The two walked outside like that.
Surgery preparations needed to start tomorrow.
But Jin Cheonhee’s mind wouldn’t settle, so Master suggested walking through the bamboo forest together.
The night’s bamboo grove was filled with thick grass scent and cold air.
Only distant wild animal sounds echoed.
Night-luminous pearls scattered by White Dragon Medical Pavilion lit their feet like pebbles, making for perfect scenery, but his heart still wouldn’t calm.
Swoosh–
Like bamboo leaves swaying in the wind.
“That coded message you sent earlier went to the Chief Eunuch Admiral.”
“That’s right.”
When asked what messages were exchanged, Master answered.
“Nothing special. Just that the Chief Eunuch Admiral intended to use his granddaughter as His Majesty’s ox and horse, whether her ear could hear or not, whether there was something in her brain or not.”
“How ruthless.”
“No, he loves his granddaughter boundlessly. Because he loves her, he’ll extract every last bit of talent, down to the final point, to use for the empire.”
That form of love, insufficient to call mere madness, was something ordinary people could never understand.
“That letter…”
“…It was a mission. The first mission from the Chief Eunuch Admiral to the future Six Ministries Minister, to his successor who will become the emperor’s trusted confidant. Want to know?”
The wind blew, making Master’s hair puff up like wings.
Master’s blue pupils stirred his disciple’s heart.
As if saying he wouldn’t tolerate even a shred of hypocrisy.
He’s testing me now.
But the disciple, unafraid of such a master.
“When I know Master’s teachings lie within, what reason is there to avoid it?”
“Hahaha. Indeed. This is one of the White Dragon Medical Pavilion Master’s duties. Saving people is very basic, and handling such behind-the-scenes matters is also part of the duties. How troublesome.”
Master treated the letter from the emperor’s heaven-like trusted confidant as a nuisance.
Under the moon, a moon rose in the disciple’s retina too.
Why is the moon in his retina blue when the one in the sky is clearly yellow?
Thinking this good, Zhuge Rin smiled. A different smile from earlier.
It was a smile shown only before his beloved disciple.
“The second prince is scheduled to die suddenly on Han So-jeong’s wedding day. And the marriage will be with the third prince.”
“…Not just a simple prophecy, I assume.”
“Prophecies must be fulfilled to be prophecies, no? The elder sister Han Yi-jeong will fulfill it.”
“That’s the first…”
“Yes. The first mission for the chick who decided to become a viper. Though not blood-related, she’s a granddaughter who perfectly inherited her grandfather’s talent, so she’ll probably do well.”
Once that first secret is made.
“Since the third prince has had a chronic illness since childhood, the younger sister will come to see her elder sister every year for medicine. Yes, May when pear blossoms bloom would be good.”
“…”
Suddenly.
He sensed Master had a hand in this plan.
Also, Master must have known even before Han Yi-jeong and Han So-jeong arrived.
Must have already been exchanging letters with the Chief Eunuch Admiral.
Master always had Yoo Ho sort things into what to keep and what to burn.
This letter would surely fall into the “burn” category.
Jin Cheonhee asked such a master.
“Is this what Master wants to teach?”
“I should teach you properly someday. But, I’m conflicted. This master still enjoys his disciple’s childhood.”
Once lost, purity can never return.
Zhuge Rin decided to enjoy this moment.
“Just a taste, Hee. Yes, when the time comes someday. It’s your master’s heart hoping you’ll be a little less shocked.”
Master closed his mouth after saying only that much.
“…”
Jin Cheonhee suddenly stopped walking and looked at the sky.
The moon visible through the bamboo grove was exceptionally bright.
“How about a drink today? It’s the birth of a new imperial confidant. Though still just a newborn who can’t even walk.”
The disciple who served the silver monster of White Dragon Medical Pavilion answered calmly.
“…Pear blossom wine would be good.”
“The Chief Eunuch Admiral already sent some, as it happens.”
“When did it arrive?”
“Arrived a full three months ago. He asked to let him know how it tastes, so today we can send our impressions.”
Wild animal sounds echoed from afar.
Jin Cheonhee suddenly looked back.
After blankly staring at the empty bamboo grove, he turned to look at Master.
A clear full moon rose in his turning retina.
“…May I write the impression?”
At those words, the silver monster burst out laughing.
“Yes. You’ll quickly learn even difficult codes.”
The big monster stroked the small monster’s head. Thus master and disciple returned.
Today was a day for celebratory drinks.
The wine sent by the Chief Eunuch Admiral was sweet as flowers and bitter as blood.
Still, Jin Cheonhee quietly grumbled to himself that he didn’t like alcohol much.
***
Surgery day.
