Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 174

Jeong Gwang also showed only a faint hostility towards Jin Cheonhee without particularly opposing him.

“……”

The sect leader inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

‘In any case, joining hands with the Little White Dragon will be a great benefit to Wudang. Does Jeong Gwang realize that too?’

Although they were mainly using the Hwaju Medical Pavilion, the sect leader was well aware of the prestige of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion.

Even though Immortal Myeong Gil had handled things eccentrically, it was actually quite a good move in a way.

‘But… like this… did you have to make me handle the aftermath like this… Fourth Uncle…’

He felt like crying.

Forcibly composing his rotting and crumbling insides, the sect leader spoke.

“Then I understand.”

The meeting was over.

Jin Cheonhee thought to himself.

‘A lay disciple… It’s a situation where I only get the rights without any obligations, which is too good for me…’

Since he had already learned some secret techniques from Bloodborne Eccentric anyway, he didn’t feel much resistance.

Moreover, the Taiji Fist that Wudang Fist Emperor had shown was not just a simple Taiji Fist.

Just as Jin Cheonhee’s Three-Elements Sword Technique was not a simple Three-Elements Sword Technique.

‘I wonder if Master will understand.’

Whether he would understand out of gratitude, or draw his sword and rush here to determine the true master by crossing blades with Wudang Fist Emperor, was unknown.

“……”

Jin Cheonhee looked up at the night sky of Mount Wudang and thought.

‘I… should… somehow… try to… resolve this… peacefully… If not, I should at least set up emergency trauma treatment before the duel…’

Surely the insane act of two of the world’s top ten masters fighting over one disciple wouldn’t happen.

Jin Cheonhee calmed himself down, thinking that he was being too self-absorbed and that it was a crazy hypothesis.

‘Still, let’s postpone it until Master’s reply comes.’

Although he had to keep quiet as it wasn’t an atmosphere where he could speak up, smiling and brushing things off was Jin Cheonhee’s specialty.

Even in the medical pavilion, when Jin Cheonhee was determined to brush something off, no one could stop him.

That crazy skill was now activated in the martial arts world.

***

In a deserted house. Deep in the darkness.

A voice echoed. An unpleasant voice, like nails scratching iron, asked this:

[Will you accept the way of the Blood Immortal?]

A sound that seemed to resonate in the head rather than coming from the throat. Someone was standing before it.

“If you can restore my arm… I’ll do anything.”

[Will you accept it?]

“I will.”

[May the way of the Blood Immortal be with you.]

In the darkness, the owner of the voice disappeared. And what remained in that place was a headless Buddha statue and Jeong Gwang.

What lay before Jeong Gwang was a red pill as red as blood.

Strangely, the pill wriggled and pulsated on its own, as if it were a living creature.

Jeong Gwang looked at it with sad eyes and said.

“It was you, Sect Leader senior brother and Fourth Uncle, who made me like this.”

Jeong Gwang thought.

That Wudang was rotten. That it was time for a change.

That those who didn’t give him, a Taoist who lost his arm, the full Dual Mind-Intention Technique until the end were not true Taoists.

“You’re truly heartless, knowing my pain. Was that Little White Dragon brat so much more important than me who has devoted my body to Wudang?”

Jeong Gwang gritted his teeth, filled with resentment.

Tears flowed from his eyes.

The villain didn’t know he was a villain. Jeong Gwang just felt pitiful and miserable for himself.

“I didn’t want to be like this either. What on earth was the deceased’s last wish that you won’t allow the Dual Mind-Intention Technique to me alone? If this is Wudang… if this is the Way…”

He swallowed the red pill left by the Blood Immortal Sect.

Grind-

He accepts it, grinding his teeth. Suddenly, the qi and blood throughout his body began to boil.

“Kugh… Blood Immortal… This is the Blood Immortal…!”

He resented Wudang with a face full of venom.

He resented the rotten Taoists who didn’t give even a chance for the Dual Mind-Intention Technique to his good self until the very end.

