Chapter 371: Souvenirs
The next morning, Dang Mujin spoke to Hong Geolge.
“Why not take a few more days to rest and shake off the travel fatigue?”
But Hong Geolge shook his head.
“It’s better to keep moving. I’m not naturally diligent, so if I settle down, I might never get going again.”
He hurriedly packed his things as if something was chasing him. Of course, there wasn’t much for him to pack—just a few odds and ends and enough food for a day or so.
Recalling the pouch he found yesterday, Dang Mujin offered, “Would you like some travel money? I have something prepared. It should be enough to get you comfortably to Kaifeng.”
Hong Geolge seemed tempted but then closed his eyes tightly. “No, thanks. Jincheong should experience the life of a Beggar Sect member on the way to Kaifeng.”
“Is that so.”
Wang Jincheong had chosen the life of the Beggar Sect. It was a curious decision when you thought about it.
He didn’t have to walk the path of a martial artist. He could have stayed at the Tang family estate, learning medicine or metallurgy, or even just helping out with various tasks for a comfortable life.
Even if he wanted to be a martial artist, there was no need to join the Beggar Sect. He could have followed Hyun Gong to become a Taoist of Wudang Mountain or joined the Qingcheng Sect. There were plenty of people at the Tang estate who could teach him martial arts.
Yet, from a young age, Wang Jincheong decided to follow Hong Geolge and become a Beggar Sect member. People thought he might change his mind as he grew older, but he never did.
At first, it seemed strange, but upon reflection, it might have been a wise choice. By aligning himself with Hong Geolge early on, he skipped the intermediate steps and became a deputy leader.
To become the second-in-command of the Beggar Sect before turning twenty was a gamble that paid off spectacularly.
“He’s got a knack for picking the right line,” Dang Mujin thought as he looked at Wang Jincheong.
When they first met, Wang Jincheong was just a boy of twelve or thirteen. Now, he had grown into a young man, even taller than Hong Geolge by half a head. It must have been the good food over the past few years.
Though Hong Geolge wasn’t particularly tall, the sight was somehow significant.
Hong Geolge took a deep breath and grinned playfully at Dang Mujin. “We’re off.”
“Alright. See you later.”
That was the extent of their farewell. Hong Geolge waved to Dang Mujin as he and Wang Jincheong left through the main gate of the Tang estate.
Dang Mujin felt a greater sense of emptiness than when Namgung Myung and Hyun Gong had left. Unlike those dear friends, Hong Geolge was almost like a brother to him.
Feeling a bit melancholic, Dang Mujin wandered around the estate.
He saw Mr. Wang, who had returned with them yesterday, following Dan Seolyeong around, learning the ropes. Dan Seolyeong was explaining things to Mr. Wang and smiled brightly when she caught Dang Mujin’s eye.
When Dang Mujin introduced Mr. Wang to her yesterday, she had been visibly delighted. It was a reaction she hadn’t shown even when he brought back valuable gifts from his travels.
A talent like Mr. Wang was hard to find, no matter how much money you offered. Finally, Dan Seolyeong had someone to share the workload she had shouldered alone for years.
As Dang Mujin continued to look around, he ran into Mok Wana, who approached him with a question.
“The Blood Parasite! How was it?”
Feeling a bit suffocated, Dang Mujin tried to sound as natural as possible. “It was overwhelming. As soon as I opened the box containing the Blood Parasite, it felt like the stench of death filled the air. Even I was terrified.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
It wasn’t a lie. The Blood Parasite had all frozen to death, unable to withstand the northern weather.
Thanks to Dang Mujin’s ambiguous wording, Mok Wana interpreted the story in his own way.
Before Mok Wana could ask more about the Blood Parasite, Dang Mujin quickly changed the subject.
“What was even more impressive was the poison of the Human-Faced Spider. It was thanks to that poison that I gained insight and saved my life.”
“You saved your life?”
“Yes. By combining the Human-Faced Spider’s poison with another, I managed to defeat a top martial artist in one go. Not just me, but Hyun Gong, who was there, survived because of it. If Hyun Gong were here, he’d probably bow to you in gratitude.”
Hearing his efforts acknowledged through someone else’s words was always gratifying. Mok Wana smiled contentedly.
After returning to the Tang estate, Dang Mujin settled into a regular routine.
First, he would rise at dawn to practice the Great Circulation under the cool morning breeze.
During the day, he would consult with the physicians who visited the estate, discussing the patients they brought. After dinner, he would begin his martial arts training in earnest.
Occasionally, when Sam Anbul and Hwa Yeonshin appeared, the sparring sessions would continue late into the night.
