At this moment, Song Hao and Tang Yu were completely stunned. They never imagined that someone could utilize the power of medicine to such a profound degree; it was surely beyond human capability. And yet, it was the renowned poison doctor Du Wantong who had accomplished it. Human ingenuity truly can explore the infinite limits of physics.
"The mysteries of traditional Chinese medicine are boundless. What we know about its medicinal properties and pharmacology is only a small part of its inherent essence. The secret lies in processing and compatibility, and importantly, in its natural properties. When properly utilized, it can generate inexhaustible medicinal power, beyond our imagination. I have compiled all my knowledge and experience into a book called 'Medical Prescriptions,' which I gave to Miss Qiu Ru, who manages the Hundred Herbs Garden, before you came. Although I haven't fully utilized my abilities, I couldn't bear to let myself..."
Traditional Chinese Medicine Under Heaven, Volume 3: The World of Traditional Chinese Medicine - Chapter 22: The Prescription for Healing the Heart
Heaven and earth are the upper and lower realms of all things; yin and yang are the blood and qi of men and women; left and right are the pathways of yin and yang; water and fire are the signs of yin and yang; yin and yang are the enablers of all things. Therefore it is said: Yin is within, the guardian of yang; yang is without, the messenger of yin. — *The Great Treatise on Yin-Yang Correspondence* (Neijing)
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"Thank you, Senior Du!" Song Hao said gratefully. "Senior Du is one of the two most respected medical masters in my great-grandfather's life. It is an honor to meet you today. Please move to the Hundred Herbs Garden so that I can easily seek your guidance in the future." Song Hao sensed that Du Wantong was about to leave, so he tried to persuade him to stay.
"I've been away from the martial world for thirty years, it's time for me to get out and about. If I can't go on anymore, I might come back. Alright, you two go ahead, I want to sleep a little longer," Du Wantong said.
Upon hearing this, Song Hao and Tang Yu had no choice but to retreat. They then headed towards the Hundred Herbs Garden.
"Today I have once again truly experienced the profoundness of medicine!" Song Hao said with emotion.
"It's truly incredible that Du Wantong can conjure up controllable benevolent and malevolent toxicity from ordinary medicines. Also, don't you have any doubts about this?" Tang Yu said.
"What is it?" Song Hao was taken aback.
“That’s the cause of your great-grandfather’s death,” Tang Yu said.
"My great-grandfather passed away because he exhausted himself trying to cure those eighteen kinds of poisons. My grandfather has already confirmed that. What are you doubting?" Song Hao asked in surprise.
“I suspect that this is not the real cause of my great-grandfather’s death. Think about it, my great-grandfather was a renowned doctor all his life. He knew the ways of health preservation and wellness. Even in that special situation, he knew how to protect himself. He wouldn’t have driven himself to his death by desperately searching for a cure,” Tang Yu said.
"You mean...?" Song Hao stopped in his tracks, looking bewildered.
"My great-grandfather's health was also a factor, but not the main one. I believe he truly risked his life to keep the legendary poison doctor Du Wantong alive. He probably deliberately sacrificed himself to ensure the death of this doctor's poison formulas. At Tianyi Hall, my grandfather said that my great-grandfather had vowed to do everything in his power to keep Du Wantong alive, and he succeeded. Although he couldn't cure the disease, he once again performed a heroic act of saving the world. Otherwise, if this legendary poison doctor had continued to roam the land, many more people would have suffered from his poison formulas. Back then..." Du Wantong should be considered a figure somewhere between good and evil. His ideals are noble—to heal the world through medicine—but this is an extreme approach. Furthermore, given his extremely special relationship with the Gate of Life and Death, he is also a master of martial arts; other methods might not have been able to stop him. Great-grandfather recognized this and, to prevent him from wreaking havoc in the martial arts world and disturbing the people, in desperation, devised a plan to deceive Du Wantong before sacrificing himself to imprison him. He valued Du Wantong's integrity and trustworthiness, which is why he deliberately made this bet with him,” Tang Yu said.
