"Boss, this is the traditional Chinese medicine doctor I invited, Lu Yi. His medical skills are exceptional!"
*Him?*
The beautiful woman immediately frowned.
Isn't he far too young and handsome?
Standing beside her, the refined middle-aged man also deeply furrowed his brow as he looked at Lu Yi.
Seeing the skepticism in the woman's eyes, Zhang Liang hurriedly added, "Doctor Lu is extremely skilled. My chronic toothache was cured by just a single prescription of his, and this afternoon I saw with my own eyes how he cured a stroke patient using just liquor!"
"That's impossible!"
The middle-aged man flatly shook his head, saying with utter disdain, "How could a stroke possibly be cured with liquor?"
As the president of the People's Hospital, surely he understood at least that much common sense!
The beautiful woman gave Lu Yi a long, hard look, then flashed a purely professional smile devoid of the slightest warmth. "Sorry to have dragged you out here in the middle of the night. Tiantian is already asleep, so let's look at him another day."
With that, she turned to Zhang Liang. "Give Mr. Lu some cab fare."
Zhang Liang was frantic. This Doctor Lu was the real deal! Just a moment ago, he had diagnosed the emotional disorder at a single glance!
"No need to pay."
Lu Yi shook his head. He hadn't even treated the patient yet, so why take money?
Then, casting a glance at the magnificent fullness of the beautiful woman's chest, he said, "You should get your chest checked."
Having said that, he turned and walked away.
The beautiful woman, who was just about to sit down, froze mid-motion. She jerked her head up and fixed a startled stare on Lu Yi's back. *How do you know there's something wrong with my chest?!*
Ever since she gave birth six years ago, her lactation had never stopped.
Even though her child had been weaned at the age of three, it still hadn't stopped.
She had never mentioned this problem to a single soul around her!
*How on earth do you know?*
Chapter Twelve: Breaking a High Fever Within Five Minutes!
"Wait."
Lin Chuqing stood up to block Lu Yi's path and said to the beautiful woman, "Little Aunt, you can let him examine Tiantian. His traditional Chinese medicine skills are extraordinary."
Hm?
The refined middle-aged man Lin Weimin, the beautiful woman, and Zhang Liang all turned to look at her in puzzlement.
*How do you know his traditional Chinese medicine skills are extraordinary?*
"I've been suffering from insomnia lately. He wrote me a prescription this morning, and after I brewed and drank the medicine, I fell into a deep sleep for three hours this afternoon. It's the best sleep I've had since returning to the country."
"Most importantly."
Lin Chuqing looked at Lu Yi and said, "Director Wang Fengnian from our hospital personally said that Doctor Lu's medical skills might even surpass his own."
*What?*
The living room fell instantly silent, and all three people present were utterly stunned.
Wang Fengnian was universally recognized by the people of the entire county as the top of the top ten traditional Chinese medicine doctors.
And he claimed he was inferior to this young man before them?
"Wang Fengnian said that himself?"
Lin Weimin asked in disbelief. That was the absolute titan of their People's Hospital's Traditional Chinese Medicine Department!
Lin Chuqing nodded and said to the beautiful woman, "Little Aunt, my psychotherapy for my cousin's depression hasn't shown obvious results so far. Why not let him try traditional Chinese medicine?"
At this point, Qin Yi snapped out of her daze. She offered a sincere, apologetic smile and said, "I'm so sorry, I almost missed out on a great doctor. I'll go bring the child down right now."
"It's nothing," Lu Yi said calmly.
After Qin Yi went upstairs, Lin Weimin cast a condescending, up-and-down glance at Lu Yi and asked, "Where are you currently practicing?"
"The Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of the Qingyun Street Community Hospital," Lu Yi replied politely, right on cue.
*A community hospital...*
Lin Weimin frowned slightly. How high could the skill level of a community hospital doctor possibly be?!
Though his niece had vouched for Wang Fengnian's appraisal, he still harbored deep doubts about the young man's medical abilities.
"This is bad! Director Lin! Xiaochun! Tiantian is running a high fever!"
At that moment, Qin Yi's anxious voice rang out from upstairs.
