Chapter 669: Feeble

Chapter 669: Chapter 669: Feeble

"The kidneys govern the bones, and teeth are the surplus of bone. I used herbs to tonify the kidneys and replenish essence, providing the alveolar bone with sufficient ’raw materials’ and ’power.’ Then, I used herbs that invigorate the blood and clear the channels to open up the ’pathways’ in the gums. Finally, I used channel-guiding herbs to direct this force precisely to the empty tooth socket."

"It’s like fertilizing, watering, and tilling the soil. As long as the environment is right, a dormant seed will naturally sprout and grow."

"I stimulated the growth, repair, and self-healing capabilities of a specific area, rather than making decisions for the cells."

These words were a sudden, profound revelation.

Professor Mitsuyama fell silent for a long time. Finally, with a deep sigh, he gave Li Xu a profound bow.

"Dr. Li, I understand now. The wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine is truly vast and profound. I have lost, and I am utterly convinced."

Yoshida, standing to the side, was also filled with emotion.

’This trip was well worth it.’

...

For Li Xu, the visit from Yoshida and Mitsuyama was just a minor interlude in his busy daily work.

After seeing the two of them off, life returned to its normal track—seeing patients, teaching, and implementing reforms.

The clinical application of the Tooth Regeneration Formula was on the right track, and the data was encouraging, further elevating Li Xu’s reputation in the medical community.

Two to three days a week, he would unfailingly appear at the expert clinic of the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

That day.

The moment Li Xu stepped into the expert consultation room, he noticed it was especially "lively" today.

Besides the few resident interns, there was also an unfamiliar middle-aged doctor.

The man wore a white coat, his hair combed meticulously.

Although he was just sitting quietly, holding a cup of clear tea, his composed and imposing aura made him impossible to ignore.

"Dean Li, let me make an introduction."

Director Lin Guorui smiled as he made the introduction from the side. "This is Professor Wang Wenbo, one of Elder Gao Guanghui’s star pupils from the Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. By that count, he’s your direct senior brother!"

"Oh? A senior brother?"

Stunned, Li Xu quickly stepped forward. "Forgive my impoliteness!"

As it turned out, this senior brother, Wang Wenbo, had started his apprenticeship under Elder Gao more than a decade before Li Xu and had thoroughly grasped the master’s teachings. He was now a famous TCM expert known throughout the province and even the nation, especially skilled in complex internal diseases, earning him the nickname "Wang One-Dose."

Because Li Xu had only risen to prominence in the last two years and had been based in Feng City, the two had never met before.

This time, Wang Wenbo happened to be passing through Feng City and made a special detour to visit his little junior brother who was currently in the limelight.

"Junior Brother Li, I’ve long heard of your great name."

Wang Wenbo stood up, extending his hand with a smile. "Our teacher has praised you to me many times. He calls you the ’thousand-li colt’ of our lineage."

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. I was just a blind cat who stumbled upon a dead mouse—pure luck."

Li Xu shook his hand humbly.

After a few pleasantries, Wang Wenbo sat back down. He had no intention of stealing the spotlight, simply saying with a smile, "I’m here today to visit family, and also to learn. You go about your business. I’ll just watch from the side and won’t disturb you."

Although his words were polite, the aura of a top-tier expert was impossible to hide.

Ever since Wang Wenbo took his seat, the atmosphere in the entire consultation room had palpably changed.

The interns, who were usually quite lively, were now silent as winter cicadas. They even walked on their tiptoes, afraid of making the slightest noise and disturbing this "great Buddha."

Even the sound of their breathing seemed to have been consciously suppressed.

Li Xu, however, wasn’t particularly affected. He adjusted his mindset and called the first number.

The door was pushed open, and a middle-aged couple entered.

The man’s complexion was sallow, his body gaunt. He was being supported by his wife, and his walk was unsteady.

"What’s the matter? Where are you feeling discomfort?"

Li Xu asked gently.

Before the man could speak, his wife cut in, anxiously pointing to the area below her own right ribs. "Doctor, my husband feels like there’s something blocking him right here. It’s really uncomfortable. And lately, he’s just been completely worn out. He has no energy to talk. Often, he’ll get halfway through a sentence and be too tired to finish."

"’It’s not that I don’t want to talk...’ the man suddenly spoke, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. ’It’s that...’"

Everyone instinctively held their breath and looked at him.

The man’s mouth hung open. He paused for several seconds, his chest heaving violently once as if gathering all his strength, before he finally squeezed out the rest of the sentence: "...I don’t have the strength to talk."

Tang Changchun and the other young interns exchanged glances, their expressions a little odd.

’If this weren’t a hospital, you’d think this guy was performing a comedy sketch, with that dramatic pause for effect.’

But jokes aside, their minds hadn’t stopped working.

’A weak voice that’s low and halting... According to the *Diagnostics of Traditional Chinese Medicine*, this is a classic case of *shao qi*, or qi deficiency, often attributed to insufficient pectoral qi and a deficiency of lung and spleen qi.’

’Looks like this calls for tonifying his qi!’

A diagnosis was already forming in their minds; they felt this case wasn’t difficult.

Wang Wenbo, however, who was sitting to the side, wasn’t focused on the man’s manner of speaking. Instead, his gaze was fixed thoughtfully on the man’s right side, where his hand was pressed.

Li Xu nodded and continued to ask, "How long have you been sick? And how did it get to this point?"

The man’s wife was clearly a fast talker and immediately took over. "It’s been over three months now. My husband used to work on a construction site; he was the breadwinner of our family. Three months ago, he was moving something on the site, maybe a steel bar that was too heavy, and he suddenly felt a sharp, stitch-like pain here under his right ribs."

"But he’s a rough-and-tumble kind of guy and didn’t think much of it. When you work on a construction site, what day doesn’t come with a few aches and pains? He just bought a medicinal plaster from a roadside pharmacy and slapped it on, thinking it would get better in a couple of days. But who would’ve thought, after several days passed, not only did the pain not go away, it actually grew heavier and more persistent."

"Later, the pain became unbearable, so he went to a clinic. The doctor there said it was a soft tissue contusion and prescribed some medicine to invigorate blood and dissolve stasis, but it didn’t have much effect. So he just ignored it and gritted his teeth, continuing to work."

"Then, about a month later, he started to feel something was really wrong. He used to be able to carry two bags of cement like it was nothing, but now he gets out of breath carrying just one. Heavy labor became more and more difficult. In the end, he simply couldn’t work anymore and came home to recuperate."

"During that time, we went to several hospitals. He’s taken a ton of both Chinese and Western medicine, but nothing’s helped. Thankfully, I heard from a neighbor that you’re a miracle worker, Dr. Li, so I booked an appointment with you online half a month in advance. We were so lucky to finally get in today."

Li Xu listened while taking notes on his computer, nodding from time to time to show he understood.

The patient’s wife sighed and continued her lament. "Look at him, he’s lost so much weight he’s unrecognizable. And it’s just like you saw—he feels like he can’t catch his breath and can’t even be bothered to talk."

"And on top of that, his temper has gotten really strange. He used to be the quiet type, but now his fuse is so short! He explodes at the drop of a hat! If you provoke him, he gets agitated, and then it’s even worse. He can’t breathe at all, his face turns beet red... it’s enough to scare you to death. I have to walk on eggshells around him now; I don’t dare upset him at all."

"We’ve been to several hospitals. He’s had CT scans, ultrasounds, everything, but they couldn’t find a single thing wrong. We’re at our wits’ end. You’re our only hope."