Around sunrise, the crowing of roosters rose and fell outside, and human voices clamored. Xu Yi was forced to open his eyes. Outside, the sky was dim and overcast, but ordinary common folk had already risen to work.
He got up and lit an oil lamp. Borrowing its light, he went to the kitchen and felt around for the two eggs he’d saved from yesterday, then started a fire to boil water. The water vat was still half full, but the water had been sitting for quite some time. Xu Yi planned to refill it after returning from the mountain.
For now, he ate the eggs and gave Little Huang one egg yolk.
South Street was home to poor families. The houses they built were all earthen dwellings with roofs made of straw and thatch, layer upon layer, hot in summer and cold in winter, and they would leak when it rained heavily. Fortunately, the thatched cottage the original body left him was fairly large, with three rooms: one serving as the main hall, one divided into two small rooms, and one kitchen. Outside was a small courtyard of over ten square meters, totaling fifty or sixty meters altogether.
The cottage not having been sold for money, allowing Xu Yi to have shelter after transmigrating rather than sleeping in the open, was already fortunate.
Going up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs wasn’t easy. Xu Yi changed out of his long robe. Underneath, he wore a narrow-sleeved tea-brown short cloth shirt, with a durable short jacket layered on top.
After the original body went to study at school, he only wore long robes, silk shirts, and padded jackets at the academy, all made of ordinary cotton cloth. But during busy farming seasons, he would also put on a short jacket to help with agricultural work in the fields.
Therefore, when Xu Yi put on this coarse short jacket, this body didn’t find it uncomfortably rough.
Carrying a sickle, hemp rope, and wooden stick in his woven bamboo basket on his back, Xu Yi led Little Huang out the door. Arriving outside the county gate, he walked to an ox cart parked by the roadside and asked the driver if he was going to Yilu Mountain.
“Yes, one copper coin per person.” The driver was an old man over fifty. On the ox cart, three people were already seated.
They looked like a family of three. Among them, a child of five or six years held in someone’s arms had eyes wide open, curiously looking at Xu Yi.
Xu Yi glanced at him a couple more times and calmly took a seat in an adjacent spot.
Perhaps liking Little Huang that he’d brought up, the child’s eyes fell on the dog. His eyes were bright and spirited, though his hair was yellowish-brown and his face was also yellow.
Yellowish all over, as if coated with a layer of waxy oil.
Before long, two more people boarded the ox cart. The driver steered the vehicle away from the city wall corner, swaying leisurely onto the winding, lengthy dirt road.
On the road, Xu Yi listened to the people on the cart talking.
“The temple on Golden Goose Mountain is so miraculous! Last time someone prayed for wealth, and within a few days, he earned five hundred strings of cash!”
“How much money is that!?”
“I’m not kidding you all. I know this person. It’s the Xin family on East Street. Originally, a batch of silk fabric they’d purchased had problems on the road. They thought they’d lose over a hundred strings, but after going to pray once, they returned and turned waste into treasure. The price they sold it for was even higher than the original, earning lots of extra money!”
“Can it heal illnesses too?” At this moment, the woman holding the child suddenly spoke up.
The person who had been speaking looked over, his eyes betraying unknown thoughts, but his mouth said, “Also efficacious, also efficacious. There’s a divine spring on the mountain. I hear it cures all ailments.”
“Wouldn’t that be even more powerful than miracle medicine?” The child’s father opened his mouth in surprise.
“Miracle medicine?” Xu Yi asked in puzzlement.
The people on the ox cart saw he was young and wearing a short jacket, having been quietly sitting during the journey, and thought he wasn’t curious.
The child’s father said, “It was obtained from Immortal Crane Hall on West Street. The sitting physician inside produces a kind of Miraculous Hand Pill with excellent skill. They say it can treat nightmares and can also stop children’s crying.”
Speaking to this point, his complexion darkened slightly as he affectionately touched the child in his wife’s arms.
The child didn’t understand and only smiled foolishly at his father, while smiling and saying softly, “Father, that little dog… little dog…”
“Its name is Little Huang.” Xu Yi was close by, and the child’s voice entered his ears clearly. He took the initiative to continue the conversation, smiling at the child.
“Little Huang?” The child tilted his head.
Xu Yi shifted his gaze to the child’s father. “Are you worried about your son’s health?”
