Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Ma'am, I don't even know you, let's not speak hurtful words."

"Didn't offend me? You knew my husband was overheated, and yet you still gave him barley tea with ginseng, deliberately causing his heat to flare up, leading to his toothache. How is this benevolence of a doctor? It's downright malicious!"

Xu Chunliang finally understood that the plump woman in front of him was Lin Yougang's wife, He Jinmei. Ever since the day Lin Yougang tried to frame Zheng Peian and ended up with a sudden toothache in the mediation room, Zheng Peian pressed him to reveal who was behind it, but he refused to speak. After undergoing treatment in the dentistry department, taking medicine, and getting IV fluids with no improvement after several days,

Lin Yougang had no choice but to go to the traditional Chinese medicine department. He dared not register under Zheng Peian, so he specifically signed up for an appointment with Director Zhu Mingyuan, an expert in the traditional Chinese medicine department.

Zhu Mingyuan's diagnosis was the same as Xu Chunliang's, both pointing to excess Yang Ming fire. In the process of taking the medical history, he learned that Lin Yougang had consumed several cups of barley tea. Zhu Mingyuan further inquired if he had consumed anything together with the barley tea.

Lin Yougang recalled that the barley tea was also mixed with ginseng slices. Zhu Mingyuan informed him that both barley tea and ginseng slices are heat-inducing substances and could be one of the reasons triggering his symptoms.

Accompanying her husband to see the doctor, He Jinmei was furious upon hearing this and stormed to the medical office to confront Xu Chunliang, leading to the scene just witnessed.

Xu Chunliang, of course, would not admit it was his fault and immediately suggested accompanying He Jinmei to ask Zhu Mingyuan to clarify whether it was related to him or not.

The traditional Chinese medicine department of Changxing had shrunk significantly, to the point of not even having a ward. In the afternoon, few people visited the department, and even before reaching the clinic, cries of pain could be heard from inside.

Xu Chunliang was very familiar with that voice; it was from Lin Yougang. Despite continuous treatments for several days, he had consulted both Western and Chinese medicine, and not only had his toothache not improved, but it had worsened.

Just as Xu Chunliang entered, Zhu Mingyuan had finished acupuncture for Lin Yougang, but it had little effect, and Lin Yougang was still in unbearable pain.

Upon seeing Xu Chunliang walk in, Lin Yougang pointed and mumbled, "It's him... he's the one who harmed me…"

He Jinmei said aggressively, "What do you say? My husband has been tormented to the brink of death by you, I demand compensation!"

"Ma'am, please don't be hasty. I truly can't afford to compensate for your husband's life. Besides, hasn't he been suffering from this ailment for more than a day or two? You can't pin it all on me, can you?"

He Jinmei retorted, "Why can't I blame you? My husband was fine before, you're the one who intentionally drugged him. How can a doctor be so wicked? This is scheming for death and profit, I'm going to call the police and have you arrested."

Xu Chunliang wasn't angry at all. With a smile, he looked at Zhu Mingyuan and asked, "Director Zhu, is this what you told them?"

Zhu Mingyuan replied, "I don't know what's between you all; I'm speaking objectively. The patient mentioned he had a cup of barley tea with ginseng. He has excessive internal heat, and in this dry weather, with external heat intensifying, barley and red ginseng are heating substances. Drinking them is like adding fuel to the fire."

Lin Yougang, clutching his mouth, said, "He's the one... who gave it to me... he's trying to harm me..."

Xu Chunliang intentionally asked, "It hurts a lot, doesn't it?"

"Of course! My cheek is so swollen it looks like a buttock, how could it not hurt?" He Jinmei, with hands on hips and eyes glaring, seemed ready to devour Xu Chunliang.

"Didn't Director Zhu give you acupuncture? Why hasn't the pain lessened?"

Zhu Mingyuan's face darkened; what was this guy implying? Was he saying in front of so many people that his medical skills were inadequate?

Xu Chunliang said, "Some people, when faced with problems, don't look for reasons within themselves, they just blame others." He walked towards Lin Yougang, and He Jinmei, fearing he intended harm, hurriedly blocked him, "What do you want to do?"

Xu Chunliang replied, "I'll press a couple of points for him. If that doesn't relieve his toothache, I'll cover your medical expenses."

He Jinmei didn't believe him for a second, but Xu Chunliang's words were so definitive. She wasn't a fool; letting him try wouldn't hurt. If it worked, great. If not, he'd cover the expenses—a very likely outcome.

He Jinmei stepped aside, curious to see what this young guy could do.

Xu Chunliang approached Lin Yougang and took his hand.

Zhu Mingyuan watched with disdain, thinking that he had learned some extraordinary secret technique from Huichun Hall, but it was just choosing to massage the He Gu point, which is the most basic method in Chinese medicine for alleviating toothache, known by almost every beginner practitioner.

Xu Chunliang seemed to sense Zhu Mingyuan's thoughts, turned to glance at him, and smiled: "Though the acupoint is the same, the technique varies in skill."

He instructed Lin Yougang to bend his thumb and forefinger, gently touching the tips together, forming a hollow fist.

