The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 246

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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 246

The hawk stayed at our house for two more days.

However, it only properly recuperated in the room I provided for one day. After recovering some strength, it settled on the highest tree in our house’s garden.

From a treatment perspective, staying in a warm place would be better, but it seemed like it wasn’t the type of creature that could stay indoors continuously.

Did it listen to me on the first day because of the sense of crisis that it might die like this?

Anyway, it took its medicine well.

When I paced in front of the garden at the right time, it would flutter down and stick out its beak.

It seemed to feel for itself that it recovered to some extent after taking medicine and receiving acupuncture.

– Kyu! Kyuuu!

Perhaps sensing the energy manifesting at each moment of acupuncture, Cheongsori would cling tightly to my leg every time I gave treatment.

“Do you want to try acupuncture too?”

– Kyuuuuuuuk!

Though it hated acupuncture.

Why does it hate it? Even if it stings a little when going in, it feels refreshing once you get it.

The little one seemed satisfied just feeling the energy through contact, and would snuggle into my arms after treatment ended.

A few more days after that.

– Kyup! Kyuuk!

Cheongsori brought me a gift.

It seemed to be repayment for treating its friend.

…It was actually sand ginseng. Three roots at that.

Like most plants Cheongsori had given me so far, it contained quite a bit of spiritual energy too.

“No way! If you had this, you should have brought it earlier!”

Actually, this was something you should never say to someone, or rather some creature, who gave you a gift.

But I couldn’t hold back the exclamation that burst from my mouth.

If there had been sand ginseng close to a spiritual medicine like this, treating the hawk would have been much easier!

Sand ginseng is a medicinal herb called one of the Five Ginsengs along with ginseng, black ginseng, red sage, and sophora root, known to be very good for the bronchi.

It supplements bodily fluids to moisten the lungs, cools heat and eliminates phlegm, used for throat dryness, dry cough, phlegm, coughing, asthma, etc… In short, it means it’s incredibly good for respiratory immunity.

– Kyuuuuk!

Cheongsori protested.

– Kiiiiiii!

The hawk made a somewhat high-pitched cry, though I couldn’t tell whose side it was taking.

“No, I’m sorry… Thank you. Let’s eat together.”

I took the sand ginseng to the kitchen and lightly prepared it.

I didn’t properly slice it, just washed off foreign substances and cut it into bite-sized pieces.

“Here.”

I wondered if the hawk wouldn’t eat it since it was carnivorous, but this creature also seemed to know what was special, being a spiritual beast.

Even with the chicken porridge, it would refuse right after regaining just a little strength, but somehow knowing all the really good stuff, it smoothly took the sand ginseng in its mouth.

“You’ve overcome all the danger now. Both the mucus condition and the energy I can feel have clearly entered the recovery phase. You even ate something like a spiritual medicine, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

When I first met it, the disease was in full progress, but now its activity level had definitely improved.

Its feathers had gained luster, and most importantly, its breathing had clearly improved.

“Even if there are still some difficulties, you’ll fully recover with rest. You feel it too, right? It’s okay to go wherever you want to go.”

It said it lived on cliffs and coastlines, so our house’s garden probably wasn’t a very good environment to stay in.

If it were a human, it would be somewhat early, but I declared the treatment finished.

– Kii─ Kukuku─

Unlike the screeching it had been doing, the hawk made a soft and stable cry.

Though I could never understand the hawk’s language, I translated it myself.

Wouldn’t it be something like thanking me for everything and saying farewell?

Huh?

– Kiiiii.

I’m telling you to go?

– Kyuuuk.

Surely the scene of the hawk soaring high into the sky should unfold next.

But the creature just leaned against that tree, which was merely the highest in our house’s garden.

Don’t tell me it’s planning to settle down?

Of course, that tree is the largest and highest among the gardens in this countryside house area.

But wouldn’t it be too low for a falcon to build a nest?

“…I can’t give you food if you keep staying there.”

