Yellow earth?
The woman stared at the prescription, wondering if she had misread it.
She looked again. It was, indeed, yellow earth.
’But the yellow earth here must be so other kind of dicinal herb, not the yellow earth I’m thinking of.’
"Doctor, this yellow earth is..."
Before she could finish, Li Xu knew what she was going to ask and replied, "It’s just ordinary yellow earth. Preferably, earth from underneath a stove."
The woman exploded. "Yellow earth? Earth from under a stove? Doctor, are you joking? How can yellow earth cure an illness?"
The reporters, who had been waiting bored outside the consultation room, heard the argunt inside and imdiately perked up. They all crowded around, blocking the doorway completely.
When they saw the two words "yellow earth" on the prescription in the woman’s hand, they grew even more excited, like sharks that had slled blood.
"What? Curing illnesses with yellow earth? This is huge news!"
"Isn’t Traditional Chinese dicine a bit too mystical? Using dirt to treat people?"
"Get a shot of this! This is definitely going to be a viral story."
The reporters had a keen nose for news.
If yellow earth could actually cure illness, it would be a sensational story.
If it couldn’t, that would be an explosive story, too.
They excitedly raised their caras, aiming them at Li Xu and the woman, and the scene grew chaotic.
Lin Xiaoyu squeezed in as well. When she saw the words "yellow earth" on the prescription, she also froze for a mont, then looked at Li Xu with concern.
She knew Li Xu was a brilliant physician, but this idea of "curing illness with yellow earth" was truly inconceivable.
’She knew that despite how polite these reporters had been to Li Xu earlier, they would turn on him in an instant the mont he misdiagnosed or prescribed the wrong dicine. A flood of negative reports would surely follow.’
Faced with the woman’s doubts and the reporters’ caras, Li Xu remained perfectly calm.
He had anticipated this kind of reaction before he even wrote the prescription for yellow earth.
"Ma’am, please calm down," Li Xu said. "Based on my diagnosis, your son’s illness is rooted in his kidneys. In Chinese dicine, the kidneys are associated with Water, which has a cold nature. According to the principle of the Five Elents, Earth overcos Water. That is why we must use yellow earth for this condition. Earth from underneath a stove is best. Having been baked by fire and smoke, its nature is even drier, which allows it to more effectively counteract the Water-evil and warm the kidney’s yang energy."
The woman listened to Li Xu’s explanation, but she remained skeptical.
She had received a modern education.
She only believed in so-called "science."
She simply couldn’t comprehend theories like "the five elents overcoming one another" or "curing illness with yellow earth."
To her, it all sounded like feudal superstition.
"Doctor, if you can’t cure my son either, just be honest with . I won’t bla you. But please don’t try to fool with this superstition. My son is so sick, and you’re prescribing yellow earth?"
The more the woman spoke, the more agitated she beca.
She picked up her convulsing child and turned to leave. "I see your reputation is completely undeserved! I’ll take my son sowhere else."
However, just as she turned, the son in her arms began to convulse violently again.
This ti, the seizure was even more intense than before.
The boy’s face turned a deathly pale, and his eyes even started to roll back in his head.
The sight made everyone nervous.
A few reporters, who loved a good spectacle and weren’t afraid of stirring up trouble, went up to her and started offering advice, all talking at once: "Ma’am, Doctor Li is very famous, so his diagnosis should be accurate. Besides, it’s just yellow earth. Even if he eats it, it’s harmless. During famines in ancient tis, many people ate yellow earth to stave off hunger."
"Yeah, the boy’s in critical condition. You might as well give it a shot. It’s a last-ditch effort, but what have you got to lose? It’s not like yellow earth is poisonous."
"What’s the harm in trying? What if it actually works?"
The woman looked at her son, who was still convulsing in her arms, and listened to the cacophony of voices around her, her heart in turmoil.
Although she didn’t believe in the idea of "curing illness with yellow earth," her son’s condition was critical, and the doctors at the big hospital had been helpless.
Many people called Li Xu a "Divine Physician."
’Maybe... maybe he’s right.’
Most importantly, sothing like yellow earth was indeed non-toxic, even if ingested.
"Then... all right, then."
Gritting her teeth, the woman reluctantly agreed.
However, the clinic didn’t have any "earth from under a stove" on hand.
Everyone in the city used gas stoves in their apartnts.
They would have to go to the countryside to find any.
Aunt Li had also been watching the spectacle.
When she heard Li Xu was looking for earth from under a stove, her eyes lit up.
"Xiao Xu, I know where you can find so!" Aunt Li volunteered eagerly. "The shop over there that sells baked flatbreads—their oven is built from yellow earth. There’s bound to be so of the best quality stove-bottom earth inside the furnace."
Without waiting for Li Xu’s instructions, Aunt Li dashed out of the clinic.
Before long, Aunt Li ca rushing back, excitedly holding a lump of yellow earth that slled of smoke and fire.
The owner of the flatbread shop followed behind her, also curious to see what was going on.
Li Xu took the earth, examined it carefully, and confird that it was indeed suitable earth from under a stove.
He handed the earth to Song Sisi and instructed, "Sisi, grind this up, then decoct it with a small amount of clear water. Simr it until the liquid turns a faint yellow."
Although Song Sisi was also surprised by the idea of "curing illness with yellow earth," she had absolute faith in Li Xu and imdiately went to prepare it as instructed.
Seeing this, the crowd of reporters grew even more ecstatic.
They jostled to get the best pictures.
Regardless of the outco, this was a huge story, one that was guaranteed to cause a dia sensation.
Lin Xiaoyu saw the gloating expressions on the reporters’ faces and felt a pang of unease.
She walked over to Li Xu and warned him in a low voice, "Doctor Li, those reporters... I have a bad feeling about them. It seems like they’re just waiting for you to fail. If this doesn’t work, I’m afraid they’ll run wild with the story, and your reputation..."
Li Xu just smiled, unconcerned. "Editor Lin, don’t worry. I’m confident. Curing the sick has never been about catering to public opinion. As long as I can heal the patient, they can write whatever they want."
Soon, the earth decoction was ready.
Song Sisi brought a bowl of faintly yellow liquid to the woman.
The woman took it and stared at the brownish-yellow liquid in the bowl, her expression conflicted.
’Could ordinary yellow earth, sothing you see everywhere, really cure an illness?’
A million doubts ran through her mind.
But right now, she had no other choice.
Her son was convulsing violently.
Gritting her teeth, she lovingly fed the dicine to her convulsing son.
After drinking the earth decoction, the sick child seed to calm down slightly.
Seeing this, the onlookers urged the woman not to leave just yet.
"Ma’am, don’t go yet. Let’s see if it works. Besides, if sothing goes wrong, we can be your witnesses and hold Dr. Li accountable."
The woman also wanted to see if the earth decoction would actually have any effect.
Moreover, her son’s condition was still critical, so she decided to wait and see, and agreed to stay.
Ti ticked by, second by second, minute by minute.
The other patients continued to take their turns being seen.
But everyone, consciously or not, kept glancing over at the sick child.
One minute... five minutes... ten minutes...
They were all waiting—waiting for a miracle, or waiting for Li Xu’s "myth" to be shattered.
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