The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim - Chapter 94
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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 94
The evening after returning from the medical examination.
Myeong Seonju received several files. They were the promised audio file and a few pictures.
While the audio file was downloading, she first examined the pictures, which had a strange appearance with several dots marked on a human body.
The first picture had numbers marked up to 20: number 1 on the back of the hand (Hegu), number 2 on the top of the foot (Taichong), number 3 in the center of the chest (Danzhong)… and so on.
The remaining files were photos showing exactly where each point was located, with acupuncture points marked.
Foot Shaoyin Gallbladder Meridian? What is this supposed to be.
[Just follow along while listening to the file! Fighting!]
[Thank you, Clinic Director.]
After sending the message, Myeong Seonju plugged in her earphones and played the audio file.
She had just finished preparing for bed, and the file download was complete.
– We will now begin meditation. Please sit in a comfortable position and focus on your sensations.
Huh?
She heard the Clinic Director’s voice.
Rather than sending some suitable meditation file, did she record this herself?
– Take a deep breath in, and imagine energy gathering at point 1. One~ Two~.
– Breathe out deeply, and imagine energy flowing out through point 2. One~ Two~ Three~.
She had expected meditation to involve imagining running through peaceful plains, but instead it was about breathing this way and that while moving energy around.
– The energy at point 7 spreads to point 8, warming your stomach. One~ Two~
This seems kind of… fake?
Myeong Seonju cleared away the distracting thoughts that kept arising in her mind and focused on the voice.
– Energy rests at point 13, clearing your mind. One~ Two~ Three~.
Gradually, useless thoughts disappeared.
– Energy seeps into point 17. One… Two…
Nothing remained except the movement of energy.
Myeong Seonju followed the voice, forgetting everything in the world.
“What are you doing? Are you okay?”
Thud!
But someone opened the door and entered, breaking Myeong Seonju’s concentration.
“Ah… Kim Ijin.”
“Why are you calling me like I’m a stranger?”
Right. This is the BUK Dormitory. I was roommates with Kim Ijin.
And I was definitely meditating.
For some reason, instead of her original posture, she was sprawled out with all the strength drained from her arms and legs.
“Only 20 minutes have passed.”
“I’m asking what you were doing?”
If it had been her original posture, Kim Ijin would have thought she was meditating and left her alone, but her appearance was clearly strange to anyone who saw it.
“The Clinic Director sent me an audio file she recorded, so I was following along.”
“What?!”
She had told the truth, meaning don’t disturb me.
But Kim Ijin was startled and snatched Myeong Seonju’s phone.
“Send it to me too!”
“…”
Now that she’s asking for it like that, I suddenly don’t want to give it to her.
* * *
After completing a month of medication, Myeong Seonju visited again for a follow-up consultation.
“Hello!”
Her voice was clearly much better than during the last interim consultation.
“I’ve really improved a lot. I sleep well too. Even running for the same amount of time, I’m definitely less tired. The feeling of my chest tightening when starting a match has almost disappeared. Of course, there was no fainting.”
What she said about her symptoms was similar to last time, but the tone and speed of her speech had changed.
Even her somewhat hurried speech while hyperventilating had calmed down.
“You’ve been diligent with meditation too?”
“Yes! My body feels lighter every day, it’s so great~.”
“The diarrhea has stopped too.”
“Yes. That was good even before meditation, and I haven’t had it once in the past two weeks.”
I placed my fingers on Myeong Seonju’s wrist and checked her pulse again.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump…
Unlike last time when it was beating rapidly, her pulse was beating at an appropriate speed and amplitude.
The heart pulse that had been jumping dramatically had also decreased by more than half.
“You’re stabilizing a lot. At this rate, we can finish treatment within a month or two.”
“Wow, that’s a relief!”
“I’ll maintain the direction while adjusting only the dosage considering your pulse and symptoms. Please take good care of it next month too.”
“Yes! Even after finishing the medicine, it’s good to continue meditation, right?”
“Of course. Repeating it every night before bed and regularly practicing the breathing I taught you in daily life is the best.”
“Thank you!”
Myeong Seonju stood up from her seat and bowed 90 degrees at the waist.
From her complexion to her pulse, recovery indicators were visible everywhere, so I felt good too.
“Shall we do acupuncture today as well?”
“Yes~.”
After finishing the consultation, Myeong Seonju went to the treatment room.
“Hello.”
Kim Ijin came in.
“Do you have any particularly painful areas today, Ijin?”
Unlike Myeong Seonju, who was taking medication and being monitored for progress, Kim Ijin had consistently skipped consultations.
Since she was only receiving treatment for maintenance purposes due to her constant overexertion, it was natural that there were no particular changes each time she came.
But the fact that she specifically requested a consultation… did she injure somewhere new?
“No.”
But despite my worried question, Kim Ijin shook her head vigorously.
She seemed to be in a bad mood somehow.
…Don’t tell me she’s sulking?
“Why do you only give recording files to Myeong Seonju? You’ve never taught me meditation.”
She really is sulking?
“I gave it to her because it’s necessary for Myeong Seonju’s treatment~. The ideal breathing and pulse rate that Seonju needs to achieve through diligent treatment is your current state, Ijin.”
You… even without directly circulating qi, I’ve already set everything up to circulate at maximum efficiency!
“But I felt better when I followed along with it too.”
But Kim Ijin pouted her lips.
No matter how robust her body is, a kid is still a kid.
More than that, she said she followed the meditation I gave to Myeong Seonju.
Did she get greedy after hearing that improving breathing techniques would also improve oxygen supply during exercise?
“That’s for relaxation and calming hyperventilation, so it really won’t be much help to you, Ijin. If you want to do it, I’ll record something new tailored specifically for you, so let’s do something different.”