If that’s how it is, he would walk the path of the Blood Immortal.

“Kuaaagh!”

Jeong Gwang staked his life on it.

***

He had delivered the remains, passed on the Dual Mind-Intention Technique as well.

He had also returned the annotated book.

He had reunited with Cheon-woo who had grown enormously, and completed all his objectives.

No, he thought he had completed them.

‘A lay disciple… what is that?’

First, Jin Cheonhee sent a 12-page letter to his master, detailing his thoughts on the current situation. And he packed and sent all the gifts and everything else.

[Master, you have no idea how moved this disciple was to learn of your connection with Wudang Fist Emperor.]

One way or another, he had to calm the anger.

Whether it’s the righteous path, the unorthodox path, or the demonic cult, as long as they have roots in the martial arts world, grudges and favors are important.

He thought he could prevent Master’s rampage… but it wasn’t 100% certain.

Her Imperial Highness Ju, His Majesty, Bloodborne Elder Eccentric, they had all subtly coveted him as a disciple, so his nerves were already on edge, but who would have thought that someone would bring up an old debt and make such a rash decision to make him a joint personal disciple?

‘Fist Emperor is a person who… deviates from common sense in the world. Hehehe.’

The sect leader said with a face that looked like it would fly away with a puff of wind.

The world calls that “crazy,” but he couldn’t possibly say such a thing about his own Fourth Uncle.

Expressing it as elegantly as possible was the sect leader’s virtue.

‘……’

It’s best to prepare everything possible.

Jin Cheonhee thought while stalling as much as possible until his master’s reply arrived.

‘Distribution will be important here too. Even if I’m a lay disciple, being a disciple of Fist Emperor Myeong Gil means I’d be at least an elder level in each sect…’

How should he treat them?

A modern person’s Confucian mindset didn’t work.

No matter what, he didn’t want to speak informally to people old enough to be his grandfathers.

At that moment, Cheon-woo entered the room where Jin Cheonhee was staying.

“Brother.”

“Oh, Cheon-woo.”

He wore a dark silk robe and his hair was tied more neatly than before.

His sharply defined jawline stood out prominently, and with the eye patch, he looked more like a demonic leader of an unorthodox sect rather than a renowned orthodox sect.

Cheon-woo smiled at his brother.

However, due to his unique atmosphere, it looked like a smile that came after slaughtering about ten people.

Looking at Cheon-woo like this, Jin Cheonhee self-hypnotized, ‘He’s a good kid unlike his appearance. He’s a good kid.’

“What’s the matter, Cheon-woo?”

“We’re planning to hold a ceremony to accept you as a lay disciple. Grand Uncle Fist Emperor said to be prepared in advance.”

“Already? This quickly?”

“Yes. To quote Grand Uncle Fist Emperor directly… we need to finish it quickly before White Dragon comes and causes a… disturbance. Although we’ve given him a great favor, we don’t know what he might do if he loses his mind…”

“Did he express it as a ‘disturbance’?”

“No. To be precise… it was… f**…ing… sh…t…”

“I… see.”

The older a martial artist is, the more likely they are to know Master’s personality.

Jin Cheonhee thought.

‘I should press the acupoint that causes acute indigestion in advance.’

Cheon-woo, unaware of his brother’s madness, continued.

“Grand Uncle Fist Emperor said he wants to personally teach me too.”

“Wow! That’s really amazing!”

“It’s all thanks to you, brother.”

Cheon-woo grinned. That smile made one’s liver tremble, but to Jin Cheonhee who had finished his self-hypnosis, it looked like an innocent child’s smile.

Cheon-woo said.

“I’m so happy that you’ve become my fellow disciple. It feels like a dream, actually.”

“Well, I’m a joint personal disciple, but still.”

“Yes. Even if you’re a joint personal disciple, it doesn’t change the fact that we’re fellow disciples.”

