Episode 94: Nogunsan
The two walked briskly, enjoying the cool weather and feeling light-hearted. Overcoming their inner demons seemed to have helped.
Namgung Myung occasionally donned a mask or dressed in black for no apparent reason, but Tang Mujin no longer lost his mind or caused a scene at such sights. Whether this was because he recognized the person in black as Namgung Myung or because his aversion to masked figures had lessened, he couldn’t be sure. He wouldn’t know for certain until he encountered another person dressed in black.
Finally, they arrived at Nogunsan.
The landscape of Nogunsan was peculiar. Unlike other mountains that started with gentle slopes and gradually led to steep peaks, Nogunsan was lined with cliffs and precipices right from its boundary. It was as if a deity had planted rocks there.
“Now I see why the herbs from Nogunsan are so expensive. How are we supposed to get in?”
“Look over there, it seems like there’s a path.”
Tang Mujin pointed to a narrow gorge between two cliffs. The gorge rose steeply like a staircase to the sky, but unlike other places, it seemed possible to walk up.
Namgung Myung glanced at the rough map given to him by Haryeong. The gorge was marked on the map, labeled as an entry route. Nogunsan had limited access, with designated entry points.
“Let’s give it a try.”
Following the steep gorge, Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung climbed up. At the end of the gorge, a small village appeared before them.
The village’s location was slightly different from what Haryeong had marked on the map. The map indicated a village much further inside.
Tang Mujin frowned. “Why is the village here?”
“Who knows.”
“If the village was this close, we didn’t need to pack so heavily from the last village. We carried all that weight for nothing.”
Namgung Myung was more disgruntled than Tang Mujin. Most of the heavy load, filled with medicinal herbs, was on Namgung Myung’s back.
With a determined look, Namgung Myung clenched and unclenched his fists. “I’m feeling a bit let down. Maybe I should vent my frustration in this village tonight.”
“Calm down. If something happens in a small village like this, outsiders will be the first to be suspected.”
“True enough.”
As a self-respecting gentleman thief, Namgung Myung had clear standards. For him, a successful challenge meant not only stealing but also ensuring no one knew he was involved. In a village with fewer than a hundred people, there was no way to avoid suspicion. In a way, it was the safest place from Namgung Myung.
“Doesn’t this village seem a bit odd to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“For such a small village, it looks quite prosperous.”
Tang Mujin observed the villagers. No one appeared emaciated. The children were plump, and the adults had enough flesh to cover their cheekbones. Their clothes were not only intact but made of high-quality fabric. Some even wore expensive silk garments.
No one walked barefoot. Not even a single person wore the rough straw sandals made from rice straw. Almost everyone, including the children, wore soft shoes made from woven fabric.
The quality of the materials aside, making these shoes took much longer than straw sandals, making them quite expensive. It was rare to see children, who quickly outgrow their shoes, wearing them. Some even wore leather shoes, an unusual sight.
“They look wealthier than the people in Luoyang.”
A story told by Gwai once came to mind. In a place where everyone can be wealthy, people naturally gather, and the village grows to support them. Large, poor villages are common, but small, wealthy ones are rare.
As Tang Mujin and Namgung Myung wandered into the village, a man who appeared to be around fifty stopped them.
“New faces. Who are you?”
“Just travelers passing through. We were hoping to stay for a night.”
“Staying the night? Are you merchants?”
The man’s eyes fell on the large pack strapped to Tang Mujin’s back, and his expression soured.
‘Does he dislike merchants?’
Tang Mujin quickly thought on his feet. While some might dislike merchants, no one dislikes a doctor.
“I’m not a merchant, but a physician.”
“A physician? You seem too young.”
“I can prove it.”
Tang Mujin opened his pack to reveal its contents. It was filled with herbs, each prepared in its own way—steamed, roasted, or dried. The man’s suspicion eased.
“My mistake. We sometimes get merchants trying to enter Nogunsan.”
“Is that not allowed?”
“No, merchants can’t enter Nogunsan. All herbs must be traded through our village. The county magistrate decreed it.”
The magistrate is a local official. In larger, more populated areas, a magistrate oversees the region, while smaller areas are managed by a village head.
“Since I’m not a merchant, I can enter, right?”
“You can only enter with my permission.”
“Yours?”
