The Physician of Traditional Medicine Returns from Murim

“Needle-knife?”

Jin Yongho furrowed his brow as he examined the needle-knife I handed him.

“What is this? The Korean medicine clinic I used to go to never mentioned anything like this.”

That’s to be expected.

Unlike in the old days when various types of needles like chim needles and round needles were used, modern South Korea almost exclusively uses filiform needles.

Though I’ve heard there are quite a few clinics that use needle-knives, it seems the place Jin Yongho went to wasn’t one of them.

As for me… this is actually much more comfortable.

The Murim world lacked the technology to mass-produce needles as thin as modern filiform needles.

“Regular needles are made of soft iron, they bend but don’t break. In contrast, this is made of steel and forged like a knife to allow incisions at the tip. Like a scalpel or hypodermic needle.”

In terms of safety, regular filiform needles are obviously better. They can be inserted slowly, avoiding blood vessels and nerves.

But they stood no chance of penetrating Jin Yongho’s stiffly frozen shoulder.

“So, you’re saying it tears with a knife?”

“It creates small holes in the adhered soft tissue. It’s much less invasive than surgery, though. Seeing is believing, so why don’t you try it?”

He alternated his gaze between the ice-like tendons on the computer screen and the needle-knife in my hand.

Interest in the new treatment method seemed to spark life into his previously lifeless eyes.

“Let’s do it, Dad. Okay?”

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

Jin Yongho nodded, pretending to yield to his son’s encouragement.

He swiftly removed his short-sleeved shirt and turned to face me, presenting his shoulder.

I palpated a spot where I could directly access the tendon without any dangerous structures in the way, and lightly disinfected it with an alcohol swab.

“Here we go.”

Scritch. Scritch.

I could clearly feel the sensation of the needle-knife piercing through skin and fascia.

Healthy tendons are elastic, while inflamed ones feel sticky. And Jin Yongho’s shoulder was frozen stiff, just like the alternate name for frozen shoulder suggests.

In this state, there wasn’t even a need to target specific acupoints.

I decisively cut through the tissue, focusing on the areas with the most severe adhesions.

“It’s less painful than I expected, and actually feels refreshing.”

“Right? Try lifting your arm.”

“Is it over already?”

I declared the treatment complete in less than a minute.

Jin Yongho looked bewildered.

He cautiously moved his shoulder, expecting pain to stop his arm at about 90 degrees like before.

“…?”

But contrary to his expectations.

And exactly as I anticipated.

“Is this divine medicine?”

His arm shot up.

A full 180 degrees towards the ceiling.

“W-why can I lift it?”

“Wooow!”

While his son shouted in pure excitement, Jin Yongho seemed to feel emotions other than joy.

“Hehe, surprised, aren’t you?”

His expression was indescribable. ‘Surprise’ wasn’t enough to capture it.

“Uh, um… you called this a needle-knife?”

“Yes.”

“It’s so anticlimactic, no, I mean amazing. For two years, this damn arm wouldn’t go up any further, and yet…?”

He could hardly believe it.

Was he dreaming?

He blinked his eyes and slapped his cheeks, but his senses were intact.

“Now that we’ve loosened it up like this, stretching will be much easier. Start exercising again, and come back for more treatments.”

“Y-yes.”

Even though he came into the consultation room willing to give it a try, he probably didn’t expect the treatment to work in one go.

If you want quick results, use needle-knives; if you prefer a slower, gentler approach, thread-embedding acupuncture is excellent. I wonder why these aren’t more widely known. Well, I suppose it’s to my benefit to be called a divine physician?

“I’ll record the angles. You can now lift your arm 180 degrees forward, and about 150 degrees to the side. Rotating backward is still difficult.”

“I… see.”

“The front joint usually loosens up last. Now that we’ve confirmed you respond well to needle-knife treatment, with consistent therapy like this, you’ll be able to cook again soon.”

I emphasized that he wasn’t 100% healed and would need follow-up visits, but Jin Yongho was still in a daze.

He seemed so amazed by the fact that his shoulder could move that he couldn’t stop raising and lowering his arm.

“Is this real?”

“Of course. You’ll be able to run your restaurant and play actively with your son again.”

