Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 180

Jin Cheonhee asked, “Are you coming to the Dragon Phoenix Gathering? Now that you’ve received your Taoist name and have a master, you should be able to attend.”

“Ah, if you’re coming, I’ll apply too. Of course, just applying doesn’t guarantee I can go, but… it should be possible.”

“Really?”

“Yes. They hold a martial arts tournament among Wudang’s disciples. If you place in the top three, you can participate in the Dragon Phoenix Gathering.”

He looked confident. Jin Cheonhee had nothing to say.

‘Well… being the direct disciple of Wudang Fist Emperor, it would be quite embarrassing not to make the rankings.’

With that grandfather’s personality, he would thoroughly train Cheon-woo. Here, ‘train’ literally meant physically immersing him in hellish training, to the point where it might be better to die than not make the top three.

“I plan to go with Master to the next Dragon Phoenix Gathering too. At my age now, there shouldn’t be many people looking to pick fights with me.”

“Hmm… That’s what you think, but there will probably be many martial artists who want to challenge you.”

“No, why would they challenge a physician?”

“You don’t know how much White Dragon boasts about his disciple? The internal injuries the young martial artists receive are no joke. Brother, you don’t know? Right, you wouldn’t. Usually, the person themselves is the last to know about these things.”

Cheon-woo gazed at the sky with a distant expression. Seeing his face that seemed to contain both anguish and enlightenment at once, Jin Cheonhee began to worry about just how much his master had been boasting.

Cheon-woo said, “Anyway, since White Dragon doesn’t have any desire for martial prowess at this point, and you won’t be competing, I think it will end well enough.”

“Right. I wanted to gain experience treating a wider variety of emergency trauma patients too. Above all, the four pavilion masters have requested that I be brought quickly as they’re increasingly short-staffed.”

Treating injuries from trauma is Jin Cheonhee’s domain. If anything, Zhuge Rin had been delaying and postponing his dispatch.

Cheon-woo said, “Somehow, you seem more excited talking about medicine than martial arts.”

“Do I? Hahaha.”

Saving people is difficult but rewarding. It’s also enjoyable to see patients fully recover and be happy. When he discovered better surgical methods and was able to treat diseases that were once incurable, the joy was indescribable. Whether on Earth or here, that joy was Jin Cheonhee’s driving force.

The two embraced in farewell.

“Take care.”

“See you at the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, brother.”

“Sure.”

***

After receiving his weapons back, Jin Cheonhee descended the mountain.

‘Now, should I go dig up some more of those spiritual herbs I couldn’t collect last time?’

He was thinking of sending them to Cheon-woo and Sama Hyeon. During their sparring, he felt that what they both lacked was internal energy.

‘As a brother, what else can I do to help them?’

Looking up, the sun was already high in the sky. Looking back, Cheon-woo was still waving at Jin Cheonhee from the entrance of Wudang Sect.

“I hope it doesn’t burn this time. Elder Fist Emperor has gained some enlightenment and now has a disciple, so he should have more attachment to this world.”

As Jin Cheonhee muttered quietly, Heavenly Thunder Hawk and Hwanggu responded without understanding what he meant.

Peep peep! Woof woof!

With this, whether Elder Fist Emperor dies naturally or ascends to immortality in the future, it should be postponed for a bit longer. Though he didn’t know how much longer it was postponed, the meaning a master holds for their disciple in the martial world is significant.

Moreover, he had instructed him to take a quarter of the “internal injury medicine” (not a tonic) daily, so he should last even longer. He had also taken the opportunity to advertise the efficacy of the White Dragon Divine Pills and White Dragon Medical Pavilion’s medical skills to the Wudang people under the guise of free treatment.

‘I really did a lot of work.’

In a short time, Jin Cheonhee had not only improved his skills but also changed many things.

***

Woof! – Master, I’m hungry!

Peep peep – There’s a village nearby, let’s stop by, let’s stop by~ Okay?

