Chapter 58
58
"Hehe, what should I trim? Dried Hwoncho root? Or thorny locust thorns? Locust thorns would be better, right?"
What is she even talking about?
Ju-hee, excited, hummed as she opened the door to the Medicine Hall. A strong medicinal herb smell wafted out.
The Chief of Medicine was squatting in the yard, brewing medicine. His face was dripping with exhaustion as he listlessly fanned the fire.
He wasn't this emaciated last time. Is he sick?
"Young Miss. I'm here."
"Welcome. You're here early today?"
"I'm showing the youngest around the Medicine Hall."
As soon as Ju-hee answered, the Chief of Medicine appeared in front of me and grabbed my shoulder.
"Oh, are you interested in joining?"
Whoa, you scared me. When did he get in front of me?
Startled, I flinched, and the Chief of Medicine's eyes sparkled as he asked again.
"Are you interested in joining?"
"Huh? No?"
"I see."
At my denial, the Chief of Medicine's shoulders slumped, and he trudged back to the medicine.
As if he had never sparkled, the Chief of Medicine fanned the fire with dead eyes, looking like an office worker who had lost all vitality after an all-nighter.
Hesitantly, I showed Deokju to the Chief of Medicine.
"Um, Chief. My Bodyguard is injured. The match was a mess, so could I get some medicine made?"
"Speak again after two Gaks."
"Yes."
I shut my mouth and fidgeted, looking at Deokju. The bruise around his eye was much darker than before.
He looks like a panda.
Unlike my anxiety, Deokju was indifferent.
"Deokju. Are you okay?"
"I am fine."
"You don't look fine at all."
"I will be better tomorrow."
It didn't look like an injury that would heal in a day, but I had nothing to say since he said so.
What are Martial Artists? Do they lose their sense of pain when they learn Martial Arts Technique?
I looked away from Deokju and whispered to Ju-hee.
"The Chief of Medicine looks really tired."
"It's because the Medicine Hall is short-handed. The workload is so high that no one applies. It's not like one or two people are carried in after being poisoned. I'm the only one who's joined recently. Everyone else ran away because it's too hard."
"What? You're a doctor?"
I widened my eyes and asked, and Ju-hee chuckled.
"Who in the Tang Clan doesn't know medicine? We're all doctors."
...Well, okay. Physical therapy is still therapy. Let's just say punching is medicine too.
"I don't know anything. Anyway, I thought you'd be researching Poison."
More accurately, I thought she'd be going around poisoning people.
Ju-hee retorted as if I were talking nonsense.
"I can do that by myself. Saving people is much more fun. Killing is easy, but saving is hard, right?"
Uh, yeah. I guess.
That was a very Ju-hee-like reason.
The Chief of Medicine, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.
"That's right. Killing is much easier. The better a doctor is, the better they are at killing people. They can kill without leaving a trace."
Don't say scary things. You sound like you've done it before.
"That's not important. Youngest. Wait here a moment."
Ju-hee brought a mat and spread it on the floor, then brought a large hemp sack and dropped it next to it with a thud. The hemp sack was filled with an armful of thorny locust trees.
"Here, sit down. Let's trim the locust thorns first."
"You want me to trim these?"
"You have to wait to get the medicine anyway, right? You'll be bored, so trim them."
What kind of logic is that? It's like telling someone to peel onions while waiting at a restaurant.
I was dumbfounded, but since Grandfather told me to help with the Medicine Hall's work, I couldn't refuse.
I slowly sat on the mat and glared at the hemp sack, and the Chief of Medicine hurriedly ran over.
"I! I will teach you!"
"No. You don't have to."
"Locust thorns are easy to trim. I'll make the medicine quickly, so just peel one sack."
"One sack? Not one basket?"
Aren't you being too generous?
"If you have time, you can trim two sacks."
One basket is too much, let alone two sacks.
The Chief of Medicine lightly ignored me and began to demonstrate with a dagger.
"Now, look. When you cut it like this, only put the ones with hard thorns and reddish-brown cross-sections in this jar."
"Ah, yes. The thorns."
"That's right. I'll pick out the sharpest knife for you. Let's see..."
Are we really trimming them? I've never done this before.
I was dumbfounded, but seeing the Chief of Medicine excitedly rummaging through his sleeves, I couldn't bring myself to say I didn't want to.
His face, which had looked like he was about to collapse from overwork just a moment ago, had changed to a face of joy, as if seeing a downpour on parched land.
I quickly looked at Ju-hee.
"What about you?"
"I'm not doing it. I'll break a nail."
How can someone who worries about breaking a nail punch people like that? You brought me here to make me work, didn't you?
