Chapter 672: Change of Style

Chapter 672: Chapter 672: Change of Style

Wang Wenbo was stunned.

He had assumed Li Xu would prescribe a heavy dose, just like before.

He had even been planning to offer some guidance.

But this prescription was far too simple, wasn’t it?

It was simple to the extreme.

It was even more streamlined than the prescriptions he usually wrote himself.

He was at a loss for words.

Just then,

Li Xu turned around and asked, "Senior Brother Wang, you were just saying something was necessary? Do you have some guidance for me?"

Everyone else turned to look at Wang Wenbo in unison, their eyes filled with curiosity.

A muscle in Wang Wenbo’s cheek twitched slightly.

He took a deep breath, quickly composed himself, and asked, "You... why the sudden change in style?"

"What?"

Li Xu didn’t understand.

’How did this become about my style?’

Wang Wenbo pointed toward the patient who had just left. "The prescription for that patient with shortness of breath."

"Oh, that."

Li Xu’s face lit up with understanding. "He just has some old blood stasis obstructing the liver channel, which is impeding the flow of qi. It’s not a very severe excess-pattern case. Using Sanqi alone to resolve the stasis is perfectly fine. The *Compendium of Materia Medica* states that Sanqi stops bleeding without leaving stasis and resolves stasis without harming a person’s vital qi. It’s the sacred herb for regulating blood."

"Besides, his pulse was placid but weak. He’s been sick for a long time—over three months—and has lost weight, so the qi of his spleen and stomach has also been damaged. In a situation like this, it’s not appropriate to attack aggressively with a large prescription using blood-breaking, stasis-expelling herbs like Peach Kernel, Red Flower, or Leech. That could easily deplete his vital qi. So, having him take a small amount of Sanqi powder mixed with water can resolve the stasis while also tonifying the deficiency. It’s gentle and effective."

Wang Wenbo frowned and said nothing, but the suspicion in his eyes didn’t fade.

Li Xu turned to the interns who were taking notes like hungry wolves. "As for the raw malt, you probably only know it as a digestive aid, often grouped with hawthorn and medicated leaven as the ’Three Charred Immortals’ to disperse stagnation from grains, starches, and tubers."

"But that refers to fried or charred malt.

If it’s raw malt, decocted and consumed, it has an excellent effect of soothing the liver and regulating qi.

In the *Medical Deduction and Western Record*, Zhang Xichun particularly praised raw malt, saying it ’excels at soothing liver qi and is also adept at resolving blood stasis.’

Therefore, using a decoction of raw malt to wash down the Sanqi powder is like finding a guide for the Sanqi, leading it directly to the liver channel. It soothes the liver and resolves stasis—killing two birds with one stone."

The interns’ eyes lit up as they listened, their pens flying across their notebooks, afraid to miss a single word.

Wang Wenbo sat to the side, his mind in turmoil.

He was a nationally-renowned doctor of Chinese medicine, a top-tier practitioner.

The moment Li Xu began to explain the pharmacology, he understood everything.

Li Xu’s prescription may have looked simple with just two herbs—Sanqi and raw malt—but the combinatorial logic behind it was exceptionally refined.

The medicinal effect was highly focused, striking directly at the root of the illness.

The key was that the dosage was also incredibly light and precise: 5 grams of Sanqi, 9 grams of malt. This perfectly embodied the advanced principle that ’prescribing medicine is like deploying troops; the value is in the elite, not the multitude.’"

He had made a special trip while passing through Feng City, intending to see this junior brother of his who was rumored to have a "wild style" and a penchant for "powerful prescriptions."

He also planned to teach him how to treat serious illnesses with light prescriptions and how to rein in his sharp edges.

And what happened?

The moment he arrived, the kid put on a textbook-level demonstration of "light and precise prescribing" right in front of him!

It was as if he had been about to teach someone basic calligraphy, only for them to turn around and produce a fluid, graceful masterpiece in the style of the Lantingji Xu, then ask him what he thought of it.

