Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1043 Too much sensationalism is mental pollution! Why isn't he my disciple?! (Two chapters combined)
Upon seeing this, Li Chunfang said to Fang Yan:

"Just do it one more time."

Fang Yan nodded, and then continued to press along the acupoints and meridians on the patient's body.

The patient made a comfortable sound and praised the dialect:
"Young man, you're really amazing. That massage felt so good, it almost made my soul fly away."

Fang Yan smiled; this guy's expression really changes every few minutes.

Then the patient said to Li Chunfang:
"Old Li, if you ask me, you're getting on in years, so you should just mentor these young people. Take this young man, for example, he's doing a really good job."

What he meant was that Li Chunfang was getting old and it was about time for her to retire.

It was unpleasant to hear, but since she had indeed prescribed the wrong medication, Li Chunfang could only force a smile, though she still explained:
“That young man is my friend. He came here today to help out. He’s not one of Chunfangtang’s people.”

The patient paused slightly upon hearing this, then said:

"Oh? I thought he was your apprentice."

After speaking, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the dialect:

"I'm sorry, young man!"

Fang Yan waved her hand and asked him:
"Don't worry about it. How are you feeling right now?"

The other person took a deep breath, then twisted their waist, and continued:

"I feel much better now, I don't feel any of the discomfort I had before, your technique is really good!" Fang Yan said, giving him a thumbs up.

The dialect responded:
"That's because Grandpa Li gave a good command. I just followed his method."

The patient said meaningfully:

"Hey, that feels quite different..."

This man was shrewd; he spoke only to the point, and after saying that, he turned and bowed to Old Master Li Chunfang.
"Alright, Mr. Li, I feel much better now, so I won't bother you any longer. I got a little excited talking to you today, so please bear with me."

Li Chunfang apologized to him:
"It's me, the old man, who should be apologizing. You're so kind and generous!"

Upon hearing this, the patient smiled and then said, pretending not to care:
"Well, let's not talk about that anymore. I'll be going now. You should have lunch too."

Li Chunfang nodded, then gestured for them to proceed.

"I'll see you off."

Then the patient's family members also stood up and said goodbye to Li Chunfang.

After everyone had left, Li Chunfang stayed at the door watching them get on the elevator before closing the door and returning to her room.

Of all the patients I've treated, today was the day with the best attitude I've ever had.

There's no way around it; you have to admit your mistakes.

Back in his room, the old man quietly breathed a sigh of relief:

"Phew... It's easy to invite a god in, but hard to send him away!"

Ah Ji, who was standing to the side, said to him:
"Grandpa, I think you should rest for a few days and get better before we talk about it."

The old man glanced at his grandson and said:

"Yes, that's what I was thinking too. Starting tomorrow, we won't be seeing any patients for the time being. As I get older, health problems can have a really big impact. I'm fine myself, but it would be a real sin to prescribe the wrong medicine and almost harm a patient."

Then he turned his gaze to Fang Yan, cupped his hands, and said:

"Speaking of which, we really have to thank young friend Lin for today."

"If it weren't for your help just now, I really don't know how long it would have taken. I'm getting old and useless; I can't even press the acupoints and meridians accurately anymore."

Fang Yan said to him:
"You're just not feeling well; you just need some treatment."

Ah Ji was quite pleased with the dialect spoken, and continued the conversation:

"That's right, Grandpa, you're still as sharp as ever, you're just not in good shape right now."

The old man waved his hand:

"It's useless now!"

Fang Yan glanced at the food on the table, then changed the subject and said to the old man:
"Alright, you'd better eat a couple of bites of food quickly, or it'll get cold."

"Food is as essential as iron; you'll get hungry if you skip a meal. This is especially true for us martial artists who expend a lot of energy. And since you're just recovering from a serious illness, you need to eat more to help your body recover faster."

The old man patted his stomach; he was indeed hungry. He nodded.
"Row."

He had just finished speaking when he invited Fang Yan to speak:

"Would you like to eat something together?"

Dialectal wave:
"We already ate while we were down there."

Li Chunfang nodded:
"Well, then this old man won't stand on ceremony."

