It's not clear whether all the people in Joseon were diligent, but Joon Huh was quite an early bird.

He woke Kanghyok up before dawn.

“Wake up!”

“The sun hasn't risen yet, and the bell is still silent.”

“You can't hear the bell here.”

“Can I sleep a little longer?”

“I don't like your learning att.i.tude…”

“Ooops, got it. I'm getting up now.”

When Kanghyok barely raised his head, he saw that Dolsok was still asleep.

Makbong, who wanted to sleep with the madame of the bar last night, was missing.

A little annoyed, Kangkyok pushed Dolsok to the side to go out.

“Come on in.”

“Sure, thanks.”

Joon Huh was already dressed up, ready to go out to see patients.

Quickly straightening his hair, Kanghyok followed him.

Though the bar was noisy with customers last night, there were none now as it was very early in the morning.

Joon Huh warmed up in the yard.

“A doctor's job is to take care of one's body. So, we need to control our body first.”

“You're right.”

“I'm doing this workout to help the cold energy of my body go up while its warm energy go down so as to make the blood circulate smoothly. Just follow my motions.”

“Oh, got it.”

Control one's own body?

That was a thought-provoking and beautiful statement.

Kanghyok totally agreed with that.

‘I trained my body at the gym. I wonder how Joon Huh did it.'

Kanghyok was so curious about him.

“These motions have been traditionally called anmadoin, which is a summary of all the motions that were handed down for many years.”

“Anmadoin. Got it.”

Then, Joon Huh began to move his body very slowly. He sometimes closed his lips and pulled his ears. After rubbing his hands, he put them on his eyes, and rubbed his forehead.

‘His motions look like a ritual rather than workout.'

Kanghyok, steeped in modern medical knowledge, could not understand his actions.

“Now, let me do some complicated motions. So, follow me well.”

“Yes.”

Suddenly came out a shout of concentration from Joon Huh's mouth.

“Eek, Ek.”

“…..”

“Follow me.”

“Ek.”

“Ek.”

Though Kanghyok felt a bit uncomfortable imitating his every action as instructed, he had no other choice but to follow.

As he asked for Joon Huh's teaching, he had to follow anyway.

“Whew!”

“We're not done yet.”

“Oh my G.o.d.”

“Ek!

“Ek!”

If Joon Huh had his own way, he could beat Kanghyok anytime.

Whenever he showed the motion of kicking, the sound it made was loud enough to make Makbong and Yoni come and see.

“Great.”

“He is doing alright.”

Both of them, who were quite good at martial arts, were deeply moved by Jooh Huh's tough motions.

He stopped doing anything further when Kanghyok was about to give up, feeling exhausted.

“Now, we're done.”

“Wow, you've saved me!”

“How come you're so weak, when you're still so young?”

“Oh, I think I'm strong enough…”

“I guess you have to do more to stay fit.”

In the meantime, the sun was rising, with all the mist dissipating.

Only then did the madame of the bar bring them rice bowls with soup.

“Hey, wake up, Dolsok!” shouted Kanghyok.

At Kanghyok's shout, Dolsok woke up and crawled out of the room.

“How lazy are you! You had a sound sleep, didn't you?”

“Sorry, master.”

“Come and have breakfast. You need to help me today.”

“No worries, master.” Dolsok slowly nodded his head.

After finis.h.i.+ng tying a topknot in her room, Yoju came out. She looked more awkward than Yoni.

“Come here for breakfast. Yoni and Makbong, come here.”

“Yes, master.”

Kanghyok stirred the rice soup, which was nothing compared with the food he was served at home.

Only Makbong was enjoying the food.

“Looks like you've got some slices of meat in the soup.”

“Huh? Haha.”

Makbong made a strange smile when Kanghyok pointed it out.

When he looked back, the madame was seen running away all flushed.

Though he didn't taste it at all, Kanghyok emptied the bowl as he did the hard morning workout with Joon Huh.

“Now, let's cheer up today.”

Shaking his hands and legs, Joon Huh went out of the bar.

