Song Hao and the squad leader stayed at Wu Qiguang's place, helping to treat patients during the day and discussing medicine with Wu Qiguang in the evenings. After a few days, Wu Qiguang set off for the city to visit Ye Chengshun first.
In the afternoon, the clinic was empty of patients after Song Hao and Wu Song had treated them all, and the two finally took a break. Wu Song's admiration for Song Hao grew stronger and stronger. Not only was he proficient in acupuncture and medicine, and his pulse diagnosis was superb, but he had also mastered his father's Ice and Fire Divine Needle technique. When discussing the art of medicine, his insightful remarks were always profound, giving people a sense of a grandmaster.
The phone rang, Wu Song answered it, nodded, then put the phone down and smiled at Song Hao, "Ye Chengshun wants to come back with Dad to thank you!"
Upon hearing this, Song Hao exclaimed with delight, "Mr. Ye has been persuaded by Teacher Wu!"
Wu Song shook his head and smiled, "No, but what my father meant was that you two should take advantage of his visit home to persuade him again and make sure he comes out of retirement."
Song Hao firmly replied, "Fine! I won't leave until I get this person out of here."
Chapter Twenty-Four: Ye's Bone Setting (4)
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I would rather be a good doctor than a good prime minister: No one is more capable of practicing medicine and saving lives than a good doctor. A good doctor heals the illnesses of his parents, relieves the suffering of others, and preserves his own health and longevity. Or, through the cultivation of a great physician, one understands the mysteries of Yin and Yang, comprehends the mechanisms of the Five Elements, comprehends the principles of all things, glimpses the secrets of heaven and earth, and reaches the ultimate state of creation. Thus, one attains the highest realm of human existence!
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Two hours later, hearing the sound of a car outside, Song Hao, Wu Song, and the sergeant hurried out to greet them. A taxi stopped in front of the clinic, and Wu Qiguang got out first, followed by Ye Chengshun carrying the dog. When they put the dog on the ground, it was surprisingly able to walk on its injured leg, much to Song Hao and the sergeant's surprise.
"Mr. Ye, please return the dog to its owner." Song Hao greeted him with a smile.
"I'm ashamed! If it weren't for Lao Wu coming to my place today, I wouldn't have known that you paid off that debt for me. I came here today specifically to express my gratitude." With that, Ye Chengshun bowed to Song Hao.
"Mr. Ye, please don't do this. It's just that I've run into this situation; otherwise, I wouldn't have known about your family's difficulties. Please come inside and talk," Song Hao hurriedly said.
“Yes! Let’s talk inside.” Wu Qiguang smiled and gave Song Hao a wink.
Before they could even sit down inside the clinic, a young man, accompanied by his father, came in for a consultation. Wu Qiguang nodded to Song Hao, signaling him to show off his skills in front of Ye Chengshun. Song Hao understood and stepped forward to see the patient.
Upon examining the young man's pulse, it was discovered that he had caught a cold and was experiencing high fever, chills, and trembling. Song Hao then administered the Ice-Fire Divine Needle technique, along with a sweating method. Within just over ten minutes, the fever subsided and the man sweated profusely. The father and son were extremely grateful.
Song Hao then said, "I will prescribe a few more doses of herbal medicine. Taking them will ensure you are well. However, upon examining your pulse just now, I can tell that you have lingering liver and gallbladder problems. You must have suffered from jaundice hepatitis before. You still experience dull pain in the liver area and vomit bitter fluid in the morning. If the treatment is not thorough, it will definitely relapse in the future. I will prescribe another medicine. Taking it for ten days will cure this disease completely."
The father and son nodded in agreement, quite surprised.
"I'll tell you how to decoct these herbs," Song Hao said after writing out the prescription, then led the father and son into the pharmacy to get the medicine.
"Qiguang, this... this Song Hao actually has such cultivation, his pulse technique is so precise, it's rare in the world! He has even mastered your Ice and Fire Divine Needle technique, I really can't believe it if I don't see it with my own eyes!" Ye Chengshun exclaimed.
