How Could It Not Drive You Mad (3)
The next morning.
While Moyong Seol, who had quite the ordeal the night before, slept in late, I seriously pondered the connection between Jeolmok Jeong and mental illness.
'Could Jeolmok Jeong actually induce mania in a person?'
Those afflicted with Jeolmok Jeong have shortened lifespans. The mental anguish of living on borrowed time is indescribable, but the physical pain that accompanies it is just as severe. A pain like your body is being torn apart. If it's just the qi meridians blocked, it's merely enough to prevent using martial arts—no big deal. But when that Yin Qi starts blocking the blood vessels too, normal life becomes impossible.
Humans need blood circulating through their entire body to function. If that blood can't spread properly, it's no surprise if parts of the body necrotize or lead straight to death. To put it in terms a commoner would understand, imagine the pain of stubbing your pinky toe on a doorframe happening once every gak—about fifteen minutes—across your entire body. And that's the 'mildest' pain. In severe cases, it'd make you think getting punched full-force by someone would be preferable.
Chills, vomiting, abdominal pain—Jeolmok Jeong is a insane terminal illness that triggers every complication under the sun. Without the innate constitution of a murim-born child, or even with a healthier body than a normal person's, it drives you to think, 'I wish I'd just die.'
I knew the patient suffered mentally and physically from this torment, of course—but
'After treating Moyong Seol so intensively for nearly three years, I never expected this level of mania.'
I hadn't realized the mental strain could drive someone to rampage like Yugiyeon did.
'Delusional disorder.'
My knowledge of Jeolmok Jeong had expanded. The common understanding I'd held was crumbling. Take Moyong Seol, for example—she showed a fairly 'normal' reaction.
—Miss, you need to eat. At least this....
—I said I'm not eating!!!
Early in my time at the clinic, she'd flung the porridge a maid brought, splattering it across the hospital room floor.
—Urk...!
—Ah, dear heavens...! Miss...! If you don't eat at least this...!
—Clean it up and get out. The smell alone is making her feel like she's dying.
—Who does a newbie doctor like you think you are?! I've served the miss for over three years!
—Shut your mouth.
A normal person might see it as Moyong Seol just throwing a tantrum, but knowing her condition, I fully understood.
—The Yang Qi in that porridge is reacting with the Yin Qi in her body, wrecking it.
—Wh-what...!
—How can someone without basic knowledge of internal energy and martial arts handle meals? She can't even chew and swallow properly, and heating the porridge to boost Yang Qi made her internal Yin Qi flare up, stabbing through her blood vessels in agony.
In the end, instead of just removing the porridge, we moved the patient herself and switched to cold foods—no fire-cooked meals—to manage her intake. It was the right prescription, and she behaved when I fed her. Incidents like that weren't rare. Moyong Seol tried her best to hold back, but who could properly consider others when their whole body feels like it's being ripped apart? Especially if those people are making the pain worse instead of easing it.
So it confused me. I'd thought smashing objects, screaming, or yelling at everyone to get out—like Moyong Seol did—was the typical aggressive response for Jeolmok Jeong patients. Someone like Yugiyeon? That was a first.
'No helping it, though.'
First time or not, for the sake of Moyong Family—and to protect my chastity—this 'first test subject' had to go smoothly.
Psssh.
I sprinkled prepared herbs into a wooden bowl. Ground powders of spirit medicines like hawsaria, carrying moderate Yang Qi, mixed with pine resin powder for scent.
Crunch, crunch.
I chewed rice—not to eat it, but to gather saliva in my mouth.
Spit.
I spat out the rice; no need to explain the rest. Combine powder and moisture into proper pill form. Roll the herbal powder into balls the size of a finger joint, adding more Yang Qi-rich saliva to bind them fully.
"Can I just eat this as-is?"
Moyong Seol approached from behind, hugging me. The soft, plush sensation against my neck was so comforting—I'd felt it before, but it made me want to lean back and nap right there.
"It'd be useless for you."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"I'm already infused with far denser Yang Qi, and the warmth pressing against my back right now is even purer than this pill's."
"Hmph, is that so...?"
She rested her chin on my head, peering down.
"This pill, um...."
"Delusional disorder."
"Yeah, will it work on that woman, Yugiyeon?"
"Of course. ...Though I do feel a bit uneasy."
I pulled a silver box from the items on the table.
"What's that...."
"A keepsake from my master: Baek-eun Cheolchim, white silver iron needles."
Murim folk always carry swords; physicians carry needles. These iron ones were left to me by my master, Maui Baekmyeon.
"Ugh."
Moyong Seol flinched at the sight inside the needle case.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, haha. Nothing...."
"Come to think of it, you once tried to stab me with these."
"Ugh."
I drew out a long needle. Hair-thin at the tip, but in an expert's hand, even to the eye it could blind or kill instantly.
"I understand. You aimed precisely at a Yin Qi buildup."
"Th-that time...!"
"You didn't stab, so it's fine. Thanks to that, I learned never to use acupuncture lightly on Jeolmok Jeong patients."
I pricked my thumb lightly with the long needle.
"If you'd endured the pain just to humor me, you might not be alive now."
"...You're not just saying nice things to be kind, are you?"
