Chapter 169: Chapter 42

Time passed like an arrow.

For the past fifteen days, Kanghyok did his best.

So did Joon Huh, who, with a haggard face, was sitting beside him.

Dolsok and Makbong, who assisted them along the way, were already exhausted.

Even Yoju, who had been drawing Kanghyok’s medical activities, seemed to find it difficult to draw as skillfully as she had before. Her drawing speed had reduced noticeably.

Only Yoni was still active, busy with preparing an event to celebrate the elimination of smallpox in the village.

“The 14-day period I promised to you is over now,” said the mayor, looking at Kanghyok with a sorry expression.

“Oh, I think that’s no problem at all.”

Leaning against a tree on the hillside, he was looking down at the village.

It was a quiet and peaceful village. As almost all the villagers gathered at the hill, there was no one left in the village.

Thanks to Kanghyok’s quick measures to stem the spread of smallpox, there were no more new patients with smallpox.

Most of them managed to get by after they were treated with Kanghyok’s cow pus and Joon Huh’s herbal medicine.

Sometimes, Kanghyok heard some painful screaming on the wind. They were patients experiencing hemorrhagic smallpox.

As Kanghyok was not a god, he could not treat such patients. All he could do was reduce their extreme pain before they take their last breath.

“Thank you so much for your great work! This village avoided a disaster thanks to you.”

The mayor gave a satisfied smile. The mayor already submitted to the central government a comprehensive report on how quickly he acted to stop smallpox and how he coped with it.

Of course, he briefly mentioned the names of Kanghyok and Joon Huh in the report.

“You’re welcome, sir. All thanks to you and my father Sungmun.”

“I love your humility. By the way, can I now perform the exorcism?”

“Yeah, I think the whole village can come.”

“Great. Very good.”

Giving out a hearty laugh, the mayor went out to see the shamans.

Looking at him, Dolsok called out to Kanghyok, “Master.”

“What?”

“That mayor seems to be doing great.”

“Yeah, look at his rank.”

“No, that’s not what I mean. He didn’t take any Viagra for the past fifteen days.”

“Oh, I see…”

That was true. He didn’t seek Viagra at all up to now.

He might have sought pleasure by stopping by a gisaeng house secretly.

Given that the mayor was a womanizer, it was really commendable for him to suppress his soaring sexual desires.

“Yeah, you’re right, Dolsok,” said Kanghyok, as if he was touched by the mayor’s abstinence.

At that moment, the mayor came back hurriedly.

“By the way, I forgot that… hahaha. I can take it from now on, right?”

And he held out his hand awkwardly.

“I should have given you much earlier. Here you go, sir.”

“Good, good!”

And then the mayor went to see the shamans.

“Master.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to take back what I said about the mayor a moment ago.”

“I agree, haha.”

Both were giggling for some time after the mayor left.

“By the way, what’s the pill that the mayor took?” When Kanghyok turned back, he found that Makbong was standing behind them.

He seemed to have figured out what Kanghyok and Dolsok talked about the mayor.

‘What a good name you have! Makbong, good name.’

‘Bong’ had the same pronunciation as a slang word figuratively referring to a man’s penis.

How could Kanghyok give Viagra to Makbong who would recklessly use it?

Kanghyok hurriedly turned his head.

“Nope, I can’t give it to you.”

“What is it for, sir? Please, give me just one pill.”

“No, you really don’t need it.”

When Kanghyok looked at his pants, his penis looked like it was starting to get erect, as if he was thinking of something lewd.

Kanghyok stared at him with a suspicious eye.

Nonetheless, Makbong was trying to curry favor with him, shaking his shoulders.

“Please, master, give me just one pill.”

“Nope, you might have to have your penis cut if something goes wrong.”

“Really? How could you be so mean? I’m a man, sir.”

“I mean it. If you take it, you could…”

“Oh my god… You really don’t want to give it to me,” Makbonggrumbled with a dissatisfied look. However, he didn’t dare to challenge Kanghyok.

“Let’s go, master,” said Dolsok.

While Kanghyok was controlling Makbong’s sexual desires, it seemed as if they had finished with preparing the exorcism performance.

“Doctor Huh, let’s go. As this is a feast celebrating the end of smallpox, let’s go together.”

“Sure. Oh, my waist hurts!” said Joon Huh, barely raising his body.

