"Please lower your tone, Your Highness. I don't know where to put myself," Jin Cheon-hee said with a faint smile.
The consort shook his head.
"No, though I am called a consort, I am of humble birth. Please treat me comfortably, Doctor."
'Using honorifics for a child like this until the end.
Really...' Jin Cheon-hee couldn't understand why the King had fallen for this man.
She wasn't someone who didn't know that it would be far more advantageous to marry someone with power for a political alliance.
After all, whether this man was made a concubine or kept as a secret lover, no one would care.
She was a woman who had conquered battlefields with overwhelming martial prowess.
In an era where heroes were known for their lust, it wouldn't even be a flaw.
In comparison, the man who sat as the consort... 'He is indeed exceptionally handsome.
Though not quite as much as our master.
And he seems kind, too.' But that was all.
The King had given her heart to this man.
She was prepared to give him all the treasures of the world if he asked.
Such was the King's favor, and it was quite special.
What had she fallen for?
Jin Cheon-hee shrugged.
"It seems you've practiced martial arts."
"Yes, I've practiced self-defense techniques. I've also studied the Three Talents Method."
"The Three Talents Method is quite good," Jin Cheon-hee said with a sly smile.
Then, in a slightly brazen tone, she added, "I'll finish quickly, so take a good nap and wake up refreshed."
"Doctor, will I be able to continue living as an artist in the future?" Jin Cheon-hee couldn't understand what dance meant to this man.
But she thought she understood one thing.
Sometimes, there are people who are obsessed with one thing.
And that obsession is like an addiction—neither wealth, fame, nor love can quench that thirst.
However, seeing it in person felt a bit strange compared to what she had read in books.
It felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing.
"Is there something you haven't told me yet?"
"......"
"Once the preparations are complete, you'll enter the operating room, and once you're in, it'll be too late. You need to tell me everything, even the smallest details."
Why was this? Her memory from the books clashed with her intuition as a doctor.
In the books, this man was an artist who lived and died for dance.
What she saw now was exactly that.
Having lost his leg, he couldn't dance anymore and starved himself to death.
That's what the books said.
And what she saw matched that.
But why did the back of her neck feel so cold?
The consort spoke.
"I've told you everything I remember."
His smile was as alluring as a red flower.
A smile that made it seem like he understood why the King cherished him so much.
As his fragrant voice filled the air, Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
"I see. I understand."
'This guy... he's really suspicious.' Just a moment ago, he was saying, "Doctor, please save my leg!" But now, when asked a few questions, he responds with that kind of service smile.
At the same time, Jin Cheon-hee realized something. 'If he dies on the operating table, he'll die without saying a word.' He's the most exhausting type of patient. 'Surely there aren't many patients like this in the martial world, are there?' People who hold beliefs that a doctor can't understand.
People who would sacrifice their lives like straw to keep a secret.
The kind of people you rarely see in the modern world. 'Well, where else would such people exist? Only in the martial world I'm in... hahaha...' This is driving me crazy.
And Jin Cheon-hee suddenly realized a truth.
Jin Cheon-hee said to the consort, "There's nothing more precious than life in this world."
"Yes, yes?"
"No matter how great your beliefs are, nothing is more precious than life. You'll realize it too late if you don't understand now."
Listen to the doctor when she speaks!
The consort didn't speak until the end.
Jin Cheon-hee, expecting this, checked his pulse two or three more times and even called in other doctors to double-check in case she missed something.
Nothing special came up.
Jin Cheon-hee shared this part with her master before the surgery.
"Hmm, this is a difficult problem. But it's also a problem you'll encounter countless times in the future."
Not just in the martial world, but the royal court also has its secrets.
Especially in the royal court, secrets are intertwined with schemes and plots.
"Cheon-hee, secrets are like this. Sometimes they're kept to protect oneself, but sometimes they're kept to protect the listener."
Jin Cheon-hee sighed softly. 'Well, as long as it's not related to the surgery, it's not my problem.' Still, she felt a bit uneasy.
Her intuition as a doctor kept poking at the back of her mind.
But even so, she couldn't interrogate the consort.
If he decided to keep his mouth shut, what else could she do?
Her master's eyes lit up.
"But this new surgical technique is quite something."
His expression was as serious as usual, but his eyes were like a child unwrapping a gift.
It was good that he was enthusiastic, but sometimes it was a bit eerie.
The expression that nobles don't see people as people might be fitting.
The longer she spent with him, the more clearly Jin Cheon-hee felt it.
Her master had no fear when dealing with life.
To him, humans were like puzzles.
Once the pieces were perfectly fitted, his interest waned.
It wasn't just about ambition—the patient was the King's consort.
If the surgery failed, the consequences were obvious.
"The stakes are high, but you seem to be enjoying it, Master."
"Hmm, it seems that way to your eyes."
Yet, this man was determined to proceed.
