"How are you feeling?"

Li Xu asked the patient.

Ai Shengbing weakly shook his head.

He was in too much pain to speak.

Besides,

he had already given up on treatment.

He was only here because his mother refused to give up, and he couldn’t bear to disappoint her.

Li Xu withdrew his hand, a diagnosis already formed in his mind.

What Western medicine called malignant pleural effusion and pericardial effusion was, in the eyes of TCM, a condition known as "phlegm-fluid retention affecting the chest."

And while the catheter in his chest was meant to drain fluid and alleviate symptoms from a Western medical perspective, from a TCM standpoint, it was continuously depleting the patient’s qi and blood.

"Qi is the commander of blood, blood is the mother of qi," and "body fluids and blood share the same source." Every time the mixture of blood and water was drained, it not only removed the effusion but also carried away the patient’s precious Essence, Qi, and Spirit, causing him to become thinner and thinner, his vitality waning.

This was the root cause for him being rail-thin, his face pale, and his pulse wiry, fine, and weak.

"Don’t lose hope," Li Xu said comfortingly. "Your illness isn’t completely untreatable yet."

Hearing Li Xu’s words, a spark of life instantly appeared in Wang Xiufang’s despairing eyes. "Doctor, can... can you really treat my son? The doctors at the big hospital all said he wouldn’t live for more than a month..."

"Western medicine has its theories, and Chinese medicine has its methods."

Li Xu said calmly, "Although your son’s condition is critical, he’s still young. His underlying constitution is still there. There’s still a chance."

He walked over to the computer and, based on the information and his own diagnosis, wrote out the first prescription:

Prescription: Descurainia seed, Large Dates, Poria Cocos, Cinnamon Bark, Raw Atractylodes, baked licorice, Ginseng, Astragalus Root, Agrimonia Pilosa...

Seven doses.

This was a formula based on the "Tingli and Jujube Decoction for Lung Purification" and "Linggui Shugan Decoction" from the *Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet*, modified according to the patient’s specific condition.

"Descurainia seed is bitter and cold in nature, capable of purging the lungs, promoting diuresis, and clearing stagnation. Large Dates are sweet and neutral, tonifying the spleen, boosting qi, and tempering the harshness of the Descurainia seed."

Li Xu explained as he handed the prescription to Song Sisi to have her fill it. "Poria Cocos, Cinnamon Bark, Raw Atractylodes, and baked licorice are the core of Linggui Shugan Decoction. They can warm the yang to resolve fluid retention, strengthen the spleen to drain dampness, and dissolve the phlegm-fluid in the patient’s body. Considering his deficiency in both qi and blood, Ginseng and Astragalus Root can greatly tonify his Primordial Qi and supplement both qi and blood. And Agrimonia Pilosa can both stop bleeding and tonify deficiency, which is extremely suitable for the patient’s current condition of severe blood loss and extreme weakness, so I specifically increased its dosage."

Song Sisi quickly filled the prescription.

Enough for seven days.

Wang Xiufang took the packages of herbs.

Although she didn’t recognize many of the herbs, Li Xu’s detailed explanation and the confident expression on his face brought warmth to her previously cold heart.

"Thank you, Doctor."

Wang Xiufang was deeply moved.

Only Ai Shengbing sat motionless and expressionless in his wheelchair.

’In his view, this young doctor spoke convincingly, but he had lung cancer. How could a few mere herbs possibly cure it?’

Song Sisi stepped forward, comforted Wang Xiufang, and gave her detailed instructions on how to decoct and take the medicine.

After seeing Ai Shengbing and his mother off, the clinic fell silent again.

"Li Xu, that Dong Chen is clearly up to no good."

Song Sisi said with a worried expression, "He’s been bad-mouthing TCM online for a while now, so why would he suddenly recommend a patient to us? Besides, it’s late-stage lung cancer with pleural and pericardial effusion. Even Western medicine has given up. Can we really cure him?"

Li Xu comforted her, "Sisi, we do our best and leave the rest to fate. Since the patient came to us, we have to give it our all. As for what Dong Chen is thinking, I’m well aware. But his actions have also given us an opportunity—an opportunity to prove the value of TCM."

Although Song Sisi was still worried, seeing how confident Li Xu was, she swallowed her words.

Wang Xiufang pushed her son home, ignoring her exhaustion.

The first thing she did was take out the herbs Li Xu had prescribed and begin to decoct them.

The herbs tumbled in the clay pot, their bitter aroma filling the entire house.

Once the decoction was ready, Wang Xiufang carefully poured out the medicinal liquid and brought it to her son.

Ai Shengbing stared at the dark brown liquid in the bowl. The pungent, bitter smell made his stomach churn.

"Son, drink it. You’ll get better after you drink it."

Wang Xiufang encouraged him.

Ai Shengbing forced himself to sit up, took the bowl, closed his eyes, and slowly poured the bitter liquid down his throat.

The bitterness filled his mouth and shot straight to his head.

He couldn’t help but gag a few times, tears welling up in his eyes.

"So bitter..."

he said weakly.

"Good medicine tastes bitter, son."

Wang Xiufang patted his head, her heart aching for him, and quickly handed him a glass of warm water. "Just bear with it a little longer. When you’re better, Mom will make a whole table of your favorite dishes."

Just then, Wang Xiufang’s phone rang. The caller ID showed "Dr. Dong."

She was a little confused. ’Why would Dr. Dong be calling?’

"Hello, Dr. Dong," Wang Xiufang answered the phone.

"Ms. Wang, how is your son’s condition now? Did you do as I said and go find that Dr. Li?"

Dong Chen asked.

"We did, we did, Dr. Dong."

Wang Xiufang said gratefully, "We arrived in Feng City yesterday, and this morning we went to Dr. Li’s clinic. Dr. Li examined my son and even prescribed some medicine. My son just drank the first dose."

Hearing this, Dong Chen sneered inwardly. ’Just as I expected.’

’For the sake of his so-called "Divine Physician" title, he’ll take on any patient.’

He said with false sincerity, "Oh? Dr. Li is impressive indeed. I wonder what kind of formula he prescribed? Would you mind telling me? I’d like to study it and see how TCM treats such difficult and complex cases."

Wang Xiufang didn’t think much of it. ’She figured Dr. Dong was also acting out of kindness, wanting to help research her son’s condition.’

So, she recited Li Xu’s prescription to Dong Chen, not leaving out a single ingredient.

Dong Chen hung up the phone, a triumphant smile on his face.

He looked at the detailed prescription he had just jotted down.

He was a practitioner of Western medicine, so he couldn’t really tell if the prescription was any good.

However, someone else could.

He dialed Zhang Lin’s number.

"Professor Zhang, what have you been busy with lately?"

Dong Chen’s tone was slightly teasing.

Zhang Lin was not in high spirits. "What could I be busy with? Just dealing with those arrogant keyboard warriors. You know as well as I do that I’ve been getting torn to shreds online lately because of the Lianhua Granules affair."

"Haha, Old Zhang, so you have days like this too, huh."

Dong Chen chuckled with schadenfreude, then his tone shifted. "But I have good news for you today. Haven’t you been looking for a chance to take that Li Xu down a peg? Well, now’s your chance." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The moment Zhang Lin heard it was about Li Xu, he perked up. "Oh? What chance?"

"I had a patient with late-stage lung cancer, malignant pleural effusion, and pericardial effusion. I estimated he only had a month left, so I pushed him off on Li Xu."

Dong Chen said smugly, "Heh, and he actually dared to take the case. He’s already written a prescription for the patient. I have it right here. I want you to take a look and see if this formula has any effect at all."