Asafoetida Returns the Soul

"See? There are still people who know their stuff!"

Qi Chu said Yangyang.

If you have something to say, say it at length; if you don't, say it briefly.

Qi Chu and his group left the mountain and returned to the place where they had pressed the five-colored silk last time.

Su Ziyang secretly admired Qi Chu's sense of direction. He came in from this place, wandered around in the forest for three days, and came out still in this place!

Qi Chu accepted the colorful silk, and the group arrived at the house where the car had been parked.

As soon as I entered, I heard a child crying.

"What's wrong."

Qi Chu was the first to run over.

"Grandma, Grandma fell off the roof! She's not moving!"

Upon hearing this, Su Ziyang dropped his package and rushed over in three strides.

Sure enough, Su Ziyang saw the old woman from before behind the house.

"Auntie, Auntie?"

After Su Ziyang ran over, he first checked the pulse on his hand.

Su Ziyang felt a chill run down his spine the moment he made contact.

If you've ever touched the hand of someone who has just passed away, you'll notice that the hands of a dead person are different from those of a living person.

Su Ziyang turned around and frowned at Qi Chu and Mr. Mengfei, who immediately understood what was going on.

"Sigh, I knew it. Even if we obtained rare and precious treasures, we couldn't take them all with us."

Su Ziyang didn't understand for a moment what Qi Chu meant.

Qi Chu called out to the little boy who had called for his grandmother, "Go, fetch a bowl of cold water. I'm coming to save your grandmother."

Upon hearing this, the child quickly ran inside and fetched a bowl of cold water.

Qi Chu opened his backpack, took out a bamboo knife, and cut a piece from the asafoetida he had just obtained.

Then I put it in water and rinsed it.

As soon as asafoetida entered the water, a few bubbles immediately appeared.

Su Ziyang was closest and smelled a peculiar odor in the water.

"Come on, Ziyang, give me a hand."

The person was no longer breathing, and their jaw was clenched.

If you want to force-feed the medicine, you might have to pry the teeth open first; if that doesn't work, you'll have to knock one out.

But the amazing thing is that this old lady has lost many teeth. Although her jaw is clenched, you can still see a gap through which medicine can be administered when you lift her lips.

Qi Chu took a small spoon and started shoveling food into his mouth, spoonful by spoonful.

He drank a bowl of water.

Su Ziyang's hand, which was supporting the old woman's back, suddenly felt a strange warmth, followed by a strong heartbeat.

It feels like a car that's been off for a long time suddenly being started.

Su Ziyang looked at Qi Chu with great surprise, but Qi Chu's expression remained very calm.

The old woman slowly woke up, Qi Chu patted her back. "Auntie, Auntie, are you hungry? Eat something, and don't talk."

Qi Chu was afraid that the old woman would open her mouth to speak, so he quickly stuffed the thing into her mouth.

Soaking asafoetida in water makes it especially soft.

Qi Chu stuffed it into the old woman's mouth, and she swallowed it instinctively.

"I'm not hungry. When did you guys get back?"

Four or five minutes after the old woman ate the asafoetida, she uttered a sentence.

It's like when your computer freezes, crashes, restarts, and you log back in.

"Auntie, we're back. You fell down, let's go inside, I'll bandage you up!"

Upon Qi Chu's words, the old woman frowned.

"Oh my god, no wonder it hurts so much! I didn't even notice until you told me."

The old woman frowned and quickly walked into the house.

After entering the house, Qi Chu took out his dressing kit and bandaged the old woman's wound. He then left her nearly a thousand yuan before the group left.

"Brother Chu, was that old lady in the same state you described as someone on the verge of death?"

Originally, Su Ziyang was supposed to drive one car and Qi Chu the other. But Su Ziyang couldn't resist his curiosity and insisted on sharing a car with Qi Chu, then bombarded Qi Chu with a million questions the whole way.

"Hey Little Ziyang, you've been asking me questions the whole way. Aren't you annoyed? I am! If you keep acting like this, how could Mengfei, with his temper, not yell at you?"

Qi Chu sat in the passenger seat, took a sip of water, and said helplessly.

"I'm not just surprised, I'm amazed! Isn't this a miracle? I've been studying with my master for a long time, but I've never seen anything like this before. Brother Chu! This has transcended the scope of orthodox traditional Chinese medicine!"

Su Ziyang continued talking at length.

"..."

Qi Chu fell completely silent.

Su Ziyang kept nagging Qi Chu the whole way. If Qi Chu hadn't wanted to jump out of the car halfway, Su Ziyang probably would have continued talking.

After returning home, Qi Chu cut the asafoetida into two pieces.

He kept half for himself and gave the other half to Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang didn't really want this, since the method of entering the mountains and the guidance on collecting and identifying herbs were all thanks to Qi Chu.

