Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 67
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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 67
In this world, they describe it as a disruption in the balance of yin and yang.
Usually, it’s a temporary condition treated through medicine, acupuncture, or internal cultivation techniques to restore this balance. However, the Severed Meridian was different.
Yin qi consumed and overwhelmed yang qi.
Neither acupuncture nor medicine proved effective, and even when they did, the relief was only temporary.
One could only endure through internal cultivation techniques, but most patients died before reaching adulthood.
“The source originates around the heart.”
“As you already know, this is the symptom of the Nine Yin Severed Meridian among all Severed Meridians.”
My Master spoke calmly.
I could sense the flow of qi through the True Qi Diagnosis technique.
I shared what I had felt.
“The six meridians surrounding the heart were draining body heat, and the heart was being overworked just to survive. Had you not learned internal cultivation, you would have frozen to death in the height of summer.”
“Yes. That’s the only reason I’ve managed to stay alive.”
“So that’s why seizures occur when your internal energy depletes. Your collapse the other day was for the same reason.”
Jegalling nodded.
I spoke.
“I don’t know how to remove the meridians.”
After all, they were invisible, so there was no way to address them through surgical intervention.
“Without meridians, a person dies.”
“Yes, that’s true as well.”
I exhaled a long breath.
“For now, you’re managing through internal energy, but that will soon reach its limit. You’re already experiencing aortic dissection, with degeneration occurring in the medial layer.”
The aorta is the most vital artery in the human body.
Through it, humans distribute blood to every corner of their bodies.
Aortic dissection.
The aorta consists of three layers.
The innermost intima, the muscular medial layer, and the outer adventitia.
When the intima is damaged, blood rushes in, and the medial layer tears along the longitudinal axis due to the mounting blood pressure.
Though some people rarely experience pain, when it progresses as it has with my Master, the pain is naturally severe enough to cause fainting.
With compromised blood supply to the brain, loss of consciousness becomes inevitable, and typically such patients are rushed to an emergency room for urgent surgery.
Yet my Master said the pain began long ago—essentially chronic, if not in name.
By appearance, the condition is quite dangerous.
That rupture hasn’t occurred and my Master has endured this long must be because my Master is a master of internal cultivation.
“The blood flow to the upper body—the ascending aorta—remains in relatively good condition thanks to the strength of the Five Elements Divine Skill. That’s why the brain has been spared. However, the descending aorta is the problem. Among the Nine Yin Severed Meridian symptoms, do you experience reduced sensation or partial paralysis in the lower body?”
My Master nodded instead of answering.
Only then did I understand why my Master rarely ventured outside the Medical Hall, and when he did, he never used his legs directly—never employing movement techniques or lightness kung fu, instead relying on horses or carriages.
In his current condition, using his legs at all was a burden.
“It’s remarkable that you’re still alive. You should have undergone emergency surgery long ago.”
With aggressive surgical methods, all tissue damaged by the cold qi from the Nine Yin Severed Meridian would need to be excised together.
But doing so would be unbearable for my Master’s body, and even if we excised the damaged tissue, the yin qi from the Nine Yin Severed Meridian would surge forth again, making it an endless battle.
At this stage, it would be nothing short of suicide.
‘A transplant won’t be possible either.’
The entire clan had already been exterminated.
There was no system to find a compatible donor outside, nor the medical equipment to perform such a procedure.
Even if I somehow found a compatible donor and they happened to be declared brain dead at that exact moment, delivering them in time would be impossible. And then there’s the battle with the yin energy waiting afterward.
‘In the end, what remains is… an aortic stent graft.’
Synthetic vascular replacement surgery.
A method of inserting a stent tube through the femoral artery toward the heart.
This way, the stent tube would take the place of the dissected aorta, greatly reducing the burden and significantly lowering the risk of rupture.
I explained this to my Master.
“The aorta could rupture at any moment—it’s a wonder it hasn’t already. But the instant rupture begins, it’s over.”
“How strange. I’ve always been the one telling patients about death, yet here I am hearing it myself.”
My Master spoke as though discussing someone else’s fate.
After listening to my explanation about the aortic stent for some time, Jegalling asked this.
“If this succeeds, will I be healed?”
I shook my head.
“You would simply overcome a critical danger.”
“But performing the surgery itself requires risking one’s life, doesn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The irony of surgery.
