Gulp.
The mayor repeatedly gulped down saliva in his dry mouth.
Even though he praised Kanghyok’s medical skills a lot, it was the first time he witnessed Kanghyok doing surgery.
He heard Kanghyok was using strange tools during the surgery, which turned out to be true.
“Whew!”
The mayor could hardly breathe when Kanghyok put the scalpel into the monk’s mouth.
But Yoju was seated right beside Kanghyok to draw his operating process close up.
“Now, let me cut it open, Dolsok.”
“Yes, master.”
“Are you holding a cotton swab?”
“Yes, yes.” Dolsok waved a small cotton swab.
It was inevitable to see blood come out the moment he used the scalpel.
“Good!”
In fact, it was the first time that Kanghyok put a scalpel into the mouth.
ENT doctors typically did that, but not general surgeons like Kanghyok.
Yujong’s mucous membrane inside the mouth was cut open. At the same time, blood filled his mouth instantly.
“Wipe it, wipe it.”
“Yes, sir.” Dolsok moved the cotton swab here and there busily.
“Stop it now.”
Dolsok quickly took it off.
There was bleeding again from the affected area. Though the amount of blood was reduced, it stood in the way of his surgery.
“Hey, it’s bleeding again. Wipe it again.”
“Oh, yes.”
“Just press on it.”
“Yes, master.” Dolsok did exactly as instructed, but what he got was Kanghyok’s rebuke, not praise.
“It’s very important from now on. So, watch and learn this.”
Dolsok opened his eyes wide at Kanghyok’s reminder.
“Watch it well.”
Kanghyok gently stroked the cut area with a new cotton swab.
Some of the pus and rotten saliva pooled inside came out.
Dolsok murmured with a happy look, “It’s coming out. That damned stuff.”
“This is not the end of the surgery.”
“Really?”
There was a reason why the salivary gland was filled with pus. All diseases were supposed to have their causes. Pus was only the result of what went wrong with the salivary gland.
“It will hurt a lot, sir.” With such a warning, Kanghyok applied a strain to his hand holding the swab. With a light popping sound, something came out.
It was as large as Dolsok’s index finger. As soon as it came out, the saliva and pus pooled on its passage gushed out.
“Ughhh!”
The mayor, who had a weak stomach, threw the door open quickly.
“What the heck is this disgusting smell!?”
Even Yoni, who rushed into the room, pinched her nostrils together.
It smelled disgustingly bad.
Only Kanghyok, Dolsok and Yujong were holding their ground.
“Give me the tweezer.”
Dolsok threw the swab and quickly searched for the tweezers in the bag.
“Do you want this?”
“No, that one right there.”
“Oh, okay.”
Kanghyok picked up the strange lump with the tweezers and put it on the gauze.
“Wipe the blood and pus from it.”
“Yes, master.”
Dolsok began to clean the lump busily.
“Oh, this is…”
“Wow, this one!”
The more he cleaned it, the more the chief priest and the mayor’s faces changed strangely.
“What’s wrong with you? Wipe it off more strongly. It won’t break!”
“Master, what the heck is this?” Dolsok asked, pointing at the white lump.
“It’s a stone, man.”
“Yeah, I know. Why did this stone come out of his body?”
“Well…” In Kanghyok’s mind, it was quite an academic question. He felt Dolsok deserved the credit for being bold enough to ask that question.
‘Yeah, I feel great delight in teaching him.’
This was the first time in a long time that Kanghyok had the chance to recall the reason why a stone can be formed within the salivary gland.
He was thinking hard about the right answer when he was surprised to see people around him making a strange expression on their faces.
They looked strange.
In particular, Dolsok was even about to bow to the stone taken from Yujong’s salivary gland.
Even Yoju stopped drawing for a moment.
The mayor and the chief priest, who were watching Kanghyok’s surgery, were seen standing up awkwardly.
Only Yujong, the patient, and Kanghyok, the doctor, stayed calm.
“Hey, what are you doing, Dolsok?”
“This must be sari… Yes, sari.”
Dolsok found himself unable to touch the stone found in the salivary gland.
Instead, he took turns looking at Yujong and the stone as if it were an immense honor to see them.
“Sari? Bollacks! …What?”
