Chapter Summaries

Su Ziyang visited an elderly moxibustion practitioner, then called his master, Yang Tianzheng, and was sent to meet Old Feng, a friend skilled in moxibustion. Old Feng welcomed him warmly and insisted he stay for lunch, while Su Ziyang prepared to learn what he could from his master's friend.

• Su Ziyang watched the old woman perform moxibustion and learned that years of burning her fingers had made them resistant to the heat.
• Su Ziyang called Yang Tianzheng and discussed what he had learned about moxibustion.
• Yang Tianzheng told Su Ziyang about Old Feng, a local moxibustion master, and urged him to visit.
• Su Ziyang traveled to Old Feng's home, introduced himself as Yang Tianzheng's disciple, and brought gifts.
• Old Feng welcomed Su Ziyang and insisted on taking him out for goose stewed in an iron pot.

Su Ziyang visited Old Feng, who challenged him to spar and discovered that he practiced Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon Palm rather than Yang Tianzheng’s Tai Chi. After their fight and a prank that left Su Ziyang with painful bumps, Old Feng touched his scalp and made them disappear.

• Old Feng finished the meal and invited Su Ziyang to spar in the park, expecting him to have learned Tai Chi from Yang Tianzheng.
• Su Ziyang dodged Old Feng’s attacks with Eight Trigrams footwork and threw him using Yang Tianzheng’s signature move.
• Old Feng shattered a paving brick with his foot and chased Su Ziyang, who called Yang Tianzheng for help.
• Yang Tianzheng scolded Old Feng, but Old Feng pinned Su Ziyang and flicked his head several times to get even with Yang Tianzheng.
• Old Feng touched the bumps on Su Ziyang’s scalp, and they disappeared immediately.

Old Feng showed Su Ziyang Water and Fire Kung Fu, which could heat or freeze stones, and explained how he had learned it. He agreed to look after Yang Tianzheng’s disciple but refused to teach him the style, saying they lacked the fate to become master and disciple.

• Old Feng demonstrated Water and Fire Kung Fu by heating a wet stone and freezing another with his breath.
• Su Ziyang used his qi-observing kung fu to watch Old Feng freeze a stone and eagerly asked him to explain the technique.
• Old Feng confirmed that he practiced Xinyiba and recalled learning it from his first martial arts teacher.
• Old Feng said an indistinct old man had later taught him Water and Fire Kung Fu after noticing his perseverance.
• Old Feng recognized that Yang Tianzheng had sent Su Ziyang to seek instruction and said he would look after him but would not teach him Water and Fire Kung Fu.

Old Feng told Su Ziyang how his teacher had taught him Water and Fire Kung Fu, then showed him around his martial arts school. A fight between two young students ended with Xu Jialiang attacking Li Chong again, and Old Feng demanded to know what had caused the fight.

• Old Feng recounted how his teacher taught him Water and Fire Kung Fu and demonstrated its effects, though Old Feng had never learned to boil water.
• Su Ziyang visited Old Feng's school, watched the children practice, and asked whether Old Feng had found a student suited to inherit his legacy.
• Xu Jialiang threw Li Chong to the ground, punched him, and tried to stomp on his head before Su Ziyang pulled him away.
• Xu Jialiang charged Li Chong again, kicked him down, and kicked him in the stomach while Old Feng tried to stop him.
• Old Feng grabbed Xu Jialiang and asked why he had attacked Li Chong, and Xu Jialiang said Li Chong had insulted him and called his mother a mistress.

Su Ziyang left Old Feng’s martial arts gym and boarded a train home. When a passenger collapsed and stopped breathing, Su Ziyang overcame his hesitation and went to help, discovering the passenger’s chest was still warm.

• Old Feng called the parents after Li Chong insulted Xu Jialiang and Zhang Chong was hurt, and Su Ziyang left the gym after the incident was handled.
• Su Ziyang boarded a train and told Yang Tianzheng about his visit to Old Feng.
• An announcement requested medical help for a passenger who had suddenly fallen ill, but Su Ziyang hesitated after becoming dizzy and uneasy.
• When the announcement repeated, Su Ziyang volunteered and followed a railway police officer to carriage ten.
• Su Ziyang found the passenger unconscious, without a pulse or breathing, but felt that the person’s chest was still warm.

Su Ziyang tried to revive a man who had collapsed on the train, using chest compressions, hot cups, and the final half lock of the Eight and a Half Locks. After the man woke, Su Ziyang returned to his seat, but railway crew members soon asked him to help escort the patient to an ambulance at the next station.

