Ganghyuk felt terrible right now as they did not have any good soap . He cleaned himself tens of times, but it seemed he still had some of it left on him .
'Oh my G.o.d!' Ganghyuk smelled his hands and then shook his head .
The man who caused the incident was kneeling in the corner . Ganghyuk did not say anything, but he felt the former deserved some punishment .
Looking at Ganghyuk's frowning face, it seemed the man had to put his forehead, palms, knees, and toes to the ground, like a Buddhist way of asking for forgiveness .
However, it was impossible because the room was very small .
"Then, are you good?"
"Yes? Yes . No, sir . I am sorry, sir . "
Ganghyuk looked at him and then saw his bare legs . He could not help taking his pants away from him . The man had persisted that he would wash and reuse the pants, but the former took them away from him and burned them nevertheless .
"Now, you can have bowel movements here . Use this . " Ganghyuk said as he gave them a basin . It was quite a luxurious one because that was Ganghyuk's own, not one for dungs actually .
'Goodness!'
It was a shame to give it away, but he could not help it . He did not want to deal with stools again .
The man nodded . Although, he did not feel like going to the toilet again because he had already finished his business earlier on .
"Do it here? No, there are women here as well . "
Other people who might have wanted to go to toilet later on were full of complaints . But, Ganghyuk had no intention to negotiate with them . Considering human rights, he should not be doing this . But, he could not allow them to go outside and spread viruses everywhere .
"You must do it here . Some time later, more people will come and they will help you . "
"People?"
"Yes, I sent an errand to the governor . He will send some soldiers . "
"Governor? Oh my goodness!"
Hearing about the governor, the people who were complaining or about to protest gave up the though completely . They had realized Ganghyuk's status: he was clearly not a simple n.o.bleman, as he could communicate with the governor .
They felt that they had no option but to follow his order, even when it seemed unreasonable and unfair .
Only antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications were left for the less serious patients . The s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum which contained expensive ingredients was already finished . They were short of even Yanggyeoksan at this point .
But, he had to admit that the s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum was more effective than he had imagined .
'Some patients in the warehouse have gotten better . Even the pus blisters have subsided . '
It was too fast for cowpox vaccine to be causing the effects . It was a shame though that they could not make more of s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum .
'I hope Makbong does his job . '
Even though he was slow, he was a member of a performance group . He must be walking without a pause, and might have arrived there already .
The red sun was rising .
"Heok, Heok . "
As Ganghyuk had thought, Makbong had hurried on his way without taking a rest . As a result, he arrived at Ganghyuk's house early morning .
"Tell me who you are . " Seungmun asked with a sleepy-eyed face . If he were not on an errand from Ganghyuk, Seungmun would not have met him at all .
The look of Makbong was really strange . As Ganghyuk had told him, he was wearing gloves, a mask, and an operation cap .
"I am called Makbong, sir . "
"Makbong?"
"Yes, I am serving Master Ganghyuk . "
"Yes, he is the man . " Okseok confirmed it from the side . He had seen Makbong going around with Ganghyuk a few times . It was only then that Seungmun found his face to be familiar as well .
"Then, why are you here so early in the morning?"
"Eh… Sir, master Ganghyuk had smallpox…"
Makbong had not encountered a high-ranking n.o.bleman like Seungmun ever, so he was sweating profusely . He had practiced what he would say all the way to the house, but he forgot it all and used some incoherent words, which went in a totally different direction .
Seungmun rushed down to the yard without even wearing shoes, "What? Smallpox? Ganghyuk caught it?
"No, no… Sir, master had something like immune… . "
"What are you saying?"
"He told me that we have it when we get pus from cow . "
"What pus?" Seungmun stared at Makbong . Although the latter did not look like a bad guy, he was certainly a fool .
So, he gave up on finding about the facts from him .
"Why did he send you here?"
"Ah"
When Seungmun asked this question, Makbong thought of the note . He took out the paper while wearing the mask .
Ganghyuk had written the letter while taking care for it not to get contaminated .
