144 A Knife Hiding Behind the Smile

"Auntie, this is the herbal decoction I brewed. Please try it," said Wang Yao.

"Okay, thanks," said Tong Wei's mother with a smile.

Tong Wei's mother didn't talk much.

"Have the decoction when it is warm. Take a small cup of decoction each time, and finish all of it within three days," said Wang Yao.

When they were talking, the doorbell rang again. Another visitor came. Wang Yao knew the visitor, Yang Ming; he was Wang Yao's old schoolmate. Yang Ming came with a present, and he was surprised to see Wang Yao in Tong Wei's home.

"Hi, Wang Yao!" said Yang Ming.

"Hi, Yang Ming. What a coincidence!" said Wang Yao with a smile. He stood up from the chair.

It was a bit awkward for them to meet here.

"Hi, Yang Ming, please sit down," Tong Wei's mother also stood up.

"Hi, auntie, you look much better than last time. I brought some gelatin for you," said Yang Ming.

"Thank you! I've said before, you don't need to bring anything when you come here," said Tong Wei's mother with a smile.

Wang Yao could feel that Tong Wei's mother preferred Yang Ming.

"Do you know each other?" asked Tong Wei's father.

"Yes, we are old schoolmates. Wang Yao, me and Tong Wei used to be in the same class. Wang Yao was one of the best students!" said Yang Ming.

"Really? What a coincidence. Wang Yao brought us some herbal decoction," said Tong Wei's father.

"Herbal decoction?" said Yang Ming in surprise.

"Yes, he brewed it himself," said Tong Wei's mother.

"You brewed it yourself? Yao, I thought you studied biology in the university, since when you can brew herbal decoctions?" asked Yang Ming curiously.

"I learned it last year," said Wang Yao calmly.

"Last year?" Tong Wei's parents frowned. They thought Wang Yao had a medical qualification, so they asked Wang Yao to prescribe an herbal formula for them. They didn't know his background was biology, not medicine. He only started to learn medicine last year and only had one and a half years' experience at most.

What can he learn during such a short period of time? How ridiculous that he's already started to see patients and prescribe herbal formulas! thought Tong Wei's parents.

"Last year? Really?" asked Yang Ming with a smile. He was apparently taking pleasure in Wang Yao's misfortune.

Yang Ming had been chasing after Tong Wei for a long time. He visited Tong Wei at Dao City on a number of occasions, but Tong Wei didn't seem to be interested in him. Yang Ming didn't give up. He always came back after defeat and changed his strategy. He started to approach Tong Wei's parents. He visited them regularly and always brought presents, such as health products and wooden sculptures. Yang Ming was very articulate, and he knew how to make Tong Wei's parents happy.

Today, he met Wang Yao at Tong Wei's home. He knew immediately that Wang Yao was also interested in Tong Wei. So, Wang Yao was his rival in love. He had been thinking of how to embarrass Wang Yao since he walked through the door. He wanted Wang Yao to take the hint that Tong Wei's parents would not accept him. Now, he found a way to attack Wang Yao.

Biology was remotely related to medicine. He only studied medicine for just over a year before prescribing herbal formulas for people. What is he doing? Experimenting on Tong Wei's mother? thought Yang Ming. He didn't speak out his thoughts, as he knew going beyond the limit was as bad as falling short.

"There won't be any problems with my prescription," said Wang Yao calmly and confidently.

"There won't be any problems?" doubted Tong Wei's mother.

"If you have concerns about my prescription, you can just use a small amount at the beginning," suggested Wang Yao.

"Okay," said Tong Wei's mother.

The living room of Tong Wei's apartment was big, and the airflow was good, but the atmosphere was a bit heavy.

"Uncle, Auntie, I've got to go now," said Wang Yao. He felt there was no need for him to continue to stay, as Tong Wei's parents didn't seem to like him.

"Why not stay for lunch?" asked Tong Wei's mother. Wang Yao didn't think she genuinely wanted him to stay, so he declined and left.

Yang Ming was still at Tong Wei's place and tried to impress her parents.

He was not sure why, but Wang Yao suddenly felt his visit to Tong Wei's place was meaningless.

Wang Yao went back home briefly before he returned to Nanshan hill. He tried to calm himself down by reading scriptures for a while. Then, he sat in the chair and looked outside through the window until it was got dark. He then realized that it was time to go home for dinner.

Wang Yao received a call from Tian Yuantu at night. Tian Yuantu sounded urgent on the phone. He asked Wang Yao if he was available the next day because Secretary Yang's mother was ill again. She suddenly felt extremely cold, and Secretary Yang was very worried. Tian Yuantu would like Wang Yao to see Secretary Yang's mother as soon as possible.

"How about tomorrow?" asked Wang Yao.

"Okay, I'll pick you up," said Tian Yuantu.

Wang Yao returned to Nanshan hill after dinner and started to brew another dose of decoction for Secretary Yang's mother.

