"Ugh..."
Gung-gwi gritted his teeth, his eyes wide open at the sight before him.
He could see his daughter's body lying sideways, splitting apart.
The gruesome scene made him want to stop everything immediately, but he endured with superhuman patience.
Blood trickled between his clenched teeth.
Yet, no one paid him any attention.
A young disciple of Baekrin's Immortal was skillfully cutting through the skin, muscle, and fat, revealing the inside.
Baekrin's Immortal assisted in the process.
The incision was so clean that it was admirable even for a martial artist, but nothing registered in Gung-gwi's mind.
Just for a moment, Gung-gwi closed his eyes and prayed to the heavens.
That was all he could do now.
Two doctors from the Medical Pavilion held the surgical site open with iron rods.
In such open surgeries, the skin could reattach during the procedure, so it had to be held open until the surgery was complete.
Jegal Rin stood opposite Jin Cheon-hee, observing and assisting him.
Although Jin Cheon-hee was the main surgeon, Jegal Rin was the assistant.
He moved as Jin Cheon-hee instructed, while also adjusting the formation to continuously send energy to the patient.
This was a secret technique used by all sects with considerable power.
Qi enhances the efficacy of medicine and breathes life into the patient.
Therefore, the skill of handling qi is considered extremely important in treating patients.
This was something that did not exist in the 21st-century Korea where Jin Cheon-hee lived.
The three great medical pavilions of the world were renowned for using qi in treating patients.
Especially Jegal Rin, the last survivor of the Jegal family, was famous as a prodigy in the world.
The medical formation he created, the Doctor's Formation, was so advanced that even other medical pavilions had to acknowledge it.
It was a formation that accepted the internal energy of others to sustain the patient's life.
And many people gathered at the end of such a formation.
The one sending the most qi to the patient was her father, Gung-gwi.
His energy was supplied to his daughter, the patient, through the formation.
However, it might not be enough, so the doctors from the Medical Pavilion also added their qi.
Meanwhile, they watched Jin Cheon-hee's hand movements without missing a beat.
Before the surgery, Jegal Rin had told everyone in the Medical Pavilion:
"Do not miss a single thing. Today, I am not the teacher; that child is the teacher, so you must observe everything."
The members of the Medical Pavilion nodded, though they seemed half-convinced.
And now, Jin Cheon-hee's hands moved swiftly as he began the thoracotomy.
When one holds a sword for a long time, they naturally find the most efficient line, which becomes a sword technique.
The boy's hands were the same.
They were the hands of someone who had done it hundreds of times.
It was bizarre.
Wasn't he just a young child who hadn't lived long? They checked several times, but it couldn't be that he was a master of rejuvenation.
Jin Cheon-hee placed his fingers on the organs.
In surgery, having a clear view was important, but being able to palpate was also beneficial.
"The tissues are more damaged than I thought."
The child diagnosed and continued.
He cut out the necrotic parts caused by the rupture of the intestines and stitched the healthy parts together.
The sight of the body's organs being sewn together like fabric was chilling.
Such medical skills had never been seen before.
It was beyond bizarre; it was astonishing.
"Divine skill..."
Jegal Rin was amazed.
At the same time, he was surprised.
Where did he learn such medical skills?
"From outside the world. No, is it knowledge from beyond the heavens?"
Jegal Rin knew well how vast the world was.
The empire that ruled this land, which people called Zhongyuan, was named Hua.
The so-called Hua Empire, or the Great Hua Empire, had ruled the continent for a long time.
This empire was so vast that dialects had developed in each region, yet everyone used the same script.
Because of the script and history, the people of the empire believed that the continent they lived on was the center and entirety of the world.
They had even touched upon Western knowledge to treat the condition known as the Nine Yin Terminal Pulse.
"Hehe, I've gained an extraordinary disciple in my later years."
Jegal Rin laughed, seeing that his disciple's skills had already reached a high level.
"Master, please press here."
At Jin Cheon-hee's words, Jegal Rin pressed the internal organ tissue with something like a clamp.
"Yoo-ho."
Yoo-ho silently extended his hand.
As Yoo-ho's hand approached the top of the affected area, blood, bodily fluids, and waste were drawn into Yoo-ho's hand as if by magic.
It was a skill Jin Cheon-hee had seen before at the branch of the Unryong Escort Agency.
So, unlike before, Jin Cheon-hee spoke with a calm expression.
"Everyone, please focus."
And the surgery continued.
The most difficult mountain had been crossed.
Now, only the suturing remained.
"How is the patient still alive after reaching this state? Truly, qi is amazing. It's the best."
Jin Cheon-hee marveled inwardly, but his expression didn't change as he moved his hands.
"And what about the ability to gather things from the air? It's like a vacuum cleaner, pulling things in like a magnet."
In surgery, one naturally encounters blood, various bodily fluids, and waste.
If these are left as they are, the surgery cannot proceed.
Not only is the view obstructed, but it also poses a significant hygiene issue.
Yet now, the blood was being drawn into Yoo-ho's grasp, standing beside him.
The sight of blood being drawn in, defying gravity, was like a special effect in a movie.
This was the second time Jin Cheon-hee had seen it since the Unryong Escort Agency branch, and it was still amazing.
