Zhao Jinliang turned his head to look at Director Zheng, his face beaming with surprise, and then whipped his head around to glare sinisterly at Feng Yigu.
"Stall! Stall! Stall! The bureau director himself just vouched for me, let's see what you bastards have to say for yourselves now!"
Feng Yigu and the other five hospital directors instantly turned pale. They certainly didn't dare call the Health Department director a stall.
By this time, Lu Yi was already removing the acupuncture needles one by one, starting with the first patient.
Visible to the naked eye, more and more patients began to look energized, their eyes gradually brightening as they gazed at Lu Yi with deep respect.
It was obvious that their ailments had either been cured or vastly improved.
Seeing this, everyone participating in the exchange meeting plunged into shock once again.
A seventy percent cure rate—Lu Yi hadn't been boasting!
How could the Divine Turtle Eight Methods be so effective?
The entire courtyard fell quiet once more, filled only with the sound of the wind, Lu Yi's footsteps, and the patients' low murmurs of gratitude.
Zhou Wenxuan watched Lu Yi's back, his eyes a mix of shock, malice, and burning jealousy.
Amidst the silent gazes of the crowd, Lu Yi withdrew the final four needles from the last patient, under the praise of Health Department Director Zheng. All the needles were now removed.
"Everyone, if you feel your condition hasn't been fully treated, come find me for a prescription after the exchange meeting ends. I apologize for the wait and appreciate your patience," Lu Yi said solemnly, cupping his fists to the forty patients.
"Not at all, not at all, Doctor Lu, please take your time," the patients replied warmly with smiles.
Lu Yi nodded, sat back down next to Zhao Jinliang, and looked out at the crowd with a smile. "Now, the exchange meeting can officially begin."
A single sentence sent a jolt through everyone present. The atmosphere turned heavy and bizarre; clearly, they had not yet recovered from the shock just moments ago.
And there was another thing that shocked them.
From start to finish, the entire process really hadn't taken ten minutes...
After a long silence, Wang Fengnian broke the ice, staring at Lu Yi as he asked:
"Doctor Lu, I'd like to ask, was the needle technique you just used the Divine Turtle Eight Methods?"
"Yes."
"Then is it effective for all diseases? Does learning this mean one no longer needs to study orthodox acupuncture?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhou Wenxuan and the six TCM doctors from the community hospital snapped their gazes instantly onto Lu Yi.
"Of course not." Lu Yi shook his head. "This method isn't particularly effective for every illness. It's mostly used for acute and mild conditions."
"Using it for emergencies is fine, but orthodox acupuncture must be learned. If you rely solely on four needles for every disease without syndrome differentiation or understanding the condition, encountering a critically ill patient and doing this is tantamount to murder!"
"Normal meridian pathways are the true path. Mastering orthodox acupuncture first and then adding this method gives you wings like a tiger. But if you only master this without understanding orthodox acupuncture and rashly attempt to treat patients, you are a quack!"
So it didn't work for everything!
Zhou Wenxuan and the community hospital doctors instantly breathed sighs of relief. The orthodox traditional Chinese medicine they had mastered was still useful and hadn't been replaced by four simple needles.
Wait!
The group suddenly realized the implication, their pupils contracting.
Did what you just said mean that besides this Divine Turtle Eight Methods, you also mastered orthodox acupuncture?
"I have been enlightened!" Wang Fengnian said, exhaling slightly and cupping his fists.
"There is something we need to clarify. The focus of our exchange meeting is herbal prescriptions, not acupuncture!"
Feng Yigu finally snapped out of his shock and quickly interjected.
Who knew how terrifying this brat's acupuncture skills were? He absolutely could not be allowed to use acupuncture!
"Rest assured, my acupuncture is no stronger than my formula prescriptions." Lu Yi glanced at him and smiled brightly.
Ah?
Feng Yigu's expression instantly froze, and he looked at Lu Yi with a trace of panic.
Chapter Thirty-One: You Even Know Inspection Diagnosis?!
Lu Yi ignored Feng Yigu and sat back in his seat.
Zhao Jinliang returned to his seat with eyes full of excitement. Based solely on Lu Yi's stunt just now, they had already won half the exchange meeting!