Secretary Yang's mother was seriously ill. The cold evil went deep inside her internal organs and damaged her health. Although Regather soup improved her health, it only cured her symptoms and not the disease. Once the effects of Regather soup had disappeared, the cold evil came back to attack her again.

Dealing with people in high social status was not easy. Wang Yao knew this well.

...

Tian Yuantu came early the next morning right after Wang Yao had finished breathing exercises.

The two of them left the village and drove to a quiet house in Haiqu. The house was not Secretary Yang's private house, but rather, it was more like a clubhouse. Wang Yao met Secretary Yang and his mother again inside the house. His mother was a thin and kind lady.

It was spring, and the heating supply in northern China had already stopped, but it was still quite warm indoors. The room had its own heater, which was turned on when Wang Yao was inside. Even with the heater on, Secretary Yang's mother was wearing a lot of clothes and a heavy coat. She was obviously extremely sensitive to the cold.

There was only Secretary Yang and his mother in the room apart from Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu. Secretary Yang didn't bring any staff members with him.

"Hi, Auntie," greeted Tian Yuantu.

"Hi, Yuantu," said Secretary Yang's mother.

"This is the doctor who prescribed the herbal formula for you," said Tian Yuantu.

"Hello, my name is Wang Yao," said Wang Yao.

"Hello! I wanted to thank you in person a long time ago. Please sit down. Haichuan, make a cup of tea for Dr. Wang and Yuantu," said Secretary Yang's mother.

"I'll do it myself," said Tian Yuantu. He and Wang Yao both stood up and made themselves a cup of tea.

What kind of person could let a Party Secretary make a cup of tea for them?

After chatting with Secretary Yang's mother for a while, Wang Yao found this old lady was short of breath and very weak. She was in poor health and didn't have much vitality.

"Can I check your pulse?" asked Wang Yao.

"Sure," said Secretary Yang's mother.

Wang Yao was shocked after he checked Secretary Yang's mother's pulse. Her pulse was very light and floaty. A floating pulse indicated poor health, and an extremely floaty pulse indicated a serious illness, which could be beyond a cure.

The pulse was like swimming fish.

Wang Yao could feel that the pulse was shallow and unstable. This indicated an extreme amount of Yin, an extreme imbalance of Yin and Yang, and a lack of Yang. Therefore, Secretary Yang's mother was very sensitive to the cold.

Wang Yao started to think of treatment methods after he had given the diagnosis. This old lady's condition was the exact opposite of Mr. Sun's, who Wang Yao saw in Dao City a few days ago. Mr. Sun was lacking in Yin, while this old lady was lacking in Yang. So, the treatment process should be the opposite as well.

"What do you think, Dr. Wang?" asked Secretary Yang after Wang Yao had kept silent for a while.

"Your mother's condition is very urgent. She should be treated immediately," said Wang Yao.

"Will you be able to cure her?" asked Secretary Yang. He knew his mother's illness couldn't be delayed. He had taken his mother to a number of specialists for treatment, but she hadn't got any better. Only the herbal decoctions given by Wang Yao made her feel better.

"I need to think of it," said Wang Yao.

Secretary Yang's mother's illness was serious and weird. Although Wang Yao had some knowledge of weird illnesses after seeing Mr. Sun and had a basic treatment plan, extreme amounts of Yin and Yang were only similar in terms of pathology. Wang Yao had to make a completely different treatment plan for Secretary Yang's mother.

"I have a dose of decoction to give your mother some temporary relief." Wang Yao took out a dose of Regather soup. "I still need to think of detailed treatment plan."

"Okay." Secretary Yang accepted the decoction.

After Wang Yao had diagnosed Secretary Yang's mother, they started to chat. Secretary Yang's mother was a nice old lady who made Wang Yao feel at ease. Wang Yao even thought she was not much different from the elders in his village.

Secretary Yang asked Wang Yao and Tian Yuantu to stay for lunch, but Wang Yao still didn't feel very comfortable dining with Secretary Yang. They stayed for lunch anyways, and he and Tian Yuantu left afterwards. Tian Yuantu asked about Secretary Yang's mother's illness again on their way back to the village.

"Is she really very ill?" asked Tian Yuantu.

"Yes, more serious than I have expected, almost beyond curing," said Wang Yao.

Tian Yuantu looked depressed. He was concerned about Secretary Yang's mother, not only because of Secretary Yang's social status but also because of their friendship. Secretary Yang's mother had always been very nice to him. He even considered her a family member.

"Can you cure her?" asked Tian Yuantu.

"I don't know for now. I can't guarantee anything. I have to try," said Wang Yao. After all, he had never come across such an illness, so he had no experience with it.

As a Traditional Chinese Pharmacist, experience was as important as knowledge. But, one could not gain experience in a short period of time.

"In fact, her condition was similar to Mr. Sun's. The only difference is that she is lacking in Yang, while Mr. Sun is lacking in Yin. Her condition is even slightly better than Mr. Sun," said Wang Yao.

"I'll leave it to you then," said Tian Yuantu.

"Sure, I'll do my best," said Wang Yao with a smile.