Du Heng had a good plan, but he underestimated Wang Shiyuan’s desperate urgency to seek dical treatnt for his wife.
When Wang Shiyuan saw Du Heng’s car parked at the entrance of the Village Committee, he pulled his wife along and hurriedly ca looking for him.
Seeing this, Du Heng wasted no more ti and laid out his thoughts to Wang Shiyuan. "That’s settled then. You take your wife back now. We’ll start decocting the dicine here, and once it’s ready, we’ll send it to your house right away."
Wang Shiyuan’s face lit up with excitent, and he rubbed his hands together. "Alright, we’ll go back now and wait." After speaking, he pulled his wife towards their ho.
Wang Shizhen watched Wang Shiyuan’s retreating, excited figure, a bitter taste in his own heart. He then turned to look at Du Heng, not knowing what to say. If they can’t cure Wang Shiyuan’s wife this ti, Wang Shiyuan might truly not be able to hold on.
Du Heng saw it too. He sighed deeply and said, "Shizhen, let’s decoct the dicine. Our success or failure hinges on this."
"I hope everything will be fine."
"It must be."
The two of them took the herbs to the decocting area. Just as they were about to pour them into the pot, Du Heng paused. He closed his eyes, ticulously recalling the prescription he had written and the dosages specified.
After a long mont, he resolutely poured the herbs in.
Then ca the lengthy wait. Once the dicine was decocted, they poured it into a glass bottle. Wang Shizhen found a damp towel to wrap around the base, and carefully carried the dicine towards Wang Shiyuan’s house.
When they arrived at Wang Shiyuan’s ho, he had already coaxed his wife to sit on the bed.
Recalling yesterday’s incident, Du Heng still felt apprehensive and asked worriedly, "Keep a gentle hold on your wife; don’t let her spill the dicine."
Wang Shiyuan waved to Wang Shizhen, who was holding the dicine. "Give the dicine to . I’ll feed her. She’s always very docile when I feed her als or dicine; she never throws a tantrum."
"Alright then, be careful."
The dicine was handed to Wang Shiyuan. Although he knew more doses could be prepared, his hands trembled uncontrollably as he held the bottle.
Then, as if coaxing a small child, he patiently helped his wife drink every last drop of the dicine.
Looking at his still-dazed wife, Wang Shiyuan turned to Du Heng. "Doctor Du, what now?"
"Just wait. She’ll fall asleep in a little while. When she wakes up naturally, she’ll be lucid."
Wang Shizhen secretly nudged Du Heng, signaling him not to speak with such absolute certainty.
But Du Heng was now entirely confident; his dicine would undoubtedly work.
On the system interface he hadn’t checked in a long ti, a new effective case had been registered.
Now, all they had to do was wait.
Wang Shiyuan’s wife sat blankly, very quiet, her eyes staring emptily at the room’s window.
In that mont, no one would have believed she was capable of sudden, violent outbursts.
No one spoke; they just sat there, looking at one another. After about twenty minutes, Wang Shiyuan’s wife yawned and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Wang Shiyuan gently laid his wife down, covered her with a thin blanket, and then carefully climbed off the bed.
Du Heng gestured to the two n. "Let’s wait outside. Let her sleep until she wakes naturally. It’s crucial she isn’t startled awake, or the treatnt will beco even more difficult."
In the courtyard, Wang Shizhen offered a cigarette to Wang Shiyuan. Knowing Du Heng didn’t smoke, he didn’t offer him one.
Wang Shiyuan hadn’t smoked in a long ti. He held the cigarette under his nose, inhaling its scent for a long mont, but ultimately, he didn’t light it.
Extrely curious, Wang Shizhen finally couldn’t hold back his question. "Du, how do you formulate your dicine? Is it really effective?"
"Of course. I’m very confident now. Her illness stems from a state of ntal disorientation where her positive energy was deficient, allowing evil qi to invade. So, I don’t even need to expel the evil qi directly. I just need to replenish her positive energy. One dose can bring her to her senses; two doses can cure her. What remains after that is the debility from prolonged illness, and that’s not difficult to treat at all."
"I looked at your prescription. Although I don’t understand your reasoning for it, aren’t you using too much Pinellia and dried orangepeel? Besides, if I rember correctly, Pinellia and aconite shouldn’t be used together, yet your prescription includes both."
Du Heng gazed at the sunlight gradually fading from the mountaintop and said softly, "Deficiency of positive energy inevitably produces phlegm. If the phlegm isn’t dispelled, it’s difficult to replenish positive energy. Replenishing positive energy is the ans to expel evil qi, and eliminating phlegm also serves to replenish positive energy. Pinellia dries dampness and transforms phlegm; aconite supplents fire and aids yang. This approach supports the replenishnt of positive energy while concurrently attacking phlegm, guiding the phlegm-dispelling properties of the dicine directly to the heart palace, thereby sweeping away the evil qi."
Wang Shiyuan didn’t understand the technicalities but was deeply impressed, his confidence bolstered further.
Wang Shizhen, with his foundational knowledge, could follow the explanation. But I would never have thought of such an approach myself! he marveled internally. Now that I understand it, Du Heng seems even more daring.
Pinellia is toxic, and aconite even more so; the two are generally not recomnded for concurrent use. Yet Du Heng had not only used them together but also in significant quantities. This was not sothing an ordinary doctor would dare to do.
Wang Shizhen took a deep drag from his cigarette. This Du Heng, he thought, as long as he doesn’t et an untily end, he’s bound to beco a luminary in our profession.
The three grown n sat there in the courtyard, watching the sunset, then the moon rise, and then the countless stars begin to twinkle in the night sky.
Wang Shizhen had inford his mother, and she, along with his wife, had specially prepared and brought them dinner.
Under the moonlight, accompanied by the chirping of birds from the mountains, the three of them enjoyed a very pleasant al.
After dinner, Du Heng and Wang Shizhen no longer needed their chairs. They went out the main gate and sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, gazing absently at the stars. Wang Shiyuan, unable to sit still, excused himself and went inside to be with his wife.
"Du, have you considered the consequences if the treatnt fails?"
"I have. Wang Shiyuan might break down."
"And you still dared to treat her?"
Du Heng smiled. "What choice do I have? This is our job. Besides, I have confidence in myself."
Wang Shizhen fell silent again. The two n, both approaching thirty, sat by the main gate, staring at the stars, each lost in his own thoughts.
Waiting was a tedious affair. Since Wang Shiyuan’s wife had taken the dicine relatively early, there was no telling when she might wake up, so neither Du Heng nor Wang Shizhen dared to leave.
Even though the clinic was only a five-minute walk away, they didn’t dare go back.
Du Heng hadn’t slept at all the previous night, save for a few hours that morning. Now, in such a tranquil environnt, leaning against the wall, he soon drifted off to sleep.
Even with mosquitoes buzzing around him, he slept soundly.
Wang Shizhen hadn’t noticed Du Heng beside him; he had been sitting on the ground, absorbed in scrolling through his phone and watching videos.
Only when he heard Du Heng’s snoring did he realize his friend had fallen asleep. Gently tapping Du Heng to wake him, he said, "Go to my place and get so sleep. I’ll keep watch here. I’ll call you when it’s ti."
Du Heng rubbed his face, stood up, and stretched with a small jump. "Never mind, it’s not convenient. Let’s just wait until she wakes up here."
"’When she’ll wake up... can you even con—’" Wang Shizhen broke off, suddenly looking towards the doorway. "’Du,’ he said, his voice hushed, ’is that Wang Shiyuan I hear crying in there?’"
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