In the afternoon, Shen Congyun, who was on duty, finally arrived at a leisurely pace. By the time he got there, Gao-Yuan had already finished his diagnosis.

As soon as Shen Congyun stepped inside and saw Cao Xinjian’s condition, he was taken aback, exclaiming, "What happened to him?"

Cao Xinjian's wife, looking worried, replied, "We don't know either. After taking the medicine, he became like this."

Shen Congyun examined Cao Xinjian’s lips and said, “This case of lip cancer seems to have gotten quite severe. It’s on the verge of becoming carbuncular poison.”

Cao Xinjian's wife anxiously asked, "What do you mean by 'carbuncular poison'?"

"It means the carbune has developed to a critical stage," Shen Congyun explained.

He pressed gently on Cao Xinjian's swollen, blood-filled lips, but before he could say anything, Cao Xinjian irritably brushed Shen's hand away. He shook his head wildly, refusing to stay inside the room. Rushing outside to the courtyard, he began jumping around, flailing his limbs in agitation.

Cao Xinjian's wife whispered, "His temper has gotten much worse."

Shen Congyun nodded knowingly. “When carbuncular poison turns septic, it causes immense discomfort. As they say, all sores and ulcers are connected to the heart. His restlessness is expected, but..."

"But what?" his wife interrupted anxiously.

Shen Congyun frowned, puzzled. “I already prescribed medicine earlier. How did it get this severe?”

Li Shengli was also reviewing the prescription. He commented, "Maybe the dosage was too light. Each ingredient is just a couple of 'qian' [mace]. His heat condition seems really intense."

But Shen Congyun shook his head. "Treating the upper burner should be as light as a feather; heavy measures won’t rise."

Li Shengli looked confused.

Shen gave him a dismissive glance, saying nothing more, but that single look was enough to make Li Shengli uncomfortable. The condescension was too obvious.

Li Shengli took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. He turned to Gao-Yuan, knowing that Gao-Yuan never looked at him that way. Gao-Yuan, meanwhile, was lost in thought, finding the patient's symptoms rather peculiar.

Li Shengli, avoiding further argument, urged, “Alright, enough of this. Just take a look at him already. Look at the state he’s in!”

Shen Congyun was not pleased. “Why are you rushing me? You can’t treat an illness in a hurry. Some people may work faster, but why didn’t the patient seek them out, huh?”

"You!" Li Shengli's temper flared instantly.

Cao Xinjian's son couldn't hold back anymore and chimed in, “Doctor Shen, please hurry. When I went to the clinic to get you, you were dawdling, drinking water, and taking bathroom breaks. Now that you're finally here, could you please speed it up?”

Having been verbally attacked by two young men in succession, Shen Congyun stuffed his hands into his pockets and replied languidly, “What kind of talk is this? You're making it sound like I’m deliberately wasting time. As the saying goes, 'Sharpening the axe won't delay chopping firewood.' I just take my time to do quality work. If you’re dissatisfied, you can always find someone better. I don’t mind.”

Li Shengli, fuming with anger, retorted, “If we were on a battlefield, I’d have shot you!”

Shen shrank his head back, meekly saying, “I'm old, can't handle much, and I scare easily. Please take it easy on me.”

Cao Xinjian's son, equally frustrated, muttered while scratching his head, “If we had another doctor to go to, we wouldn’t be asking you!”

"Huh?" Li Shengli turned his head, feeling a bit left out. Had they forgotten about him again?

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Shen tilted his chin toward both Li Shengli and Gao-Yuan, remarking, "Aren’t there two more doctors right here?"

At that moment, Cao Xinjian’s wife and son finally directed their attention toward Gao-Yuan, but upon seeing his young face, they couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

Li Shengli hurried over to Gao-Yuan and asked, “Doctor Gao, what exactly is wrong with my old squad leader?”

Gao-Yuan frowned. "It's a bit strange..."

"Huh?" Li Shengli looked perplexed.

Shen, leaning lazily against the doorframe, watched Gao-Yuan with interest.

Gao-Yuan, puzzled, said, "The patient’s pulse is abnormally strong and overwhelming, indicating a case of excessive heat and yang rising."

Li Shengli clapped his hands, exclaiming, “So, it's just a case of heat, right?”

Gao-Yuan replied, "But... when I press deeper, the pulse becomes as thin as a thread. The sudden onset and rapid progression are also quite unusual."

From his spot by the door, Shen let out a scoff. “Acute diseases are often caused by excess. It’s precisely because this is an excess syndrome that the condition progresses so quickly. His pulse is large, and the symptoms clearly point to excessive fire and yang rising. Pulse and symptoms align—there shouldn’t be any mistake. Didn’t your master teach you that?”