"He asked for the herbs and people written in this letter . "
"Herbs and people?"
"Yes, smallpox…"
Makbong mentioned smallpox often, so Seungmun felt that there must be something serious for sure .
"Do you mean there is a smallpox outbroke in the place where Ganghyuk is staying?"
"Yes, yes . That is what I wanted to tell you . "
Seungmun was aware that Ganghyuk had gone to the mouth of Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo . It was not far from his place, so it meant smallpox could spread to here as well . Thinking of this, his face complexion became dark .
"It is a major thing indeed . Okseok, I need to go out . "
"Yes, sir . "
"I will go to the governor . We may need help from government office . "
"Okay, sir . "
Although Seungmun had many servants, the governor could mobilize more people at once, not to mention of the volume of herbs that they retained .
Seungmun had licorice and deer antlers that he received as present . While Seungmun prepared, Makbong did his work .
"Oooops! It is cold!"
Makbong washed his body in a corner of the kitchen . He was proud of his lice in his hair and body . Therefore, he felt shame when he saw the dirty water flowing from his body . He even felt that he had lost some of his lifespan .
'But, he ordered me to do this, so I should follow . '
He said that if he did not do it, it could bring a disaster to Suwon .
"He told me to burn the clothes . "
Thus, Makgbong burnt the clothes and gloves in the furnace, and then changed into clothes that Ganghyuk gave him . They were Dolseok's clothes, and they fit him well .
"Where is he?" Seungmun was already dressed up, and was looking for Makbong . Makbong had to run to him with wet hair .
"What did you do?"
"Master Ganghyuk told me to wash my body right after meeting you . "
"Now?"
"Yes . "
He remembered that Ganghyuk bathed nearly everyday, and even implicitly asked Seungmun to do the same .
"I see . Let's go . Hurry up . "
"Yes, sir . "
With Sungmun's remark, a group of servants followed . Okseok guided the way by taking a horse by the reins .
Seungmun told the rest of servants after getting onto the horse, "Go to Ganghyuk with licorice and rice . "
"Yes, sir . "
It was still very dark, and the curfew was not lifted yet . Seungmun looked at Makbong, who was dripping right now .
'Then, how could he come here?'
n.o.body could have imagined that his vulgar work to satisfy widows could save many lives one day .
Seungmun tilted his head, but he drove his horse without asking any questions . He was a n.o.bleman, so did not feel like asking servants too many questions .
"Let's go . "
It was a big group, so a patrol came to them .
"Stop . "
Seungmun drove his horse without stopping, but they could see his face in the moonlight .
"Ah, sir?"
"Yes… I need to go to the governor because of an emergency . Guide me . "
"Yes, yes . "
As the patrol escorted his group, it turned to be quite a scene . Makbong had a strange feeling while moving with the group . He used to evade patrol, but was being escorted by them right now .
"We are here, sir . "
"Ok, let him know that I am here . "
He could not enter without notice, because it was too early . Fortunately, Kim Yungil was a very polite man to his seniors, and came out quickly to meet him .
"Sir, what brought you here in the early morning?"
"How are you?"
"I am good, sir . "
Actually, Seungmun had woken him up from his sound sleep .
"I think you know that Ganghyuk went to the mouth of Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo, right . "
"Yes, sir . "
He had sent a servant to get v.i.a.g.r.a a few days ago . It seemed nothing special back then .
"Smallpox has arrived at the village there . He has sent a person to get some help . "
"What? Smallpox?" He shouted with startled eyes . His reaction was even stronger than Seungmun's . It had happened in his jurisdiction, so he had to report it to the superiors .
"Yes . It must be correct because Ganghyuk diagnosed it himself . "
"It is a big thing . I will go now . "
"He said he would need these herbs . "
"I will let the servants prepare them . "
He wore an official uniform and rode a horse . He did not take a sedan chair this time, as he knew it was an urgent situation .
He went straight to Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo with Seungmun .
Following the horses were shamans and a cow to be sacrificed for the ritual . Some of fellows from Aeogae performance group were mixed in the group as well .
