Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 385

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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 385
“Hmm? Where’s the orb?”
“What orb?”
At Sama Hyeon’s words, I turned to look where the orb had been, only to find it gone as if it had never existed in the first place.
‘Did someone take it?’
The fact that they managed to grab it in that moment was utterly absurd.
Here we had two Hwakyeong Masters and two spiritual creatures.
And I hadn’t even encountered the assassins who could fool Hwang-gu’s nose yet.
‘Heh heh heh, if the Six-Horned Venomous Snake had decided to kill me, I’d already be dead.’
I hadn’t realized I could feel such a gap in cultivation against a spiritual creature, but it was strong enough to make me laugh bitterly.
‘Gangho is vast, and the strong are many.’
It seemed I had grown arrogant from becoming stronger.
Jin Cheon-hee stared at the place where the Six-Horned Venomous Snake had vanished for a long while.
* * *
The next morning.
The doctors from Oh Dok-mun came seeking us out again from early morning.
“Ahem, it seems we were rather harsh in our words to the great hero.”
“We offer our apologies. Please accept them.”
“….”
This time they completely abandoned their pride and began showering me with apologies.
‘Wow, Oh Dok-mun really… these guys are actually quite entertaining.’
At this point, I began to enjoy the situation itself from Sama Hyeon’s perspective.
Jin Cheon-hee pondered with blue eyes.
‘They’re probably not apologizing of their own volition. Did someone higher up scold them?’
It wasn’t the way of the martial world.
Yet it was strange to call it the way of the heterodox sects either.
At this point, I became curious about how far these people would go.
Jin Cheon-hee smiled brightly instead.
“That’s fine. As long as you have the will to pursue medicine, anyone is welcome. Shall we engage in some exchange?”
“Oh oh oh oh! Thank you so much!”
“Truly worthy of the great hero. Your magnanimity is as vast as the Yangtze River itself!”
The exchange proceeded reasonably well.
Oh Dok-mun brought out several remedies utilizing poison.
Jin Cheon-hee showcased the primitive microscope that had been demonstrated at the Tang Family, and exchanged knowledge about bacteria and cells.
The response was positive.
“Oh, so humans are indeed collections of countless microcosms like stars.”
A reaction similar to the Tang Family’s.
Yet in a world composed of yin-yang and the five elements, it was an entirely natural response.
‘It would be nice if I could explain the concept of hygiene….’
Oh Dok-mun had a saying about this.
Daily Triple Bathing.
During the hot summer, it means bathing three times a day.
Since this region had abundant water, bathing was a frequent practice.
However, bathing in valleys, ponds, and rivers meant using unfiltered water without soap, so many people ended up exposed to parasites and various waterborne diseases instead of getting clean.
Of course, in a world without water purification devices, bathing without soap had its limitations. Still, it was far better than not washing at all.
However, if people weren’t bathing, that would be one thing.
But since they were already doing it, explaining and convincing them about these matters took quite a long time.
‘It would be easier if I just lied and said soap drives away evil spirits.’
But I couldn’t do that.
Such lies would be exposed quickly enough.
Humans aren’t simple enough that illness never comes even when using soap, are they?
While soap does prevent disease significantly, it can’t be called a cure-all.
There’s respiratory infection to consider right off the bat.
So I couldn’t afford to deceive them carelessly.
‘Still, sweating profusely and bathing with soap when you’re hot feels refreshing.’
I was somewhat worried it might look like I came here to distribute soap for profit.
Still, as I explained, the Odok Mun Doctors began listening to my words more seriously than expected.
‘This seems like a reasonably successful exchange, at least.’
Whatever their hidden intentions, the fact that information was being shared made it a success.
‘In times like this, it’s best to play it simple.’
I deliberately acted like an oblivious person.
‘The art of worldly wisdom isn’t something sensitive people do well. It’s something people who play dumb do well.’
The wisdom of an adult.
However, unlike the time with the Tang Family, new medicines didn’t suddenly appear with a ‘pop!’
Still, I learned about poisons unknown even to Baekrin Uiseon and their efficacy, as well as detoxification methods.
I was even able to obtain some samples.
I also learned about the medical techniques of the Odok Mun using venomous insects.
The method of stimulating ants to bite a wound instead of stitching flesh, then removing only their bodies to seal it, was quite unique.
It was fascinating how the ant’s mandibles wouldn’t open even when their bodies were torn away.
Once they bit, they continued biting even in death.
Yunnan ants in particular had highly developed jaws, making it possible to seal even quite large wounds.
A kind of stapler.
‘Hmm, infection is a concern, but in urgent situations, this could be useful.’
Thus, the fifth day of the exchange arrived.
* * *
“Today, let’s discuss the matter of hygiene.”
“I think we’re beginning to understand how important hygiene is to medicine. It seems like an expansion of the earlier discussion about germs, does it not?”
People commonly refer to Baekrin Uiseon, Hwaju Medical Institute, and Heukjeon Uiseon as the three great Medical Institutes under heaven.
Besides those, there’s the Medical Institute directly operated by the Tang Family and the Odok Mun’s Odok Medical Institute.
Looking at the form of Medical Institutes alone, approximately ten are known by name throughout Gangho.
However, two of them faced the brink of bankruptcy.
The reason was simple.
The sects had begun shifting their business partners elsewhere.
