Chapter 188
Chapter 188
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 188
Chapter Title: The Sima Clan
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Exactly five days later, Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong headed to the Sima Clan to meet Crimson Blaze General Sima Jeong.
On the way to the Sima Clan, Dang Mujin asked Hyun-gong,
"By the way, do you have any idea why they want me?"
"The old man from the Odd Physicians and you—it's obvious. They must have a patient."
"You haven't heard what kind of patient or what symptoms?"
"That's right."
Hyun-gong replied in his usual affable tone. He had earned a hefty fee for connecting Dang Mujin with the Sima Clan, so this was only natural.
Of course, more than half of that fee had flowed straight to Dang Mujin. For him, it was a win-win: pocket some money and treat a patient.
Hearing it was a patient from the Sima Clan brought Sima Hong to mind.
One of the two peak experts he had subdued at the Myeonggeum Market a few days ago, using Hong Geolgae as bait.
But in Dang Mujin's view, the odds of Sima Hong having some physical issue that required his help were extremely low. The method they used to knock him out hadn't been risky enough to cause problems.
So, was the Sima Clan onto the identities of the intruders who had snuck into the Myeonggeum Market and trying to draw Dang Mujin's group in?
'No, that doesn't make sense either. Sima Hong was subdued in an instant—he didn't even have time to glimpse our martial arts.'
Yet despite all the circumstances, Dang Mujin couldn't shake a strange hunch. Was the Sima Clan really summoning him just because they needed a physician?
Hyun-gong seemed to read the unease on Dang Mujin's face.
"What's wrong?"
It wasn't worth explaining in detail, so Dang Mujin brushed it off.
"I think I heard something about the Sima Clan before, but I can't remember where."
"The Sima Clan is famous, after all. There are countless clans and sects in the Central Plains, but none possess Hot Yang Arts on their level."
"That's not what I heard it about."
"I can't think of anything else."
The conversation ended there, but the mood didn't sour.
The two strolled through Luoyang's streets, taking in the sights, and soon arrived at the Sima Clan grounds.
The Sima Clan's estate wasn't as vast as the Nangong Clan's.
But it had an imposing presence worthy of a great clan, and plenty of people passed by in the vicinity.
'It must not have been easy securing land like this in Luoyang. They might even be wealthier than the Nangong Clan.'
What stood out most at the Sima Clan wasn't the buildings, but the people. Many had a faint reddish tint in their hair and eyebrows.
Not a bright, flowery red, but somewhere between rust and dark brown, varying by individual. It seemed the higher their martial attainment, the stronger the red hue.
'People from the Sima Clan must stand out wherever they go.'
Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong entered the Sima Clan without being stopped.
As they pondered where to go to meet Crimson Blaze General Sima Jeong, a middle-aged man appeared in the distance and approached them.
Dang Mujin recognized him as Sima Jeong. His hair and beard had a far stronger red sheen than the others, and his aura was more than sufficient for the head of a great clan.
Dang Mujin offered a light clasped-hands salute upon recognizing him, and Sima Jeong's face brightened.
"You're the Dragon Physician? You arrived much sooner than expected."
Hyun-gong rubbed his hands together out of habit as he replied.
"Heh heh. We got lucky. He happened to be nearby."
"Heaven must be helping us. This way."
Sima Jeong didn't pry or question them further and led the way ahead.
Dang Mujin wondered if he might be leading them somewhere suspicious.
But the place Sima Jeong brought them to was a spacious, sunlit building. It wasn't a spot for imprisonment or an ambush.
"Let's go in."
Sima Jeong slid open the door, revealing a middle-aged man slightly younger than him, lying sprawled out.
The issue was that the man's face looked faintly familiar. It was Sima Hong, the Sima Clan warrior they had knocked out at the Myeonggeum Market.
Sima Jeong pointed at Sima Hong and spoke.
"Could you take a look at his condition?"
Both Dang Mujin and Hyun-gong tensed up a bit.
If something had gone wrong with Sima Hong's body, it would be a major headache—even if they weren't caught.
They loved money, but not at the cost of harming an innocent person's health.
'What the hell happened?'
Dang Mujin sat beside Sima Hong and examined him.
Sima Hong's eyes were closed, his temperature slightly elevated, and his breathing steady. He didn't respond when Dang Mujin spoke to him, suggesting unconsciousness.
Dang Mujin asked Sima Jeong, who sat nearby.
"How long has he been in this state?"
"About half a month, I think. Other physicians just called it an unidentified fever and couldn't provide a satisfying treatment."
Half a month. That was odd. It had been about ten days since Dang Mujin's group subdued Sima Hong at the Myeonggeum Market.
'So he had a mild fever from half a month ago until ten days ago, and only lost consciousness after that?'
But he couldn't voice such thoughts. Dang Mujin feigned ignorance and continued the inquiry.
"For someone who's been unconscious and ill for half a month, his complexion doesn't look bad."
"Fortunately, he can take down some rice gruel. Lucky, I suppose."
Dang Mujin observed the patient as he pondered.
'He can swallow rice gruel.'
'His temperature is up, but he's sweating lightly, so not Yang Brightness Disorder.'
'His mouth isn't dry, his feet aren't hot, and he doesn't kick off the covers. Not Eight Contraries Reverting either.'
'His pulse isn't weak, and his breathing is near normal. What is this?'
The only noticeable thing was a slightly quickened pulse. Without consciousness, it wasn't a normal state.
"I'll examine him closely for a moment."
Dang Mujin inspected Sima Hong's body from various angles. No external injuries, as expected. The Myeonggeum Market incident seemed unlikely to be the cause.
"Does he have symptoms like fever only during the day and chills at night?"
"No, nothing like that."
