A piercing cold wind swept through the empty corridors of Xian County Hospital, rustling the somewhat grimy white curtains hanging in the outpatient department and whistling eerily, making the already desolate corridor seem even more deserted.

He stood to the left by the pharmacy entrance, his hands in his pockets, his chin tucked into his chest, looking at the cold and sterile hospital outpatient department with a sense of melancholy. These days, traditional Chinese medicine was out of fashion, and there were already few people coming to the hospital for treatment during normal times. Now that it was nearing the end of the year, there were even fewer people around.

After graduating from a university of traditional Chinese medicine and enduring a painful job search, he finally landed a position at this hospital as a pharmacist. He had originally aspired to be a doctor in the outpatient clinic, even though he had passed the national physician qualification examination long ago and obtained his license. However, the unit never assigned him to clinical work for some unknown reason.

At this time, an elderly woman walked out of the outpatient department, her back hunched over and hair scattered in the cold wind. She used one hand to support herself as she bent over, holding a piece of paper close to her eyes with difficulty, slowly making her way towards the price list.

Zuo knew the medicine would be here soon, so he went into the pharmacy. He stood behind the counter, lightly stomping his stiff feet and taking a deep breath with his hand out. The pharmacy had no air conditioning, only a small electric heater in the corner that hummed, not raising the temperature much and instead making a grating sound.

After a moment, footsteps approached, and the face of a woman appeared in the small window, etched with fine wrinkles. She brought her frozen features to life, struggling into a smile: "Could you please fetch some medicine? Thank you!"

The left-hand party received the prescription, carefully read it over, and then placed it on the table. They used a weight to keep it in place, laid out several sheets of parchment paper, and started weighing the medicine with a small apothecary scale.

The medicine is ready. Left Dao said to the aunt, "Aunt, how do you boil the medicine?"

"Yes! I've taken this medicine before."

"Oh, that's good. Remember to wait for the medicine to cool a bit before drinking it."

The old woman looked at him with some surprise and asked, "Wait for it to cool down before drinking? Why?"

"Aunt, the medicine prescribed by the doctor, 'Wu Zhu Yu Tang', is for treating liver and stomach deficiency due to cold. You often suffer from nausea and headaches, right?"

"Yes, — oh, young man, how did you know?"

"When I saw you walking over just now, you kept tapping your hand. Hehe."

"Haha, you're right. As soon as I finished eating, I felt like vomiting, but nothing came out except some sour water. My head hurts at the top of my skull and painkillers don't help. Also, my hands and feet are cold, and I have diarrhea."

"That's right," left smiled. "The *Treatise on Febrile Diseases* says: 'When vomiting occurs without fever, phlegm and saliva are expelled, and there is a headache, Wu Zhu Yu Decoction is the treatment.' This prescription is just what you need."

"Then why wait until it's cold to drink it? My stomach is already upset, and it's so cold out today. Wouldn't it be better to drink it hot and warm myself up?"

"Auntie, you don't know this, the way to take this medicine is quite special. Your illness is caused by liver and stomach coldness, while Wu Zhu Yu is a big spicy and hot herb. You must wait until it cools down before drinking it so that the medicine can work better. As the saying goes, 'treat cold with heat, cool with action.' This is the 'reverse' method of taking medicine."

The woman blinked, still confused: "Anti-Sasuke? What does that mean?"

"That's the reverse way to do it——originally, your illness is caused by cold. Cold means warmth, so you should use pungent and warm herbs to treat it. However, if you drink pungent and warm herbs straight up, they will alert the coldness within your body, preventing a smooth recovery. Wu Zhu Yu Tang is an extremely hot decoction. When it's cooled down, the illness in your stomach thinks it’s a cold remedy, while it's actually a cold illness itself, so naturally, it isn't afraid. By the time it realizes it, the medicine has already subdued the illness."

The woman, after listening, smiled and said: "I understand. Hot medicines for warming the body, cold medicines for cooling it! It's like a battle between two armies. The soldiers of each army wear different uniforms, which is obvious at first glance. Once they face off, they will fight to the death. But what if our army wears the enemy's uniform and only uses our own identifying symbols? The enemy army would be lulled into complacency, allowing our troops to infiltrate their ranks. Then we strike a decisive blow in the center, and the enemy army will collapse. Wouldn't that win us the battle?"

"That's right. Auntie, are you a teacher?"

"Really? How did you know that?"

"You can use a vivid analogy to explain an elephant problem, which is a common teaching method. Also, you still have white pencil ash in your fingers."

