Chapter 97

Tear.

While taking care of the yelping dog with numerous acupuncture needles stuck in its body, the Medicine King momentarily lost his composure.

'The one who treats severed meridians and incurable diseases... the Medicine King...'

The Medicine King's voice, filled with joy and excitement, penetrated my dazed mind.

"Ah?! You're from the Central Plains! Yes, that's right! Since you're from the Central Plains, it makes sense that you're so polite! Yes, I am the Medicine King Zhang Shu Lun! That's right, I am the Medicine King! Ahem."

The Medicine King announced his nickname and full name as if to verify them.

'Damn, is what my sister said true?'

The words of my sister and the Beast Palace Lord, who said the Medicine King was a fraud, strangely hit home.

If someone called me a hated nickname, I would just nod slightly to show my approval, but I wouldn't embarrassingly tell others to believe me by talking about my nickname myself.

In the martial world, talking about one's own nickname is a very shameful act.

Saying things like 'I'm a golden tier! I'm a silver tier!' is something only low-tier newcomers in the martial world would do, not someone with a grand nickname like the Medicine King.

A nickname like the Medicine King is more like a title for a grandmaster, like one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Low-tier newcomers might create and advertise their own nicknames, but would someone of the 'King' tier really do that?

'Unless he's senile...'

The Medicine King's question reached my flustered mind.

"Ah, I was being too silly... It's been a long time since I've heard such a familiar nickname... Ah, ahem! Anyway, who are you? Ahem."

I gathered my wits and answered the Medicine King's question.

"Ah, I apologize. I am Liu Qingyun from the Zhuge family."

"Zhuge family? But if you're from the Zhuge family, why do you have the Liu surname?"

His question seemed to suspect me, as if he was doubting himself.

It was a question that someone might ask at some point, so I felt a bit embarrassed but answered.

"Ahem... I am a son-in-law of the Zhuge family."

I felt embarrassed because it was shameful to say I was a son-in-law.

In this era, being a son-in-law means you couldn't pay the bride price, so you work off the debt with your body. In other words, it's a certification of being incompetent.

Saying that my job is to work off my debt with my body would be the same as admitting I'm a useless person.

It's like being a loafer and a shutter man in the Song Dynasty, a certified unemployed person.

So, even if others called me a son-in-law, it felt a bit embarrassing, and telling the Medicine King, whom I just met, made me feel even more ashamed.

It's as embarrassing as telling a stranger that I'm a loafer and a shutter man, a certified unemployed person.

The Medicine King's act of talking about his own nickname is just as embarrassing.

While I might not be openly disrespected as a son-in-law of a large family like the Zhuge family, it's a personal matter of self-esteem.

However, the Medicine King answered as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Ah, yes, the Zhuge family has a daughter. Did you just get married? She's grown up so much. I saw her once when she visited the Tang family to meet the old poison master."

"Yes, I just got married to the Zhuge family's daughter..."

"Choke! Choke..."

As we were about to continue the conversation, the sound of a dog choking was heard.

The Medicine King, with a startled look, rushed back to the dog and shouted.

"Another seizure?! I'm very glad to see you, but I have a critical patient right now, so let's talk later. Got it? Don't go anywhere, wait outside. I don't know how you got into the Beast Palace, but since you're a rare visitor from the Central Plains, let's chat a bit."

"Yes? Yes..."

The Medicine King seemed to miss human company.

So far, the Poison King, the Walking King, and the Medicine King all seemed a bit off.

Thinking about it, the title of 'King' is like a certification of being a hardcore fan in a certain field, so they can't be normal.

It's a realm that can't be achieved without going a bit crazy.

Nodding in agreement, the Medicine King immediately started some incredible acupuncture on the dog, which was already foaming at the mouth.

The Medicine King's hands moved like a master, and the needles flew out like throwing stars, embedding themselves in the dog.

Silver needles filled the air.

'What a flashy technique!'

