Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 990

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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 990
“What kind of person is Hyeolpyeon-wang, Eun Gong?”
Sama-hye’s eyes sparkled with brilliance.
The path toward meeting a hero she had admired since childhood.
Come to think of it, Dang-a and Sama-hye were walking completely opposite paths.
True to her epithet as Hyeolpyeon-wang, Dang-a’s path was forged in blood, and she was renowned for showing no mercy to her enemies.
Even if the Sichuan Tang Family claimed to be righteous, they were not without their share of darkness.
It was only natural that the Minor Sect Leader’s hands would be stained with blood.
Sama-hye, on the other hand.
‘She has learned martial arts but does not employ them as a martial artist of the Gangho.’
She knew nothing of bloodshed.
Her martial arts existed solely to protect herself and practice medicine.
Her hands remained clean.
Yet despite this, she admired Hyeolpyeon-wang….
‘Perhaps opposites truly do attract.’
I was somewhat concerned whether Dang-a would take a liking to Sama-hye.
But thinking about it rationally, it didn’t really matter if she didn’t.
This was purely business.
Dang-a would simply be receiving a guest in her capacity as Minor Sect Leader.
If she didn’t like her, she simply wouldn’t meet her. That would be the end of it.
That was how society worked.
Having finished these thoughts in the blink of an eye, I continued speaking.
“She’s honest. Strong and straightforward.”
“Wow…!”
Sama-hye’s eyes sparkled once more.
“What will you talk about when you meet?”
“Well….”
Sama-hye’s face flushed as she spoke.
“I heard about the medical exchange gathering and prepared something. I wanted to give it to her as a gift. Of course, if she finds it useless and discards it, that’s fine too.”
“…I don’t think Dang-a is that kind of person.”
Unless she carelessly set it aside and forgot about it.
Darkness descended upon the boat.
I gazed out at the ripples of the Yangtze River.
‘If I rode Hwang-gu, we’d arrive quickly, but we have too much luggage. Plus, there are many people.’
This meant the round trip alone would consume an eternity.
‘Still, it’s better than the overland route. By land, it would take half a year… if we were to bring all these people and luggage.’
The boat sailed through the night.
That’s why the lanterns were exceptionally large and ornate.
At this rate, water bandits should have appeared, but somehow information had ‘coincidentally’ leaked out, and the bandits, realizing that Ilgwang was aboard, were deliberately avoiding us.
‘No matter how I look at it, it seems Sama Hyeon deliberately spread the information to let us travel in peace.’
That’s true.
Sama-hye wasn’t a martial artist who would squabble over blood-soaked silver coins.
She wouldn’t want to show her only younger sister a corpse.
“….”
The two of them stood on a boat illuminated brightly by lanterns, gazing blankly at their surroundings.
The boat drifted downstream.
Standing on that deck together, they looked up at the sky.
With no smoke or street lamps, the night sky was filled with stars.
The two people watched in silence as stars scattered like salt across the heavens.
I pondered the sight.
‘Thanks to this starlight, I can make out my surroundings reasonably well even at night. It would be excellent for preventing surprise attacks.’
Like a veteran who had encountered all manner of characters in the martial world, I refrained from such romantic sentiments.
“….”
But Sama-hye seemed different—as she gazed at the sky, tears glistened in her eyes.
Perhaps memories from the past had surfaced?
Then she suddenly spoke.
“I can’t remember the last time I just stood here doing nothing. I’ve always hated being idle like this since long ago.”
“….”
I didn’t answer.
I understood what she meant by ‘doing nothing’.
Those days of old. When she lay sick in bed.
When she lived in a cave-like hovel that could barely be called a home.
Simply in pain, pain, pain, and more pain.
When she despised herself so much for being unable to even crawl across the ground that she wished for death instead.
Back then.
Sama-hye could do nothing but lie in bed.
“People are truly fickle, aren’t they? Back then, staying still felt so unbearable… but now rest feels wonderful. Truth be told, I threw myself into work partly to forget those times.”
Some wounds, though they may heal, leave scars in their place.
Those days were a scar for Hye-a.
“That makes sense.”
Sama-hye worked longer and harder than anyone else.
Even after joining the Regeneration Faction, it was the same.
And wasn’t she conducting personal research by borrowing part of the research division?
Developing regeneration-related medicines, for instance?
Research into regeneration not merely of skin, but of bone and muscle.
She was verifying the diverse folk remedies scattered throughout the Central Plains, and if they proved effective, she intended to employ them.
The results were quite promising, so more researchers gathered under her.
Now she was also researching bone and muscle regeneration for rehabilitation.
Since it was difficult to teach patients the Cheonryong Bulsagi Gong, she was researching whether it might be practically feasible to ‘infuse the true energy of the Cheonryong Bulsagi Gong from outside to aid rehabilitation’.
I thought that the young Sama-hye had now become an accomplished ‘professor’.
Just as Sama-hye had once been a patient herself, she had been reborn as a doctor.
Those with congenital deformities or injuries from accidents.
