The Medical Showdown
Elena thought to herself as she arrived at Eunseonwon for another day of work. Wouldn't it be fine to just settle down in Sichuan and live here? Quite a bit of time had passed since she'd arrived in Murim. At first everything had felt overwhelming, but once she'd established herself in Sichuan, life had become relatively comfortable.
I've got a house, money, and even a reputation now. I don't know how to get back anyway, and it's not like there's some urgent reason I have to return.
She didn't have any family to speak of. There was, however, one thing that bothered her.
Honestly, coming to Eunseonwon every single day to treat patients is such a hassle.
Playing the role of the Doctor Immortal for half a day without missing a single one had become exhausting.
Can't I just handle the really critical patients while someone else takes care of the regular ones?
She couldn't leave it to her assistant physicians. Their skills were only at the level of ordinary doctors. They couldn't possibly meet the sky-high expectations the people of Sichuan had developed thanks to Elena. What she needed was a skilled physician who could stand in for her.
Where on earth am I supposed to find someone like that?
She was deep in thought when it happened.
“Saint of Medicine, you need to come out for a moment.”
One of the villagers acting as a gatekeeper entered the building.
“Guests have arrived from the Sichuan Tang Clan. Not just anyone—the Family Head himself has come to see you.”
“What?!”
“Tang So-cheon?”
The assistant physicians gasped in shock at the gatekeeper’s report.
What kind of place is the Sichuan Tang Clan? Some powerful family or something?
Of course, Elena simply wore a blank expression. Since she had no idea what the Sichuan Tang Clan even was, her reaction was perfectly ordinary.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Saint of Medicine, this is the Sichuan Tang Clan we’re talking about. Aren’t you surprised?”
“Rich people come here all the time, so it makes sense that someone from there would show up too.”
“…Indeed. Your courage is truly remarkable.”
The people around her, unaware that Elena was simply ignorant, looked at her with admiration.
“I’ll go out and see.”
Having no idea who they were, Elena felt zero tension and stepped outside with perfect composure.
A crowd of onlookers had gathered in front of Eunseonwon. At the center stood two men. The younger of the two cupped his fist in greeting.
“It is an honor to meet you, Saint of Medicine. I am Tang So-cheon, the Family Head of the Tang Clan. This gentleman beside me is my uncle, Chief Manager Tang Seo-cheon.”
“Saint of Medicine, it is a pleasure.”
As the two introduced themselves, Elena bowed her head in return.
“Yes, it’s nice to meet you both as well. Are either of you feeling unwell?”
“…”
“Coming because you’re in pain…”
At Elena’s words, the two men from the Tang Clan stiffened.
To Elena, who worked at a medical clinic, it was a perfectly natural question. But these two men were from the Sichuan Tang Clan—a family renowned throughout the Central Plains for their mastery of both medicine and poison. Asking them if they had come because they were sick was practically the same as taunting them, implying their own physicians couldn’t cure them.
“For someone called the Saint of Medicine, you certainly have a sharp tongue.”
Tang So-cheon, momentarily provoked, immediately struck back.
“To dare speak that way to the Sichuan Tang Clan. Haha, even Hua Tuo and Bian Que would be nothing compared to your absurd confidence.”
Following his sarcastic remark, Elena’s response was utterly baffling.
“Who is Bian Que?”
Unlike Hua Tuo, whom she knew from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Bian Que was a name she was hearing for the first time.
“I know who Hua Tuo is, but was there someone named Bian Que too?”
“Hua Tuo and Bian Que are two of the greatest physicians in the history of the Central Plains!”
“Ah, I see. …So, where exactly does it hurt?”
Having resolved her question, she immediately returned to the main topic. That was all it was, but Tang So-cheon’s face twisted in fury.
“You…!”
“Saint of Medicine, we did not come because we are ill.”
Tang Seo-cheon stepped forward to restrain his furious nephew.
“We have long heard of your great fame. However, our Sichuan Tang Clan is a family that yields to no one in the field of medicine. Yet lately, it seems the people of this world regard us as inferior to you.”
“And?”
“Saint of Medicine. We would like you to compete directly against our Family Head here and now, so that we may determine whether your reputation is truly deserved.”
Elena frowned.
What is this, some kind of dojo-crashing challenge?
She wasn’t a complete fool; she could roughly guess their intentions.
I probably can’t refuse this.
She didn’t want to get dragged into something like this, but there were far too many eyes watching.
“Did you hear that? It’s a medical showdown between the Saint of Medicine and the Tang Family Head!”
“This is a spectacle worth seeing even if you have to pawn your wife!”
The spectators were already so excited that if Elena refused, they looked ready to riot. Refusing now would undoubtedly spread rumors throughout Sichuan and damage the reputation she had worked so hard to build.