If they won the other half, today's exchange meeting would be a complete success!
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Lu Yi's treatment of Director Zheng was a stroke of divine inspiration!
Courageous! Knowledgeable! Skillful!
As everyone sat down again, Health Department Director Zheng smiled and said, "The exchange meeting may now begin."
As soon as his voice trailed off, Feng Yigu immediately turned to the six TCM doctors he had brought along and said, "We came here to learn with an open mind. If any of you have any medical questions, feel free to consult Doctor Lu."
Jia Gui, a man in his forties, stepped forward first to make trouble. Fixing his eyes squarely on Lu Yi, he asked, "I wonder how much Doctor Lu has mastered of inspection diagnosis, one of the four diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine?"
"Not much," Lu Yi said with a modest expression. "Facial diagnosis, tongue diagnosis, eye diagnosis, ear diagnosis, and palm diagnosis—I know all of them."
All of them?
Jia Gui, who had arrived with aggressive momentum, was completely stunned.
When people spoke of inspection diagnosis nowadays, they basically meant tongue and facial diagnosis.
Even among those two, very few TCM practitioners dared claim mastery, as inquiry and pulse-taking were the true cornerstones.
He had spent decades immersed in inspection diagnosis before daring to claim he had some insights into facial and tongue diagnosis... How could you dare claim you knew all of them?!
What doctor would dare say they knew everything?
Recovering from his daze, Jia Gui sneered and mocked, "It seems Doctor Lu is very confident in his medical skills!"
As Lu Yi watched wisps of white true qi fly toward him from the heads of the patients who had just received acupuncture, he asked in confusion, "Didn't you see it just now?"
Jia Gui's expression stiffened. "..."
Such a sharp tongue!
Jia Gui adjusted his mood, turned solemn, and said, "Since Doctor Lu knows them all, I have two inspection diagnosis questions I'd like to consult you on!"
Here it comes!
Zhao Jinliang's expression tightened, his heart leaping into his throat.
Up on the second floor, the doctors from various departments could no longer suppress their restless curiosity and ran downstairs. Hearing this, their eyes lit up—it was starting!
"First question!"
Jia Gui curved his lips into a confident smirk, staring intently at Lu Yi. "How can one tell through inspection diagnosis if a person has roundworms in their body? Excluding stool examination."
Swish!
Everyone's gaze locked onto Lu Yi.
Zhao Jinliang's expression grew tense.
How on earth could you tell that from external appearance?
Aside from fecal smears, hospitals used X-rays to check for roundworms!
Wang Fengnian, who had straightened up in his seat, also furrowed his brow deeply.
"There are three methods," Lu Yi said, holding up three fingers.
Three?
The smile on Jia Gui's face, who was preparing to watch a joke, instantly froze.
The other five community hospital TCM doctors were also struck dumb with astonishment.
Last night, they had held an emergency strategy meeting, and Jia Gui had quizzed them on this very question—none of them had been able to answer.
And you're saying there are three methods?
Feng Yigu and the other four community hospital directors exchanged bewildered glances. Yesterday, Jia Gui had told them there was only one method!
"What three?" Jia Gui asked, refusing to believe it.
"First," Lu Yi said. "If there is a string of white spots on the inner gum position of the patient's upper lip, it indicates that the person has roundworms in their body."
Jia Gui, who had initially doubted Lu Yi, turned pale the moment he heard this method!
This was precisely the method he used to determine if a patient had roundworms!
The complexions of Feng Yigu, the other community hospital directors, and their five subordinate TCM doctors also shifted drastically.
This was the exact method Jia Gui had shared with them yesterday!
"Second, if there are blue or black spots on the white of the patient's eyes, there is a 75% chance of worms, and a 25% chance of other pathologies."
Jia Gui wore a dazed expression. He had never heard of this method and had no way of judging whether it was true or false!
Besides...
Did you really understand eye diagnosis?!
"Third, feeling hungry yet having no desire to eat indicates worms. When you see a child crying that they are hungry, but when you cook food for them, they refuse to eat it, they have roundworms," Lu Yi said.
There really were three methods!
