Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence

Chapter 605: Chapter 605: Immediate Effect

"Dr. Li, is... is this it? Just one herb?"

The young man asked in surprise, feeling a little uneasy.

He’d seen so many specialists, and every single one had prescribed a huge bag of herbs. ’Could one single herb actually work?’

"There’s more."

As he spoke, Li Xu printed out another prescription and handed it to the young man.

The young man took it and stared, stunned once again.

Because even Li Xu’s second prescription only listed two ingredients: "Schizonepeta and Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa."

"Two prescriptions. One is for external application, the other is to be taken internally."

Li Xu pointed to the first prescription and explained, "Take this Schizonepeta to the pharmacy and have them grind it into a fine powder. When you get home, sprinkle the powder on the affected area and rub it back and forth with your hands until your skin becomes hot and red. This is called ’friction therapy.’ It uses the medicinal properties of the Schizonepeta and the heat from the friction to expel the pathogenic wind."

"For the second prescription, brew the Schizonepeta and Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa into a soup to be taken internally. Once in the morning and once at night."

"Dr. Li, this..."

The young man held the two flimsy prescriptions, still finding it hard to believe.

’All told, it’s only two herbs. Can this really cure a chronic condition that’s tormented me for two years?’

"You heard the explanation just now. That’s the principle behind it."

Li Xu saw his doubt and explained, "Go home and try it first. If it doesn’t work, or if it gets worse, you can come back and see me anytime."

"Thank you, Dr. Li!"

Although the young man was still uncertain, he looked at Li Xu’s confident expression and chose to trust him.

He stood up and thanked him again. "If my condition is completely cured, you’ll be my savior. I’ll definitely have a silk banner made for you."

The back-and-forth between Li Xu and Hu Qiming just now had thoroughly dissected the pathological mechanism of his condition.

The young man had been listening from the side. Although he didn’t understand the technical terms, he got the gist of it and felt it made a lot of sense.

Because the pathology of this illness truly wasn’t difficult. It was simple, so much so that one could say the greatest truths are the simplest.

Otherwise, Li Xu wouldn’t have used it to test Hu Qiming.

For typical cases like this, Li Xu would always take the opportunity to guide Hu Qiming and help him develop a mindset for Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Still, the young man was simply too astonished.

He never imagined that the cure for a major illness that had plagued him for so long could be so simple.

Two prescriptions, but really only two herbs—Schizonepeta and Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa. It was unbelievable.

"Go home and use the medicine properly. Remember the dietary restrictions—avoid spicy foods and seafood,"

Li Xu advised with a smile.

After the young man left, Hu Qiming was still a bit puzzled. He asked, "Li Xu, why add Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa? Wouldn’t Schizonepeta alone work?"

"To treat wind, what must you treat first?" Li Xu countered with a smile.

"To treat wind, first treat blood; once the blood flows, the wind will extinguish itself?"

Hu Qiming asked, not entirely sure.

"That’s right."

Li Xu smiled and said, "The formation of wheals is mostly related to blood-heat and blood stasis. Pathogenic wind gathers on the surface of the skin, leading to localized, trapped heat."

"Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa is sweet, cold, and moistening. It excels at clearing heat, cooling the blood, nourishing yin, and promoting fluid production. Schizonepeta, on the other hand, is acrid, warm, and dispersing. It excels at unblocking qi and blood and expelling pathogenic wind."

"When the two are combined, you have one cold and one warm, one static and one dynamic, one for defense and one for offense. The Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa cools the blood to treat the root cause, while the Schizonepeta dispels wind to treat the symptoms. Not only does it stop the itching, but it also prevents the pathogenic wind from returning. This is the subtlety of herb-pairing in Traditional Chinese Medicine."

"I never thought it could be so simple."

Hu Qiming couldn’t help but sigh with admiration.

Although it was Li Xu who diagnosed the condition and wrote the prescription, the whole process had been a back-and-forth Q&A, which gave Hu Qiming a deep sense of involvement.

