The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 13
“Alloy acupuncture needles are best. The tips are thin and flexible.”
I spoke with such certainty that the merchant broke into loud exclamations of admiration.
“My goodness, how does such a young lady know all this? You’re truly remarkable!”
I didn’t let my expression slip for a moment, responding with perfect composure.
“Then please add three more alloy needles to this order.”
“Eh?”
“The other shop offered four.”
I pressed my haggling with shameless charm until the merchant finally gave in with a resigned nod.
“Ah, very well, very well! Take them with you!”
I accepted the needle case from the merchant’s hands but didn’t retreat at once.
Instead, I pointed to a wooden box set apart on one end of the counter.
“What about that?”
“Ah, that’s quite expensive. Experienced physicians use those. The needle tips don’t dull easily, and they feel wonderful in the hand…”
While the merchant launched into his explanation, I peered into the open wooden box.
Up close, it was clearly different from the needles I’d just bought.
The thickness and length varied deliberately, and the handles bore fine patterns carved to prevent slipping.
They seemed a bit heavy for a child’s hands, but they’d be wonderfully stable for an adult with large hands.
‘These would fit Grandfather perfectly… and the color is so refined.’
After a moment’s hesitation, I carefully closed the wooden box.
“I’ll take this as well.”
“Oh? But that would be rather large for a young lady to use…”
“I’m not using them myself.”
“Then…?”
I cleared my throat unnecessarily.
The truth was, giving acupuncture needles to a physician carried considerable weight.
To the people of Yak Ryeong-ga, needles were precious enough to carry on one’s person always, and they reflected each person’s taste so intimately that they were deeply personal.
So if someone not particularly close gave needles as a gift, it could be seen as presumptuous, and might even be refused.
‘I don’t know if I have the right to give such a thing… he might refuse… but even so.’
Grandfather’s laughter kept echoing in my mind. So did the warmth in his gaze as he looked at me.
‘Maybe he will accept them after all.’
That thought gave me barely enough courage.
‘Perhaps someday he’ll truly acknowledge me as his granddaughter…’
If I try harder, that is.
After organizing my thoughts, I spoke softly, almost as if reciting.
“They’re for Grandfather.”
In that instant, Ryu Jin’s eyes widened. Heo Jin Byeok’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
“For the patriarch, then?”
“Yes. Grandfather has large hands, so these would serve him better if he’s going to use them long-term.”
The moment I finished speaking, I felt oddly self-conscious, so I deliberately tapped the shelf with an air of indifference.
“And I’ll take this too. That can be a bonus.”
“No, young lady. This item comes with the needle case as a set, so there’s nothing else I can…”
“Then give me a needle cleaning cloth and storage oil.”
“…”
“The other shop includes those.”
The merchant opened his mouth briefly, then laughed heartily and shook his head.
“Goodness! Very well, very well! Since they’re for the patriarch, I’ll add them specially!”
When I turned around, Ryu Jin and Heo Jin Byeok were staring at me in astonishment.
“Young lady… you’re amazing…”
“Hmm?”
“You know so much… you didn’t fall for any of his tricks… and you’re even choosing a gift for the patriarch…”
The merchant beside us cleared his throat quietly.
“Indeed, young lady, you’ve inherited the blood of the Young Patriarch.”
Heo Jin Byeok too released an exclamation—praise, or something else, I couldn’t tell—and nodded silently.
Overwhelmed by the sudden attention and admiration, I flailed my hands in confusion.
“It’s—it’s nothing special!”
Despite having lived through several regressions and many long years because of it, this was the first time I’d ever received such praise.
The feeling was strange.
A useless burden. Defective goods.
I’d always heard nothing but those words, and yet here I was, receiving praise from others.
I looked down at the two needle cases cradled in my arms, then lifted my chin with renewed determination.
“Now let’s go find the medicinal ingredients!”
“Yes! Right away!”
* * *
“I’ll take these, and these too. This one as well!”
Fortunately, the herbal shop had most of the ingredients I was looking for in stock.
After quickly gathering what I needed and stepping outside, Ryu Jin quietly edged closer to my side.
“Um, miss.”
“Now that you’ve got everything, would you try some of that over there?”
“Hmm?”
Ryu Jin’s eyes sparkled like black obsidian as he pointed toward the back.
On a small stall, dark brown pastries were stacked neatly in rows.
An appetizing aroma pricked the tip of my nose.
Without thinking, I swallowed hard, and was about to step toward the stall with Ryu Jin when—
“What’s all this commotion?”
The murmur of gathering crowds brushed against my ears.
Ryu Jin and I turned our heads toward the sound at the same instant.
A crowd had gathered in front of a dilapidated old shop in the center of the marketplace.
