Chapter 673
Chapter 673
Chapter 673. Hwangbo Clan (3)
Master Hwangbo Seon-yu was listening closely to their conversation.
But now was the time to act actively.
Because I was not such an idle person.
So I rose from my seat, approached them, and asked.
“Excuse me. Is that ointment truly that effective?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Who are you?” (Guest)
At that, I respectfully clasped my hands and said.
“My greeting is late. This humble merchant is Eun Seo-ho, Young Company Head of the Eunhae Trading Company.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“If it’s Eun Seo-ho of the Eunhae Trading Company?” (Guest)
“Ah…… Master Seonhyeop Mirang?” (Guest)
It was a little embarrassing, but at times like this, it was truly very helpful.
“It is honestly a name far beyond what I deserve.” (Eun Seo-ho)
Having expressed humility like that, I continued.
“I came to ask after hearing the conversation you two were having. The truth is, my elder brother is suffering from a boil. I apologize for unintentionally eavesdropping on your conversation.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“I see!” (Guest)
“It is all right. Is there not a saying about fellow sufferers sympathizing with one another? And it was not as though we were speaking in secret.” (Guest)
“Thank you. Could I possibly hear the details?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Yes. In truth, it is not something I experienced personally. I only heard that someone around me cured a boil with the ointment that physician made.” (Guest)
“I see.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I discreetly placed coins on the table and said.
“If you have the time, after the meal, could I ask you to guide me to that physician?” (Eun Seo-ho)
A little while later.
We finished a satisfying meal. I had wondered why Master Hwangbo Seon-yu chose that inn, and it seemed to be because the food was good.
All the inns he had chosen on the way here had served delicious food.
He seemed to be quite the gourmet, and thinking about how someone like that had deliberately brewed tea so terribly on the first day we met and suffered through drinking it made me laugh.
But I still do not know why he deliberately brewed the tea terribly.
Usually I could guess to some extent, but Master Hwangbo Seon-yu was not an ordinary person…….
“This way.” (Guest)
My party and I were guided by the two men to an inn.
“Is this not…… an inn?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Yes. That physician is staying here.” (Guest)
“I see. In any case, thank you.” (Eun Seo-ho)
We went inside the inn.
Inside, it was so packed with people that there were almost no seats.
At that moment, a voice reached my ears.
“Did I see His Majesty the Emperor in person? Of course I did!” (Physician)
“What did the sovereign look like?” (Guest)
“To be honest, I do not remember well. I was concentrating all my nerves on taking his pulse, you see.” (Physician)
I pushed through the people and headed forward.
A middle-aged man with a long beard was eating while telling stories.
Just looking at him, he looks like a storyteller who makes a living selling tales, doesn’t he?
He cleared his throat.
“In any case, His Majesty the Emperor was suffering from boils. On top of that, even after trying treatments in many ways, there was no improvement. So I prayed earnestly to the gods of heaven and earth every single day. Then one day, while I was researching medicinal ingredients, I dozed off, and an immortal appeared in my dream. When I made and used a medicine exactly as that person instructed, the boils vanished without a trace.” (Physician)
He touched the jar placed on the table with his hand and said.
“This is precisely the ointment containing that secret prescription.” (Physician)
“But how is it that you are wandering outside instead of remaining in the imperial palace?” (Guest)
“Whew…… I have said it several times, yet you make me say it again.” (Physician)
He sighed and said.
“The imperial palace is a frightening place. I became caught up in a political struggle…… and ended up wandering outside like this.” (Physician)
“I see.” (Guest)
“Let us stop speaking of such gloomy matters and speak of medicine instead. As for this ointment, it is a miraculous medicine that completely cured His Majesty the Emperor’s boils. Half a nyang of silver for one jar!” (Physician)
“Give me one!” (Guest)
“Give me one too!” (Guest)
People competed to buy the ointment.
Seeing how everyone paid the money right away without hesitation, I could tell they had all come to buy that ointment.
I asked someone who bought the ointment and was leaving.
“Is that ointment effective?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Of course! My father was suffering from a boil on his back, so I bought this ointment and applied it, and it improved visibly.” (Customer)
“I see.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I called Palgap.
“Buy one of those ointments.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Understood.” (Palgap)
“And Warrior Jin-yu. Please keep watch on that person who claims to be a physician.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“I will carry out your command.” (Jin-yu)
“I will return to Songhawol Inn.” (Eun Seo-ho)
A little while later.
Palgap bought the ointment and returned to Songhawol Inn.
“It was extremely popular, so I barely managed to get one.” (Palgap)
“You did well.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I took it and went up to the room, and Master Hwangbo Seon-yu followed me and asked.
