Episode 13: Jueul Village
The child’s breathing had steadied, and his wife, who had been unconscious, had finally come to. For now, that was enough.
“My name is Wuirip. You’ve been a tremendous help to us.”
Wuirip, the head of his family, gently stroked his child’s cheek as he introduced himself. The stern expression he had worn earlier had vanished, revealing a more natural demeanor.
“The symptoms have only eased; the illness isn’t cured.”
“I understand. But it would be ungrateful to act stiffly in front of our benefactor, wouldn’t it?”
“Benefactor? That’s a bit much.”
“Regardless of what you think, you are our savior. We had run out of money, and if you hadn’t come, we might have lost our child.”
Something in Wuirip’s story struck an odd chord.
“What does running out of money have to do with it? Money doesn’t make illness go away.”
“True, but money can at least fend off illness for a while.”
The idea of using money to fend off illness might have puzzled others, but Dang Mujin understood immediately.
“Do doctors charge a lot for treatment?”
Wuirip shook his head.
“The treatment isn’t expensive. The doctor isn’t greedy. Since the outbreak, he’s been treating people for free, only charging a small fee for acupuncture or moxibustion.”
“Then why did you run out of money?”
Wuirip’s expression darkened.
“It’s the cost of the medicine. The herbs aren’t from around here, so we have to buy them from a supplier, and they’re not cheap. The doctor even sold all his possessions to buy them.”
“What kind of herbs are they?”
“I don’t know exactly. But in Jueul Village alone, nearly two hundred people need them. Even if the herbs weren’t particularly expensive, it would be hard to keep up.”
“Hmm.”
“At first, the doctor provided the medicine at a low cost, but now he charges for it. He needs to gather money to buy more when the supplier returns.”
Wuirip sighed deeply.
“Recently, the doctor has started treating those who can afford the medicine first. There’s only one doctor and many patients, so families try to secure his services by offering him money.”
“I see.”
“I understand the doctor’s position. But watching my wife and son suffer while our money ran out was unbearable.”
The epidemic had brought misfortune to everyone in the village. Many had died, and the villagers’ and the doctor’s resources had been drained into the pockets of the herbal supplier.
“Still, it seems the doctor in Jueul Village knows what this illness is and is using the right medicine.”
Dang Mujin decided he needed to find the village doctor to learn more about the illness.
“Do you know where the doctor is staying?”
“He used to stay on the outskirts of the village, but now I hear he spends most of his time in the mountains. He rarely comes down unless it’s to treat someone.”
“The mountains?”
“Yes. He’s searching for any herbs he can use. He’s a good man.”
“Does anyone know where he is?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“I see. Thank you.”
Dang Mujin and his companions left Wuirip’s house. He scratched his head, realizing that without meeting the village doctor, the best they could do was tend to the villagers’ symptoms.
Gwaeui shared the same thought.
“Mujin, let’s split up and tend to the villagers. You noblemen, could you guide us?”
“Of course. Jusana, accompany Doctor Dang.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dang Mujin and Hong Geolgae, Gwaeui and Ma Jeonga. The four of them split into pairs to care for the patients.
Indeed, the people of Jueul Village were suffering from the same illness. Without knowing the exact disease, all they could do was use their skills to provide acupuncture.
Acupuncture wouldn’t cure the illness, but it could alleviate pain and delay death. Even this small relief was enough for the villagers to express their gratitude openly.
“Thank you, doctor. You’ve eased my mind. I thought I’d lose my husband today.”
“It’s not a full recovery. I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
Dang Mujin and Gwaeui did their best to manage the illness, but for those in critical condition, there was little they could do. A thin needle couldn’t save someone already at death’s door.
It was late by the time they had seen all the patients in the village.
The two guides led the doctors to a relatively large house.
“You can rest here. It’s the largest of the empty houses, and there’s still some furniture left.”
“Thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank us. You’re our village’s benefactors.”
As soon as they entered the empty house, the villagers flocked to them, each bringing a bundle of gifts.
One man brought a load of firewood and charcoal, while a woman brought food.
However, Dang Mujin and Gwaeui accepted only a small portion of what was offered, returning most of it. They knew better than anyone the villagers’ dire circumstances after spending the day among them.
The empty house had a kang, a raised platform used for heating. Though it was late spring and heating wasn’t essential, they lit the charcoal to warm the kang and ease their fatigue. Lying on the warm platform, they felt their bodies relax.
