The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 21

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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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Chapter 21
“Yes. That is indeed…… a most excellent greeting. Truly…….”
“Father, why is your face turning red?”
“Red? Nonsense. Come now, show me your wrist.”
Father quickly grasped my wrist and began taking my pulse with Pulse Diagnosis.
Once he finished, he nodded with evident satisfaction.
“Good. You’re well enough to venture out today.”
With that, he suddenly spread both arms wide.
“Come. Up you go.”
“I can walk, you know.”
“I’m aware.”
“Then why won’t you let me!?”
“Being able to walk and choosing to walk are two different matters.”
Father didn’t give me a moment to protest before lifting me into his arms.
“Time is precious. If I matched your pace, the sun would set before we arrived.”
“M-my pace isn’t that slow, you know……!”
“Of course, of course. Our daughter moves swift as lightning.”
Anyone listening would have heard the mockery in his tone.
I considered asking him to put me down, but he seemed far too delighted with the arrangement.
In the end, I simply wrapped my arms around his neck without protest.
And so I arrived at the Central Medicinal Repository cradled in Father’s arms.
“This is…… incredible…….”
I gazed upward at the towering structure beyond the high wall, my mouth falling open.
I had glimpsed it from a distance in my past life, but seeing it up close, the sheer scale was far more overwhelming.
The Central Medicinal Repository stood deep within the Yak-ryung-ga, accessible only by passing through multiple layers of walls and checkpoints.
The Family Clan’s crest was carved deeply into the iron gates on either side.
The warriors standing guard at the entrance immediately bowed the moment they recognized Father.
He gave a light nod, and the massive iron gates, sealed shut moments before, slowly swung open.
Creak—
As the gap widened, a thick, cool herbal fragrance rushed out all at once.
“Wow…….”
A gasp escaped my lips unbidden.
Towering medicinal shelves stretched endlessly toward the ceiling, while countless drawers packed the walls without a single gap.
I had anticipated rare herbs would be stored here, but the actual scale surpassed all imagination.
“Surprised?”
“Yes. It’s enormous.”
As I craned my neck in wonder, gazing about at everything, the corners of Father’s mouth lifted slightly.
“These are medicinal herbs the Yak-ryung-ga has collected from every corner of the realm over centuries.”
“There must be nothing they don’t have.”
“Nearly so.”
Father strode purposefully into the deeper reaches, as though he had been waiting for this very moment.
Then, abruptly, he drew out a long wooden box.
“Ryeong-hwa.”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever seen this before?”
His voice carried a peculiar air of delight.
Yet I harbored no real suspicion, and poked my head out from within Father’s embrace.
“What is it?”
“A most precious medicinal herb.”
“Show me.”
“Very well. Look closely.”
Click—
The lid of the wooden box opened.
And then.
“Eeeeeek!”
I shrieked and threw my arms tightly around Father’s neck.
Inside the box lay a large snake, desiccated and coiled upon itself.
“A—a—a snake!!”
In that instant.
“Puh-hahahaha!”
Father clutched his belly and burst into laughter as if he’d been waiting for this very moment.
“Father! What if you show me a snake all of a sudden like that!”
“It’s not a snake — it’s medicinal material.”
Father dropped his innocent act and lifted the wooden box slightly to show me.
I instinctively threw my arms around his neck and jerked my body backward.
His smile only grew wider.
‘Father, you’re teasing me…?’
I puffed out my lips, and Father, looking even more delighted, pushed the box a little closer toward me.
“Would you like to look at it carefully from up close?”
“No!”
“But it’s rare medicinal material.”
“I can see how rare it is from here.”
“Hmm, how can a child who wants to become a physician be afraid of medicinal materials?”
“I’m not afraid!”
Father pushed the box even closer.
I turned my head away sharply, grimacing.
“What’s wrong? You said you weren’t scared.”
“I’m not scared — I just don’t want to get close to it!”
“Isn’t that being scared?”
“It’s not!”
Father shook the wooden box with a perfectly straight face.
“Hiss. The snake’s coming back to life.”
“Ahhh! I don’t like this!”
Father finally couldn’t hold back anymore and laughed again.
After laughing for a long while, he closed the lid of the box and put it back in its place.
“All right, all right. I’ll stop teasing.”
But his face was still full of mischief.
I regarded him with suspicion.
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Father opened the next medicinal cabinet with an innocent expression.
