The crowd around them had already erupted in chaos.

"How is Gao-Yuan back? Didn't he defect? Wasn't he executed?"

"No, he wasn’t executed; he was imprisoned. Did they release him?"

The people nearby weren’t speaking quietly, and their words quickly spread.

Gao-Yuan’s younger brother, Gao Jun, hung his head in shame. his face turning red as he avoided looking at the villagers.

Gao’s mother looked embarrassed. She tightly grasped Gao-Yuan's hand and said, "Yuan, let's go home first. We'll talk at home."

Liu Sanquan, listening to the murmurs of the crowd, finally remembered. "Are you Gao-Yuan? The college student Gao-Yuan?"

Gao-Yuan looked at the wary expressions around him, then at Liu Sanquan. He patted his mother's hand, who was trying to pull him away. Some things he knew had to be confronted.

Standing tall, Gao-Yuan addressed the crowd calmly, "Hello, everyone. It's been a while. I am Gao-Yuan, and I’ve returned."

The place fell silent, as if the people were unaccustomed to Gao-Yuan’s calm demeanour.

"Has he been rehabilitated?" Someone whispered, clearly taken aback by Gao-Yuan's confident stance.

Even Gao's mother and brother looked at him in astonishment.

"My son..." Gao's mother's voice trembled.

Gao-Yuan patted her hand again and said, "We’ll talk at home."

With tears in her eyes, Gao’s mother nodded heavily.

Liu Sanquan glanced around, then asked in confusion, "I remember, you weren't a doctor before. Weren't you working as an official?"

"I’ve read some medical books and understand a bit about medicine," Gao-Yuan replied.

"But you’ve never actually practiced medicine?" Liu Sanquan clapped his hands together, realizing he’d been duped earlier. This guy hadn’t actually worked as a doctor. He’d only read a few books, just theory without practice.

Liu Sanquan almost rolled his eyes. "Then this afternoon..."

Gao-Yuan interrupted, "That elderly woman is already out of danger."

Shocked, Liu Sanquan swallowed his words and blurted out, "How is that possible? It’s only been a few hours! The city hospital couldn’t treat her, and you managed it in just a few hours?"

Liu Sanquan was utterly sceptical.

"Is it that hard?" Gao-Yuan was questioned in return.

Liu Sanquan nearly bit his tongue.

But there was no way to fake this; he’d find out once went back.

But still, how could this be? Even Zhao Huanzhang couldn’t have done that!

Liu Sanquan was suddenly filled with doubt and confusion.

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Seeing this, Gao-Yuan didn’t argue further and said, "Let’s discuss the issue of treating the exterior first. According to the symptoms, if an exterior syndrome exists, you must address it first. External pathogens invade our body from the surface inward."

Frightened by Gao-Yuan’s impressive achievement, Liu Sanquan didn’t dare try.

Gao-Yuan continued, "The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor says, ‘The superior physician prevents disease at the budding stage,’ and ‘The skilled physician treats the skin and hair.’ When an external pathogen is still on the skin’s surface, sweating to expel it causes no serious harm. But if you ignore the exterior syndrome and let the pathogen penetrate deeper, it can evolve into a half-dead, half-alive condition. Have you forgotten the old saying, ‘If a cold isn’t treated, it turns into tuberculosis’."

Liu Sanquan froze for a moment. He knew this saying.

This phrase originated from Xu Lingtai, a famous Qing Dynasty physician, and later became a common saying. It means that if a cold or If the flu isn’t properly treated, it could worsen and even turn into a serious illness. life-threatening condition like tuberculosis.

Gao-Yuan went on, "This highlights the danger of neglecting the exterior syndrome. If you let a cold linger, it can develop into a severe, potentially fatal condition. If we use the wrong medicine while the exterior syndrome is still present, it can cause even more serious consequences."

"But…" Liu Sanquan was anxious. Why did Gao-Yuan say he had used the wrong medicine?

Gao-Yuan pointed to himself, "When the external pathogen is constricting the surface, if we mistakenly use purgative therapy, the external pathogen that was only on the skin's surface will be pushed directly into the internal organs, leading to unforeseen dangers."

"If we use tonics by mistake, it’s like closing the door and keeping a thief inside, trapping the pathogen in the body. This becomes a hidden danger. When your vital energy weakens, the latent pathogen will attack the body, causing various complications."

"You’ve been a doctor for many years. Think about those stubborn ailments that never seem to heal, those that relapse after seeming to improve, or the seasonal illnesses that keep coming back. What causes them? Is it really repeated exposure to external pathogens?"

"No, it’s the latent pathogens that have been hidden in the body, waiting for the right moment to strike when your body is weak. If they’re never cleared out... Gao-Yuan glanced at his younger brother, Gao Jun. "the consequences can be very severe."

Liu Sanquan was stunned.

At that moment, he recalled some cases he’d handled before—those chronic illnesses that never got better and kept recurring. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but now it didn’t seem right. Even if the body's vital energy was weak, could it really keep catching external pathogens over and over?

"Latent pathogens..." Liu Sanquan muttered, feeling like he’d been struck on the head—shocked and bewildered.

Seeing Liu Sanquan lost in thought, Gao-Yuan sighed. This principle of addressing the exterior syndrome first was often overlooked. In his previous life, he’d stumbled over this issue several times.

It wasn’t until he was studying his brother's rheumatic heart disease that he began to understand this concept. But before he could cure his brother’s illness, he was imprisoned again. When he saw his brother next, he was already in his current state.

"The superior physician prevents disease at the budding stage."

In this lifetime, Gao-Yuan finally had the chance to intervene early and stop everything at its inception.

The surrounding villagers were speechless when they heard Gao Yuan's words.

"Why do I feel like Gao-Yuan is more skilled than Liu? Sanquan?"

"That’s impossible. Liu Sanquan is an experienced doctor. I’ve never heard that Gao-Yuan studied medicine. Wasn’t he an official? before? How did he become a doctor?"

"They said he’s read medical books. He’s an intellectual, a university student. He can learn from books, and he’s the only college student in our entire village!"

…

Gao-Yuan's actions had shifted the topic from being labelled a traitor to his medical skills.

"You… I…" Liu Sanquan was suddenly at a loss for words.

Gao-Yuan stepped forward, patted Liu Sanquan’s shoulder, and handed back the medicine for Gao Jun.

This was also a drawback of apprentice-style education—the teacher's level could heavily influence the student’s abilities. If the teacher didn’t understand the principle of treating the exterior syndrome first, it would be difficult for the student to grasp it independently.

After all, it wasn’t an obvious concept, but something hidden within the body, lying dormant and waiting for the right moment. Years later, when illness struck, who would link it back to a seemingly insignificant cold from years before?

Gao-Yuan took his mother's hand and said, "Mom, let’s go home."

After the Gao family left, one of the villagers who had received a prescription came over to Liu Sanquan with it, saying, "Doctor Liu, could you take another look?"

Hearing this, Liu Sanquan’s nostrils flared in anger.