Chapter 36
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: The Jade Bed
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“Do not interfere. If left like this, the patient will die.”
Dan Ak-seon replied in a calm tone.
The physicians who met Dan Ak-seon's gaze flinched. It was because of his cold, resolute eyes, and the indescribable authority swirling within them.
Pung Jin-seong stopped Namgung Baek, who was about to step forward unconsciously.
“He is far more skilled than I.”
Incredulity that could not be hidden surfaced in Namgung Baek's eyes. He had heard the boy was the son of the Divine Physician, but…
Even if he had inherited the knowledge, what power could such a young child possess?
Even the Divine Physician of Sacred Hands, renowned for his unparalleled medical skills, had only become famous after turning forty. The world he had lived in was too harsh to believe that a mere boy of about twelve had inherited his skills.
“If he cannot do it, then I cannot even begin to try.”
At Pung Jin-seong's continued words, Namgung Baek's gaze wavered.
A single glance was enough to see that his daughter's condition was beyond critical. Lying limp, as if she no longer had the strength to even tremble, she was barely holding on by a thread of breath.
Even now, he could feel her life fading away.
“You two, leave.”
As soon as Namgung Baek spoke, the physicians hurried out of the annex.
Their relief was palpable to anyone watching.
They clearly considered it a stroke of luck to have escaped responsibility for the patient's death.
Even in that moment, Dan Ak-seon did not take his eyes off Namgung Hyang.
“You, you…!”
An exclamation of shock burst from Namgung Baek's lips.
It was because the boy had begun to unhesitatingly press against his daughter's nearly bare skin. Dan Ak-seon placed his index and middle fingers together and began to press various points on Namgung Hyang's body.
Then, in an instant, his expression changed.
“This will hurt a little.”
In his hand, Dan Ak-seon now held his mother's Demonic Spirit Needles.
With those words, Dan Ak-seon inserted a needle into a point one inch above her pubic bone, below her navel.
“Aaaargh!”
With a terrible scream, Namgung Hyang's body shot up.
“……!”
At the sight, Namgung Baek's heart sank.
That was more than just "a little" pain. How agonizing must it be for a child on the verge of death to scream like that!
“Alliance Lord!”
Only then did he notice Pung Jin-seong blocking his path.
“If you interfere now, it will be irreversible!”
It was then.
“Ma'am! Please turn the patient over!”
Han Seol-hwa approached the bed and turned Namgung Hyang over.
“From now on, no matter what happens, you must not let anyone touch me or the patient. No one is to approach.”
At Dan Ak-seon's command, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi moved to block the space between Dan Ak-seon and Namgung Baek. When his daughter disappeared from view, Namgung Baek took a step to the right.
In that instant, Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi moved in tandem to block him again.
Namgung Baek's eyebrow twitched.
At that moment, Namgung Hyang's scream once again filled the room.
“Aargh! It hurts! Stop! Stoooop!”
“……!”
Namgung Baek unconsciously took a step forward.
*Thud.*
A hand as large as a cauldron lid rested on Namgung Baek's shoulder. It was the giant of a man who had come with the young physician.
“How dare you…!”
Just as he was about to roar, the scholar standing next to the giant spoke first.
“If you couldn't trust him, you shouldn't have entrusted her to him in the first place.”
A low but sharp rebuke.
Above all, it was a voice that carried a presence impossible to ignore.
“He would not have even started if he couldn't save her. So trust him and wait.”
“……”
“Unless you wish to kill your daughter with your own hands.”
“……!”
All the while, Namgung Hyang's screams continued.
Anxious and restless, Namgung Baek bit his lower lip. As he slowly backed away, a deep sigh was heard from behind him.
It was Pung Jin-seong's sigh.
Namgung Baek belatedly realized that he had been emitting a killing intent.
He could tell just by looking at Pung Jin-seong's pale face.
‘But…, these men?’
He was astonished that the scholar could withstand his killing intent head-on and remain unfazed.
The giant next to him was the same.
“Haaah…”
It was then that a long sigh was heard.
“It's done. We've barely passed the critical point.”
At Dan Ak-seon's words, Namgung Baek strode forward. Cho Ak-ryang and Beom Gye-wi no longer blocked him.
“Thank goodness. Had we been even a moment later, I wouldn't have been able to do anything.”
Namgung Baek barely heard Dan Ak-seon's words as he approached his daughter.
As if she had never screamed, Namgung Hyang was in a deep sleep. Her body was covered in needles of various sizes, but her expression was peaceful, and her breathing was stable.
As his tension eased, Namgung Baek felt the strength drain from his entire body.
“Is this child… is she alright?”
Without realizing it, Namgung Baek was using honorifics toward Dan Ak-seon.
He was a man who had witnessed the boundary between life and death countless times. There was no way he wouldn't know that his daughter had just been on the verge of crossing into the afterlife.
And Dan Ak-seon had pulled her back from it.
Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he might have thought differently, but now he could not treat the boy lightly.
“No.”
As Dan Ak-seon shook his head, Namgung Baek's expression darkened rapidly.
“If we don't find the cause and treat it, she won't last more than three days.”
“Three days?”
Namgung Baek asked, breathing heavily.
“If you find the cause, can you save her?”
“Well…”
Dan Ak-seon briefly closed and opened his eyes.
“I'll have to do my best.”
Still, it was an answer that held a sliver of possibility. Most of the physicians he had entrusted his daughter to before had simply shaken their heads with weary faces.
“I will do anything I can.”
“Do you mean that?”
Namgung Baek nodded at Dan Ak-seon's question.
“Of course.”
Dan Ak-seon said with a faint smile.
“Then please leave for now.”
