Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: How a Korean Medicine Doctor Becomes the World's Greatest Physician in Murim
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Dang Seol-yeong, who had been watching with an incredulous look on her face, spoke up.
"P-Patient, could you try moving around a bit..."
Dang Seol-yeong glanced at me as she spoke. It seemed she was still cowed from getting an earful earlier for stepping in without my permission.
'But her diagnosis was spot on.'
A chronic lumbar disc issue that would normally require a month of clinic visits.
There's something different about people from the Sichuan Tang Family. Diagnosing solely from conversation—that's real medical skill. Here, she's apprenticing voluntarily, but anywhere else, she'd be qualified to open her own clinic.
'Exactly the high-caliber talent I wanted.'
I couldn't let her get discouraged. Not when she was such valuable talent I didn't want to lose.
"Apprentice."
"Yes?"
"Check the patient's symptoms."
"Got it!"
She perks right up when I give her work to do.
"Patient, if you could first sit on the treatment table and lift your legs. How's that feel? No pain? Good. Now, lean forward."
Dang Seol-yeong checked the patient's range of motion on her own without me needing to direct her step by step. Having high-caliber help sure makes things easy.
Every time Dang Seol-yeong had him perform a movement, Chu Man-seok's response was the same.
"Not a bit of pain!"
Both Dang Seol-yeong's face and Chu Man-seok's were filled with nonstop surprise.
This feels even more satisfying than I expected.
Chu Man-seok even tried other movements beyond what Dang Seol-yeong instructed.
Curling up, squatting down, and such.
'Heh, that's the posture of a Hao Gate informant checking for hidden watchers.'
Even so, Chu Man-seok didn't show any sign of pain.
A moment later, after confirming the prognosis, Dang Seol-yeong reported back to me.
"Physician, the patient seems... completely cured."
There was no conviction in Dang Seol-yeong's words.
"Apprentice."
"Yes?"
"That's ambiguous. A full recovery diagnosis needs to be definitive."
"You are fully cured."
Then I smiled at Chu Man-seok.
"You heard that? Congratulations."
"Th-This is truly astonishing. To think there's a physician of such skill at Clear Seclusion Clinic."
Kuh.
Words I should have heard in my previous life.
But this praise was satisfying enough right now.
"No big deal. Oh, and let me teach you a few exercises to prevent lumbar pain from recurring. Don't stick to the same motions all day—stretch frequently."
I showed him several stretching exercises.
Chu Man-seok paid with silvers, settled the bill, and thanked me profusely several times.
After Chu Man-seok left, Dang Seol-yeong approached me, her eyes brimming with curiosity.
"Physician, how did you cure him?"
She had already pulled out a book and brush, dipped it in ink, and was ready to take notes.
"You saw it. Needles at Shen Shu, Yao Yang Guan, Yang Ling Quan, and Huan Zong with fire needles."
Dang Seol-yeong nodded vigorously as she scribbled notes.
"Right. All acupoints for treating lumbar pain. And?"
"That's it."
"Huh? But how does it heal completely right away like this?"
It's because of the Nine Needles mastery and my Pulse Eye ability—but how do I explain that?
I decided to dodge with one of the more nebulous aspects of Korean medicine.
"That's the realm of needle sensation from there on."
Dang Seol-yeong's eyes widened.
In Korean medicine, there's "needle sensation" and "de qi." It refers to the sensations felt by both practitioner and patient during acupuncture.
This needle sensation varies for every practitioner.
How much stimulation, in what manner, to what degree at the acupoint.
In short, it's a unique domain based on that practitioner's experience and feel.
Even one of my professors in med school had said something like this.
- Needle sensation and de qi are core concepts in Korean medicine with a long history. Yet even in modern Korean medicine, they're still quite ambiguous. Because they're not just visible physical phenomena—they rely on what both patient and practitioner feel.
Since it's such a vague area, it was perfect for brushing her off.
Dang Seol-yeong stared at me in shock, mumbling blankly.
"...Physician, you're not much older than me, so how do you already have such advanced needle sensation..."
I patted the dazed Dang Seol-yeong's shoulder.
"It's fine. You'll learn it in time too."
Dang Seol-yeong snapped out of it and nodded.
"Yes!"
"Alright, let's tidy up first."
Dang Seol-yeong disinfected the used tools, straightened the treatment table, and headed out to the yard.
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, to check on the herb garden."
Dang Seol-yeong had never once gone to the garden since becoming my apprentice. It had become her domain to manage.
"..."
The garden had changed.
The medicinal herbs were the same, but next to them were many plants I'd never seen before.
'That purple flower is monkshood, and that bizarre fruit shape is devil's trumpet...'
All poison plants.
The rest were unfamiliar to me too. But from the context, definitely poisons.
Dang Seol-yeong from the poison-famous Sichuan Tang Family was crouched in front of the garden, gazing at them with deep affection.
"Grow big and strong, all of you."
In the murim world, there must be tons of poisons I don't know about.
One wrong touch and I'd be in trouble.
Best to leave the garden entirely to Dang Seol-yeong.
Na Ho-pyeong returned to Ten Thousand Winds Inn after meeting with Deokyang's influential figures.
He heard that Chu Man-seok, who had gone to Clear Seclusion Clinic that morning, was back before lunch.
"What? Already back?"
He'd experienced Jang Wol's astonishing medical skills at Clear Seclusion Clinic twice now. But Chu Man-seok's was a chronic condition.
He'd expected at least a few days of visits, if not a full month like other clinics—but he'd returned in less than an hour.
Na Ho-pyeong immediately headed to Chu Man-seok's lodging near Ten Thousand Winds Inn.
