Entomologist In Sichuan Tang Clan Chapter 290

Medical and Herbal Wisdom 5

The relationship between the Herbal Sage and me, which started on a somewhat awkward note, improved at a speed faster than light.

Not only did I possess the venom of a spirit-level centipede, but Bina’s venom turned out to be exactly what he was looking for.

Bina reluctantly handed over her venom.
The Herbal Sage took out a few needles, dripped the venom into his medicine bottle, and exclaimed with joy.

“This is exactly the venom I’ve been searching for! It’s stronger and more abundant than ordinary centipede venom!”

But that wasn’t all.
I had various poisons, which meant there were many new substances that could potentially be developed into medicines.

Moreover, I knew a lot of information that would interest him.
Things like the results he could obtain from researching poisons.

After all, I was well-versed in the outcomes of poison research.

While he was busy isolating the medicinal components from Bina’s venom, we exchanged stories and quickly built a rapport.

“Herbal Sage, for example, have you heard of stroke (中風)?”
“Call me grandpa, will you? Anyway, yes, it’s a condition where someone suddenly collapses and becomes paralyzed. It’s caused by either a burst or blocked blood vessel in the brain.”
“Yes, but when a stroke occurs,
there’s a type of snake venom called hemotoxic venom that can either thin or thicken blood. What if we used the blood-thinning venom to dissolve the clotted blood in the brain?”

Using snake venom to create thrombolytics was a well-researched field in my past life, and such substances were actually developed and used.

When I mentioned this, the Herbal Sage’s face lit up.

“Hoho! I knew snake venom could thin blood, but this is a brilliant idea! I’ve never thought of it that way before…”
“And the blood-thickening venom could also be used in hemostatic medicine, right? It would help blood clot faster.”

Using snake venom to create hemostatic agents was also extensively researched in my past life. When I brought this up, the Herbal Sage’s gaze toward me became even more affectionate than his gaze toward Hwa-eun.

“Gasp! That’s right! The blood-thickening venom could be added to hemostatic medicine to stop bleeding quickly! I must look into snake venom with my disciples when I return!”

Of course, the Medical Sage was equally captivated by my charm.

“Ah, Medical Sage, there’s also a poison that could be useful to you.”
“For me?”
“Yes, didn’t you say you use paralysis-inducing substances to cut open patients’ abdomens and treat their ailments?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Here, Yeondu’s venom is a paralyzing poison. When someone is poisoned by it, they lose consciousness and become unable to move. It could surely help when treating patients, right?”

Yeondu’s venom, as you know, is a powerful paralyzing poison, though inferior to Yohwa’s venom.
It causes loss of consciousness and immobilizes the body, making it the perfect anesthetic for surgery.

When I offered it, the Medical Sage was overjoyed.

“Is that true?”
“Yes, sir. And even repeated exposure doesn’t burden the body.”
“Oh! Paralysis-inducing substances can take a long time to recover from and are difficult to use repeatedly.
Could you share some with me?”
“Of course. It doesn’t deteriorate over time, so you can store it for long-term use.”
“That’s truly amazing!”

We waited for three days while the Herbal Sage isolated the medicinal components.
Now, only a week of treatment remained.

After dinner, the Herbal Sage checked the venom he had been isolating in his jar and nodded.

“I’ve finally filtered out the impurities with oil, so we can proceed with the treatment.”
“Finally! But will you administer it orally?”

Since the Herbal Sage had prepared it, I assumed it would be taken orally, but he shook his head.

“No, for faster recovery, needles would be better. What you mentioned—acupuncture with medicine—would be ideal.
And using needles would also help us observe the medicine’s reaction.”
“Observe the reaction?”
“Yes, to see if the medicine is truly effective. I’ve already removed all the toxicity, so we’ll administer a small amount to the turtle’s lungs with acupuncture and see if it heals.
Even if it’s toxic, a small amount won’t cause significant harm.”
“Then let’s do that. What about the acupuncture needles?”
“Of course, my sworn brother will handle that.”

So, this treatment would combine my ideas, the Herbal Sage’s medicine, and the Medical Sage’s acupuncture—the ultimate treatment in the Central Plains.

‘What a fantastic combination.’

