"This town is quite bustling, let's go for a walk later," Tang Yu said. He then drove the car into the courtyard of a hotel.
Having booked two rooms, Song Hao and Tang Yu went out for a stroll, planning to find a restaurant later. Along the way, they couldn't resist the temptation of the street food, sampling only a few of each, until they were half full, at which point they lost interest in a proper meal. They decided to wander around instead.
Just then, they saw a crowd gathered by the roadside ahead, wondering what had happened. Song Hao and Tang Yu weren't usually the type to join in the fun, but as they passed by, they glanced inside. They saw a fruit vendor slumped over the handlebars of his tricycle, trembling all over; he was clearly ill.
"You're so sick, you should go to the hospital to get checked out," someone said.
"He might need to stay in the hospital for a few days!" another person said.
Although some people were talking about it, no one stepped forward to help.
Song Hao, being a physician by nature, couldn't bear to see people suffer, so he pushed through the crowd and came to the man's side. He said, "Brother Zai, what's wrong?" As he spoke, he took the man's pulse with his right hand and immediately felt a tightness in the guan position, indicating acute stomach pain due to cold. He touched the man's forehead with his left hand, which was already covered in cold sweat, and the man was still struggling to hold on.
When the man saw someone asking him questions, he pointed to his abdomen, indicating that he was in severe stomach pain.
Knowing the location of the man's ailment, Song Hao's attendant took a needle from his sleeve, held the man's left hand, and inserted it into the midpoint of the second metacarpal bone. This was a hand acupuncture technique. The pain subsided immediately upon insertion, and the man's expression softened considerably, revealing gratitude.
The needle was effective immediately. Song Hao removed the needle and then ordered the man to lift his clothes. He then selected the Zhongwan acupoint on the man's abdomen and applied the fire needle technique of the Ice and Fire Divine Needle. The needle was used to generate heat and expel the cold from the man's stomach.
"That feels so good! Young man, your needles can even generate heat!" The man breathed a sigh of relief, expressing his gratitude and surprise.
"This young man knows acupuncture! One needle stopped the pain! Will the other needle also generate heat?" The onlookers were all astonished. A fair-skinned boy next to him was stunned as he watched Song Hao perform the acupuncture, his eyes filled with surprise and delight.
After the two needles were administered, the treatment was complete. Song Hao removed the needles and said to the man, "This was caused by cold air affecting your stomach. Avoid eating raw or cold foods for the next few days."
The man said, "I was thirsty just now, and when I drank the ice water, I swallowed several ice cubes at once. I drank too fast, and the ice cubes didn't melt in my stomach before the pain started. Young brother, your needle made the needle point heat up and melted the ice. My stomach is still very warm now!"
Song Hao laughed and said, "Don't drink so quickly, otherwise the internal cold and heat will clash and cause stomach cramps. If you can't get help, it could kill you."
The man was extremely grateful and wanted to give him a large bag of fruit as a gift, but Song Hao refused and left with Tang Yu with a smile.
Once away from the crowd, Tang Yu said happily, "I never expected that you would master Teacher Wu Qiguang's Ice and Fire Needle Technique. Congratulations!"
Song Hao proudly declared, "This is a miraculous acupuncture technique! The needles produce both hot and cold sensations, capable of creating a sensation of both ice and fire! It's incredibly effective in rescuing people in dire situations. Master Wu once said that there are only seven people throughout history who possess this skill! I'm one of them!"
Tang Yuxin said, "You have achieved something special in acupuncture. You can even break the reverse needle technique in the Luo family's magic needle. You are the only one in history who has mastered the art of acupuncture so well!"
Song Hao said, "Among the acupuncture techniques that exist today, only the Luo Family Magic Needle and the Dou Family Acupuncture Technique of the Golden Needle Sect are the best, while Wu Qiguang's Ice and Fire Divine Needle is an odd number. However, the Golden Needle Sect has also cracked the reverse needle technique that has mutated in the Luo Family Magic Needle. I asked Kong Fei and Fu Zhongqi, and they have treated patients with it."
Tang Yu said, "Even so, only you can break the curse of that kind of deadly needle that slowly takes a life."
"The Deadly Needle!" Upon hearing this, Song Hao's heart sank. He shook his head and said, "Last time was just a fluke! And without Yingying's first intervention, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to succeed! I hope we never encounter it again!"
The two bought some more food on the street and returned to the hotel as dusk approached.
Tang Yu had barely sat down in the room when she heard a knock at the door. When she got up and opened the door, she saw a group of people standing outside. An old man respectfully said, "I heard that a miracle doctor has come to town. Could you please take a look at my family member's illness?"
It turned out that after Song Hao treated the fruit seller with acupuncture on the street, some knowledgeable people in the crowd knew that a medical expert had come to the town. Seeing this as a rare opportunity, they followed him all the way, found out where Song Hao was staying, and brought their sick family members to seek treatment.
Seeing the eager expressions on everyone's faces, Tang Yu smiled and said, "Then come in, everyone, and let our Doctor Song take a look."