Seungmun shook his head as he did not like the composition of the group .
"Do you want to take them to the place?"
"What should we do? We need to console G.o.d Smallpox . "
"Do you think it will work?"
"It will pacify the people at least . "
With the disaster called smallpox, there were not many things that they could do . But, the government had to do something for them .
"You are right . I did not think of that . "
"I thought of it as a duty being a government official . "
With that, Seungmun and the governor hurried on their way .
Dang, dang, dang!
At that time, the bell rang to announce that the curfew had been lifted .
"Here… That is the village . " Makbong pointed at the place discharging smoke .
"It is not really small . " The governor murmured with a dark face .
It seemed to have more than 200 households . Considering the neighborhood, the affected area could cover around 1,000 households .
"We need to hurry . "
"Yes, sir . "
Makbong had great strength; they could not believe that he had walked all night . When he accelerated, everybody followed him briskly .
As the group was quite big, the movement almost trembled the earth .
Du du du!
Ganghyuk felt the vibration . Most of the people were lain on the floor, so they all felt it .
"Is it an earthquake?" Ganghyuk got up with puzzled eyes .
Yeoni shook her head, "No, sir . There come the soldiers . "
"This fast?"
At first, he thought he had overslept . But, it was not the case . It was still early in the morning .
'I must finish injecting as I am already awake . '
Ganghyuk opened the bag while rubbing his sleepy eyes . The syringes inside were renewed, as he expected .
"Here…"
He looked at the ox that they brought the day before and found that it had discharged pus again .
"Good!"
As he was taking the pus from the ox, Heo Jun came to him, "Can I help you with anything?"
His face was desperate, as if he would cry if rejected . He reminded Ganghyuk of the pediatrics professor in Chungmu Hospital .
'He wants to see a patient so badly . ' Ganghyuk wondered for a while . 'It has not been a day full since he got the shot . '
But, he had the shot anyway, and he was a very strong and healthy man . Furthermore, he wore a mask and cap .
"Okay . But, do not touch them with your bare hands . '
"Thank you . What can I do?"
"Let's inject it to less serious patients . And then…"
As he was about to continue, the door was opened suddenly, and the governor and Seungmun came in riding on their horse . s
They had brought the soldiers and herbs that Ganghyuk had been waiting for desperately .
Ganghyuk felt terrible right now as they did not have any good soap . He cleaned himself tens of times, but it seemed he still had some of it left on him . 39 Oh my G.o.d 39 Ganghyuk smelled his hands and then shook his head . The man who caused the incident was kneeling in the corner . Ganghyuk did not say anything, but he felt the former deserved some punishment . Looking at Ganghyuk 39 s frowning face, it seemed the man had to put his forehead, palms, knees, and toes to the ground, like a Buddhist way of asking for forgiveness . However, it was impossible because the room was very small . Then, are you good Yes Yes . No, sir . I am sorry, sir . Ganghyuk looked at him and then saw his bare legs . He could not help taking his pants away from him . The man had persisted that he would wash and reuse the pants, but the former took them away from him and burned them nevertheless . Now, you can have bowel movements here . Use this . Ganghyuk said as he gave them a basin . It was quite a luxurious one because that was Ganghyuk 39 s own, not one for dungs actually . 39 Goodness 39 It was a shame to give it away, but he could not help it . He did not want to deal with stools again . The man nodded . Although, he did not feel like going to the toilet again because he had already finished his business earlier on . Do it here No, there are women here as well . Other people who might have wanted to go to toilet later on were full of complaints . But, Ganghyuk had no intention to negotiate with them . Considering human rights, he should not be doing this . But, he could not allow them to go outside and spread viruses everywhere . You must do it here . Some time later, more people will come and they will help you . People Yes, I sent an errand to the governor . He will send some soldiers . Governor Oh my goodness Hearing about the governor, the people who were complaining or about to protest gave up the though completely . They had realized Ganghyuk 39 s status he was clearly not a simple n.o.bleman, as he could communicate with the governor . They felt that they had no option but to follow his order, even when it seemed unreasonable and unfair . Only antibiotics and anti inflammatory medications were left for the less serious patients . The s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum which contained expensive ingredients was already finished . They were short of even Yanggyeoksan at this point . But, he had to admit that the s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum was more effective than he had imagined . 