I often bought nuts for Cheongsori.

I didn’t really stop it from snuggling either.

But I can’t get food for birds of prey.

While doing something like nursing care, I looked it up a bit and found they eat small animals… Isn’t it a bit much to buy frozen birds or mice to feed it? It should hunt and eat on its own!

– Fududududeuk!

The hawk fluttered its wings as if it didn’t care at all.

Really? On that tree?

“….”

I glared at the creature for a while, then went inside the house.

At least it seemed like it wouldn’t come indoors anymore, so I disinfected the room I had given it for the night.

If I don’t give it any more medicine and it has no business here, wouldn’t it go its own way?

And the next day.

When I came back from work, the hawk was gone.

“When I told it to go, it wouldn’t leave, but now it’s gone without even saying goodbye?”

I felt just slightly relieved yet wistful.

– Kiiiii!

– Kyuuuuk!

Did it decide to make the tree at my house its playground with Cheongsori?

“…It’s cool… it really looks majestic….”

It showed itself again in no time.

– Kiik!

Whenever it saw me, it would flap its wings as if happy to see me, but that was all.

“Don’t you have anything for me?”

– Pudddddeuk!

Cheongsori at least brings good items sometimes, but what’s with this one?

What Sasha said wasn’t entirely unreasonable. In fairy tales, when you treat a bird, doesn’t it usually repay the favor somehow?

Maybe because it’s not a magpie.

Oh, of course I didn’t mean for it to bring its food like Cheongsori does.

It would be very troublesome if it brought mice or sparrows.

“I don’t know either. Well, maybe someday it’ll be helpful.”

Come to think of it, Master used to want to raise a hawk.

If we had met in the Martial Arts World, we could have at least gone hawking.

Since there was nothing we could do in modern times, I decided to just leave it alone.

Meanwhile.

The secret letter exchange with Sasha continued for a while.

While she was in South Korea, we exchanged letters almost daily, and on my days off, I would reply immediately, so we sometimes exchanged several letters a day.

[I can feel the Naegong filling my Danjeon! Taking the medicine and traveling, both my body and mind are recovering smoothly. I’m glad I came to South Korea.]

We talked about health.

[Ondol karaoke is amazing. I go there almost every day now.]

She also talked about things like a Westerner praising kotatsu in front of Japanese people.

[I’m happy that you’ve found a hobby. But when you sing at karaoke, doesn’t anyone recognize you?]

[Oh, of course I’ve been caught several times. I’d be disappointed if they didn’t recognize me!]

I also learned that she was enjoying the attention while touring around Seoul.

Her visit to South Korea itself wasn’t a secret.

[Has the dizziness when singing disappeared?]

[Oh, that’s right. I completely forgot about it. It’s completely gone! Most of the symptoms I mentioned before are all gone. Hmm, maybe just the poor appetite and constipation remain?]

[Since it’s blood deficiency constipation, I won’t use purgatives like rhubarb. In the next medicine, I’ll increase the amount of angelica to help with blood supplementation and moistening.]

[Please do whatever you think is best, Clinic Director!]

With over 80% of her symptoms improved, I decided to make the second round of medicine the final treatment.

The last consultation was conducted over the phone.

We decided to send the medicine to the United States.

– I booked a flight ticket for next week. Thank you for keeping me company all this time.

Sasha burst into cheerful laughter, saying that her depression had also cleared up completely.

“Not at all. It helped me a lot with my English studies too.”

– Really?

“Of course, really.”

– Then, could I send emails occasionally even after I go to America? A pen pal relationship with my attending physician in South Korea… it’s so romantic.

I couldn’t understand what she found romantic about it, but I told her to go ahead.

This might even make free English phone practice possible.

On the scheduled day, Sasha boarded her flight.

“Clinic Director! They say Sasha Rian is dating Chairman Lee Pilcheon!”

“…What are you talking about?”

The very next day, I heard something strange from Gong Nari.

