Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 124

Looking to the side, Jin Cheon-hee saw women in Buddhist robes approaching him. There were five of them.

And from all five, Jin Cheon-hee sensed an extraordinary aura.

It was a gentle yet majestic aura, naturally making one feel that the internal energy of these five was quite profound.

‘Somehow, it’s an aura that reminds me of a temple… Is this the internal energy of the Putuo Temple, described as prestigious even among Buddhist sects?’

As he was thinking this internally, they finally arrived and stood before Jin Cheon-hee.

“Amitabha.”

And the five calmly raised one hand to show a half-palm greeting.

At their appearance, Jin Cheon-hee recalled the contents of the novel.

The story of Master Huike^[1], who cut off his own arm while seeking Buddhist teachings.

After that, to honor him, some Buddhist monks perform a half-palm greeting with one hand instead of joining both hands in prayer.

However, it was also described that almost all monks active in the martial world use the half-palm greeting.

“Young patron. May I ask you something?”

“Ah, yes. What is it?”

“Judging by the pattern on the medicine box you’re carrying on your back and the dog accompanying you… Are you Little White Dragon from the White Dragon Medical Pavilion?”

“That’s correct, but… Are you nuns from the Putuo Temple?”

“Amitabha. How perceptive. Yes, that’s right. I am Ahn Hyeon, a disciple of the Putuo Temple.”

She politely introduced herself.

“The situation is urgent, so we’ve taken the liberty of seeking you out like this. We have a request to make, and we’d like to speak with you for a moment if you could spare some time.”

An extremely courteous attitude.

In fact, it was the first time he had encountered such people in the martial world, and it felt remarkably refreshing.

‘Is this what a prestigious orthodox sect looks like?’

Suddenly, Namgoong Woon came to mind. The Namgoong family is certainly one of the top prestigious orthodox sects, but Namgoong Woon was strangely skewed.

Putting aside thoughts of his bad friend, Jin Cheon-hee continued speaking.

“That’s fine anytime. What is it about?”

“It’s a bit awkward to talk on the street, so let’s move to a different place for a moment. This way.”

With that, the Putuo Temple nun guided Jin Cheon-hee to a nearby inn.

It was not a large or fancy inn.

After settling down there, the nun who had spoken earlier sat in front of Jin Cheon-hee, with the other nuns standing behind her.

‘Somehow… the atmosphere is heavy. What could it be to make it like this?’

[A strange illness has started spreading in our sect a few days ago. As you know, martial artists aren’t immune to diseases, but the more profound one’s internal energy, the easier it is to shake off even a strange illness, isn’t it?]

A voice resonated in his head rather than through his ears.

Jin Cheon-hee was startled and opened his eyes wide.

The nuns in front of him calmly smiled.

Only a slight trembling remained on her lips, barely noticeable unless observed closely.

[…The strange illness that has occurred in our sect now is not ordinary, which is why we’ve come to urgently request help from Young Hero Jin Cheon-hee. In such times, your arrival is truly like the blessing of Buddha.]

Sound transmission!

This is a special martial art technique that uses qi to make one’s voice audible only to the intended recipient’s ears.

It’s formally called “transmitting sound into secrecy,” but it’s usually shortened to just “sound transmission.”

And sound transmission was usually used to have secret conversations.

Jin Cheon-hee had also learned how to perform sound transmission from his master.

[A strange illness? What are the symptoms?]

Strange illness.

It’s a roundabout way of saying it, but to put it directly, it’s an epidemic.

And if an epidemic was spreading on Mount Putuo, this was a serious matter.

‘I don’t remember seeing any description of an epidemic on Mount Putuo in the novel… Has something in the future changed because of me? It should be before the Blood Immortal Sect comes to capture the Heavenly Thunder Hawk…’

He felt a bit anxious, but it was a needless worry.

The book doesn’t tell everything, and right now was when Yeo Ha-ryoon had entered the Demonic Cult. There weren’t many descriptions of the outside situation at this time.

[No. No need to answer. Let’s go right away.]

In the case of an epidemic, the sooner it could be resolved, the better.

‘The issue of the Heavenly Thunder Hawk is important, but… lives, and multiple lives at that, are at stake. First priority is to check what the situation is like.’

Can it be treated or not? Is isolation possible?

Treating an epidemic was a different field from the bone-setting Jin Cheon-hee had been demonstrating.

People meet people and spread the disease, and infected patients then spread it to their families.

It required not only internal medicine treatment but also a social perspective.

Especially if it broke out in such a small community, it could become uncontrollable.

And depending on the type of disease, some could even spread to the martial world via ship crews, making many people sick.

‘I hope it’s something I can treat…’

Vaccines are in the realm of science.

Could he really handle it with the few things he had?

‘For now, it’s a race against time in any case.’

Martial artists are usually stronger than ordinary people and don’t easily catch colds.

‘A strange illness strong enough to take down such people.’

And watching Jin Cheon-hee like this, Ahn Hyeon couldn’t help but express admiration.

‘The rumors of the martial world weren’t exaggerations. I see why Little White Dragon is praised as a righteous person, upright in character and humble.’

When she first heard about him, she thought there might be some exaggeration mixed in.

That’s how rumors in the martial world tend to be.

But facing him directly, it seemed like the rumors might have even been understated.

“Amitabha. We are grateful to Young Hero Jin.”

Nun Ahn Hyeon stood up and bowed her head once again.

***

The guest room of the Putuo Temple was neat, if not luxurious.

The scent of incense offered to the Buddhist altar enveloped the entire temple, which was quiet and tranquil.

