Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 10
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
“I… I never knew such a technique existed….”
“How can a person survive after having their intestines washed like that?”
“That must be the very medical skill that saved the Yunlong Courier Bureau’s chief.”
I boiled water and let it cool. Then I carefully cleaned the soiled intestines and sutured a portion of them before placing them back into the abdomen.
Before reinserting the intestines, it was naturally essential to meticulously wipe the interior of the body with clean cloth soaked in a combination of strong liquor and medicinal herbs.
After that, I stitched the wound closed.
The young boy’s hands accomplished the task with incredible speed and precision.
And it was only natural that the other physicians watching had their eyes widened in astonishment.
Though this was a world where martial arts existed, the foundation of medicine was based on acupuncture, moxibustion, and herbal remedies.
In terms of medical practice, internal medicine—such as treating poison or disease—was strong, but trauma treatment involving severed intestines or major bodily damage was considered weak.
It was only natural in a world that didn’t even understand the concept of bacteria. That’s why they were marveling so much.
However, Jin Cheon-hee, who was receiving such admiration and praise, was cursing inwardly.
‘Damn it, I’m not sure if this patient will survive. Secondary infection is definitely going to occur. There’s no suction device, no disinfectant….’
Jin Cheon-hee’s expression grew troubled.
Without a suction device, I had to wipe away the blood and filth inside the abdomen using cloth soaked in strong liquor and medicinal compounds. And naturally, there would still be foreign matter remaining inside.
Yet I could do nothing more.
‘If only qi, that universal energy, would work favorably….’
In this world, what they called qi possessed effects that were nearly omnipotent. With sufficient qi, one could consume poison and still live.
Some special martial techniques could even regenerate the body like a lizard’s tail.
If only qi could kill the secondary infection bacteria in the intestines.
With such thoughts, I moved forward to the next patient.
There were still more patients to treat.
From the battle that occurred during the night, there were thirty-five lightly wounded and twelve severely wounded.
Among the severely wounded, there were six patients that Baekrin Uiseon Jegalling had deemed unsalvageable.
Those six were precisely those with severed intestines or severely damaged bodies.
‘Still, acupuncture pressure points are truly miraculous. The vital signs are quite stable, anesthesia is possible, and normally this would be a death from excessive bleeding.’
While entertaining such thoughts, my steps moved swiftly toward the next patient.
It was someone whose lung had been pierced.
Upon reaching the patient, I picked up a short blade.
Slightly larger than a scalpel, but still a very small blade compared to other swords of this era.
It was called a flying knife—a weapon of this world.
“Stop gawking and hold this! Quickly!”
“Ah, understood!”
The physicians weren’t here merely to watch. I had called them to assist in my surgery.
Under the Pyoguk chief’s permission, the physicians moved according to my instructions.
First, I grasped the blade that had pierced the lung and shouted.
“Pressure point strike! Quickly!”
Normally, forceps would be used to clamp the blood vessels, but the Gangho possessed an excellent alternative—acupuncture pressure points. Simply stopping the bleeding dramatically increased the success rate of surgery.
Then, a large, pale, and beautiful hand suddenly appeared.
Pap, pap-pap-pap!
My hand moved swiftly to press near the right lung that had been pierced through.
‘Ugh…’
Baekrin Uiseon Jegallim.
He had come to stand beside me.
“Will this suffice?”
I started to answer but clamped my mouth shut instead. After a moment, I nodded and applied pressure with my hand.
“I’m extracting it. Please keep the other patients stable.”
Shhhhwoop!
The blade was drawn out. Blood spilled forth.
My brow furrowed. Seeing this, Jegallim asked.
“The blood is the problem, isn’t it?”
I nodded.
I simply nodded without answering and reached for cloth to apply pressure.
“Wait a moment. Yoo Ho.”
“Yes, master.”
‘Yoo Ho? Why is he here?’
I lifted my head with slight confusion at the voice I heard. Then something remarkable happened.
Shhhhwoooop!
The blood filling the lung was drawn up into the air. It moved directly toward Yoo Ho’s hand.
‘What! Void Grasping!’
Void Grasping.
A martial technique using true qi to levitate objects or pull them through the air—they say it produces an effect similar to telekinesis. For me to witness it directly was utterly astonishing.
‘So it actually works like that?’
“Is it sufficient?”
Through my amazement, Jegallim’s voice reached me.
I collected myself and nodded.
“Yes. That’s good.”
I immediately opened the lung and examined the wound.
‘This will require resection.’
My experience assisting in emergency cross-specialty surgeries proved invaluable even in these dire circumstances.
The alveoli are different from other internal organs. Damage of this extent would be beyond saving by modern medicine.
I clicked my tongue and attempted resection followed by suturing.
Of course, without proper instruments, it wasn’t the treatment I preferred, but I couldn’t simply leave it untouched.
Left as it was, death would certainly come within an hour.
Jegallim watched my work from beside me with gleaming eyes. But I remained unaware of his gaze.
How long I continued the surgery, I couldn’t say.
Eventually I finished the second patient and was able to continue with the remaining cases.
At some point, Woon Ji-sang, the director of the Yunlong Courier Bureau, came to observe, and a veiled woman arrived to watch as well.
