The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 377
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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 377
Even though this is his first time receiving acupuncture, he could understandably be scared, but to come out with such an active attitude!
I immediately took out the blood stasis herbal injection before Sebastien could back down.
“This is called distilled herbal injection. It’s made by liquefying the steam generated during the decoction process of herbal medicine, then filtering, extracting, sterilizing and refining it.”
“Oh, yes.”
Actually, using herbal injections for treatment in Europe is complicated in many ways.
Only medications approved by the European Medicines Agency can be used as injectables.
So I had decided to mainly use physiological saline for regular patients.
Fortunately, Sandro had brought several types of herbal injection bottles that he said he would only use for family.
I briefly explained about the herbal injection.
Then immediately injected it into the Geumjin and Okek points.
“Ugh!”
Sebastien squeezed his eyes shut.
But he didn’t bite his tongue or anything like that.
“It doesn’t hurt as much as you thought, right?”
Whether he was frightened, Sebastien blinked his eyes while keeping his tongue rolled up.
Since we hadn’t established signals beforehand, I couldn’t tell whether it hurt or didn’t hurt.
I immediately disinfected and stopped the bleeding.
“Spit it out.”
Since the procedure ended quickly, Sebastien only spat out the small amount of saliva that had pooled in his mouth.
When I was in the Martial Arts World, I would thoroughly prick around the Geumjin and Okek points multiple times with bloodletting needles.
And I would make them keep spitting blood until a small cup was full.
But it’s not an area that’s easy to disinfect, and the possibility of infection from contact between the inside of the lips and saliva while drawing blood couldn’t be ruled out.
Of course, I’ve never seen anyone get infected from this level of treatment, but it’s not suitable for treating modern people who have thorough hygiene concepts.
“Oh, it really was better than I thought. Just a slight tingling sensation, that’s all.”
So I substituted it with a simple herbal injection.
The effectiveness shouldn’t be much lower.
“Then try eating something. The needle puncture site hasn’t completely healed yet, so please be careful not to touch it if possible.”
“Huh? Is it already finished?”
Sebastien blinked his eyes.
“I’m going to do acupuncture treatment too, but I want to check how much your sense of taste has returned.”
I offered him the biscuits and chocolate provided in the conference room.
There was a fifty percent chance that the nerve compression would be immediately relieved by the herbal injection and he’d be fine.
And a fifty percent chance that he’d need the same treatment several more times or medication.
“Hmm.”
He heard my explanation, but it would be difficult to expect that symptoms he’d been worrying about for so long would be cured in one go.
Sebastien picked up a biscuit with a tense expression.
When he lightly bit the end, it made a crunching sound as it broke.
He closed his eyes and carefully chewed the biscuit as if rolling it around.
I wanted to ask how it was.
But Sebastien’s face was so serious as he tasted that it was hard to speak to him.
“Ah…?”
After savoring the biscuit in his mouth to the end, he ate the chocolate.
He bit the chocolate between his lips, closed his eyes and clenched his fists.
Then moved his lips again.
“The texture melting smoothly… the subtle aroma of cacao brushing past with the bitter taste.”
Sebastien’s pupils trembled.
I had also tried the welcome amenity in the room – it was dark chocolate with caramel in the middle.
“I can feel it… I can feel it perfectly!”
After chewing up all the remaining biscuits, he suddenly lifted his head.
Since he was taller than me, I couldn’t see his face when he raised his head.
But I could guess his expression from the tears flowing down his cheeks and jaw.
“There was an immediate effect. That’s fortunate.”
Sebastien very slowly savored 100% of the biscuit flavor remaining in his mouth.
“Ah, how did I come to meet you? To think there was such a miraculous treatment method…! If Chairman Richi hadn’t been enthusiastic about Eastern medicine, oh! If you hadn’t happened to be in Europe, Teacher, how much longer would I have had to suffer!”
He said while trembling all over.
“It’s delicious. So delicious!”
Those biscuits and chocolate were tasty, but definitely not to that extent.
The emotion of regaining his sense of taste seemed to be tremendous.
