Doctor’s Rebirth

Chapter 145

“Hmm, so this is how it feels.”

After dismantling the handcuffs binding both wrists, it was now time for the shackles.

“The shackles made by Master are the problem. The principle should be similar, but the Zhuge Clan is also famous for their mechanism formations…”

Unlocking this would be an intellectual game in itself.

Jin Cheon-hee cracked his fingers.

As he was about to insert the wire, angling it just right, the door slid open.

“Brother, it’s meal time…”

Yeo Ha-ryoon, carrying porridge, and Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes met directly.

“…”

“Hey, I’m fully recovered! And the fingers! We need to reattach the fingers!”

“Ah, right.”

“You know I’m all better now.”

“But brother. When did you learn such a skill?”

Jin Cheon-hee smiled brightly.

“There comes a time in life when you learn these things.”

“…I see that locks aren’t that important to you, brother.”

Next time, would he just be bound with solid iron chains?

Jin Cheon-hee became afraid.

“First, let’s reattach the fingers. That’s what I’m most worried about.”

What could be more important to a sword master than their fingers?

Moreover, this was the demonic cult where the strong ruled.

There would be no shortage of demonic leaders who would welcome the news of Yeo Ha-ryoon being weakened.

“And… don’t cut off your fingers because of me again.”

“Brother.”

“It troubles me.”

At those words, Yeo Ha-ryoon stared intently at Jin Cheon-hee.

Jin Cheon-hee had no way of knowing what he was thinking behind those black eyes.

“…Alright. I’ll think about it.”

***

That night. Master entered.

Wearing a human skin mask and with his hair dyed black, Master looked like a different person.

Instead of greeting Jin Cheon-hee, he grabbed his wrist to check his pulse.

“You’ve fully recovered.”

“That’s fortunate.”

“You unfilial brat.”

“Hehehe…”

Jin Cheon-hee deliberately laughed good-naturedly.

Seeing Jin Cheon-hee laugh like that, Zhuge Rin let out a small sigh.

“They say no parent can win against their child, and I’m exactly in that situation. I had decided to scold you harshly when I saw you injured, but seeing you laugh like this, my heart softens again.”

Master took out a key and unlocked Jin Cheon-hee’s shackles.

Click-

“Thank you, Master.”

“We have much to talk about, but let’s do that when we return.”

The journey back was already daunting. Jin Cheon-hee decided to think about later matters later.

Instead, he was just earnestly massaging his ankles.

Behind Jin Cheon-hee, an unfamiliar voice was heard.

“Tsk tsk. Poor boy. How did you end up caught by such a monster…”

It was the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric.

Somehow hearing the news that Jin Cheon-hee would be performing reattachment surgery, she had dropped everything to visit the demonic cult branch.

It wasn’t difficult for the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion, which had friendly relations with the demonic cult.

Zhuge Rin looked at the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric and said:

“That’s too much. Calling him a monster.”

“Then is he in his right mind, White Dragon?”

Then the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric stroked Jin Cheon-hee’s head.

“And with the Heavenly-Killing Star on top of that, you really have a tough fate, child. If you had become my disciple and joined the Dark Palace Medical Pavilion from the start, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Jin Cheon-hee shook his head.

“No matter who my master was, I wouldn’t have changed.”

In any case, his desire to save children wouldn’t have changed.

To those words, the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric replied:

“No, what if I taught you jiangshi techniques? You could take several jiangshi with you and have a mutual beatdown with the Corpse Spirit Demon! I’m good at making jiangshi too!”

That’s right. The Bloodborne Elder Eccentric was, in modern terms, a practicing mad scientist.

She could be described as a growing adult with a great interest in jiangshi techniques.

No matter how interested Jin Cheon-hee was in jiangshi, it was only due to his scholarly desire to prove his hypothesis about exorcising them, write a paper based on it, and establish a theory. He had no intention of walking around with jumping corpses attached to his back.

‘And a mutual jiangshi battle? This isn’t Pokémon…’

It was a realm beyond his comprehension.

“Master, are the fingers safe, right?”

“Don’t worry. It’s a promise made with you at stake, so I couldn’t be careless. I took special care to keep them as fresh as if they were just cut.”

“…”

It wasn’t just the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric’s fault.

Master was also an excellent mad scientist.

Jin Cheon-hee decided to maintain his sanity alone among these crazy people.

“Ha-ryoon. Your brother will definitely treat you.”

“Brother…”

Yeo Ha-ryoon was deeply moved seeing Jin Cheon-hee like this.

***

‘Hehehe… They really are fresh.’

This doesn’t mean the freshness of a refrigerator.

Looking at the fingers that seemed as if they had just been cut, still full of vitality, Jin Cheon-hee felt like he was going to lose his mind.

Even the cut surface was so clean that it was like seeing a scene from a cartoon where “the flower was cut but it’s still alive.”

‘Is this the realm of living swords…?’

Even looking at the cross-section, Master’s level was hard to comprehend.

Thanks to this, the reattachment surgery itself proceeded very smoothly.

Normally, one would have to struggle greatly to connect blood vessels, nerves, and muscles.

Moreover, even after reconnecting like this, there were many cases where restoration wasn’t possible, so it was difficult to guarantee success.

Master continuously assisted Jin Cheon-hee at his side.

‘For nerve reattachment, the needle is crucial.’

Even if he could manage the rest with the Profound Origin Divine Technique and Dual Mind Technique, some things just couldn’t be done.

Special needles and thread were needed to connect tiny capillaries and nerves.

What Jin Cheon-hee used here was the Feather Needle, a needle from the Sichuan Tang Clan.

