I Became the Oriental Doctor for Divine Beasts - Chapter 7

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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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I had become a physician to Divine Beings.
#7
In the waiting room of Baekmuodang, atop a wooden table.
Splash—.
Warm tea filled a ceramic cup.
I wrapped both hands around the cup. Slowly, warmth seeped into my fingertips, which had been drained of color.
“Are you… all right?”
Jung Ra-bit asked carefully. Worry was written plainly in her round, rabbit-like eyes.
Right—this was awkward.
Normally the doctor worries about the patient, but here everything was turned upside down.
“I’m fine—….”
I trailed off, then let out a long breath.
“No. Actually, I’m not.”
Ra-bit’s eyes widened in surprise, and she straightened her posture.
I pressed my lips intently with my index finger.
“The truth is… just as the treatment was ending, I think I saw a past memory of yours.”
“What?! My… my past memory?”
Her cheeks flushed crimson. She looked as though rabbit ears might burst from her head at any moment.
“Do you remember ever wandering around a mountain foothills on a rainy day and seeing a Divine Being from the Cat Divine Clan? When they took human form, they looked to be in their mid-forties, and their clothes were soaked in muddy water—they were kneeling on the ground—…”
The more I described it, the more my chest ached.
The more I recalled that figure, the more I couldn’t understand why Mother was there in such a state.
Ra-bit’s eyes widened in apparent confusion.
“Mountain foothills… the Cat Divine Clan? When was this?”
“…Ten years ago. During the Chuseok holidays. Between September 14th and 18th.”
The moment I spoke, that memory became vivid again.
Mother had disappeared without a word on the first day of the Chuseok holidays.
Foolishly, I waited for her with ease, only to file a missing person report with the police much later.
‘That Chuseok—there were no holiday foods, no festive mood.’
Days spent biting my nails while waiting for word from Mother, wandering through countless alleyways searching for her.
The holiday finally ended with Mother’s body brought home in cold silence.
The police found no signs of forced entry and concluded it was a simple case of running away and accidental death based on evidence of packed luggage and public transportation records.
Even thinking of it now, that time was like hell.
I worked hard to compose my expression, hoping no trace of that era would show in my eyes.
“Ten years ago, in autumn……”
Ra-bit pressed her forehead, searching her memory.
“Ah! That was when I was a trainee. There was a day I messed up my stage performance and ran away from the company… yes, that’s right. Around that time, I think I saw the woman you’re describing in the forest.”
“…!”
Without thinking, I leaned forward.
“And… then what? What happened after that?”
Ra-bit’s lips trembled uncomfortably.
“I was scared and hesitated for a while, then I got closer… but there was no one behind the tree. I just thought I’d imagined things and forgot about it.”
She watched my expression carefully.
“But why? Someone you know?”
I steadied my breathing and shook my head.
“…I think it was my mother. It might have been what she looked like just before she passed.”
“Oh my…!”
Ra-bit covered her mouth with her hand.
“So that’s why I felt your face was familiar when I first saw you. That memory must have brushed my mind unconsciously……”
“Ra-bit, do you happen to remember where that mountain was?”
“Oh, well… I just got out of a taxi randomly and wandered around. It was somewhere in Seoul, but I’m not sure of the exact location. I’m sorry.”
A mountain in Seoul.
Even that much was precious information to me.
Back then, the police had done little to investigate Mother’s disappearance, only leaving behind indifferent words like, “Probably ran away.”
At seventeen, those words had shattered my heart.
‘From now on, I’ll look for the last traces Mother left behind.’
I nodded.
“It’s fine. Even that much is a tremendous help. Thank you.”
Ra-bit’s eyes suddenly sparkled.
“But can you really see the memories of patients?”
“I’m not sure either. I don’t even know if it’s really my ability.”
That was when it happened. Bound—.
Alfred leaped nimbly onto the wooden table. His white fur gleamed in the light.
[It is one of the inherent abilities of the Cat Divine Clan.]
The cat’s voice rumbled low and firm.
[Spirit Sight to distinguish Spiritual Energy from Tainted Energy. Purification to remove Tainted Energy. And Memory Detection to see a patient’s past. But those are abilities that take years of practice to manifest. For you to already show even a glimpse of it… you have remarkable talent.]
Ra-bit’s eyes went wide with surprise.
“Goodness! A talking cat?! So you’re a Divine Being that the doctor keeps!”
“Yes, his name is Alfred. He said he comes from the Butler Clan Family that has served my household for generations.”
I explained briefly, my brow furrowing slightly.
“Alfred! What do I need to do to develop Memory Detection further?”
The cat swished his tail slowly.
[Do not be greedy. That you succeeded even this briefly as a beginner is a miracle. Deeper memories require much treatment and experience.]
Then he glanced sideways at Ra-bit.
[For instance, if you treat this rabbit-tribe Divine Being several more times… you might begin to see longer fragments of memory.]
