The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 25

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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 25
“The mixing ratios and manufacturing order are completely different.”
I picked up the dark brown medicinal pill placed furthest to the left and set it in my palm.
“This pill was made to sustain its effect for as long as possible. Precise verification is still needed, but I believe it will maintain its medicinal effect far longer than existing pills.”
“How much longer?”
At Elder Ju Yeon-seok’s question, I paused to consider before answering.
“Judging by the mixing ratio and the speed at which the medicinal properties dissolve, I estimate it could last at least several days.”
A low murmur rippled through the conference room.
“However, since the medicinal properties are so potent, one must rest sufficiently after taking it. During that time, one shouldn’t consume herbs from the same category either.”
I picked up the pale yellow pill lying beside the first and held it up for them to see.
“This pill was formulated to have a shorter medicinal effect than the previous one. Instead, I reduced the burden on the body so it can be taken again at shorter intervals after assessing one’s condition.”
The final pill was the smallest and the palest in color.
I held it up carefully between my fingertips so the elders could see it clearly.
“The last one was made to spread quickly rather than sustain its effect over time.”
“You mean it’s for emergencies?”
I nodded at Elder Nam Jin-o’s question.
“Yes. It’s a pill used when one’s Vital Energy suddenly collapses or breathing becomes labored.”
As I finished my explanation, the conference room fell silent.
The eyes of those who had moments before regarded my entry examination unfavorably were now fixed entirely on the pills arranged on the table.
“Let us examine these more closely.”
Elder Dam Woo-hyeon was the first to reach out his hand.
He picked up the dark brown pill, brought it close to his nose, and rolled it slowly between his fingers.
After a moment, he scraped the surface lightly, touched it to the tip of his tongue, and closed his eyes.
“The cold essence of the Cheongmaek Herb is scarcely apparent.”
He murmured as if to himself, then opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Yet the efficacy for opening blocked Meridians hasn’t disappeared either. How did you accomplish this?”
I recalled the manufacturing process I had repeated through the night.
“I didn’t add the Cheongmaek Herb together with the other ingredients from the beginning.”
“You didn’t add it from the start?”
“No. First, I steeped the Hwang-jeong Root and Baek-un Root slowly over a gentle flame to draw out the medicinal properties that protect the organs, then I lowered the heat once and added the Cheongmaek Herb.”
Elder Dam Woo-hyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“If you add the Cheongmaek Herb late, the necessary medicinal properties may not extract properly.”
“That’s why I sliced the stem thinner than usual.”
I took out a Cheongmaek Herb stem I had brought beforehand and showed it to them.
“By widening the cross-section, the necessary medicinal properties could be drawn out even in a short time. If steeped too long, the property that cools the body becomes stronger, but by preparing it thinly and steeping it briefly, I reasoned we could obtain the efficacy for opening Meridians first.”
Elder Dam Woo-hyeon’s hand stopped.
Elder Heo Un-baek also shifted his gaze, studying me intently.
“You mean you controlled the timing of how the medicinal properties extract not only by the order in which you add ingredients but also by changing your preparation methods?”
“Yes.”
I set down the Cheongmaek Herb in my hand.
“Because with the same herb, which part you use, how finely you divide it, when you add it, and how long you steep it all change which properties manifest first.”
A moment of silence passed.
Elder Dam Woo-hyeon exhaled slowly.
“How does a young lady with no formal training arrive at such thoughts…….”
His voice no longer carried the lightness with which one addresses a child.
Elder Ju Yeon-seok broke the second pill in half.
Within the smooth surface, medicinal powder was mixed evenly.
“This pill contains far less Maek-hyeol Seed.”
He examined the fractured cross-section carefully.
“If you’ve reduced the amount, won’t the power to raise Vital Energy also fall short?”
It was the question I had anticipated.
“I reduced the quantity of Maek-hyeol Seed, but delayed when I added it.”
“Why would that be?”
“If steeped together with other ingredients for too long, the potent properties of the Maek-hyeol Seed disperse first. By adding it last after the decoction is nearly reduced, and steeping it briefly, the necessary efficacy remains even with a smaller amount.”
“But there’s also the risk that the medicinal properties will spread too quickly.”
Elder Ju Yeon-seok pointed out sharply.
I indicated the cross-section of the pill he held.
“That’s why I increased the proportion of honey. It prevents the pill from dissolving too rapidly inside the body, stopping the medicinal properties from dispersing all at once.”
Elder Ju Yeon-seok looked down at the sticky powder clinging to his fingertip.
The viscosity he felt directly was precisely the difference I had described.
After a moment, a deflated breath escaped his lips.