Before starting the treatment, we decided to wait until sunset, just in case.

“Then, to avoid any commotion if Geumdo struggles or coughs, should we wait until night to perform the procedure?
Even if something happens, it’s better to have as few witnesses as possible.”
“Let’s do that.”

We had an early dinner and everyone went to sleep.
We planned to wake up in the middle of the night to begin the treatment.

Hyang-i set the alarm.

“Hyang-i, Dad and the grandpas will sleep, so when it gets dark and the moon is overhead, wake us up, okay?”

-Tsrrr! 『Got it, Dad!』

We sent Hwa-eun and Seol Nui to the inn to sleep comfortably, and just as I was deep in a dream,

-Tsulp. Tsurulp.

I felt something wet on my face.
When I touched it, I felt Hyang-i’s smooth shell.

The alarm had gone off.

“Ah, yes, Dad’s awake.”
-Tsrt!

When I asked her to wake me up, Hyang-i licked my face to do so.
Rubbing my wet cheek, I got up and saw the two figures sitting cross-legged in the dim light of the night pearl.

The Medical Sage and the Herbal Sage were sitting like that, asleep.

‘Even if I become a master, I’ll still sleep lying down.’

Even Mandok Shingun from the estate slept like that, but I thought that half the joy of life was eating and sleeping. If I had to sleep sitting up, I’d refuse to become a master. I approached the two and called out softly.

“Grandpas, the moon is up. It’s time to wake up.”

They weren’t actually asleep, as they opened their eyes immediately at my words.
After glancing out the window, they nodded and said,

“The night is deep. Shall we begin?”
“I’ll prepare the medicine. Sworn brother, stay alert.”
“Understood.”

Though they seemed to bicker a bit, they were serious about the treatment. As the Herbal Sage went to prepare the medicine, the Medical Sage got up and stretched.

It seemed like he was waking up his body before the procedure.

Soon, the Herbal Sage returned with a small vial in hand.

“The medicine is ready.”
“Then I’ll prepare the acupuncture needles.”

When the Herbal Sage opened a medical box he had brought from the inn, colorful needles of various lengths emerged.
Judging by their shine under the night pearl, they seemed to be made of gold, silver, and other materials.

“Given the patient’s size, we’ll need a long needle.”

The Medical Sage took out the longest needle, over thirty centimeters, with the thickest gauge.

Given the patient’s size, it made sense.

“So-ryong, could you open the affected area?”
“Of course. Just a moment.”

I took down the night pearl hanging from the ceiling and disinfected my hands with strong alcohol.
Then, I opened the oiled paper covering the wound, and a pungent smell wafted out.

Looking inside, I saw the inflamed, dark red wound.
It didn’t seem like the infection had spread further.

I pulled my head out and said to the Medical Sage,

“It’s ready, sir. Oh, could someone tell Geumdo that we’re about to treat him and that it might hurt a bit, but he needs to bear with it?”

-Tsrrrt!
-Tsrt!
-Tsit!

The three answered simultaneously, looked at each other, and then raced off like they were competing.

Among the three, who were tumbling by the window, the smallest, Hyang-i, slipped through the bamboo and disappeared into the darkness.

-Bugurur.

The bubbling sound that followed suggested the message had been delivered.
As I tilted my head, the Medical Sage dipped the acupuncture needle into the small vial.

Then, he blocked the hollow part of the needle and inserted it into Geumdo’s wound.

With the night pearl illuminating the wound, the Medical Sage lowered his arm toward the wound.
His hand moved toward the center of the wound.

“As discussed, I’ll place the needles in three spots.”
“Yes, sir.”

The needles would be placed in three locations: the center of the wound, the edge, and between the center and the edge.

We had discussed this earlier. If the treatment’s effect was minimal at the edge, it would be hard to observe changes, so we decided to place needles in three spots to monitor the progress.

The most severe center, the spreading area, and the area where the infection was just beginning.

The Medical Sage’s hand first moved toward the center of the wound.

The lung twitched as the needle pricked it.
But once the needle penetrated about a centimeter, the lung stabilized.

The Medical Sage removed the needle after a moment and waited before pulling it out.