“Why did you tell him to buy that?” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“To determine whether that man is truly a swindler or merely an impersonator.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I held out the ointment Palgap had bought and said.
“If this ointment is real, he is an impersonator, but if it is fake…….” (Eun Seo-ho)
“He is a fraud.” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“That is correct.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I placed the ointment on the table and called Warrior Ipil.
“Warrior Ipil.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Yes.” (Ipil)
“Can you determine what the ingredients of this ointment are?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“I will examine it.” (Ipil)
Warrior Ipil approached the table.
“You may sit comfortably and study it.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Yes.” (Ipil)
Warrior Ipil took something from his luggage, then sat at the table and began examining the ointment.
He was a member of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Although he had left the Sichuan Tang Clan due to certain circumstances, it would not be an exaggeration to say that while he had been in the Sichuan Tang Clan, he had learned everything he could learn before coming of age.
In truth, he had not used the Sichuan Tang Clan’s secret medicines or poison arts before, but after Elder Ten Thousand Knots Divine Physician apparently gave him permission regarding this, he had begun researching secret medicines and poison arts.
Perhaps information about the Tang Clan’s secret medicines had been written in the book Elder Ten Thousand Knots Divine Physician gave to Warrior Ipil, because thanks to that, Warrior Ipil was also able to make his own tracking incense.
Warrior Ipil put gloves made of deer hide on his hands and began studying the ointment, and we decided to go down to the first floor and drink tea.
“Palgap, help Warrior Ipil.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Understood.” (Palgap)
As we were drinking tea on the first floor and talking about this and that, Palgap came down.
“Young Master. Everything is ready.” (Palgap)
Those words probably meant that Warrior Ipil had finished his research.
We headed back to the room.
“You have come?” (Ipil)
“Yes. Did you find out?” (Eun Seo-ho)
At my question, he nodded.
“Do you perhaps know of Tobunguncho?” (Ipil)
That was a plant named so because its roots were round like rabbit droppings.
It was a plant that lived only in the southern part of the empire, that is, south of the Yangtze River in places like Guangdong or Fujian Province, so there were few people here in Shandong who knew about it.
Physicians or medicine shops in this region probably would not know it well either.
I knew it because our Eunhae Trading Company dealt professionally in medicinal herbs and had abundant experience with them.
In any case, to think I would hear of that here.
“Do not tell me it was made from Tobunguncho?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Why do you look so serious?” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
Master Hwangbo Seon-yu asked after seeing my expression. There was a reason I looked serious.
“Tobunguncho is…… a poisonous herb.” (Eun Seo-ho)
At my words, Master Hwangbo Seon-yu’s expression also turned cold.
“Did you just say poisonous herb?” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“Yes.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I said to Warrior Ipil.
“Could you please explain?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Understood.” (Ipil)
Warrior Ipil continued.
“When I placed this ointment into my secret reagent…….” (Ipil)
It was an explanation mixed with quite a few specialized terms.
But perhaps out of consideration for us, he explained it plainly enough that we could understand.
And seeing his eyes sparkle as he explained it to us, he truly was a Tang Clan person by nature.
“Thus, I was able to determine that this ointment is made by mixing Tobunguncho with beeswax.” (Ipil)
“I see.” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“And as my liege said, this Tobunguncho is a poisonous herb. The root makes the skin smooth, but its medicinal effect is so strong that water in which the root has been boiled will not rot even after a year.” (Ipil)
“Then is that not a good thing?” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“That is correct. If you look only at that, it is good. But as I just said, its medicinal effect is too strong, and because it even has side effects, it is classified as a poisonous herb. Look at this medicine jar. It is very small, is it not?” (Ipil)
“That is true. The amount is too little for an ointment applied to the skin.” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
The jar containing the ointment was only about the size of a thumb.
“This amount is all right, but if two jars or more are used, it becomes dangerous then.” (Ipil)
I added an explanation.
“It may cause hallucinations or mental confusion, and in a woman’s case, it may render her unable to become pregnant. In addition, the possibility of cardiac arrest also rises considerably.” (Eun Seo-ho)
Warrior Ipil said.
“The fact that the amount of ointment was adjusted to this level suggests there is a high chance he knows about the side effects.” (Ipil)
“That is correct.” (Eun Seo-ho)
We moved immediately.
The fact that people who had already used it and seen its effect were buying it again meant this was around the time the side effects would start appearing.
In other words, it also meant that the self-proclaimed physician who had worked in the imperial palace was at the point of leaving this place.
I had wondered why he was active specifically in northern Shandong, close to Hebei Province, but now I felt I understood.
