The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 192

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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 192

I entered Kim Ijin’s house together with her.

Kim Ijin’s Father, who had been resting at home, welcomed me warmly despite the sudden visit.

And when he heard the explanation of the situation, he showed remarkably the exact same reaction as Mother.

“Oh my, to think she was injured all this time without us knowing…! I’m sorry!”

A whole commotion of thanking me for treating Lee Jini and feeling sorry for not discovering Choco’s knee problem.

Only after that was I finally able to treat Choco.

“Choco, Teacher isn’t trying to hurt you~! He’s giving you acupuncture to treat you, okay?”

– Grrrrr!

The creature wasn’t a spiritual being, so there was no way it could understand words.

Unlike with humans, the biggest challenge when treating animals is creating an environment where you can insert needles.

How could it not be threatening when needles are suddenly thrust at them?

Howling, struggling to escape, making a huge fuss – it’s no ordinary matter.

If I had brought Cheongsol, would communication have been possible?

For now, I had no choice but to forcibly restrain it and proceed.

“Someone should hold it down so we can treat it quickly.”

“Ah, I’ll hold it!”

Kim Ijin hugged Choco from behind and held it tightly.

– Grrr!

“I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m going to make your knee better.”

The content was gentle, but her voice was firm.

That warning-like tone was quite…

‘…?!’

Her energy moved subtly too?

Choco immediately became docile.

“Good.”

“Ooh~ As expected, Choco listens to Lee Jini the best.”

“Are you inserting the needles now?”

Kim Ijin herself and her family didn’t know, but the animal with developed energy sensitivity had felt its owner’s change.

Anyway, it would be best to quickly insert the needles and finish while it was docile.

“Yes. Here, treatment points are formed in places that correspond to human acupoints in the same way.”

While human acupoints and dog acupoints don’t match exactly, there are many corresponding locations.

This is true for most quadrupedal mammals.

You simply connect the front legs to arms and the hind legs to legs.

Since the hind leg was injured, I just needed to use the knee acupoints directly.

Naeseul-an, Oeseul-an, Hyeolhae, Pungsi, Yangneungcheon, Eumneungcheon, Joksamnni, and so on…

I quickly inserted needles at locations around the knee and its vicinity to treat the damaged ligaments and muscles.

“!~!!~!”

I was ready to join in holding it down if it barked and made a fuss, but fortunately Choco showed no particular reaction.

Whether it was scared by Kim Ijin’s warning or startled by the needles being inserted in an instant, I couldn’t tell.

“Do we stay like this for 20 minutes?”

There was no way it would stay still for 20 minutes though.

“No. I’ll give strong stimulation once each and then remove them.”

While 20 minutes of needle retention after acupuncture treatment is standard, it’s dangerous if it moves around with needles inserted.

Clinics that specialize in animals seemed to have some technique or equipment to keep them calm, but I preferred to quickly stimulate and remove the needles.

Speed was life.

Swoosh, swoosh. Ting-.

Rotating once each, flicking while giving stimulation.

Paaaat!

I pulled out all the needles at once.

“Try walking once.”

Did it understand, or had it wanted to walk the entire time it was being held?

As soon as Kim Ijin let go, Choco started walking around here and there.

“Wow, truly a renowned Doctor.”

“Did it get better right away?”

Kim Ijin’s Parents were amazed.

Choco also seemed fascinated by its knee with reduced pain, hopping around.

“Don’t jump around…!”

At my words, Kim Ijin quickly hugged Choco again.

“There, there, stop. I only treated the immediate pain. It’ll take a long~ time for the ligaments to recover.”

In Kim Ijin’s case, she healed at an absurd speed thanks to her Heavenly Martial Constitution, but originally cruciate ligament treatment takes several months.

Moreover, there’s not much pain sensation there, so once the muscles heal, it’s hard to be conscious of it.

Just because Choco listened well to Kim Ijin didn’t mean it could match her healing power, right?

“Make sure to keep going to the Hospital until it’s completely healed. If the Veterinarian decides a cast is needed, do that, and let it rest as much as possible.”

Kim Ijin grabbed Choco once more and nodded her head.

“It would be better to hold him and put him to sleep right away tonight too, right? And not let him run around?”

“That’s right. The basics of ligament treatment is rest. Let’s endure it even if it’s a bit frustrating.”

I petted Choco once and then got up.

“Are you leaving already?”

