The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 33

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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 33

“I’ll have him take it for a month first.”

“Please feel comfortable about it. After taking it for a month, there should be noticeable changes. I’ll also give you external medicine. Please come for acupuncture treatment at least once a week. Sometimes we’ll combine it with extraction.”

“Yes.”

Jeong Inseong’s Mother finished the consultation defensively, but anyway, after taking the medicine for just a month, she would ask for more.

Once the right prescription takes effect, not only the skin but also digestion, sleep, and concentration—the overall condition would improve significantly.

“Since the school is nearby, I’ll make time to come for treatment. Please take good care of me, Clinic Director.”

Jeong Inseong bowed his head and spoke politely.

This kid is really mature, isn’t he? No wonder Grandmother is bursting with pride over him.

I sent him to the treatment room, while his mother and grandmother went to the desk to make payment.

“Is it like regenerative needling?”

As soon as he entered the treatment room, Jeong Inseong asked, perhaps having tried it at Haneul Clinic or seen it somewhere else.

“No. The principle is different. Regenerative needling creates micro-wounds on the face while injecting substances that help new skin grow, and it’s for scar removal. I’ll place needles on meridians to regulate energy flow.”

“Ooh.”

“I’ll start by calming the rising heat (sanggi) that goes upward. Inflammation like acne is also a type of heat.”

I said while checking Jeong Inseong’s pulse. If it were about loosening stiff muscles, the range would be quite wide, but when reversing the flow, it was better to find and target points where energy gathers.

“I’ll start with acupuncture at Baihui. Take a deep breath in, and exhale~ slowly.”

Baihui . An acupoint located at the very top center of the head where numerous meridians of the body converge. When opening the Governing and Conception Vessels, Baihui and Huiyin open to communicate with the energy of heaven and earth.

Even for those who haven’t practiced cultivation, unlike martial artists who can circulate energy together, the fact that it’s a place that receives heavenly energy doesn’t change.

Tap.

When the needle goes in, gently.

And then… Whoosh!

I pushed energy into Baihui and scattered the heat completely. Jeong Inseong needed much stronger measures than just quietly placing needles and waiting.

Both yang energy and yin energy are essential for the body, but in Jeong Inseong’s case, excessive yang energy had accumulated in the head and face area, causing inflammation.

“Huh?”

“I’ll do it a few more times.”

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.

I applied acupuncture to the Sishencong points surrounding Baihui in all four directions and the Taiyang points at the temples, then scattered the energy in the same way. It was like directly circulating energy through needles at every location where yang energy had accumulated.

“Is this what acupuncture is like?”

“Hehe.”

“My head feels much cooler.”

Jeong Inseong, who immediately felt the change, placed the back of his hand on his forehead in amazement.

Unless someone had developed energy sensitivity like Kim Ijin, it would be difficult to feel such subtle differences, so he must have been suffering from heat symptoms for quite a long time.

“Do you usually have brain fog?”

“I think so… but what’s that?”

“When your head feels hazy, dull, and somehow you can’t concentrate well.”

“Doesn’t everyone feel that way?”

“Watch for any changes when you study after today’s treatment.”

When I grinned, Jeong Inseong nodded, saying he was very excited.

While I was at it, I also stimulated Jingming to clear his eyes, and pressed on his abdomen.

Gurgle.

He said he occasionally had diarrhea. It wasn’t as serious as people with indigestion, but indeed his digestive system wasn’t moving well.

A few points on digestive acupoints in the abdomen and limbs, and a few on the Four Gates , which are the gateways for energy to enter and exit.

And finally, I regulated the disrupted meridians targeting Sima , which has special effects for treating skin.

Good, treatment complete!

“In order, they’re Upper Sima, Middle Sima, and Lower Sima. These are points that improve skin, so if you’re going to poke your thigh while studying, stimulate these spots.”

“Yes. Please mark them with a pen!”

The last part was half-joking, but Jeong Inseong frantically looked for a writing instrument.

He must have been really desperate.

I brought a pen and marked the Sima points while asking Jeong Inseong.

“What do you want to do when your skin gets better?”

“Ah…”

The heat that had been cooled down rose again and his face turned red.

But judging by his expression, this time it was a physiological reaction.

“Do you have a girl you like at school?”

“…Yes.”

“I hope it works out well. I’ll cheer you on. Alright, we’re done. Good work!”

“Now I understand why Grandmother spoke so highly of you. I never knew acupuncture was like this. My head is really clear, I feel like I’ve been reborn.”

