Taoist Doctor - Chapter 20

Zhou Jinyuan silently reminded himself to maintain professional ethics, so he didn’t laugh out loud: “…Wrong, wrong, not that, I’m talking about atrophy!”

 

Mr. Cao really didn’t know what atrophy was. He only knew that he had traumatic paralysis, so he was momentarily stunned and blushed, saying, “It’s not that it can’t… It can rise, but it hurts when it does, so that…”

 

Qu Guanfeng: “…”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “…Not that kind of impotence! I mean atrophy, as in your original…”

 

He knew that Qu Guanfeng was sensitive to certain words, so he hadn’t said it directly.

 

Instead, Qu Guanfeng calmed down. Stimulated by the other party, he no longer felt, or rather, couldn’t avoid mentioning it. He coldly interrupted: “Paralysis.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan glanced at Qu Guanfeng, thinking he might be extremely angry…

 

When Mr. Cao heard this, his face turned even redder: “Oh, so that’s it, it wasn’t… I misunderstood! I really didn’t expect this! My god, young man, don’t mind me, I feel awkward myself!”

 

After saying it, Qu Guanfeng felt a subtle change in his mood, even finding it a bit funny. He shook his head without saying anything.

 

Maybe because of this muddled patient, those words no longer felt so special.

 

“It’s like this. I had traumatic paralysis before, was bedridden for about a month, and thought I would be paralyzed forever. I was desperate, thinking my life was over! I still have an old mother, a wife, and children. If I were paralyzed, would they have to support me? I do manual labor, you know. You are educated and might be able to do something sitting down, but I’m clumsy with my hands…”

 

Mr. Cao gradually sank into his memories: “Later, we changed hospitals. My head injury was healed, but I was still paralyzed. The doctor wanted me to transfer to the rehabilitation department to try some exercises. They said I could recover some functions. Later, they discussed trying acupuncture. Fortunately, we agreed! That day was my happiest day. Dr. Zhou gave me a few needles, and I could flex my legs. After a few more days, I could walk. Now, I’m not fully recovered, but soon.”

 

Qu Guanfeng listened quietly. His family background was vastly different from this patient, but in the face of life and death, everyone is equal. In many moments, their feelings must have been similar.

 

“So, young man, don’t be discouraged. There’s always a way out. Dr. Zhou is here!” Mr. Cao withdrew from his emotions and encouraged him.

 

Although he didn’t know how serious Qu Guanfeng’s condition was, nor that Qu Guanfeng had sought treatment from many places, after a moment of silence, Qu Guanfeng only said, “Alright.”

 

“Moreover, when great misfortune doesn’t kill you, there will be blessings later. Look at me, although I was bedridden for so long, it even cured my… kidney deficiency, which I had been treating for two years.” Mr. Cao added, “If you have any hidden ailments, you can also let Dr. Zhou treat them while he’s at it!”

 

Qu Guanfeng: “……No, thank you.”

 

When Zhou Jinyuan finished treating that patient, it was time to take the needles out of Qu Guanfeng and proceed to the next step.

 

He took some massage cream, applied it on Qu Guanfeng, and started massaging to clear the meridians. This treatment didn’t only involve massaging the legs; the human body is an integrated whole. You can’t just massage the head when it hurts or the feet when they hurt.

 

Zhou Jinyuan first massaged points like Baihui, Kaitianmen, and Tuikangong with his fingers.

 

Since the car accident, Qu Guanfeng had been very resistant to physical contact. When Zhou Jinyuan’s fingers touched him, he first frowned unnaturally, but soon his brow relaxed.

 

Because it felt so comfortable—

 

Qu Guanfeng rarely got massages, but it wasn’t as if he never had, especially during rehabilitation, where there were similar sessions.

 

But somehow, Zhou Jinyuan’s technique seemed special. With each pinch and press, Qu Guanfeng’s brows relaxed, his eyes slowly closed, and he felt as if his entire spine was softening.

