The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 30

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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 30
That was when it happened.
“The Head of House enters!”
A sonorous cry rang out across the Front Courtyard of Main Hall.
The murmuring that had filled the space fell silent as though it had never been.
The examination candidates straightened their spines in unison, and the physicians and medical practitioners observing from the sidelines adjusted their posture as well.
Moments later, Yeon Baek-yu emerged slowly from within the Main Hall.
Dressed in formal black robes with his white hair combed back neatly, he walked toward the great pavilion with unhesitating steps.
The moment he appeared, the air filling the courtyard seemed to settle of its own accord.
Yeon Baek-gang followed in his wake. The carefree smile he usually wore had vanished entirely.
Clad in neat blue formal robes, he carried the solemn dignity befitting a Deputy Head of House as he trailed behind Yeon Baek-yu.
Then came Heo Un-baek, Dam U-hyeon, Nam Jin-o, and Ju Yeon-seok.
The four elders known as the pillars of Yeonbaek Family medicine ascended the pavilion in turn.
With the family’s most celebrated physicians gathered in one place, the tension suffusing the courtyard deepened further.
“We pay our respects to the Head of House!”
The sonorous greeting accompanied a collective bow from everyone present.
Yeon Baek-yu gave a brief nod and took his seat at the place of honor, with Yeon Baek-gang and the four elders settling into their positions in turn.
I quietly turned my gaze to scan the Observation Area beyond the candidates.
Yeon Hui-cheon stood there.
Back perfectly straight.
Not a thread of his clothing out of place.
His posture flawless, precise to the last degree.
To anyone watching, he was the very image of Yeonbaek Family’s greatest hope.
For a moment, our eyes met across the empty space between us.
Seizing the gap where the elders’ gazes did not reach, Yeon Hui-cheon fixed me with a cold stare.
‘That two-faced bastard.’
I turned my head away without expression.
I exhaled slowly, steadying my breathing.
My heart beat a touch faster from tension, yet strangely, my mind felt perfectly clear.
Becoming an official physician of Yeonbaek Family.
The moment I had longed for countless times had finally arrived before my eyes.
Shortly after, Yeon Baek-yu rose slowly from his seat.
Every eye in the courtyard turned toward him at once.
He surveyed the candidates in turn, then declared in a low, weighty voice:
“We now commence the sixty-seventh Entrance Examination of Yeonbaek Family.”
As those words echoed through the Front Courtyard of Main Hall and faded, Heo Un-baek, who was to oversee the examination, rose slowly from his seat.
His long white beard, hanging to his waist, swayed gently with his movement.
With both hands gathered neatly within his sleeves, he swept his gaze across the candidates once.
After a moment, Heo Un-baek raised one hand lightly.
At that small gesture alone, the attendants waiting on either side sprang into motion at once.
Exam Papers were distributed in turn according to the number of candidates, and a single stick of incense was set up before each Preparation Station to mark the time.
As the incense was lit, a thin wisp of smoke curled upward into the cool dawn air.
Heo Un-baek opened his mouth.
“This Entrance Examination will proceed as follows: you will examine an actual patient, then complete a Prescription suited to their Disease Condition. After conducting the necessary Inquiry Diagnosis and Pulse Diagnosis, you will compound the medicine from the designated Medicinal Ingredients. You must, without fail, receive validation from an elder before the incense burns completely.”
His voice carried no particular force, yet it wavered not at all.
“Medicine that fails to pass an elder’s validation cannot be administered to the patient. Furthermore, no matter how correct your diagnosis and Prescription may be, anyone who handles the patient carelessly or makes light of their suffering will not be deemed to have passed.”
Heo Un-baek paused and looked over the candidates.
“The person before you is not a problem set for examination.”
Wind stirred, causing the wisp of smoke rising from the incense’s tip to sway delicately.
“They are a single person who has come to this place seeking relief from suffering. If you would become a physician, remember that truth above all else.”
A heavy silence settled over the courtyard.
Heo Un-baek nodded slowly.
“Distribute the Exam Papers.”
The attendants bowed in unison, then dispersed among the candidates.
A thick sheet of paper was handed to each person in turn.
I too received my Exam Paper with both hands from the attendant who approached me.
[Acute Abdominal Pain. Time of onset and cause unknown.]
I read the sentence written on the paper slowly twice over.
‘Acute Abdominal Pain.’
With only this, I could not pinpoint the cause.
It could have been nothing more than food stagnation. Cold vapors might have damaged the stomach, or spoiled food eaten—even poison couldn’t be ruled out.
Around the Preparation Station, the sound of turning pages continued unbroken.
The examinees bent over their exam papers, studying the few lines of symptoms written there and narrowing down the possible disease conditions.
One candidate had unfolded a medical text; another had opened a medicinal ingredients box to assess what they’d need.
I carefully folded my exam paper and tucked it into my robe.
‘There’s no need to judge by paper alone.’
The disease wasn’t on the paper.
‘The answer is with the patient.’
I rose from my seat at once.
Then I approached the nearest attendant and asked him.
“Where is the patient I’ve been assigned?”
The attendant’s eyes widened—clearly he hadn’t expected such a question.
“Pardon? You wish to see your patient already?”
“Yes. I’d like to meet them directly.”
I glanced back once at the examinees still bent over their papers.
“The disease isn’t on paper—it’s in the person.”
The attendant hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the right side of the courtyard.
“Your assigned patient is in the third tent. I’ll guide you there.”
“Thank you.”
I didn’t hesitate further and followed the attendant.
When we reached the third tent, my guide came to a halt.
“The patient is inside.”
“Understood.”
I took a moment to steady my breath.
A fine tension lingered in my fingertips, yet my mind had grown calm.
The attendant carefully pulled back the cloth at the tent’s entrance.
The moment I stepped inside, the commotion of the Front Courtyard of Main Hall receded all at once beyond the canvas.
In its place came the unmistakable sound of a patient struggling to endure pain.
“Hah…… ugh.”
I stopped short.
In one corner of the tent sat a low examination table, a water basin, and clean cloths.
On the inner cot lay a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, half-sitting up because he couldn’t lie down properly.
With one hand he gripped his lower abdomen tightly; with the other he clutched the edge of the cot with all his strength.
Blue veins stood out starkly across the back of his hands, and thick beads of cold sweat rolled down his ashen face.
Each time pain washed over him, he hunched his shoulders and swallowed a low moan.
The patient’s condition was far worse than I’d imagined from just the brief notation of “Acute Abdominal Pain” on the exam paper.
‘Something’s wrong here……’
I studied the man quietly.
Not only was his abdominal pain severe, but his complexion was deeply troubled.
By any measure, this didn’t seem like a patient meant to be assigned to those barely becoming physicians.
‘I’ve heard that with bad luck, one can draw a difficult case……’
Suddenly, I recalled the voices murmuring about me just before the Entrance Examination began.
‘Could this really be coincidence?’

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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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