While Namgung Baek was flustered by the sudden dismissal, Beom Gye-wi chimed in from the side.
“Didn't you say you'd do anything?”
Just as Namgung Baek was about to flare up, Han Seol-hwa spoke with a cold expression.
“If not for Physician Dan, that child would already be dead.”
Namgung Baek paused, then slowly nodded. As he turned to leave, Dan Ak-seon mentioned a few things.
“Please do not let any other physicians into this room. It could interfere with the treatment.”
“I will see to it.”
His trust in other physicians had hit rock bottom long ago anyway.
They had been in charge of Namgung Hyang for so long, yet had shown no improvement whatsoever.
“You too, Alliance Lord, may only visit once a day. The patient's stability is the priority right now. Emotional agitation could worsen her condition.”
“Understood.”
“We will stay in the next room. Please ensure no one comes near this annex.”
Namgung Baek accepted all of Dan Ak-seon's conditions.
After he disappeared outside the annex, Pung Jin-seong asked.
“Is there a particular reason you sent him out?”
“For the three of you.”
Dan Ak-seon smiled quietly.
“She's not the only patient I have to treat, after all.”
Dan Ak-seon looked at the sleeping Namgung Hyang.
“Besides, I'll need your help to treat her.”
“Our help?”
“Yes.”
Dan Ak-seon continued, pressing his finger on Namgung Hyang's dantian.
“It seems impossible to treat her with conventional methods.”
* * *
Namgung Hyang slowly opened her eyes.
‘Am I not dead yet?’
She shuddered, recalling yesterday's horrific pain.
Though she had suffered from illness for many years, that pain was so agonizing and terrifying she didn't even want to think about it.
But right now, she felt incredibly refreshed and clear-headed.
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this way.
“If only I could live like this for just one year… no, even one month…”
“You'll have to live much longer than that.”
Namgung Hyang was startled by the sudden, clear voice.
She belatedly realized someone else was in the room.
Turning her head, she saw the face of a child looking down at her from right beside the bed. Embarrassed that her mumbling had been overheard, Namgung Hyang looked with a flushed face at the people standing behind the child.
Spotting a familiar figure, Namgung Hyang quickly greeted him.
“Hello, Physician Pung.”
“I am glad I could arrive in time.”
“Thanks to you, I've survived again.”
Pung Jin-seong said with a gentle smile.
“I am not the one who saved you, Young Lady.”
He then gestured to Dan Ak-seon, and Namgung Hyang's eyes widened.
She had thought him to be, at most, a young errand boy for the physicians.
“This child… No, this person is my…?”
Dan Ak-seon smiled and nodded.
“I'm Dan Ak-seon. Let's work hard together.”
Namgung Hyang was momentarily flustered but soon realized that the head of the Jinseong Medical House was speaking respectfully to the young Dan Ak-seon.
His attitude was clearly sincere as well.
There had to be a good reason for it. Above all, Dan Ak-seon's voice sounded familiar.
It was the voice that had soothed and comforted her during yesterday's terrible pain, encouraging her to hold on.
Lying down, Namgung Hyang bowed her head toward Dan Ak-seon.
“I'm in your care, Physician Dan.”
“I'm in your care as well.”
Namgung Hyang gave a weak smile at Dan Ak-seon's words.
Having been tormented by an illness that gnawed away at her life, all she could do was endure and persevere.
“Is there anything I can do?”
“Of course.”
Dan Ak-seon nodded.
“The patient's will to live is more important than anything.”
That was something medical skill alone could not solve. After thinking for a moment, Namgung Hyang slowly nodded.
If nothing else, she had never been the first to give up in her fight against the illness.
“The pain will return shortly.”
“It will…”
“Before that, I have a few questions.”
Namgung Hyang forced a brave nod.
“Please, ask.”
“When did the symptoms first appear?”
“Three winters ago.”
“At that time, did you happen to take any elixirs or undergo bone marrow cleansing?”
Namgung Hyang searched her memory for a moment before shaking her head.
“Have you come into contact with any unusual plants or poisonous animals?”
“Not that I can recall.”
“Hmm…”
As Dan Ak-seon's contemplation deepened, Namgung Hyang asked cautiously.
“What is it?”
Dan Ak-seon sighed.
“The symptoms themselves are clearly those of severed meridians, but I can't detect any signs that would cause them to manifest. That means it must have been triggered by an external factor, but it's not easy to pinpoint the cause. In such a peculiar case, there must be a reason…”
“A peculiar case…”
As Namgung Hyang thought about something, a strange light appeared in her eyes.
“Ah! Now that I think about it, I did come into contact with a peculiar object.”
“A peculiar object?”
“Yes. It was a gift from my father, a bed carved from a single block of Purifying Silver Jade.”
At those words, Dan Ak-seon's eyes sparkled.
Purifying Silver Jade itself is an extremely rare mineral. It is known to react to a person's body temperature, emitting a gentle warmth that purifies the blood, relaxes the mind and body, and has excellent effects on fatigue recovery and internal energy enhancement.
“May I see it?”
Namgung Hyang shook her head at Dan Ak-seon's words.
“The bed I'm using now isn't the one made of Purifying Silver Jade. I switched to an ordinary bed after using it for about a year.”
“Why did you switch?”
“I would wake up in the morning drenched in sweat. It seemed to help with my internal energy, but I didn't like the feeling…”
Dan Ak-seon shot to his feet.
“I need to examine that bed.”
“My father is probably keeping it in storage somewhere.”
Nodding, Dan Ak-seon entrusted Namgung Hyang to Pung Jin-seong's care. Then he went straight to find Namgung Baek.