◆◇◆◇◆

At the confident Korean medicine doctor’s words, memories from a few years ago flashed through his mind like a kaleidoscope.

Ordinary days spent running the restaurant all day, and wandering around with his son on days off.

Happy times reading books with his son, playing sword fights, and visiting amusement parks.

The shattered daily life when he could no longer use his arm.

At first, he endured the pain and kept working. It’ll get better. It’ll be fine soon.

But cruelly, his shoulder became increasingly stiff, and he had to hire a chef. He didn’t like bringing someone else into the kitchen he’d cherished for decades, but there was no choice.

He swallowed his pride, but then customers started leaving, complaining that the taste had changed. Eventually, they were in the red.

Jin Yongho thought he was going through hell then.

But it wasn’t the end.

A month after deciding to close the restaurant after discussing it with his wife, he learned for the first time that you can’t just close a business because you want to.

He realized day by day how lucky and happy he had been all along, but there was no going back for him.

“How about it, Dad? Aren’t you glad we came?”

Yoonho said, puffing out his chest.

In truth, for the past few months, Jin Yongho had been a bad father who would get angry even when his son just tried to talk to him.

Just yesterday… hadn’t he yelled at his son in shock when he said he got his stomachache treated for just 1,000 won?

Even when he entered this Korean medicine clinic, he was irritated to the brim.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Now, he was moved.

“Go to the treatment room for physical therapy, and you’ll get regular acupuncture too. Wait outside for a moment, and they’ll guide you.”

Whatever else the doctor said after that.

And whatever the staff member said when he came out, none of it remained in his memory.

Jin Yongho just received the rest of the treatment, overcome with emotion.

“Your arm can move? Really?”

“I told him we should go. I did well, right, Mom?”

“Thank goodness, such a relief…!”

His wife, who had been solely responsible for the family’s livelihood for nearly a year by working at another restaurant, was overjoyed at the news of his shoulder’s improvement.

“How… when can you start working again?”

“Well… I’ll have to ask again tomorrow.”

“Okay. Let’s focus on the treatment for now.”

“I’ll massage your shoulder!”

He hugged his grateful and lovable family tightly.

It might be fortunate that the lease hadn’t been taken over yet. If they start the business again, would their regular customers return?

Jin Yongho dreamed of a bright future as he received a massage from his son.

“Ah!”

Lost in thought for a while, Jin Yongho suddenly remembered something and clapped his hands.

“What is it, Dad?”

It wasn’t anything major.

He just suddenly realized that he had been so moved that he forgot to say thank you.

“You said you found that place through NewTube, right? I should at least leave a comment.”

He planned to bring some fruit tomorrow to express his gratitude again, but before that, he wanted to do something.

“Yeah, just a moment.”

His son opened the NewTube app and searched for “acupuncture Korean medicine doctor” in the search bar.

The title seems too ordinary. Is it an ASMR of acupuncture sounds?

“…”

But the video that unfolded before his eyes was far removed from both ASMR and clinic promotion.

“W-what is this? Rain of Ten Thousand Flowers?”

“Didn’t you listen to what I said yesterday? I told you I learned how to throw hidden weapons from the doctor!”

“…Did she come from the martial arts world or something?”

“She said the video was edited!”

“Well, of course it would be. But this… how on earth…?”

And so, Jin Yongho took one step towards the truth, then stepped back again.

◆◇◆◇◆

After treating Jin Yongho, there was a noticeable increase in patients.

Yijin brought three patients, one of whom, Grandma Heo Soon-nam, introduced five more, but Jin Yongho brought in a whopping nine people.

Some were Jin Yongho’s acquaintances, but others had come after watching the NewTube video.

[Got frozen shoulder treatment at this clinic, and my arm that wouldn’t lift for 2 years can now move]

Just like Jin Yoonho, some recognized the neighborhood fountain, and it wasn’t difficult to figure out which clinic it was after watching a few of Seo In-ae’s videos.

“Isn’t In-ae’s personal information too exposed? Is that okay?”

“Come on, all the nearby restaurants appear in my usual vlogs anyway. Don’t worry about it! More importantly, let’s make a blog too! We need to strike while the iron is hot!”

We quickly set up a sparse blog that only listed our clinic hours and location.

