The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 7

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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 7

“Yes?”

What do you mean what? I just inserted the needles normally…

Was my way of speaking strange? My needle insertion posture? Or could it be that he sensed the movement of qi and blood?

“Because you’re not using a needle tube.”

“Ah.”

Here I thought it was something else.

Only after Professor Lee Minseok pointed it out did I realize that all my classmates were inserting needles using needle tubes.

A needle tube is literally a cylindrical tube used for needle insertion, made slightly shorter than the needle length so that just a light tap allows for quick insertion.

Since it penetrates the skin much faster than gripping and pushing the needle in by hand, it causes less pain for the patient, so in modern times where painless treatment is important, most practitioners use needle tubes.

‘I wasn’t thinking at all.’

Unlike the martial arts world where I had to directly sterilize needles before use, it still felt awkward that just tearing open plastic packaging gave me 10 sterile needles.

Looking again, there was indeed a needle tube included with each needle.

‘Hmm, I could have used needle tubes if I had asked them to make some.’

It would have been impossible at first, but after taking refuge with the Tang Family, it would have been possible if I had asked a craftsman. However, by that time I was already accustomed to inserting needles without tubes, so I never even thought of their existence.

“Yes, I’m used to this way.”

“You look like a veteran who’s been doing this for 10 years. Are your parents traditional Korean medicine doctors? Do you practice at home?”

The professor asked with suspicious eyes.

“No. I just practiced alone by poking tissue paper.”

I answered, recalling how Professor Kim Sungchul, who had taken parental leave, had told us to practice piercing toilet paper.

“You’re quite skilled.”

He stared at me intently, then placed his hand on Cho Haneul’s shoulder.

“Haneul, you should learn from him. And cut back on the drinking.”

“Ugh, yes…”

Despite calling him “hyung,” I couldn’t tell if they were actually close or if he was just getting scolded.

After checking all the students’ practice, Professor Lee Minseok returned to the podium and demonstrated his own method. I suppose this was the model answer.

And so today’s class ended safely as well.

Yesterday it was Cho Haneul, today it was the Senior Student who became the sacrificial lamb. With 10 more classes with Professor Lee Minseok remaining… would everyone get scolded once?

While I was thinking about other things, I heard Professor Lee Minseok speak.

“The next class is on Wednesday, right? Take a photo of the assignment and submit it by the day before. The content is the same as last time – write about diagnosis, treatment methods, and other teaching points.”

Unlike yesterday’s example patient where only the main symptoms were briefly mentioned, this time detailed information was meticulously written, from the patient’s present illness history to past history, social history, and systemic physical problems.

“The main symptom is tinnitus, and it’s been over 10 years since the symptoms started. Refer to other information if you need it for pattern identification. Tinnitus patients are difficult to treat but quite common in local practice.”

Professor Lee Minseok said.

‘Tinnitus onset 11 years ago? High blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, and even cervical disc problems?’

I carefully read through the chart displayed on the screen.

[P.I (Present Illness)]

* Symptoms began 11 years ago after spouse’s death

* Repeated improvement and worsening, left untreated for a long time, then symptoms worsened a year ago without apparent cause

* Became unable to sleep without alcohol, first attempted examination and treatment in November last year.

* ENT examination showed no problems with inner ear structure, mild hearing loss. There were signs of otitis media at the time, but tinnitus persisted even after inflammation subsided

* January this year, neurosurgery brain MRI showed no significant findings

* Subsequently attempted treatment at 2 traditional Korean medicine clinics but with no improvement, hence the visit.

Below that, social history, various test findings, and systematic questioning were listed. The social history was particularly striking.

“He drinks a bottle of soju every day? And he works in construction? Construction sites must be incredibly noisy.”

Hwangseoyeong said. There was quite a lot of information compared to the patient case briefly presented last time.

There were more than one or two lifestyle factors that could cause tinnitus.

