May I Give It a Try?

The instant Jun Wangchen clicked "Learn," a vast torrent of information flooded his mind.

"Disregard the pulse in favor of the symptoms; disregard the symptoms in favor of the pulse. Differentiate patterns through the eight principles; determine treatment through the six meridians.

"Before even ten years had passed, two-thirds had died, seven out of ten from cold damage. Grieving those lost in the past and lamenting the premature deaths that could not be prevented, I diligently sought ancient teachings and gathered remedies far and wide..."

Beyond the original text, there are additional notes and explanations. This is far more detailed than the modern edition of the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. He really is the Medical Sage! Just a brief look through the contents of the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases in his mind left Jun Wangchen flushed with excitement.

The modern edition of the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases was actually missing much of its essential material. Even some of Zhang Zhongjing's insights and summaries had disappeared in the long river of history.

But the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases that Zhang Zhongjing had personally sent him was completely unabridged. In other words, all that essential material was contained in this manual.

With this manual, he effectively had all the foundational knowledge of Clinical Medicine at his fingertips. Whether he went on to study more advanced Clinical Medicine or pursue Clinical Medicine work, his foundation would be several levels stronger than anyone else's—perhaps even more.

Forcing down his excitement, Jun Wangchen set the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases aside for the moment and prepared to open Hundred-Year Acupuncture to see what this manual contained.

Before he could do so, however, the arrival of an elderly teacher wearing glasses abruptly interrupted him.

The newcomer was He Ming, a senior professor from the medical school. He had taught at Jinling University for over thirty years and was highly proficient in Clinical Medicine. Several of his papers on the subject had won national honors on multiple occasions.

The entire classroom fell silent the moment He Ming arrived. Every student knew that he permitted no private chatter during his lectures. Anyone caught would immediately lose all their course credits for the term.

Once, a student from a wealthy family had repeatedly challenged his rules and authority, only to be expelled by the university president. Despite his family's immense wealth and offers of lavish financial compensation as an apology, the president refused to let him return. In the end, he had no choice but to transfer.

After that incident, no one dared disregard He Ming's classroom rules again.

Standing at the lectern, He Ming surveyed the room. He first had the class representative take out the attendance register and check the number of students present, then faced the class with a kindly smile. "Attendance is quite good today. It looks like everyone takes their studies seriously. I hope you'll keep up that enthusiasm and continue working hard.

"Yesterday, the teacher next door gave their class an interesting test. When I heard about it, I thought it sounded quite fun, so I'd like to try it today as well. It'll be a good opportunity to assess what you've learned over the past half semester.

"In a moment, I'll ask a question about Clinical Medicine. If anyone can answer it within fifteen minutes, the class will pass the test. If no one is willing to answer, or no one can answer correctly, the class will fail.

"One reminder: if you fail, every student in the class will lose all their coursework marks!"

"What?" Panic swept through the room.

The Clinical Medicine final was extremely difficult. Without coursework marks, passing was almost impossible. In the previous year's class, only two students had passed the final after their coursework marks were wiped out.

That class had been full of top students, including quite a few who had won national awards. Yet even under those circumstances, the number who ultimately passed could be counted on one hand. That alone showed how absurdly difficult the final exam was.

Without coursework marks, even the top students risked failing, let alone slackers like them who hadn't learned a damn thing.

He Ming took in their panicked expressions but remained unmoved. Smiling, he said, "The greatest contributor to the development of Clinical Medicine was Zhang Zhongjing, the Medical Sage. His Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases laid the foundations of the field. Today's test happens to concern that very work.

"Within fifteen minutes, give me the complete definitions, contents, and curative methods from 'Pulse, Pattern, and Treatment of Cholera' in the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. An error rate of thirty percent or an inability to answer will count as a failure."

Everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

As a foundational work of Clinical Medicine, the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases contained an enormous amount of material. A single glance at its densely packed classical Chinese and complicated illustrations and text was enough to leave anyone bewildered.

Even after three years of study, these Clinical Medicine students had barely scratched the surface. Most could only answer questions about its definitions, characteristics, and contents with the book open in front of them. Even the few with good memories could barely recite portions of it when given unlimited time to memorize.

And what was He Ming asking of them now?

To give all the definitions, contents, and curative methods in "Pulse, Pattern, and Treatment of Cholera" within fifteen minutes.

That was simply impossible!

