The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 33

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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 33
The attendant’s expression grew puzzled for a moment.
“You mean to mix honey into the medicine?”
I shook my head.
“No. I won’t be adding it to the medicine.”
The attendant departed at once, slipping out of the tent.
A low murmur rippled through the gathering once more.
“Honey?”
“Is she trying to mask the bitterness?”
“What else could she possibly add to a medicine already steeped?”
I ignored the chatter and studied the man’s complexion instead.
His eyes were reddened from the retching, but he hadn’t actually vomited. His breathing was beginning to steady.
Moments later, the attendant returned with warm water and a small jar of honey.
I dipped a small spoon barely into the honey and held it out to the man.
“Don’t swallow it. Just rest it on the tip of your tongue for a moment.”
The man studied the spoon with bewilderment.
“Will this make the medicine less difficult to stomach?”
“It’s not about removing the bitter taste. Your mouth and throat have tightened from the retching just now. This will help ease that tension a little.”
The man hesitated briefly, then placed the honey on his tongue as I’d instructed.
As the sweetness spread, the rigid line of his lips softened slightly.
I immediately offered him the warm water.
“Now take just one sip of water. Don’t swallow it hastily—take your time.”
The man drank carefully.
As the warm water descended his throat, his Adam’s apple, which had been rising and falling sharply, gradually stilled.
He rubbed his chest and exhaled slowly.
“…I feel somewhat better.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Only then did I place the medicine bowl before him again.
The man’s expression hardened once more. He stared at the bowl but his hand hesitated, and he opened his mouth instead.
“But miss.”
“Yes?”
“I have taken herbal decoctions before.”
The man looked down at the bowl with anxious eyes.
“Never have I retched from merely the scent, not even once.”
He paused uncertainly before continuing carefully.
“Is it possible…that the medicine is incorrect?”
A low murmur spread from beyond the tent again.
“See? Even the patient says something’s wrong.”
I disregarded the surrounding voices and turned my attention back to the man.
His anxiety was understandable.
He’d received a medicine he’d never taken before, and the moment he caught its scent, his stomach had turned.
“The medicine is not incorrect.”
I spoke with calm assurance.
“The elders verified both the ingredients and the formula just moments ago. If there had been any issue, it would never have been brought to you in the first place.”
“Then why all of a sudden—”
“Your stomach is far weaker than usual right now.”
I gestured toward the medicine bowl.
“You’ve lost considerable strength from the abdominal pain and diarrhea throughout the night. Your stomach is highly sensitive, so even a strong scent that would normally cause no trouble can provoke an immediate reaction from your body.”
The man regarded me in silence.
“That’s why I advised you from the beginning not to drink it all at once.”
I deliberately did not push the bowl toward him.
“If you remain uncertain, you’re welcome to rest a while longer before taking it.”
The man stared at the bowl for a moment, then slowly began to speak.
“Earlier, I said I would try to trust you.”
I nodded slightly.
The man cradled the bowl between both hands once more.
“Then I will trust you.”
“Good. This time, don’t breathe in the aroma deeply. Just take a very small amount.”
The man exhaled long and slow, then turned his head slightly to avoid the medicinal scent.
He brought the rim of the bowl to his lips and took in only the smallest amount of the decoction.
The bitterness made him wince, but this time he didn’t retch.
I studied his face and breathing.
“Are you all right?”
The man caught his breath for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Yes. This time I’m fine.”
“Then rest a moment, and take another sip.”
One sip.
Then another.
As I gradually increased the amount with each swallow, half the medicine bowl had emptied before I knew it.
The murmuring outside the tent began to fade.
The examinees who’d been muttering just moments ago that the patient wouldn’t be able to keep the medicine down now stood silent, watching intently.
The man set the medicine bowl on the table and exhaled deeply.
I immediately steadied his wrist and took his pulse.
The rapid, weakly wavering pulse was gradually becoming more steady and even.
It wasn’t completely stabilized yet, but it was definitely improving compared to before.
‘Thank goodness.’
The medicine was taking proper effect.
Without realizing it, the tension I’d been holding in my shoulders eased.
“Patient, how are you feeling now?”
