The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 45

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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 45

‘Even in the martial arts world, I only saw the Three Yin Severed Meridians, but to encounter the Nine Yin Severed Meridians here.’

If we interpret Guumjeolmaek (Nine Yin Severed Meridians) literally, it means that yin energy overflows and severs one’s blood vessels.

However, anyone who has read martial arts novels would immediately think of a sickly beauty, so this has already established itself as a named condition on the level of ‘Fireball’.

It was a very troublesome trait that provided buffs to appearance and intelligence, while simultaneously reducing lifespan through damage over time and generating various disease debuffs in rotation.

There are largely two methods to dispel this debuff.

One is to learn extreme yin martial arts, such as the Ice White Divine Art of the Northern Ice Palace, and utilize that trait to 300%. The other is to push in extreme yang energy to achieve balance.

Where do you get extreme yang energy? In the old 19+ adult martial arts novels, they sometimes used certain methods with male protagonists who had mastered extreme yang martial arts, but usually it’s spiritual medicine.

“Then would it work to take medicine full of yang energy?”

Seol Yuhui, who was clever enough to receive intelligence buffs despite not reading martial arts novels, immediately thought of that method.

As a modern person, hearing about the harmony of yin and yang might make one’s expression strange, but since she didn’t know any particular cause anyway, she nodded roughly at the vague explanation.

“Yes. We need to use medicine with very strong yang energy. We’ll need to add plenty of aconite, ginseng, astragalus, etc. – amounts that would surely cause adverse reactions if ordinary people took them.”

Of course, that’s not a fundamental solution.

Although aconite contains yang energy that could be considered the strongest among currently available herbal medicines, if that were enough, the Nine Yin Severed Meridians wouldn’t have received so much attention in the martial arts world.

That world also had aconite, and the methods for processing it to remove toxicity could be said to be more advanced.

‘To actually dispel the trait itself, something very special is needed.’

I naturally don’t know extreme yin martial arts. How could I? Of the 20 years I spent in the martial arts world, half was wandering around and the other half was staying put in the Tang Clan. I never even went near dangerous places like the Northern Ice Palace.

Even mobilizing all my martial arts connections, it’s unclear whether I could obtain spiritual medicine.

‘Still, you never know. Since there was even Thousand Pine Poria, I might encounter some slightly unusual aconite if fate allows.’

I won’t be going to China again, but should I look into routes for obtaining medicinal materials privately without going through the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety?

Since I can’t even know if it exists, the possibility of not being able to obtain it is much higher for now, so giving false hope was forbidden.

“If you keep taking medicine to maintain balance and use acupuncture to open blocked meridians, your organs will gradually recover. Please trust me and follow my treatment.”

The treatment method I can do right now is actually just a temporary measure.

If treatment stops, within less than a year, she won’t be able to control the yin energy that surges up again.

But I was also the only one who could perform that temporary measure.

Although the Nine Yin Severed Meridians may have severed the meridians, they’re not physical tissue that can be cut with a knife. It’s just that yin energy blocks those pathways so they can’t connect.

If I drive out the yin energy to open the meridians and push in medicine full of yang energy, she should somehow return to human form.

How do I know?

Because I’ve treated a beautiful boy with Three Yin Severed Meridians before.

It would be more than three times harder than that time, but my ability to handle energy has also improved much more than back then, so it should probably be possible.

“I’ll trust only you, Clinic Director. I’ll do everything you tell me to.”

Seol Yuhui readily nodded.

“You’ve made a good decision.”

* * *

Honestly, she didn’t understand everything her newly introduced employer explained.

As a South Korean citizen sharing East Asian culture, there’s no one who doesn’t know what qi is or what yin and yang are, but at the same time, there are extremely few people who can properly explain it.

She knew that cold things are yin and hot things are yang… but if taking medicine with yang energy would make her better, wouldn’t just sunbathing also balance things out?

She had no idea what yin and yang energy could actually do in practical terms.

