Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor Gao-Yuan

"Give me the child," Gao-Yuan extended his hand toward the parents.

The parents had already lost all hope. Now that someone was willing to treat their child, they hurriedly handed the baby over.

Gao-Yuan took the child into his arms and instructed, "Check the temperature."

Liu Sanquan quickly ran to get a thermometer.

As Gao-Yuan held the baby, he realized that the situation was even more severe than it first appeared. The child's lips had turned a purplish blue, his nostrils flared with each breath, and he had a severe phlegm blockage.

Gao-Yuan picked up the child's hand, only to find that the baby's fingers had also turned purplish blue. He pressed the veins of the index finger and saw that the purple streak extended all the way to the "life gate."

Li Shengli was stunned. He clearly remembered Gao-Yuan explaining earlier that the three sections of a child's index finger indicate the severity of illness—passing through the "wind gate," "qi gate," and finally the "life gate." When it reaches the life gate, it’s beyond saving. And now it had reached that point. He stood there, dumbfounded.

Shen Congyun also shook his head repeatedly, saying, "This is a case of a sudden convulsion, a dangerously acute condition that progresses very quickly. In severe cases, it may develop into chronic convulsions, which could lead to epilepsy or mental retardation later in life. This child's condition is too serious; he can't be saved."

The parents were trembling, their lips quivering as they struggled to say something but couldn’t get any words out.

Li Shengli glared at Shen Congyun, wanting to curse him, but deep down, he didn’t feel confident either. Just as he stood there at a loss, Gao Yuan’s voice rang out.

"Did you forget what I told you? As long as there’s even the slightest chance, you can never give up on saving someone."

Upon hearing this, Li Shengli immediately stood up straighter.

"Get me a three-edged needle!" Gao-Yuan ordered.

"Yes!" Li Shengli, feeling as if he were receiving orders on a battlefield, jolted to attention. But then he realized he had no idea what a three-edged needle was. "What’s a three-edged needle?"

Gao-Yuan said, "Go fetch Zhao Huanzhang’s acupuncture kit."

"Yes!" Li Shengli shouted as he quickly ran off.

"Here’s the acupuncture kit!" Li Shengli opened it and placed it in front of Gao-Yuan.

Without hesitation, Gao-Yuan took out the three-edged needle and carefully pricked the fingertips and toes, as well as the tips of the ears, Baihui (crown of the head), and Dazhui (upper back), allowing blood to flow.

As the blood was released, the unconscious child immediately began to cry.

Shen Congyun was stunned. He hadn’t expected Gao-Yuan to know acupuncture and was now even more suspicious that Gao-Yuan had some connection with the Shen family.

"Th-this..." The parents were also at a loss. Why was their child bleeding?

Gao-Yuan noticed their anxiety and reassured them, "I’m saving him. It’s just a light prick; it’s harmless. Don’t worry."

The mother looked nervously at the father.

The father swallowed hard. Though he was filled with unease, the simple man could only nod nervously.

As the child’s cries grew louder, Gao-Yuan touched the child again and said, "He’s sweating."

Then he felt the child’s hands and feet. "The limbs are warming up."

Li Shengli, confused, asked, "Is that good or bad?"

The parents grew anxious again.

Liu Sanquan chimed in, "Of course it’s good."

The parents finally exhaled the breath they’d been holding.

Shen Congyun stared at Gao-Yuan in disbelief.

Gao-Yuan put down the three-edged needle and picked up a fine needle, swiftly using it to stimulate Yongquan (on the soles of the feet), Hegu (on the hand), and Renzhong (between the nose and upper lip). Then, with a bird-pecking technique, he stimulated Suliu (on the tip of the nose).

Watching Gao-Yuan’s needlework, Shen Congyun’s expression turned even more perplexing.

Liu Sanquan and Li Shengli were watching with rapt attention, as if they were witnessing a magic trick, their eyes nearly bulging out of their heads.

After about a minute of treatment, the child woke up. Though still crying, the convulsions had stopped.

"He’s awake! He’s awake!" Li Shengli shouted excitedly.

