Doctor Goes Back to Joseon - Chapter 56: The Scholar [3]

-Thud, thud, thud.

The magistrate and General Shin Rip left the village in a cloud of dust.

In the village, only a dozen soldiers for defense, the injured, the residents, and Kang-hyuk’s party remained.

“There are fewer injured than I thought.”

Kang-hyuk muttered while checking on the houses temporarily opened to accommodate the injured.

Dolseok, standing nearby, promptly replied, “Most either died or were abandoned in the chaos of fleeing. Some might have escaped on their own.”

“I see. That makes sense…”

Kang-hyuk recalled the escape with Yeon.

It hadn’t just been the two of them from the start.

There had been quite a number of soldiers with them initially.

Most of them likely ended up in one of the three scenarios Dolseok mentioned.

“The severely wounded were gathered here, right?”

“Yes, sir. The others, Yeon and I have treated roughly.”

“Well done.”

“Hehe.”

Dolseok beamed at his master’s praise.

Though not as deft as Yeon, Dolseok’s memory was quite reliable. Once taught, he rarely needed to ask twice. He could handle simple cuts and scrapes without much difficulty.

“Where’s Yeon?”

“She’s with Lady Yeoju. Should I call her over?”

“No, no. There’s probably something women can share between themselves.”

Kang-hyuk shook his head immediately.

After all, he had lost his father too, though not as brutally or suddenly as Lady Yeoju.

Having someone by her side would surely help.

‘Though Yeon’s assistance is a bit lacking…’

Still, sending Makbong to Lady Yeoju wasn’t an option either.

Makbong’s idea of “comfort” could take a rather odd turn.

“Speaking of which, where’s Makbong?”

“He… likely went to assist the villagers.”

“Why would he go there?”

“Many men perished in the war, leaving behind widows…”

It was clear what Dolseok was implying.

Kang-hyuk waved him off, not wanting to hear more.

“That lunatic…”

“But thanks to him, we survived. He’s quite exceptional with a sword.”

“Is that so? I’d be dead if not for Yeon.”

Yeon would’ve also perished if not for Kang-hyuk, but still, it was a strange bond they shared.

‘It’s remarkable, really.’

Saving the Pyeonsu on a whim had led to all of this.

Kang-hyuk nodded as he opened the gate to another house.

As expected of a place housing the severely injured, the stench was different from the start.

“Hmm.”

“Many died on the way here, so the ones here are relatively better off. Most of the severely injured are from this village.”

“How much of the medicine did you use earlier?”

“The antibiotic, half. The anti-inflammatory, also half. We didn’t touch the rest.”

As expected of Dolseok and his extraordinary memory, he recited the amounts used with precision. In this, he was even better than Yeon.

“What about the bandages?”

“Half of those as well.”

“Alright. Let’s take a look at the patients first.”

“Yes, sir. There aren’t too many of them.”

Dolseok ran ahead and opened the first door.

A pungent mix of blood and a strange odor hit them immediately.

Inside lay a man with a chest wound from a sword.

“He was fighting alongside us earlier.”

Kang-hyuk recognized him at a glance.

He had thought all the scholars were dead, but this one wasn’t.

This man had been by Chang-gwon’s side, fighting until the end.

“Dolseok, the water’s boiling, right?”

“Of course, sir.”

“Good, bring it here. Let’s clean the wound first.”

“Yes, sir.”

The moment Dolseok received the order, he darted out.

While waiting for him to return, Kang-hyuk carefully examined the wound.

He checked the blood loss, the depth, and whether the bones were broken.

‘Ah, the sword broke then.’

It seemed that was why the wound wasn’t worse.

The ribs were intact, and the internal organs were unharmed.

If the lungs had been cut, he’d be dealing with a corpse instead.

‘The pectoralis major is completely torn, but… he might survive.’

-Creak.

Dolseok returned with the water.

“Here’s the water, sir!”

“Alright, put on some gloves and come over.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang-hyuk soaked gauze in the water and began cleaning the wound.

As the crusted blood peeled away, fresh blood began oozing from the wound.

“Should I apply pressure, sir?”

“Do it.”

“Yes, sir.”

By now, their teamwork was seamless.

They alternated cleaning and pressing the wound until the crusted blood was entirely removed.

“It doesn’t seem too deep.”

“Right. The sword must’ve deflected off the bone.”

“Lucky man—getting hurt and then meeting you, sir.”

“Is that so?”

Kang-hyuk tilted his head.

‘Wouldn’t it have been better not to get hurt at all?’

Like himself.

Even Yeon, a skilled fighter, had been wounded, but Kang-hyuk remained unscathed.

Other than minor scratches on his face from the underbrush, he was unharmed.

“For now… I’ll need to suture this.”

“Should I hold it?”

Dolseok brought the gaping edges of the wound together.

It was a thoughtful gesture. If Dolseok were a medical student and Kang-hyuk his professor, he might’ve even earned praise.

“Yes, but don’t do it like that.”

“Pardon?”

“The alignment is off—look, the nipples don’t match. If we don’t fix this, it’ll look strange later.”

“Oh… that’s true.”

Kang-hyuk had seen it before.

A patient whose nipples ended up misaligned due to careless stitching.

He could still remember the smug face of the fourth-year resident who had done the job and proudly smiled at their work.

‘We had to take it all apart and redo it.’

It had been an incredibly frustrating task.

Since he was the one handling it this time, such a thing wouldn’t happen.

“Alright, let’s start with the anesthesia.”

“He seems unconscious, though?”

“He’ll wake up if it hurts.”

