The Heavenly Yin Vein (2)
"Brother! Brother!"
Sima-ho came running, shouting at the top of his lungs as if to make the whole marketplace echo.
The commotion was so loud that not only Sima-Jian, who had been cutting meat ordered by a customer, but even Cheol-woo, who had been hanging meat in the slaughterhouse, rushed out to see what was going on.
"What is it? What happened?"
After sending the customer away, Sima-Jian asked with a frown.
"They're here. They've arrived!"
At the incomprehensible words, Sima-Jian sighed and the crease between his brows deepened. Just then Cheol-woo, who had come running a moment later, grabbed Sima-ho by the ear and yanked him up.
"Ah—ow! That hurts! I said it hurts!"
As Sima-ho stood on tiptoe and wailed, Cheol-woo scowled.
"Then stop spouting nonsense and say it properly. What's got you making such a racket?"
"Let go of this first!"
After barely prying Cheol-woo's hand off his ear, Sima-ho rubbed his reddened ear furiously and shouted,
"Seriously! Why are you so violent?"
"It's a sign of affection. You've never seen real violence, have you? Want me to show you?"
Cheol-woo grinned and cracked his fingers. Sima-ho shook his head, his face going pale.
"No, it's fine. You did that last time too, and then you alw—"
Still grumbling, Sima-ho suddenly froze with a blank expression and tapped his own head.
"Look at me, losing my mind. It's because of you, Brother."
After unfairly directing his irritation at Cheol-woo, Sima-ho grabbed the arm of Sima-Jian, who had been looking at the two of them with exasperation.
"On my way to the butcher shop, I ran into someone the physician from Cheongsimwon sent."
At the mention of Cheongsimwon, Sima-Jian's expression changed abruptly.
"They say the physician who went to Hangzhou has arrived. He brought a message telling us to bring the youngest to Cheongsimwon."
Sima-Jian was no longer listening. As he turned toward the back of the butcher shop, Sima-ho asked,
"When should we go?"
Tearing off his bloodstained apron and finishing tidying up in the blink of an eye, Sima-Jian closed the butcher shop door and said,
"Right now."
The moment they heard that the physician from Hangzhou had arrived, Sima-Jian and his siblings rushed to Cheongsimwon. The one who greeted them there was Oh-hwan.
Knowing their circumstances well, Oh-hwan smiled brightly at the group, whose faces were flushed with tension.
"Welcome. The physician is waiting for you."
As Sima-Jian followed Oh-hwan inside, Cheol-woo nudged him in the side.
When Sima-Jian turned his head, Cheol-woo jerked his chin toward the path leading to the left wing of the infirmary and asked,
"Those people, right?"
Sima-Jian looked at the men with surprise, then nodded.
"Yeah."
"I never imagined we'd run into them here."
Unable to contain his curiosity, Sima-ho asked,
"Why? Do you know them?"
"We do. When we were returning from Hangzhou—"
"Stop with the useless chatter and get inside already."
Afraid that Sima-jin might worry over idle talk, Sima-Jian quickly cut Cheol-woo off. Then, gripping the hand of the visibly nervous Sima-jin, he led her inside.
When they opened the infirmary door and entered, Hwang-Zheng of the Sosoma clan, who had been chatting with a guest, greeted them with a bright smile.
"Welcome. I've been waiting."
"We came as soon as we received the message. I hope we didn't rush too much."
"Not at all. The physician from the main house was eager to see the patient as soon as possible."
Hwang-Zheng's gaze naturally turned to the guest before him, Hwang-yeong.
Just as Hwang-Zheng was about to introduce her, Hwang-yeong—who had been startled upon seeing Sima-Jian and Cheol-woo—now smiled and greeted them.
"So we meet again. Isn't that so?"
At her words, Yoo Sa-ha and Gok Ja-yu, who had just entered the infirmary and been momentarily startled upon seeing Cheol-woo, burst into hearty laughter and nodded.
"Indeed."
"Now I understand why those people from the Thousand-Slaughter Hall or whatever charged at us so fiercely. They were after the Clear Azure Stone Oil."
Hwang-Zheng looked puzzled, so Sima-Jian said with a smile,
"When we were procuring Clear Azure Stone Oil in Hangzhou, there were people who targeted us. We received help then. I never imagined they would be members of the Hwalseon Medical Family."
