Chapter 41: Mama Baesong Gut [1] [When Duchang breaks out, after fourteen days have passed, a feast is always held to mourn the dead and congratulate the living. The feast takes the form of either games or a gut, and this is called Mama Baesong Gut.] — excerpted from Jeong Yeoju's The Tale of Baek Kanghyeok
The shamans must already have been possessed, because they were moving incredibly fast.
They had already reached the top of the hill. In other words, they had arrived at the village square.
The Busa had also ridden over on horseback and was laying out the necessary items.
Damn it.
No matter how fearless Kanghyeok was, now that he was actually about to flip the whole place upside down, he hesitated.
Still, I have to say something.
He was a doctor, after all.
Gathering people together in the middle of an epidemic—
and not for treatment, but for a gut?
That was absolutely unacceptable.
"B-Busa sir!"
Kanghyeok barely forced the words out as he felt his breath rising into his throat.
The Busa, who had been busy directing the people, turned his head.
His face was full of delight.
"Oh. Kanghyeok. You should get some rest. I heard you stayed up all night."
"No, sir. I'm perfectly fine. More importantly..."
Catching his breath, Kanghyeok looked around.
Brightly dyed cloth was fluttering everywhere.
He also spotted sharply honed knives and a jakdu.
"Moo—"
As if it sensed its fate, even the cow was lowing with tears glistening in its eyes.
It truly was just before a full-blown gut began.
The one saving grace was that, apart from the people Kanghyeok had sent out, everyone was already gathered.
They had not yet called in the rest of the villagers.
"Must you really hold this gut?"
At Kanghyeok's words, the Busa let out a low chuckle.
Fortunately, his reaction was not especially intense.
That was probably because his goodwill toward Kanghyeok was no ordinary thing.
"So you really are a Confucian scholar after all."
"What?"
What kind of nonsense was that about being a Confucian scholar?
He was still at the stage of barely memorizing the Thousand Character Classic.
But the Busa had no idea about any of that.
To him, the "poem" Kanghyeok had written before had left a very strong impression.
Whether true or not, he must have believed Kanghyeok's learning had reached a certain level.
If he found out Kanghyeok knew only about three poems in total, including that one, he would probably be furious beyond measure.
"I know as well. A gut... does not accord with reason. But it is still something that must be done."
"You mean it is a way of showing sincerity to the people?"
"That's right. You already understand the heart of a magistrate, so you're quite something yourself."
"Couldn't that display of sincerity be put off just a little?"
"And what do you mean by that?"
The Busa's face stiffened slightly.
That was not a good sign.
Mm. What do I do?
Kanghyeok desperately worked his mind.
Several thoughts began to drift through his head.
The first was an extremely selfish one.
Do I really need to offend the Busa over this? If one little village like this gets ruined, then so what...
There was pus from the cowpox lesions, so not everyone would die.
More would die than now, but still.
No, that's not right.
The second thought had a bit more conscience mixed into it.
Our relationship... isn't so shallow that we need to become enemies over this.
Hadn't they been seeing each other almost every day ever since he came to Joseon?
They had even drunk together several times.
He was close with Kanghyeok's father too.
More than anything, the Busa looked like he was willing to listen.
I'll just make something plausible up as I go.
Judging by how things were moving, there seemed to be no way to stop the gut entirely.
And there was no real need to stop it completely.
"There are too many sick people in the village right now."
Kanghyeok pointed toward the entrance of the clinic.
At that moment, Heo Jun's group was coming in from their rounds through the village.
There had been only seven of them when they went out, but fifteen were coming back in.
That meant eight were patients.
That number was by no means small.
"It means it will be difficult for the whole village to gather."
"That would be so. That part cannot be helped."
"It would also be a serious problem if sick people were mixed in. If people gather recklessly, they could all catch it."
"Can Duchang spread that way too?"
Even now there were people like that, but in the past, illness was a kind of punishment.
A punishment from heaven for having done something wrong—so-called divine punishment.
Especially diseases like Duchang, which looked horrifying to anyone who saw them.