After bathing in cold water, Jin Cheonhee sat in meditation for quite a while.
The brain is the most delicate part of the human body, and the scope of post-operative complications from failed surgery is in a different dimension from other organs.
They say mediocre success is the scariest.
Death during surgery.
Generally considered the most frightening accident. But what about the middle ground?
What if the surgery succeeds but brain damage reduces function?
Jin Cheonhee repeatedly reviews and examines what he knows.
Not having medical equipment is tough indeed.
To secure visibility and remove the tumor, appropriate pressure is needed to retract the cerebellum. However, care must be taken not to damage blood vessels while doing so.
He slowly concentrates internal true energy in his fingertips.
The battle with Heavenly Commander Yeo was difficult.
Move after move.
In waves of endless problems, the moment he gave a wrong answer, he’d clearly become a handful of blood.
Being slow was fine but hesitation was forbidden, and not even a hair’s breadth of mistake could exist in the sword-wielding fingertips.
He recalled the sensation of cutting the snake.
Press too hard and you slip on the scales instead.
Use little force but maintain an incomparably sharp edge.
Simultaneously, to prevent internal poison from bursting, he had to precisely strike only vital points without penetrating through.
Woong-
A streak of enlightenment descended from the solar plexus to the lower abdomen, then rested in his hands.
He continued digesting the enlightenment gained while endlessly repeating the battle with Heavenly Commander Yeo in his mind.
The battle with Heavenly Commander Yeo in his mind approached its end.
Five Elements Creation.
The realm of heart martial arts using the power of “attachement” by mixing up and reversing the five elements.
No need for something so grand. If he could just extract its essence and use it in an extremely limited range.
If I can retract where I want without damage.
The biggest problem in brain tumor surgery is difficulty securing visibility.
But regardless, retracting the cerebellum to secure visibility inevitably burdens the patient.
He planned and prepared everything. But couldn’t it be better?
At that moment.
A faint sensation brushed past Jin Cheonhee’s fingertips.
***
Ending meditation and entering the operating room, he found the prepared senior physicians all greeting him.
Yoo Ho and the Acupuncture Hall Master.
And Master appeared.
In the middle of the operating table lay Han Yi-jeong, head shaved for surgery.
The Acupuncture Hall Master spoke.
“I’ll begin anesthesia now. Slowly relax and…”
Having already drunk the decoction, Han Yi-jeong’s eyes were somewhat hazy.
The Acupuncture Hall Master placed and removed several more needles.
Once anesthesia was complete, the Acupuncture Hall Master spoke.
“It’s done.”
Now the subordinate Acupuncture Hall Master and nurse physicians would continuously monitor the patient’s condition.
The Acupuncture Hall Master really is excellent.
Though many physicians fear him for his obsessive personality, that obsessiveness helps with anesthesia.
A nurse physician disinfected the pre-marked surgical site.
“Then we’ll begin.”
Jin Cheonhee lightly lifted the scalpel.
Then began cutting into the surgical site.
Though modern methods would use a drill to split the skull, not needing that was an advantage, if you could call it that.
This is the living sword.
However, cutting only where desired to the desired depth would be challenging even for a first-rate martial artist.
Because splitting an enemy’s head and delicately cutting a patient’s skull require completely different mindsets.
Yet Jin Cheonhee chose the latter without hesitation.
He opens the head delicately, peeling back skin and splitting bone.
Senior physicians trained for cerebellar retraction stood by.
The work of very carefully pulling the cerebellum aside was needed to properly remove the tumor.
The reason was to secure visibility.
Surgery prioritizes securing visibility, and if that’s impossible, surgery too becomes impossible.
However, a single mistake during retraction risks blood vessel or nerve damage, requiring thousands or tens of thousands of practice attempts.
Special tools had already been crafted for retraction.
Everyone watched tensely.
Then Jin Cheonhee spoke.
“We won’t retract the cerebellum.”
The senior physicians were momentarily confused at those words.
“The visibility…”
“Should be fine.”
Jin Cheonhee takes the pulse using water energy.
It’s possible now.
The method used when removing His Majesty’s malignant tumor previously, but more delicate and clearer than that.
A physician who has touched the heart of martial arts can clearly see places unseen before.
Removal.
He accurately grasped the tumor’s size, location, and contours as if seeing with his eyes and moved to remove it.
“…!”
At this unimaginable technique, not only the senior physicians but even the Acupuncture Hall Master widened his eyes in surprise.
Like this, without the burden from retraction, in one go…!
This way, he could perform surgery safely without related risks and side effects.
Amid everyone’s astonishment, only Master delighted in his disciple’s growth.
Clang–
The tumor rolled across the metal tray.