Kanghyok quickly ran after him and walked with him side by side.

“By the way, brother Joon Huh.”

“Brother?”

“As you're older than I am, you are my brother.”

Joon made a hearty laugh at his nonchalant att.i.tude.

“Okay, just call me as you please.”

“How long are you going to stay here?” Kanghyok felt that he needed to fix the schedule for his learning while Joon was staying there.

“I'm thinking of staying here for about fifteen days.”

“Fifteen days. I think I have to learn diligently as much as I could.”

“Hahaha. I'm not as great as you think. You may be disappointed.”

This time, it was Kanghyok who laughed.

If he were disappointed at Joon Hun, that meant all other doctors in Joseon were just quacks.

Hoping he would not be disappointed, Kanghyok followed him.

When they walked on the road, they saw a group of people gathering in the distance.

“Wow, there is quite a lot gathered already.”

There was an examination room installed in the large yard at the entrance of a big house in the village.

As the owner of the house was saved by Joon Huh, he lent it to the doctor for free.

“Let me pa.s.s through you, guys.”

At Joon Huh's words, they made a path for him instantly as if the Red Sea was parted.

“Me too,” said Kanghyok, following him.

Dolsok and Makbong also elbowed their way to Joon Huh and Kanghyok, waving their big fists.

“Make way, guys!”

After making some fuss and ha.s.sling with the crowds, they could settle down in the examination place.

Yoni and Dolsok were a.s.signed to help Kanghyok, while Makbong handed out the waiting numbers.

“Okay, let's examine them one by one,” said Joon Huh.

At his order, the patients came in one by one.

Standing behind them, Kanghyok carefully observed them.

“Oh, you couldn't eat anything because of the blister.”

Checking inside a child's mouth here and there, he instantly gave prescriptions.

“You had better use yangkyoksan for this kind of disease. Don't eat it. Just hold it inside the mouth for a minute and spit it out.”

“Oh, that's mouth gargling!”

Kanghyok couldn't believe there was mouth gargling method in Joseon.

When he was nodding with a satisfied expression, Dolsok began to tease Jooh Huh from behind.

“Oh my… Master, he is saying nonsense as he doesn't know anything.”

Kanghyok was about to slap him in the back of his face without Jooh Huh knowing, but he held it back.

‘Okay. Let me recall what I learned in the morning. Anmadoin…'

Kanghyok calmed down a bit after recalling Joon Huh's teaching this morning.

Joon Huh now said to the servant, “I need to brew yanggyoksan. So, bring me some medicinal herbs such as forsythia fruit, gardenia seeds, gilgyong, angelica root and licorice.”

“Yes.”

Although the names were unfamiliar to Kanghyok, he wanted to learn those medicinal herbs.

“Hey, Yoju. Can you draw them?”

“Of course.”

“Please put down the amount of dosage, too.”

“Yes.”

Joon Huh's servant began to brew herbal medicine.

With sparkling eyes, Kanghyok carefully examined how he did it.

‘In fact, there is nothing special about the substance for mouth gargling.'

In modern medicine, liquefied anti-inflammatory drugs were used as mouthwash.

‘I don't think he can use such a large number of medicinal herbs.'

Kanghyok carefully examined Joon Huh's prescriptions from the perspective of a modern doctor.

Yoju was so good at drawing each of the medicinal herbs that Joon Huh had no problem at all telling them apart.

With a satisfied look Kanghyok inspected her drawings. Then, he suddenly heard some loud noise in the yard.

“Doctor! Doctor!”

“What the heck is that noise?”

Joon Huh, taking a break at the moment, came up to him.

When he came out, he saw two stout men carrying a man whose head was bleeding.

“He became strange after falling from a tree, doctor!”

“Oh my G.o.d…” Joon Huh was just moaning without knowing how to treat him.

His reaction was natural, given that there existed no advanced medical skills in Joseon as far as body wounds were concerned.

Fortunately, there was a doctor who could treat such patients right then.

He was none other than Kanghyok.

Leaving Joon Huh alone, Kanghyok came forward.

“Let me take care of him.”