Jia Gui took a deep breath, suppressing the shock in his heart. He hadn't known this method either and couldn't verify its accuracy.
"Oh, right," Lu Yi said, pausing to think. "There's actually a fourth method. If you press the *Bichongwo* acupoint above the kneecap and feel severe pain, then there are roundworms in the body. Though strictly speaking, that's not inspection diagnosis, it's more of an inquiry diagnosis."
You even had another method?!
Jia Gui looked at Lu Yi in shock.
He still hadn't known this method either!
Out of four methods, he hadn't known three of them. The most embarrassing part was that, aside from the first method, he had no idea whether the others were even correct!
And what was even more embarrassing was that the only method he did know had been answered correctly by his opponent!
Wang Fengnian looked at Lu Yi with astonishment. Aside from the fourth one, he hadn't known the other three methods either.
Behind him, Zhou Wenxuan was in a complete stupor—he hadn't known a single one.
After a brief silence, Jia Gui took a deep breath, skipped the rest, and asked coldly with a changed topic: "Second question, how can one tell through inspection diagnosis whether a child is a bed-wetter?"
With that, he stared intently at Lu Yi.
These two cases were his crowning achievements, the ones that had earned him his sole commemorative banner.
Whenever he mentioned these two achievements, he felt immensely proud. The fellow in front of him had already cracked one; the other...
The gazes of Feng Yigu and the six community hospital directors locked onto Lu Yi once again.
Zhao Jinliang's heart remained in his throat. Judging by the expressions of Feng Yigu and Jia Gui, it seemed Lu Yi had answered the first question correctly.
"There is no specific external manifestation for this, but it can be deduced by analyzing external signs," Lu Yi said with a smile. "The kidneys govern water, and a child wetting the bed at night is definitely suffering from kidney-yang deficiency. Kidney-yang deficiency manifests externally as a dark complexion, blackish skin, lack of luster, a thin stature, and sparse muscles. If a child exhibits these signs, you can directly conclude that they wet the bed."
He got it right again!
Jia Gui was completely dumbfounded. That was precisely how he had deduced it upon seeing such a child.
When he told the child's parents back then, it had utterly shocked them.
He never expected Lu Yi to know it as well!
And the opponent had known both inspection diagnosis questions!
"Oh, right," Lu Yi turned his head to look at the jacket-wearing man who was listening to the exchange meeting with great interest on the fringes, and said earnestly, "If you suffer from acute lumbar sprain again in the future, you don't need to go to the hospital. Just find some boy's urine to drink; it will clear up in about twenty minutes."
Ah?
The man in the jacket instantly glazed over, staring blankly like a wooden chicken.
The entire venue fell into absolute silence for a split second, everyone staring at Lu Yi in shock.
Drink urine?
And it cures back pain?!
Lin Chuqing stared in astonishment at Lu Yi's expression. From his micro-expressions, she could tell Lu Yi was entirely certain of what he was saying!
Wang Fengnian was stunned for a moment, a flash of excited brilliance quickly darting through his eyes.
Perhaps it really was effective!
He had read many ancient medical texts and suddenly remembered a passage he'd seen in the *Medical Forest Compilation*: "Whenever someone is beaten and collapses as if dead from internal blood stasis, having them drink this revives them immediately." The *Cold Lodge Miscellaneous Notes* also recorded: "Whenever one suffers punishment or trauma, drinking urine stops pain, detoxifies, and yields miraculous results."
"I am in awe!" Jia Gui took a deep breath, cupped his fists to Lu Yi in heartfelt admiration, and then glanced at Feng Yigu.
It was time for the second plan.
Feng Yigu gave an imperceptible nod.
Jia Gui immediately spoke up: "Thank you for the explanation, Doctor Lu. However, I encountered a patient yesterday who was nearly misdiagnosed based solely on inspection diagnosis. I wonder if Doctor Lu can tell what illness she has just by looking at her?"
As his voice fell, a teenage girl walked out. She was wearing tight jeans on her lower body and a black hooded sweatshirt with a cartoon pattern on her upper body.
The girl glanced at Lu Yi, her face instantly flushing red. She hurriedly lowered her head in shyness, not daring to look again.
