Surviving as the Sacheon Dang Clan’s Servant - Chapter 58

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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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Episode 58
“Hmm, what should I trim? Maybe these dried foxglove stalks? Or the Zhuojiaoze thorns? Actually, Zhuojiaoze would be best, wouldn’t it?”
What on earth is that.
Dang Ju Hui hummed to herself, delighted, and pushed open the door to the Medical Hall. At the same moment, the heavy scent of medicinal decoction rolled toward us in a thick wave.
The Medicine Hall Master crouched in the courtyard, simmering decoction over a flame. Exhaustion dripped from his face as he fanned the fire with a listless hand.
The last time I’d seen him, he hadn’t looked this worn down. Was something troubling him?
“Master. I’ve arrived.”
“Welcome. You’re here early today, aren’t you?”
“I wanted to show my youngest sister the Medical Hall.”
Before Dang Ju Hui could answer, the Medicine Hall Master appeared in front of me and gripped my shoulder.
“Oh, interested in Division Entry, are you?”
Good heavens, he startled me. When did he come over?
As I flinched in surprise, the Medicine Hall Master’s eyes lit up, and he asked again.
“Are you interested in Division Entry?”
“I… no, not really?”
“I see.”
At my denial, the Medicine Hall Master’s shoulders sagged, and he shuffled back toward the decoction.
The spark drained from his eyes as quickly as it had kindled—he looked like an office worker hollowed out after an all-nighter, fanning away with dead eyes.
Reading the situation, I brought Deok Ju forward to the Medicine Hall Master.
“Um, Master. My escort took a beating. We lost the bet badly, and I was wondering if we could take some medicinal decoction with us?”
“We’ll talk after the hour is done.”
“Understood.”
Lips pressed shut, I shifted my weight from foot to foot, watching Deok Ju. The bruising beneath her eyes had deepened noticeably since we’d arrived.
The girl’s turned into a walking bruise.
Unlike my growing anxiety, Deok Ju seemed unmoved.
“Deok Ju. Are you all right?”
“I am fine.”
“You don’t look fine at all.”
“It will heal by tomorrow.”
No injury that severe could possibly mend in a day, but since she insisted, I had nothing to say.
What are Martial Cultivators, anyway? Does learning Martial Arts strip you of the ability to feel pain?
Withdrawing my gaze from Deok Ju, I leaned over and whispered to Dang Ju Hui.
“Master looks absolutely exhausted.”
“The Medical Hall is short-staffed. Nobody wants to work here because the demands are so heavy. People come in poisoned regularly—happens all the time. I’m the only one who’s joined recently. Everyone else fled, saying it was too hard.”
“Wait, you’re a physician?”
My eyes went wide, and Dang Ju Hui giggled.
“Is there anyone in the Dang Clan who doesn’t know medicine? We’re all physicians.”
Well, I suppose physical therapy counts as treatment. Punch therapy counts as medicine too.
“I had no idea. I always thought you specialized in poison research.”
Or rather, administering poisons to people.
Dang Ju Hui answered me with a look that said she’d heard it all before.
“I can do that on my own time. Saving lives is so much more interesting. Killing is easy—it’s saving someone that takes real skill, don’t you think?”
Well. I suppose so.
It was quintessentially Dang Ju Hui reasoning.
The Medicine Hall Master, who’d been listening quietly, chimed in.
“A fair point. Killing is far easier. The better a physician you are, the better you become at killing—cleanly, without a trace.”
Don’t say such frightening things. You’re talking as if you’ve done it yourself.
“That’s not what matters, though. Youngest, wait here a moment.”
Dang Ju Hui brought over a straw mat and spread it on the floor, then hauled over a large hemp sack and dumped it beside the mat with a thud. Inside the sack was an armful of thorny branches.
“All right, sit here. Let’s start by trimming some Zhuojiaoze.”
“You want me to trim these?”
“You’ll have to wait for the decoction anyway, won’t you? You’ll be bored. Trim them while you wait.”
That logic. That’s like telling someone waiting at a restaurant to peel onions because they’re bored.
Though it was absurd, Grandfather had told me to help with the Medical Hall’s work, so I couldn’t refuse.
I settled slowly onto the mat and eyed the hemp sack, when the Medicine Hall Master came rushing over.
“I’ll teach you! Let me teach you!”
“No, you really don’t have to.”
“Zhuojiaoze is easy enough to trim. I’ll have the medicinal mixture ready before long—just prepare one sack, all right?”
“One sack? Not one basket?”
Ignoring my comment lightly, the Medicine Hall Master produced a short sword and began to demonstrate.
“Now, you see? When you cut it like this and the thorns are firm with a reddish-brown cross-section, put only those in this jar here.”
“Yes, yes. The thorns, understood.”
“That’s right. I’ll select a blade with a good edge for you. Let me see…….”
He’s actually sharpening one? I’ve never done this before.
Though bewildered, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse when I saw the Medicine Hall Master’s sleeves rolled up, his whole bearing suddenly animated.
The face that had looked ready to collapse from exhaustion just moments ago had transformed into one bright with joy, like parched earth drinking in a sudden downpour.
I glanced quickly at Dang Ju Hui.
“What about you?”
“I’m not doing it. I broke my nail.”