He should sleep well with this much, but he needs to receive proper treatment in the morning.

I have things to do tomorrow too!

“Thank you so much for coming and even treating him.”

“I’ll see you again when there’s another opportunity.”

“Please have a meal at our house sometime! Lee Jin has always caused so much trouble…!”

“Haha, thank you.”

Kim Ijin’s parents and I exchanged light greetings.

“Please invite me again.”

Kim Ijin bowed lightly.

Ah-, finishing even the home invitation affection event! My greed has no end, does it?

* * *

A few days after Kim Ijin returned to the team.

“Clinic Director, could you make me one Cheongshimhwan?”

Seol Yuhui asked.

I had been preparing Chongmyeongtang or Gongjinan while monitoring her condition whenever her brain fatigue was significant.

But Cheongshimhwan already? The date is… Gasp, there isn’t much time left until the college entrance exam?

Wow, I was only paying attention to the seasons and didn’t realize the college entrance exam was approaching.

“Of course! How about taking time off work from today and focusing on studying?”

“That’s okay. It’s better not to break my routine. Thursday is originally my day off anyway, so I only asked Teacher Seo Inae to substitute the day before.”

What, she’s going to work until two days before the college entrance exam?

“I can do it the day before or the day after the college entrance exam, so if you change your mind, tell me even on the morning of.”

Jin Minjeong, who was listening, also added worriedly.

Full attendance except for the day before and the day of? That really won’t be easy.

“When I’m busy working, I actually forget the pressure, so it’s good.”

“Hmm… I see. That could be the case.”

I should respect her own wishes for now, right?

I agreed.

“But why do you need Cheongshimhwan? Are you very nervous?”

Just because you’re facing a big exam or interview doesn’t mean taking Uhwangcheongshimhwan is always the right answer.

Originally, it’s a medicine used as emergency treatment for cerebrovascular diseases like stroke.

Of course, besides increasing cerebral blood flow, it has various effects like regulating the central nervous system and lowering blood pressure, so in modern times it’s used in more diverse situations.

For example, it’s very good for stabilizing patients who suffer from insomnia due to heart palpitations and psychological anxiety, or those in extremely prolonged states of tension.

But taking medicine on the day of the college entrance exam?

This isn’t something I would unconditionally recommend.

Even I had gotten a prescription in advance before the June mock exam, but didn’t take it during the actual college entrance exam.

If someone gets very nervous, it would calm them down to an appropriate state, but for someone like me who doesn’t get nervous during exams, it didn’t mean much.

I have a vague memory of feeling strange when the slight nervousness I felt when starting the exam disappeared, and actually becoming dazed instead.

While there weren’t major side effects like falling asleep, it wasn’t very pleasant.

‘Ah, that time was good though.’

In a much more urgent situation than an exam… when I was kidnapped and then released, the Cheongshimhwan that Master gave me was very good.

After taking it, all tension was released and I fell asleep peacefully.

Anyway, since my personal experience with taking it wasn’t entirely positive, I tended to be cautious even when patients requested Cheongshimhwan prescriptions.

Not only did I always check the pulse to see if it was clearly tense before prescribing, but I also recommended that patients who planned to take it on important days purchase several, even if expensive, to check the drug’s effects in advance.

“Yes, Clinic Director.”

Seol Yuhui nodded gently.

“Since November started, my heart has been pounding all day. When I’m working or concentrating on studying, I forget about it and it’s fine, but when I sit in front of books and think about other things for just a moment, I can feel my heart beating too clearly. I even think it might burst.”

Huh? This is indeed an indication for Uhwangcheongshimhwan.

It calms excessive heart contractions, dilates blood vessels while lowering blood pressure, and activates the parasympathetic nervous system, so it’s very good when heart rate becomes excessive.

“Let me check your pulse once.”

Of course, it was much better than in the past when it was choppy and so slow and sunken that I wondered if she was alive.

But it was also true that her current pulse was abnormally fast and bouncing up sharply.

“I need to prescribe it. Take it right from tonight. If you get drowsy after taking it, I’ll adjust it and make a new one for you tomorrow.”

She needs treatment right now.

“Is that okay?”

“For the exam too, it’s better to adapt to an appropriately stabilized state in advance. If you suddenly become fine after pounding like this, it would actually feel strange.”

“Thank you!”

“I’ll tell Teacher Juhui right away.”

I immediately wrote the prescription.

