The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 328
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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 328
Myeong Seonju breathed calmly as I instructed her.
The moment she took a deep breath and exhaled.
Needles were inserted into the Yongquan acupoints on both soles of her feet.
Having experienced the pain of a needle in one foot, she would naturally be scared about getting the other foot treated too.
I pierced both Yongquan points almost simultaneously before Myeong Seonju could even scream.
Swoosh. The needles penetrated through skin and fascia.
A scream burst out a beat later.
“Uuuuuugh…!”
Myeong Seonju twisted her body and gripped the bed sheets.
A few tears fell and dampened the sheets.
“That’s enough, I’ll remove them right away.”
Since I had only planned to provide momentary stimulation from the start, I immediately withdrew the needles.
After removing the needles and disinfecting with alcohol swabs, Myeong Seonju’s toes curled up once more.
“Clinic Director! How could you do that! You should have at least warned me it would hurt!”
“It hurt a little, right? You endured it well.”
“That wasn’t just a little!”
Her lips trembled as she wrapped her arms around her knees.
Tsk, she didn’t need to hide her soles so thoroughly since I wasn’t going to poke them anymore.
“It’s all finished.”
“Phew…”
At my words that it was over, Myeong Seonju let out a sigh of relief.
This was true relaxation.
Just moments ago when anxious thoughts kept arising, her nervous excitement wouldn’t subside even when she consciously tried to exhale.
But after receiving acupuncture at the Yongquan points, everything was completely different.
“Now, what thoughts are coming to mind?”
When I asked this, Myeong Seonju glared at me and.
“I’m thinking about how incredibly painful that acupuncture was.”
She answered.
It was exactly the response I had wanted.
“You momentarily forgot what day tomorrow is, didn’t you?”
Myeong Seonju’s face contorted.
She raised her arms as if incredulous and opened her mouth wide, then.
“Gasp. Now that you mention it, I really didn’t think about anything else. I even forgot that I got acupuncture to clear my thoughts. How did that happen?”
Soon realizing my true intention, she was amazed.
Myeong Seonju stopped protesting and placed both hands neatly on her knees.
“That’s the mysterious therapeutic effect of the Yongquan acupoint.”
“Ohhh…!”
“Hehe.”
Feeling satisfied, I stroked Myeong Seonju’s back and calmed her further.
By applying acupuncture to the Baihui and Yongquan points, I had cleared the blocked energy from head to toe.
Since we had been chatting for well over 10 minutes already, the effects of the Gamiondamtang should be appearing soon.
“How do you feel? If you’re still not calm, shall we try once more?”
At my question, Myeong Seonju shook her head vigorously.
“No! The effect is too good. I really think I can sleep right away. Compared to that pain just now, anxiety about something that hasn’t even happened yet is nothing.”
It seems like some strange cognitive error has occurred again…
“Let me check your pulse once more.”
Taking her pulse again and examining the objective indicators, I could tell her words weren’t just ceremonial.
The energy that had surged upward was now spreading well throughout her body with relaxation.
“It looks good. Has the palpitation subsided too?”
Myeong Seonju blinked several times then placed her hand on her left chest.
“Oh, yes. I’m not just saying this out of fear, it really has subsided. The palpitation and chest tightness are gone, and the strange tension in my arms and legs has relaxed too.”
“What about feeling cold and hot?”
“That’s been fine ever since I came to your room, Clinic Director.”
The cold sweat had dried up and stopped.
Looking at various physical signs, she could definitely be considered stable.
“Good. Then I’ll finish up the treatment.”
“…Yes! Thank you for listening to me and even treating me despite my sudden visit at night.”
Though she seemed somewhat eager to leave, it was fortunate that she had improved.
“I’ll walk you back.”
After accompanying Myeong Seonju to her room, I stood outside her door and listened to her breathing for a moment.
Just in case she couldn’t sleep again this time, it would be difficult for her to come find me again.
But fortunately, about 10 minutes later, Myeong Seonju fell into peaceful sleep.
* * *
The next morning.
“How’s your condition?”
As soon as I entered the restaurant, I looked for Myeong Seonju first and sat down next to her.
“I slept soundly like a miracle. I don’t feel sleep-deprived today either, and my anxiety has completely disappeared.”
Her expression was very bright and her pulse was fine too.
After a few questions ended, Kim Ijin, who had been sitting on the other side of Myeong Seonju, jumped in as if she had been waiting.
“Did you get acupuncture treatment last night? Because you couldn’t sleep?”
Since Kim Ijin seemed curious about what we were talking about.
“Yes. We spent some alone time together at dawn.”
I put my arm around Myeong Seonju, who was eating, and boasted about our closeness.
“What? If the Clinic Director says it like that!”
Unlike me who was grinning, Myeong Seonju was flustered.
If we had treatment late at night, couldn’t she handle a little jealousy?
The team atmosphere was good enough that we could exchange such jokes right before the finals.
Since Myeong Seonju kept grumbling that this guy wasn’t joking.
I moved to sit across from Kim Ijin so she couldn’t glare at Myeong Seonju anymore.
“Lee Jini, do you have any discomfort?”
“I’m feeling great.”
She couldn’t be sulking because there was nothing to treat, right?
Just looking at her complexion, she seemed to be in very good condition.
After the meal, a brief rest.
The players did light warm-ups and soon moved to the basketball court.
With this, all the starters should be able to enter the finals in peak condition.
* * *
Murmur murmur.
The noisy crowd welcomed us.
Our finals opponent was China, who had beaten the United States in the semifinals.
They were clearly a powerhouse belonging to the world’s strongest tier in women’s basketball.
“Forget everything I’ve said so far and trust yourselves!”