Was there not prejudice and discrimination against leprosy recorded all over the world as a representative example?
What the true cause was did not matter much.
It was not an age that could know such things.
"Yes, it can."
"Huh."
The Busa did not even ask why.
He was simply listening because the words were coming from Kanghyeok.
"But even so, it still must be done."
"Yes, it must. But could you not delay the timing just a little?"
"Delay it?"
"Yes."
"Mm."
This time, the Busa fell into thought.
More than twenty soldiers were waiting only for his command.
If he gave the order, they would immediately go and gather the villagers.
The shamans would dance on the jakdu and spill the cow's blood to show their sincerity.
The entertainers would perform merrily to lift the spirits of the Smallpox Deity.
The people, seeing that, would feel relieved.
Though it would be nothing more than an empty shell.
"Mm..."
It seemed he found it difficult to decide right away.
After struggling with it for quite a while, the Busa finally spoke.
"How long?"
"What?"
"I asked how long it needs to be delayed."
"Ah."
Kanghyeok recalled what he knew about smallpox.
It begins with red spots... then blisters form, and it doesn't end until the scabs settle...
For that, it would take at least ten days.
To be safe, fourteen.
Some people will probably die during that time too.
But compared to other regions, it would not even come close.
Kanghyeok was here, and so was Heo Jun.
"Please delay it for just fourteen days."
"Fourteen days...? That is rather long."
"But it is absolutely necessary. I will do everything I can to care for them so that no problems arise during that time."
"Hmm."
It was not anyone else asking, but Kanghyeok.
As always, he looked overflowing with confidence.
At least when it came to illness, Kanghyeok had never once let expectations down.
"Very well. Fine."
"Ah, really?"
"Yes. But only fourteen days. No more than that."
"Yes. That will be enough."
As long as it did not spread further, it probably would be.
Anyone infected at this point would have reached some kind of conclusion in fourteen days.
Whether they lived or died.
One of the two.
With that firm answer, the Busa finally made up his mind completely.
"Stop it for now!"
At the Busa's shout, the shamans, who had been engrossed in preparing for the gut, turned around.
Every one of them looked startled, and one of them came running over.
It was a very old man.
"M-my lord. If the Smallpox Deity becomes angry because of this..."
A god that did not even exist, and now it might become angry too?
Kanghyeok shook his head with a look of disbelief.
"Do not worry. We'll hold it after fourteen days."
"What? But everything has already been arranged..."
"Then put even more sincerity into it when the time comes."
"But..."
The old shaman looked as if he might cry and turned to the Busa.
But the Busa had already hardened his resolve.
"That is enough. As Scholar Baek says, put that much more sincerity into it. Offer prayers of devotion if you must."
"Uh... yes, I shall obey."
The shaman could only nod in reluctant submission.
From a shaman's point of view, the Smallpox Deity might be frightening, but the Busa was more than frightening enough as well.
No, perhaps the Busa, who could order his head cut off on the spot, was even more terrifying.
That resentment turned entirely toward Kanghyeok.
It was obvious just from the blazing look in his eyes.
Kanghyeok, the object of it, did not care in the slightest.
Is he going to cast a curse or something?
If he wanted to, then let him.
Passing by the shamans with their stunned expressions, Kanghyeok headed back toward the clinic.
As for Yeoju, she had come all this way hoping to draw the gut, only for the trip to be wasted.
Fortunately, she did not seem all that disappointed.
After all, she had just seen someone openly oppose the Busa's opinion.
And on top of that, succeed.
"Watching you, Young Master, it really seems as if there is nothing you are afraid of."
"Hm? What do you mean by that?"
"To even think of going against the Busa's words."
"Ah. Well... I only did it because it seemed like it would be okay."
He had already spent years in working society.
Wasn't it natural to stretch only after judging how far one could stretch?
But Yeoju had no way of knowing all that.
She was a bold and clever woman, but she lacked that kind of experience.
And people as headlong as Kanghyeok were extremely rare to begin with.
