Chapter Fifty-Nine: Diagnosing Illnesses

  After seeing off Qingmu Dao Ren, Mo didn't ask turned back and found Lao Wu was collecting the remaining dishes on the table. The two had drunk a lot of wine earlier, so there were many leftover dishes. After waiting for Lao Wu to finish eating, Mo then took out money to pay the bill. In richer places, food is actually cheaper; this meal only cost three cents in silver.

  At noon, after drinking enough tea, the two continued on their journey.

  As he walked, he didn't think about discussing with Lao Wu, but rather how to make some money. The gold given by Hei San and the medical expenses from before were spent by Lao Wu on buying rice and wine for Si Ma Feng in Wuliang Mountain. The expenses for the past few days were still using the scattered silver found by Lao Wu on a corpse in Qingping City years ago. At this time, except for that gold ingot, there was almost no scattered silver left. If they continued to idle away, they wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.

  "Old master, what are you thinking about?" Lao Wu saw that Mo Xiang had been silent and walking forward all along, guessing that he was pondering over a problem.

  "The journey is long and we don't have much silver left." Mo Wen replied casually.

  "Afterwards I'll catch more rabbits, we should try to spend less money." Lao Wu said.

  Mo asked, shaking his head slowly, "That's not a long-term plan. Moreover, if we open a medicine shop in the future, we'll also need to spend a lot of money on purchasing medicinal materials. We must earn some silver along the way."

  "That's right, but we're in unfamiliar territory here, making money isn't easy." Old Five frowned and shook his head.

  Mo Wen nodded and didn't continue Old Five's topic.

  The further south you go, the more prosperous it is. As it's approaching New Year's Eve, villagers along the way are all buying fish and meat, hanging lanterns and pasting couplets to prepare for the festival. Men on the street mostly carry fish, meat, rice and grains, while women mostly hold silk fabrics and brocades. Children in their hands hold windmill-shaped sugar cakes. The streets are filled with a strong festive atmosphere and joyful mood.

  However, the two were not infected with the festive atmosphere, but instead felt melancholy, the lanterns and flowers were not their home, the joyful pedestrians were not their relatives, they were just outsiders passing by.

  All the way, Mo asked deliberately to pay attention to whether there were any medical notices on the outer walls of those wealthy families, trying to use their medical skills to cure illnesses and exchange for some diagnostic fees. Unfortunately, it was unknown whether it was due to different customs or other reasons, but no medical notices were seen posted on the outer walls of the mansions along the way.

  On New Year's Eve, the two of them arrived at the southern border of Nandu County. From here, it was not far to Handan. After nightfall, Mo Xun did not continue on their journey but instead looked for an inn in the city where they could stay. Most inns were closed during the New Year's festival and didn't open until after the first watch. It wasn't until then that the two of them found one that was open in the southern part of the city. The owner of this inn did not live on the premises, and there was only a single servant keeping watch.

  The stove had no fire, and they couldn't cook any food. Fortunately, there was a heater in the main hall, so the two of them huddled around it silently eating the dry rations they had brought with them, neither of them speaking a word.

  In the midst of nostalgia and longing, one can't help but shake their head and sigh. Although it's said that a man's ambition lies in the four corners of the world, ultimately, he still needs something to hold onto, just like a kite, no matter how high it flies, there's always a thread tied to the ground, with moments of soaring through the wind and days of returning to the earth. The two are now like kites with broken strings, drifting aimlessly, unaware of where they'll end up, life is full of joys and sorrows, but the most sorrowful thing is having no one to care for you while you yourself have no one to care for.

  Lao Wu was still young, and as the year drew to a close, he couldn't help but think of his loved ones. The sound of women calling out to their children who were late returning home from outside only made him more sorrowful, and he burst into tears, holding the dry rations he had not yet finished eating.

  Don't ask, it's also a great sorrow in his heart. Lao Wu is still wearing the clothes from two years ago, which are already very old and damaged, but no one has mended or washed them.

  "Now that this matter is settled, we'll find a place to settle down. Next year I'll definitely talk to you about arranging a marriage for you." Mo Xiong said to Lao Wu.

  "Really?" Old Five immediately turned sorrow into joy upon hearing this.