Dang Mujin spoke in a languid voice.
“You don’t know what this epidemic is either, do you?”
Gwaeui nodded.
“I know a few diseases with similar symptoms, but none fit perfectly. It might be something I’ve never encountered.”
Just then, a faint wailing could be heard from outside. It seemed someone with severe symptoms had passed away, or perhaps it was mourning for someone who had died recently.
The sound of mourning was disheartening. It affected Dang Mujin, and surely Gwaeui as well.
To distract from the somber mood, Dang Mujin feigned ignorance of the wailing and asked playfully.
“Is there anything you don’t know? You’ve always had an answer for everything, so I thought you knew everything there was to know.”
Gwaeui shrugged.
“Things I don’t know? Plenty. For every bit of knowledge I gain, there are five more things I don’t know. That’s the way of the world.”
“But your nickname is Gwaeui. I thought you knew every disease in the world.”
Dang Mujin’s comment made Gwaeui chuckle softly. It wasn’t a laugh of amusement, but rather one tinged with a hint of regret.
“That’s nonsense. If I knew every disease, I wouldn’t be wandering the world.”
“Is there a disease you want to cure? What is it?”
“No, it’s not about curing a specific disease. There was one, but I know how to treat it now. It’s just too late.”
”…Too late?”
Gwaeui poured himself a bowl of rice wine and drank it in one go. It was the first time Dang Mujin had seen him drink.
Gwaeui wiped his mouth with his sleeve and poured another bowl, pushing it towards Dang Mujin.
Alcohol wasn’t unfamiliar to him. He had shared drinks with the herbalist Jonggak a few times. Without hesitation, Dang Mujin drank the rice wine.
The warmth of the alcohol sent a tingling sensation through his stomach.
Gwaeui took his time before answering Dang Mujin’s question.
“My wife and daughter died from an illness.”
“Oh…”
It was an unexpectedly heavy revelation.
Caught off guard, Dang Mujin couldn’t respond, but Gwaeui continued as if he didn’t need any acknowledgment.
“One day, my wife and daughter developed a high fever and red spots all over their bodies. We went to a doctor, but he didn’t know how to treat it. We sent for a renowned doctor from a neighboring village, but he didn’t know either. While we searched for another doctor, my wife and daughter died. It all happened within four days of falling ill.”
Suddenly, the rumors of Gwaeui having killed dozens of doctors came to mind. Until now, he had dismissed them as mere gossip, but now he wondered if there was some truth to them.
And perhaps this story was connected to why Gwaeui had been rumored to kill doctors.
Dang Mujin hastily tried to change the subject.
“Uh… I shouldn’t have asked. My condolences. Maybe we should get some rest.”
Gwaeui waved his hand dismissively, chuckling.
“No, it’s not as grim as you think. The rest of the story is quite interesting.”
Gwaeui poured himself another bowl of rice wine and drank it in one go.
“I wandered aimlessly for a while before impulsively leaving my hometown. After about ten days, I arrived at a small village over the mountains. It took so long because I took a roundabout way, but it was a village I could have reached in a day if I had walked directly.”
”…”
“There was a doctor in that village too. I remember him vividly. He was a shabby-looking man with a mouse-like mustache. He didn’t seem particularly skilled. But on a whim, I described the symptoms my wife and daughter had shown before they died. Do you know what he said?”
Dang Mujin slowly shook his head.
”…I don’t know.”
“They told me not to worry, that as long as I took the medicine on time, everything would be fine. Then, without warning, they handed me two packets of medicine. Said it would cost five coins. At the time, I had not just coins, but dozens of silver pieces in my pocket.”
The eccentric doctor laughed like a madman.
“My wife and daughter didn’t die because we lacked money. They didn’t die because there was no doctor to cure them. It wasn’t because we didn’t have the right herbs. They died simply because the doctor in my hometown didn’t know what this one knew. Isn’t that the funniest story you’ve ever heard?”
”…”
“And that’s why I became a doctor. To gather all the medical knowledge that every doctor in the world knows in one place.”
When Tang Mujin couldn’t find the words to respond, the eccentric doctor chuckled softly and patted him on the back.
“No need to be so serious. It happened almost thirty years ago. It’s been so long that I can’t even remember my wife’s and daughter’s faces anymore.”
Of course, Tang Mujin knew that couldn’t be true.
If he had truly forgotten, the doctor wouldn’t have worn such a sorrowful expression.