He didn't even think of looking back.
It made Jin Cheon-hee think that the value of life might not be that important to Baek Rin's line.
Perhaps it was just his madness that saved the patient's life. 'If this is also a talent, then it might be a talent...'
Zhuge Lin spoke.
"When I was young, the family head told me that since I wouldn't live long anyway, I should think about how to live. Maybe that became a habit."
He smiled.
His smile, with his eyelashes lowered, was so divine that it took one's breath away.
"The stakes don't matter, Cheon-hee. What matters is how much joy you can find. Striving to live as joyfully as possible is what's important."
That was Zhuge Lin's way of life.
Jin Cheon-hee thought, 'Before I came, he didn't even eat.
He only swallowed a fasting pill once every few days.' Yu Ho said it was because he had no desire for life.
But Jin Cheon-hee thought differently. 'If eating wasn't fun for him.
If he just didn't want to do things that weren't fun...' What a ridiculous hedonist.
Jin Cheon-hee shook her head. 'No, this is just my speculation.
I'm overinterpreting his intellectual curiosity.'
Her thoughts stopped there.
Jin Cheon-hee cut off her idle speculations like cutting off a reptile's tail.
"First, about the external fixation technique."
Jin Cheon-hee quickly shared the surgical plan with her master.
Among it were the medical knowledge she had compiled and passed on to the medical hall, but of course, there were also many new things.
Time was short.
They had to use it as efficiently as possible.
All the preparations for the surgery were complete.
Perhaps because they had done it once before, the preparations were faster this time.
The patient was on the operating table, and the medical hall's doctors were preparing the anesthesia.
Jin Cheon-hee put on her surgical gown.
"This is better than last time."
Yu Ho replied, "Thanks to someone."
The haphazardly sewn cloth was gone.
A properly made surgical gown had been completed.
"Will you make more?"
"Yes, I've already ordered the workshop to make them. I only made yours and the master's personally."
No wonder the embroidery on the master's clothes was so delicate.
Though it wasn't made large for surgical purposes, the care put into it was evident.
Jin Cheon-hee said, "Yu Ho."
"Yes?"
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to make the decision to treat the patient."
Yu Ho was momentarily speechless at the honest gratitude.
Then he said, "... If you're grateful, could you reduce my workload?"
"That's not happening."
"Then I won't accept your thanks."
As he said that, he pulled the back of Jin Cheon-hee's collar and tied the string.
"What color do you prefer for the embroidery? Next time, I'll take your opinion and make it for you."
Jin Cheon-hee replied, "The same color as the master's."
"Darn, I knew you'd say that."
Jin Cheon-hee chuckled softly.
"Alright, let's begin. Yu Ho."
The orthopedic surgery room was quite different from what most people imagined.
Most people think of surgery as involving scalpels, forceps, and sutures.
Of course, orthopedic surgery also uses those tools.
But a few more things are added.
Hammers, drills, screws, steel rods.
Tools you'd see on a construction site are also used.
Since this is a world without electricity, drills aren't used.
Instead, they decided to use screwdrivers powered by internal energy.
Inside, the patient was lying under anesthesia, and the medical hall's doctors were monitoring his pulse in real-time.
"This time, it will take a while. Have you all eaten beforehand?"
All the medical hall's eyes were fixed on Jin Cheon-hee.
She calmly stood in front of the operating table.
This was only the second surgery she had performed in this world.
Yet, the equipment was much better prepared than before.
Thanks to the steady preparations they had made.
"We'll start with the cleaning."
Normally, low-pressure cleaning is done with saline solution.
Saline solution might sound complicated, but it's just saltwater.
Sterilized saltwater.
Yu Ho meticulously began the low-pressure cleaning.
'He's really useful.'
"The basic cleaning is complete."
At Yu Ho's words, Jin Cheon-hee picked up the scalpel.
Marginal resection.
It means removing contaminated or dead soft tissue.
Especially the subcutaneous fat and fascia are areas where blood hardly reaches.
These areas can easily become breeding grounds for bacteria, so it's best to remove them as thoroughly as possible.
'When looking at muscles, we usually check for consistency, color, capacity to bleed, and contractility—the four criteria (Scully's 4C).
But...' In actual clinical practice, even the same wound can be judged differently by different doctors.
It's an area you can't learn just from books or pictures.
For Jin Cheon-hee, the judgment on this part was simple.
'The patient consumed the fire element of the Five Elements Pill until the end.' Jin Cheon-hee sent the fire element into the fascia.
Following the flow of energy, she could feel the contamination of the muscles.
Where the fire element strongly collided was contaminated tissue.
Conversely, where the fire element didn't reach was dead tissue.
'So this is how it can be applied.' It was an application method she had learned while studying the Five Elements Divine Technique.
Combining it with surgery, she could see more clearly than with her eyes.
Jin Cheon-hee's fingertips moved as if guided by a god.