I clenched my fist tightly.
All those years I had lived believing I had been abandoned.
If Mother had a story, I had to uncover it, no matter what.
‘If that’s the case, I’ll gather whatever treatment experience I need.’
Having made that resolve, I looked up.
“Would it be all right if I continued to treat you? Your knee needs consistent care.”
Ra-bit broke into a wide smile, her eyes sparkling.
“Of course! Actually, I’d like to ask you to do it. If I remember anything else, I’ll tell you right away.”
“Thank you.”
“Your mother was a Purifier of the Cat Divine Clan, wasn’t she? Perhaps if you continue treating other Divine Beings, you might find other traces of her?”
I was momentarily stunned, then slowly nodded.
“…That might be possible. I could meet Divine Beings who were her patients back then.”
Ra-bit suddenly grasped my hand.
“Then I’ll introduce you to other Divine Being patients!”
“Th-thank you……”
“Oh, that’s right! Do you have time tomorrow? There’s another Divine Being who needs help!”
“Tomorrow is the weekend, so I was planning to rest.”
“Perfect! I’ll send you the address. Please come, Doctor!”
Without quite realizing it, I took out my phone and exchanged numbers with her.
In that moment, my mouth suddenly felt dry.
‘I’m stepping deeper and deeper into this world.’
* * *
All the treatments of that day were finished.
Moonlight descended upon the garden of Baekmuodang, and the shadow of the jujube tree swayed long in the breeze.
The evening air was cool, though traces of the day’s heat still lingered.
“……”
At my side, sitting on the veranda overlooking the garden, Alfred slowly wagged his tail.
His white fur caught the moonlight, glinting silver.
[Yeon-hui. Are you well? Your expression is strange.]
“Hm? Ah……”
My shoulders slumped.
“Honestly, I’m confused. I don’t know if this is something to be happy about or sad about… I’ve spent all this time believing I was abandoned by my maternal relatives and by Mother.”
Below the veranda, insects chirped in the grass.
I laid my hands folded on my knees.
“Was I a bother to her? Or did I do something wrong? I’ve thought of every possibility. But… if it wasn’t that, if Mother really had a reason—”
I paused to swallow dryly, then continued.
“Then I have to find out what she went through and why she ended up like that.”
My voice grew quieter.
“And besides, that thick Tainted Energy wrapping around Mother in Ra-bit’s memory… could it be connected to the Corrupted Beings somehow?”
Alfred’s eyes gleamed coldly.
[…Cautious as it is to say, I too have a strong suspicion that the young mistress’s death may have been the work of Corrupted Beings.]
I caught my breath. The shadows beneath the veranda seemed to deepen.
“Alfred. You said the Cat Divine Clan was exterminated, didn’t you? How did that happen?”
[I myself do not know the full details. I severed ties with the Cat Divine Clan world early, following the young mistress. But I know that whenever the young mistress tried to contact the main house, they gave no response whatsoever.]
Alfred’s voice lowered.
[It is presumptuous of me to say such a thing—I might be struck by lightning for it—but I still cannot understand why the patriarch was so cold to his own blood. No matter how unsuitable the son-in-law was, it was cruel.]
“Ah……”
[Then one day, when you were thirteen or so, the young mistress visited the main house in person. She said the house had become like an abandoned dwelling, with not a shadow of a person inside. That night, she wept and told me… that everyone seemed to be dead.]
I clenched my lips. No words came to mind.
Then it happened.
Creak—.
A sound came from the direction of the front gate.
Followed by footsteps cutting through the night air.
“…?!”
I sprang from the veranda and stared toward the gate.
My heart dropped.
Perhaps because I had just mentioned Corrupted Beings, my nerves were on edge.
“Who’s there?”
I asked as calmly as I could manage.
At the same moment my hand unconsciously gripped the Cat’s Eye Stone—.
“What.”
A familiar, blunt voice.
Long legs cut through the darkness, approaching one step at a time.
“Even if I can’t get a warm welcome, there’s no need to stare at me like that.”
Beneath the moonlight, Baek Eun-ho in his black suit came into view.
As always—a sharp jawline, cold eyes. Yet his expression held a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
I exhaled in relief and pressed a hand to my chest.
“Phew, what. You scared me.”
My heart was still racing.
“Why are you here all of a sudden? Don’t tell me the chairman is ill again?”
Eun-ho shook his head.
“No. The chairman looks perfectly fine thanks to your treatment. I came because of you today.”
“Me?”
He gestured curtly toward me.
“You seemed like you’d be afraid, sitting here like this.”
“…!”
I was momentarily at a loss for words.
Eun-ho turned his gaze toward the front gate and made a gesture.
“Go ahead. Start.”
“Yes, sir!”
Footstep by footstep.
Men in black suits emerged from the darkness.
And in an instant, they surrounded Baekmuodang densely on all sides.

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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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