“Yes, I’m the village head of Nakseongchon.”
He certainly had the look of a village head, someone who seemed to enjoy taking charge.
“Can I enter too? Since I’m here, I thought I’d gather some herbs.”
The village head looked Tang Mujin up and down with a slightly arrogant air.
“You said you’re a physician? Show me your skills, and I might let you in.”
“Show my skills? Ah, I see.”
He wanted Tang Mujin to demonstrate his medical abilities. Tang Mujin examined the village head, noting his slightly unsteady posture, indicating some discomfort.
“Is it rare for other physicians to visit this village?”
“Almost never. If someone falls ill, they have to walk three days to see a doctor. The local doctor is quite sedentary and rarely makes house calls.”
“Is there anyone in the village suffering from a serious illness?”
“Not really. There are some elderly folks who are frail, but that’s to be expected.”
Tang Mujin scratched his chin, puzzled. He couldn’t understand why Haryeong had suggested he tend to patients in Nogunsan. Nakseongchon was prosperous, with no significant illnesses, and though inconvenient, they could still reach a doctor.
‘Could there be another village inside Nogunsan?’
Tang Mujin considered asking the village head but decided against it. The village head and the magistrate controlled access to Nogunsan, and such questions might not be well-received.
‘I’ll have to get past this village and reach the place marked on the map.’
After a moment’s thought, Tang Mujin asked about the village head’s ailment.
“Where exactly does it hurt?”
“My legs haven’t been well lately.”
“How long has it been since your legs started troubling you?”
“Over two weeks.”
Tang Mujin took the village head’s wrist to check his pulse, prompting a suspicious question.
“Why check the pulse when it’s my legs that hurt?”
Not all patients trust physicians, especially when it comes to their health. Given Tang Mujin’s youth, he often faced skepticism.
“The human body is interconnected. Even if your legs hurt, the issue might not originate there.”
“Hmm.”
The village head clearly didn’t buy it, but Tang Mujin continued his examination undeterred.
“Your pulse is wiry. That’s not good.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means your pulse is fast and strong.”
“Isn’t a strong pulse a good thing? Dead people have no pulse, and the sick usually have weak ones.”
The village head countered with his own logic, a common misconception. Tang Mujin shook his head.
“Moderation is key. Too much of anything is as bad as too little. Let me check your abdomen.”
The village head’s expression soured as Tang Mujin moved to examine his abdomen, clearly skeptical of the young physician’s methods.
The village head’s lower abdomen wasn’t hard or swollen, but it protruded slightly. Even a light touch above the navel revealed a rapid, strong throbbing.
“I can feel a strong palpitation below the heart, and it seems your kidneys are quite weak. You’ve likely experienced diarrhea recently.”
”…I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Tang Mujin knew the village head wouldn’t understand. When a physician’s skills are questioned, using medical jargon can lend authority to their words.
“I mean there’s a strong pulse below your heart, and your stools have been inconsistent, alternating between loose and hard.”
The village head’s eyes widened. Tang Mujin had accurately described symptoms he hadn’t mentioned.
“It seems your leg discomfort isn’t due to an injury. Your legs feel numb, causing restless nights, and you feel unsteady when you walk, as if you’ll topple over. Is that correct?”
”…Yes.”
Tang Mujin channeled his energy through the village head’s meridians, assessing the state of his organs and meridians. He continued speaking in a steady, measured tone, like a monk reciting scripture.
“It seems your symptoms are more than just what meets the eye. You have severe thirst, can’t stand salty foods, and have gained weight despite having no appetite.”
“Uh…”
“You feel the urge to urinate twice an hour, but it doesn’t relieve you, and there’s a sharp pain inside when you do. Sometimes, you feel a pressing pain in your lower back, don’t you?”
Namgoong Myung had seen Tang Mujin and the mysterious healer diagnose patients on the ship before, so he wasn’t surprised. But the village chief couldn’t hide his astonishment.
“How did you know all that? All I mentioned was my leg discomfort.”
“Well, I am a physician.”
“No, when I visited other doctors before, I had to explain each symptom.”
“There are doctors like that, and then there are doctors like me.”
Tang Mujin’s modesty seemed to earn the chief’s trust even more.
Tang Mujin began to prepare a remedy, taking out a small bowl and grinding various herbs: talc, licorice, gypsum, scutellaria, platycodon, ligusticum, angelica, mint, and ginger.
