Chapter 23
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: An Examination Tailored for Us
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It got so bad that even Jang Sam, who had been excited at first, eventually started pitying the new medical students.
There's a saying in the Central Plains.
The scariest madman in the world is a madman with conviction.
Not that the Eldest Brother is a madman Ugh.
How could he dare think such a thing?
The Eldest Brother was the benefactor who had saved them all from the shackles of debt.
Could it be that he saved us from our debts just to keep us from running away, so he could work us even harder?
It was the correct answer, but everyone denied reality.
Wi Ji-cheon was simply and purely looking out for them.
It's just that he was too much of a genius, and his concern for them ran so deep that he became such a monster.
In any case, that was why they weren't afraid of something like the Medical Examination Ceremony.
The enraged Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon?
Who cares?!
They had already experienced the devil's grasp.
Whats with them.
Theyre creepy.
The students from the other medical houses avoided those from the Medical Immortal Medical House with uneasy expressions, and soon, the examination began.
The written examination will now begin. You have four hours.
The Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon, announced in a frosty tone, and the students who received the test papers looked stunned.
What kind of questions are these?
-Explain the principle by which the acupoints of the twelve major organs are not included among the three hundred and fifty-four vital points.
-Explain why the kidneys are the source of life force, from the perspectives of Kidney Yin and Kidney Yang.
And so on.
This is the kind of stuff that only renowned medical scholars would research!
The principle of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements is the foundation of all medical knowledge.
Just as with all things in the universe, the human body is also meant to have a balance of Yang and Yin, and exists within the cycle of the Five Elements.
However, almost none of the students present had studied such principles in depth.
Why?
Because it's too difficult.
It was also a topic far removed from the recent academic trends in medicine.
Like any field, medicine sees its academic styles and trends change over time.
The current trend is 'Symptom-Based Theory'.
It emphasizes treatment tailored to the symptoms.
For instance, 'Major Bupleurum Decoction for phlegm, Peach Pit Decoction to Order the Qi for high fever and anxiety'that's the kind of symptom-based treatment.
The advantage is that it's objective and efficient.
The traditional 'Pattern-Based Theory,' which identifies the root of the illness and treats it accordingly, was highly subjective, as the treatment for the same disease and symptoms could change completely depending on the physician's perspective.
In other words, the outcome of the treatment varied wildly depending on the skill of the physician.
Above all, Pattern-Based Theory was difficult.
In this modern era, where 'instructors' teach 'students' in lecture halls, rather than the old apprenticeship model of a 'master' patiently imparting knowledge to a 'disciple,' it wasn't easy to teach Pattern-Based Theory in depth.
For that reason, most of the medical students could only stare blankly at their test papers.
However, there were some who showed a completely different reaction.
Shhhk!
They were writing down their answers without a moment's hesitation.
They were the students of the Medical Immortal Medical House!
This is easier than I thought!
This kind of stuff is basic at the Medical Immortal Medical House!
This question... this is what the Eldest Brother recited to me as a lullaby when I fainted! I resented him for not even letting me pass out in peace! I'm sorry for resenting you without understanding your profound intentions, Eldest Brother!
Pattern-Based Theory was a relic of the past.
In other words, it was the academic style that was popular when the Medical Immortal Medical House was the World's Greatest Medical House.
You could say the Medical Immortal Medical House was the very reason Pattern-Based Theory had spread as the dominant medical philosophy in the Central Plains, and they still valued it to this day.
In other words, these types of questions are specifically tailored to the teachings of the Medical Immortal Medical House.
Wi Ji-cheon whistled inwardly.
Of course, even the students of the Medical Immortal Medical House hadn't learned Pattern-Based Theory in great depth.
Barely scratching the surface, you could say?
Still, it was enough for them to answer the exam questions.
After all, these questions aren't asking about the most profound aspects of Pattern-Based Theory.
No matter how angry the Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon, was, she couldn't create questions of an absurd difficulty.
From her perspective, she had simply asked about topics she believed any physician should fundamentally know.
Snap!
The written examination ended, and the other tests followed.
Herbology, the art of making medicine.
A scene similar to before unfolded.
-Prepare Polyporus Powder.
It is a basic, common medicine used when there are problems with kidney function.
There probably wasn't anyone here who didn't know the recipe.
The problem was,
There's no Polyporus among the ingredients. How are we supposed to make the medicine without the essential ingredient?!
There were plenty of other ingredients.
In other words, they were being told to prepare Polyporus Powder without Polyporus, using other ingredients!
"M-Mistress Ice Crane. Th-this question is too"
Dan So-cheon, the head of the Hwajung Medical House, protested haltingly.
"Is there a problem?"
"H-how are the students supposed to solve a problem like that! They're not master herbalists!"
"Has the Hwajung Medical House never run out of medicinal herbs in its storehouse?"
"Pardon?"
"When treating a flood of patients, it's commonplace to run out of prepared herbs. How do you respond in such situations? Polyporus is an herb that is particularly easy to run out of."
Dan So-cheon was struck speechless.
That never happened at the Hwajung Medical House.
They had always been wealthy, so they kept a generous surplus of herbs to prevent shortages, and besides, they never had that many patients flocking to them in the first place.
They only accepted wealthy and influential people as patients.