But there was no answer.
“Patient?”
When I looked up, the man’s eyelids were slowly closing.
The hand that had been gripping his abdomen had gone limp.
Thump.
His arm fell limply below the bed.
“—!”
Startled, I reflexively grabbed his wrist again.
“Has he lost consciousness?”
Someone outside the tent cried out urgently.
“The patient’s collapsed!”
“Was the medicine wrong?”
The Main Hall Courtyard, which had quieted moments before, erupted in turmoil.
‘What is this?’
His pulse was clearly becoming more stable than before.
His breathing wasn’t disturbed either.
Then why—
Just as Father sprang up from his seat.
“Everyone step back.”
Heo Un-baek’s low, weighty voice filled the tent.
The four elders filed in one by one.
Heo Un-baek sat beside me and slowly took the man’s pulse.
He said nothing for some time.
Dam U-hyeon checked his complexion and breathing, while Nam Jin-o carefully palpated his abdomen to assess his condition.
Ju Yeon-seok examined the remaining herbal decoction before turning his gaze back to the patient.
The tent fell into such profound silence that even breathing could be heard distinctly.
A moment passed.
A faint smile crossed Heo Un-baek’s lips.
“He’s asleep.”
“Pardon?”
I found myself asking again without thinking.
Heo Un-baek withdrew his hand from the patient’s wrist.
“His pulse is more steady than before. His breathing is calm too.”
Nam Jin-o also lifted his hand from the man’s abdomen and nodded.
“The tension in his abdomen has eased considerably.”
Ju Yeon-seok spoke softly.
“He’s been exhausted from pain that’s lasted all night. Once the medicinal effect took hold and the pain subsided, all the tension released at once.”
Only then did I exhale quietly.
This was a man who hadn’t slept a wink all night because of the pain.
The moment the suffering eased even slightly, all the accumulated fatigue came flooding in at once.
That’s when it happened.
The sleeping man murmured something in a voice so faint it was barely audible.
“Warm……it’s……warm…….”
Everyone’s eyes turned toward him.
“I’ll……live…….”
His words trailed off, never quite completing themselves.
The man sank back into deep sleep.
The tent fell silent again.
Outside, the murmuring that had filled the air moments before—doubts about whether the medicine was wrong—ceased entirely.
Heo Un-baek watched the sleeping patient for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet.
He turned toward me.
“Examinee Yeon Ryeong-hwa.”
I brought my hands together respectfully.
“Yes, Elder.”
Heo Un-baek studied me for a long moment. His eyes were unmistakably different now—not the gaze he’d worn before.
This was not the look one gives a child taking a test.
This was the look of one regarding another who practices the Medical Art.
Heo Un-baek glanced once more at the sleeping man, then spoke with measured calm.
“The Medical Art is not merely a technique for curing ailments. It is about tending to both the body and spirit of the patient.”
His gaze returned to me.
“Today you examined the patient’s pulse and symptoms with care, and prescribed treatment suited to his condition. When he could not at first accept the medicine, you investigated the cause, and guided him through to completion.”
Heo Un-baek nodded slightly.
“It is sufficient.”
By then, it seemed the final examinee’s evaluation had concluded as well.
The examiners who had remained in the Main Hall Courtyard began collecting their things one by one, while the examinees who had been waiting for the elders’ final judgment watched the Great Hall with tense faces.
Heo Un-baek stepped out of the tent.
I followed after him.
The murmuring gradually quieted.
Heo Un-baek bowed toward the Great Hall.
“Patriarch.”
Grandfather rose slowly from his seat.
The Main Hall Courtyard fell completely silent.
Heo Un-baek’s voice rang out clear and distinct.
“I petition for the passing of examinee Yeon Ryeong-hwa in the Medical Examination.”
A brief silence followed.
Grandfather regarded me quietly.
His expression remained stern.
Yet in his eyes, there seemed to linger the faintest shimmer of pride.
At last, Grandfather’s lips parted.
“Approved.”
That single word echoed across the Main Hall Courtyard.
“From this day forward, I recognize Yeon Ryeong-hwa as an official Physician of the Yakyeong-ga!”

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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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