“It can happen. Especially if you’re given a very small amount over a long period of time, it’s not difficult to mistake it for an illness.”
Father continued as he gazed at the Jeoksacho inside the bottle.
“However, because it is difficult to cultivate and only grows in certain regions, it is rarely used in practice.”
A poison easily mistaken for an illness.
A poison administered in very small amounts over a long period of time.
I could hardly take my eyes off the Jeoksacho inside the transparent bottle.
“Ryeonghwa?”
I snapped out of my thoughts at Father’s call.
“What is it? You don’t look well.”
“It’s nothing. There were just so many medicinal herbs that I was a little surprised.”
Father examined my face suspiciously, but he did not press me further.
Adjusting me more comfortably in his arms, Father spoke in a casual tone.
“Don’t worry. If there’s anything you don’t know, you can ask your father.”
“Father, do you know everything about all the medicinal herbs here?”
When I asked with my eyes wide, Father’s gaze became slightly unfocused.
“…….”
“Father?”
“Ryeonghwa. A good physician is someone who, even when there is a medicinal herb he doesn’t know, constantly thinks about it and seeks to learn more…….”
“……You don’t know, do you?”
“Oh my. You’ve already become far too quick to catch on.”
I let out a small laugh without meaning to, and Father contentedly patted my head.
“Yes. That face is much better. Now, let’s go. This time, somewhere without snakes.”
“Th-This time?”
“Hahaha!”
When I recoiled in horror, Father burst into hearty laughter.
Then, after a moment, he spoke with a rather serious expression.
“Now, let’s choose what you need to make the medicinal pill. Do you see anything similar to what you used before?”
“Hmm, well, that medicinal herb over there first!”
After that, I began finding the herbs that resembled the ones in my memories one by one.
Even if I didn’t know their names, I remembered their appearance and scent clearly.
Father gathered the herbs I selected separately and examined their condition.
Then his hand suddenly stopped.
“That’s strange.”
“What is?”
Father spread the medicinal herbs out on the table.
The yellowish Hwangjeonggeun.
The Cheongmaekcho, whose stem was split white on the inside.
The Maekhyeolja, which contained unusually small, black seeds.
“They’re all varieties that grow in the northern regions.”
“All of them?”
“Yes. Not exactly the same place, but they grow in regions that are relatively close to one another even within the north.”
I silently looked down at the medicinal herbs.
‘Perhaps the reason I was able to survive until I was seventeen in my first life was also…….’
In my first life, Father had continually sent me medicinal herbs obtained from the north.
Most of them had been taken by Yeon Dopyeong, but some had definitely reached me as well.
Even though I had never fully recovered because I didn’t know the exact combination, could it be that those herbs had slowed the progression of my illness?
“Could the medicinal herbs from the north suit my body well?”
“That’s possible. Or perhaps the properties shared by several of these herbs were effective against your disrupted qi and blood.”
Father’s gaze grew serious.
“I’ll send someone to the north to investigate the regions where these medicinal herbs grow first. We should also examine what they have in common.”
Father continued as he examined the herbs one by one.
“And I’ll have them bring back all the records and medicinal herbs I left there as well.”
“Yes. Please make sure to find out.”
“All right. I will.”
I looked at the medicinal herbs again.
The reason the herbs Father had sent me were the only ones that had shown any effect on my illness.
Perhaps the answer to that question lay in the north.
After selecting the medicinal herbs we needed from the central medicinal herb repository, we headed to the Je-yak Hall, the largest medicine-making facility in Yakryeongga.
Inside the Je-yak Hall, large and small medicinal pots and mortars were lined up in rows.
Apothecaries and physicians-in-training bustled about amid the hot steam and thick scent of medicinal herbs.
“This place hasn’t changed at all, even though I haven’t been here in a while.”
“Do they make medicine here?”
“Yes. Everything from preparing and grinding the medicinal herbs to decocting them and finally making medicinal pills is done here.”
Father took me to a small preparation room at the very back.
Inside the room were a polished table, mortars of various sizes, medicinal knives, and sieves, all neatly arranged.
Father pulled a tall chair close enough for me to reach the table and sat me on it.
Then he opened the box of medicinal herbs.
I picked up a thin yellow root.
“This is Hwangjeonggeun, right?”
“That’s right.”
“What is it used for?”
“It is used for people who have lost their energy and whose bodies have become thin. Taken over a long period, it strengthens the internal organs, but taking too much at once can actually upset the stomach.”
“Hwangjeonggeun…….”
I rolled the name around in my mouth before breaking into a little smile.
“Why are you smiling?”
“I called this Yellow Tail. The end splits like this, so it looks like a tail.”
Father examined the root seriously before nodding.
“Hmm. It certainly does look like a tail.”
“Right?”
As I giggled, Father smiled.
“Then how about we remember its proper name as Hwangjeonggeun, but call it Yellow Tail between the two of us?”
I nodded vigorously.
This time, I picked up a dark-red fruit.
“This was Maekhyeolja, right?”
“That’s right. It is a medicinal herb that helps blood flow and opens blocked qi and blood.”
“Oh! I called it Bean-Bean Fruit.”
“Bean-Bean Fruit?”
