Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Yao called out, “Next!”
“Doctor, I feel weak and sweat a lot. I also don’t sleep well at night,” the next patient said.
His symptoms were common among people in their 60s. However, the patient seemed to be only about 30 years old.
The man had a pale face, dark eyes, and dry and yellow hair. He was also short of breath and had terrible breath and body odor.
“How old are you?” Wang Yao asked.
“Twenty-five,” the patient replied.
“Are you married?” Wang Yao asked.
“No, I don’t even have a girlfriend,” the patient said.
The patient was about 5-foot-9, but he spoke in a low voice like a mosquito. He sounded very weak, which surprised Wang Yao.
The patient had a kidney essence deficiency as a result of having too much sex. The kidney was the origin of congenital constitution. Every human being had Yin, Yang, and five elements. Based on the Yin Yang theory, the kidney was in charge of the Yin energy. Based on the five-element theory, kidney was closely relate to water. With insufficient Yin energy in the kidney, a person would often feel dizzy, have ringing in the ears, and feel weak in the lower back and knees, as well as unsettled at night.
“Do you have some special habit?” Wang Yao asked.
“What?” The patient was surprised. “Habit?” He immediately understood what Wang Yao meant and turned red in the face.
“So, I’m right?” Wang Yao asked.
“Yes,” the patient said.
Wang Yao had found the cause of his condition.
“My condition is related to that?” The young man had not considered that would cause his problem.
“Yes,” Wang Yao said.
“I know it is not good, but I can’t help myself,” the young man said.
“You can’t help yourself?” Wang Yao thought for a moment. “This is simple.”
He poked at the young man’s lower belly several times.
“Come back in a week,” Wang Yao said.
“That’s it?” the young man asked.
“Yes,” Wang Yao said.
“Thank you, Doctor.” The young man was polite. He walked out, but Wang Yao could tell he wasn’t quite convinced.
“This is gonna work,” Wang Yao said with a smile.
“This is gonna work?” murmured the young man after walking out of the clinic. Since he first masturbated after watching an erotic movie several years ago, he got addicted to doing it. He couldn’t control himself. He was like a drug addict. It was not easy to get rid of a bad habit.
His health had started to deteriorate since, and he became ill-tempered. He couldn’t settle his mind on anything and became less confident.
Wang Yao called out in the clinic, “Next!”
“Doctor, I’ve been suffering from stomach pain,” a man in his 40s said.
“Tell me more about it,” Wang Yao said.
“Here. It’s like being stabbed by needles.” He pointed at his abdominal area.
“Open your mouth and say ‘ah,’” Wang Yao said.
“Ahh!” The man opened his mouth. A gust of hot air and unpleasant odor came out of his mouth.
“Do you also have pain and burning sensation in your chest?” Wang Yao asked.
“Yes,” the patient said.
“I think you have severe stomach ulcer. Have you been to the hospital?” Wang Yao asked.
“No, the pain was not initially that bad, so I didn’t care too much. However, it recently has gotten really bad. My father came to see you a few weeks ago. He got better after taking several decoctions from you. So, I came to you,” the patient said.
“Do you drink and smoke?” Wang Yao asked.
He could smell alcohol on the man’s breath and saw cigarette stains on his teeth.
“Yes,” the man said.
“You must stop drinking and smoking,” Wang Yao said.
“What?” The man was shocked.
“What? Your health should be your top concern,” Wang Yao said. “I’ll prescribe a formula for you.”
Wang Yao went to get the herbs from the herb cabinet. He needed astragalus, cassia twig, Paeonia lactiflora, forsythia, angelica, dandelion, Shangui, Philippine violet herb, and licorice. The formula could clear away heat and toxic materials and remove phlegm to promote blood circulation. It could treat stomach ulcers.
“I’ve written down the method of brewing the decoction for you,” Wang Yao said.
“OK, thank you,” the patient said. He left the clinic after paying the fee.
The next patient was from Wang Yao’s village and similar in age to him. e man suffered from headaches.
“You just caught a cold. You don’t need to take an herbal decoction. Just drink a lot of water and have some ginger soup before sleeping. You should be fine tomorrow,” Wang Yao said.
“OK,” the patient said.
By the time Wang Yao had seen all the patients, it was starting to get dark outside. He documented their symptoms before going home.
That night, he went back to Nanshan Hill. San Xian wagged his tail as he ran down to Wang Yao. He seemed very happy.
“San Xian, you put on weight again,” Wang Yao said.
It was very quiet on the hill. Wang Yao could only hear the sound of wind.
