Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 129: Treatment

The scent of disinfectant filled the emergency room, and the monitor’s rhythmic `BEEP... BEEP...` seemed to set the tempo for this race against death.

Li Xu’s fingers remained on the patient Chen Xiaoyan’s wrist, feeling for the faint, almost imperceptible pulse.

’A Wulou Vein...’ He felt the terminal pulse once more.

This type of pulse was extremely rare.

’Getting a better feel for it this time is good for building experience.’

"Director Guo, would you like to feel it?"

Li Xu asked Guo Yu.

Guo Yu was tempted. "Alright."

He took Li Xu’s place.

Guo Yu, too, felt the Wulou Vein.

Filled with a mix of awe and concern, Guo Yu stood up and moved close to Li Xu. He lowered his voice and urged him again, "The Seven Extremes Vein is practically a terminal condition. The city hospital already gave her a death sentence. We don’t need to take this risk."

Li Xu didn’t answer right away. Instead, he lifted the patient’s eyelids to examine them.

Her pupils were slow to react to light, and the whites of her eyes were riddled with bloodshot veins.

He gently pressed on the patient’s abdomen. The edema was severe; the flesh barely rebounded from the pressure.

"Dr. Li, my wife... she..." The man—who they now knew was named Feng Qiang—asked, his voice trembling.

Li Xu said, "In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there’s a saying: ’Where there is stomach qi, there is life; where there is no stomach qi, there is death.’ The patient still has a sliver of stomach qi left. There’s still hope."

"Really?"

Feng Qiang was overcome with a mix of shock and joy.

Dean Sun exchanged a glance with Guo Yu and finally let out a sigh. Since they had already admitted the patient, there were still formalities to handle. "The family must sign a liability waiver."

Feng Qiang immediately nodded profusely. "I’ll sign. I’ll sign anything! As long as there’s a sliver of hope..."

Dean Sun motioned for a nurse to bring the forms while whispering to Li Xu, "Advisor Li, I hope you know what you’re doing. A case like this..."

Li Xu said nothing.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Feng Qiang stood to one side, holding his two children, his eyes filled with a complex emotion woven from hope and fear.

His older daughter, Xiao Rui, timidly tugged on Li Xu’s white coat. "Mister, is Mommy going to be okay?"

Li Xu crouched down to meet the little girl’s teary-eyed gaze. "I will do my very best. You have to believe that your mommy is very strong."

Dean Sun handed the liability waiver to Feng Qiang. "Mr. Feng, please read this carefully and sign. We must make it clear that your wife’s condition is extremely dangerous, and any treatment carries risks."

With a trembling hand, Feng Qiang signed his name, a tear dropping onto the paper and smudging the ink. "As long as you can save Xiao Yan, we’re willing to take any risk."

Li Xu had already put on gloves and begun preparing the medicine.

He placed slices of glossy, black Aconite into a specialized decoction pot, added cold water, and began to soak them.

"Aconite needs to be decocted by itself for half an hour first," he explained, "to neutralize its toxicity while preserving its nature, retaining its powerful yang-restoring, life-saving properties."

Guo Yu stood to the side, recording the details of the prescription and shaking his head. "I’ve never seen a case that used such a large dose of Aconite."

"That’s because ordinary Aconite is too toxic," Li Xu said as he worked. "This batch is wild, with different active compounds, and I’ve also prepared it using a special method."

The process of decocting the herbs was long and tense.

Li Xu periodically checked the state of the liquid, adjusting the heat.

In the emergency room, a nurse monitored Chen Xiaoyan’s vital signs. Blood oxygen at 85%, heart rate at 42 beats per minute, blood pressure at 80/50 mmHg—every single number hovered on the edge of danger.

Two hours later, Li Xu added the other herbs and continued the decoction.

The concoction gradually reduced, emitting a rich, medicinal fragrance.

Feng Qiang sat in a corner of the room with his two children, his eyes never leaving his wife on the hospital bed.

"Dr. Li," Feng Qiang suddenly spoke up. "How did Xiao Yan end up like this? She was perfectly fine before..."

