Encountering Red

Back at the clinic, the Daoist Medical Hall looked as rustic as ever, though it had more than doubled in size.

Su Ziyang had heard Daoist Master Xiao Yang say that they might soon recruit some more capable doctors. He went inside and sat down in a consultation-room chair, feeling a sensation he had not felt in a long time.

"Doctor!"

Su Ziyang had just turned on the computer when two people appeared at the door. They looked like a married couple.

"Hello, please come in!"

Su Ziyang gestured for them to enter and sit down. He had now gotten into the habit of observing qi as soon as someone came in, part of inspection, the first of the four diagnostic methods: looking, listening and smelling, questioning, and pulse-taking and palpation. He saw that both people had unusual flushes on their faces.

A flushed complexion was commonly seen in one condition: tidal fever from yin deficiency.

Tidal fever from yin deficiency referred to signs of excessive yang caused by insufficient yin fluids in the body. It was most common in menopausal women. The heat spread rapidly from the chest to the neck and face like a rising tide, then receded like the tide, hence the name "tidal fever." It was accompanied by symptoms such as sweating, discomfort in the heart, and tightness in the chest. In some people, the symptoms were more pronounced in the afternoon or at night; others felt heat inside their bones. This heat rising from the bones was also called bone-steaming tidal fever.

Having made a preliminary assessment of the symptoms, Su Ziyang already had an idea of the situation. Without asking further questions, he reached out to take the man's pulse.

"Do you feel waves of heat in your face, especially in the evening or afternoon, when they're worse?"

Under Su Ziyang's fingers, the man's pulse was faint, thin, and rapid overall, which did indeed match the signs of yin deficiency he had just observed.

The man nodded in agreement. "Doctor, do I have a bit of yin deficiency?"

Su Ziyang was surprised that the man actually knew something about traditional Chinese medicine. His surprise was not without reason: although traditional Chinese health practices were becoming increasingly popular, most people still had no concept of yin or yang deficiency. They would only say in general terms that they were deficient. Men usually spoke of kidney deficiency, and women of blood deficiency.

Simply calling it a deficiency was quite vague. Kidney deficiency had to be divided into yin deficiency and yang deficiency.

Yin deficiency mainly manifested as deficiency heat, such as the tidal fever and night sweats mentioned earlier.

Yang deficiency mainly manifested as internal cold, usually with cold hands and feet or changes in urination.

These days, in particular, some traditional Chinese medicine enthusiasts often confused the two, leading them to take tonics indiscriminately.

It was the first time Su Ziyang had seen someone diagnose his own condition so precisely, so he was naturally surprised.

"That's right. You have yin deficiency!" Su Ziyang nodded in agreement.

"Then are you going to prescribe me Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pills? Or some other medicine to nourish yin?" the man asked.

For a moment, Su Ziyang was at a loss. It was like having someone steal the punch lines from a crosstalk performer. You've said everything I was going to say, so what am I supposed to say?!

With no other choice, Su Ziyang nodded and said mildly, "Yes. Based on your yin-deficiency symptoms, Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pills are indeed quite suitable for you at the moment."

The man suddenly gave a cold laugh. "Hah, I thought there was something different about the Daoist Medical Hall. Turns out it's just traditional Chinese medicine too. Let me tell you, young doctor, I don't even know how many bottles of Six-Ingredient Rehmannia Pills I've taken! Great Yin-Nourishing Decoction, Yin-Nourishing Soup, Yin-Nourishing Pills-none of them work at all! But you doctors all keep saying I have yin deficiency!!! I don't think what I have is yin deficiency!"

Listening to the man's tone, Su Ziyang had a vague feeling that he was even a little proud of his illness...

Other people were afraid doctors could not cure their illnesses and worried that they would never get better, but this fellow had actually developed a sense of superiority from being ill, as though he were impressive because no doctor could cure him. It was the first time Su Ziyang had met someone like that.

"Since you've seen so many doctors and taken so much medicine, have your symptoms eased at all? Has there been any improvement?" Su Ziyang felt helpless, but he could only proceed slowly with the usual questions. If the man did not want treatment from him, there was nothing Su Ziyang could do.

"No improvement whatsoever!" the man said, once again sounding rather proud.

"Oh!" Su Ziyang nodded gently and withdrew his fingers from the man's wrist. "Then I'm afraid I can't do anything for your condition!"

Su Ziyang was well aware of the saying: medicine treats illnesses that are not fated to kill, and Buddha saves those with whom he has a karmic connection.

From the man's few remarks, Su Ziyang realized that he had not primarily come seeking treatment, but seemed more like he had come to hold someone accountable. Even if Su Ziyang could cure someone like that, there generally would not be a good outcome.

Su Ziyang had thought he could simply say he could not cure the man and send the two of them away. Unexpectedly, after standing up, the man offered his seat to his wife. "Doctor, since I'm already here, could you take a look at my wife too?"

Su Ziyang had not expected the man to ask him to treat his wife after he had sent him away, but since he had asked, Su Ziyang could hardly refuse. He looked at the woman. Her face was also somewhat flushed, and by appearance, she too had yin deficiency.

Having made his guess, Su Ziyang placed his hand on the woman's wrist and gently felt her pulse with three fingers. Overall, it was deep, thin, and rapid as well. Just as he was about to lift his hand, he suddenly noticed something unusual.

