Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 164

“I understand then.”

“Good. Oh, and I’ve already spoken to your master about the sponsorship funds.”

I had heard vaguely about it, but an enormous sum was expected to come in.

A portion of this would go into Jin Cheonhee’s pocket, which he planned to invest in the soap business and put aside for White Dragon Foundation.

‘Both His Majesty and Wangya Ju were quite generous. I guess that’s how the imperial family is – big spenders. Thank you, thank you.’

Jin Cheonhee tried not to let his face relax into a smile as he thought this. He felt that if he let his guard down even a little, he might break into a foolish grin.

His Imperial Highness Eun looked at Jin Cheonhee’s other wrist.

The bracelet given by His Imperial Highness Geum… no, the symbol of the Inspector.

He stared intently at the jingling bracelet on his wrist before saying:

“It’s an important token. Keep it safe.”

Now he had the Heavenly Demon bracelet on one hand and the Emperor’s bracelet on the other.

He ended up wearing two bracelets.

And not just any bracelets – one symbolizing the Demonic Cult with a black dragon, and the other symbolizing the Imperial Family with a yellow dragon.

A twin dragon set!

Two items that should never be together, united at once!

‘If they get in the way, I’ll have to gather them on one side or something.’

“I understand, Your Highness.”

“Good. I’ll trust you.”

Though his words carried weight, it was just a simple statement of trust, so nothing really changed.

‘Still, it’s heavy. The weight of power is too much.’

If only his own ability was like Wangya Ju’s, capable of shattering mountains and boiling seas. But of all things, that woman was born with something people would likely avoid…

At this rate, Jin Cheonhee felt like he’d better fly off quickly and only come back twice a year.

With that thought, he hurriedly set off.

***

He gave the physicians who had come with him a short vacation.

It was a considerate gesture, allowing them to meet their families while they were out of the medical pavilion.

These physicians had been living under constant tension, performing surgery on the prince, nursing him, and preparing medicinal decoctions.

‘They need to rest when they can.’

Jin Cheonhee, who had been ground down like a millstone in the medical system, knew how precious rest was.

After sending them off, his master said:

“Well, I suppose that’s quite a lot of rest for someone like you.”

Though the days had been tumultuous, other than that, he had spent his time eating, sleeping, and doing basic training.

Regardless of how his mind felt, it had been good rest for his body.

Jin Cheonhee and Zhuge Rin rode back on horseback.

“Indeed. Did you rest well too, Master?”

“The snow scenery at Wangya Ju’s palace was spectacular. And I felt at ease knowing you could rest.”

He said this with a gentle smile.

“Oh, Master.”

“Hm? What is it, Hee-ya?”

Jin Cheonhee took out the item he had secretly made.

He had started making it at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion and brought it to Wangya Ju’s palace to finish it in secret from his master.

“Happy birthday.”

A small wooden box.

His master pulled on the reins to stop his horse.

“Giving it to me on horseback? My disciple has no sense of refinement.”

“But the scenery is nice, isn’t it?”

The disciple smiled brightly. At that sight, Zhuge Rin finally gave in.

“Well, I’ll have to get off the horse to open the box anyway.”

They dismounted and sat under a large tree.

His master opened the wooden box.

“What peculiar packaging.”

It was the packaging method from Jin Cheonhee’s world.

“Well, good is good. If you pull that string, it’ll all come undone.”

“Hmm.”

Zhuge Rin untied the string and opened the packaging. Inside was a pair of gloves.

The wrist part was decorated with jade, making them quite stylish.

Zhuge Rin looked at them in slight surprise before asking Jin Cheonhee:

“The qilin pattern visible on the jade, did you make all of this yourself?”

“Yes. Though I didn’t carve it very well.”

“No, that’s not true.”

His master shook his head. He was about to put his hand into the glove but stopped.

“I’m worried about damaging the jade.”

Seeing his master make such an expression for the first time, Jin Cheonhee was a bit flustered.

“You can just fold the top part if you’re worried.”

“I still think it might get damaged.”

Zhuge Rin furrowed his brow as if pondering a life-changing dilemma, then said:

“Our Hee must have put a lot of thought into making this every day.”

“That’s right.”

“This seems to be my most precious treasure.”

Despite the many famous swords at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion, Zhuge Rin called this simple creation of jade and leather his most precious treasure.

“If it gets damaged, I’ll make you another one, Master.”

“I wonder if that’s true. My disciple has been so unfilial lately.”

“Ah… It really is true. Please believe me.”

As Jin Cheonhee grumbled, Zhuge Rin chuckled.

Then he put on the gloves on both hands.

“Do they suit me?”

“Yes! I’m glad they fit your hands perfectly, Master.”

“I see.”

Zhuge Rin stared at Jin Cheonhee for a long time with a strange expression. Jin Cheonhee felt guilty at the sight.

‘Ah, I should have made something for Master earlier instead of just focusing on my siblings.’

He didn’t expect him to be this happy about it.

***

“What did you say? Half cured?”

The news arrived earlier than expected.

The Hwaju Medical Pavilion was thrown into chaos upon hearing that the prince, whom the Emperor himself was concerned about, had been treated.

“To be precise, he’s overcome the immediate danger of death and is at a level where he can recover with follow-up treatment and proper rest. It’s not quite a complete cure.”

“That’s what we call cured, you fool.”

Chief Administrator Ma Jinchu continued irritably.

“Is White Dragon confined to the back room because he’s not completely cured? Isn’t he flying about, cracking the heads of his old enemies?”