Though the Three Great Medical Institutes of the realm each maintained their own distinct specialties and remained unshaken, Baekrin Uiseon had cultivated Busul’s growth and particularly distinguished itself in emergency trauma treatment.
In this mad world of Gangho, where death by the blade far outweighed death by illness, the demand was overwhelming.
Sects rushed to establish dealings with Baekrin Uiseon, which specialized in emergency trauma care.
To such an extent that they severed centuries-old contracts with traditional medical institutes.
In modern times, one would naturally simply visit the better hospital, but things were vastly different here.
This was an era where some families had inhabited a single residence for hundreds of years, generation after generation.
A sect relocating was as perilous as bloodshed.
It meant abandoning all the connections and reputation they had accumulated and moving away.
Moreover, the established sects in the destination region watched with blazing eyes, so typically a storm of blood would ensue.
Ultimately, once a sect settled, it remained there unless bloodshed occurred—such was the common sense here.
How much more so to sever dealings that had begun with the previous generation, and the previous, and the previous, and the previous, and relocate elsewhere—that required courage.
How much courage did it require?
It would be easier to stake one’s life and engage in a death match with the adjacent sect’s Patriarch.
Yet such things were beginning to happen now.
Riding that tide, they began aggressively establishing branch medical institutes under Baekrin Uiseon.
Muyue was an expert at such endeavors.
Just as he had taken over an inn in Hao-mun, he acquired failed medical clinics and transformed them into branches of Baekrin Uiseon.
The doctors from the failed clinics entered under Baekrin Uiseon and underwent retraining, but since the acquisition paid off their debts and gave them a chance to rebuild, no ill will remained.
Moreover, those doctors merely changed their name plaques to Baekrin Uiseon affiliation.
Once their training concluded, they returned.
In essence, the people remained the same, and the connections they possessed remained unchanged.
‘That is precisely why the sects shifted their business partners to Baekrin Uiseon. Though their affiliated medical institute changed, the surname of the regional doctor remained the same.’
And those doctors, having been acquired and retrained, grew more skilled through Baekrin Uiseon, and the region’s medical services began improving.
Moreover, through the distribution network Baekrin Uiseon had established, medicinal herbs and various pharmaceuticals could be rapidly supplied, naturally lowering patient mortality rates.
As a result, other medical clinics and institutes began falling behind in competition.
Unless they were among the Three Great Medical Institutes themselves, or backed by a sect controlling regional dominance like the Tang Family Medical Institute or Oh Dok Medical Institute, they were simply outmatched from the start.
In such circumstances, to receive Baekrin Uiseon’s Patriarch, the Oh Dok Medical Institute’s Patriarch himself stepped forward to dedicate himself to medical arts exchange.
The one who had just posed a question to me was that very person.
Yamuju, Patriarch of Oh Dok Medical Institute.
A man in his fifties who, by outward appearance alone, seemed satisfied with his wealth.
‘On the first day, he tried to take advantage of me.’
Yet from the second day onward, he lowered his stance and engaged in rational exchange.
“In fact, Baekrin Uiseon prioritizes the distribution of soap. Washing one’s hands upon returning from external work provides tremendous assistance in preventing infection.”
The most fundamental of fundamentals.
I explained it to every doctor I met, at the Yongbong Conference, and again at Ju Wang’s residence.
And I was explaining it again here.
It was rather amusing.
Stopping bleeding through acupoint pressure.
Something absolutely impossible on Earth, a remarkable medical technique that science itself cannot explain, yet performed here without hesitation.
Yet they remain ignorant of soap and infection prevention.
‘I should be used to this by now, but sometimes I still can’t adapt to it.’
The Odok Medical Guild doctors listened intently to my words, though some appeared indifferent.
The reason was simple: laziness.
Laziness is soap’s greatest enemy.
This holds true whether in the martial world or the modern era, and the unfamiliar martial world makes it an even greater obstacle.
‘Has anyone stopped doubting the efficacy and effectiveness of soap?’
Whenever skeptics appeared, I refuted them, so now they don’t even raise objections.
‘Still, I can see some doctors showing genuine enthusiasm.’
Given the hot and humid climate, once I properly establish it, the distribution would clearly spread at an enormous pace.
Though it remains difficult to discern the true intentions of the Odok Medical Guild Patriarch.
* * *
After finishing the morning exchange, I shared lunch with the Odok Medical Guild doctors.
‘Is this a fruit punch made with mango? It’s delicious.’
While I eagerly consumed the mango punch, one of the Baekrin Medical Guild advisors spoke up.
“In that regard, I believe the funeral customs practiced by the people of Yunnan Province are somewhat dangerous… I have been thinking that if you could relocate the sky burial sites just slightly farther from the village…”
Wherever one goes, there are always people who must voice what’s on their minds.
The person wasn’t inherently bad. In a sense, what he said was reasonable.
But what does “reasonable” truly mean? Isn’t it ultimately relative?
From my perspective, while somewhat concerning, I realized they must have important reasons for conducting sky burials in that location.
Since it was their own matter, they should resolve it themselves—so I decided to simply exchange relevant theories and leave it at that.
“….”
Observing the cold atmosphere that descended over the Odok Medical Guild, my assumption proved correct.
The advisor who had spoken seemed to realize his mistake as well.
“I, I apologize for the slip of tongue. According to feng shui, the wind direction and groundwater flow in that location are unfavorable…”
“Are you suggesting there is a problem with our sacred funeral rites?”
“That is not what I meant…”

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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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