The Divine And Demonic Doctor [EN]: Chapter 331

Dan Ahk-seon, having left Shinma Valley, headed straight for the village.

Soon, Dan Ahk-seon arrived at Jang Gok’s house and encountered a man pacing anxiously in front of the gate.

“Doctor Dan!”

Jang Gok, spotting Dan Ahk-seon, rushed over.

His eyes were sunken, and his lips were dry and chapped, showing how much he had suffered.

“How is the mother?”

Jang Gok grabbed Dan Ahk-seon’s hands and pleaded,

“Please, help her.”

Just then,

The gate opened, and a woman walked out.

It was difficult to guess her exact age due to her graying hair, but she was an old woman with determined eyes and a firm mouth. Her face was deeply etched with an undeniable sense of helplessness.

The old woman sighed and opened her mouth weakly.

“Go inside.”

Jang Gok’s eyes wavered at those words.

It was customary not to allow the husband into the delivery room until the baby was born.

But the baby’s cry had not yet been heard.

“But he should at least say his last goodbyes.”

Jang Gok’s heart sank at the old woman’s words.

The most skilled midwife in the village had given up.

That meant the situation was dire.

“First, let the husband stay by his wife’s side.”

After sending the pale-faced Jang Gok inside, Dan Ahk-seon asked the old woman,

“What’s the situation?”

“It’s terrible.”

The old woman sighed deeply again and shook her head.

“The wicked thing. If it’s going, it should go alone…….”

Dan Ahk-seon was startled by the old woman’s words.

“It must be lonely. It must be scared to go without seeing the light… That’s why it’s stubbornly trying to take its mother with it.”

“What do you mean?”

“The umbilical cord is wrapped around its neck.”

The labor had been natural, and the birth canal was already open.

Normally, the baby should have turned in the womb and come out along the birth canal, but it couldn’t because the umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck.

Dan Ahk-seon couldn’t help but be puzzled by the old woman’s explanation.

It sounded as if the baby was refusing to be born.

“It’s rare, but it does happen.”

The old woman, reading Dan Ahk-seon’s expression, spoke with a weary look.

“The baby in the womb is also a life, even if it can’t breathe on its own yet. It can’t fully express itself, but it’s not without will.”

The old woman continued to explain.

“If the mother is having a hard time, the baby in the womb feels that anguish.”

This made some sense.

The mother and fetus were connected by the umbilical cord, so they were like one body.

“Then the baby gets scared. So it doesn’t want to come into the world. It feels safer in its mother’s womb.”

The old woman turned her head and looked toward the house Jang Gok had entered.

“I heard he was away for a long time? And when he came back, he was a wreck.”

The old woman shook her head.

“What wife wouldn’t worry about that? She must have suffered a lot.”

Dan Ahk-seon sighed.

It was a good thing Jang Gok wasn’t here.

If he had heard the old woman’s words, he would have blamed himself even more.

And on the other hand, his heart grew heavier.

He was the one who had taken Jang Gok to the frontier to defeat the Blood Cloud Squad.

Also, Jang Gok’s injury was the result of throwing himself to save him from the Dark Lord.

“I need to check the situation first.”

As Dan Ahk-seon tried to move, the old woman gave him a pitiful look.

“Didn’t I tell you? The situation is terrible.”

“What else is there?”

“I haven’t felt any fetal movement for an hour.”

“……!”

“They’re exhausted. Both the mother and the baby…….”

She had been delivering babies for a long time, so her judgment was beyond doubt.

At that moment, Dan Ahk-seon recalled a person’s eyes.

Jang Gok, whose fingers had been cut off by the Dark Lord’s sword, yet he embraced the sword with both arms and took the blow with his whole body.

His eyes, shouting at him to run away without giving up until the end, were vivid in his mind.

“It’s too early to give up.”

With those words, Dan Ahk-seon headed into Jang Gok’s house.

Opening the door and entering the room, he saw a blood-soaked bed and a mother drenched in sweat, utterly exhausted.

Even in her exhausted state, she moved her lips toward Dan Ahk-seon.

Although no sound came out, Dan Ahk-seon could clearly understand what she was saying.

“I’ll do my best.”

Dan Ahk-seon nodded and approached the mother.

Then, he carefully reached out and placed his hand on her belly, closing his eyes.

As expected…….

As the old woman had said, there were no signs of life, including fetal movement.

But Dan Ahk-seon didn’t give up.

No, he couldn’t give up.

Dan Ahk-seon, drawing on the Power of Divine Harmony, slowly channeled his vital energy. The Power of Divine Harmony was a powerful internal energy technique in itself, but it was originally based on the Divine Harmony Therapy, which was intended for healing.

As such, there was no better martial art for examining a patient’s condition.

After a while,

Dan Ahk-seon opened his eyes.

Although faint, there was a clear sign of life.

It was then that Dan Ahk-seon quietly opened his mouth.

“Let’s not give up.”

Jang Gok and his wife’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.

But soon, they realized who Dan Ahk-seon was talking to.

Because Dan Ahk-seon put his hands together on Hwang’s belly, brought his mouth close, and continued to whisper.

“Mom and Dad are waiting for you. So let’s try a little harder.”

No answer came back, but Dan Ahk-seon continued to whisper to the baby in the womb.

“Don’t worry. The place you’ll be born is definitely a good place to live.”

He remembered the old woman’s story.

Of course, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t believe all of it.

But even though he could have dismissed it as absurd superstition, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t.

“Because your dad is a good person. If it weren’t for your dad, I wouldn’t be able to talk to you like this right now. So this time, let me help you. Just like your dad did for me.”