Maybe I’ll serialize some treatment cases from my Murim experiences later?

After adding the link, a few comments appeared expressing disbelief that it was clinic promotion.

But such negative reactions were completely buried under the exclamations of amazed foreigners and the debates of various commenters.

[How is this possible? That fountain statue is clearly stone, how can needles pierce stone?]

[It must be edited]

[The green light is obviously graphics, but how could they fake the needles actually piercing through?]

[Is it magnets? Are there special solid needles that can penetrate?]

People arguing about how it’s physically impossible, and whatnot.

‘…Right. Without inner force, the needles should bend and just fall off.’

Did I tell her to film too carelessly because I was drunk…? Fortunately, Seo In-ae, who saw it in person, wasn’t very interested, but there are always people who get worked up and debate all sorts of things.

Hmm, wouldn’t it be even more ridiculous to modify the video now? Major programs like “Believe It or Not” have no interest in a small NewTube channel!

[You’ve cultivated impressive inner force. May I ask which sect you belong to?]

As I scrolled down the comments, enjoying the chatter.

Something strange caught my eye.

[lololololol]

[Concept freak]

[Hidden weapons, so it must be Tang family, that’s why they added the green CG lololol]

While everyone else thought it was a joke and spammed ‘lol’ in the replies, I felt a bit uneasy.

[With no comrades to train with, I have no way to alleviate my loneliness. I leave this message that may not reach you, hoping to meet you and discuss martial arts. Young lady, please send me an email.]

Hmm, hmm! Hmmmm.

I clicked on his profile, and to my surprise, his channel even had videos demonstrating the Four Movements Sword Technique and the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

‘It’s quite different from the Jeonchang and Huashan sword techniques I know.’

There were a few other moves he claimed were his sect’s techniques… something seems off?

It looks like inner force might be involved. Or maybe not.

Is it because I’m watching it on video? I can’t quite tell.

What could it be? Are there people practicing martial arts in modern times?

It’s not impossible, given that you can find things like dantian breathing techniques just by searching the internet. But for some reason, the qi in the air is significantly lower compared to the martial arts world, so even if you practice qi circulation correctly, the efficiency is less than 1/3.

And with the methods floating around the internet… you might feel a tiny bit after about ten years?

[Hello. I’m emailing you after seeing your comment on the video.]

Ah, nothing ventured, nothing gained!

I decided to contact him, even if it might be a wild goose chase.

[I’m just a doctor who stayed as a guest of the Sichuan Tang family and learned martial arts through observation. If I can be of any help, despite my inadequacies…]

After writing the email, I realized it was a whopping 5,500 characters. Maybe it was a bit overwhelming?

If he’s not a real martial artist, he’ll think I’m crazy. I scratched my head as I sent the email.

And the next day.

“Good morning. Oh, you don’t look well. Did something happen?”

“Ah, I got a scammer call first thing in the morning. These damn voice phishing criminals don’t even change their methods, it’s the third time already. I don’t know where my phone number was leaked. Who would fall for this?”

“That must be really frustrating.”

I exchanged morning greetings with Seo In-ae and entered the consultation room to turn on the computer.

As I logged in unconsciously, I saw that there was already a reply to the email I sent yesterday.

A man introducing himself as a martial artist training in Gyeongju, having received teachings from his grandfather, poured out his long story.

Oh, compared to this reply, my email doesn’t even qualify as TMI.

Among the lengthy text, only one sentence stood out.

[I have real secret techniques.]

Various scenarios played out in my head.

Did his grandfather visit the martial arts world like me? What does he mean by “real secret techniques”? Is there a separate training method suitable for modern times?

[I’ll come to Gyeongju.]

Unable to contain my curiosity, I sent a reply.

Until I accidentally uploaded that video, I had thoroughly hidden the fact that I was a martial arts practitioner. Why invite unnecessary misunderstandings of being crazy?

But hearing this story, my heart raced at the thought that there might be someone else who had learned martial arts besides me.

Even if that were the case, nothing would really change, but I still wanted to talk to them.

‘Well, why not! If the secret techniques this person has are effective… That’s right, I should teach Yijin too!’

I exchanged contact information with the unidentified man and immediately set up an appointment.