Chapter 154: So Yoshitoshi [1] Following Sayaga's guidance, Kanghyeok strolled through the domain lord's garden.
The So family's tastes were far removed from the cluttered and extravagant, so the garden itself was very tranquil.
It was not the sort of garden packed tightly with rare trees and flowers until it made the eyes dizzy, but one where the sparse empty spaces gave a sense of calm.
And that was not something that applied only to people.
Because of that, the garden was always filled with the sound of birds chirping.
"This is nice."
"Yes, it is. It's my favorite place on Tsushima."
At Kanghyeok's pleased smile, Sayaga answered with a bright smile of his own.
There was no reason for him to dislike praise for his lord's garden.
Kanghyeok continued looking around the garden for a while, then soon turned back to Sayaga.
"But Sayaga."
The domain lord's garden was not particularly small.
On top of that, the paths themselves twisted together like a maze, so it took quite a while to go from place to place.
Kanghyeok had no intention of wasting that time idly, so he opened his mouth first.
There was something he had been curious about anyway.
"How did you end up coming to Tsushima? I heard you're not originally from here."
"Ah. Yes. I'm from Iki Island. One way or another, an island is still an island."
"I heard it isn't exactly very close by sea."
"It takes about a full day by ship."
Iki Island was also the diplomatic mission's next destination.
Perhaps because of that, the others following behind also seemed interested, judging by how they were all listening closely.
"So how did you end up coming here?"
"Well…"
Sayaga hesitated for a moment.
It was only for a brief instant, but the shadow of regret was unmistakably reflected in his clouded eyes.
It passed so quickly that no one else noticed.
But it was difficult to fool Kanghyeok's eyes, as he habitually observed other people.
Did I ask the wrong thing?
Just when Kanghyeok was beginning to regret it a little, Sayaga finally opened his mouth.
"As you know, we fought a long war. Here on Tsushima, we avoided the worst of the fighting, but… that does not mean the people were not swept up in it."
"I heard about that. They were still conscripted."
"Yes. Iki Island was no exception. If anything, since it was practically attached to the mainland, the winds of war were even fiercer there."
"Then you must have met the domain lord on the battlefield."
"Yes. I was a mere foot soldier, and the domain lord was not yet the domain lord."
Sayaga's story was one from quite a long time ago, and it was an interesting one.
Yeoni and Makbong seemed especially fascinated.
From beginning to end, it was full of swords and blood.
For Kanghyeok, it was not a particularly attractive story, so he quickly lost interest.
I'm the one who asked, so I can't very well cut him off now…
That would be far too rude, would it not?
So he decided to think about something else.
After all, Yeoni and Makbong were listening attentively enough.
So Yoshitoshi… I roughly have a sense of it, but still.
But it was still hard to be certain.
There were quite a few illnesses that caused dizziness, hearing loss, and tinnitus.
Several possible diagnoses came to mind immediately.
Ménière's disease, low-frequency hearing loss, vestibular schwannoma…
Of those, the one Kanghyeok ranked highest for now was a tumor.
He hoped it was not, but that was what his intuition was telling him.
Well, even if it is a tumor, that doesn't necessarily mean surgery is required…
Of course, handling it that way would require all sorts of modern equipment.
Things like CyberKnife or Gamma Knife.
State-of-the-art machines costing around six billion won.
There was no way such things existed in Joseon.
While he was worrying over what to do, they arrived at the room where Yoshitoshi was staying.
Sayaga was still talking, and Makbong and Yeoni were still listening intently.
Sayaga spoke with lingering regret.
"Oh dear. We are out of time. I will tell you the rest another day."
"Well now, that really is a strange connection… but it can't be helped."
"Now then, I will go in."
Sayaga spoke first toward Yoshitoshi's door.
"My lord. It is Sayaga. May we come in?"
"Yes. Is Physician Baek with you as well?"
"Yes."
"Then both of you come in."