  He couldn't help but nod and smile at how quickly he had changed, Old Five had always liked his daughter-in-law the most, and he never concealed his fondness for women.

  "You're not even married yet, how can there be an old master who isn't married when the servants get married first?" Old Five shook his head and said.

  "I am a Taoist, and I have no intention of settling down for now." Mo Wen shook his head and said.

  "But we don't have much money left, and I see that the women in this southern land are all dressed in gold and silver. I reckon the betrothal gifts will cost a lot of money. How about this, Master? After we've finished our business, let's go back to Zhao country instead. The women there are cheaper." said Lao Wu.

  "You this heartless fellow, marrying requires two people to be in harmony, how can you buy a woman as your wife? You just rest assured, as long as I meet a wealthy family with an incurable illness, I will treat them and exchange some silver." Mo didn't ask for advice or comfort.

  "In the state of Jin, there are many nobles, and even sick people are treated by them. When will it be our turn? Besides, when people look for a doctor, they all look for older ones. Look at those doctors who sit in the hall, which one doesn't have a long beard? You're too young, you don't even have a beard, people definitely won't believe in you." Lao Wu's mood improved, and he continued to gnaw on that half piece of bread.

  "What I've learned is the wonderful Taoist technique of Qi Huang, how can those mediocre doctors compare to it? I don't believe that everyone in this world judges people by their appearance." Mo Wen said with a straight face.

  The two men spoke without lowering their voices, and a fellow sitting nearby who was drinking alone looked back at the sound, "Do you know medicine?"

  This person is a commoner from the streets, speaking extremely rudely. I didn't ask and wasn't going to bother with him, but after some consideration, he still nodded his head, "Knows a thing or two."

  "Then you can diagnose me. If it's good, I'll return the rent for today." The fellow came over and put his left hand on the table.

  Mo Wen looked at him with a glance, and in fact, he had already seen what kind of disease the man was suffering from when he first entered the door. To be on the safe side, he still reached out to touch his left hand's inch, guan, and chi, and after feeling the pulse, he raised his hand and said, "Change to your right hand."

  "Haha, I've never heard of taking a pulse with both hands before." The innkeeper's assistant looked disdainful but still stretched out his right hand.

  Don't ask, Wen Yan frowned again. In fact, the real pulse diagnosis must be done with both hands together, because the left hand diagnoses the heart and liver, the right hand diagnoses the spleen and lungs, and the inner kidney requires both hands to diagnose together at the inch, guan, and chi points. Diagnosing one pulse is undoubtedly a mediocre doctor, while diagnosing two pulses may be a famous doctor.

  "After a thorough diagnosis, Mo Wen said, 'Your liver fire is flourishing, your kidney water is depleted, your lung qi is not smooth, and your heart pulse is half blocked.'"

  "Speak plainly and don't try to deceive people with vague words." The inn servant didn't think much of this unnecessary remark.

  "You endure humiliation during the day but can't vent your anger, so at night you go to find that courtesan to release your frustration. However, this method cannot dispel the depression in your heart and instead makes you feel suffocated and weak." Mo asked with a serious expression.

  "The road is long, please give me a prescription." The innkeeper immediately changed his tone.

  "Do you want to treat the symptoms or the root cause?" Mo Wen heard this and smiled, nodding his head. As long as one has real talent and true learning, they will eventually be accepted by everyone.

  "Let's just talk, let's just talk." The innkeeper pulled over a stool and sat down opposite the stove.

  "For treating the symptoms, you can often take things that smooth out your Qi, such as radish, lotus root, and stinky mandarin oranges. But if you want to treat the root of the problem, you should just beat up the person you resent, vent your anger, and naturally your Qi will be smooth and your spirit will be at ease." Mo Wen said.

  The inn servant's face turned red with embarrassment, "I'm just a lowly servant who runs errands, everyone who comes into the shop looks down on me, I couldn't possibly fight them all off. I was very rude to you earlier, please forgive me and give me an effective prescription."

  Mo Wen heard the words and nodded with a smile. Although this fellow was rough and uncouth, he wasn't stupid. The method he had mentioned earlier did indeed have healing effects, but he also knew that his companion couldn't use it.

