The decline of traditional Chinese medicine

At eighty-eight, Physician Xu still looked fairly spry, though his hands and feet were no longer as nimble as they once had been.

When Zhang Hongxing saw him, he was sitting in a square wooden chair, reading.

It was an old thread-bound book that clearly showed its age.

At the sight of Zhang Hongxing, Physician Xu carefully set the book on the wooden table beside him before greeting him.

"Have you come to see me about an illness in your family, or is it something else?"

"Neither. I'm here to buy medicinal herbs."

"Medicinal herbs? Which ones do you need, and who are they for?"

"Physician Xu, I need some well-aged ginseng, along with reishi, gastrodia, poria, cordyceps, musk, fleeceflower root..."

Zhang Hongxing listed the medicinal ingredients he needed.

"I'm afraid I can't supply so many medicines."

"Now, Physician Xu, don't be so quick to turn me down. I have no ulterior motive for buying these herbs. I can even prepare them right in front of you. Once you see what I'm doing, you'll understand."

"May I ask your name?"

"Zhang Hongxing. Hongxing as in 'shining red star.'"

"You!"

Physician Xu's eyes widened. Zhang Hongxing's introduction had stirred memories.

Thirty years earlier, a young man had rushed into his clinic carrying an elderly man he had encountered on the road who had suffered a stroke. After Physician Xu treated the old man with his family's acupuncture technique, the young man had introduced himself in exactly the same way.

Looking closely at the man before him, he seemed to look exactly like that young man.

"You remember correctly, Physician Xu. I'm the Zhang Hongxing you met back then."

"How is that possible!"

"Nothing is impossible. It's like the acupuncture you've persisted in studying. If you can grasp its true essence, there may be no illness in this world that can defeat you."

"The essence of acupuncture... could you know how to guide needles with qi?"

Physician Xu trembled all over with excitement, and the elderly woman beside him hurried forward to steady him.

"I don't know how to guide needles with qi, but I do know how to cultivate qi. If you're willing, I can teach you."

The idea had come to Zhang Hongxing the moment he saw the Jade Treasure Hall sign. Later, the elderly woman's indirect account of the decline of traditional Chinese medicine had fully awakened his resolve.

What a shame it would be to simply discard such a valuable legacy handed down by their ancestors.

Especially now that he had the ability to help it flourish.

"Sir, please accept Xu Qinian's bow."

The eighty-eight-year-old Physician Xu clasped his hands and bowed deeply to Zhang Hongxing. In the Xia Kingdom, where cultivation methods and techniques were passed down through individual lineages, what was a bow compared with Zhang Hongxing's willingness to teach him a qi cultivation method?

Unfortunately, he was already so old that he might not be able to learn it.

"Sir, I have a presumptuous request. I hope you will agree."

"Let's hear it."

"I know I'm too old and may not be able to learn this qi cultivation method properly. But I have a grandson who has been bright and quick-witted since childhood. If you would teach him this method, I believe..."

"Has your grandson learned your acupuncture technique?"

Zhang Hongxing interrupted before Physician Xu could finish.

"Well... although my grandson studied Western medicine, he has also done some research into my acupuncture technique. If he learns your qi cultivation method, surely..."

"Physician Xu, say no more. I'll teach you the Qi Refining Method. If you wish, you can pass it on to your grandson yourself."

Zhang Hongxing interrupted Physician Xu a second time.

"But..."

"Rest assured. If I'm confident enough to teach you, you'll certainly be able to learn it."

With Zhang Hongxing's assurance, Physician Xu finally calmed down. He then led Zhang Hongxing into the dispensary. Though the clinic had fallen on hard times, its stock of medicinal herbs was still fairly comprehensive.

Their age, in particular, made every one of them a premium specimen.

A large portion consisted of wild medicinal herbs gathered directly from the mountains.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the quality of the herbs played a considerable role in treatment, alongside the physician's own skill.

The decline of traditional Chinese medicine in modern times was not merely due to certain unique medical techniques being lost.

The scarcity of medicinal ingredients was another major cause.

After asking the elderly woman to stand guard outside and keep anyone from barging in, Zhang Hongxing began his first pill-refining session since arriving on Earth, right before Physician Xu.

For his first batch, a trial run, he chose to refine Beauty-Preserving Pills.

In fact, with ordinary medicinal ingredients like these, he could only refine unranked pills of this sort.

In the Immortal Cultivation World, only mortals would use such pills.

Using a nearly three-hundred-year-old ginseng root as the main ingredient and one of the clinic's decoction stoves as his pill furnace, Zhang Hongxing lit a fire and began refining. With his current Foundation Establishment cultivation, he naturally could not refine pills using a flame of true qi.

He refined the pills with ordinary fire, used true qi to perform techniques, and inscribed talismans.

The entire process flowed smoothly. Once Physician Xu saw the decoction stove rise into the air from time to time, he no longer had any doubts about Zhang Hongxing's earlier claims.

This batch of Beauty-Preserving Pills took a full three hours to refine and yielded 108 pills.

Taking one would restore the skin over the user's entire body to the softness, smoothness, and healthy sheen of an infant's. Provided it was not deliberately damaged, the effect would remain unchanged for five years.

"Sir, what is this?"

In all his eighty-eight years, Physician Xu had never seen anything like it, let alone the entire process of making it.

Medicinal pills had existed in traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times, but most were kneaded into round shapes by hand. Pills that formed on their own when a medicine furnace was opened were something mentioned only in tales of immortals and supernatural beings.

"These are Beauty-Preserving Pills. One pill can preserve your youth for five years. Do you dare try one, Physician Xu?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

Having witnessed the entire process, Physician Xu took the Beauty-Preserving Pill Zhang Hongxing offered him and swallowed it.

It melted in his mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance.

Once it reached his stomach, a gentle warmth slowly spread from his abdomen throughout his body, drawing an involuntary moan of pleasure from him.

As the medicine took effect, Zhang Hongxing raised a palm and brought it down on the crown of Physician Xu's head.

"Close your eyes, steady your mind, and let everything go. I'll teach you the qi cultivation method now."

Teaching a relatively simple qi cultivation method while the Beauty-Preserving Pill took effect was not difficult for Zhang Hongxing.

An hour and a half later, Zhang Hongxing withdrew his hand.

Physician Xu opened his eyes as well. A continuously circulating stream of internal qi now flowed within him. Though it could not compare with the true qi in Zhang Hongxing's body, it was a cut above the internal power Elder Zhuang had previously developed.

"Master, please accept a bow from your disciple, Xu Qinian."

The eighty-eight-year-old Physician Xu knelt with utter sincerity, and he spoke the word "Master" with exceptional solemnity.

The moment that internal qi formed, he knew his acupuncture would surely flourish. Even if it still could not match Western medicine in speed of treatment, traditional Chinese medicine would undoubtedly take the lead in treating certain stubborn ailments.

Beyond that, he was grateful to Zhang Hongxing for giving him a new lease on life.

Under the combined effects of the Beauty-Preserving Pill and the qi cultivation method, he felt at least twenty years younger, with seemingly inexhaustible energy throughout his body.

Apart from his white hair, the skin on Physician Xu's face and body had returned to its prime. Only some of his internal tissues and organs had failed to keep pace.

"I accept you as my disciple. It's getting late, and I still have to pick up my grandson from school. If anything important comes up, you can find me at 288 North Bridge Road."

"Yes, Master."