"Yes, my lord."
Sayaga offered a deeply respectful greeting, then turned back.
"You may go in."
"Very well."
By contrast, Kanghyeok's movements were completely unrestrained.
In truth, a domain lord of Tsushima would have held, in Joseon terms, an office of at least Senior Fifth Rank or above.
Moreover, a domain lord was not a post that was granted once and then taken away, but a hereditary lordship, which made the position even more secure.
If Kanghyeok had only been an ordinary Jikjang, he naturally should have bowed much lower.
But Kanghyeok did no such thing.
He had not acted that way even back in Joseon.
I've even talked down to members of the National Assembly, so why would I bother bowing to a Japanese lord…
Rather, he tended to treat patients who looked poor or very young quite well.
But whenever a patient acted smug just because he had some status, Kanghyeok felt an inexplicable urge to push back.
Well, Yoshitoshi isn't actually all that rude…
That was the problem.
For people who were supposed to become enemies, Sayaga and Yoshitoshi were both fairly decent.
No, rather than decent, it would be more accurate to say they were good people.
So unlike with Kuki Yoshitaka, Kanghyeok felt vaguely uncomfortable at the thought of deliberately giving him only half-hearted treatment.
"Ah, welcome."
Unaware of Kanghyeok's thoughts, Yoshitoshi welcomed him with a hearty laugh.
To all appearances, he did not look like a sick man in the slightest.
Broad shoulders, sturdy forearms, and a thick neck.
Anyone would have thought he looked strong, and in truth, he was a very strong man.
They all cowered before him…
Aside from Sayaga, the other warriors could hardly even meet Yoshitoshi's gaze.
Kanghyeok found himself wondering what kind of face was hidden behind that smiling one.
Not that he had any desire to see it for himself.
So he simply returned the greeting.
"Yes, have you been well?"
"It was a bit tiring escorting the two elders around, but… it seems they liked the scenery on the island quite a bit."
The two elders likely referred to Hwang Yungil and Kim Seongil.
It was striking that he still called them elders even when they were not present.
Sayaga and this man too… somehow they both seem unusually favorable toward Joseon.
While Kanghyeok tilted his head in puzzlement, Yoshitoshi continued speaking.
"I heard you met Kuki Yoshitaka. Nothing happened, I hope?"
When Kanghyeok looked back, Sayaga nodded.
Apparently he had already gone and informed him.
Then again, it would have been strange otherwise.
Such a major figure had entered the domain, and it would not do for the domain lord not to know.
"No, nothing much."
"That is good, then. Still… that man is greedy and cruel. It would be best to be careful."
Kanghyeok did not know about the greed, but he already knew very well that Yoshitaka was cruel.
He could still vividly picture the samurai under him cutting down a serving girl without hesitation.
That was exactly why Kanghyeok had been taking his revenge quite thoroughly.
Of course, they only thought he was doing them a favor.
"Yes, understood."
"I overexerted myself for several days, and the dizziness has flared up again. Can this really be cured?"
Yoshitoshi quickly asked with a worried expression.
Come to think of it, he was leaning his back against the wall.
It seemed his condition was bad enough that if he did not lean on something, he would feel dizzy.
"First, let me examine you."
"Mm. I leave it to you."
"Then, excuse me…"
With that preface, Kanghyeok placed his hands on both of Yoshitoshi's cheeks.
His eyes remained fixed on Yoshitoshi's eyes.
To Sayaga, it looked quite rude and strange, but there was nothing he could do.
After all, every time they simply followed along with what the bizarre physician did, people lived.
Was there not the case of Kim Seongil's nephew, who had practically come back from the dead, and Kuki Yoshitaka, who had likewise survived death?
"Let's see… hmm. You are not dizzy right now, correct?"
"That's right."
"I'm going to snap your head quickly left and right. Even so, keep your eyes on my nose."
"Your nose?"