• Su Ziyang cleared vomit from the man's mouth and performed CPR, but the man showed no response.
• A female programmer brought hot water, and Su Ziyang and two crew members warmed the man's ribs and armpits.
• Su Ziyang used the final half lock of the Eight and a Half Locks, and the man's heartbeat returned; he woke and coughed up foreign matter.
• Su Ziyang told the crew to keep the man warm and take him to a hospital, then slipped away to his seat as passengers applauded.
• Two crew members asked Su Ziyang to help escort the patient to an ambulance at the next station, and he agreed.

Su Ziyang accompanied a supposedly ill passenger to the hospital after the man refused to let him leave, claiming he needed him to explain the rescue. The examinations showed the man had fresh rib fractures from Su Ziyang’s CPR but no heart problem, leaving Su Ziyang to realize he had given unnecessary treatment.

• Su Ziyang helped railway staff escort the passenger off the train, but the man grabbed his wrist and demanded that he come to the hospital.
• The passenger claimed Su Ziyang needed to explain the treatment and possible rib injuries, so Su Ziyang and a railway police officer stayed behind as witnesses while the train departed.
• In the ambulance, Su Ziyang mocked the man for gripping his wrist so strongly despite acting as though he were gravely ill.
• At the hospital, the passenger underwent heart tests and a chest CT while Su Ziyang waited with the railway police officer.
• The CT showed fresh rib fractures from Su Ziyang’s CPR, but the ECG and cardiac ultrasound were normal, revealing that the passenger had not had a heart problem.

Su Ziyang faced a man who demanded five thousand yuan after Su had saved his life, and paid him after police mediation. The man was immediately struck by a car, and Su later reunited with Fairy Li and returned home with her.

• Su Ziyang and the railway officer called the police after the rescued man demanded compensation, despite video evidence showing Su's efforts to save him.
• The man claimed his rib was broken and asked for five thousand yuan, so Su signed a mediation agreement and transferred the money.
• As the man waited for a cab outside the hospital, a black Volkswagen hit him, and officers and doctors responded.
• Su declined to save the man again, then returned to Fairy Li and joked about losing money and asking her to reduce his rent.
• Fairy Li offered to pay for their food but insisted Su still pay rent and bills, then bit his neck when he teased her.
• Su and Fairy Li ate noodles together, strolled along the road, and eventually returned home.

Su Ziyang examined a man whose hands trembled after acupuncture and questioned the hospital’s diagnosis of atypical Parkinson’s. After observing the man’s movements, Su Ziyang suspected there was nothing wrong with his brain and began taking his pulse.

• Su Ziyang explained how the five elements and six relations were used to reason that losing money could avert disaster.
• A group of visitors brought a thin, middle-aged man in a wheelchair to Su Ziyang’s clinic, where his hands trembled continuously.
• The woman accompanying the man said acupuncture had left bruises on his arms without helping his condition.
• Su Ziyang asked whether the man had Parkinson’s, then listened as the woman described his hospital diagnosis and treatment.
• Su Ziyang checked the man’s blinking and ability to undo buttons, concluded his brain seemed fine, and began taking his pulse.

Su Ziyang examined a man's pulse and reviewed his medical records while considering the Chinese medicine classifications and treatments for tremor syndrome. The chapter left the man's specific diagnosis unresolved as Su Ziyang weighed the possible causes and prescriptions.

• Su Ziyang checked the man's pulse and found it strong and steady, with a pattern that might suggest internal heat.
• Su Ziyang asked for the man's previous decoction prescription and reviewed the test results and treatment records stored on the family's phone.
• Su Ziyang considered five types of tremor syndrome: internal stirring of wind-yang, wind due to phlegm-heat, qi and blood deficiency, yin deficiency, and yang qi deficiency.
• Su Ziyang reviewed how treatment differed between early excess syndromes and chronic cases marked by root deficiency.
• Su Ziyang outlined modified herbal formulas for each of the five syndrome types.

Su Ziyang discovered that a patient's Parkinson's-like shaking was linked to a severely misaligned thoracic vertebra and stopped it by adjusting his spine. The case gave him a new diagnostic insight, and he later treated another man's numb, painful tongue with a topical powder.

• Su Ziyang reviewed the patient's years of failed treatments, found an abnormal pulse, and located severe misalignment at the seventh thoracic vertebra.
• Su Ziyang relaxed the patient's back and adjusted the vertebra, after which the patient's hands stopped shaking and his family thanked him.
• Su Ziyang called Mr. Mengfei to discuss the unexpected result, then recorded the case and resolved to consider every aspect of an illness.
• Su Ziyang prescribed Borneol and Borax Powder for a man with a numb, painful tongue, and the man returned a week later saying the problem had cleared up.

