The house in Hanyang that the mayor of Suwon offered to Kanghyok was pretty large.

Of course, it was not as large as Sungryong Yu's house.

“Wow, even this house is crowded with people.”

Sitting on the main floor, Yoju murmured to herself.

As she just finished steamed fugu, her voice was kind of sleepy.

“Yea, it's because we have many new guys in our house.”

Kanghyok also seemed sleepy as he ate heartily, too.

“Looks like they're undergoing tough times,” said Yoju.

“We need it to make them obedient.”

Though Hangbok took Pyonsu with him, the other members were in the hands of Kanghyok.

Some of them resisted, but they were soundly beaten by Makbong and Yoni.

They even shouted at the top of their voices, protesting against tough treatment.

“Do you think we're rogues? Didn't you hear about our guardian?”

Dolsok responded quickly,

“Of course, I did. By the way, don't you know who we are?”

“No idea…”

“That man sitting over there is doctor Kanghyok Paek, and the man who was with us a while ago was Hangbok Lee, a high-ranking official with the ministry of education and cultural affairs. And the guy standing over there to receive medicine is a servant of the minister of education and cultural affairs.”

As he had a good memory, Dolsok recited the names correctly.

“Just stay still here. If you're injured, my master will treat you from now on.”

“What? Why did you beat us then? You're now treating us? Are they medical tools to treat us?”

A guy protested, pointing at some medical devices that Kanghyok took out from the bag, such as saline solution, syringe and the poison of fugu.

At that moment Kanghyok gestured Makbong and Dolsok to bring that guy to him.

When Kanghyok looked at him up close, he was far from an ordinary man.

Basically he was too big. He had big feet, above all.

When Dolsok was focusing on his feet, he heard some baritone voice from above.

That guy reflexively looked up to see Kanghyok looking down on him.

Kanghyok casually put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Do you feel pain in your legs?”

“I do, sir.”

“Let me treat you, then. So, let me ask something.”

“Pardon?”

“Let me test something on you.”

Though the guy didn't know what it was, he felt he could be killed if he resisted.

“Oh, yes… uh…”

“Good. You agreed to the test, right?”

“Uh….”

Taking his hand off, Kanghyok called Dolsok and Dorrikke together.

“Hey, take this man first to the room. Makbong and Yoni, hold other guys, too.”

Dolsok and Dorikke carried that man to the room.

As the former head of the bandit, Dorikke was quite strong.

“Brother, can I lay him down here like this?”

“No, don't put his head at the threshold. The other way, man.”

“Yes, brother.”

As it turned out, Dolsok was one year older than Dorikke.

“Sure, lay him down like that.”

Both laid the guy with injured legs down on the blanket.

He started to give a moan with pain in the legs.

Dolsok also touched some bruises on his back.

“Ouch…”

Kanghyok entered the room only when he heard that guy moaning in distress.

“Hey, Dorikke, just go and help Makbong.”

“Yes, master.”

“Dolsok, let me examine his legs.”

“Yes.”

Dolsok skillfully cut his pants with scissors.

His legs were stained with blood with lots of bruises here and there.

“Tell me what you think,” asked Kanghyok.

“Well…”

As usual, Dolsok didn't reply quickly.

Instead he examined the guy's wounds carefully.

Though he bled a lot, there was no severe cut or swelling.

Above all, he had no difficulty with moving around.

“It looks like the pierced wound is serious.”

“I see. No bone fracture?”

“Nope. It seems like his ankle has a sprain, but it's not broken.”

“Got it.”

As Kanghyok became a doctor after a X-ray device was developed, he didn't get proper training in locating bone fractures or hairline fractures through X-rays. He only learned about it in a medical textbook, not through clinical training.

'Hmmm… It looks like his s.h.i.+n is okay.'

His ankle might have some fractures because it was made up of several small bones.

'd.a.m.n it. I'm not treating a great man anyway.'

If he had his injured ankles bound up with bandages with no movement, he would be alright.

