Chapter 97
Chapter 97
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: People on the Precipice
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Dang Mujin tended to the patients who came seeking treatment.
"It's lupus."
"...What's that?"
"It's the name of the disease. Symptoms vary from person to person, but the nose, cheeks, and tips of the hands and feet turn red before shifting to purple. The skin gradually hardens, sometimes cracking like the dry bed of a rice paddy, and over time, it becomes stiff and hard to bend."
"Uh... My fingers still bend just fine."
"That's because the symptoms aren't severe yet. I'll prepare a decoction for you, so come back once more this evening."
Perhaps because their living environment differed so greatly from that of ordinary people in the Central Plains, the ailments afflicting the villagers of Nogun Village were quite different from those of common folk in many ways.
The patient he'd just seen was a case in point. Lupus typically struck nine out of ten women, yet the one he'd treated was a young man.
It might be different for the elderly, but this was the first time he'd seen a young man suffer from lupus. Yi Chung had even said young men didn't get it. If not for the clinical cases recorded in the Divine Physician's Compendium of All Diseases, he would have misdiagnosed it as something else nine times out of ten.
Many of the other patients' conditions were ones he'd only read about in medical texts, never encountered in person.
To make matters worse, mixed in among those with illnesses were people bitten by venomous insects or poisoned by toxic plants, which made diagnosis all the more challenging.
Treating venomous bites was tricky to diagnose but not hard to cure. As long as their lives weren't immediately at risk, simply drawing out the poison cured nine out of ten cases.
"It'll sting. Hold still."
Dang Mujin made a small cut on the young patient's back, then gently loosened the muscles throughout his body.
Next, he used his internal energy to gather the poison, condensed it, and drew it out through the cut on the back. After a short rest, the patient's condition improved noticeably within less than a quarter of an hour.
At first, few trusted Dang Mujin. He was too young to be a physician.
But Dang Mujin treated their ailments without getting elated or dejected by results, and by the third day, the patients acknowledged his skills.
"The physician from before wasn't as skilled as this one."
"How much older was he? Still... this Dang physician seems pretty capable. He might become an even better one once he's around the same age."
The villagers of Nogun were satisfied once their symptoms eased, but Dang Mujin was far from pleased with the situation.
There was no good way to treat the most critical issue among their ailments.
Blood deficiency. A condition caused by insufficient blood. Every single person in Nogun Village showed symptoms of it, without exception—even the Nogun Three Swords.
Blood deficiency made it hard for the body's excess heat to dissipate and difficult to properly digest food.
Furthermore, the hands and feet grew cold, and muscle spasms or aches plagued them day after day. The real problem was that blood deficiency didn't end there; it invited other diseases.
That said, blood deficiency was such a well-known condition that there were plenty of remedies to alleviate the symptoms. Ten-Qian Da-Bo Decoction, Augmented Gui Pi Decoction, Dong Quai and Peony Powder, and so on. They were quite effective.
But none were fundamental cures. Blood deficiency stemmed from emptiness. If people didn't eat enough, the symptoms would be suppressed once only to return before the season changed.
In short, starvation was the root problem for the people of Nogun Village.
In the end, Dang Mujin went to the Nogun Three Swords and explained the situation. But even they shook their heads.
"We know food is scarce. But we have no way to fill everyone's bellies. We can't farm Nogun Mountain."
Nogun Mountain's terrain was treacherous, rainfall scant, and weeds everywhere—no way to cultivate fields. Even slash-and-burn farming was impossible.
"Can't you hunt mountain beasts or gather tree fruits? There were fruits everywhere."
"We hunt when we get the chance, but with so many mouths to feed, that's the problem. And hardly any fruits on Nogun Mountain are edible. Even ones harmless outside absorb poison from the mountain's toxins and plants, so even a little carries venom."
Pyochung looked around, climbed the most common wild pear tree, and picked a yellow fruit. It was decently sized and plump.
"Take this fruit, for example. Outside, you can eat it without worry—even kids do. But not on Nogun Mountain. Eat one whole, and you'll have diarrhea for three days. Three, and your face swells up, consciousness fades. Plenty have died starving and eating these fruits anyway."
Dang Mujin held out his hand, and Pyochung passed him the fruit.
Dang Mujin examined it from all angles, wiped it roughly on his hand, and took a big bite. Sweet and tangy.
But Pyochung panicked and tried to snatch it back.
"Didn't I say it's poisonous? You'll suffer tonight."
Dang Mujin took another bite, unconcerned.
"It's fine."
"Stop eating. If the physician falls ill, who'll treat you?"
"Don't worry. My constitution resists poison well."
Dang Mujin sat quietly, sensing the poison slowly spreading from his stomach. It seeped gradually toward his gut. A normal person eating much would have their stomach harden painfully.
'Can't eat this.'
As he thought that and moved to discard the rest, an idea struck him.
