It was then.
“Family Head has entered!”
A booming announcement rang across the courtyard in front of the main residence.
The whispers that had continued until then stopped as if they had never existed.
The examinees straightened their backs in unison, while the observing physicians and physician trainees also corrected their postures.
A moment later, Yeon Baekyu slowly emerged from inside the main residence.
Dressed in formal black robes with his white hair neatly swept back, he headed toward the main hall with unwavering steps.
The moment he appeared, the atmosphere filling the courtyard naturally settled.
Yeon Baekgang appeared right behind him. His usual carefree smile was nowhere to be seen.
Dressed neatly in blue robes, he followed behind Yeon Baekyu with the solemn bearing befitting the Young Family Head.
Following him came Heo Unbaek, Dam Uhyeon, Nam Jino, and Ju Yeonseok.
The four Elders, known as the four pillars of Yakryeong’s medical arts, stepped onto the main hall one after another.
With the renowned physicians representing the family gathered in one place, the tension in the courtyard grew even heavier.
“We pay our respects to the Family Head!”
With the resounding greeting, everyone bowed at once.
Yeon Baekyu gave a brief nod before taking the central seat of honor, while Yeon Baekgang and the four Elders took their respective places.
I quietly shifted my gaze and looked toward the observation seats beyond the examinees.
Yeon Hwi-cheon was standing there.
His back was straight.
His clothes were immaculate.
His posture was flawless.
Anyone looking at him would have thought him the most promising prospect in Yakryeong.
For a moment, our eyes met in midair.
Taking advantage of the moment when none of the adults were looking, Yeon Hwi-cheon glared at me with icy eyes.
‘That two-faced bastard.’
I casually turned my head away.
Then I quietly exhaled and steadied my breathing.
My heart was beating a little faster from the tension, but strangely enough, my mind was crystal clear.
Becoming an official physician trainee of Yakryeong.
The moment I had wished for countless times had finally arrived before me.
A short while later, Yeon Baekyu slowly rose from his seat.
Every gaze filling the courtyard turned toward him.
After looking over the examinees one by one, he announced in a low, weighty voice.
“From this moment, the Ninety-Seventh Ip-gwan Examination of Yakryeong begins.”
As his words rang across the courtyard in front of the main residence and faded away, Heo Unbaek, who was overseeing the examination, slowly rose from his seat.
His snow-white beard, reaching down to his waist, swayed softly with his movements.
He neatly folded both hands inside his sleeves and swept his gaze over the examinees once.
A moment later, Heo Unbaek lightly raised one hand.
At that small gesture, the attendants waiting on either side all began to move at once.
The examination papers prepared according to the number of examinees were distributed one by one, and a stick of incense for measuring the time was placed in front of each preparation table.
As the incense was lit, thin smoke rose into the cool dawn air.
Heo Unbaek spoke.
“This Ip-gwan Examination will be conducted by examining actual patients and completing prescriptions suited to their conditions. After conducting the necessary questioning and pulse diagnosis, you will prepare medicine using the prescribed medicinal herbs. However, you must receive verification from an Elder before the incense has completely burned down.”
His voice was not particularly forceful, yet there was not the slightest wavering in it.
“Medicine that fails an Elder’s verification may not be administered to the patient. Furthermore, no matter how correct your diagnosis and prescription may be, anyone who treats a patient carelessly or makes light of their suffering will not pass.”
Heo Unbaek paused for a moment and looked over the examinees.
“The person placed before you is not a question for the examination.”
A breeze passed through, gently stirring the thin smoke rising from the tip of the incense.
“They are a person who has come here seeking relief from their suffering. If you wish to become a physician trainee, do not forget that fact above all else.”
The atmosphere in the courtyard sank heavily.
Heo Unbaek slowly nodded.
“Distribute the examination papers.”
The attendants bowed in unison before dispersing among the examinees.
Thick sheets of paper were handed out one by one.
I, too, accepted the examination paper from the attendant who approached me, holding it with both hands.
[Acute abdominal pain. Time and cause of onset unknown.]
I slowly read the sentence on the paper twice.
‘Acute abdominal pain.’
That alone was not enough to determine the cause.
It could simply be indigestion. The stomach could have been damaged by cold qi, or perhaps the patient had eaten spoiled food. The possibility of poisoning could not be ruled out either.
Around me, the sound of papers being turned continued.
Each examinee was staring at the few lines describing the symptoms on their paper, narrowing down the possible conditions.
Some opened the medical texts they had brought, while others opened their medicinal herb boxes and began considering which herbs they would need.
I carefully folded the examination paper and tucked it into my clothes.
‘There’s no need to make a judgment based only on the paper.’
The illness was not on the paper.
‘The answer is in the patient.’
I immediately rose from my seat.
Then I approached the nearest attendant and asked,
“Where is the patient assigned to me?”
Perhaps the question had caught him off guard, because the attendant’s eyes widened.
“Pardon? You’re going to see the patient already?”
“Yes. I want to see them myself.”
I glanced back once at the examinees who were still studying their examination papers.
“The illness isn’t on the paper. It’s in the person.”
The attendant hesitated for a moment before pointing toward the right side of the courtyard.
“The patient assigned to Little Lady is in the third tent. I’ll guide you there.”
“Thank you.”
Without any further hesitation, I followed behind the attendant.
When we reached the third tent, the attendant guiding me stopped.
“The patient is inside.”
“Yes.”
I paused for a moment and caught my breath.
There was still a faint trace of tension in my fingertips, but my mind had become even calmer.
The attendant carefully lifted the cloth covering the entrance to the tent.
The moment I stepped inside, the commotion from the courtyard in front of the main residence suddenly seemed to grow distant beyond the tent.
Instead, I could clearly hear the breathing of a patient struggling to endure his pain.
“Ha…… ugh.”
I stopped in my tracks.
A low table for examinations, a bowl of water, and clean cloths had been placed to one side of the tent.
On the bed inside, a man who looked to be in his mid-forties was barely sitting upright, unable even to properly lie down.
He clutched his lower abdomen tightly with one hand, while gripping the edge of the bed with all his strength with the other.
Blue veins stood out prominently on the back of his hand, and thick beads of cold sweat trickled down his deathly pale face.
Whenever another wave of pain struck, the man hunched his shoulders and swallowed a low groan.
His condition was far worse than I had imagined from the brief description of “acute abdominal pain” written on the examination paper.
‘Something’s strange…….’
I quietly observed the man.
His abdominal pain was severe, and his complexion was poor as well.
No matter how I looked at it, he was not the sort of patient who should have been assigned to people who were only about to become physician trainees.
‘Of course, I heard that if you were unlucky, you could end up with a difficult patient…….’
Suddenly, I remembered the voices whispering about me just before the Ip-gwan Examination.
‘Could this really be a coincidence?’
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