The patients' families were overjoyed upon hearing this, and more than a dozen people rushed in, including the fair-skinned young man.
When Song Hao saw patients coming to him, he found paper and pen and began a makeshift consultation. His examination of their complexion and pulse revealed accurate diagnoses, astonishing the patients, who were all secretly delighted to have encountered such a renowned doctor. Song Hao then prescribed medicine, and the patients, holding the prescriptions, left overjoyed and grateful.
This incident alarmed a hotel owner surnamed Wang, who pulled over an acquaintance of one of the patients. After asking around, he learned that a medical expert was staying at his hotel. Overjoyed, he brought his mother over and also went to Song Hao's room for treatment.
The old woman was over seventy years old and in good health, but the tendons in her right hand were so constricted that she could not straighten them. This had been going on for more than three years, and despite numerous treatments, it had not been effective, causing her many inconveniences in her daily life.
“My mother’s illness is quite strange. Three years ago, her arm accidentally touched the corner of a table, and she developed this condition. Doctors at big hospitals say it’s a nerve injury, but they can’t cure it. I would be extremely grateful if Dr. Song could take a good look at her. If she can be cured, I will be eternally grateful!” said Mr. Wang.
After examining the woman, Song Hao said, "This is due to an unintentional injury to the meridians, causing stagnation of qi and blood. It's nothing serious; I'll treat it with acupuncture first." He then took a needle and inserted it into the Houxi acupoint on the affected hand, penetrating the Sanjian acupoint. Miraculously, as soon as the needle entered, the old woman's contracted and clenched fingers immediately relaxed.
"Oh my! My fingers can straighten now!" the old woman exclaimed in delight.
"Impressive!" Boss Wang secretly exclaimed in admiration.
Song Hao smiled and said, "This illness has been going on for a long time, causing poor blood circulation. I will prescribe another medicine to regulate your Qi and blood, and relax your muscles and tendons. After taking a few doses, you will be free from illness."
After saying that, he wrote down a prescription and handed it to Boss Wang.
After glancing at the prescription, Boss Wang pointed and said, "Several of the herbs on this prescription come from the Hundred Herbs Garden. With these herbs, the efficacy of the medicine will be greatly enhanced."
Upon hearing this, Song Hao asked, "Hundred Herbs Garden! Is that a place that produces Chinese medicinal herbs?"
Mr. Wang said, "It's like this. Ten miles east of this town, there's a village called Xiajiang. In that village, there's a family named Qiu who have been herb farmers for generations. They've mastered the cultivation methods for Chinese medicinal herbs and built a herb garden to grow dozens of commonly used herbs. Because of their high quality and potent medicinal properties, they're priced several times higher than the market price. Pharmacies and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in nearby counties also come to buy them, taking pride in selling herbs from their herb garden. Ten grams of herbs from their herb garden can be as potent as dozens of grams of other herbs. So, in our area, if we can use herbs from their herb garden, we won't use any other herbs."
Chapter Thirty-One: The Medicine King's Sect (2)
"To cultivate Chinese medicinal herbs to this extent is quite an achievement! Tomorrow we can visit the Hundred Herbs Garden and see who this master is," Song Hao exclaimed in surprise.
Mr. Wang nodded and said, "Those of you who study traditional Chinese medicine should go and see Baicaoyuan. A friend of mine who is also a TCM doctor said that modern medicine is not as good as ancient medicine, which is one of the reasons why many ancient prescriptions are ineffective."
Then Mr. Wang said gratefully, "Dr. Song is young and talented. He cured my mother's illness. I have no other thanks to him. I will waive the lodging fee for today. A banquet will be prepared in the front hall later. Please do me the honor of attending."
"You're too kind!" Song Hao said with a smile.
The fair-skinned young man who had been watching Song Hao treat patients saw that all the patients had left. He wanted to go up and say something to Song Hao, but hesitated, then smiled slightly and turned away.
Song Hao and Tang Yu were warmly received by the hotel owner, Mr. Wang, before returning to their room.
"Hehe! It's good to be capable! You can find food and lodging anywhere you go," Song Hao laughed.
Tang Yu laughed and said, "That depends on whether you have the ability to respond to people."
"Let's stay a day later tomorrow and visit that Hundred Herbs Garden. It will also help Tianyitang learn from their experience at the medicinal herb planting base in Wansongling. The medicinal herbs from the Hundred Herbs Garden are several times more potent than ordinary ones; it's truly remarkable!" Song Hao said.
Tang Yu nodded and said, "That's right. We are in dire need of talent in this area. Since you intend to build a Chinese herbal medicine planting base in Wansongling, you can learn from the Hundred Herbs Garden in the future. You know, among the nine schools and eighteen families of medicine in the old days, there was a Medicine King School. Although it was not known for its medicine, it was famous for its medicine. However, since the Qing Dynasty, due to the war, the Medicine King School has disappeared from the world. I once heard my second grandfather say that the Chinese herbs produced by the Medicine King School are all top-grade. Although most of them are artificially cultivated, even wild ones are not as good. They must have obtained the secret method of planting herbs."