I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 56
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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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She became a physician to Divine Beasts.
#56
I lifted my head and looked at Baek Eun-ho.
He had left a couple of buttons on his sleep shirt undone, and his hair was tousled.
Thanks to that, an ease hung about him instead of his usual sharp composure.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
I smiled and approached him.
“Seeing Yun-sang in Sokcho felt fresh somehow. The market was fun, and the food was delicious.”
As I spoke, I waved the paper bag I was holding.
“By the way, I brought Seed Hotteok—got some for you too.”
Eun-ho gave a short laugh at the sight of it.
“Looks like you had quite the time.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Now that I’ve seen your face, that’s enough. I’m off to bed.”
He turned and spoke.
I was just about to head to my own room.
But then—
A faint light and some noise leaked out from the end of the hallway.
“……?”
I paused and tilted my head.
Clink, clink.
A soft metallic sound came from somewhere.
Followed by a sharp cry.
“……I told you that’s not it!”
The door was shut, but the window was cracked open.
A stern voice drifted through the gap.
“Still don’t understand?”
The owner of that sharp voice was Clan Head Won Young-ok.
“You’re destined to become the next clan head, and your skill is merely this? Who will be responsible for the Spiritual Creatures of Divine Beasts from now on?”
Beyond the window, I could also see Won Jun with his head slightly bowed.
He was silently accepting the rebuke.
“…….”
It was unexpected.
No anger, no irritation, no rebuttal—just taking the criticism.
Crash!
Then came a sound like glass shattering.
It seemed the Clan Head had destroyed whatever Won Jun had made.
“Do it again. From the start.”
“Yes.”
A brief answer.
The conversation ended there.
The sound of making something resumed.
‘Oh dear.’
I clicked my tongue sympathetically to myself.
‘Grandmother and grandson—both have serious drive.’
One working all night, the other spending all night criticizing.
Having seen enough, I quietly turned back. There was no reason for an outsider like me to meddle.
I went straight to my room and lay down.
* * *
The next morning.
The Craft Workshop was bustling again.
But unlike the other energetic staff, the two direct Divine Beasts of the Won Clan looked far from well.
‘Wait, why does Jun look like that?’
I opened my mouth slightly when I saw Won Jun’s face.
First, the dark circles beneath his eyes were striking.
He was smiling and chatting as usual, but he couldn’t hide the exhaustion in his complexion.
‘And Clan Head Won Young-ok…….’
She looked fine on the surface.
Her posture was straight, her voice ringing.
But up close, a subtle heat in her skin had risen more than on the first day. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the skin on her face and the backs of her hands looked dry.
Above all, she appeared utterly fatigued.
“Hmm.”
I observed the two of them in turn.
Then Won Jun opened his mouth as though he’d read my thoughts.
“Grandmother. I’ve heard the Purifier here is tremendously skilled—why not take the opportunity for a Pulse Diagnosis? It’s not every day you get a chance like this.”
Despite being scolded so harshly by the Clan Head last night, his tone was light and playful, as though nothing had happened.
If not for the dark circles under his eyes, I would never have known anything was amiss.
To her grandson’s suggestion, Won Young-ok curtly refused.
“No need. I have my own supplements I take.”
With that, she picked up something that had been sitting on the Craft Workshop table.
Red Ginseng sticks and Deer Antler among other things.
‘So those are what she takes regularly?’
I narrowed my eyes.
Young-ok held them out to Jun.
“Eat these. You look far more exhausted than I am.”
“Ah, come on. I’m fine. What does a young thing like me need Red Ginseng and Deer Antler for?”
“Don’t be cheeky. Eat them.”
“You take them instead!”
I folded my arms and quietly observed the two of them bickering.
The more I watched their complexions, the tone of their voices, their mannerisms—the more certainty took root in me.
‘That’s the last thing she should be recommending to him right now.’
If my suspicion was correct, these two were acting in completely the wrong way.
Once I recognized that, my professional instincts as a physician began to assert themselves.
I couldn’t simply watch and do nothing—I was too bothered by it.
“Sigh.”
I let out a short breath.
And I moved toward the two Divine Beasts.
“Hold on a moment.”
Their gazes turned to me simultaneously.
“Clan Head Won—don’t take those.”
“What?”
“Taking those now won’t do your body any good.”
Won Young-ok’s eyebrows shot up in displeasure.
She replied curtly.
“Aren’t you here as a guest at this Craft Workshop, not a physician?”
