Chapter 107: An Epidemic Is Spreading [1] At the words that an epidemic had begun to spread, Heo Jun visibly lost focus.
After all, to a physician, actual patients could not help but be more important than anatomy practice.
If one really thought about it, was not the very anatomy practice they were doing now all for the sake of treating patients?
In the end, just as Kanghyeok was about to bring the scalpel to the chest, Heo Jun raised a hand.
"Scholar."
"Yes, please speak."
"It may be presumptuous of me to say so... but if patients have appeared, I do not think we can simply stay here and keep dissecting."
"Ah."
Kanghyeok had regarded obtaining an unclaimed corpse as an opportunity sent down by heaven, so that thought had not even occurred to him.
But after hearing Heo Jun speak, it was true that his thinking changed somewhat.
Hmm... there's no way I can finish all this today anyway.
In truth, Kanghyeok himself was already rather tired.
He called it a dissection lecture, but in reality, all the actual cutting and slicing was being done entirely by Kanghyeok himself.
His mindset was different from when he operated on living people, and the actual sensation was different too.
Anatomy teaching was usually something spread out over months...
Of course, that had been possible thanks to the remarkable preservative solution called formalin.
In any case, this was not something to be approached the way one roasted beans in a lightning flash, as they were doing now.
If they did that, nothing would stay in their heads.
And this is also a demonstration...
There was something a little ambiguous about calling it practice.
In reality, Kanghyeok was the only one actually doing anything, while the others were simply observing.
If corpses started coming in large numbers, then it'd be a different story.
Kanghyeok naturally recalled the smallpox outbreak in Gwanggyosan.
Thanks to the tremendous efforts of himself and Heo Jun, many people had lived.
But it was also true that there had been quite a few they failed to save.
If they had wanted to conduct dissection practice at that time, everyone currently inside this shed could have taken part in it.
Wishing for people to die before treating them is the wrong way to think... but if there are people who die unavoidably... hmm.
Kanghyeok's head throbbed from the dilemma between the mindset of a physician and the mindset of a medical scholar.
While he was caught in thought, the one who gave him a clear answer was Heo Jun.
"Let us go first. Once we get there and see what the situation is, we'll know whether you need to get involved or not, Scholar. Besides, didn't we get an unclaimed corpse on the very first day as well? If we take our time, there will likely be another opportunity."
The more he listened, the more it all sounded right.
Perhaps near Bojewon, people dying might well be an everyday occurrence.
No, it probably was.
After all, those who could at least make it to Jinjaewon and receive treatment from Dongpa were people who still had enough strength to move.
Those worn down by long hunger and old age seemed simply to be dying after eating only the thin rice gruel handed out to them, in woefully insufficient amounts.
"Let's do that, then. I did feel uneasy sitting here doing only this when there are patients."
"Yes. Let's go."
"Ah, but before that. We should clean this place up a bit."
"True. We can't leave it like this and go."
It would be fine with Dorikkae's group guarding the place.
But what if someone happened to enter and see this scene?
It would be recorded at once as a horrifying incident worthy of reaching the king's ears.
And if that happened, Kanghyeok, the one at the center of it, would certainly not escape unharmed.
"You piled up firewood in the back yard, right?"
"Yes, Young Master. I gathered only the thoroughly dried pieces."
"Good. Well done. And it's true no one lives nearby?"
"There are a few, but... they're all drifters. They won't care what's being done in this house."
"Then let's move this outside and burn it."
"Yes, Young Master."
At Kanghyeok's words, Dolseok nodded.
All the abdominal organs had already been moved into baskets.
The corpse, which had not been that heavy to begin with, now truly felt light as dust.
In only a few minutes, the corpse, along with every detached piece, had been laid atop the firewood.
"Shall I set it on fire?"
Dolseok was already holding a torch.
For all this and that, he really was quite a capable fellow.
He might not be useful in emergencies the way Yeoni and Makbong were.
But at least in peaceful times like this, there was hardly anyone more reliable to entrust work to.
"Wait. Though we may not know this person's name, we should pray for his repose all the same."
"Ah."
"More than that, he was also a teacher who gave us his body and taught us. Everyone, close your eyes, bow your heads, and stay like that for five minutes. With hearts of gratitude."
"Ah, yes."
After speaking in his usual arbitrary way, Kanghyeok immediately began a moment of silence.
At least for medical students, it was something they would have experienced during every anatomy practice.
He did not know about the others, but Kanghyeok truly did feel a great deal of gratitude.
Because thanks to that, he had been able to become such an excellent surgeon.
"Mm."
At the serious sight of Kanghyeok, who usually swaggered around like a street thug, everyone lowered their heads.
Heo Jun and Heo Im especially had been quietly deepening their respect for him.
To show such courtesy even to a lowly person without a name.
True, they were cremating him rather than giving him a proper burial.
But if they had simply left him, it was obvious the corpse would have been discarded carelessly somewhere.
Of course, the time did not last long.
Kanghyeok raised his head before five minutes had even passed.
"Now. Set it on fire."
"Yes, Young Master."
At Kanghyeok's command, Dolseok lit it.
Just as he had said, the firewood was bone dry, and oil had even been properly poured over it, so the flames were immense.
"It's burning well. Tell Dorikkae not to let anyone in."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Good. Then let's go. Let's see what sort of epidemic is spreading."
"Yes."
The whole group, including Heo Jun and Heo Im, followed behind Kanghyeok.