He sat down at the table, picked up his chopsticks and started eating without any hesitation. For a normal age, the old man's health was quite good. Even though he had been sick yesterday, he had recovered almost completely after a good night's sleep. He ate his food without any hesitation.

If it were anyone else at his age, they really wouldn't be as quick to eat as he is.

In just a short while, he had already finished a bowl of rice with a steamed fish, and then he made another bowl. The old man's decline in vitality was not obvious.

The teeth and appetite are still there, but it seems that the treatment is not working properly, mainly because it has been going on for too long.

Moreover, there are some issues with his mindset.

When he ate his second bowl of rice, the old man finally slowed down and turned to Fang Yan, saying:

"No matter what, the problem has been solved today, and a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

"Young friend Lin, you explained my Wildfire Needle Technique so clearly just now, which surprised me. It seems we are indeed destined to meet."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yan chimed in with a smile:

"That's right. I understood the acupuncture technique you wrote down very quickly. It's like it was tailor-made for me. I really didn't expect that."

His answer was a convenient excuse; otherwise, it would have been difficult to find another one.

Hearing Fang Yan agree with him, Grandpa Li Chunfang was quite pleased and said with a smile:

"Haha, it seems I've found the right person. Fate has its own plan."

Fang Yan then looked at the canvas bag on the table and asked:
"Oh, by the way, I also noticed two other books in your bag earlier. May I take a look?"

The old man paused, holding his bowl, and said:
"Those two books are not about acupuncture techniques; in fact, they could be considered systems outside of traditional Chinese medicine."

Ah Ji, standing to the side, said:

"What my grandfather meant was that you most likely wouldn't understand it."

"..." Fang Yan was speechless.

The old man glared at Ah Ji and said:

"Just talk about it."

Then he smiled and said in dialect:

"If you want to read them, just read them. You are from Southeast Asia, and those two books are actually related to Southeast Asia. You might actually be able to understand them."

Fang Yan stood up and said:
"Haha, thank you very much, Mr. Li! I'll go take a look."

Then Fang Yan went to the table and took out the books from the canvas bag.

He first read "The Five Poisons Compendium," which contained special processing techniques for insect-based medicines. He might find something he had never seen before, and for someone who had already mastered the insect-based medicine formulas, this would be a greater boost.

After opening the book, Fang Yan first saw the preface explaining its origins. Just as Fang Yan knew, it was indeed considered a forbidden prescription by the imperial physicians of the Qing Dynasty. During the Tongzhi era, it was listed as heresy and burned by the Imperial Medical Academy. However, someone still wrote it down and then reproduced it, spreading it among the people.

This book was brought back from Southeast Asia during the Republic of China era.

The person who wrote the preface in the book seems to regard Southeast Asia as part of the Chinese community.

"How is it? Can you understand it?" Ah Ji suddenly appeared.

"I just opened it..." Fang Yan rolled her eyes at him.

"Um..." Ah Ji also came over, wanting to see if he had any talent in this area.

He definitely wouldn't have been interested in the past, but now, after seeing the dialect, he suddenly wanted to compete.

Ignoring Aji's words, I continued flipping through the pages.

Then I saw the table of contents; there were three volumes in total.

Volume One, General Introduction, discusses the differentiation of the yin and yang properties of poisonous substances, the relationship between the five poisons and their meridians and internal organs, the principle of using poison to treat poison, the three essentials of poison preparation (reducing toxicity, preserving properties, and enhancing efficacy), the contraindications of processing poisons, and emergency strategies for detoxification.

Volume Two, "Discussion on the Five Poisons," includes sections on scorpions, snakes, centipedes, toads, and geckos.

Volume Three: Combinations of Poisons, Combinations of the Five Poisons and Their Relationship with the Principal, Assistant, and Adjuvant Herbs, Differences in the Application of Poisons in Ointments, Pills, Powders, and Processing Agents, and the Influence of the Malay Environment of Southeast Asia on Processing.

The last chapter is: Records of Strange and Poisonous Things Seen Throughout the World.

Fang Yan opened the chapter about centipedes and saw some familiar pharmaceutical methods.

Of course, there were indeed methods he had never seen before, methods adapted to local conditions.