It was the Medical Immortal Medical House, where the poor gathered, that always faced shortages of medicinal herbs.
The physicians of the Medical Immortal Medical House, who were constantly running out of herbs, considered knowing how to prepare substitutes an essential skill, and they had taught the new disciples the basic substitution methods.
This is the kind of thing the Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon, values, anyway. Wandering doctors often lack ingredients, too.
As was clear by now, the Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon, and the Medical Immortal Medical House had much in common.
This was why Wi Ji-cheon had deliberately stolen the questions to anger Sa Ma Su-ryeon.
The angrier she got and the more she raised the difficulty of the questions, the more it would favor the Medical Immortal Medical House.
If they had been ordinary questions, our Medical Immortal Medical House wouldn't have had a distinct advantage. Any medical student from any house could solve simple problems.
The disciples of the Medical Immortal Medical House deftly prepared the decoction.
The disciples of the Cheolma Medical House also haltingly prepared the medicine. They, too, were not blessed with an abundance of herbs.
The students of the Hwajung Medical House were left standing there like useless sacks of barley.
Damn it. What are we supposed to do if they ask questions like this? Doesn't this just favor those beggars from the Medical Immortal Medical House?
A student from the Hwajung Medical House.
Among them, Dan Ak, the son of the house head, ground his teeth.
He had naturally assumed the top spot in this Medical Examination Ceremony would be his, but at this rate, he was on the verge of failing.
Even that ugly brat from the Medical Immortal Medical House is solving the problem!
Could it be that bastard Wi Ji-cheon who leaked the questions? Otherwise, there's no way that ugly brat could solve a problem like that.
A suspicion born of resentment.
Of course, it was unexpectedly the truth, but there was no way to prove it here.
Dan Ak ground his teeth.
Those bastards from the Medical Immortal Medical House, I won't let them be. In the end, it is our Hwajung Medical House that will become an Earth-rank medical house. I'll crush the pride of the Medical Immortal Medical House!
Meanwhile, Wi Ji-cheon noticed Dan Ak's glare and hostility and smirked inwardly.
How cute.
The 'cute' animosity of a little brat like him wasn't something worth paying attention to, but.
The test was getting a little boring. A bit of entertainment wouldn't hurt.
Besides, he knew that brat was one of the ones who used to torment Dan Yeo. So, there was no need to feel any guilt.
Wi Ji-cheon silently flicked his finger.
It was an incomparably subtle move.
So subtle that even the Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon, who was watching the examination hall with wide eyes, didn't notice.
If a master of a higher realm had seen Wi Ji-cheon's move just now, they would not have been able to hold back their admiration.
And what did Wi Ji-cheon do with that incredible technique?
!!
Dan Ak's body froze.
In the exact same posture he'd been using to glare at Wi Ji-cheon.
He had been sneaking furtive glances, but his body froze in a position that made it look like he was staring intently at Wi Ji-cheon.
Wh-what, why?!
The paralysis didn't last long.
Not even half a momentperhaps the time it takes to draw ten breaths?
It was more than enough time to catch the eye of the Ice Crane, Sa Ma Su-ryeon.
"You there?! What are you doing?! Do you dare attempt to cheat during the examination?"
Dan Ak felt like he was going to go mad.
"N-no, that's not it! M-my body was suddenly paralyzed!!"
"Your body was paralyzed?"
Sa Ma Su-ryeon's eyes grew cold.
"Are you saying you suddenly had a stroke?! Not only does a young brat like you cheat, but you lie about it too?! Can you even call yourself a medical student? You are banned from taking the Medical Examination Ceremony for the next five years!!"
"This is unfair!!!"
Dan Ak shouted, genuinely feeling wronged, but it was no use.
Instead, he only received gazes that seemed to ask, 'Isn't he the one who leaked the test questions?'
"That boy was cheating."
Dan Yeo watched Dan Ak being dragged away with a complicated expression.
"Looks like he got his divine punishment."
"Pardon?"
"When you've sinned as much as he has, you end up like that. Don't you think?"
Hearing the words of the young Eldest Brother who cared for her, Dan Yeo felt a sense of gratitude.
Of course, she wasn't one to express such gratitude openly, but a thought suddenly occurred to her.
It felt like her life had changed a lot since coming to the Medical Immortal Medical House.
She wasn't unhappy like before.
At the Hwajung Medical House, it had felt like she was trapped in dark clouds with no view of what lay ahead, but at the Medical Immortal Medical House, it somehow felt like a bright future was approaching.
She looked forward to a future with the Medical Immortal Medical House.
And it wasn't just Dan Yeo who felt that way.
All the new disciples felt the same.
Clack!
The new disciples of the Medical Immortal Medical House all answered the questions with confidence, and the first half of the examination, which tested theoretical knowledge, came to an end.
"."
The students from the other medical houses were silent.
The results weren't out yet, but one could tell just from the atmosphere which medical house was the star of this examination.
But there was something they didn't know.
The disciples of the Medical Immortal Medical House had yet to show their full abilities.
"We will move to a new location. We will proceed immediately to the next test. This test will be on medical arts."
A test of medical arts.
At those words, the eyes of the Medical Immortal Medical House disciples began to gleam with a sunken, intense light.