It was because this was a relatively bustling region where people did not know much about Tobunguncho.
A very long time ago, Tobunguncho had once been used for people’s skin beauty.
Because it had the effect of making the skin smooth.
However, due to its toxicity, various side effects arose, and in the end, the Tobunguncho trend could not cross the Yangtze River.
Because it could cause not only mental problems, but even kill people through cardiac arrest.
In any case, despite knowing that, that man sold the ointment.
And he did so by selling the emperor’s name.
As soon as I heard what he had said at the inn earlier, I knew he was not a real imperial physician.
Honestly, I could understand saying he did not remember the emperor’s face.
But to tell people about the emperor’s illness!
For physicians working in the imperial palace, anything concerning the emperor’s illness was top secret.
If they spoke about it, their head would fly.
Not as a metaphorical expression, but a real execution.
Moreover, not only the person himself would die, but his entire family would be killed as well.
Soon, we arrived at the inn where that physician had been staying.
However…….
“Ah, that physician left the inn earlier. He said he had to go to another village now.” (Waiter)
“I see.” (Eun Seo-ho)
As the waiter said that, I saw ointment beside him.
“Did you buy that ointment from that physician?” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Yes. I saw one of my fellow waiters buy and use it, and it worked amazingly well. So I spent a large sum to buy it.” (Waiter)
“That…… you had better not use it.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Pardon? What do you mean?” (Waiter)
“It is fake medicine.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Then are you saying it is fake medicine made from something like flour?” (Waiter)
“If it were fake medicine, that would rather be fortunate. That is poison.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Poison? No, even slander has its limits. This medicine is so remarkable, so on what basis are you saying it is poison!” (Waiter)
As expected…… this kind of reaction.
Human belief is, in truth, bound to have somewhat irrational aspects.
They believe it because they know it as truth even though it is not truth, but breaking that is simple.
You only need to break the foundation of why they believe it.
And yet, if they still believe something that is not true, it is because they want to believe it that way.
There is no need to deliberately struggle to change such people’s minds.
The more one does, the more stubbornness wells up and only opposition forms.
Humans are thinking beings.
If left alone, they will think, “Huh? Is that really right?”
In any case, there were many ways to break the foundation of a lie, and one of them was public credibility.
I revealed my identity to the waiter.
“This humble merchant is Eun Seo-ho, Young Company Head of the Eunhae Trading Company.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Could it be? Master Seonhyeop Mirang?” (Waiter)
“That is correct. As you know, our Eunhae Trading Company is a trading company that deals professionally in medicinal herbs. So I grew curious about that ointment and purchased one, but…….” (Eun Seo-ho)
I spoke with a grave expression.
“At first, it shows efficacy, but I learned that it contains a poisonous herb that eventually causes serious side effects and makes people die.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“Is that really true?” (Waiter)
“Why would I tell such a lie and smear the name of the Eunhae Trading Company?” (Eun Seo-ho)
I continued.
“The reason that physician left the inn today is because, in a few days, it will be the time for the side effects to appear. I cannot forgive that man who seeks profit by deceiving innocent people.” (Eun Seo-ho)
I spoke in an impassioned voice.
“On the name of Seonhyeop Mirang, I will surely find that man and reveal the truth.” (Eun Seo-ho)
At my words, Palgap said.
“Honestly, Young Master, isn’t this meddling? You’re busy, so why not just go on your way?” (Palgap)
“No. The fact that I learned of this matter must be heaven’s revelation telling me to set this matter right.” (Eun Seo-ho)
“If your heart is that firm, then there is nothing to be done. Understood, Young Master.” (Palgap)
“Please tell others never to use that medicine. I must go catch that swindler, so I will take my leave.” (Eun Seo-ho)
Thus, we left the inn.
Seeing the waiter move the medicine jar aside as if he found it unsettling, I felt relieved.
In truth, even if that waiter used the medicine, nothing serious would happen right away.
But I simply could not leave him to use it while knowing it was bad for the body.
As Palgap said, it might be meddling.
“Liege.” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
“Yes?” (Eun Seo-ho)
Master Hwangbo Seon-yu said to me.
“I am relieved that you walk the righteous path, my liege.” (Hwangbo Seon-yu)
At that, Warrior Seo-u laughed and said.
“We too often think the same whenever we see our liege. Hahaha.” (Seo-u)
The reason I could be this relaxed.
It was because I had already ordered Warrior Jin-yu to keep watch on that physician.
* Geumryeong. Find Warrior Jin-yu. (Eun Seo-ho)
* Kkui! (Geumryeong)