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Chapter 3 – Shoulder Well Acupoint
The village chief whose back was cured after taking the medicine for back pain!
He was so overjoyed that he started wildly shaking his hips.
Just imagine how bad it was.
“Hehe! How long has it been since I could straighten my back like this?”
It was embarrassing to watch.
“G-Grandpa! I understand you’re excited, but please control yourself!”
“Oh, I’ve made a fool of myself in front of my granddaughter.”
Is it okay if it’s in front of me?
“Anyway, how on earth did you do it?”
Park Haneul approached me, her eyes sparkling.
She couldn’t help but marvel at the effects of the back pain medicine.
Well, it was only natural.
Even I was amazed by its effects.
“Not even my own healing could fix it.”
“Of course it’s a secret.”
“I suppose so?”
Park Haneul seemed genuinely curious.
But she hadn’t realized that I was an Awakened.
Then again, the number of traditional Korean medicine doctors had dwindled to just a handful.
Meaning, you rarely get to see one in person.
Maybe I should feel normal instead.
I don’t deliberately hide the fact that I’m an Awakened.
I just didn’t feel the urge to announce it to everyone.
Did she notice that about me?
“Just like you’d expect from Mr. Heo’s son—you’ve inherited his skill!”
The village chief offered that supportive praise.
“Wow, Mr. Heo Jin’s father was also a Korean medicine doctor?”
“Yes, I was greatly influenced by my father.”
“It makes sense…”
Park Haneul seemed convinced.
I was relieved not to have to explain myself.
“Though my abilities are certainly different from those of ordinary Korean medicine doctors.”
Ordinary herbal formulas only alleviate pain.
I, on the other hand, achieve complete cures.
I completely eliminated the spinal stenosis that had plagued the village chief his entire life.
However, Park Haneul seemed unaware of that.
Then, suddenly…
“I’m sorry!”
She bowed her head to me.
“Why are you suddenly apologizing?”
“To be honest, I used to look down on Korean medicine, just like most people.”
“That’s definitely the prevailing attitude these days.”
“But seeing you today, Mr. Heo Jin, has made me rethink my position.”
True to her word.
Many people fundamentally distrust Korean medicine.
In fact, it’s so common that people have even coined the term “shaman-doctor” for it.
But there are exceptions.
Real practitioners like me exist.
“Traditional Korean medicine is a field that absolutely cannot be ignored.”
“I’m glad you recognize that.”
“Mr. Heo was an outstanding practitioner, too. I wonder if it’s like father, like son?”
My father used to treat people for free.
I remember quite a few people came looking for him because of that.
The village chief must have seen my father in me.
“By the way, is this what it feels like to actually meet the legendary ‘Hua Tuo’?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, Mr. Heo Jin, you might not know him.”
Park Haneul began to explain as she said that.
“Actually, there’s another outstanding herbal doctor like you, Mr. Heo Jin.”
“Is that Hua Tuo?”
“Yes, that’s right. He’s incredibly famous.”
Park Haneul’s words left me dumbfounded.
Me, famous?
“Hua Tuo is an alleyway doctor, but his skills far exceed that level.”
“Isn’t that just an exaggeration?”
“No, Hua Tuo’s skill has already been verified.”
“Verified?”
“You know Kim Yo-han, the S-rank Awakened One?”
“Kim Yo-han… I think I’ve heard the name.”
“Well, Kim Yo-han’s hand was badly frostbitten by a frost dragon. The healers couldn’t treat it, and it was so severe that the doctors at the hospital told him to give up.”
Frostbite is indeed tricky to treat.
It’s an injury where the skin itself dies.
“But they say Hua Tuo was the one who treated it.”
“…“
Park Haneul’s words made me search my memory.
I tried to recall if I had ever performed such a treatment.
Before long, I remembered.
“Ah, that guy who wore the mask?”
Many customers came disguised.
Frequenting back alleys was a fault in itself.
The frostbite patient I treated also came fully covered.
I treated one such patient’s hands.
Through acupuncture over a long period of time, I managed to restore his hand function.
The payment I received for that treatment still makes my heart tremble.
