The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 112

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 112

Seol Yuhui opened her eyes.

It felt like waking up from a very deep sleep.

She rubbed her eyes and brushed her hair back.

Of course, a hundred years hadn’t passed, so her hair was the same length, and the place wasn’t a forest but the oriental medicine clinic… bed?

Huh?

Why am I here? What time is it?

Seol Yuhui reflexively reached into her pocket, but her phone wasn’t there.

She jumped up and pulled back the curtain. Then she saw the clock hanging on one wall of the treatment room.

The hands pointed to 4 PM already.

As she became aware of the time, she also remembered how she had fallen asleep.

She had received treatment around 10 AM when she had a brief break, and six hours had already passed?

“Oh my goodness, Director! I’m so sorry! I really didn’t know I would fall asleep!”

Seol Yuhui was startled and looked for the director.

This was crazy. She must have really lost her mind. How could she actually fall asleep when she said she would sleep?

When her body was in severe pain, she would sometimes lose consciousness regardless of her will, but since starting treatment here, that had never happened.

She had been thoroughly managing her condition and trying not to cause trouble at work, so how could this happen?

She hadn’t even known she was sick until the pulse examination, and now she felt completely lost.

“Director, we’re short 1.6g of musk. Did you use some?”

“Yes, I had something to use it for… How on earth did you know it was exactly 1.6g?”

“I was going to make Gongjinan and noticed the condition was different from yesterday, so I measured it again. I thought someone had secretly eaten some.”

When she hurriedly ran to the examination room, the director was having a conversation with Teacher An Juhui.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“I had to make just one pill for something. Yu Hee! It’s okay, come in!”

“That’s too much for just one pill…”

One pill?

Seol Yuhui recalled the rather large pill she had swallowed before falling asleep.

Could the director have made it specially for her? And Teacher An Juhui just mentioned musk.

“Oh no, you didn’t use precious medicinal ingredients because of me, did you?”

Seol Yuhui was shocked.

She didn’t know the exact amount, but she knew it was extremely, very expensive.

The grades and prices of Gongjinan prescribed at the oriental medicine clinic were divided into Wonbang Gongjinan, Bansahyang Gongjinan, and Mokhyang Gongjinan according to musk content.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. I used it because it was necessary. Come sit here for a moment.”

The director waved her hand and had Seol Yuhui sit in a chair. Then she took her wrist.

“I’m so sorry for not managing my health properly. I’ll pull myself together and work harder. And from now on, I’ll pay for the treatment…”

“Your pulse has definitely stabilized. How do you feel?”

Director Han Yewon cut off the talk about treatment fees and asked about Seol Yuhui’s condition.

Seol Yuhui, who had been too shocked by the fact that she had fallen asleep, finally examined her own condition.

“Huh?”

The burning sensation in her head right after taking the medicine had completely disappeared.

Moreover, the shivering she used to feel even from a slight cold breeze was gone too.

Something, was it just her imagination?

The examination room seemed brighter, and the world appeared clearer.

“Your head doesn’t hurt, right? And you feel less cold?”

Even the director’s voice sounded loud and clear.

“Somehow sounds seem louder. My vision is brighter too.”

“Oh? Your eyes and ears have cleared up?”

“…1.6g of musk can improve hearing too?”

Unlike the director who listened seriously to her story, the pharmacist seemed to think Seol Yuhui was exaggerating and chuckled.

But like this, even her fingertips, her fingertips…

Her hands weren’t cold?!

Unbelievably, her fingertips were warm.

Since starting treatment, the ice-cold feeling had decreased compared to before, but they had never been this warm.

No matter how warm a shower she took or how much she warmed up with an electric blanket, they would become cool again after just 10 minutes.

Now, a gentle warmth spread to her fingertips and toes, enveloping her.

“I feel like I’ve been reborn. The fog has completely lifted, my hands and feet are warm. Moreover, in my head, my stomach, no, throughout my body, blockages I didn’t even know existed have been cleared. I didn’t even know they were blocked until they opened up…!”

“Really, is it that much?”

Teacher An Juhui took Seol Yuhui’s hand with curiosity.

But since she didn’t know Seol Yuhui’s original condition, she could only tilt her head in wonder.

“That’s a relief.”

Unlike her, the director smiled as if she had expected this.

“Did you originally have severe cold hands and feet? Was the directly processed aconite because of Teacher Seol? What else did you put in besides musk? Wonbang… no, you said you put everything in one pill? A 20-times dose Gongjinan?”

“No. Come on, Yu Hee needs to go home and rest, so stop bothering her!”

“I’m fine. I’m all better, so I think I could work again.”

“No. You need to rest today. Please leave work early. Eat something delicious, cover yourself with a blanket and rest well.”

Seol Yuhui really felt fine, but the director emphasized several times that she absolutely had to rest today.

“But now there’s nothing to worry about. It seems like it was a healing crisis that comes when you’re almost fully recovered.”

“A healing crisis? You’re saying I’m almost completely recovered?”

“It’s always darkest before dawn. Since your condition had been bad for so long, it temporarily got much worse as it was trying to improve. Based on your pulse, you’re practically cured, so let’s stop the medication this month and observe.”

“Thank… thank you.”

She walked outside in a daze.

What just happened?

He said I’m completely recovered. Did I just receive a clean bill of health?

Well, of course there was no specific disease name, so there’s nothing to be “cured” of, but… my cold constitution has improved? This suddenly?

Just this morning I had gone to work normally, and when I heard my condition wasn’t good, I thought the sky was falling.

Am I dreaming?

Maybe I collapsed this morning and I’m still asleep…

Rustle.

Her hair fluttered in the autumn breeze.

