Chapter 33: Another Master Physician [3] Whether all Joseon people were like this or not, Heo Jun was truly a diligent man.
Judging by the fact that he got up at the crack of dawn to wake Kanghyeok.
"Please get up."
"The sun is not even up yet, so why are you doing this? The bell has not even rung."
"You normally cannot hear the bell from here."
"No, then doesn't that mean I can sleep more?"
"The attitude of someone who wishes to learn..."
"All right, I'm getting up."
Yi Sun-sin had been like that too, and Heo Jun also had a somewhat unusual side to him.
When Kanghyeok barely managed to lift his head, Dolseok was still asleep.
That was only natural after drinking late into the night.
Makbong had made such a fuss looking for the tavern mistress, yet now he was nowhere to be seen.
He's got an easy life. Damn it.
Somehow, the yangban ended up suffering the most.
Kanghyeok, irrationally irritated, gave Dolseok a light shove before heading out.
"Mmnn."
Even then, it seemed the message did not get through at all.
He was sleeping just fine, belly exposed and all.
"Please come this way."
"Yes, yes."
Heo Jun had already arranged his physician's attire neatly.
Kanghyeok hurriedly straightened his hair and followed him out.
The tavern had been noisy, but since it was still dawn, there was no one around.
The tavern mistress was surely asleep too.
If Makbong's stories were to be believed, he was another Byeon Gangsoe altogether.
It does feel refreshing, though.
The fresh air, untouched by the summer sun, felt good.
A faint mist still hung in the air, giving the place an almost mystical atmosphere.
In the yard, Heo Jun lightly loosened up his body.
"A physician is someone who handles the human body. Therefore, he must first know how to govern his own body."
"I see."
"These are movements that aid susnghwagang [1] and the circulation of qi and blood. Follow me."
"Ah, yes."
To govern one's own body.
It was a profound and impressive thing to say.
Kanghyeok agreed with it wholeheartedly.
I trained through gym workouts, but how did Heo Jun do it?
He was full of curiosity.
As for susnghwagang, he had no idea what it meant.
"This is a set of movements organized from forms handed down since ancient times. It is called Anma Doinbeop."
"Anma Doin... yes."
With that, Heo Jun began moving very slowly.
He pursed and worked his mouth, then tugged at his ears.
He rubbed his palms together and placed them over his eyes, then massaged his forehead.
This looks closer to some kind of ritual than exercise.
For Kanghyeok, whose mind was already deeply rooted in modern medicine, it was difficult to understand the principles behind it.
Still, since it felt pleasantly refreshing, he followed along diligently.
"Now, I will do some movements that are a bit harder, so follow carefully."
"Yes."
Kanghyeok had assumed at most some yoga-like pose would follow, but Heo Jun suddenly began stepping from side to side, almost leaping as he moved.
Just as Kanghyeok started to feel a strange sense of familiarity, a kiai escaped from Heo Jun's mouth.
"Euke, aeke."
"....."
"Follow me."
"Euke."
"Aeke."
"Aeke..."
To think he would end up doing the exercise that used to circulate online as a meme.
Since he had come asking for instruction, it would have been awkward not to follow along.
If I'm doing it, I might as well do it properly.
It was not as though he had been able to work out much lately, and his body had already been feeling stiff.
Learning even one martial art would not be a bad thing.
If it's something like Taekkyeon, I should be able to pick it up easily enough.
"Pant, pant."
"You are still far from done."
"Good grief."
"Euke!"
"Euke...!"
But as it turned out—
this was no easy martial art.
They say a Taekkyeon master can knock down one or two people without any trouble.
If Heo Jun truly put his mind to it, it felt like he could subdue someone like Kanghyeok in an instant.
Every time he kicked out his foot, the sound of slicing wind rang by the ears.
His momentum was so fierce that even Makbong and Yeoni had come out to watch.
"Good."
"You're doing well."
If even those two, who were masters of martial skill, reacted like that, there was nothing more to say.
If I work hard too, could I become a master?
Watching him be so good at it made Kanghyeok greedy.
Though before becoming a master, he felt more likely to die of being out of breath.
