*Clack.*
The slum we entered with the police was in a horrifying state.
It was hard to believe people could live in such a place.
It made me think that Marxism wasn't born in this era for no reason.
Of course, he was ultimately wrong… but I could understand why he thought this way.
"Move aside!"
"Eek!"
For most people in the 19th century, this was just a normal sight.
I was the only one lost in thought.
The police swung their batons to drive away the onlookers.
They were called onlookers, but none of them looked well.
It wouldn't be surprising if a murderer or two were mixed among them.
"This way."
After clearing the crowd gathered in front of the house, we finally managed to get inside.
I wasn't sure if this could even be called a house…
The floor was just dirt, and the roof was haphazardly pieced together with discarded wood, seemingly just to keep the rain out.
"Here."
"Hmm… stabbed in the stomach."
"Yes, it seems so."
The inside was pitch dark.
There were no windows, so it was inevitable.
Moreover, the weather was particularly gloomy today, making it even harder to see.
The officer was barely able to examine the body with a lantern.
Wait, hold on…
The body…?
"Excuse me."
I instinctively stepped forward.
"What is it?"
The officer inside didn't seem to recognize my face and responded indifferently.
Well… even if he had seen my face, it wouldn't have mattered.
I had Liston with me.
Besides, that wasn't important right now.
The blood… it looked like it was still flowing.
"This wound here. The blood coming out is too red."
"Blood is supposed to be red."
"No, no. That's not what I mean. Look closely, there's a spot where it's gushing out."
It wasn't coming from inside the stomach.
To be precise, it was coming from the side of the abdominal wound.
There are arteries in the fatty areas, so it was possible.
When you cut into the stomach, you often see this kind of thing, and I've done it more than once or twice, so I had plenty of experience.
"What are you trying to say?"
As I started to hover around the body, one of the officers asked with a displeased expression.
It was understandable.
The police should be the first to examine a body.
An autopsy could only be done after the body was moved, right?
But that was only if the woman in front of us was already dead.
"This person is still alive."
"Huh? What are you talking about? She's lost so much blood."
"Yeah, her complexion is so pale."
At my words, the officer holding the lantern brought it closer to the woman's face.
She was indeed pale.
But…
When do people turn pale?
When they die?
Well, that's true, but it can also happen when they lose blood.
Even a simple stomachache can make someone pale.
"Uh…"
Look at that.
When the lantern got too close, the patient's expression changed slightly.
"Move that away. She'll get burned."
"But… how can she be alive when she's this pale?"
"She's lost so much blood."
Fortunately, it seemed she could still feel pain.
Or maybe she was just reacting to the bright light…
Either way, she wasn't dead.
The fact that blood was still gushing from such a large artery in her abdomen meant her systolic blood pressure was being maintained to some extent.
"I can't believe someone could survive such a wound."
"Huh."
"This is unbelievable."
I hoped only the police would be surprised, but everyone who came with us was shocked.
Liston just stood there with his arms crossed, showing no reaction, so I thought maybe, as a professor, he was used to this, but that wasn't the case.
"She's going to die anyway."
He was practically cursing her.
Is that…
Is that something a doctor should say in front of a patient?
Even if he was muttering to himself, it was still strange…
Especially since everyone else could hear him.
Moreover, Liston was a renowned doctor with a strong sense of pride, so it was hard to understand why he would say such things in front of the police.
"Her stomach is injured. There's nothing we can do."
"No… let's take her to the hospital."
"Her intestines are spilling out."
"But shouldn't we at least try to do something?"
Listening to him, I started to understand.
At least in this era, the stomach was considered a taboo area in medicine.
If a disease requiring surgery appeared in this area, the only option was amputation, so it was understandable that they would just hope for a painless death.
No, seriously, even if they just prayed for her at the hospital…
At least give her some medicine.
Anyway, as I was momentarily stunned by the limitations of the era, Liston started making a fuss.
"You're not suggesting that Joseon could save a patient like this, are you?"
Joseon…
Honestly, I'm not sure.
Maybe they could have saved her?
I saw a movie about physiognomy where they even made marks on the face.
I'm not sure how accurate that was, but they used knives and sutures…
"Yes, there are records. Of course, they're just records… I'm not sure if it's possible. But she's still alive, so we should at least try."
Of course, contrary to my thoughts, my mouth was already running.
Records.
What kind of records could there be?
I've been spouting nonsense for a while now, and at this point, I'm worried I might have developed a lying disorder.
"Then let's go. Officer, this patient is alive. It would be better to save her and ask her some questions."