For example, the centipede-earthworm calcination process:
Take one hundred red-headed centipedes, bury them in the volcanic ash of Southeast Asia for seven days to absorb the earth's fire, take them out and calcine them with lychee charcoal until they are completely red, then quickly quench them in coconut water.

Repeated three times, its violent toxicity is removed while retaining its meridian-clearing properties, making it a special treatment for stubborn arthralgia.

As I began to peruse the dialect, I discovered that it made extensive use of ingredients unique to various regions. For example, the insecticides from Southeast Asia used ingredients such as coconut wine and areca nut ash, incorporating the characteristics of medicines from the Maritime Silk Road.

The phenology is also more sophisticated than in China.

For example, they would have records of how lunar phases and solar terms affected the processing effects.

In some places, the details are meticulous, such as taking the centipede's antennae after a thunderstorm.

The method of collecting toad venom and dew at noon requires collecting toad venom at noon on the Dragon Boat Festival, mixing it with lotus flower dew at dawn on the day of the Autumnal Equinox, sealing it in a tin jar and burying it in a saltwater swamp.

Three months later, when opened, the ghee turned into a purple paste. When applied externally, it can draw out deep sores and toxins; when taken internally with musk, it can treat stroke with closed syndrome.

Furthermore, it is noted that this method is only effective in humid southern regions and will not work in the north.

The book wasn't written by one person, but by a school of thought spanning several generations.

Dialects seem to be of great research value.

He read very quickly, especially the parts he already knew, while focusing on the parts he didn't know. Before long, the dialect really did enhance the book.

However, in the eyes of the old man and Ah Ji, the dialect was just a superficial understanding.

I flipped through it so fast, I didn't get into anything.

Although Ah Ji couldn't understand it either, seeing Fang Yan's attitude immediately made him feel much better.

As expected, Fang Yan was only able to understand the Liaoyuan Needle Technique so quickly because he had learned Baguazhang.

Even Deng Cai and Li Chong, who were not very familiar with the dialect, felt that Fang Yan's opinion was just a superficial observation.

"How is it? A bit difficult, isn't it?" the old man asked Fang Yan.

Fang Yan put down the book in his hand, nodded and said:
"That's true. There's quite a lot of information recorded in this book, covering all sorts of places."

The old man smiled, took a bite of his food, and said, "Then take a look at the other one."

Fang Yan then picked up another book, "Yingya Shenglan: Medical Officials".

Fang Yan was stunned when he saw the table of contents as soon as he opened the book.

Volume Three, India Chapter.

A diagram comparing chakra points with the meridians of the Central Plains, complete with a cinnabar annotation: Absurd but effective.

Controversy over the use of Ganges silt in medicine: Treatment for malignant skin sores leads to leprosy outbreak (12 case studies)
Cobra venom mixed with honey can delay the onset of diabetes.

Applying elephant brain marrow to arrow wounds promotes muscle regeneration (recorded from a prisoner-of-war camp medical case).

There is also the Sumatran strangler fig: it grows by entwining the bones of the dead, and its sap has an amazing effect in stopping bleeding when applied externally. However, the vine must be cut down on a moonlit night, otherwise the vine will scream and attract miasma.

Just looking at the dialects in this catalog is quite intriguing.

After calming myself down, I started watching again from the beginning.

Volume One, General Introduction, contains a general outline of maritime medicine, recording the duties of the imperial physicians in Zheng He's fleet: disease prevention and control during long voyages, collection of exotic medicinal materials, and first aid records for crew members. It also covers nine types of maritime ailments, such as seasickness, scurvy, and tropical ulcers, and provides general principles for dealing with them. Furthermore, it addresses ethical controversies surrounding exotic medicine: the coexistence of shamanism and medicine, and records of human trials for drug use.

Furthermore, the medicinal properties of local energy, the influence of local energy in malaria-ridden areas on the human body's meridians, the principle of treating arthralgia with volcanic ash from Southeast Asia, the extraordinary effects of Persian rose dew on regulating blood, and regional restrictions on pharmaceutical contraindications.

Volume Two is about the South Pacific islands, including Borneo and Java.

Volume Three is the section on India.

