Chapter 794: It’s Him

Chapter 794: Chapter 794: It’s Him

The ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Jiang Guojun held his breath, terrified of disturbing the expert’s train of thought.

A moment later, Ju Jiahong checked the elderly man’s eyelids again and gestured for Jiang Guojun to help undo a few buttons on the man’s shirt, carefully observing his respiratory rhythm and chest wall stability.

"Trauma at an advanced age severely damages the Primordial Qi," Ju Jiahong said, retracting his hand. His voice carried a degree of clinical rigor. "The pulse is thready, weak, and choppy. The tongue is pale purple with a thin white coating. This isn’t just an issue of Qi stagnation and blood stasis; it’s a manifestation of Middle Yang deficiency and a loss of the ability to generate and transform. Because the Qi of the spleen and stomach in the Middle Jiao can’t be lifted, the intestines lack the power to conduct, which leads to constipation. Because the lung Qi lacks the strength to descend, it causes constant coughing."

After feeling the pulse, Ju Jiahong stood up and said, "Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll write a prescription. Let the patient take three doses first. We’ll unblock the bowel Qi first, then replenish his Primordial Qi."

Ju Jiahong directed these words at Shi Haoping. As an expert brought in for a cross-hospital consultation, his suggestion was usually the final treatment plan.

Shi Haoping was just about to nod when Jiang Guojun, standing nearby, looked a bit uncomfortable. After hesitating repeatedly, he finally bit the bullet and spoke up. "Um... Director Ju, Director Shi, when my dad had his accident that day, we ran into a young passing doctor on the street. When I went to thank him today, that doctor casually dictated a prescription. I’d like to ask you to help check it over..."

"Oh?" Ju Jiahong raised an eyebrow but didn’t feel offended. In his clinical practice, he often encountered family members seeking validation for multiple prescriptions. "Let me see," he said in a mild tone.

Jiang Guojun hurriedly fished a somewhat crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it over. "Dr. Li didn’t formally write a prescription. He just verbally dictated it to me there, saying we could use a modified ’Lizhong Decoction.’ I’m not very educated, and I don’t know if I remembered it all, but please take a look."

"Lizhong Decoction?" Ju Jiahong took the paper. His initially casual expression turned slightly focused when he saw the combination of medicinal herbs written on it.

He muttered under his breath, "Ginseng, Atractylodes, dried ginger, baked licorice... This is the original formula for Lizhong Decoction. Added to the back are Gua Lou, Xie Bai, Banxia..."

After all, Ju Jiahong was a master who had immersed himself in traditional Chinese medicine for over twenty years. Even though there were some typos in the herb names Jiang Guojun had written down and the dosages were ambiguous, he only needed one glance to automatically reconstruct the logically rigorous prototype of the prescription in his mind.

"Ginseng decocted alone; this is to urgently replenish Primordial Qi during critical times. Dried ginger is pungent and hot, guarding the Yang Qi of the spleen and stomach to prevent further internal generation of deficiency-cold. And since the pain is in the chest, he unexpectedly borrowed the specific prescription for chest bi-syndrome, the Gua Lou Xie Bai Ban Xia Decoction, to combine the treatments. This move of ’unblocking Yang and dissipating nodules, dispelling phlegm and expanding the chest’ is used exquisitely."

Ju Jiahong’s eyes flashed with a hint of brilliance. Pointing at the note, he said, "He also heavily utilized Zhi Ke here, coordinating with Knotweed to create one ascent and one descent, regulating the Qi mechanism in the chest and abdomen. How is this a casually mentioned prescription? This is clearly a miraculous formula tailor-made for your father’s current condition of ’root deficiency and superficial excess.’"

Looking up at Jiang Guojun, Ju Jiahong then asked, "This doctor’s level is quite extraordinary. Which hospital is he at? What’s his name?"

Startled by the expert’s reaction, Jiang Guojun hastily replied, "His name is Li Xu. He said he’s from the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. I noticed everyone calling him Dean Li."

"Li Xu?" Ju Jiahong’s movements paused, and he looked down at the note again. He had heard this name far too many times recently.