“Haha, that is tasty. But wouldn’t the buffet be more delicious? It would be good to quickly finish the acupuncture treatment and go eat before breakfast time ends.”
I was going to wait for him, but Sebastien’s excitement just wouldn’t subside.
Since I couldn’t just leave him be indefinitely, I calmed him down.
The main symptom of taste disorder could be considered cured.
But I wanted to resolve as much as I could today with acupuncture for the other signs of blood stasis as well.
“Oh! That’s right! I must quickly try the taste of the new menu that Chairman Richi mentioned. Please hurry with the treatment.”
Only then did Sebastien come to his senses and sit properly in his chair.
It would be good to treat him lying down, but it was awkward to push chairs together in the conference room to make him lie down.
I warned him to tell me immediately if he felt dizzy, then inserted the needles.
“Think of it as improving blood circulation and reducing heat in the head and face area.”
I stimulated acupoints on the head like Taiyang, Fengchi, and Baihui, as well as points around the mouth like Dicang and Jiache.
I loosened the tangled areas of qi and blood as much as possible to facilitate smooth circulation.
After finishing such simple treatment.
I moved to the buffet with Sebastien.
Since there wasn’t much time left for breakfast, we practically ran down.
Breakfast didn’t have as many menu items as dinner.
But it was still quite delicious.
“The croissants here are soft.”
When I made an honest comment.
“Oh, that’s right. Croissant! This is exactly what croissants should taste like. Layer upon layer crumbling and scattering in the mouth, leaving the light saltiness of butter on the tip of the tongue.”
Ten words of praise poured out.
“To be able to distinguish sourness and sweetness so clearly from a single piece of orange! I truly realize that my sense of taste has returned.”
It was like writing a poem every time he ate something.
“I heard you’re serious about fine dining, but you really seem to love food.”
“Of course. I love it endlessly. Thank you for letting me feel this joy again. Oh, I traveled the world working as a Michelin inspector, but it’s never been as sweet as today.”
“You worked for the Michelin Guide?”
I was awkwardly smiling and going along with the conversation when I was startled.
He wasn’t just an ordinary food enthusiast?
Despite his age, he somehow had the impression of a leisurely gentleman, so I had only thought he was a wealthy person who ate delicious food and traveled around for fun.
“Didn’t Chairman Richi tell you? I’m a former inspector. If I were still active, revealing this would be prohibited.”
“Oh, really.”
“Company policy is that you must not reveal your identity to anyone – family, friends, acquaintances.”
“I’ve heard stories about them coming and going secretly like ordinary customers.”
“Haha. It’s really nice to travel around eating various foods, but surprisingly, resignations are frequent because of this policy. I was there for about 9 years, which was considered quite a long time.”
Sebastien told me his story while eating.
It was much more interesting than talking about sourness and sweetness at least.
He had wandered around Europe during his university days looking for delicious food.
After getting a job at the Michelin Guide, he evaluated food for work, but said he preferred experiencing food and restaurant atmospheres as they truly were.
“The only downside of that job was that my family and friends thought I was unemployed.”
Sebastien chuckled as he reminisced about the past.
Since there was actually a period when he traveled around for a while.
He wouldn’t tell them the company name and only said he had frequent business trips, so all his acquaintances thought he was just traveling for fun.
“Wow, they control information like an intelligence agency.”
“I was somewhat dissatisfied then, but now I understand why they did that. I’m currently working as a freelance culinary critic. After appearing on TV and having my name and face become somewhat known, chefs and staff who recognize me get too nervous. It doesn’t create a natural atmosphere.”
“That makes sense.”
Since it was a story from a completely unfamiliar world, I listened with interest and finished the meal.
“Time has already gotten to this point. I should get up.”
“Oh, of course. Thank you so much for the treatment. I’ll visit South Korea sometime later, so let’s have a meal like this then too.”
Since he was in charge of Europe, he said he could count on one hand the times he had joined the Asia team.
Since he said he wanted to try various foods again in places where his face wasn’t known, there was no reason to stop him.
