Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 100

‘It feels just like playing a game. Of course, it didn’t hurt back then.’

The problem is that it’s not a game character getting hit, but Jin Cheon-hee himself, and it’s not a game character doing the hitting, but Jin Cheon-hee himself.

If something breaks by mistake, it’s not a game character’s life being reduced, but Jin Cheon-hee’s bones breaking.

‘I used to play that bullet-dodging game in front of the stationery store for 100 won.’

Back then, young Jin Cheon-hee managed to beat the final boss with just 100 won.

Of course, some luck was needed, but it was still an impressive level of concentration.

As an adult, he couldn’t do it even if given 10,000 won.

The dynamic vision, concentration, and judgment of that age were only possible at that time.

But now that feeling has come alive again.

Deeply focused, Jin Cheon-hee had a thought he shouldn’t have:

‘How am I dodging this right now?’

At that moment, the fourth fist mercilessly struck Jin Cheon-hee’s solar plexus.

“Urgh!”

The relentless vital point attack made his waist buckle, and the four wooden dummies seemed to have been waiting for this as they began a group beating on Jin Cheon-hee.

Bam bam bam bam!

“Aargh!”

To survive here, he had to use the Five-Elemental Divine Technique’s internal energy to heal his body as much as possible while using the external technique called the Five Elements Diamond Technique.

Getting beaten is also training! Originally, external techniques are learned by getting hit, healing, and repeating! A body that’s being tempered, a physique that’s getting stronger!

That’s external technique training!

Killing two birds with one stone!

‘My human rights… gone…’

In this era, there was no such thing as educational rights.

If you fall off a cliff and become half-paralyzed, it’s your fault, and if you suffer from worn-out joints in your later years, it’s your fault.

Even if a situation arises where you lose your fingers by putting your hand in heated sand, that would be your fault too.

At this level, it was quite a gentlemanly educational method.

‘I know… I know, but… Do martial arts really have to be taught like this?’

It was a very fundamental question.

‘If children receive this kind of education during their formative years, I don’t think it would be good for their emotional development…’

Jin Cheon-hee had a thought that could shake the foundations of the martial arts world view.

‘From the start, in martial arts novels, there are many children who lose their parents due to grudges, and this too, for emotional development…’

It was a futile contemplation in a world where human life was as cheap as a fly’s.

Perhaps it was due to the effects of the Profound Origin Divine Technique.

Getting beaten like this makes one think a lot.

At that moment, a ding-ding-ding bell sound was heard.

Simultaneously, the wooden dummies beating Jin Cheon-hee stopped moving.

“Are you too enthusiastic about external technique training, young master?”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mock me.”

“I’m not mocking you. I’m genuinely surprised to see you working so hard. There’s probably no one else who uses the wooden dummies so generously like our young master.”

‘That is mocking, you fool.’

Jin Cheon-hee groaned as he got up.

“What’s the matter, Chief Yoo?”

“Guests have arrived from the Namgoong family.”

“The Namgoong family…?”

Jin Cheon-hee was lost in thought for a moment before quickly answering.

“Ah, kidney stones.”

It’s Namgoong Woon.

“That’s good. Namgoong Woon lives, and I get to rest a bit.”

“Kukuku. Did it hurt a lot?”

“It doesn’t hurt as much as the first time, maybe because my external technique has improved.”

Jin Cheon-hee said, filling his lungs with air.

“Oh, then I should upgrade it a bit more next time. If it doesn’t hurt, there’s no point in training external techniques.”

‘This bastard!’

Jin Cheon-hee said to Yoo Ho:

“Don’t you have work to do, Chief Yoo?”

Oh yes, that scratched the itch just right. Since it had come to this, Jin Cheon-hee thought he’d use this as an excuse to make him suffer quite a bit.

***

Jin Cheon-hee returned to his room, washed up, and changed clothes.

‘Hmm. I haven’t grown taller since the bone melting and body transformation.’

Perhaps because he had grown all at once during the bone melting and body transformation. Since then, the change in his height had been minimal.