Most importantly, the final prescription wasn’t drastically different from what he’d suggested. Hu Qiming had mentioned Schizonepeta, and Li Xu had indeed prescribed it, only adding Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa as a supplement for the internal medicine.

It made him feel that he wasn’t too far from reaching the level of a "Divine Physician" himself.

"Actually, the medical principles behind some conditions are quite simple. If you take it step by step, unraveling it layer by layer, it’s actually easy to find the source," Li Xu said with a laugh.

"It only seems simple because your skill is so high that you can see through to the essence at a glance."

Hu Qiming laid on the flattery. "The patient has had this condition for two years. He must have seen countless doctors and taken all sorts of medicine without any improvement. It just shows that those other doctors were deceived by the superficial symptoms and missed the key point of using a ’qi-mover within the blood’."

He only felt it was simple now because Li Xu had paved the way for him from start to finish, laying out all the logic.

If he had been left to diagnose it himself, he definitely would have just prescribed a pile of wind-expelling, itch-stopping herbs, with mediocre results.

Especially when it came to writing prescriptions. It might have only been two herbs, but in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the simpler the formula, the greater the test of a doctor’s skill.

A prescription like this wasn’t a rigid formula from a textbook; there was no existing template to follow. It relied entirely on the doctor’s profound understanding of medicinal properties and precise grasp of the pathological mechanism.

This was what they called a "direct strike"—something only a true master could accomplish.

"Alright, enough with the flattery. Get to work!"

Li Xu smiled, pressed the button on the calling device, and called for the next patient.

...

「That night, in a high-end apartment.」

"Ahhh... so good. This feels amazing."

The young man lay face down on a leather sofa, his shirt tossed aside, revealing a back covered in red welts.

His beautiful girlfriend was kneeling beside him, a handful of pale green powder in her hand—the Schizonepeta powder they had just picked up from the pharmacy.

She sprinkled the powder evenly over her boyfriend’s back, then, using her fair, delicate hands, she applied a little pressure and began to rub it back and forth.

As the friction generated heat, a faint, fresh herbal fragrance filled the air.

The sensation was like countless gentle little hands seeping into his pores and plucking out the maddening "itch bugs" one by one.

The itch, so bad it felt like it was boring into his very soul and made him want to tear his own skin off, quickly subsided under the dual effect of the powder and the friction.

In its place was an unprecedented coolness and comfort, a sensation that shot up his spine and straight to the crown of his head.

"Harder. Yes, right there. Oh yeah... that’s the spot."

The young man hummed contentedly as he enjoyed the feeling with his eyes closed, an ecstatic expression on his face.

It had been so long since he had felt this comfortable.

This urticaria had tormented him to the point of misery.

He couldn’t concentrate on work during the day, and at night, the itching kept him from sleeping.

And while scratching felt good in the moment, if he broke the skin, the stinging pain that followed was even worse. It was sheer torture.

Today, he was finally experiencing what "liberation" felt like.

’This Dr. Li... he’s a miracle worker.’

After the rubdown, the young man sat up and drank a bowl of the freshly brewed Schizonepeta and Fresh Rehmannia Glutinosa soup.

Half an hour later, he was amazed to find that the wheals on his body, which had been as red and swollen as a map, were beginning to fade. Some of the smaller ones had even disappeared completely, leaving only a faint red mark.

"Honey, look! They’re really disappearing."

The young man pointed to his arm, overcome with excitement. "It’s been two years! Two years! I’m finally saved."

’Looks like Dr. Li’s reputation is well-deserved. This isn’t just treating an illness, it’s practically magic!’

He picked up his phone and immediately posted a message to his Moments: "Guys, I met a Divine Physician! Dr. Li at the Feng City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine! He tamed my urticaria with just two herbs. I recommend everyone go see him if you’re sick in the future."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!