Chapter 170: Chapter 169: The More You Learn, the Less You Understand

When Lin Wanwan was following Sun Simiao to treat a poorly-clad peasant, the young Daoist Qing Feng suddenly came calling that the young lady of the Xiao Family had arrived.

Sun Simiao continued his acupuncture work without pause, while explaining the key points of acupuncture techniques to Lin Wanwan, showing no intention of acknowledging Qing Feng.

Seeing that the ancestor ignored him, Qing Feng turned pale and realized he had made a mistake, then he stood aside with his head lowered, not daring to make a sound.

Only after a great while, when all the difficult and miscellaneous cases brought into the clinic were diagnosed and medicated, did the initial treatment conclude, allowing the old Immortal to finally catch his breath.

Lin Wanwan quickly and eagerly went up to offer tea and pastries, expressing her gratitude for his hard work.

She truly admired the Medicine Saint ancestor. These days, countless patients have come in admiration, many clearly from destitute families, unable to afford consultation fees, let alone medication costs, which the old Immortal covered himself.

Moreover, the old Immortal truly treated all equally, regardless of status or wealth. This level of medical ethics Lin Wanwan had never witnessed; the more she interacted, the more she admired.

“Let’s go to the incense hall.”

Old Sun led Lin Wanwan and the young Daoist to the fragrance hall where the nobles were waiting for treatment, not wanting to mix in with the clinic queues, always being the last to be attended to.

This time, the one seeking treatment was Xiao Yixun. Before they even entered, they already saw her from afar, standing like a ghost at the door, her gray-blue eyes seemingly looking at them, but also as if gazing into an endless void.

Lin Wanwan whispered, “Ancestor, this albinism can’t be cured, right?”

“Albinism? Quite aptly put,” Sun Simiao glanced at Lin Wanwan, nodding, “This disease, I indeed can’t cure completely, only alleviate her suffering.”

Lin Wanwan sighed, “This disease is truly difficult. My master also said it couldn’t be treated, medicine is ineffective.”

“Oh, has your respected master also encountered such patients seeking treatment?”

Lin Wanwan casually remarked, “Ah, yes, but my master also couldn’t treat it.”

Sun Simiao said no more, and upon entering the room with Lin Wanwan, no one spoke. This room full of heavenly defects and earthly defects held conditions beyond cure, even Immortal Sun felt powerless.

Even if he becomes a deity revered by people in the future, now, he is still just human. Humans can’t cure all diseases.

As Sun Simiao was applying acupuncture on Xiao Yixun, Lin Wanwan always felt that the gaze of that frighteningly old woman was odd, indescribable. Facing her was uncomfortable, and turning her back felt like needles on her back, even more so.

Seeing Lin Wanwan repeatedly turning her head to look at her, Witch suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of crooked teeth with a large mouth, quite terrifying.

Lin Wanwan turned back, feeling her hair stand on end.

Xiao Yixun has developed a psychological illness due to albinism? Who are these people around her, doesn’t she find them uncomfortable?

After the treatment, as they were about to leave, Xiao Yixun unexpectedly called out to Lin Wanwan.

“Cousin, I want to talk to you.”

It was not an inquiry, but a statement.

“Alright.” Lin Wanwan looked back at her, then said to Sun Simiao, “Ancestor, I’ll stay for a moment.”

“Alright, you’ve studied all day and are tired, rest.” Immortal Sun nodded and went to the next room with the Daoist who had packed the medical box. He could not stop, as many had come in admiration waiting for him.

“Does Yixun cousin want to tell me something?” Lin Wanwan was curious about why Xiao Yixun stopped her.

Who knew Xiao Yixun wouldn’t answer, just stared at her fixedly, until Lin Wanwan, puzzled, frowned, and only then did she suddenly say, “Cousin, when are you returning to the mansion?”

Lin Wanwan was surprised, having no particular bond with the other, why would she ask?

“I still need to learn from the ancestor for a while, why, is there something at the mansion?”

Xiao Yixun said, “I’m just asking.”

“Oh.”

After staring silently at each other for a while more, Lin Wanwan, seeing the other had nothing real to say, proposed leaving.

This time Xiao Yixun said nothing more, until long after Lin Wanwan had left, she suddenly said, “She’s very strange.”

Witch let out a few creepy laughs, a glint of greed passing through her eyes, “Strange is good.”

Walking from the clinic to Sun Simiao’s residence, Lin Wanwan suddenly heard the young Daoist Qing Feng reciting, who seemed to be reciting classical Chinese texts.

“When a great doctor treats an illness, one must calm the mind and fixate the spirit, be free of desire and demand, first develop great compassion and sympathy, and vow to relieve all sentient beings’ suffering. If there are those with illness who seek help, one must not inquire whether they are noble or poor, rich or destitute, young or old, beautiful or ugly, friend or foe, noble or barbarian, wise or foolish, treat all as one, regard them as dear as family, and not look forward nor back, anticipating luck or misfortune, or cherish their body and life…”

Getting closer, Lin Wanwan saw the Daoist kneeling on a mat holding a book, muttering aloud, clearly being punished.

Lin Wanwan stood listening for a while, then suddenly realized – isn’t this from the first volume of Sun Elder’s “Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet,” “Great Doctor’s Sincerity”? Internationally hailed as the Eastern Hippocratic Oath, a must-read for practitioners of Chinese medicine.

But that book wouldn’t be published for over 20 years, so why is the young Daoist reciting it now?

Ah, this text must have been written by the old Immortal long ago, only published in the third year of Yonghui. The old Immortal indeed lived up to the ideals of great doctor’s sincerity throughout his life, thus his enduring legacy.

Thinking back to what the Daoist hastily said when he ran in, Lin Wanwan understood why he was being reprimanded now.

As a junior disciple following Elder Sun on his medical travels, his moral level was clearly insufficient. Seeing Xiao Yixun, he wanted to cut in line for her, violating Elder Sun’s principle of treating all equally regardless of status, wealth, age, or beauty, little wonder he was scolded.

Thinking of this, Lin Wanwan couldn’t help but sigh; she was even more lacking than Qing Feng.

After half a month studying with Sun Simiao, Lin Wanwan gave up her whimsical notion of returning to open a medical practice for her family; no other reason, she was unqualified.

Before she thought it was simple, but the more she studied with the Medicine Saint, the more she realized how little she knew. Just the art of pulse diagnosis had so much to learn; first, she needed to practice her finger strength, then talk about how to interpret the pulse’s path and master the seasonal pulse equilibrium.

And proper finger strength, would take at least three years to develop!

Only learning the little bit of Chinese medicine techniques from the Barefoot Doctor Manual, she didn’t even dare say she studied medicine. She didn’t even know how to diagnose or treat, purely relied on symptomatic treatments, how could she claim to understand medicine?

Her initial belief that Chinese medicine was just holistic treatment for chronic conditions was completely wrong. Witnessing the Divine Doctor handling acute abdominal pain in the clinic with just one dose shocked her entire understanding of Chinese medicine.

She thought Chinese and Western medicine could be integrated, but in reality, they fundamentally differ. For example, Chinese medicine’s meridians and acupoints, the five-element theory are absent in Western medicine. And the pharmacopeia imposed by Western medicine on Chinese medicine was all nonsense.

Chinese medicine is Chinese medicine, Western medicine is Western medicine. At most, they can complement each other. If they were combined into one, it would be nothing at all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep