"Mr. Changkong, Master Buqiu is here," Uncle Qian personally ushered Qin Liuxi into the house.
Yu Changkong stood in the center of the room, facing the direction of the herbal scent, and greeted Qin Liuxi with a cupped-hand salute, "Master."
Observing his precise sense of direction, Qin Liuxi remarked, "They say that when people lose their sight, their other senses become more acute. It seems not without basis. Mr. Changkong, your sense of positioning is quite accurate. Are you relying on your hearing?"
"And taste," replied Yu Changkong with an indifferent tone, "You carry a scent of medicine on you."
In fact, there was also a delicate fragrance typical of a woman, but with his impaired vision, he dared not speculate further.
Qin Liuxi sniffed at himself and joked, "Fortunately, it’s the scent of medicine. If it were something else, it might have caused Mr. Changkong to laugh at me."
Sifang had already prepared tea, and presented it with both hands to Qin Liuxi, saying, "Master, you are truly amazing. After your acupuncture, our young master indeed slept from yesterday until today. The Master must not have reached twenty years of age, yet her medical skills are incredibly profound."
Yu Changkong chided lightly, "Sifang, do not be impolite; there are three things Taoist tradition does not inquire about: someone’s age, secular matters, and place of origin."
Upon hearing this, Sifang hurriedly bowed deeply to Qin Liuxi and apologized, "It’s my fault for being presumptuous, as I am ignorant of these Taoist ceremonies. Please forgive me, Master."
Uncle Qian also hastened to say, "We common folks don’t understand these things well; if we have offended you, our apologies."
Qin Liuxi waved her hand dismissively, "Ignorance is not a sin, and there’s no need to be so overly cautious. But Mr. Changkong, you are also aware of these ’three inquiries not to be made?’"
"Before I lost my sight, Changkong also read widely. When following my parents traveling, I came to have a shallow understanding of some Taoist rituals," Yu Changkong explained.
"Handsome and talented, indeed an envy to others," said Qin Liuxi with a laugh.
Qin Liuxi continued, "It seems Mr. Changkong slept well. Shall we start the treatment?"
"It’d be an honor, Master," Yu Changkong took a seat.
Qin Liuxi first sat down and took out paper and ink to write a prescription, while explaining, "As mentioned earlier, I will treat Mr. Changkong with acupuncture, massage, and medication. These medicines will be applied externally and taken internally, all to help reduce ocular pressure."
"May I ask, Master, what is this ocular pressure?" Uncle Qian and the others, who had been accompanying Yu Changkong for many years, were present during all previous medical consultations, but had never heard of this term.
Qin Liuxi explained, "Put it this way: imagine a fish bladder, initially flaccid. If you blow air into it, the air pressure gradually increases—wouldn’t it expand? The eye can be understood in the same way; when it’s subjected to too much pressure, it leads to swelling and blurriness of the eyeball. If caused by emotional distress, a rush of anger to the heart, or excessively intense emotions, it can affect the flow of the Qi mechanism, with Qi surging upwards, obstructing the ’Divine Water’ and leading to a sharp decline in vision. Mr. Changkong’s eye condition arose from a sudden extreme sadness, qualifying as an acute and sudden illness."
"If you had managed to balance your emotions at the time, complemented by medication and acupuncture, you would have gradually recovered. However, you did not do so; subconsciously, you even wished not to see this cruel world again. When someone falls ill, without an optimistic and positive mindset, it becomes difficult to fight the disease. With your mind convincing yourself you do not wish to see the light again, how could you ever improve?"
Yu Changkong was slightly taken aback, she guessed it correctly.
"Are you saying, had the young master managed to calm these ’Seven Emotions’ back then, he could have recovered?"
"Naturally, one would also have to encounter a skilled physician," Qin Liuxi raised her eyebrows and said, "If you met someone who didn’t wish for him to see the light again, no matter how calm he was, the recovery would still be difficult."
Other than Yu Changkong, the expressions of Uncle Qian and Sifang both changed.