“I’ve never heard such bloody stories…”

“…Sigh. This time, two herb shops refused to supply the Hwaju Medical Pavilion. Do you think this is a coincidence?”

Herb shops are places that supply medicinal herbs to medical pavilions and clinics.

Sometimes medical pavilions directly employ herb gatherers to obtain the herbs they want, but this is usually only for rare herbs. For common ingredients used frequently in decoctions like licorice, kudzu root, or patchouli, these herb shops supply them in large quantities.

Herb gatherers sell their herbs to the herb shops.

The herb shops then process these purchased herbs, washing, drying, and cutting them into appropriate parts for medicinal use.

While the processing of common herbs isn’t particularly complicated, supplying large quantities every month is no easy task.

Not only medical pavilions and clinics, but merchant groups and courier stations also purchase in bulk, as their affiliated physicians make medicines for couriers and merchants.

While they might rely on medical pavilions for expensive medicines, it’s much cheaper to make simple wound medicines themselves.

And now, two such suppliers have suddenly stopped supplying the Hwaju Medical Pavilion.

“We investigated through the Hao Sect and Beggar’s Sect, but couldn’t find any connection to the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.”

“Instead, we found traces of three merchant groups making large purchases. They probably made long-term contracts too. And can’t you see that those medicinal ingredients will end up at the White Dragon Medical Pavilion after changing hands a few times?”

However, there was no evidence.

It was even more frustrating because White Dragon wasn’t the type to handle matters so simply.

He used to walk a tightrope between being a medical immortal and a demonic cultivator, but as he aged and his health deteriorated, he became a recluse, seemingly indifferent to others taking his share.

It felt as if he was observing the world from a step back.

Whether it was desire for honor or money, there didn’t seem to be much desire for life itself.

So we took advantage of that freely.

We took away his connections with the imperial family, including Wangya Ju’s palace, the heads of great clans, and famous merchant groups.

The White Dragon Medical Pavilion didn’t retaliate much even then.

It was hard to tell if he had no attachments or was just foolish.

But now.

After gaining a disciple and recovering his health, he started reclaiming what was taken from him one by one.

Of course, the process was so discreet that we only had suspicions without concrete evidence.

“Now that he’s even cured a prince…”

“They say they didn’t reveal which prince it was to the physician, and even if they know, they can’t speak about it. Isn’t that enough?”

“Do you really think so? The Emperor knows, the treated royal family member knows, and Wangya Ju knows?”

“…”

He was at a loss for words.

This wasn’t how the original plan was supposed to go.

Half of the illness was supposed to be incurable.

Whether the patient died during the treatment or after, either way, the situation would have turned favorable for the Hwaju Medical Pavilion.

“Do you know what I find strangest of all?”

When Chief Administrator Ma Jinchu asked, the other senior physicians shook their heads.

Ma Jinchu continued:

“It’s that White Dragon is unusually quiet. Normally, that braggart would be detailing his disciple’s achievements in the medical gazette, but for some reason, he’s keeping his mouth shut.”

“That is indeed strange.”

“Yes. This means one of two things. Either the patient is a prince from an even more influential family than we expected, so they’re being cautious…”

Or?

Everyone swallowed hard and looked at Ma Jinchu.

“Or they’re secretly plotting something nasty against the Hwaju Medical Pavilion again.”

Ma Jinchu rubbed his forehead.

“We need to respond for now. We’ve only lost two herb shop suppliers. The Hwaju Medical Pavilion has its own resources, so there’s no need to worry too much.”

“Should we report to the Medicine Sage Hwaju?”

“I’ll do it myself.”

A fierce light gleamed in the Chief Administrator’s eyes.

Arc 24: Heading to the Wudang Sect

Several months passed after finishing the work at the imperial palace.

Jin Cheonhee returned to his position and resumed his duties as a house-elf.

His days were filled with tending to patients, conducting research, and training.

He also didn’t forget to tell the lab slaves about Wangya Ju’s promise of recommendation.

The moment he finished speaking, the eyes of Jin Cheonhee’s 19 cultivated slaves lit up.

An official position!

And not just any position, but one recommended by Wangya Ju. In this era where the medical examination system wasn’t well-established, a recommendation from a member of the imperial family, especially Wangya Ju who had the Emperor’s trust, carried immense weight.

“Junior Pavilion Master! We’ll continue to work hard!”

“I believed in you, Junior Pavilion Master! To think this would happen… huu-huhuuk!”

“The bacterial strains are healthy today too!”

Indeed. Even slave labor required compensation to be sustainable.

The slave term Jin Cheonhee proposed was about 3-4 years. If they continued as they were until then, they could at least secure a low-ranking official position.

While a position as a branch leader in the White Dragon Medical Pavilion was an incredibly attractive reward, vacancies rarely opened up, and if one’s studies fell behind, their position would be in jeopardy.

Zhuge Rin wasn’t the type to tolerate lazy physicians.

Even mismanaging a single medicine could result in the deaths of dozens of patients.

It was a position that required as much work as the benefits received.

On the other hand, an official position, especially one secured through Wangya Ju’s recommendation, would likely start at a higher rank even if assigned to a local prince’s palace, and the tenure would be largely guaranteed.

‘The importance of an official position in this era is incomparable to a job offer from a major company, but I didn’t expect them to be this happy.’

It was truly a miracle that could make the lame walk and the blind see.

He had created this incentive thinking that even slave labor needed compensation, but the effect was stronger than expected.

‘This is good. Yes, this will improve the lab atmosphere, and the kids will continue working without causing trouble.’

Having an end in sight was important.

Having a reward was important.

For such hard work, he wanted to promise them at least that much.