Fritillaria Bulb

After hearing what Bai Pengyu's younger aunt had to say, Su Ziyang immediately took out his phone and called Mr. Mengfei.

"Hello..." Mr. Mengfei's voice came through the phone.

"Master!" Once Mr. Mengfei picked up, Su Ziyang greeted him, then told him about Bai Pengyu's younger aunt.

"Haha, you really do keep running into strange illnesses!" Mr. Mengfei chuckled. "This one isn't hard to treat. Use twenty grams of Sichuan fritillaria bulb. Grind half into powder, mix it with honey, and apply it to the sore. Simmer the other half in water and have the patient drink it. I've got something to do here, so I'm hanging up!"

Before Su Ziyang could ask anything else, the line beeped as the call disconnected.

Su Ziyang looked up at Bai Pengyu and the two women. "Brother Bai, that's what my master said! Do you want to try it?"

"All right, let's try it!" Bai Pengyu's younger aunt agreed without hesitation, and his mother nodded as well, indicating that it was worth a try.

With the patient's consent, Su Ziyang immediately opened the computer and prescribed twenty grams of Sichuan fritillaria bulb. Authentic Sichuan fritillaria bulb was very expensive. Su Ziyang checked the price and found that it cost a whopping forty yuan per gram-eight hundred yuan for twenty grams.

Bai Pengyu looked at the price and, without another word, went downstairs to pay.

Su Ziyang went to the pharmacy and told the person filling the prescription that half needed to be ground into powder. Seeing that he was a doctor from their own clinic, the pharmacist said little and ground it right away.

There was only one medicinal ingredient, so it couldn't be decocted at the pharmacy. Su Ziyang went to Daoist Jin's room and fetched the herbal kettle, then put ten grams of Sichuan fritillaria bulb in it to simmer with a gurgle.

Seeing some linden honey in Daoist Jin's cabinet, Su Ziyang took it out as well. He found a disposable paper cup, poured the white fritillaria powder into it, then added two spoonfuls of the semi-solid linden honey and stirred them together evenly.

"Auntie, I'll put the medicine on you first!" Su Ziyang took a disposable cotton swab and dipped it into the honey mixed with medicinal powder.

Bai Pengyu's younger aunt took off her coat again, revealing the strange red human face.

She had said that the thing ate anything. Su Ziyang wasn't sure whether it would eat honey mixed with Sichuan fritillaria powder, so he first applied the honey to the mouth of the human-faced sore.

A strange scene unfolded. The human-faced sore, which even ate gauze, clamped its mouth tightly shut the moment it came into contact with the fritillaria powder. When the honey touched its surface, it even began to tremble slightly, as though it were terribly afraid.

Bai Pengyu's younger aunt also watched curiously as she looked at the monster that ate anything and had tormented her for nearly a year.

Seeing that the strange human face was afraid of the fritillaria powder and honey, Su Ziyang quickly spread all the honey in the paper cup over it.

"Do you feel anything unusual?" Su Ziyang asked Bai Pengyu's younger aunt after applying the medicine.

She shook her head. "It feels a little cool, but I don't feel anything else."

Mr. Mengfei had only given him hurried instructions before hanging up, so Su Ziyang didn't know what effect the ointment would have. He could only sit beside her and wait quietly.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the strange human face on Bai Pengyu's younger aunt's chest. The room fell silent, with only the gurgling of boiling water in the herbal kettle to be heard.

"Click..." The sound of the kettle's automatic timer meant that the medicine inside had finished decocting.

Su Ziyang poured out the concentrated medicinal liquid and handed it to Bai Pengyu's younger aunt. Eager to be cured, she slurped and hissed her way through the small bowl while it was still hot enough to scald her mouth.

Less than five minutes after she finished the medicine, beads of sweat appeared densely across Bai Pengyu's younger aunt's face.

"Auntie, are you feeling unwell?" Bai Pengyu hurriedly stood behind her.

"No, I just feel very hot!" she said softly.

