Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Na Sang-a's Treatment
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I stepped down from the chair and crouched low, asking Na Sang-a.
"Did you come alone?"
She shook her head.
Then Son Mi-hwa, Na Sang-a's mother, entered the Clear Seclusion Clinic.
"Hello, Jang Physician."
Of course, there was no way that frail child could have come all this way by herself.
"Come in. I suppose you heard from my brother."
"Yes. I heard from your brother and talked it over with Sang-a too. In the end, Sang-a wanted to give treatment a try, so here we are."
"You did well. I will..."
A congenital condition, and a complex one at that. It would definitely be challenging, requiring prolonged treatment. But the Nine Needles master's abilities hadn't been granted to me for nothing.
"I'll do everything in my power to improve Sang-a's condition."
As I made that vow, a swell of emotion flickered across Son Mi-hwa's face.
"Yes. Thank you."
Na Sang-a sat in the chair with Dang Seol-yeong's help.
There was one key thing when dealing with young patients: always explain what you were about to do before doing it.
'I made a kid cry on my first visit because I didn't know that.'
But things were different now. I had plenty of experience from that time.
"Sang-a, I'm going to check where it hurts by feeling your wrist."
She nodded.
I carefully took hold of Na Sang-a's slender wrist.
As expected, just like last time, I placed my fingers on her cold wrist and began taking her pulse.
With Pulse Eye, I could see the flow of Na Sang-a's qi and blood.
'Fortunately, it hasn't worsened since last time.'
She had been taking the decoction. Thanks to that, her condition had at least been maintained.
I finished taking her pulse and spoke to Na Sang-a.
"Sang-a, your body feels so weak and cold, but you've been bearing it so bravely."
She nodded.
Then I explained her current constitution to Son Mi-hwa. Sang-a already knew her own condition well, and she'd be undergoing treatment going forward, so it was fine for her to listen along.
"Sang-a was born with both Qi Deficiency constitution and Cold constitution."
Son Mi-hwa's eyes widened.
"They said it was Yin-Yang constitution, though?"
It seemed constitutions weren't finely classified and established in this era. Well, even the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon described qi deficiency and coldness more as symptoms than constitutional theory.
"Well, that's not wrong. But to be precise, it's a complex manifestation of Qi Deficiency and Cold constitution."
Just this explanation brightened Son Mi-hwa's face. Accurately diagnosing a condition always brought peace of mind.
"Ah, I see. That's why everyone said it was hard to treat..."
"Yes, exactly. Now that we've pinpointed the constitution accurately, treatment won't be all that difficult."
After reassuring Son Mi-hwa, I turned to Na Sang-a.
"Now, I'm going to make the parts that hurt feel better. First, with this Blunted Needle."
I took out the Blunted Needle first from the acupuncture kit among the Nine Needles laid out beside me.
The Blunted Needle had a round, blunt tip. Rather than piercing directly, it was rubbed against acupoints to slowly bring about effects.
A young child, and a frail constitution.
Long Needles were out of the question, and even Fire Needles were too risky to use right away.
First, I'd circulate her qi and blood with the Blunted Needle.
"Look. This needle has a round tip, right? It won't hurt at all."
Na Sang-a had flinched when I took out the needle, but her face relaxed once she saw the Blunted Needle.
First, I rubbed the Qihai acupoint on her abdomen with the Blunted Needle.
Qihai, known as the Sea of Qi. The central point for generating and replenishing qi, it could alleviate Qi Deficiency constitution.
Starting from Qihai, I rubbed several acupoints, then gently stimulated Shenshu on her back with the Blunted Needle.
'Shenshu supplements the kidney's yang qi to warm the body and improve cold symptoms.'
After rubbing acupoints for treating Cold constitution starting from Shenshu, Na Sang-a's eyes widened moments later.
"...Huh?"
Son Mi-hwa, standing nearby, asked.
"What's wrong?"
"My body feels a little warmer."
An overwhelming emotion rose on Son Mi-hwa's face. But now it was time for the Fire Needle.
'I currently have two Insights.'
Enhancing Fire Needle now would advance it to the next stage. I didn't know the exact effects, but it would surely help more with Na Sang-a's treatment.
