Chapter 98 - Excellent Chinese Medical Practitioners Were Like Saints

Chapter 98: Excellent Chinese Medical Practitioners Were Like Saints
Translator: 
Nyoi-Bo Studio 
 Editor: 
Nyoi-Bo Studio
Tian Yuantu didn’t want to upset Wang Yao or his friend. Fortunately, his friend didn’t insist on meeting with Wang Yao, although his mother was keen to thank Wang Yao in person. His friend was very compliant with his mother, so sooner or later he would want to meet Wang Yao again.

Is there anything wrong?
asked Wang Yao as he noticed Tian Yuantu suddenly stopped talking.
Wang Yao knew the Regather soup just enhanced the Qi which was damaged by cold evil (a Chinese Traditional Medicine concept). It was a temporary solution. The disease would come back after a while if the root of the problem hadn’t been killed.
The best solution was to meet the patient to find out what was wrong with her.

My friend wants to invite you for dinner at his house. He just wants to thank you for treating his mother,
said Tian Yuantu after thinking for a while.

It is not necessary,
said Wang Yao.
Tian Yuantu was not surprised to hear Wang Yao’s reply. He was just a little bit disappointed. How was he going to explain this to his friend?

This is the Regather soup you requested,
Wang Yao placed a white porcelain bottle on the table. The decoction inside was still warm.

Thank you. How much do I need to pay for it?
asked Tian Yuantu.

One million yuan,
said Wang Yao.

Ok, just a minute.
Tian Yuantu didn’t even blink his eyes when he heard the number.
After a moment, Wang Yao received an alert of a money transfer on his mobile phone.
You have reached the criteria of upgrading. Do you want to upgrade? the system suddenly started to prompt Wang Yao.
I’ve reached the criteria? Wang Yao was surprised.
Please upgrade,
he said quietly.
He didn’t check the system immediately as Tian Yuantu hadn’t left yet.

I’ve told you the Regather soup may not be able to cure the disease thoroughly. It is best for me to see the patient face-to-face for a diagnosis,
said Wang Yao.

Can you please visit the patient at her house? They can also take the chance to thank you,
said Tian Yuantu.

Well, I will see,
said Wang Yao.
He didn’t decline Tian Yuantu completely. Tian Yuantu knew it was possible for Wang Yao to do a home visit, so he could let his friend know.
Tian Yuantu soon left Wang Yao’s cottage.
Wang Yao opened the system panel and started to check his status.
Grade: 4
Occupational grade: still green hand (but you are ready to fly)
Grade for herbal cultivation: 3 (primary level). You have a basic understanding of herbal cultivation.
The biggest reward for the upgrading this time was a skill point. Plus the rewards from the previous missions, Wang Yao had two skill points at the moment.
Where should I add the points to? Medical or pharmacological aspect?
Medical aspect pertained to his knowledge of diagnosis and treatment. Pharmacological aspect was his ability to prescribe herbal formulas. Both were essential.
Then, I should consider both.
Wang Yao added one point to each aspect.
At the moment, Wang Yao had basic medical skills. He added listening, one of the four ways of diagnosis using the Chinese Traditional Medicine theory. Listening meant identifying the cause and nature of the disease by listening to the sound of a patient.
As the old Chinese saying stated,
An excellent Chinese Medical Practitioner could tell the disease by listening to the patient.

Excellent Chinese Medical Practitioners were like saints. Only extraordinary Chinese Medical Practitioners could diagnose a patient only through listening to their sounds and detecting abnormal odors. But saints might be an overstatement.
There were a lot of philosophies in the sayings from ancient China. In the ancient Chinese book Han Feizi, Explaining Laozi Using Metaphors, there was a famous story called Bianque Met Duke Caihuan. The well-known ancient Chinese doctor Bianque diagnosed Duke Caihuan through the method of looking.
Bianque observed that the disease was on the skin initially, then progressed into the muscles and internal organs. In the end, Bianque turned around and left as soon as he saw Duke Caihuan because he could tell the disease had gone into Duke Caihuan’s bones and became incurable.
Only people like Bianque deserved the title of a saint as he could identify the nature of the disease just by looking at the patient from a distance. It was like magic.
Bianque was the god of medicine in ancient China; he developed the four methods of diagnosis in Chinese Traditional Medicine. He was also called the founder of Chinese medicine.
Looking and listening was not easy to grasp. One needed to have a rich knowledge of Chinese medicine to have the two skills. Wang Yao felt his head was going to explode as it was filled with the knowledge from the system. He ended up having a headache, as if his head was pricked by thousands of needles. Wang Yao was sweating hard even inside the cold cottage. Fortunately, the headache didn’t last long.
Wang Yao was relieved when it was over.
It would take some time to digest such a large amount of knowledge given by the system. The system only provided theory and knowledge, it wouldn’t help Wang Yao understand and apply the theories into practice. Wang Yao was required to accumulate more hands-on experience to truly absorb the knowledge from the system.
As for the pharmacological aspect, Wang Yao had been able to recognize different herbs and understand their effects. Now he was able to know how to mix different herbs together to maximize their effect. In addition, some herbs couldn’t be mixed due to their conflicting effects. With such knowledge Wang Yao was able to pick the most suitable herbs to make formulas for various diseases, as well as adjust existing herbal formulas to improve the effect of formulas. Wang Yao had only used existing formulas from herbal books but now he could be more flexible when making formulas.
Now, Wang Yao could be creative.
The skill of making formulas without relying on books was quite extraordinary. Some people couldn’t grasp it for the entirety of their lives.
Some doctors just asked about symptoms without making any diagnosis before prescribing medications. A few of them even prescribed the same medication for ten different diseases. It wouldn’t end up with severe consequences if the disease was not severe, but for severe and progressive diseases, such conduct would only make the disease worse.

I should have more confidence in treating people now,
said Wang Yao.
It would be the beginning of spring in a few days—the first of 24 solar terms.
The wind from the east brought warmth to the world, the sun had thawed the earth, and nature had revived.
The wind and rain from the east were chasing the wind from the west, the sun warmed the earth and air. All things on earth, including the mountains and the water were awake, and the farmers started to plow the land again.
It was such a coincidence that it was raining the day after the beginning of spring, which melted the coldness in the air.