After placing the needles in the remaining two spots, the test treatment was complete.

“Whew… I’m as nervous as I was when treating my first patient.”
“You too, sworn brother? Me too.”

The two were nervous because it was their first time treating a non-human patient.

“You’ve worked hard. Let’s cover the wound and check on it later.”
“Yes. We should be able to see the effects in about two days.”

We decided to check the medicine’s effectiveness after two days. As I applied herbs and reattached the oiled paper, I used the night pearl to check the wound one last time.

A bright red dot appeared in the center of the wound.

‘Huh? Did something fall?’

At first, I thought I was seeing things.
Or maybe something had fallen.

But when I checked the side, I saw another identical dot.
And then, I noticed the wound’s border slowly turning bright red, like ink spreading on paper.

“W-what is this!?”

I shouted in surprise, and voices came from above.

“What’s wrong, So-ryong?”
“What happened?”
“L-look at this!”

When I pulled my head out and shouted, the two approached and looked into the wound.
They exchanged surprised glances after pulling their heads out.

“The effects are showing up this quickly!?”

The bright red color was spreading from the needle insertion points, slowly spreading outward like ink on paper.

“Is it because of the spirit creature’s venom!?”
“I never expected the effects to appear this fast!”
“Not just that, sworn brother. The amount we used was minimal, yet the effect is incredibly strong.
This medicine is extremely effective!”

The venom of a spirit creature like Bina was proving to be extraordinarily potent.

-Tsrt?

As the grandpas and I were making a fuss, Bina approached, tilting her head. I couldn’t help but hug her.

“Gyaaah! Our Bina is the best!”
-Tsrrr. 『Dad, why?』

As Bina tried to wriggle out of my arms, I noticed the treated area in Geumdo’s wound rapidly spreading.

***

By morning, Geumdo’s lungs, which had looked like a smoker’s, had turned into a child’s bright red lungs.

I was curious if the treatment had reached the deeper parts, but the kids relayed that Geumdo’s condition had clearly improved.

However, he still couldn’t move, so it seemed the treatment hadn’t fully reached the deeper parts. We administered the acupuncture needles a bit deeper and added more medicine.

After three days, Geumdo was completely healed.
The reason it took three days was that the treatment itself took two days, and the third day was for him to regain his strength.

-Bugurur.

That night, Geumdo moved his legs and conveyed that he could now move freely.

-Tsrrr. 『He can move now.』
“It seems he’s fully healed.”
“That’s wonderful.”
“Well done, So-ryong. Everyone worked hard.”

When I relayed Choya’s words, everyone was overjoyed.

Our combined treatment was a great success, but there was a slight problem when we tried to leave at night.

“So-ryong, what about that?”

Noona pointed to the riverside near Taean, where a crowd of people were watching the island.

With only three days left until the promised date, rumors had spread, and people had gathered by the river to see how the large island would disappear.

The riverside near Taean was packed with people.
We had planned to quietly move to the other side at night, but this situation made it difficult.

“Maybe they’ll go home at night?”

I hoped they would leave at night, but even in the middle of the night, the crowd remained.
With people watching the island, we couldn’t even step outside the building. Just as I was wondering what to do,

-Bugurur.

At the sound, I looked toward Geumdo’s head, and Choya said to me,

-Tsrrr. 『Geumdo says not to worry! He’ll handle it.』
“Not to worry?”

Just as I was blinking in confusion at his words,

Suddenly, fog began to gather around Geumdo.
Perhaps because his condition had improved, the surroundings quickly became hazy, and soon, visibility dropped to zero.

“Wait, isn’t this the sleep-inducing fog?”

This was definitely the fog that had put me to sleep before.

At first, I covered my mouth and nose, but this was the kind of poison that would knock you out even if you did.
Resigned to my fate, I waited to fall asleep on the bamboo mat, but strangely, I didn’t feel sleepy this time.

It seemed Geumdo could control the concentration of the sleep-inducing poison in the fog.

At that moment,

-Buduk.

The sound of Geumdo’s joints moving after a long time was heard, and as the fog filled the riverside near Taean, we slowly began to move forward.

It was the moment I became the owner of a ship with its own camouflage function.

“Gyaaah!”