However, since he was still taller than his peers at this height, Jin Cheon-hee was satisfied.

‘Now I’ll probably grow at the rate of normal children.’

A handsome face in the mirror looked back at Jin Cheon-hee. He felt proud of his looks, which were incomparably more handsome than in his previous life.

Dressed in his newly tailored martial arts uniform, he looked like a portrait of a beautiful young master straight out of a painting.

Jin Cheon-hee neatly tied his hair and opened the door.

The first thing he saw when he opened the door was Wang Gak-yeon.

She seemed to have been about to knock on Jin Cheon-hee’s door, as she awkwardly lowered her raised hand.

“What’s the matter?”

At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, Wang Gak-yeon scratched her head.

“I have something to talk about. That’s why I came.”

Jin Cheon-hee suddenly realized that the martial arts uniform Wang Gak-yeon was wearing was completely different from what he had seen before.

“Is it something others shouldn’t hear?”

Wang Gak-yeon was about to shake her head, but after a moment’s thought, she nodded.

“I don’t want Dad to know.”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee and Wang Gak-yeon walked towards the bamboo forest for a while.

‘I wonder what Gak-yeon’s up to?’

She’s not particularly affiliated with the medical pavilion.

Although her father, Phantom Archer, was specially recruited as an executive of the medical pavilion’s martial force department, Wang Gak-yeon wasn’t officially employed by the White Dragon Medical Pavilion. As a result, she was essentially a freeloader.

Of course, neither Yoo Ho nor the master would point that out.

Everyone in the White Dragon Medical Pavilion likes Wang Gak-yeon.

Seeing a smiling child in the midst of difficult medical pavilion life naturally lifts everyone’s mood.

It must have felt like doting on a niece.

After walking for a while, when they had gone deep into the bamboo forest, Wang Gak-yeon blurted out:

“I’m going out into the martial world. I want to try making my debut in the martial world.”

“What? So suddenly?”

“What do you mean suddenly, you secretly went out into the martial world too, Cheon-hee.”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee’s cheeks flushed.

“That’s true.”

“I thought a lot after seeing you return with a reputation in the martial world when you went in saying you were doing closed-door training. I want to try it too.”

Jin Cheon-hee thought:

‘I… want to stop her.’

In Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes, Wang Gak-yeon was still a child, and the martial world was a scary place.

Of course, he wasn’t underestimating Wang Gak-yeon’s skills.

He knew better than anyone how well she had fought against the Demonic Cult assassins.

‘What should I do? She’s not the type to listen if I try to stop her, and I’m not in a position to stop her either.’

Jin Cheon-hee quickly racked his brain and said:

“Money, what about money?”

“I have martial arts skills, so I should be able to make a living somehow.”

“How about trying the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency? The Beggar’s Sect will also help you find work.”

“Oh, can I do that?”

“Of course! Hmm, for making money, the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency might be better than the Beggar’s Sect. When I went out into the martial world before, I wrote a letter of introduction for the Trio Assassin Rats to the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency. I heard they’re paying off their debt quickly.”

“…”

At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, Wang Gak-yeon fell silent, lost in thought. Jin Cheon-hee thought quickly.

‘Right. The Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency is good. The agency head is a good person, and being an escort agency, they’re quick-witted. It’s a good place for Gak-yeon to safely learn the ways of the martial world.’

Although his physical body was estimated to be around the same age as Wang Gak-yeon, Jin Cheon-hee’s mind was that of a far older adult.

In Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes, Wang Gak-yeon was still a child.

His heart felt heavy at the thought of such a young child wanting to make her debut in the martial world.

What made it even heavier was that Wang Gak-yeon, taking after her father Phantom Archer, wasn’t the type to listen if someone tried to stop her.

“Um… but the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency has done business with Dad many times, and if they catch me and bring me back…”

“If you sign a formal escort contract, they won’t be able to say anything.”

“Then… okay. I’ll do that.”

At Wang Gak-yeon’s answer, Jin Cheon-hee let out a sigh of relief.