Seeing this, Cao Xinjian’s wife quickly pulled on her son’s sleeve and gave him a look, signaling for him to calm down.

Cao Xinjian’s son exhaled slowly, feeling relieved. He had no choice but to soften his tone toward Shen Congyun. “Doctor Shen, I was a bit hasty earlier. Please understand our worries and help us out.”

Li Shengli’s temples throbbed with anger as he glared intensely at Shen Congyun.

Shen, in his usual slow manner, nodded and straightened up, muttering to Li Shengli, “Stop glaring at me. I’m old, with a weak heart. Don’t scare me, or I might forget how to treat patients.”

Cao Xinjian's wife quickly stepped forward, pulling Li Shengli away, while he turned his back to the others.

Shen spoke slowly, “It’s quite clear already—this is a case of excessive yang and heat. The illness came on rapidly and urgently. He needs stronger medicine. Let’s give it another go and see what happens.”

At this, Gao-Yuan suddenly interjected, “Then how do you explain the fact that after taking your medicine, the patient immediately felt as if fire surged up inside him? Even if the dose was too light, it should at least have some cooling effect, right? It wouldn’t have made the fire worse.”

"This..." Shen’s face showed a hint of confusion. That, too, was something he couldn’t quite explain.

Cao Xinjian’s wife hurriedly intervened. "Young man, please, just let Doctor Shen prescribe the medicine. Don’t argue with him."

Cao Xinjian’s son, though clearly frustrated, had no choice but to agree. He pleaded with Gao-Yuan, “Look at my dad—he’s jumping around like an actor on stage, his face is as red as if it’s been painted, and he’s on the verge of going mad. His condition is this serious—just let Doctor Shen prescribe something to calm him down. Please, don’t argue.”

The son’s unintentional comment sparked an idea in Gao-Yuan’s mind. He immediately turned to look at Cao Xinjian, who was still hopping around in the courtyard. His gaze locked onto Cao’s face, and then he rushed outside.

Cao Xinjian’s wife, still trying to reason with Shen, urged, “Doctor Shen, don’t mind him. Just focus on prescribing something to reduce the heat and make him feel better.”

Shen nodded but glanced out of the corner of his eye. To his surprise, Gao-Yuan was in the courtyard, touching Cao Xinjian’s leg—really feeling it with his hand.

“Huh?” Shen blinked in surprise.

Cao Xinjian’s family also turned to look and frozen in confusion.

Gao-Yuan, with a serious expression, called out to Shen, “Come over here.”

“What for?” Shen asked, bewildered.

“Just come and feel it,” Gao-Yuan insisted.

“Huh?” Shen was puzzled by Gao-Yuan’s sudden request.

Gao-Yuan urged again, “Hurry up and feel it.”

"Huh?" Shen glanced at Cao’s family.

Unable to hold back any longer, Li Shengli shouted, “He said come over here!”

Startled, Shen instinctively backed away from Li Shengli, looking around cautiously. Slowly, he walked over to Gao-Yuan.

Gao-Yuan released his grip on Cao’s leg and gestured for Shen to feel for himself.

Seeing the sudden seriousness on Gao-Yuan’s face, Shen curiously reached out to touch Cao’s leg. “Huh? Why is it cold?”

Gao-Yuan pointed to Cao Xinjian’s face and added, “Look at his face closely. His complexion is unnaturally bright, almost like an actor wearing makeup.”

“This…” Shen stared at Cao’s face, then touched his cold leg again. Goosebumps rose on his skin. "Could this be... 'false yang'?"

Gao-Yuan’s face darkened as he nodded.

Gao-Yuan furrowed his brow tightly and glared at Shen Congyun. "He has surely been suffering from a prolonged deficiency of lower yang. At this time of year, when Yang energy is beginning to rise, Yin fails to contain Yang, causing the dragon fire to surge uncontrollably. That’s why his illness flared up so violently this morning, filling his mouth with sores in less than an hour."

"And because you misdiagnosed it as excess fire, you rashly used bitter and cold herbs to suppress it, leading to an uncontrollable blaze. That’s why his lips have swollen like peaches, cracked and bled, his tongue has swollen to block his mouth, rendering him unable to speak, and his agitation is beyond words, pushing him into a dangerous masked yang state. If you continue using large amounts of bitter and cold herbs, this dangerous situation will turn into a near-fatal one!"

Shen Congyun, the old doctor, nervously swallowed, and sweat began to bead on his forehead.

The onlookers were stunned, unable to comprehend the sudden turn of events. How had Shen Congyun, the experienced physician, suddenly become speechless?

Li Shengli, noticing this, widened his eyes and shouted, "Say something! Weren't you just full of talk a moment ago?"