Divine Level Witch Doctor

Zhao Chengliang held his pen but didn’t rush to write a prescription. He narrowed his eyes, his mind racing as he considered which formula would be best.

If this were a normal consultation with such a patient, he certainly wouldn’t be putting this much thought into it. He would only need to determine the severity and urgency of the four-fold pulse before prescribing medication. First, he would address the acute and severe symptoms. After treating those, he would write a new prescription to handle the milder, slower-progressing conditions.

Although such a treatment plan would take a little longer and require several different prescriptions, its strength was its reliability.

But this kind of treatment method was unsuitable for a Prescription Medicine competition.

It was too ordinary; it wouldn’t show off his skill!

Zhao Chengliang didn’t just want to win this Prescription Medicine competition; he wanted to win it beautifully! He had to win back the face he’d lost to Zhao Yangqiu in the previous pulse diagnosis competition!

To achieve that goal, he couldn’t use an ordinary treatment method!

He had to use a single prescription to solve all the problems indicated by the four-fold pulse!

But that was no easy task.

Zhao Chengliang analyzed, ’Although this patient has a four-fold pulse, the four pulses aren’t completely independent; they are interconnected. The spleen governs the blood, and the liver stores the blood. Problems with these two organs can lead to cerebral hemorrhage! And when hyperactive liver yang assails the spleen, it causes spleen deficiency. Therefore, the cerebral hemorrhage and the weak spleen yang can be addressed together. The key to treatment is to pacify the liver and regulate the spleen. As long as the liver and spleen are properly managed, the blood will be governed and stored. This will stop the bleeding and eliminate the symptoms of weak spleen yang, diarrhea, and cold limbs!’

’A weak chi pulse and soreness in the lower back and knees indicate declining kidney Qi. Meanwhile, Qi deficiency, weak yang, aversion to cold, shortness of breath, and edema in the face and feet are caused by insufficient heart yang! I estimate the patient’s long-term heart failure has affected his kidneys, leading to a deficiency in both the heart and kidneys! The conditions indicated by these two pulses can also be treated together!’

Zhao Chengliang truly lived up to his title of ”Jinling Medicine King.” In just a few minutes, he had clearly analyzed the etiology and pathogenesis of the four-fold pulse and formulated a treatment principle: ’pacify the liver, regulate the spleen, warm the yang, and supplement the Qi.’

Pacifying the liver and regulating the spleen wasn’t difficult, nor was warming the yang and supplementing the Qi. But combining these two treatment principles, while also ensuring the heart, kidneys, liver, spleen, and brain were all treated simultaneously, was no easy matter at all!

Zhao Chengliang closed his eyes, searching through the thousands upon thousands of prescriptions he had learned for the most suitable and effective one.

On the other side, Zhao Yuan was in a similar situation.

He had recently been diligently studying the *Traditional Chinese Medicine Diagnosis* on the Information Leaf. His theoretical knowledge was exceptionally vast, and though he lacked clinical experience, he still formulated a treatment principle within minutes.

Just like Zhao Chengliang, his treatment principle was also to pacify the liver, regulate the spleen, warm the yang, and supplement the Qi!

Their treatment principles were identical; there was no telling who was better. The true test would come down to the Prescription Medicine they prescribed!

Zhao Yuan called up the Information Leaf, opened the medical cases left by Wu Peng, and searched for a suitable prescription he could borrow.

Time ticked by, second by second, yet neither of them put pen to paper for a long time.

The Prescription Medicine competition was much quieter than the previous pulse diagnosis competition. But it was this very quietness that created a strange, oppressive feeling for the crowd. Everyone, whether they were involved in the competition or not, held their breath, afraid of disturbing the two men lost in thought.

A full ten minutes passed before Zhao Chengliang finally opened his eyes.

He had found a prescription in his mind!

He had obtained this prescription three years ago from an old Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor with the surname Li in Changshan County, Zhili Province.

According to that old Doctor Li, his family had been doctors for generations. His ancestor was none other than the illustrious Li Dongyuan—one of the Four Great Families of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, the founder of the ’Spleen and Stomach Theory,’ and the patriarch of the Earth Replenishing Sect!

This branch of Li Dongyuan’s descendants had once been very wealthy. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, they had produced many famous doctors and Imperial Physicians. Unfortunately, during the invasion by the Japanese Invaders several decades ago, their home was plundered. Not only were their riches stolen, but many of their classic medical texts and prescriptions were looted as well!

From then on, this Noble Family of medicine fell into decline and became increasingly obscure. Zhao Chengliang only found out by chance that this declining Noble Family still possessed several uncirculated prescriptions created by Li Dongyuan himself. He then used various means, from trickery to outright force, to get his hands on them.

The prescription Zhao Chengliang now wanted to use was called the ”Digestive Qi Tonic Decoction.”

According to old Doctor Li, this prescription was created by Li Dongyuan in his later years and had outstanding effects in pacifying the liver, regulating the spleen, warming the yang, and supplementing Qi. It was the perfect choice for treating the septuagenarian’s four-fold pulse!

The only problem was that the version of the Digestive Qi Tonic Decoction he had learned was not the complete Ben; it was missing a few ingredients.

However, based on his research over the past few years, although the prescription was missing a few ingredients, the impact on its efficacy was negligible and could be completely ignored.

Zhao Chengliang’s pen flew across the paper, and he quickly wrote out the Digestive Qi Tonic Decoction.

When he finished, he looked up and glanced at Zhao Yuan, who was sitting at the other end of the training ground and had yet to start writing. A corner of his mouth curled up smugly as he thought, ’Brat, you’re stumped, aren’t you? I’d advise you to just save yourself the trouble. No matter what prescription you come up with, it could never be better or more suitable than mine!’

At the same time, Zhao Yuan had also found a suitable prescription within the ocean of medical cases.

Although the condition this prescription was originally for was different from the septuagenarian’s, the treatment principle was the same.

Since the treatment principle was the same, the Prescription Medicine could be used interchangeably. He would just need to make some additions or subtractions based on the patient’s condition.

Zhao Yuan immediately began writing down the prescription.

As he wrote, he mulled over how he should adjust the ingredients.

After some thought, he was surprised to find that while the illness treated by the prescription in the medical case was different from the septuagenarian’s, the prescription itself was a perfect fit for the old man. Not a single adjustment was needed!

This discovery made Zhao Yuan sigh in relief.

He had only studied Chinese Herbal Medicine so far, not Prescription Science. Although he could just barely adjust medications based on a patient’s condition, his skill was limited. He would inevitably make a clumsy addition to a masterpiece. While it might not weaken the prescription’s efficacy, a discerning eye would immediately see the gap between his additions and the original formula.

Not having to adjust the ingredients was for the best!

Zhao Yuan quickly finished writing the prescription, put down his pen, stood up, and walked toward the center of the training ground with it in hand.

Zhao Chengliang also walked over with his prescription.

In the center of the training ground, a large wooden table had already been set up. Li Heping, Qiao Zhixue, Professor Tu, and the other medical experts were seated around it, waiting for the two competitors to hand in their ”exam papers.”

When the two prescriptions were placed on the table, all the medical experts craned their necks to get a look.

But one look made them all let out a collective, ”Huh?”