I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 6

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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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A doctor for divine beings and spirit creatures.
#6
Now then, let me drive the point home.
I leaned forward slightly with a slight smile toward Jeong Ra-bit.
“You’ve been diagnosed with Chondromalacia Patellae, yes?”
Chondromalacia Patellae—a condition where the cartilage of the kneecap deteriorates and causes pain.
The cartilage covering the front of the knee bone sustains damage, triggering discomfort.
Sometimes the knee makes clicking or crackling sounds.
Pain typically strikes when climbing stairs, or when standing up after sitting for long periods.
“My goodness…! Director, how on earth did you know? I’ve been suffering from that condition for years.”
Jeong Ra-bit’s eyes widened as she asked. Her rabbit ears perked up even more visibly.
I uncrossed my arms and explained with confidence.
“I saw it in your vlog. At the movie premiere screening—all the members stood up quickly, but you got up slowly, didn’t you?”
“Oh, did I? But… why does that matter?”
“That’s what we call the Movie-goer’s Sign. The name itself comes from the knee pain that develops when you’ve been sitting for a long time in a theater and then stand up.”
I tapped the front of my knee with my palm as I continued.
“When you bend your knee for prolonged periods, the kneecap gets pressed firmly into the groove of the thighbone. If the cartilage is weakened, the pressure and friction cause pain.”
Ra-bit’s eyes grew wide.
“You picked up on just that… it’s incredible. You’re right. I do have that condition. I’ve tried anti-inflammatory painkillers, cartilage supplements, even joint injections, but the pain always comes back.”
She lowered her head for a moment, then whispered.
“And I went to Ohuwei Oriental Medicine Hospital too, but I can’t tell if it helped.”
“…Ah.”
I pressed my lips together tightly.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. Just that I have a classmate from school working there. But more importantly, I think I understand why your past treatments haven’t worked.”
The manager sighed and waved her hand dismissively.
“Ugh, Director. If you’re going to tell us to cut back on dancing or rest, I’m sorry, but that’s just not realistic. How can an idol not dance?”
I shook my head.
“No, I was going to say the first priority is to eat well.”
“Eat? What do you mean?”
The manager swept her gaze over me with a look of disbelief.
I met her stare firmly.
“Manager, do you know what kind of people tend to develop this condition?”
“…I have no idea.”
“It’s most common in women aged ten to thirty, especially those in the entertainment industry who restrict their weight severely.”
“…!”
“When dieting weakens the quadriceps—the muscle on the front of the thigh—the muscle can’t properly stabilize the kneecap, making the pressure worse.”
I left the now-speechless manager and turned my attention back to Jeong Ra-bit with a gentler tone.
“Protein intake is essential, even while dieting. Your condition isn’t simply an ‘occupational hazard of idols.’ It’s malnutrition combined with both cartilage degeneration and muscle atrophy.”
“Ah…!”
“Starving yourself created the illness. You need to eat to heal.”
In that moment, something inside Jeong Ra-bit’s chest seemed to crumble.
And—
“H-hic, hic…”
She suddenly began to weep.
A rosy blush spread across her pale cheeks, and tears dropped steadily from her large eyes.
I blinked in confusion.
‘Wait, did I say something wrong?!’
* * *
Jeong Ra-bit had struggled with knee pain for a long time now.
It hurt when she walked, and it hurt when climbing stairs.
Jumping on stage or kneeling during performances was far worse—
But she could never show weakness in front of her fans.
‘If I make another mistake, they might throw me away as useless.’
That anxiety always weighed on her, deep in her chest.
She had already once faced elimination during debut team tests.
That day’s memory remained vivid.
—”Jeong Ra-bit! You ruined the stage because of you! That was a crucial performance for the debut lineup!”
—”I-I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…!”
As befitted a rabbit spirit creature—timid by nature, easily discouraged by small mistakes.
That side of her personality had been most pronounced that day.
During a critical evaluation stage, Ra-bit had trembled and missed her moves, ultimately dragging down her entire team.
‘Since I was born a spirit creature, each of us must use the gifts we’ve been given to bring more light to the world.’
In the past, the rabbit clan had leveraged their agility to serve as messengers and scouts on battlefields.
In the modern era, they often shone through dance and art on stage.
‘I can’t make mistakes. I have to be better than anyone else. I can only show my best self.’
Ra-bit pushed herself to increasingly extreme measures.
Weight control became one of her tools.
—”Ra-bit, haven’t you been snacking way too much lately?”
—”I’m sorry…”
—”The camera makes you look heavier, so you need to lose more. Plus, excess weight makes your body sluggish when you dance and strains your knees. While you’re an idol, you shouldn’t think such things exist in the world.”
Every week she stepped on the scale and faced harsh criticism.
Even a birthday cake gifted to her was thrown into the trash before her eyes.
From then on, she gave up sweet treats and leisurely weekends alike. Each day was spent solely in the practice room.
‘Thanks to that, I became Lunar’s main dancer. But my knees only got worse.’