The old woman quickly wiped her hands with her fingers, a bit embarrassed: "Hehe, I came right after class and forgot to wash my hands. — You're so observant, young man."

"As traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, we emphasize 'listening, questioning, observing, and palpating' when treating patients. The first step in diagnosis is observation. If one doesn't observe carefully, they cannot fully grasp the patient's symptoms."

"Exactly! You're right, young man. You'll be a great doctor in the future!"

"Thank you for the praise, Auntie. — Here's your medicine. By the way, remember to lie in bed for two or three hours after taking it. Did the doctor tell you that?"

“No?” The old teacher was even more surprised. “Lying down for half an hour after drinking Chinese medicine? What’s the saying behind that? I’ve never heard of it.”

Not every Chinese medicine requires lying down. It's specifically after drinking Wu Zhu Yu Tang that you should lie down for a while. This is because Wu Zhu Yu Tang has a side effect: it can cause dizziness, heaviness in the head, and sometimes nausea after consumption. These are normal reactions to this type of medicine and don't require any special attention; just lying down for a while will do.

"Really? That's why I felt that way after drinking it before. Every time, it's like this. I thought the medicine wasn't working, so I came to see a doctor, a TCM specialist named Dr. Wang. He didn't explain it to me as thoroughly as you did. He just said it was nothing and that was it."

"Hehehe, maybe Director Wang is too busy to say anything."

"Busy? Hmph! He's busy... " The old teacher turned his head towards the clinic and lowered his voice, "He's busy playing computer games! I asked him, he was impatient, his eyes were glued to the computer screen, and he just said 'nothing'! Not even a glance at me. I thought to myself, how could it be nothing? After taking your medicine, you feel dizzy, nauseous, and you still say nothing is wrong! I was so angry! I thought he was busy with something else, so I left. When I peeked out the door, on his computer screen was a deck of playing cards! What was he busy with? He was busy playing cards on the computer! Oh well! Young man, if all doctors were as patient as you, that would be great! — Is there anything else I should pay attention to? Please tell me more."

<<>>>

"It's okay, I believe you! You're right. Add some Coptis chinensis for me, and I'll pay you."

"No, no! Auntie, you need to get the prescription from Director Wang. My pharmacy can't directly give you medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine is okay, but this is a decoction with added ingredients. It has to be prescribed by a doctor. Just tell him that you heard Coptis chinensis can reduce the side effects of Wu Zhu Yu Decoction and want to add a little bit. Don't need much, just three grams."

"Well then, alright. You give me the form and I'll go find Director Wang."

The old teacher took the prescription and went to the outpatient room.

A piece of paper was laid out on the table. Holding a weighing scale, he went to weigh the Coptis chinensis when suddenly hurried footsteps were heard. The pharmacy door burst open with a bang, and a gust of cold wind swept in, rolling up the paper on the table.

"Left! What are you doing?" Pushing the door open came Wang, the head doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. His face was full of anger, followed by that old teacher, looking terrified.

Zuo Dao: "Director Wang, what's wrong with me?"

"What's wrong?" Director Wang shook the form in his hand. "I ask you, did I fill this out wrong?"

Zuo Mangdao said, "No, you're right on target with your approach."

"Then, what gives you the right to put medicine in my body?"

Zuo Mang accompanied with a smile: "I didn't mean that, Wang Zhuan. You misunderstood me. I was just suggesting adding some Coptis chinensis to the recipe because Coptis chinensis and Evodia rutaecarpa are antagonistic in pairing, which can lessen…"

"Are you teaching me?" Director Wang seemed to have suddenly caught fire, his voice sharp. "When I was treating patients, you were still a fetus in your mother's womb!"

He gave a cold smile and said, "You're an old doctor and a leader. I respect you, but please respect me too!"

"You respect me? You adding medicine to my side is considered respecting me?"

"I'm just suggesting!"

What advice? Don't you forget that you're just a pharmacist right now! You're not even a doctor, what qualifications do you have to prescribe medicine?

"I've passed my medical qualification exam and received my license. I am qualified to practice medicine, but the hospital has not adjusted my position for me!"

Director Wang raised his voice: "What do you mean? You think the head of the hospital is not a Bole, who doesn't appreciate your talent like a thousand miles horse? Don't you know you are a divine physician? Hmph! Even if you are a divine physician, when you see patients in the future, how you treat them, just don't add any unnecessary medicines to your prescriptions!"