Recaps

Mr. Mengfei brought Su Ziyang and Fairy Li to meet his mysterious friend Qi Chu, and the group shared a meal before discussing a trip to a mine. The chapter ended with Qi Chu warning that whether Su Ziyang saw anything there would depend on luck.

• Mr. Mengfei introduced Su Ziyang and Fairy Li to Qi Chu, who welcomed them into his home.
• Qi Chu prepared a large hot pot meal, and all four ate together before helping tidy up.
• Qi Chu praised Su Ziyang, while Su Ziyang remained unable to sense anything unusual about him.
• Mr. Mengfei and Qi Chu agreed to take Su Ziyang to a mine to broaden his horizons.
• Qi Chu cautioned that Su Ziyang might not see anything there, but Mr. Mengfei said he had come to Qi Chu precisely because luck would not be an issue.

Qi Chu trapped Su Ziyang and Fairy Li in a Bewildering Formation as a test, and Su Ziyang broke it with a Zhuyou spell. After they escaped, Su Ziyang eagerly asked Qi Chu to teach him the technique.

• As Su Ziyang and Fairy Li followed Mr. Mengfei and Qi Chu, they realized they could not get any closer to the two men.
• Fairy Li tried a talisman to break the formation, but it failed, and she and Su Ziyang remained trapped at the same distance from Mr. Mengfei and Qi Chu.
• Su Ziyang recited a Zhuyou spell and broke through the formation after sensing its backlash.
• Su Ziyang and Fairy Li found themselves back at the building entrance, where Mr. Mengfei and Qi Chu revealed the formation had been made with a bamboo pole and gravel.
• Mr. Mengfei warned Fairy Li about the dangerous Vermilion Bird Talisman she had taken out, and she admitted she had grabbed the wrong one.
• Su Ziyang ran over to Qi Chu and asked to learn how to make the formation.

Su Ziyang learned that Qi Chu had once met his grandmaster, Yan, and wondered how old Qi Chu was. Qi Chu took Su Ziyang, Fairy Li, and Mr. Mengfei to an abandoned mine to search for genuine kongqing.

• Su Ziyang asked Qi Chu to teach him, but Qi Chu said he could not pass on his methods because Su Ziyang had learned the Heavenly Physician Lineage.
• Qi Chu recognized Su Ziyang as the granddisciple of Yan, whose disciple Luo had been Master Luo.
• Su Ziyang and Fairy Li realized Qi Chu might be an old monster after comparing his story with Master Luo's past.
• Qi Chu drove the group on an electric tricycle to an abandoned mine to look for kongqing.
• Su Ziyang recited descriptions of kongqing from ancient books, and Qi Chu praised his knowledge and said the genuine mineral could be found at the mine.

Qi Chu led Su Ziyang and the others to an abandoned copper mine, where a livestreaming martial artist accidentally cut his arm during a Golden Bell Shield performance. Qi Chu stopped the bleeding with golden dog fern rhizome, gave the herb to Su Ziyang, and led the group onward through the mine.

• Su Ziyang and the others watched livestreamers pretend to dig up jade and meteorites at the abandoned mine before joining a crowd around a martial arts performer.
• The performer chopped his own arm with a machete, badly cutting himself, and his companion’s advertised medicinal wine failed to stop the bleeding.
• Qi Chu used golden hairs from a large golden dog fern rhizome to stop the wound from bleeding, then gave the rhizome to Su Ziyang.
• Su Ziyang offered to carry Qi Chu’s backpack, and Mr. Mengfei teased Qi Chu until he handed it over.
• Qi Chu warned the group to stay close and watch out for hollows left by mining as he led them onward.

Su Ziyang, Mr. Mengfei, and Fairy Li followed Qi Chu through the mountains, where Qi Chu used modified dragon-seeking rods to find azure hollow. After accepting gifts from Mr. Mengfei and Su Ziyang, Qi Chu agreed to take them into the mountains the next day.

