I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 15
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
A physician for Divine Beasts.
#15
The next morning.
From early on, the scene outside Baek Myodang was nothing short of spectacular.
Expensive black vehicles lined up into the narrow alley one after another.
On both sides of the clinic’s gate pillars stood bodyguards in black suits and sunglasses, motionless and vigilant.
“What’s going on? Are they filming a movie here today?”
Because of this, my clinic drew no small amount of curious stares from the neighborhood residents.
And in the waiting room sat Baek Eun-ho, Jeong Ra-bit, and Ma Yun-sang, side by side.
A conglomerate heir, a popular idol, a national team athlete.
It was a combination you’d rarely find even in entertainment news.
‘My small, precious clinic……!’
I pressed my head in my hands inside the consultation room.
I’d only ever wanted to live an ordinary life.
But somewhere along the way, my everyday existence had drifted a hundred million light-years away from ordinary.
“Sigh.”
What good is worrying? Let me just see patients.
Flailing against my despair, I let out a long sigh and rose from my chair.
It was time to give acupuncture to those Divine Beast patients in the waiting room.
A short while later.
“Thank you so much, Doctor!”
“The acupuncture was wonderful today too.”
Ra-bit and Yun-sang bowed in unison and left the clinic carrying the boxes of Herbal Medicine I’d prescribed.
Their lightened expressions were at least some small comfort.
The problem was… Baek Eun-ho.
‘Why does his expression look so frightening?’
I watched him with tired eyes.
He was sitting on the waiting room sofa with a cool aura about him, one leg crossed, and the other patients didn’t dare approach that side.
It looked like he was planning to camp out there all day.
“Um, Doctor… is something wrong? There are all these shady-looking men at the gate—it’s kind of scary.”
Eventually, the neighborhood residents who’d come for treatment whispered to me with anxious faces.
“I almost didn’t come today either, but I figured I had to get your acupuncture, so I forced myself.”
“Doctor, did you borrow money from loan sharks? Are they watching to make sure you don’t run away without paying?”
My eyes widened and I waved my hands frantically.
“No, no! What loan sharks?”
“Then who are those people? I really thought you were filming a movie.”
“Well, it’s because… I’ve ended up treating someone quite famous. The bodyguards are following him to keep him safe.”
I scratched my head and barely came up with an excuse.
“Oh, is that so?”
“Right. Our clever Dr. Go would never be reckless with loan sharks.”
They laughed it off, but my mind remained unsettled.
If this kept up, the neighborhood patients might start avoiding the clinic one by one.
It was truly a headache.
‘Where on earth is my life headed?’
Returning to the consultation room, I sighed heavily and slouched in my chair.
* * *
In any case, I continued my normal practice.
But as Alfred had said, it really did seem like I was growing.
‘I can see Spiritual Energy even in ordinary patients’ bodies.’
It wasn’t the intense golden light of the Divine Beasts’ Spiritual Energy.
Good energy showed as a faint white light, while bad energy appeared as a dark, inky black.
So to summarize…
Good energy is Spiritual Energy in Divine Beasts, Vital Energy in humans.
Bad energy is Stagnant Energy.
It would be more convenient to use these names going forward.
‘This makes treatment so much easier, doesn’t it?’
The power of Spirit Sight was remarkable.
Without having to ask patients about every symptom, I could roughly guess what was wrong.
Especially with first-time patients, the effect was striking.
“Oh my…”
Once, a middle-aged woman I’d never seen before came in groaning in pain.
Her complexion was sallow and her expression poor.
I carefully took her pulse and saw dark, stagnant energy bunched up in her upper abdomen.
“You have a heavy, bloated feeling in your stomach and can’t digest things properly no matter what you eat, don’t you?”
The woman’s eyes widened.
“My goodness! You can tell that just from my pulse? That’s incredible! I actually came from hiking at Bukhansan and ate something that didn’t agree with me—the café owner at the base of the mountain recommended this place.”
I smiled inwardly.
The Pulse Diagnosis showed the telltale Slippery Pulse of acute indigestion, that smooth, rolling quality that feels like a pearl gliding beneath the fingers.
But now I could also confirm with my eyes that the Stagnant Energy had gathered in her stomach.
‘Am I going to get a reputation as a master physician at this rate?’
And my reserves of Spiritual Energy seemed to be growing considerably.
Just today, I’d treated two Divine Beast patients and nearly ten ordinary patients and still hadn’t collapsed from exhaustion.
Wasn’t that an incredible leap forward?
After the patient left the consultation room, I absently glanced to the side and asked a question.
“I’ve really grown a lot, haven’t I, Alfred?”
[…….]
“…Alfred?”
No answer came.
I tilted my head in confusion.
Come to think of it, that cat’s shadow hadn’t been visible all day.
“Hmm.”
I shrugged and opened the patient chart again.
He must have sneaked off again, complaining about having his energy drained by the tiger Divine Beast.