“If you really want to compare, I suppose I have no choice.”
Elena reluctantly accepted the challenge.
Well, no matter what happens, I’ll win anyway.
There was no way an ordinary physician could stand against a healer who used divine power. Elena was inwardly certain of her absolute victory.
But then—
“Bring it out, everyone.”
At Tang So-cheon’s command, members of the Tang Clan appeared. They were carrying loads of supplies, which they set down in front of Eunseonwon.
All sorts of medicinal ingredients and herbs. Tables and tools. Everything needed to prepare medicine had been brought.
“Saint of Medicine, the field in which we shall compete is medicine-making.”
…That rotten bastard!
At that moment, Elena realized it. Her opponent had come fully prepared.
He knows I can’t make medicine.
There was no way a cleric could manufacture medicine. After she had kept fooling everyone, someone had finally caught on.
“Is it really necessary to compete specifically in medicine-making?”
Elena tried to talk her way out of the situation.
“There are other fields besides medicine.”
“From what I hear, you primarily use special internal energy techniques. Regrettably, I possess no such talent. I am simply trying to keep things as fair as possible, so please accept.”
Tang So-cheon immediately offered a plausible counterargument. He had even prepared excuses in advance for if she tried to refuse.
“Fortunately, this is a medical clinic, so patients should be plentiful. Let us compete by preparing the most suitable medicine for the next patient who arrives.”
“Wait a second…”
Elena tried to protest against him deciding everything on his own, but the timing was terrible.
“Saint of Medicine, please help!”
Right on cue, a patient appeared—and his condition was far from ordinary. His entire body was covered in bite wounds, and his flesh had turned a sickly black.
“I tried to catch a snake and fell into its den! I was bitten all over, but I can’t even feel any pain!”
“It seems the snake venom has paralyzed even his sense of pain.”
Before Elena could step forward, Tang So-cheon approached the man. After examining the wounds, he immediately went to his prepared station and began compounding medicine.
“For a neurotoxic venom that eats away at the nerves, this should do nicely.”
He mixed various medicinal ingredients in a bowl, ground them down, and dissolved them in water. Once the mixture became thick and viscous, he formed it into solid pills on the spot.
“Here, take this.”
The moment the bitten man swallowed the pill, something astonishing happened. Blackened blood began flowing from the bite marks. Yet his complexion returned to normal, and the man’s face contorted.
“I-It hurts! My senses are coming back!”
It was a good kind of pain. The flowing blood soon stopped, and the flesh began to heal.
“Whoa!”
“The Tang Family Head cured that man in an instant with just one pill!”
As the crowd cheered, Tang So-cheon’s expression grew satisfied.
“Saint of Medicine, what do you think? That was my skill.”
“I-It’s incredible…”
“It is nothing compared to yours. Now, Saint of Medicine, I hope you will show your magnificent skill on the next patient.”
The smirk on Tang So-cheon’s face as he spoke to the flustered Elena was unmistakably mocking.
Soon, the next patient arrived.
“Aaaargh, please save me!”
His condition was even worse. His body was covered in slash wounds, his right arm was half-severed, and his left arm was crushed and dangling limply. Strangely, black smoke was rising from all his wounds.
“I fought a demonic practitioner and was hit by his demonic arts! It’s not just the wounds—the demonic energy feels like it’s tearing my whole body apart!”
God damn it.
Of all times, a patient this severe had to show up on her turn. Elena silently cursed the heavens.
I guess I have no choice but to make Holy Water.
In the end, Elena decided to find something to substitute for medicine. Holy Water. It was a special potion that only a cleric like Elena could create.
I’ll make Holy Water and trick them with it!
Elena went to her station. Honestly, she didn’t need any extravagant materials. To create Holy Water, all she needed were three things: water, a bottle to hold it, and her divine power.
If I just put water in an empty bottle, people will think it’s weird, right? Should I throw in some random herbs? No, if I add something weird and it makes the wound worse…
“Aaaargh, hurry!”
She didn’t even have time to hesitate.
Whatever, screw it!
When Elena finally walked over holding a bottle filled with nothing but water, everyone stared in shock.
“What the…?”
“She didn’t put anything in it!”
As the crowd whispered about her carrying nothing but plain water, Elena activated her Holy Water Creation skill. She then sprinkled the completed Holy Water over the patient.
The demonic energy tormenting the man vanished instantly. The half-severed arm reattached itself. The crushed bones healed, and every wound on his body disappeared.
Everything had been completely restored, but this time, there wasn’t even a single cheer.
“…”
“?”
The people couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed and rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
“Is this a dream?”
Even Tang Seo-cheon doubted his own eyes.
Tang So-cheon’s legs gave out beneath him.
THUD!