"Ah! So that's what happened. Haha! Fate truly works in mysterious ways."
Hwang-Zheng laughed with delight.
"I've always regretted leaving in such haste without properly expressing my thanks. I'd like to thank you once again for your help back then."
Sima-Jian bowed toward Hwang-yeong.
"No need. Now that I know the circumstances, I understand even better. To obtain something as difficult to come by as Clear Azure Stone Oil for a younger sibling battling illness—of course you were pressed for time. As a physician, how could I not understand that?"
Hwang-yeong smiled faintly. Even that light smile seemed to brighten the entire room.
"Jin-ah, this is the one who will examine your illness. You should greet her."
Sima-Jian gently nudged the hesitant Sima-jin forward.
"I'm Sima-jin. Please take good care of me."
Sima-jin bowed politely.
"Oh my! You're as lovely as a fairy, Lady Sima."
At the compliment, Sima-jin lowered her head, her face flushing red. Unable to hold back her smile, Hwang-yeong gently took Sima-jin's hand and said,
"I'm the one who should say that. An illness can't be cured by the physician alone. The patient and the physician must fight together to overcome it. Do you understand what I mean?"
With her head still bowed, Sima-jin replied in a timid voice,
"Yes."
Satisfied, Hwang-yeong looked around and said,
"Please give us some space."
At the unspoken dismissal, everyone hurried out of the infirmary.
Even though Hwang-yeong had given permission, Hwang-Zheng also left quietly, unwilling to interfere with her pulse diagnosis.
Smiling, Hwang-yeong gently took the wrist of the anxious Sima-jin lying on the bed.
"From now on, I'll examine what kind of illness has taken root in your body. Don't worry—relax as much as you can. Don't be anxious either. Remember, we're fighting the illness together."
Sima-jin closed her eyes tightly and nodded. Hwang-yeong also softly closed her eyes as she began the diagnosis.
Exactly half a shijin later, Hwang-yeong called Sima-Jian and the others, who had been waiting outside in growing anxiety.
"How is it?"
Much more time had passed than expected, and Sima-Jian's expression was grim.
The more time it took, the harder the struggle. A dreadful thought kept surfacing—that even Hwang-yeong might not know the nature of Sima-jin's illness.
"I think I've identified the illness, at least."
Hwang-yeong said with a somewhat darkened expression. Sima-Jian took a deep breath and asked,
"What is it?"
"Lady Sima was born with the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein (Cheonyin Shinmaek)."
"The Heavenly Yin Divine Vein? Not the Nine Yin Severed Vein?"
Considering all of Sima-jin's symptoms, Hwang-Zheng—though not entirely certain—had suspected the Nine Yin Severed Vein. He could not hide his puzzlement at the unfamiliar name.
"It's natural for you to suspect the Nine Yin Severed Vein. The symptoms are indeed very similar."
"So the symptoms resemble it, but in the end it's a different illness."
Hwang-Zheng said with a sigh.
"Yes. It's definitely different. Coincidentally, just before I left the main house, a patient with exactly the same condition as Lady Sama came to us. At first we thought it was the Nine Yin Severed Vein and began treatment, but something felt off. There was a subtle difference. The treatment had no effect. If I hadn't found records of the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein in the main house's archives, I would never have identified her illness."
"What happened to that patient?"
At Sima-Jian's question, Hwang-yeong hesitated, unable to answer.
"It failed, then."
"Yes. It failed."
Unconsciously, Sima-Jian clenched his fist.
"Why?"
Even after identifying the illness, Hwang-Zheng could not understand how the Hwalseon Medical Family had failed to treat the patient.
"You sometimes place too much faith in the main house's abilities. There are many illnesses even the main house cannot cure—far too many."
Hwang-yeong smiled bitterly.
"Though the Nine Yin Severed Vein is rare, it's not an illness the main house cannot cure. And you said the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein is similar in symptoms and in all other respects. Yet you couldn't cure it. That's hard to understand."
"There are three reasons."
"Three?"
Hwang-Zheng swallowed hard.
"First, it was too late. She was twenty-one when she came to the main house. The yin energy had already seeped into her marrow—no medicine worked. Even acupuncture had little effect. All we could do was prolong her life a little."
"Twenty-one…."
A low groan escaped Hwang-Zheng's lips.
