The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 55

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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 55
“I can hear everything the otters say.”
I held Yeoul-i up slightly to show her.
“And right now I can understand what Yeoul-i is saying.”
“Chirp!”
As if on cue, Yeoul-i cried out vigorously.
I added quietly:
“She just said she speaks well too.”
“Chirp!”
…….
Father looked at Yeoul-i.
Then he looked back at me.
And he looked at Yeoul-i once more.
“……Is that really so?”
“Yes.”
“Not just a coincidence you happened to feel that way once or twice?”
“No. At first I thought it was something like that, but…….”
I stroked Yeoul-i’s damp fur.
“Now it’s just like hearing human speech. I don’t even need to think about what it means.”
Father didn’t answer at once.
The playful expression that had lingered moments before had vanished.
“Yeong-hwa.”
“Yes?”
“When did you first begin to hear it this way?”
“I’m not certain of the exact time.”
I searched my memory for a moment.
“At first, when I was with Yeoul-i, I think I understood things dimly…… but at some point it started sounding just like speech.”
…….
Father’s expression grew even more serious.
Only then did I dimly sense it myself.
That what I had carelessly accepted until now might not be ordinary at all.
It was at that moment.
Splash.
“Oh!”
Another otter emerged onto the rock and settled directly onto my lap.
Chirp.
It nuzzled against my chest as if it had known me for ages.
“Chirp, chirp! (Warm! Oh, precious little one, so warm!)”
“Me?”
I embraced the otter without thinking.
My sleeve grew damp from its wet fur, but I couldn’t bring myself to push away something so soft and warm.
“Chirp-squeak! (Get away!)”
Yeoul-i bristled beside me.
She bared her small teeth at the otter burrowing into my arms—though it was hardly threatening.
‘So Yeoul-i isn’t the only one who acts familiar with me.’
For reasons I couldn’t explain, it seemed I had a knack for winning over the spirit beasts.
“Father, this one says I’m warm.”
Father looked between me and the otter nestled in my arms.
“So it’s not ordinary Resonance after all.”
“Not ordinary Resonance?”
“No.”
Father narrowed his brow.
“At least it differs from the Power of Xuanwu that I know.”
I opened my eyes wide.
“Then you don’t know what this is either, Father?”
“I’m not certain.”
“Ah…….”
I felt a little disappointed.
I had naturally assumed Father would know.
“But you needn’t be too discouraged.”
Father’s large hand gently stroked my head.
“There’s no need to find an answer at this very moment.”
“Still, I’m curious…….”
“Start by determining whether it’s a power that will harm you. If it isn’t, there’s no rush in coming to understand it slowly.”
I pouted my lips before nodding at last.
“All right.”
And then I looked down at the otter mewling softly in my arms.
A power that even Father didn’t understand precisely.
I found myself wondering.
Why had I come to possess such a power?
And whether this strength was somehow connected to my illness.
But as Father said, it wasn’t a question I could answer right this moment.
‘I’ll uncover it piece by piece, then.’
Byeok Cheong-yeon’s poison, my sickness, and this strange power too.
In this life, I had time.
At the very least, it didn’t seem I would come to the end without learning anything, as I had before.
Then Father’s large hand settled onto my head once more.
“What deep thoughts are occupying you now?”
“Ah.”
I lifted my gaze.
“Is it written all over my face again?”
“Yes. Quite plainly.”
…….
Today, my face seemed to say far too much.
Father let out a soft chuckle.
“Don’t go fretting alone. I’ll help you uncover the truth as well.”
Warmth bloomed in a corner of my chest.
I had always believed I must discover everything by myself.
But this time was different.
I leaned toward Father carefully.
“Father.”
“Yes.”
“You really will search together with me?”
“Why do you ask what should be plain?”
Father answered without hesitation.
“Are your concerns not mine?”
In that moment, something caught in my throat.
I smiled wordlessly and nodded.
“Yes.”
Father drew me gently into his embrace.
It was a large, rough embrace.
But it was warm.
With the otter nestled between us, I leaned fully against Father.
