Chapter 42: Mama Baesong Gut [2] Time flew by like an arrow.
Over the past half month or so, Kanghyeok truly had done everything he could.
The same went for Heo Jun, who sat beside him with a haggard face.
Dolseok and Makbong, who had been assisting the two of them, had already collapsed long ago.
Even Yeoju, who had been recording it all, seemed to have pain in her hands.
Starting yesterday, the speed of her drawing had noticeably slowed.
Only Yeoni was absent from her place.
She was completely occupied with preparing the entertainment to commemorate the retreat of Duchang.
She had to be just as exhausted, but she gritted her teeth and endured it with the pride of being the finest Eoreumsani in Gyeonggi Province.
"The agreed time has come."
The Busa looked at Kanghyeok with a face full of sympathy.
"Yes, Busa sir. I think it will be fine now."
Kanghyeok leaned against a tree atop the hill and looked down at the village.
A quiet, peaceful scene.
Since almost everyone had gathered on the hill, there was actually no one left in the village.
It's fine. Completely fine.
Because Kanghyeok had taken action so quickly, there had been almost no new patients after the first day.
Most cases passed without major trouble, thanks to cowpox inoculation and Heo Jun's prescriptions.
"Oh, oh..."
There were still sounds of weeping carried on the mountain wind.
Kanghyeok was not a god, after all.
Once hemorrhagic smallpox appeared, there was little that could be done.
All he could do was lessen the pain of their final journey.
Starting with the first patient, several people had passed away.
"You have worked very hard. Thanks to you, this village has escaped disaster."
The Busa smiled in satisfaction.
He had already submitted a lengthy janggye.
Most of it was about how quickly he had acted after Duchang broke out, and what orders he had given on how it was to be handled.
Of course, there was mention of Kanghyeok and Heo Jun as well.
But only a tiny amount.
"It was nothing. It was all thanks to you, Busa sir, and to Father."
"What I like about you is how humble you are. In any case, it should be all right to hold the gut now, yes?"
"Yes. It would be fine even if the whole village gathered."
"Excellent. Very good, very good."
The Busa laughed heartily and went over to the shamans.
Even from behind, it felt as if his face was visible.
His shoulders were shaking nonstop.
Watching him, Dolseok called out to Kanghyeok.
"Young Master."
"What?"
"Even so, Busa sir is really something."
"Well, he did become the Suwon Busa. Of course he's impressive."
"No, that's not what I mean... Didn't he go that whole half month without taking that medicine even once?"
"Ah..."
Now that he thought about it, the Busa had not asked for Viagra at all during that time.
A man of his rank could surely sneak off to a gisaeng house if he wanted.
Especially Kim Yungil, that lecher.
And yet he had endured that boiling lust.
His concern for the people was far greater than Kanghyeok had expected.
"That's true? Wow..."
Kanghyeok nodded with a slightly moved expression.
It did not last long.
The Busa was hurrying back toward them.
Moving so fast that anyone watching might think a fire had broken out.
"Oh, right. About that... Heh-heh. I can use it now, yes?"
With an awkward smile, he held out his hand shyly.
There was a small silk pouch in it.
It had not even been made very long ago, but it was already worn in several places, making it obvious how often he used it.
"I should have given it to you in advance. Here it is."
"Yes, yes. Heh-heh."
The Busa headed back toward the shamans.
His shoulders were bouncing again, but this time it seemed to be for a different reason than before.
"Young Master."
"Hm?"
"I take back what I said earlier."
"Yeah, I agree."
The two of them snickered for quite a while.
The others, having no way of knowing what kind of medicine it was, could only stare blankly.
"Young Master, what kind of medicine was it that Busa sir took just now?"
When Kanghyeok turned, it was Makbong.
He had worked so hard that his face had grown gaunt.
Even so, he still somehow gave off a lewd air.
It seemed he had read between the lines of Kanghyeok's conversation with Dolseok.
His face suggested he roughly knew what kind of medicine it was used for.
