The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 322
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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 322
The paparazzi’s name was Rick Banon. His personal statement, passport, and immigration records all matched.
According to Sasha Rian, he was a famous bastard well-known among American celebrities.
“I was already having headaches because of this bastard, so this worked out great! Here, this is the guy. Look!”
She said there was a video from a few years ago of him getting splashed with cold water by some actor that was archived on YouTube, so I checked it out, and indeed the face was identical.
He seemed to be quite a vicious paparazzi, but for now, as long as he wasn’t a dangerous person to me or Faisal, I was relieved.
“Didn’t you have somewhere you needed to go quickly?”
Since we had confirmed his identity, they said I could take my time with the treatment, so I brought him into my home, but Faisal, who had even seen us off, followed us in too.
Didn’t he have something urgent to do?
“I have to finish this matter before I go! I already asked for understanding regarding my next schedule!”
Faisal’s expression as he said this was full of interest.
“Oh my goodness! To think we’d catch Rick Banon like this! Clinic Director, please treat him as painfully as possible!”
Sasha Rian was more excited than anyone, and Park Seon-yun also sneakily followed behind us into the house.
Hmm, these busy people really.
It would be fine if I just treated him myself and took him to the police… Well, they’ll handle it themselves.
“Please lie down over here.”
“Ugh… ughhh…”
Rick Banon followed me while trembling and lay down on the living room floor where I pointed.
Even in the midst of this, he kept fidgeting with his pocket as if he wanted to take pictures, but naturally, his camera and phone had already been confiscated.
He said he was reflecting, but old habits die hard!
“Are you very afraid of acupuncture? Should I just give you medicine?”
I had brought plenty of Danggui-susan, even if I didn’t have other medicines.
It was originally the most specialized medicine for resolving blood stasis, because when athletes get injured, bruising along with sprains is the most common occurrence.
“What?”
But for some reason, Sasha, who wasn’t even the patient herself, strongly objected.
“…”
Faisal’s face hardened.
Rick avoided the gazes of Sasha, Faisal, and me, then squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
He declared in an ant-crawling voice that he would receive acupuncture.
“Please… treat me.”
“Good. Close your eyes and breathe comfortably. The forehead skin is thin too, but it won’t hurt as much as the fingertips.”
I patted Rick’s shoulder to reassure him, but.
“Keu, keu, keu, keu…!”
It wasn’t very effective.
He made very strange sounds while receiving acupuncture.
Do Westerners who are afraid of acupuncture originally wail like this?
I had treated quite a few foreigners in the Martial Arts World, and we had treated no small number of foreigners at our Oriental Medicine Clinic too.
But since they were all people who came voluntarily, this was the first time I’d seen such an intense reaction.
“Heu, ahhhhk! Huk! Lord!”
“Hey, don’t exaggerate. The forehead isn’t that bad. Oh, I’ll put some on your head too. You seem completely out of it, but if you get hit a few times at Baihui and Sishencong, your head will be clearer than before.”
“…!”
I placed needles not only to help circulation in the surrounding blood flow but also at Baihui in the center of the head and at the Siguan acupoints on the hands and feet to help energy flow well.
“Clinic Director, are you finished?”
When I finished the treatment and put down the needles, Sasha Rian approached with a subtle smile.
“Ah, yes. Now we need to leave the needles in for about 20 minutes like this.”
Then Sasha completely wiped away her strangely sinister expression.
She smiled brightly and picked up the needles I had put down.
“Ah, Sasha. Even so, you can’t stab the patient.”
“Hehe, as if.”
Sasha shook her head with an incredulous expression, then took out her phone from her pocket.
“Hm?”
“This guy came all the way here but couldn’t get a single photo of me. Shouldn’t I at least take a commemorative photo for him?”
“…?”
I couldn’t understand what she meant, but Sasha prepared her props on her own.
She even brought out a selfie stick from her bag and got into position.
She held the selfie stick with her left hand, and with her right hand holding a needle in a pose as if she was about to throw it, she angled it so both Rick and herself would be in the shot.
“Are you going to post somewhere that you caught a paparazzi? Should I take the photo for you?”
“It’s okay.”
Click. Click. Click. Click.
She took photos with all sorts of poses and angles, then.
“Clinic Director, let’s take one together!”
She put her arm around my shoulder.
…Suddenly?
“Hasha, come too. Prince Faisal and Mister Park as well?”
“Oh, me?”
“Wow. What a wonderful commemorative photo.”
He even dragged in other people we had just met today and chatted with for the first time.
When Sasha asked if she could post the photo on her SNS, Faisal found it very amusing and gave permission.
Park Seon-yun and I had no particular reason to refuse either.
‘Rick seems to hate it though…’
But shouldn’t that guy not really matter?
After all, he had taken photos of Sasha, Faisal, and even me without permission in the first place, so he should accept it as karma.
Rick could only tremble on the floor with acupuncture needles stuck in his hands, feet, and head, unable to say anything.
Sasha instantly uploaded the photo to her SNS.
Shortly after, Rick’s treatment was also finished.
“How do you feel? Has the throbbing disappeared?”
“Ah… Yes. It’s completely healed, like it was washed clean.”
Even with tears in his eyes, Rick touched his head in amazement.
He wasn’t saying it because he wanted to escape – he had actually recovered.
“Drink it all down.”
I handed Rick the Dangguisusan I had prepared in water beforehand.
Perhaps because the black liquid didn’t look very appealing, Rick trembled again while holding the bowl.
“Our Clinic Director has bestowed holy water upon you!”
“Th-th-th-thank you.”