“Song Hao is a promising young man, determined to establish Tianyi Hall to help the world and practice medicine, all for the sake of revitalizing traditional Chinese medicine. We should help him, given his passion. I already introduced him to you before we came; he is a man of great talent and ability, with lofty ambitions, a kind heart, and a willingness to help others. He will surely achieve great things in the future. We, on the other hand, with our skills, can at best only make a comfortable living; we have no real accomplishments. Especially Cheng Shun, whose skills are hidden, wasting his life's learning. This opportunity is a gift from heaven; if we don't seize it now, we will regret it!” Wu Qiguang said.
Ye Chengshun listened and remained silent.
After seeing the father and son off, Song Hao turned back and said with a smile, "Teacher Wu has a lot of patients here, especially in the morning when it's impossible to open the door. It's rare to see such a large number of patients among folk doctors."
“Qiguang is really capable!” Ye Chengshun replied casually.
Song Hao laughed and said, "Mr. Ye's skills are quite good! If he were to take on patients, he would be inundated with patients and wouldn't be able to keep busy for a moment."
Wu Qiguang nodded and said, "That's right. If the Ye family's bone-setting technique can be revealed to the world, it will surely become famous and will further enhance the prestige of traditional Chinese medicine orthopedics. Times have changed, so why is Brother Chengshun so stubborn? Although he has been bullied by some petty people among the patients, he cannot sweep away all the other patients' families. It's not worth getting angry with those petty people."
"Alas! The Ye family has always brought trouble upon themselves with bone-setting techniques, and I have become disillusioned. Moreover, because of me, my two sons are unwilling to continue this art, saying that it is useless to learn it, so it is better not to learn it at all," Ye Chengshun said with a shake of his head and a sigh.
Song Hao said, “Sir, your skill is enough to make you rich and noble. If you keep it hidden, you will not only suffer poverty and hardship, but you will also be going against the will of Heaven. Heaven bestowed this skill upon the Ye family so that their descendants could perform good deeds to help the world. If you continue like this, this extraordinary bone-setting technique will surely be lost. This is not just the responsibility of the Ye family, but a great loss to the entire Chinese medicine. It will be too late to make up for it. Tianyi Hall is the place where you can display your talents, but I will bear all the grievances and will not involve you in the slightest. I can guarantee that.”
“Song Hao!” Ye Chengshun raised his head, his eyes moist, and said, “I know that if I continue like this, I will not only be letting down the ancestors of the Ye family and causing the miraculous techniques that our forefathers researched with their blood and sweat to be lost in my hands, but I will also become a sinner of the Ye family. But I am really afraid. I would rather suffer poverty than bring disaster upon myself with this technique again. Qiguang also advised me that times have changed and that such ingratitude will not happen again, but I can’t get over it! In the old society, the Ye family almost suffered the calamity of extermination because of this technique, and my father lost his life because of it during the Cultural Revolution. So I made a solemn vow that I would rather treat dogs than treat people.”
"This was all caused by that particular era! But we can't let it affect our principles of practicing medicine and helping people," Song Hao said. He couldn't help but feel a pang of regret, thinking back to how he had almost become a victim of that era.
"Brother Chengshun!" Wu Qiguang said solemnly, "Your coming out of seclusion now is not a breach of the oath you made. As you said, if things continue like this, the Ye family's bone-setting technique will surely be lost. You will not only be a sinner to the Ye family, but also a sinner to the nation. Because it's as if you've destroyed a national treasure! Everyone has their sorrows, but we must distinguish between great and small. In a sense, the Ye family's bone-setting technique does not only belong to your Ye family, but also to our Chinese nation. It's not that I'm elevating you to this level, but rather that the Ye family's bone-setting technique has elevated you to this national level. If you carry forward this miraculous technique that benefits the people, it will be a meritorious deed; otherwise, you will be a sinner for all time. You should think about what to do."