To take one step toward recovery, one must wager their life.
Yet many conditions could not be resolved with a single operation.
In such cases, one would have to continually risk their life to survive, again and again.
I pondered this deeply.
‘Collaborative treatment… I need collaborative treatment…’
Why couldn’t an entire hospital enter the Martial Arts World together?
Was it truly reasonable for me to shoulder this burden alone?
I continued speaking.
Knowledge gained in this world manifested itself.
“I’m also considering methods of reinforcement from within using the stent.”
“Reinforcement from within? Are you thinking of forcibly implanting some technique infused with fire energy? Internal meridian cultivation?”
From the perspective of Martial Arts World knowledge, it might appear that way. But it wasn’t entirely wrong.
“A definitive answer is difficult.”
The problem was more complicated because this wasn’t simply a modern cardiac condition—it was the Severed Meridian that existed in the Martial Arts World.
A Severed Meridian with the characteristic of artificially draining warmth.
‘This is fantasy, pure fantasy.’
Yet the fact that it actually exists makes it even more fantastical.
Things like Gu poison, which modern medicine cannot explain, exist in this place.
‘No matter what, my methods alone have limits.’
Then wouldn’t it be possible if I applied the knowledge of the Jegal Family? That was my thought.
I needed flexible thinking that wasn’t bound by rigid conventions.
“You once said the human body is a microcosm, and when I consulted the Jegal Medical Records, I found precedents for this. However, it requires maintaining fire energy within the body, so it’s not something that can be done with an ordinary person.”
“Hmm….”
The Jegal Medical Records.
In terms of the modern world, it was equivalent to clinical charts and research papers.
They contained treatment records and case histories of patients who had visited the Jegal Family in the past.
For me, this was more valuable than any secret manual.
That’s why I read through it repeatedly.
At first, it was difficult to understand the terminology. Doctors in this world also used many abbreviations.
Only after accumulating knowledge could I barely comprehend it.
“We need the inner core of a ten-thousand-year-old fire carp.”
Fire carp.
They are carp that live in hot springs.
The longer they live, the more they condense fire energy within their bodies to form an inner core.
Inner cores in the Martial Arts World are truly mysterious things—apparently they can be consumed and absorbed as internal energy.
Depending on the type of inner core, they vary from soft to hard.
According to the records, fire carp inner cores have good elasticity and belong to the harder variety, which was fortunate.
Especially one from a ten-thousand-year-old fire carp would possess incredible durability and contain an enormous amount of extreme yang energy.
It was perfect for treating the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, a condition that leads to death from yin energy.
There would be no rejection response, and unless my Master deliberately chose to absorb it, it wouldn’t be easily absorbed, making it ideal as a stent material.
The Jegal Medical Records already contained research notes using fire carp.
Though we would need to conduct several tests using animals, it seemed entirely feasible given the nature of inner cores.
My Master spoke.
“Whether from the Gaebang or Haomu, there was no information about where ten-thousand-year-old fire carp inhabit. Can you find one?”
It wasn’t exactly a surgical approach, but it seemed my Master had already searched for the fire carp’s inner core.
“Isn’t there a saying that sincerity moves heaven? I’m certain heaven will answer my heart.”
Nonsense. There’s a location mentioned in a novel.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to find, and simply going there would require taking on considerable danger.
According to the timeline, it wouldn’t be discovered for at least another ten years, so I could simply find it ahead of schedule.
“….”
My Master narrowed his eyes and looked at me. However, I had no choice but to play dumb about this one.
“Come to think of it, Master, is the Yongbong Assembly preparation going well?”
I changed the subject.
“Preparations are always ongoing, but this time is particularly special. There’s great anticipation for the new medicine from Baekrin Uigak.”
The Baekrin Elixir.
“Even though it’s still under wraps, it seems to have spread quite a bit.”
My Master nodded.
“Having treated so many patients, it’s become difficult to keep it hidden any longer. Everyone has great expectations.”
“The Medical Assistants must be on edge because of it.”
“Indeed. The greater the expectations, the more glaring any mistakes become.”
“But precisely because of that, I can seize other opportunities.”
My Master’s eyes opened slightly.
He poured tea and handed it to me.
“Many proposals will come your way. Discerning which to accept—that too is the duty of a leader.”
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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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