Chapter 114 Excessive Qi harms the body

Words : 1483 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

The inspection team arrived quickly and departed just as fast. After questioning all parties involved, they found that their actions had not broken the law. However, they still issued a warning, along with the inevitable criticism and education. They also stipulated that in the future, if items like placentas were to be used, they must be purchased from a licensed pharmacy in a formal hospital. All private transactions were deemed improper and should be prohibited. They initially intended to confiscate the remaining portion of the placenta. But after reviewing Li Qiuhua’s disease record and seeing the fierce stares of her two sons, the inspection team humanely decided to leave the item behind. Of course, Du Heng absorbed some of what they said and completely ignored the rest. In provinces like Gan Province, where traditional Chinese medicine is highly valued, practitioners can be found in various hospital departments. That’s why doctors in maternity wards would ask new mothers how they wished for their placenta to be handled. However, many people chose to take it home to bury or destroy it themselves. In some provinces, hospitals paid little attention to traditional Chinese medicine and imposed strict limitations. Holding a traditional Chinese medicine practice qualification meant one could only practice in the Chinese Medicine Department; practicing in other departments was simply not allowed. They believed their departments were for Western medicine and could not accommodate a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. In these hospitals, doctors didn’t even bother to ask; they let the mothers dispose of the placentas themselves. Even if they did ask, it was typically because they prioritized Western medicine research and intended to use the placenta for stem cell studies, having little to do with traditional Chinese medicine. So, these major hospitals rarely had placentas available for such uses anyway. Furthermore, a new business has emerged—placenta storage! This presented another challenge to the demand for placentas in traditional Chinese medicine. Is there a market for placenta storage? Yes, and it’s enormous! They’ll tell you to give them your placenta, which they will then store using methods like freezing and refrigeration. They claim that if the child later develops a certain disease, suitable stem cells can easily be produced from this placenta for treatment, as it is biologically identical to the child. Hearing this, would you store it? Of course, you would! After spending a significant amount of money to store the placenta, one day your child genuinely needs life-saving stem cells. Naturally, you’d think of the placenta you stored. Then, the doctor will inform you: it cannot be used. Isn’t that devastating? Wouldn’t you feel the doctor is deliberately making things difficult, just wanting you to buy their expensive recommendations? Actually, if you consider it, your child needs life-saving stem cells precisely because of a genetic issue. So, would using the same problematic placenta to produce stem cells with the identical flawed genes truly be helpful? Of course, this isn’t to say all storage is meaningless; after all, someone else might need the stem cells produced from that placenta to save their life. 「The inspection team departed.」 Du Heng remained. Li Qiuhua’s two sons also returned to the hospital room. Zhang Jinlian was dumbfounded. This was not what she had expected. At this moment, her world turned dark. She knew she was done for. When she made the report, she had used her real name to ensure the inspection team took it more seriously. In truth, even if she hadn’t used her real name, her report would be considered malicious if the inspection found no wrongdoing, and she wouldn’t escape the consequences. She knew that, even without Du Heng retaliating, someone would personally teach her a lesson. Du Heng had no time to bother with her; he was completely overwhelmed by the handover of responsibilities. The handover process took a full three days. It wasn’t due to an excessive amount of work, but rather because there were many things he didn’t understand and needed to clarify with Song. Song, it seemed, had come to terms with the situation and reverted to his old, kind persona. No matter what Du Heng asked, he explained patiently and meticulously. Of course, there was some good news over these three days. First, Li Qiuhua was recovering well and should be ready for discharge in another two days. Second, they had admitted a total of seven new patients over these three days. One had suffered a stroke with facial paralysis, three had cerebral infarction resulting in full paralysis, and two had hemiplegia. There was also another patient with paralysis, but it was caused by trauma to the lumbar vertebra. Du Heng couldn’t do anything about this case for now. To treat him, the damaged lumbar bone had to be healed first. Even a Class A hospital couldn’t offer surgical treatment, so Du Heng was even more helpless. As an assistant, Wu Buwei was now qualified. However, he still lacked proficiency in syndrome differentiation and medication prescription. Du Heng had been consciously giving Buwei opportunities to diagnose and prescribe independently, with Du Heng himself reviewing and correcting as needed. At this moment, he was examining a prescription Buwei had written, and the day’s lesson began. "Zhang Rongzhao, male, forty years old, a villager from Shang Ling Village. During the New Year festivities in the second month, he had an argument and subsequently felt fullness and pain in his chest. The following day, after another quarrel, the chest pain intensified, and he developed a rattling sound in his throat, indicative of phlegm. He received treatment at the Municipal Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital with Four Agents Decoction and Two Matured Ingredients Decoction, but his condition didn’t improve. Half a month later, he developed hemiplegia, with progressive muscle contracture and weakness in his limbs." Seeing Du Heng’s lack of reaction, Wu Buwei continued, "This morning, he was admitted to our hospital for treatment." He paused again. Du Heng finished looking at the prescription in his hand, his expression unreadable. He simply said, "Don’t stop. Give me your diagnosis." Wu Buwei felt a little flustered. Over the previous two days, he had diagnosed four patients; only one diagnosis had been correct, while the other three were mistakes. This had dented his confidence. "Well... the patient presents with internal heat, dry mouth, and fatigue. The pain in his chest worsens around noon. I diagnose it as wind in the viscera." Still without betraying his opinion, Du Heng asked softly, "Did you take his pulse?" "Yes, I did." "How did the patient’s condition develop?" "He had a quarrel." "Exactly. You took his pulse, and you know he had a quarrel. So how could you diagnose it as wind in the viscera? His condition is a typical case of unresolved anger leading to unsoothed liver qi." Du Heng’s finger tapped lightly on the table. "The patient was suffering from chest pain due to lingering anger. Treating it as a wind disease was a grave error." Feeling he might have spoken too harshly, Du Heng softened his tone slightly. "His hemiplegia wasn’t caused by a stroke itself, but by the two wind medications he took. They damaged his qi and blood, leading to his current wind disease." Wu Buwei’s face flushed red. He listened quietly, not daring to speak. "Alright, now tell me how to treat him." "Relieve his anger, and supplement with formulas to tonify qi and blood, along with ingredients to nourish Yin and essence. Use Soothing Anger and Nourishing Yin Decoction." Du Heng had explained it very clearly. If Wu Buwei still couldn’t articulate the answer, Du Heng looked like he might hit him. "What about the hemiplegia?" Wu Buwei was stumped again. Du Heng looked at Wu Buwei with a hint of helplessness. "You can’t just relieve his anger and ignore the hemiplegia, can you?" It had already been established that it wasn’t a wind disease, but it was still hemiplegia. He didn’t know what to do. Wu Buwei hesitated. "Never mind. Just remember this: use a large dose of the Six-Ingredient Decoction." "I’ve noted it down, Senior Brother." "Recite the prescription." "Thirty grams of rehmannia, fifteen grams of angelica..." "Good, you remember the prescription quite well. How many doses should be prescribed?" "...Ten doses?" Du Heng sighed. "You need to be bolder. The dosage you’re prescribing per decoction is already small; you’ll need more doses for it to be effective. Twenty doses of Soothing Anger and Nourishing Yin Decoction—ten doses until the muscle contracture resolves, then another ten until the limb weakness disappears. After that, have him take large doses of the Six-Ingredient Decoction. He should be cured within two months." With that, he stood up and started towards the door. "Come with me on my rounds to the wards." "Understood, Senior Brother." Wu Buwei secretly wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, the pressure mounting with each passing day.

Chapter 114 Excessive Qi harms the body

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