“Hmm…”

It was a good thing. Since Cheon-woo had already received a Taoist name, Jin Cheonhee wanted him to rise to a high position. He was willing to help in any way he could for that.

Being a direct disciple of Fist Emperor meant Cheon-woo’s future was truly paved with gold.

For Jin Cheonhee, it couldn’t be better.

“If I back out here, it won’t cancel your status as a direct disciple, right?”

“Why would you need to do that when it’s unconditionally beneficial for you, brother?”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, I’m not a hostage, and they don’t handle things that way.”

Jin Cheonhee scratched his head.

“Right. Then I understand.”

Suddenly, Jin Cheonhee realized that Cheon-woo was slightly tense.

“Are you scared?”

“Yes. I’m afraid of disappointing Grand Uncle Fist Emperor.”

“That won’t happen.”

Jin Cheonhee patted the back of Cheon-woo, who had become his junior fellow disciple.

‘I’ll protect you, Cheon-woo.’

Jin Cheonhee firmly resolved to pave the way for him as an older brother, now that things had turned out this way.

***

They decided to hold the ceremony at the Golden Hall Temple.

The Golden Hall Temple was the Taoist temple on the highest peak, so it often presided over such ceremonies.

Wudang temporarily closed the Golden Hall Temple to outsiders and prepared for the ceremony.

Although they said it would be a simplified version, it still had to be flawless. The sect leader worked himself and the elders, as well as the Taoists, to the bone to prepare for the ceremony.

Watching this, Jin Cheonhee thought.

‘In new martial arts novels, joint personal disciples don’t appear that often, but here I am becoming one.’

While it’s quite common in martial arts stories for the protagonist to use martial arts from various sects, this form of formally becoming a joint personal disciple and learning through a ceremony is rarely seen in recent martial arts novels.

As a fan, it was thrilling, but thinking of his master made him wonder if this was okay.

Jin Cheonhee first pressed his indigestion acupoint and rolled on the floor to buy time.

After stalling for who knows how long.

In the morning, when Immortal Myeong Gil and the sect leader came to check on Jin Cheonhee’s condition, a letter arrived.

A letter was delivered to both Jin Cheonhee and Immortal Myeong Gil.

As soon as Immortal Myeong Gil received the letter, he burst into laughter.

It seemed to be an extraordinary letter.

The sect leader, who read it beside him, looked at Immortal Myeong Gil once, Mount Wudang once, and his own feet once with an expression like he was about to hang himself right away.

Then, as if his legs had lost strength, he collapsed with a thud.

The sect leader’s bloodless face looked like a corpse. Losing his senses, the sect leader mumbled.

“Fourth Uncle… no… why me… how am I supposed to handle the aftermath…”

The letter that came to Jin Cheonhee contained words he never imagined.

[Our Hee is too good-natured, that’s why these things happen… Since it’s come to this, learn everything you can. If even one thing can save your life, this master will be happy.]

He never dreamed he would receive such a warm, supportive letter when he thought his master would be angry.

‘Now that Master has given permission, I shouldn’t delay any longer, but…’

Jin Cheonhee scratched his head.

‘Then what kind of letter did Immortal Myeong Gil receive… and why did the sect leader’s legs give out?’

Could it be that his master sent such a warm letter to Immortal Myeong Gil too, moving the sect leader to collapse?

“……”

“Well then, now that the panacea (letter) has arrived, let’s start the ceremony.”

Immortal Myeong Gil said with a light smile and stood up.

He knew that the unworthy disciple following White Dragon was feigning illness. But even knowing this, he was at a loss for what to do.

The fake illness put on by a determined physician was so impressive that if he tried to find fault, he would be perfectly set up to be pointed at as a disciple-stealing villain without a shred of human decency in the world.

‘This is what it means to have no choice but to play along even when you know.’

He thought that if he pushed with force, the other would give up and come, but he never imagined that he would be determined to roll around until his master’s reply came.

‘Hehehe, you ruthless Little White Dragon.’