The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 51

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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 51
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In a day from my past life.
It was when Yeon Do-pyeong, claiming he couldn’t be bothered, dumped a task on me.
“I’ll give you the library key — you find the book and organize it for me instead.”
Using that as an excuse, I was able to slip into the Central Library of Yakyeong-ga a few times, a place ordinarily off-limits to anyone but physicians.
One of the medical texts I’d secretly read back then suddenly flashed through my mind.
‘But what was the title of that book again?’
Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite recall the title itself.
‘I’ll have to go to the library and search for it myself.’
I gazed out the window.
The sun had already set completely, and darkness had settled over everything.
Classes at the Physician’s Hall would have ended long ago, and from beyond the Separate Building came only the occasional footfalls of servants making their rounds.
‘It is rather late, but…… I suppose I could still go now?’
In the past, I would never have dared to venture to the Central Library at this hour.
But things were different now.
I was now a fully licensed physician, having passed the Formal Physician Examination.
I no longer needed to borrow keys from Yeon Do-pyeong or sneak in under cover of darkness to avoid someone’s notice.
More than anything, time was running out.
‘In two days, I’ll need to report the progress of treatment so far to the elders.’
By then, I had to find at least some clue as to what poison Byeok Cheong-yeon had been exposed to.
The strange toxin lingering in his meridians.
The sensation in his arm that stubbornly refused to return.
And the very cause that had ultimately stolen his vision in his previous life.
‘I have to find the answer while I still can.’
I shot up from my seat.
“Ryu Jin.”
Ryu Jin, who had been waiting outside, pulled open the door and hurried in.
“Yes! Miss! Did you call for me?”
“Let’s go somewhere.”
“N-now?”
Ryu Jin glanced out the window, her eyes widening.
“Where could you possibly be going at this hour of the night?”
“The Central Library. There’s something I need to look up.”
Ryu Jin looked bewildered but asked nothing more.
Instead, she quickly grabbed her outer robe.
“Then wear this, miss. It gets cold at night.”
“It’s not that cold.”
“I can’t trust it when you say you’re not cold, miss.”
“……Why?”
“You’re always saying it’s fine, but then you collapse anyway.”
I had no argument against that.
In the short time we’d known each other, Ryu Jin had already come to understand my nature quite well.
Even my habit of insisting I’m fine and suffering through in silence, even when injured……
In the end, I obediently pulled on the outer robe.
“…… There. Better?”
“Yes!”
And so I left the Separate Building with Ryu Jin.
Yakyeong-ga at the late hour of night bore no resemblance to the place by day.
The physicians and servants who had bustled about were gone, and only the lanterns stationed at each corner shed their faint light into the darkness.
Patter, patter.
Only the sound of our footsteps echoed long and solitary through the quiet streets.
Before long, a vast hall emerged from the darkness ahead.
The Central Library of Yakyeong-ga.
The gatekeeper on duty recognized me and bowed his head.
“I see you, Miss Yeon Yeong-hwa.”
“Forgive me for coming at such a late hour. May I go in to look for a medical text?”
“Of course.”
The gatekeeper verified the Jade Tablet hanging from my belt, then opened the door without further question.
Looking at his response, I felt seized by an odd sensation.
‘……So I’m truly a physician now.’
In my past life, simply passing through this door was never easy.
Only after gauging Yeon Do-pyeong’s mood and carefully managing his temperament could I barely receive a key and slip inside in secret.
But things were different now.
No one stopped me.
I straightened my shoulders just slightly.
“Ryu Jin.”
“Yes?”
“Wait here for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”
“Can’t I come in with you?”
“Only physicians are allowed.”
“Mmm…….”
Ryu Jin’s face fell at once.
“I really will be quick.”
“You promise?”
“I do.”
“If you take too long, I’m coming in after you myself!”
“Then you’ll be punished.”
“I’m not afraid of punishment for your sake!”
“There’s no stopping you.”
I laughed softly and waved at her.
“All right. Just wait here.”
Creak.
I pushed open the heavy door and stepped inside.
The library of Yak Ryeong-ga breathed softly beneath the dim lamps even in the depths of night.
From floor to ceiling, each towering bookcase held centuries of accumulated medical texts and herb records, densely packed spine to spine.
