The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

A second ray of silver light silently appeared on the jade disc.

"A doctor made his own detoxification prescription, which contains five qian each of Lobelia chinensis and Hedyotis diffusa, decocted in water and taken orally."

"The patient vomited incessantly after taking the medication, and the abdominal pain worsened. All the original prescription contained mild and non-toxic ingredients. Question: What is the problem?"

As soon as this question was presented, the discussion in the audience became noticeably louder.

"Both Lobelia chinensis and Hedyotis diffusa are commonly used herbs for clearing heat and detoxifying. Is there any problem using them together?"

"No problem? Five coins is too much."

"Even a slightly higher dose would not cause vomiting and abdominal pain, so there must be another reason."

Tang Xixue stared at the line of words.

His gaze was calm and serene.

In my mind, the properties, meridians, common dosages, and contraindications of those two herbs were like pages turned in a book.

Page after page unfolded before my eyes.

Lobelia chinensis has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting diuresis and reducing swelling. It is slightly toxic, and excessive consumption can damage the stomach.

Hedyotis diffusa has the properties of clearing heat and detoxifying, reducing swelling and dissipating nodules. It is cold in nature, and its coldness is amplified when used with Lobelia chinensis.

There is nothing wrong with these two herbs themselves.

The mistake was that the balance between dosage and compatibility was disrupted.

A moment later, she reached out her hand, her fingertips landing on the jade disc.

Both Lobelia chinensis and Hedyotis diffusa are used to clear heat and detoxify.

"However, Lobelia chinensis is slightly toxic, and the usual dosage is one to three qian (approximately 3-9 grams)."

"Using five qian here is too much, and the toxicity will become apparent."

"Both medicines are cold in nature, and using them together will result in excessive coldness, which will directly damage the stomach qi."

"When the stomach qi is damaged, its ascending and descending functions become disordered, hence the persistent vomiting and worsening abdominal pain."

"The treatment should reduce the dosage of Lobelia chinensis to two qian, and add three slices of ginger to warm the stomach and stop vomiting, and five jujubes to protect the middle jiao."

"It helps to control the cold nature of food and restore the stomach's energy."

The handwriting was absorbed into the jade disc line by line.

The moment the last stroke was made, the silver light of the second question suddenly shone.

It was even more intense than the first one.

The clear light, like mercury spilling onto the ground, illuminated the entire jade disc, making it translucent.

"correct."

Someone in the audience gasped.

"Dosage and compatibility are the most fundamental skills."

"But she wrote it so clearly, she even gave us addition and subtraction."

"Moreover, she didn't just say the dosage was too high; she also gave specific instructions on how much to reduce it to and what medication to add. It's like she directly modified the prescription so it could be used right away."

"That's the difference between a master doctor and an ordinary doctor."

"Ordinary people can tell that the dosage is wrong, but a real expert can tell you why it's wrong and how to correct it."

On the examiners' table, the second senior brother, the chubby Medicine King of the Green Bag, leaned forward.

A bright smile spread across her round face.

"Junior Sister's ability to analyze and diagnose is far superior to mine back then."

"When I encountered this kind of problem back then, I only knew that the dosage was wrong, but as for how to add or subtract, I had to look it up in a book."

"Don't make a sound."

Fourth Senior Brother, Tai Su Medicine King, gave him a cold glance.

His face, as if carved from stone, remained expressionless.

But his gaze never left Tangxi Xue.

"There's one more question."

A third ray of silver light appeared.

The moment the question appeared, everyone's eyes widened.

That light was completely different from the other two.

It's not a warm, silvery white, but a heavy, metallic dark gold.

The handwriting is also more vigorous and powerful than before.

Each stroke is like a carving deep into a jade disc, revealing a steadfast conviction that has endured the test of time.

"In the southern border region there was a woman, forty years old. Every night, her limbs would stiffen like wood, and she would be unable to speak or move her eyes."

"At dawn, everything is as usual; he works and talks like a normal person. We have consulted many renowned doctors, but all to no avail. What is this illness? What is its underlying cause?"

There was a moment of silence in the audience.

It immediately caused an uproar.

"Stiff as a board at night, healed by dawn—doesn't that sound like being possessed?"

"Could it be a type of epilepsy?"

"But epileptic seizures don't happen so regularly, they happen as soon as they're scheduled, more punctual than sunrise and sunset."

"Stiffness and distinct limbs are manifestations of wind-evil entering the meridians."

"But if it's wind-cold syndrome, why did it heal by dawn? Wind-cold-dampness syndrome doesn't seem to pick and choose its time."

"Miasma? Miasma is prevalent in southern Xinjiang. Could it be that the miasma poisoning occurs at night?"

"That's not right. Miasma attacks are usually accompanied by fever and chills, but she was perfectly fine by morning and had no other symptoms. That doesn't make sense."

Someone was hurriedly flipping through the medical books they carried with them, the pages rustling as they turned.

Some people were calculating the illness on their fingers, their brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Some people even dipped their brushes in tea to draw meridian diagrams on their desks, trying to find clues from the pathways of the meridians.

He shook his head and overturned the drawing halfway through.

