Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 125

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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 125
Cholera induces acute dehydration.
After an incubation period, severe diarrhea and vomiting begin, and in severe cases, patients can die within mere hours.
Since Bota Temple housed martial artists, they could endure better than ordinary people, but how long they could survive remained uncertain.
No matter how formidable a martial artist was, as long as the body comprised fifty to seventy percent water.
Without water, survival was impossible.
‘In modern times, I’d immediately begin intravenous fluid therapy.’
I had to prevent death from dehydration.
For critically ill patients, antibiotics must be administered to alleviate symptoms.
I calculated the quantity of penicillin available in the medicine cabinet.
‘Cholera has resistance to penicillin. It won’t be as effective as other antibiotics.’
Penicillin was effective at preventing various emergency surgical infections from battles with martial artists, but it was difficult to use against cholera.
Typically, antibiotics like tetracycline, which directly interfere with bacterial protein synthesis to prevent growth and reproduction, were more effective.
‘Perhaps penicillin might work against cholera in this place, but….’
However, even if antibiotics were effective, I had far too little to administer to everyone, and cholera prioritized fluid replacement above all.
Using the Heavenly Origin Elixir Divine Skill, I rapidly analyzed what I needed to do going forward.
Soon, I rose to my feet.
“First, we must seal the well.”
Cholera is a waterborne disease—an illness transmitted through contaminated water.
I had to prevent additional infections.
I added one more point.
“The well is likely contaminated. The monks in their incubation period will probably feel fine now, but symptoms will appear in a few days.”
At those words, one of the Bota Temple monks spoke.
“We’ve been cooking rice and doing laundry with that water….”
“You must stop immediately. Additionally, anyone who consumed that water directly or indirectly must be isolated.”
At those words, all the monks looked at one another.
I spoke.
“Surely….”
The Abbot spoke.
“That well water is Bota Temple’s drinking source. There’s probably not a single person who hasn’t consumed it.”
‘This is bad….’
A catastrophe was about to unfold.
* * *
I sent Hwang-gu to find the nearest uncontaminated water source in this region.
From the map, there should exist a water source not connected to the well.
Hwang-gu, who had detected the contaminated water through scent alone, was the right choice.
Woof! – I obey my master! The other dogs agreed to help as well.
Humans possess between five to ten million olfactory receptors, while dogs have approximately one hundred to two hundred million.
Dogs’ sense of smell is said to be over ten thousand times more developed than humans’.
They can not only track people from great distances but in some cases can even distinguish cancer patients.
As a spiritual creature, Hwang-gu could track scents far beyond what I could ever perceive.
Because of this, Hwang-gu had never lost his way, nor had he ever failed to find someone.
Moreover, with the village dogs offering their assistance as well, finding the water source would not prove difficult.
‘Good. Now it’s my turn.’
First, I sought out caregivers from the village who could assist me.
Given the gravity of the situation, I offered generous compensation.
Before long, the village selected those with the strongest constitutions and sent them up to Bota Temple.
Perhaps out of consideration for Geumnam District being a female-only region, they were all women.
They rolled up their sleeves and spoke thus.
“Please, we need no compensation. Bota Temple has shown us kindness over the years, and we’re grateful for the chance to repay it in this way.”
It was a testament to how Bota Temple had lived as a respected orthodox sect all this time.
The Abbot clasped his hands together and replied, “Amitabha Buddha….”
His voice trembled softly as he chanted the Buddha’s name.
The women spoke.
“Please tell us what needs to be done. We’ll do whatever we can.”
“What’s needed immediately is disinfection and hydration—these two things. Since Hwang-gu is searching for drinkable water nearby, disinfection should take priority.”
Disinfection.
It was a foreign concept to the people here.
I spoke first.
“Did you bring the alcohol as I mentioned beforehand? The strongest kind?”
At my words, the women laughed cheerfully.
“We never thought we’d be bringing alcohol into a temple.”
“It’s the kind sailors drink, so it’s quite potent—will that be alright?”
I replied.
“I won’t be drinking it. I’ll be using it for disinfection.”
Just then, the cry of a beast echoed from not far away.
Arooooo—!
I immediately recognized it as Hwang-gu’s howl.
“It seems there’s drinkable water nearby. That’s fortunate.”
“What will you do with the water?”
“I’ll boil it. Then add salt for seasoning. A bit of sugar as well. Though depending on the circumstances, I may need to employ other methods.”
For sugar, we had medicinal honey available.
What I was attempting was ‘oral rehydration therapy.’
It’s a method used to treat cholera in developing nations.
* * *
The large cauldron boiled vigorously.
People carried water from the source, boiled it, and disinfected it.
Given the urgent situation, we had to use everything at our disposal.
However, since cholera could spread, I instructed everyone to cover their mouths and noses with cloth as I was doing, and to wash their hands thoroughly both before and after handling the water.
I also strictly forbade them from bringing their hands to their mouths, and fortunately, the cloth covering their noses and mouths prevented the habitual gesture of touching their faces.
I washed and disinfected all the dishes, bedding, and supplies.
Within that space, I fixed my gaze upon the large cauldron.