Just when he truly thought he was about to die, Heo Jun stopped moving.
"That will do."
"Good grief. I survived."
"You seem young, yet you're already like this?"
"Well... it's not like I have poor stamina by normal standards."
"You will need to work much harder."
It was utterly unfair, but what could he do?
The fact was, his stamina really was lacking.
By then, the mist had cleared, and the sun was rising.
Only then did the tavern mistress come out with rice in soup, made in the roughest fashion.
"Dolseok, you rascal, wake up."
At Kanghyeok's shout, Dolseok crawled out weakly.
"Well done. You slept very well, didn't you?"
"Oh dear, Young Master."
"Come eat. Starting today, you should help out too."
"Of course I will."
If he had eaten and loafed around on his master's money, then naturally he ought to repay it.
Dolseok readily nodded.
Yeoju also came out of the room, her sangtu finally tied up neatly, though rather late.
No matter what, her male disguise was much more awkward than Yeoni's.
"Yeoju, come eat too. Yeoni and Makbong as well."
"Yes, Young Master."
After everyone sat down, Kanghyeok stirred the gukbap.
Compared to what he ate at home, this was practically dog food.
Cloudy white broth with swollen, mushy grains of rice floating in it.
And they expect people to eat this.
Joseon hospitality was terrible.
Thanks to Kanghyeok, Dolseok's palate had long since been ruined as well, so he was only picking at it.
Only Makbong was devouring his portion without a thought, and yet somehow his gukbap did not look the same.
"Why does it look like Makbong's soup has some meat in it?"
"Huh? Heh heh."
At Kanghyeok's remark, Makbong flashed a lewd grin.
When Kanghyeok turned around, he saw the tavern mistress, face burning red, hurrying away.
"Honestly. Keep that up and your bones will waste away."
"It's fine. I eat a lot."
"That's true enough. Anyway, helping with my consultations won't be quite the same as this. You must adapt yourself exactly to this physician elder here."
"Yes, Young Master. I understand."
After all, were they not about to assist none other than that Heo Jun?
They could not afford to be careless.
Since coming to Joseon, honorable things just keep happening to me.
Kanghyeok forced down his excitement and continued eating the gukbap.
It tasted terrible, but after running around since first light, it went down easily enough.
"Now then, let us do our best again today."
Shaking out his arms and legs, Heo Jun stepped out of the tavern.
Kanghyeok quickly rushed up and matched pace with him.
"Um, Brother Heo Jun."
"Brother?"
"You are older than I am, so naturally you are my elder brother."
Seeing Kanghyeok's utterly shameless face, Heo Jun burst into hearty laughter.
He had been reminded of Miam Yu Huichun, who had helped him when he was younger.
A Confucian scholar who had not treated Heo Jun differently just because he was of secondary birth, but had treated him as a fellow human being.
It was all thanks to him that Heo Jun had even made his way to Hanyang.
"Well, call me whatever you like."
"How long do you intend to stay here?"
If one wished to learn something, it was best to set a period for it.
Kanghyeok, in particular, preferred following a plan when it came to studying.
"I expect to stay about a month."
"A month, then. I'll have to learn diligently."
"Haha. I am not as remarkable as you think. You may end up disappointed."
This time, it was Kanghyeok who laughed heartily.
If he were ever to be disappointed in Heo Jun, then all the physicians under heaven would amount to nothing.
Hoping with all his heart that such a thing would never happen, Kanghyeok quickened his pace.
Once they left the tavern and followed the road, they saw a crowd of people already gathered.
"So many already."
A makeshift clinic had been set up in the yard of a spacious house at the entrance to the village.
It was said that the owner, after surviving death thanks to Heo Jun, had lent it out for free.
"Now then, let us pass through a little."
At Heo Jun's words, the people parted like the Red Sea.
"Let me pass too."
Kanghyeok hurried inside as well.
As Dolseok followed behind, he flared his nostrils.
It was because he had caught a familiar smell, one he had never sensed in Kanghyeok's clinic.
"Oh, the smell of medicinal ingredients. Right, this is what a physician's place should smell like."