“I heard that men usually aren’t allowed to enter the Putuo Temple.”

At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, she smiled slightly.

“That’s correct. Originally, men were forbidden from entering the mountain, but traditionally, only doctors are an exception. There’s nothing more important than treating our sisters’ illnesses.”

“I understand. I’ll make sure to be mindful of my behavior.”

Staying away from sensual desires is one of the important virtues in Buddhism.

Jin Cheon-hee was worried that his presence might interfere with their practice.

“It’s quite interesting. Usually, men who enter areas forbidden to males are dying of curiosity to look around, but Little White Dragon is instead careful about his movements, worried about causing disturbance.”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee blushed to his ears and smiled awkwardly.

“A doctor should only do a doctor’s work. There shouldn’t be anything else.”

The Putuo Temple nuns were impressed by those words.

‘He’s different from other young martial artists of his age.’

Most martial artists of Jin Cheon-hee’s age often couldn’t control their hot blood and acted recklessly.

Because of that, there had been several embarrassing incidents at the Putuo Temple.

In contrast, the disciple of White Dragon Divine Pill, Little White Dragon, was different.

He was thoughtful and deep without being rash. Yet he showed consideration, naturally creating a good impression.

Even with the Putuo Temple nuns’ deep cultivation, some might have their hearts swayed by Jin Cheon-hee’s beauty.

After all, being drawn to sensual desires isn’t limited to men; it’s a feeling that women have too.

However, understanding and respecting that at his age was unique to Jin Cheon-hee.

‘Looking at young kids now, I don’t feel anything.’

In reality, the soul in its forties saw all the young people as daughters.

He had seen quite a few beauties while working at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion, but they were all young enough to be his daughters.

Jin Cheon-hee naturally viewed the Putuo Temple with eyes as clear as a mirror.

And that left a strong impression on the sword nuns of the Putuo Temple.

“Even so, there are no children in our Putuo Temple who would fail in their practice because of such things.”

When the nun smiled, wrinkles formed deeply.

It was a smile like that of a grandmother he had seen in front of a stationery store when he was young.

The only difference was that her back was as straight as bamboo and she had a sword at her waist.

Jin Cheon-hee was about to drink the tea offered by the nun. At that moment, Hwanggu said:

Woof! – Master, somehow the water smells strange!

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee quickly pulled his mouth away from the tea.

Even when he sent out his energy to examine it, there was no sign of poison.

Yet the smell was strange?

He decided not to drink it for now.

The old nun said:

“Call me Abi. It’s short for Avici Hell.”

Avici Hell.

It’s known as the lowest and most terrible of the eight great hells in Buddhism.

It’s also the origin of the term “living hell.”

“Why such a name…?”

At Jin Cheon-hee’s words, Nun Abi smiled, her eyes forming gentle curves.

“I’ve forgotten worldly matters.”

Jin Cheon-hee knows this name.

When the Heavenly Demon first came out in earnest, she was the previous generation Sword Empress of the Putuo Temple.

There was a description that she had given up the position of the next generation Sword Queen to her successor.

She became the Sword Queen but didn’t ascend to the position of Sword Emperor.

In the secular world, there were speculations that it was because her wisdom didn’t match her age, but the truth was unknown.

Because it was such a unique name, he still remembered it.

Nun Abi guided Jin Cheon-hee to where the patients were gathered.

In the most secluded place, a separate building, a mix of strong incense and an indescribably terrible smell wafted out.

Jin Cheon-hee put down the medicine box he was carrying on his back, took out a clean towel from inside, and covered his nose and mouth. He didn’t forget to put on gloves either.

Although not as good as latex gloves on Earth, it would be better than nothing.

“Hwanggu, don’t come in.”

After preparing thoroughly like that, he entered the separate building.

Inside, many martial artists were lying down.

Vomiting and diarrhea. Along with pale complexions and muscle spasms.

Jin Cheon-hee, in his urgency, examined the nearest patient.

With a face wrinkled and deeply sunken from dehydration, the patient struggled even to open their eyelids.

When he checked the diarrhea condition, it looked like rice water stool.

When Jin Cheon-hee unhesitatingly checked the patient’s stool condition, not only Nun Abi but also the other nuns were surprised.

Isn’t excrement dirty?

Even if a doctor from the White Dragon Medical Pavilion could put on airs a bit, they never imagined a doctor would directly examine such dirty things without hesitation.

‘If this were modern times, we could do bacterial culture tests or blood tests, but that’s impossible here.’

Jin Cheon-hee once again felt the lack of science keenly.

Still, even just looking at the current presentation, he could make a diagnosis.

Jin Cheon-hee wanted to know the patient’s condition more precisely by adding qi pulse diagnosis.

‘These are typical symptoms of cholera?’

Cholera (Vibrio cholerae).

Class 2 notifiable infectious disease.

In modern South Korea, it’s not a deadly disease, but in developing third-world countries, it still takes many lives.

In our country’s past too, when wells were contaminated, entire villages frequently died from strange illnesses.

On Earth, cholera was endemic to the Ganges River region in India, but when Britain occupied India, it began to spread worldwide via British ships.

It’s not well known, but more people died from cholera than from the Black Death.

It was that deadly and stubbornly persistent even in modern times.

‘It’s still a problem now.’

1. When Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, was meditating facing a rock wall in Shaolin-si Temple, the monk Huike came and asked to be accepted as his disciple. When Bodhidharma rejected the young priest, however, Huike chopped off his left arm to prove his firm determination to the master.[↩]