"I'm coming in."
"Sure."
As Na Ho-pyeong opened the door and entered, Chu Man-seok was sprawled prone on the bed in a bizarre pose, butt raised in the air.
"...What are you doing?"
"Ah, these are exercises Jang Physician from Clear Seclusion Clinic taught me. He said this prevents lumbar pain."
Chu Man-seok, who had been like a dog with his butt up, now lay on his back and swung one leg side to side.
"Never seen movements like these before."
"I was skeptical too, but since that skilled Jang Physician recommended them, I'm giving them a go."
"They do seem good for the back, but don't do them just anywhere."
They weren't exactly a pretty sight.
"That's my plan, but you had to walk in, Branch Chief."
"Anyway. Tell me about your treatment and explanation from Jang Physician at Clear Seclusion Clinic."
"At first, the apprentice there said the same as others—a month of visits."
It was Dang Seol-yeong.
Na Ho-pyeong already knew through intel that she worked at Clear Seclusion Clinic.
"Then Jang Physician countered, and immediately put a few needles in my leg and back. The pain vanished shortly after."
A standard treatment for back pain.
Yet the result was miraculously astonishing.
Like the White Crane Scholar of White Herb Hall or the Immortal Spirit Miracle Hand of Immortal Spirit Pharmacy.
And from a young physician, no less.
"Incredible."
"Yes, truly incredible."
Na Ho-pyeong organized his thoughts for a moment before speaking.
"From now on, you handle intel for the Medical District. And if you find any patients struggling with treatment there, subtly recommend Clear Seclusion Clinic."
Chu Man-seok looked puzzled.
"You recommended Clear Seclusion Clinic to me last time too, and now to other patients? Why are you so focused on it? Getting kickbacks or something?"
The Branch Chief moves for money, after all.
"From Clear Seclusion Clinic? Hahaha. Do you think a place like that has money to spare?"
"No way a rundown clinic like that does. Then why..."
Na Ho-pyeong gave a friendly smile.
"That young physician there fixed my hiccups right up."
Chu Man-seok wore a baffled expression.
"Pardon?"
He decided to drop it. That kind of answer meant he was hiding his real intentions. And prying further into a superior's motives would be rude.
From that day on, Chu Man-seok gathered intel in Deokyang Medical District.
Everything was a target for information collection.
New treatments or rare herbs appearing.
Who frequented the clinics.
Relations between clinics, or with outside factions.
Any covert dealings in the district.
Every movement was intel material, and each piece was money—and the very value of the Hao Gate's existence.
'Branch Chief said to find patients worth sending to Clear Seclusion Clinic.'
Chu Man-seok carried out his regular duties while faithfully following Na Ho-pyeong's orders.
'Hard to poach from White Herb Hall or Immortal Spirit Pharmacy, probably.'
Deokyang Medical District had over a dozen clinics. White Herb Hall and Immortal Spirit Pharmacy vied for top spot.
The rest were Herb Fragrance Hall, Esteemed Benevolence Clinic, and Famous Physician Tower, jostling for third.
'Gotta scout patients from those three.'
Chu Man-seok focused on those three.
And at Famous Physician Tower, he spotted one patient.
Sun-tanned skin, muscular build—a big warrior.
But he limped out on his left leg, his tough-looking face twisted in pain.
'That guy's perfect.'
He investigated immediately.
Name: Choi Cheol-bo. A warrior who mainly escorted merchant caravans.
Injured his left leg a month ago on an escort mission; still not healed.
Chu Man-seok tilted his head.
'Famous Physician Tower has Song Heon-ro, famed for acupuncture.'
And a question arose.
'If even that Song Physician can't cure him, can a young guy like Jang Physician?'
He'd shown amazing acupuncture, but Song Heon-ro led in fame, experience, and seniority.
Plus, Choi Cheol-bo's injury was complicated by his martial arts. Jang Wol, a complete outsider to martial arts, seemed unlikely to handle it.
'Hope Branch Chief isn't setting Jang Physician up to fail.'
Chu Man-seok owed Jang Wol a huge debt. He worried that if Jang Wol failed this early in Deokyang Medical District, patients would dry up.
But he decided to follow orders.
Chu Man-seok approached at an inn Choi Cheol-bo frequented.
'Here he comes.'
Choi Cheol-bo entered the inn and ordered food.
"One boiled pork. Booze? Nah, I'm off alcohol right now."
Chu Man-seok drank conspicuously near Choi Cheol-bo, savoring it. Choi Cheol-bo glanced over enviously.
Seizing the moment, Chu Man-seok asked casually.
"Want a drink?"
"No thanks. With my leg like this."
His left leg was swollen like an elephant's.
"Awful. You've seen a physician, right? Deokyang Medical District's famous for that."
"Been to Famous Physician Tower a month now—no improvement. Only going 'cause I trust Song Physician there."
Chu Man-seok eyed the leg sympathetically before speaking.
"Name's Chu. Wanderer making ends meet with minor skills."
"Choi."
"I'm saying this 'cause I feel for Brother Choi's plight, but I suffered back pain for ages too. Now? Good as new. With just one needle."
Choi Cheol-bo perked up at "one needle."
Chu Man-seok's voice quickened.
"Why not give it a try? You'd be healed in no time."
Choi Cheol-bo leaned in eagerly.
"Where? White Herb Hall? Immortal Spirit Pharmacy? Somewhere else?"
"Clear Seclusion Clinic."
Anticipation turned to confusion on Choi Cheol-bo's face.
"Clear Seclusion Clinic? Place like that exists?"
"It does. Tucked away in the corner of Deokyang Medical District."