“Chief, you mentioned that Nakseong Village deals with herbs from Nogunsan, right? Could you bring me some saposhnikovia, red peony, and forsythia? Just a little will do.”
”…Alright.”
The chief, as if entranced, returned with the herbs, though they were not properly processed. Fortunately, they weren’t the kind that required it, so a bit more would suffice.
“The issues with urination and appetite will take time to heal, but for the heart palpitations and walking discomfort, this ‘Bangpungtongsungsan’ should help soon. Dissolve it in lukewarm water and take it morning and evening.”
Tang Mujin expertly wrapped the finely ground powder in coarse paper and handed it to the chief. His swift and skilled movements in preparing and packaging the medicine were impressive.
“Th… Thank you.”
Sometimes, a physician can instill trust with just an accurate diagnosis and clear explanation.
The chief hadn’t even taken the medicine yet, but his acceptance of the prescription was evident.
“How should I pay for the medicine?”
“No payment is necessary. I’d like to stay in Nakseong Village for a day to see patients. Could you provide a room? And perhaps some herbs I don’t have.”
”…Of course. There’s an empty room downstairs. It should be spacious enough for two.”
Two days later, the chief returned to see Tang Mujin.
His posture was straighter, and his limp had improved, indicating the medicine was effective.
“You may enter Nogunsan. I doubted you because you seemed too young to be a real doctor… Sorry for my suspicion.”
The chief led Tang Mujin and Namgoong Myung to the back of the village.
The path into Nogunsan was unusual, not a typical mountain trail but a narrow walkway along a sheer cliff. The sight of the precarious path was enough to make anyone uneasy.
The mountain was so rugged that they had no choice but to build the walkway, and one could only imagine how many lives were lost in its construction.
The chief spoke awkwardly.
“We don’t let people in easily because the walkway is so dangerous.”
”…I can see why.”
“But as you walk along, there are flat areas here and there, so no need to be too tense. Nogunsan is steep, but it’s not all cliffs.”
“Understood.”
“And if you sense anyone nearby while gathering herbs, leave immediately. There’s no one in Nogunsan you want to meet. Got it?”
Namgoong Myung feigned ignorance and asked, “Are there people living inside Nogunsan?”
The chief hesitated before answering, “A few, but none worth associating with. Remember my words.”
“Understood.”
Tang Mujin and Namgoong Myung bowed to the chief, who watched them for a moment before leaving.
They carefully walked along the cliffside path.
This must be what they call a ‘heavenly cliff.’ The cliff was so steep and high that clouds hung halfway up, and when they cleared, all that could be seen below were sheer drops and dense forests.
The trees below looked ancient, but from such a height, they appeared no larger than a fingertip.
The height made their limbs tingle. Tang Mujin and Namgoong Myung walked the path in tense silence, without their usual banter.
Finally, they reached a flat area.
Namgoong Myung exhaled a breath he had been holding.
“Whew…”
Tang Mujin wiped his damp palms on his trousers. Walking this path was more nerve-wracking than facing someone with a sword.
They moved along the high but flat ridge.
They tried to gauge where the village marked on the map given by Haryeong might be. But the map was so crude that pinpointing the exact location was impossible.
After walking for some time, both Namgoong Myung and Tang Mujin stopped simultaneously. They heard the sound of metal clashing.
”…Did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
The sound of metal usually meant trouble.
The chief’s warning about not encountering anyone in Nogunsan was fresh in their minds.
“We should check it out, right?”
“Of course.”
Despite the warning, they moved toward the sound. They might find clues about the village Haryeong mentioned.
They hid behind the bushes and peered at the source of the noise.
There, about ten bandits were fighting.
Interestingly, the bandits weren’t attacking travelers but were fighting among themselves.
The numbers were three against seven, but the situation was peculiar.
The seven bandits seemed ready to retreat, while the three were pushing them back.
Tang Mujin watched with interest, but Namgoong Myung’s expression was serious. Tang Mujin lowered his voice and asked.
“Is something wrong?”
“Those three bandits… something’s off.”
“They’re fighting well for bandits.”
“No, I’m familiar with that sword technique.”
“What technique is it?”
“The Five Elements Sword. It’s from the Wudang Sect.”