A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

Song Yitie's words, half defiant and half provocative, spread like wildfire throughout the city. But Yang's courtyard in the east of the city seemed to have heard nothing, continuing to open its doors for consultations every day, showing no intention of responding to the challenge.

Yang Hu knew what was going on. This Song Yitie was a respected figure in the city, a doctor with decades of experience, not a jealous and envious scoundrel like Jin Langzhong. His resentment was mostly due to his age; he was simply upset to see his reputation overshadowed by a younger man. Several people in the courtyard, however, felt sorry for him. Liu Ye insisted on going to meet the old doctor, but Lu Yan stopped her: "Young master has his reasons for not wanting to compete. We have more important matters to attend to right now; it's not worth getting into a fight with an old doctor." Yang Hu had no interest in such pointless arguments. What mattered to him right now was the hidden network in the city, the hand operating under the military camp, not some empty reputation with an old doctor.

But this matter did not end there.

That day, a well-to-do family surnamed Sun in the south of the city quietly invited Yang Hu to their home. The steward who came looked troubled: "Dr. Yang, we originally consulted the renowned physician Song for my master's illness. But after more than a month, there was no improvement; in fact, his condition worsened day by day. We have no other choice but to swallow our pride and come to beg you. Please, just please don't make a fuss about it."

Yang Hu had an idea, picked up his medicine box and went.

Upon arriving at the Sun residence, they found Master Sun lying on the bed, his entire body swollen and shiny. His legs were swollen like water buckets, leaving deep dents that wouldn't spring back for a long time when pressed. Even his face was so swollen that his eyes were reduced to slits. On the bedside table lay the prescription written by Song Yitie.

Yang Hu picked up the prescription and examined it closely, then frowned.

He first took the pulse, then examined the tongue coating, and then asked the people in the Sun household a few questions: "Master, have you been urinating less and less lately? Do you feel heavy in your body, have a tightness in your chest, and a sticky feeling in your mouth?"

The people from the Sun family all agreed.

Yang Hu then understood the situation.

Edema, in its essence, is divided into Yin and Yang types. There is Yin edema, which is characterized by deficiency and cold, requiring warming and tonifying methods. However, this Mr. Sun clearly has damp-heat stagnation in both his lungs and spleen, obstructing the water passages, hence the overflowing water and shiny swelling. This is called Yang edema, a condition of excess, caused by damp-heat. The proper treatment should be to clear the lungs, strengthen the spleen, clear heat, and promote urination to unblock the obstructed water passages. The so-called "one-dose cure" refers to treating common, symptomatic illnesses; but edema, in particular, has both Yin and Yang aspects, and even a slight difference can lead to vastly different results.

However, Song Yitie's prescription mistook this yang fluid for yin fluid deficiency and prescribed a warming and tonifying medicine. This tonification was like adding fuel to the fire—it didn't remove the damp heat but instead added to the stagnation of the tonifying medicine, making the water passages even more blocked, and naturally the swelling worsened with treatment.

Yang Hu did not underestimate Song Yitie's skills. Even a seasoned doctor with decades of experience could sometimes misjudge a case of edema that is difficult to diagnose with a single dose. The problem was that Song's reputation for "effective treatment with one dose" was so great that Yang Hu was convinced his diagnosis was correct and didn't examine it further.

"Master Sun's illness can be cured." Yang Hu turned around and said to the people of the Sun family, "It's because of damp heat accumulating in the body, blocking the water passages. Once the damp heat is cleared out, the water passages will be cleared, and the swelling will naturally subside."

A prescription was immediately written, using herbs to clear the lungs, strengthen the spleen, clear heat, and promote urination. The people in the Sun family were initially skeptical. Both had edema, but the old doctor Song had been using tonifying herbs for a month without improvement, while this young doctor was doing the opposite, using only clearing and diuretic herbs. But seeing their master being worn down by the illness, they decided to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless, and prepared the medicine according to the prescription.

After taking the medicine one dose after another, by the third day, Mr. Sun's urination became more frequent each day. His legs, which had been swollen and shiny, and his face, which had swollen to the point of being just a slit, also subsided day by day. In just seven or eight days, most of the water retention in his body had disappeared, and he felt more energetic and was able to get out of bed and walk around. Mr. Sun held Yang Hu's hand, tears streaming down his face, saying that he had been given a second chance at life.

The Sun family was extremely grateful and repeatedly begged Yang Hu not to make a fuss, fearing it would embarrass the old doctor Song. Yang Hu was not one to boast, so he simply agreed and returned to the east of the city without charging any extra money.

But in this world, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

Master Sun's edema subsided, and he was overjoyed, telling everyone he met that he felt much better. Those in the city who had previously sought medical help for him learned that the edema that Song Yitie had been treating for over a month without success had been cleared up in just seven or eight days by that young miracle doctor from the east of the city.

These words spread throughout the city in just a few days. Discussions raged in teahouses and taverns. Some said that Song Yitie was simply getting old and his eyesight was failing; others said that the real genius doctor in the east of the city was the one who could diagnose even illnesses that Song Yitie couldn't. The reputation of "Song Yitie," built up over decades, was severely damaged by this incident. Those who had previously sought treatment from "Song Yitie" secretly changed their minds this time, hoping to find a cure in the east of the city. The number of people seeking treatment at Yang's clinic in the east of the city increased even more than usual. Some, more sentimental, felt sorry for the old genius doctor Song, saying that his lifelong reputation was likely ruined by this one misdiagnosis.

These words naturally reached Song Yitie's ears as well.

The old doctor's hand, holding the teacup, trembled slightly. His reputation, his very essence, was what he valued most in his life. Now, to be publicly outshone by a young man in his early twenties was even more unbearable than before. It wasn't that he was dissatisfied with the young man's medical skills—he had seen many extraordinary talents in his decades of practice. What he resented was that he, a doctor for a lifetime, had ultimately misdiagnosed even the yin and yang of a patient's body, nearly costing him his life. This was more unsettling than losing his reputation. A thought gradually settled in his mind: he wanted to see for himself whether this young man's skill truly surpassed his own, or if it was just a stroke of luck. He wanted to present this medical case clearly and thoroughly in front of the entire city, so that his old bones could finally find peace of mind.

Nighttime, in the backyard of the eastern part of the city. Lu Yan refilled Yang Hu's tea and said softly, "Even though you didn't make a fuss about the Sun family's matter, it still got out eventually. That old doctor Song is probably going to lose face."

"I didn't want to argue with him." Yang Hu held his teacup, his gaze darkening. "When a patient comes to me for help, I can't just stand by and watch them die. But now, I'm afraid I can't avoid this argument."

Qin Ying, tidying the worn-out dagger under the lamplight, looked up at the sound of the voice. She knew better than anyone that Yang Hu's true concern wasn't the old doctor's discontent. The grain supply line in the city, the hand lurking in the military camp—those were the real dangers hanging over the heads of everyone in this courtyard. This unexpected verbal dispute was a minor matter; the real trouble lay in if that hidden hand used it to its advantage. She lowered her eyes, wiping the worn dagger carefully by the lamplight. The cold glint of the blade reflected in her calm eyes, but it couldn't illuminate the growing unease in her heart. Beneath the bustling city, that hidden hand was waiting for them to reveal the slightest weakness.