Chapter 70: "You must be in a lot of pain, but you're holding up well. If you can't go to the medical hall, can you wait here until we bring more medical hall members? If we treat you here..." Rumble! The yellow dog, Hwanggu, wrinkled its snout with all its might, threatening Jin Cheon-hee.
It was clear that bringing more people was absolutely out of the question.
That was expected.
Jin Cheon-hee asked again, "Can't we deliver a message for you?" Growl! Absolutely not.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke seriously, "You can't go to the medical hall for treatment, you can't have medical hall members come here, and you won't let us deliver a message for you. If you keep this up, you'll die. And it'll be a very painful death." Growl! Hwanggu was resolute.
Jin Cheon-hee sighed. 'Even if it's a spirit beast, a dog is still a dog.
It thinks of its master as its life.' Why do dogs follow humans so blindly? Without even knowing what kind of person the master is, the dog just blindly follows. 'Dogs are such fools.' This stubborn dog had already prepared itself for death.
Now, as a doctor, there was only one thing left to do. 'Sigh...
I guess there's no other way.
I never thought I'd have to venture into the martial world for something like this...' "I'll give you emergency treatment and then run to the Dog Faction's branch. I can't guarantee that the message will be delivered, nor can I guarantee that you'll survive until then. It's a dog's death." Bark! The dog responded.
Jin Cheon-hee bit her lip.
"Alright." 'Our medical hall is one of the important factions to the Dog Faction.
That's why the branch is located within three shichen of walking distance from our medical hall.' After a brief calculation, Jin Cheon-hee quickly came to a conclusion. 'From this mountain, it's about six shichen away, but if I use qinggong, I can barely make it in about two shichen.
The problem is transporting this guy.
In that case...' Jin Cheon-hee looked at Hwanggu seriously.
Jin Cheon-hee opened another bottle of disinfectant liquor and applied it to a clean cloth.
Then she pressed it against the injured area. Whimper! It must have hurt more than expected, as Hwanggu tucked its tail between its legs and trembled violently.
It was commendable that it didn't run away. 'I wish I could use acupuncture to seal some acupoints, but I don't know how to do that on a dog.' Like most medical halls, while there were cases of testing human medicine on dogs, there was no separate research on the meridian system for dogs.
In the end, Jin Cheon-hee could only do what she knew.
"First, I'll start with manual bone setting."
Manual bone setting refers to aligning broken bones by hand.
Since it was a compound fracture, the sooner it was done, the better.
The sharp ends of the broken bones could pierce blood vessels or nerves, and damage to soft tissues could cause embolism.
If shock set in during transport, it would be irreversible.
To prevent that, she planned to align the bones through manual bone setting and then immobilize them with splints. 'Originally, I would have just applied the splints now and performed the manual bone setting and external fixation at the medical hall, but...' The situation wasn't ideal.
Jin Cheon-hee said to Wang Gak-yeon, "Hold it still so it doesn't move. Don't hold it too tightly."
"Like holding a bow?" "Probably?" Wang Gak-yeon held Hwanggu gently but firmly.
Jin Cheon-hee soaked a piece of cotton in pain-relieving medicine and brought it to Hwanggu's nose.
Just smelling it would greatly alleviate the pain, though it couldn't compare to acupoint sealing.
"It's going to hurt a lot. You might even pass out. This much painkiller won't be enough." Growl! "Are you really going to do it?" Bark! "Damn, even human patients have a hard time enduring this." Crack! Hwanggu's snout opened wide.
It couldn't even properly whimper from the pain.
But it couldn't thrash around here, so Wang Gak-yeon held it gently but firmly.
She had trained in martial arts longer than Jin Cheon-hee, after all.
Hwanggu's body didn't shake until the bones were properly aligned.
After finishing the bone setting, she applied splints and wrapped the entire area with soft cloth. 'How tight should it be for a dog? Ugh, I'll just have to go by feel.' A temporary cast.
After treating all the external injuries to prevent further infection, she took out a small wooden box from her pocket.
Wang Gak-yeon asked in surprise, "Is that... the White Phosphorus Divine Pill?" "Yes. It should work well."
Penicillin is one of the most widely used antibiotics in surgical treatment.
It's excellent for treating skin, soft tissue infections, and osteomyelitis.
In modern times, resistance is a headache, but not here.
"Wow, the medical hall members were all excited about the White Phosphorus Divine Pill. They said it's as good as a spirit medicine. It's incredibly rare." 'That's true.
Why did penicillin become a spirit medicine in this world?' Jin Cheon-hee broke the White Phosphorus Divine Pill into small pieces.
Dogs have different liver metabolism than humans and weigh less, so the dosage would be different. 'This much should be enough... right? I'll give a little and watch.
If it's not enough, I'll give more.' Jin Cheon-hee clicked her tongue.
If Hwanggu had given in and come to the medical hall, they would have done an antibiotic sensitivity test first.
They would have injected a small amount of diluted penicillin subcutaneously and observed for rashes within 30 minutes to 2 hours.
The probability is low, but penicillin allergies do exist, and dogs could have them too. 'It's an emergency, so there's no other way.' The probability of a penicillin allergy versus the probability of dying from the current injuries.
It wasn't even a comparison.
She placed the White Phosphorus Divine Pill in front of Hwanggu.
"Can you eat it, or should I feed it to you?" Bark! Hwanggu, perhaps feeling its pride hurt, took a big bite in one go.
It didn't even sniff it. 'Well, if it can track Wang Gak-yeon using qinggong in the forest by scent, it probably already knows what the spirit medicine smells like.' "What if it's poison?" Chomp, chomp. Hwanggu swallowed the White Phosphorus Divine Pill without hesitation.
"Ah, that's something even humans can't easily get their hands on..."