“Yes. When you eat it, your heart goes thump, thump! and beats faster.”
Father’s expression instantly hardened.
“Don’t tell me…… you actually ate it?”
“Just a tiny bit.”
“How much?”
“One…… seed?”
Father pressed a hand to his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
“Ryeonghwa. Maekhyeolja is absolutely not something a child should chew and eat as it is. Especially in your condition, with your qi and blood so weak, it can put a strain on the heart medians.”
“But I felt a little better afterward…….”
“You little rascal. From now on, don’t carelessly eat medicinal herbs when you don’t even know what they are. Understood?”
“Yeees…….”
I pouted, but strangely enough, I didn’t dislike being scolded by Father.
In my previous lives, there had been no one to worry about what I ate or how sick I became.
No one listened to me when I explained what I had discovered about their effects, nor anyone to correct me when I used them incorrectly.
I smiled softly and said nothing more as I carefully put down the Maekhyeolja.
After arranging the medicinal herbs by type, Father asked,
“Tell me everything you know about how you made the medicine.”
I pointed at the medicinal herbs one by one with my finger.
“You have to remove the leaves from the Cheongmaekcho and only use the stems. And for the Yellow Tail, you peel off the outer skin and cut it into very small pieces. You decoct those two first, and when the water has reduced by about half, you add the Bean-Bean…… I mean, Maekhyeolja.”
Father looked at me quietly.
“You know quite a lot. Who taught you?”
“I just…… learned by making it over and over.”
Father’s gaze grew heavy for a moment, but he did not question me further.
“Then try making it yourself. But I’ll be watching beside you.”
“Yes!”
I began by removing the leaves from the Cheongmaekcho.
However, the thick stem was difficult for my young hands to split.
After it slipped from my hands several times, Father held out his hand.
“Tsk. Give it here.”
“I can do it.”
Father stared at me.
“What you can do and what you need to push yourself to do are two different things.”
‘He’s saying that again.’
Father split the thick stem of the Cheongmaekcho in one swift motion and placed it in front of me.
“You pick out the thin stems.”
“Ah…… yes.”
In my previous life, even when my hands became raw and bled, I had to prepare the medicinal herbs by myself.
But things are different now.
Father took care of the things that required strength instead. Somehow, it made me feel strangely at ease.
Next, I peeled the outer skin off the Hwangjeonggeun and cut it into small pieces.
I put the chopped Hwangjeonggeun into the mortar and gripped the small pestle with both hands.
Thump, thump.
I had put too much strength into it, and a piece of the medicinal herb flew out of the mortar.
“Ah!”
Father picked it up first and put it back into the mortar.
“Don’t rush.”
He placed his large hand over mine.
“Don’t strike it using only your strength. Press down on the medicinal herb, then give it a slight twist at the end.”
Following Father’s movements, I pressed down firmly on the medicinal herb with the pestle and then gave it a slight twist.
The hard root quickly crumbled.
“Like this?”
“That’s right. Try again.”
This time, I made a much finer powder.
“Oh-ho, you’re good at this. Just as expected of my daughter.”
My heart tickled at the brief praise.
What I had learned through trial and error on my own was completely different from properly learning from someone.
It felt as though the scattered pieces of knowledge in my head were finally falling into their proper places one by one.
I put the prepared Cheongmaekcho and Hwangjeonggeun into the medicinal pot first.
When the water had reduced by half, I added the Maekhyeolja, and the color of the decoction turned red.
“Hmm, now we need to lower the heat.”
Father lowered the flames of the brazier according to my instructions.
“Like this?”
“A little lower.”
Father adjusted the heat without a word.
‘Even though Father is a much more accomplished physician than me, he doesn’t ignore what I say.’
Seeing him follow the order I taught him without question warmed something deep inside my heart.
After straining the sufficiently decocted medicine through a sieve and mixing it with honey and the medicinal herb powder, a thick paste was completed.
“Now we just have to shape them into little rounds!”
I placed some of the paste on my palm and carefully rolled it.
But one side caved inward while the other stuck out into a point.
It looked more like a squashed pebble than a medicinal pill.
“Huh…… that’s strange.”
“No one is good at something from the very beginning.”
Father took a small amount of the medicinal paste and rolled it between his palms.
After only a few rolls, a smooth, perfectly round medicinal pill was formed.
“Wow. It’s so pretty!”
“You try again. Don’t press too hard. Slowly roll it in the center of your palm.”
I followed his instructions and rolled the paste again.
This time, it was a little lumpy, but I managed to make a fairly round medicinal pill.
“I did it!”
“That’s right. This one actually looks like a proper pill.”
A row of medicinal pills of various sizes and shapes lay across the table.
Among them, the one Father had made as a demonstration was exceptionally neat and smooth.
I picked up the smallest one.
Father immediately grabbed my wrist.
“Wait.”
Father took the pill, smelled it, then scraped off a little from its surface and touched it to the tip of his tongue.
Even after that, he carefully examined its color and texture before finally placing it back in my palm.
“……Good. This should be safe for you to take.”
I looked down at the medicinal pill resting in my palm.
‘……If this medicine works properly.’
Then I would be able to qualify to take the entrance examination this time.
I took a short breath and brought the medicinal pill to my lips.
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