"Ritual?" Wang Qiaozhen looked at Su Tao with a complicated gaze. She might find it reasonable if an old man told her that, but she felt a little skeptical since it came from Su Tao.

It's common knowledge for psychics to be old, but Su Tao was just too young.

"That's right, a ritual. It's also a method used in TCM, known as Witchcraft Art." Su Tao wasn't talking bull. He patiently explained, "Since ancient times, the Witchcraft Art has been commonly used to treat patients."

Witchcraft Art was something that has existed since ancient times.

In the Yellow Emperor's Internal Canon, there's a theory of shifting the essence and changing the Qi that mentioned Witchcraft Art.

In the Tang Dynasty's Imperial Physician Bureau, there was a forbidden art department. In both Yuan and Ming Dynasties, there was also a thirteenth department in the Imperial Physician Institution, which was about Witchcraft Art.

Witchcraft Art wasn't complete nonsense, and there's a reason behind it.

In the view of traditional physicians, illnesses were separated into three categories. The seven human emotions cause the internal, the environment causes externals, and the last being supernatural diseases.

Thus, Witchcraft Art was naturally used to treat diseases caused by supernatural beings.

Then again, it's common knowledge that supernatural beings didn't exist. Hence, the diseases caused by 'supernatural beings' were actually diseases caused by one's psychology. Patients treated with Witchcraft Art were generally those with psychological issues, and the numbers were higher for young patients.

There were often psychics in villages that would chant incantations and all sorts of methods to treat children, and that was a method of Witchcraft Art.

Furthermore, there were also cancer patients that had their death sentences confirmed by the doctors. However, they still lived happily for years without their cancer breaking out before discovering that their cancer has disappeared.

This was the same logic behind the Witchcraft Art that influences the patient's mentality.

From TCM's angle, the vital energy in a human's body was similar to the immunity mentioned in Western Medicine. Regardless of acupuncture or medicine, TCM was using external factors to replenish the vital energy and increase the patient's immunity to achieve treatment.

On the other hand, Witchcraft Art used the patient's mentality to increase their immunity as a treatment.

Since ancient times, Witchcraft Art has only been used as supplementary, and they're never part of the main treatment.

Naturally, Su Tao mentioning the Witchcraft Art to Wang Qiaozhen was a strategic approach, and he wasn't really trying to improve Wang Qiaozhen's mentality to strengthen her immunity and fight the disease.

Recalling a scene in costume dramas, Wang Qiaozhen sourly asked, "Are you talking about those rituals with a stage, a priest dancing with a sword, and drawing a talisman before burning them and getting me to drink?"

"Those are the common plots in dramas, and you can consider it that way. But aunty, if you want me to treat you, then you have to place your trust in me. You can't have a trace of doubt, and you have to be sincere." Su Tao smiled.

Sitting to the side, Ni Jingqiu was busy throwing signals to Su Tao since he did not use any weird techniques when treating her. Her mother had a phobia for doctors to begin with, so how could her mother believe in Su Tao when he seemed more like a psychic instead?

Shaking her head, Wang Qiaozhen solemnly replied, "I've also seen TCM physicians, but they've never mentioned anything about Witchcraft Art!"

"If I've guessed correctly, the other physicians would generally give you a treatment of 'treating your lungs during an outbreak, and treating your kidney normally'. Both your lungs and kidneys are lacking in Yang energy, so they will naturally try to balance your Yin and Yang with medicines such as YanVive, Eucommia and Rehmannia Formula, and Black Tin Pellet." Su Tao smiled.

Shock instantly zapped through Wang Qiaozhen's eyes. Su Tao had correctly guessed about those physicians she sought in the past. Those famous physicians would tend to go for nourishing her kidney with Yang energy and balancing the Yin and Yang in her body.

Thus, she asked, "Then, why aren't they useful?"

"Those physicians weren't wrong, but your condition won't improve no matter what medicine you take. So if I was going to treat you normally, it would also not have any result. But if we're going to take the unusual way, then you have to trust me and allow me to treat you with Witchcraft Art." Su Tao wryly smiled.

Su Tao internally frowned since the reason why he was beating around the bush so much was due to the difficulty in Wang Qiaozhen's condition. Her inherited asthma was already a significant issue, but she still had other conditions in her body that were caused by the previous doctors for using the wrong medicine on her. They only managed to see through one part of her illness while failing to notice the second part.

There were several examples in the Imperial Physician Scripture. These conditions generally appeared amongst those of the upper circle, or in other words, it's also known as a wealthy illness.

Aside from Wang Qiaozhen's weak lungs and kidneys, there were also issues with her heart and liver.

If she's in an ordinary family, she could just vent out her emotions. But she couldn't due to her status, not to mention how she lived like a queen every day and lacked exercise. Thus, it's easy for her liver to be heaty. It's common for people with high status to keep their thoughts to themselves, and they wouldn't grumble it out like common folks, which also resulted in the knots in their hearts.