"Pulse, Pattern, and Treatment of Cholera" was the hardest chapter in the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. The definitions alone ran to over a thousand characters, never mind its complicated contents and intricate curative methods.

To put it bluntly, even if they were given an entire day to memorize it, they might not be able to deliver the answer within fifteen minutes.

At that thought, an inexplicable despair settled over the class.

He Ming was clearly making things difficult for them on purpose!

Sitting in the middle rows, Jun Wangchen's ex-girlfriend, Qiu Ya, also knitted her brows at the teacher's question, feeling secretly anxious.

She was the sort who would be satisfied simply getting a degree. If this test cost her all her coursework marks, she was practically guaranteed to fail the final. The resit for this course was even harder. Unless she passed on her first attempt, passing the resit would be all but impossible.

To receive her degree and graduate smoothly, she had to pass every course across all four years of university. Otherwise, she would not be awarded her degree.

Thinking of that, Qiu Ya hurriedly turned to her current boyfriend, Qin Shou. "Honey, don't you have a friend who's a top student? Hurry up and get him to answer!"

Qin Shou paused, then turned to the young man with a buzz cut on his right. "Wang, think you can handle it?"

The young man rubbed his nose and gave an awkward smile. "Brother Qin, I might manage something else, but Professor He Ming's question really is far too difficult.

"The Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases is over a thousand pages long, and its contents are incredibly complicated. My grades have always ranked in the faculty's top three, but this is just ridiculous. Even an attending physician with years of experience in Clinical Medicine might not be able to answer it with complete accuracy."

At his words, every trace of hope vanished from Qiu Ya's face.

If even one of the faculty's top three students was helpless, who could possibly answer?

Qin Shou glanced at the disappointed Qiu Ya and frowned. "Is there really no way?"

"Qin, you could try asking the university's top student to answer. With her grades, she might be able to handle this tricky question." The buzz-cut young man pointed at a girl in the front rows and spoke quietly.

Qin Shou and Qiu Ya both turned toward the girl and froze.

Mo Duoduo had achieved the highest humanities score in Jinling City's college entrance examination. During her three years at Jinling University, she had consistently ranked first across the entire university, swept up awards of every size, and won national prizes on multiple occasions. Even the country's most prestigious university had offered her a place.

Besides her extraordinary academic performance, she was exceptionally beautiful. She had countless admirers both at Jinling University and at other universities in Jinling City, and ranked first among Jinling University's four campus beauties.

As Qin Shou and Qiu Ya looked toward Mo Duoduo, everyone else turned to her as well. Hope filled their eyes as they wished she would stand up and answer the question.

He Ming also glanced at Mo Duoduo. Her academic performance was outstanding, with perfect scores in almost every course. It was truly remarkable.

But the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases could not be understood through memorization alone. Much of it involved abstract concepts. Even he, who had studied the book for over thirty years, might not be able to give a complete answer to his own question.

As for why he had posed such a question, perhaps he simply wanted to distinguish himself from the other teachers.

Seeing everyone staring at Mo Duoduo, He Ming smiled faintly and asked, "Mo, would you like to give it a try?"

"I'm sorry, Professor He. I'm only familiar with the first ten sections of the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases. The chapter you asked about isn't one I know well." Mo Duoduo shook her head and declined outright.

She was a very patient person, yet even she had been defeated by the sheer volume of material in the Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases and the profound medical knowledge it contained.

When she first saw the monumental work, she felt that Zhang Zhongjing, the Medical Sage who had compiled it, was already beyond ordinary human comprehension. Its obscure contents and treatment methods meant that she had only managed to grasp the barest essentials.

It was worth mentioning that she had only memorized the first ten sections by gritting her teeth and forcing herself through them. As for the later chapters, she simply lacked the patience to memorize them.

Mo Duoduo's words shattered the last of everyone's hopes.

If even the university's top student was helpless, who else could possibly answer?

The buzz-cut young man gave a bitter smile and spread his hands, indicating that the outcome could no longer be changed.

Qiu Ya's face was full of disappointment. She simply could not accept the prospect of failing Clinical Medicine.

In the back rows, Jun Wangchen's roommates exchanged glances, though they did not find the situation particularly upsetting.

After all, plenty of others would be failing with them. At worst, they would all take the resit together.

Seeing everyone hanging their heads in defeat, He Ming gave a bemused smile. After a moment's thought, he decided he might as well switch to an easier question.

Before he could speak, however, a slightly languid voice suddenly rang out through the classroom.

"Professor He, may I give it a try?"