Genius Physician CH 3

I gave a small nod.

Grandfather has returned.

After being summoned to the imperial palace, Grandfather would return once a year and remain at the family estate for approximately fifteen days.

This was that time of year.

It was customary for every member of the family to present themselves and greet him upon his return.

Everyone except me, of course.

Yeon Dopyeong glared at me through gritted teeth.

Then he abruptly turned and shouted at Hongdan.

“Hey!”

“Y-yes?!”

“Pick all of that up right now!”

He gestured carelessly toward the medicinal herbs scattered across the floor. When Hongdan hesitated, he immediately roared at her.

“Why aren’t you moving? Do you expect me to clean it up myself?!”

“I-I’ll do it immediately!”

While Hongdan hurriedly gathered the herbs, Dopyeong lowered his voice and threatened me.

“You should consider yourself lucky. I’m letting you off today because Grandfather is here.”

He started toward the door, only to stop after a few steps.

“…And you.”

Dopyeong slowly turned his head, his eyes gleaming viciously.

“If you tell anyone what happened just now, I’ll make sure what little life you have left ends even sooner.”

Leaving that chilling warning behind, he turned his back on me.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Only after the door closed behind him did silence settle over the room.

“Whew.”

At last, I managed to release the breath I had been holding.

I did it.

Just before Dopyeong left the room, he had tried his hardest to appear unaffected.

But I had not missed the slight trembling of his shoulders.

He would rather die than surrender his pride. Having his shame exposed must be a fate worse than death to him.

Now that I had secured such a decisive weakness, Dopyeong would no longer be able to treat me as carelessly as before.

That takes care of the most urgent problem…

Hongdan and Yeon Dopyeong.

I had dealt with the two people who tormented me most directly.

Now I need to decide what to do next.

After steadying my breathing, I rose from the floor.

I opened the door and looked outside, where brilliant sunlight bathed the estate.

I need to determine everything I must do to protect House Yakryeong—and myself.

With a resolute expression, I took in the vast grounds of House Yakryeong.

I had not possessed enough confidence to act this decisively from the beginning.

“P-please help me!”

During my first regression, I had immediately sought my uncle’s help.

“She has finally lost her mind. Drag her away and lock her up at once.”

But all I received in return was imprisonment.

I died before I could survive even ten days.

In my next life, I went to Grandfather.

“Grandfather! P-please listen to me! The family is in danger. I-it really is!”

But because I was feverish and could barely speak coherently, my uncle and Hongdan dismissed my warnings as hallucinations caused by my illness.

I even tried escaping the estate.

But it was impossible for a sick seven-year-old body to survive outside for long.

If no one was willing to save me, I had to find a way to save myself.

“I’ll help you, Cousin.”

In another life, I pretended to help my cousins with their work while secretly teaching myself medicine.

I had begun studying to cure my illness, but as my research continued, I developed countless medicinal formulas.

After enduring failure after failure, I reached a single conclusion.

I could not survive by asking for help.

Nor could I survive by running away.

I had to create my own path to survival.

Fortunately, there’s no one nearby.

A vast lake lay behind the detached residence where I lived.

Its surface held the clear light of early summer and shone as transparently as glass. In the center of the lake, the shrine dedicated to the Black Tortoise stood in tranquil isolation.

The shrine was not a place anyone could enter whenever they pleased.

Perhaps that was why this area remained deserted even on a day like today, when Grandfather had returned.

“Perfect.”

I dropped onto the ground beside the lake and picked up a fallen branch.

Then I slowly began writing in the dirt, making certain not to distort even a single character.

[Terminally Ill Body]

[Jeok Yeonhu]

In every previous life, one of those two things had killed me.

To overcome my illness, I needed rare medicinal ingredients and a proper environment in which to receive treatment.

To stop Jeok Yeonhu, I needed enough power to mobilize people before he swallowed the entire family.

Most importantly, Jeok Yeonhu had destroyed House Yakryeong in my previous lives and slaughtered every member of the family.

Father had been among them.

…I don’t want that.

I had always believed that Father died resenting me, but Jeok Yeonhu had clearly said otherwise.

He had told me that Father worried about me until his final breath.

I still did not know which version was true.

But one thing was certain.

Father had sacrificed everything in an attempt to cure my illness.