 

Zhou Jinyuan helped him change to a prone position and continued massaging down the Du meridian and other meridians to the legs.

 

Although his legs had lost sensation, his upper body was fine. Qu Guanfeng was prepared to endure any pain, but from beginning to end, apart from a feeling of release and comfort, there was no pain.

 

With this point pressed and that meridian pushed, Qu Guanfeng, who thought he had slept well the night before, fell asleep again on the treatment bed!

 

After half an hour, Zhou Jinyuan finished the massage, patted Qu Guanfeng on the shoulder, and he woke up abruptly, looking a bit dazed, suddenly feeling more human.

 

Qu Guanfeng murmured: “How did I…”

 

He always had trouble sleeping outside, and even had trouble sleeping in his own bed due to severe insomnia. Today, he actually fell asleep in a hospital consultation room.

 

“How did you fall asleep?” Zhou Jinyuan teased: “Don’t you know how? I didn’t press any sleep-inducing points.”

 

It was just too comfortable. Especially since Qu Guanfeng had been unable to exercise for a long time, this relaxation felt so good that he fell asleep.

 

Qu Guanfeng: “…”

 

Zhou Jinyuan pushed the wheelchair back from the duty room and helped Qu Guanfeng onto it. “Our department will soon have hospital rooms. If you find it inconvenient to go back and forth, you can get admitted directly.”

 

With Qu Guanfeng’s personality, he originally wanted to refuse, but recalling the massage just now, he hesitated a bit and ultimately remained silent.

 

Xianglu Temple

 

A dozen Taoist priests were practicing Tai Chi under the shade of trees, with some believers or tourists following along.

 

Liu Qi stood by watching for a while and even took a couple of photos. It wasn’t his first time at Xianglu Temple; previously, he came to hike the mountain and visited the temple casually. This time, he was interested in Taoism.

 

The reason, of course, was Zhou Dashen.

 

Liu Qi suspected they had some health-preserving techniques because Zhou Jinyuan, no matter how many patients he saw, only meditated at noon and always seemed energetic. Maybe it was due to practicing Tai Chi or something similar?

 

He was curious anyway. Zhou Dashen was always mysterious, and it wouldn’t hurt to learn a bit about Taoist culture. After all, traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist philosophy share the same roots.

 

Zhou Jinyuan had told Liu Qi that he often visited Xianglu Temple during his breaks. Today, Liu Qi decided to come on a whim. After watching for a while, he thought of asking a priest if Zhou Jinyuan was there.

 

The priest, who looked to be nearly thirty, said, “Master Zhou? Yes, he’s here. I’ll let him know.”

 

Surprisingly, Zhou Dashen had a high status here.

 

Liu Qi stood at the entrance for a while and soon saw Zhou Jinyuan coming out, dressed in a dark blue Taoist robe and cloth shoes, looking quite distinguished.

 

“Hey, Dashen!” Liu Qi’s eyes lit up. “Your uniform looks pretty comfortable.”

 

“You’re here,” Zhou Jinyuan greeted him. “Just in time. Come have tea with us.”

 

Anyone else here? Liu Qi followed Zhou Jinyuan inside, chatting as they walked. “Haha, who else is here? Is Director Xie here too? I asked everyone if they wanted to come to Xianglu Temple, and they said I’ve become superstitious from hanging out with you. I want to see who else is doing superstitious activities with you.”

 

When the curtain was lifted, sitting inside were: Deputy Director Xiao, Huang Tianlin, Qu Qingrui, and Rong Xixue.

 

Liu Qi: “…”

 

Liu Qi was on the verge of tears. “Director Xiao…”

 

Zhou Jinyuan looked helpless and even gave Liu Qi a meaningful glance…

 

Huang Tianlin’s father often practiced Tai Chi at Xianglu Temple, so he was a regular visitor. Qu Qingrui’s son was a patient at the Third Hospital, naturally increasing his interest. They planned a visit to Xianglu Mountain today and had just greeted Zhou Jinyuan, who also came up the mountain.