She felt good.

Certainly until this morning the weather had been chilly, and even the slightest cold air would make her feel terrible.

But now she really was perfectly fine.

Though bewildered, she felt good.

Good, so very good.

Strangely, tears began to well up a little.

Somehow, she couldn’t contain the overwhelming feeling in her heart.

“Whoo… Ha!”

Seol Yuhui looked ahead and ran wildly.

She wanted to release all the overflowing energy that seemed to burst from her body.

‘Waaaah!’

Cheering in her heart, she sprinted down the sidewalk.

Whether it was because her stamina had improved from exercise, or because her body had completely healed.

Seol Yuhui was able to run joyfully all the way home.

* * *

Whew, what a surprise!

I did use some musk to manage the snake’s inner core, but why did she have to notice it right away?

I was trying to finish it secretly, but I broke out in a cold sweat because An Juhui kept asking what I had done.

In any case, thanks to the inner core, Seol Yuhui’s severed pulse was safely resolved.

The yin energy that had been endlessly surging and blocking her pulse now achieved proper balance with yang energy and settled in her dantian.

The toxic energy mixed in the inner core was completely burned away by me.

For a martial artist, this would be fortune close to a miraculous opportunity, but since Seol Yuhui had only learned very basic qigong, it would probably just result in improved health.

Of course, even that alone is remarkable.

From now on, far from minor ailments, she would have the strength to resist any physical or mental stimulus.

As much as her diligence supports her, she would be able to do anything that her health had prevented her from doing until now.

I proudly finished today’s work.

The other staff members were a bit flustered seeing Seol Yuhui collapse, but fortunately there were few patients, so they covered her work without difficulty.

Now let’s close up for the day-.

“Clinic Director, there’s a call from Professor Lee Juhyeok from the Hematology and Oncology Department at Sowon General Hospital. Should I connect it?”

I was about to, but a call came 10 minutes before closing time.

“Yes, I’ll take it. You can leave work first.”

“Yes~! Thank you for your hard work!”

“Thank you for your hard work too.”

Since all the billing was finished anyway, I let the staff leave first and took the call.

Professor Lee Juhyeok probably wouldn’t talk for very long.

He was a middle-aged doctor who had moved to Sowon General Hospital after mandatory retirement from a university hospital, and was serving as the head of the 1st Hematology and Oncology Department at Sowon General Hospital.

Even though we had signed an MOU, there really wasn’t that much interaction between a general hospital and an oriental medicine clinic.

While we occasionally requested tests from them, how often would a general hospital request collaboration from a clinic-level facility?

The agreement was made because of patients that Park Yeonggil, the surgery department head, personally referred, and even when there were patients who needed traditional Korean medicine treatment, the oriental medicine hospital they had been working with took priority.

Nevertheless, there were a few doctors who occasionally sent patients to me, and Professor Lee Juhyeok was one of them.

Unlike Department Head Seong Chanmi from the 2nd department, with whom I’d never had any interaction, he sent patients from time to time.

After one patient who was lucky enough to see dramatic results from acupuncture, he would sometimes call to explain about patients.

This was quite different from typical collaboration that involved exchanging formal referral letters requesting “expert diagnosis and excellent treatment” for various diseases.

“Oh, hello. This is Lee Juhyeok. How have you been?”

“Hello, Professor. Thanks to your concern, I’m always well. What brings you to call today?”

“Ah, it’s similar to usual. It’s a patient undergoing chemotherapy. Stage 3 colon cancer, a patient who has progressed to the 4th cycle with XELOX. Could you take a look? The dizziness isn’t being controlled, and the loss of appetite and lethargy are severe, so the patient is losing the will to continue treatment.”

As Lee Juhyeok said, the patients that he, a hematology-oncology specialist, referred for collaboration always had similar aspects.

Chemotherapy is extremely painful, and if the side effects could have been managed within his scope, he wouldn’t have bothered to refer them.

When treating with chemotherapy, especially chemical anticancer drugs.

The anticancer drugs destroy not only cancer cells but normal cells as well, often causing fatal side effects.

It’s the commonly imagined image of patients wearing hats because their hair has fallen out and being extremely emaciated.

If cancer cells are cleanly removed through surgery like in Yun Hanbyeol’s case, making chemotherapy unnecessary, that’s very fortunate.

There are also later-developed methods with relatively fewer side effects, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy… but there are still many cases where chemical anticancer drugs must be used.

The patients I had met through Professor Lee Juhyeok so far were those among such chemotherapy patients who had severe side effects and pinned their hopes on traditional Korean medicine treatment.

“Of course.”

Since I couldn’t treat everyone, my heart felt a little heavy each time I received these calls, but I accepted the request to do everything I could.

“Ah, that’s a relief. Then could you spare some time tomorrow? I’ll come and escort you personally.”

Huh?

Professor Lee Juhyeok is coming personally…?

Even without meeting him, I could tell he was a doctor with deep affection for his patients and a strong sense of duty, but he had never gone this far before.

“Is there something unusual about this patient?”

I asked with a bit of tension.

“Ah, no. It’s because he’s my friend. He should have contacted me directly, but instead he went all the way to Korea University Hospital… Ugh! I’ll explain the details when I get there. Sorry for calling suddenly during your off hours.”

But indeed, there would be no reason for an attending physician to come personally just because of unusual symptoms.

Lee Juhyeok replied that the patient was an acquaintance of his.

“Not at all. Please don’t worry about it. Have a good evening and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I said goodbye and hung up the phone.

He seemed to have a lot he wanted to say, but as he said, it wouldn’t matter much to hear it tomorrow.

So I’ll get to see this professor’s face.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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