Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 536: Chapter 536: The Snow Water Takes Effect

"The *Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor* says, ’In spring and summer, nourish the yang.’ And the renowned Qing Dynasty physician Zhang Lu recorded in his *Zhang’s Medical Compendium*: ’During the Sanfu period in summer, applying white mustard seed paste is often effective.’ This is the origin of the Sanfu patch."

"This method can unblock the meridians, warm the yang, and dispel cold. It’s most effective for chronic problems like yours—cold pain in the joints and an aversion to cold. It serves to prevent illness before it starts and prevent existing conditions from worsening."

Wang Baimu listened, completely baffled. Although he didn’t quite understand the concepts of yin, yang, and the five elements, he did grasp the principle of "using the sun’s fire to expel the cold."

"Doctor Li, where can I buy these ’Sanfu patches’?"

Wang Baimu asked eagerly. "Are they expensive? I want to get some for everyone in the village."

Li Xu smiled. "You can buy them at pharmacies, but the formulas are different, and the effects vary wildly."

"Most Sanfu patches on the market are for respiratory illnesses, like asthma or chronic bronchitis. They mainly use white mustard seed and asarum. But your main problem is joint pain, which requires a specialized formula."

"To treat joint pain, you need herbs like Aconite, Yanhusuo, and Fangfeng, for their potent ability to warm the meridians, dispel cold, invigorate blood, and stop pain."

Seeing the expectant look in Wang Baimu’s eyes, Li Xu smiled and said, "How about this? I’ll see this through to the end. After I get back, I’ll prepare a special batch of Sanfu patches specifically for joint pain. I’ll mail them to you in a couple of days."

"Really?" Wang Baimu was ecstatic. "Doctor Li, I... I couldn’t possibly... How much will it be? I’ll send you the money."

"No charge. Consider it payment for helping me look after the herbs here."

Li Xu waved his hand. "I’m happy as long as everyone is healthy."

After bidding farewell to the profusely thankful Wang Baimu, he drove back to Feng City.

As evening fell, the car entered the city.

The first thing Li Xu did was carefully store the precious jars of snowmelt water in a cool, dark place in the clinic.

Then, he holed himself up in the dispensary and got to work.

Making Sanfu patches required authentic herbs and precise formulations.

He took out his stock of top-grade Aconite.

Although these two herbs were toxic, after being processed, they became a Divine Medicine for expelling wind and dampness.

He also added Yanhusuo for pain relief, Fangfeng to expel wind, cinnamon to warm the yang, asarum to open the orifices, and white mustard seed to penetrate the skin.

He ground these herbs into an extremely fine powder and mixed them with ginger juice to form a paste.

The ginger juice was also specific; it had to be a potent concentrate extracted from aged ginger. Its acrid, warming, and dispersive nature enhanced the permeability of the medicine.

Li Xu’s expression was focused, his work meticulous.

Though it was just a small medicinal patch, it could undoubtedly cure illnesses if used correctly.

After working nonstop for two days, he finished a batch of Sanfu patches and mailed them to Wang Baimu in Shangwang Village.

...

「One day.」

Li Xu was organizing his case files.

"Doctor Li, please take a look. My child has scratched his skin raw."

A young mother came into the clinic, holding a child who looked to be about two or three years old.

The child was crying inconsolably, his little hands constantly scratching at his body.

Li Xu took a closer look. The child’s tender skin, especially in the crooks of his elbows, the backs of his knees, and on his cheeks, was covered in red papules. Some spots had been scratched raw, oozing a yellow fluid that had formed into crusts.

"This is eczema."

Li Xu identified the problem at a glance. "And it’s the damp-heat stagnation type."

"Yes, it keeps coming back over and over."

Tears welled up in the mother’s eyes out of distress. "We’ve been to several hospitals. They prescribed steroid creams, which help for a bit, but it flares up again as soon as we stop. My child is suffering so much in this hot weather. The itching is so bad at night he can’t sleep, and I stay up with him."

Li Xu nodded. This was a common struggle with childhood eczema.

In Chinese medicine, eczema is often caused by pathogenic wind, dampness, and heat invading the skin, or by spleen dysfunction leading to the internal generation of damp-heat.

Combined with the hot summer weather, the summer-damp qi is more abundant. When these two evils clash, the condition manifests on the skin’s surface.

For this type of persistent eczema, conventional herbs for clearing heat and draining dampness are effective but slow to work. Moreover, the child was too young, and the bitterness of Chinese medicine made it too difficult to administer.

"Don’t worry, I have a solution."

Li Xu stood up and went to the cool cabinet where he stored his medicinal ingredients.

He took out a ceramic jar he had just brought back from Qinling.

As soon as he opened the jar, a cool aura filled the air.

"What is that?" the mother asked curiously.

"Laxue water."

Li Xu dipped a sterile cotton swab into the clear snowmelt water in the jar. "It’s water from snow that fell during the last month of the lunar year. The ancients said: ’Laxue water is sweet, cold, and non-toxic. It detoxifies all poisons, cures seasonal epidemics, and when applied to toxic, heated sores and ulcers, provides immediate relief.’"

"Snowmelt water?"

The mother was incredulous. "This can cure illnesses?"

"This is no ordinary snowmelt water."

Li Xu explained as he gently applied the water to the child’s affected areas. "This is ’aged’ snowmelt water that was buried underground for half a year, absorbing the earth’s qi and undergoing a transformation of yin and yang. Its nature is extremely cold and pure, making it perfect for suppressing this kind of damp-heat toxin."

As he dabbed the water on, the child, who had been crying nonstop, suddenly fell silent.

The cool sensation was like a fresh spring quenching a fire on his skin.

The piercing itch was instantly suppressed.

The child blinked his big eyes, looking at Li Xu in surprise, and even let out a comfortable little hum.

Even more miraculously, in the places where the snowmelt water had been applied, the red, swollen, and hot papules began to subside at a rate visible to the naked eye. The bright red color slowly faded, and the oozing fluid began to dry up.

Barely ten minutes later, the areas that had been scratched raw had already formed a thin, dry scab, and the swelling had gone down by more than half.

"Oh my God, this is miraculous."

The mother covered her mouth in joyful disbelief. "It works even better than that cream that costs hundreds a tube."

Li Xu smiled and gave her a small bottle of the snowmelt water. "Go home and apply this three times a day. Don’t let him eat any seafood or spicy food for the next few days. He’ll be completely better within three days, and it won’t relapse easily."

After sending off the eternally grateful mother and son, Li Xu was filled with emotion.

’The wisdom of the ancients truly is no lie.’

After aging over time, the Laxue water had indeed gained the power to turn the decayed into the miraculous.

...

He had just sat down to catch his breath when Song Sisi’s phone rang.

It was a call from Lin Xiaoyu.

"Sisi, I’m going stir-crazy from work! It’s so hot, let’s go on a trip, what do you say?"

"I haven’t used my annual leave yet this year," Lin Xiaoyu said from the other end of the line.

"A trip?" Song Sisi was tempted. She glanced at Li Xu. "Where to?"

"I haven’t decided yet. Somewhere cool, or maybe a place by the sea. You should ask Doctor Li to come with us!"

"Well... I’ll have to ask him."

Song Sisi hung up the phone, looking at Li Xu with anticipation.

She hadn’t even had a chance to speak.

Li Xu’s phone began to vibrate.

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