Oh my, he’s mature and gives compliments well too.

For such a well-rounded friend with intelligence, virtue, and physical health to have acne at an age when he should be putting all his energy into youthful endeavors—it was truly pitiful.

If only his skin improved, he’d probably be quite popular.

I prepared medicine for Jeong Inseong with all my heart.

* * *

A week had passed since Jeong Inseong started taking medicine from the new Traditional Korean Medicine Clinic.

During that time, he had received acupuncture treatment three times. Once on the first day, once when he went to pick up medicine the next day, and… even though they said he could come after a week, he just went one more time. This was because his head had really become clear as the teacher had said.

On his last visit, they even extracted a few pimples that still had pus, and every pimple the teacher touched lost its power.

At other places, even after extraction, there were still greasy pimples and sometimes they would fester. Was the teacher skilled at extraction too? Or was it because his recovery ability had improved with the medicine? The management clinic had done extractions well enough, so it was probably the latter.

‘They’re definitely decreasing!’

Jeong Inseong looked in the mirror with joy.

The mighty red acne had already died down by 30%, and many of the small whiteheads had disappeared without a trace.

Even the occasional hot flashes in his head were gone.

He had thought it was natural due to exam stress, but he had been experiencing brain fog.

When he felt that foggy, words would hardly register in his eyes, and he had to eat chocolate to improve his concentration, but after his head cleared up, he craved sweet foods much less.

‘I need to maintain my grades, no, I need to improve them even more!’

While he could physically feel that his sleep had improved and his head was clearer, he needed to prove it to his mother with numbers.

Right, should I tell mom to take it too? Then maybe she’d stop being anxious about telling me to study… Jeong Inseong finally understood why his grandmother went around recommending the oriental medicine clinic to people around her.

As Jeong Inseong was grinning like that, his friend’s face suddenly appeared in the mirror.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

Since he had been staring at the mirror continuously after homeroom ended, his friend had tapped his shoulder.

“Let’s quickly play soccer before evening study hall starts. We’re just waiting for you.”

“I’m going home today without doing evening study hall.”

“Huh? You? What’s the occasion? Did you register for cram school?”

His friend frowned with puzzlement.

While the school easily excused students from evening study hall if they just gave a reason like cram school or hospital, Jeong Inseong had never skipped even once.

“I’m going to the oriental medicine clinic.”

At Jeong Inseong’s words, his friend roughly massaged his shoulders, squeezing them hard.

“Ugh! That’s what happens when you only study – your shoulders hurt! If you play soccer with me, it’ll get better instantly!”

There was no need to explain in detail that it wasn’t for his shoulders but for acne treatment. A guy wouldn’t notice that his friend’s skin had improved anyway.

“Is the class president also going to the oriental medicine clinic? Where are you going?”

“Is that by any chance… skin medicine?”

But coincidentally, Kim Ijin and Min Juyeon seemed to have been listening to the conversation. Moreover, there was a herbal medicine packet from his evening dose left in the personal trash can on his desk.

“Uh, yeah? That’s right. I go to Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic. It’s acne medicine.”

“Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic…”

“I knew it! How long have you been taking it? It’s really improved a lot!”

Kim Ijin was about to say something first, but Min Juyeon cut in and lifted Jeong Inseong’s bangs.

Juyeon knew about my skin’s previous condition? I thought she had no interest at all!

When Min Juyeon’s long straight hair touched his arm, his heart pounded.

“It’s only been a week. I think it’ll be completely clear when I finish taking it all.”

“Wow, the effect is really good? I want to take it too. But you know how moms wave their hands saying you should earn money and buy it yourself.”

“Huh? What do you have to treat?”

“Look here! Age spots!”

“…? I can’t see anything at all. You’re just pretty.”

“Oh my! It’s because I’m covering it with makeup!”

Min Juyeon said with a tearful expression, but Jeong Inseong really couldn’t tell. It just looked pure white to him.

“She’s like that. Now do you understand how we feel watching you get depressed after scoring 98 on math?”

“Ahahaha! Right, right!”

Min Juyeon burst into laughter at Kim Ijin’s words.

No, how could you not be depressed after getting a 2-point math problem wrong?

Besides, she was an elite who ranked among the top in the nation. It would be one thing if it were his friend who had been pestering him to play soccer, but it was absurd for Kim Ijin to say that.

A guy like me would be hopeless if I couldn’t even study!