• Fairy Li identified Qi Chu's walking pattern as the Pace of Yu while Su Ziyang struggled to imitate it.
• Qi Chu used his modified dragon-seeking rods to locate azure hollow, and he gave Su Ziyang the first piece they found.
• Qi Chu found a larger piece of azure hollow, and Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei teased him until Su Ziyang offered it back in exchange for the rods.
• At Qi Chu's home, Su Ziyang and Mr. Mengfei gave him Buddhist treasure beads and a Small Demon-Breaking Knife, which Qi Chu recognized and appreciated.
• Qi Chu said they would set off in two cars the next day and take advantage of two suitable days to enter the mountains.

Qi Chu took Su Ziyang, Fairy Li, and Mr. Mengfei from a meat-heavy dinner to a village courtyard to handle an errand before their mountain trip. There, they met a child and reunited with Qi Chu’s enormous dog, Bones, while they waited for the child’s grandfather.

• Qi Chu ordered eight meat dishes, told the group they would have to eat vegetarian in the mountains, and paid the bill in cash.
• Qi Chu said he had an errand to handle, packed a large duffel bag, and drove the group to a village in an army-green Wrangler.
• Qi Chu entered a family’s courtyard and learned from a child that his grandfather had gone to treat someone and would return later.
• The child told Qi Chu that Bones had gone out with his grandfather, and Qi Chu said the dog would return now that he was there.
• Bones rushed into Qi Chu’s arms, and Qi Chu fed him beef in sauce and a whole braised chicken.

Qi Chu bought the hollow azurite and golden dog spine rhizome from Lao Men'er for seventy thousand yuan, and took Bones along for a hunting trip. Su Ziyang and the others drove south into greener, hilly country, with Qi Chu leading the way.

• Bones obeyed Qi Chu and dragged Lao Men'er away from an acupuncture treatment to meet him.
• Qi Chu offered Lao Men'er the hollow azurite and negotiated for seventy thousand yuan and the right to take Bones.
• Qi Chu added a golden dog spine rhizome to the deal, and Lao Men'er handed over seven bundles of cash and let him take Bones.
• Qi Chu, Su Ziyang, Mr. Mengfei, and Fairy Li set off south, with Fairy Li driving the Wrangler and Qi Chu leading.
• After a day of driving through increasingly green scenery, Su Ziyang asked how much farther they had to go, and Qi Chu told him to keep driving.

Qi Chu led Su Ziyang, Mr. Mengfei, Fairy Li, and Bone into a mountain village, where he borrowed an heirloom crossbow and prepared the group for their journey. After performing a mountain-entry ritual and handing out centipede cages as snake warnings, the group continued into the mountains.

• Qi Chu waited out a sudden mountain rain, then led the group to a village at the foot of the mountains.
• Qi Chu paid an old woman for rice and to watch their cars, then borrowed her family's heirloom crossbow.
• Qi Chu assigned the group their positions and had Bone obediently wait while he prepared to enter the mountains.
• Qi Chu tied five-colored silk around a stone, performed the Pace of Yu, and led everyone across a line he had drawn.
• Qi Chu gave the group cages containing centipedes and explained that they would warn them if snakes came near.
• The group chatted as they continued into the mountains.

Su Ziyang used his prohibition arts to suppress the venomous snakes in the mountain, and the group continued deeper into the forest. During a rest by a stream, Gutou howled after an unseen creature stung his paw, and Mr. Mengfei spotted something nearby.

• Su Ziyang cast a scarlet Qi prohibition that spread across the mountain and suppressed the venomous snakes.
• Qi Chu released the centipede he had carried in a cage, and the group continued into the dense forest.
• Qi Chu led the group to a streamside rest stop while Su Ziyang and the others gathered firewood and water.
• Gutou jumped into the stream, then howled when his paw swelled around a small red bump.
• Qi Chu applied wound medicine to Gutou's paw, and Mr. Mengfei warned the group that something was there and drew his Ucchusma Vajra.

Su Ziyang used the Restraining Method to capture a Shegong after it injured Bones by spitting Qi at his shadow. The group released the insect back into the water, and Qi Chu treated Bones with medicine before explaining how Shegong poison could be treated.

• A Shegong attacked Bones by spitting Qi at his shadow, and Qi Chu warned the group to stay quiet and avoid its venom.
• Su Ziyang used the Restraining Method to make the Shegong fall, then examined it with the others and tossed it into the water.
• Qi Chu applied medicinal powder to Bones's injured paw, and Bones soon began walking on it.
• Qi Chu explained the symptoms of Shegong attacks and described remedies for both painful sores and recurring fever.

Su Ziyang and his companions camped in the mountains, where a glowing golden dragon appeared and watched their tents. Qi Chu recognized it as Feifei and sent it away by calling its name.

• Qi Chu cooked a vegetarian meal for the group and fed Bones beef, then led everyone deeper into the forest.
• The group set up camp, and Qi Chu and Mr. Mengfei spoke cryptically about a knife Mr. Mengfei had returned to its rightful owner.
• Su Ziyang noticed Bones had no fleas, and Qi Chu told him and Fairy Li not to disturb the mountain god that night.
• Bones barked at a glowing golden dragon hovering over the campsite, and the group watched it for nearly half an hour.
• Qi Chu shouted Feifei's name, making the dragon lose its glow and fly away.

After a mountain spirit called Feifei appeared, Qi Chu explained how fear and faith could give spirits power, then shared stories about a healing spring, Lao Men'er, and Bones. The group talked around the fire until early morning, then returned to their tents to sleep.

• Qi Chu explained that the golden dragon-like Feifei preyed on fear and worship, and that calling its name drove it away.
• Qi Chu told the group how belief had made a limestone spring seem miraculous, while Mr. Mengfei compared it to the poisonous Mute Spring.
• Su Ziyang asked about Lao Men'er, and Qi Chu described how the healer earned his nickname, sold rare remedies, and donated much of his earnings.
• Qi Chu explained that Bones had eaten rare medicinal herbs as a puppy, then grew unusually large and followed him for more herbs.
• The group chatted around the fire until three or four in the morning, then went to their tents to sleep.

Qi Chu and the others followed an injured black bear to its den and discovered it was using a rare piece of asafoetida to treat its wound. After identifying the valuable fungus, they planned to steal it while the bear slept, and Qi Chu and Mr. Mengfei chose Su Ziyang for the dangerous task.

• Qi Chu, Su Ziyang, Mr. Mengfei, Fairy Li, and Bones watched a black bear and a huge wild boar fight until both animals withdrew.
• Qi Chu led the group after the wounded bear, intending to help it, but they saw it bring a human-shaped bundle from its den.
• The group watched the bear use a strange fungus from the bundle to treat its wound and then eat a piece of it.
• Qi Chu identified the fungus as rare asafoetida and explained how it grew on the bodies of certain dead people.
• Qi Chu explained that asafoetida could make the bear sleep, and he and Mr. Mengfei volunteered Su Ziyang to sneak into the den and take it.

Su Ziyang sneaked into a bear’s den to retrieve a valuable bundle, only to discover the bear was awake; Qi Chu tranquilized the pursuing bear, treated its wound, and exchanged the bundle’s contents for a medicinal root. As the group left, Qi Chu explained that they had found a heavenly treasure and described the legendary Flesh Lingzhi, while Fairy Li shared a story supporting his account.

• Su Ziyang entered the bear’s den, found the bundle beneath its paw, and fled with it after the bear woke and roared.
• Qi Chu fired three tranquilizer darts at the charging bear, and the group carried the unconscious animal back to its den.
• Qi Chu stitched the bear’s reopened wound, then replaced the bundle’s asafetida with a golden chicken fern rhizome.
• The bear rustled inside its den as the group departed, prompting Su Ziyang, Qi Chu, Mr. Mengfei, Fairy Li, and Bones to run away.
• Qi Chu told Su Ziyang that their find was related to Flesh Lingzhi, and Fairy Li said her master had heard of a three-hundred-year-old priest who ate one.

Qi Chu used the asafoetida to revive an old woman who had fallen and then shared half of the rare medicine with Su Ziyang. Back home, Qi Chu began teaching Su Ziyang the foundations of the Five Movements and Six Qi.