Someone worried about breaking a nail shouldn’t throw punches like that. You dragged me here because you wanted to put me to work.
In the meantime, the Medicine Hall Master had selected a short sword and spoke brightly.
“That’s it. This blade is the sharpest. Here, use this one.”
He held it out with a radiant smile. I accepted it reluctantly, like eating mustard through my tears.
* * *
Scritch-scritch.
Snip-snip.
Crunch-crunch.
The sounds of blades mingled together, creating a soothing harmony. It was the kind of sound that would calm the mind, if only it weren’t coming from my own hands.
That is, if I weren’t the one making it.
When I lifted my head at the tingling sensation in my fingertips, I saw Deok Ju intensely peeling the bark from the medicinal roots.
Watching her work with bruises around her eyes unsettled me.
“Deok Ju. Take a break now and then, will you?”
“I’m fine.”
Deok Ju answered flatly, not even glancing my way as she continued cutting.
I was about to admire her dexterity—she moved like a master craftsman who’d spent decades preparing herbs—when I looked down and my jaw dropped.
Chunks of herb roots lay scattered everywhere, mangled beyond recognition.
“Deok Ju. Wait a moment. Something seems wrong.”
“Should I cut them thicker?”
No. This isn’t about cutting thick or thin. The herbs are ruined.
At my words, Dang Ju Hui, who’d been lying in the Main Hall playing with a snake, leapt up and rushed over. Upon seeing the destroyed herbs, she flipped her eyes back and let out a shout.
“Hey! What are you doing! You’ve ruined all the herbs!”
“I prepared them exactly as you explained.”
“Who explained it like that? Are your eyes just for decoration? Get out of here! Now!”
Dragged outside by Dang Ju Hui’s barrage of demands, Deok Ju’s face fell in a way I rarely saw.
Why are you taking it out on her like this?
I felt a surge of indignation and raised my voice too.
“She was trying to help. Why are you angry? If you want, I’ll do it.”
“It takes two weeks to dry those herbs again! They only grow in autumn—they’re expensive right now!”
“Then why send someone who doesn’t know anything? Just buy new ones!”
“Really?”
Dang Ju Hui calmed down at the mention of buying new ones, breaking into a smirk.
“Then get the pre-processed ones. I can’t be bothered cutting roots.”
“……Just tell me what to buy.”
“Fine. I’ll write it out clearly for you. Let me see—where’s my brush?”
I watched Dang Ju Hui’s retreating figure as she went to find writing materials. Why do I feel like I’ve been played?
Deok Ju, noticing my hesitation, lowered her head awkwardly.
“I’m sorry. Miss. I could offer my wages…….”
“No. I was just trying to help. I’m the one who should apologize. You’re suffering because of a poor master.”
At my weak response, Deok Ju’s face darkened.
“But…….”
“It’s fine, so don’t worry. I have plenty of money.”
Grandfather does, anyway. He’s set aside a lot of spending money.
Having consoled the dejected Deok Ju, I began organizing the finished herbs.
In the meantime, Dang Ju Hui returned with the herb list written out and crouched down to watch me work.
“You there. You’re good at this. Is it because you were annoyed?”
Is that praise or an insult?
I shot Dang Ju Hui a look and waved my hand dismissively.
“If you’re not going to help, stay quiet.”
“You’re doing the work of five people by yourself—why bother?”
“Honestly, you’re treating me like a pack animal.”
Muttering under my breath, I lifted my head and saw hemp sacks lined up in the courtyard.
“I did all of those?”
“Yeah.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Five people’s worth.”
Pride and self-recrimination flooded through me at once.
I hadn’t meant to push myself this hard. I’d gotten carried away. Simple labor had been such a relief—a chance to empty my mind—that I’d overdone it.
Dang Ju Hui, resting her chin on her palm, looked at me and asked.
“Youngest. How would you feel about joining the Medical Hall?”
“But you just said the work intensity was too high and nobody wanted to apply.”
“You seem naturally suited for it.”
“I’m not.”
I said it flatly, but Dang Ju Hui didn’t seem to mind at all. She looked like she’d already caught her prey and began coaxing me gently.
“Come on, join the Medical Hall. I’ll make sure you don’t get a drop of blood on your hands. When I become Division Master, I’ll make you Assistant Division Master.”
“I’ll pass.”
Stop talking like you’re proposing to me. I don’t like getting blood on my hands anyway.
“Why not? If nothing else goes wrong, I’ll be the next Medical Hall Master.”
“That makes it worse.”
I shuddered and rubbed my arms, goosebumps rising on my skin.
You’d be saying I’d have to clean up after all your messes every single day.
All those people who left—they didn’t run away because the work was hard. They ran away because of you.
As I kept refusing, Dang Ju Hui’s eyes narrowed.
“You have to pick one anyway, don’t you? Think about it. There’s nobody here who’ll bother you.”
“Pick one for what?”
I tilted my head in confusion, and Dang Ju Hui asked back as if I should have known.
“After your coming-of-age ceremony, you choose which division of the Dang Clan to join, don’t you? Aren’t you supposed to have your ceremonial rite soon?”
“Coming-of-age ceremony?”
I’d never heard of this before. When was that supposed to happen?

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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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