While keeping an eye on the decoction, Li Xu replied, "Based on the history you described, it was likely a common cold that allowed a pathogenic influence to penetrate deep into her body, causing the five major organs to fail. From a Western medical standpoint, a virus probably triggered multiple organ dysfunction syndrome."

Dean Sun walked over, his brow furrowed slightly. "A cold causing consequences this severe? That doesn’t align with Western pathophysiology."

"Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that when the body’s protective energy is weak, even a minor external pathogen can invade unchecked," Li Xu explained. "It’s like a breach in a castle wall—even a small squad of enemies can cause immense damage."

Dean Sun nodded thoughtfully. Though he didn’t fully understand, he raised no more questions.

The medicine was finally ready.

Li Xu filtered the concentrated liquid, dividing it into nine portions.

"Administer one dose every three hours," he instructed the nurse. "Be careful."

"Understood."

The nurse carefully supported Chen Xiaoyan’s head and administered the medicinal liquid drop by drop.

The patient had almost lost her swallowing reflex, and most of the liquid trickled out from the corner of her mouth.

The nurse patiently adjusted the angle of her head, ensuring as much of the medicine as possible was ingested.

"Now comes the critical part," Li Xu continued. "If this is effective, she will begin to sweat and her urination will increase. These are signs that the pathogenic influence is being expelled from the body."

The seconds ticked by. The emergency room was so quiet you could hear the drip of the IV.

Feng Qiang held Xiao Rui, who had fallen asleep in his arms, while his other hand tightly gripped his son’s.

Dean Sun and Director Guo stood before the monitor, their eyes fixed on the flashing numbers.

Suddenly, the monitor blared an alarm—the patient’s heart rate was starting to fluctuate!

"Heart rate is up to 58!" a nurse cried out.

Li Xu immediately checked her pulse. "It’s a little stronger, but still unstable."

Another half an hour passed. While changing the urine bag, the nurse cried out in surprise, "Urine output has increased! She had almost none before, and now there are 200 milliliters!" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Li Xu let out a long sigh of relief. "A good sign. It means her kidney yang is beginning to recover."

Feng Qiang shot to his feet, overcome with emotion. "Is Xiao Yan going to be saved?"

"We can’t be certain yet," Li Xu said cautiously. "This is just the initial response. The next twenty-four hours are the most critical."

Dean Sun clapped Li Xu on the shoulder. "It seems your judgment was correct. This Traditional Chinese Medicine theory of yours... it’s incredible."

However, just as everyone was breathing a collective sigh of relief, Chen Xiaoyan suddenly began to convulse violently, and the monitor’s alarms blared!

"Her blood pressure’s plummeting! 60/40!" a nurse yelled.

Feng Qiang lunged toward the bed in terror. "Xiao Yan! Xiao Yan, what’s happening to you?"

Li Xu quickly checked the patient’s condition. "This is a sign of the medicine’s potency battling the pathogenic influence."

He turned to Guo Yu. "Prepare the second dose. Reduce the Aconite to twenty grams and add thirty grams each of Dragon Bone and Oyster to calm her spirit and stop the convulsions."

Dean Sun’s expression turned grim. "Advisor Li, does this situation require Western medical intervention?"

"Give me one more chance," Li Xu said resolutely. "This is a normal reaction before we see a turn for the better."

Tears streaming down his face, Feng Qiang grabbed Li Xu’s hand. "Dr. Li, I’m begging you, you have to save Xiao Yan!"

Li Xu squeezed his hand back. "Trust me, and trust your wife’s will to live. There’s a saying in Chinese medicine: ’A potent medicine that doesn’t stir a reaction cannot cure a grave illness.’ Sometimes, what looks like a turn for the worse is actually a sign that things are about to get better."

"Will our hospital’s Dragon Bone be okay?"

Guo Yu was a little worried about the quality of the herbs at the Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

"Hmm... Sisi, go back to the clinic right now and get some Five-Floral Dragon Bone."

Li Xu instructed Song Sisi.

’I still have some of my treasured, premium-grade Five-Floral Dragon Bone.’

’Its tranquilizing effect is superb.’

"Okay."

A short while later, Song Sisi returned with a piece of Five-Floral Dragon Bone.

Li Xu resumed brewing the medicine.