So to her, Kanghyeok only seemed astonishing.
"Even if my father had been here, he would not have been able to postpone the gut."
"Really? Professor Jeong?"
"Yes. My father too."
"Hmm."
That was an unexpected opinion.
If it were that old-school Joseon conservative, Kanghyeok would have thought he might charge right in even while the gut was being held.
Wasn't he the sort of scholar with nothing in his head but Confucian learning?
"Anyway, we've bought some time, so we should make use of it."
Kanghyeok hurried into the clinic.
The courtyard was crowded with the patients Heo Jun had sent over.
At a glance, all of them clearly had Duchang.
As expected, Heo Jun really is different.
He had picked them out with uncanny accuracy and sent them over, so now it was Kanghyeok's turn to show his skill.
"First, put the pus into their noses!"
It was an absurd command, but the patients who had been brought in were all peasants.
There was no way they dared refuse.
And Kanghyeok was not alone either—the Busa was seated nearby.
With soldiers lined up all around, it was enough to make them piss themselves in fear.
"Mmgh."
"Urgh."
"Argh."
They could do nothing but let out dying screams.
"Now, next..."
It was time to administer herbs according to the symptoms.
"Leave this to me."
Heo Jun, who had been boiling herbs the entire time, stepped forward.
It seemed he had already prepared not only Yanggyeok-san and Seonbang Hwalmyeong-eum, but even some medicines Kanghyeok had never seen before.
The scent was unusual, and it looked even more precious than Seonbang Hwalmyeong-eum.
"There are some medicines here I've never seen before."
"Ah, yes. This is... a medicine called Gamibulhwanggeumjeonggi-san. It can be used on patients whose pus has already been removed."
"Ah, I see."
For the name to be a full eight syllables long.
Kanghyeok quickly made a note of it, while Yeoju drew each herb that went into it one by one.
Gyulhong, Changchul, Bakha, Cheongung, Mokhyang—just hearing the names, one could tell the ingredients were all precious herbs.
If the Busa had not opened up the storeroom, the prescription probably would not even have been possible.
Heo Jun fanned the fire for a while, then suddenly looked at Kanghyeok.
"By the way, the patient in the storeroom is worse than before. I took a look, but..."
The way he trailed off suggested the condition was truly bad.
Even Kanghyeok, who had seemed composed, turned urgent.
"How was he?"
"There is blood mixed in when he coughs."
"Blood? Damn."
With any illness, once blood appeared, it was not a good sign.
And among such signs, hemoptysis was one of the very worst.
That was even more significant in Duchang.
Kanghyeok headed into the storeroom at once.
"Cough."
The patient coughing repeatedly came into view immediately.
And every time he coughed, bright red blood stained his clothes.
It was mixed with foam, so it was definitely hemoptysis.
"Are you all right?"
"Ugh..."
There was no way he was all right.
Was he not burning with fever and coughing up blood?
The empty IV bag hanging from his arm swayed weakly.
There was nothing more to hang for him, so the patient could only look up with desperate eyes.
Hemorrhagic smallpox... this one can't be saved.
Hemorrhagic smallpox.
A form of infection with a fatality rate that reached one hundred percent.
Once it progressed this far, no one could save him.
Kanghyeok recalled a lesson he had long been taught.
That sometimes one had to choose between lives.
That sometimes reducing pain was the best treatment possible.
This is meaningless suffering.
Kanghyeok injected a narcotic painkiller. Three ampules in succession.
It was everything he had, and more than enough to ease the patient's pain.
In other words, it was also enough to suppress breathing and lead to death.
"Endure just a little longer. You'll feel better."
"Th-thank you."
The patient kept nodding without even knowing what Kanghyeok had injected into him.
"Then... rest."
"Yes, Physician."
Leaving the patient's final words behind him, Kanghyeok left the storeroom.
For some reason, the Hippocratic Oath he had made when he first became a doctor came to mind.
For now, I need to focus on the people who can still be saved. We even managed to postpone the gut... which means there won't be a moment to rest, will there?
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