"Hehe! I was even thinking of kidnapping Master Ye and forcing him to join the Heavenly Doctor Hall since Brother Song couldn't persuade him to join. I didn't expect Brother Song to actually manage to get Master Ye to come out." The squad leader chuckled sheepishly.
"I didn't realize you were so resourceful, Xiao Wu. Well, if I really couldn't persuade him, I'd consider kidnapping him myself, because I don't want to see his skills wasted. Sometimes it's better to wrong someone's person than to wrong their abilities; otherwise, it would be a sin!" Song Hao laughed.
When Song Hao and Wu Chang returned to Baihe Town, they could see the three striking red characters "Tianyitang" already erected on the roof, indicating that the project was progressing rapidly.
I overheard a group of people on the road exclaim in surprise, "Tianyi Hall! What arrogance! Who dares to call themselves a celestial physician!"
Song Hao smiled upon hearing this.
Upon entering the building, they saw some workers busily working, with Tang Yu supervising them. After not seeing them for several days, Tang Yu looked somewhat haggard.
"You're back!" Tang Yu greeted Song Hao and Corporal with delight.
"You've worked hard!" Song Hao said apologetically, looking at Tang Yu's thin face.
"It's alright! Did you manage to invite that Ice and Fire Divine Needle?" Tang Yu asked with a smile.
"We've managed to invite them, and unexpectedly, we've also managed to invite a master of bone setting. The two of them will be coming here together in the future," Song Hao said.
"A master of bone setting! The legendary Ye family of medicine is known for its bone setting skills, once hailed as the best in the world. However, they have been dormant for decades, and it seems there are no descendants to carry on the tradition. Which master did you invite?" Tang Yu asked.
Song Hao smiled and said, "It is Ye Chengshun, the sole inheritor of the Ye family's extraordinary bone-setting technique, which you mentioned as being the best in the world."
"What! You really managed to invite the heir of the Ye family!" Tang Yu exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right, we have to thank Xiao Wu for this, otherwise we wouldn't have had this unexpected gain," Song Hao said with a smile.
Tang Yu exclaimed with delight, "With this person joining, Tianyi Hall is now a gathering place for experts. It is truly destined to become the leader in traditional Chinese medicine!"
Song Hao laughed and said, "Of course, since we've started, we're going to be the best in the world!"
"The overall renovation will be completed in ten days, and Tianyitang can officially open for business in half a month. I have made all the necessary preparations," Tang Yu said.
Upon hearing this, Song Hao exclaimed with delight, "That's wonderful! The progress is faster than I expected."
Just then, they heard a car horn outside, indicating someone was calling. When Song Hao and Tang Yu came out to see what was happening, it was Liu Tian.
"You're finally back!" Liu Tian was overjoyed to see Song Hao and quickly got out of the car, his face showing anxiety.
"What's the rush?" Song Hao asked in surprise.
“My father fell seriously ill, and since I couldn’t find you here, I planned to go to the provincial capital,” Liu Tian said.
"Uncle Liu is sick! Let's hurry over there," Song Hao said hastily.
Liu Tian drove Song Hao to the county town. In the car, Liu Tian explained the situation to Song Hao. It turned out that his father, Liu Yaben, had attended a meeting that morning and felt some discomfort in his eyes. Upon returning home, he discovered he had gone blind and could no longer see. The doctors at the county hospital were also unable to treat him. Knowing that Song Hao had been out of town, Liu Tian planned to go to the provincial capital for his father's treatment. On a whim, he drove to Tianyitang to see if Song Hao had returned, also out of trust in the Song family's medical skills, which led him to come and find Song Hao first.
Upon arriving at the county hospital, they entered a ward for high-ranking officials and saw several doctors discussing something around Liu Yaben, who was sitting on the bed. Liu Yaben's eyes were red and swollen; he had bloodshot eyes and could no longer see.
"Dad, Song Hao is here," Liu Tian said.
"Did you also invite Mr. Song Zihe?" Liu Yaben asked, his spirits lifting. Song Zihe's name was known to everyone in the county.
“Uncle Liu, Grandpa hasn’t come over yet, let me check on him for you,” Song Hao said, stepping forward. Song Hao had met Liu Yaben a few times before.
"Oh! It's Song Hao! I heard you're coming back with your grandfather to run the hospital again. That's great news! There are just too few outstanding doctors in this county." Liu Yaben should have said, though his eyes were closed, his face showed a hint of disappointment.
Song Hao stepped forward to take Liu's pulse and found that all six pulses were wiry and rapid, especially the heart meridian. He said, "Uncle Liu's temporary 'blindness' is caused by a sudden attack of internal heat. It's nothing serious. I'll..." As Song Hao was speaking, he reached for paper and pen to write out the prescription when he suddenly saw Liu Tian gesturing to him. He quickly followed him out of the ward.