Even Makbong, who had been emptying his stomach outside the shed.
Seeing the traces of vomit around his mouth, Dolseok grinned broadly.
"No way... you ran out and vomited before it even properly started?"
Normally, Makbong would already have thrown a punch at him or at least threatened him.
But now he had gone mute as though he had honey in his mouth, lowering his head deeply.
Emboldened, Dolseok teased him even more gleefully.
"No, really, after all that talk about how I'm the one with no guts and all that. Looking at you now, you're the real coward. A total coward."
At that, Yeoni, who was walking past beside him, let out a snicker.
After all, she had never dreamed the day would come when Dolseok could say such things and tease Makbong.
Dolseok probably had not imagined it either.
Otherwise, there would have been no reason for him to be so excessively delighted.
At this rate he's going to get beaten.
By the time even Kanghyeok was starting to worry that Dolseok's taunting had reached its peak, Yeoju finally spoke up.
"That's enough. I know exactly what kind of state you were in back in Eotan-myeon."
"What? Miss... why all of a sudden?"
"Isn't Makbong basically your lifesaver? He's the one who saved you when you pissed yourself and nearly shit yourself every time you saw the Japanese pirates."
"When did I ever shit myself..."
"Then that wasn't shit?"
"It just got smeared on my pants a little..."
At Yeoju's bold attack, even Dolseok finally shut his mouth.
Thanks to that, Makbong's expression improved greatly, and the group was finally able to keep walking in peace.
"Mm. It must be there."
There was a place lit up by many torches in the dead of night.
Unless they too were dissecting bodies and burning corpses there, that had to be where the patients were.
There was no doubt Bojewon and Jinjaewon had sent people out to provide relief.
Whether it was proper relief or not was another matter.
"Let's go. From all the commotion, it really does seem like there are quite a lot of patients."
"Yes, Young Master."
"Ah, before we go, put on masks and gloves first. We don't know what disease it is."
"So it's similar to the case of smallpox."
Heo Jun muttered as he pulled on a mask.
If it were smallpox, it would actually be easier for the group to respond.
They had all already gained immunity.
But an enormous number would die.
Back then, by heaven's grace, they had been able to find a cow infected with cowpox right away.
But there was no guarantee the same would happen now.
"Let's hope it's not something as bad as smallpox."
"That's true. I spoke carelessly."
"No, I think it is an infectious disease."
The closer they got, the more obvious it became.
All the patients there were showing similar symptoms.
Because the foul odor lying faintly over the area was beginning to spread everywhere.
"What the hell. Did someone smash a latrine?"
Makbong, who had been silently following for a long while, finally blurted out a curse.
Just as he said, the smell of shit in the area was overwhelming.
That was only natural, since most of the patients were suffering from diarrhea.
Just moments ago, someone had even soiled themselves right in front of them.
"Good grief."
Kanghyeok too pulled up his long sleeve and covered his nose.
The smell in the shed earlier had also been awful, but this was serious in its own way.
"It's absolute chaos."
Dolseok said that while turning the torch he was holding this way and that.
Just as he said, the whole area was nearly devastated.
As befitted a poor district, an enormous number of people had gathered there, and since it was an illness anyone could catch, the response had also been delayed.
All that could be seen were patients or people sent out from Bojewon.
Of those who had originally lived there, not a single healthy person seemed to remain.
"Teacher Heo, first we need to have the patients brought together. As you know from before, the key to treating an infectious disease is control and isolation. I have no official post... so I think this needs to be done by you."
"This... understood."
Heo Jun briefly frowned at the horrific scene, then quickly seized hold of someone who appeared to have come out from Bojewon.
"Who are you?"
"Ah, I am Heo Jun, serving as Cheomjeong at the Royal Medical Bureau."
"Oh. Greetings. Has word of what's happened here already spread that far?"
"No, not that. I only happened to see it while passing by. Who is the person in charge here?"
"The Wonju right now... ah, over there. Elder Kang Chan."
"Oh, I see."
Heo Jun immediately hurried off again.
Toward the elderly man the fellow had pointed out.
He had a rather shabby appearance, with patchy whiskers, made even more so by his unusually round face.
"Are you the Wonju here?"
"Ah. I am. And who might you be?"
"I am Heo Jun, serving as Cheomjeong at the Royal Medical Bureau."
"I see. What brings you all the way here?"
Even if a Wonju was still only a fairly minor official, he bowed and scraped in front of Heo Jun.
Kanghyeok stroked his chin beard and fell into thought.
Authority really is a good thing. Maybe I ought to go all in and take an official post too.
It was not entirely impossible.
He had connections here and there.
And it was not as though he lacked ability.
Even while Kanghyeok sank into his own fantasies, the conversation between Heo Jun and the Wonju continued.
"I happened upon this place while passing by. It appears an epidemic is spreading... how are you dealing with it?"
"As you can see, there are far too many patients... for now, we've entrusted the matter to a capable physician here."
At those words, Heo Jun tilted his head.
The greatest famed physician in Bojewon was Baek Kanghyeok, so who could there possibly be to take charge instead of him?
"Who?"
"A man named Dongpa. Around here, his reputation is very well known. Ah, there he is."
The Wonju pointed toward a man in the distance.
Sure enough, it was Dongpa, bellowing loudly with all the swagger in the world.
"If they eat, they'll just shit, so don't let them eat anything at all! Not even water!"
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