Chapter 11: The Doctor Cannot Heal Himself

Chapter 11: The Doctor Cannot Heal Himself

Although Ye Tian was mischievous, he was very filial. Except for one time when he was six or seven years old and had asked his father about his mother, which made Ye Dongping depressed and listless for several days, he never mentioned the matter in front of his father again.

But now it seemed he could use the “Tortoise Shell” to deduce his father’s past. Ye Tian could not help but feel tempted. No one wanted to think they had popped out of a crack in a rock, right?

“Arcane Repository!”

Thinking of this, Ye Tian could no longer hold back. He silently recited “Arcane Repository” in his heart, and the Tortoise Shell immediately spun into view in his mind.

When he got up at Miao Laoda’s house this morning, Ye Tian had discovered that the words “Geomancy” and “Physiognomy,” which had turned gray and hazy yesterday, were once again emitting a faint glow.

Ye Tian vaguely sensed that there seemed to be a daily limit on using these two abilities. That’s why he had restrained himself all the way, not daring to use them casually. Now, however, they came in handy.

“Physiognomy!”

Ye Tian silently recited in his heart. The familiar changes reappeared in his mind. The palm-sized Tortoise Shell spun around once before breaking apart into countless rays of light, quickly reassembling.

“Huh? Father’s facial features look quite good. He doesn’t seem like someone who should be farming?”

To be honest, even though he had studied Feng Shui and Physiognomy knowledge with the Old Taoist for several years, Ye Tian didn’t really believe in it deep down. So, he had never actually tried to read his father’s face before. Now, looking carefully, he was somewhat stunned.

Ye Dongping’s ears were higher than his eyebrows. His eyebrows were glossy, thick but not messy. The root of his nose was prominent, and the bridge of his nose was strong. His eyes held a hidden depth, with clear distinction between the black and white. These were all signs of great fortune and prosperity. There was no reason for him to be living in such poverty now.

Before Ye Tian could observe more, the Tortoise Shell in his mind suddenly changed. Lines of text appeared in Ye Tian’s mind: “Ye Dongping, originally from Xicheng, Beijing. Born into a worker’s family. Only son. Two older sisters, one younger sister. Graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Huaqing University in 1972. In the same year, responding to the call ‘Vast Lands, Great Potential,’ was sent down to the Jintan area of Jiangsu Province…”

“So Father really is from Beijing? But… how come… how come there’s no information about mother?”

The information appearing in his mind only contained the biography of Ye Dongping, with no mention of his mother at all. This disappointed Ye Tian greatly.

As for Huaqing University, Ye Tian paid it no mind at all. For one, Huaqing University’s reputation wasn’t as renowned back then as it would be in later years. Secondly, one couldn’t expect a child raised in the countryside to know much about this top institution in the country.

Seeing the words in his mind slowly fade and condense back into the shape of the Tortoise Shell, Ye Tian felt unwilling. He poured all his concentration into the words “Physiognomy” once again.

“Look at marriage fate…” Ye Tian silently added in his heart, hoping this mysterious “Tortoise Shell” would provide information about his mother.

As Ye Tian thought this, the Tortoise Shell in his mind transformed into mysterious symbols once more. Just as Ye Tian focused intently, waiting for the result, he suddenly felt a loud “BZZT” in his head, as if a giant hammer had smashed against the crown of his skull.

This sudden change gave Ye Tian a splitting headache. All the strength in his body seemed to be drained. His originally standing body lurched forward, collapsing.

Fortunately, the direction Ye Tian fell was right where Ye Dongping was sitting. Otherwise, if he had hit this bluestone floor head-first, he likely wouldn’t have escaped a bloody head.

“Huh? Xiao Tian, wha… what’s wrong?”

The change happening to his son gave Ye Dongping a fright. Holding Ye Tian’s limp little body as it slipped toward the ground, even though Ye Dongping had weathered many storms over the years, he was momentarily at a loss.

“What’s with this wound? Ah, it’s all my fault…”

After Ye Tian’s Taoist hat fell off, revealing the wound on his head, Ye Dongping instinctively believed that Ye Tian’s fainting was caused by the wound. He couldn’t help but feel deep regret. He shouldn’t have been so strict with Ye Tian usually, scaring him into running up the mountain and getting hurt.

After a long while, Ye Dongping snapped out of it. He carried Ye Tian into the house and hurried off toward the back hills of the village. Compared to the barefoot doctor in the small town, Ye Dongping trusted Ye Tian’s Master more.

…

In his unconscious state, Ye Tian felt as if he were in the middle of the sea. He was like a lone boat, tossed up and down. A torrential rain poured on his head, with flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder. The might of heaven and earth was awe-inspiring.

Just as he was suspended between heaven and earth, Ye Tian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his philtrum. It was like a basin of cold water had been thrown over him. His whole body shivered, and the illusions before his eyes vanished.

“Master, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be watching over things on the mountain?” Ye Tian slowly opened his eyes. The first person he saw was actually the Old Taoist. He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

“Huh? I… why can’t I move?” Ye Tian wanted to raise his hand to rub his eyes but found his whole body aching terribly. He didn’t even have the strength to lift his arm.

“Stinky kid, don’t move around…”

The Old Taoist reached out to stop Ye Tian’s movement, his eyes filled with puzzlement. “It shouldn’t be. At such a young age, how could his Primordial Qi be damaged?”

