Welcome to Namgye Village
She was Hakgyeong's number one beauty. And a first-rate martial artist of the Chang Mountain Sect to boot. A perfect blend of beauty and martial prowess. Her standing in the jianghu was obvious without even asking.
So maybe I shouldn't have said it.
"You've got a parasite infection."
"...Pardon?"
"Just from a glance, liver flukes, roundworms... I'll give you a bedpan, so go to the outhouse and bring back a stool sample..."
Crash!
My body flew out of the clinic. Goddamn it. Third time this week.
"Seon-woo, congrats on finishing your boards!"
"Hyung, I'm jealous! I have to do military service as an army doc, but you even did your public service..."
"So what's the plan after discharge? Got a job lined up?"
Three years as a public health doctor. One year internship. Three years internal medicine residency complete. Specialist license acquired.
At this point, my options as Kim Seon-woo split in two.
Fellowship in a subspecialty, or jump straight into the real world. I chose the real world without hesitation. Time to make some money!
Though I had no intention of jumping into a pay doctor gig right away.
"Gonna take a few months off to look around."
"Ooh, the leisure of a working man! Jealous. What're you gonna do while chilling?"
"Dunno? Head to the countryside first to clear my head."
"Huh? Why the countryside... Oh right, you love birdwatching."
Yeah. I planned to head back to my hometown and relax for a few months. Heal this body wrecked by university hospital life. Observe the birds I loved so much.
After downing drinks with my residency buddies from the internal med lounge.
Staggering back to my studio on the way home. I remember making it to the alley near my place...
After that.
What happened after that...?
"...Get... ...up...!"
What? Someone's talking. To me?
"No consciousness... Come on, get... up...!"
Someone's unconscious. How do we handle patients with altered mental status? First, check underlying conditions...
"...Gotta rule out metabolic causes, so bloodwork first... Brain CT done...?"
"Ah! You're awake. But doing it again."
"Guh!"
What the? Someone punched my solar plexus? I barely opened my eyes. A petite girl with black hair in braids.
"Ah, Cho Hyang. It's you."
"Tch, what're you on about? You blind or somethin'?"
Cho Hyang pointed somewhere. Ah, my clinic. Good, good, backwater clinic. Though now minus one wall.
"What the hell did you say? Something weird again, right? Hakgyeong's top beauty stormed out in a rage. If it wasn't a clinic, she'd have sliced you up!"
"The top beauty used the word 'sliced'?"
"Nah, it was somethin' fancier. But same meanin', right!"
Yeah. Meaning's what matters. I grabbed the hand Cho Hyang offered and stood.
Let's see. Looks like I flew a good seven meters from the clinic. Feels like getting hit by a car?
But aside from a brief blackout, my body's fine. Martial arts are the best.
"Why do you do this, Doc? Always with the tests that don't work..."
Dialect kicking in? Cho Hyang's complaints poured out like machine-gun fire.
"Just hand 'em some pills and send 'em off! Folks don't expect miracles from a backwater clinic. That's why they come."
From what I've seen these past few weeks, once Cho Hyang starts complaining, she can go half an incense stick without stopping. No repeats in her repertoire either—a real talent. She could win a hip-hop battle rap show.
"Look at that! Fixed it yesterday, and now bustin' walls is routine. I'm done!"
Surprisingly, med school teaches empathy. Let's try understanding Cho Hyang's feelings.
You're at work, one wall blows out. Fixing it falls on you. You fix it, it blows again. Fix again, blows again.
Got it. Perfectly.
"Cho Hyang."
"What?"
"Must've been tough. Even I would..."
"Even I'd hate havin' to fix busted walls nonstop, blah blah, that's what you were gonna say, right?"
Damn. Empathy Style One dismantled in a second. No Style Two yet, so no more empathy possible.
The pinnacle of four years university hospital training, undone so easily. Cho Hyang's growing fast. Maybe she's got a talent for empathy like me?
"Anyway! I'm not fixin' it. You handle it, Doc!"
"Yeah, yeah."
I was planning to do it this time anyway. Feels bad dumping wall repairs on her three times.
First wall smash, I didn't think much. Whoa, so this is what it feels like getting thrown. Just novel.
Brushed it off. Hut... er, clinic wall's busted. Call someone to fix it, right?
In modern Korea. Hell, no need to go that far. Even in this Chinese murim world I've possessed into, hiring wall repairs ain't hard.
But where am I now? Namgye Village. Don't know it? Good instincts.
Yunnan. South of spicy Sichuan hotpot fame. North of Laos and Vietnam.
Home to the somewhat famous Jeomcheong Sect, but generally a frontier in murim.
And Namgye Village is the frontier of the frontier. Population? Dozens maybe?
Getting manpower here's like plucking stars. Why I gotta DIY the wall today.
"Aigoo, my fate."
Anyway, back to the exam room to assess. Back wall wide open. Nice view—leave it?
Herbs intact, supply cabinet good. Desk a bit smashed. Wait, not that too.
Forced open the busted drawer. Wooden box inside. Contents safe! Hallelujah.
Why the contents matter? Simple. It's the martial arts manual the original owner of this body, Hong Yak, was practicing.
The art's name: Yanluo Life-Seizing Art.
Freaked me out at first. Obvious demonic art. Am I a demonic cultivator? They don't live long—terminal?