And yet today.
A doctor named Go Yeon-hee had said:
“Your condition came from not eating enough. You need to eat well and rest. Stop pushing yourself so hard.”
Those words alone had caused something inside Ra-bit’s heart to collapse.
In the treatment room of Baekmiodang Oriental Medicine Clinic,
Yeon-hee drew curtains around the bed and explained steadily.
“Now, I’ll place needles on acupoints around your kneecap—like the Dubi, Yanggu, Xuehui, and Zusanli points. For muscle strengthening and joint circulation. I’ll also administer Herbal Acupuncture Injection for anti-inflammatory and pain-relief effects.”
Yeon-hee lowered her voice so the manager wouldn’t hear, and winked at Ra-bit.
“And while I’m placing the needles, I’ll pour in some Spiritual Energy for you! You should definitely feel much better for a while. In exchange, make me one promise: eat well and do some strength training.”
Ra-bit let out a small laugh through her tears.
As Yeon-hee’s needles entered,
the Myoansuk hanging from her neck emitted a warm glow.
Swish—
A golden wave rippled across Ra-bit’s knee.
As successive needles were inserted, rings of light gradually formed, centered on her knee.
Along with it, the stubborn pain that had plagued her knee slowly faded away.
Like thin ice melting in the sun.
‘Ah…’
Her perpetually tired leg muscles seemed to unwind, and a soothing warmth spread through her.
For the first time in ages, she took an easy breath.
‘Something like this is actually possible.’
Ra-bit, with her plump rabbit cheeks, smiled gently.
And for the first time in a long while, she savored a sense of relief, free from all worry.
* * *
After finishing the needle treatment, I checked the patient’s energy.
The faintly flowing golden Spiritual Energy around Jeong Ra-bit’s knee had begun circulating vigorously again.
‘And this time, I’m not even as exhausted as after placing all the needles.’
As Baek Eun-ho had said, the more treatment experience I accumulated, the more adept I was becoming at manipulating Spiritual Energy.
It was truly fortunate.
I couldn’t afford to collapse after seeing just one patient.
It was at that moment of quiet satisfaction.
“My knee feels so comfortable.”
Jeong Ra-bit closed and opened her eyes, smiling softly.
“Thank you, Director. And… you’re the first person who’s ever said something like that to me. That I should eat well, that’s how I’ll heal.”
Her large eyes, still wet with tears, gleamed as she smiled.
“Maybe… I’ve been exhausted this whole time without realizing it.”
At that sight, my heart swelled unexpectedly.
It was always pleasant to see a patient smile, grateful that they’d improved.
At the same time, I found myself reflexively thinking of my mother.
‘Ah, Mother used to say things like that. That a true doctor cares for both the body and the heart of their patient.’
But… to have such a cute, beautiful idol smile at me like this.
My heart was struggling a bit.
Wait, am I developing a crush right now?
Was this what they called “becoming a fan”? I was pondering this when Ra-bit suddenly tilted her head.
“Director, have we met before?”
“Pardon?”
“I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere.”
I laughed out loud.
“Ha, isn’t this flirting? I’m actually quite pleased to be on the receiving end from someone so lovely.”
“W-wait! No, I’m serious…”
Ra-bit’s face flushed as she waved her hands in denial.
That was when it happened.
“…!!”
My heart suddenly plummeted.
The world before my eyes went dark, and a strange sensation swept over me as if the entire treatment room had flipped upside down.
In an instant, the bright and warm space of Baekmiodang vanished,
and an unfamiliar landscape unfolded before me, accompanied by cold air.
Whoooosh—
The sound of rain piercing into my ears.
A dark sky, a muddy forest path soaked through.
I held my breath.
‘What is this? A vision?’
At the edge of my turning gaze, Jeong Ra-bit appeared.
With wet hair clinging to her cheeks, she stumbled and stood on a mountainside.
She stared fearfully into the distance, behind a tree.
“…”
There sat a woman in ragged clothes, slumped helplessly on the ground.
Her clothes were soaked and sagging with earth and rainwater, her pupils dim—
Yet her eyes held an oddly serene and warm light.
Squelch, squelch—
Around the woman, a viscous black aura swirled and writhed.
A mass of Corrupt Qi, alive and undulating.
Yet the woman seemed to be struggling, mustering her last strength to resist something.
In the next instant, cat ears appeared above the woman’s head in the vision, and a faint cat tail trailed behind her waist.
“…Gasp!”
I gasped, my eyes snapping wide open.
The landscape scattered and dissolved; the treatment room of Baekmiodang came into focus again.
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
Jeong Ra-bit was staring at me with an alarmed expression.
“Director Go…! Are you alright?”
With trembling hands, I gripped the Myoansuk hanging from my neck.
It was certain.
What I had just seen was no mere vision—it was Jeong Ra-bit’s memory.
And the woman within it…
‘Mother.’
The woman who had given me this pendant and then vanished without a trace,
only to be discovered later as a cold corpse.
My mother.

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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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