Volume Four is the Persian-Catholic section.

Volume Five is about the east coast of Africa.

The content is quite bizarre, and even people like Fang Yan, who have been exposed to the modern internet age, feel like they're on the dark web.

No wonder Zhu Di wanted to burn this thing; its contents were far too sinister.

Of course, there are things to learn, at least in the general outline section, Fang Yan felt that the doctor on the ship was in pretty good spirits.

Then I gradually started to let myself go.

Everything he saw in the area was recorded on it, without any verification of whether it was actually useful.

This makes the overall style of the book more like a book of sorcery.

Even Ah Ji looked surprised when he saw it and asked his grandfather:

"This book seems like utter nonsense."

The old man said:
"It's not all nonsense. There's at least a lot of content worth reading. Of course, I'm saying that people who have studied traditional Chinese medicine might find some inspiration in it, but for people who haven't studied much traditional Chinese medicine, reading this is more like reading a storybook full of nonsense."

At this point, Fang Yan didn't care about anything else and started watching.

He had already decided to read the general outline, and he was too lazy to read the rest of the messy stuff.

However, after reading the general outline, Fang Yan didn't find it impressive. In fact, if he encountered the same situation, there would be a better solution. In the end, he could only look at the messy parts at the end.

Records of Strange Diseases in Borneo.

Tree bark eczema: The patient's skin surface has a woody texture; apply a mixture of orangutan bile and nutmeg externally.

Water Gu Spitting Pearls: The fisherman's abdomen is as large as a drum, and transparent pearl-like stones can be found when it is cut open (see attached picture).

A combination of witchcraft and medicine: Siamese black magic is combined with acupuncture, using dolls to induce poisoning.

Javanese medicine.

A mixture of swiftlet saliva and volcanic sulfur is used to treat tuberculosis.

Swallowing live leeches can clear blood vessel blockages, but it must be done in conjunction with incantations to prevent backlash.

Crocodile tears can cure blindness, but can only be collected on a full moon night.

Seeing this, Fang Yan felt it was truly outrageous—his mother opened the door for someone else…it was outrageous beyond belief.

Seeing the treatment of stroke and hemiplegia by fumigating with Indian cow urine, he couldn't hold back any longer.

The illustration accompanying the Indian cow urine fumigation method depicts a patient squatting naked over a cow dung brazier, with a copper kettle above pouring cow urine over his head. Amidst the rising steam, a note in vermilion ink is written on the side: "Tried three cases, two died and one went mad."

He caught a glimpse of Ah Ji's gasping expression as he leaned in, so he simply pressed down on the slightly trembling pages with his knuckles.

One can imagine what Zhu Di must have felt when he saw this book.

However, I still managed to find some useful information in the dialect.

For example, volcanic ash can be used to treat rheumatism. Local people can make plasters to treat rheumatism, and they are effective. In tropical and humid environments, the dosage of ephedra needs to be halved. Areca nut ash combined with coconut wine can prevent seasickness. It was made into a seasickness medicine by the imperial physicians. This clearly has commercial value.

Dialects tend to linger a bit longer in these chapters.

The old man noticed this detail after finishing his meal, but he didn't pay much attention to it. After all, it was quite rare to see such a "normal style" in a place full of bizarre books, which made the scribes here all look handsome.

Fang Yan eventually finished reading the entire book at a relatively fast pace.

The system's blessing sounded with a "ding," and these contents began to rapidly generate many new ideas in Fang Yan's mind, although most of the contents made Fang Yan feel as if his brain was being polluted.

However, there is still some useful content.

"You flipped through it too fast, I didn't even see it clearly just now," Aji complained as he took the book from Fang Yan.

The old man was slightly surprised to see that his grandson was interested in medical books.

Only those with a dialect know that Aji wasn't interested in medical books at all; he was just reading them as novelties. Reading this was no different from reading "Miscellaneous Records of Youyang" or "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" for Aji.

"Grandpa, didn't you say you were going to teach me the Wildfire Needle Technique? I've brought all the needles with me. How do you plan to teach me?" Fang Yan turned to Li Chunfang and asked.

I'm leaving tomorrow, so I really need to find him to study with this afternoon.