Qin Liuxi paid no mind to their expressions and continued writing the prescription, saying, "This prescription is for external application to reduce ocular pressure and improve vision; the internal medicine serves the same function, regulating the five organs, allowing essence and blood to rise, and balancing yin and yang."
She wrote quickly, completing the external application prescription first and handed it over. Uncle Qian took a look, and it listed several common medicinal ingredients such as Angelica dahurica, Poria, Burdock Seed, logania, and others.
Qin Liuxi then handed over another prescription, "Apply externally before bed, and this is the Liver-Calming, Vision-Brightening Decoction, drink one dose in the morning and evening."
"Five grams of antelope horn powder, three grams of Xuan Shen, three grams of Poria, three grams of plantago, rhubarb..." Uncle Qian read softly, then looked up to ask, "These medicinal materials aren’t expensive; are they effective?"
Qin Liuxi looked over and smiled, "The herbs are inexpensive, but the eye drops are extremely costly. If you want them, I can bring them tomorrow."
"What are these eye drops?"
"They are naturally the medicinal liquid for treating Mr. Changkong’s eye ailment. The preparation process is very tedious and complex, which is why it’s expensive. Originally, I didn’t want to open this option..." After all, it requires extraction, and that’s so tiring!
Uncle Qian immediately said, "As long as it’s effective, no matter how expensive, Master, please prescribe it."
"Okay." Qin Liuxi told Chen Pi, "Chen Pi, accompany Uncle Qian out and tell him what to prepare for external application and how to boil the decoction."
Uncle Qian left with Chen Pi.
Qin Liuxi then said to Yu Changkong, "Shall we start the acupuncture now?"
Yu Changkong replied, "Please proceed."
Qin Liuxi had him lie down, opened the sheepskin needle bag, which contained a row of shimmering silver needles, and said, "Mr. Changkong, you may close your eyes. I will primarily select acupuncture points around the eyes, mainly targeting Jingming, Taiyang, Fengchi, Taichong, and a few other points. My needling will be steady and accurate; there’s no need to panic."
Qin Liuxi disinfected the area first, took a fine needle, and said, "Here it comes."
She began with acupuncture at the Jingming point with a Flying Needle technique, holding and rotating the needle, asking, "Do you feel a sour distension?"
"Mm." The area around the eyes is sensitive, yet, with yesterday’s treatment, Yu Changkong had come to trust her quite a bit more and showed no hint of dodging or panic.
Seeing him so cooperative, Qin Liuxi swiftly placed needles at other key points like the one behind the eyeball, Fengchi. After completing the main points, she sat behind his head, her fingertips gently pressing on his scalp.
Yu Changkong’s fingers slightly curled, relaxing himself, and asked, "This time, no need to chant scriptures like yesterday?"
"Do you want to listen?"
"It’s possible, but tiring."
Yu Changkong immediately felt he had troubled her, and was about to apologize, but then her voice came from above his head.
"Never mind, I can’t bear to refuse someone good-looking, so I’ll recite a passage for you to listen."
Qin Liuxi recited a passage from the Qingjing Heart Sutra of Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad: "The Great Dao is formless, nurturing heaven and earth; The Great Dao is unfeeling, controlling the sun and the moon..."
Yu Changkong’s thoughts emptied, immersed in the scripture, not even aware of when she withdrew the needles, only returning to his senses when she massaged his eyes.
Qin Liuxi’s massage technique was meticulous, and her strength was just right. From the eyeball to the Qingming acupoint, by the end of the process, Chen Pi and the others had already returned with the items for the wet application.
The cotton cloth soaked in the medicinal decoction was wrung out to semi-dry, then placed over Yu Changkong’s eyes.
"Each time, apply the wet compress for a quarter of an hour. Also, in the next few days, avoid using your eyes in a way that strains them. Mr. Changkong, you might as well wrap your eyes with bandages," Qin Liuxi said.
Yu Changkong, for some reason, recalled her words. Even with his eyes wrapped in bandages, he would still be that beautifully handsome man. Could it be that she deliberately wanted to provoke him with his own good looks?
Qin Liuxi: You guessed exactly right!
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