39 Some patients in the warehouse have gotten better . Even the pus blisters have subsided . 39 It was too fast for cowpox vaccine to be causing the effects . It was a shame though that they could not make more of s...o...b..nghwalmyeongeum . 39 I hope Makbong does his job . 39 Even though he was slow, he was a member of a performance group . He must be walking without a pause, and might have arrived there already . The red sun was rising . Heok, Heok . As Ganghyuk had thought, Makbong had hurried on his way without taking a rest . As a result, he arrived at Ganghyuk 39 s house early morning . Tell me who you are . Seungmun asked with a sleepy eyed face . If he were not on an errand from Ganghyuk, Seungmun would not have met him at all . The look of Makbong was really strange . As Ganghyuk had told him, he was wearing gloves, a mask, and an operation cap . I am called Makbong, sir . Makbong Yes, I am serving Master Ganghyuk . Yes, he is the man . Okseok confirmed it from the side . He had seen Makbong going around with Ganghyuk a few times . It was only then that Seungmun found his face to be familiar as well . Then, why are you here so early in the morning Eh Sir, master Ganghyuk had smallpox Makbong had not encountered a high ranking n.o.bleman like Seungmun ever, so he was sweating profusely . He had practiced what he would say all the way to the house, but he forgot it all and used some incoherent words, which went in a totally different direction . Seungmun rushed down to the yard without even wearing shoes, What Smallpox Ganghyuk caught it No, no Sir, master had something like immune . What are you saying He told me that we have it when we get pus from cow . What pus Seungmun stared at Makbong . Although the latter did not look like a bad guy, he was certainly a fool . So, he gave up on finding about the facts from him . Why did he send you here Ah When Seungmun asked this question, Makbong thought of the note . He took out the paper while wearing the mask . Ganghyuk had written the letter while taking care for it not to get contaminated . He asked for the herbs and people written in this letter . Herbs and people Yes, smallpox Makbong mentioned smallpox often, so Seungmun felt that there must be something serious for sure . Do you mean there is a smallpox outbroke in the place where Ganghyuk is staying Yes, yes . That is what I wanted to tell you . Seungmun was aware that Ganghyuk had gone to the mouth of Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo . It was not far from his place, so it meant smallpox could spread to here as well . Thinking of this, his face complexion became dark . It is a major thing indeed . Okseok, I need to go out . Yes, sir . I will go to the governor . We may need help from government office . Okay, sir . Although Seungmun had many servants, the governor could mobilize more people at once, not to mention of the volume of herbs that they retained . Seungmun had licorice and deer antlers that he received as present . While Seungmun prepared, Makbong did his work . Oooops It is cold Makbong washed his body in a corner of the kitchen . He was proud of his lice in his hair and body . Therefore, he felt shame when he saw the dirty water flowing from his body . He even felt that he had lost some of his lifespan . 39 But, he ordered me to do this, so I should follow . 39 He said that if he did not do it, it could bring a disaster to Suwon . He told me to burn the clothes . Thus, Makgbong burnt the clothes and gloves in the furnace, and then changed into clothes that Ganghyuk gave him . They were Dolseok 39 s clothes, and they fit him well . Where is he Seungmun was already dressed up, and was looking for Makbong . Makbong had to run to him with wet hair . What did you do Master Ganghyuk told me to wash my body right after meeting you . Now Yes . He remembered that Ganghyuk bathed nearly everyday, and even implicitly asked Seungmun to do the same . I see . Let 39 s go . Hurry up . Yes, sir . With Sungmun 39 s remark, a group of servants followed . Okseok guided the way by taking a horse by the reins . Seungmun told the rest of servants after getting onto the horse, Go to Ganghyuk with licorice and rice . Yes, sir . It was still very dark, and the curfew was not lifted yet . Seungmun looked at Makbong, who was dripping right now . 