No alternating chills and fever, so not Lesser Yang Disorder either. Even with Dang Mujin's medical knowledge, pinpointing the illness was tough.
An ordinary physician would prescribe something based on visible symptoms in such a case.
Physicians often treated based on outward signs rather than perfectly diagnosing the condition.
Another doctor would have tailored medicine to the quick pulse, mild fever, and coma, then monitored progress. Since he was managing rice gruel, no urgency.
But Dang Mujin couldn't settle for that. He had already taken a lot of money, and a physician's pride kicked in.
He asked Sima Jeong.
"Crimson Blaze General, sir."
"Yes?"
"May I examine the patient's internal energy and meridians?"
A regular person wouldn't refuse, but Sima Hong was a martial artist, changing things.
Someone with Dang Mujin's cultivation examining another martial artist's internals could reveal clues about their internal arts or techniques. His medical expertise made it even riskier.
Warriors from great sects or clans hated leaking martial secrets more than death.
They'd accept a member's death to prevent it. Dang Mujin expected refusal.
Unexpectedly, Sima Jeong agreed readily.
"If it helps, go ahead."
"Understood."
Dang Mujin glanced at Sima Jeong's face, wondering his angle. No way to tell his thoughts.
'No need to overthink. Focus on treatment.'
Dang Mujin purged poison from his internal energy flowing through his fingertips. He then sent a thin thread of it into Sima Hong's body.
Visualizing the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and Conception and Governing Vessels in his mind, he slowly circulated it.
'...Something's off.'
Normally, unconsciousness would show stasis or murky qi in head points like Tongziliao, Hamyeon, or Duqiyin. But Sima Hong's head was clear.
'A rare condition?'
Dang Mujin probed elsewhere: points like Yukjung, Boryang, Hwaryo—any linked to coma. Nothing.
Just the pristine meridians of a seasoned martial artist welcoming his qi.
Dang Mujin shifted focus, checking beyond the points.
Soon, he found a faint poison near the spleen.
'The poison's nature... Aconite and Pinellia.'
Both plant-based toxins. Explained the fever and quick breathing.
But two oddities.
First, they don't cause loss of consciousness.
Second, they're not lethal.
Even this amount would give a normal person a mild fever for a day or two before recovery.
A warrior like Sima Hong should expel it effortlessly.
The concentration suggested poisoning within the last day, likely half a day ago—not half a month.
Dang Mujin's brow twitched. Putting it all together, he realized the truth.
'...He's faking it?'
Overlooking that a peak expert in his fifties would feign illness was his mistake—not a child's prank.
Sima Jeong asked.
"Do you know what's wrong?"
The word "malingering" reached Dang Mujin's tongue, but he swallowed it desperately. Admitting it here would socially execute Sima Hong.
A physician must consider the patient's position. Dang Mujin murmured lowly.
"He seems poisoned by two plant toxins. If he can circulate his qi to expel it, he'll recover quickly, but with no consciousness..."
Sima Hong still lay still, feigning unconsciousness.
But Dang Mujin caught his eyeball shifting under the eyelid. It was malingering, as suspected.
'Unbelievable.'
Sima Jeong asked again.
"Then, is there a way to draw out the poison?"
"Yes. Please wait a moment."
Dang Mujin drew a needle from his pouch, thinking,
'You chose to fake it, so endure the sting.'
Unlike his usual precision, he roughly jabbed it below Sima Hong's chest.
He didn't stop—twisted it slightly to widen the hole, then withdrew. A red blood droplet welled up.
Dang Mujin pressed his finger around it.
The spleen's poison qi obediently moved. The droplet darkened, emitting a faint grassy scent unique to plant toxins.
Sima Jeong murmured.
"You've drawn out the poison."
"Yes."
Dang Mujin wiped the droplet with his finger. Only the poison entered his body, absorbed cleanly.
To Hyun-gong and Sima Jeong, it looked like the black droplet magically turned red again.
"Amazing every time."
Sima Jeong's words sounded oddly familiar.
'Every time?'
But treatment was nearly done, so Dang Mujin ignored it and said to Sima Hong.
"Get up."
Sima Hong didn't rise easily, squirming. Dang Mujin barely suppressed a deep sigh.
"Don't worry. He'll wake within a quarter hour at most."
Dang Mujin set the timeline. Sima Hong seemed ready to drop the act.
Moments later, Sima Hong groaned softly and stirred.
Sima Jeong asked Dang Mujin.
"So, what was the illness?"
"As I said earlier, poisoning from two plant toxins..."
As Dang Mujin fumbled through, Sima Jeong grinned.
"Is that really it?"
Dang Mujin hesitated, and Sima Hong—now sitting up—smiled.
"You're quite the physician. Spotted the malingering instantly, extracted the poison, and even named the type correctly?"
"Indeed."
Dang Mujin flinched. Sima Hong admitting it was strange enough, but Sima Jeong casually agreeing was weirder.
Sima Jeong toyed with his intensely red beard.
"You really are the Dragon Physician. Handling poison so freely—rumors of you being the Odd Physician's disciple check out."
"Seems so."
Sensing the off atmosphere, Dang Mujin sprang up, hand on his sword hilt.
Sima Jeong burst into laughter at the sight.
"Don't be so startled. I called you because I have questions."
Sima Jeong stood and stepped closer, near enough to feel each other's breath.
"Listen, Dragon Physician. Did you kill Baek Chusu and topple the Je Yuan Baek Clan? Or was it Yi Chung?"
Dang Mujin belatedly recalled where he'd heard of the Sima Clan.
The family where Baek Chusu had mentioned marriage talks with Baek Hyang-a.
The one the Odd Physician had checked personally—no marriage talks.
That was the Sima Clan.