As a leader of the younger faction in Feng City’s traditional Chinese medicine circles, he had always been the bellwether for the younger generation. But in recent months, this young man named Li Xu had become like a comet, dominating the news feeds. Developing a hangover cure prescription, resolving the tick-borne disease... He even heard that yesterday, Li Xu achieved "godhood in a single lecture" at Feng City Medical College, where thousands of people packed the auditorium to listen to him recite the Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor backward.

Shi Haoping, standing nearby, also revealed a look of surprise. "Li Xu? The young vice dean from the City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine? I’ve heard of him too. A while ago, there was a severe case of diabetic foot, and I heard he managed to save the leg without surgery."

Ju Jiahong closed the medical record and sighed. "I’ve heard of him. He’s the most prominent figure in recent years. Not only are his clinical medical skills outstanding, but he also possesses incredibly high attainments in prescription research and development. I originally thought the media hype was exaggerated, but seeing this casually dictated ’combination prescription’ today, I believe it. Being able to break down and utilize the prescriptions from the Lizhong Decoction and the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Cabinet like this at his age... this isn’t just about memorizing texts well; this is true ’enlightenment.’"

Turning to Jiang Guojun, he said seriously, "Since this is Dean Li’s prescription, there’s no need for me to write another. I will just help you refine the specific gram amounts based on this formula. Dean Li’s train of thought is correct: replenish the middle and benefit Qi. Once the middle Qi is sufficient, the bowel movements will naturally clear up, and the coughing will naturally stop."

Shi Haoping smiled and teased, "To get Director Ju to acknowledge him, this Li Xu really is a freak of nature."

Ju Jiahong gave a modest smile on the surface. "There is always someone better out there. However, if the opportunity arises, I really would like to meet this Dean Li to see exactly what kind of genius can make the entire medical circle in Feng City sit up and take notice."

At this moment, although Ju Jiahong admired the young doctor in his heart, the inherent pride of a chief physician had not dissipated.

He thought, "Li Xu’s theoretical knowledge might be extremely strong, but when it comes to the clinical battles of large-scale severe cases in major hospitals, I, as a thirty-eight-year-old chief physician, won’t necessarily lose."

Feng City Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Emergency Department.

Li Xu had no idea that Jiang Guojun had already taken his medical advice to be tested by Ju Jiahong. The emergency department was busy but orderly this morning. Shuttling between the observation room and the debridement room, Li Xu attended to eight patients in one go. Among them were common acute gastroenteritis cases, as well as two cases of senile asthma triggered by the cooling weather.

With the assistance of his intelligence system, Li Xu hardly needed to take any detours during syndrome differentiation and treatment. Every needle he inserted and every dose of medicine he prescribed precisely hit the focal point of the disease. After a whole morning, his experience had enriched quite a bit, putting him in an exceptionally good mood.

Li Lin came over around ten in the morning, still clutching his notebook and following Li Xu closely without leaving his side. Ever since yesterday’s open lecture, the look in Li Lin’s eyes when he looked at Li Xu was no longer just "admiration," but naked "fanaticism." He now felt that being able to follow Li Xu during his internship was simply an immense blessing from his ancestors.

"Senior, why did you add a dose of ’Earth Dragon’ for that asthma patient just now? I saw that textbooks routinely use Cicada Shell," Li Lin hurriedly asked for advice while Li Xu took a water break.

Li Xu set down his water cup and patiently explained, "Textbooks are rigid, but people are alive. Cicada Shell primarily disperses, leaning towards dispersing wind-heat, whereas that elderly gentleman has a chronic ailment. Stasis has already formed at the base of his lungs. Earth Dragon not only relieves asthma, but crucially, it clears the meridians and unblocks the collaterals. For this type of long-term asthma with damaged lung collaterals, using the ’penetrating’ power of Earth Dragon to break open the phlegm stasis in the lungs produces a much faster effect than Cicada Shell."

Li Lin suddenly understood and buried his head, frantically taking notes. "I’ve learned a lot, Senior. This is truly the voice of experience."

"Alright, stop brown-nosing. There are three follow-up consultations this afternoon. Go pull their medical records and read them over first. I’m going to test you later." Li Xu smiled and tapped the table.