It was then.

Thump.

“……!”

Dan Ahk-seon’s eyes lit up.

As if answering his words, a faint fetal movement was felt.

That was enough.

Dan Ahk-seon turned his head and looked at Hwang.

“It’s going to be incredibly painful from now on. More than you can imagine.”

Hwang’s eyes wavered with fear.

But only for a moment.

Her resolute will pushed back the fear at Dan Ahk-seon’s next words.

“If you can endure that pain, you’ll be able to hold your baby safely.”

Although she looked exhausted, Hwang nodded firmly.

Dan Ahk-seon said to Jang Gok.

“Hold your wife’s hand.”

“Yes? Yes!”

Jang Gok went to his wife’s side and held her hands.

At that moment, Dan Ahk-seon pressed down hard on Hwang’s belly.

“……!”

Hwang’s eyes widened at the sudden and violent touch.

She was in so much pain that she couldn’t even scream.

Nevertheless, Dan Ahk-seon didn’t stop.

“Aaaagh!”

Hwang’s belated, piercing scream filled the room.

The old woman, who had rushed in at the scream, couldn’t hide her shock.

“If you turn it the wrong way, the umbilical cord will tighten around the baby’s neck even more…….”

Dan Ahk-seon replied with a determined look to the old woman’s concern.

“I’ve channeled my vital energy to check the position of the umbilical cord and the direction it’s wrapped. Besides…….”

Dan Ahk-seon continued, sweating from tension.

“It’s better than doing nothing and letting the baby die.”

At those words, the old woman looked dazed, as if she had been hit on the head with a blunt instrument.

But only for a moment.

She quickly moved to Hwang’s legs.

“Not now! Save your strength! Breathe! Long and slow! That’s right, keep going!”

Hwang bit her lip at the old woman’s shout.

Blood trickled down her chin, but she didn’t feel the pain in her lips.

Because a much more terrible pain was tormenting her.

It was then.

“It’s done!”

Dan Ahk-seon’s face brightened.

He had succeeded in physically turning the baby in the womb by pressing on Hwang’s belly.

“You endured well. Now push! Push!”

At the midwife’s shout, another desperate scream erupted from Hwang’s mouth.

“Aaaagh!”

Jang Gok, who was holding his wife’s hand, was startled.

His wife, screaming and clutching his hand, was drawing strength from somewhere.

Even he, who prided himself on being a master, was surprised by her considerable grip strength.

That’s how hard she was trying.

“That’s right! I see the head! You’re doing great! Just a little more! Come on, Mom!”

“Aaaagh!”

At that moment, when the midwife’s encouragement and Hwang’s screams were mixed together.

Suddenly, silence fell in the room.

Dan Ahk-seon was surprised and turned his head toward the midwife.

It was right after he faced the midwife’s smiling face.

But something was wrong.

The baby’s cry, which should have been heard, was not there.

At this time, the midwife supported the baby with one hand, then took out a small tube with the other hand and brought it to the baby’s nose to suck out the amniotic fluid blocking the nostrils.

Then the baby swallowed the amniotic fluid in its mouth and soon burst into tears.

“Hwaaeehng.”

Perhaps because it had been exhausting its strength in the womb for a long time.

It wasn’t as loud as he thought it would be.

Still, Dan Ahk-seon was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief when he heard the baby’s cry.

“Congratulations. It’s a beautiful daughter. All her fingers and toes are fine, and except for being a little tired, there’s nothing wrong with her.”

It was then that Hwang, who was lying down looking haggard, opened her mouth.

“Can I hold my baby?”

Dan Ahk-seon smiled at her, who was mumbling weakly with cracked lips.

She was on the verge of fainting, but she was stubbornly holding back her closing eyelids with superhuman will.

It was a moment to realize the greatness of a mother.

“Oh my, look at my mind.”

The midwife, who realized something late, hurriedly asked Dan Ahk-seon.

“Do you know how to cut the umbilical cord?”

When Dan Ahk-seon nodded, the midwife carefully handed over the baby.

“I’ll go heat up some cold water.”

Warm water was needed to wash the baby covered in amniotic fluid and blood.

Dan Ahk-seon, who was holding the baby in his arms, was momentarily speechless at the warm temperature in his arms.

After a while,

Dan Ahk-seon spoke to the crying baby.

“Thank you for being born safely.”

It was right after that that an amazing thing happened.

The baby stopped crying as if by a lie at Dan Ahk-seon’s voice.

Dan Ahk-seon, who saw this, reached out to the baby.

Then the baby grabbed Dan Ahk-seon’s finger with its small, adorable hand.

Why?

That small force seemed to cover his heart with warmth.

It was the first child born among the various martial artists of the Demonic Sect who had entrusted themselves to this place after Muwi [a forbidden area] was declared a forbidden area.

At this time, Jang Gok suddenly opened his mouth.

“Please name our child.”

Jang Gok nodded at the flustered Dan Ahk-seon.

“Because it’s a child who wouldn’t have seen the light of this world if it weren’t for you, Doctor.”

Dan Ahk-seon couldn’t refuse Jang Gok’s earnest eyes.

Dan Ahk-seon lowered his head and met the baby in his arms.

“Your name is…….”

After thinking for a while, Dan Ahk-seon smiled brightly.

“Okay. Soha (笑河) [meaning ‘smiling river’], let’s call you Soha.”

Unceasing laughter like a flowing river.

May your life be filled with smiles, just like your name.

With that hope, Dan Ahk-seon sincerely wished and wished.