Or martial artists gravely wounded in factional conflicts—she was helping them achieve that ‘rebirth’ and return to normal lives.
Of course, the most lucrative branch wasn’t treating immediate disabilities like bone regeneration, but rather ‘skin regeneration’.
‘Anyone with money to spare seems to sponsor that side of things.’
An appealing appearance matters greatly.
It’s the same on Earth.
‘But that’s precisely why Sama-hye doesn’t spare expenses on research.’
The Regeneration Faction was earning the most money among all the factions.
The ‘ideal’ of saving even one more person like herself from childhood, and the ‘reality’ that cosmetic skin treatments ultimately generated the most profit—Sama-hye was walking that line smoothly.
She carried herself without flaw as a faction leader.
Truly worthy of the position.
“So you’re going to the Sichuan Tang Family exchange meeting because of the Regeneration Faction’s research?”
“They say there’s a poison there that melts flesh.”
“…A poison?”
“Yes. But supposedly, where the poison damages tissue, fresh new flesh grows cleanly. I wanted to see it firsthand.”
I nodded in understanding.
Whether poison or medicine, it ultimately depends on how humans use it.
There was plenty of reason to go see it directly.
“Right. About Dang-a—”
“Do you have something to say about Hyeolpyeon-wang?”
“Hmm… She’s quite an active person, so don’t be taken aback.”
Would Dang-a still be the same?
I couldn’t say.
Living in the martial world where life and death blur together, anyone changes eventually.
Had she stopped ‘playing’?
Or was she still enjoying it?
The documents only showed Dang-a’s achievements.
These things are always missing.
‘Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I last saw Dang-a.’
I myself had changed considerably since then.
Perhaps Dang-a had too.
‘That’s what time does.’
But perhaps she remained unchanged.
Some things endure despite the passage of years.
Suddenly.
I remembered Namgung Un drinking, and felt a slight nostalgia for those days.
‘Ha. What am I thinking… Such foolishness.’
The stars in the night sky moved slowly.
Or was it the sky itself that moved?
Is it the Gangho that moves?
‘Or is it karma and destiny that move?’
* * *
Whoosh.
The sun was bright.
A harbor appeared in the distance.
Most of the harbors along the Yangtze River were cities built for transshipment trade, and they all prospered in their own ways.
The city visible in the distance, Yichang, was one of them.
It ranked among the top five trading cities among the harbors along the Yangtze River in Hubei Province.
The Baekrin Medical Institute’s ship approached Yichang’s harbor and dropped anchor.
We would remain docked at this harbor today and rest for two days.
It was only natural, as the ship had been running for several days without stopping.
Humans weren’t machines, so proper rest was necessary.
After anchoring, everyone except those needed to guard the ship disembarked in a rush.
Since we had sent people ahead to Yichang, all the inns were already fully booked.
As we stepped off the ship, everyone looked amazed at the massive vessel.
“Wow?! Has a great merchant caravan arrived?”
“Isn’t this almost like a military warship!”
Sama-hye asked.
“There’s no Baekrin Medical Institute branch in Yichang, right?”
“Right, you’ve studied well beforehand. Below the Three Great Medical Institutes of the World, there exists the Twelve Secondary Medical Institutes of the World.”
“The Twelve Secondary Medical Institutes of the World.”
Sama-hye repeated the words unconsciously.
Though rarely mentioned even in the Jicheon Cheonma, they were reliable medical institutes with considerable skill, aside from the Hwaju Medical Institute, Baekrin Medical Institute, and Heukjeon Medical Institute.
The Hwaju Medical Institute was located in the northeastern region centered on Beijing.
The Baekrin Medical Institute occupied the southeastern region, while the Heukjeon Medical Institute controlled the northwestern region.
The remaining regions were occupied by these Twelve Secondary Medical Institutes.
It would be easier to understand if you thought of it as a local medical clinic that grew famous and became a local franchise.
In my country, it would be like how a bakery from the Cathedral Knights became famous in Daejeon and opened multiple branches throughout the city.
‘Their bread was delicious. They really packed in the strawberries.’
I missed it sometimes.
Now I couldn’t have it even if I spent a fortune.
‘Anyway, it’s the same here.’
No matter how famous the Three Great Medical Institutes were, the medical clinics that my grandmother’s grandmother used felt more familiar.
‘And in some ways, these local medical clinics definitely have advantages over the Three Great Medical Institutes.’
Even if a medical clinic belonged to one of the Three Great Medical Institutes, they often didn’t know the medicinal herbs native to that region, making it always difficult to find substitute materials.
Local medical clinics didn’t have that problem.
Moreover, for endemic diseases that existed only in certain regions, local medical clinics were sometimes more specialized.
“In Hubei Province, there’s been a place called the Taeching Medical Institute since ancient times.”
“Ah, Taeching! I heard it was founded by a lay disciple of the Mudang Faction who learned medicine.”
Its history is similar to that of the Mudang Faction.
A medical institute native to Hubei Province.
“But our medical techniques are not inferior to yours, are they?”