"What was that, you rascal?"
"No, nothing."
Dolseok tucked in his tail despite his large build.
Then Makbong strode forward behind them, leading with his enormous fists.
"Move, move."
Only after a brief commotion did everyone finally settle into place.
Yeoni and Dolseok took on the role of assisting Kanghyeok, while Makbong handed out number slips.
Yeoju sat where she could see everything clearly and spread out her drawing tools.
"Now then, let us see them one by one."
At Heo Jun's words, the patients began filing in one after another.
Kanghyeok stood behind Heo Jun and observed.
Just like in the old days when he had gone around on student clinical rotations.
"Good. So blisters have formed inside the mouth, and you have been unable to eat anything."
After examining the inside of a child's mouth from several angles, Heo Jun at once gave his prescription.
"For such an illness, Yanggyeok-san is good. Do not swallow it. Hold it in the mouth and then spit it out."
"Oh. So it's a gargle."
To think Joseon had gargling.
It was a prescription he had never seen or heard of before.
He was nodding in satisfaction when Dolseok started making snide remarks behind him.
"Oh dear, Young Master. Just look at you saying strange things again because you don't know."
"Ah, you..."
Kanghyeok was about to smack the back of his head, but quietly lowered his hand instead.
For some reason, he hesitated to beat someone in front of a physician like Heo Jun.
One person was working himself to death seeing patients, while another was producing more patients.
That would not do.
Let's think of Anma Doinbeop.
When he recalled the bizarre movements from that morning, his temper calmed a little.
Just as he was suppressing his anger, Heo Jun called to the man assisting him.
"You must decoct Yanggyeok-san, so bring Forsythia fruit, Scutellaria root, Gardenia fruit, balloon flower root, Angelica root, and licorice."
"Yes."
Unfamiliar names, yet somehow they also sounded strangely familiar.
These were the very medicinal herb names Kanghyeok had wanted to learn.
"Oh. Yeoju, can you draw these for me?"
"Yes. Of course."
"While you're at it, note how much of each should be used."
"Yes."
The man began decocting the black herbal medicine.
Kanghyeok watched closely, eyes shining, carefully studying everything the man did.
The truth is, a gargle isn't anything especially complicated.
Most often, liquid anti-inflammatory agents were used.
It was even better if it contained an antiseptic ingredient that would not dry out the mucous membranes the way alcohol would.
And if steroids were mixed in, that would naturally help the wounds heal faster.
Then isn't it possible they don't need to use all of those ingredients?
There were only a few active components that seemed immediately necessary, yet the prescription contained a great many ingredients.
Since this is an age without component analysis, I suppose it can't be helped.
At least one fortunate thing was that, because it was an old prescription, the danger was extremely low.
It might be good to test it by removing the ingredients one by one.
Ideally, only the absolutely necessary ingredients should be used.
From the perspective of a modern physician, Kanghyeok examined Heo Jun's prescription in meticulous detail.
After several days passed like this, useful-looking prescriptions began to pile up steadily.
Banha Sasim-tang, Hwangryeon Haedok-tang, Jawoongo. Those seem like things I could try using right away.
Yeoju's drawing skill was truly excellent, so there was no difficulty at all in distinguishing the medicinal herbs.
Kanghyeok was looking over the drawings with a pleased expression when a commotion broke out in the yard.
"Physician! Physician!"
"What is it?"
Heo Jun, who had been resting, ran out.
Since the cry sounded almost like a scream, Kanghyeok could not simply stay where he was either.
When he hurried outside, he saw two sturdy men carrying another man whose head was pouring blood.
"Well... he became strange after falling from a tree!"
"Mm."
Heo Jun could only let out a groan, unable to do much by way of treatment.
This was still an age when medicine had not yet progressed very far in trauma care.
Without even proper knowledge of anatomy, how could surgery have been possible?
It was, quite literally, the limit of the era.
Fortunately, there was one person here who was thoroughly skilled when it came to surgery.
That person was Kanghyeok.
Pushing past Heo Jun, Kanghyeok ran forward.
"This is something I ought to examine myself."
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