Primordial Qi is endowed from the Innate, stored in the kidneys, and relies on the Acquired Vital Essence to replenish it. The ancients said: “Qi gathers, and life begins; Qi is strong, and health follows; Qi declines, and weakness sets in; Qi scatters, and death arrives.” From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this means that abundant Primordial Qi leads to health, damaged Primordial Qi leads to illness, and exhausted Primordial Qi leads to death.

However, Ye Tian was so young. Plus, he practiced their lineage’s Qi-Guiding Technique. Logically, his Primordial Qi should be more plentiful than that of an average adult, not showing this severely damaged state. The Old Taoist was utterly perplexed.

“Little Yezi, what did you do after you got home?” After thinking for a moment, the Old Taoist looked at Ye Tian. The answer had to be found from Ye Tian himself.

Hearing his Master’s question, Ye Tian said quietly, “I… I didn’t do anything. I just… just tried to read Father’s face…”

Having studied Qi-guiding and Traditional Chinese Medicine with the Old Taoist for five or six years, Ye Tian naturally knew the role Primordial Qi played in the human body. So, aside from not mentioning the Tortoise Shell in his mind, he honestly confessed everything else.

“Reading faces? What did you see?” The Old Taoist’s expression turned serious.

“I…”

Ye Tian glanced sideways at his father and still said, “My dad is from Beijing. He went to university. And he’s an only son. I also have three aunts…”

“Xiao… Xiao Tian, who… who told you these things?”

Before Ye Tian could finish, he was interrupted by a stunned Ye Dongping. Hurt by love, he only wanted to live a peaceful and stable life in this small mountain village and had never told anyone about his past.

It wasn’t that Ye Dongping didn’t want to tell his son; it was just that Ye Tian was still young in previous years. He wanted to wait until Ye Tian was old enough to think independently before telling his son about his family background.

But these matters hidden deep in his heart were suddenly spoken by his son. Ye Dongping’s shock was no small matter.

“I don’t know if what I saw was accurate…” Hearing his father’s words, Ye Tian muttered.

The Old Taoist had lived a long life. With one glance at Ye Dongping’s expression, he understood everything. He said with some exasperation, “Not accurate? If it weren’t accurate, would you have ended up like this?”

Hearing the Old Taoist’s words, Ye Dongping didn’t bother questioning how Ye Tian knew those things anymore. Instead, he looked nervously at the Old Taoist and asked, “Uncle Li, what… what exactly is going on? Is Xiao Tian in serious trouble?”

The Old Taoist’s beard and hair were white, making him look like a man in his seventies or eighties. But his skin was ruddy, resembling a man in his forties or fifties. So, Ye Dongping always addressed him as Uncle. Of course, he had always scoffed at the Old Taoist’s claim of being one hundred and six years old.

“Ah, your son is a genius.”

Hearing Ye Tian’s account, the Old Taoist immediately recalled the time Ye Tian read his face. Along with a look of utter disbelief, there was a trace of faint despondency.

One must know, Li Shanyuan was talented and successful from a young age. He devoted his life to studying the arts of Physiognomy and Occult Arts, having judged countless people. He prided himself on being second to none in the country in Feng Shui and Physiognomy.

But compared to Ye Tian, he suddenly felt that all his years had been lived in vain. What is a child prodigy? What is a heaven-sent talent? The one lying right here was the real deal.

“Ahem, I say, Uncle Li, what’s all this about genius or not? Is my son alright or not…” Hearing the Old Taoist’s disjointed talk, Ye Dongping was so anxious he almost jumped.

Seeing Ye Dongping’s state, the Old Taoist smiled and waved his hand. “Nephew, don’t worry. Ye Tian is fine.”

“What a messed-up form of address. With my dad’s age, he’d be considered too young even to be your grandson.”

Before, not knowing his Master’s age was one thing. Now that he knew, seeing the Old Taoist act young gave Ye Tian a chill. But he didn’t dare say this out loud. He was also concerned about his own condition, so he asked, “Master, I just lost a bit of blood the day before yesterday. That shouldn’t damage my Primordial Qi, right?”

“What do you know? Do you understand the principle that ‘the doctor cannot heal himself’?” the Old Taoist scolded with exasperation.

The so-called “the doctor cannot heal himself” is an unwritten rule in the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine. When illness befalls oneself or one’s family members, it’s easy for unnecessary worries and anxieties to cloud the diagnostic process. This affects objective analysis and diagnostic thinking, leading easily to misdiagnosis and mistreatment.

There’s even an anecdote about it. Chunyu Yi, a famous doctor of the Western Han Dynasty, tried treating his father’s illness several times with prescriptions, but to no avail. Once, he had to leave for an emergency and left a prescription with his disciple to prepare the medicine.

After looking at the prescription, Chunyu Yi’s disciple felt one highly toxic ingredient was prescribed in too light a dose. He took it upon himself to increase it slightly. Unexpectedly, after Chunyu Yi’s father took it, his condition improved greatly. Later, when Chunyu Yi learned the reason, he uttered the phrase “the doctor cannot heal himself.”

“I know that, Master. You told me.” Not only did Ye Tian know, but Ye Dongping also understood. However, neither knew what this had to do with Ye Tian’s condition.

Looking at the baffled expressions on the faces of Ye Tian and his father, the Old Taoist sighed and said, “It’s the same with face reading and Divination. Throughout history, those skilled in Divination only dared to predict fortune or misfortune for themselves but never dared to investigate deeply. They feared they couldn’t resist the temptation of Defying Heaven to Alter Fate and incurring Heavenly Retribution.”