The first quarter began with the Director’s encouragement.
It was an obvious thing to say, but it was also truly right.
Even Myeong Seonju, who had complained of insomnia until the day before, ran around nimbly as if she had become a different person once the game started.
She didn’t fall behind the Chinese players in either physicality or technique, solidly guarding under the basket.
‘The ball is coming to our side more than in previous games.’
Whether China’s play was excellent, it felt like there were more battles under the basket than in previous games.
Still, Myeong Seonju appropriately managed her stamina and steadily continued the game.
Beep-.
Of course, she was substituted with another player once in the middle.
But in basketball, starters usually play around 60% to 80% of the time.
Even with decent stamina, it’s hard to play the full 40 minutes.
Only someone with extraordinary stamina like Kim Ijin could transcend human limits every game.
Kim Ijin flew around the court as always, appearing here and there in a flash.
She had just gotten a rebound at our basket, and in the blink of an eye, she penetrated the court and attempted a shot.
“Wow…”
The layup shot was almost at the level of art.
Tap, ta-tap, there was nothing to criticize about her running footwork.
I watched the game unable to contain my admiration.
‘But there are incredibly skilled players on their side too.’
Still, perhaps because it was the finals, it didn’t flow as overwhelmingly as the previous games.
The Chinese team had two players who were about 0.7 times as good as Kim Ijin.
Whenever our team showed even the slightest gap, they didn’t miss it and penetrated to score.
Back and forth with a difference of less than 5 points.
It was nail-bitingly close… though South Korea kept leading.
The second quarter was already more than half over, but Kim Ijin showed no signs of tiring.
Whenever she got the ball, she launched a fast break, and when someone blocked her, she instantly changed her dribbling direction.
Chinese Player #8 had been diligently following Kim Ijin from earlier, and this time too, she gritted her teeth and chased to disrupt the flow.
She got ahead of Kim Ijin and tried to block…
‘Oh.’
She suddenly extended her leg wrong.
What was meant to be putting her foot in Kim Ijin’s path to prevent her advance ended up kicking her shin.
Her ankle bent at an angle.
‘Gasp.’
I had the illusion that the entire gymnasium was holding its breath.
An ordinary person would have fallen and landed on their bottom.
Thud.
Kim Ijin stood up straight without losing her balance.
Tweet-.
The referee who witnessed the same scene blew the whistle, and I entered the court to check her condition.
“How is it?”
“Please check her quickly.”
The director and coach waited for me anxiously.
Although we were ahead by 4 points, it would actually be a very dangerous situation if Kim Ijin had to sit out.
“How is it, Clinic Director?”
The fact that we could even worry about the game was thanks to Kim Ijin’s peaceful expression.
She seemed to know herself that it wasn’t anything too serious.
“Does it hurt when you put weight on it?”
“Yes. My shin was numb but got better quickly, and my ankle feels like it’s catching. I think I could play through it if I had to… You can treat it, right?”
I nodded and explained to the coaching staff.
“The shin is just a simple contusion. It’ll hurt a bit, but it’s fine to treat after the game.”
“Phew.”
“And her ankle is twisted. It looks like an inversion sprain, but let me check her movement.”
Dorsiflexion, plantarflexion, inversion, eversion.
Kim Ijin complained of slight pain in all movements.
There was also tenderness in the anterior talofibular ligament and medial deltoid ligament.
Still, perhaps because she trusted me completely, she didn’t insist that it didn’t hurt when it did, unlike a certain American player.
“There doesn’t seem to be any rupture, it’s a grade 1 sprain. It’s a combined medial-lateral injury, so it’s actually not very mild. Fortunately, there’s no joint instability, so let’s treat it and get her back in the game.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
Myeong Seonju had spoken without realizing it.
She visibly relaxed and then flinched.
Actually, not just Myeong Seonju, but Lee Sora also let out a sigh of relief.
The director, coach, and all the other players felt the same way.
“Please treat her for the remaining time in the 2nd quarter and through halftime.”
The director said to me.
“Could I finish the 2nd quarter and get a quick treatment?”
Kim Ijin asked, looking back and forth between the director and me.
“Even if it’s not a rupture, when an ankle twists, it inevitably stretches a bit. If impact is applied while it’s irritated, you’ll get injured more easily than usual. Let’s treat it and have you participate in the second half in optimal condition.”
“Right, do that.”
Kim Ijin agreed without argument.
There were 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, and halftime was 10 minutes.
If we used timeouts, we could secure a bit more time.
Since time was tight, I’d treat her in the partition area behind the bench instead of the medical room.
If there was a strategy meeting, she could listen in.
“I’ll get treatment over there, right?”
Kim Ijin pointed to that spot and stood up abruptly.
“Ah, don’t walk!”
Of course, with a grade 1 sprain, she wouldn’t be unable to walk.
Since I was going to put her back in the game after treatment, it was essentially pushing her anyway.
But was there any need to put weight on it before treatment?
“What? If we bring a stretcher for this…”
I lifted Kim Ijin up in one motion.
One arm supported her back and head, the other supported her legs.
The so-called princess carry position.
“…?!”
“Clinic Director, you’ll get hurt!”
The players and coaching staff were startled.
“I, I, I’m 73kg though.”
The shocked Kim Ijin’s words became short, but
since she was tall, I naturally expected about that much.
If anything, wasn’t her weight actually less than expected considering her muscle mass?
I easily carried Kim Ijin and moved her to the treatment area.
“Um… shouldn’t the team doctor be staying at the stadium…”
Hey, it’s not even 100kg, what a joke.
“Alright, I’ll start the acupuncture right away.”
There wasn’t much time, so I needed to start treatment quickly.
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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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