Chapter 154: Blooming Flowers were Like Fire, the Nature of Herbs was Pure Yang
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Wang Yao completed brewing decoctions in the afternoon. He planned to brew another dose the next day to treat the symptoms of a lack of Yang energy, but it was gloomy and rainy the next day. It was not a good idea to brew decoctions in gloomy weather. Wang Yao decided to wait a bit. A decoction of a Yang nature should be brewed on a nice day.
It had been almost 60 days since the system gave him the mission, but Wang Yao only received recognition from 51 people. He started to worry about the progress.
Maybe I should accept Pan Jun’s offer to work in Renhe clinic one day a week.
…
Wang Mingbao was in his store at Lianshan town center. A man was sitting opposite him. The man was skinny with darkened eyes.
“Please Mingbao, you have to help me! I’m begging you!” said the man.
Wang Mingbao felt sorry for this man.
Two months ago, the man was still highly spirited. He drank a lot and ate a lot and made a lot of money. But now, he was tortured by his disease, which couldn’t be cured by the millions of yuan he had.
“I will ask around for you,” said Wang Mingbao.
“Great! Thank you very much!” The man was thrilled as if he had held onto a life-saving straw.
“I don’t care about the cost, as long as my disease can be cured!” said the man.
After this man had left, Wang Mingbao noticed that it was raining outside. There were not many customers in his store, so he left his store and drove to Nanshan hill.
It had just started to rain; the ground was not completely wet and muddy. Wang Mingbao heard a dog barking before he arrived at Wang Yao’s herbal field.
Who would come here in such weather? Wang Yao stopped reading. He waved his hand, and the Natural Classics disappeared.
He looked through the window and saw Wang Mingbao.
“How come you are here in such weather?” asked Wang Yao.
“Of course I’m here for you,” said Wang Mingbao after he entered the cottage. “No television, no computer, only a few books—I really admire you.”
“Well, tell me what would you like me to do?” Wang Yao knew that it must be something urgent to bring Wang Mingbao to Nanshan hill on such a rainy day.
Wang Yao made Wang Mingbao a pot of tea and sat opposite him. It was still raining outside.
“Do you remember the man I asked you to see last time?” asked Wang Mingbao.
“Wei Hai?” Wang Yao remembered him well.
“Yes, he came to me again just now. He was so skinny; he looked like he was beyond cure,” said Wang Mingbao.
In fact, he had his reasons for asking Wang Yao to treat Wei Hai previously. Wei Hai could bring him a lot of business. He wanted to improve his working relationship with Wei Hai by introducing Wang Yao to him. But now, he really wanted Wang Yao to save Wei Hai because he felt sorry for the man.
“Has he had liver surgery?” asked Wang Yao.
“Yes, in the provincial hospital,” said Wang Mingbao. “You can’t imagine what he was like before he got ill. He was such as a high spirited person. Now, he has totally become a different person—so frail, scared and lost.”
“Where is he now?” asked Wang Yao.
“He has come back to Haiqu,” said Wang Mingbao.
“I see. How about bringing him here the day after tomorrow?” asked Wang Yao after thinking for a while.
“Okay,” said Wang Mingbao.
Outside the cottage, the spring rain continued. Inside the cottage, the smell of tea permeated the room.
“Honestly, don’t you feel bored staying here all day long?” asked Wang Mingbao after a while.
“Not really. I’ve got a lot to do—looking after my herbal field, reading, doing breathing exercises, practicing martial arts. My life here is rich and full!” said Wang Yao.
“What martial arts?” asked Wang Mingbao.
“Tai Chi,” replied Wang Yao.
“The one those elders do in the park?” asked Wang Mingbao with a smile.
“Yes and no. The one I’m practicing is also called Tai Chi, but the content is completely different,” said Wang Yao.
“Okay, show me when you have time. Shall we have lunch at my grandpa’s house?” asked Wang Mingbao.
“No, thanks. I’ve got too much to do today. I’ll just have a quick lunch here,” said Wang Yao.
“That’s fine. I have to go back to town now,” said Wang Mingbao.
“Okay, catch you later.” Wang Yao walked Wang Mingbao out of the cottage.
After Wang Mingbao had left, Wang Yao checked the herbs for brewing a decoction again; then he started to read scriptures.
…
It was a nice day the next day.
Wang Yao got up early to set the fire, boil ancient spring water and then brew a decoction. He put all the herbs which had been weighed in the pot.
This was a new formula which Wang Yao had never prescribed before, so he was not very confident when brewing it. He had to be extra careful.
When all the herbs had melted into the ancient spring water, the sun was moving higher and higher in the sky. The smell of herbs was also getting stronger.
Wang Yao added the last herb into the pot when the sun reached its highest. The herb was called Dangyang flower. It was actually a flaming red flower. Wang Yao had a warm feeling in his palm when holding the petal of the Dangyang flower, even though the petal had no temperature.
The petal melted immediately when it touched the boiling water and dyed the water a bright red.
Wang Yao removed the multifunctional pot immediately from over the flame.
Is it going to work? thought Wang Yao.
Wang Yao looked at the flaming red liquid inside the pot and took a small sip himself. Suddenly, he felt a warm current running into his belly; then it expanded to different parts of his body as if he had drunk liquor or chili oil.
Oh dear! Is it a bit too strong?
Wang Yao took a spoonful of the decoction and walked out of the cottage.