"Did Great-Grandpa really do that?!" Song Hao was stunned for a moment.
“Although it’s just my guess, my great-grandfather most likely did that back then. That’s what a true healer who saves lives does!” Tang Yu said respectfully.
“Great-grandfather!” Song Hao’s eyes welled up with tears. He once again felt the greatness of his great-grandfather, Song Jingchun, and felt incredibly proud of him because he was a descendant of the Song family.
Qiu Ru was in her office reading the book "Medical Prescriptions for the Heart" that Du Wantong had given her, her brow furrowing occasionally. Hearing a knock at the door, she looked up and saw Song Hao and Tang Yu. She quickly stood up to greet them, saying happily, "Brother Song! Sister Tang Yu!"
Song Hao glanced at the book "Medical Prescriptions" on the table and said, "Can you understand it?"
Qiu Ru said, "This was given to me by that old man. He said it was a book of medical prescriptions. I read a few pages and found that it was just some prescriptions. The composition of the medicines is quite special. Ordinary medicines, but unusual prescriptions. Perhaps there is another medical theory in it. You can take a look."
Song Hao stepped forward and flipped through a few pages. He saw that most of the prescriptions lacked the principles of combining herbs according to traditional Chinese medicine principles, resembling the chaotic prescriptions found in folk medicine. So he said, "To understand the prescriptions, you must first understand the herbs! Try to interpret them differently from normal pharmacology; you might make some discoveries. However, you must never use them on people, otherwise it could be fatal."
Qiu Ru asked in surprise, "Why is that?"
Song Hao laughed and said, "It's hard to explain in a short time. You should first understand the pharmacology of this prescription, and I will explain the medical principles of the whole prescription later. That beggar senior wanted to test us with his special medical skills."
Qiu Ru said, "Since Brother Song is interested, I'll take a look at it in my spare time."
"By the way, Qiu Ru, prepare a meal later. I'm going to host a banquet for that beggar senior," Song Hao said. Because he had promised Du Wantong to keep it a secret, he didn't reveal Du's identity.
Qiu Ru said, "The room and clothes are all prepared. I've invited him several times, but the old man just won't come to use them, and he might not even be able to accept your invitation."
Song Hao laughed and said, "He may not want the room and clothes, but this delicious food should be enough to get him to eat. It's been thirty years, we should treat him to something better this time."
"Okay! I'll tell the restaurant to prepare right away," Qiu Ru said. Then she made a phone call.
After a sumptuous feast was laid out, Song Hao personally went to the back gate of the Hundred Herbs Garden to invite Du Wantong to the banquet. However, the house was empty, and Du Wantong had vanished.
"I'm leaving!" Song Hao shook his head and sighed, turning away in disappointment.
At this moment, Qiu Ru, Tang Yu, Li He, and Ji Dongyang were waiting for Du Wantong to attend the banquet. When they saw Song Hao return alone, they knew what had happened.
"The senior has left!" Qiu Ru was also quite disappointed.
Song Hao nodded.
“That old man is really something!” Ji Dongyang said, “At that moment, my vision blurred and I don’t know what happened, but he knocked down the two men who tied me up.”
Tang Yu pondered to herself, "Du Wantong saved Ji Dongyang, probably for Song Hao and the Heavenly Medicine Hall, and perhaps also out of gratitude to Qiu Ru for taking him in. However, so much has happened these past few days; it shouldn't have escaped Du Wantong's notice. He should know why Ji Dongyang is hiding in the Hundred Herbs Garden, meaning he also knows something about the Ji family's research into the 'Medicine-Free Divine Formula.' With the power of this formula, it seems possible to cure the poison in his 'Heart-Healing Formula.' Although he understands that medicine cannot cure the world, he doesn't want to..." The "Healing Heart Formula," developed by Sheng, was lost, so it was passed on to Qiu Ru. Given Qiu Ru's aptitude for medicine, she should be able to understand the "Healing Heart Formula" someday. Du Wantong deliberately kept Ji Dongyang in the Hundred Herbs Garden forever, likely intending to create a counterbalance to the "Healing Heart Formula" in the future. Otherwise, if Qiu Ru understood the "Healing Heart Formula" but didn't realize its dangers, and passed it on to the wrong person, misusing the technique would be troublesome. Du Wantong's considerations are truly thorough! Or perhaps he's completely unaware of all this, simply saving Ji Dongyang.