Considering that no patient with the Nine Yin Severed Vein had ever lived past eighteen, the fact that someone with the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein—so similar in symptoms—had surpassed twenty was itself nothing short of a miracle.
"Second, although the symptoms are similar, the yin energy flowing through the body of someone born with the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein is even stronger than that of the Nine Yin Severed Vein. In terms of illness, it's far more severe."
"But if she passed twenty, wouldn't that mean the opposite? With the Nine Yin Severed Vein, no one survives past eighteen without treatment."
"Well…."
Trailing off, Hwang-yeong glanced at Sima-Jian and his siblings, then let out a sigh.
"There's a reason for that."
"A reason?"
"She also took Clear Azure Stone Oil. Thanks to that, she was able to cling to life past twenty."
At Hwang-yeong's words, everyone in the infirmary went pale.
The shock was immense: even after taking Clear Azure Stone Oil—the one solution believed capable of curing patients born with the Heavenly Yin Divine Vein, just like Sima-jin—she had still lost her life.
"If the family's acupuncture techniques had been used when the Azure Stone Oil was administered, the situation would clearly have been different. But that didn't happen. That's the third reason."
Hwang-young hurriedly added her words, but she couldn't easily reverse the disappointed mood.
"So, can she be cured or not?"
Cheol-woo asked bluntly. At his rude tone, Yoo Sa-ha and Gok Ja-yu's eyebrows twitched.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Sima-Jian shouted sharply, and Cheol-woo thumped his chest.
"Everyone here is anxious out of their minds, but you keep skirting around the point. What matters right now isn't past failures."
"That's enough. Keep your mouth shut."
Sima-Jian glared at Cheol-u, then turned to Hwang-young and bowed politely.
"I'm sorry. Please allow me to apologize on his behalf."
"It's all right. I understand."
Despite being in a situation where she would have every right to be angry, Hwang-young did not lose her gentle smile. Then she spoke to Cheol-woo.
"To be honest, I can't give you a definite answer. The previous patient missed the right timing, so proper treatment was never even attempted. However, according to past records, our family's acupuncture techniques are said to have a clear effect on the Heavenly Yin Divine Meridian. So—"
"But here's the thing."
Hwang-young's words were once again cut off by Cheol-woo's abrupt interruption.
"What happened to the patient mentioned in those records? Did they survive?"
"..."
Everyone's gaze turned to Hwang-young, but once again she was unable to answer.
"That's what happened earlier."
Sima-Xian's face was stiff as he listened to the explanation after returning from work at the escort agency. In particular, the possibility that Sima-jin's illness might not be completely cured even with the Azure Stone Oil seemed to have shaken him deeply.
"Don't worry too much. Unlike the past patients, our Jin-ah's situation is good. We now know exactly what illness she has, and we have a miraculous medicine and a skilled physician who can treat it. She'll definitely recover."
Sima-Jian gently patted Sama-Xian's shoulder, sensing his worry.
"Then… has the treatment started?"
Sima-Xian asked, struggling to hold back tears that looked ready to spill.
"Yes. But they said Jin-ah has become very weak physically—so weak that it wouldn't be strange if she collapsed at any moment. That's why they plan to continue the treatment at a slightly more relaxed pace."
Sima-Xian's eyes widened.
"No way. She didn't show any sign of that at all."
"She must have endured it for everyone's sake. And we were foolish for not noticing."
Sima-Jian continued, reproaching himself bitterly.
"Anyway, they said they'll attempt the treatment as quickly as possible using the Azure Stone Oil and the Hwalseon Medical Family's secret techniques."
Sima-Xian's complexion darkened again.
"Why?"
"There's an escort mission tomorrow."
"Busy, aren't you? You've only been back a few days, and you're leaving again?"
"Ever since something happened to the Sanghwa Escort Agency recently, it seems like the workload has increased."
"I see…"
Knowing all too well what had happened to the Sanghwa Escort Agency, Sima-Jian let out an awkward smile and nodded.
"Don't worry and just go. When you finish the escort and come home, you'll see Jin-ah healthy again."
"…You think so?"
Sima-Xian asked in a trembling voice.
"Of course. That's exactly what will happen."
Sima-Jian nodded with confidence. Yet the anxiety visible deep in his eyes was no different from Sima-Xian's.