Chapter 4
Chapter 4
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: How a Korean Medicine Doctor Becomes the World's Best Physician in the Murim World 4
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Oh, a quest popped up.
I was planning to give treating this patient a shot anyway.
A patient the other clinics around here had failed to cure. If word got out that I'd treated him, customers would start flocking to Clear Seclusion Clinic.
'And I've got some curiosity as a medical professional, too.'
A symptom straight out of a wuxia novel, maybe.
Pure intellectual curiosity had me hooked.
"Lie down in a comfortable position first."
I took the wrist of the man lying on the treatment bed and began pulse diagnosis again.
The flow of qi and blood coursing through the man's body came into sharp focus.
'Huh?'
I could sense toxins flowing across his right arm. But oddly enough, the source wasn't the arm.
I traced back along the flow that Pulse Eye revealed. And it led to his left leg.
I pulled down the man's pants and examined his left leg. But there were no symptoms there at all.
'No swelling like a bite, no inflammation, and it's not turned as black as his arm.'
But one thing was clear: the toxins had originated in his left leg and spread through his meridians.
Without Pulse Eye, finding the cause would've been impossible.
I inspected his left leg and asked the man,
"You're sure that bug bit your right arm?"
"Of course. It stung right there on my arm."
There wasn't even a bite mark on his arm. For a toxin this potent, you'd expect one.
"It was a bug I'd never seen before."
"That's right."
"You're certain?"
"I-I told you, yes."
He was lying.
Working at a Korean medicine clinic, I'd seen plenty of patients.
Most spilled their symptoms freely, of course, but there were always those hiding something or glossing over details.
This man's tone and expression matched them perfectly.
'Well, he's with the Hao Gate, so he's bound to have his secrets.'
Now that the cause didn't matter anymore, I had no intention of prying.
I'd just do my job as a physician.
'I get why the other clinics failed to treat him.'
A bug they'd never heard of, bizarre symptoms.
The other physicians must've gone for symptomatic relief instead of root-cause treatment.
Like in the modern world, prescribing acupuncture to ease tension or stress-relief decoctions for insomnia of unknown origin.
But I'd pinpointed the toxin's flow, so expelling it was child's play.
'Good thing I reinforced Lance Needle.'
I pulled over a side table, unrolled my needle pouch, and took out five Lance Needles.
Far thicker than standard Fire Needles, with a triangular tip. In modern times, they were called three-edged needles, and they looked a bit like nails.
No ordinary person could see one without flinching.
"Wh-what's that?"
Just like now.
"Lance Needles."
"Th-they're nothing like regular needles."
"Of course not. We need to draw the toxins out of your body."
"C-can I really trust you?"
"Absolutely. The owner of Ten Thousand Winds Inn got needled by me and recovered on the spot."
This guy was Hao Gate. Na Ho-pyeong was Hao Gate. And it was obvious Na Ho-pyeong outranked him.
So I name-dropped him on purpose.
Sure enough, the man settled down right away.
"Alright, then..."
"It'll sting a bit."
"Gah!"
I thrust one Lance Needle into the ST36 acupoint below his knee.
"That's more than a bit!"
Obviously. Unlike slender Fire Needles, this was like hammering in a nail.
But I didn't reply and swiftly inserted more: into the SP9 on his knee, SP6 near the medial malleolus, KI3 on the inner ankle, and finally KI1 on the sole of his foot.
All prime points for toxin expulsion.
"Ugh, urk!"
The man gritted his teeth with every insertion.
I figured a Murim warrior wouldn't feel much pain, but it hurt him plenty.
Murim folk were human, too.
Note to self.
After placing all five Lance Needles, I gripped each one and drove them deeper.
To expel the toxins and disrupt their current flow.
Feeling the needling sensation, I pushed the five Lance Needles even deeper. A moment later, I pulled them all out.
"Ugh!"
With the man's short groan, red blood began flowing from the acupoints. The red soon turned murky, then black.
Terror spread across the man's face as he looked up.
"I-is this okay?"
"It's just the toxins draining through the stagnant blood. No need to worry."
A moment later, the black blood stopped flowing, and bleeding ceased. His blackened arm gradually regained its normal color.
As the astonished man sat up, a message appeared over his face.
I settled the treatment fee with the man and stepped outside.
'Just one Insight this time, so no reinforcing Fire Needle, I guess.'
Then another message appeared.
Fine, I'd hold off on using it for now.
I could save up and reinforce Fire Needle later, or strengthen whatever needle technique suited the next injury.
"Those nails were huge. Seriously massive."
Na Ho-pyeong, owner of Ten Thousand Winds Inn and Hao Gate's Deokyang branch chief, was listening to his subordinate Seong Chu's report.
Seong Chu gestured wildly as he recounted the events.
"The young physician stuck five of those nails into me, waited a bit, then pulled them out. Black blood gushed out, and soon my arm was back to normal."
"Come here."
Na Ho-pyeong examined Seong Chu's arm from every angle. The grotesquely blackened limb had returned to its original color, as if nothing had happened.
"That was the whole treatment? No antidote brewed and fed to you?"
"That's what I'm telling you. Just the five nails."
"Got it. You're dismissed."
"Yes, sir!"
After Seong Chu left, Na Ho-pyeong leaned back in his chair with an admiring look.
'Jang Wol. He didn't used to give off that vibe.'
As Hao Gate's Deokyang branch chief, he knew everyone worth knowing here. If he wanted, he could count every chopstick in Deokyang.
He'd seen Jang Wol and his master, the Old Physician, coming and going from the apothecary a few times.
A frail apprentice trailing his master—that was the impression he'd had.
'He looks so delicate, but I underestimated him. Anyway, this commission's solved.'