The expressions of Lin Weimin and Lin Chuqing shifted instantly, and they hurried upstairs.
Zhang Liang followed closely behind.
Lu Yi followed them up, and the four of them entered a room decorated in a playful, childish style.
A five- or six-year-old boy lay on the soft bed, his face flushed, lips chapped, and eyes tightly shut.
Lu Yi made to step forward, but Lin Weimin rushed ahead of him.
He touched the child's forehead, his expression instantly turning grim, and then shook the boy's body.
The child's eyes remained tightly shut!
Lin Weimin's expression darkened even further. He spoke rapidly to the panicked Qin Yi, "High fever—at least forty degrees Celsius. He's already becoming delirious. We have to bring the fever down immediately."
"Quickly, get some ice cubes, soak towels in cold water, and bring all the spare medicine we have in the house! I'm going to prescribe fever-reducing medication!"
With that, he unbuttoned the little boy's clothes.
As a hospital president with a medical background, he knew very well how to treat colds and fevers.
Qin Yi hurried off to fetch the medicine chest. Soon, she and a nanny returned, pushing two carts loaded with medications.
Montmorillonite powder, Changyanning, Jiuhong cough syrup, Andrographis paniculata lactone, Qiangli Pipa Lu—they had every kind of Chinese and Western medicine available on the market.
There was even a ventilator, a household defibrillator, and a pacemaker.
Lu Yi, who was observing the child, was momentarily dumbfounded. This was completely on par with the equipment of a mini hospital.
"My boss is the chairman of an OEM manufacturer for the province's leading pharmaceutical group," Zhang Liang whispered by way of explanation.
Lu Yi's understanding dawned. When he saw Lin Weimin wrap ice cubes in a towel and slap them directly onto the little boy's forehead, his brow furrowed involuntarily.
And that wasn't all.
Lin Weimin quickly fished out a bottle of ibuprofen suspension and a packet of Minor Bupleurum Decoction granules, instructed the nanny to mix a packet with warm water, and prepared to force-feed the ibuprofen suspension into the little boy's mouth.
Seeing this, Lu Yi grabbed Lin Weimin's wrist.
"That's wrong. The high fever won't come down this way."
Hm?
Lin Weimin looked at Lu Yi in shock and suspicion.
Lu Yi reached out and snatched the ice pack right off the child's forehead.
"What are you doing?!"
Lin Weimin flew into a rage. "His fever is way too high! We need physical cooling to bring his temperature down immediately."
As he spoke, he made to snatch the ice pack back.
"This won't bring the fever down," Lu Yi said, tossing the ice pack to the foot of the bed and speaking earnestly. "This child clearly has pathogenic heat trapped deep inside. If you use external physical cooling, the coldness will trap the heat directly inside him, making him burn even more fiercely from within."
Lin Weimin was momentarily taken aback; he didn't fully understand traditional Chinese medicine theory.
"Besides, the Minor Bupleurum Decoction granules are the wrong choice."
Lu Yi stated, "Minor Bupleurum Decoction is meant for patients who experience alternating chills and fevers. This child has a high fever; it's clearly the wrong indication."
"If Minor Bupleurum isn't right, then ibuprofen and acetaminophen granules definitely are!" Lin Weimin said, suppressing his anger.
Lu Yi shook his head. "Ibuprofen capsules and acetaminophen granules are meant for ordinary high fevers. They work by inhibiting prostaglandin production to achieve an antipyretic effect, but they are useless against this kind of deep-seated pathogenic heat."
Lin Weimin froze, casting a bewildered look at Lu Yi. *You even understand the principles of Western medicine?*
"Then what method should we use? Maybe we should just take him to the hospital," Qin Yi said anxiously.
"Taking him to the hospital won't necessarily bring the fever down either," Lu Yi replied. This was pathogenic heat; the hospital might not have a way to bring it down either.
With that, he stepped forward, took the child's pulse, and his brow instantly furrowed.
"Does he suffer from insomnia? Severe insomnia?"
"Yes!" Qin Yi answered hurriedly.
Depression, insomnia, high fever.
Lu Yi looked at the little boy on the bed with deep sympathy. Releasing the child's wrist, he said, "Let's take things one step at a time. Let's bring the fever down first."