Su Ziyang noticed a trace of chill suddenly flash through the woman's pulse, seemingly accompanied by wind. It vanished in an instant, and unsure whether he had imagined it, he let out a puzzled "Huh..."

The man, who had been so proud only moments ago, suddenly became very worried when he heard Su Ziyang's puzzled sound. "Doctor, how is my wife?"

Su Ziyang did not answer. Instead, he asked the woman to hold out her other hand and placed his fingers on her wrist, gently feeling her pulse again. This time, he paid particular attention to the unusual sign he had just noticed. Sure enough, after a minute, the pulse with its penetrating chill and wind appeared again!

Su Ziyang continued taking her pulse for nearly five more minutes and found that it occurred twice more.

After taking her pulse, Su Ziyang thought for a moment and asked, "Do you sometimes feel very cold inside your bones, followed by a sensation like gusts of wind blowing through them?"

At his words, the woman's eyes widened, and she stared at Su Ziyang. Then she turned to look at her husband and nodded. "Yes. It used to happen occasionally, and I always felt weak, with no strength in my arms or legs. Now it's gotten worse and happens several times a day. My bones feel cold, and it's like there's wind blowing inside them!"

"How long have you had these symptoms?" Su Ziyang asked.

"A little over a year, I think!" The woman thought for a moment, sounding somewhat uncertain.

The man, who had been proud just moments ago, asked very nervously, "Doctor, how is my wife? To tell you the truth, you're the first person to tell what symptoms she has just by taking her pulse!"

Looking at the man, Su Ziyang found him rather interesting. He had been so arrogant a moment ago, but now he addressed him respectfully with every breath, as though he held him in the highest regard!

Since the man had spoken, Su Ziyang took the opportunity to ask him, "Did your symptoms start around the same time as your wife's?"

The question took the man aback. He frowned and thought hard, then nodded thoughtfully. "Doctor, now that you mention it, I remember! You may really be right. That's exactly what happened. My wife and I seem to have been ill for almost exactly the same length of time."

At this point, Su Ziyang understood the matter completely. When he had been studying at Jiang Kui's home, he had practiced during the day, and at night he had not been idle either, listening as his master told him about difficult and unusual cases he had treated. Among them was the very illness this couple had.

Hearing the man confirm it, Su Ziyang asked, "I have a crucial question now. As the Chinese saying goes, don't conceal an illness from your doctor. Was there a time when the woman started bleeding while the two of you were having intercourse? I don't mean from an injury, but from her period!"

At the question, the woman was visibly embarrassed and looked hesitantly at her husband. A man was a man, after all; he thought for a while and then nodded. "There was one time."

The woman slapped her husband's arm. "Don't talk nonsense. How could that have happened? There was no such thing!"

The man knitted his brows and said earnestly, "Have you forgotten? There was one time when the two of us... and then you suddenly started bleeding and got it on the bedsheet! I thought you were ill, but it turned out to be menstrual blood!!!"

Seeing the man's earnest expression, Su Ziyang felt like laughing. But after the man said that, the woman also suddenly remembered and nodded. "Now that you mention it, I remember. There was one time..." she said softly.

Then, sounding both embarrassed and a little reproachful, the woman said, "Doctor, why are you asking about that...? Does it have anything to do with treating us?"

Su Ziyang nodded with complete certainty. "Ah! Yes, of course it does. Think carefully, both of you. Didn't these problems start after that incident?!"

Su Ziyang's words repeatedly sent the couple searching their memories. After thinking for a while longer, they realized that things did seem to be as he had said: their symptoms had begun after that bleeding incident.

"Then what illness is it, Doctor? Why is it so strange? My attitude was bad earlier because I'd seen so many doctors and taken so much medicine without any effect, so I offended you. Now that you've found the root of the illness, you must have a way to treat it, right?!" The man gripped Su Ziyang's hand tightly, his expression highly exaggerated.

"Of course I do! Your illness is called encountering red!"

"What kind of illness is encountering red?"

In fact, Su Ziyang had not known what the illness was before either. Mr. Mengfei had told him about it, because Mr. Mengfei had once treated just such a strange illness.

Encountering red was now commonly understood to mean having sex during menstruation. But that was not actually the case. Why was it called an "encounter"? Because it happened suddenly and without warning, people in ancient times called it "encountering red."

Modern medicine described it as viruses and microorganisms invading the capillaries.

Men mostly displayed symptoms of tidal fever from yin deficiency, yet they were not symptoms of yin deficiency. Over time, they would become anxious and grow thin, and their hands and feet would become intensely hot.

Women would experience cold and wind spasms inside their bones. Over time, they would grow thin, feel nauseated, and develop a fever.

Modern medicine could not detect this illness through tests, and it was uncommon even in traditional Chinese medicine. It was a severe test of a doctor's knowledge, so it was extremely easy for it to go untreated or be treated incorrectly.

"Doctor, you've told us so much. How should it be treated?" The man had grasped most of the matter from Su Ziyang's explanation, but his purpose was to seek treatment urgently.

"Easy, easy!"

Su Ziyang then picked up a notebook to register the two of them.

The man was named Yu Dabao. He was thirty-two, with a red tongue, yellow coating, and a faint, thin, rapid pulse.

The woman was named Li Mei. She was thirty-two, with a white tongue, thin coating, a faint, thin, rapid pulse, and cool wind evil qi.

After recording their medical histories, Su Ziyang opened the computer and wrote out a prescription!