Someone really named him well. Makbong, of all things.
Whoever had named him, they must have had an astonishing eye for physiognomy.
There was no way Kanghyeok could give Viagra to a man who swung his "club" around so recklessly.
It would be like handing a knife to a murderer.
Kanghyeok hurriedly shook his head.
"Not you. I'm not giving it to you."
"What kind of medicine is it? Just give me one pill, please."
"No. You don't even need it."
Looking more closely, the middle of Makbong's trousers was sticking out.
Whatever he had been thinking about in the middle of all this, he was definitely not in a relaxed state.
Kanghyeok glared at him, wondering what on earth had made that fool stand at attention.
Even so, Makbong kept shaking his shoulders and putting on a coquettish act.
"Come on, don't be like that. Yes? Heh-heh."
"No. If you take it by mistake, you'll have to get your thing cut off."
"What? Why would you say something like that? I'm a person too."
"I'm serious. So you absolutely must not take it."
"Honestly... You're going to any lengths just to keep from giving it to me."
Makbong muttered with a sullen expression.
Still, he did not dare talk back to Kanghyeok.
His lust was not enough to overcome his loyalty.
"Young Master, we should head over soon, shouldn't we?"
It seemed the preparations for the gut were nearly complete while Kanghyeok was busy clipping Makbong's "club."
Dolseok carefully tugged at his arm.
"Oh, right. Teacher Heo, let's go. It's a feast after all—how can we be absent?"
"Shall we? Ah, every bone in my body aches."
Heo Jun tapped his back and barely managed to rise to his feet.
Yeoju also stopped drawing and followed Kanghyeok out.
The small square on the hill was already surrounded by people.
There were fewer than when Kanghyeok had gone out to the Suwon market, but the density was greater.
Even so, Dolseok did not need to push through the crowd for them.
"Oh, Physician sir."
"Scholar Baek."
"Sir Heo Jun."
The people moved aside on their own.
All of them bowed their heads with reverent expressions.
Some had received treatment from Kanghyeok and Heo Jun, some owed them their lives, and some had had family members saved by them.
Well now.
He had been thanked plenty of times.
But this was the first time he had received gratitude from so many people all at once.
This feels strange.
Kanghyeok passed through the crowd in a slightly uplifted mood.
Only the Busa was seated in the place of honor; Seungmun was nowhere to be seen.
That was because he did not wish to watch such a bizarre gut.
He was probably somewhere quiet, reciting a poem or two.
In many ways, his temperament did not suit Kanghyeok's at all.
"Oh, I can see Yeoni over there."
Dolseok pointed at Yeoni, the Eoreumsani, who was warming up.
Then he looked at Makbong with eyes full of disdain.
"Why are you here?"
"They said the trees here are too small to hang a swing from."
"Not because your skills got worse?"
"I said no. Ah, Young Master, may I just beat this bastard once?"
No matter how reckless Makbong usually was, he could not act carelessly in front of Kanghyeok.
Kanghyeok had no desire to watch people get beaten on such a good day, so he shook his head.
"Forget it. Beat him later."
"Right. So after this is over, it's allowed?"
"Yes."
At that, Dolseok looked as if he might cry.
"Young Master!"
"Well, then why did you have to provoke him?"
"Provoke him? My status is far above Makbong's."
"That still doesn't make you a yangban."
"Wow... How is anyone supposed to live with this injustice?"
The way they bickered was no different from the street toughs in the market.
In particular, Kanghyeok, swaggering around in silk clothes, looked like their ringleader.
"Heh-heh."
A smile of utter disbelief escaped Heo Jun.
When it came to treating patients, was this man not sharper and more decisive than anyone?
Yet at moments like this, he was so loose and casual it was almost absurd.
Heo Jun was not the only one with that thought.
"How did Elder Baek Seungmun end up with a son like this?"
Standing behind Kanghyeok, Yeoju muttered to herself.
Truly, aside from his build, he did not seem to resemble his father in a single way.
"Oh, it's starting."
