The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

“I’m so sorry for intruding on your day off! I came without warning because I was afraid you’d refuse if I asked in advance!”

“Ah, I see…”

So that’s why she came without contacting me.

She’s not too young to know that prior notice is courteous, and as a member of the newspaper club, she must have conducted many interviews before.

“It’s alright. These things happen. It worked out well, actually. If you had come on a workday, I would have been even busier.”

“Thank you so much for saying that. I really, really wanted to meet you.”

I asked the desk to bring two cups of tea, avoiding Lee Ah-reum’s intense gaze.

“Please sit comfortably and let’s talk. Have some tea.”

“Yes! Thank you!”

Why does she keep thanking me when I haven’t done anything?

Lee Ah-reum’s eyes sparkled as she took out her notebook.

She seemed to be bursting with things she wanted to say, but I addressed my curiosity first.

“By the way, what exactly did Professor Lee Min-seok say about me?”

What on earth did he say to make a student come all the way to Busan, risking rudeness?

“I heard so many things! He said you were extraordinary even as a student! He told me about how you helped treat a patient with tinnitus, and how you diagnosed a patient with indigestion on an airplane? He mentioned you even wrote an article about treating chest pain… Oh, and recently about the incident with actress Hyun Ju-mi! Professor Lee Min-seok also said that a director he introduced opened a third branch and it’s doing extremely well!”

Lee Ah-reum poured out information as if she had been waiting for this moment.

Her mouth wouldn’t stop, as if sharing this information was her true purpose rather than conducting an interview.

“I… I see.”

There were a few things in there that Professor Lee Min-seok shouldn’t have known about.

Did he hear about the airplane incident from another professor? Did he deliberately search for our Korean medicine clinic’s name regarding the surgeon mother’s chest pain?

“He says you’re destined for great things, and other professors never fail to praise you too!”

“Ahem!”

I almost choked on my tea.

What great things? I’m only thinking about fulfilling my selfish desires!

“So, what did you want to ask me when you met me?”

I quickly wrapped up the talk about the professors and changed the subject.

This is too embarrassing. It’s better to get on with the interview quickly.

“Oh, um.”

Only then did Lee Ah-reum turn the pages of her notebook.

Is this… not an official newspaper club interview?

I’m not sure since I don’t have close friends in the newspaper club, but I think most fourth-year students preparing for the national exam are excluded from club activities.

…Did she make up the club name just to see me?

“How did you study when you were a student? I know you’ve only been graduated for two years, but how did you develop skills that surpass experience?”

But it seems she did have questions beyond just wanting to see me, as the questions came quickly.

She must have done other interviews before.

‘Hmm, hitting the nail on the head with the first question.’

How did I surpass experience in just two years?

I didn’t. In reality, it’s skill accumulated over 22 years of numerous successes and failures.

“I don’t think I’ve surpassed it. I acknowledge my lack of experience and do my best in areas where I can. There’s no royal road to learning, after all.”

“Ah! I see! What kind of prescriptions do you mainly use? Ancient formulas? Modern formulas? Constitutional formulas?”

After I gave a model answer, Lee Ah-reum now asked about specific prescription methods.

The term “ancient formula” literally means old prescriptions, but it actually refers to prescriptions from the Treatise on Cold Damage and the Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, which form the basis of Korean medicine prescriptions.

Prescriptions developed over the subsequent 1,800 years of history are collectively called “modern formulas.”

“Constitutional formulas” refer to prescriptions from the medical text Donguisusebowon by the Joseon-era medical scholar Lee Je-ma.

“Personally, I don’t like dividing them like that. If I had to choose, it would be closest to modern formulas, but I use all of them when necessary. For study order, I’d recommend ancient formulas, then modern formulas, and finally constitutional formulas.”

The basic approach is modern formulas.

No! Isn’t it strange to collectively call the prescriptions recorded in medical texts over 1800 years of history since the Treatise on Cold Damage, or the general method of adding or subtracting herbs according to symptoms, as “modern formulas”?

Sometimes there are Korean medicine doctors who stubbornly stick to ancient formulas, but following a book from around 220 CE, at the end of the Han Dynasty, exactly as it is… I think that’s a bit off.

It must have been recorded in a book because it was remarkable enough to be preserved for later generations, but just as the oldest martial arts secret manual isn’t necessarily the strongest.

But there are certainly things to take from it.

For example, the Gardenia-Schizonepeta Decoction I used to treat Moon Young-hee, Park Young-gil’s mother, is a prescription from the Treatise on Cold Damage, and using such a minimal number of herbs in the style of ancient formulas can sometimes produce superior effects to modern formulas.

As for constitutional formulas… honestly, I don’t use them much either.

The theory of Sasang constitutional medicine, which divides people’s constitutions into Taeyang, Taeeum, Soyang, and Soeum types, is actually quite recent.

Donguisusebowon was published in 1894 during the Joseon era.

The concept of Sasang constitutions doesn’t exist in the martial arts world.

However, I’ve felt numerous times that there are constitutions where general prescriptions don’t work at all, as the Sasang medical theory suggests, and in those cases, using Taeyang prescriptions often works.

“Ooh, I see.”

Lee Ah-reum nodded as if deeply impressed after hearing my opinion on prescription methods.

There’s nothing special about it, and it’s probably the thinking of most Korean medicine doctors who mainly use modern formulas.

“What about your acupuncture methods?”

“They’re ordinary. For musculoskeletal disorders, I basically insert needles into the target muscles and ligaments based on anatomy, and for internal diseases, I place them directly on the corresponding meridians and painful areas.”