As Bai Pengyu's younger aunt felt her body grow hot, Su Ziyang watched the bulging, fleshy-tumor-like face on her chest slowly deflate. Like a balloon that had been left sitting for a long time, it was no longer as full as when it had just been inflated, and its surface began to wrinkle.

"Oh, little sister, this thing seems to have gotten smaller!" Bai Pengyu's mother had noticed the change in the face too.

"It really has!" Bai Pengyu also saw the change in the strange face and cried out in surprise.

As the face deflated, a pale red liquid slowly began to seep from it. The honey spread over its surface also began to melt and run down with the liquid.

Su Ziyang hurriedly took out a packet of tissues and handed it to Bai Pengyu's younger aunt. The liquid was pale red at first, but gradually turned dark red and began to give off a faint bloody smell.

But as more and more liquid seeped out, the fist-sized face shrank away. In less than an hour, it had vanished completely, leaving a red wound the size of a fist, like a huge scar.

Seeing the strange face disappear just like that, Bai Pengyu exclaimed, "Ziyang, your master is amazing! He didn't even see the patient, and he casually named one medicine that cured this strange illness?!"

Su Ziyang was also somewhat surprised by the extraordinary effect. Bai Pengyu's mother hurriedly stood up and examined the red wound on her sister's chest, then wiped away the liquid still seeping from it with a cotton swab. The face really had disappeared.

"Little sister, are you still feeling unwell?" Bai Pengyu's mother asked.

"Sis, this is the most relaxed I've felt in a year. I feel like a huge stone has suddenly vanished from my body, but I'm a little sleepy now!" Bai Pengyu's younger aunt let out a long breath, as though she were breathing out all the gloom that had built up over the past year.

Ever since she had developed the illness, she had sought medical treatment everywhere, spending energy and money on it, and had even lost her job. Because the thing was so bizarre, it had seriously affected her social life. For the past six months, Bai Pengyu's younger aunt had barely kept in touch with any of her friends, let alone gone shopping or traveling. As a result, she had grown increasingly quiet and withdrawn, and even somewhat depressed.

Now that the problem that had troubled her for a year had suddenly been resolved, how could Bai Pengyu's younger aunt not feel relieved? Whether because the mental pressure had suddenly vanished or because of the medicine's effects, she felt very sleepy and simply wanted to sleep.

"Young Doctor Su, where is your master? Why don't you invite him out to dinner with us tonight? My sister and I must properly thank you and your master!" Seeing that her sister really was all right, Bai Pengyu's mother instantly brightened.

"Auntie, my master isn't here. Otherwise, I wouldn't have had to call him. There's no need to be so polite. This is what we doctors should do!" Although Su Ziyang didn't know the underlying principle, he still showed off a little with an air of nonchalance.

"Ziyang!" Seeing that his aunt was all right, Bai Pengyu threw an arm around Su Ziyang and said with a grin, "Is your master still taking disciples? I actually aspire to practice medicine too! How about introducing me?"

"Hahaha, sure!" Su Ziyang laughed. "If there's a chance!"

"All right! It's a deal." Bai Pengyu patted Su Ziyang on the shoulder.

"Once you get off work, let's have dinner together. Last time I said I'd treat you, but you were working and didn't get to enjoy the meal. We'll have plenty of time this evening, so surely you can make it!" Bai Pengyu invited Su Ziyang again.

"Sure!" Su Ziyang nodded.

"First, find somewhere for your aunt to rest. She looks quite exhausted. She's just recovered from a serious illness, so she should take good care of herself!" Su Ziyang could see how tired Bai Pengyu's younger aunt was.

"All right, all right. We'll find a hotel first, then we'll talk on the phone tonight." As Bai Pengyu agreed, he helped his aunt outside.

"Xiao Su, does my sister need to take more medicine to consolidate the treatment?" Bai Pengyu's mother was clearly more attentive than he was, so she asked.

Su Ziyang didn't know exactly what was going on with the thing either, and Mr. Mengfei hadn't explained in detail. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Auntie, I'll prescribe another dose of this medicine. As before, grind half into powder for external application and decoct the other half to drink. Take it with you and use it again tomorrow. If you still haven't fully recovered after you get home, just buy the same medicine locally!"