Even if someone claims they took it out themselves, it's just that they did their last bit of effort.

Without Qi Chu leading the way, we wouldn't have found this thing.

How could I possibly have the chance to get the medicine back?

After some hesitation, Qi Chu said very seriously, "If I give it to you, you have to take it. You pulled this out of the bear's den; young man, with that kind of courage, you deserve half of it."

Su Ziyang looked at the item wrapped in red and yellow silk in his hand, and then at Mr. Mengfei sitting next to him.

Mr. Mengfei said with a serious expression, "Why are you looking at me! Brother Chu is giving it to you, so just take it. It's what you deserve, don't refuse!"

"Listen to your master."

Qi Chu patted Su Ziyang's arm and said with a smile.

"Brother Chu, I have two purposes for coming here this time. I've already achieved the first one: taking my apprentice into the mountains to see the unique scenery and gather some rare and precious herbs—a valuable life experience. My second purpose..."

Mr. Mengfei looked at Qi Chu with a smile.

Qi Chu grinned, glancing sideways at Mr. Mengfei: "Mengfei, what am I supposed to say to you? With your knowledge, you could easily explain this to a child by just glancing at a book. Why did you bother me?"

"Ah! There's a sequence to learning, and everyone has their own area of expertise. It's not about who's better or worse, it's about specialization. You're good at this, and I'll be relieved if he learns this skill from you."

Mr. Mengfei sighed.

"Since you've put it that way, then I'll do my best. Otherwise, wouldn't it be unfair to you for praising me like that?"

Qi Chu said with a smile.

"Okay, let's go out for a meal first today, and then Ziyang and I will talk to each other tonight."

"OK!"

Mr. Mengfei readily agreed, and Su Ziyang, knowing he was going to learn a new skill, happily followed suit.

Qi Chu said he would have a meal, he really meant it.

The dishes were almost identical to those before they went into the mountains, and what remained unchanged was Qi Chu's astonishing appetite.

At night, Mr. Mengfei went back to his room to rest, Fairy Li sat on the sofa idly scrolling through her phone, while Su Ziyang was pulled into the study by Qi Chu.

Qi Chu's study had two walls lined with neatly arranged books.

These books include both modern and ancient ones, as well as domestic and foreign ones.

Qi Chu took a small stool and walked to a bookshelf. He pushed the bookshelf, revealing a hidden compartment behind it.

Qi Chu entered the password and took out several ancient books.

It's more like writing stamped on some kind of animal hide than a book.

Su Ziyang touched the book cover and found that the material was somewhat similar to the cover of the book he had that recorded the Umbilical Acupuncture.

"Don't touch it, I've already let you touch it!"

Qi Chu patted Su Ziyang's hand lightly, then respectfully placed the book on the table.

"Sit back down. I have a few questions for you."

Qi Chu said very seriously.

"Brother Chu, please speak."

Playing is fine, but don't joke around with studying. When it comes to learning new knowledge, Su Ziyang is always very serious.

Do you know the Song of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms?

Su Ziyang thought Qi Chu was going to ask some strange question, but unexpectedly, he said this.

Spring rain awakens the spring, clear and bright in the valley.

Summer is in full bloom, with the heat of summer lingering.

Autumn Equinox, Autumn Dew, Cold Dew, Frost's Descent

Winter Snow, Minor Snow, Major Snow, Cold.

Su Ziyang could recite this when he was a child; these were subjects that children had to memorize, so how could Su Ziyang possibly forget them?

After Su Ziyang finished reciting, Qi Chu still stared at Su Ziyang blankly. "Finished reciting?"

"Ah!" Su Ziyang nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Qi Chu asked.

"That's all... right?"

Qi Chu's question made Su Ziyang lose confidence, and Su Ziyang repeatedly searched his mind for knowledge about the Song of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms.

But after thinking it over, it must be these four lines.

"You can tell you weren't a serious student when you were little. I'll recite it for you, that'll do better!"

Qi Chu said solemnly, "Spring rain awakens the earth, clear and bright; summer is full, the awns are in full bloom, the heat is intense; autumn is the beginning of autumn, dew falls, frost descends; winter is the beginning of winter, snow falls, the coldest days are minor and major. There are two festivals every month without change, at most a day or two apart. The first half of the year is on the 6th and 21st, and the second half is on the 8th and 23rd."

"Um?!"

Su Ziyang was surprised that Qi Chu had actually recited eight lines.

"Brother Chu, why are there four extra lines in what you said?"

"This is the complete version; what you've all memorized is the censored version."

Qi Chu chuckled, then continued, "Since you know about the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, tell me about them."

