The Eldest Daughter of the Tang Clan of Sichuan Protects the Family

Part 1

Chapter 11: Good Fate or Bad Fate

Tang Min chuckled.

"Not everyone who comes here was a patient, was it? We are similar. We came here hoping to get to the world-renowned Yeonju Pills and perhaps see the medical techniques left behind by the Divine Physician."

The old man shook his head, still with a smile.

"I apologize for disappointing you, but our medicinal pills are not elixirs."

He explained in a calm voice.

"Everyone has different amounts of stagnant energy in their body, and they suffer from different diseases. We simply observe the patient's body carefully and remove the stagnant energy and disease. It's true that cleaning the blood vessels and meridians helps the internal energy circulate quickly and lightens the body, aiding external martial arts training, but our pills do not increase internal energy. In short, it's a misheard rumor."

A light laugh slipped into the old man's voice.

“Since the Tang Clan’s poison techniques are considered the best, the idea that the Tang Clan’s Master of Ten Thousand Poisons can neutralize every poison under heaven is likely just another popular misconception.”

The old man's gaze briefly shifted to So-hwa. He softened his eyes and turned his body toward the yard.

When Yeon-ah, who had been glancing over from the yard, made eye contact with the old man, she quickly turned her head away.

The old man smiled and called out to Yeon-ah.

"Jeom-chil, it's time to grind the cloth and apply the medicine. Would you do it for me?"

"Yes! I'll do it! Please, continue your conversation comfortably!"

Before the answer was fully out, Yeon-ah dashed toward the thatched hut where the scent of blood lingered.

The old man slid his gaze to the man standing next to the thatched hut and stared at him for a moment. He too reluctantly followed Yeon-ah, or rather, Jeom-chil.

So-hwa furrowed her brows.

Even hearing it again, it was a name that didn't suit Yeon-ah.

Wasn't it a name more suited to a common fortune-teller one might see in a tavern in Sichuan?

It was a name in stark contrast to the bright and radiant child.

"Why, though, does the child have that name?"

Tang Min seemed displeased as well, frowning.

The old man smiled lightly at the remark.

"They say names carry one's fate. When they leave the mountain, we give intentionally insignificant names, hoping that the children will forget the memories of this place. It's my wish that they choose a name fitting of themselves."

Tang Min frowned, seemingly unable to understand.

"Ah, then what if the children don't leave the mountain?"

"Fortunately, all the children we've taken in so far have found their own path and left the mountain."

A strange sense of pride could be felt in the old man's words.

At that moment, Tang Hak, who had been quietly listening, asked a question.

"By any chance, is the young lady Jeom-chil the seventh child taken in by the Yeonju Group?"

Suddenly, silence fell.

Tang Min furrowed his brow even deeper.

"Don't tell me the name of the first child you took in was Jeom-il, the second was Jeom-I, and the one who went down before Jeom-chil was Jeom-yuk?"

"You mentioned being curious about the Divine Physician's medical techniques. I will show you the tools she used. Now, please rise."

The old man averted his gaze and stood up.

"... Well, really, a name given carelessly."

Tang Min muttered. So-hwa quickly opened her mouth, trying to smooth over Tang Min's rude words.

"Was it the Divine Physician's idea?"

"Yes, it was her will."

"She's a wise person. If I had been able to name myself, too, my attitude toward life might have been different."

At those words, the old physician smiled gently.

"What kind of stories have you heard about the Divine Physician?"

When the siblings remained silent, the old man nodded as if he had expected it.

"You must not know much. It seems only the fame of her medical skills remains in the world, but she was the wisest person I've ever known."

The old man's voice lowered.

"It was here on Emei Mountain that I first met her. I'm afraid you might think I've gone senile for saying this, but at first, I thought I had met a celestial maiden."

"You really are senile..."

So-hwa quickly pressed down on Tang Min's knee to stop his rude words. The old man smiled, acknowledging Tang Min's remark.

"It couldn't be helped. At that time, Lady Yeonju used strange language, and furthermore, she was wearing strange clothes that revealed her skin up to the knee."

Like a mythical tale, Yeonju's past flowed through the old man's voice. He continued speaking while gazing at the mountain's entrance as if lost in memory.

"I taught her how to read and shared what little knowledge I had with her. Yeonju was truly brilliant. She quickly learned to read and established herself as a physician. She was so full of compassion that she rarely accepted proper payment, yet wealth poured in. It was fulfilling, peaceful... like a dream."

The old man gave a bitter smile.

"Then, that incident happened."

That incident.

It was probably the rumor about experimenting on live people.

To the silent members of the Tang Clan, the old man shook his head with a smile.