“So you didn’t merely adjust the quantity of ingredients. You even calculated the speed at which the medicinal properties would spread through the body.”
As his admiration trailed off, the murmuring among the executives grew slightly louder.
Elder Nam Jin-o picked up the smallest medicinal pill without a word.
True to his nature as an acupuncturist, his gaze swept not only over the pill itself but also across my face, my breathing, and the subtle movements of my fingertips.
“You said this was for emergency use?”
“Yes.”
“If you use Maek-hyeol Seed on a patient whose vital energy has suddenly collapsed, it can strain the Heart Meridian. Especially for someone like you, whose vital energy has been depleted for so long, there’s even the risk of a temporary recovery followed by a far more severe collapse.”
It was a flawless observation.
But I too was aware of that danger.
I had experienced it countless times in my previous life.
“That’s why this pill doesn’t forcibly draw up vital energy through the power of Maek-hyeol Seed.”
I pointed to the smallest medicinal pill.
“I used the Maek-hyeol Seed only to open the blocked meridians temporarily. What actually sustains the vital energy is the Hwang-jeong Root and Baek-un Root.”
“Then this alone won’t allow the patient to completely overcome the crisis.”
“No, it won’t.”
I met his gaze without flinching.
“This medicine isn’t a cure—it’s a way to buy time.”
Elder Nam Jin-o’s brow twitched faintly.
“Buy time?”
“If we cannot completely heal the patient, we must keep them alive until the next treatment. After the medicinal effect takes hold, they must rest immediately, and receive further treatment within half a quarter-day.”
“Do you truly believe that would be sufficient?”
“As the role of an emergency medicine, yes, I believe it would be sufficient.”
Elder Nam Jin-o studied me for a long moment before slowly setting down the pill.
“You’ve drawn a distinction between curing an illness and merely allowing the patient to endure until the next treatment.”
He turned his gaze toward Father.
“Was all of this taught to you by the Physician?”
Father couldn’t answer immediately.
Bewilderment and astonishment were tangled across his face.
Though we had made the pills together the night before, he clearly hadn’t anticipated that I would modify the method so drastically by morning.
Father gazed at me for a long moment, then slowly shook his head.
“No. I too am hearing this for the first time.”
The conference room stirred again.
I found myself curling my fingertips into my palm.
Father’s gaze returned to me.
Beneath the shock, a faint smile had bloomed, but soon his eyes grew heavier.
Elder Heo Un-baek slowly examined the pills laid out on the table.
“It seems you didn’t intend to make multiple pills from the start.”
“That’s correct.”
“How did you arrive at this approach?”
I recalled the night before, tossing and turning on my bed time and again.
“At first, I also believed the medicinal effect had to be sustained indefinitely.”
I continued, looking at the pills arranged in a line on the table.
“The grandfather said it needed to last at least a full day, and you elders said that if the patient had to take medicine every half quarter-day, it would be difficult to study and practice as a medical trainee.”
“And then your thinking changed?”
“Yes. No matter how much I deliberated, I couldn’t solve every situation with a single medicine.”
I pointed to the three types of medicinal pills in sequence.
“When I extended the duration of effect, the burden on the body grew. When I reduced the burden, the duration shortened. To gain one, I had to sacrifice the other.”
It had always been that way in my previous life too.
I damaged my stomach to breathe a little more easily, and took medicine to keep from collapsing, only to be bedridden for days as a result.
The old me had simply blamed my failure to create a stronger, longer-lasting medicine.
But now I understood.
A strong medicine wasn’t always a good one.
“Then a question occurred to me.”
I looked toward the elders.
“Every patient is different, and even the same patient’s condition and circumstances vary from day to day—so why should there be only one medicine?”
The stirring in the conference room gradually subsided.
“There are days when they must endure for a long time, and there are critical moments when they need only survive a brief span. I thought it safer to choose medicines suited to each situation rather than have the patient blindly repeat the same one.”
I pointed in turn to the medicine designed to last longest and then to the emergency pill.
“That’s why I didn’t aim to create one perfect medicine.”
I gazed down at the three varieties of medicinal pills and continued.
“I believed that rather than pursuing one perfect remedy, selecting the appropriate medicine for each situation would reduce the burden placed on the body.”
The conference room fell silent.
Elder Heo Un-baek regarded me for a long moment.
The concern and suspicion that had been directed at me moments before had not entirely vanished.
Yet something different now gleamed in his eyes.
He stroked his beard slowly, then spoke.
“Then I have one question for you.”
I met his gaze, tension coiling through me.
Elder Heo Un-baek’s eyes grew grave with an intensity I had not seen before.
“Why do you wish so earnestly to become a physician?”

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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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