So did Seol Yuhui accept the proposal while harboring suspicions, really just taking a chance?

Since there was no reason to refuse free medicine, and just being hired was good enough?

That wasn’t it.

She had heard many explanations so far about how her body wasn’t in good condition for various reasons.

Mainly things like weak immunity or insufficient muscle mass.

‘Logically, this makes the least sense, but…’

Emotionally, it was the most appealing.

After going from hospital to hospital as much as Seol Yuhui had, she could tell just by looking at doctors’ faces now.

I don’t know either, this is bothersome, this patient won’t get better anyway.

Even when they spoke warmly and kindly, no one tried to provide treatment beyond putting out urgent fires.

But this new employer conveyed clear confidence through some unknown non-verbal expression.

Hanyewon knew exactly what situation Seol Yuhui was in, and also knew how to treat it.

At least there would absolutely be no situation where she’d say “Um… it’s not working. I’m sorry” and fire her.

So she accepted Hanyewon’s proposal to present an employment contract right there on the spot.

“Let’s start work immediately from tomorrow. I’ll brew the medicine today and give it to you starting tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“Today, while you’re touring the treatment room, just get some acupuncture and then go.”

“Ah, yes!”

It was her first time going to an interview and receiving treatment before leaving.

Seol Yuhui followed Hanyewon into the treatment room.

“Please take care of me starting tomorrow. I’m Seo Inae. You can change into this.”

The senior she had glimpsed at the desk brought clothes and spoke.

Though in a different direction from the clinic director, she could feel a mysterious presence from this person too.

‘Could I become like that if I gain experience too?’

After changing clothes and waiting briefly, Hanyewon, who had treated a patient that came in during that time, drew the curtain and entered.

She immediately opened a needle package and inserted one needle in the center of her head.

Since even a dog at a village school can recite poetry after three years, Seol Yuhui, who had worked at Haneul Clinic for several months, also knew this acupoint.

Baihui (Hundred Meetings).

Next, she inserted 9 more needles into unknown acupoints on the arms and legs.

Just when I thought that was the end, one last needle—quite a long one—was inserted into the lower abdomen.

“Ugh.”

In the oriental medicine clinics where Seol Yuhui had worked before, the oriental medicine doctor would leave after inserting the needles. The routine was to wait about 20 minutes with the needles in place, then have a nursing assistant remove them.

Originally, Seongsoo Oriental Medicine Clinic followed the same procedure, but today Hanyewon placed her hand on the needle inserted at the Baihui point.

“Breathe in through your nose while thinking that you’re accepting warm energy.”

“Ah, yes.”

“I’ll count to two. One. Two.”

Whatever it was, it wasn’t a particularly difficult instruction.

Seol Yuhui breathed in as Hanyewon directed.

“Breathe out through your mouth while thinking that you’re releasing cold energy in a big way. I’ll count to four. One, two, three, four.”

She exhaled much longer than she had inhaled.

Was this like meditation? She had briefly learned meditation at her mother’s recommendation. Back then, they had also told her to visualize warm meadows, hadn’t they?

“Breathe in once more while thinking that the energy you’ve accepted is extending downward. One. Two.”

“Think of drawing all the cold energy in your body upward to refresh your head, and also releasing some through your breathing. One. Two. Three. Four.”

“Breathe in again. Past your lower abdomen to the soles of your feet. One… Two…”

“Exhale. Cool your chest, your head. One… Two… Three… Four.”

Seol Yuhui followed Hanyewon’s instructions without much thought.

As she breathed as directed, her mind truly became empty.

Only breathing remained. Nothing else was left except that one thing.

Focusing on her breathing, she could feel it.

Something was being drawn out from her head where Hanyewon had placed her hand, and the needle in her lower abdomen seemed to tremble on its own even though it wasn’t being touched.

It truly felt like something called ‘qi’ was moving.

‘So yang qi and yin qi are like this… Ah!’

It seemed like she could distinguish them? Just as that stray thought occurred, something suddenly broke through in her forearm, where the ‘qi’ had been particularly stagnant unlike other parts of her body.