After the group finished their meal, Ji Dongyang pulled Song Hao to another room.
"Song Hao, thank you for helping me through this crisis!" Ji Dongyang said gratefully, "I said that as long as you can protect me, I will pass on the miraculous cure to you. If your Heavenly Doctor Hall also has the miraculous cure from my Ji family, then there will be no disease that cannot be cured."
Song Hao shook his head and said, "By doing this, aren't you implying that I'm taking advantage of your misfortune? To be honest, aside from an unavoidable curiosity, I've never been interested in your 'miracle cure without medicine.' Besides, the Heavenly Medicine Hall doesn't need this kind of unorthodox medical technique, because it's too advanced and not suitable for the Heavenly Medicine Hall yet. I have a suggestion, also for your safety: since you'll be living in the Hundred Herbs Garden, could you research the mechanism of the 'miracle cure without medicine' and clarify it theoretically first, so that people understand both the 'what' and the 'why'? Then we can consider clinical application, which will have a real effect on saving lives. Otherwise, it's just you showing off your miraculous skills to others."
Ji Dongyang was greatly surprised to hear this. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Alright, I'll listen to you. My grandfather also told me before he passed away that this technique is special and often arouses people's curiosity, which can lead to disaster. It's a technique that can't be used in the world for the time being. He also told me to devote myself to studying its true mechanism and achieve that effect of simplification, otherwise there are very few people in the world who can learn and understand it."
Song Hao nodded and said, "That's good. I will allocate research funds specifically for you in the future, and Tianyi Hall will provide all the conveniences for your research work. I hope that one day we can unveil the mystery of the 'miracle cure without medicine.' At the same time, we will also include some medical wonders in your research scope. If you are willing, Senior Brother Wufengzi can be your assistant; he also knows a little about incantation healing. Let's start Tianyi Hall's research institute for medical wonders from your place. At that time, Tianyi Hall will provide some difficult cases to verify the effects of the 'miracle cure without medicine' and various wonders. We also hope to use this unique medical technique to relieve some patients of special suffering. This is the right path and direction you should take in the future."
Ji Dongyang listened and nodded gratefully in agreement.
On this day, a high-ranking provincial leader led an inspection team to Tianyitang for a work inspection. Song Hao and several county officials accompanied the team on a tour of Tianyitang's pharmacy, pharmaceutical factory, and Wansongling Herb Garden. The leader was deeply impressed by Tianyitang's rapid development in just two years, which had not only boosted the local economy but also become a vital pillar industry in the province. He offered his affirmation and encouragement.
Song Hao then accompanied the inspection team to the county government and gave a work report on the future development and prospects of Tianyitang.
It was evening when Song Hao returned to Tianyi Hall.
At this moment, Qiu Ru called from Baicaoyuan, "Song Hao, Luo Feiying rushed to Baicaoyuan at noon to pick up Li He. She said there was a family emergency and she and Li He had to go back to deal with it. She couldn't say goodbye to you, so she asked me to pass on her message."
"What happened to Yingying's family?" Song Hao was taken aback upon hearing this.
Qiu Ru said, "She didn't say, but she seemed to be in a serious condition. She said something to Li He, and Li He's expression changed drastically. Then the two of them hurriedly drove off. By the way, Luo Feiying also asked me to tell you that she has handed over the task of investigating Liu Tian and the others to Dean Jiang He."
"What happened to the Luo family?" After finishing his call with Qiu Ru, Song Hao sensed something was wrong and immediately called Luo Feiying to get some answers, but Luo Feiying's phone was already switched off.