  "It's not difficult to get to the root of the problem, you can find a woman you like and start a family. If you've been wronged outside, you can go home and tell her about it. In this world, which man doesn't have to swallow his anger and suffer in silence for the sake of making a living? If she's virtuous, she'll understand your suffering and comfort your heart."

  Mo didn't ask, but said that the technique of diagnosis not only could find the root cause of the disease, but also infer the patient's lifestyle from their symptoms. This person had severely depleted kidney water and overactive liver fire, which meant that although he had frequent relations with women, he didn't have a deep connection with any of them. Therefore, Mo concluded that the woman he was involved with was a courtesan.

  "Thank you, Master Dao, for showing me the way. From today on, I will save up my silver coins and strive to marry a good woman from a good family as soon as possible." The innkeeper bowed his hands in gratitude.

  Don't ask, just nod and pretend you've been answered.

  "Master, it's getting late, we still have a long way to go tomorrow." Laowu saw that the innkeeper never mentioned refunding the money, so he urged Mo Xun to return to his room and sleep.

  Mo Wen nodded and stood up from his seat.

  "Wait, wait, wait, Daozhang, I just heard you say you need traveling expenses." The inn's servant boy reached out and grabbed Mo Xiang.

  "Our traveling expenses are not quite sufficient." Mo asked, hesitated for a moment and nodded, but in fact he still had some silver coins on him and was not short of traveling expenses, what he lacked was the money to be used later. However, it is an old saying that one should not reveal his wealth when going out.

  "You are so skilled in medicine, can you cure madness?" asked the innkeeper.

  He didn't ask, but now he understood that this fellow was trying to set him up with someone, treating the patient in exchange for a consultation fee. However, he didn't immediately agree, and instead asked, "Is it a man or a woman? Has she been mad for long or just recently?"

  "Look, it's the youngest daughter of Old Man Gao, the richest man in the city. She's been ill for three months and none of the doctors from hundreds of miles around have been able to cure her."

  Don't ask, Wen Yan had not spoken yet, the disease of madness is the most troublesome kind of disease, unrelated to the five internal organs and six hollow organs, but rather the spirit is damaged, diagnosis and treatment are extremely troublesome.

  That fellow saw Mo hesitate and opened his mouth again, "Old Master Gao has no son, only two daughters. The elder daughter is already married, and this little daughter is precious to him. Old Master Gao offered a reward of 300 taels of gold to cure her illness."

  Don't ask, he had a mind to go and try, after hearing the shopkeeper talk about the Gao family's situation, he suddenly thought of the Lin family, and in his anger, he turned his sleeve and shook his hand "Not treating."

  "Master, three hundred taels is enough for us to open a big pharmacy." Lao Wu stepped forward and grabbed Mo Wen.

  "Are you going to use it to open a pharmacy or to marry a wife?" Mo asked, turning his head to glare at Old Five.

  "First open a pharmacy." Old Five said with a smile.

  Mo didn't ask, looked at Lao Wu helplessly, and then furrowed his brow in contemplation. To be fair, the two of them really did need money. Moreover, just because Lin Ruochen was the youngest daughter of the Lin family, it wasn't right to take out her anger on Gao's youngest daughter either.

  "Where does that good fellow live?" Mo asked the shopkeeper after a moment of hesitation.

  "I'll take the two of you there." The fellow saw that Mo was easy-going and immediately offered to lead the way.

  "It's late at night, it would be impolite to visit now, let's go tomorrow instead." Mo asked, shaking his head.

  "Those three hundred taels of gold are too enticing, and many doctors come to the door every day. If we go during the day, it's likely our turn won't come." The shop assistant ran to the side of the door to put up the door plank in preparation for closing the door.

  Mo didn't want to take the initiative to go there, but he really needed money, so he waited for that shopkeeper to close the door and went with him to Gao's house.

  After walking seven or eight miles, Mo Xun suddenly stopped and frowned, measuring the large mansion at the end of the street.

  "What's wrong?" the shop assistant asked as he turned back.

  "Whose house is that?" Mo asked, pointing to the mansion at the end of the street.

  "That's the High Manor," replied the shopkeeper.

  "Old master, what's wrong?" Lao Wu detected a strange tone in Mo Wen's voice.

  "Let's go back, we can't take these three hundred taels of gold..."