“Oh, right.”

Moments like this made him wish for general anesthesia.

Picking up the local anesthetic, Kang-hyuk recalled the prescription Heo Jun had written for him.

‘It was seomso and choo, wasn’t it?’

He resolved to arrange for supplies from the magistrate after the war.

While choo was a herb and easy to find anywhere, he wasn’t confident about catching toads himself.

It seemed plausible that soldiers could catch some quickly.

“Hold him down tightly, just in case he moves.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kang-hyuk began injecting the anesthetic in precise intervals.

As he worked, he noticed how cleanly the wound had been cut.

‘It’s almost fortunate he encountered a master.’

Both Yeon and this scholar were lucky in that sense.

The person who cut them had done so with such skill that their wounds were clean and easy to treat.

If one had to be wounded, it was better to be wounded like this.

The injuries inflicted by ordinary soldiers were jagged and far more challenging to treat.

‘This almost looks like it was cut open for surgery.’

It was fortunate indeed.

“Now, hand me the scissors.”

“Yes, sir.”

“How do you handle a deep wound like this?”

“Um.”

Dolseok carefully examined the wound.

The cut was deep enough to expose the bone, slicing through the skin, subcutaneous fat, and even the muscles cleanly.

“First, stitch the muscles.”

“And next?”

“The… connective tissue!”

“Good. And after that?”

“The skin.”

True to his reputation, Dolseok rarely forgot what he’d been taught.

Of course, foreign medical terms were still unfamiliar to him.

“Excellent. As expected, a great teacher makes a great student.”

“Ahem.”

Dolseok let out a low sigh but then flinched as he met Kang-hyuk’s piercing gaze.

“I mean… yes, sir!”

“Good. Now, hold it here, just like this.”

“Yes, sir.”

After positioning Dolseok’s hands, Kang-hyuk began suturing.

Starting with the muscle, he stitched tightly along the muscle fibers.

It was critical to ensure the stitches held even with movement.

“Wow.”

Dolseok couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Seeing the wide-open wound gradually close was always fascinating.

“Sir, you’re truly incredible.”

“This? This is nothing.”

Compared to the surgeries Kang-hyuk used to perform—transplanting organs from dead bodies and reattaching stomachs in miraculous ways—this hardly felt worthy of being called surgery.

‘Kid, you’re impressed by this?’

Kang-hyuk chuckled as he watched Dolseok stare in awe with wide eyes.

If only he could take him to a modern operating room and show him what real surgery looked like.

‘He’d be so shocked he’d faint.’

Before long, the muscles were fully stitched together.

The saying that applying pressure stops bleeding was proving true once again.

Closing the wound with stitches was one of the most effective methods to stop bleeding.

Thanks to this, the bleeding had nearly stopped entirely, save for minor oozing from the subcutaneous fat and connective tissues.

“He might wake up soon.”

“Should I give him some painkillers?”

Dolseok treated narcotic painkillers almost like sedatives, which was largely Kang-hyuk’s fault for using them that way.

“No, don’t. If he wakes up, just hold him down. I’ll try calming him with words.”

“Yes, sir.”

Dolseok’s large build seemed sufficient to restrain the patient if needed. Despite the scholar’s frail frame, he had likely grown even thinner from the war.

“Now for the connective tissue.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What happens if you get too eager here?”

“It makes the skin harder to suture.”

“Correct. Stitch it loosely, like this.”

Kang-hyuk began stitching the connective tissue and subcutaneous fat together.

If one tried to make the stitches too tight and close to the skin, it could deform the surface.

In the worst cases, the tied-off areas could even necrotize.

It was better to err on the side of leaving it slightly loose.

The skin, after all, was one of the easiest tissues to heal.

‘Especially since this area has excellent blood circulation.’

Being near the heart, blood flow here was abundant.

“Ugh…”

Just as Kang-hyuk finished the connective tissue and was about to move on to the skin, the scholar opened his eyes.

His panicked expression suggested he didn’t remember much after the fight.

“We’re in the middle of treating you, so stay still!”

While Dolseok firmly held the scholar down, Kang-hyuk attempted to talk to him.

“Do you remember me?”

“Uh… Baek… physician?”

Even in his disoriented state, the scholar managed to recognize Kang-hyuk.

“That’s right. You were injured fighting the Wae pirate, but you’re being treated now. Rest easy.”

“Ah.”

The scholar grimaced as the memory of being struck by a sword flooded back.

“What happened to him?”

“The Wae pirate is dead.”

Kang-hyuk replied while swiftly stitching the skin.

Having meticulously sutured the muscles and connective tissues earlier, closing the skin now felt effortless.

It almost seemed like Dolseok could handle it himself.

“Good… That’s a relief.”

The scholar nodded slowly before speaking again.

“But… who killed him? Was it the warrior with you?”

He was undoubtedly referring to Yeon.

Kang-hyuk nodded casually.

“Yes.”

“And… what about my teacher?”

Instead of answering immediately, Kang-hyuk focused on finishing the skin sutures.

Even after that, he remained silent for a while before finally speaking.

“Master Chang-gwon passed away fighting the pirate.”

“Ah! My teacher…”

“It was thanks to him that the pirate was defeated, and I survived.”

“Ah…”

The scholar was at a loss for words.

Kang-hyuk also remained silent as he wrapped the scholar’s wound in bandages.

“For now, stay like this. There are other patients to tend to.”

“And… what of my teacher’s remains?”

“The magistrate personally issued orders. By now, they should have reached the government office. A funeral will be held soon, so don’t worry.”