Sama-hye spoke with arrogance.
Indeed, as the master of the Baekrin Medical Institute, she was brimming with pride.
‘Of course, the medical institute my Master created is not merely one of the three great institutes—it is the finest in all the realm.’
According to those who favored the Baekrin Medical Institute, beneath the supreme Baekrin Medical Institute stood the second-tier institutes of Hwaju and Heukjeon, with twelve mid-tier institutes below them.
Though if one favored the Hwaju or Heukjeon institutes instead, only one position in that hierarchy would shift.
Still, compared to before, an overwhelming number of martial artists were pledging their allegiance to the Baekrin Medical Institute.
‘In any case, it seems being second among the great institutes makes them a mid-tier institute.’
In any event, as I was heading off to rest….
Two martial artists suddenly drew their blades in the middle of the street.
“Damn bastard, what luck meeting you here!”
“Let’s settle this with a duel!”
The killing intent was palpable.
Sama-hye asked me.
“Eun Gong, aren’t you going to stop them?”
“It’s a one-on-one match, and this isn’t Gangso Province where I hold authority anyway.”
“You’re surprisingly principled about such things~”
“Haha, if you can’t make that distinction, you can’t survive in the martial world. Still, once there’s a clear victor, I’ll intervene. I don’t like seeing people die.”
I purchased some grilled chicken skewers, placed one in my mouth, and handed another to Sama-hye.
The duel began in earnest.
One fighter’s movements were bizarre, like those of a serpent.
“Ooh, it’s like watching a snake, isn’t it? It looks boneless.”
“That’s the martial technique of the Gonggong Faction. All their movements are broad and sweeping, but their characteristic is delivering those movements with powerful strikes.”
“Wow.”
Even this was valuable study for a doctor.
After all, I needed such knowledge to treat patients who had fought against Gonggong masters or been struck by their blades.
I continued speaking.
“Though it appears chaotic, there’s a pattern if you look closely. The Gonggong Faction’s Demon-Subduing Sword Technique is characterized by offense and defense as one, particularly advantageous for evasion and blocking.”
“I see, I see.”
Sama-hye pulled out a small piece of paper and quickly jotted down notes with a brush.
Meanwhile, the battle continued.
“Die!”
An attack came flying.
The opposing warrior swiftly dodged it, then began thrusting at every opening he found.
“Ah, that one appears to be from the Moyong Family. The Moyong Family’s Flash-Splitting Heaven Sword is famous. And that sword technique right there is precisely it.”
“That’s impressive?”
“It’s swift, but that’s not all. It’s a martial technique that seizes victory by striking at the opponent’s openings.”
“Ohhh. You’re right—what you learn from books and what you see in actual combat are completely different.”
“That’s right.”
Sama-hye possessed considerable inner strength, but it was cultivated solely for self-defense and medical practice.
Real combat was far removed from such training.
Perhaps that’s why her eyes gleamed with such fascination.
Clang!
After exchanging blows several times.
The Gonggong Faction member fell.
As the blade grazed his thigh, his stance crumbled, and in that moment, the Moyong Sword Master thrust his blade toward the man’s throat.
Just as I, true to form, threw the chicken skewer I’d been eating to block the strike.
Then.
Lightning erupted and struck the Moyong Sword Master’s blade.
Boom!
“Who dares! Who interrupts Moyong Clan’s event!”
A figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat appeared between the two combatants.
“Unless you wish to make an enemy of the Gonggong Faction, wouldn’t it be wise to stop here?”
With those words, he lifted his hat smoothly.
It was Namgung Un.
‘Interesting.’
Instead of throwing the chicken skewer, I popped it back into my mouth.
Sama-hye’s eyes widened.
“Wait, that person… isn’t that the Namgung Family Head?”
“Indeed. A curious connection.”
Moyong Clan cried out in disbelief.
“Even if you are the Namgung Family Head, to interfere so brazenly! This is too much!”
“Now, now! Isn’t it already obvious to anyone watching that our Moyong Clan’s great master is stronger? The honor already belongs to the Moyong Family—what need is there to prove it further by taking a life?”
By deliberately mentioning the family, Moyong Clan’s eyebrows twitched.
Meanwhile, Namgung Un smiled smoothly.
‘Impressive technique.’
Sama-hye’s eyes brightened at Namgung Un’s actions.
She whispered softly.
“Eun Gong, isn’t that person the right arm and sworn brother of the Hyeolpyeon-wang? Namgung Un?”
In terms of a previous generation story, she was asking if Dang-a was red and Namgung Un was blue or green.
“Well… if I had to say, based on hair color, he’d be pink.”
“Pink?”
“Rangers resolve disputes among martial artists. Usually those of noble status like princesses take such roles. They love peace and get along well with people.”
“Ah, such an important role?! As the Head of the Namgung Family, it would certainly be possible.”
Pink.
And wasn’t he doing exactly that now—resolving disputes among martial artists from the center?
“I see. The Namgung Family Head serves as the pink among martial artists.”
“…Yes, you could say that.”

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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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