"All right. Sorry for the trouble, Xiao Su!"

"There's no need to be so polite!"

Bai Pengyu paid another eight hundred yuan and took twenty grams of Sichuan fritillaria bulb with him. The three then left to find a hotel and rest.

After they left, Su Ziyang hurriedly took Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica from the bookcase and turned to the page on Sichuan fritillaria bulb.

Sichuan fritillaria bulb

Acrid in flavor, neutral in nature. Treats febrile vexation due to cold damage, painful urinary dribbling and pathogenic qi, hernias and abdominal masses, throat impediment, difficulty with lactation, metal-inflicted wounds, and wind spasms.

Su Ziyang stared at the brief line and fell into thought. The record of its effects was rather cursory. Apart from the "hernias and abdominal masses" mentioned there, which had some connection to the strange illness with a human face, nothing else had any connection to it.

But there were many medicines for treating hernias and abdominal masses. Why had his master chosen this one?

Unable to make sense of it after much thought, Su Ziyang took another book from the shelf, Tao Hongjing's Collected Commentaries on the Classic of Materia Medica, and turned to the page on Sichuan fritillaria bulb.

Sichuan fritillaria bulb

Acrid and bitter in flavor, neutral and slightly cold in nature, non-toxic. Primarily treats febrile vexation due to cold damage, painful urinary dribbling and pathogenic qi, hernias and abdominal masses, throat impediment, difficulty with lactation, metal-inflicted wounds, and wind spasms. Treats hard masses in the abdomen, fullness below the heart, shivering aversion to wind and cold, dizziness and a stiff neck, coughing with ascending qi; stops febrile vexation and thirst, induces sweating, calms the five zang organs, and benefits the bones and marrow.

Both books had been given to him by Daoist Jin, who had required Su Ziyang to read about medicinal herbs and memorize their properties every day.

Su Ziyang looked at the description of the medicine's effects and properties, which was a little longer than the one in Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica, and fell into thought again.

This book hadn't given him an answer either.

By the time he got off work, Su Ziyang still hadn't figured out why Sichuan fritillaria bulb was used for the strange illness.

Just then, Bai Pengyu called and said he had booked the Wind and Waves Pavilion for dinner again, and told Su Ziyang to come straight over.

Bai Pengyu's younger aunt had been sleeping ever since she returned to the hotel, so only Bai Pengyu, his mother, and Su Ziyang were there for dinner.

With an elder present at the table, the atmosphere was somewhat restrained. The three chatted for a while and parted not long afterward. Su Ziyang returned home with his head lowered, his mind occupied with the strange illness he had seen that day.

After finishing his cultivation practice, Su Ziyang was still completely baffled. So he called his master, Mr. Mengfei, again. "Master."

"What is it, Xiao Su?" Mr. Mengfei answered quickly.

Sounding somewhat dejected, Su Ziyang explained his doubts to Mr. Mengfei.

Hearing the unhappiness in Su Ziyang's voice, Mr. Mengfei laughed cheerfully over the phone. "All right, seeing how eager you are to learn, your master will clear up your doubts! I'll send you some material on WeChat, and you'll understand what's going on! Don't cry now. When a grown man doesn't understand something, he should ask. Your master will explain it to you! Hahaha!"

Hearing his master laugh at him, Su Ziyang fought down the urge to curse and kept repeating to himself, He's my master. He's my master. He's my master.

"Buzz, buzz~"

Several passages of text arrived on Su Ziyang's phone through WeChat.

The first passage

"Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, first collection, volume fifteen": Xubei Shanren said: Several decades ago, in the region east of the Yangtze, a merchant had a sore on his left upper arm that resembled a human face, though it caused him no other suffering. In jest, the merchant dripped wine into its mouth, and the face turned red as well. When he fed it things, it ate whatever it was given. If it ate much, he felt the flesh inside his arm swell, and suspected that its stomach lay within. If he did not feed it, his whole arm went numb. A skilled physician advised him to try various medicines on it, giving it minerals, grasses, and trees alike. When he came to fritillaria bulb, the sore knitted its brows and closed its mouth. Delighted, the merchant said, "This medicine will surely cure it." He used a small reed tube to force its mouth open and pour the medicine in. Within several days, it scabbed over and healed.

