Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 105

It was a request to become true friends.

Not the superficial relationship between great clans, but a genuine friendship.

Jin Cheon-hee kept his mouth shut at the weighty meaning.

A slight wrinkle appeared on his elegant brow before returning to its original state.

“I’d like to see Young Master Namgoong’s martial arts in a few years. Let’s make that the payment for this treatment.”

“A few years later, huh. What do you want to see, little brother Jin?”

“I’d like to see the basic lightness skill.”

“…The lightness skill? As you know, the Namgoong family is stronger in sword techniques than lightness skills. It’s awkward to say it myself, but in terms of lightness skills alone, the Zhuge family’s Bewildering Step would be two levels above.”

“That’s fine. I really want to see it.”

Namgoong Woon let out a groan before saying,

“Alright. It’s a lightness skill I already know, but I’ll have to train a bit more for my little brother Jin. I don’t want to be embarrassed, after all.”

“Hahaha. I look forward to it.”

The reason Namgoong Woon died at the hands of the Heavenly Demon Yeo Ha-ryoon. Namgoong Yeon discovered it later.

It was because of the lightness skill.

‘In the worst-case scenario, at least the body should be able to dodge.’

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t know how to defeat Yeo Ha-ryoon.

He was literally the protagonist, a monster, and the Heavenly Demon. But at least he could try to save a life.

“Seeing you ask for this, I guess I wasn’t rejected?”

Jin Cheon-hee scratched his cheek.

‘Jealousy is hard.’

Jin Cheon-hee was always brazen. But he couldn’t help feeling jealous.

Jin Cheon-hee picked up the wine bottle and poured it into Namgoong Woon’s cup.

“To your health. When you return, cut down on the alcohol and…”

“…Drink lots of water?”

“Yes. It’s a condition that often reoccurs.”

“Hahaha, I’ll make sure to do that.”

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t have much hope.

But his mission as a doctor compelled him to nag this man.

***

Tang Ah left in a good mood with the Namgoong siblings.

“One way or another, a win is a win! I am victorious!”

The person who was dying of exhaustion until yesterday was gone, replaced by someone fully charged from early morning.

Seeing her blow away physical, internal energy, and even mental fatigue in one go, Jin Cheon-hee gave a thumbs up.

‘As expected of a teenager. An age where they could chew through steel.’

The sight of her bouncing back without a scratch the next day after such an intense duel was very satisfying to Jin Cheon-hee.

It even inspired awe in him as a doctor.

Tang Ah covered one eye with her hand and laughed maniacally while looking at the sky.

Namgoong Woon looked at Tang Ah with pitying eyes.

He was genuinely worried about Tang Ah’s future.

About Tang Ah who would reflect on her turbulent youth period with a clear mind when she becomes an adult.

“Due to the characteristics of the Tang family’s martial arts, it’s easy for the mind to be affected at this age. But at least she’s not swinging her sword at innocent civilians, so don’t worry.”

“For a moment it looked like she was influenced by demonic arts… but I realized that wasn’t the case from the previous duel. Don’t worry.”

“I see. I’m glad you don’t misunderstand.”

The shoulders of Namgoong Woon, the only adult in the group, became heavy.

He said,

“Now I’m left with the task of escorting these two beasts, no, these two young ladies back. I suppose I’ll just have to feed them as much as I did on the way here.”

He muttered softly. Hearing this, Jin Cheon-hee shook his head.

“You’ll have to feed them more.”

“Why’s that?”

“At that age, they grow day by day. The same goes for Young Miss Namgoong.”

He looked at his sister, Namgoong Yeon.

“She doesn’t seem to have grown much in height though?”

“When you come to your senses, you’ll find she’s grown significantly.”

People who see each other every day don’t usually notice.

It’s when you see them occasionally that you notice growth.

“The amount of exercise martial artists do is enormous, so you don’t need to worry even if you feed them a lot.”

From a young age, they’re already showing an amount of physical activity that far surpasses modern athletes. As a result, martial artists naturally tend to eat well and eat a lot.

The time when one eats the most in life.

Jin Cheon-hee handed over a package of candy to Namgoong Woon with a somewhat solemn expression.

“Little brother Jin. I’ll never forget this kindness.”

Namgoong Woon carefully received the package.

“I’m worried because it contains a lot of herbs since it was made in the medical pavilion. It might be more suited to adult tastes.”

“They’re not picky about such things. It’s awkward to say it myself, but… they eat anything. Really, anything.”

“That’s incredible.”

“And I’m only telling this to little brother Jin, but they break everything. Both Tang Ah and Yeon, I think they’ve accidentally broken teacups at least ten times.”

“Is it difficult to control their strength?”

“From what I’ve observed, it seems like something suddenly wells up in them. And that’s not all. They overturn everything. Teacups, wine cups. They even overturn food baskets. With their elbows, with the backs of their hands… surprisingly, there’s no malice in it.”

Namgoong Woon’s face gradually turned pale.