“How are we supposed to do pattern identification? Qi deficiency? Liver-kidney dual deficiency?”

She was trying to do pattern identification as if solving an exam question.

Pattern identification is a diagnostic method that examines not only the patient’s main symptoms but all symptoms manifesting in the body such as appetite, digestion, bowel and urinary functions, sweating, etc., to determine the deficiency and excess of the five organs and six bowels, essence, qi, spirit, and blood.

While it’s as important as deriving a disease name in traditional Korean medicine diagnostic systems, unlike exam questions, real patients rarely fit neatly into categories.

“Don’t just copy from books too much. Submit it according to how each of you would actually treat the patient.”

The professor left the screen displayed, received greetings, and left the classroom.

Unlike the previous day when she left first saying she had business, Hwangseoyeong held me back.

“What do you think? Is alcohol the problem after all?”

“I don’t think this is a question to be answered through pattern identification. If it were, it would have been clearly pointed in one direction like a national exam question. The initial cause probably wasn’t alcohol, but if he doesn’t quit like that, it’ll almost never heal… I think the intention is to treat with acupuncture around the ears, cervical spine, and temporomandibular joint area, and write about teaching methods for how to make him quit drinking and take medicine.”

“Ah!”

“That’s just my thought. I could be wrong.”

Hwangseoyeong nodded.

“I think you’re right. There’s nothing that isn’t a problem. Disc problems, mild hearing loss, and despite trying everything for a year, it couldn’t be cured. They probably even tried steroids, so how could we cure something that didn’t respond?”

“It’s not completely incurable. It does improve with long-term treatment while taking medicine.”

There were quite a few tinnitus patients in the martial arts world too. No, there were strangely many of them.

While the pathophysiology of tinnitus hasn’t been clearly established, inner ear diseases, noise, trauma, inflammation, stress, and imbalances in the cervical spine and temporomandibular joint are considered causes.

A martial artist who had reached a certain level shouldn’t be affected by external factors except stress among these, yet renowned masters who seemed unlikely to be affected would often come to me suffering from PTSD.

‘If you ask whether I can cure everything, that’s not the case, but to give up treatment… even if it only improves by 70%, the quality of life would be quite enhanced.’

I tried all sorts of things to treat patients.

In a modern medical environment, patients like the example would have left for another hospital when told they couldn’t be cured, but in the Martial Arts World, there were countless patients who looked only to me for months and years.

“You talk as if you’ve actually treated them.”

Cho Haneul chuckled and spoke to me.

“Yes. I’m just talking based on books. Your parents must have tried treating patients, so go ask them.”

If class was over, they should leave quickly, but Cho Haneul picked a fight and Hwang Sanghun even sneakily peeked at my laptop. Anyway, I couldn’t go on and on telling them about my clinical cases. I waved my hands to shoo them away.

“Are you going to do assignments again before leaving?”

“Yeah.”

Hwangseoyeong also went home first. At first she was shocked, but she accepted the fact that I really only studied after class ended.

“Hmm hmm~.”

Today Hwang Sanghun also went home obediently, and no one was left in the Classroom.

‘Then I don’t need to go to the library?’

I typed the assignment at almost the same speed as I was thinking.

Even without searching through books, I could compose prescriptions as much as I wanted. As I told Hwangseoyeong, I could place needles at acupoints around the ears, or deliberately diagnose weak organs among the five viscera and six bowels and tonify them. As Professor Lee Minseok said, tinnitus is quite a common disease, so any acupuncture method would have prepared a tinnitus room.

The answer doesn’t come out as just one, and the number of needles isn’t fixed either, so what does it matter?

“Done!”

Just like the previous day, I cheerfully shouted “done,” but only silence filled the Classroom.

I briefly pondered whether to study in the Classroom until the security guard came or go to the library, then chose the latter. I didn’t want my concentration to be interrupted midway.

“Huh.”