Until now, Father had been the one trying to save me.

This time, it was my turn to save him.

In that case, there was only one answer.

I needed a position that would allow me to control the medicinal ingredients, mobilize the family’s people, and decide House Yakryeong’s future.

I drew a long line through the first two phrases.

Then I wrote something new beneath them.

[Family Head]

“I have to become the head of the family.”

If I wanted to protect House Yakryeong and survive, I needed that much authority.

To accomplish that, I would first have to demonstrate my abilities.

I recalled the ingredients required to produce that medicine.

To acquire the necessary ingredients and bring out the medicine’s full effects, I needed to visit an herbalist in the marketplace.

However, as a patient, I could not leave the family estate without permission from the current family head.

For now, I’ll make it using only what I have.

I slowly rose to my feet.

Following the edge of the lake, I eventually reached a secluded corner of the surrounding woodland.

A small building stood there.

It had once been used as a dispensary, but it had long since been abandoned and was now treated as little more than a storage room.

Creak.

When I pushed open the door, an old medicinal mortar, a decoction pot, and several worn ingredient cabinets came into view.

I retrieved a small cloth bundle hidden inside.

As expected, it contained the medicinal ingredients I had gradually collected while completing my cousins’ work.

Good.

I removed them one by one and inspected their condition.

Sichuan lovage, angelica root, Solomon’s seal, purple perilla leaves, and Mystic Spirit Root.

There was no doubt that all of them were precious ingredients.

But…

They’re all low-grade.

A bitter smile appeared on my lips.

In a way, it was only natural.

Yeon Sotaek had brought these ingredients for his son Dopyeong’s education. They were of such poor quality that it would not matter in the slightest if they were damaged or ruined.

Still, they were better than nothing.

Casting aside my unnecessary thoughts, I placed the ingredients inside the mortar.

Crunch. Crunch.

It was no easy task with the body of a seven-year-old.

My arms soon began to tremble, and my palms throbbed painfully.

But I had prepared this medicine dozens of times before.

The process was so familiar that I could have completed it with my eyes closed.

I did not know how much time had passed.

At last, a small bowl had been filled, and a faint medicinal fragrance spread through the room.

I dipped my fingertip lightly into the medicinal powder and tasted it.

“Hmm.”

This should have some effect. But…

It still isn’t enough.

With such weak potency, I would never earn Grandfather’s firm acknowledgment.

I quietly set down the bowl.

If only I had a slightly better Mystic Spirit Root…

A high-grade Mystic Spirit Root would completely transform the medicine’s efficacy.

But it was not something the current me could possibly obtain.

Just then—

Rustle—!

“…Hmm?”

A faint sound came from the wall of the storage room, where no one should have been.

Rustle. Scrape.

This time, it was unmistakably clear.

A chill immediately ran down my spine.

Could it be…?

My actions in this life had already diverged from those of my previous lives.

It was possible that I had unknowingly introduced a new variable.

Perhaps Jeok Yeonhu’s shadow—or rather, the shadow of House Jeokhyeon—had already fallen somewhere across this estate.

And if, for some unknown reason, they intended to kill me right now…

I need to hide.

Overcome by anxiety, I hurriedly began retreating toward a corner.

“Kyuu!”

Suddenly, a tiny, pitiful cry reached my ears.

“Kyuuuu!”

When I approached the source of the sound, I found an old earthenware jar rattling violently.

I moved closer and blinked.

An otter?

A tiny otter had gotten its plump belly lodged in the mouth of the jar and was struggling helplessly to free itself.

Its head and forepaws had barely emerged, and it was clutching something tightly against its chest with both paws.

“H-hold still.”

“Kyuuu…”

I carefully slipped my hands beneath its forelegs and pulled.

Pop—!

Fortunately, it did not require much strength.

The moment the otter came free from the jar, it tumbled across the floor.

The impact knocked whatever it had been holding from its paws, and the object landed beside my feet.

“Kyuu!”

I reached down and picked it up.

Then my breath stopped.

“A Mystic Spirit Root?”

And it was no ordinary high-grade specimen.

A clear blue radiance shimmered around its roots, while a rich, profound fragrance curled beneath my nose.

My heart pounded violently.

With this…

I could create the perfect medicine and prove my abilities to Grandfather, the head of the family.