Jin Cheon-hee explained much more easily and in detail than before, and as a result, the surgery was proceeding unbelievably well.
At that moment, a doctor from the Medical Pavilion, who was checking the patient's vitality, spoke.
"The blood pressure is dropping, young master."
"What?"
By now, even if the qi was somewhat lacking, they should have been able to continue somehow.
Jin Cheon-hee looked at Gung-gwi.
Gung-gwi's expression was pale, his eyes closed.
It seemed even his original qi was reaching its limit.
"The pulse is dropping now? Is it related to the continuous bleeding... Wait. If that's the case..."
"Blood..."
With an urgent expression, Jin Cheon-hee reached towards the spleen.
"Damn it! As expected..."
"Young master, what are you doing?"
At Yoo-ho's question, Jin Cheon-hee replied.
"There was a rupture in the spleen."
It was a place that was hard to see, hidden by subcutaneous fat and muscles during surgery.
Focusing on the liver had delayed the check on the spleen.
To think it was ruptured here too!
"Haha, how are you even alive, patient?"
Was that luck now running out? Jegal Rin answered.
"There is no time."
Jin Cheon-hee asked.
"How long can we hold on?"
Gung-gwi spoke with difficulty.
"One moment... until one moment."
The liver regenerates.
Even if it doesn't recover to its previous function, if one lives carefully without drinking for a lifetime, it might somehow be possible.
The spleen is the largest lymphatic organ in the body.
Without the spleen, immunity is greatly reduced.
It means the ability to fend off bacteria from outside is significantly weakened.
Even if removed, one could live.
One could live.
But in an era without antibiotics, no matter how much one endures with qi, the life the patient desires, like a martial hero, would be impossible for a lifetime.
Diseases from reduced immunity would follow.
Inevitably, she would have to live her life worrying about her health in a safe place for the rest of her life.
Ultimately, the goal she had longed for all her life would be gone forever with this surgery.
She would just have to live her life recuperating and recuperating at home.
"She won't even be able to eat freely."
Jin Cheon-hee turned to ask the guardian, Gung-gwi, but a stream of fresh blood was flowing from his mouth.
To save his child's life, Gung-gwi was crossing a dangerous bridge.
If he spoke to him in this situation, Gung-gwi's life would also be at risk.
In the end, only the surgeon's judgment remained.
"Why is such a burden placed on me..."
The life and future of a child weighed down on Jin Cheon-hee's shoulders.
"The extent of the damage is the problem."
To cut or to save.
There was no time to hesitate.
A critical moment approached.
"Heeya, you don't have to shoulder it all alone."
Jegal Rin spoke warmly to the hesitant Jin Cheon-hee.
"Though I may be lacking, as long as I bear the nickname 'Divine Doctor,' I think I can be of some help."
Saying so, he precisely identified the bleeding site and its condition.
"At this level, you don't need to excise the wound."
"Is it possible?"
The master nodded and said,
"Observe closely later. I'll teach you how to do to a person what you did to the tree."
With that, the master said no more.
His needle pressed deeply into the patient's side.
Thunk!
As the energy entered, the master's face turned significantly pale.
Simultaneously, Yoo-ho spoke.
"The pulse is returning."
"What...?"
Even though the laceration was small and well-placed, it was shocking to stop it without surgical methods.
The reputation of the greatest doctor in the martial world was not in vain.
"Alright. Then what I need to do is..."
Jin Cheon-hee's hands moved swiftly.
He had to finish the surgery as quickly as possible.
A moment passed.
Gung-gwi coughed up blood and collapsed.
However, he did not let go.
It seemed Gung-gwi was even squeezing out his innate qi, as his hair began to turn white.
But no one could spare a glance at the fallen Gung-gwi.
From now on, maintaining the operating room depended on Jegal Rin's qi and formation.
While doing that, he assisted Jin Cheon-hee and continued the treatment.
And... finally.
Jin Cheon-hee's final suture tied the knot.
"Master, please withdraw your energy."
Now, they had to check if the patient could breathe on her own.
If she couldn't maintain vitality without qi, she was essentially dead.
Qi couldn't last forever, and there was no one left in the Medical Pavilion to add more qi.
The master withdrew the formation.
Jin Cheon-hee felt the flow of air change.
All the members of the Medical Pavilion stopped what they were doing and looked at the patient.
The child's small body was pale.
One of the members reached out to the child's neck to check the pulse.
"The pulse is maintaining normally."
"It's done!"
At the member's words, Jin Cheon-hee sighed and sat down.
"How many hours did we do this?"
On the floor, the collapsed Gung-gwi was lying.
Only then did the members of the Medical Pavilion check on Gung-gwi.
"This side is okay too."
Thankfully.
The exhausted expressions of the members brightened.
Jin Cheon-hee had performed a divine skill never seen before.
Even watching from the side, it was unbelievable.
It felt like his eyes were opening.
The master withdrew his hand and spoke.
"Thank goodness."
"I should be the one thanking you, master."
"No, someday you'll treat me like that."
But for that, Jin Cheon-hee was still a chick.
Without the master, he couldn't maintain the formation or send qi to sustain life.
At that moment, something large fell onto Jin Cheon-hee's body.