 

Rong Xixue had no special reason and just followed Zhou Jinyuan. As for Rong Shouyun, even if he wanted to come, it wouldn’t be appropriate, so he stayed home browsing job sites, looking for monastery recruitment information.

 

“Liu Qi, you’re here for a hike too.” Deputy Director Xiao, perhaps in a good mood, didn’t mind his previous comment. “Come, sit and chat.”

 

Originally intending to relax and explore Taoism, Liu Qi found himself nervously seated with his superiors, feeling quite embarrassed by his earlier remarks.

 

Rong Xixue poured him a cup of tea. “Dr. Liu.”

 

“Thank you,” Liu Qi said gratefully, taking a couple of sips to calm his nerves.

 

“So, shall we continue discussing superstitious activities?” Qu Qingrui said with a smile.

 

Liu Qi: “…”

 

He felt immense pressure.

 

Fortunately, Qu Qingrui was joking and directed the comment at Zhou Jinyuan. “Dr. Zhou, I heard from Tianlin that you have a deep understanding of fate. Last time at the hospital, you even predicted joy in his family but didn’t mention it due to being at work.”

 

Qu Qingrui had already witnessed Zhou Jinyuan’s medical skills, but his curiosity was piqued by his mystical practices.

 

Deputy Director Xiao seemed thoughtful. He had heard that Zhou Jinyuan received a banner praising his accurate predictions, but he usually didn’t pay much attention to these things, despite having a good relationship with Taoist Priest Qin Guan.

 

“As you all know, I’m a Taoist doctor, so it’s normal for me to understand some principles of fortune-telling besides practicing medicine. I can only say I’m somewhat accurate,” Zhou Jinyuan said modestly.

 

“Xiao Zhou, then you should show us some skills. After all, we’re in a Taoist temple,” Qu Qingrui said, raising his chin.

 

Deputy Director Xiao said, “We initially planned to have Jinyuan check our pulses today. Now we’re talking about studying fortune-telling?”

 

Zhou Jinyuan smiled. “Actually, we can do both. Deputy Director Xiao, have you heard of the Tai Su Pulse?”

 

Deputy Director Xiao had only recently started learning about traditional Chinese medicine and was not particularly knowledgeable about Taoism. Both fields were vast. He thought for a moment and said, “I haven’t heard of it.”

 

“This is also a form of physiognomy, but it involves diagnosing a person through their pulse. It was passed down by people from Mount Qingcheng and is also called the Immortal Pulse. I’ve studied it for a while and found some parts to be far-fetched, but its analysis of yin and yang and the five elements is unique,” Zhou Jinyuan explained. “This pulse method involves both pathology and fortune-telling!”

 

“Both pathology and fortune-telling? Now I’m really curious,” Deputy Director Xiao said. He was very familiar with his own health and trusted Zhou Jinyuan’s medical skills. He was more interested in verifying the so-called fortune-telling.

 

Combining medical skills with physiognomy was something only Taoism seemed to claim.

 

Huang Tianlin had long wanted to test Zhou Jinyuan’s abilities again and watched him intently.

 

Zhou Jinyuan placed his hand on Deputy Director Xiao’s pulse. “The Tai Su Pulse’s variations include five yang pulses, five yin pulses, and four ying pulses. It also adds two pulses: the dragon pulse and the tiger pulse. Although it adds variations, disease diagnosis cannot escape the original theory… Deputy Director Xiao, since you have lumbar muscle strain, shouldn’t you make time for the rehabilitation department every day?”

 

As he spoke, he had already diagnosed it.

 

“Hahaha, yes, I have lumbar muscle strain. I get so busy sometimes that I can’t manage it,” Deputy Director Xiao admitted. He had no other major issues, just this recurring lumbar strain caused by work. It would be hard to cure unless he changed jobs.