• Su Ziyang, Qi Chu, and Mr. Mengfei returned from the mountains and found that the old woman had fallen from the roof and stopped breathing.
• Qi Chu mixed asafoetida into cold water and fed it to the old woman, who revived and walked back inside.
• Qi Chu bandaged the old woman, left her nearly a thousand yuan, and gave Su Ziyang half of the asafoetida.
• Mr. Mengfei asked Qi Chu to teach Su Ziyang, and Qi Chu agreed to begin that night.
• Qi Chu quizzed Su Ziyang on the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, gave him the Book of the Great Beginning and Heavenly Origin to read, and started teaching him the Five Movements and Six Qi.

Qi Chu taught Su Ziyang the foundations of Yunqi Theory, connecting the Five Movements and Six Qi to the Changes, the stems and branches, and the cycles of heaven and earth. He began explaining how yearly movements and guest movements were determined, while Su Ziyang listened closely.

• Qi Chu explained that understanding the Changes and the Eight Characters and Four Pillars helped with studying the Five Movements and Six Qi.
• Qi Chu described how Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and the body's internal structure corresponded to heaven and earth.
• The chapter laid out the heavenly stems and earthly branches, their sixty-cycle, and their combinations, formations, clashes, and overcoming relationships.
• Qi Chu explained the cycles of heaven and earth and how the numbers five and six governed their movements and changes.
• Qi Chu introduced the Five Movements and guest movements, explaining that each year's governing great movement set the starting point for the year's sequence.
• Su Ziyang listened to Qi Chu's lengthy explanation with careful attention.

The chapter explained the traditional Chinese medicine principle of correspondence between heaven and humanity, describing how climate and seasonal rhythms were believed to affect the body’s qi, blood and organs. It ended by linking excessive or deficient climatic influences to organ responses and seasonal health problems.

• The chapter described recurring allergies, coughs, skin problems and other illnesses that could vary with the seasons or from year to year.
• It presented the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon as a source of patterns connecting changes in heaven and earth with the body.
• It explained how cold and hot weather affected pores, qi and blood, urination, sleep and appetite.
• It outlined the five climates—wind, heat, dampness, dryness and cold—and their seasonal and organ correspondences.
• It connected imbalances in these climates with health problems such as thunderstorm asthma and seasonal allergies.

The chapter explained how traditional Chinese medicine connected wind and heat Qi with liver and heart function, describing symptoms associated with excessive or deficient Qi and ways to regulate them. It ended with advice for replenishing deficient heart Qi during cooler summers.

• The chapter linked excessive wind Qi to liver-related symptoms and recommended soothing the liver, regulating Qi, and adjusting daily habits, exercise, and diet.
• It described insufficient liver Qi and recommended outdoor time, gentle exercise, and foods that replenished the liver and nourished the blood.
• It connected excessive heat Qi with heart-related symptoms and advised clearing heart fire, staying hydrated, and avoiding overexertion and hot-weather exercise.
• It described deficient heat Qi and insufficient heart Qi, recommending regular routines, moderate exercise, and warming foods.

The chapter described how excessive dampness, insufficient dampness, dryness, and damp climates affected the body according to traditional Chinese medicine. It gave lifestyle and dietary guidance for each condition.

• The chapter linked dampness to the spleen and described digestive, skin, and joint symptoms caused by excessive dampness.
• It recommended strengthening the spleen and dispelling dampness through lifestyle changes, exercise, and selected foods.
• It described symptoms of insufficient dampness and advised regular meals, moderate exercise, and foods that strengthen the spleen and nourish dryness.
• The chapter linked dryness to the lungs and outlined respiratory, skin, and intestinal symptoms, along with advice to moisten the air and consume fluid-generating foods.
• It described lung Qi deficiency during damp weather and recommended rest, gradual exercise, and foods that supplement lung Qi.

The narrator explained how cold and unusually weak cold qi affected health in winter, then outlined traditional Chinese medicine’s five seasonal stages and their corresponding organs. The chapter ended with a summary of the yearly cycle and basic health practices for each stage.