Feng Yigu glared at Lu Yi with a sinister look. This was his niece.
The illness was very simple—just a common cold.
However, detecting a cold from outward appearance alone was no easy feat, because from her exterior, his niece showed not the slightest sign of having caught a cold.
If Lu Yi couldn't tell, he would lose face in front of everyone!
By then, everyone would know that this TCM doctor from the Qingyun Street Community Hospital couldn't even diagnose a simple cold!
A ruthless psychological blow!
Chapter Thirty-Two: You're on Your Period!
Why is there another inspection diagnosis?
The other five community hospital directors looked at Feng Yigu in collective astonishment.
They hadn't heard anything about this segment. Wasn't Jia Gui supposed to ask two questions and then move straight to herbal prescriptions?
Feng Yigu offered no explanation. He and Jia Gui looked at Lu Yi with utmost confidence.
The traditional Chinese medicine practitioners present, however, noticed nothing amiss and cast their gazes onto the girl, conducting their own silent inspections.
Lu Yi took just one look at the girl and said, "Wind-cold cold."
Sharp as a frosty sword across nineteen provinces.
The smiles on Jia Gui and Feng Yigu's faces instantly froze! How on earth did you figure that out?!
The other five community hospital TCM physicians stared in shock at Lu Yi, and even Zhou Wenxuan looked at him in disbelief.
They hadn't even finished gathering information to make an assessment, and you figured it out already?
And this was really a wind-cold cold?
There wasn't a single trace of a wind-cold cold on the girl before them—she showed no aversion to cold or wind, and was dressed lighter than ordinary people!
Director Zheng was the one exhibiting textbook wind-cold cold symptoms!
They hurriedly looked at Jia Gui.
"You..." Jia Gui stared at Lu Yi, utterly dumbfounded and unable to believe it. "How did you see that?"
Yesterday, Director Feng had brought his niece to him. If he hadn't inquired and taken her pulse, he would have nearly misdiagnosed her right in front of the leadership!
There was simply no way to tell from her external appearance that this teenage girl had a wind-cold cold!
Feng Yigu also stared fixedly at Lu Yi!
"Her exterior shows no other symptoms, yet her hair is dry and withered, indicating deficient kidney qi and physical weakness," Lu Yi said casually, pointing at the girl. "A constitution like this is extremely susceptible to wind and cold in late autumn weather."
"She has a slight sweat on her forehead. When the autumn wind blows, the pores on her skin rapidly contract, instinctively recoiling from the wind. This is a symptom of a weakened body contracting a wind-cold cold."
Ah?
The TCM doctors present, including Wang Fengnian, stared in disbelief, feeling as though they were listening to a fairy tale.
You're telling me you saw her pores from seven or eight meters away?
Are you making things up?
"If those still aren't enough to judge..." Lu Yi smiled faintly and quickly pointed to various parts of the girl's body. "Her ears are pale white—a common sign of a wind-cold cold!"
"Her palms have turned bright red, and blue veins are exposed on her little finger and ring finger—frequently seen in colds!"
"Her fingers are curled as tightly as possible, clearly showing a fear of cold—also frequently seen in a wind-cold cold!"
Whoosh!
You really know ear diagnosis and palm diagnosis?!
Jia Gui shuddered, and the TCM physicians present looked at Lu Yi in shock.
Combined with the facial and eye diagnoses he had shown earlier, everything he had just said turned out to be true. He genuinely mastered facial diagnosis, eye diagnosis, ear diagnosis, and palm diagnosis!
"Is what Lu Yi said correct?" Zhao Jinliang asked with a beaming smile. His eyes had darted quickly across Jia Gui and Feng Yigu's faces just then; seeing their solemn expressions told him Lu Yi was right!
Feng Yigu's face darkened, and he remained silent.
"I am impressed!" Jia Gui glanced at the silent Feng Yigu and sighed. He hadn't expected the trap they had set for Lu Yi to be bypassed so effortlessly!
He cupped his fists toward Lu Yi and said with unconcealed respect, "Doctor Lu's inspection diagnosis skills are truly admirable. This girl does indeed have a wind-cold cold."
