I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 12

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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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Physician to the Divine Beasts
#12
From childhood, Ma Yun-sang had grown up amid pointing fingers and mockery within the Horse Folk.
— “Tainted bloodline brat!”
— “Your mother seduced the master in her shamelessness and gave birth to you. We won’t play with trash like you!”
The groundless jeers of his peers poured down without end.
The adults either pretended not to notice or tacitly agreed.
— “Tch. But then again, calling him tainted bloodline isn’t wrong, is it?”
— “Hehe, that’s right. Sometimes children are more perceptive than we give them credit for.”
The cold laughter in the adults’ eyes was far more cruel.
And yet the cruelest thing of all was his mother’s absence.
She had died giving birth to Ma Yun-sang.
His father, left alone with the young boy, could barely spare him a glance. His only concern was how to appear in the eyes of the main line.
Whenever conflict arose with other children, his father always demanded apologies from Yun-sang alone.
— “Ma Yun-sang! Where did you learn such disrespect toward the young masters of the main line!”
— “But Father…! That bastard mocked me first, then hit me!”
— “Who said I was your father? Shut your mouth and bow your head this instant to apologize!”
Young Yun-sang could not comprehend it.
Why did Father always take their side? Why did he burn with rage the moment Yun-sang called him Father?
Then came a certain day, when Yun-sang was in middle school.
It was a rare occasion when his father’s voice carried warmth.
— “Yun-sang.”
— “Yes, sir.”
— “The elders of the main line have taken notice of you. Ever since you were small, you’ve been so capable. You don’t cry, you endure everything. Such a child is rare.”
His father smiled and patted Yun-sang’s shoulder gently.
— “This is a very important matter for the clan. I believe you can do it. If you succeed, even I will gain respect before the elders.”
His father’s eyes gleamed with an indecipherable light.
Yun-sang hesitated for a moment—
— “…Yes. I understand.”
He nodded as though under a spell.
His heart soared because his father had, for the first time, acknowledged him as a son.
But it was nothing but delusion.
Soon he found himself bound at all four limbs, thrust into a sorcerous experiment to forcibly amplify his Spiritual Energy.
— “Aaaahhhhhhh!”
Unbearable agony tore through his body.
Even Yun-sang, who had possessed exceptional strength and mental fortitude since childhood, found himself screaming as he clawed at the ground hard enough to wear away his hooves.
When the experiment ended, his hooves were soaked in blood.
— “The sorcery remains imperfect. By forcibly amplifying the Spiritual Energy, the channels through which it flows have expanded excessively, causing migraine episodes.”
— “Tsk. The sorcery needs further refinement.”
After that day, Yun-sang could never escape the shackles of chronic migraines.
Thump… thump… thump…
A pulsing pain at his temples.
It felt as though someone were drumming inside his skull.
Once an episode began, it sometimes stretched across three days without respite, accompanied by retching and nausea.
For more than a week each month, he had to flounder in agony that felt like hell itself.
— “Heh heh. Now I, too, receive treatment equal to that of the main line.”
His father had gained elevated status.
The price was his son.
When Yun-sang lay prostrate with migraines, his father merely looked upon him with the cold gaze one reserves for insects and walked past.
— “Yun-sang. Go and receive treatment from this person.”
Ironically, the hand extended to him belonged to the Rabbit Folk Divine Beasts.
Jeong Ra-bit, a peer he had met at Divine Beast gatherings in childhood, had apparently pleaded his case to the adults.
Thanks to her, Yun-sang met a Cat Folk Purifier for the first time.
Though they were meeting for the first time, she embraced Yun-sang tightly, her eyes glistening with tears.
— “Dear child, you’ve suffered so much. It must have been so hard.”
Warm hands, acupuncture treatment, and herbal medicine.
After her treatment, his migraines vanished for a time.
This debt to the entire Cat Folk weighed upon his heart.
Which is why he had warned Go Yeon-hui not to go around introducing herself as a Purifier, out of concern for her safety.
In any case.
Thanks to that Cat Folk Purifier, Yun-sang debuted as a professional soccer player in his late teens.
In his early-to-mid twenties, entering the prime of his career, he dared even to think: perhaps this was a rather happy life after all.
Meanwhile his father had cut off all contact entirely, and the Horse Folk had allied with the Rat Folk and declared themselves fallen.
— “I sever all ties with this clan. War against the Divine Beasts? It’s madness.”
Ma Yun-sang left home alone. He harbored no lingering attachment to the clan.
All that remained to him was soccer.
Soccer was the sole thread that tethered him to this world.
But then.
His chronic ailment reared its head once more, as if to mock him.
— “Ugh… my head…!”
The migraine attacks were merciless.
Looking at light felt like blades pouring into his eyes, and the slightest sound brought anguish that felt as though his temples would split.
Nausea rose in his throat and his vision swam.
Human medicine was useless.
All he could do was grit his teeth and endure.
— “Ma Yun-sang, what’s been wrong with you lately? We can’t have this.”
— “My apologies, Coach.”
The aftermath of the sorcery had finally begun to strangle his life.
If I lose even soccer, there’s nothing left for me.