“Sure. If you really come, please contact me once. Will you be staying in Rome for a while?”
“No, I have a schedule tomorrow, so I need to return to Paris for now.”
I had given him acupuncture treatment and it seemed like he’d be fine for a while.
But I urged him to definitely visit Sandro’s Clinic later if symptoms like intermittent chest pain, eye congestion, and sleep maintenance problems persisted.
* * *
After seeing Sebastien off like that.
I stopped by Sandro’s Clinic, which had now become quite familiar.
“Did you treat him?”
Although Sandro omitted the subject, everyone knew who I had treated.
He asked with bright, sparkling eyes along with Seo Inae.
“Of course I treated him. His sense of taste returned immediately.”
When I spoke triumphantly.
As if the two had made a bet, Seo Inae grinned while Sandro’s eyes widened.
“The symptoms are unusual, but the actual cause and treatment aren’t complicated.”
I told them he might visit after some time and explained about Sebastien in detail.
When I mentioned he had worked at Michelin, both Sandro and Seo Inae were surprised as expected.
Sandro wrote this down and looked at me with a strange expression.
“Ahem, there weren’t any particularly difficult patients this morning, right?”
“No. They were just the usual people who come.”
He answered as if treating regular patients, despite having opened only a few days ago.
His voice was nonchalant, as if the time when he was terrified by the cardinal’s appearance had never happened.
I observed for several more hours.
Sandro skillfully handled both Roman citizens who dropped by and patients who came from far away.
“You’re doing well, and you’ll continue to do well. If you have any difficulties, contact me anytime.”
After observing his treatments for several days, I felt much less worried.
I was completely at ease and patted Sandro’s back encouragingly.
“Thank you for all your help. Since I’ve received so much, I’ll work hard to contribute to Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic in the future.”
After exchanging final greetings.
Seo Inae and I headed to the airport.
“It was really wonderful coming to Rome. I never imagined I’d end up doing work that involved business trips to Italy.”
“I’m always indebted to you.”
Setting up a new clinic for the first time must have been complicated.
Seo Inae told me she had learned a lot and found it interesting.
“You could enjoy some more sightseeing before going back, Teacher.”
“I did plenty of sightseeing before the Clinic Director arrived. Now I want to return to work at headquarters quickly.”
As we shared our impressions of Rome, it was soon time to board the plane.
“Sleep well.”
Despite pretending otherwise, she must have been tired as she fell asleep as soon as we took off.
Was it Sebastien’s influence?
I felt grateful for my intact sense of taste and delicately enjoyed the in-flight meal.
The menu wasn’t that different from the Rome-bound flight, but thinking positively, it didn’t seem bad either.
We arrived in Incheon.
After one transfer, we finally landed at Gimhae Airport.
“Coming together made the time pass much faster. You worked hard.”
It had only been a week, but arriving in Busan somehow felt nostalgic and cozy.
“Yes. You also worked very hard, Clinic Director. I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.”
“I’ll give you a ride. It’s not that much of a detour.”
“Oh, I could just take the bus…”
I knew Seo Inae would take the bus rather than a taxi even on a day like today.
Since I had parked at the airport, I decided to drop off Seo Inae and then go home.
After working so hard in Rome, she should at least get home comfortably.
Seo Inae got in my car, pretending she couldn’t refuse.
I entered the address into the navigation system.
About 10 minutes after departing from the airport.
Beep-.
While waiting at a traffic light, someone behind us honked their horn.
“Are they honking at us?”
Seo Inae, who had been looking at her phone, turned around and asked.
“Yes. They’re telling us to turn right quickly.”
My car was at the very front of the rightmost lane.
I was also planning to turn right, but I was waiting because pedestrians hadn’t completely crossed the crosswalk.
“There are always some strange people on the road. Don’t mind them.”
It wasn’t anything unusual, so she gestured for me to ignore it.
-Beeeeeeeeeep! Beep! Beep! Beeeeeep!
Were they pounding the horn with their fist?
The car behind us started making even louder sounds.
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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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