To connect blood vessels less than 1mm in diameter, a needle much thinner than a hair was needed.

The Sichuan Tang Clan’s Feather Needle was suitable for such microsurgery.

“How did you manage to obtain this!”

When Jin Cheon-hee asked the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric in surprise, she replied:

“I had an occasion to go for treatment, and they suddenly shot at me. Hohoho. I kept it well since they gave me such a nice gift.”

It seemed they had shot at her while resisting at a life-or-death moment.

Did that unnamed person from the Tang Clan actually receive treatment?

It was unknown, but Jin Cheon-hee decided not to ask.

The thread was directly drawn out by Jin Cheon-hee using inner energy infused with metal energy.

Single thread. A thin single strand of thread.

Its tensile strength would be weaker than composite thread, but it was incomparably thin, making it suitable for microsurgery.

“You shouldn’t move your fingers for a while after the surgery.”

“Why?”

“They’ll burst.”

Jin Cheon-hee didn’t say what would burst. Judging by his expression and tone, one could only tell that something terrible would happen.

“I understand, brother.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon trusted Jin Cheon-hee like this.

Jin Cheon-hee had a very hard time steeling himself before the surgery.

It was his younger brother’s hand. And the hand of a martial artist at that.

Master had said he could do it instead if Jin Cheon-hee was too worried, but what Yeo Ha-ryoon wanted was his brother, Jin Cheon-hee.

That’s why he decided to do it himself, even if it was risky.

After long preparations and numerous meditations.

Somehow, he was able to calm his mind.

Maintaining the formation was the role of the Bloodborne Elder Eccentric.

In exchange for observing this surgery, she prepared her own formation to protect them until the end of the surgery.

“It’s the Blood Producing Formation. It helps prevent corpses from rotting when making jiangshi. Conversely, it’s also helpful when using healing techniques on patients, child.”

Although different from the Zhuge Clan’s Five-Elemental Formation, this was also worth noting.

After a long time, Jin Cheon-hee was finally able to suture all the damaged areas.

It was a time of endurance.

How much time had passed? The awakened Yeo Ha-ryoon looked down at his fingers.

He was about to move them but stopped, perhaps remembering what Jin Cheon-hee had said.

“Wait. Let me check if it worked well.”

Jin Cheon-hee checked if the finger sensations were normally connected and examined the blood circulation state through pulse diagnosis.

“It’s done. Now we can put on a cast.”

Jin Cheon-hee prepared the cast right away. Yeo Ha-ryoon said:

“I feel like I could wield a sword and fight right now.”

Jin Cheon-hee sighed softly at this future Heavenly Demon.

“They’ll burst if you do that. Besides, we need to keep watching. We need to monitor the pain condition too.”

“Hmm.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon’s lips formed a straight line, seemingly displeased.

Jin Cheon-hee said:

“It’s spirit thread, so when it’s fully healed, you can circulate your energy to dissolve and absorb it. Just be patient until then.”

To those words, Yeo Ha-ryoon replied:

“Don’t worry too much yourself, brother. Even if something goes wrong, it’s fine. These fingers were dedicated to you anyway.”

“…Seeing you makes me think I shouldn’t be reckless with my body from now on.”

“Then I’ve won.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon raised his black eyes to look up at Jin Cheon-hee.

‘Was he that worried? This guy… even to the point of betting himself.’

It was a way of thinking that was utterly incomprehensible to a modern person.

Jin Cheon-hee clicked his tongue.

“I’ll be careful with my body too, so you be careful with yours.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, now that everything’s over, there’s something I want to tell you. There are some people who want to become sworn brothers with us.”

“What do you mean…?”

Yeo Ha-ryoon furrowed one side of his forehead.

***

Jin Cheon-hee roughly explained the stories of what had happened so far.

He talked about Cheon-woo, the first candidate for a younger brother, and Sama Hyeon, the second candidate.

Yeo Ha-ryoon furrowed his brow and listened carefully to everything Jin Cheon-hee said.

“So they want to serve you as their brother because you saved them?”

“Something like that.”

“Brother, don’t be fooled. They’re all just trying to get their hands on your medical skills.”

“You had your life saved by those medical skills too, Ha-ryoon.”

“I’m different. You proposed it to me first. From the start, I’m different from those guys.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon argued that what those two were doing was merely a ploy to get the divine doctor’s medical skills, while his brotherly love was genuine.

Jin Cheon-hee neither affirmed nor denied as he looked at Yeo Ha-ryoon.

“Alright. If you don’t like it, we’ll forget about it.”

“What?”

“You don’t like it, right? We won’t do things you don’t like.”

“Weren’t you asking me to allow it?”

At those words, Jin Cheon-hee burst into laughter.

“No, Ha-ryoon. I only asked you because Cheon-woo and Sama Hyeon requested it. Your opinion is my top priority.”

Everything has its order.

From Jin Cheon-hee’s perspective, there was nothing to regret even if the two children didn’t become sworn brothers.

They could continue their friendship as close friends and help each other when needed.

However, when Jin Cheon-hee, the older brother, easily agreed, Yeo Ha-ryoon actually felt deflated.

“…”

He furrowed his pitch-black eyes, deep in thought, and then said:

“…I’m from the demonic cult, brother. If it becomes known that we’ve become sworn brothers, you might be labeled a traitor to the martial arts world.”

“I know.”

“Right. You knew and still reached out to me.”

Yeo Ha-ryoon fell into thought again and then said:

“If those guys can risk their lives for you, then I’ll consider it at that time.”

“What do you mean?”

“If they meet me directly in the future and don’t waver, and if they have enough strength to protect you, then I’ll allow it at that time.”