This is the awkwardness of having no clinical experience.

Lu Xuan understands.

So before Ji Xiuwen could speak, he smiled and explained the basics of pulse-taking to his friend: "Pulse diagnosis is one of the four diagnostic methods in Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as 'cut', which through taking the pulse, can be used to judge whether the patient's internal body is real or deficient, hot or cold... such symptoms can all be reflected in the pulse at the wrist.

I've learned these, you've learned them too.

The four core key points to mastering pulse diagnosis, you know them, right?"

Ji Xiuwen quickly calmed down: "Floating, sinking, slow, rapid."

"Correct, that's floating, sinking, slow, rapid. Besides these, there are other pulse types which you can further study after mastering these four conditions."

Lu Xuan solemnly continued: "I don't know if you still remember, but it doesn't matter, I'll talk about the floating and sinking pulse first.

When your fingers touch the inch, bar, and cubit, if you gently press and feel a pulse, it's a floating pulse. If you press a bit harder and still feel a pulse, it's a floating pulse.

If you press down and feel a strong pulse, this is an excess condition, but if you feel a weak pulse, this is a deficient condition.

If the patient's body has symptoms, you can combine these symptoms with the pulse to judge how the disease is progressing, whether the general situation is severe or about to recover, etc."

Ji Xiuwen held the girl's pulse, lost in thought.

At this point, Lu Xuan smiled and said: "If you place your hand on the pulse and can never feel it, no matter how much pressure you apply, almost pressing to the bone to feel a clear beat, this is a sinking pulse.

If it can't be felt without force, and only a little pressure lets you feel it, this is called neither floating nor sinking.

You can judge based on the pressure you apply, categorized into more sinking (more force), more floating (less force), this condition is generally termed as middle."

At this point, Lu Xuan looked at Ji Xiuwen: "Try again."

Ji Xiuwen nodded slightly, and continued trying as Lu Xuan instructed, after a while, he looked up and said: "It feels like both sinking and floating, I don't know if I'm judging it right."

Lu Xuan nodded at him: "Yes, it's both sinking and floating pulses."

"The difference between floating and sinking is related to the pathogenic factor. When pulse-taking shows floating or sinking, it is related to whether the pathogenic factor and qi and blood are sufficient, etc."

"Let me give you an example."

"If a person has a cold, they might try to resolve the external pathogenic factor on the body's 'surface' layer from the beginning. During this time, the body naturally mobilizes fluids and qi and blood to the surface for battle. Thus, there is an abundance of qi and blood on the surface, and the pulse appears floating.

If the issue cannot be resolved here, and the pathogenic factor moves inwards, the righteous qi retreats, causing the fluids and qi and blood to move to the middle (half-interior half-exterior), the pulse presents a middle type.

If the pathogenic factor wins again and moves further inside, the righteous qi retreats again, all the way inside here, gathering strength for a life-or-death battle with the pathogenic factor, then the pulse presents a sinking type.

As you can see, where the righteous qi (fluids and blood, qi and blood) gathers will be reflected in the corresponding pulse position."

Ji Xiuwen nodded, indicating he understood.

Lu Xuan continued: "Let's now talk about deficiency and fullness in pulse-taking. Sometimes, you slowly apply more force downwards while pulse-taking, and then reduce the force a bit, bringing the fingers back to the original position, repeating this several times.

This is to use your fingertips to feel the resistance of the pulse against your finger.

If there is a strong, solid rebound when pressing down, it proves that this pulse is robust.

But if there isn't much resistance when you press down, or if just a bit more force makes the pulse disappear, then this pulse lacks strength.

It's like when we touch a soft rubber hose with water running through, if the water influx is large and rapid, pressing the hose will feel hard, difficult to compress.

But if the water inflow is small and slow, then pressing the hose can be done easily all the way down.

Based on the applied pressure and the rebound resistance, we can roughly judge if the water inflow is large or small, fast or slow.

When pulse-taking, it's a similar principle. Based on what the fingers feel, one can assess whether the pulse strength leans more toward strong or weak. A stronger, more powerful pulse suggests the body's righteous qi is ample, whereas a weaker pulse implies the righteous qi is weak.