"First of all, I want to clarify that Tianyitang is doing a cause, not just a business. We have a mission: to uncover folk remedies and provide a platform for the extraordinary people, medicines, and techniques hidden among the people, thereby comprehensively supplementing and enhancing traditional Chinese medicine. While modern technology has advanced, ancient Chinese medicine is gradually being neglected. If we can't offer something effective to help people rediscover the charm of traditional Chinese medicine, within a few decades, true medicine will collapse! We will all be sinners," Song Hao said.
"The ancients divided medicine into thirteen branches, with orthopedics being one of them. Since the Ye family has acquired this skill, they have a mission to fulfill and cannot be swayed by personal emotions. I, Wu, am not talented, but I have achieved some success in acupuncture, and I have accepted Song Hao's request to practice at Tianyi Hall in the future. Brother Chengshun is not ambitious and is willing to let this miraculous skill be lost in your hands. There is nothing we can do; you can't force someone to do something against their will. You should know that the Ye family's ancestors have spent countless generations of effort to create the Ye family's miraculous bone-setting technique as it is today. If you want to throw it away like trash, then so be it." Wu Qiguang shook his head and said helplessly.
Song Hao said, "Mr. Ye, how about this? You don't have to treat patients yourself. It would be best if you could take on a few disciples you like and teach them this technique so that the Ye family's unique bone-setting technique will not be lost."
"This technique isn't particularly difficult to learn. As long as you're familiar with the human skeleton and master some bone-feeling techniques, that's enough. Now we have X-rays, which can clearly show the location and extent of bone injuries, so there's no need to deliberately pursue the bone-feeling techniques of the ancients. Otherwise, without three years of experience in bone-feeling, you won't be able to determine the degree of a bone injury. In addition, you need to hone your bone-setting techniques and experience. Of course, the most important thing is the secret medicine for bone setting," Ye Chengshun said after a long silence.
Upon hearing this, Song Hao was overjoyed, knowing that Ye Chengshun was already interested, and he and Wu Qiguang exchanged a smile.
“No matter how good a disciple is, he can’t do it without your personal guidance. That’s clinical practice. Song Hao has provided you with all the necessary conditions and sincerely invites you to come out of retirement. If you hesitate any longer, you’ll be being ungrateful, and we’ll lose our friendship,” Wu Qiguang said casually.
"Alright, that's enough. I'll take on a few apprentices at Tianyi Hall first, and then I'll retire once they've mastered their skills." Ye Chengshun finally nodded in agreement.
"Master Ye, then please accept me as your disciple." The squad leader knelt down beside him.
Song Hao and Wu Qiguang were overjoyed and smiled at each other.
"You...?" Ye Chengshun looked at the squad leader, hesitated for a moment, and then nodded and said, "Since you are a disciple of the Lu School, you must have practiced martial arts. You should have some strength in your hands and be familiar with bones. You have the prerequisites to learn bone-setting techniques. Fine! For the sake of your master, I will take you in."
"Thank you, Master!" The squad leader was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed.
Seeing this, Song Hao laughed and said, "You're quite clever! You got there first, congratulations to you both!" He was also happy to be the squad leader.
"Wu Song, hurry up and order a table of food and drinks at the restaurant to congratulate your Uncle Ye on his return to the workforce!" Wu Qiguang instructed happily.
That night, Song Hao, Wu Qiguang, and Ye Chengshun returned home drunk.
The next day, Song Hao and the squad leader parted ways temporarily and made an appointment with Wu Qiguang and Ye Chengshun to go to Baihe Town again when Tianyitang was officially established.
Song Hao's trip not only included the appointment of Wu Qiguang, the "Ice and Fire Divine Needle," but also the unexpected arrival of Ye Chengshun, the sole inheritor of the Ye family's bone-setting technique. This greatly enhanced the strength of Tianyi Hall, filling him with immense pride. On the way back, he was brimming with joy. Sitting on the bus, he felt as if he were floating.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Igniting the Fire
Song Hao patted the sergeant on the shoulder and laughed, "You learned self-defense skills from Master Lu, but this time you've become Master Ye's apprentice and learned skills to make a living. Make sure you learn them well and master them. You might just become the first successor of the Ye family's extraordinary bone-setting technique."