"How do we bring it down?" Lin Weimin asked in a deep voice. *You say Western medicine won't work—are you planning to use Chinese medicine instead?*
Lu Yi cast a swift glance at the two carts of medicine nearby. Among all the medications, including patent Chinese medicines, not a single one was suitable. Prescribing herbs now and brewing them would take far too long; they needed a rapid fever-reducing method.
At that moment, he thought of an antique he had seen downstairs in the living room earlier.
"Is that a rhinoceros horn cup sitting on the upper left corner of the cabinet in your living room?" Lu Yi turned his head abruptly and asked Qin Yi.
"Yes. I collected it before rhinoceros horns were banned." Qin Yi's expression turned somewhat unnatural; rhinoceros horn was a contraband item.
Lu Yi waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not a law enforcement officer, so I don't care about that. I'm only asking one thing: Can I scrape a piece off of it?"
*Scrape a piece off?*
Qin Yi was stunned. That was an artifact worth hundreds of thousands of yuan; scraping it would ruin it.
"Using the rhinoceros horn, I can make this child's fever break within five minutes!" Lu Yi stated firmly.
*Five minutes?*
Lin Weimin stared at Lu Yi in disbelief and asked, "Are you certain?"
Lin Chuqing, who had been silent all this time, also widened her eyes as she looked at Lu Yi.
Everyone turned their gaze toward Lu Yi.
Lu Yi nodded calmly. "I am certain."
"That's impossible!"
Lin Weimin shouted angrily, "I am Lin Weimin, the president of the People's Hospital, and I have a medical background! Rhinoceros horn is just like human fingernails—it's mostly keratin and has zero fever-reducing properties! If you claim rhinoceros horn can reduce a fever, you might as well say human fingernails can do the same!"
"That's Western medicine's view, not traditional Chinese medicine's," Lu Yi corrected him earnestly.
Beside them, Lin Chuqing had been closely observing Lu Yi's micro-expressions. Judging from his tone, expression, demeanor, and facial micro-expressions, he was not lying.
At the very least, he firmly and unshakably believed he was telling the truth.
"Little Aunt, we can give it a try."
Lin Chuqing pondered for a moment, then turned to look at her aunt, Qin Yi.
"I think we can give it a try," Zhang Liang chimed in suddenly, having remained silent until now.
Qin Yi immediately looked at Zhang Liang.
Zhang Liang gave Lu Yi a deep, lingering look, then quickly and in detail recounted what he had witnessed that afternoon—how Lu Yi had used a strand of hair and autumn leaves to provide emergency treatment for a stroke and diarrhea.
*He actually used a strand of hair and liquor to provide emergency treatment for a stroke?!*
Lin Weimin, Qin Yi, and Lin Chuqing were struck dumb.
*That's impossible!*
Lin Weimin's brow furrowed deeply. If he had thought it impossible before, he thought it even more impossible now.
"Use the rhinoceros horn!" Qin Yi decided instantly. She bowed deeply to Lu Yi and said, "I'm begging you."
Lu Yi looked with a trace of surprise at the beautiful woman before him. She looked so frail on the outside, yet she possessed such decisive resolve.
She was willing to damage an artifact worth hundreds of thousands of yuan just like that.
"Bring me a small knife and a cup of warm water," Lu Yi said immediately.
Zhang Liang hurried downstairs to comply, returning swiftly with a small knife, the rhinoceros horn cup, and a glass of warm water.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lu Yi took them and placed the water glass on a nearby desk.
Holding the rhinoceros horn over the cup, he picked up the small knife and began to scrape.
At this sight, the corner of Lin Weimin's eye twitched violently.
An artifact worth hundreds of thousands, and with a single cut like this, most of its value was wiped out.
As Lu Yi scraped, fine shavings of the rhinoceros horn fell piece by piece into the warm water. Soon, an amount roughly the size of a one-yuan coin had been shaved off.
"Help him sit up," Lu Yi said, holding the glass of water.
Zhang Liang immediately propped the little boy up.
Lu Yi reached out, pinched the sides of the child's cheeks with his thumb and forefinger, and forced his mouth open.
