Chapter 45: The First Disciple
“Why is… my arm going up?”
The man stared in disbelief at the arm he had just lifted above his shoulder.
“Father!”
His son—the “seal pup” youth—was just as astonished.
Overwhelmed by the miracle before him, the young man dashed to his father.
Shwing.
Slowly, the man drew his sword with his right hand.
Since his shoulder had gone bad, he hadn’t been able to draw like before. The higher his arm rose while unsheathing, the more pain he felt.
He had to grit his teeth just to complete the motion.
Even after drawing it, he couldn’t hold the sword long due to the pain.
But now—
‘The pain and resistance I used to feel are gone.’
It wasn’t exactly as it had been in his prime, but his body felt so light it was as if he could fly.
He thought he’d never wield a sword again.
The man tightened his grip and swung it hard.
Swish—
His sword sliced cleanly through the air, trailing a sharp gleam.
“Father…”
Tears welled up in the seal pup youth’s eyes.
He had always respected his father—not only as a parent but also as a warrior.
That’s why he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
But misfortune came without warning. He had lost his mother to illness, and his father had been forced to give up the sword.
‘I wanted to put a sword back in Father’s hand.’
Though he’d said it was because of his mother’s death, his decision to become a physician was also for his father.
He wanted to heal his father’s arm with his own hands.
But Yonggung’s medical system was rotten, and he was too incompetent.
He had given up—until he met Cheong.
As Cheong watched the man with pride, she spoke up.
“Even if you’re feeling better, please don’t rush into sword training or anything that’ll strain your shoulder. We had to cut your muscles, so overdoing it will only cause problems.”
Follow-up care was just as important as the treatment itself.
In traditional medicine, education was essential.
“No illness is cured in a single session—post-treatment care is vital.”
If not managed properly, the condition could easily return.
“Understood,” the man nodded and returned his sword to its sheath.
His disappointed expression prompted Cheong to add gently:
“Still, light exercises are fine. Easing into movement will actually help your recovery.”
“I’ll do that,” the man replied, looking visibly relieved.
Cheong gave him more post-treatment advice, including the future treatment schedule.
The seal pup youth stared at her with shining eyes.
“You’re amazing…”
Even in the gloomy weather, it felt like she was glowing.
“Ahem, nothing to be amazed about,” said Gahwa, stepping out from behind a wall with a smug air.
“Lady Physician Shim is so skilled, even His Majesty acknowledges her as a divine healer.”
“So it’s true,” the man nodded in agreement.
Encouraged, Gahwa raised her chin and continued confidently.
“There’s no illness Lady Physician Shim can’t treat with a single needle. She could even bring the dead back to life!”
“N-no, it’s not that exaggerated…”
Cheong tried to calm her down, but Gahwa shot her a fierce glare.
Startled by the deadly look, Cheong instinctively fell silent.
Gahwa picked up again, her spirits rising:
“Learning medicine from her is a heaven-sent opportunity. There’s no one like her in this world!”
Nod, nod.
Both the middle-aged man and his son nodded fervently, entranced.
‘Why is everyone buying this?’
Cheong glanced between the nodding father and son, and Gahwa proudly standing with hands on hips.
‘This is getting out of hand… I guess I have no choice but to actually become a divine physician!’
Just then—
“Father, does this mean… you’ll let me study medicine under Master?”
The seal pup youth asked firmly.
Cheong and Gahwa held their breath and turned to the father.
Even though he had said he would allow it if Cheong healed his arm, people often changed their minds.
After a moment of silence—
“Yes. Go ahead.”
Finally, the man sighed and nodded.
“Thank you, Father!”
The son’s face lit up.
“Master! I’m in your care now!”
He bowed low to Cheong.
“I will serve you with all my heart and soul!”
And just like that, Cheong had gained another loyal follower—no, disciple.
* * *
Cheong parted ways with the middle-aged man and returned to the clinic with her new disciple—no longer just a seal pup, but now named Gangchi.
“This is my clinic.”
“Wow!”
As Cheong opened the door, Gangchi let out a gasp.
The lavishly decorated interior looked more like a royal chamber than a medical clinic.
“It’s… kind of flashy, right?”
Cheong scratched her head sheepishly.
With barely any patients coming, the fancy clinic felt unnecessarily extravagant.
‘Better not tell him His Majesty had it built for me…’
Especially after Gahwa had already called her a divine healer—she didn’t want to make it worse.
Oblivious to Cheong’s inner turmoil, Gangchi stared around the clinic, eyes wide.
“This place is amazing!”
His pure admiration made Cheong chuckle softly.
“Of course it is. His Majesty himself gifted it to Lady Physician Shim.”
Gahwa had appeared at some point and declared it proudly.
“Wait, that’s not what I—”
Cheong tried to stop her, but Gangchi cut in excitedly.
“Really? His Majesty gave you this place?!”
“Indeed. Only to our Lady Physician Shim.”
Gahwa raised her chin even higher.
“That’s how much His Majesty treasures her. You’ve chosen your teacher well.”
“Then that means Lady Physician Shim is the true power behind the Royal Clinic.”
“U-um! Didn’t you say you wanted to learn traditional medicine?”
Before Gahwa could say anything else ridiculous, Cheong quickly changed the topic.
“Yes! I want to learn acupuncture from you, Master!”
Gangchi’s eyes lit up at the mention of traditional medicine.
His eager expression was to Cheong’s liking.
“Alright, then let’s start with the basics.”
“Um… can I learn about acupuncture first?”
He looked slightly disappointed, and Cheong gave a knowing smile.
“Of course. But first—”
She pulled out a brush and paper.
“There’s something you absolutely must memorize.”
She drew a human figure on the paper.
“In our body, energy called qi flows along paths, and at key points along these paths are acupoints. Acupuncture is about inserting needles into those points.”
Gangchi took notes diligently, not even pausing to breathe.
“These paths are called meridians. For example, the Ren Meridian (任脈) runs along the front of the body, and the Du Meridian (督脈) runs along the back.”
Cheong drew a vertical line down the figure.
“Then we have meridians that pass through the stomach, gallbladder, and bladder—like the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming (足陽明胃經), Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang (足少陽膽經), and Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang (足太陽膀胱經).”
Gangchi stared at the drawing, determined to memorize everything.
“There are twelve regular meridians in total, plus the Ren and Du Meridians. Together, they make up the Fourteen Meridians.”
“So I need to memorize the fourteen meridians?”
“Before that—”
Cheong smiled at his enthusiasm.
“You’ll need to memorize all 365 acupoints. With precise locations.”