"Can't we just ask her now?"
"She's bleeding like this."
"If we can't save her anyway, wouldn't it be better to ask her quickly and get some revenge?"
My worries were short-lived.
Damn these bastards.
Whether I have a lying disorder or not, I'm still better than these guys.
They're talking about revenge on someone who's clearly still alive.
"This way."
"No, Professor!"
"Let's at least… try. That's the right thing to do."
"He's the one who said she's going to die."
"What did you say?"
"No, nothing."
Fortunately, Liston's trust in Joseon medicine was immense.
By now, he should have realized it was all nonsense, but…
Maybe he decided to just let it slide.
In any case, since he was cooperating, there were no obstacles.
Thanks to that, we quickly loaded the patient into a carriage and headed to the hospital.
All but two of the officers followed us to the hospital.
*Clack. Clack.*
I thought I had gotten used to the carriage, but with a patient inside, it felt different.
It was shaking violently, as usual, but…
It was too cramped.
"Should we leave her like this?"
"We have no choice. And… leaving her like this won't make her injuries worse, right?"
Ignorant people might bravely shout nonsense, but…
No, she must have fallen after being stabbed.
If there were any impact points, her posture would be important, right?
Moreover, in a situation where she's lost so much blood, lying straight would help maintain her blood pressure.
"So… do I have to hold her legs like this?"
"Yes. That's how we save her."
"Why?"
"Just hold them up."
"Ugh."
"If you're not happy, you can walk like Senior and Colin."
"No, no."
If her head or heart is elevated, the already insufficient blood flow would be further restricted, right?
If blood doesn't reach the brain, it will die, and if blood doesn't reach the heart, it means blood isn't reaching anywhere else.
So I had Joseph hold her legs up.
That way… the blood pooled in her legs would flow down a bit.
The best option would be a blood transfusion, but…
- A blood transfusion? That's forbidden by the Vatican. Blood is life, how could you…
Our Dr. Liston was oddly devout in this regard, making things difficult.
Talking about Joseon was also awkward…
'You're the only one I trust, Blundell!'
The only saving grace was that Blundell was a proponent of blood transfusions.
The unfortunate part was that he kept trying mixed transfusions…
But that was something I'd have to deal with later.
For now, examining the patient's wound was the priority.
"Hmm…"
"Ugh."
I'm not sure if Liston was thinking the same thing, but he was holding a lantern and shining it on the patient's wound.
He was looking at the exact same spot as me…
But that didn't mean he was seeing the same thing.
"Stabbed twice."
Liston was… how should I put it?
He wasn't a bad doctor.
Considering the limitations of the era, he was quite competent.
But to see this and only think that… it's just…
'The depth is roughly over 4 cm… the intestines are protruding, but at first glance, they don't seem ruptured.'
If only I had sterile gloves, I could poke around more, but that's impossible…
"Should I take a look inside?"
Ah.
Our Liston.
Without even washing his hands…
'Let's clean them thoroughly later…'
To think positively, the perpetrator probably didn't wash the knife before stabbing her.
A decent knife would be cleaner than hands, but…
We'd have to clean it anyway, right?
"Oh, the intestines seem intact?"
Intact? What nonsense.
But since his eyes weren't wrong, he was technically correct.
Yes, they're intact.
This meant the patient's chances of survival had significantly increased.
'Moreover… even after poking around, there's hardly any blood coming from inside. That means…'
When I first discovered her, there was blood pooled in the abdominal cavity, but it must have been from the wound in the abdominal wall.
Of course, I couldn't be sure.
People often misunderstand this…
In cases where blood vessels are cut, the bleeding can sometimes stop temporarily.
If it stops permanently, that's one thing, but it usually starts again.
"We're here!"
Anyway, we arrived at the hospital.
Immediately, we took the patient to the operating room… or rather, the lecture hall.
This was something that needed improvement, but it was still a distant dream.
"First, water! Get me water!"
"This?"
"You idiot! It needs to be boiled!"
Moreover, even boiled water wasn't prepared in advance.
There wasn't a single nurse under my influence yet.
No, originally, nurses were only responsible for bedside care.
Surgery was strictly the domain of doctors…
'Ugh, those bastards.'
And those doctors were nothing but quacks.
How could they just scoop water from a basin?
Are they trying to kill someone?
"First, let's wash our hands!"
"Huh? It hurts."
"It hurts less than the patient! At least put on gloves and clean them!"
"Uh, okay."
Liston was equally frustrated.
Even if this was just practice, it was exhausting…
"Ugh…"
We still had to save the patient.