Wang Gak-yeon let out a regretful sigh.
Jin Cheon-hee said, "We can't just let it die." 'Might as well earn some favor with the Dog Faction while we're at it.' The oral administration of antibiotics was done.
If possible, she would have taken it to the medical hall for an IV, but since it was so opposed, what could she do? Jin Cheon-hee said, "I'm sorry, human." Bark? "You're a spirit beast, so you can hold on for a long time, right? Don't die before we reach the Dog Faction's branch." Bark! With that, Hwanggu turned its head.
The actions Hwanggu had shown so far were easy for anyone to understand.
But this time, even Jin Cheon-hee and Wang Gak-yeon couldn't quite grasp what that gesture meant.
First, they needed to make something to carry Hwanggu.
Jin Cheon-hee used the bag she brought to make a makeshift baby sling.
"I'll carry it. Gak-yeon, you cover us. Your martial arts are stronger, so you'll have to protect us."
Wang Gak-yeon tightened the bowstring knot.
"You think pursuers will come."
"You think the same, don't you? That's why you secretly asked only me for help, right?" "Yes. Well, half right. I was careful about pursuers until we got here, but there was one more person I asked for help besides you. An elder."
"Chief Yu?" "Yes. But he didn't move."
"With that guy's personality, he'd probably just laugh and say, 'You're doing all this for a dog?'" Wang Gak-yeon shook her head.
"No, it wasn't like that. He was genuinely regretful. He said that right now, he's the only one who can protect the medical hall, and if he moves, it would go against the hall master's orders. He said that no matter the situation, he must protect the White Phosphorus Medical Hall with his life. He spoke very respectfully."
"Respectfully? Not sarcastically?" Jin Cheon-hee suddenly realized. 'Could it be that this guy only treated me with hostility?' Wang Gak-yeon said, "Instead, he recommended the Deputy Hall Master. 'The Deputy Hall Master happens to be here, and his medical skills are worthy of his position, so he should be able to help,' he said."
The Deputy Hall Master of the White Phosphorus Medical Hall.
"Me?" Suddenly, Jin Cheon-hee noticed that the inner pocket of her leather bag felt heavy.
Inside, she found paper-wrapped pills.
White Phosphorus Divine Pills, as well as various internal injury medicines that the White Phosphorus Medical Hall prided itself on.
Each one should have been stored in a precious box, so why were they packed like this? 'Could it be...?' She didn't know.
Wasn't he supposed to dislike me? Or did he genuinely pity this dog? Wang Gak-yeon didn't know what kind of dog it was, so Chief Yu wouldn't have known either.
At most, he could only guess it was related to the Dog Faction.
Wang Gak-yeon said, "Chief Yu trusted you more than anyone."
"He must have some ulterior motive."
"I don't know about the relationship between you two, but at least when it comes to skill, he trusts you."
Jin Cheon-hee clicked her tongue. 'What do I care? When I get back, I'll just work him harder.
But...' Jin Cheon-hee's lips straightened. 'But I will definitely save Hwanggu.' Bark! Just before the two left, Hwanggu pointed its snout at something.
It was the night-bright pearl illuminating the cave ceiling.
"What? Are you giving it to us?" Bark! Woof! As a sign of agreement, Hwanggu wagged its tail.
"You really can't stand owing anyone, can you?" In this world without light bulbs or electricity, the price of a night-bright pearl couldn't be measured in gold.
Jin Cheon-hee said, "Alright. I'll take it. As payment for your life."
Upon closer inspection, it seemed a bit larger and brighter than a regular night-bright pearl.
Whatever it was, it was precious, so there was no need to refuse. 'By the way, there's no change.
Faction Leader of the Dog Faction.' This was Jin Cheon-hee, who had swallowed the Thousand Pine Pill Gongsonhyeon gave her without a second thought.
Even if the owner asked for it back, she had no intention of spitting it out.
When they stepped out of the cave, the sun had already set.
Winter nights in the mountains were long and harsh.
Gak-yeon let out a small breath.
Her breath formed a white cloud that quickly dissipated. 'Can I protect the two of them?' This was her second real battle.
She had failed in her first.
Of course, her father, the White Phosphorus Medical Hall, and even Jin Cheon-hee had said that for her age, she was incredibly skilled, but to her, it was still a failure.
She had to protect herself and fend off the enemy.
Perfectionists suffer like this.
Without realizing it, they set high standards and torment themselves when they don't meet them.
That's why she had subjected herself to harsh training, physically tormenting herself.
The only happy times she had were when she went out to play with her friend Jin Cheon-hee and the neighborhood kids.
The rest of the time, she devoted herself entirely to training.
And now.
The time had come.
The time to protect her friend's life. 'I will definitely protect her.' Jin Cheon-hee asked, "Do you know the direction?" "I could navigate this forest with my eyes closed. Do you know?" Jin Cheon-hee calculated the direction by looking at the constellations in the night sky.
"Not as well as you, but if you guide me, I can follow." Sniff! Hwanggu let out a small bark, barely audible to the two.
Then it pointed its nose in a certain direction.
"Hwanggu will guide us."
"One Hwangu is better than the two of us."
The two children let out a small laugh.
The tension eased a bit in the cold wind.
Gak-yeon said, "Cheon-hee. Can you entrust your life to me?" "Yes. Of course."
If she had hesitated even a little in her answer, would it have been easier? The girl tightened her grip on the bow.
"You run. I'll shoot."
With that, Jin Cheon-hee ran in the direction Hwanggu pointed.
Her movements were so precise, more like a finely crafted weapon than a human, that Gak-yeon was slightly surprised.
Her body began to move, following Jin Cheon-hee.
It was a quiet and swift qinggong step, as if treading on the wind.