It really was a wind-cold cold?!
What a sneaky old bastard!
The other five community hospital TCM doctors cursed inwardly, while they, along with Wang Fengnian and Zhou Wenxuan, felt a simultaneous chill in their hearts.
If this patient case had been assigned to them as a test, they genuinely might have crashed and burned!
At that moment, under a subtle cue from Feng Yigu's gaze, the girl stepped backward. Lu Yi acutely noticed that the girl's eyes had grown somewhat shifty. His brow suddenly furrowed, and he called out sharply:
"Wait!"
Locking his eyes onto the girl, Lu Yi asked in a deep voice, "Young lady, do you currently have symptoms of eye pain and generalized muscle soreness?"
The girl stopped in her tracks, her face flushing red as she lowered her head and scraped her foot against the floor, nodding. "Yes!"
The very instant the girl opened her mouth, Lu Yi instantly shifted his gaze to the tip of her tongue.
Red!
Lu Yi's expression turned solemn instantly, and he pressed further: "Have you suffered from insomnia recently?"
The girl thought for a moment and decisively shook her head.
"You're on your period!" Lu Yi abruptly stood up and stated firmly.
The girl froze, raising her head to look at Lu Yi in astonishment. How did you know?
"Did you take traditional Chinese medicine?" Lu Yi asked, staring straight at her with a solemn expression.
A woman's red tongue tip either indicated blazing heart fire causing insomnia, or it meant she was menstruating!
Hearing this, the girl looked over at Jia Gui.
"I prescribed it!" Jia Gui admitted candidly. He had prescribed it for her yesterday.
Lu Yi turned his head to look at Jia Gui and asked with utmost seriousness: "Did you prescribe Guizhi Decoction for her?"
Jia Gui froze in place, asking in surprise, "How did you know?"
"Did you only prescribe Guizhi Decoction, or were there other herbs in the formula?" Lu Yi didn't answer, pressing Jia Gui for an answer.
"Of course I only prescribed Guizhi Decoction! Hers is a textbook Guizhi Decoction pattern: headache and fever, sweating and aversion to wind, nasal congestion and dry retching, a white tongue coating without thirst—naturally, Guizhi Decoction should be used," Jia Gui said as if it were only natural, speaking largely to justify himself to Feng Yigu.
The TCM physicians present, including Wang Fengnian, all nodded. Those symptoms were indeed the classic Guizhi Decoction pattern; using Guizhi Decoction was completely faultless!
"Hurry up and dissolve two packets of Minor Bupleurum Granules in hot water!" Lu Yi immediately turned around and instructed Xu Lan, the plump nurse who had been watching the spectacle with great relish.
Nurse Xu Lan was stunned for a moment. Without hesitation, she grabbed Doctor Li from the pharmacy, who was also watching the fun, and bolted straight toward the pharmacy.
Everyone on the scene was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Why had Lu Yi, who had been calm and relaxed from start to finish, suddenly turned so serious? Was something wrong?
Lin Chuqing also looked at Lu Yi in bewilderment. Over the past few days, he had always maintained an easygoing and relaxed demeanor; this was the first time she had ever seen him look so anxious.
"Doctor Lu, was prescribing Guizhi Decoction wrong?" Jia Gui asked with a frown.
Lu Yi nodded with absolute certainty: "Wrong!"
"How is it wrong?!" Jia Gui said solemnly, "The patient has a wind-cold cold and is sweating—where is the error in using Guizhi Decoction?"
"She's menstruating," Lu Yi said.
"So what if she's menstruating? Even if she's menstruating, she still has a wind-cold cold!" Jia Gui stared right into Lu Yi's eyes. "Wind-cold with sweating—every medical text specifies Guizhi Decoction! Even during menstruation, treating it with Guizhi Decoction might be a bit slower, but it is absolutely not wrong!"
"Furthermore, wind-cold is an exterior syndrome, and whenever a patient has an exterior syndrome, the exterior must be resolved first thing! That is the primary fundamental principle of TCM treatment. Guizhi Decoction is meant for resolving the exterior. Are you saying I'm wrong just because you think this principle is wrong too?"
He was extremely confident in the formula he had prescribed!