“I see. As you said, it’s not much different from general treatment methods! But what’s the secret to your success?”

Hmm.

This was quite a difficult question.

Being able to read energy gives me the advantage of faster recovery when doing acupuncture treatments.

But patients who would recover with just regular acupuncture will get better even without speeding up the process.

It’s hard to say that the reason for referrals is ‘treatment speed.’ It’s very common for people to bring friends right after their first consultation, even before they’ve fully recovered.

“Well, maybe it’s the sincerity of my desire to heal that resonates? I study as much as I can in my spare time, and I try my best to explain the treatment to each patient. Of course, I also persistently focus on the treatment itself.”

“Ooh! That’s so cool!”

“Ah, and you need to be physically fit. Other doctors probably have the same intention, but once the number of patients exceeds a certain point, the mental and physical drain reaches its limit.”

I suddenly thought of the disciples I had in the medical pavilion.

Although I haven’t met many other Korean medicine doctors in modern times, back then, when my disciples saw about 50 or 60 patients a day… their eyes would turn into fish eyes.

The number of patients you can attentively see in a day is determined by your physical limits.

For reference, when I made those guys focus solely on external martial arts training for a hundred days without seeing patients, the light returned to their eyes.

“Yes! I’ll work hard on physical training too!”

“Exercise, exercise. I even make all my employees do personal training. I nag the directors of the second and third branches to train when they’re bored too.”

“Woooow…”

Still, it’s a bit embarrassing to see her write ‘physical fitness’ in her notebook with five stars next to it.

“What was your motivation for establishing the second and third branches? What do you hope to achieve through network management?”

…Money?

Working at a leisurely pace while auto-hunting?

Seeing only interesting patients?

Well, I think I had goals like that, but the latter two failed.

As I got involved in… no, as I jumped into the incident at the second branch, the number of patients only increased.

“Um, perhaps continuing academic exchanges to fill in the gaps while focusing on the essence of treatment? I thought I could complement the needs of people with similar aspirations who want to work together.”

“Oh! Then, what are your expansion plans after the fourth branch?”

“If the right connections are made, I’m open to anything.”

Was I too honest?

Can’t help it. I’ve never had any grand management philosophy.

I thought she might be disappointed by this, but…

“Wow! People who focus on the essence of treatment… that’s so cool! If excellent people like you build a network for better treatment, so many patients will be able to receive the best care anywhere!”

This kid threw out exclamations of admiration at everything I said.

Perhaps imagining all of South Korea covered with Seongsu Korean Medicine Clinics, a dreamy light settled in Lee Ah-reum’s eyes.

Does the position make the person? Being looked at with such admiring eyes makes me feel compelled to say cool things too.

“How can I form a connection with you and take charge of the fourth branch?”

Pfft!

This time, I really almost spat out my tea.

So that’s where your ambition lies.

“We’ve already made a connection by meeting and talking like this, wouldn’t you say?”

“Kyaaaa!”

Lee Ah-reum was overjoyed.

I didn’t dislike her either.

It’s nice to meet people through introductions like Kim Chun-sik, but I didn’t have such connections myself and had to seek out necessary people on my own.

If you need connections, shouldn’t you have the guts to make them yourself?

“I’ll definitely come back after graduation! If there’s a position available then, please make me a Deputy Director! If not, I’ll gain experience as a Deputy Director elsewhere and come back to open the fourth… maybe even the fifth or sixth branch!”

“Alright. If your mind hasn’t changed after graduation, by all means.”

Lee Ah-reum asked many more questions after that.

She covered everyday topics for the newspaper, like how I became a Korean medicine doctor and what studies I recommend for students, as well as personal stories about how I became friends with Hyun Ju-mi.

“If you’re free tomorrow, come observe the consultations!”

In a good mood, I even offered her the chance to observe consultations the next day.

Lee Ah-reum cancelled her train ticket on the spot and booked a motel for the night.

“Thank you so much!”

But isn’t it the middle of the semester right now? It’s Monday tomorrow, is it okay to miss classes?

She was quite a reckless friend, just like me.

What was she planning to do if I hadn’t met her, coming all the way to Busan without an appointment?

Well, maybe she calculated that I’d meet her out of appreciation for her earnestness, coming so abruptly like this.

“Come to think of it, it’s already May.”

I was startled when Lee Ah-reum said it had been two years since she graduated.

It hasn’t quite been two years since I opened my clinic, but it’s been quite a while since I formed connections in Busan.

“May means… Teachers’ Day.”

Parents? Don’t have any. Children’s Day? No kids either.

The only thing I could celebrate would be Teachers’ Day. Is that why my master appeared in my dream?

Unfortunately, it was impossible to go to the martial arts world to see my master.

Just coming back was incredibly difficult, you know?

I used the Great Soul Return Technique, pouring all the internal energy of a peak master on a day when yin energy was thick due to a lunar eclipse, but how could I gather that much internal energy in this land?

Unless I find about thirty Millennium Pine Poria or meet that old man who threw me into the martial arts world again, it’s impossible!

[Seo-young, want to visit the school?]

I should at least try to meet some of my other teachers.

The professors are all my teachers too, after all.

Thinking about the school, I had a great idea.

I’ll ask Professor Lee Min-seok what on earth he’s been telling the students.

I should meet Hwang Seo-young’s advisor too.

That professor of herbal medicine and prescriptions might be able to introduce me to the person I’m looking for.