'No need to hold back on Insights here.'
I didn't hesitate.
'Use two Insights to enhance Fire Needle.'
A variety of effects were listed.
I read the message floating before my eyes.
'No pain on insertion?'
Acupuncture naturally stung and hurt. That's why even in modern times, many people feared needles and avoided treatment.
There had even been people who bombarded me with endless questions out of fear before I'd even started.
Even martial artists here endured Fire Needles, but they winced and feared Long Needles.
'No pain means insertions will be much smoother. But what does 'perfect insertion' mean?'
I couldn't understand it yet.
I'd know once I tried inserting a Fire Needle into Na Sang-a.
This time, I took out the Fire Needle from the kit and showed it to her.
She flinched.
A starkly different reaction from the Blunted Needle.
"Now we'll use this small needle."
At that moment, Son Mi-hwa wrapped her arms around Na Sang-a's shoulders with a worried look.
"But Sang-a is scared of needles. That's why she couldn't get acupuncture at other clinics."
If it were before, I'd have said it wouldn't hurt much, but now was different.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt at all."
Dang Seol-yeong narrowed her eyes at me, her expression saying, 'You said it hurts a little before—how can you lie and say it won't hurt at all?'
But the system wouldn't lie. I trusted the Perfect Mastery Fire Needle.
Then Na Sang-a turned to Son Mi-hwa with a calm face.
"It's okay, Mom. I can endure it."
She straightened her posture resolutely.
I smiled and said,
"You're amazing. But don't worry. It really won't hurt."
Then I inserted the Fire Needle into the same acupoints I'd used the Blunted Needle on earlier.
Swoosh.
Eh?
I was surprised.
And Dang Seol-yeong, watching from the side, stared at me in shock, her eyes asking, 'How did you insert the needle so fast?'
Normally, I'd slowly feel for the insertion sensation, but now it was different. Instead of carefully gauging the sense, my hand reached perfect insertion immediately.
'It was like deploying a martial art—the speed was incredible.'
I recalled the description of Perfect Mastery from earlier.
'Perfect insertion' meant exactly this.
Son Mi-hwa seemed shocked too. She stared blankly at my acupuncture, then hugged Na Sang-a's shoulders and asked,
"Are you okay? Did it hurt?"
"Just like the physician said, it didn't hurt at all."
Son Mi-hwa looked at me with overwhelming gratitude.
"Thank you. You've helped my brother too, and now even our Sang-a..."
"No, no. The treatment has only just begun."
Taking Na Sang-a's pulse confirmed that her qi deficiency and coldness had improved somewhat.
After paying the silver pieces and preparing to leave, Son Mi-hwa said,
"So, when should we come back?"
For a healthy adult, daily acupuncture would be fine, but children were different.
"Come every five days. And I'll have a decoction sent to your home. Have her take it steadily every morning."
Since it was long-term treatment, acupuncture alone wasn't enough. We needed Dang Seol-yeong's decoctions.
As Son Mi-hwa was about to leave with Na Sang-a,
Na Sang-a scurried right up to me. She clasped her hands, bowed politely, and greeted me.
"Thank you."
"Huh? For what? I haven't cured all your pains yet."
"Thanks to the candy-making technique you taught me last time, I had fun playing with my friend Hong-ryeo."
Ah, that was it.
"Goodbye."
She gave Dang Seol-yeong a tight hug, then scampered away.
Dang Seol-yeong watched Na Sang-a go with a smile mixing fondness and pity.
"I hope Sang-a gets better."
"Me too."
"But how did you insert the Fire Needle so fast earlier? I thought you were using a martial art."
"Must be because my Fire Needle proficiency went up."
Well, it wasn't a lie. It was just that it wasn't ordinary talent—it was the system.
"More importantly, we'll need Apprentice Dang's decoction to treat Sang-a."
"For qi deficiency and cold dampness, Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction would be good."
Tonify the Middle and Augment the Qi Decoction, made with ingredients like astragalus, ginseng, atractylodes, and licorice.
Just as she said, it was perfect for Na Sang-a right now.
"Spot-on judgment."
"I'll make some with our current herbs and send it over first. But to improve a congenital constitution like that, we'll need something more special."