‘The key to oral rehydration solution is getting the proportions right.’
Fortunately, being in the Island Region meant there was no shortage of salt.
Honey contains glucose and can substitute for sugar.
The problem was that while salt was abundant in the Island Region, sugar was precious.
I made do by mixing whatever I could find—malt syrup, honey, sugar—in various combinations.
‘If glucose is insufficient, I can use rice instead.’
When there are no teeth, use the gums—nine steps of improvisation!
These days, oral rehydration solutions using rice are also employed to mitigate intestinal osmotic pressure and increase caloric content.
Since rice flour is more cost-effective than sugar, it’s Plan B created for those who cannot even afford that expense.
‘In this case, I’ll lower the sodium concentration.’
Both Plan A and Plan B were prepared.
What came next required mental fortitude.
‘This will be a prolonged battle.’
Cholera is merely assisted by antibiotics; ultimately, it’s a war against time and endurance.
The key was recovering the patients as quickly as possible.
That would be the decisive factor in this struggle.
* * *
Hwang-gu discovered several more contaminated water sources.
Woof, slurp slurp. — Dried fish tastes delicious. Loyal, loyal!
I immediately had those sources sealed off.
Yet despite these efforts, cases of the plague still emerged in the village.
I began treatment for those people at once.
The fact that several of them were children posed a grave problem.
While there were young children at Bota Temple, the village had them too.
Cholera is several times more lethal to children than to adults.
This is because their metabolism differs from adults’, and their physical strength is weaker, leaving them less capable of fighting the disease.
In such cases, I directly infused my Five Elements True Qi to buy time.
Diarrhea is cholera’s signature symptom causing dehydration, but it is simultaneously the body’s defense mechanism for expelling pathogens.
I had to continue administering oral rehydration solution to help patients completely expel the pathogen.
In a sense, it was like providing ammunition so the body could fight cholera.
Isolation and treatment.
Through the process of managing people, both body and spirit wore thin.
Yet I was the only Doctor on this island.
From within that hellish time, the first patient achieved complete recovery.
The steadily increasing number of patients finally began to decline bit by bit.
* * *
“The dehydration has stopped. Your body is doing well now….”
“Uba, ubaba….”
The young child giggled with delight.
Unlike adults, infants were difficult to feed oral rehydration solutions.
The child couldn’t possibly understand why they needed to consume it, and since the solution had no taste, it was truly a predicament with no way out.
When the child refused to drink and vomited instead, I had to infuse the Five Elements True Qi throughout the night to maintain the child’s vitality.
“Just a few more days of isolation, and then we’ll return you to your mother.”
“Coo, coo-coo!”
I let out a small sigh.
‘We’re almost there now.’
The vast majority had recovered, and there were scarcely any patients remaining.
As for this child before me, I couldn’t fathom what they’d been sucking on to end up in this state, so I’d addressed every conceivable possibility.
‘How much time has passed…?’
I’d been so focused on other matters that I’d forgotten to keep track of the days.
I stepped outside.
I disinfected my hands, removed my mask, and gazed blankly at the sky.
Exhaustion weighed on me as I rubbed my eyes.
“The Benefactor should rest. You’ve overexerted yourself.”
The Bodata Temple Monks had begun calling me the Benefactor.
A doctor who spared no effort, not even flinching from filth and stench, to save lives.
The sect’s savior.
The Bodata Temple Monks never imagined they would owe such a debt to anyone.
‘And to receive it from this young doctor, no less.’
My youthful face bore the deep marks of exhaustion.
The Bodata Temple Monks spoke.
“Why not take some rest?”
“That’s right. Get some sleep, Benefactor!”
The young Bodata Temple children grasped my sleeves with both hands.
“Oh, children. You shouldn’t be here.”
“But there are hardly any sick people left now….”
“Still, go back.”
Even after cholera patients recover, they remain contagious for two to three days.
Asymptomatic patients sometimes retain contagiousness as well, so I examined every single person’s pulse, and if I detected even the slightest abnormality, I kept them in isolation for treatment.
In rare cases, some individuals intermittently shed the pathogen for months afterward.
‘But I haven’t told them this yet.’
If I were to inform the villagers of this fact immediately, anyone who had contracted cholera would become a second-class citizen.
Throughout human history, in severe cases, such discrimination has escalated to mob violence and death.
There have been instances where people were burned alive in the name of treating disease.
Not only the patient, but their family and friends would all become second-class citizens, tormented for the rest of their lives.
And this is a closed, insular society.
Precisely because it’s not an exceptionally virulent disease, I’m maintaining isolation even after recovery, thoroughly disinfecting, and preventing children from entering.
‘Between human rights and truth. What choice must we make?’
Even the most ordinary person harbored evil within them.
An age of savagery.
The human heart remained fragile, and fear, like the night itself, would eventually descend upon people.
From this point forward, it was no longer a matter for me to decide.
Though I stood here as a Doctor helping them, I was ultimately a stranger who would depart someday.
Life belonged to the Bota Gate, those who lived upon Botasan.
‘I had suggested to the Sect Leader that sealing the sect and isolating the infected for a year or two might be prudent.’

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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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