Su Ziyang prescribed Zhao Qiangjun a course of Four Cuttlefish Bones and One Ru pills, adapting the traditional formula for his stomach cancer after Zhao’s symptoms improved. He then visited Liuzi’s home to check her mother, whose swelling had mostly subsided, while Fairy Li went to learn cooking.

• Zhao Qiangjun returned after a week of treatment, reporting that his stools had returned to normal and his appetite had improved.
• Su Ziyang checked Zhao Qiangjun’s pulse and prepared Four Cuttlefish Bones and One Ru pills, adapting the ingredients and instructions for him to take at home.
• Su Ziyang told Zhao Qiangjun to take five pills on an empty stomach and return in two days to collect them.
• Liuzi called Su Ziyang to say that her mother’s swelling had mostly gone down but her feet remained swollen and her blood pressure was high.
• Su Ziyang brought Fairy Li to Liuzi’s home, where he examined the old woman and Fairy Li went into the kitchen to learn cooking from Liuzi.

Su Ziyang examined Liuzi's mother, prescribed herbs for her remaining swelling and weakness, and gave Liuzi a foot-soak recipe to help lower her blood pressure. Afterward, he joined Liuzi and Fairy Li for a carefully prepared meal.

• Su Ziyang checked Liuzi's mother's foot, blood pressure, and pulse, and heard that she still felt weak in her waist and legs.
• Su Ziyang prescribed the Eight-Ingredient Kidney Qi Pill with niu xi to address her lingering swelling and weakness.
• Su Ziyang wrote a three-herb foot-soak prescription for Liuzi's mother and instructed Liuzi to prepare it with enough water to cover the sanyinjiao points.
• Liuzi invited Su Ziyang to eat the meal she had prepared, and Fairy Li joked about making the dish for Doctor Su.
• Su Ziyang tried the foie gras and truffles and decided they were not as tasty as grilled lamb skewers.

Su Ziyang diagnosed a distressed woman with lily bulb disease and treated her with Lily Bulb and Rehmannia Decoction, restoring her health and earning her family’s gratitude. After the woman’s husband presented him with a silk honor banner, Fairy Li rushed in with news that Su Ziyang’s master seemed about to emerge from seclusion.

• Liuzi’s mother remained healthy, and Su Ziyang recorded her case at the clinic.
• A woman described feeling cold and weak, then broke down crying and speaking strangely; Su Ziyang ruled out possession and diagnosed lily bulb disease.
• Su Ziyang prescribed the woman three doses of lily bulb and fresh rehmannia, and she returned three days later feeling much better.
• The woman’s husband later thanked Su Ziyang with a silk honor banner and said his wife had returned to work and stopped crying and making a fuss.
• Fairy Li hurried into the clinic and told Su Ziyang that his master seemed about to come out of seclusion.

Daoist Jin emerged from seclusion and reunited with Su Ziyang, then returned to the clinic and began teaching him pediatric tuina. The chapter ended with Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng joining them, as Mr. Mengfei offered his own explanation of the technique.

• Fairy Li brought Su Ziyang to wait with Old Daoist Master Xiao and Daoist Master Xiao Yang, and Daoist Jin emerged from seclusion later that day.
• Su Ziyang gave Daoist Jin prayer beads made from the wood of his medicine chest, prompting Daoist Jin to check that the chest was intact and drag him to the clinic.
• Su Ziyang visited Daoist Jin's courtyard, reported on his recent progress, and sparred with his master before the two talked through the night.
• Daoist Jin returned to seeing patients and demonstrated pediatric tuina for Su Ziyang, treating a child's cough and blocked nose.
• Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng arrived at the clinic, and Mr. Mengfei began explaining pediatric tuina to Su Ziyang.

Su Ziyang reunited with Daoist Jin and shared a meal with his three masters, giving each of them a handmade bead strand. The next morning, Daoist Jin and Yang Tianzheng put him through strenuous practice before Daoist Jin began teaching him pediatric tuina.

• Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng teased each other about combining tuina with internal energy, while Mr. Mengfei slapped Su Ziyang for joining in.
• Daoist Jin met the others, and they went to a vegetarian restaurant to eat and talk after he emerged from seclusion.
• Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng realized Daoist Jin's prayer beads were a gift from Su Ziyang and demanded gifts of their own.
• Su Ziyang gave Mr. Mengfei an agarwood bracelet and Yang Tianzheng a strand made of platinum, silver-colored beads, and steel; both masters happily accepted them.
• The next morning, Daoist Jin and Yang Tianzheng took turns putting Su Ziyang through practice, and Daoist Jin began teaching him pediatric tuina.

Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang a series of pediatric tuina techniques, explaining their uses, methods, and cautions. After Su Ziyang practiced Azure Dragon Swings Its Tail, Daoist Jin moved straight on to Push the Three Gates.

• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang Push Kangong, Push Zanzhu, and Twin Phoenixes Spread Their Wings, describing how to perform them and what ailments they treated.
• Daoist Jin explained Separate Yin and Yang and Join Yin and Yang, including how their opposite pushing directions affected different symptoms.
• Daoist Jin reviewed Draw the Heavenly River Water and related techniques, warning that the strongly cooling method should be used only for a child's high fever and stopped once the fever subsided.
• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang Azure Dragon Swings Its Tail, and Su Ziyang asked why Daoist Jin's movements were smoother than his own.
• Daoist Jin told Su Ziyang to practice more, then taught him Push the Three Gates as a warming and deficiency-tonifying technique.

Su Ziyang practiced pediatric tuina on Yang Tianzheng and Mr. Mengfei, using cooling techniques that left both of them rushing to the bathroom. Daoist Jin continued teaching him fever-reducing methods, including Push Down the Six Fu Organs and Scoop the Moon from the Water.

• Su Ziyang practiced tuina on Yang Tianzheng, whose resulting diarrhea sent him chasing Su around the square.
• Mr. Mengfei stopped Yang Tianzheng from beating Su and volunteered to be Su's next massage model.
• Su used a cooling technique on Mr. Mengfei, who later shouted for Su, Yang Tianzheng, and Daoist Jin from the bathroom.
• Su returned to Daoist Jin's room and learned Push Down the Six Fu Organs, a fever-reducing technique.
• Daoist Jin taught Su the powerful cooling technique Scoop the Moon from the Water and its simplified variation.

Su Ziyang learned several pediatric tuina techniques from Daoist Jin, including methods for phlegm, cold, heat, and alternating chills and fever. After struggling with the final qi-moving technique, Su Ziyang returned to find Mr. Mengfei and Yang Tianzheng drinking brown sugar water and tried to offer them a massage.

• Su Ziyang asked whether people without much medical knowledge could perform pediatric tuina, and Daoist Jin said they could use basic techniques but should seek a doctor for problems they could not identify.
• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang the Pressing the Strings and Rubbing Method for phlegm stagnation, and Su Ziyang practiced it until he mastered the technique.
• Mr. Mengfei entered to see Su Ziyang practicing, then left without interrupting him; he and Yang Tianzheng later drank hot tea together.
• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang Monkey Picks Fruit, Phoenix Spreads Its Wings, Pushing the Middle Finger, and Flying through the Meridians and Moving Qi.
• Su Ziyang found the final qi-moving technique difficult, so Daoist Jin ended the lesson and told him to practice it more.
• Back in his consultation room, Su Ziyang offered to massage Mr. Mengfei, who redirected him to Yang Tianzheng, and Yang Tianzheng told Su Ziyang to scram.

Su Ziyang tried to win over his masters with ginger mutton soup before Daoist Jin continued teaching him pediatric tuina. The lesson covered techniques for warming, tonifying, purging, easing fever, and treating digestive problems, leaving Su Ziyang with a broad set of methods to learn.

• Su Ziyang brought ginger mutton soup to Yang Tianzheng, Mr. Mengfei, and Daoist Jin, joking that the three elders had menstrual cramps and thanking them for teaching him.
• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang the Heavenly Gate Enters the Tiger's Mouth, Tonify Spleen Earth Method, Two Dragons Play with a Pearl, and Crimson Phoenix Shakes Its Head techniques.
• Daoist Jin explained how to Push the Five Meridians according to whether a child showed signs of heat or cold, excess or deficiency.
• Daoist Jin taught Su Ziyang how to circulate the inner and outer Eight Trigrams, including methods for calming the child, reducing fever, inducing sweating, easing coughs, and promoting bowel movements.
• Daoist Jin demonstrated Strike the Horse Across the Heavenly River and the Ten Major Techniques for treating fever and childhood accumulation.
• Daoist Jin ended the lesson with Circulate Water into Earth for dysentery and Circulate Earth into Water for diarrhea.