Xu Chunliang gently held the outside of Lin Yougang's fist and pressed vertically with the pad of his thumb, precisely targeting Lin Yougang's He Gu point.

He Gu, originating from "Ling Shu · Ben Shu", also known as the Tiger's Mouth, is part of the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian.

The He Gu acupoint is located on the back of the hand, between the first and second metacarpal bones, at the midpoint on the radial side of the second metacarpal bone. Pressing the He Gu point can stretch the meridians, calm pain, and clear heat and exterior.

Actually, Zhu Mingyuan had previously pressed the He Gu point for Lin Yougang and had even performed acupuncture on the He Gu point, but the actual effect was not significant.

Strangely enough, after Xu Chunliang pressed twice, Lin Yougang felt much less pain, no longer as unbearable as before, looking at Xu Chunliang with some surprise.

Xu Chunliang smiled and said, "Didn't I advise you before? If you want to cure Yangming's fire evil disease, you should find Director Zheng Peian, whose acupuncture skills are the highest in all of Changxing."

Lin Yougang remained silent, while Xu Chunliang continued to massage his He Gu point rhythmically. The technique was quite strong, causing a soreness and pain at the pressure point, yet this pain was bearable, allowing him to temporarily ignore the toothache, partly due to pain transference.

As an observant onlooker, He Jinmei, though ignorant of medical science, could still recognize her husband's response. Earlier, Lin Yougang was writhing in agony, but now he had calmed down, proving Xu Chunliang's effectiveness.

Zhu Mingyuan had witnessed Xu Chunliang's acupoint technique before, but that was for punishing opponents. Today was the first time he saw him treat patients, leaving Zhu Mingyuan both perplexed and embarrassed; why did pressing the same acupoint yield such an obvious analgesic effect? Why did neither his massages nor acupuncture work? Could it be true as Xu Chunliang said? Though the points are the same, the techniques differ in skill?

What made Zhu Mingyuan embarrassed was that Xu Chunliang blatantly treated people in his consultation room. Fortunately, there were no other patients, but if word of this got out, where would his face go?

After pressing the He Gu point, Xu Chunliang chose the Sanjian point and the Shangyang point, both on the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian. To an outsider, it seemed that Xu Chunliang was merely pressing the patient's hand from start to finish, but in the eyes of an insider like Zhu Mingyuan, this kid's massage technique was extremely skillful.

The Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian is one of the twelve meridians and one of the hand's three yang meridians, related outwardly to the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian, connecting with the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian at the index finger, and extending downward to the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian beside the nose. The meridian runs along the index finger, the front lateral side of the upper limb, the front of the shoulder, the neck, next to the cheek and nostrils. Its collateral meridians and divergent meridians connect inside and outside respectively, with tendons distributed on the outer part. The chief acupoint is Shangyang, and the last acupoint is Yingxiang, with twenty points on each side.

The most common symptoms of abnormalities in the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian are toothache and facial swelling. The main indications of this meridian concern symptoms related to the body fluids, such as: dim eyes, dry mouth, nasal discharge or bleeding, sore throat, toothache, pain in the front shoulder and upper arm, and pain and difficulty in moving the index finger.

When a person's qi is abundant, the parts through which the meridians pass get hot and swollen. When qi is deficient, it leads to chills, shivering, and difficulty in warming.

After just over ten minutes of massage by Xu Chunliang, Lin Yougang no longer felt any toothache. The couple's initial resentment towards Xu Chunliang turned into reverence. When they realized that this young man could dominate his physical ailments, feeling awe was inevitable.

Xu Chunliang released Lin Yougang's hands: "Yangming fire evil is not a serious illness, but accumulated over time, it can destroy the bones. I am not being alarmist. I told you the other day, fire as a yang evil harms the body fluids and depletes qi, stirs up wind and blood, and disturbs the mind. Your symptoms of yang qi overflowing are more severe than they were two days ago. Treating it a day earlier can reduce the loss of yang qi."

He Jinmei's expression clearly carried respect: "Dr. Xu, I didn't quite understand what you said."

Xu Chunliang said, "If your husband does not get timely treatment, sister, you may have to live as a widow in the future."

He Jinmei's round face suddenly flushed. Why didn't this kid have any shame, saying anything out loud? She could not help but sigh inwardly, don't mention the future, I've been living as a widow for more than half a year already.

Xu Chunliang could feel the deep hostility from Zhu Mingyuan, and he didn't intend to stay, so he turned and left the traditional Chinese medicine clinic. He hadn't walked far when He Jinmei chased after him: "Xu...Director Xu!"

Xu Chunliang had already expected her to follow, so he stopped and smiled: "Sister, is there anything else?"

He Jinmei said: "Director Xu, I can see that you truly have skills. Can you help cure my husband's root cause?"

Xu Chunliang said: "I have only begun to delve into this art. I learned all my medical skills from Director Zheng."

He Jinmei sighed and said: "I also heard Director Zheng is impressive, but my husband refuses to find him for treatment no matter what, I don't know what went wrong with him."

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