It might not seem like much at a glance, but it was a demanding schedule.
Dang Mujin wasn’t in a position to just complete his assigned tasks and ignore the rest. He had to manage the affairs of the Tang estate as its head, and also find time to play with the children.
In fact, he sometimes thought it was easier traveling around the central plains with his friends.
As he busied himself, months passed, and the season of budding flowers returned to the courtyard trees.
With the warming weather, the atmosphere at the Tang estate became noticeably lively. The physicians began preparing to leave.
The number of physicians who gathered at the Tang estate to learn medicine peaked in the fall. They would travel during the cool autumn, study through the winter, and return home when the weather warmed.
While handling some minor tasks in his office, Dang Mujin heard a presence outside.
“Master Tang, it’s Son Yeop. May I come in?”
“Please, come in.”
With Dang Mujin’s permission, a physician with carefully groomed sparse facial hair entered and bowed. Over the winter, his face had become quite familiar.
Whether he was from Guangdong or Guangxi, Dang Mujin couldn’t quite recall, but he remembered he was from a warm region.
Physician Son spoke to Dang Mujin. “It’s about time for me to return, so I came to express my gratitude for your invaluable teachings.”
“I’ve received great help from you as well.”
Dang Mujin’s words of gratitude were no exaggeration.
Years ago, Dang Mujin had a simple idea to gather the physicians of the central plains at the Tang estate.
Having acquired the medical texts of the Three Great Physicians, he thought it would be enough to teach medicine to those who gathered. That alone would suffice to honor his master’s legacy.
In the early days, when only a few physicians gathered, the relationship was straightforward. Dang Mujin taught, and the physicians learned.
Of course, possessing the knowledge of the Three Great Physicians didn’t mean he could treat every patient in the world. Dang Mujin was the most knowledgeable physician, but not an all-knowing one.
He couldn’t know everything about the human body, medicine, or poisons. But he thought that was enough.
However, as the number of physicians grew beyond thirty and then fifty, the situation began to change. It was no longer a one-sided teaching relationship.
Medicine is a history of endless trial and error. The human body is vast, and diseases and treatments are countless.
While it would be ideal to treat with existing methods, there inevitably comes a time when no treatment is available.
Physicians, driven by the need to save dying patients, must test new treatments based on their knowledge and experience.
Most attempts fail, but occasionally, they succeed.
These successes expand the realm of medicine.
But at the same time, failures also expand the realm of medicine.
While quack physicians don’t record their failures, true physicians who engrave the deaths and suffering of patients in their hearts do. To avoid repeating the same mistakes.
Such dedicated physicians gathered at the Tang estate for better medicine.
The gathering of physicians at the Tang estate meant that countless experiences from across the central plains were converging in one place. The physicians instinctively understood the significance of this.
When night fell and patients stopped coming, the physicians would gather and talk through the night.
They shared their successful experiences and recorded failures. They sought each other’s opinions without reservation.
In such situations, what if this treatment had been used?
Could a life have been saved if this had been done?
There are things in the world that only those who have reached the realm of genius, like the Three Great Physicians, can achieve.
But there are also things that only the majority of ordinary people can accomplish. In fact, the tasks that ordinary people can achieve are more numerous than those that a few geniuses can.
And among the physicians gathered at the Tang estate, there was always Chusam.
Representing the ordinary physicians, Chusam was compiling the experiences and records of the Tang estate’s physicians into a new medical text.
Over the years, the knowledge of the physicians accumulated.
As a result, Dang Mujin’s medical skills had reached a much higher level than when he first received the texts of the Three Great Physicians. And it was certain that this level would continue to deepen.
Dang Mujin asked Physician Son, “Are you planning to leave today?”
“No, there are three of us returning to Guangzhou, so we’ve decided to depart together in four days.”
“I see. Understood.”
“Thank you again for your invaluable teachings.”
“And thank you.”
Physician Son expressed his gratitude once more and left Dang Mujin’s office.
However, Dang Mujin’s heart was not at ease.
Just as many physicians had expressed their gratitude to him, Dang Mujin wanted to convey his gratitude to them.
He didn’t want to just let the moment pass with a few words like before; he wanted to give a real gift.
“Is there no way to do this? Should I give them some travel money? No, that feels too impersonal.”
Dang Mujin pondered over what he could give to the physicians. The first thing that came to mind was poison and throwing knives.
Hadn’t he been teaching them basic poison techniques for self-defense recently?
“It would be great if I could make them each a dagger.”
Distributing a small amount of poison wasn’t difficult, but the throwing knives were the problem.
He knew the most practical solution was to ask the blacksmiths to make a bunch of daggers, but he was reluctant. Dang Mujin’s pride wouldn’t allow him to hand over something subpar to others.
“The physicians will mostly be leaving in three to ten days.”
He wanted to give them something he made himself.
But even Dang Mujin couldn’t make dozens of daggers in just three days. As he was racking his brain, he sensed someone approaching. It was Chusam.
“It’s Chusam. May I come in?”
“Please, come in.”
Dang Mujin and Chusam exchanged a few words.
But unlike usual, Chusam didn’t leave after their conversation ended.
Chusam asked Dang Mujin, “Is something troubling you?”
“Troubling me?”
“Your brow is furrowed and hasn’t relaxed.”
“Oh.”
Dang Mujin realized he had been unconsciously worrying.
He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s nothing. I just want to give the departing physicians a gift, but I can’t think of anything suitable. I can’t exactly rush to make daggers now.”
Chusam replied, “You don’t have to give them daggers, do you?”
“What else is there?”
“There is something. Isn’t there an item the physicians covet the most?”
“What is it?”
“The needle case you have, Master Dang. That’s what the physicians envy the most.”
“Ah!”
In the past, the eccentric physician had taken Dang Mujin as a student not for his medical skills or martial arts, but for the needles he made.
To be precise, their relationship wasn’t that of master and student. Dang Mujin agreed to make needles, and in return, the eccentric physician taught him medicine and martial arts.
The quality of Dang Mujin’s needles was so exceptional that it instantly captivated the well-traveled physician.
Needles as fine and resilient as a strand of hair, so meticulously crafted that even with a squint, it was hard to find any imperfections.
Dang Mujin himself was so accustomed to his needles that he felt no particular attachment, but compared to the needles made by ordinary blacksmiths, his were incomparable. Even five or ten of his needles were thinner than a single one made by a regular blacksmith.
Ordinary blacksmiths’ needles felt like iron stakes compared to Dang Mujin’s.
But Dang Mujin quickly shook his head.
On second thought, the problem wasn’t solved at all.
“But making needles isn’t a quick task. You need to make a set with varying lengths, thicknesses, and shapes for each person, which takes longer than making a single dagger.”
To make a needle, you first need to create a fine, elastic wire.
Then, you cut the wire to the right length and shape each piece into a needle.
While making one needle takes less time than making a dagger, the time adds up when you need to make many.
Chusam, hearing this, burst into laughter.
“You’re too generous! The physicians wouldn’t expect that much.”
“Then what?”
“They’d be thrilled to get just one or two needles each. A long needle would be ideal, but even the commonly used fine needle would be appreciated.”
Dang Mujin thought it over.
A needle case each physician carries, with one of his handmade needles nestled among the many like a treasure.
“That’s an intriguing idea.”
It would be like a badge of honor, owned only by the most skilled physicians across the land.
Dang Mujin stood up abruptly.
“That’s a great idea. I’ll make long needles and distribute them within three days. Please ask those leaving sooner to stay a bit longer.”
“Understood.”
Dang Mujin headed straight to the forge where Seok Jiseung was.
A few blacksmiths, cooling off outside the forge, got excited when they saw Dang Mujin approaching.
But Dang Mujin stopped in his tracks.
“If I’m going to give them as keepsakes, it feels a bit lacking to use ordinary iron.”
Since making needles didn’t require much material, using a more precious metal wouldn’t be a problem.
As Dang Mujin turned away from the forge, the blacksmiths couldn’t hide their disappointment.
Dang Mujin entered the storage room and rummaged through it.
“It should be here somewhere…”
The storage was filled with various medicinal ingredients, but in one corner, there was a small box.
“Found it.”
Dang Mujin opened the box. As expected, there was a round, flat piece of metal inside.
It wasn’t ordinary iron. It was meteorite iron.
He had taken it from some scoundrels who were exploiting Mount Oseok during his travels with the eccentric physician.
He hadn’t found a use for it in years, but now the opportunity had arisen.
Dang Mujin weighed the meteorite iron in his hand.
“If I make needles from this, they won’t bend or break easily, even if they’re much thinner than regular needles.”
If he used it wisely, he could make hundreds of long needles, not just short ones.
“It should be enough for keepsakes for the next five or ten years.”
It felt a bit odd to use such precious meteorite iron for mere needles instead of weapons, but on reflection, it seemed like a worthwhile endeavor.
There’s no rule that precious meteorite iron should only be used for killing. In fact, this seemed far more rewarding.
Dang Mujin headed to the forge with the meteorite iron in hand.
As he entered, the blacksmiths naturally lined up on either side, making way for him.
“I’ll be using the forge.”
No further permission was needed.