The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 42

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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 42
“I’m finished.”
“……!”
At my words, the Lecture Hall fell silent in an instant.
Jin Harim lifted his head.
“Already?”
“Yes.”
The other students of the Medical Academy turned to stare at my desk with astonishment written across their faces.
“Surely you didn’t just divide them carelessly?”
“You haven’t even properly smelled them yet.”
“That’s far too quick…….”
Jin Harim himself approached my seat, his expression one of disbelief.
He examined the medicinal materials I’d separated into three piles, one by one.
Hwang Jeong-geun, Baek Seo-geun, Gu Myeong-geun.
Not a single root was misplaced.
Something shifted in Jin Harim’s gaze.
“How did you distinguish them?”
I held up the Hwang Jeong-geun from the leftmost pile.
“When Hwang Jeong-geun dries, its surface takes on a yellowish tint, but a faint blue aura remains on the cross-section. Baek Seo-geun has the tightest grain structure and carries a distinctive sweet aroma.”
I pointed to the Gu Myeong-geun last.
“Gu Myeong-geun has a black spot where the stem connects, and its scent carries a faint fishy note at the edges.”
Jin Harim nodded slowly.
“Yes. All correct.”
He then picked up one piece of Gu Myeong-geun and rolled it across his palm.
“But real medicinal materials are never always in the same condition. What would you do if the black spot had faded or the scent had nearly vanished from a piece of Gu Myeong-geun?”
It was a sudden question.
All the students’ eyes turned toward me at once.
I studied the Gu Myeong-geun for a moment before answering.
“You could place a cut piece in water and observe it.”
“In water?”
“Yes. When Gu Myeong-geun absorbs water, a faint purple hue spreads from the edges of the cross-section. Since medicinal efficacy leaches out if it soaks too long, you’d need to cut only a very small piece — just enough to confirm.”
The Lecture Hall fell silent.
Jin Harim immediately summoned an attendant to bring a water bowl.
The moment a tiny piece of Gu Myeong-geun was placed in the water, a faint purple hue began to bloom from the cross-section’s edges.
“It’s true…….”
“Such a method existed?”
Soft exclamations rippled through the room.
Jin Harim’s gaze settled on me.
“Who taught you this?”
I hesitated, my mouth closing.
No one had ever taught me.
It was knowledge I’d acquired myself, accumulated through countless lifetimes of direct experience.
“I confirmed it myself.”
“Yourself?”
“Many medicinal materials are confusing when learned only from texts. I compared different examples, even cases where their appearance had changed.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Jin Harim’s expression.
“Before your entrance to the Academy?”
“Yes.”
He regarded me for a long moment, then nodded slowly.
“That’s an admirable approach.”
His decisive praise rang through the Lecture Hall.
“The greatest danger in Medicinal Material Studies is believing that what you’ve read in books is complete knowledge. The same medicinal material can change its appearance depending on its origin and storage conditions, so develop the habit of observing and verifying things with your own eyes.”
Jin Harim’s gaze swept across the assembled students.
“Remember the method that Yeon Ryeong-hwa has demonstrated.”
In that instant, all eyes fixed on me.
The faces that had been watching me with concern moments before now bore expressions of shock.
Seo Jin-woo stared at me and the Gu Myeong-geun alternately, his mouth hanging open.
“That’s really…… impressive.”
“It’s nothing special.”
At my quiet reply, his expression grew even more bewildered.
A voice came from behind.
“Physician.”
It was Yeon Hui-cheon.
He had already sorted through all the medicinal materials assigned to him as well.
“The method Ryeong-hwa mentioned is useful, but isn’t there often difficulty in cutting even a portion of rare medicinal materials?”
It was a question that made perfect sense on the surface.
Jin Harim nodded.
“Quite right.”
I looked at Yeon Hui-cheon before answering.
“In those cases, you simply examine other characteristics alongside it. There’s no need to cling to just one method.”
Jin Harim nodded with apparent satisfaction.
“That’s well said. Medicinal Material Identification has no single correct answer. You must choose the most suitable method depending on the circumstances.”
Yeon Hui-cheon regarded me quietly for a moment, then smiled gently.
“I see. I understand.”
Yet his eyes held a peculiarly cold glimmer that belied the smile at the corners of his mouth.
“Then let us proceed to examine what distinctive characteristics each herb possesses.”
The lesson continued from there.
Jin Harim explained the characteristics and medicinal efficacy of the other materials, occasionally posing questions to the students.
I answered what I knew and carefully noted everything unfamiliar in my Medicine Notebook.
The students who had only glanced sideways at me at first gradually shifted their demeanor as time passed.
By the end of the lesson, some were even approaching me to speak.
“Ryeong-hwa.”
Seo Jin-woo drew close, clutching his Medicine Notebook to his chest.
“That Water Immersion Test method you showed us—could you demonstrate it once more later?”
“Of course. That’s no problem.”
“Really?”
Seo Jin-woo’s face brightened at once.
He was now regarding me not as a child to be looked after, but as a fellow student learning the medical arts alongside him.
That was enough.
I couldn’t change everyone’s mind on the first day.
‘But at least I’ve made a start.’
I closed my Medicine Notebook with satisfaction.
Then came the sound of a chair scraping from behind. Yeon Hui-cheon was rising from his seat.
He approached me with the same gentle expression as always.
“That was excellent work on your first lesson, Ryeong-hwa.”
“Thank you.”
“Still, don’t strain yourself too much.”
Yeon Hui-cheon smiled warmly.
“There will be far more difficult lessons ahead.”
It sounded like the kind of concern an older brother would offer a younger sibling.
“Yes. I’ll do my best.”
“Good. I look forward to it.”
Yeon Hui-cheon exchanged light greetings with the other students before leaving the Lecture Hall ahead of us.
* * *
The Rear Corridor of the Medical Academy.
Yeon Hui-cheon stood concealed behind a pillar, watching the Lecture Hall entrance.
Shortly after, Ryeong-hwa emerged surrounded by the students, alongside Ryu Jin.
Yeon Hui-cheon’s gaze fixed on the Medicine Notebook in Ryeong-hwa’s hand.
‘She answered from direct observation?’
He slowly clenched his teeth.
The color changes that appeared when materials were placed in water.
Such content was nowhere to be found in the textbooks he had memorized.
Yet Ryeong-hwa answered without the slightest hesitation.
As if she had handled such things countless times before.
‘It makes no sense.’
She was merely seven years old.
Until recently, she had been ill at the Byeoldang, scarcely leaving the room.
Where could such knowledge have come from—knowledge even he did not possess?
Yeon Ryeong-hwa conversed with Ryu Jin as they headed toward the Medicinal Storage.
As Yeon Hui-cheon watched her depart, his eyes narrowed to slits.
Suddenly, his mother’s voice pierced his ears once more.
“It is you who falls short.”
The red marks on his calf throbbed as if alive. Yeon Hui-cheon clenched his fists hard within his sleeves.
‘I must discover what she is hiding.’
Where did Ryeong-hwa’s knowledge come from?
Why had she changed so suddenly?
He had to know.
Otherwise, he truly might lose his position to her.
Yeon Hui-cheon followed Ryeong-hwa at a distance, silent and unseen.
‘Just you wait, Yeon Ryeong-hwa.’
This time, he would not be pushed aside.

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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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