The line between medicine and poison was dosage alone. Small amounts of poison could be medicine; excess medicine, poison.
That meant poisons could neutralize poisons, just as medicine treated illness.
'There might be a way with this.'
Dang Mujin gathered the most common fruits, roots, and leaves around, then shut himself in the hut.
Pyochung watched him with a worried expression.
*
During the day, Nogun villagers roamed everywhere foraging for food. At night, they lay still like the dead, passing time. Moving made the hunger worse.
For that reason, even living close by, they rarely gathered together.
"Come, everyone! Gather round!"
But today, the Nogun Three Swords went house to house, calling the villagers. They assembled before the trio's hut, faces full of anticipation.
The Three Swords gathered people nine times out of ten to share food.
Like when they'd raided bandits for provisions, bought rice or barley from a nearby village, or hunted a big boar or deer.
Adults came with small ladles in hand; children licked their lips in excitement.
But today, nothing special stood before the Three Swords' house. No sacks of grain, no roasting boar—just the young physician who'd arrived days ago on Nogun Mountain.
Now they understood.
They were gathering to see off the Dang physician who'd come from afar to treat their illnesses.
Feeling a twinge of regret but grateful inside, they looked at Dang Mujin.
Yet he said something unexpected.
"I asked you all to gather because I want to ease your hunger, even if just a little."
Food over a farewell? Ears perked up.
"Nogun Mountain has plenty of fruit trees and vines bearing fruit. The terrain's too harsh for lasting sustenance, but enough to stave off hunger."
Namgung Myeong brought out a table and loaded it with fruits: wild pears, hawthorn berries, hazelnuts, raspberries, late white citron, soapberry fruits, and unidentified leaves and roots.
Disappointment spread across faces. They'd hoped for something grand, but these were fruits they all knew.
An elder spoke for them.
"We know Nogun Mountain has fruits aplenty. We know they're safe outside. But here, some you mustn't touch."
"I want to teach you how to eat these fruits."
"What do you mean?"
Dang Mujin held up a bright yellow wild pear.
"The poison in this fruit is cold-natured. It creates dampness in the stomach and speeds blood flow. That's why it causes diarrhea and loose stools."
Then he held up raspberries for all to see.
"But the poison in these raspberries is the opposite. Mild and drying to the stomach. In moderation, it can even treat diarrhea. One wild pear and three raspberries balance out."
Dang Mujin handed one wild pear and three raspberries to Namgung Myeong.
Namgung Myeong devoured them in an instant. Suddenly the test subject, but trusting Dang Mujin fully, he showed no worry.
Instead, the onlookers tensed.
Everyone had suffered eating these common fruits to beat hunger. Many had groaned in agony and died.
Yet Namgung Myeong brushed off his hands casually.
The fruits didn't drop you dead instantly from poison. But his relaxed expression instilled a strange trust.
This was the idea Dang Mujin had days ago: countering poison with poison.
Just as the Flame Emperor Shennong tasted all plants long ago on Nogun Mountain to classify herbs and toxins and record their effects, Dang Mujin had tasted every plant around the village.
He concluded some fruits were edible by using opposing properties.
Not perfectly balanced, of course, but far better than starving and weakening day by day.
Dang Mujin picked up other fruits and continued.
"Eat hawthorn berries with one soapberry fruit each. Children, one per day only. Adults, no more than three. Your heart might race, dizziness set in."
"For late white citron, steep clean mistletoe in warm water and drink together. It'll taste bitter, but no harm to the body."
"For soapberry fruits, pair with tender shoots or roots of the paper mulberry. It's actually beneficial."
As he explained, Dang Mujin ate the fruits on the table. Namgung Myeong, standing by, wolfed down fruits and roots too.
But the villagers' reactions weren't great. They trusted Physician Dang's skills, but trusted their lifetime of hard-earned experience even more.
No, they trusted their experience more. Lessons learned from days of agony wandering death's door.
They watched Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong tensely.
By their experience, no problem now—but trouble by evening, corpses by tomorrow lunch. A few soft-hearted ones murmured worries about growing fond of them in the meantime...
Yet Namgung Myeong shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say trust only me.
Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong hadn't expected instant belief. That's why they demonstrated publicly. Dang Mujin wrapped up simply.
"Those who are hungry, follow what I taught you."
Dang Mujin bowed briefly to the crowd and returned to the hut. But no villager went to gather fruits.
*
The next morning, they flocked to the hut where Dang Mujin and Namgung Myeong stayed, milling about.
Most faces full of worry, but some showed desperate hope.
Late morning, the door opened, and the two emerged.
Namgung Myeong and Dang Mujin looked no different from yesterday. If anything, better, as if well-rested.
No feverish delirium, no night of toilet runs, no clutching bellies in agony.
Only then did the villagers realize.
No more starving to death from here on out.