"The Twenty-Four Solar Terms refer to 24 specific periods in the China lunar calendar that indicate the changing seasons. They are based on the Earth's position on the ecliptic (the Earth's orbit around the sun), with each term corresponding to a specific position the Earth reaches when it moves 15° along the ecliptic."

Su Ziyang had some knowledge of this, because the book that Mr. Mengfei gave him contained information on this topic. "The names of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms first appeared in the Western Han Dynasty's ' Huainanzi: Treatise on Astronomy '."

The Twenty-Four Solar Terms are a supplementary calendar system established in China during the pre-Qin period and fully formalized in the Han Dynasty to guide agricultural activities. It is a system of knowledge formed by observing the sun's annual movement and understanding the changes in seasons, climate, and phenology throughout the year. It divides the sun's annual trajectory into 24 equal parts, each part being a solar term, beginning with the Beginning of Spring and ending with the Great Cold, repeating cyclically. It served as a time standard promulgated by the government throughout history, a compass for agricultural production, and a guide for people in daily life to predict temperature changes, snow, and rain.

"Stop, stop, stop! I told you to recite the text to me. Look at this book first, and then talk to me."

Qi Chu interrupted Su Ziyang and handed Su Ziyang one of the books on the table.

After Su Ziyang opened it, he saw several characters written in small seal script, "Book of the Great Beginning and Heavenly Origin".

Su Ziyang opened the book and found that it was also full of small seal script.

The text is as follows:

"The Great Void emptiness is the origin of all things. What is the Great Void? It is the Taiji. Speaking of its original non-existence, it is called the Great Void; speaking of its existence arising from non-existence, it is called the Taiji. All things in heaven and earth begin in stillness and end in movement. There is principle before there is qi, and there is qi before there is form. Form has its expansion and contraction, its waxing and waning, while principle and qi are never still. The Taiji is the boundless and limitless expanse of principle and qi, encompassing all things. Therefore, when heaven and earth are clear and peaceful, all things are born and transformed, but the Taiji does not increase as a result. When heaven and earth are obstructed, all things cease to exist." But Taiji does not cease from this. From one to ten thousand, it becomes the myriad Taiji. From ten thousand back to one, it is still the one Taiji. It is everywhere and nowhere. Humans are born in stillness, endowed with Yin and Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and Qi. Only by purifying the mind and calming desires, returning to Great Void and purity, can one be in a state of perfect emptiness, unaffected by external influences. Otherwise, Yin and Yang become imbalanced, form and Qi become mixed, and the original principle is almost closed off. Therefore, I first reveal its meaning to show that the principle of Taiji is inherent innate, but human actions cannot help but require remedies. This is the origin of medicine.

Although this passage is difficult to understand, Su Ziyang was able to comprehend about 80-90% of it given his background.

This passage mainly discusses the theories of Taiji and emptiness.

This can be understood as follows: every object has its own Taiji, and every event has its own Taiji.

An imbalance of Yin and Yang leads to problems in the circulation of Qi in the human body, which is the fundamental reason for the development and invention of medicine.

"Finished watching?"

Qi Chu chuckled, looking at Su Ziyang's seemingly understanding yet confused expression.

"Okay! I understand."

After browsing through it twice more, Su Ziyang roughly understood the meaning.

"Okay, that's just a general overview. Now, let me ask you another question. Do you know how to tell fortunes?"

Su Ziyang was taken aback by Qi Chu's question.

No way.

Although the I Ching is the foundation of both numerology and medicine.

Although Su Ziyang had a thorough grasp of the basics of medicine and the I Ching.

However, if we're talking about fortune telling, that's a different approach.

If Su Ziyang wanted to learn, he could learn it very quickly.

However, Su Ziyang did not study this question separately again. Firstly, Su Ziyang felt that there was no special need for it. Secondly, with Fairy Li around, Su Ziyang felt that if he wanted to have his fortune told, he could do so anytime, so he didn't need to study fortune telling separately.

"Oh! Then I'll teach you from the basics. With Mengfei laying the foundation for you, you'll learn it in no time."

Qi Chu rubbed his head and thought for a moment.

Then I took out an A4 sheet of paper, took out a pen, and started writing and talking on it.

"What I'm talking about is called the Five Movements and Six Qi. It's the most profound and obscure part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. That's why very few people specialize in studying it. These things are mentioned a lot in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon, but all of this content is written at the end of the Basic Questions. Qi Chu wrote and drew as he went, like a tutor, serious and responsible."

In the "Suwen" chapter of the "Basic Questions" (Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon Classic) of traditional Chinese medicine, there are nine chapters that mainly discuss the Five Movements and Six Qi, which are now simply referred to as the "Seven Chapters on Movements and Qi". These chapters account for about one-third of the "Basic Questions", which shows their importance.