At Sasha’s single comment, he immediately downed it in one shot.
‘Phew, this should be worry-free.’
He would quickly recover from the loss of consciousness without any aftereffects, and the wart would heal without scarring.
Some fear seemed to remain, but since he would soon be going to prison and Sasha and Faisal were intimidating him, there was nothing he could do about it.
I finished the initial treatment and neatly organized the acupuncture needles.
“Since you’ve repented through this opportunity, try starting a new life.”
“Thank you… Thank you for sparing my life…”
Even though I hadn’t really done anything related to life and death, Rick Banon left with somewhat excessive gratitude.
“May I take the date as a memento?”
“By all means.”
“Ah! I should have picked it up first!”
“Hehe, you were a step too late, Sasha.”
Faisal gently rolled the date and bid farewell once more.
“As expected, interesting things always happen when I’m with the Clinic Director. Who would have thought we’d end up taking photos together like this?”
Park Seon-yun, who had thoroughly enjoyed watching the treatment, also left satisfied.
Opportunities to take selfies with Sasha Rian don’t come often. Even his wealthy friends would be envious, wouldn’t they?
“Finally, everyone who needed to leave has left.”
After seeing off all the guests except for the two, I let out a sigh of relief.
“Wow, there’s no one left to interfere between us, right?”
“Yes. I looked around thoroughly and there are no suspicious people now. Please rest comfortably.”
Just in case, I spread my qi sense widely, but there were no terrorists or paparazzi.
Reassured by my words, Sasha threw herself onto the sofa as comfortably as if it were her own home.
“Now please tell me.”
“What? Tell you what?”
“Where are you from? CIA? What do you call South Korea’s intelligence agency or special forces?”
And she was joking.
“Gasp! That’s… My goodness, so that’s how it was. What older brother said too…”
When she spoke seriously, Hasha thought it was real!
What are you pretending to understand?
“Not at all, not even a tiny bit related.”
“Boo, that’s mean. I told you all my secrets.”
“I’m really telling you it’s not true!”
I had to spend a long time countering Sasha’s jokes and clearing up Hasha’s misunderstanding.
“By the way, it would have been troublesome if there had been a scandal with the Prince.”
Only then could I change the topic of conversation.
Naturally, all sorts of bizarre behaviors by paparazzi that Sasha had experienced came pouring out.
“You’re staying the night, right?”
“If the Clinic Director permits it!”
And so we caught up late into the night.
When I woke up the next day, the photo Sasha had uploaded was spread all over the internet.
* * *
The first day as the National Team’s team doctor had dawned.
Although I had stayed up late playing the night before, the players who had to compete got a good night’s sleep and faced local adaptation training.
Training and practice matches designed to get accustomed to everything – the stadium’s lighting, floor, air, humidity, and so on.
“Since it’s your first Olympic participation, you must be really nervous and excited.”
I approached my closest friend Kim Ijin and offered her encouragement.
It felt like just yesterday when she declared her ambition to participate in the Olympics and mention me someday, but now she’s really here with the Taegeuk mark on her uniform.
“Yes.”
While I was overwhelmed with emotion, Kim Ijin’s expression was sullen.
“Hmm… who are you jealous of this time?”
The way she cutely pouted her lips reminded me of when I taught Myeong Seonju breathing techniques.
Is it because she started exercising early? She seems particularly attached to me.
Yesterday I didn’t even hang out with any other athletes though?
“Why don’t I have any paparazzi following me?”
“What?”
My guess about jealousy was right, but the target was truly unexpected.
I mean, come on, being jealous of Sasha Rian is going too far.
There’s not a single good thing about having paparazzi following you!
“Did you see the SNS post Sasha uploaded yesterday?”
“The captain showed it to me.”
Yesterday she acted cool about letting me go, but now that something interesting happened, she must be feeling left out.
‘She must have wanted to see me catch the culprit with dates.’
She’s still young after all.
I patted Kim Ijin’s head.
“Let’s play darts together later.”
“That’s not what I meant… never mind.”
Then what? Before I could ask, Kim Ijin’s expression hardened.
“I’m definitely going to win.”
She wasn’t originally someone who talked a lot, but today she was being particularly brief.
I couldn’t understand what train of thought she had gone through, but Kim Ijin had strengthened her resolve to win the competition.
I thought she might seriously aim for a medal rather than just participating for the experience, but saying it out loud would bring her even closer to that goal.
“That’s right. We’re a complete dream team this time!”
“Let’s all hang gold medals around our necks.”
The other athletes who had been listening to Kim Ijin’s words also agreed.
Everyone showed fighting spirit along with abundant confidence, making my heart swell with emotion too.
“I’ll cheer from the bench. How is everyone’s condition today?”
“Good.”
Kim Ijin gave the expected answer that she was absolutely perfect.
“I’m nervous so my stomach feels a bit queasy.”
“My shoulder is slightly stiff – should I get acupuncture? I think it’s because I’m sleeping in a different place. I’m worried my strength might suddenly drain, but would it be better to just leave it alone?”
There were also athletes who mentioned minor discomforts, though no serious injuries.
“I’ll adjust the treatment accordingly, so don’t worry.”
For those who needed treatment, I lightly performed acupuncture or chuna therapy, and with the others I had Q&A sessions while keeping diagnostic records.
“Fighting!”
The South Korean National Basketball Team’s local adaptation training passed without major issues.
Of course, athletes from other sports also prioritized safety before the big competition, so no particular injuries occurred.
I spent time doing preventive taping or treating muscle knots and ankle joint pain for athletes who came by occasionally.
Shortly after, the Olympics began.
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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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