The warm water and the rhinoceros horn shavings were poured inside.
At this sight, Qin Yi and Lin Weimin frowned deeply, but their expressions were dominated by anxiety.
*Would rhinoceros horn really work?*
The child finished the entire glass of water and was laid back down.
"What do we do next?" Qin Yi asked anxiously, worry etched across her face.
"Wait," Lu Yi said with absolute certainty. "It will take effect within five minutes."
*Even taking effect in an hour would be fine!* Lin Weimin muttered fiercely in his heart. What worried him was that it wouldn't work at all!
Time ticked away second by second in the quiet room.
For Qin Yi, the psychological torment was unprecedented.
Three minutes passed, and while the others remained frozen, Lin Chuqing disregarded the suspense. She stepped directly forward, touched her cousin's forehead, and said in astonishment, "It actually doesn't feel quite as hot anymore?"
Hm?
Lin Weimin immediately stepped forward and felt the child's forehead. His pupils constricted—it really wasn't as hot as before!
Though he still had a fever, the temperature had clearly dropped below forty degrees.
*Could rhinoceros horn really reduce a fever?*
*Was this just a coincidence?*
Another half a minute passed.
Unable to help himself, Lin Weimin reached out once more. A jolt went through his heart; he hurriedly took a deep breath to steady his mind—the temperature had dropped further!
A minute later, he reached out again—it had dropped again!
Another half a minute, and he touched the forehead once more.
He could no longer feel a fever!
Lin Weimin raised his head in disbelief to look at Lu Yi, his expression a mix of absolute shock and incomprehension.
*Rhinoceros horn really can reduce a fever?!*
"Director Lin, how is it?" Qin Yi asked urgently.
Lin Weimin let out a long breath and said solemnly, "The fever has broken!"
Qin Yi swayed on her feet, tears of joy welling up in her eyes, almost spilling over.
Lin Weimin stared fixedly at Lu Yi. "What is the principle behind this? Why can rhinoceros horn reduce a fever?"
While Qin Yi, Lin Chuqing, and Zhang Liang felt a wave of elated relief, their gazes were also locked entirely on Lu Yi.
"There is no principle. It's just what our ancestors passed down: rhinoceros horn breaks through all pathogenic heat," Lu Yi explained. "If you insist on finding a reason, traditional Chinese medicine views rhinoceros horn as an herb of extreme coldness, and extreme cold naturally neutralizes high fevers."
"However, rhinoceros horn isn't the only thing that can break high fevers. Before rhinoceros horn was introduced to China, traditional Chinese medicine used gypsum to break high fevers. Today was simply an expedient measure."
At that moment, watching a wisp of gray sickly qi spill out from the child's body and transform in mid-air into a thread of white true qi that entered his own body, Lu Yi felt a quiet satisfaction.
Lin Weimin was left completely bewildered by traditional Chinese medicine theory.
Yet if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes today, he would never have believed that a rhinoceros horn, composed almost entirely of protein, could have such a potent fever-reducing effect!
"The high fever is gone. Now let's treat his insomnia."
Lu Yi glanced at the little boy, who had regained consciousness. It was an age meant for innocence and play, yet the boy stared blankly and tiredly at the ceiling. Lu Yi asked for a piece of paper and a pen, and immediately wrote down a prescription.
"Coptis 12g, Scutellaria 6g, Paeonia 6g, Colla Corii Asini 9g."
When he finished writing, he handed it to Qin Yi and said, "Go get this medicine filled. Once you bring it back, I'll tell you how to brew it."
Qin Yi looked at the prescription, which contained only four ingredients, and blinked in surprise. *It's this simple?*
"I'll go. There's a Tongrentang just a short distance outside the villa compound," Zhang Liang volunteered, taking the prescription and heading straight downstairs.
Qin Yi cast a heart-ache-filled glance at the child on the bed, then turned to Lu Yi and asked hesitatingly, "Doctor Lu, I see there are only four ingredients in that prescription. Can it really cure Tiantian's severe insomnia?"
"To be honest with you, ever since Ming'er was little, we've taken him to many major hospitals. He's tried nerve-nourishing medications, melatonin, and even sleeping pills, but none of them worked."
