The next morning, led by the sergeant, Song Hao arrived at a residential area in the suburbs. The area consisted mostly of single-story houses and small shops lining the streets, far from the bustling city center. The sergeant stopped in front of a liquor wholesale shop and said, "This is it."
The shop was very simple, with several large vats of liquor placed outside the door and inside as well; the aroma of liquor permeated the air as one walked by. Business was slow, with only a middle-aged woman dozing off at a table inside.
Song Hao coughed and went inside. Hearing someone enter, the woman straightened up and asked, "Going to buy wine?"
"Excuse me, is Mr. Ye Chengshun here?" Song Hao asked.
Hearing that someone was being looked for, the woman, who was about to stand up, sat down again, yawned, and said, "He went out. Is there something you need him for?"
"Oh!" Song Hao was quite disappointed upon hearing this, and said, "I wonder when Mr. Ye will be back? I have something to discuss with him."
"Who knows! He's been gone for half a month. Let's wait until he comes back to talk about it." The woman seemed rather impatient.
"That's how it is!" Helpless, Song Hao shrugged at the squad leader and then walked out.
"We've come at the wrong time. Let's talk about it later," Song Hao said, shaking his head.
The sergeant said apologetically, "Brother Song, you've made a wasted trip."
Song Hao laughed and said, "It's alright. If you want to invite such an expert, you have to visit him three times. Otherwise, he would feel embarrassed."
"That's true!" the sergeant replied with a smile.
Just as the two reached the street corner, the sergeant suddenly pointed to a man ahead and exclaimed with delight, "Brother Song, that's Ye Chengshun!"
When Song Hao looked up, he saw a man in his fifties, of medium build, with a well-proportioned build. Although his face was ruddy, it held a hint of melancholy, suggesting he was usually taciturn. He was carrying a bag of vegetables in his left hand, hardly looking like someone going out; he was clearly going to the market to buy groceries.
Upon hearing what the sergeant said, Song Hao realized that he had been deceived by Ye Chengshun's family. Overjoyed, he hurriedly stepped forward and respectfully asked, "Excuse me, are you Mr. Ye Chengshun?"
"Ah! It's me, what's up?" Ye Chengshun was taken aback at first.
"Hello Mr. Ye, my name is Song Hao. May I speak to you in private?" Song Hao said, pointing to a restaurant across the street.
Ye Chengshun looked Song Hao up and down, then glanced at the squad leader beside him. He clearly didn't recognize the squad leader, shook his head, and said, "I'm sorry, I don't know you."
"It's like this, Mr. Ye, I've heard you're skilled at setting bones..."
Before Song Hao could finish speaking, Ye Chengshun took a step back, looking very displeased, and said, "Who told you that? I don't know anything about bone setting. If I had that skill, would I still be living here? You've mistaken me for someone else." With that, he let Song Hao pass and left.
"Mr. Ye, please wait a moment." Song Hao hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Please don't misunderstand, Mr. Ye. I have come here sincerely to invite you to come out of seclusion. I have heard that the Ye family's bone-setting technique is the best in the world, yet it is unknown to the world. Don't you feel sorry about that, Mr. Ye?"
"Who told you that?" Ye Chengshun asked, his face showing a hint of anger.
"It's me!" the sergeant said. "I'm a disciple of the Lu School. I came here with my master years ago to treat a senior brother's leg. Don't you recognize me, Mr. Ye?"
"Lu Men!" Ye Chengshun snorted coldly and said, "Nonsense, I don't know anyone from Lu Men. You're mistaken. I've never seen you before either."
"How can you be like this! I personally witnessed you setting the bones of one of my senior brothers back then, and my master even told me to leave you a thousand yuan." The sergeant also became stubborn and said.
"Hmph!" Ye Chengshun sneered and said, "Then call your master to see me, otherwise I will not speak to a disciple of the Lu Clan." After saying that, he turned and left.
Song Hao didn't chase after him, shook his head and said, "This guy is really strange!"
The sergeant also said angrily, "He clearly knows Lu Men, but he pretends not to. He doesn't appreciate the opportunity. It's better not to invite such an ungrateful person."
Song Hao smiled and said, "Knowing that this person exists and where he lives is enough for now. This matter can't be rushed. Let's put it aside for now and talk about it later."
Corporal said, "I shouldn't have brought Brother Song to find this person. Look at his attitude, like he owes me a lot of money. What good is great ability if you can't use it? You're no different from someone who has no ability."
Song Hao glanced at Ye Chengshun's departing figure and said, "This man doesn't show off his bone-healing skills, there must be another reason. Let's find out before we make any decisions."
Afterwards, Song Hao and the squad leader took a bus to the town where Wu Qiguang lived, found Wu Qiguang's clinic, and saw that it was bustling with patients.
Squeezing through the crowd into the consultation room, I saw Wu Qiguang and his son Wu Song treating a patient.
"Song Hao!" Wu Song looked up and saw Song Hao by chance, and exclaimed in surprise, "What brings you here?"
Song Hao smiled and said, "I came to see Teacher Wu and you."
"It's Song Hao! If you're tired, go rest in the backyard. If you're not tired, help us with some chores." Wu Qiguang had already spotted him and waved to greet him. There were too many patients to greet him immediately.
"Great!" Song Hao was delighted to hear this, knowing that Wu Qiguang no longer considered him an outsider. So he sat down at the table and began to examine patients as if it were his first time here.
The patient was an elderly man. When he heard that Wu Qiguang had asked Song Hao to help him diagnose the illness, he assumed that Song Hao was Wu Qiguang's disciple. There were too many people waiting to see him, so he came over to have Song Hao treat him first.
Song Hao took his hand and felt his pulse. After a careful examination, he asked, "Sir, have you ever had a gastrectomy?"
The old man was taken aback upon hearing this, and exclaimed in surprise, "Yes! It was done two years ago, and a third of it was cut off! You can tell from the pulse that this is real?"
Song Hao laughed and said, "Not only that, your right foot has also been injured, hasn't it? Your pulse is weak, could it be that you have a disability?"
"Oh my! Young doctor, you can see through things! How can you see so clearly! A few years ago, while quarrying stones, I accidentally lost three toes, and you can still see that!" the old man exclaimed in surprise.
Wu Qiguang, who was on the other side, was astonished upon hearing this. He had not expected that Song Hao's pulse diagnosis had reached such a precise level. After three days apart, one should look at him with new eyes.
"Sir, your main symptom right now is constipation, which is due to excessive heat in the lower abdomen. I'll prescribe three doses of traditional Chinese medicine for you. Take it home, decoct it in water, and drink it three times a day. After you finish the medicine, you should be fine. You should also eat more fruit in your daily life," Song Hao said.
"Yes! Going to the toilet these days is a real ordeal! It can take two or three hours to get out, it's enough to kill you!" the old man said, frowning.
Song Hao laughed and said, "You'll feel better after you take the medicine. I guarantee you'll have a smooth recovery."
"That's wonderful!" the old man said happily.
As soon as Song Hao finished prescribing medicine for the old man, half the patients in the room crowded around. They were all amazed by Song Hao's miraculous pulse diagnosis.
Wu Qiguang, sitting there, gave Song Hao a thumbs-up. He was a magnanimous man and didn't blame Song Hao for overstepping his bounds. Seeing Song Hao's superb medical skills, Wu Song simply sat and watched, too lazy to even treat any patients himself.
Song Hao had mastered Lin Fengyi's pulse diagnosis technique, making his diagnoses not only accurate but also rapid. Within two hours, he had treated most of the dozens of patients, who all left happily. The remaining patients had also been treated by Wu Qiguang.