“Oh, something… What was that? Something like electricity went through my arm.”

“You felt that?”

“Yes. Unlike my head and abdomen, the spot where the needle was inserted felt particularly blocked. You didn’t deliberately block it and something went wrong, did you?”

Hanyewon’s eyes widened as if she was very surprised.

“You felt that much. I didn’t block it—it was a place where your yin qi was blocking the meridian. It’s very good that it opened up. We need to restore the other 8 places in a similar way.”

“Ah…?”

“Let’s stop here for today. If you repeat the breathing at home before bed, it will work better when I help you.”

Hanyewon said that and removed all the needles.

It was like a fantasy story, but now she couldn’t help but believe it.

Because she could really feel something called yin qi filling her body.

On the way home with the employment contract, she felt like she could understand the qi of heaven and earth too.

“Why does this bus never come on time?!”

Even when the person next to her at the bus stop complained irritably, Seol Yuhui wasn’t angry at all.

Instead, she assumed a meditation posture and followed the breathing she had learned earlier.

She had jokingly wondered if she should be able to absorb yang qi just by basking in sunlight, and it really seemed to work.

Even though it was already November, the sun felt incredibly warm.

* * *

Seol Yuhui quickly adapted to the treatment.

Even if it was the most basic Samjaegigong (Three Treasure Qi Cultivation), was it normal to learn qi circulation and breathing regulation this quickly?

She expelled yin qi as I received it while simultaneously absorbing yang qi from heaven and earth.

The internal energy obtainable through qi circulation and breathing regulation was very minimal, but with the help of medicine, she gradually found balance.

Her work was also flawless.

While I was still worried about entrusting her with the treatment room, she handled desk work excellently.

Normally, experienced seniors would handle people at the desk while newcomers would do the grunt work in the treatment room, but that was only possible when there were many staff in the treatment room.

In our clinic, the treatment room staff had to appropriately provide hot packs, physical therapy, moxibustion, cupping, etc., even when more than ten patients came at once, while simultaneously deploying me most efficiently.

She said she couldn’t even attend school properly, so where did she develop such social skills?

She was surprisingly good at dealing with people.

Ambiguous troublemakers backed down in the face of Seol Yuhui’s beauty, and even the most extreme troublemakers who weren’t swayed by such things crumbled before her innocence and purity.

Truly, Seol Yuhui was a flawless employee except for her health.

“Hello. I’m Kim Jinsang.”

While Seol Yuhui was doing such excellent work, I couldn’t leave her alone to handle Kim Jinsang, the biggest troublemaker in our clinic’s history who had nearly caused a violent incident.

Both I and Seo Inae stopped what we were doing and became alert.

‘Why did he come early today?’

Since he had been very well-behaved lately, neither of us stepped forward.

However, his pattern was different from usual. Until now, he had claimed to be too busy and appeared just before closing time every time, skipping all other treatments and only receiving bee venom acupuncture.

“I’m Park Seon-yun. This is my first visit. Should I fill out this form?”

Hmm? Opening my qi sense to check the presence and sounds, there was someone accompanying him.

I quickly finished treating my current patient and stuck my head out to observe that direction.

Normally, referral patients would be very welcome, but since this was someone Kim Jinsang brought, Park Seon-yun immediately became a person of interest upon her appearance.

“Yes. First-time patients need to see the director, so please fill that out and wait a moment. I’ll take Mr. Kim Jinsang to the treatment room first.”

“I’ll go in for the consultation with the young master too.”

…?

Young master?

For a moment I thought I had tripped back into the martial arts world again.

Fortunately, the ‘young master’ that Kim Jinsang was referring to wasn’t wearing green martial robes like the young masters of the Tang Family. Of course, he wasn’t dressed in silk clothes like the young masters of the Trading Guild either.

Park Seon-yun was simply wearing what looked like a very expensive suit and had a gentle smile on his face.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t Kim Jinsang say his job was being a chauffeur?’

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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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