It was in that pit of despair that—
A woman introducing herself as a Cat Folk Purifier suddenly reappeared before him.
A lump rose in his throat.
Inside the Medical Office of the Soccer Stadium.
Seated in a chair receiving acupuncture, Ma Yun-sang squeezed his eyes shut without thinking and brought the back of his hand to his forehead.
Then Yeon-hui approached with quick awareness, bent her knees slightly, and regarded Yun-sang with concern.
“Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable? Did the needles hurt much?”
Her manner was quite tender and attentive.
‘If I had a real sister, would she be like this?’
Yun-sang found himself thinking such a thought unbidden.
“No, not at all. Rather…”
“Hmm?”
Yun-sang hesitated briefly, then offered a faint smile.
“It’s been so long since I felt this at ease. My head doesn’t hurt, and my mind feels calm. It’s strange.”
Yeon-hui blinked several times, then broke into a bright smile and clenched her fist firmly.
“I’m so glad it’s working! Let’s keep treating you consistently until you’re completely healed, shall we?”
“…!”
A peculiar warmth rippled through his chest.
Because that smile belonged to someone who was genuinely rejoicing for his sake.
Yun-sang found himself nodding without reservation.
* * *
After the treatment ended, Ma Yun-sang hurried back to the field, saying he would play the second half.
I returned to the stands after tidying up the Medical Office.
The events that had unfolded so suddenly left my mind still reeling.
‘So it was true, then. Ma Yun-sang was a migraine sufferer.’
A comment I’d once seen online suddenly came to mind.
Something about a young fan asking for an autograph, and Ma Yun-sang frowning and walking past indifferently.
But meeting him today, I thought I understood.
That was probably when he was in the throes of a migraine attack. When it’s that severe, even opening one’s eyes is difficult—he likely never heard the fan’s voice.
‘And besides, Yun-sang seems to be quite an emotionally generous person, actually.’
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have rushed into danger to save Jeong Ra-bit.
Beneath that stern, rough exterior… perhaps there beats a heart far gentler than anyone’s.
But there was one small curiosity nagging at me.
I scratched my cheek.
‘He said he wouldn’t accept treatment, but then his attitude changed so suddenly…’
I’d thrown out the suggestion as a last resort, and I was honestly surprised when he agreed to the treatment so readily.
Well, at least his migraines are gone now. That’s a relief.
And I gained something from this treatment too.
‘During the acupuncture, I saw another vision.’
This time it was the master bedroom of an old house.
Ma Yun-sang appeared to be a middle school student, and the person sitting before him was unmistakably my mother.
Mother was in the process of inserting needles into Yun-sang as he lay on the mat she’d prepared.
— “Doctor, do you have children?”
Young Yun-sang’s question.
Mother smiled broadly as she answered.
— “Of course! I have a daughter just like you. You wouldn’t believe how beautiful and talented she is. I never even had to pay for tutoring, and she’s always at the top of her class. She dreams of becoming a physician like me.”
As Mother continued to boast, her gaze grew distant.
— “And… I once thought I would never have a child, but I gave birth to her as a miracle. So she’s even more precious to me.”
As I recalled the vision, I frowned in confusion.
‘A miracle birth? Did Mother have infertility issues?’
But the mother I knew was not of frail constitution.
Far from infertility—she’d laughed while telling me I was a accident, conceived during her college years.
My mind was troubled, but I shook my head intentionally.
‘He said he’d tell me more details after the game ends, so I’ll ask him then.’
As I returned to the stands, the stadium was once again ablaze with energy.
Against the backdrop of bright floodlights, whistles and cheers echoed across the entire field.
But this time, neither light nor noise hindered Ma Yun-sang.
“And there it is! Ma Yun-sang breaks through to the left!”
Yun-sang on the grass was like a runaway locomotive.
The commentator’s voice trembled with excitement.
Yun-sang cut through the defense like a flash of lightning as he sprinted forward.
Bang!
The ball shot through the air like lightning and tore into the net.
“Another goal! Ma Yun-sang with a hat trick already today!”
When he scored his third goal, even the commentator fell silent, and the stands erupted in cheers and exclamations.
“South Korea has turned it around! Victory!”
At last the match concluded with a thrilling come-from-behind win.
The crowd’s roar made the entire stadium tremble.
I stood slack-jawed in astonishment.
‘Is the effect of treating the migraine really this dramatic?’
Isn’t this just cheating?
Who could keep up if a Horse Folk Divine Beast played at full strength among humans?
‘…Oh well.’
The joy was genuine enough anyway, so I couldn’t help but shrug my shoulders and clap loudly.
Just then, I heard spectators in the nearby seats murmuring as they peered at their phones.
“Hey, look at this. That photo of the person who jumped onstage to save Jeong Ra-bit is online.”
“What? Where? Wow, she’s really pretty. Is she an entertainer too, like Ra-bit? An idol trainee?”
“Nah, more of an actress vibe. Totally cat-like beauty type.”
Gah!
I nearly bit my tongue.
What the heck was posted online?!
I quickly hunched my neck like a turtle and quietly slipped out of my seat.

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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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