“And it wasn’t just Kim Yo-han. Many other celebrities also owed their lives to Hua Tuo.”
“If he were such an outstanding doctor, wouldn’t he have been scouted somewhere?” Said the village chief.
“There were many attempts, but I heard they all failed because of the powerful figure backing Hua Tuo.”
No way.
There wasn’t anyone behind me, though.
“It got to the point where, if anyone tried to dig up Hua Tuo’s background, they would be sabotaged.”
“I-is that so?”
I had no idea.
Quite a few people did ask about my identity, though.
I always wore a mask to conceal my face.
That’s why my identity was never revealed.
Besides, not long after, those inquiries dropped off sharply.
“I thought people had just lost interest in me.”
It seems that some unseen hand was secretly helping me after all.
“Who could it be?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, nothing.”
Whoever it was, they must have owed me a favor.
I’ve treated many patients.
Finding them among that many would be difficult.
“And they say that Hua Tuo is the spiritual leader of the big shots in the underworld?”
…Isn’t that just a rumor?
“Hehe, maybe. It’s all just rumors anyway.”
“Me, the spiritual leader of gangsters?”
Frankly, I’d rather not be.
Whether they’re big shots or small fry, I don’t want it.
Besides, I doubt those guys would respect me.
“Anyway, it seems you, Mr. Heo Jin, possess skills comparable to the legendary Hua Tuo!”
“Yeah, whatever. An oriental medicine doctor is just an oriental medicine doctor.”
“Hehe, Mr. Heo Jin, you’re very humble.”
Park Haneul still looked at me as if I were something extraordinary.
Then,
Park Haneul’s smartphone rang.
“Ah, this guy called again.”
After checking her phone, she frowned.
Then the village chief asked,
“Who on earth is it?”
“It’s a senior from my workplace. He keeps hitting on me; it’s a real pain.”
“What? That bastard!”
The village chief flew into a rage upon hearing Park Haneul’s words.
How could he possibly tolerate a man hitting on his granddaughter?
Moreover, Park Haneul clearly didn’t like that man either.
She pretended not to see the call and slipped her smartphone into her pocket.
At that moment,
“You’re deliberately not answering? Isn’t that a bit much?”
A familiar voice called out from beyond the open gate.
The instant I turned my head toward the voice,
My mood instantly soured.
And for goddamn good reason.
“What the hell, Heo Jin? Why are you here?”
There, standing before me, was my persistent bad luck: Jin Young-seok.
* * *
Jin Young-seok.
To describe this guy in one phrase, it was like this.
[Rich Kid]
He attended the same high school as me.
He was exceptionally good at studying.
After all, he received expensive tutoring thanks to his family’s wealth.
Yet, there was a wall he couldn’t overcome.
“Me, that is.”
Jin Young-seok seemed bitter about it.
He ignited a rivalry with me for no reason and picked fights.
He even did some pretty nasty things and took advantage of my frail health.
That’s why I disliked him.
“Seo sunbae? What brings you here?”
[T/N: It’s a polite greeting to an older student or coworker.]
“I heard Haneul went to her grandfather’s place. My hometown is around here, too.”
“R-really?”
Park Haneul made it blatantly obvious that she was annoyed.
But Jin Young-seok just laughed, seemingly unconcerned.
Then, he turned his head toward me.
“By the way, Heo Jin, Long time no see?”
“Yeah, you can say that again.”
“How have you been? What have you been up to these days? You’re not still running around acting like some pathetic Korean medicine doctor, are you?”
Jin Young-seok had always dismissed my dream.
He’d say that Korean medicine doctors were no different from shamans.
Or that studying hard would only get you to become one.
He said every nasty thing imaginable.
“Sunbae! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”
“Haneul, step aside for a moment. We both know each other.”
Jin Young-seok approached me.
“Looking at you, I see that you finally became a Korean medicine doctor.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well, of course! A guy like you is perfect for being a doctor!”
His personality hadn’t changed a bit.
He stirred my insides like water flowing.
“Still, it’s a relief. At least the guy who couldn’t even awaken himself studied hard. But did becoming a doctor make it all a waste?”