 

Zhou Jinyuan continued to feel the pulse, deriving hexagrams from the pulse and combining them with the five phases and six climates. He smiled. “This is interesting. It seems unremarkable, but actually, everything will go well. Deputy Director Xiao, you might rise to a higher position.”

 

“What does that mean? It looks unremarkable, but good things will happen, and you’ll get whatever you seek?” Huang Tianlin pondered this, exchanged a glance with Deputy Director Xiao, but neither said anything.

 

Huang Tianlin changed the topic: “Too bad I didn’t bring my wife. I’d like to have our unborn child’s fortune told.”

 

“That’s possible too. The Tai Su Pulse method can predict the fortunes of descendants,” Zhou Jinyuan said, feeling Huang Tianlin’s pulse. “Mr. Huang, your son will resemble you in childhood circumstances: smooth and peaceful, but be cautious of spoiling him, or he might encounter similar hardships.”

 

Huang Tianlin’s mouth opened slightly. “This…”

 

He swallowed hard. “If no one told you, then you are… extraordinarily accurate! When I was young, my family was well-off. My father had me late in life, and my mother spoiled me greatly. Later, I was kidnapped at thirteen and nearly lost my life.”

 

This was the second time Zhou Jinyuan had demonstrated his fortune-telling skills to him, yet he was still a bit shocked, as he didn’t really believe in these things.

 

The conversation shifted to Huang Tianlin.

 

Qu Qingrui, meanwhile, was contemplating deeply. If Dr. Zhou was this skilled in fortune-telling…

 

After everyone finished their discussions and went to find Huang’s father, who was practicing Tai Chi, Liu Qi finally breathed a sigh of relief. He belatedly realized that Zhou Dashen and Deputy Director Xiao probably knew each other for a long time.

 

At the beginning, when Zhou Dashen joined the hospital, he was labeled as a connected person. It turned out that the connection was with Deputy Director Xiao. Of course, now no one mentioned connections anymore; it was clearly a talent introduction. The traditional Chinese medicine department even expanded because of it.

 

“You were too nervous. There’s no need for that,” Zhou Jinyuan comforted him. “Xiaoxue, pour Dr. Liu a cup of tea.”

 

“Is this Xiaoxue?” Liu Qi looked in astonishment at Rong Xixue’s height and long legs. He knew Xiaoxue was a guy but didn’t expect such an exaggerated figure. Where was the ‘little’ and the ‘snow’ in Xiaoxue?

 

Rong Xixue refilled his cup. “Dr. Liu, you can just call me Xiao Rong.”

 

Hearing those two words from others made him uncomfortable.

 

“Oh, oh,” Liu Qi said, drinking his tea. “Dashen, were you serious just now? Can you really diagnose through pulse without using rhetorical tricks?”

 

He knew some street fortune tellers were skilled at reading people and speaking ambiguously.

 

Zhou Jinyuan said, “How can you say that? I’ve even received a banner for my skills!”

 

Liu Qi: “…Okay.” He decided to wait and see if these big shots would also give Zhou Dashen a banner.

 

“Brother, I need to go down the mountain,” Rong Xixue suddenly said.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Jinyuan saw that it was still early and wondered why Rong Xixue didn’t want to go down the mountain with him.

 

“I just received a message. I asked a classmate to help me find out about the recruitment situation at the temples in Haizhou, and now there’s news.” Rong Xixue waved his phone. “I’m going to talk to my classmate about arranging an interview for my brother.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan looked at him in surprise. It seemed that Xiaoxue and his brother’s relationship had greatly improved since he was even helping his brother find a job!

 

“That’s great. Your brother will be thrilled to hear this.” Zhou Jinyuan gently patted Rong Xixue’s cheek. Hmm, it was easier to pat when he still had baby fat. “Your brother always says he’s just a neighbor, but look at you, Xiaoxue, being so good to him!”