• The narrator described winter cold, its effects on the kidneys and body, and ways to keep warm and disperse cold.
• The narrator explained the health risks of a warm winter and recommended practices and foods to supplement kidney essence.
• The narrator introduced the five seasonal stages and their corresponding climates and organs.
• The narrator summarized health practices for spring, summer, late summer, autumn, and winter.
• The narrator stated that the cycle of the five stages formed a yearly natural rhythm and a foundation for health maintenance.

The chapter explained four misconceptions about health preservation and outlined precautions for adapting self-care to the climate and individual needs. It ended by emphasizing long-term consistency and adjusting health practices to nature and the body's responses.

• The chapter warned against taking tonics indiscriminately, recommending that people address excess conditions before replenishing deficiencies.
• The chapter advised against relying on one health-preservation formula, since the body's needs and the seasons change.
• The chapter urged people to account for local weather and climate when choosing foods and health practices.
• The chapter cautioned that self-care could not replace medical treatment for serious or persistent illness.
• The chapter recommended adapting methods to local conditions and personal responses, and maintaining them over the long term.

The chapter explained how traditional Chinese medicine thinking could be applied to health and life through holistic, dynamic, and balance-centered views. It concluded that people should find root causes, adapt to changing circumstances, and restore balance rather than follow fixed methods or overdo nourishment.

• The chapter described the holistic view, explaining that symptoms such as coughing could arise from different causes and that problems should be understood through their connections to the environment and other factors.
• It applied holistic thinking to daily life, noting that poor work efficiency could be linked to heat or dampness rather than insufficient effort.
• The chapter explained the dynamic view, stating that health methods, foods, and prescriptions should change according to the person and circumstances.
• It presented balance as the goal of traditional Chinese medicine and cautioned that excessive nourishment could cause harm.
• The chapter extended balance to daily life, emphasizing moderation in work, rest, diet, exercise, and emotions.

The chapter explained traditional Chinese medicine’s emphasis on preventing illness and using patterns in nature to understand the body. It concluded that living in harmony with seasonal rhythms and seeking balance can help people stay healthier and live more smoothly.

• The chapter described how preparing for seasonal risks could reduce illness and contrasted prevention with waiting until sickness required treatment.
• It explained image-based analogical reasoning as a way of grouping natural phenomena and bodily symptoms by shared characteristics.
• It gave examples linking wind, dampness, fire, and water to different symptoms, such as wandering pain, heaviness, sore throats, and swelling.
• It argued that observing nature could help ordinary people gain a rough understanding of bodily problems without medical instruments.
• It concluded that people should follow seasonal rhythms, prevent illness, and seek balance rather than fight against nature or their bodies.

The narrator explained why Zhang Zhongjing’s Treatise on Cold Damage was a practical starting point for learning traditional Chinese medicine. The chapter ended by recommending a steady, systematic approach to reading it.

• The narrator described the Treatise on Cold Damage as a clinical manual organized around six-channel pattern differentiation and formula-pattern correspondences.
• The narrator advised beginners to learn the six-channel framework, study representative formulas, and focus on key symptoms.
• The narrator cautioned readers against waiting to finish basic courses, parsing every word, or consulting too many commentaries before building a foundation.
• The narrator recommended reading a few passages each day and learning one formula and its pattern at a time.

The chapter explained why readers should study the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet after the Treatise on Cold Damage and how to approach it. It recommended focusing on common diseases, key symptom-formula pairings, and core treatment principles rather than trying to master or memorize the entire book at once.

• The chapter described how the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet extended the Treatise on Cold Damage’s six-channel framework from externally contracted diseases to internal miscellaneous diseases.
• It explained that the Golden Cabinet covered common internal, gynecological, and external conditions and continued the disease-pattern-formula approach.
• The chapter advised beginning with everyday conditions and representative formulas, then matching each formula to its main symptoms.
• It highlighted principles such as strengthening the spleen when liver disease might spread and warming to harmonize phlegm-fluid retention.
• The chapter corrected misconceptions about needing to master the Treatise on Cold Damage first, the Golden Cabinet lacking organization, or every passage requiring memorization.
• It concluded by recommending that readers study the Treatise on Cold Damage first, then read the Golden Cabinet gradually, learning a formula-pattern pairing each day.