Chapter 150: While We're at It, the Others Too [1] Tap.
Just as Kanghyeok had said, Yoshitaka opened his eyes not long after.
He seemed to remember absolutely nothing of the moment he had collapsed. His hand first went to his head, and he looked quite flustered by the rough, bristly sensation, unlike what he was used to.
"What..."
He looked almost like the head of a household who had come home to find his entire house looted, and anyone could understand why. Even Kanghyeok himself, the very one who had shaved his head, could understand it.
Of course. He suddenly became bald.
Did it not feel as though something deeply precious had been taken from him?
Having roughly guessed the state of his hair, Yoshitaka looked somehow more dispirited than usual.
"What... what happened?"
He finally spoke without even being able to sit up.
It was a very short sentence, but Kanghyeok was able to gather quite a lot of information from it alone.
As expected, with a subarachnoid hemorrhage, if you operate in time, the prognosis is good. His speech is fine... and his arms and legs are fine too.
The reason he could not sit up was not due to anything else. It was because Kanghyeok was pressing firmly down on his chest with one large hand. Even if it had not been Yoshitaka but sturdy Makbong, it would have been hard to overcome Kanghyeok's brute strength. So all he had to do was watch the flailing limbs. The movement was normal.
Seeing that his father looked better than expected, Moritaka dropped to his knees at once.
"Father!"
"Uh... I asked what happened."
Yoshitaka still looked as though he did not understand anything. At that, Moritaka's face gradually darkened. To not remember that dramatic collapse made him think something might be terribly wrong.
"Is he alright?"
"He is alright."
But Kanghyeok still looked completely at ease. For a patient who had collapsed from a brain hemorrhage not to remember the moment itself was extremely common. In fact, if one understood the mechanism behind the symptom called collapsing, it was only natural.
Because the blood going to the brain decreases, that's why.
If an artery burst, then naturally blood could no longer reach the brain properly. Even if a vein burst, after enough time the same result followed. As the brain swelled and the intracranial pressure rose, blood could no longer enter the brain. Just as a computer shut off when the power was cut, the brain shut down as well.
Seen that way, memory loss was not really anything shocking.
"Alright...?"
"That's right. For now, I'll check a few more things."
"Ah. Please do."
Moritaka quickly yielded his place to Kanghyeok. He had been unconscious for most of the surgery, but regardless, his father had awakened, had he not? The bizarre treatment of this man, Baek Kanghyeok, had clearly worked. In an instant, he had gone from unknown Joseon man to benefactor.
"Now then. Raise your hand."
"My hand? And who are you..."
Yoshitaka was not the sort of easy man who would simply obey the words of some stranger, even if he was presently in the sorry state of having his upper garment and trousers loosened open. A daimyō's pride did not vanish so easily.
This old man doesn't know gratitude.
Of course, Kanghyeok was not an easy man either. He spoke again in a somewhat forceful tone.
When the body weakens, the mind weakens too.
Others might not know, but Kanghyeok could tell. The man before him was in an extremely unstable state. He was putting on a composed front out of pride, but he could not hide his trembling eyes.
"Raise your hand."
"What?"
"I said raise your hand. I'm checking your condition."
"Mm."
Even if he had no memory, he could still sense that something was wrong with his body. One example was that he badly wanted to brush away this damned hand pressing on his chest, but his limbs were not obeying him properly. It was definitely not like usual.
Even speaking... is difficult.
If he did not consciously move his tongue with care, his pronunciation kept slipping. It was the first time in his life he had experienced such a thing, and naturally fear began to rise in him.
Compared to that, the eyes of this unfamiliar young man staring straight at him did not waver in the slightest. They were the sort of eyes that made one want to rely on him, though he was rather ill-mannered.
This young brat...
But what did age matter when it felt as though one might die at any moment?
Yoshitaka bent his golden pride and slowly raised his hand.
At that sight, Sayaga and Moritaka both gaped.
Father... is listening to this man?
Was he not the sort who would heed no one's words but Hideyoshi's? Truthfully, both had been anxious that he might start trying to cut Kanghyeok down, benefactor or not. Kanghyeok's tone was rude no matter how one looked at it.
"There you go. You lift it well."
"Should I lift it more?"
"Now hold it."
Kanghyeok pressed down on the hand Yoshitaka had barely raised. As a result, Yoshitaka's thick forearm helplessly went back toward the floor.
He tells me to raise it, and now he presses it down?
His anger flared, but somehow it also felt like this might be right. Kanghyeok's eyes still did not waver, and the expressions of everyone around him were the same.
"Al... right."
"There you go. Strong. The right arm is fine."
"Mm."
"Ah, don't lift your head. Just stay like you're lying on a pillow."
Kanghyeok's tone was peculiar. It sounded almost respectful, but if one listened closely, it was not really that, yet it was not outright informal either. From the listener's point of view, it was hard to get angry, but the longer one listened, the more irritating it somehow became.
"This time, the left."
Yoshitaka's expression twisted somewhat, but Kanghyeok hardly cared and continued the examination. The examination that began like that continued through both legs as well.
"Good. Good. Very good."
After lifting Yoshitaka's arms and legs and putting them down as he pleased, Kanghyeok smiled in satisfaction. Just as he said, Yoshitaka's muscle strength was almost normal. He was still somewhat shaky, naturally, since not much time had passed since the collapse. But for immediately after surgery, it was enough to merit a passing mark.