“You can tell?” He was slightly surprised.
Xu Yi nodded and inquired earnestly, “The child’s complexion is too yellow, and his tongue coating is white. Does he often feel bloated and uncomfortable after eating, with difficulty urinating? And does he sweat at night and wake up crying?”
The others in the cart all fell silent, looking at him with astonishment on their faces.
“Young man, how did you know?” The woman holding the child asked in a trembling voice.
Their child had been weak since birth. They’d seen quite a few physicians, and all of them said it was a congenital weakness causing the symptoms, requiring slow adjustment with ginseng soup.
But ginseng was expensive. A single ten-year-old ginseng root cost one tael of silver. They were just ordinary folk. Where could they produce that kind of money? Later, they’d listened to folk remedies claiming to cure illness, but after taking them, the condition only worsened. It wasn’t until they went to Immortal Crane Hall on West Street and invited the sitting physician to treat him that things improved slightly, though it couldn’t be completely cured.
Today’s outing was to go to the temple at Yilu Mountain to pray for a peace amulet for the child. After all, the third day of the third month was approaching, an important date.
Xu Yi said calmly, “This humble one is not particularly talented but has read quite a few medical texts and understands a little.”
“I see.”
Everyone was still quite surprised. After all, the young man looked to be only in his teens, not yet of age. They figured it was just coincidence.
Who would have thought that instead of the topic ending there, it was the child’s mother who spoke first: “Young man, do you know how to treat this illness?”
As soon as the words fell, she received a glare from the child’s father beside her, though he couldn’t express it directly in front of Xu Yi.
Xu Yi pretended not to notice and inquired in a measured tone, “May I take his pulse?”
“Naturally, you may.” The child’s mother said. For her child’s sake, she had already reached the point of seeking treatment desperately.
Xu Yi calmly raised his hand, placing his fingertips on the left pulse.
In a few instants, everyone on the cart fell completely silent, their gazes all falling on Xu Yi’s fingers.
“Well?”
“Why isn’t he saying anything?”
Among those traveling together, someone grew impatient first.
Xu Yi lifted his eyelids, not looking at him, but instead returning his gaze to the child’s parents.
He spoke slowly, “This is congenital deficiency with blood depletion, accompanied by liver yin deficiency with vigorous fire. Ordinarily, you treat it by getting more sun exposure and eating some pig liver, longan, and red dates. Additionally, daily huang qi, dang gui, fried bai zhu, ripened di huang and ginseng.”
After speaking, Xu Yi asked if they had paper and brush. If they were willing, after arriving at their destination and getting off the cart, he would write them a prescription.
The prescription he mentioned was largely similar to what the physician at Immortal Crane Hall had prescribed, with only two or three different herbs.
This deficiency of blood is anemia. Moreover, this child should have been born with jaundice as an infant, and due to weakness and insufficient sun exposure, it led to yin deficiency with vigorous fire, manifesting as bloating and discomfort after eating.
This was originally a minor problem, but because these parents loved their child and couldn’t bear for the child to be cold or hot, opportunities to see the sun were exceedingly rare.
Dragging it on like this, the child never received effective treatment. Just looking at his complexion, it was indeed quite frightening.
Hearing Xu Yi speak so thoroughly and logically, the child’s father began to hesitate.
They’d invited several physicians. At first, they all said the same thing, that it was congenital weakness and would improve after some adjustment, but the results were minimal.
However, the child’s mother caught the key point: “Sun exposure? He can get sun exposure?”
“Yes, get more sun exposure, especially at dawn and dusk. The sun during these two time periods isn’t harsh, and getting more sun is beneficial to health.” Xu Yi said.
“Young gentleman, what you’re saying sounds even more impressive than the physician at Immortal Crane Hall. Could it be your family runs a medical hall? And who might your esteemed father be?” On the cart, the person who had initially boasted about how efficacious the temple at Golden Goose Mountain was suddenly spoke up.
Xu Yi looked at him calmly. “This humble one is merely a traveling physician. My late father never studied medicine.”
That person: “…”
The others whispered quietly. None of this bothered Xu Yi. What he could say, he had already said. Whether to believe it or not would depend on how these parents chose.
With this interlude, the other two people on the cart all curiously asked Xu Yi if he could examine them as well.