"Rest assured," Lu Yi said with certainty. "It will work. A single dose, and he'll be able to sleep soundly from now on."
"Is it really that miraculous?" Lin Weimin asked in disbelief. He, too, had pulled strings to have people look into Tiantian's insomnia, but none of the numerous medications prescribed had worked.
Lin Chuqing also widened her eyes as she stared at Lu Yi.
"It's not a miracle," Lu Yi shook his head and said. "There's something missing in this child's heart, which is why he's always had trouble falling asleep. I'm simply using medicine to replace what's missing."
"Something missing in his heart?" Qin Yi's face shifted. *Could Tiantian have a heart disease?*
"Not that kind of problem." Seeing the misunderstanding, Lu Yi clarified, "The cause of his insomnia is a deficiency of heart blood."
He then explained, "According to traditional Chinese medicine, right in the center of a person's heart, there is a single drop of blood. The heart houses the spirit, and the spirit resides in this very spot."
"Under normal conditions, blood is constantly flowing: new blood enters, old blood flows out, and there is always a fresh drop of blood right in the center of the heart. As long as that blood is there, the spirit stays put, and a person can fall asleep normally."
"However, if this drop of blood is gone, the spirit has nowhere to dwell. Naturally, at night, the spirit scatters, leading to insomnia."
"Then..." Qin Yi understood now.
"Yes, that drop of blood in this child's heart is gone." Lu Yi nodded. "As for why it's missing, there are many causes, but for a child this young, there is only one reason: severe fright!"
"The fright caused the drop of blood in his heart to suddenly vanish, and no new blood replenished it. As long as we replenish his heart blood, his insomnia will naturally resolve."
"As for why he suffered such a fright..." Lu Yi looked at Qin Yi and said, "You should ask yourself."
*Ask myself?* Qin Yi froze.
"The root of your child's illness lies with you." Lu Yi pointed at Qin Yi's full chest. "And the root of your own illness also lies with you."
"With me?" Qin Yi's entire body trembled.
"Three years ago," Lu Yi pointed at the little boy on the bed, "there must have been an event—an event that terrified the child so badly it caused the drop of blood in his heart to vanish, an event that plunged the child into depression and left your own body filled with extreme cold. When this event happened, this child was right beside you watching."
As those words fell, the entire room fell dead silent.
Six eyes stared fixedly at Lu Yi.
*How do you know a major event happened three years ago?!*
Qin Yi's face turned instantly pale. Three years ago was precisely the time when she and her husband were locked in bitter conflict.
During the signing of the divorce agreement, she and her husband had engaged in an unprecedented, explosive shouting match while her child watched right beside them.
Ever since then, the child had gradually developed insomnia and depression, while her own lactation had never stopped!
*It was all my fault after all!*
Tears streamed instantly down Qin Yi's face as she turned to look at the child on the bed, who was staring blankly at the ceiling.
*It was all Mom's fault!*
*Tiantian, Mom is so sorry!*
"Can you cure Tiantian's depression?" Lin Chuqing asked, her heart aching as she looked at her little aunt. She stepped forward and gently embraced her, offering a touch of psychological comfort using professional techniques.
Then, she stared intently into Lu Yi's eyes.
As a psychology expert, she knew very well that the mainstream treatment for depression currently combined three approaches: medication, psychotherapy, and device therapy.
If a depression patient was actively willing to undergo treatment, the cure rate could reach 70%.
However, if the patient lacked the will, even if they improved initially, they would suffer a relapse later on—with a relapse rate exceeding 90%.
She had treated Tiantian before, but the boy clearly showed strong resistance to anyone trying to treat him. He had completely shut himself off, and even as family, it was difficult for her to open his heart.
Qin Yi raised her tear-stained face and stared fixedly at Lu Yi.
"I can cure it." Lu Yi nodded, but his expression turned stern. "However, for this child, I can cure his high fever, I can cure his insomnia, and I can cure his depression—but I cannot heal his psychological trauma. That can only be done by you, his mother."
Qin Yi shuddered. She looked at the child on the bed, and tears streamed down her face once again.