With that in mind, Du Heng paused slightly. He looked at the man seriously and said, "I’m asking you this question very seriously, and you must answer just as seriously. How long has it been, from when you first fell ill until now?"
Seeing Du Heng’s stern expression, the man visibly began to panic, his speech becoming sowhat hesitant. "D-Doctor, what’s wrong with ?"
"Never mind what’s wrong for now. Just answer my question," Du Heng said firmly.
The man’s gaze began to wander, shifting between Wei Kaida and Du Heng, then back to Wei Kaida.
Wei Kaida didn’t know what Du Heng had discovered, but seeing his serious expression, he knew the matter might not be simple. He also said sternly to the man, "Just answer whatever Doctor Du asks you.
"Before Doctor Du arrived, I introduced him to you. He’s the Dean of the Municipal Maternal and Child Health Hospital, a Famous Traditional Chinese dicine Doctor in our province, and an expert who treats our leaders.
"Therefore, you must answer truthfully. Don’t hide anything, do you understand?"
The man licked his lips. Looking at Du Heng, he said, "Let think... let think... Oh, right! I first noticed it last Tuesday."
Du Heng narrowed his eyes slightly and said slowly, "To be on the safe side, let’s assu it started two or three days before that. This ans from the initial appearance of these characteristics to your condition today, the onset period has been about two weeks."
After a brief silence, Du Heng asked again, "In the past month, have you engaged in any promiscuous sexual activity?"
The man blinked a couple of tis, his shoulders shifting uncomfortably. "Doctor, what do you an by ’promiscuous sexual activity’?"
"It ans visiting prostitutes."
The man shook his head firmly. "No."
"No?" Du Heng thought for a mont and continued, "Then, during this period, has your wife been your only sexual partner?"
This ti, the man hesitated. But seeing the cold gazes of Du Heng and Wei Kaida, he had to admit truthfully, "No, not just her. There’s also... well, you could call her a mistress."
"Is it a regular relationship?"
"I suppose so. At least, it is for ."
"This is very important. You mustn’t lie."
"Absolutely not. I’m telling the complete truth."
"Male or female?"
The man looked confused for a mont but quickly understood and hurriedly said, "Female! It’s a female."
Du Heng slowly stood up, removed his gloves, and threw them directly into the waste bin. He then went to the sink to wash his hands. "Follow into the observation room."
After washing his hands, Du Heng led the man straight into the inner examination room. The man, anwhile, looked at Du Heng with a puzzled and apprehensive expression, having no idea what Du Heng intended to do.
Du Heng, hands in his pockets, said coldly, "Take off your pants."
Huh?!
The man was a bit stunned, staring blankly at Du Heng. But seeing that Du Heng showed no sign of retracting his order, the man could only comply.
"Your underwear too."
Seeing the man dawdling, Du Heng couldn’t help but urge him on.
When the man had also removed his underwear, Du Heng couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
On the man’s torso, arms, and face, what appeared to be just individual red bumps were visible. However, across his entire genital area, these red bumps had already begun to ulcerate extensively.
No doubt about it, Du Heng thought. Bayberry sores—what’s now called syphilis—and it’s already in the second stage. This progression is surprisingly rapid.
"You can put your clothes back on," Du Heng said softly. "Let ask you one last question: are you experiencing any pain in your body? Specifically, in your muscles or bones?"
"It’s a bit painful, but bearable."
"Hmm, I see."
As the man was pulling up his pants, he asked cautiously, "Doctor, what exactly is wrong with ?"
"Finish getting dressed first. We’ll talk when you co out," Du Heng hesitated for a mont, then turned and walked out of the examination room.
Seeing Du Heng erge, Wei Kaida quickly whispered, "Du, what is it? What disease?"
"Syphilis, second stage."
"Second stage syphilis?" Wei Kaida first furrowed his brows, then his expression relaxed. "No wonder I always felt sothing was off. The topical ointnt I prescribed had no effect at all."
Seeing Wei Kaida’s look of realization, Du Heng maintained a stern expression and said, "Do you realize? Your previous dication slightly delayed this man’s proper treatnt. You should have sent him directly to the Hospital for a check-up.
