Rebirth of the Thunder God

"You were both here. But why aren't you eating noodles?"

At Seong Sohui's question, Namgung Hui answered with an awkward smile.

"We ate earlier. By the way, did you also come to eat noodles, Little Saintess?"

"No. I came following the person here."

Come to think of it, Seong Sohui was not alone.

Another woman who had entered with her.

She looked to be about thirty, but for some reason, she had a feeling of resemblance to the old woman.

'Is she the noodle shop owner's daughter?'

Thinking this, it seemed the person Gwon Cheong was waiting for was not Seong Sohui, but that woman.

Namgung Hui felt a sense of apology for almost having a misunderstanding.

Indeed, there was no way Seong Sohui and Gwon Cheong could have met.

Gwon Cheong had been on a mission with him the whole time.

Gwon Cheong was staring blankly at the empty bowl, having finished all that noodle at some point.

The old woman, who was watching him, poked her daughter's side and said.

"Suyeong. Don't just stand there blankly, go get the empty bowl from the herb-digger."

"The herb-digger? That's Cheong-orabeoni's nickname. That person over there isn't orabeoni, is he?"

"Keulkeul. Go and take a look at his face."

Nam Suyeong moved closer to Gwon Cheong.

"It really is orabeoni, isn't it?"

"Yes. When did I say it wasn't? Just take this bowl."

"Yes~."

Nam Suyeong, who had cleared the empty bowl, clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something and said.

"Ah. That's right. Mom. I've brought a skilled physician here. I thought she might be able to fix your back."

"What? Fix my back?"

Even to Namgung Hui's eyes, the old woman's back looked quite severe.

The reason she looked particularly old was likely because of that severely bent back.

Seong Sohui approached the old woman, smiled faintly, and said.

"Elder. Would it be alright if I checked your pulse?"

"Well, it's a body that's dying anyway. Do as you please. Then I'll have to close the shop."

"No, it's okay. Mom. I'll watch over this place with orabeoni."

"Me too?"

"Then you won't watch it with me?"

At Nam Suyeong's sharp gaze, Gwon Cheong scratched the back of his head and said.

"It's not that... alright. I'll watch it with you."

And so, the shop was swiftly left in the care of Gwon Cheong and Nam Suyeong.

Namgung Hui and Beak Seolhwa followed Seong Sohui into the room.

It seemed she needed someone to help her since she hadn't brought a female physician or an assistant.

Just in time, since Namgung Hui was not entirely ignorant of medicine, he spoke from beside Seong Sohui.

"I'll assist you."

"Then could you please take out the Daera Jakchim from my luggage?"

Hadn't Namgung Hui recognized the Divine Physician Sect's precious artifact, the Daera Jakchim, before?

At that sight, Seong Sohui had instantly perceived that Namgung Hui had a deep knowledge of medicine.

On top of that, martial artists indirectly learn medicine because they memorize all the blood points.

Of course, there were also illiterate martial artists who couldn't memorize the blood points.

Seong Sohui began to check the pulse.

Namgung Hui carefully took out the Daera Jakchim from her luggage.

Since silence was essential when checking the pulse, Beak Seolhwa sent a telepathic message to Namgung Hui.

-Hui. Do you think she can treat that old woman?

-Why? You seem doubtful.

-I told you. The Demonic Physician is a great physician. How can a young Little Saintess treat what even he couldn't?

As she said, the Demonic Physician was one of the most renowned physicians in history.

But there was a slight contradiction in her words.

-How do you know he didn't treat her? Didn't you say he only treats seriously ill people? That old woman isn't seriously ill.

-Is that so? Hmm... So you think she can be treated.

-Yes. From what I see, I think she can be treated. And wouldn't the diseases the Demonic Physician is good at treating and the diseases the Divine Physician Sect is good at treating be different?

-Indeed, even martial artists have different specialties, so there's no law that says physicians can't.

Broadly speaking, there were internal medicine and surgery.

Even within internal medicine, the fields were divided into various areas like respiratory or digestive.

He thought that such a bent back was probably closer to surgery, but as someone who was not a physician, Namgung Hui could only guess.

'Or it could be a problem with the blood points. Come to think of it, they said the Demonic Physician was skilled in surgery. It might be too much for the Little Saintess.'

Just as the Divine Physician Sect was good at treating endemic diseases and severed pulses, they were physicians proficient in internal medicine.

If the old woman's symptoms were related to surgery, then as Beak Seolhwa said, the Little Saintess might not be able to do it.

It would be better to bring the Demonic Physician instead.

Seong Sohui, who had finished checking the pulse, slowly nodded and held out her hand to Namgung Hui.

"Please give me the number two large needle."

Namgung Hui opened the needle case and handed her the large needle with the number two written on it.

"Grandma. Would you mind lying down here?"

"Are you starting the treatment already?"

"Yes. It will sting a little."

"I hate pain... Please be gentle."

"I'll try to be as painless as possible. Here I go."

Seong Sohui lifted the old woman's clothes and began to insert the needle into her back.

She received the number two large needle and the rest of the needles from Namgung Hui one by one and mercilessly pierced her back.

With large needles stuck in a row, the sight alone was enough to give one the creeps.

Beak Seolhwa, finding it hard to watch, frowned.

At that sight, Namgung Hui carefully sent a telepathic message to Beak Seolhwa.

-Seolhwa. You might have to help me like that later, aren't you too unaccustomed to it?

-What are you talking about? Am I going to put a needle in you? Ah. A knife perhaps?

-What a strange thing to say. That's not it, I meant you need to get used to medical procedures to melt the energy of the Fire Spirit Divine Pill later.

-Ah. That's just a matter of infusing my ki, so I don't need to see such a gruesome sight.