"I-Is that so."
Watching this unknown man be so pleased, Yoshitaka felt his own mood rising along with it. He found it ridiculous in himself, but feelings were not something one could control artificially. So he did not hide the smile spreading across his face.
"Very good?"
Moritaka asked too, his face bright with delight.
Kanghyeok answered with a trace of pride.
After all, there could not be many physicians in the entire world capable of opening a skull and controlling the bleeding under these circumstances.
Only a genius like me could do it.
And geniuses like that were extremely rare.
"Very good."
At that, Moritaka carefully spoke again.
"Then may I call in the men who are waiting outside? They must all be wondering."
"You may. However..."
"However?"
Kanghyeok pointed at the back of his own neck and winked.
"This is a secret."
It was, literally, a request to keep quiet about hitting him.
The moment his father opened his eyes, Moritaka had long since stopped caring about such things. After all, if he wanted revenge, there would be ample chance later. Was he not a man destined to become the vanguard commander of the future conquest of Joseon?
Moritaka gave a smile so thick it almost felt grotesque.
"Understood."
Then he brought all the warriors who had been waiting outside into the room. In the meantime, Sayaga arranged Yoshitaka's loosened upper garment. He could not bring himself to touch the lower half, and only covered it with some clothing nearby.
Even so, he looks ridiculous.
With his head shaved clean, whatever dignity a daimyō might have had was long gone. Even the subordinates entering the room clearly looked startled. The one-eyed bastard turned his head and his shoulders shook. He was definitely laughing.
"A-Are you alright?"
"I am alright. Do not make a fuss."
"That is fortunate, my lord. Earlier, it truly was..."
"Mm."
One fortunate thing was that at least his physical condition did not seem especially bad.
Meanwhile, with everyone making such a commotion, Yoshitaka once more looked toward the unfamiliar young man he had seen earlier.
It seems something serious must really have happened to me.
Otherwise, there was no reason for subordinates who feared not even tigers to make such a ruckus.
Then it's true that this young man saved me.
No matter how uncivilized Japan might have been compared to Joseon, they still understood the concept of grace received. No, in fact, they understood it almost excessively.
"Mm. I have not even asked your name. What is it?"
Yoshitaka asked in an intentionally composed voice. Even so, with his head fixed in place and shaved bald, he did not look very imposing. Moreover, was he not now carrying a time bomb in his skull that could burst at any moment?
Suppressing the sneer rising within him, Kanghyeok lowered his head. He felt that if he looked at him head-on, he would not be able to hold back his laughter.
"B-Baek Kanghyeok."
He even stammered a little, but that only made him look better in Yoshitaka's eyes.
So this young man still shows proper courtesy in front of my subordinates.
He lowered his head and even stumbled over his words a bit. No matter who saw it, it looked as though he had been overwhelmed by Yoshitaka's dignity.
Well, the name Kuki Yoshitaka is no light thing. Surely even in Joseon...
Spinning out these absurd fantasies, Yoshitaka spoke again.
"From the look of it, I seem to have received a great favor... is there perhaps something you desire?"
Kanghyeok merely waited quietly. Then he turned his head at the sound of footsteps thundering from far away and saw Dolseok entering the garden pulling an ox cart.
He's here. As if I'd want anything from you lot.
They were people who would soon become irreconcilable enemies. Kanghyeok laughed heartily and answered,
"A favor? Not at all. I treated you because I wanted to..."
"Even so, I cannot feel at ease letting you go just like this."
"It is enough for me simply to have seen the warriors gathered here."
"Come now. Speak."
Unlike usual, Kanghyeok exchanged words with deliberate humility. At his unfamiliar behavior, Makbong whispered to Yeoni,
"Hasn't he been a bit strange for a while now?"
"Yeah. He's plotting something."
"What is it?"
"No idea. But it won't be anything good for these people."
One had to be especially careful whenever Kanghyeok smiled like that. He had been like that when testing toad venom on Dorikkae, and when half-killing people with pufferfish poison too.
"Mm. In that case..."
Looking as though he really did not want to ask, Kanghyeok turned and looked behind him. Dozens of samurai were standing in place. They were small of build, but none of them looked easy to deal with.
I can't just let these bastards come charging in later like this.
To feel safe, at least half of them had to be turned into cripples. Not that he could just beat them all into that state.
If it were up to my feelings, I'd want to do exactly that at once. But I need to think of a possible method. Men who've dragged themselves across battlefields this long must all have at least one place that aches.
They were men who had spent their lives roaming battlefields. There could not be a single one among them with no damage anywhere.
"I'd like to examine these men as well."
"Examine them...?"
"Yes. They all look like heroic men skilled with the sword... it would be an honor if you would let me look them over."
"Oh."
No one who lived by the sword lacked pride in it. And when someone who seemed as impressive as Kanghyeok spoke that way, it made them feel like their spirits were soaring into the sky.
Yoshitaka nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Very well. Then I entrust them to you."
"Yes."
"I still would not feel easy having you do only that... so I shall prepare a gift as well."
"Thank you."
Kanghyeok bowed with an inwardly apologetic smile.
He was planning to give them poison, while they intended to answer with gifts.
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