"Haven’t you seen? There are already toxic sores on the man’s nose."
Wei Kaida, still a bit slow to catch on, asked blankly, "What do you an?"
"The lung qi manifests at the nose and is stored in the kidney. What do you think I an?" Du Heng said irritably.
"I don’t understand. I don’t get what you’re trying to say," Wei Kaida shook his head decisively.
Du Heng almost choked. He paused for a mont to compose himself before explaining, "Bayberry toxin usually enters the body during intimate relations. The initial infection typically develops around the urethral opening of the male genitalia and then becos latent in the kidney ridian.
"In its mildest form, sores only appear on the penis. In more severe cases, the toxins can circulate into the intestines, bones, and the lung ridian, eventually manifesting on the skin."
Du Heng took a breath before continuing, "Right now, this man has sores all over his face and nose. Believe it or not, in just three to five days, his nose will lose all sense of sll and then begin to rot."
"Is it really that serious?"
"Drop the ’really’," Du Heng said quickly and softly. "Even though his entire body is covered in sores now, the toxins themselves are still primarily concentrated in the lung ridian.
"And the Lung is the ’mother of the Kidney’ in TCM theory, so the toxins in the lung ridian will inevitably try to flow back into the kidney ridian.
"However, the toxins in the lung ridian originally surged up from the kidney ridian. If they flow back now, the kidney ridian certainly won’t be able to bear it.
"So what happens if it can’t bear it? The toxins can only surge upwards into the nasal cavity.
"But the nasal cavity is narrow. Do you think the toxins can be expelled from there?"
Wei Kaida shook his head. "That would be very difficult."
"Exactly. So, if the toxins can’t be expelled, they’ll stagnate in the nasal cavity. Tell , will it rot or not?"
"I see," Wei Kaida nodded, then asked Du Heng in a low voice, "So, can you treat it?"
"I can, but..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the man, now fully dressed, walked out. Du Heng naturally fell silent.
The man nervously walked over and stood opposite Du Heng. "Doctor, can you tell now?"
Du Heng grunted in acknowledgnt, then said slowly, "What you have are Bayberry sores, which is commonly known as syphilis."
"What?!"
The man’s eyes widened in disbelief, his expression a mixture of utter incredulity, shock, and bewildernt.
After a long pause to compose himself, the man finally said, "Doctor, you must have made a mistake, right?
"I don’t sleep around, and I haven’t been to any public bathhouses or swimming pools. How could I possibly contract such a disease? It’s impossible. You must be mistaken."
Du Heng pursed his lips. What he was about to say was harsh, but it needed to be said. "Well, how should I put this... an act leading to this kind of infection isn’t sothing one can do alone. There has to be a partner involved.
"You might be sure about your own actions, but..."
Finding it difficult to continue that line of thought, Du Heng paused, then changed his approach. "This illness is classified by the country as a Class B Infectious Disease. Therefore, according to regulations, we are required to report it to the authorities. You, in turn, need to inform anyone with whom you’ve had relevant contact."
Du Heng’s initial words had already made the man uncomfortable, but upon hearing this last part, his expression clearly turned to panic. "Doctor, does this absolutely have to be reported?"
Du Heng nodded lightly. "It definitely has to be reported. Look at yourself; your current condition is already causing you significant suffering. The primary destructive aspects of this disease are the ulceration of the sores and internal infection. These lead to a series of after-effects that are impossible to eliminate.
"Moreover, if treatnt is delayed, this disease can be fatal even at this stage.
"Crucially, this disease is highly contagious. If it’s not controlled, given the nature of social interactions today, there’s no telling how many people could be infected and how many would suffer as a result."
Seeing the man’s continued hesitation, Du Heng added, "Refusing to report this is a criminal offense, and you will be subject to criminal penalties."
The man looked up at Du Heng, hesitated for a good while longer, then finally nodded in agreent.
Du Heng signaled to Wei Kaida. With a sigh, Wei Kaida picked up the phone and stepped aside.
However, as the man picked up his mobile phone and was about to dial, he hesitated again and asked Du Heng timidly, "Doctor, does she... does she really have to co too?"
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