“Come here, San Xian,” said Wang Yao.
San Xian ran towards Wang Yao.
“Come here, open your mouth,” commanded Wang Yao.
But San Xian refused to open his mouth and looked at Wang Yao in a strange way.
“Hey, why do you look at me like that? This is good stuff. It can enhance your Yang energy; come on, open your mouth,” encouraged Wang Yao.
San Xian eventually drank the liquid from the spoon. He then started to bark crazily and ran around like he was high on drugs.
Looks like it’s going to work. I should control the dose.
Wang Yao looked at a hyperactive San Xian and felt the power of decoction was spreading inside his body as well. He felt his body was heating up. He went back inside the cottage and documented his and San Xian’s reaction after taking the decoction.
After Wang Yao had finished brewing the decoction, he delivered it to the patient in Haiqu and asked her to provide feedback after taking the decoction.
The next day, Wang Mingbao’s friend Wei Hai came to his store early in the morning.
“Hi, have you spoken to your friend about me?” asked Wei Hai.
“Yes, he will be here soon,” said Wang Mingbao.
“Good, thank you,” said Wei Hai.
Wei Hai actually wasn’t very confident in Wang Yao’s medical skill. He simply had no other options. He had liver surgery in the provincial hospital last month, but the outcome was not satisfactory. He went to see another specialist who told him that his disease had started to affect his other organs and that parasites had been found in his pancreas. The specialist suggested another surgery as it wouldn’t be any use to take medication. However, Wei Hai didn’t want any more surgeries. He had already had part of his liver removed; then it was the pancreas. Maybe he would have to have other organs removed as well in the future.
So Wei Hai continued to see different doctors and had taken different medications including herbs and remedial food. Eventually, he didn’t get any better, and those medications damaged his stomach. He had been vomiting and had trouble with diarrhea for over a week. His health was deteriorating, and he became more and more scared. In fact, the richer the person was, the more he was scared of death. Suddenly, he thought about Wang Yao who he met at Wang Mingbao’s store. He indicated that Wang Yao could treat him, so Wang Yao was his last hope. Maybe he would be cured by Wang Yao. Who knows?
Wang Yao arrived at Wang Mingbao’s store at about 10 am. He was shocked to see Wei Hai, who was healthy and strong a few months ago, in such a condition. Now, he was skinny with darkened eyes; he looked like a drug addict.
“Hello, Dr. Wang,” said Wei Hai.
“Hello, Mr. Wei,” said Wang Yao.
“Please just call me Wei,” said Wei Hai.
“Okay, let me take a look at you first,” said Wang Yao.
“Okay,” said Wei Hai.
Wang Yao could tell Wei Hai was in poor health by observing the color on his face, listening to his voice, and noticing his smell. Wang Yao suspected his disease had gone into his organs, maybe even deeper.
What is this?! Wang Yao was shocked. It was an unusual pulse!
Wang Yao was shocked after checking Wei Hai’s pulse.
This Wei Hai had an extremely weird pulse which was thin and rapid. Wang Yao felt he was touching the edge of a knife. Wei Hai’s pulse indicated that he was seriously ill in his liver.
“I’m sorry,” said Wang Yao as he shook his head.
“What do you mean, Dr. Wang?” asked Wei Hai.
“You are already seriously ill. I can’t guarantee that I can cure you,” said Wang Yao.
“But please try!” begged Wei Hai. Although Wang Yao said he couldn’t guarantee to cure him, he didn’t say he was beyond cure.
“Give me some time to think about it. Do you take any medication?” asked Wang Yao.
“These ones!” said Wei Hai.
He was well prepared. He took out a list of medication and showed it to Wang Yao. The majority medication he had been taking were herbal formulas.
“I think you should stop taking these ones,” said Wang Yao. He marked several herbal formulas on the list.
If a person took seven to eight different medications including herbal granules, herbal decoctions, and even mixed western and Chinese medication, they wouldn’t be able to tolerate it because of the adverse effects of conflicting remedies. Even extremely fit people would experience some problems. Therefore, Wei Hai was really scared of taking more medication. He really couldn’t find any other ways to help his illness.
“I see. I’ll follow your instructions,” said Wei Hai.
After Wang Yao had seen Wei Hai, Wei Hai insisted on buying lunch for Wang Yao and Wang Mingbao, but Wang Yao turned him down.
“You are in very poor health at the moment. You should stop smoking, as well as stop eating any spicy and oily foods. You also need to change your lifestyle. You need to exercise within your limit and make sure you rest well,” said Wang Yao. Wei Hai’s health had collapsed due to his disease and the large amount of medication he had taken. He had also been very stressed.
“Okay, okay.” Wei Hai was like an obedient primary school student.
Wang Mingbao and Wang Yao walked him to the door before he left.
“What do you think? Hasn’t he changed a lot?” sighed Wang Mingbao.
“Indeed! I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t witnessed it with my own eyes,” sighed Wang Yao.
“Can you cure him?” asked Wang Mingbao.
“He’s probably beyond cure. Let me try, but I’m not God,” said Wang Yao with a smile.
“Do you mean he could die?” asked Wang Mingbao.
“Yes. I presume his life expectancy will be between half a year to three years. Given my current experience and medical skills, I probably can only extend his life by a bit,” said Wang Yao.
An unusual pulse is actually an exhausted pulse to some extent.