"What's wrong?" Song Hao asked.
“It’s like this,” Liu Tian pleaded, his face filled with sorrow. “My father has refused medicine his whole life, and he can’t stand the smell of it. Whether it’s Chinese or Western medicine, he vomits as soon as he takes it. Fortunately, he’s healthy and hasn’t had any serious illnesses. He’s only had a cold once, and when he had to get an injection, he had a strong reaction, which was even worse than the illness itself. So I’m asking you to try another method to treat him. The doctor here said that my father might be showing signs of a stroke. You mustn’t let him get that disease, otherwise, he won’t be able to take the medicine, and it could take his life.”
"Hey, don't worry, I have a way," Song Hao patted Liu Tian on the shoulder, comforting him.
Upon entering the ward, Song Hao approached Liu Yaben's bedside and said, "Uncle Liu, although your illness is visible, the root cause lies in your feet because all the meridians in your body are interconnected. I will now administer an acupuncture needle to your left foot."
A nurse brought over the needles. Song Hao took a three-inch acupuncture needle, inserted it into the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot, and then pierced the Taichong acupoint on the dorsum of the foot. He then withdrew the needle without pressing the needle hole, letting the blood flow out. He then said, "Uncle Liu, you must pay attention to the place where I inserted the needle on the sole of your foot. There is a little blood now. When you feel pus flowing out, your eyes will be better."
"Oh! Thank you! Don't we need to go to the provincial capital? We've already arranged for a consultation with specialists there!" Liu Yaben said, still somewhat hesitant.
Song Hao laughed and said, "This is just a minor illness, no need to make a fuss about it. Please trust me, Uncle Liu."
The doctors at the nearby hospital were all shaking their heads. They had never even heard of Song Hao's nonchalant treatment method and his so-called theory that "the disease may be in the eyes, but its root lies in the feet," and they all looked at him with disdain. One of the sycophants wanted to advise Liu Yaben to go to the provincial capital for treatment, but seeing Liu Tian's trust in Song Hao, he hesitated and stopped himself from speaking.
Liu Yaben was afraid of medicine, and he knew that even if he went to the provincial capital and consulted with experts, he would still need to take medicine. Seeing that Song Hao only pricked him with one needle and said that he could get better and no other medicine would be needed, he nodded in agreement.
Even after leaving the ward, Liu Tian still felt uneasy and asked, "Song Hao, is this really okay?" He also felt that Song Hao's treatment method was too simplistic.
Song Hao smiled and said, "Since Uncle Liu can't use medicine, this is the only way. Don't worry, we'll see the results tomorrow morning. But you should have someone constantly remind Uncle Liu to pay attention to the spot on his foot where I'm inserting the needle."
After listening, Liu Tian went back to the ward and gave some instructions. Then he came out and took Song Hao back to Tianyi Hall.
Upon meeting Tang Yu, Song Hao recounted the situation.
Tang Yu suddenly realized, "The excessive fire in his heart is blinding him. Since medicine cannot be used, we should distract him and make him focus on the soles of his feet, which will naturally draw the fire downwards."
Song Hao said, "That's right. I also used the purging method to insert a needle into the Yongquan acupoint. After removing the needle, I did not press the needle hole, but let the blood and qi flow out, which also naturally guided the fire of the heart meridian."
Tang Yu nodded and said, "This method should work!"
The next morning, Liu Tian called excitedly, "Song Hao! Brother Song Hao! You're amazing! My dad's eyes are less swollen this morning and he can see clearly now, but we haven't noticed any pus coming out of his feet. Is that serious?"
Upon hearing this, Song Hao laughed and said, "As long as the eye ailment is cured, who cares about the pus or not? It's just to make Uncle Liu pay more attention to the soles of his feet. Tell Uncle Liu to drink less alcohol and eat less spicy food these days."
"Song Hao, I told you you could do it! The doctors at the hospital were skeptical of your treatment yesterday, but guess what? They're all amazed and saying it's incredible. Even with the best medicine, it would take them at least several days to cure this disease," Liu Tian said with delight and admiration.
Beside Liu Tian were Ma Ji and Zhang Baolun, who had rushed to visit Liu Yaben after receiving the news. After finishing his call with Song Hao, Liu Tian said to the two men, “Brothers, you saw it, right? Our Song Hao lived up to expectations; his skills were extraordinary from the start. His medical knowledge has reached a high level. Brother Song Hao is our guardian angel; we entrust our lives to him. With him around, we can live with peace of mind and confidence. From now on, his affairs are our affairs; helping him is helping ourselves. My dad said that Song Hao is the first special talent in this county that needs protection. Everything he needs to do should be given the green light. We can't let this treasure leave again.”