"Phew..." Gao-Yuan let out a long breath.

The parents rushed forward, tears of joy streaming down their faces.

Shen Congyun, however, looked at Gao-Yuan with increasing uncertainty.

Li Shengli was also overjoyed: "Dr. Gao, the child is awake! He’s awake!"

Gao-Yuan waved his hand. "Don’t let your guard down. The child is not out of danger yet. We need to act quickly. Bring me pen and paper; I need to write a prescription."

"Yes!" Li Shengli hurried off again.

"Out of danger?" Shen Congyun murmured to himself, finally realizing that Gao-Yuan genuinely intended to not only save this dying baby but to completely pull him back from the brink of death.

"How is that possible?" Shen Congyun couldn’t believe it. After all, he himself couldn’t have done it.

"Here," Li Shengli handed the prescription pad to Gao-Yuan.

Gao-Yuan then instructed Liu Sanquan, "To prevent the risk of asphyxiation, quickly weigh out one candareen of musk and administer it to the child."

Liu Sanquan rushed to carry out the task.

Gao-Yuan, holding the pen, thought for a moment and then began writing: "One tael of raw gypsum, three maces each of ephedra, apricot kernel, licorice, moutan bark, purple herb, and bamboo shavings."

Shen Congyun glanced over at the prescription and was immediately stunned. "What? How much are you prescribing?"

"What’s wrong?" Li Shengli asked.

After feeding the musk to the child, even Liu Sanquan couldn’t resist taking a look at the prescription. One glance, and he was startled, his anxiety flaring up again.

All three doctors stood there, speechless.

Meanwhile, the parents were frightened once more.

Patients dread seeing doctors sigh, frown, or shake their heads. Now, with three utterly dumbfounded doctors in front of them, the fact that the parents hadn’t collapsed in fear was a testament to their strong nerves.

Ignoring them, Gao-Yuan quickly finished writing the prescription.

Once done, he said, "Sudden convulsions are one of the four major pediatric conditions and are extremely dangerous. Because a child’s organs are delicate and their systems are light, the illness can spread rapidly. In less than a day, this has progressed to a critical state. However, because it spreads so quickly, if treated decisively, the illness can also be reversed just as fast."

Shen Congyun interjected, "But you’ve prescribed an adult dosage! This child is only four months old."

Liu Sanquan unconsciously nodded. When treating children, they usually prescribed only one mace at most, especially for such a young infant. Yet Gao-Yuan had prescribed an entire teal.

Li Shengli stood there, equally confused, not knowing what to say.

Gao-Yuan nodded. "You’re right, but that’s under normal circumstances. For critical conditions, the dosage must not be too light. It’s better to err on the side of more rather than less. And I’m not having him drink it all at once. It will be administered in small doses, multiple times."

"As long as the condition stabilizes, the remaining medicine can be discarded. We stop when the symptoms are relieved. This ensures a sufficient concentration of the medicine in the blood to guarantee effectiveness while avoiding excessive intake that could harm the body. This is the same method I used to treat Zhang Yuancai’s mother."

Upon hearing Zhang Yuancai’s mother mention it, Liu Sanquan couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows. He had witnessed it himself—just a few days ago, the woman had seemed on the brink of death, but after one night, she was well enough to collect her jujube buns the next morning. The speed of her recovery was shocking to anyone who saw it.

Li Shengli nodded vigorously. "Dr. Gao, I trust you."

Gao-Yuan handed the prescription to Li Shengli. "Go fetch the medicine."

"Wait…" Shen Congyun wanted to say something more.

But Li Shengli shot back, "Wait for what? Are you going to treat him?"

Shen Congyun fell silent.

The child’s mother, too nervous to know what to ask, stammered, "Doctor, doctor... will our child... can he be saved?"

Gao-Yuan nodded seriously.

The father, looking back and forth between Shen Congyun and Gao-Yuan, hesitated. "But... but he said it’s very serious. That it couldn’t be cured."

Gao-Yuan glanced at Shen Congyun and then reassured the parents, "Don’t worry. To me, this is nothing."

Shen Congyun’s face twitched involuntarily.