"Yes. It's a very accurate examination. You'll need to watch carefully."
"Understood."
With both cheeks still held, Yoshitoshi nodded.
Kanghyeok first snapped Yoshitoshi's head quickly to the right.
His head turned sharply, but his gaze remained fixed on Kanghyeok's nose.
As expected, the right side is normal.
Kanghyeok had never once thought the right ear would be the deaf one, so that much was only natural.
But when he turned Yoshitoshi's head to the left, something changed.
"Hmm."
Yoshitoshi's eyes failed to fix immediately on Kanghyeok's nose.
His gaze faced straight ahead, then only after nearly a full second finally returned to Kanghyeok's nose.
The balance function on the left side is almost completely ruined.
Even so, the reason he could still walk around normally was because the balance function on the right side was compensating.
After organizing his thoughts, Kanghyeok opened his mouth to perform the final examination.
"This one may make you dizzy… if you feel like vomiting, you may vomit."
"Vomiting… that won't do."
"You may hold it in if you want. But you will feel dizzy."
"Understood. Do not worry."
Kanghyeok looked into Yoshitoshi's eyes, which revealed a strong will.
He had even pressed his lips tightly together as if absolutely determined not to vomit.
Looking at that, Kanghyeok almost laughed, but just barely held it in.
No, why is he taking this so seriously?
If he felt like vomiting, he could simply vomit.
That would have ended things much more cleanly.
Kanghyeok truly did not understand these samurai.
Well, if he doesn't vomit, that's cleaner for everyone.
Deciding that good was good enough, he began shaking Yoshitoshi's head vigorously.
Anyone who had ever had their head shaken by someone else rather than by their own will would know how humiliating and dizzying it was.
If even a person with normal function felt that way, then what about Yoshitoshi, who had one side's function completely destroyed?
His vision spun violently.
"Urgh."
What made it even more maddening was that Kanghyeok, the very culprit making him so dizzy, wore an utterly delighted expression.
Worse still, Kanghyeok was even crying out in excitement.
"Oh, look at it bounce, it's bouncing."
"W-what… what is… urgh…"
Looking at Yoshitoshi, whose face now looked as though he was about to die from dizziness, Kanghyeok spoke.
He did it while pointing right at his face, which somehow made the whole thing feel even filthier.
Yoshitoshi wanted to tell him not to do that, but even that was not easy.
Since a while ago, his stomach had been roiling madly, like a ship caught in a storm.
"Can you all see his eyes bouncing here?"
Kanghyeok was rather excited.
Teaching material like this was not something one could easily find anywhere.
Thanks to that, he completely forgot Yoshitoshi's status and called his disciples over from behind him.
And his tactless disciples came rushing over in a group the moment he called.
"Ah, why is it doing that?"
"How fascinating."
"Why are his eyes moving on their own like that…"
They even added their own comments one after another.
Even Sayaga found it strange and fascinating, though he did not dare come close enough to get a good look.
Pointing at Yoshitoshi, who now looked like a monkey at the zoo, Kanghyeok said, "If you look now, you can see his eyes jerking to the right, yes?"
"Yes, yes."
Up to that point, it was not difficult to understand at all.
The eyes really were jerking.
"That's because the balance function on the left side is destroyed, so compensation for the movement isn't happening."
"Yes…?"
That part was rather difficult.
Even Kanghyeok, monstrous as he was, had needed some time to understand it fully.
Naturally, it was obvious that it would take his disciples even longer to grasp it.
And of course, Kanghyeok had no intention whatsoever of wasting that much time.
"For now, Yoshitoshi… Lord…?"
"Mmgh."
"Oh."
"Urgh."
"Ah."
"Blergh."
In the end, Yoshitoshi failed to carry through with his firm resolve and vomited all over the bedding.
As he threw up in a frenzy, Kanghyeok's indifferent words struck his ears.
"This has to be cut open. We'll open him up today."
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