Jin Cheon-hee patted his shoulder and said,

“Hang in there.”

“I’ll make sure to feed the two of them well.”

With a sense of mission as a guardian, he turned around like that.

Looking down, the two children were already far ahead.

“Namgoong-hyung! Aren’t you coming?”

“Ah, did I mention they’re also extremely impatient?”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee burst into laughter.

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but Young Master Namgoong seems to have a talent for taking care of kids.”

“What a dreadful thing to say.”

With those final words, Namgoong Woon trudged after the two.

Jin Cheon-hee waved until the three of them completely disappeared from sight.

Good weather. And good relationships.

He felt both regretful and hopeful that they would leave quickly.

Pondering how to express this kind of relationship, Jin Cheon-hee muttered,

“Bad friends. They’re bad friends.”

Since even bad friends are still friends, Namgoong Woon had fulfilled his wish.

Jin Cheon-hee couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity.

***

Arc 17: Five-Elemental Poison Arts

Jin Cheon-hee returned to his daily routine.

He trained in martial arts and studied Central Plains medicine. At the same time, he passed on his medical knowledge to the medical pavilion members and his master.

He saved many patients, and some patients died.

He silently listened to the wails of patients’ families while going over what went wrong, one by one.

There were things that couldn’t be helped because the treatment was unknown, and there were things that couldn’t be treated even when the treatment was known.

Jin Cheon-hee moved forward in that gap, as if walking a tightrope.

Time passed.

As Jin Cheon-hee grew, Yoo Ho’s wooden puppets became increasingly fierce in their attacks.

Thanks to this, his external techniques kept improving.

Then one morning. Cold wind caused leaves to fall.

Before he knew it, the end of another season had come.

Jin Cheon-hee caught a falling leaf in his hand.

The dry leaf entered Jin Cheon-hee’s hand without crumbling.

“The first surgery, huh.”

His master’s first operation.

Today was the day his master would directly perform surgery, not with Jin Cheon-hee assisting.

Gulp-

In the past, he used to drink coffee from a large tumbler.

Concentration is important in a doctor’s work. To avoid mistakes in the endless stream of tasks, the power of caffeine was necessary.

If a doctor makes a mistake, the patient dies.

That habit remained, so here he drank bitter tea from a large teacup while walking.

Even now, while cultivating the Profound Origin Divine Technique, he was doing the same thing.

‘Still, it’s nice to be able to maintain coffee temperature for 24 hours.’

Whether on Earth or now, Jin Cheon-hee was a HOT Americano person.

When he was young, he liked cold canned coffee or iced Americano, but around forty, he preferred hot drinks. And it was the same now after being reborn.

Jin Cheon-hee heated the tea with the fire energy of the Five-Elemental Divine Technique.

From afar, he heard the voices of medical pavilion members saying that the preparations for his master’s surgery were complete.

Jin Cheon-hee hastened his steps.

The surgery his master was in charge of was a simple appendectomy.

There was nothing better for a first surgery.

Jin Cheon-hee assisted by his master’s side.

‘He moves incredibly efficiently.’

It was the same when dissecting corpses, cutting open pig bellies to attach intestines, or practicing connecting blood vessels.

His master’s style was to move with minimal motion.

‘Being fast and causing little bleeding is a good thing.’

Without a single mistake, his master completed the surgery.

While taking off his surgical gown, his master said,

“Perhaps because I’ve assisted countless times, it felt a bit bland.”

“It’s because you’re fast, Master. Usually, people are so nervous before their first operation that they can’t sleep the night before.”

Being an assistant and being the main surgeon are similar yet completely different.

The position of responsibility.

The sense of being responsible for a person’s life was an entirely different matter.

His master smiled calmly.

“If it’s a matter of responsibility, I think it’s fine since I’m already bearing it.”

‘That’s true. Master was already approaching it as a full-fledged doctor.’

When they came out, the other hall masters each offered a word.

“Congratulations on your first operation.”

“Congratulations, Hall Master!”

“This is a step forward for Central Plains medicine.”

At those words, his master waved his hands dismissively.

“You’re all too much. Are you trying to make this Zhuge look like a fool?”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee burst into laughter.

“Starting with what you’ve learned, Master, other doctors will learn too, and that means we can save many people who come to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion with this medical technique… I think it’s worth congratulating.”

“Hee-ya. You’re too much too.”

“It’s true, Master. If I had to practice medicine alone, I wouldn’t have been able to save many people.”

Now, starting with his master, the doctors who had entered the Surgery Hall would begin their first operations.

Jin Cheon-hee was looking forward to it.

His master sighed.

“My goodness, did you think I’d be happy to receive praise from my disciple?”

“Oh, aren’t you?”

“That’s the problem. When you say it, I feel happy even though it’s foolish.”

Zhuge Rin said that while messing up Jin Cheon-hee’s hair.

“This is why people say I dote on you too much.”

“Hehehe.”