Swish! Swish! The snake came out when Wang Yao entered the herbal field.
“Hello, Xiaohei,” Wang Yao said.
He went into his cottage to turn on the light. There was a map of Nanshan Hill on the table. He wanted to place something outside the Spirit Gathering Battle Array to connect the hills at the east and west, possibly even further. He wanted to leave only one route to go down the hill. He needed trees and rocks.
Wang Yao didn’t go to bed until midnight.
It was gloomy and rainy the next day. Wang Yao left Nanshan Hill with an umbrella, even though he blocked the wind and rain using his Qi.
“Hmm?” He saw a familiar car on his way to the clinic. “Who would come in such a bad weather?”
“Hello, Dr. Wang,” Professor Lu said. He looked very tired.
“Hello, come in please.” Wang Yao invited him into the clinic and made him a cup of tea. “You need to look after yourself. Otherwise, you’ll get sick.”
“Look, I’ve discussed with Wen Wan’s family. They have agreed for me to take her to your clinic for treatment,” Professor Lu said.
“You can bring her here, but I can’t guarantee anything.” Wang Yao was confident in the beginning that he could cure Wen Wan by fixing her damaged kidney. However, he wasn’t sure if he could save her now since she was beyond cure.
“I know,” Professor Lu said with a sigh. He felt much better after having a cup of tea. “Sorry to bother you.”
“It’s fine. You need to find a place to have a good rest,” Wang Yao said with a smile.
“OK,” Professor Lu said.
He stayed in the clinic for a short while until Wang Yao had a visitor, Wang Mingbao.
“Hey, what brings you here? Where is Miss Han?” Wang Yao asked.
“Hey, don’t mention it. She wants to go back to Jia County again. She said she missed those kids. I’m going to go with her,” Wang Mingbao said.
“She doesn’t like Lianshan?” Wang Yao asked.
“Not really. I think she’s bored. Actually, I’m here to ask you for help,” Wang Mingbao seriously said.
“What can I do for you?” Wang Yao asked.
“I want her to get pregnant as soon as possible. Do you have any medication to make women pregnant?” Wang Mingbao asked.
“What?” Wang Yao was surprised.
“She will be occupied when we have kids. In addition, my parents really want to have grandchildren,” Wang Mingbao said.
“Well!” Wang Yao rubbed his forehead. “I don’t think any medication can help.”
“I thought you were an extraordinary doctor,” Wang Mingbao said.
“I’ve never tried this,” Wang Yao said. “Plus, having a baby requires effort from both of you!”
“I don’t care. You are my best friend. You must help me,” Wang Mingbao said.
“Alright. Bring Miss Han here when you are available. By the way, you need to quit smoking and drinking if you want to have a baby,” Wang Yao said.
“OK, no problem,” Wang Mingbao said.
It was still raining outside. The spring rain was actually quite pleasant.
“Do you want to have lunch together?” Wang Mingbao asked.
“Sure, come to my house. I’ll let my mom know,” Wang Yao said.
“OK,” Wang Mingbao said.
He had a simple lunch at Wang Yao’s place and didn’t stay for long.
“Why did Mingbao leave in a hurry? He seemed to have something on his mind,” Zhang Xiuying said.
“Yeah, he wants a baby,” Wang Yao said.
“What?” Zhang Xiuying asked. “See? He’s going to have a baby, and you are still single!”
Wang Yao suddenly realized he said something he was not supposed to say.
Fortunately, Zhang Xiuying didn’t talk too much about it.
It was still raining in the afternoon. The sky had begun to look gloomy.
…
In Dali, it was almost time for the Han brothers to take their youngest brother to see the King Pharmacist.
“Brother, tomorrow will be the seventh day,” Han Zhigao said.
“Have you arranged everything for the trip?” Han Xing asked.
“Yes,” Han Zhigao said.
Their youngest brother had woken up, but he still couldn’t speak.
“I’ll take you to see the King Pharmacist tomorrow. It’s a long trip. You might get really tired,” Han Xing said.
The King Pharmacist’s village was fairly far from Dali. It would take them hours to get there by car. The last part of the trip was on uneven muddy road, so it wouldn’t be an easy drive. Even healthy people wouldn’t like it, let alone a very sick person.
“I’ve booked a recreational vehicle,” Han Zhigao said.
“Good,” Han Xing said.
The 70-year-old King Pharmacist was staring at Wang Yao’s decoctions in the small village in south Yunnan. He had been trying to figure out the components of Wang Yao’s decoctions using all the methods he could think of for six days. However, he failed.
Why? the King Pharmacist wondered.
