‘Then wouldn’t only the most excellent pharmacy survive?’
Reality is somewhat different.
Why do fortune tellers with better rhetoric prosper more than those who accurately predict the future?
They don’t measure things by statistics.
And since there’s no system where people take exams to receive a doctor’s license and only that person can open a medical practice, ultimately humans are bound to act based on personal experience and preference at any given moment.
‘Besides, there’s no internet review system. If there’s only one pharmacy in a remote village, there’s no choice.’
So in this era, there are inevitably charlatans who’ve inherited their trade for generations.
It sounds insane, but this is an age where one can make a living simply by having the image of being skilled, even without proper medical knowledge.
My Master spoke.
“The Governor of Sichuan Province requested help from the Sichuan Tang Family and the Emei Sect, and also sought assistance from other sects, pharmacies, and medical guilds… but it doesn’t seem to settle easily.”
“What about the Qingcheng Sect?”
“Ah, after the sect leader passed away in a mysterious fire, they’ve continued on a path of decline. It’s lamentable. I hear they’ve nearly reached the brink of extinction.”
“I see….”
It was like adding insult to injury.
This was a common occurrence in Gangho.
I nodded and continued speaking.
“Hmm… it won’t be easy to eliminate the root cause of the disease, especially in that region.”
Sichuan Province.
It’s an exceptionally ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Hot, humid, and since the Previous Emperor’s major upheaval, public administration barely reaches there.
On top of that, this year’s temperatures are abnormally high, and the rainfall…
While other regions suffer drought, this area remains drenched.
There are even reports suggesting it rains more here precisely because other places are dry.
As a result, numerous new marshlands have formed.
‘A mosquito breeding farm.’
“Hmm… I see. Should I bring malaria treatment with me?”
“Actually, this works out well. Haven’t we essentially completed all necessary procedures?”
“Yes. We’re essentially at the stage before naming it.”
Originally, I had planned to release it leisurely sometime early next year or late this year.
‘If I exchange knowledge with the Sichuan Tang Family, could we refine it further than it is now?’
In that moment, I rapidly replayed memories of malaria’s history and treatments within my mind.
Whiiiiiing!
The newly acquired Demon seed.
The Heart Demon of the Cheonma Divine Art grinds against it.
The little versions of me seemed pleased to have found a fellow entity to grind against.
‘What is this…? Am I losing my mind?’
They’re all merely derivatives of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong, yet they’re pleased. It’s as if each little version of me possesses individual consciousness…
‘That can’t be right.’
As the little versions of me whispered simultaneously, I found myself nodding unconsciously, as if hypnotized.
‘…Right. That can’t be right. This is merely a phenomenon of the Hyeonwon Jeondan Singeong and the Dual Thought Technique.’
In any case, I rose to my feet while using it to grind even the Cheonma Divine Art.
“There will be much to prepare before departing. I’ll have many requests for the Researcher Doctors.”
“Yes. Pack generously.”
“Master, there’s much to prepare—could you lend me Yoo Ho?”
“Do so. Yoo Ho has considerable expertise in packing.”
Thus, I decided to entrust the preparations to Yoo Ho.
“Understood, Master. I’ll return safely from the medical exchange conference.”
“Good. Travel well. Oh, and take Sama-hye with you this time.”
“Sama-hye?”
Sama-hye.
My eyes widened slightly.
“Yes. She mentioned wanting to research certain poisons from the Sichuan Tang Family. If done well, it seems they could be useful for the Regeneration Sect.”
Now that I think about it, hadn’t Sama-hye greatly admired Dang-a?
‘Wow, a legendary meeting.’
Hyeolpyeon Wang Dang-a and Regeneration Sect Master Sama-hye.
A legendary team is being formed.
“Understood, Master. I’ll go and return safely!”
I bowed respectfully to my Master.
* * *
The Medical Exchange Conference.
It was one of the most important events the Medical Guild could boast of.
In a world without a paper publication system, exchanging medical knowledge with one another was incredibly valuable.
‘New medical colleagues are always welcome!’
However, since an epidemic was reportedly spreading this time, I assembled a special entourage.
First, I dispatched one hundred members from the Baekrin Group and two hundred from the Cheongrin-dae, totaling three hundred personnel.
It was enough military force to sweep away most minor and mid-sized sects.
Whether the water bandits of the Yangtze or the mountain bandits of the great peaks, none would dare challenge us.
And the doctors accompanying us numbered thirty.
We also loaded the carriages with supplies.
Various medicinal herbs and medical instruments that were, by this era’s standards, quite cutting-edge.
And one of those carriages was particularly special.
It was equipped with a mobile pharmaceutical manufacturing workshop!
A truly mobile manufacturing facility!
A moving medical lab!
Of course, we couldn’t manufacture while moving—we’d have to park and set up—but simply possessing this capability was revolutionary.
The latest medical equipment bearing the Baekrin Medical Guild’s mark!
Centrifuges! Cooling devices! And much more!
Everything was packed in meticulously!
On top of that, we also loaded the malaria treatments we’d recently developed into separate supply carriages.
“We’ve nearly completed it, though we haven’t revealed it to the world yet.”
“If we exchange knowledge with the Sichuan Tang Family this time, couldn’t we further refine any side effects?”
“Hehehehe, my malaria remedy. You’re stirring in the darkness, aren’t you?”
Some of our researchers were already mentally preparing themselves as if they belonged to the Sichuan Tang Family.
The exchange conference with the Sichuan Tang Family was that eagerly anticipated.
‘Come to think of it, what must Namgung be doing about now?’
He suddenly came to mind.
Ever since we revealed that Ju Yeong-yeong was a spy for the Demonic Sect, the Namgung Family had been suspiciously quiet.
Just then, Sama-hye came running toward me.
“Eun Gong! How did my brother know to send so many Hyeolpyeon-wang accessories!”
Sama-hye’s hands were wrapped in bandages.
Of course, not for medical dressing. These were purely for fashion.
‘Dang-a fashion?!’
Sama-hye spoke.
“Eun Gong, you should do it too!”
Only then did I understand why Namgung Un had come to mind.
He was one of the people in the world who handled Dang-a the best.
Sama-hye spoke.
“Kekekek, I am the Hyeolpyeon-wang. A shadow assassin who hunts blood. Come at me. Foolish righteous heroes!”
“….”
All the doctors gathered there turned their gaze toward the Jae-saeng clan elder.

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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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