Stopping her drawing for a moment, Yoju also followed them.

The small square on the hill was already crowded with all the village people.

When both appeared there, the crowds made a path for them.

“Please come this way, sir.”

“Dr. Paek!”

“Dr. Joon Huh!”

All of them lowered their heads to appreciate their invaluable medical service.

Some of them were treated by them, while others had their lives saved by the two.

Kanghyok was appreciated by many patients in modern Korea, but it was the first time that such a large crowd appreciated his medical help at the same time.

‘I feel strange.’

In an excited frame of mind, Kanghyok passed through the crowds.

On the top table was the mayor, but not Sungmun. Apparently, Sungmun did not want to see that vicious performance by the shamans.

Kanghyok didn’t like the atmosphere of the square, either.

“Oh, I see Yoni over there,” said Dolsok, pointing at Yoni who was warming up.

And then he looked at Makbong with contempt.

“Why are you here, man?”

“I can’t play swings here because the trees are too small.”

“You can’t because you have become clumsier than before, right?”

“No, man. Hey, master, can I beat him?”

Kanghyok shook his head as it was a feast day.

Standing behind him, Yoju was murmuring something.

“Oh, they’re starting it,” said Dolsok with an excited look.

“Smallpox god! Smallpox god!”

Like Dolsok said, a shaman dressed in colorful clothing was hopping here and there.

A cow was weeping sadly among three shamans.

It was not a healthy cow, but that very sick cow whose pus Kanghyok collected until recently.

Nobody noticed that Kanghyok replaced the healthy one with the sick one secretly.

The crowds rather liked it because they felt the the cow became sick because the smallpox god was mad.

‘I feel a bit sorry.’

The sick cow, which did so much service for Kanghyok, was now destined to be a scapegoat.

One of the shamans hung a bundle of straw on the cow’s back. As it had a hammer inside, the bundle looked heavy. Now, the cows’ knees began to tremble.

“Whoy!”

Another shaman put a bundle of straw on the cow’s waist, which contained some rice and rice cakes.

“Whoy!”

And the last shaman wrapped the last straw bundle around the cow, which contained fruits including melons.

As the bundles were pretty heavy, the cow’s knees began to buckle.

The shamans now began to shout aloud, “Great! The smallpox god got on it!”

At their shouts, the villagers also shouted for joy, clapping their hands.

When Kanghyok cast a glance at the mayor, he was also exclaiming with joy.

Only Kanghyok and Joon Huh remained sullen.

“I don’t believe in the smallpox god.”

“You bet.”

And then the shamans danced before the ancestral rites table where steamed rice cakes were placed.

“Nothing special.”

Originally, Kanghyok wanted to enjoy the tightrope walking performance by Yoni, but only the shamans were running wild.

Shaking his head, Kanghyok sneaked out of the square.

Joon Huh followed him silently.

“Whew! Is this what they call an exorcism ritual? I just felt dizzy watching that.”

Kanghyok sat, slumped over on a place far from the exorcism scene.

Sitting beside him, Joon said, “Isn’t it you who had the mayor arrange the ritual in fourteen days?”

“Yeah, you’re right. But it’s wicked as expected.”

“You bet. They need some sort of comfort that they could confirm with their own eyes.”

Comfort?

Kanghyok was not sure what it was.

“I hear you’re going into the palace to become a royal doctor.”

“Yes, I’m late, though. As the mayor submitted a report on what happened in this village, I could be excused for being late.”

“Good. I think I can see you only in Hanyang, right?”

“Yes. If you come to Hanyang, let me treat you there anytime.”

Hanyang, the old capital of Korea.

Kanghyok had two people he wanted to meet in Hanyang. They’re powerful men.

‘Joon Huh and Soonsin Lee!’

They would be the very men that Kanghyok would want to meet by all means in Hanyang.

“By the way, I would like to say something to you before I leave for Hanyang,” said Joon.

“Yes, please.”

“You asked me about anesthesia when you did the surgery on someone’s head, right?”

“Yes, I remember it. Do you know how?” Kanghyok asked with a feeling of expectancy.

And Joon didn’t disappoint him.

“Yes. Well, I’ve been combing through old medical books, and when I think about the effects of medicinal herbs, I think anesthesia might be possible.”