I was about to leave just like that, but suddenly discovered that the PPT was still displayed on the screen.

“Did he leave his USB behind?”

No. He must have brought the file and saved it on this computer, right?

I was concerned, so I went up to the podium to check the Classroom computer. But what Professor Lee Minseok had left behind wasn’t a USB.

He had brought his own laptop and switched the cables to display it on the screen.

“Geez… this guy, no matter how absent-minded he is.”

It seemed that neither the Senior Student nor the information manager had noticed because they were busy chattering about the assignment.

No one would say anything if I just left it there, but…

‘What if it goes missing and I get blamed for it?’

Having adapted to a world where security was unstable and slander was rampant, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the laptop in an open Classroom.

“I’ll take it to him.”

I sent a message to the Senior Student to find out where Professor Lee Minseok’s research lab was.

[Oh my, I should have taken care of it! Should I go get it now?]

[No. I asked because I was going to take it to him.]

[He’s probably at the hospital, not the school~. Clinical Research Lab 3rd floor! Thank you! I’ll text him that you’re stopping by~!]

I thought he’d be in his professor’s office just by going up a floor, but I had to go all the way to the hospital. Since the Senior Student responded like that, I couldn’t refuse saying it was bothersome.

“If I walk slowly, it’ll take about 15 minutes.”

The University Hospital wasn’t that far anyway. That’s probably why the professor went there right after class ended.

I leisurely enjoyed the breeze as I made my way through the students and left the campus.

The hospital was right across the main road.

Beeeep-!

But suddenly, a car horn sounded at the Intersection.

I, who had been fiddling with my phone, quickly raised my head.

“Huh?”

I could vaguely see a Middle-aged Man who appeared to be in his 50s crouching at the entrance of the Crosswalk.

A blue Porsche was heading straight toward him.

Beep! Beeeep!

The Middle-aged Man didn’t get up as if he couldn’t hear the horn. He had something plugged in one ear, which looked like wireless earphones.

Then the car should at least brake suddenly, but the Porsche didn’t slow down at all. Its attitude was as if saying, “It’s a green light, so you figure out how to get out of the way.”

There wasn’t even 50 meters left from the car to the Crosswalk.

“Are you crazy?”

Whoooosh!

I launched my body as soon as I spoke. I ran using lightness skill and grabbed the Old Man with grappling techniques.

“It’s a red light! How can you be on the Crosswalk with earphones in like that?”

“Uhhhhh!”

I shouted loudly.

At the Intersection Crosswalk from school to hospital, there was no one else besides me and him. If I had been even a moment later, the Middle-aged Man would have been hit by the car.

“Huff, huhhh! A-are you human?”

The Middle-aged Man flailed both arms as if he had seen the grim reaper. Not only had he narrowly escaped a life-threatening crisis, but the way I had pulled him wasn’t the movement of an ordinary person either.

“Of course it’s a person!”

I answered calmly, but he, who had been suddenly grabbed while crouching down, couldn’t quite calm his shock.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

The Porsche finally slowed down.

Rolling down the passenger window and saying that kind of thing. He didn’t care one bit about the Middle-aged Man’s safety.

It would be one thing if someone jaywalking had suddenly jumped out, but what kind of mentality is it to keep driving while honking at someone clearly visible from a distance?

“Wow, he’s completely out of his mind.”

I muttered briefly and helped support the Middle-aged Man. At first, I had yelled at this person too, but the driver’s arrogant attitude actually made my anger subside.

“Be careful. If you get hit by that crazy bastard’s car, you’re the only one who’ll suffer.”

“Oh my, student. Thank you. I dropped my hearing aid…”

And with those words that followed, the slight anger that remained turned into guilt.

He touched his left ear and bowed his head.

What I had mistaken for earphones was a hearing aid in his right ear. He had dropped the left one on the road and had gone into the crosswalk to pick it up.

“Oh my goodness, I’m sorry. You must have been really startled, right?”

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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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