With everyone watching, I pressed on with the surgeries.
However.
In the end, two of the seven patients died before I could even operate on them. And of the five critical patients I did operate on, two more died before a day had passed.
* * *
After dealing with the attackers, the Yunlong Courier Bureau quickly began restoring itself to order.
We held funerals for the dead and gathered the bodies of the enemies to burn them.
We repaired the damaged areas and continued treating the patients.
I was part of that process.
After all, I was the only one in this world who possessed medical knowledge related to surgery.
Through that process, I came to viscerally understand the mysterious power of Gangho that I’d only read about in novels.
The patients I’d operated on—except for those who died the next day—began recovering at a remarkable pace.
The speed at which the surgical wounds healed far exceeded what was normal.
The first word that came to my mind upon witnessing this was:
They lived.
With only the resources of this era, they were able to survive.
Their rapid recovery was thanks to their inner energy—a force utterly incomprehensible to modern medicine, yet I could only be grateful for it.
After confirming their survival, I collapsed into sleep.
Though this young boy’s body was healthier than my previous one, it still lacked stamina.
And it was a certain voice that woke me.
“Stubborn as they come. Won’t speak no matter what we try, and keeps attempting suicide whenever there’s an opening. Even our warriors have thrown up their hands.”
“Even though all the meridians in their body were severed?”
“Haomu is sending a master this time. Maybe they’ll talk then.”
“Most people suspect they were targeting Gongseon Hyeon.”
“There was nothing particularly valuable among the goods, so that’s likely the case.”
I had stumbled into one of the guest rooms of the Pyoguk and collapsed into sleep.
I was so exhausted that I’d simply entered any room near the building where the patients were.
I couldn’t even remember exactly where this room was—somewhere near where the servants worked, it seemed.
‘How long have I been asleep…’
I tried to move my body, but for some reason it felt incredibly heavy.
My limbs tingled as if fatigue had accumulated excessively.
I knew that lying still for a bit would help, so I remained motionless. Once my blood circulation improved, I’d be fine.
“Gongseon Hyeon from the main family came to pay respects.”
“An eyesore of a younger sibling, yet they must be alive. Still, to avoid suspicion, we have to meet with them.”
‘Interesting conversation they’re having.’
I smiled wryly as I listened to their words.
They don’t know.
That Gongseon Hyeon actually loves her younger sibling more than anyone.
She came with her face hidden behind a veil to escape her parents’ eyes, but rumors still spread throughout the Pyoguk.
Yet prejudice is truly terrifying.
People believe even that to be an act of deception on Gongseon Hyeon’s part.
“There’s no poison in the herbal medicine, is there?”
“Oh my, sister. If a poisoning incident happened here, everything would fall apart. Surely the infamous Poison Dragon of the realm wouldn’t be unaware of that?”
As I listened to the male and female servants converse, my thoughts turned inward.
Poison Dragon.
That was the name people gave her because her schemes transcended the realm of human cunning.
In martial families, a main branch heir who couldn’t practice martial arts was subject to severe criticism.
A sharp mind was a great talent, but it was all too easy to dismiss such a person as petty and small-minded. Yet the fact that the title “Dragon” was attached to her name spoke volumes about the fear she inspired.
“By the way, is ‘that’ child alright?”
When the conversation turned to me, I listened more intently.
“There are some bruises on his neck, but he’s fine, they say. Apparently the child he sleeps with had a nightmare.”
Everything else could be glossed over as an excuse, but the handprints on Yeo Ha-ryun’s neck were difficult to explain away. So I told the truth, but omitted the crucial details.
It was true that he had a nightmare and strangled my neck.
In fact, the sensation lingering on my neck during the surgery had been quite bothersome. It was still somewhat swollen.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk… What suffering must he have endured for that to happen.”
“Still, I feel quite upset about it. To do such a thing to such a kind child. After all he’s done for our Pyoguk.”
“You don’t think Jin Cheon-hee is just covering for that child, do you? He’s always been so deep-hearted and gentle…”
“That’s not all. I hear Baekrin Uiseon himself has already acknowledged that medical skill.”
“Yes, if that child hadn’t treated us, many would have died. So many warriors whose lives were saved…”
“Our brother too—we thought he’d lose his arm, but thanks to that child, he survived.”
‘Hmm, the recruitment is proceeding nicely.’
I had saved the Pyoguk chief’s sworn brother and one pillar of the Gongseon Family. On top of that, discovering the mountain poison was also my achievement.
Moreover, everything I did was clever and endearing, so all the Pyoguk members began to rally around me.
In just a few days, I was gaining considerable popularity within the branch headquarters of the Yunlong Courier Bureau.
“That’s right. Even the Gukju obtained ointment to apply to Jin Cheon-hee’s neck.”
“Though Baekrin Uiseon applied it first.”
“…Yes, that’s true.”
“He’s a blessing.”
“A blessing indeed.”
“He said he has nowhere to go. It would be wonderful if he continued to stay with our Pyoguk.”
The servants concluded their conversation and fell silent. A voice calling from outside had reached their ears.
Only after they left could I move my body.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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