“Tailored for me?”
“Yes. I’ll teach you something that helps improve athletic performance rather than treatment.”
“…!”
Kim Ijin’s face brightened immediately at my words about sending her a new meditation method.
Hmm, this should be fine, right?
Actually, ever since I first met Kim Ijin, I’d been constantly thinking about wanting to teach her martial arts.
And for good reason – I hadn’t seen martial talent like this even in the martial arts world.
Of course, people like Cheonma or the Martial Arts Alliance Leader had extraordinary talents, but they were incomparable to me and were already accomplished martial artists.
The talented younger generation I had connections with were mostly direct descendants of prestigious families, so naturally I never had the opportunity to teach them.
‘Teaching her a little bit of internal energy cultivation should be fine!’
I should teach her very gradually, starting with basic qi cultivation techniques that wouldn’t lead to qi deviation even when practiced alone.
‘There shouldn’t be any… problems, right?’
I swallowed nervously and said.
“But this is something only you should do, Ijin. It’s a secret from other people, okay?”
Of course, this was based on the premise that Kim Ijin’s naturally gifted body, with the foundation I had laid, would be able to operate qi on its own.
She would be able to reach the true essence by following the oral instructions, but… it might actually be dangerous for others.
“Even from Myeong Seonju?”
“Yes, practice little by little only when you’re alone. It will change very slowly.”
“I’ll do that.”
Kim Ijin’s eyes blazed as she nodded.
Depending on how she does it, this could become an incredible opportunity, or it could just become a strange meditation she tries for a few days and then quits.
Right now she was just happy about creating a secret with me, but I had a feeling that Kim Ijin would seize this opportunity.
Swoosh.
Looking at the chart, I had a little time to spare today.
Since she was in the examination room anyway, I had a little chat with Kim Ijin about recent developments.
“You’re doing really well on the team as expected.”
“It’s thanks to you, Clinic Director. If I hadn’t treated my knee injury back then, I wouldn’t have even been able to join the team.”
“Oh come on. It’s because you worked hard, Ijin.”
While I was at it, I asked about the other kids too.
“How are the friends who came with you before? Inseong and, um… was it Juyeon?”
“I’m not really sure. I keep in touch with my basketball team junior, but contact with classmates gets cut off quickly.”
That makes sense – since she joined a professional team right after graduating high school, the world she lives in must be very different now.
“Keep fighting in the future too. Don’t get injured!”
“Yes!”
Myeong Seonju and Kim Ijin returned to their team like that, but.
I kept wondering about Jeong Inseong’s well-being, which had suddenly come to mind.
Since he had decided to pursue Korean medicine largely due to my influence, I was concerned about whether he was doing well, or if he might be regretting it.
It had already been over a year since I counseled him, so timing-wise it would be winter break after finishing his first year of pre-med.
I wonder if his school studies suited him well?
When you first learn basic Korean medicine theory, it’s easy to fall into confusion wondering if this is some kind of fantasy setting… so I suddenly became worried.
“Clinic Director~ I came again today~.”
Jeong Inseong hadn’t shown his face even once in the past year.
But I was still seeing Grandmother Heo Sunnam regularly these days.
Even though her back had straightened considerably, spinal stenosis this old couldn’t be completely cured and required ongoing management.
“Come to think of it, how is Inseong doing these days? Is school going well for him?”
“Our grandson? It’s vacation, so he’s just staying at home. Ah! Has that rascal never come to greet you, Clinic Director?”
“He’s probably busy having fun and hanging out. I was just curious if he was adapting well.”
“Oh my, I’m going to go home today and give him a piece of my mind!”
“No, you don’t need to go that far-“
“People should know gratitude! Thanks to you, Clinic Director, he got himself a pretty girlfriend, and now he’s running around having fun with her with his head in the clouds!”
No… it’s really okay.
There’s no debt of gratitude, and since he’s not sick, there’s no need for him to come to the clinic.
But stopping the utterly stubborn Grandmother Heo Sunnam was beyond my capabilities.
Sorry, Inseong.
You’ll have to suffer a bit.
* * *
At the same time.
Jeong Inseong was grilling pork belly at a barbecue restaurant downtown.
The two-month university winter break felt infinitely short to a twenty-year-old youth who had finally grown close to his girlfriend after a long-distance relationship.
Dating, then dating again, then dating some more – time passed in an instant.
It wasn’t until the break was almost over that he hurriedly thought he should meet his teacher.
“Wow~ Teacher, congratulations on your promotion.”
The name of the teacher Jeong Inseong was meeting was Woo Jongsoo.
He was a math instructor at a comprehensive academy.
Jeong Inseong only attended academy for math and took online courses for all other subjects, but since his grades improved significantly after learning math from him, he was always grateful.
“Sigh… I don’t know if this is a good thing.”
Woo Jongsoo was promoted to director last year after sending many students, including Jeong Inseong, to good universities.
The academy where he worked was a place where headquarters directly operated dozens of branches nationwide, and becoming a director meant a significant salary increase but also taking on various duties beyond teaching.
“Is it very difficult?”
“Yeah, I had no idea dealing with parent complaints would be this hard.”
Jeong Inseong poured soju while listening to Woo Jongsoo’s lament.
He didn’t think at all that this was just false modesty after getting promoted.
“You really seem to be having a hard time. I was really… shocked.”
“Tell me about it.”
“How did your hair fall out this much in just one year?”
“That’s what I’m saying!”
Woo Jongsoo gulped down his drink.
Lately, everyone he met never failed to bring up his hair.
“Is it time for it to fall out? How old are you, Teacher? Fifty? Or still in your forties?”
But among them all, this kid Jeong Inseong was a bit much.
“I’m 38, you bastard!”
Did you come here to make fun of me?
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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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