Practicing Medicine
"Holy monk, even our king has so humbly invited you to come over, why are you still standing by coldly?"
After hearing what the servant said, Sun Wukong sneered and said to the servant:
"I can say this now: your attitude is not sincere at all, because the real emperor has not come."
The servant was greatly surprised upon hearing this, which further confirmed Sun Wukong's true abilities. Reassured, he then said to Sun Wukong:
"This holy monk is actually in this condition. Our emperor is currently unable to walk easily, so he wishes to invite you to treat his illness."
After thinking about it seriously for a long time, Sun Wukong slowly nodded and said to the group of servants, "Since you all say so, I'll go with you."
Upon hearing what Sun Wukong said, everyone was overjoyed and quickly led the way for Sun Wukong.
However, at that moment, Sun Wukong suddenly remembered something, grabbed Zhu Bajie, and said to him, "I need you to do something for me now."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie looked at Sun Wukong with a puzzled expression and asked, "Brother Monkey, is there anything else I can help you with?"
After hearing what Zhu Bajie said, Sun Wukong earnestly said to Zhu Bajie:
"You just wait here. If anyone comes to deliver medicinal herbs later, accept them all. As for how to use them, we'll discuss that when I get back."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie nodded, and then Sun Wukong followed the group of servants into the palace.
"Which one is the Venerable Elder Sun?"
The emperor's voice suddenly rang out in the hall, and Sun Wukong immediately stepped forward and loudly proclaimed, "I am who I am, and I am right here!"
Upon seeing Sun Wukong's appearance, the emperor was so frightened that he fell off the bed. Seeing his condition, the palace maids quickly helped him into the palace.
Just then, the emperor muttered softly, "Good heavens, who is this person? He almost scared me to death."
Upon seeing Sun Wukong, the surrounding ministers all began to criticize Sun Wukong. One could hear them saying to Sun Wukong:
"How could this monk be so rude? He doesn't even bow or kneel before the emperor, but instead tries to frighten him."
However, Sun Wukong ignored their words and continued speaking to himself:
"Gentlemen, I was wrong to begin with, but you must remember, if you look down on me now, your king's illness will not be cured even after a thousand or ten thousand years."
Everyone was very surprised when they heard what Sun Wukong said.
After a short while, one of them said to Sun Wukong, "How long is a human lifespan? Who can live for a thousand years?"
Sun Wukong sneered upon hearing this and said:
"Ignorant fools! Your emperor is a sick ruler now, and even in death he will be a sick ghost. If he is reincarnated, he will still be a sick person. So, it will never get better, not even in a thousand years."
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood, but after a short while, they angrily said to Sun Wukong, "You monk, you have no manners at all! How can you spout such nonsense?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong did not want to communicate with those people further, because in Sun Wukong eyes, they were all illiterate.
At the same time, the crowd asked Sun Wukong, "Then tell us how you treated our Emperor?"
"You've already frightened our Emperor, so I don't think he'll ever see you."
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong sneered for a moment, then addressed the crowd:
"Who told you that? You think you have to look at the patient's face to diagnose a disease? I can use methods even immortals use: observation, listening, questioning, and palpation, to diagnose your emperor's illness."
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this. Some looked at Sun Wukong with disbelief and said, "You're just bragging. Nobody will believe you."
Just then, a highly respected physician in the palace said to the group, "In fact, what Great Sage Sun said is not wrong at all. Even now, immortals use the methods of observation, auscultation, inquiry, and palpation."
After hearing what the doctor said, everyone immediately addressed the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, Elder Sun intends to use the four diagnostic methods of observation, listening, questioning, and palpation to truly determine the location of your illness."
Upon hearing what the crowd was saying, the Emperor immediately declared loudly, "I have been ill for three years and have never tried anything like this before. Let him in, but I cannot look at his face, for I am afraid of him."
Before the emperor could finish speaking, Sun Wukong immediately walked in. Upon seeing this, the palace maids quickly drew the curtains to prevent the emperor from being too frightened by seeing Sun Wukong's face.
Then Sun Wukong plucked three hairs from the back of his head, which instantly turned into several threads that wrapped around the emperor's wrist. After a short while, Sun Wukong frowned.
However, Tang Xuanzang believed that Sun Wukong was completely unable to discern the emperor's true illness, and thus reprimanded Sun Wukong:
"You monkey, you're bored all day long, what are you doing pretending to be a doctor? Wouldn't it be better to stay home and cook a good meal?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Wukong smiled and said to Tang Xuanzang:
"Master, please trust me about this matter, because I've never been afraid of anyone when it comes to medical skills."
Upon hearing this, Tang Xuanzang shook his head. He then seemed to already envision Sun Wukong's defeat. However, at that moment, Sun Wukong said to the Emperor:
"Your Majesty, after such a long period of diagnosis, I now know your condition. Please give me some time so I can prepare some medicine for you."
Upon hearing what Sun Wukong said, the emperor was immediately astonished. He thought to himself:
"This is the first person in all this time who has been able to diagnose my condition. I don't know if what he said is true or false, so I might as well let him try."
After thinking it over, the emperor immediately said to Sun Wukong:
"Since that's the case, then please hurry and prepare the medicine. I really can't bear this illness any longer."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, Sun Wukong calmly began to analyze the situation.
"Just now I noticed that Your Majesty's pulse in your left hand was stronger, while the pulse in your right hand was weaker. This suggests that you may be experiencing heart pain, accompanied by hormonal imbalance, which probably also affects your appetite."
After Sun Wukong finished speaking, the emperor immediately said to Sun Wukong, "You really are a divine physician! You are exactly like the tapeworms in my stomach!"