Jin Cheonhee first stopped at a village at the foot of Mount Wudang to purchase items for his journey.

‘I’m out of dried food, jerky, and pepper. I should also get some more goat’s milk to make butter.’

After buying a lot of things, the sun had set and it was starting to get dark.

“Let’s stay here tonight.”

Woof woof woof!

Hwanggu expressed its agreement with its tail. There was no need to mention Heavenly Thunder Hawk.

Jin Cheonhee found an inn, ate some noodles, and went to sleep earlier than usual.

How long had he slept?

Woof! Grr! Woof woof! Bark!

Peep, peeeeep! Peep, peep!

The barking of Hwanggu and Heavenly Thunder Hawk woke him up.

“What’s… wrong? What’s happening?”

He extended his qi sense, but couldn’t feel anything suspicious. That’s when Hwanggu tugged at Jin Cheonhee’s clothes.

Woof! – Master, something’s strange outside.

As Hwanggu pulled him towards the window, he saw that outside was red.

It was flames. Red flames were engulfing and coloring Mount Wudang.

“Huh…?”

Jin Cheonhee’s thoughts froze for a moment.

‘Shouldn’t Wudang’s burning be at least a few years away…? After Elder Fist Emperor’s ascension to immortality. Wasn’t it then?’

The fire demon was mercilessly devouring everything and growing stronger.

Wudang, Wudang was burning.

***

It should be different from that time.

The current Wudang Sect isn’t rotten like in the original story, and Elder Fist Emperor is still alive.

But with his heart feeling like it might burst, Jin Cheonhee just ran.

The distance from the village to Wudang was quite far, so even running with lightness skill took some time.

Although Jin Cheonhee’s lightness skill was unmatched anywhere, right now his feet felt unbearably slow.

Woof! – Master, there’s a strange smell!

Hwanggu quickly alerted Jin Cheonhee.

Thanks to this, Jin Cheonhee could prepare to draw his sword immediately while running.

At the entrance of Mount Wudang.

The first thing he saw was the corpse of the gatekeeper.

Corpses of Taoists and masked people.

Amidst that, a scene of utter chaos…

For a moment, Jin Cheonhee felt like he might retch. He gritted his teeth.

‘This isn’t the battlefield where I died. It’s the martial world. I can fight… anyway, it’s okay… Ah!’

The fear from his past life when he died struck Jin Cheonhee for a moment. But even such emotions were a luxury in the face of the tragedy before him.

Jin Cheonhee quickly rearmed his mind.

‘I can’t break down. Whether it’s the martial world or Earth, humans killing humans is the same, isn’t it? What was I expecting? Dreams and romance?’

At that moment, a black-clad person swung a blind sword towards Jin Cheonhee.

Kang!

In one move, Jin Cheonhee blocked the sword and counterattacked in the second.

As the black-clad person’s sword shattered, their arm twisted in a strange direction.

Crack-

Now the black-clad person would never be able to use that arm again.

‘Attacking Wudang, they sure have guts.’

However, throughout martial arts history, bloodshed at renowned orthodox sects was surprisingly common.

Two villains capable of doing this came to mind.

Although one seemed to match his gut feeling, Jin Cheonhee reserved judgment.

Instead, he twisted his thoughts in a different direction.

‘First, the fact that they invaded Wudang when Elder Fist Emperor is here means they must have a secret weapon to deal with him, right?’

It doesn’t make sense that a force capable of doing this wouldn’t have made such a basic calculation.

‘Can I help Wudang Sect? No, I must. Saving people… isn’t that my job?’

Seeing this fire demon reminds him of the battlefield.

The sensation of dying back then is vivid. He wants to scream and run away right now, wants to forget this memory, but reality is cruel.

His hands are shaking.

‘It’s okay. I can do it. I can save them.’

As he was reassuring himself over and over, suddenly a voice rang out.

“Kugh… Are you… Little White Dragon?”

A voice called out from the debris. As Jin Cheonhee cleared away the rubble, a familiar Taoist smiled at him with a welcoming expression.