"I swear, she never dissected a living person. And the rumor that we vanished because we couldn't bear the eyes of the people— that too is untrue."

It wasn't a disappearance?

When doubt flashed in So-hwa's eyes, the old physician spoke, as if in response.

"We merely relocated to the place where she had disappeared, in case she returned. Just as abruptly as she had appeared, Lady Yeonju vanished without a trace."

"Why?"

Tang Hak, who had been listening intently, cut in with a question. The old man shook his head.

"I don't know. She left without a reason, without even a farewell. Still, we weren't surprised. Lady Yeonju always said she would return to her homeland someday. But whenever we asked where that was, she wouldn't answer. She said we wouldn't understand, even if she explained."

A bitter smile formed on the old man's lips.

"Lady Yeonju always lived as if ready to depart, leaving nothing behind in the world. Even when she took in disciples, she accepted them without conditions, believing it to be fate. She said that was how one more sick person might survive."

His gaze returned to the guests sitting on the platform.

"Whether it will be a good fate or a bad fate, I don't know, but we do not treat those who come to us rudely, nor do we hide our medical skills. Because what we learned from Lady Yeonju is not just medical skills."

The old man smiled at So-hwa, who was staring at him, then rose from the platform.

"It'll be hard to go down once the sun sets, so I'll show you quickly. Please follow me."

The old physician led the guests to a nearby thatched hut, which looked like a storage room. Inside, numerous strange tools were piled up on the mud walls, which barely resembled a proper fence. Among them were the distillation equipment seen earlier, beehives used in beekeeping, and many other tools whose purposes were unclear.

It suddenly hit So-hwa that they had entered the Yeonju Group.

Following Jin-cheol into the straw hut, a well-organized dresser caught her eye. Despite the shabby exterior, the hut was neatly arranged, comparable even to the Tang Clan's Medical Hall.

The old physician opened a drawer next to the desk. He took out a large drawer and placed it on the desk, smiling.

"These are the tools made by the Divine Physician. Interesting, aren't they?"

Inside the drawer were small scissors and knives, arranged like children's toys. The blades were so thin they seemed almost like paper. Some scissors had blunt wooden blades instead of sharp ones. The uses of these tools were impossible to guess.

As So-hwa marveled at the tools, the old physician pulled out another drawer.

Inside, there were dough-like substances of various sizes.

"These are models used for practicing cutting and stitching flesh. I'll show you, so pay attention."

The old man took out a dough shaped like a human arm and picked up a small knife. When he cut through the dough, inside, there were reed stalks that looked like veins.

"These are the blood vessels, and sometimes they burst on their own. When that happens, you must stitch them up like this."

The old man's hands were precise and swift. After cutting the stalk, he quickly stitched it in three places with a needle. As the round cross-section changed into a triangle and adhered, he began stitching it carefully.

Soon, the stalk was perfectly healed, as if it had never been cut. It was hard to believe, even seeing it with her own eyes. It could truly be called a magical skill.

Is this the medical skill of Yeonju Group?

So-hwa was awestruck by this unfamiliar medical technique, listening attentively to every word the old physician said.

"Martial artists can stop bleeding with acupuncture and heal internal injuries with their internal energy, but if you cut away the damaged part and stitch it properly, even ordinary people can save their lives."

There was pride in his voice.

The old physician took out another lump of dough and repeated the process. This time, however, he demonstrated a different procedure—removing necrotic flesh and broken bone fragments.

"Sometimes the pain is so intense that the patient loses consciousness, so you must make the patient sleep before performing this procedure. There's a book with the recipe for the sleeping medicine..."

The old man glanced briefly at the drawer, then turned his gaze back to the guests.

"Yeonju Group's medical skill may seem simple at first, but it takes a long time to become proficient. You must study for several years to be called a practitioner of Yeonju Group."

Though So-hwa wanted to say it didn't look simple at all, she quietly listened to his words.

At that moment, the old physician's eyes turned to Tang Min. Unlike the constant smile on his face, his gaze darkened.

"If you want to learn medicine, I can teach you, but can you stay for that long?"

"A few days would be possible, but staying for years would be difficult."

Upon Tang Min's answer, the old physician smiled, as if he had expected it. Then, in a gentle voice, he proposed an alternative.

"Jeom-chil is a child who learned the Divine Physician's medical skills."

The smile gradually faded from his face.

"As I mentioned earlier, human connections can become good fate or bad fate, depending on the time."

The old physician's dark eyes stared steadily at the Tang Clan members.

And his calm voice seemed to penetrate their eardrums.

"I would like the Tang Clan to take Jeom-chil."

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(T/N): Soo.. the Divine Physician is from the modern world.