The technique was so impressive that it didn't seem like he was a fraud, but it was still a bit strange to see him treating a dog.

"I've spent the past six months studying your meridians in detail! This time, I will definitely succeed!"

His declaration made my emotions fluctuate, and my doubts rose and fell.

'Damn, did I come to the wrong place?'

But the Medicine King, oblivious to my thoughts, shouted with genuine enthusiasm.

His sincerity was so strong that I quietly closed the door and stepped outside.

As I came out, my wife and Yingying bombarded me with questions.

"Old Master, how did it go? Is he really the Medicine King? Is he... not a fraud?"

"Brother, what did he say? Did he agree to treat Qing? Is he a strange person?"

Scratching my head and blinking, I answered them.

"By the way, does the Medicine King treat animals too?"

"Huh?!"

"Brother, what do you mean by animals?"

"He was treating a dog inside..."

"?"

"?"

Yingying repeated my word 'dog.'

"Dog? Woof woof dog? That one?"

Yingying's finger pointed to Baise, my sister's dog, and Dukgu, who was happily running around.

I nodded silently.

"!"

"!"

***

The dog died less than an hour after I left the shed.

The Medicine King had been treating the dog since yesterday, but there was no improvement.

The Medicine King faced the owner's grief and anger.

The woman, swinging her arms like a pair of water wheels, punched the Medicine King's chest.

The Medicine King, receiving the woman's punches like a machine gun, took them on his chest.

*Punch punch punch punch*

"Fraud! If you couldn't cure it, you should have let it die peacefully! Our Hugu! How could you? Sob sob!"

"Ah! Even if I couldn't cure it, you know I took care of it all night. That's enough. I did my best, old man."

"Hugu! Sob sob..."

The villagers calmed the woman and took the dead dog and the woman away.

The Medicine King's bitter expression.

It was like a scene from a medical drama, except the patient was a dog.

"Ah, another failure!"

As the people took the dog's body and the mourners away, the Medicine King pulled his hair and sat down.

Although it was pitiful to see the Medicine King, who had been up all night and received insults, I thought it was his responsibility to have been scolded by the dog's owner.

The Medicine King was good, but his emotional handling and words were the problem.

'Sorry, I said I would treat it...'

Saying it that way would naturally invite resentment.

Moreover, he lacked the emotional touch when dealing with the mourners.

'He should have at least removed the needles.'

When a doctor declares a patient dead, they should remove all the needles and show a peaceful face to the mourners. At the very least, they should tidy up the patient. Showing a patient who looks like they died on an operating table, whether human or dog, would naturally anger the mourners.

Showing a hedgehog-like dog made the owner so angry.

As someone who had watched many medical dramas in my past life, I found his emotional handling incomprehensible. He should have had a very solemn expression, with tears in his eyes, and said something like, "I'm sorry. I did my best, but..."

If he had said that, the mourners wouldn't have reacted so strongly. So, I would say he was at least half responsible.

I approached the Medicine King, helped him up, and tried to boost his spirits.

"Old Master, you've worked hard. The progress of medicine is built on the lives of many patients. Although you couldn't save one life today, you will save two tomorrow."

The Medicine King, who didn't even remember my name, shouted as if he had never been discouraged.

"Yes! That's right! You're the son-in-law of the Zhuge family, Liu Qingyun, right? You know a thing or two. The people here in the Beast Palace are kind, but they don't know medicine. Ah!"

"No, I'm Liu Qingyun, the son-in-law of the Zhuge family. Medicine King."

"Yes, yes. Liu Zhuge. Meeting people from the Central Plains who understand me is so refreshing! Ahem."

'Yes, just play along and bring him back to his place. Whether you're Liu Zhuge or Zhuge Qingyun, it doesn't matter.'

Since I had to have a difficult conversation, I decided to humor the old man and head to his residence.

"Old Master, you haven't slept or eaten since yesterday. Let's go to your place. You need to rest, don't you?"

"Yes, that's right! I'll make some herbal tea. Let's go!