Li Chunfang stroked his beard and then said:
"Now that you understand the Bagua acupoint diagram, learning the Liaoyuan Needle will be much easier. I will now teach you the Liaoyuan Needle's method of guiding the fire back to its source, as well as the fire needle and the needling techniques."

Fang Yan nodded.

Next, the old man took out another identical set of the Wildfire Needles, removed nine needles, and gently tapped them together, arranging them in a row:
"This 'wildfire needle' emphasizes using the needle as a guide and the qi (vital energy) as the fire."

After saying that, he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his forearm and actually inserted a needle into his Quchi acupoint.

After inserting the needle, he immediately withdrew it a little and said to Fang Yan:

"Watch my needle-splitting motion first, and remember it."

Fang Yan nodded.

Ah Ji also drew his sword at this moment.

Seeing his grandfather pricking himself, he was somewhat surprised that his grandfather was using him as a teaching material.

It feels like a waste to let dialect studies be conducted in this way.

So I quickly started watching it too.

Next, the old man began to explain some different techniques to Fang Yan.

Of course, these are all quite simple when it comes to dialects.

As long as you dare to teach seriously, the system will dare to [ding].

Over the course of about two hours, the dialect system pinged several times. Fang Yan had learned all of the Prairie Fire Needle Technique that the old man had taught him, and he meticulously performed it whenever the old man asked him to use it again.

On the other hand, Ah Ji, who was standing to the side, couldn't even control the needle properly at this moment.

In Fang Yan's hands, it's like a needle with life; in his hands, it's like a roadside tree branch, devoid of any spirit.

However, Li Chunfang was even more shocked by Fang Yan's learning ability. In his understanding, A Ji's condition was normal, and it was acceptable if it was slightly better. But the fact that he learned it immediately after being taught was something he had not expected.

He even wondered if he had taught the dialect yesterday and had forgotten it now that he was getting older.

But the facts are clear: Fang Yan was indeed learning the Liaoyuan Needle Technique for the first time. Besides his Baguazhang foundation, his learning ability was also incredibly strong.

The old man thought several times that he was just old and dreaming or something.

Having lived this long, this is the first time I've ever seen such a genius.

He spoke in dialect:

"How did you learn so quickly?"

Fang Yan put on an innocent look and said mysteriously to the old man:

"I didn't know either. But as soon as you said it, I suddenly understood, as if I had been waiting for this day for a long time..."

Upon hearing this, the old man showed a look of sudden realization, then, as if he had figured something out, he uttered five words:

"We are destined to meet."

There's no other explanation besides this.

The old man still thought that the dialect was being learned too quickly, as if God had arranged for him to be a perfect apprentice.

However, what frustrated him was that he couldn't take Fang Yan as his apprentice.

He thought that he had already said it before, that it was just a matter of exchanging acquaintances in the martial arts world, and that Fang Yan had done him a favor, so it was impossible for him and Fang Yan to have a master-disciple relationship now.

So the old man was a little depressed, but then he came to his senses.

Speaking in dialect:

"Since we are so destined to meet, come here again tomorrow and I will teach you more. I want to see how much you can learn."

Before Fang Yan could even speak, A Ji, who was standing nearby, said:
"Grandpa, are you going to take on an apprentice?"

The old man glared at him:

"Nonsense! When did I ever say I was going to take on disciples?"

"This is my destiny with young friend Lin. Now I just want to pass on some medical skills to him, and it has nothing to do with anything else."

Fang Yan said to Li Chunfang:
"Old Master Li, I'm afraid this won't work."

Li Chunfang was taken aback and looked at Fang Yan with some surprise:

"What's wrong? Don't you want to learn?"

Ah Ji said:

"Young Master Lin is a businessman; he doesn't care about medical skills."

Fang Yan glanced at A Ji speechlessly, then explained:
"I'm going back to Southeast Asia tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to handle things there. I really don't have time to learn the old man's skills."

Upon hearing the dialect, Old Master Li fell silent for a moment.

After a while, he said:

"It's alright, I have a way."

PS: The basic chapter of 6000 words has been updated.

There will be an extra chapter later!

(End of this chapter)