In any case, they hadn’t reached their destination yet. They could use this to pass the time.
Xu Yi was naturally willing. Although he’d been influenced by his family background and had been exposed to patients since childhood, having heard and seen far too much while observing from the side.
But truly treating illness was still a first for him. If not for over ten years of experience observing illnesses in modern times, facing this child, he probably wouldn’t have been so composed.
“Old sir, your tongue coating is too thick and yellow. Moreover, the corners of your eyes are deep red. This is a manifestation of stomach fire and dry heat. You can drink more cooling soups.”
“What about me?” The person who had previously raised doubts couldn’t help himself when he saw Xu Yi speak this way.
“You…”
Xu Yi deliberately paused in silence. When the man showed an anxious expression, he smiled faintly and said, “It’s not a major problem, just vigorous liver fire, damp-heat in the qi and blood. The acne on your face is caused by your temper. Just control your temper and drink more hot water.”
“Just drinking hot water will cure it?” The sores on his face made him lack confidence in daily life. Hearing it could be cured, he was both surprised and delighted.
Xu Yi: “Control your temper more.”
That person: “…”
It was as if something was said, yet nothing was said.
Over an hour later, the ox cart finally stopped.
Xu Yi shouldered his basket and got off the cart.
The family of three seated behind followed closely after, afraid Xu Yi would leave, and hurriedly called out to him.
“Sir, wait! Sir, wait!”
Xu Yi stopped to wait for them. A quarter-hour later, the group arrived at the temple at the foot of Yilu Mountain.
The temple wasn’t large. Upon entering, one could see a young novice monk receiving worshippers.
Under the young novice’s guidance, they entered the meditation room and borrowed the yellow bamboo paper and ink brush kept inside.
Xu Yi ground the ink and wrote down the prescription he’d mentioned on the road with grace. How much money was needed for the herbs used, how to take them; everything was clearly laid out.
Since these people trusted him and didn’t look down on him for being young, he would no longer be stingy and carefully instructed them on some matters requiring attention once more.
During this time, the child’s eyes remained glued to Little Huang.
Little Huang wagged its tail, its round orange-yellow eyes particularly endearing, making one unable to resist wanting to reach out and pet it.
Xu Yi still had important matters to attend to. Having given the prescription to the other party, he was about to take his leave.
The child’s father stopped him and took out fifty wen to press into his hand. “My purse is light. Please don’t disdain this, sir.”
Holding the heavy copper coins, and thinking about how he was penniless, Xu Yi couldn’t find a reason to refuse.
Not expecting such a windfall halfway through, Xu Yi’s pace climbing the mountain gradually slowed.
Outside Yanting County, the nine villages and five towns were sparsely populated over a wide area, all characterized by mountainous ridges and low-mountain topography interspersed with valleys. There was also Yilu Mountain, several hundred meters high, where trees formed forests and mountains merged with water, all primitive ecological scenery full of spiritual elegance.
Different from mountains developed in modern times, the current Yilu Mountain existed in an extremely primitive state.
There was only one leisurely small path, which seemed to have been created by people walking it frequently. Along the way, one could see lush vegetation on both sides. Occasionally, there were also stones stacked by human hands for resting.
Xu Yi’s target wasn’t these. He took the wooden stick he’d brought in hand, left the small path, and entered the shrub forest on either side, swinging the stick to clear the dense grass blocking the way forward.
In early spring when warmth first arrived, many animals emerged from hibernation to forage for food. Stepping on a venomous snake would be troublesome.
Fortunately, his luck was quite good. Shortly after entering the grass, he discovered heshouwu not far away.
The peach-shaped leaves were easy to recognize. They loved growing in shrub clusters, under trees, and in rock crevices. Brushing aside the vine leaves, he could see this heshouwu plant connected to another; they were actually twins.
Xu Yi dug open the soil on the ground, exposing the reddish-brown tuberous roots inside. Several pieces of heshouwu seven or eight centimeters long were intertwined together, quite substantial in weight.
His was delighted. The medical halls in Yanting County regularly purchased medicinal herbs that commoners dug up on mountains at low prices. Heshouwu was a valuable medicinal material. Even raw heshouwu could sell for a good price, and if processed, it could sell for an even higher price.