TN: Please read my translations only on my website nyx-translation.com since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi, and join our Patreon to read up to 12 chapters ahead for this novel!
Sponsored chapter by Patreon. Enjoy~
TL: ALT
Chapter 20 – Spiritual Eyes
I always wondered about that.
What people looked like to my father.
And how he could see their acupoints.
“So this is what it felt like.”
I looked at Nak-yong.
His body looked strange.
Should I mention that I could see the nerves throughout his entire body?
I could even see people’s acupoints.
And that wasn’t all.
“This flow in the herb field…”
I could see multiple flows even in empty space.
Some were wind.
Some were sunlight.
Others were an unknown energy.
All that information flooded my mind at once.
“Gah!”
I coughed up blood again.
“Hey, you! Are you alright?”
“I’m… fine.”
“It’s because I tried to open your spiritual eyes while your vital energy was all tangled up! I was too hasty!”
Nak-yong said apologetically.
But I shook my head.
“The spiritual eye opening… It succeeded.”
“What?”
“I could see your nerves and acupoints, Mr. Nak-yong. I could also feel the flow of nature.”
“Huh? I can’t believe it!”
Nak-yong’s eyes widened.
He stared at me, his jaw dropping.
“You succeeded in opening your spiritual eyes on the first try?”
“Is that unusual?”
“Of course it is. Opening the spiritual eyes normally takes several weeks, progressing slowly over time.”
Nak-yong’s gaze gradually changed.
I could sense interest in that gaze.
It was as if he found me amusing.
“You might be far more exceptional than you realize.”
“You flatter me.”
“It’s no flattery. Those who succeed in opening their spiritual eyes on the first try can be counted on one hand.”
“How long did it take you, Mr. Nak-yong?”
“Even I, who was called a prodigy, took a week.”
Hearing Nak-yong’s words, I had a realization.
He, the prodigy, took a week, yet I succeeded on my first try?
That was definitely no ordinary feat.
But I didn’t achieve this alone.
“I’ve received help from the herb field again.”
It seemed the herb field truly possessed a will of its own.
It’s funny to say a place has a will.
However, given how it kept observing me and offering help, it was understandable to suspect as much.
“Anyway, congratulations on successfully opening your spiritual eyes.”
“Thank you. But I have one question.”
“Do tell.”
“After opening my spiritual eyes, I got a really bad headache.”
“Ah, that’s only natural…”
Nak-yong nodded at my words.
“Opening one’s spiritual eyes is fundamentally the act of seeing what cannot be seen.”
“Is that so?”
“You crammed more information into your head than you could handle at once. So, naturally, you’d get a headache, wouldn’t you?”
He was right.
When I looked around, an enormous amount of information flooded my mind.
Was my brain overloaded?
It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.
“Then how should I resolve this?”
“You can’t resolve it.”
“Huh?”
“Opening the spiritual eye is a technique that even its user can only employ temporarily. So you must also learn to control its use.”
In short, use it only when necessary.
That seemed to be the gist of it.
“No technique comes without risk, after all.”
But it was fine.
What about when I need to see the acupoints immediately?
Only when inserting the needles.
Even if I learn the secret technique, I can just activate it briefly.
“Anyway, given your condition, we should stop here for today.”
After watching the blood I had vomited, Nak-yong rose from his seat.
I followed his lead and stood up, too.
Then, with genuine gratitude, I said,
“Thanks to you, I’ve achieved a long-cherished goal. Thank you.”
“No need to make such a fuss. Well, then. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you the basics of the secret technique.”
With those words, he entered the room I had assigned to him.
I looked up at the sky, smiling with a refreshed expression.
“Finally, I can stand in the same place as Father.”
Then, a sudden question arose.
“By the way, how did Father see the acupoints?”
* * *
After returning to my hometown, I developed a routine.
I took walks around the village.
Whenever I did, the village elders would greet me.
“Come over here, Jin, and have some persimmons before you go.”
“How delicious the vegetables Jin gives us are!”