Dolseok pointed excitedly toward the square.
As someone who loved performances, he seemed to have already forgotten that he was due for a beating later.
"O Deity of Pox, O Deity of Pox."
Just as Dolseok said, one of the shamans, dressed in elaborate clothing, was running here and there.
Among the shamans, a cow was lowing pitifully.
It was not the healthy cow from before, but the cow from which they had been squeezing pus.
Kanghyeok had personally switched them in secret, and no one had noticed.
Instead, they were pleased, saying the Smallpox Deity had entered the cow instead of a person, which was why it had become like this.
Usually, they used a horse woven from straw, but there was even talk that the Smallpox Deity was delighted because, thanks to the Busa's grace, they were using a real cow instead.
Both were nonsense, of course.
I do feel a little sorry.
It had been forced to produce pus to the point of death, and now it was in a position to be killed as well.
No matter that it was just an animal, he still felt a twinge of guilt.
Only a very small one, though.
It's going to die anyway, one way or another.
Whether because of Duchang or something else, the cow had grown extremely weak.
Even now, it could barely take a proper step.
"Hwoi, hwoi!"
One of the shamans hung an ojaengi over the cow's shoulder.
It seemed fairly heavy, perhaps because there was a me inside it.
The cow's knees began to tremble even more.
"Hwoi."
Another shaman hung a second ojaengi around its waist.
There was a little rice cake and rice inside.
"Hwoi!"
The last shaman hung on the last ojaengi.
There were several fruits inside, including Oriental melons.
The weight was considerable, and the cow's knees began to buckle little by little.
At that, the shamans shouted in excitement.
"Yes! The Smallpox Deity has mounted it!"
At those words, the villagers applauded and cheered.
A glance showed that the Busa was doing the same.
He had said all that stuff about putting on a show for the people's sake.
But in truth, it seemed he did not completely deny the existence of the Smallpox Deity either.
The only unimpressed ones were Kanghyeok and Heo Jun.
"The Smallpox Deity, really."
"Indeed."
Next, there was a round of dancing in front of the ritual table, where siru tteok had been set out as offerings.
Most of it was red-bean siru tteok, but there were also two pieces of baekseolgi.
One was meant to console those who had already died, and the other was for those who were still sick.
"There's not much to it."
He had wanted to watch Yeoni's tightrope act, but all that was going on was the shamans making a racket.
Shaking his head, Kanghyeok quietly slipped away from the gut.
Heo Jun followed behind him.
"Whew. A gut, honestly. My head's spinning."
Kanghyeok dropped down to sit far from the ritual grounds.
Heo Jun sat beside him and spoke.
"Even so, are you not the one who made sure that gut would only be held after fourteen days, Scholar?"
"That's true, but... it's still just as bizarre as ever."
"What can one do? People need comfort they can actually see."
Comfort.
Kanghyeok felt as if he understood, and yet did not.
He nodded to himself for a moment, then looked at Heo Jun.
"You'll be heading to the Royal Medical Bureau soon, then."
"Yes. I'm already somewhat late. Fortunately, Busa sir submitted a janggye on my behalf, so I was granted some leave."
"That's good. Then I suppose I'll only see you again in Hanyang."
"Yes. If you come to Hanyang, I will host you anytime."
Hanyang.
By now, there were already two people he would meet if he went there.
And not just anyone, but very important figures.
Heo Jun and Yi Sun-sin.
Were they not the kind of people one had to meet no matter what else was going on?
Just as he was reminding himself that he absolutely had to go someday, Heo Jun spoke again.
"Ah, ah. There is something I must tell you before I leave."
"Yes, please go ahead."
"Before, when you were performing the head surgery, you asked me about 'anesthesia,' did you not?"
"Yes, yes. That's right. Is there a method?"
Expectation sharpened Kanghyeok's gaze.
And Heo Jun did not disappoint that expectation.
"Yes. I have been looking through old medical texts whenever I had the chance and considering the effects of various herbs, and I think it may be possible."
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