“Well, that may be—”
“I know my own body well enough. Don’t meddle where you’re not asked.”
Having said as much, Young-ok turned away.
A refusal as expected.
I shrugged and immediately changed course.
“Jun. You should take this.”
I placed a small golden medicine bottle I’d taken from my pocket into the palm of Won Jun’s hand.
Won Jun tilted his head.
“What’s this?”
“My special Gongjin-dan. It contains my Spiritual Energy.”
“Gongjin-dan? That famous medicinal pill? The one coated in gold leaf?”
“That’s right. It’s good for restoring vital force and circulation of Qi and Blood.”
I met his eyes as I added.
“I brought it as a standby remedy—I’m giving you one. Take it now.”
“What? Are you calling me sickly too? I’m only twenty-seven.”
Won Jun whimpered in mock protest.
I made a gesture to snatch the bottle back from his hand.
“If you don’t want it, give it back. Do you know how rare this is?”
“No, it’s not that I don’t want it.”
Won Jun shook his head and hid his hand quickly behind his back.
Then he twisted the bottle cap open.
“Thanks, Yeon-hee. I’ll enjoy it.”
I smiled softly and watched as Won Jun popped the Gongjin-dan into his mouth.
Thank goodness he at least listened to me.
‘At least I saved one.’
* * *
Moments later.
Won Jun rolled the Gongjin-dan around on his tongue.
To look at it, it was just an ordinary pill.
─ “My special Gongjin-dan. It contains my Spiritual Energy.”
The words Yeon-hee had just said brushed across his mind.
Won Jun let out a soft laugh.
“A Purifier’s special Gongjin-dan, huh.”
Won Jun had eaten Gongjin-dan before. Grandmother often received it as a gift.
But honestly, even then it didn’t do much for him.
There was no noticeable change in how he felt.
So he had no great expectations this time. He’d simply eaten it because Yeon-hee had given it to him.
“Then let me start today’s work.”
Won Jun muttered to himself as he swallowed the remaining Gongjin-dan.
Lately, he’d been learning Metal Craftsmanship from Clan Head Won Young-ok.
The project was a Spectacle Frame.
But the frames he made never passed Won Young-ok’s eyes; each attempt ended in failure.
“Is it twenty attempts? No, I’ve failed like thirty times now.”
When would he ever pass?
Won Jun sighed heavily and sat down at the workbench.
Then he began that day’s work.
But not long after taking the hammer—
‘……?’
A warmth began to bloom slowly from the center of his chest.
To his belly, his back, his shoulders, and down to his fingertips and toes.
Along with it, the heavy exhaustion that had been pressing down on his entire body faded naturally away.
Like snow melting in the spring sun.
‘What is this?’
Won Jun’s eyes widened in surprise.
That wasn’t all.
As the exhaustion vanished, his foggy mind cleared as though something had opened.
With it came heightened focus, and his muddled thoughts became sharp and lucid.
“Wow……!”
A small exclamation escaped him.
Won Jun squeezed his hand holding the hammer, then opened it.
The strength was precise.
Not excessive, not lacking—exactly right.
“This is insane.”
His lips slowly curved upward.
He was eager to start working; his hands itched.
He immediately raised the hammer and brought it down on the metal.
Clang—
Even the sound was different from usual.
The angle the hammer descended, the distribution of force, the speed.
Everything aligned perfectly.
Clang, clang, clang—
After just a few strikes, the metal bent to its intended shape without resistance.
“……?”
The clear, ringing sound of the hammer made the other Won Clan members nearby look up.
Astonished gazes quickly gathered.
“Hey, look at that.”
“What is it? Why is Won Jun so good today?”
Despite the commotion around him, Won Jun didn’t stop.
He worked without a single blink, utterly focused.
Changing tools, adjusting angles, striking again. His hands moved without hesitation, as though possessed.
And the result—
“……It’s done.”
Won Jun exhaled shallowly, catching his breath.
No one could say a word.
Then the silence broke, and the onlookers gasped in wonder.
“Look at that curve on the Spectacle Frame. Perfect. Exactly the curve the Clan Head has.”
“The speed is faster than usual, but it’s so much more precise.”
“Has Won Jun finally understood something?”
Then a familiar voice came from behind.
“Jun, you……!”
It was Clan Head Won Young-ok.
She stood right behind him, though no one had seen her arrive.
Won Young-ok’s pupils widened as she looked at the Spectacle Frame Won Jun had made.
“What—how did you—how did you achieve such perfect technique……!”
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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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