"Ginseng varieties, then."
"Right. In Sichuan, around here."
Dang Seol-yeong paused to organize her thoughts, then added,
"Earth-Yang Ginseng should do. It's absorbed essence deep in the soil for an average of 30 years, so it has superior tonic effects to regular ginseng."
It was a type of ginseng I'd never heard of. But in modern terms, it sounded like 30-year-old wild mountain ginseng.
"The problem is getting it, right? It'll be expensive too."
No matter how good the herb, if you couldn't obtain it, it was useless.
"It's not some legendary elixir, so it sometimes shows up at herb shops for around five taels of silver. Local herb gatherers spot it. Let's check the herb shops early tomorrow morning."
"Sounds good. But today, we finish today's consultations."
As I prepared for the next patient, I heard whispering from one corner of the Clear Seclusion Clinic—Mae So-hwa and Won Ji-ro.
"He cured a child's constitution. This is definitely going to be huge news!"
"Yeah. And I've never seen a physician treat a kid like that."
How exactly had Murim physicians been treating people?
'Good thing the patients consented to them gathering info.'
No, they were thrilled about it. They were excited their stories would be in Sehua Publishing House books.
Was Sehua Publishing House that famous?
The next morning, early, I headed to the herb street with Dang Seol-yeong.
As expected, the herb street was already bustling.
"Let's check our usual supplier first."
But there,
"Oh dear, Earth-Yang Ginseng? We don't have any right now. I'd love to give it to you since I'm sorry about last time, but what can I do if it's not here? We have other fine ginsengs—want to take a look?"
"We're good for today."
We wandered the herb street, but of course, it wasn't easy to find.
Then we arrived at the shop where I'd gotten the dried white peony root before.
"Oh, people from Clear Seclusion Clinic. Welcome. What are you looking for today?"
Dang Seol-yeong glanced over the herbs and asked,
"We were hoping to buy some Earth-Yang Ginseng."
"Ah, Earth-Yang Ginseng..."
"What? Do you have it?"
"No, actually, an herb gatherer found some the day before yesterday and said he'd dig it up by yesterday, but no word this morning."
From the explanation, the herb gatherer was a martial artist too. If even he hadn't returned, something had clearly gone wrong.
"Then we should send someone to look for him."
"Exactly. But do we have anyone suitable? We'd need a martial artist, and they're expensive."
We had no choice but to head back for now. Morning consultations awaited.
As we returned to the Clear Seclusion Clinic, Dang Seol-yeong said,
"Should I go look for it?"
"Apprentice Dang?"
"My lightness skill is incredibly fast. You haven't seen me use my martial arts, have you?"
True, I hadn't. But that wasn't the issue.
"It might take days, and the clinic won't run without you, Apprentice Dang."
I exaggerated a bit, and a smile spread across Dang Seol-yeong's face.
"To think the physician needs me this much."
Still, someone had to go.
'If I ask Na Ho-pyeong, maybe Hao Gate folks would go.'
As I sorted my thoughts on the way back, I spotted the face of the first patient waiting in the lounge.
Mad Drunk Guest Hyeong So.
He often came first like this on days he got Generate Pulse Powder.
"Hello. You're early."
I greeted him and was about to enter the Clear Seclusion Clinic when,
"You look troubled."
His perceptiveness was sharp.
Dang Seol-yeong answered first. She'd stopped hating Hyeong So after the clinic renovations.
"We're trying to get Earth-Yang Ginseng."
She explained what happened at the herb street and added,
"I was going to go, but he said the clinic won't run without me."
Dang Seol-yeong looked immensely proud.
But Hyeong So's reaction was surprising.
"Quite right. I'll go. Which herb shop was it?"
Dang Seol-yeong said, flustered,
"Pardon? The third one from the herb street entrance, Hyeongtong Herbs..."
Whoosh.
Before she could finish, Hyeong So shot off.
Dang Seol-yeong stared in shock at where he'd vanished.
"Who knew the Mad Drunk Guest Hyeong So would step up again. People in Deokyang would be shocked."
"Probably."
It seemed like he was rushing off because he didn't want to miss his Generate Pulse Powder.