Chairman Lee Pilcheon? Who’s that? It sounds like the name of a middle-aged Korean man in his 50s.

When I searched for it, sure enough, he was a chaebol chairman in our country.

Even if you didn’t know the chairman’s name, everyone knew the company name – it was a big corporation.

“No, the reason she’s been traveling around South Korea lately is because she has a boyfriend in South Korea, right? They were at the airport on the same day! My goodness, how did they meet? Ugh, Sasha is too precious for him!”

…No. It’s not that person.

That’s completely wrong.

What’s the age difference anyway? This man even has children!

Logically, being at the airport on the same day was just a coincidence!

“How.very.in.ter.est.ing.”

I couldn’t bring myself to deny it and spoke awkwardly.

Come to think of it, Sasha Rian had all sorts of scandals following her around.

This time too, various tabloids came out, and when I clicked on one, it had even compiled her previous dating rumors.

From Hollywood actors to big shots in American politics and business, it would be disappointing if any celebrity wasn’t mentioned.

[What happened while I was in the air? This popularity of his! Even among all the absurd dating rumors so far, this ranks in the TOP 5 for being baseless.]

Sasha, who had arrived in the United States, seemed equally bewildered.

She naturally saw President Lee’s name for the first time in her life and informed me that more than half of the dating rumors that had surfaced weren’t true.

The fate of a celebrity, I suppose.

I just smiled and asked if the long-distance flight was okay.

[It was very comfortable. Good for lying down, and the food menu was quite varied too. I’ll have to use Korean airlines next time I travel.]

Ah, she must have taken first class.

* * *

After returning to the United States, Sasha became busy too, so we couldn’t exchange emails as frequently as we did during our travels.

Since I also couldn’t reply on working days, the frequency decreased, but our pen pal relationship continued anyway.

– Clinic Director, it’s done! Now you can use it and bill for it!

I also received contact from Park Seon-yun.

The certification process, which I said I wasn’t worried about but was secretly concerned about, ended well, and it was proudly listed among the products applicable for insurance coverage.

In our country, the Ministry of Health and Welfare sets standard prescriptions eligible for health insurance coverage and publishes the product names, company names, dosages, and maximum amounts that can be received.

PK first launched 56 types of preparations eligible for insurance coverage this time.

Prescriptions would gradually increase overseas too, but for now, the demand for preparations in South Korea was overwhelmingly for insurance-covered medicines.

All branches of Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic introduced the preparations.

Dozens of oriental medicine clinics inquired about purchases through the external herbal pharmacy.

The people to work in Saudi Arabia were also confirmed, and large quantities were sent to coincide with the start of medical treatment.

‘Tsk, I hope we can at least break even.’

Although I proceeded with the collaboration since Park Seon-yun presented the business plan so confidently, I still wondered if we could generate profits exceeding the research and development costs.

With the maximum prescription amount set, using expensive and good medicinal materials doesn’t leave much profit per prescription, does it?

Even at our oriental medicine clinic, where we should be using it most actively, I prefer making patient-customized preparations.

‘I suppose old habits remain, so unless it’s cold medicine or muscle relaxants that patients need immediately, I want to make them directly even if it takes time, right?’

What if we don’t use them enough?

I had worried about that a little when introducing them.

When you’re ready to learn, a teacher appears naturally?

Once we made the medicines, patients who needed the preparations came.

“Clinic Director, I think I’m going crazy. I’ve been having my period twice a month for three months now, and even though the pain isn’t that severe, it’s so frustrating that I’m furious. I’m menstruating for half the month.”

A frequent menstruation patient I hadn’t seen in a very long time.

“I came on a referral from a part-time job friend. Can this kind of thing be treated with acupuncture too? Juyeon told me you’re an amazing doctor.”

She revealed from the moment she entered that she wasn’t financially well-off and that expensive herbal medicine would be burdensome.

“Let’s listen to your story slowly and make a diagnosis first. Was your cycle originally irregular?”

I asked calmly while examining the pale patient’s complexion.

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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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