 

Rong Xixue smiled. “Yeah.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan yawned as he walked back to his department. He had been staying up late these past few nights, helping Rong Shouyun research new job opportunities.

 

Now, most of the places recruiting were those famous temples in tourist areas or large temples with significant industries. But Rong Shouyun seemed to have some hesitation and was still deliberating.

 

Once he found a position, he would move to live in the temple. Zhou Jinyuan advised him to spend more time chatting with his brother while he could. Rong Shouyun had oddly remarked that his brother wasn’t worth it.

 

“Dashen, are you going hiking this week?”

 

As soon as Zhou Jinyuan changed into his white coat, Dr. Jin popped in to ask.

 

“Hiking? What hiking?” Zhou Jinyuan yawned again, feeling that Dr. Jin’s “Dashen” sounded particularly respectful.

 

“Dashen, don’t cultivate too late at night! Take care of your health!” Dr. Jin expressed concern first. “I mean hiking, to Xianglu Mountain.”

 

“Oh, maybe. If I have time, I’ll go,” Zhou Jinyuan said. If things went smoothly this week and Rong Shouyun got into a new position, he might go to see him off and get acquainted with the route, though he probably wouldn’t enter the temple.

 

“Got it.” Dr. Jin left.

 

A while later, a doctor from the rehabilitation department also came over. “Dashen, are you going hiking this weekend?”

 

“…If I have time.” Zhou Jinyuan found it strange. Why was everyone asking if he was going hiking this weekend?

 

He was about to ask, but the doctor had already left.

 

Confused, Zhou Jinyuan went to Liu Qi. “Why is everyone asking if I’m going hiking this weekend?”

 

Liu Qi immediately raised his hand. “It’s not my fault.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “?”

 

Liu Qi said weakly, “You don’t know? There’s internal news that Deputy Director Xiao is getting promoted. The official notice is expected in the next couple of days. Director Lan is being transferred to be the director of Haibei Hospital, leaving a vacant position. It was rumored that someone from outside would be brought in as the director. But now, suddenly, there’s a change.”

 

He spoke with a hint of fear. Damn, isn’t this exactly what Dashen said about seeming unremarkable but actually having everything go smoothly?

 

But he really hadn’t told anyone. Outsiders didn’t know as much as he did. He suspected that Deputy Director Xiao had casually mentioned it as a fun story, which was then spread around.

 

Previously, many people knew Zhou Jinyuan had received a banner, but they hadn’t seen him do any fortune-telling since. This time was different; this time it involved Deputy Director Xiao, someone they knew personally.

 

People everywhere believed in some form of mysticism. Some colleagues, and even some hospital leaders, were wondering if they should talk to Dr. Zhou too. Even if they didn’t fully believe, a little good luck wouldn’t hurt. Chinese people traditionally liked to hear auspicious words.

 

That’s why several people had asked Zhou Jinyuan about hiking today. They weren’t interested in fate but were aiming for Xianglu Mountain.

 

Zhou Jinyuan finally understood. Since he hadn’t been at the hospital long, he didn’t know all the leadership and hadn’t paid attention to personnel changes. He casually replied, “Got it. Thanks.”

 

He didn’t have a fixed rule for fortune-telling; it was more about fate and timing, unlike a street vendor.

 

As he walked back to his clinic, someone stopped him again in the hallway. “Um, Dr. Zhou, are you going to Xianglu Mountain this weekend?”

 

He guessed what the person wanted to ask and thought maybe he should put a sign on his forehead.

 

“Ahem. Dr. Zhang, Dr. Zhou.”

 

Zhou Jinyuan turned around and saw Xie Min. Oh no, he quickly stood at attention. “Good morning, Director Xie. I’ll go back and start calling patients.”

 

“Wait,” Xie Min stopped him. “Xiao Zhou, are you going to Xianglu Mountain or not?”

 

Zhou Jinyuan: “…!”

 

You can’t be our Director Xie…