A single tea table that had been set beneath its shabby eaves lay overturned, and shattered ceramic shards were scattered haphazardly across the ground.
And in the middle of it all.
A small figure lay collapsed.
‘A child?’
Hair the color of green jade, skin pale as fresh snow.
It was a boy whose striking beauty stood out even from a distance.
His black martial robes were caked with dust, and the fingers gripping the ground trembled faintly.
“Young master!”
The warrior beside him tried to help the boy up, his face drained of all color.
In that moment.
Hack!
A gush of dark red blood poured from the boy’s mouth.
“Ahhhhh!”
Screams erupted from all directions.
I instinctively examined the boy’s face.
‘Poison.’
The blood smeared on his lips was far too dark.
A faint bluish tinge was spreading across the corners of his eyes and beneath his ears.
It was poisoning.
“Is there a healer? Anyone? A physician!”
The warrior looked around frantically, then suddenly stopped, gazing toward one direction.
Following his line of sight, my eyes widened.
‘The Yak Ryeong-ga.’
A cart bearing a familiar insignia stood parked nearby.
The moment the warrior spotted the two people there, he rushed toward them.
“You there—are you a healer from the Yak Ryeong-ga? Please, I beg you, help us!”
It was Yeon Hwi Cheon and Yeon Do Pyeong.
Yeon Hwi Cheon stiffened at the appearance of this strange man, then quickly composed himself.
“What seems to be the trouble?”
“Our young master—he’s spitting blood. I’m begging you, just take a look!”
Yeon Hwi Cheon glanced briefly at the collapsed boy.
Then, his expression darkening, he shook his head.
“I’m afraid we’re in rather a hurry to return home at the moment.”
“But if we don’t treat him right now—!”
“I’m not feeling well today, and I have matters that need attending to.”
Yeon Hwi Cheon exhaled a low sigh as if deeply troubled.
“If it’s truly urgent, come to the Yak Ryeong-ga. If you make a formal request for treatment, we’ll look into it then.”
“This is a critical moment—how am I supposed to carry him all the way to the Yak Ryeong-ga!”
His claim of feeling unwell, his excuse about pressing matters—it all seemed hollow.
Yeon Hwi Cheon’s complexion was perfectly fine, exactly as it always was.
Yeon Do Pyeong, standing beside him, cast a glance at the sprawled boy and let out a scoff.
“If poison is involved, all the more reason not to meddle carelessly. If he dies from our interference, whose responsibility is that?”
Yeon Hwi Cheon’s brow furrowed as though he’d noticed the stares around them.
“Do Pyeong, that’s harsh language.”
He’d deliberately raised his voice so the surrounding crowd could hear. Yeon Do Pyeong merely shrugged.
“It’s not wrong, though, is it?”
With that, he waved his hand dismissively as if bored.
“Anyway, we’re busy. Make way.”
The two of them walked past the Warrior without another word.
‘Cowards.’
I clenched my teeth.
They must have noticed his condition was dire.
But if they’d intervened and something went wrong, they’d bear the responsibility.
They were afraid of earning their grandfather’s displeasure.
“Please! Anyone! Someone help me!”
The Warrior’s voice cracked with desperation as he appealed to the crowd.
Yet no one stepped forward.
It was only natural—treating someone poisoned by toxin was treacherous work.
A clumsy hand could kill the patient, and then the would-be healer would face blame instead.
‘I can’t.’
My fists tightened.
‘Not yet. I can’t reveal myself now.’
Of all the cursed timing, Yeon Hwi Cheon and Yeon Do Pyeong had to be here.
If they saw me, they’d seize on the fact that I—no licensed physician—had laid hands on a patient without authorization.
“Miss.”
Heo Jin Byeok called to me in a low voice.
“Perhaps we should step back.”
He seemed to have noticed my agitation.
“Miss, it’ll be all right. Another physician will… will surely come soon.”
Ryu Jin, too, looked anxious as he gently tugged at my sleeve.
That was when it happened.
“Ack—hack!”
The Boy’s body convulsed violently. Dark crimson blood spilled from his lips.
This time, foam mixed with the blood.
“Young master!”
The Boy’s fingertips trembled, then fell limp.
“No!”
“His breathing… it’s weakening!”
In that moment, something inside me snapped.
‘If I do nothing, he’ll die.’
I shut my eyes tight, then opened them.
In my past life, I struggled countless times for the chance to live.
I begged to be saved. I fought not to be abandoned. Until the very end, I waited for someone—anyone—to take my hand.
And now, if I were to turn away
from someone dying right before my eyes,
then what would I become? What would I be at all?
Tap—!
“Miss?!”
I wrenched my arm free from Ryu Jin’s grip and threw myself through the crowd.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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