“He’s an incarnation of Buddha. Yes, he is indeed a living Buddha!” said Dolsok.
Kanghyok was just speechless.
Starting with Dolsok, the chief priest and the mayor began to bow to them.
As all of them were so serious, Kanghyok couldn’t dare to disturb.
‘Are they crazy? Let me take a look. Is it really sari?’
Then Kanghyok looked at Yujong and the stone taken from his salivary gland.
He once heard that sari was a kind of small crystal found in cremated remains of monks.
But he felt that sari was most probably calcium found in the gall or kidney. Or in the salivary gland as in the case of Yujong.
‘So, is it true that sari was found in the body of a living man?’
From Kanghyok’s point of view, it was just nonsense, but it was quite understandable from their point of view.
‘Nonetheless, their reaction is too radical.’
The mayor was overreacting as if he were determined to show his devoted loyalty to Buddhism on this occasion.
Though Kanghyok didn’t count, the mayor already bowed down more than ten times.
“He’s a Buddha!” the mayor exclaimed.
The chief priest might have stopped him, but he was just as absent-minded as the mayor.
He was sounding a wooden gong.
‘Oh my god… How could he bow down before the monk who’s still bleeding from his salivary gland?’
Kanghyok needed to stop the bleeding for quick surgery.
“Dolsok?”
“Gee, you’re Buddha!”
“Dolsok?”
“This is the incarnation of Buddha!”
“Son of a bitch, Dolsok!” said Kanghyok, slapping him in the back suddenly.
Only then did Dolsok come to his senses.
“Hey, I’m not done yet.”
“Oh, yes, master, what should I do now?”
Dolsok was more helpful now, though he still couldn’t touch Yujong’s mouth.
“Open his mouth like before.”
“Ohhh… But how can I dare..?”
“Gee…”
It was Yujong who helped him out at that moment.
“I’m the same man like before. So, just touch it comfortably as you see fit to do.”
“Still, you are…”
“I’m neither a living Buddha nor a high priest. I’m just a patient now.”
“Oh, I got you, sir.”
Only then did Dolsok open his mouth.
Kanghyok felt Yujong must be a high priest even though he was not an incarnation of Buddha.
“I’m almost done. So, please endure it for a moment.”
“Sure, thanks.” Yujong opened his mouth again.
Still, there came out blood, pus and saliva from the inside of his mouth.
‘This is really bad. How could he preach?’
Medically speaking, it was unthinkable.
“Keep it open like that, Dolsok.”
“Yes, master.”
Kanghyok made a small suture right below the salivary gland that was cut open.
‘This should be large enough.’
Even if there is another stone formed there, it could easily come out through it.
In the meantime, the mayor was seen bowing down before Yujong on a cushion.
When he cast a glance at Yujong, he was as calm and peaceful as ever.
“Now, I’m done. As you have an infection there, you better take this medicine.”
“Thank you.”
Yujong swallowed the pill Kanghyok gave him.
The chief priest, who was sounding a wooden gong, asked, “Is he cured completely?”
“No, not yet.”
As the infection was so serious, he had to take medicine for several days.
“Can you stay here until Yujong is fully recovered?” The chief priest earnestly begged Kanghyok to stay.
To him, Yujong was a living Buddha, and Kanghyok was the doctor who treated him.
However, it was really a long distance from Kanghyok’s place to Chjangsa Temple where Yujong was currently staying.
He could not walk back and forth to the temple everyday.
But he felt his stay at the temple would expose him to an interesting experience.
“Sure, let me stay for several more days to take care of him.”
“Thanks so much. Monk Yujong said there would come a precious man here today, and I think he meant you.”
“Precious man?”
“Yes. He said so.”
Dolsok, who was lying on the floor, sprang to his feet.
“Wow, this is marvelous!”
“About what?”
“I heard monk Yujong saying the same thing.”
“Really?”
The chief priest chimed in, “Yes, he has never said anything like that before. But obviously, he was referring to you when he said that.”
Kanghyok also felt that there was something special about this monk, given his eloquent preaching and calm composure during the surgery.
He thought Yujong was not an ordinary monk.
Maybe he could be a great monk whom Kanghyok didn’t know.
“Marvelous! May I ask your name again, sir?”
“My name is Yujong. You may call me Samyongdang.”