A gruesome sight. It didn't make sense, considering she had seen far more cruel sights in her past life.

Perhaps it was the ego of the current Young Palace Mistress, not Sosu Mahu, that felt that way.

While Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui were exchanging telepathic messages, Seong Sohui, as if the treatment was over, wiped her forehead and said to Namgung Hui.

"Please retrieve all the needles."

"Is it okay for me to pull them out?"

Seong Sohui showed her trembling hands and said.

"I used a difficult acupuncture technique for a change, so I have no strength in my hands. Anyway, with your ability, you can easily pull them out, can't you?"

Her words were reasonable.

There was no way Namgung Hui, a fist artist skilled in the distribution of strength, would be clumsy at pulling out mere needles.

On top of that, he had watched the medical procedures performed at the Divine Physician Sect many times, so this was at the level of a dog at a village school reciting poetry.

Namgung Hui calmly retrieved the Daera Jakchim.

He was so careful and cautious that the old woman didn't even know the needles were being pulled out.

"I'm getting a bit antsy, when can I get up?"

"You can get up now. I've pulled out all the needles."

"Really? My body feels a little lighter... Huh? What's this. My back is straightening?"

Seong Sohui had really straightened the old woman's back.

To the point where the title of Little Saintess was not wasted.

Beak Seolhwa and Namgung Hui nodded with impressed expressions.

"As expected, the name Saintess is not wasted."

"Indeed. I should just ask her to melt the Fire Spirit Divine Pill..."

"No, you can't!"

"Why? With that level of skill, maybe if I ask..."

Beak Seolhwa glared and said.

"I said I'd do it. And the fewer people who know a secret, the better. It's no good for you to go around telling everyone you took something like that."

Although he wasn't entirely convinced, her words weren't exactly wrong either.

In the first place, it was uncertain whether this could be melted with medical skills.

Even so, he wondered if there was a need to ask Seong Sohui.

As Beak Seolhwa said, the fewer people who knew a secret, the better.

And most of all, he smelled something slightly suspicious from Seong Sohui.

Especially from the time she met the Demonic Physician.

Seong Sohui, as if she had regained her energy, stood up and packed her things.

At that sight, the old woman helped her and repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

"They said you were a saintess, and it wasn't an empty word. How can I repay this grace?"

"Just make me a bowl of noodles later."

"Not now?"

"I have to see other patients."

"Oh my. A true saintess sent from heaven. Be sure to stop by later."

Since she had said before that she wouldn't accept silver, the old woman didn't offer money.

The Divine Physician Sect usually only received donations from the rich, so all the costs of treatment were covered by the Divine Physician Sect.

The old woman, feeling sorry, had Seong Sohui sit down for a moment and said.

"Saintess lady. Please wait a moment. I'll go get something."

The old woman rushed outside and snatched the basket from Gwon Cheong's back.

"Hey! This old hag. Do you know how expensive that is?"

-Slap!

"You brat! Do you know how much food you've eaten for free? Don't talk back and just offer the medicinal herbs to the physician."

Gwon Cheong tried to snatch the basket back from the returning old woman, but Nam Suyeong grabbed his arm and said.

"Orabeoni. Didn't you see my mom just now?"

"Huh? Come to think of it. Her back was straight. The treatment must have been a success."

"I'll repay the cost of the medicinal herbs for the rest of my life, so please give the basket to my mom."

"Ahem. For the rest of your life? It might take decades to repay what's in there."

"I'll repay it for decades, for hundreds of years."

"Alright. I've also eaten for free, so I'll have to let this go."

Even when converted to silver, the cost of the medicinal herbs was not a small amount.

But Gwon Cheong, who had his basket snatched away, had only a bright smile on his face.

The old woman who had returned to the room held out the basket to Seong Sohui.

Seong Sohui, as a large number of medicinal herbs she hadn't expected came out of the basket, opened her eyes wide and said.

"This is really beyond my expectations. This is a five-hundred-year-old knotweed, and angelica, rehmannia, rhubarb, epimedium... Wow. It's really amazing. The skill of the person who dug this up is not ordinary. The roots are barely damaged."

"Keulkeul. That guy may be clumsy, but among herb-diggers, his skill is the best."

"Rather, I should be paying you. If you convert this to silver, it will surely be over a thousand nyang."

At the words 'a thousand nyang,' the old woman also flinched as if she were slightly surprised.

"Is that really true? A piece of grass is worth a thousand nyang of silver?"

"Yes. Just the knotweed here can fetch five hundred nyang. The rest of the medicinal herbs are easily worth several hundred nyang. The knotweed should probably be returned..."

"No! What do you mean, return it? I'll deal with that guy myself, so the Saintess can take it all."

It was difficult for Seong Sohui to refuse. The five-hundred-year-old knotweed was popular among martial artists, but it was also a widely used medicinal ingredient for patients.

Especially for the elderly who lacked energy, it was a medicinal ingredient they couldn't get enough of.

And the person who needed it most was shimmering before her eyes.

"Can I really take it?"

"Aam. Of course. I'll deal with that guy by giving him my daughter or whatever, so the Saintess doesn't need to worry."

From the old woman's tone, one could feel the years she had lived.

Sometimes the dialect of Guangdong Province. Sometimes Sichuan Province.

Sometimes even the accent of Shandong Province.

One could tell how much she had wandered all over the country.

"Alright. Since you're recommending it so strongly, I won't refuse."

In the midst of such a warm atmosphere, this time Namgung Hui tried to speak to Seong Sohui.

Until a commotion was heard from outside.

-Kudangtangtang!

A loud noise was heard from the direction where Gwon Cheong was, and Nam Suyeong's scream followed.

(End of Chapter)