Truth be told, Seong Chu's poisoning had been a setup.
A scheme crafted at a certain woman's request.
She'd paid handsomely to find a physician who could neutralize this poison.
They'd verified its safety, then poisoned a Hao Gate member.
They'd visited countless clinics in Deokyang, but none could cure it. The woman's poison was that remarkable.
'With her family's secret arts in it, no wonder just anyone couldn't.'
But astonishingly, a physician who could showed up.
A young man, apprentice at Clear Seclusion Clinic.
He'd succeeded where Deokyang's top healers had failed.
'Someone worth watching closely.'
Moments later, the client woman arrived at his office. He'd sent for her the instant Seong Chu reported in.
She looked not yet twenty.
A pretty woman with sparkling eyes and snow-white skin.
She asked in a startled voice,
"Someone really neutralized my poison?"
"Come in. Dang Seol-yeong, young lady."
Dang Seol-yeong was surprised but quickly composed herself.
"You looked into me?"
"Just gathering info. We're the Hao Gate, after all."
"Fair enough. So, who is it?"
"Got a question first. Why seek a physician who can neutralize this poison?"
"Why's that interest you?"
"We're the Hao Gate. We just crave information."
And he'd grown curious about this new physician Jang Wol. Dang Seol-yeong was clearly tangled up with him somehow.
But Na Ho-pyeong kept that to himself.
Dang Seol-yeong spread five slender fingers.
"Huh?"
"Five taels of silver, and I'll tell you. Information's worth money, right?"
"Brazen, but spot on. Here."
She pocketed the silver and explained.
"Detox skills unlike any in our Tang family, yet unrivaled. I want to learn that ability."
"You left out the key part. A big one."
"That's worth the five taels."
"Fair enough. I was just purely curious."
"Pretend you never heard my name or this conversation."
This time, Na Ho-pyeong held up three fingers.
Dang Seol-yeong made a defeated face and handed back three taels. Na Ho-pyeong pocketed them with a friendly smile.
"Thanks. Money makes the world go round."
"So, who? White Crane Scholar of White Herb Hall? Or Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand of Immortal Spirit Pharmacy?"
Deokyang Medical District's two most renowned.
Na Ho-pyeong shook his head.
Dang Seol-yeong's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me you met the Divine Physician of Heaven?"
The Divine Physician of Heaven was a legend across the land. An enigmatic figure, next to impossible to meet.
Na Ho-pyeong shook his head again.
Dang Seol-yeong grew impatient.
"If not them, then what renowned physician? Must be some great senior of the jianghu, advanced in years. I want to study under him as soon as possible."
"No rush. He doesn't look like he's dying anytime soon. Just six years older than you."
"What? Someone that young made an antidote for my poison?"
"Oh, didn't mention that. Strictly speaking, it wasn't an antidote."
"Then..."
"Just acupuncture."
Dang Seol-yeong's wide eyes narrowed in realization as she nodded.
"Ah, so he's a master. Trained in profound inner arts. That'd let him drive out the toxins."
Many physicians cultivated inner arts. Even famed healers often treated with qi.
A playful smile tugged at Na Ho-pyeong's lips.
"Nah, he's a regular guy. Looks pretty frail, too."
Dang Seol-yeong was dumbfounded.
Every word was utterly unbelievable.
Today, too, I was sweeping the courtyard of Clear Seclusion Clinic.
"None. Zero."
Five days since treating the black-armed patient.
No patients, no apprentice applicants.
'Well, this isn't the modern era with ads and social media everywhere.'
Information spread differently here.
In the modern world, news went nationwide in minutes via ads or SNS. Here, it crawled.
'No need to rush. Treat one by one steadily, and patients will come.'
A clear voice interrupted my diligent sweeping.
"Excuse me."
Turning, I saw a pretty young girl.
"Welcome. What's troubling you? Ah, come inside first."
"No, I'm not sick. I'm here to apply as an apprentice."
An apprentice at last.
"Ah, right. Let's talk inside."
Once inside Clear Seclusion Clinic, the girl paused, looking shocked.
"Something wrong?"
"The outside looks rundown, but it's so clean in here."
I felt proud.
All that scrubbing paid off.
I brought tea and sat across from her at the table.
"I'm Jang Wol, running Clear Seclusion Clinic."
"Seol-yeong."
"Lady Seol, then. You look awfully young."
"I'll be twenty next year."
Twenty next year? Nineteen now?
Was it okay to hire her? No labor laws here, right?
Well, this was the Murim world.
"Have you done any work with medicine or herbs before?"
"No. My family's poor, so my learning's limited. I don't know much, just scraped by with odd jobs."
Seol-yeong's nose tip reddened, tears welling in her sparkling eyes.
She dabbed them with her sleeve and added,
"I wanted to learn something proper before it's too late. I heard you're hiring apprentices, so I came to learn from you bit by bit..."
"..."
Why was she lying?
Her hands were too soft for manual labor.
And though her outer clothes looked shabby, the inner layer peeking through was fine silk.
Maybe poor acting, or she thought she could fool me.
'A Murim person, perhaps?'
To check, I examined her complexion and asked,
"Lately, have you felt low on energy, trouble sleeping at night, constant mental tension?"
Seol-yeong, dabbing her tears, looked up startled.
"H-how did you know?"
"Your face lacks proper color, dark circles around your eyes."
Chronic stress. Something was weighing on her heavily.
"Let me take your pulse."
Like a magnet drawing her in, Seol-yeong hesitantly offered her wrist.
I took it and diagnosed.
She was from the Sichuan Tang Family.
I released her wrist and said,
"Go home."
Seol-yeong blinked in confusion.
"Pardon?"
"I can't take on liars."