39 Then, how could he come here 39 n.o.body could have imagined that his vulgar work to satisfy widows could save many lives one day . Seungmun tilted his head, but he drove his horse without asking any questions . He was a n.o.bleman, so did not feel like asking servants too many questions . Let 39 s go . It was a big group, so a patrol came to them . Stop . Seungmun drove his horse without stopping, but they could see his face in the moonlight . Ah, sir Yes I need to go to the governor because of an emergency . Guide me . Yes, yes . As the patrol escorted his group, it turned to be quite a scene . Makbong had a strange feeling while moving with the group . He used to evade patrol, but was being escorted by them right now . We are here, sir . Ok, let him know that I am here . He could not enter without notice, because it was too early . Fortunately, Kim Yungil was a very polite man to his seniors, and came out quickly to meet him . Sir, what brought you here in the early morning How are you I am good, sir . Actually, Seungmun had woken him up from his sound sleep . I think you know that Ganghyuk went to the mouth of Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo, right . Yes, sir . He had sent a servant to get v.i.a.g.r.a a few days ago . It seemed nothing special back then . Smallpox has arrived at the village there . He has sent a person to get some help . What Smallpox He shouted with startled eyes . His reaction was even stronger than Seungmun 39 s . It had happened in his jurisdiction, so he had to report it to the superiors . Yes . It must be correct because Ganghyuk diagnosed it himself . It is a big thing . I will go now . He said he would need these herbs . I will let the servants prepare them . He wore an official uniform and rode a horse . He did not take a sedan chair this time, as he knew it was an urgent situation . He went straight to Mt . Gw.a.n.ggyo with Seungmun . Following the horses were shamans and a cow to be sacrificed for the ritual . Some of fellows from Aeogae performance group were mixed in the group as well . Seungmun shook his head as he did not like the composition of the group . Do you want to take them to the place What should we do We need to console G.o.d Smallpox . Do you think it will work It will pacify the people at least . With the disaster called smallpox, there were not many things that they could do . But, the government had to do something for them . You are right . I did not think of that . I thought of it as a duty being a government official . With that, Seungmun and the governor hurried on their way . Dang, dang, dang At that time, the bell rang to announce that the curfew had been lifted . Here That is the village . Makbong pointed at the place discharging smoke . It is not really small . The governor murmured with a dark face . It seemed to have more than 200 households . Considering the neighborhood, the affected area could cover around 1,000 households . We need to hurry . Yes, sir . Makbong had great strength they could not believe that he had walked all night . When he accelerated, everybody followed him briskly . As the group was quite big, the movement almost trembled the earth . Du du du Ganghyuk felt the vibration . Most of the people were lain on the floor, so they all felt it . Is it an earthquake Ganghyuk got up with puzzled eyes . Yeoni shook her head, No, sir . There come the soldiers . This fast At first, he thought he had overslept . But, it was not the case . It was still early in the morning . 39 I must finish injecting as I am already awake . 39 Ganghyuk opened the bag while rubbing his sleepy eyes . The syringes inside were renewed, as he expected . Here He looked at the ox that they brought the day before and found that it had discharged pus again . Good As he was taking the pus from the ox, Heo Jun came to him, Can I help you with anything His face was desperate, as if he would cry if rejected . He reminded Ganghyuk of the pediatrics professor in Chungmu Hospital . 39 He wants to see a patient so badly . 39 Ganghyuk wondered for a while . 39 It has not been a day full since he got the shot . 39 But, he had the shot anyway, and he was a very strong and healthy man . Furthermore, he wore a mask and cap . Okay . But, do not touch them with your bare hands . 39 Thank you . What can I do Let 39 s inject it to less serious patients . And then As he was about to continue, the door was opened suddenly, and the governor and Seungmun came in riding on their horse . s They had brought the soldiers and herbs that Ganghyuk had been waiting for desperately .