“Now, this one has something even more interesting.”
“…Don’t tell me it’s another snake?”
“No.”
“Truly?”
“Yes. This time it’s a centipede.”
“Ahhh! Father!”
Father’s laughter echoed loudly through the medicinal repository once more.
After causing all that commotion, we ventured deeper into the repository.
“Near the entrance, you’ll find medicinal materials used frequently, like Licorice Root and Astragalus. As you go deeper, you encounter things that are harder to obtain or trickier to handle.”
I looked around with sparkling eyes.
For each medicinal material I pointed to, Father told me its name and properties.
From materials like Licorice Root and White Atractylodes, used broadly in decoctions, to the Blue Meridian Herb, which could actually harm the body depending on one’s constitution.
He explained without hesitation when to harvest for the best medicinal efficacy, what symptoms it treated, and what it must never be used with.
The fragmented knowledge I’d gleaned by secretly peeking at books finally took on a coherent shape.
‘How fascinating…! This is fun.’
As I poured out questions without noticing time slip away, Father answered every single one without a trace of annoyance.
“Father, you look happy.”
Father’s footsteps faltered.
“Do I?”
“Yes. Since earlier, you’ve been telling me things I didn’t even ask about.”
“…That’s just so you don’t recklessly put medicinal materials in your mouth without knowing anything.”
“I won’t do that anymore.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
Father cleared his throat and resumed walking, but a faint smile lingered at the corners of his mouth.
As we ventured deeper into the repository, the medicinal boxes were bound with red cords or gold seals.
The number of pharmacists standing guard became noticeably larger.
“From here on, rare medicinal materials that are difficult to obtain are stored.”
Father opened a black box.
Inside, a red fruit the size of a walnut sat upon soft cloth.
“Red Sun Fruit. It opens the blockages of stagnant Qi and Blood, restores flagging Vital Energy. That’s what it’s used for.”
“But why is there only one?”
“It takes thirty years to bear fruit. The Family Clan’s apothecaries spent half a year traveling the southern regions just to obtain this single seed.”
I stared at the Red Sun Fruit and murmured softly to myself.
“It must be incredibly expensive, then.”
“Expensive or not, no medicine costs more than a human life.”
Father answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
His words lodged themselves strangely deep in my chest.
All at once I wondered if, in my former life, Father had searched for my medicine with this same conviction.
I said nothing, only toyed absently with the edge of his robe.
“What is it? Are you tired?”
“No.”
“Shall I put you down?”
I shook my head quickly.
“No. I’d like to stay here.”
Father paused a moment, then tightened his arm around me slightly.
“Then it’s fine. Whatever makes you comfortable.”
I rested my chin on his shoulder and surveyed the space around us once more.
That was when a set of drawers in one corner caught my eye—clearly distinct from all the others.
Each was made of dark reddish wood, carved with the shape of a small centipede.
“Father, what are those?”
As I pointed, Father’s expression grew serious.
“That is where we keep the Poison Herbs.”
“Poison Herbs are stored in the Central Medicinal Repository too?”
“Poison can become medicine depending on how it is used. To study medicine, one must also understand poison.”
Father drew closer to the Poison Herb cabinet but did not open the drawers.
“Some of the toxins kept there can injure the body merely from their scent. You must never approach that place alone, under any circumstances.”
“I understand.”
Even as I answered, I was committing to memory the names inscribed on each dark wooden plaque, one by one.
Red Snake Herb, Unscented Leaf, Blood Hardening Root.
My eyes were passing over these unfamiliar names when they came to rest on a single bottle.
Inside the transparent vessel lay an herb with dark blue-green leaves whose veins were stained red, and twisted black stems that coiled like serpents.
When my gaze lingered on it, Father asked quietly.
“Does it interest you?”
“Somewhat.”
“You’re still too young to study poisons.”
Father spoke firmly, but then added one more thing.
“Still, it’s good to know at least what they look like. Better to know and avoid than to touch in ignorance.”
He pointed to the bottle positioned at the very front.
“That is Red Snake Herb. Its veins are crimson, and its stems curve like a serpent’s body—hence the name.”
“What kind of poison is it?”
“When brewed, its color and scent fade almost entirely. A single dose causes no obvious harm, but taken over a long period, it gradually hardens the organs.”
I held my breath.
“Then… one could be consuming poison without even knowing it?”

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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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