Well, anyway, Min Juyeon didn’t look too upset as she smiled while twirling her hair, so that was fortunate.

“If you’re really concerned about it, want to go to the oriental medicine clinic together? Even just getting acupuncture seems effective because it brings down the heat rising to your head.”

Honestly, he couldn’t tell where the age spots were at all, but since she said she was worried about her skin, he made the suggestion.

“Right? Our clinic director is really the best, isn’t she? My condition has improved since I started treatment too. The feeling from my ankles to knees to waist when I jump is completely different.”

“Eh, what? Are you two going together?”

“We went separately but it’s the same oriental medicine clinic.”

“Hehe… Great! I want to go too! I need to get excused from evening study hall right away.”

She excitedly ran to the teacher’s desk and wrote the reason for evening study hall exemption in the attendance book. She looked purely happy just to have an excuse to skip self-study.

‘Ah!’

Come to think of it, wait. Did I just ask her on a date?

No. We’re just going to the oriental medicine clinic together. I shouldn’t overreact. Besides, Kim Ijin is coming too…!

But he couldn’t stop the panoramic sequence of dating, confession, romance, and marriage from flashing through his mind in an instant.

The friend who had been pestering him to play soccer gave up and went off to coax some other guy, and Jeong Inseong and Min Juyeon headed to the oriental medicine clinic.

Actually, he had only liked her one-sidedly until now, and had never even had a proper conversation with Min Juyeon for fear she might dislike him.

So he had no idea what to say.

“Isn’t our clinic director so cool when she does acupuncture? It’s like watching a professional player make a 3-point shot.”

“Is that so?”

“Lee Jini is cool too~.”

He had been worried, but.

“Our clinic director told me I was born with strong bones. Something like heavenly martial constitution? Something like that, but I don’t really know what it means since I don’t read martial arts novels. Do you guys read them?”

“No. Only novels that appear in Korean literature texts…”

“I’ve read martial arts romance novels! They’re totally intense!”

“We have our clinic director.”

Kim Ijin chattered away about Teacher Hanyewon by herself.

It was a scene I felt like I’d seen somewhere before. Who was it? None of my friends are particularly into celebrities or athletes.

“She’s like my grandmother.”

That’s right. Just like grandmother’s place.

While treating her spinal stenosis, whenever I went to visit, she’d sing a round song going ‘Our clinic director this’, ‘Our clinic director that’, to the point where my ears would get calluses.

“What?”

“My grandmother praises the clinic director every day. Uh… sorry if that bothered you.”

“No. There’s nothing to be bothered about. Did I talk too much about myself?”

“Keep going. It’s interesting. …Oh, wait. Did you see the clinic director deal with a difficult patient?”

“Hm?”

Jeong Inseong did his best to describe the scene of the teacher grabbing the arm of the difficult patient he had witnessed when he first visited Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic. Since he had already told this story to close friends several times, the words flowed like a minstrel’s tale.

“That’s crazy. I should have been there too.”

As expected, Kim Ijin was very disappointed that she hadn’t seen that scene directly.

As they continued their animated conversation, the three quickly arrived at the clinic.

“Oh? You two came together? Do you know each other?”

Clinic Director Hanyewon, who happened to be getting water from the dispenser, waved her hand when she saw the three entering.

Jeong Inseong and Min Juyeon greeted her politely, but Kim Ijin strode purposefully toward her.

“Clinic Director.”

Moreover, unlike just moments before when she was giggling and calling ‘Clinic Director, Clinic Director’, her face was extremely serious.

Wasn’t it like she was challenging someone to a duel?

Surely she wasn’t going to get angry because she didn’t get to hear the story Jeong Inseong just told directly?

“Hm? Do you have something to say?”

The teacher was also flustered by the atmosphere that seemed to call for epic background music.

Uh oh… should I intervene? No, that side seems to have about 5 times the combat power…

Thwack!

Just like when the difficult patient appeared, Jeong Inseong couldn’t do this or that.

Meanwhile, Kim Ijin stretched out both arms and held out an envelope to the teacher.

“Huh?”

“What, a public confession?”

Min Juyeon touched her cheek and tilted her head. Since it was a coincidence that the three came together, naturally she also couldn’t guess Kim Ijin’s sudden action at all.

So, what on earth is that? Surely it’s not really a love letter!

“Oh my?”

Fortunately, they quickly satisfied their curiosity. The teacher immediately opened the envelope and read the contents aloud.

“National Sports Festival opening ceremony admission ticket?”

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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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