“Wait a moment, I’ll write it quickly for you.”

Jin Cheon-hee hurried back to his room and wrote a letter of introduction for Wang Gak-yeon with brush and ink, then handed it to her.

“Originally, archers are treated very preciously in escort agencies. The agency head will be glad to see you.”

Wang Gak-yeon nodded.

“Cheon-hee. Thank you.”

She hugged Jin Cheon-hee tightly.

Jin Cheon-hee patted Wang Gak-yeon’s back and said:

“Be careful. If you get hurt, call me right away. You’ll be able to contact me anytime through a medical hall affiliated with the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.”

“Okay. I’ll be careful. Thanks for worrying about me.”

She tightened her arms around Jin Cheon-hee and closed her eyes, lost in thought.

‘I’ll come back stronger, Cheon-hee. And I’ll protect you.’

Watching Jin Cheon-hee grow stronger day by day after returning from his journey in the martial world, Wang Gak-yeon had hit a wall.

To overcome that wall, she needed a different approach from before.

Jin Cheon-hee suddenly seemed to remember something and hurried back to his brush and ink.

“I’ll write letters of recommendation for the Gongsun sisters, Gongsun Hyeon and Gongsun Yeong, too.”

“The Gongsun family? You had connections there too… Ah, I remember. I heard about it in passing before.”

Gongsun Yeong was someone Jin Cheon-hee had saved when he first came to this world.

Moreover, she had helped him overcome a wall by inducing a realization.

The two sisters would definitely not treat Wang Gak-yeon carelessly.

“The Beggar’s Sect side probably already knows, so you won’t need more there.”

“You really know a lot of people.”

Wang Gak-yeon carefully put away the letters of introduction and quickly moved away.

“This is as far as I can go. If I stay any longer, I’ll want to stay with you more.”

She wiped her eyes with her sleeve and then disappeared like the wind using her lightness skill.

Jin Cheon-hee waved to Wang Gak-yeon as she left.

‘So this is what it feels like when a child grows up.’

It was an unfamiliar feeling. He had spent his whole life just treating people, never having a child of his own.

With mixed emotions, Jin Cheon-hee watched until Wang Gak-yeon was out of sight, then suddenly blurted out:

“Will you be alright?”

“Did you notice I was watching?”

Phantom Archer came down from the ceiling beam.

“I didn’t know at first, but while writing with the brush and ink, I felt a tingling at the back of my neck.”

“I must have been staring for too long. Hehehe. My training is still lacking.”

Phantom Archer said this and let out a sigh.

“That child takes after me too much. At that age, I also left home. She didn’t need to take after me in this too…”

Phantom Archer scratched his head vigorously, then continued with an embarrassed expression:

“As a martial artist, I should support her decision. Plus, if it’s the Cloud-Dragon Escort Agency, we should be able to get news of how she’s doing from time to time. Did you arrange that far?”

Instead of answering, Jin Cheon-hee just smiled.

“I’m always receiving so much from you, benefactor.”

“No, it’s not like that. With Wang Gak-yeon’s skills, she probably wouldn’t need this kind of help, but I meddled unnecessarily.”

“Hehehe. Being too modest isn’t good to see either.”

He looked at Jin Cheon-hee with warm eyes.

Sometimes he was just like a child, and other times he showed wisdom like an old man who had seen everything in the world.

‘Though he doesn’t show it, sometimes his mind is so deep it makes even immortals stick out their tongues.’

Phantom Archer was grateful for such a Jin Cheon-hee.

“By the way, Young Hall Master, be careful of the child from the Tang family. Namgoong Woon is one thing, but…”

“I heard someone from the Tang family came too. But why?”

“People from the Tang family all have quirks, perhaps because of their poison techniques. Especially children around puberty are even harder to understand.”

‘Aren’t teenagers hard to understand in general?’

Jin Cheon-hee tilted his head.

Even in the novel, the significant characters from the Tang family were all adults. There was no description of Tang family children in their teenage years in the novel.

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Jin Cheon-hee thought it was just Phantom Archer being overly concerned.