All worries for naught. Plot twist: the Yanluo Life-Seizing Art was... ta-da! A medical text!
A medical textbook!
How'd a textbook get such a savage name? Intro says it's to reclaim lives from King Yanluo.
Dumbass name.
A textbook's value is as decor. Who'd display something unpresentable in an exam room?
Namer probably proud as hell. Ultimate medicine snatching souls from the Death King! This is it!
Wanna bonk 'em.
Griping, I rebuilt the exam room wall. Didn't take long. Hut-level wall anyway.
Wove straw frame, molded mud bricks, stacked 'em. By lunchtime, dirt wall done.
Wall job in record time. After empathy, do I have civil engineering talent too?
"All done? Gap there."
"Oh, yeah."
Our Cho Hyang, sharp eyes. Quick patch. Learning never ends.
Cho Hyang's good at finding stuff to do.
This time, hauled in herb bundles, scattered on floor.
Thud, thud, thud.
Ground herbs in mortar, extracting juices. Should I help? As doc, slacking looks bad...
So I shaped her mashed herbs into pills and pellets. Is this pre-pharma separation life? Making meds is a pain. Need a pharmacist...
After a while, Cho Hyang spoke up.
"Why do you do this, Doc?"
"Do what?"
"Namgye Clinic barely gets patients... The ones who pay are jianghu folk, but you chase 'em all off!"
"When did I chase anyone?"
"You did! That escort from Yeongcheong—what'd you say? Suspected lockjaw, gonna pull your schemes? And the balding guy, 'Won't fix in a thousand years, give up'? That's how you talk?"
Both true. Accurate info too.
"Wasn't wrong, Cho Hyang."
"They'd take Golden Injury Ointment or Blood-Tonifying Pills happy! You blurt stuff, end up stargazing with no pay. What's the point?"
Golden Injury Ointment for wounds. Blood-Tonifying Pills aid qi recovery. What I'm making now.
Sure, easy to just hand pills no thought. Public health gig was like that—same old scripts for elders.
Tweak for better care? Instant drama. Changing prof's script? Nerve of a public doc?
Ended up high-end pill vending machine...
"We're doomed!"
"Doomed how?"
"Previous doc said Hong Yak from Yakwang Valley, top graduate. Master of medicine and martial arts—must be special..."
"And?"
"Is special. Workload exploded. Wall fixes, apologizing bows..."
"..."
Mystifies me too.
This body's original owner, Hong Yak, top of Central Plains' best medical sect, Yakwang Valley.
Post-grad, chose destination decisively, unexpectedly: Namgye Village.
Why? Everyone wondered.
Me, the possessor? No clue. Personal memories mostly gone.
Left with this era's medical knowledge at best.
So first day Hong Yak arrives in Namgye Village. Right after starting Yanluo Life-Seizing Art. I possess the body.
Next day, asked my ambitions for this mountain backwater by Cho Hyang, I blurted.
[Uh... dunno?]
Cho Hyang's treated me casually ever since.
Anyway, adapted to sudden possession somehow. Dying to go home, but no method. Whatever.
Best I could in my seat. Run backwater clinic, treat patients. Free time, watch birds.
Oh, treated plenty jianghu folk too.
Jianghu love conflict. Always brawling, end up near Namgye Village sometimes.
Nearby big city Hakgyeong clinics shun martial artists. Few numbers, much trouble. Wise.
No choice for jianghu: need doc in sticks? Come to Namgye Clinic anyway.
Namgye Clinic welcomed them. Unlike bartering villagers, they paid silver—Cho Hyang loved it.
Me...
"It's fun."
"Huh?"
"Seeing jianghu folk."
"...You like gettin' beat?"
"They've got qi meridians. Jianghu folk do."
Everyone has organ systems. Cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, etc.
And jianghu have one uniquely developed: the meridian system. Another circulatory path for inner power!
Murim medicine specializes in meridian exams. Diagnose even congenital issues. In medieval China sans blood tests or imaging!
Internists yap hours on interesting cases.
Jianghu gobble anything "healthy," suppress symptoms with qi.
Just scratch the surface—diseases pour out! Treasure trove!
Most memorable: guy from some transport firm two weeks back. Chronic six STDs...
Ding-a-ling!
"Doc! Customer!"
"Patient, Cho Hyang."
A burly middle-aged man entered sword at hip. Jianghu!
Rare two in a day. Heart racing. What diseases inside you?
"Got Golden Injury Ointment?"
"Yes. Where're you hurt?"
"Nah, stocking up."
Common staple med. Essential for wilds trips.
While Cho Hyang packed, I asked the man.
"Wanna let me check your pulse before you go?"
"Pulse? Just here for meds."
"No extra charge."
"Hm... Gotta wait anyway. Free's free."
Jianghu wary of pulse checks. Docs exception. Man offered wrist lazily. Sigh from afar—Cho Hyang?
First technique: Pulse-Probing Hand from Yanluo Life-Seizing Art. Palpates qi meridian flow.
Narrowed? Asymmetric? Useful. This guy's... let's see.
Qi flowing smooth, no blocks... Super healthy.
Couldn't hide disappointment.
'Huh?'
Whoosh, whoosh.
Wait, the meridians just...
Shoo, whoosh.
Skipped irregularly?