Then.
“Squeak…….”
The otter, flattened between us, let out a strained cry.
“Oh.”
I hastily loosened my grip.
“Sorry!”
“Squeak! (Warm big rock person!)”
…….
I blinked before breaking into laughter.
“Why are you laughing?”
“This one’s calling you a warm, big rock person.”
…….
Father fell silent for a moment.
Then he murmured very quietly.
“Does that mean I’m thick-headed?”
“No!”
I jumped up, waving my hand quickly.
“That’s not what I meant…… I just mean it’s big and solid and warm, you know?”
Father gazed down at the otter.
The otter looked back up at him with dark, unblinking eyes.
“Chirp.”
“Heh.”
Father let out a soft laugh.
“So an otter has some eye for character.”
The seriousness in his tone sent me into another fit of laughter.
A cool breeze swept across the lake.
Otters swam between the ripples that held the starlight, and Father’s shadow stretched long beside me.
Father and I were together.
After such a long time of wandering in circles.
At last.
I was truly grateful for that.
* * *
Behind a pillar in the Corridor, some distance away.
Yeon Hui-cheon stood with a face frozen in cold calculation, watching the Lakeside.
He hadn’t planned to follow them this far from the beginning.
But words his mother had spoken days ago kept gnawing at his mind.
“Your eye for patients still seems lacking.”
“Not a single small change can be overlooked—that’s what it means to be a proper physician.”
“Whatever task falls to you, see it through to the very end.”
Since that day, Yeon Hui-cheon had reviewed his Medical Records again.
He’d gone through every detail, even the progress Yeon Yeong-hwa had reported to him, but no clear answer had emerged.
As his mother had said, he couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some change he’d missed.
And before long, he found himself wondering what exactly Yeon Yeong-hwa was looking into.
Then tonight.
By chance, as Yeon Hui-cheon passed through the Corridor, he spotted Yeon Yeong-hwa leaving the Separate House at a late hour.
‘Where is she going at this hour?’
Without thinking, he followed her.
Yeon Yeong-hwa’s destination was the Central Library.
And some time later.
She emerged with Yeon Baek-gang, clutching something close to her chest.
Yeon Hui-cheon’s gaze narrowed.
A red spine.
Given that it came from the Central Library, it was clearly an ancient text.
‘Just as I thought.’
She was investigating something in secret, somewhere he couldn’t see.
If she’d gone all the way to the Central Library at this hour to retrieve a book, it was very likely connected to Byeok Cheong-yeon’s treatment.
‘Has she discovered something about the poison?’
Soon he would have to present a report on Byeok Cheong-yeon’s progress before the elders.
Though he checked on her condition daily, he still hadn’t pinned down the poison’s true nature.
Meanwhile, Yeon Yeong-hwa had barely become a Physician before being asked directly by the Branch Family Head of the Geom-cheon Family to treat her, and now it seemed she’d even found a clue about the poison.
‘If I go in to present my findings like this…….’
He would look like he was falling behind once again.
Yeon Hui-cheon’s fists clenched.
By the Lakeside, Yeon Baek-gang was stroking Yeon Yeong-hwa’s hair.
Otters gathered around the girl, and Yeon Yeong-hwa’s smile was radiant with joy.
……
Since the Entrance Examination, people’s attention had been turning little by little toward Yeon Yeong-hwa.
The recognition from the Family Head.
The direct request from the Branch Family Head of the Geom-cheon Family.
……It was all hers.
Yeon Hui-cheon’s eyes fixed on the Red Ancient Text cradled in Yeon Yeong-hwa’s arms.
If there truly was a clue about Byeok Cheong-yeon’s poison inside that book.
He had to uncover its contents.
‘If only I could examine it first…….’
At least then, in two days’ time when the report came, he wouldn’t be entirely outmatched by her.
Yeon Hui-cheon remained hidden behind the pillar, staring at the Red Ancient Text.
Then, after a long moment, he changed his mind.
‘No, that’s not it…….’
His gaze turned cold and sharp.
‘What if I simply took it for myself?’

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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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