Su Ziyang read the passage and discovered that what it described was identical to the strange illness he had seen on Bai Pengyu's younger aunt that day.

The only difference was that this person's illness had been on his arm. Then a highly skilled physician had told the patient to experiment by feeding the human-faced sore various medicines. When he got to fritillaria bulb, the sore refused to eat it, so he poured the medicine into the sore and cured the strange illness.

"So that's how it was!" Su Ziyang sighed softly, then hurriedly opened his computer and searched for Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang to see what sort of book it was.

Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang, pronounced "Yǒuyáng Zázǔ," was written by Duan Chengshi. His courtesy name was Kegu. A native of Zouping in the late Tang dynasty, Duan Chengshi was a famous Tang writer of tales of the strange. He was born around the nineteenth year of the Zhenyuan era under Emperor Dezong of Tang and died in the fourth year of the Xiantong era under Emperor Yizong. His father, Duan Wenchang, had served as chancellor and been enfeoffed as Duke of Zouping Commandery. He was skilled at poetry and renowned for his writing.

Su Ziyang discovered that the book was actually a collection of tales of the strange. Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang had twenty volumes in its original collection and ten in its sequel, with six parts in total. Its sections included Records of Loyalty, Unusual Rites, Heavenly Measures, Jade Standards, Histories in a Pot, Shell Compilation, Strange Realms, Auspicious Omens, Omens of Disaster, Transformations of Things, Strange Customs, Bizarre Arts, Consummate Skills, Curious Implements, Music, Wine and Food, Medicine, Tattooing, Thunder, Dreams, Responses to Events, Bandits and Heroes, Strange Things, Broad Knowledge, Material for Conversation, Traces of the Netherworld, Corpses and Graves, Records of Nuo and Gao, An Expanded Account of Animals and Plants, Correcting Errors, and Records of Temples and Pagodas. Its contents ranged across immortals, Buddhas, ghosts, monsters, the Dao, demons, people, animals, plants, wine, food, dreams, grave robbing, prophecy, ill omens, thunder, funerals, tattoos, treasures, politics, palace secrets, gossip, technology, folk customs, medicine, minerals, living things, supernatural phenomena, murals, astronomy, and geography. It could truly be said to encompass everything.

Seeing this, Su Ziyang couldn't help marveling inwardly once more at the breadth of his master's knowledge.

Then Su Ziyang read the second passage his master had sent him.

Leigong's Explanation of Processing and Medicinal Properties, by Li Zhongzi

Fritillaria bulb: Acrid and bitter in flavor, slightly cold in nature, non-toxic. Enters the heart and lung meridians. Clears the heart and moistens the lungs, stops coughing and dispels phlegm. Treats rebellious qi in the chest and abdomen, febrile vexation due to cold damage, painful urinary dribbling, abdominal masses and hernias, throat impediment, metal-inflicted wounds, human-faced sores, goiters, tumors, and various malignant sores. Remove the core and grind before use.

The acrid quality of fritillaria bulb travels to the lungs, while its bitter quality travels to the heart. It is good at dispersing stagnation and draining fire, and therefore treats the aforementioned ailments of the chest and abdomen.

This passage had been sent as an image, and Mr. Mengfei had deliberately marked the words "human-faced sores" in red.

Buzz, buzz~

Su Ziyang's phone sounded again. It was a message from Mr. Mengfei: "Kid, study hard and make progress every day. Don't let books leave your hands; read every day to enrich yourself. I hear you're studying with that Daoist Jin. Apart from having some problems with his temper, he does have ability, so learn well from him. You're still young, with years ahead of you. Don't waste them."

After reading his master's words, Su Ziyang immediately bought a copy of Leigong's Explanation of Processing and Medicinal Properties online. Mr. Mengfei was right: no one grew fat in a single bite.

Su Ziyang began to feel fortunate that he had met Mr. Mengfei, even though he was unreliable and always laughed at him...