“My goodness. I thought you had already left… I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

“Elder Ha Jeong.”

Even in a rotten Wudang, there were many good people.

Elder Ha Jeong was especially so.

The generation of the Ha character was right above the generation of the Cheon character.

When Cheon-woo first came here as a rolling stone, Elder Ha Jeong was the one who willingly shared his snacks with Cheon-woo.

No matter how petty the bullying got, Cheon-woo was able to endure thanks to real Taoists like him.

Elder Ha Jeong looked at Jin Cheonhee and smiled weakly.

“It’s good to see you. I’m truly glad to see you. I can’t tell you how happy I am that Little White Dragon has come… Please… please take care of Wudang… Wudang… Kuaaagh! Wh-what are you doing?”

“I’m stopping the bleeding with acupressure.”

“No… what is this…”

“Don’t give your last words in front of a physician.”

Jin Cheonhee quickly stopped the bleeding and took out emergency medicine.

“Why is the acupressure so painful?”

“When the bleeding is this severe, it hurts. And the injured areas are also injured.”

Jin Cheonhee calmly said.

“I’ve kept you alive enough to survive until this is over. I’d like to treat you more, but there’s no time. For now, live.”

“……”

Jin Cheonhee firmly grasped Elder Ha Jeong’s hand. Then, with swollen eyes, he spoke again.

“…You must live.”

“In all my years, this is the first time I’ve seen a martial artist who starts with stopping the bleeding instead of listening to last words… Kukuku… I understand. If I don’t want to hear a scolding from Little White Dragon, I guess I’ll have to live tenaciously.”

“The medicine will keep you conscious. I’ve treated your legs so you can move, so hide in a corner or something. You won’t be able to move for long. I’ve only treated you enough to be able to escape.”

“Will it hurt if I move?”

“The emergency medicine contains painkillers, but it will still hurt a lot. But… you have to run to survive.”

Elder Ha Jeong forcibly got up with Jin Cheonhee’s support.

A groan escaped from the pain. But he could move. It was enough to temporarily find shelter.

After saving one Taoist like this, Jin Cheonhee immediately gave orders.

“Heavenly Thunder Hawk. You check for approaching enemies from the sky! Don’t worry about the small fry. Tell me about the strong ones first. If you have time after that, provide cover by shooting lightning intermittently.”

Peep!

Heavenly Thunder Hawk immediately increased its altitude and rose into the sky.

“And Hwanggu, you come with me. Search for the injured. And let’s use the combat method the elder taught us while we’re at it.”

Grr!

Hwanggu bristled its fur.

It seemed to have sensed its master’s anger.

Sure enough, five masked people immediately attacked.

Without asking who they were or what they were doing, they launched their attacks right away.

At that moment, Heavenly Thunder Hawk moved first.

Kwang!

Heavenly Thunder Hawk’s blue flash immediately roasted one of the masked people.

In the pitch-black sky where not even stars could be seen, the lightning that split the sky truly deserved to be called divine punishment.

The sudden attack from a blind spot momentarily halted the movements of the four remaining masked people.

In that gap, Hwanggu moved.

Crack!

This time, not the groin but the leg.

Since it’s not easy to crush the groin of a high-level expert, it aimed for a different spot this time.

Dogs have a lower attack point than humans, so they can dive into the blind spots of human vision.

Moreover, being a spiritual beast that can use internal energy, it instantly took off one leg.

Crunch-

Hwanggu bit the leg and crushed the thigh bone with just its bite force.

“Kuuuugh-!”

“…Right. That must hurt. Even the Black Demon Medical Pavilion couldn’t save that, so amputate it later.”

Finally, Jin Cheonhee’s afterimage moved slowly, yet paradoxically too fast to be caught by the eye.

Wherever Jin Cheonhee’s hand appeared and disappeared, without fail, one of the limbs bent in the opposite direction.

They scattered hidden weapons to catch Jin Cheonhee, but none of them even grazed his afterimage.