Well, he’d be back soon enough.
“…….”
Yet strangely, I found it hard to concentrate on the chart.
An inexplicable ominous sensation prickled at one corner of my heart.
* * *
Soon evening arrived, and after the last patient had left.
The courtyard of Baek Myodang was beginning to bathe in sunset light.
I sat slumped in my consultation room chair, pressing around my eyes.
I was utterly exhausted from using Spirit Sight all day to see patients.
“Dr. Go. Pack your things.”
Baek Eun-ho appeared at the consultation room door and spoke curtly.
Behind him, his attendants waited in perfect order.
Soon he’d take me back to his residence.
“There’s no time. Hurry.”
“Yes, yes~.”
I dragged my legs toward the medicine storage room.
While selecting herbs for tomorrow’s morning herbal medicine, a wave of harsh reality suddenly hit me.
‘How long do I have to live like this?’
If my power grew stronger and I eventually learned attack techniques like the Cat Clan Patriarch… would I be able to manage without someone’s protection then?
That was when it happened.
“Meow… meow……”
A faint sound mixed with the wind came from somewhere.
A cry filled with pain.
My heart suddenly sank and my mind went completely blank.
“Alfred!”
I hurled down the herbs I was holding and burst out of the storage room.
Why… why had I only been worried about myself?
That was selfish and stupid. They could be targeting Alfred!
“Is anyone here?! Help me, please!”
With tears brimming in my eyes, I rushed through Baek Myodang, but strangely, neither the bodyguards nor Baek Eun-ho were anywhere to be found.
Meanwhile, Alfred’s cries continued.
Unable to do anything but shuffle my feet, I finally bolted outside alone.
In my panic, I hadn’t even removed my doctor’s coat.
“Gasp, wheeze……”
How long did I wander through the alleys?
Alfred’s voice, growing louder and louder, pulled me deeper into the maze.
Running until my breath came in desperate gasps, I suddenly found myself at a Dead-end Alley far from Baek Myodang.
I paused for a moment to catch my breath.
Clap, clap, clap.
Suddenly, the sound of applause echoed from nearby.
“You followed us quite well.”
“……?!”
I jerked my head up.
In the darkness, a pale hand clapped slowly with long, extended fingers.
In an instant, a group in black robes surrounded me.
The slender man who’d been clapping casually stepped forward.
“What do you think? Quite convincing, isn’t it? It’s Deception Sorcery—by triggering your deepest anxieties, it makes you unable to judge normally. You’re simply being charmed, you see.”
His voice was like a snake’s hiss and whisper, and my body went rigid with a chilling sensation.
Only then did I understand.
Alfred’s cries that I’d heard… had all been lies.
The man approached me with leisurely steps.
“The world these days is so convenient. The internet finds all the information you want, doesn’t it?”
“Ugh……”
“But something was strange. I heard there was a clinic somewhere nearby, but its location didn’t show up at all. There must be a very powerful Barrier around it, yes? Ah, that’s why we had such trouble drawing you out……”
I clenched my teeth.
Now I understood why the necklace had been quiet.
If there had truly been a real patient or an emergency with a colleague, the necklace would surely have guided me.
But only now did it occur to me that this time there had been no response whatsoever.
Rustle.
As I reached into my coat pocket, I felt an Acupuncture Needle Pack.
Gripping it tightly, I glared at him fiercely.
Just let him come closer. I wouldn’t just take this lying down.
‘I’ll gouge out his eyes if I have to.’
But this was an extremely human misconception.
“Oh, I like that expression.”
Beneath the robe, the man’s lips curled into a long, predatory grin.
“It’s most delightful when prey has that look in their eyes as I swallow them whole.”
“……!”
“But unfortunately, today’s orders are to capture you alive.”
The man shrugged and raised one hand.
Whoosh—!
A Black Arrow suddenly appeared from nowhere and shot sharply toward my heart.
They didn’t need to come close to me at all.
‘Mom…… Alfred……!’
I cried out silently.
Then, instinctively, I crouched down and squeezed my eyes shut.
That moment.
The Mystical Jade Stone Necklace flared with brilliant light and resonated with something in my gown’s breast pocket.
Brilliant!
A blinding flash erupted.
The arrow aimed at my heart was deflected by that light and shot back, flying instead toward the man who appeared to be their leader.
“?!”
For a moment the man flinched, but he didn’t dodge.
Instead, he casually waved his hand once, and the arrow changed direction, flying off into empty space.
Boom—!
At the same moment, a tremendous roar sounded and a huge cloud of dust rose, obscuring my vision.
I was completely dumbfounded.
I stumbled and managed to get to my feet.
‘What on earth just happened……?’
Opening my eyes cautiously to look around, I found something tiny and shiny in my gown pocket.
I hurriedly pulled it out and raised my eyebrows.
The small, gleaming object was the Baek Ho Group badge I’d picked up when Baek Ho Jung Chairman had collapsed.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————