The mingled scent of aged paper and dried herbs settled something restless within me.
‘It’s been a while. Since I was here.’
In my past life, I always had to hold my breath in this place.
Terrified of being discovered, I would hurry through whatever books I needed and leave—always in fear of discovery.
But that was not the case now.
I had borrowed no one’s key.
I was not standing in for anyone’s task.
I had entered this place in my own name, to treat my own patient.
The weight of that fact tickled something deep in my chest.
‘……This feeling is strange.’
Though it was the same room, it felt like an entirely different place than it had before.
But there was no time for sentiment.
‘I need to find it.’
The poison that remained in Byeok Cheong-yeon’s body.
And the true nature of what would one day steal even his sight.
‘Let me search my memory. Where exactly did I find that book?’
I quickly gathered my thoughts and studied the densely lined shelves before me.
The books were organized by section according to their content and difficulty.
From the basic medical texts that newly qualified physicians studied, to the specialized volumes that experienced physicians consulted.
And in the very depths of the library, ancient texts passed down over centuries were kept separate.
‘It’s there.’
I moved without hesitation in that direction.
Ancient texts were not explicitly forbidden from being read.
But among these old books were many whose contents did not align with modern medicine.
Perhaps for this reason, few physicians ever ventured this deep to search through the ancient collection.
‘I know I saw it…….’
I walked slowly between the shelves, my eyes tracing the worn spines.
If my memory from my past life was correct, that book was among these ancient texts.
A cover faded to a dull red with age.
I could not recall the title.
But I was certain of what was written inside.
‘A book concerning the herbs that grow in the Jeok-hyeon Family Territory.’
Back then, I had been obsessed with learning anything and everything connected to the Jeok-hyeon Family.
A name that, across lives, had endlessly entangled itself before me.
So when I discovered a book with the name Jeok-hyeon Family written on it, there was no way I could simply pass it by.
‘It was definitely somewhere around here.’
I turned my head this way and that, venturing deeper into the stacks.
Then, after passing several more shelves, it happened.
‘…Found it!’
My eyes flew open.
A crimson spine, identical to the one in my memory, was wedged into a corner of a tall bookcase.
“How am I supposed to get it down…”
I hurried toward it.
Finding it was one thing.
The problem was…
“…it’s far too high.”
It was positioned well above my head.
I tilted my neck back, gazing up at the book.
‘How did I manage it in my past life?’
I’d been so much taller then that it wouldn’t have been difficult.
But now I was merely seven years old.
I glanced around, but there was nothing that could serve as a step.
‘Surely this is manageable somehow…’
I rose onto the balls of my feet and stretched my arm as far as it would reach.
“Hngh.”
My fingertips barely brushed the spine.
“Just a bit more…”
I heaved myself up once more, giving it everything I had. This time, my fingers caught the upper edge of the spine.
‘Got it!’
I pressed hard with my fingertips, straining to pull the book free.
That was when—
Sway.
“Huh?”
My body tilted to one side.
In my haste to grab the shelf, my elbow knocked into a stack of books piled nearby.
Thunk.
Crash!
“Eek!”
Several aged volumes tumbled to the floor in a cascade.
I flinched, hunching over defensively.
Fortunately, none struck my head.
“…That was close.”
I pressed a hand to my chest, catching my breath.
‘I need to clean this up quickly.’
Ancient texts were fragile—even slight mishandling could damage them.
I crouched down and began picking up the scattered books one by one.
“This one goes here… and this one…”
That was when—
“Hm?”
My hand froze as I reached for one volume.
Something was wrong.
When I opened the book, the pages were torn and ragged throughout the middle sections.
Not just one or two pages.
Several pages had been ripped out entirely.
‘What is this?’
I furrowed my brow.
This wasn’t the natural decay that came with age.
Where the pages were missing, the evidence was unmistakable—they had been forcibly torn away.
‘Someone deliberately ripped them out.’
It was disturbing.
Regardless of how rarely it was read now, this was an ancient text that Yak Ryeong-ga had preserved for centuries.
It was not something anyone had the right to damage.
‘Who on earth…’
I absently closed the book and checked its cover.
Faded characters swam into view.
On the Subject of Forbidden Arts
“……Forbidden Arts?”
A whisper escaped my lips before I could stop 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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