“Having another doctor in the village is such a comfort. You wouldn’t believe it.”
“Let’s have a cup of makgeolli together later!”
[T/N: Makgeolli, sometimes anglicized as makkoli, is a Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, lightly sparkling rice wine with a slight viscosity that tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Chalky sediment gives it a cloudy appearance.]Everyone was kind and treated me with affection.
That must all be thanks to my father.
After all, he had been taking care of the village elders since he was young. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say the entire village owes him a debt of gratitude.
“Young Master Jin seems to be quite well-liked.”
“It’s all thanks to my father, really.”
“Is that so? From what I see, they seem to like you more.”
Nureongi walked on all fours in front of people.
He said that walking on all fours felt awkward to him.
Still, he enjoyed these walks with me.
I enjoyed it, too.
“By the way, are others able to see you? Is there really a need to walk on all fours?”
“It seems I become visible when I step outside the Yakseon’s herb garden. Of course, they can’t hear me speak.”
“Really?”
“What’s more, I once walked around in front of my partner, and he just thought I was a strange dog!”
“Oh, I see?”
So, even if he met Father outside, he would have just seen Nureongi as a normal dog.
It made perfect sense.
“How is Mr. Nak-yong’s progress?”
“It’s still hard to say.”
“Is that so?”
“His condition is extremely severe. Still, with enough time, he can definitely be cured.”
He’s lived his entire life this way.
In order to heal him instantly, I would need to use the recipes from the Yakseon’s notebook.
But I haven’t unlocked those recipes yet. So, for now, all I can do is invest time.
“Still, thanks to Mr. Nak-yong, the young master seems to be growing more capable.”
“That’s true. I can see the acupoints now, at least.”
“I suppose you can learn something from patients like this going forward.”
“That seems like a huge advantage. There are things I want to learn right away.
Compared to my father, I still have a long way to go.
Acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, massage—even preparing medicine.
I’ve only just caught up on one acupoint, but that too is ultimately a matter of time.
“If I keep steadily treating patients from now on, I’ll grow more, too.”
“That’s right! I’ll be right here to help you out!”
“Hehe, thanks.”
Besides, it’s not just patients who come through the dimensional gate!”
I was startled by Nureongi’s sudden revelation.
“Not just patients?”
“Indeed! Occasionally, non-patients come, too!”
“What sort of people usually come?”
“Dimension peddlers or wanderers for various reasons!”
“Oh.”
Dimensional peddler?
Honestly, just hearing the name piqued my interest.
“What kind of creature is a dimensional peddler?”
“A creature that travels selling precious artifacts.”
“Really? What’s the currency?”
“Dimensional points, of course.”
“Where can I use dimensional points right now?”
“Only at the dimensional gate shop.”
Even there, there wasn’t much I could buy.
The selection wasn’t great, either.
That shop was basically…
“A means to collect Yakseon’s artifacts.”
But what about the dimensional peddler?
“I might even find unexpected artifacts.”
“Exactly! That’s the charm of the Dimensional Peddler!”
“Then I should diligently save up points, right?”
“You’ll save them up in no time, young master!”
Nureongi and I continued walking, talking about the future.
Then,
“Hey there, isn’t that Jin?”
A voice called out from behind us.
I knew the owner of that voice well.
“Grandma Yeongja!”
“Oh my, Jin! It’s been so long!”
I immediately hugged her.
She had always cherished me, especially when I was little.
Even though I wasn’t her own grandchild.
Whenever I was sick, she would bring me fruit and other things.
“Grandma, have you been well?”
“Hoho, I just got discharged from the hospital.”
“What happened?”
“Old folks always get sick, after all.”
Hearing this made me a little worried.
I immediately put the skill I’d learned to use.
[Skill: Spiritual Eyes activated.]Suddenly, Grandma Yeongja’s physical condition became crystal clear.
I noticed something strange:
“There’s dark energy all over her body.”
It seemed to be the source of her chronic illness and pain.