Uhwangcheongshimhwan is a famous medicine even more well-known than Gongjinan and Gyeongokgo.

Since patients often demand it immediately, I prepare it in advance, but when there’s time, I make it according to their symptoms.

‘Tsk, it’s a bit disappointing that I can’t use cinnabar.’

According to Donguibogam standards, the original formula contains 29 medicinal ingredients, but quite a few cannot be used as-is in modern medical environments.

Bezoar, which is even in the name, is cow gallstone and extremely difficult to obtain.

Musk can be obtained if you try, but it costs more than three times the price of gold.

Rhinoceros horn is completely unusable since hunting is prohibited.

And cinnabar… contains mercury.

Even in the past, they knew of its dangers and used a processing method called levigation.

They would grind it well, mix it with water to settle the mercury components, and use only what floated on top, but this method couldn’t filter out 100%. In modern times, we usually substitute it with other safe plant-based medicines.

Sigh, the efficacy of cinnabar that the Sichuan Dang Family cleanly refined was tremendous.

“Thank you, Clinic Director. I feel like I can live now.”

Fortunately, Seol Yuhui showed a positive reaction even to the relatively mild modified prescription excluding the mineral medicines.

The immediate effect appeared in less than an hour after taking the medicine, and when I checked her pulse, it had noticeably improved compared to before.

“Fortunately, your pulse is getting better quickly too. If it maintains like this, it should be sufficient.”

“Sigh, I try not to be nervous… but it’s not working well. It’s not like anything will happen if I don’t do well on the test, I just started this because I wanted to do my best, but I don’t know why I’m so nervous.”

“Everyone gets nervous about the college entrance exam.”

No, but there’s no need to blame yourself!

“If you tell someone not to think about an elephant, they think about it more, right? If I tell myself not to be nervous, I get more nervous.”

“Ah, that’s right!”

Since she says she’s actually fine when working, telling her not to be nervous might actually be a burden.

“It’s okay to be nervous. You have what you’ve built up until now, so you’ll do well.”

“…Yes. I really did work hard. I have no regrets about my studying.”

Wow, just being able to say that is amazing.

“You’ve worked so hard. Keep it up until the end.”

I patted Seol Yuhui’s back and gently held her hand.

I tried to directly touch her energy to calm her down, but there was no longer any need for that.

* * *

Seol Yuhui placed her hand on her chest and felt her heartbeat.

Since she started taking Uhwangcheongshimhwan, her heartbeat had definitely changed.

Every time she was conscious of the date, her heart felt like it would burst.

Even while studying, her chest would pound and she would take deep breaths.

‘Whew!’

When she took the medicine, such thoughts hardly occurred.

She could forget all about the approaching test and the pounding heart, and continue focusing on her studies.

The insomnia that occasionally appeared in early November completely disappeared.

Seol Yuhui slept very deeply the night before the college entrance exam.

A morning she greeted refreshed after sleeping ten hours without dreams.

‘I guess the actual day can’t be helped.’

Was it because the medicine’s effect hadn’t kicked in yet? She felt a slight pounding until she arrived at the test site.

‘Inhale, fighting!’

But she gradually calmed down while solving the Korean problems she was relatively confident about.

And the next period.

Mathematics, which had troubled her throughout the exam period, happened to be difficult and made her dizzy.

‘The Clinic Director said it’s okay to be nervous. Even if I’m nervous, even if it came out difficult, it’s okay. Nevertheless, until the end!’

Thinking of the always reliable Clinic Director and the busy but comfortable atmosphere of the traditional medicine clinic made her feel at ease.

Seol Yuhui safely shook off her distracting thoughts and returned to the problems.

As she solved them one by one like that.

‘Phew, I don’t know anymore!’

The real thing was like practice.

She even forgot the fact that it was a college entrance exam test site and fell into a state of selflessness.

There were a few problems she didn’t know, but when the math period ended, her mind actually became more at ease.

English and social studies periods passed smoothly like that.

‘Huh?’

Was it because the medicine’s effect wore off?

She had been fine while taking the college entrance exam…

When she left the test site, her heart started beating again.

‘Didn’t I get everything right except math?’

She didn’t take the medicine again.

This pounding wasn’t too bad.

‘There weren’t any problems I didn’t know?’

Of course, she might have made mistakes.

She might have confidently guessed with misconceptions.

Still, still….

“…!”

The moment she finished the preliminary scoring, Seol Yuhui let out a soundless scream.

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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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