If a weak pulse is found, it indicates a deficiency in righteous qi, which should be considered during treatment. Providing supplementing and supporting of righteous qi is key, whereas combating the pathogenic factor should be secondary.

If the pulse is strong and powerful, and the righteous qi is still sufficient, then using attack and drainage methods to directly combat the pathogenic factor is feasible.

A Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor must pay attention to many aspects, considering the patient's symptoms, pulse, and other factors to make correct judgments, deciding whether to immediately attack or first nurture the righteous qi, with plans to fight the pathogenic factor being secondary."

Lu Xuan gave a slight smile: "Sometimes, the difference between a mediocre doctor and a divine doctor lies precisely here."

Ji Xiuwen widened his eyes, becoming even more confused.

If earlier he was astonished at how Lu Xuan memorized medical book contents so fluently, now it was beyond simple astonishment.

But rather bewilderment and even shock.

Unless one had some experience with pulse diagnosis, they would never be able to speak so extensively about it.

Most of these are aspects that aren't taught in schools, skills that can be truly applied in practical settings.

The differences were vast, though it had only been half a year since they last met.

Ji Xiuwen took a deep breath, recovering from his shock, then asked: "So what treatment should be done for this young lady's situation?"

"I mentioned earlier that tuberculous pleurisy is similar to TCM's 'chest obstruction', qi constrained in the chest, ..., the chest being located at the upper burner, is the home of ancestral qi, sharing qi with the exterior level, thus the treatment method is similar.

The young lady's illness should primarily be treated with Little Chaihu Decoction plus Gualing, with Fuling, Mulberry Bark, reed root, Coix Seed, Citrus Peel as adjuvants, and Cordyceps, Ophiopogon as assistants."

Lu Xuan smirked slightly: "Little Chaihu Decoction is effective for rib pain, as the chest and ribs are connected, thus it is used. Fuling and other herbs eliminate phlegm, drain water, promote qi, and dry dampness, necessary for those with pleural effusion.

The use of Cordyceps and Silver Chaihu is set specifically for this condition.

Cordyceps enriches the essence and body, replenishes the lungs and kidneys, transforms phlegm, and benefits qi, treats various deficiencies, and Silver Chaihu clears heat and cools the blood, irreplaceable for deep-seated heat, superior for expelling old to bring forth new.

Ophiopogon targets the heart and lung meridian, is cooling and moistening, focusing on the lung meridian qi section, is a vital medicine for lung heat, and can both stop diarrhea and promote fluid, transform phlegm, and facilitate water, aligning well with this illness.

Licorice, when used together with cooling agents, purges internal and external pathogenic heat, best for harmonizing all medicines."

"Hiss ~"

As Lu Xuan finished speaking, Ji Xiuwen couldn't help but take a sharp breath.

At this moment, his gaze at Lu Xuan was filled with disbelief.

Lu Xuan's understanding of pharmacology and pathology already exceeded his expectations, this level of knowledge reserve and research on pathology, and grasp of symptoms, isn't something a student who graduated from a Traditional Chinese Medicine university just half a year ago could have achieved.

Shock!

An unprecedented shock!

If the young man before him were someone else, Ji Xiuwen might not have felt much, at most recognizing geniuses in this world, those whose shadows you cannot catch no matter how hard you try.

But no.

The young man sitting opposite him was his most familiar desk mate and roommate, Lu Xuan, whom he had known for years.

Ji Xiuwen had always thought he understood Lu Xuan well.

But this time, he felt a strange unfamiliarity.

When Qi Shuyi finished paying the expenses, and led the young girl to the window outside to wait for medication, Ji Xiuwen slowly opened his squinted eyes, exhaled deeply, and with a trace of doubt in his eyes, stared at the familiar yet strange young man in front of him:

"What on earth happened to you in these six months?"

"I constantly feel something's amiss, the person sitting before me is someone I know, yet it feels like it isn't."

Su Kenan didn't speak, watching the two silently, her gaze eventually resting in thought on Lu Xuan's delicate face.

"Maybe it's because I got a cheat code!"

Lu Xuan said with a smile.

He thought this was as objective an explanation as he could give since he did really get a cheat code.

It's just…

"You got a cheat code?"

Ji Xiuwen was momentarily stunned, then burst into laughter, the initially puzzled expression unexpectedly releasing a burden with ease.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.