Given her advanced age, the dark energy was spread across multiple areas.
However, she didn’t seem seriously unwell.
“Now that you’re this age, you really must take care of yourself.”
“With our Jin here, what’s there to worry about?”
“True enough. If you ever feel unwell, come straight to our house. Should I come to you?”
“Hoho, how kind of you.”
Grandma Yeongja and I had a long conversation like that.
We talked about how we’d each been doing.
We talked about whether we were doing well.
In the middle of it, Grandma Yeongja suddenly spoke up.
“Ah, right. Come to think of it, wasn’t there something Mr. Heo left behind?”
“Father’s?”
“Before that happened, he stopped by our house. Should I get it for you?”
“Of course. I should go get it.”
Father’s things must be retrieved, of course.
So I followed Grandma Yeongja.
It had been a long time since I’d been to her house, so my heart was pounding a little.
Creak!
Grandma Yeongja called out as she opened the gate.
“Grandma’s here, you little sweetie!”
I stepped inside Grandma Yeongja’s house.
Then…
“Grandma!”
A cute little boy greeted us.
* * *
Upon hearing the story, the boy turned out to be Grandma Yeongja’s grandson.
He was an elementary school student named Yang Seo-jun.
He looked bright and sharp, which was cute.
“What do you think? Isn’t my grandson handsome?”
“You’re right. He could be an actor.”
He really was incredibly cute.
Plus, his name felt right on trend.
These days, they name kids Ha-jun and Seo-jun.
To me, being named Heo Jin, it seemed like a pretty cool name.
“They asked me to watch him for a bit, so I’m helping out since I was discharged.”
“You must be so happy to see your adorable grandson.”
Grandma Yeongja gazed at Seojun as if he were utterly adorable.
Then Seo-jun came running toward us, waddling along.
As he approached, Grandma Yeongja began introducing him.
“This is Uncle Heo Jin, a very smart uncle, right?”
“Hello, Mister!”
“Not ‘mister,’ call me ‘uncle’…”
“A doggie!”
Seojun was thrilled to see Nureongi.
It was typical for a child his age to not be able to focus on one thing at a time.
Then, Seojun looked at me and asked,
“Uncle! Can I play with the dog?”
“With Nureongi?”
I asked, checking Nureongi’s reaction.
Nureongi’s eyes lit up as if he wanted to play too.
I pretended to hesitate a bit, then nodded.
“Only if you promise to play in the yard.”
“Yay!”
“Didn’t my sweetie say you were sick earlier?”
“I’m fine now!”
Seojun declared firmly, eager to play with Nureongi.
Unable to resist, Grandma Yeongja gave her permission.
“But play carefully.”
“Okay!”
Seojun began playing with Nureongi.
Grandma Yeongja and I watched him and smiled warmly.
“Is Seojun sick?”
“Nothing serious. He suddenly got a fever and started coughing.”
“Hmm…”
“More importantly, about that thing I mentioned earlier, I’ll bring it out now.”
Grandma Yeongja stood up from her seat.
She immediately went into the room.
In the meantime, I stared blankly at Seojun.
“He doesn’t seem sick at all.”
Could a kid that lively really be sick?
Was it just a case of feeling under the weather?
Just in case, I decided to activate my spiritual eyes.
[Skill: Activate Spiritual Eyes.]Then, my vision changed again.
Seojun’s physical condition became clearly visible.
There wasn’t a single spot; his appearance was clean without any dark aura.
It was the kind of physical condition you’d expect to see on an elementary school child.
“Thankfully, he’s fine.”
Just as I was thinking that,
A peculiarity entered my field of vision.
It was…
“What’s that on his heart?”
A faint, dark aura was visible on his heart.
If you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read up to 12 chapters ahead for this novel!
Thanks for the chapters! When the grandma is talking about someone, is she really saying “sweatie”? Like someone who sweats after exercising? Or is she saying “sweetie”/”sweety” like someone she is affectionate with?
LikeLike
Fixed, thank you!
LikeLike