Jin Yeong-seok skillfully rubbed salt in my wounds.
Honestly, I wasn’t angry at all.
Rather, I was surprised that he hadn’t changed at all since high school.
“And me? I just got promoted to an A-class healer.”
“So you want to brag about it?”
“Brag? I’m just letting you know things are different now.”
Jin Young-seok kept provoking me.
But I wasn’t angry.
Does a tiger get angry just because a dog barks?
Rather…
“Apologize!”
Park Haneul exploded first.
“Huh, Haneul?”
“Why do you keep talking to Mr. Heo Jin so harshly?”
“No, I’m not like that. I just…”
“Besides, Mr. Heo Jin is a certified Korean medicine doctor, right?”
Jin Young-seok was flustered by Haneul’s words.
Could it be that he actually had feelings for Park Haneul? That’s probably why he belittled me in front of her.
To show off how great he was?
But it backfired.
“And Mr. Heo Jin even healed my grandfather’s back!”
“Th-that guy?”
“I’m telling you! So apologize now!”
“That’s right, you jerk! How dare you speak to our Jin like that!”
Park Haneul and the village chief were furious.
Flustered and floundering before them, Jin Yeong-seok looked comical.
But that moment was fleeting.
I approached Jin Yeong-seok.
“You never had any intention of apologizing in the first place.”
Then, I placed my hand on his shoulder.
At that instant,
“Gah!”
Jin screamed and dropped to his knees.
“Wh-what the hell did you do?”
“Shoulder well acupoint. The power of traditional medicine, which you disregard.”
This acupoint is usually used to relieve shoulder stiffness.
However, when applied correctly, it can also cause damage like this.
Jin Yeong-seok felt such intense pain that tears welled up in his eyes.
I looked down at him and said,
“So let’s call it even with this.”
“You bastard… I’ll take you on later!”
Jin Yeong-seok responded with a threat.
An A-ranked healer had more than enough power to torment me.
But I wasn’t afraid.
After all, I was a back-alley doctor who had treated countless thugs.
I turned away and said coldly,
“Go ahead.”
With those words, I left the village chief’s house.
* * *
Upon returning home, I sighed and looked up at the sky.
“It feels like some of the stress is melting away.”
The pressure point I pressed earlier.
It won’t just be temporary pain.
I made sure it would last at least a week.
“It’s going to be pretty annoying.”
That kind of pain can’t be cured with a healing spell.
So, for at least a week, Jin Young-seok will experience shoulder pain.
“It might seem a bit childish, but…”
Since the target was Jin Young-seok, I have no regrets.
He dared to treat traditional medicine like nonsense.
So, I showed him the true power of traditional medicine.
Very lightly.
“Still, it’s become a nuisance…”
Given Jin Young-seok’s personality, he wouldn’t just take this lying down.
He wouldn’t just accept this.
He’ll definitely pick a fight with me.
He’ll try to harm me somehow.
Of course, I’m not afraid.
[Field – You have entered Yakseon’s Herb Garden.]
For now, the herb garden is more important.
I still don’t know anything about it.
The only thing I know for sure is that it contains every medicinal herb in the world?
“Huh?”
The moment I entered the garden, I sensed something strange.
I definitely picked a few herbs earlier while making the back pain medicine.
In the process, I turned over some soil.
But now?
“Did someone clean it up or something?”
The herb garden had changed; it looked very neat.
It looked as if someone had tended it.
And that wasn’t all.
Rustle!
A rustling sound came from somewhere.
I sensed it immediately upon hearing the sound.
“Someone is here.”
I went inside and grabbed a hoe.
With the hoe in hand, I slowly approached the direction of the sound.
At that moment!
Thwack!
Some kind of creature revealed itself.
“Ugh!”
Startled, I reacted quickly.
I swung the hoe as the creature bolted out.
The hoe swiftly advanced toward the creature.
At that moment—
“P-please spare me!”
I heard that voice reach my ears.
I stopped the hoe simultaneously.
No wonder—an unbelievable sight unfolded before my eyes.
“A-a puppy?”
There stood a puppy with yellowish-brown fur, standing on two legs.
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