“Okay. Let me treat your legs now.”

“Yes, master.”

“Let me disinfect first. Bring me hot water and antiseptic solution.”

“Here you are.”

Dolsok brought a water basin containing hot water he boiled in advance.

Warm steam was rolling up there.

“Good. If it's cold, it won't do any good to the patient.”

Kanghyok took out a large gauze and wiped the patient's legs.

That guy moaned with pain.

“Ugh… It's so hot….”

“Yeah, it hurts so much. So much sand here…”

While Dolsok was holding the patient, he recalled the anesthetics Kanghyok had developed.

“Master, I think he can fall asleep by taking that pill. Can I bring it?”

“Ugh? No, you don't have to. I know it's so hard for you guys to catch toads in mountains. Just hold him tightly.”

“Okay. It seems the patient is complaining of severe pain.”

“He should endure it. And he can.”

As Kanghyok wiped off the wounds on his legs, there was bleeding even from the scabs freshly formed over wounds.

“Uh…..” he was moaning with severe pain.

“I'm now done with cleaning. Let's disinfect the wounds now.”

Even after his legs were bound with bandages, he was moaning.

Patting him on the shoulder, Kanghyok said,

“Hey, don't exaggerate your pain, man.”

“I'm not exaggerating, sir. It's unfair.”

“Anyway, I'm done now. Let's move on to our next project, Dolsok.”

“Right now?”

“We don't have to delay. Where did you put the liver of fugu?”

“Here you go.”

The guy became tense when he heard the word 'fugu.'

He enjoyed the fish several times.

At that time he heard that when fugu was not properly cooked, it could kill anybody who ate it.

“Are you going to give it to me?”

“Nope.”

“Why are you then…?”

“Hey, you're talking too much. Dolsok?”

“Yes, sir.”

Dolsok was standing up, with his sleeves rolled up.

Then he hit the guy with an iron flail.

His shoulder hit hard by the flail, the guy instantly fell to the ground with a scream.

In the meantime, Kanghyok dissolved the poison squeezed from the liver of fugus into saline solution.

The semi-transparent yellow fluid began to melt into the transparent saline solution.

'This is pretty poisonous.'

The problem was Kanghyok didn't know how strong its poison was.

If Kanghyok gave him a wrong injection, it could kill him.

“Dolsok, tie him here and let's go to the market with me.”

“Market?”

After tying him tightly in the room, Dolsok went out of the room.

Makbong, Yoni and Dorikke were busy tying other guys, too.

Pa.s.sing by them quickly, Kanghyok said, “Let me buy something. So, wait for me here.”

When Kanghyok began to walk quickly, Dolson caught up with him and said, “Master, where are you heading toward so urgently?”

“Well, I don't want to throw these bodies by myself.”

“What? That could kill them?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Don't you think you should untie them right now?”

“No, no, I can revive them.”

“Oh, you mean, antidotes?”

Dolsok believed that Kanghyok must know how to detoxify no matter how strong the poison of fugu was. At least he wanted to believe so.

But Kanghyok said the opposite, “Nope. I don't have antidotes.”

Not only in Joseon but also in modern times there was no antidote to the poison of fugu.

That's why they said it was stronger than pota.s.sium cyanide.

“How can you…?”

“I know some other method.”

Anybody who was poisoned with fugu could be saved even without antidotes if he or she could be taken to a hospital immediately.

“Some other method?”

“Yeah, let us go to the butcher's first.”

“What the heck? How come you…?”

“Don't talk back. Let's hurry.”

In Suwon it would be difficult to find a butcher's on the market street. But in Hanyang there were lots of goods and food everywhere in the market.

“Oh, I see one over there.”

Kanghyok could find a butcher's without any difficulty.

When he came in, the owner greeted him gladly.

“Welcome. Are you looking for any particular meat?”

“Oh, I would like to buy a bull's t.e.s.t.i.c.l.es”

“What?”