Wang Wenbo was starting to suspect Li Xu was doing it on purpose.

’Otherwise, why change his style now of all times? Why right when I showed up?’

A mature doctor has their own fixed mindset and style when it comes to practicing medicine. Who changes back and forth like a chameleon?

Wang Wenbo grew more suspicious. ’What on earth is this kid up to?’

Li Xu was oblivious to Wang Wenbo’s complex inner turmoil.

He continued explaining to the group of interns:

"You need to pay special attention to the herb Sanqi.

We always emphasize that Chinese herbs have inherent tendencies—cold, hot, warm, cool; ascending, descending, floating, and sinking.

When we use Chinese medicine to treat illness, we are essentially using a drug’s tendency to correct an imbalance in the human body. We use deviation to correct deviation, restoring the body to a balanced state of ’yin in equilibrium and yang in reserve.’"

"It’s precisely for this reason that the vast majority of Chinese herbs are not suitable for long-term use.

Once the illness is cured, or the herb’s tendency has corrected the body’s imbalance, continuing to take it will disrupt the new balance and throw the body off course again. You’d be making yourself sick when you’re not even ill.

So, trying to achieve longevity by randomly taking Chinese medicine is just nonsense."

"However..."

Li Xu changed his tone. "Sanqi is an exceptionally rare and wonderful herb.

It is warm in nature, with a sweet and slightly bitter taste, and it enters the liver and stomach channels.

It possesses a unique ’bidirectional regulatory’ effect.

It stops bleeding without leaving stasis and resolves stasis without harming the blood."

"Moreover, Sanqi can be taken long-term. In appropriate amounts, it doesn’t cause any obvious side effects and is even considered ’number one for nourishing the blood.’ It’s a truly miraculous herb."

"Beyond treating illness, it’s also highly useful for health preservation and wellness. For middle-aged and elderly people, or those at risk for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, taking 1-3g of Sanqi powder daily can help clear the meridians and blood vessels, remove waste from the blood, and significantly help prevent strokes and heart attacks. It also has a good supplementary therapeutic effect on the ’three highs’—high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. But the key is long-term, low-dose consumption, like a steady, gentle stream."

The interns nodded frequently as they listened.

When Wang Wenbo heard the words "health preservation," he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

’Health preservation?’

’That’s my specialty.’

He had been a personal physician to several leaders in the Capital City for many years. When it came to health preservation, wellness, dietary therapy, and medicinal cuisine, he was an absolute authority. He typically used this kind of subtle and imperceptible approach when conditioning the leaders’ bodies.

Wang Wenbo looked at Li Xu and mulled it over:

’Since my junior brother has also studied health preservation, maybe I can switch angles and offer him some guidance on related matters?’

’After all, this field is a deep and murky one. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to end up looking like a charlatan.’

After all, the fact that Elder Gao had accepted Li Xu as his disciple had already spread throughout their circle.

To put it bluntly, whenever Li Xu went out to practice in the future, he would be doing so under the banner of being "Gao Guanghui’s disciple."

One’s success reflects on all, and one’s failure reflects on all.

That was why Wang Wenbo was so invested, why he had come over to offer some guidance and keep an eye on things.

But who would have thought that as soon as he arrived, Li Xu would first shut him up with a light and precise prescription, and now he was giving an eloquent and flawless lecture on health preservation with Sanqi.

Wang Wenbo thought to himself, ’This kid... could he be implying that he knows everything and doesn’t need my instruction? Is this his silent way of refusing my mentorship?’

At this thought, Wang Wenbo’s brow furrowed even tighter. A bitter taste soured his mood.

He decided to press the issue and asked, "Why is your prescribing style suddenly so different from before? I’ve read your previous case files. Weren’t you known for being bold and aggressive, using powerful prescriptions for severe ailments? Why today..."