Meanwhile, the Chief of Medicine, who had chosen a dagger, said brightly.
"That's right. This dagger is the sharpest. Here, use this."
He smiled brightly and handed me the dagger. I reluctantly took the dagger.
* * *
Rustle, rustle.
Snip, snip.
Swish, swish.
The sounds of cutting mixed together to create a diverse harmony. It was a sound that would be comforting if you just listened to it.
That is, if I wasn't the one making the sound.
As I lifted my head, feeling a tingling sensation in my fingertips, I saw Deokju, deeply focused on peeling the medicinal herbs.
Seeing him cutting with a bruise around his eye made me uneasy.
"Deokju. Take it easy."
"I am fine."
Deokju answered indifferently, not even looking at me, and continued cutting.
I was briefly impressed by his skillful appearance, like a craftsman who had been trimming medicinal herbs for decades, but when I lowered my gaze, my mouth dropped open.
The roughly cut roots of the medicinal herbs were scattered everywhere.
"Deokju. Wait a minute. I think something's wrong."
"Should I cut it thicker?"
No. It's not a matter of cutting it thinly or thickly. The medicinal herbs have become trash.
At my words, Ju-hee, who had been lying on the porch playing with a snake, jumped up and ran over. Seeing the ruined medicinal herbs, she rolled her eyes and shouted.
"Hey! What are you doing! You're ruining the medicinal herbs!"
"I trimmed them as you explained."
"Who explained it like that? Are your eyes just for decoration? Get out! Get out here now!"
Deokju, dragged out by Ju-hee's scolding, had a rare, dejected look on his face.
Why are you yelling at my boy?
I, feeling a surge of anger, raised my voice as well.
"He was just helping, why are you getting mad? Then you do it."
"It takes half a month to dry those medicinal herbs again! They're only available in the fall, so they're expensive now!"
"Then why did you make someone who doesn't know anything do it? Just buy new ones!"
"Really?"
Ju-hee, calmed by the words to buy new ones, smiled sweetly.
"Then buy them already trimmed. I don't want to cut the roots."
"...Tell me what to buy."
"Sure. I'll write it down so it's easy to see. Let's see, where's the brush?"
I stared at Ju-hee, who was going to find writing tools, with hazy eyes. I felt like I had been tricked.
Deokju, looking around, hesitantly bowed his head.
"I am sorry. Young Miss. My salary..."
"No. You were just trying to help. I'm sorry. You're suffering because you met the wrong master."
Deokju's face darkened at my weak reply.
"But..."
"It's okay, don't worry. I have a lot of money."
Not me, but Grandfather. I've saved up a lot of allowance.
I comforted the gloomy Deokju and began to organize the trimmed medicinal herbs.
Meanwhile, Ju-hee, who had written down the list of medicinal herbs, squatted down and watched me.
"Youngest. You're good at this. Is it because you were a Maid?"
Is that a compliment or an insult?
I glared at Ju-hee and waved my hand.
"Be quiet if you're not going to help."
"Why bother when you're doing the work of five people by yourself?"
"Geez, you're treating me like an ox."
I grumbled and lifted my head, and saw the hemp sacks lined up in the yard.
"Did I do all of that?"
"Yeah."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Five people's worth."
Pride and self-loathing washed over me at the same time.
I didn't mean to do this much... I worked too hard. It's been a while since I've done mindless labor, so I overdid it.
Ju-hee, who was propping up her chin and looking at me, asked.
"Youngest. How about joining the Medicine Hall?"
"You said earlier that the workload is so high that no one applies."
"You seem to be good at it."
"I'm not."
I said firmly, but Ju-hee didn't care at all. She coaxed me with the face of someone who had caught a slave.
"Don't say that, come to the Medicine Hall. I'll make sure you don't get a drop of blood on your hands. If you become the Chief, I'll make you the Deputy Chief too."
"I'll pass."
Don't talk like you're proposing. I don't want to get blood on my hands, period.
"Why? Unless something happens, I'll be the next Chief of Medicine, you know?"
"That's even worse."
I shuddered and rubbed my goosebumped shoulders.
That means I'd have to clean up the mess you make every day.
The people who ran away, did they run away because of Ju-hee, not because the work was hard?
At my repeated rejections, Ju-hee's eyes narrowed.
"You have to choose one anyway, right? Think about it. No one will bother you here."
"Choose what?"
I tilted my head at the incomprehensible words, and Ju-hee asked back as if I didn't know.
"You choose your affiliated hall after the coming-of-age ceremony, right? Weren't you about to have your coming-of-age ceremony soon?"
"Coming-of-age ceremony?"
I've never heard of that? When is it?