"If a patient reacts violently to a treatment, it means it's wrong for them. Not saying so would kill the patient."
I lightly rubbed the back of my head.
"You charging at me with that needle, screaming 'It hurts!'—that's what let me avoid tormenting or killing you back then, and save you instead."
"...Well, it turned out to be the right treatment in the end, didn't it?"
Moyong Seol gently stroked my neck.
"You pierced this girl's body with the thickest, biggest long needle of all—doesn't that count as acupuncture treatment?"
"Infusing Yang Qi through it too?"
"It hurt a little at first, but once the pain faded, every thrust brought stronger pleasure?"
"Then these Baek-eun Cheolchim weren't right for you."
I pulled the needle from my thumb and slowly rubbed a drop of red blood onto the rounded pill.
"Won't she notice the blood scent?"
"She'll notice, but she won't think it's human blood—or a physician's."
"But...."
"It's fine. Luckily, as a Yiyakdang physician and your lover, I have enough influence in Moyong Family to handle it."
I finished forming the pill, then extended my right hand sideways, moving it like a beast prowling.
"We'll say it's mixed with blood from a strong stallion."
"Horse blood...."
"Ma-hyeol."
Not Magyo blood. It'd be real horse blood, and Moyong Family would regularly slaughter horses for it to mask the pill's contents—just like with actual Geukyang Jihwan.
"In reality, what'll cure Yugiyeon's Jeolmok Jeong is my bodily fluids. Especially... this one drop disguised with horse blood."
I lifted the red-specked pill with iron tongs and carefully placed it in the pre-prepared premium storage box.
"It really looks just like those legendary Daehwan-dan."
"Even more impressive than Daehwan-dan, I'd say."
"Ah, right—you actually ate one."
Sword Saint Moyong Cheon had gone to Shaolin and obtained their once-a-decade Daehwan-dan, feeding it to Moyong Seol. About ten years ago, before Magyo even knew she had Jeolmok Jeong.
"How was it? Did your body improve?"
"Tasted like crap, but those damn monks boasted like it was a miracle. They handed it to Father all confident, but when it did nothing, he humiliated them. Sinseung couldn't show his face for a while."
Moyong Seol openly despised Shaolin's monks.
"Sinseung, huh."
I'd heard the story. He was one of the most suspicious figures too.
"Any chance Yugiyeon is connected to Shaolin?"
"Pardon?"
"Shaolin would desperately deny Geukyang Jihwan's existence more than anyone."
Daehwan-dan held godlike status in murim. A cure-all. Except for Jeolmok Jeong.
"But this pill only cures Jeolmok Jeong."
"Exactly."
Only Jeolmok Jeong.
"...If it can cure the delusional disorder caused by Jeolmok Jeong, though, that changes everything."
Afternoon.
I headed to Yiyakdang for work, with Moyong Seol behind me, shooting icy glares to keep everyone at bay.
"My apologies, Physician Seok."
Yugoein, sect leader of Jageommun, bowed deeply.
"As you see, my daughter is secured like this—no more outbursts."
"Er, um."
Entering the room, I saw Yugiyeon fused with the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, her body wrapped head to toe in black ropes.
"Did you use pressure points?"
"How could I carelessly acupressure a Jeolmok Jeong patient? I warned her: one more crazy stunt, and daughter or not, I'll treat her like a dead bitch. She won't dare scream at you, Physician."
"...Hm."
Even Yugoein knew yesterday was extreme.
"I'll prescribe Geukyang Jihwan."
"Oh, oooh...! That...!"
"No one knows if it'll work. It was custom-made for Lady Moyong—different martial arts, different internal energy...."
"I can only pray your medical skill cures every woman in the world. Please, I beg you."
"Very well."
Yugoein stepped aside, and I took out the Geukyang Jihwan right in front of Yugiyeon.
"......."
Whether warned or not, she opened her mouth silently. I pushed the pill in.
Crunch.
She held it in her mouth; I poured water to help her swallow.
"......."
Just wait quietly—
Twitch.
Her finger trembled ever so slightly.
"Physician!!"
"......?!!"
Yugiyeon's eyes and mouth flew wide; a wave of chill burst from her body. Moyong Seol yanked me back, thrusting her hand forward. I barely opened my eyes to check the patient.
Crack, craaack.
"...Huh?"
Like skin splitting. Or a chrysalis hatching.
Crunch, cruuunch.
Her skin cracked like shattering porcelain, revealing something white and soft beneath.
"Wh-what...."
Yugoein muttered in a trembling voice.
"What is Geukyang Jihwan...?"
His terrified tone toward me even used honorifics.
"This immense inner power...? N-no way, rejuvenation...? What is this...!"
"......."
I don't know. What the hell?
"Not full rejuvenation."
Judging by the skin.
"Maybe rejuvenation to maidenhood."
Yugiyeon appeared to have de-aged to around twenty.
"......."
I looked at Moyong Seol.
"......."
Ah. I realized.
A sparrow can't become a stork, but a phoenix molting stays a phoenix. An ugly girl can become a beauty, but one born beautiful doesn't change much.
"Ha."
We're screwed.
"Rejuvenated maiden, huh."
Jeolmok Jeong: cured.
With a bit of 'side effect'—not really a side effect.