After the doctor's diagnosis, it was determined that Wang Rui's father needed to remain in the hospital for a period of observation. Chen Zheng personally intervened, using his skills to stabilize the man's condition.

Meanwhile, Wang Rui and her mother pulled Li Dali aside to discuss how to proceed with tomorrow's wedding.

"Mr. Chen, we really owe you for what happened earlier," the middle-aged doctor said, approaching with a look of shame. "If not for your accurate judgment, the patient might have truly been in trouble!"

"It was nothing," Chen Zheng replied, waving his hand dismissively.

"My name is Zhao Lixin, the chief physician here," the doctor said, introducing himself. "I wanted to ask, the treatment methods you used... they must be related to traditional Chinese medicine, right? May I ask which institution you graduated from? I would be honored to learn from you."

In truth, Zhao Lixin had also studied traditional Chinese medicine theory in his youth. Chen Zheng's techniques had left him dumbfounded. While many in this era looked down on traditional Chinese medicine, he knew that true masters were exceedingly rare. And the young man before him was clearly a master of that caliber.

"I only know a little," Chen Zheng said humbly, shaking his head.

"You're far too modest, Mr. Chen," Zhao Lixin said with a smile. This young man is neither arrogant nor impatient, showing no signs of conceit. He truly has the demeanor of a master! It's true what they say—one's medical skills reflect their character.

"Director, we have a problem!" a doctor suddenly cried out, running over. "The elderly man who was admitted yesterday with the heat syndrome... he's not going to make it!"

"What?" Zhao Lixin was stunned. Without another word to Chen Zheng, he sprinted away.

Hearing the term "heat syndrome," Chen Zheng's brow furrowed, and he quickly followed to see what was happening.

Chen Zheng followed Zhao Lixin to an intensive care unit and looked through the glass at the elderly patient inside. The man appeared to be over seventy years old, his hair completely white, his body connected to numerous tubes. Strangely, his face was flushed a deep red, like a boiled shrimp. His body was also covered in various sores that oozed pus and blood, creating a pitiful and tragic sight. At that moment, the old man's vital signs were declining rapidly, pushing him to the brink of death.

Zhao Lixin immediately led his team in a flurry of activity. After a long struggle, they barely managed to stabilize the man's condition.

When Zhao Lixin stepped out of the unit, one of the doctors followed him. "Director," the doctor said helplessly, "at this rate, the old man probably won't make it through the night."

"We do what we can and leave the rest to fate," Zhao Lixin said, slowly shaking his head. In a situation like this, there was only so much they could do.

"Mr. Chen? You're still here?" Zhao Lixin said, visibly surprised to see him.

"That elderly gentleman you mentioned," Chen Zheng began, glancing into the room with a frown, "you said he has a heat syndrome, correct?"

Zhao Lixin nodded, a bitter look on his face. "The recent heat wave has been terrifying. Many elderly people have been admitted with these symptoms. Their bodies are unbearably hot and covered in pustules. We don't know the specific pathology, only that it's caused by intense heat. That's why we diagnosed it as a heat syndrome."

"You believe it's a heat syndrome," Chen Zheng said softly, his eyes glinting, "but in my opinion, it is the exact opposite. This is a cold syndrome."

"A cold syndrome?" Zhao Lixin repeated, stunned. He couldn't understand how Chen Zheng had arrived at a completely different conclusion.

However, the attending physician next to him sneered with disdain. "Young man, if you don't know what you're talking about, you should keep your mouth shut. All the symptoms indicate this is caused by a heat syndrome, yet you claim it's a cold syndrome?"

Unfazed by the physician's skepticism, Chen Zheng calmly explained, "On the surface, all the symptoms do indeed align with a heat syndrome. But in traditional Chinese medicine, we judge heat and cold from the inside, not the outside. Everything you see is merely a surface phenomenon. If this were a true heat syndrome, the discharge from his sores would be yellow. But if you look closely, the blood seeping from his wounds is actually bluish-green. This indicates an underlying cold syndrome."

As he spoke, Chen Zheng pointed through the glass at the sores on the old man's body.

Zhao Lixin and the attending physician both stared into the room, momentarily stunned. He's right... But could a diagnosis truly be made based on the color of the blood alone?

"Mr. Chen," Zhao Lixin asked, his tone now one of humble inquiry, "the weather is scorching hot. If this is a cold syndrome, how could it manifest like this?"

Chen Zheng offered a faint smile and explained, "The truth is, everyone has some pathogenic cold within their body. It's just a matter of quantity. In a normal winter, this cold qi would lie dormant, only to resurface in the spring. However, the climate is now highly abnormal. We're experiencing extreme heat in winter, which forces the body's internal cold qi to try and escape frantically. For a young or healthy person, this might just result in a common cold. But for an elderly person like him, it's completely different. His body can't expel the cold qi, so it turns inward and attacks itself, resulting in his current state."

"I see..." Zhao Lixin said, looking as if he'd had an epiphany.

"Even if that's the case," the attending physician scoffed, still unconvinced, "do you have a solution, Mr. Chen?" So what if he sounds like he knows what he's talking about? Theory and reality are two completely different things. Plenty of people can talk a good game but are useless when it's time for action.

"Mr. Chen, since you've identified the root of the problem, is there a way to solve it?" Zhao Lixin asked, his expression grave. The patient's condition was critical; he likely wouldn't survive the night. This is a human life we're talking about! If he can fix this, it would be a tremendous blessing...

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