Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 60

If Cheon Yoo-rang were to pretend to be crazy and confess to Wangya Ju that he had been spying, it would be the Hao Sect that would burn.

For the Hao Sect to survive, they would have to silence Cheon Yoo-rang by any scheme necessary.

But Cheon Yoo-rang survived with an injury to his leg.

‘I just want to treat patients. Let the patients handle their own lives…’

Jin Cheon-hee’s head ached from the complex martial arts world situation.

The Imperial Prince Consort asked:

“Are you believing what I said?”

“Yes.”

“Even I wouldn’t believe whatever someone said if a gu came out of their stomach. Why do you believe me?”

The Imperial Prince Consort had said everything he could.

It was like the last words of a dead man.

Thinking that no one would believe him anyway, he had spoken as if spitting out the congestion that had built up in his heart.

The small boy before him listened calmly from beginning to end without interrupting.

At first, he thought the boy was pretending to believe him while interrogating him.

It was a method often used in the Hao Sect too.

But the boy was sincere.

“Let’s talk to Her Imperial Highness together. She might forgive you.”

“…”

Wangya Ju was his savior.

She was the one who pulled him out with a single gesture from a deep mire that no one else could have extracted him from.

To deceive such a person and now seek forgiveness?

He smiled bitterly.

“Doctor, you may not know this, but nothing cools as easily as love.”

If he were to take his own life here, what would become of her?

A directionless feeling circled his solar plexus.

It felt as if a hole had been punched through.

Jin Cheon-hee seemed to be watching to see if the Imperial Prince Consort would attempt suicide again.

He looked ready to press his acupoints again if he made any moves.

“I won’t commit suicide. Unfortunately, I no longer have the strength for that…”

The Imperial Prince Consort wiped his eyes forcefully with his palm.

After wiping away all his tears, the Imperial Prince Consort’s eyes had a completely different look than before.

They were eyes that had made a firm resolution.

“I understand. Please, help me.”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded. He was the only one who had believed him.

The Imperial Prince Consort couldn’t tell if the boy was naive or if he had some mind-reading ability to know his true feelings.

‘I’d like to repay the doctor’s kindness, but I doubt that day will come.’

‘I’d like to repay your kindness, doctor, but I don’t think that day will come.’

It would probably be impossible. If so, the consort thought he would bless this boy’s soul after death.

***

Jin Cheon-hee announced that the patient had woken up.

Everyone, including Wangya, entered the recovery room.

As Wangya Ju took her seat in the chair, her guard warriors immediately positioned themselves on either side of her.

They also took positions on both sides of the lying consort.

‘It looks like they’re interrogating a criminal.’

Jin Cheon-hee thought this and let out a small sigh.

Since the gu was found, it couldn’t be helped.

The situation was dire.

Even if the misunderstanding was cleared up, the fact that he had deceived her remained unchanged.

There was no consideration for his own free will in this, but this wasn’t an era that respected such things.

Could he escape from here?

Where could he run with that leg?

Even if it were possible, he would be chased by the imperial army during the day and the Hao Sect at night.

In the end, there was nothing he could do but face it head-on.

Wangya Ju placed a glass bottle on the table in front of her.

The gu that had been inside his body was writhing in the glass bottle.

Having lost its host, it seemed to be on the verge of death, lacking energy.

Wangya Ju spoke in a languid voice.

“Now, speak.”

A suffocating atmosphere pressed down on the entire recovery room.

Even in this situation, only Jin Cheon-hee maintained a calm expression.

“Before the consort speaks, may I offer some advice first?”

“Oh? Advice from the attending physician.”

Her lips curved downward crookedly.

“Very well. Let’s hear it.”

She gave permission, but she didn’t seem to be in a good mood.

Jin Cheon-hee bowed deeply and thought quickly.

‘The situation is simple anyway. His life is in Wangya Ju’s hands, and she’s the type to prioritize her instincts over imperial law.’

That’s why she didn’t become the emperor herself.

She chose suitable people based on her instincts and entrusted them.

‘And once she decides something is right, she pushes forward like a bull, no matter what others say.’

Once she made a decision, she didn’t care about others’ opinions.

She might not be able to become a virtuous emperor in peaceful times, but she had the potential to become a hegemon in chaotic times.

‘And such a person is unable to make a decision. She’s hiding it with a relaxed expression, but she hasn’t decided what to do with him.’

He was someone she had loved as much as her own life.

No one can immediately accept the betrayal of such a person.

Although she was treating him like a criminal being interrogated, in fact, she was giving him a chance.

‘She… is looking for a reason not to kill him.’

She was looking for a reason to believe that the feelings they shared weren’t a lie, that there must have been some unavoidable circumstances.

‘As proof, she’s even allowing me, a third party, to give advice under the pretext of it being the attending physician’s words.’

It might look a bit undignified. But she wanted to find a reason.

Jin Cheon-hee took a deep breath.

Then he spoke as concisely and deeply as possible about his circumstances.

That the Hao Sect buys young orphans with money and raises them as courtesans.

That in some branches, they forcibly feed gu to young children. That’s how the Hao Sect gains control over the children’s lives.

That the consort took medicine to escape from the Hao Sect, and although it damaged the gu, it couldn’t completely kill it because it had been parasitic for so long.

He even explained that although it had been put into a dormant state, it woke up during the surgery.

He explained in such detail that he wondered if he had ever spoken this well in his entire life, combining both Earth and the martial arts world.

And at the end of that story, he subtly hinted at how much the consort must have suffered.

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t miss the slight relaxation of her lips.

“…That’s all, Your Highness. I’ve said everything I can.”

“Hmm…”

She fell into thought. She seemed to be considering how much she could trust. And in her heart, there was still a desire to believe in her consort.

“Even if all that is true, it doesn’t change the fact that he deceived me.”

Jin Cheon-hee nodded.

“That’s right. But I heard that when Wangya Ju was on the battlefield, you took the Imperial Prince Consort with you. If he had any ill intentions, wouldn’t he have leaked information that could have harmed you on the battlefield to the Hao Sect?”

She stroked her chin, deep in thought.

“On the battlefield, whenever I led the army in a surprise attack, it always succeeded. Not once did any of my attempted surprises ever get discovered.”

Jin Cheon-hee spoke quickly.

“I guess when the consort was dealing with the Hao Sect, he probably answered that he couldn’t find out anything about future plans because Wangya Ju was so thorough with security.”

“Hahaha, I’ve never once hidden anything from my companion. Only petty people keep secrets even from their loved ones.”

“…”

Jin Cheon-hee was at a loss for words.

Not even once? He thought she might have let slip once or twice, but it seems she always told him.

That’s difficult even for long-married elderly couples.

Pain could be felt in her bitter smile.

Wangya Ju asked.

“Rang-rang, is what the doctor said true?”

The consort, Cheon Yoo-rang, raised his body and straightened his posture.

Even though the anesthesia had worn off and the pain must have been quite severe, he didn’t let out a single groan.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

A face of resolve, but somehow his expression was chilling.

“It’s not true.”

A bombshell exploded from the consort’s mouth.

***

“What? It’s not true?”

Her voice froze coldly.

Cheon Yoo-rang answered.

“I acted as a spy, as a pawn of the Hao Sect. It’s unfortunate that I’ve been caught like this, but I have no regrets. I’ve already sold a lot of information about the Wangya’s residence to the Hao Sect.”

“What?!”

The room was in an uproar. Everyone was agitated.

Jin Cheon-hee, Wangya Ju, her warriors.

Only his own master sat calmly like a doll.

“Your Highness, the patient’s reason due to pain…”

As Jin Cheon-hee tried to speak urgently, she stopped him.

“Enough! I only allowed you one piece of advice. I know you didn’t open your mouth with the intention of insulting me, but keep it shut for now.”

Her expression turned as fierce as an evil spirit.

Jin Cheon-hee gritted his teeth.

‘Damn it, what is the Imperial Prince Consort thinking?’

Warriors naturally stood on either side of Jin Cheon-hee.

It was a firm warning.

“Rang-rang. Are you saying you came in with the intention of deceiving me from the start?”

“That’s right.”

“What about being forcibly fed the gu and having no choice?”

“It was unavoidable for the sake of advancement in the Hao Sect.”

The consort, Cheon Yoo-rang, tore her heart apart with a calm face.

He mocked their time together, mocked the love they had shared.

He had said to Jin Cheon-hee earlier.

-Doctor, you may not know this, but nothing cools as quickly as love.

He was a sinner.

‘I’m sorry, Wangya. I deceived you. I deceived your heart.’

All his life, he had only received.

Although he had no choice but to act as a spy, not everything he did was deceiving the Hao Sect.

On days when he couldn’t receive medicine from the Hao Sect, he had to groan in pain all night long.

Even more frightening than that was the hunger.

What should he do? In the end, he had to sell information and receive medicine from the Hao Sect to extend his life for ten more days.

He didn’t sell important things, but he had to give away trivial things.

Only after receiving the medicine they gave could he finally eat something.

‘I have to end this madness.’

He thought. This isn’t love, he told himself.

A life of betraying the one you love while clinging to survival is never love.

He had committed an unforgivable sin.

He had deceived her, deceived her love.

Only after everything was revealed did he finally find the courage.

The courage to face the consequences of his crimes.

‘Ah, Wangya. Please forget me quickly and find a good person.’

Today, in this place, he smiled like a snake, as if ready to tear her heart apart.

It was his best performance as a courtesan that he could give her.

She asked. In a voice like a beast drinking poison.

“Was there not even once that you loved me? Rang-rang. Not even once…?”

A sound is heard from far away. It was the sound of a heart breaking.

“No, Wangya. I dislike people like you. How painful it was to take care of someone I hated.”

It was like the sound of a sword breaking after piercing armor.

Although broken, it was the sound of a sword fulfilling its mission.

Through the cracks in the broken armor, the heart flowed out like blood.

He spoke like an actor in an interlude.

“It’s a shame to end like this, so how about going together as a final companion?”

Silver glinted sharply in his hand.

He threw himself towards her.