Discussions rose and fell, and no one could convince anyone else.

"These are such strange symptoms."

"If it were a common case of being possessed by an evil spirit, one would surely have consulted a Taoist priest. But consulting numerous renowned doctors has proven ineffective—this indicates that it is not an evil spirit at all."

"This is too difficult. I've never even heard of this disease, let alone seen it."

"She's so unlucky to have drawn such a difficult question."

"You answered the first two questions so well, but you got stuck on the last one."

No one dared to say they were confident.

The difficulty of this question lies in the fact that the symptoms are too bizarre.

Such cases are rarely seen, let alone in medical books.

"Can she figure out the answer?"

Someone asked in a low voice.

Si Xingxuan was trying hard to think of an answer.

He had read through almost all the medical classics of Shenyao Valley and thoroughly studied the handwritten notes left by the Medicine Kings of past dynasties.

But for a moment, he had absolutely no clue how to answer this question.

Even the most skilled doctors might fail at this Q&A wall challenge.

He suddenly became a little anxious.

He suddenly grabbed Jiu Fangzhi's sleeve, the force of which almost tore his master's entire sleeve off.

"Master, please think of an answer quickly!"

"I'm thinking about it."

Jiu Fangzhi slapped his hand away with disgust, took three steps to the side, and increased the distance between herself and this living father.

His gaze fell on his junior sister, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He had seen this question before—in the notes left by his master.

He was also deep in thought.

"How did Junior Sister get to draw this question?"

Liu Xinyi's fingers tightened slightly as she held the plain silk, her knuckles turning bluish-white.

She remembered this question.

The person who inscribed the title was the thirteenth generation Medicine King of Divine Medicine Valley, named Yun Ya Zi.

In his later years, Yun Yazi traveled to southern Xinjiang and met this woman in a remote mountain village.

He observed the symptoms, listened to the description, and felt the pulse, but could not find a solution no matter how hard he tried.

He tried everything he could think of: dispelling wind, resolving phlegm, promoting blood circulation, calming the mind, and relieving anxiety.

None of them worked.

He stayed in the mountain village for three whole months, observing the woman's condition every day and keeping a thick stack of medical records.

But even after he left the southern border, he still couldn't figure out the mystery.

After returning to the Valley of Divine Medicine, he engraved the question on the Q&A wall.

That happened three hundred years ago.

For three hundred years, countless physicians have stood before this wall, pondering this problem.

Some people consulted every medical text they could find, while others made a special trip to southern Xinjiang to investigate.

Some people spend their entire lives searching for that answer.

No one answered.

The question remains.

The snow in Tangxi finally moved.

She raised her hand.

Those medical principles that rapidly unfolded in my mind.

In that instant, she untangled the threads connecting the Inner Canon, the Spiritual Pivot, and the Treatise on Yin and Yang into a clear line.

Then she began to write.

"This condition is not caused by evil spirits, nor is it due to ordinary wind-evil entering the meridians."

"This is because yin energy is dominant at night, and yang energy cannot enter yin."

The audience suddenly fell silent.

Everyone held their breath, watching as lines of silver text flowed from her fingertips.

"When a person is awake, the yang energy flows outwards; when a person is asleep, the yang energy returns to the yin energy."

"This person has an excess of yin energy, but the yang energy during the day can still counteract it, so he can work, talk, and laugh as usual."

"At night, yang energy should enter yin, but yin energy is too strong and rejects yang."

"When the yang energy cannot return, it is instead forced out by the yin energy and floats out of the meridians of the limbs."

"The conflict between Yin and Yang causes the limbs to become stiff, the mouth to be unable to speak, and the eyes to remain fixed."

"As dawn breaks, the yang energy gradually increases and the yin energy gradually decreases, and the yin and yang are temporarily in balance, so the symptoms disappear on their own."

Someone in the audience blurted out, "So this isn't an illness? This is a conflict between Yin and Yang?"

The person next to me was flipping through the book hurriedly, but when they reached a certain page, their fingertips suddenly stopped.

"In the Ling Shu chapter of the Inner Canon, there is a passage that says, 'The defensive qi cannot enter the yin and always remains in the yang... therefore, the eyes cannot close.'"

"She wasn't just speculating out of thin air; she was using the Taoist Yin-Yang theory, combined with the medical practices of Shenyao Valley, to make a clinical judgment."

"Absolutely breathtaking."

Tang Xixue on the stage was undisturbed by any noise.

Her fingertips steadily traced the last line of words, each word appearing as if it had been carved in.

Clear, certain, and beyond question.

Treatment: There is no need to dispel wind or expel evil.

"The key is to harmonize Yin and Yang."

"When yin and yang interact, the illness will heal itself."

The writing was absorbed into the jade disc.

The jade disc fell silent.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The dark gold writing remained motionless.

Some people in the audience began to feel uneasy.

"Why isn't there any response?"

"Did I... answer incorrectly?"

"Really? Her deduction makes a lot of sense. The struggle between Yin and Yang is a very reasonable explanation."

"But the jade disc didn't light up. No matter what you say, it's useless; the jade disc has the final say."