Her liver issue resulted in the stagnation of her blood and vital energy. In addition to her inherited asthma, Wang Qiaozhen's life was fragile in Su Tao's eyes and could be easily extinguished.

If it wasn't because of his relationship with Ni Jingqiu, Su Tao would definitely not be willing to take such a patient.

That's because it wouldn't be easy for him to communicate with her and undo the knot in her heart. At the same time, it's also impossible to accomplish it with a few words since someone like Wang Qiaozhen was intelligent. If she could move on, she would've already done so a long time ago.

Although he had only taken a glance at Wang Qiaozhen during the banquet, he had already determined her condition.

Aside from her inherited asthma, she's also suffering from a weary heart and injured liver.

The weary heart meant the lack of blood pumping into the heart, with symptoms such as palpitation, insomnia, and anemia.

Her injured liver was due to the discharge, with symptoms such as sharp pain, growth of tumors, the tongue turning purple, petechiae, and bruisings.

The heart stores the conscious; the lungs stores the soul; the liver stores the spirit; the spleen stores the intent, and the kidney stores the will.

Wang Qiaozhen had issues in four out of those five organs, which made the treatment extremely challenging.

Inherited asthma was something passed down through one's heritage, which was a result of weak lungs and kidney. But for Wang Qiaozhen to suffer from a weary heart and injured liver as well, it must have been caused by some other reasons and might even involve some family matters.

In Su Tao's view, inherited illnesses could be nourished, and it's harder to deal with a disease that was contracted later in life.

"Aunty, do you believe in karma?" Su Tao took a sip of the tea and asked as he had long noticed the Buddha pendant hanging on her neck.

"Of course, I do! I believe that virtue has its reward, evil its retribution." Wang Qiaozhen was baffled. She had no idea why Su Tao would ask such a question all of a sudden.

"Then, do you believe in the existence of supernatural beings in the world?" Su Tao followed up with another question.

"I do, I'm a Buddhist!" Wang Qiaozhen answered, "Since Buddha exists, then there will definitely be ghosts. Otherwise, where does the story of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva come from?"

"Then, let us do a test! I can treat your condition with Witchcraft Art alone without the use of any medicine. In other words, I will get supernatural beings to treat you."

Taking out a piece of paper and brush from his medical box, Su Tao drew a complicated talisman and closed his eyes to chant a brief incantation. All of a sudden, his eyes burst open and yelled, "Ha!"

At the same time, he stretched his finger out and swiftly placed the paper on Wang Qiaozhen's forehead.

Wang Qiaozhen only felt her mind lighting up and her mind went white. Her eyes suddenly widened, and her gaze went blank. She seemed to have seen Ni Buwei's younger sister, Ni Buqing, pointing at her nose and criticised, "You're the jinx that ruined the heritage of my Ni Family!"

After that, her deceased parents appeared before her. They were standing before her and coldly looking at her.

Wang Qiaozhen instantly widened her eyes even more. She felt as if she had an unworldly experience with her past flashing before her eyes.

Because of her inherited asthma, there was a limit to her ability to do the deed between a couple. Even if she managed to give birth to Ni Jingqiu, she did it with luck and had put her life at risk. After that, she never bore another child with Ni Buwei. On a specific year's reunion dinner, her sister-in-law, Ni Buqing, ridiculed her for failing to bear a son for the Ni Family.

Aside from that incident, when Ni Buwei's mother passed away a year later, Ni Buqing brought up this topic while sobbing and claimed that her mother passed away while bearing resentment since Wang Qiaozhen failed to give the Ni Family an inheritor.

On the spot, Wang Qiaozhen's emotions were so agitated that she fainted. Not only did her asthma break out, but she was also bedridden for half a year. After that incident, her feelings with Ni Buwei died and they became a nominal couple.

Su Tao did not know about her grievance, and his talisman wasn't anything special. But he added some medication that would blur a person's consciousness and create hallucinations. When he placed the paper on her forehead, it instantly caused her to recall all her grievances.

Sitting to the side, Ni Jingiu was greatly shocked before she immediately held onto her mother. However, she failed to get a hold of her mother, allowing Wang Qiaozhen to fall on the floor and started to gasp for breath.

"My mom's asthma broke out!" Ni Jingqiu was terrified as tears started to stream down from her cheeks while she wanted to fumble through the bag for the puffer.

Not only was Wang Qiaozhen gasping for breath, but tears also rolled down from the corner of her eyes.

"Mom!" Ni Jingqiu found the puffer, but it didn't have any effect, so she immediately looked at Su Tao, "Su Tao, what did you do to my mom?"

Calmly standing up, Su Tao placed his finger on Wang Qiaozhen's acupoint located on her neck and composedly replied, "Don't worry and lay her down straight. It's all part of my plan."

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